About Neil

I started out like every other brewer trying to get into the hobby, reading, attempting, drinking, sometimes failing but mainly enjoying myself.

Over time I developed my skills and became more knowledgeable up until the point where knocking up a batch of beer at home is second nature.

I developed my skills enough, in fact, to become a professional brewer. I now get to brew for a wider audience than I ever imagined and it all started from making up batches on the kitchen stove.

Entries by Neil

What Is Melomel & How To Make It

Mead or Honey wine has the most archaic and names for the varies styles and sub-styles of any drink around. Melomel is among those names that don’t make much sense when you hear it and maybe that is why such a delicious drink doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. What Is Melomel? Melomel is a […]

Has My Beer Finished Fermentation In 2 – 3 Days?

Fermentation can seem like a mysterious process, especially when you are new to brewing. A common question I see online and asked via Home Brew Answers is around the speed and longevity of a fermentation. Beer or wine that finishes vigorous fermentation and bubbling in just a couple of days can seem like something hasn’t […]

Carrot Wine Recipe – Light & Delicate Root Wine

I know vegetable wines have a severe image problem but when you try this carrot wine you will change your mind. When you think about it some vegetables can be intensely sweet. Beetroot, parsnip, carrots are vegetables that contain a fair amount of sugar and this is great for making wine. Carrots make a wine […]

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How To Pitch Yeast

When you have been homebrewing for a while you become accustomed to a particular way of doing things. Pitching yeast, for example, is a simple process but there might be lots of different ways one home brewer might differ from another. The phrase pitch yeast is slightly ambiguous and if you are making your first […]

Cranberry Wine Recipe – Bright And Fruity

Cranberries are tart, sour and rarely eaten raw, however, fresh cranberries when in season or even frozen cranberries make great wine.  Cranberry Wine Year Round Cranberries in my part of the world are most associated with Christmas in the form of cranberry sauce, a sweet jelly. We also have cranberry juice which is sweetened to […]

A Guide To Winemaking Chemicals & Additives

Winemaking has a simplicity in which you take a few ingredients, grapes or fruit, sugar, water and yeast and produce a drink with great complexity. To get the most from these ingredients we need to help them along, this help comes from winemaking additives and chemicals. This aspect of making wine is not as simple […]