The gurdian has this piece on home brew, I really have to get my shed in gear and get my shedbeer set up.

If someone says they brew their own beer in their garage, what crosses your mind? If you drew a caricature would it involve a bearded, bulging stereotype, sitting in a shed with buckets and bottles and a speech bubble declaring it only costs tuppence a pint? Well, home-brewing has seen big changes in recent years, changes which are having an effect on the beers we see and drink in pubs and bars.

The people behind BrewDog started at home. As founder James Watt says, “there’s no better way to bedazzle friends than with an IPA that you brewed just for them.” For James Farran, now at Summer Wine Brewery, it was the enthusiastic feedback he received from friends that made him decide to go professional. James Kemp at Thornbridge Brewery brewed at home for 20 years before making the step up, and many new independent British breweries have made the move from dwelling house to brewhouse, including Kernel and Redemption, two recently opened London breweries.

I am not sure this this will get past security but very handy when you forgot your own bottle opener, maybe.

Because you can quit anytime you want

* Black t-shirt with a bottle opening robot attached
* Stolen prototype from the year 2998
* For responsible meatbags aged 21+

anyway if are still drunk and think it’s a great idea then you can buy them here

Amazon today I think starting selling grocery’s but more importantly they are selling Bottled beer & Cider

some great ones as well, including great Welsh Beers & Cider from Otley Gwynt-y-Ddraig, Breconshire Brewery,Kingstone Brewery , Vale of Glamorgan Brewery , Tomos Watkins and RCH Brewery to name a few.

the Otley ones are being sold by their offshoot REALBEERBOX and also offer 10 & 20 Litre boxes of beer as well, great to see them selling on a big selling wossname as Amazon

good luck to the otley’s and other local suppliers i hope the delivery price is the same if you buy in bulk as the 20 Litre of 08 has my name on it

Myself and the Mrs went to the Maltsters in Llandaff last week.

It’s one of the Cardiff brewery Brains, modern pubs which they have changed a lot over the last year from the no nonsense pub I remember from my youth (ok 20s) to a open plan pub that serves good food, and for the better, maybe its a middle age thing, but sometimes you do want to have a good pint of ale and a good meal, They say they try and source a lot of the ingredients locally “Changing daily, our menu offers great, honest pub food where quality rules over fanciness!”

As it was an early tea, I had a couple of pints of the excellent Brains Up and Over which is well worth getting in bottles if you can not get to a Brains Pub to have it on tap.

anyway down to the food.

The Mrs had asparagus, chicken and date terrine to start, which was very moist and served on a bit of slate as the style is nowadays.

I did not have a starter as I was keeping room for the pudding.

For main course she has Poached salmon, rocket and dill salad, which was massive and the salmon was dressed with creme fraiche, it was very tasty.

I had a welsh rip eye steak and great homemade chips (looked overcooked but were not, not fat not thin but very moorish) served with a poncy little jar of bearnaise sauce.

It’s strange that I have tend to have steak when I go out as there were some great things on the every changing menu, Iam a good cook myself but rarely cook steak at home, maybe its my chef training in my youth that I like to see how good a place is, by the quality of the steak, and I was not disappointed its was a lovely cut and a big chunk and good to perfection (Medium rare).

For pudding we shared a Basil and raspberry creme brulee, that is another dish I tend to favour , it can from range from the wonderful to the stodgy, well not quite being the latter it was the only disappointed of the meal, it was just over powered by the basil taste, and even after a Greek lager later in the evening I was still getting basil aftertaste.

anyway if you are in Llandaff or in Cardiff then pop over it’s a great pub

photo credit: gerryahern

From various places

The healthy properties of beer when consumed in moderation are not well understood, according to a new report.

The drink is a rich source of vitamins, fibre, minerals and antioxidants and has a relatively low calorific value compared with many other alcoholic beverages, the study says.

The report, commissioned by The Beer Academy, which aims to help people enjoy beer sensibly, found that when drunk in moderation, beer is one of the healthiest alcoholic drinks available.

A spokeswoman said: “Beer contains vitamins which can help you to maintain a well-balanced healthy diet, fibre to keep you regular, readily absorbed antioxidants and minerals such as silicon which may help to lower your risk of osteoporosis.”

