My brew

I did eventually make it down for the latter stages of the beer being brewed for my 60th birthday yesterday - but I had to come hot-foot from seeing our visitors off at the airport at 3 pm (their plane wasn't until 6:30 pm!) and, of course, I wasn't really dressed for brewing.

I'm glad I made it along, however and at least observed some of the process in action. Of course, Rob did most of the work, aided and abetted by his father in law, Sandy. The ingredients and recipe were from my suggestions and Rob's interpretation of what I was looking for - a straw coloured, hoppy IPA - similar to some of the American brews I like. Here's the mixture of hops:


It was a lovely afternoon so I was able to sit outside when I received a phone call from our lawyers:



Rob has made up some posters which he is going to erect in the brewery shortly. Here's one about the process:

At the end, I finally got to do something - add the yeast!:

I'll be going back in 7-10 days to help with the bottling. Some will go in cask and Rob has indicated that he would like to launch it as one of his new brands, and he's chosen the name Nechtan, which fits in with his historical theme - check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nechtan_II_of_the_Picts

Anyway, Kelly arrived last night, sans Craig, at about 11 pm, so I'm going home to have lunch with her today. Craig is flying up tomorrow night after making their new home a bit more habitable. Carole, Liz and Luca arrive about 3 pm and Gary will come along after work.

Lastly, happy birthday to Lucy today - talk to you later.