Strawberry shortage? What shortage?

Location: Consumer central

Moodmusic: "More rain  .......... feel like I am stuck in the mines of Moria again ....... hohum"

Today's memories and soundbites

"over-responsibility"

"they even found a man drowned in his car in Ludlow today because of the flash flooding"

"thankfully I'm officially a fair weather biker with nothing to prove."

Drink
I have this philosophy of only making a brew out of free or very cheap ingredients, so I was overjoyed that my local Tesco's was shifting kilos and kilos of past-sell-by-date strawberries for £0.05 per 500g.  Woooppppeee a chance to make some strawberry wine!   There is no strawberry shortage in the tower of capitalist consumption, only local shoppers in the mood for stew and dumplings rather than summer puddings.  Back to C J Berry and his magic advice.

Recipe.
4lb strawberries
3lb sugar
citirc acid 1 teasponn
grape tannin 1/2 teaspoon - I use teabags in the must
1 gallon water
yeast and nutrient

Mix clean stalked stawberries with sugar and 2 quarts of water.  Mash.  Leave for 36 hours.  Strain liquor into fermenting jar.  Add remaining water to pulp.  Mash.   Strain into jar again.  Add remaining ingedients.  stir.  Fit airlock.

Strawberry view

A quiet night in with a demijohn

Location: The home

Moodmusic: "A soft and warm sofa, and a lazy night with film, not sure I can manage the pace"

Todays memories and soundbites

"Welcome home and get well soon"

"Today was a growing day with soil temperatures reaching something like summer"

Drink
Time to do some bottling and ..... tasting  ..... yippeeee

Homebrewed sloe, currant and damson wine.  Variation of C J Berry recipe.

Fermentation started last September.  Racked May. Bottled tonight.
General purpose white yeast.

3 lb  ripe sloes.  Put them in the freezer overnight to burst the skins.
3 lb sugar
1 lb currants
1 lb damsons
Water up to 1 gallon
Yeast nutrient
Wine yeast


Put sloes and fruit into a fermentation bucket. Pour over boiling water.  Add the sugar and stir.  When cooled to blood heat add the yeast nutrient and wine yeast. Cover and leave to ferment for 7 days in a warm place.  Stir daily. Strain into a demijohn and fit an airlock to seal the jar.

Sloe view

 7.5/10

Well it's turned out on the dry side of medium.  Quite strong (don't do alcohol measures) I'd judge about 11%.  Crisp light fruity flavour evocative of autumn hedgerows, certainly British.

Didn't we have a loverly time the day we went to Bangor?

Monday 25th June. 

Location: The Gazelle. Opposite Bangor pier.

Moodmusic: Busy busy day, nay week, in the rat race in a place I don't belong

Todays memories and soundbites

"I'm considering going for a pint"

"She's in hospital with Quincy, the abscess not the TV programme"

Drink(s)

1. Robinson's Cwrw'r ddraig aur Golden dragon Ale (4.1%)
Reactions

• Emotional: "Shame this was the end of the barrel"

• Critical: Sweet and seductive. Treacle tart and jam, cherries to a crisp dry finish.  Mmmmm.  Nice one.  Shame that was the last of it!

2. Hartley's Cumbrian XB (4%)
Reactions

• Emotional: "Photocopy paper!"

• Critical: No I don't think so.  Maybe it was the sweetness of the previous beer that did it in for this one, but the extra toasted flavour just came over like paper/cardboard that had been though a photocopier.

  3. Robinson's Unicorn (4.3%)
Reactions

• Emotional: "Ah much safer ground, uncontroversial and relaxing"

• Critical: You know where you are with this ale.  Gentle flavours. Neither very hoppy nor very bitter, a solid easy beer experience.  No bells and whistles a nice foam, gentle aroma and clean finish.  Comfort drinking.

Gazelle view

Nothing beats a view like this on a summer's evening.  Some things North Wales can do well - when the clouds roll back!

Don't laugh please .............

