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

   

[victoria jones]

sounds good. I will try and remember and all that.
xxxxx

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Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:58:27 +0100
Subject: Forage and brew - Sunday 16th September
From: betht...@googlemail.com
To: brighton...@googlegroups.com; brighton-br...@googlegroups.com; caroline...@hotmail.com

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[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

[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

On 13 September 2012 16:47, Paul Chalmers <paulrc...@googlemail.com> wrote:

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   

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

[Paul Chalmers]

Hi Beth,

How did making the blackberry go? Good job for organising it, would like to be involved in the future, particularly as you live so close! I might email round and organise one soon too.

I'm going to try a braggot in a week or two which is a cross between beer and mead, so I like the idea of joining up as fully paid up member of the Brewing Square and being able to borrow e.g. that cooling mechanism once in a while. 

See you soon! We should organise a booze up! 

Paul 

[Beth Tilston]

Hi Paul, 

The wine-making went really well.  It's in the fermenter now.  Hedvig and Will came over on Tuesday and we did that and made some rose-hip syrup.  We also did a bit more work on the website (definitely not finished yet though) and Will wrote some blog posts.  

I've never heard of a braggot.  I am very intrigued to see what it tastes like.  Yes, we're happy to have you in the brewing square, which will then (according to Will) become a brewing pentagon (but I reckon that makes it a circle...).

I'll email you when the first ferment of the wine is over, and you can come along with a demi-john and take away your share.  

Beth 

  

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