Forage and brew - Sunday 16th September

[Beth Tilston]

Hello Brighton foragers and Brighton brewers!

Just an update about the forage and brew (wine-making) on Sunday 16th September. 

WHAT

It's berry time, and I suggest this is what we focus on for our brew/s.  There are lots of places around Brighton where you can find wilding apples, but we don't have the necessary equipment to turn these to cider, so I suggest that we focus on berries such as blackberries, haws, elderberries, plums, sloes, even mulberries and make wine, or spirit infusions (like sloe gin).     

WHERE

Good question, any suggestions?  We might have to be a bit peripatetic and visit a few different sites.  In which case, bicycles would be a good idea.   

TIME

I suggest we forage from 11am - 2pm, have a packed lunch while we are out and then get back to mine at 2pm for brewing.  

HOW

It makes sense if we are foraging collectively to also brew collectively.  I am expecting that we will find a variety of different things, so I would suggest making up to three different brews.  If we keep it to this, we can keep it to the equipment that I have, and the space that I have got to store the buckets for the first fermentation.  I would suggest that once the first fermentation is over, people bring their own demi-john along to take their share home.  We're really keen to get people who haven't done this much/before involved, so if you don't have a demi-john and an airlock, we can tell you where to get one.

So, let me know if you'd like to come so that I can work out how many people will fit in my (fairly small) house.  I can get yeast and sugar and y'all can pay me back on the day.  

Beth 

x

   

[ed spencer]

Good effort,

I saw some blackberry's near me the other day and thought I'd give it a stab wine wise but then found it takes months to brew and as I might be moving soon I didn't want to commit to it. Afraid of commitment! who knew?

 

Anyway I'm not adverse to pre picking some and freezing them until the 16th if that would give us a head start.

 

thoughts O great leader?

[Beth Tilston]

I just went on an exploratory forage around Whitehawk hill and Sheepcote valley and it is *loaded* with goodies, so I would suggest that our forage goes ahead there.  It's close to my house in Hanover, so we will be able to get back reasonably quickly to do the brewing. 

I found:  

• Blackberries galore
• Haws
• Rosehips
• Golden plums 
• Elderberries (though not in profusion)
• Damsons (a veritable thicket)
• Pears

I am sure there are other things there too.  We'll need a ladder for the Damsons and pears but I can drive my boyfriend's car up there with one in and leave it parked close to the damson and pear tree, so that shouldn't be a problem.

What I suggest making:

• Blackberry wine (we can make it straight or bung in some elderberries if we find some)
• Damson wine
• Rosehip syrup 
• Canned (jarred) pears in red wine (I have never 'canned' [that's the American word for it] stuff before and am keen to try.  There's a pretty clear video on how to do it here.  If other people are interested in trying, I can pick up some Kilner jars and a few other bits (jar lifter etc).  

Beth 

x

[Tracy Hind]

Sounds great, sorry i can't make the 16th I'd have loved to have
joined you. Happy foraging and brewing

Tracy x

[vera zakharov]

Ah sounds lovely! At the mo I'm not sure if I'll be here or or in Portsmouth that day. I've been meaning to start on autumn brewing and have gotten my buckets ready. Any chance anyone is free on Fridays for a forage and brew? I usually have the day off.

In any case I'll stay tuned for the 16th as I'm an enthusiastic maybe.

Vera

Sent from my HTC

----- Reply message -----
From: "Tracy Hind" <trac...@gmail.com>
To: <brighton-br...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Forage and brew - Sunday 16th September

[Paul Chalmers]

What time are we meeting do you know? And where? I live on Holland Street.

 

Sounds great. I have some plums on the go from a pick in Whitehawk last week. 

 

Paul   

--
Cardiff School of City and Regional Planning (CPLAN) - Research Student
Associate Member, SOAS Food Studies Centre

[Beth Tilston]

Right, details for Sunday's forage are:

Meet at my house at 11am.  My house is at 63 Toronto Terrace in Hanover.  Yes, up that big hill...   

You need to be careful when looking for 63 Toronto Terrace, as there are (helpfully) two other 63s on my street.  My house is not a terraced house.  You need to go to the middle of the street and then through an archway and you will see a white cottagey-looking house.  If you are in the right place you'll see piles of timber (my housemate has a compulsive skip-diving habit) and some lock ups (garages) with red doors.  

If you're bringing any stuff with you (i.e. brewing stuff), you can leave it at mine and then we'll go and forage.  I might try and drive the car with a ladder in it up to near Sheepcote valley (where there are - or were - a lot of damsons at above head height.

We can then come back to mine and brew up.  Please bring sugar.  I am sure we'll end up with more than we need, but as it's the second largest constituent of wine and jam, it can't hurt to have lots...

Looking forward to it!

Beth x