Home brew memories

[W1 Rover]

Casting my mind back to the 70's it was very much in vogue to make your own beer and wine. It was almost impossible to walk into a branch of Boot's or Timothy Whites and not stumble upon a selection of kits, demijohns, fermentation locks etc. My parents encouraged me to get involved with the home brewing process but I wasn't allowed to consume the end products, apart from a mere sip perhaps.
If you were going to store your fermented beer in glass bottles then heaven forbid that you should over do the final addition of sugar! You could end up with something akin to a glass grenade

I wonder if any other forum members have any memories or experiences of brewing their own?
I've noticed Wilko sell a limited range of Home brew kits, I have to say I'm tempted

[George 1978]

The title reminded me of that On the Buses episode about home brewing. Also, I believe that Farmhouse Kitchen used to have someone on about home brewing as well.

[W1 Rover]

The title reminded me of that On the Buses episode about home brewing. Also, I believe that Farmhouse Kitchen used to have someone on about home brewing as well.

I've just looked that On the Buses episode up. Unsurprisingly it's available on YouTube, I'm going to watch it during the weekend

[George 1978]

There was also a scene in the Bless This House film (not the series) where Sid and Trevor (played by Peter Butterworth in the film) were trying to make either wine or whisky in the garden shed while using a copper hot water tank for distilling the liquid, and it exploded and the shed caught fire.

[George 1978]

Home brewing seemed to be a subject that a lot of 1970s and perhaps 1980s comedies, mostly sitcoms covered - I am sure that The Good Life also did one as well.

[W1 Rover]

I think it's fair to say that the the 70's was quite a creative decade as far as arts and crafty hobbies and pastimes were concerned. As well as home brewing, candle making, oragami, brass rubbing, makrame, bottle gardening were also popular to some extent. I suppose home brew had more comedy potential than makrame for instance, throw in a visit from the vicar and Bob was your uncle.

[Semi42]

Foam brew my uncle called it, was good stuff when I made it back in the 80s and as mentioned before, just the correct amount of sugar during the bottling process.
I had a go at making rice and raisin wine once , took over a year to get to the glass but was potent stuff

[JunkyAdam]

The 70s were indeed a golden era for home brewing. It's so interesting how these traditions carry on through the generations, isn't it? The "glass grenade" part gave me a good chuckle—definitely a lesson many of us learned the hard way.
Two years have passed since your post, and I'm curious, did you ever give the Wilko kits a try? Home brewing has really come a long way since the days of Boot's and Timothy Whites, and there's a plethora of resources available now for anyone looking to dive in or refine their skills.
If you're still interested in home brewing or even just enjoying some excellent wine, you might want to check out https://www.wineonlinestore.co.uk/. They offer a great variety, from kits to actual bottles of wine.

[Richard1978]

My wife was amused to find out my parents used to do their own wine making & brewing in the 1970s before having children.

[George 1978]

I am certain (or TV Cream was certain at least when I used to read their old website circa 2000) that Farmhouse Kitchen used to have the occasional appearance from a home brew expert (for the benefit for those who use to store Tom Caxton's in the Garden Shed).