Thursday 21st June

 
Location: Jasmine Thai, Exeter

Mood music:  Younger than I was

Today's memories and soundbites

"Hands up who owns a wood burner ..... and collects their own wood ...... ooohh .... most of you ... that's strange"

"Yes I know why I'm crying it's the smell of the damp walls in the toilet block"

Drink(s)

1. Becks Blue (negligible %)

No laughter.  I was the designated driver and I thought the taste of lager (aka beer) would be better than the taste of Adam's ale.  And you know, it wasn't bad.  Looked like a lager, smelt like one and tasted real too.  Impressed ..... ish.  Should I admit to that?  Maybe I was fevered?

Becks view (from Dr Blug's blog not me) 

Back in the woods again, how happy we can be round a campfire with a kettle and a hunk of bread regardless of the rain.

Wednesday June 20th

Location: The Greyhound Inn. Staple Fitzpaine.

Moodmusic: Places in my life

Today's memories and soundbites

"I opened the door this morning at 4:30 and it was amazing just a cloud of bats, a cloud of bats like I never saw before kamakazee up and down the street"

"No. F*** O**!!"

Drink(s)


1. Badger Brewery Hopping Hare - it's thrice hopped you know (4.4%)
I just LOOOOOVE these Dorset ales introduced to me only last year.

Response

• Emotional: "OMG died and gone to heaven" 

•  Critical: So, so, so summer.  Dancing girls, burlesque, accordians, picnics, sea breezes, honeysuckle.  Light, bright, fruity and hoppy, happy, happy, hoppy, lemons, roses and strawberries with a spiralling whizzing bitter ending.  More please!  Pleeese ..... Shame the journey's end is Dartmoor not the Blackhills and propriety is the order of the moment!

Blackdown Hills view

On the great river meander once more and finding the path.

Tuesday 12th June

Location: The Armoury.  Shrewsbury. 

Mood music:  Who let the dogs out, lets pass out?

Todays memories and soundbites

"Life is just one big Cost Benefit analysis all round really"

"That's all the motorcycle is, a system of concepts worked out in steel."Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Drink(s)

1. Purple Moose Snowdonia Ale (3.6%)

Response

• Emotional: "Hurumph if only North Wales were as light and sunny as this" 

•  Critical: Never really keen on beers local to Snowdonia but I will give always give this one a spin (along with Dark Side of the Moose) having first enjoyed it on Snowdon one memorable camping trip.  Light in colour, strong fruity bouquet and a citrusy bitterness.  Tastes stronger than it is.  A good one for summer, if not summer in North Wales! 

  Shrewsbury view

England woods - an enterprising journey.

Thursday June 7th. 

Location: The Green Man. Norton Disney

Mood music: I think it's going to rain 

Todays memories and soundbites

"Haven't you heard about the last stand of the King and Prince Rupert - Cromwell had a terrible time at Newark - where was you educated?"

"It was all thatched roofs once but then Cromwell raised the village, that's why weve got tiles now"

"The farmers wife bought this pub for her husband when it came up for auction just so he could carry on enjoying his favourite pint"

Drink(s)

1. Black Sheep Ale (4.4%) - for old times sake this one

Response

• Emotional: "Ooooohhhhh that's kept well.  I remember this" 

•  Critical: A slight treacley maltiness with roasted coffee highlights. Such a lovely texture. Mmmmmm.  Oaty lovelyness.

2. Wadworth Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Ale (6%)

Response

• Emotional: "Aaaaaaaaaaagh.  God Bless Bess, we love her one and all here in the King's own country!" 

•  Critical: Uuuuummmmmm what was I saying? Gentle hoppy toffee apples with a rounded bitter finish.  Not bad.  Reminds me of 6X somewhere in the tasting.  Flambouyant but quick to shlozzle stage.  Thank goodness I have been offered a lift home!

Norton Disney view

Lots of significant life events have happened to me recently.  The two most important men in my life broke my heart.  I gave up speaking, eating and drinking for a while whilst I found a new equilibrium.  Now a better day is here and I fancy recording those things I am really enjoying again ..... good food, drink, music, movies, photos and motorbiking.  How to combine all those?  Welcome to my blog ...............