A survey found that while 68% of people consider beer to be Britain’s national drink, some 10% wrongly believe that beer contains fat, and 13% incorrectly believe that beer is made from chemicals rather than malted barley and hops.

The report also explores the psychological and sociability benefits of people enjoying a pint in their local pub – yet pubs are closing at a rate of 39 a week.

It argues that the pub is at the heart of every community and a place where people go to enjoy company and find out local news and information.

Pete Brown, an award-winning author, said: “Still, we persist in the myth that somehow beer is an inferior drink to foreign imports such as wine. From Government receptions through to weddings and business occasions, wine rather than beer is served.

“It has been fashionable to look down on our own national drink in favour of overseas imports. But to do that is to turn our backs on our great British success story and our own heritage, and miss out on the myriad tastes and complexities that beer can offer.”

:: ICM interviewed a random sample of 2,004 adults aged 18 and over online between February 26 and 28 this year.

I have a few of these books and they are all great..

Big Hint, Iam a dad and I like beer, so would expect some of these books, but my son always thinks out of the shed and gets me something odd, which is nice, but sometimes I would love a beer book, or maybe some beer when he’s 18

It’s too late for this year, but next year is good!

You can preorder the book on every beer lovers “beer table”

or get this years copy, which is a great guide and I know people who use it to plan their beer visits all the time

This is great looking book with super pictures and great food matching.

Read my review of 500 beers here

If you are into homebrew then this one will give you some recipes for classic brews.

Saw this launched at the Great Welsh Beer & Cider festival & snapped up a copy some great pictures

Not got this, but love my bottled beers nearly as much as cask.

Had this a few years ago, and drank about 50 of them, so hopefully I don’t die soon.

Anyway if you are lucky to get any of these then, escape to the shed with a beer and relax with a good book.

Had a great time today – here are some photos.

view the rest over at this linky

the reason I say in colour sort of is due to the harsh light in the CIA, of course a bad workman always blames his tools:)

After last years festival I hope to fit in some time this week to go, probably from Thursday Lunchtime (half day off work anyone?) and a half on the Saturday as Iam doing the photomarathon with my Son, and hope to get some more purple moose as it was great last year.

Some great Beers on the list from Wales and beyond, more info on the Cardiff Festival here

There are quite a few breweries I have not tried, so not sure which to try with my lack of time, it may be ArfurD and the old glassworks boys recommendations.

If it’s on then I will be having a half of Bullmastiff Welsh Black as its a custom of mine to have one of bob & pauls excellent brews every Welsh festival… so hopefully one of their brews will be available on the thursday.

I got a bottle of Rodenbach Vintage 2007 beer last Christmas from Rob, still not opened it… maybe next year!

But the last few days I have seen quite a few people finding my post when they search for Rodenbach Vintage via Google but doing the search myself what I thought was interesting is that a Belgium company is selling it on ebay for £59.50!!!

did not think you could sell beer on ebay, but what they are selling is the limited edition bottle

Of course Iam not going to sell mine.. but it’s madness!

some other odd some not so odd things people find this beer/non shed blog for are

pistachio and almond cookies
suzi perry gadget show legs
middle age biker pubs in camden
how much for a pint of beer in cardiff
how to start a beer festival

any one got any tips for bottles of beer to lay down for the future?

I saw this in my UK local supermarket the other week so picked up a few bottles, and had another one this evening its a great thirst quencher and I only had the “Original flavor” but in the states they apparently do lots.

In my youth I was know to drink these odd made up drinks, but thankfully found ale and that was the last of that, but I do like tea both iced and hot, so thought why not give it a go.

The website does not give away much about how it’s made.

“Since 2001, our Tea brewmasters (yes, their job is as cool as it
sounds) have been committed to brewing a hard iced tea that
not only tastes like real iced tea but also delivers an
incredibly smooth and refreshing drinking experience. ”

Real iced tea made from a blend of
select teas and real lemon

• 5% Alcohol By Volume

If you like sweet tea and 5% alcohol then worth a go.