Growing Beer

It's January, it's freezing cold and I've got half a tonne of rubbish to shift before I can even think about planting or brewing. I explain the project and get some much needed advice on how to sort out the plot and what to consider when I start growing.

It's February, and while the rubbish may be gone, the weeds are not. I struggle with minor construction, discover why you don't ask children for their thoughts and find out what to do about those hops...

It's the start of April, and while life is beginning to pop up across the plot it's not all wanted. I report back on the early hop progress, deal with some unwelcome guests and get some much needed advice on how to grow barley...

It's a hot and tiring start to May, and I'm grateful to have finally got to grips with the soil preparation and barley sowing. The hops look like leaping into life any minute and I head over to the continent to find out how a combination of a social enterprise and a Dutch brewery use rainwater to make beer.

It’s mid-June, and the plot feels as if it’s all starting to come together. The hops are off up the strings like rockets, the barley has spread out to create a rich, if a little short, canopy and now I’ve closed the tap the water butt is filling up nicely. I start the process of collecting samples to be analysed by 2 yeast researchers at the LSI lab at the University of Exeter and experience my first taste of storm damage…

July is now behind me, and I couldn't be happier to see the back of it. The British summer has caused serious problems - problems that cause me to question whether we'll even get to the harvest. As well as looking at how the ingredients are coming along I also pay a visit to a brewery to talk brewing equipment with their resident brewster, in case I get that far...

It's harvest time! We've sort-of survived the summer and now I need to bring in the barley, regardless of how much or how little is still there. I also catch up with beer writer Mark Dredge to get some advice on beer styles and what to consider should I get to that final tasting...

It's the last activity on the allotment as I work out how to judge when the hops are ripe before picking and drying them ahead of the brew. I then catch up with Jake at Crisp Malting to find out how that precious little sack of barley fared being soaked, dried and kilned in the maltings...

It's the start of November and after 11 months of digging, growing and harvesting we've finally arrived at the big day - it's time to combine the barley, hops, water and yeast and get on with the brew! I'm not on my own though, as I'll be going through the process with friend and brewer John Magill of Powderkeg Brewery...

In this, the penultimate episode, we've safely navigated the brew but I've still got to guide the beer through the fermentation, bottling, naming and labelling. I catch up with graphic designer Jim Vine and look back on some astonishing numbers from the year so far...

We're at the end of the year, at the end of the project, and about to find out if it was all worth it. I run through the final few days, announce the name and open up that first bottle with an international beer judge...

I'm back for a second series and this time we will be taking a journey through history as well as beer. 2020 will see us finding out how our earliest counterparts would have made those first brews, look to the local environment to forage and find some of the ingredients and, of course, see if it's possible to do it ourselves. Just like before there will be ups, downs and a fair number of challenges, but I'll be seeking help and advice from a range of experts to see us through. In this episode I'll be explaining the challenge ahead of us and catching up with award-winning beer writer and historian, Martyn Cornell.

This episode we're on the hunt for that earliest of sugar sources - honey. I take a visit to beekeeper and mead-maker Thomas O'Hanlan to find out more about these amazing little insects, the honey they produce and how easy it is to use this when making those basic, early drinks.

This episode we're finding out about that key ingredient - barley. I speak to an archaeologist and brewing duo to find out how beer came to our shores, what is was like and what I need to do to get back to basics for my foraged and home-grown brew.

We're heading out into the countryside as we go on the hunt for the wild plants that we can use to brew our ale in the final episode. We'll find out about herbs, hops and gathered and grown barley, whilst we'll also see if the raw ale test was a success or not.

We're into the final stretch, going through the last couple of processes with the ingredients and equipment, and then into the brew itself. We're in another national lockdown so it's just me this episode as we run through those final steps, stay up late as we make the braggot and then find out if it's all been worth it as we give our (hopefully) fermented drink a taste.

It's the final episode, certainly for this series and I suspect for the Growing Beer journey. We've spent the last 5 episodes delving into our brewing past and exploring  our local environment - it's now time to look to the future and see what the challenges and opportunities are when it comes to sustainability. Alongside this I'll also be musing on my perfect pub in which to enjoy a pint at some point in the future...