Category Archives: Beer-making

Brewdogged

Posted on February 14, 2026 by james

I see Brewdog is up for sale. A shame, even if they have had a few issues over the last few years. I’m not a fan of all their products, but some are very pleasant. I wouldn’t be surprised if … Continue reading →

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Will the real Newcastle Brown please stand up?

Posted on January 19, 2026 by james

My son asked if we could brew a Newcastle Brown clone and I managed to find a recipe online so decided to give it a go. This is one pint of the clone and one of genuine Newcastle Brown. Looks … Continue reading →

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Are benchtop crown cappers actually any good?

Posted on January 6, 2026 by james

I’ve never been able to get on with them, much preferring a twin-lever capper that I’ve had for years. Sure, it’s not quite as simple to use, but it does seem to do a better job of putting on the … Continue reading →

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A long time ago, in a brewery…

Posted on January 6, 2026 by james

well, just down the garden, actually.

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Memory Lane, 23rd August 2023: Pendle Witches Brew

Posted on June 3, 2024 by james

As he’s at university in Lancaster and knows The Pendle Witch pub, he wanted to try to make this beer before he went back. I took the recipe from Graham Wheeler’s “Brew your own real ales at home” and then … Continue reading →

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Arkell’s Kingsdown #2

Posted on October 2, 2020 by james

[21st June] With the wort cooled down I could pitch the yeast, but first I measured the original gravity with my hydrometer. Not quite as high as I was hoping for, but I’m happy with that. Then the fermenter went … Continue reading →

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Return to the beer shack! Arkell’s Kingsdown #1

Posted on October 2, 2020 by james

[20th June] Brewing is another thing that has taken a back seat of late whilst I tried to get other things finished, but today I finally managed to find some time to start of a brew — a nine gallon … Continue reading →

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Blobservatory Bitter is ready!

Posted on November 9, 2019 by james

Back in August I posted about making my first batch of beer in some time as a celebration of getting the observatory into a usable state. After a little time to condition, here it is: First impressions? It’s quite drinkable. … Continue reading →

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We have fermentation!

Posted on August 20, 2019 by james

A day or so after adding the yeast to my Blobservatory Bitter, it looks like they’re hard at work. A nice raft of top-fermenting yeasty beasties…

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Blobservatory Bitter

Posted on August 20, 2019 by james

Having spent so much time over the last *mumble* months building the observatory, my brewery (which stands right next door) has been sadly neglected. We have even reached the scandalous situation where my wife has occasionally had to actually buy … Continue reading →

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