There’s nothing quite as disheartening as discovering that your homebrew has a stuck fermentation. But fear not, fellow brewers, as we’re here to help! In this blog post, we will guide you through the process of reviving a stuck beer yeast, so you can get your brew back on track and enjoy the fruits of your labour. So, let’s dive in and see how we can breathe new life into your fermentation. Identify the problem The first step in tackling a stuck fermentation is to identify the root of the problem. There are several potential culprits that could be hindering the yeast’s activity: Inadequate y ..read more

If you are looking to get into home brewing cider, there are many cider kits available on the market that can help you get started. Here are the top 3 home brewing cider kits in 2023, based on their quality, ease of use, and overall customer satisfaction. Mangrove Jacks Elderflower & Lime Cider The Mangrove Jacks Elderflower & Lime Cider kit is my personal favourite and also the first cider kit I ever brewed. It’s an excellent choice for those who love a citrusy twist in their cider. This kit blends the sharpness of lime with the sweetness of fruity apple, creating a unique and delicio ..read more

Are you a distiller looking to expand your craft by creating a unique flavour profile using botanicals? Or perhaps you’re a new distiller who wants to jump right in and add botanicals to your spirits from the get-go? Using botanicals in distilling is a great way to infuse your spirits with complex and distinctive flavours, but it can be intimidating to know where to start. Fear not, as we’re here to guide you through the process and help you discover the wonderful world of botanicals in distilling. Whether you’re an experienced distiller or just starting out, we’ll provide you with the knowled ..read more

There is a lot of marketing out there which boasts of huge savings from home brewing, but how much can you really save? Lets dive deep into how much you can save when brewing your own beer, wine or cider. Savings From Brewing your own Beer How much money you will save when brewing your own beer depends if you are going to be brewing from a beer kit, or brewing from scratch. Each of these offer benefits for long term and short term savings. The average regular beer drinker drinks on average, 16 pints a week, so I will base all of the calculations of this. If you go through 16 pints of craft bee ..read more

If you go on Untappd and look at the top rated beers, you’ll see a trend: they all seem to be high ABV. In fact – as of writing – I had to scroll to the 18th position to find a beer below 10%! And still, it was 8.4% which is on the stronger side. Despite this, low alcohol beers have come on leaps and bounds the past few years and good examples can even be found on supermarket shelves. Sometimes it’s nice to have a few beers and not get drunk or feel hungover the next day. As delicious as beer is, it’s sensible to moderate alcohol intake, and as homebrewers with access to a lot of beer, we can ..read more

It seems a bit early to be thinking about Christmas. We’re only just putting away our Halloween costumes and cleaning our cider gear for storage, but now is the time to plan what beer we’ll be drinking for the christmas period. Better yet, give yourself a selection of these festive favourites. Imperial Stout Christmas is the time to bring out showstoppers both on the dinner table and in the brewery. It’s a special occasion and deserves a special beer. Imperial stouts are very versatile beers lending themselves well to a range of flavours. Add cacao nibs, coffee, ginger, vanilla, star anise, a ..read more

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: fermentation is the most important part of brewing, and good yeast health and pitch rate will result in a good fermentation. Yeast health and cell count can be drastically improved through making starters. Plus, knowing how to make starters and treat yeast will open many new doors to the homebrewer. Through making starters, it’s possible to culture up out of date yeast, use yeast from bottle conditioned beers, build up a cell count for a high gravity beer, and possibly many other uses. It means there’s less reliance on getting healthy liquid yeast arrivi ..read more

All grain brewing is cheaper, there’s more control over the product, and there’s something satisfying about using 100% raw ingredients to make a beer. We’re all at different stages in our brewing journey and recipe formulation is an undeveloped skill for some, and sometimes even having this skill it’s fun to follow other people’s recipes or have a bag of ingredients ready to go. How do you know what recipe packs are right for you? We’ve looked at our ever growing selection of all grain packs and detailed our favourite six we think you’ll enjoy just as much. This is a great starting point, and ..read more

As I sit and write, it’s early October in what’s been a fantastic year for apples. I have over 190 litres of juice fermenting away, six crates of apples waiting to be pressed and still more trees heaving with fruit. Now is a good time to continue from my last cider article, Cider Making From Scratch, with some more advice on how to make the most of your homemade cider, and how to avoid spoiled batches. Home cider makers like ourselves are at the mercy of the seasons, the soil, and the trees. To make good cider is to understand this and know how to “correct” the juice when the year hasn’t been ..read more

I have compiled a list of the best home brew beer kits in 2022, I have based the research on personal preference, best sellers and favourites amongst the community forums and groups! In the recent days, the kits have become increasingly impressive and its a fight amongst the manufactures to produce the best tasting kit yet! I have tried to pick a kit from different categories so there should be something for everyone here, there isn’t a stout in the top picks, but let me know if you would like to see this in a future post! It would be great to see if you agree or disagree with the choices, so ..read more