Hi from Skye

[Hoppyland]

Hi All
I thought I'd give this a go, as I'm just getting back into brewing after several years absence (though not abstinence...).
I used to brew quite a lot when I was working (mainly light, hoppy English bitters), but then retired and decided to buy a plot & build our own house. Disaster ensued! After living in a caravan for too long (beer brewing impossible!) we're busy repeating the error by trying another self-build up here on Skye, but hopefully with a lot more nouse!
Now renting, but with a real kitchen so brewing is firmly back on the agenda. I can't believe how much things have changed in a relatively short time! Mind you, I used to boast that I could brew far better beer than anything in the shops/pubs. Not so sure now, with things like Williams & Brewdog beers easily available here in Scotland!
Anyway, I've got a lot to learn or re-learn. Especially when it comes to hops, it seems. Wow, what a selection! Plus a lot more to it than just either boil or dry hop. Looking forward to the journey!

 

[clibit]

Welcome, I love Skye, been there the last two years in May, will almost certainly return next May. There are much better beers to buy now, but you can make much better beer now too, with the stuff available.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum :

Retired. Or self-building a house. The first one sounds much better, but........

Any pictures?

 

[stevej]

Oh a poet #hifromskye Welcome to the forum :thumb: :grin:

 

[Godfather50]

Welcome to the forum. Been AG brewing across the water from you in Arisaig for last couple of years. Good luck with it all!

 

[Alside101]

Welcome to the forum fellow brewer

 

[cheapbrew]

welcome,
what type of self build? self designed? small eco or grand and pomp? what materials?

 

[ManseMasher]

Welcome aboard!

 

[MyQul]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Hoppyland]

Thanks for the great welcome, everyone!

Any pictures?

Well, I've definitely got piccies of me looking retired - or maybe just tired! Our plot is basically 1 acre of woodland at the moment, so we're in for a long haul :whistle:

 

[Hoppyland]

welcome,
what type of self build? self designed? small eco or grand and pomp? what materials?

Hi Cheapbrew
Definitely not grand - can't afford it! Single storey, 2 bedroom timber frame kit house.
It should look something like the attached sketch - assuming I've managed to attach anything, that is!

 

[cheapbrew]

looks good :thumb: I wish you well in your project, and keep us posted on progress.

 

[HebridesRob]

Hello, I'm on Harris. Good view of Skye from our living room some of the time.

 

[clibit]

You lucky buggers living up there in dreamland. From my front roo. I see a row of red brick terraced houses! :lol:

 

[HebridesRob]

You lucky buggers living up there in dreamland. From my front roo. I see a row of red brick terraced houses! :lol:

How much equity in your house? You could buy a small property on Harris for 60-70k

 

[clibit]

Maybe 200k but I'm stuck here for a few years with my teenage kids and I'm 54 now. And the journey mitigates against regular visits.

 

[HebridesRob]

Maybe 200k but I'm stuck here for a few years with my teenage kids and I'm 54 now. And the journey mitigates against regular visits.

Roughly the same age as you, youngest now 25. She wouldn't leave home, so we did. :lol:

 

[clibit]

Roughly the same age as you, youngest now 25. She wouldn't leave home, so we did. :lol:

It might come to that, at some point! :lol:

 

[Redron]

Hi and welcome to the forum Hoppyland from a fellow Skye resident. Only just seen your post.....
Whereabouts are you ? We are down the south end on the Elgol road near Torrin, beautiful part of Skye (where isn't !).
We have had a house here for eight years but put a big extension on it last year and now live here after moving from West Yorks. Hope you are quite handy with the tools, we tried to use the local trades as much as possible but found them hard to pin down, expensive, and generally unreliable... 'Skye time' they call it, it was quite funny for a while........ The more you can do yourself, the better !

There is a decent homebrew shop in Inverness called 'farm and household stores', they have a decent selection of stuff from the usual kits to AG stuff, though no bulk grain. They deliver to Skye too which is a big bonus !!!

Good luck with your build and brewing and if you need any advice, drop me a line :thumb:

 

[clibit]

I get a jealousy hit every time I read about people living on Skye, Harris, Lewis etc. Maybe I should contact an estate agent!