A PINT WITH DREW NICOL, HOMEBREWER
“We have been brewing for about 4 years now, I think. We have always been interested in looking at things you can buy in the shops and trying to make it ourselves instead. One day I saw some homebrew equipment in a shop we were in and thought I would give it a go.
In terms of kit, we use the Grainfather for brewing and have recently purchased the Grainfather Glycol Chiller and Fermenters, which are great!
Up to now I’ve been brewing stouts but I’m getting into IPAs more and more at the moment. I just did one with some mosaic hops, which I got from you guys, and they were lovely – the best so far!
TOP HOMEBREWING TIP
Have everything weighed out ready before the brew starts and get an alarm for all the different timings! I’ve missed my timings so many times for the hops! Too busy chatting and drinking the last batch…
EPIC HOMEBREWING FAIL
I recently had an amazing fail! I bottled an ale ages ago but I must have done it too soon and the fermentation can’t have finished or something like that. There were only a few bottles left and I had one in the kitchen sitting on the side. One evening last week there was an almighty bang!! There was beer everywhere – in the drawers, on the floor, on the ceiling. The glass was everywhere, a light switch had broken; the place was a mess! My wife was not best pleased.” [Editor: We hear you, Drew. It’s one of the reasons we love our mini kegs so much!]
Fancy sharing your top homebrewing tips or fails? Send us a mail at: mashed@darkfarm.co.uk
Feature image by Engin Akyurt from Pexels
Brewing image by Drew Nicol