Home brew progress and a new book


I got this fab book in the post today, it's a pocket sized guide to foraging by Richard Mabey. It's got over 100 plants, mushrooms and shellfish (is it still foraging if they're shellfish though?) and a calender at the front showing what's available for foraging each month of the year. For each thing it explains how it can be eaten and even has some recipes and advice on making jams and jellies out of wild fruit. I'm looking forward to taking it out with me on a walk and seeing if I can find anything. There's a phrase in the preface that made me laugh; the author says that now he's older he doesn't forage for large amounts any more but just likes something to nibble on whilst walking - 'ambulant consumption'.

Today we racked off the mead and strawberry wine into clean demi johns. The strawberry wine can be bottled in another couple of days and the mead needs one more racking off them a campden tablet to kill any lurking bacteria before being bottled and stored for as long as we can bear to leave it. We also started a quick brew kit today. It takes a week to ferment before being bottled and left for 3 months - just in time for Christmas!