Whilst there have not been many blog updates this year, there has been a lot of brewing and beer drinking going on.
This year has been a year of travelling, brewing and general tourism. Â Not that I have the luxury of pure beer tourism, just more the opportunity to visit brewery’s and pubs whilst travelling for work. Â There has to be some fun in it all!
The end of this year has been marked by the bottling of my latest Ginger Beer. Â A 8.5% cracker that smells & tastes fantastic. I cant wait to get into them once they are ready. Â This years brewing has been a bit hit and miss since I purchased my Coopers HomeBrew kit this time last year. Â Mostly due to me attempting silly things and not paying attention whilst brewing. Â Under the careful guidance of Brewnut, I have managed some drinkable brews, but also managed to punch out some absolute shockers.
The biggest brewing disaster was the Apple, Pear & Cinammon Cider. Â We had such high hopes. Â The unfermented cider tasted phenomenal, but after it went through the fermentation & bottling, it ended up rancid, flat and sour. Â Still, it is through these brewing processes that we learn. Â I have learnt that I will be doing a hell of a lot more cider research before we give it another crack, including a few site visits to breweries specialising in cider. Â Onwards and upwards.
So what does next year hold? Â Well first up, I will be moving on from using LME’s in my homebrews. Â They have been a fantastic learning tool, and very handy while I found my feet in homebrewing, but I think I have gotten to the stage where it is best that I move on. Â There are plans for a ‘from scratch’ Ginger Beer, (the Gingers have been my biggest success so far) and I am rather keen on having a crack at a Trappist style beer, possibly a Saison.
Next, I plan to be doing a lot more with this site. Â Regimenting myself to writing once a week, no matter how small the post. Â To aid this, I now have WordPress installed on the iPad & iPhone so I can write and post from just about anywhere. Â It also allows me to start drafting on the road, and finish it off on the big computer.
The other thing I have done is invited my close friend and brewing mentor Brewnut to join me in posting bits and pieces on TheWobblyThong. Â He has a fantastic mind for brewing and has already produced many quality beers. Â Now if only I could step up to the plate….
So as we step forward into the New Year, there are plans for more brewing, blogging and beer drinking. Sounds like a bit of fun. Â Time for a beer!