Let's All Do A Sun Dance

Let's All Do A Sun Dance - Read our Email Sent 13th Feb 2025

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Stout Month ¦ Product Of The Week ¦ Oak

February is International Stout Month - What Stout will you be brewing?

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- Let's All Do A Sun Dance -

Well February is turning out to be a little gloomy here in Somerset, so can we all take a minute to go outside and do a little sun dance, Just jump about a bit and spin around a few times while shouting at the sky for sunshine please.  The neighbours will just think you have had too much homebrew, but you never know, it might just work...
February is Stout Month 
A whole month for stout - YES!!!

If you have only ever tried Guinness, then you'll be surprised to learn there are a lot more stouts out there and they are great for having fun with. If you like a stout as a stout, then we have some great kits, but if you love the stouts infused with delicious flavours, then we have some amazing ideas for you.

Take a Stout kit and add extra flavours, you could add:
Cocoa powder to add lots of chocolate flavours
Lactose to sweeten and add mouthfeel
Coffee ground or instant for that extra caffeine hit
Bananas to make a really fruity stout
Chocolate chip cookies to add cookies and chocolate flavours
Marshmallows to add body, sweetness and a creaminess
Bourbon or Whisky to give an extra kick
Dark Rum to give that Jamaican feel

The ideas are endless and why not even combine some of the idea above to make your own unique stout..
February is Stout Month
Browse our range of Stout Kits and Get Brewing!
Product Of The Week 
This Weeks Product Of The Week Festival's Woodland Citra Beer Kit. A session IPA that is a clone of Oakham's Citra Session IPA.  A malty base, a citrus hoppiness and a bitter finish to get the mouth watering.
And this week we are giving you £5 OFF per kit. Just use the code POTW at the checkout to get the discount.

If you want to know about our Product Of The Week sooner, we announce it on our YouTube Channel Every Monday, so subscribe now.
Product Of The Week Festival Woodlands Citra Beer Kit
Product Of The Week Festival Woodlands Citra Beer Kit
Oak 
Using oak can add lots of flavours and mouthfeel and aromas to whatever you are brewing, think vanilla, coconut, cloves, cinnamon, caramel, and even bitterness.
You would usually associate oak with wines like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, but you can use oak in most wines to add that vanilla oaky aromas and the tannins to help make a smooth wine.
But you can also use them in homemade wines like parsnip and even blackberry to make a really decadent wine.
But what if you aren't a wine maker, well using oak in cider can tone down the scrumpy acidity and really help bring out the delicious apple aromas.
And what about beer? Well, brewers have been using oak barrels for hundreds of years, so why not add some oak to your beer.  A aged imperial stout takes to oak amazingly well, and if you add some spirit too, then wow, you can create an amazing imperial stout.  But even IPAs love being aged in oak to enhance the vanilla, spice and caramel notes.

Now if you don't happen to have an oak barrel hanging around, then you can cheat and use oak chips or oak spirals. A very easy way to add oak to all your brews.  Want your oak more toasty, then toast it!  Use it to age some whiskey and then throw it in a stout or even a red wine.  Mmmmm.
Add Oak to your homebrew
Add Some Oak
This Months Recipe
Ginger Cider
A really refreshing drink with the scrumpyness of cider married to the spicy heat of ginger, great chilled, but also great warmed and drank like a mulled cider.
It's easy to make and we've even made a quick vid to show how easy it is.
Making a Ginger Cider
Lets Get Brewing!
To make 23 litres of Ginger Cider you will need...
Ingredients
1 Pouch Simply Ginger Beer
1 tin John Bull Country Cider
Wine Sweetener
3 litres boiling water
Cold tap water to top upto 23 litres
Equipment:
Brewing Bucket
Siphon
Steriliser
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Bottles
Jug.
 
Method:
1 - Empty the contents of both kits into a fermenter
2 - Pour on 3 litres of Boiling water and stir
3 - Top up to 23 litres with cold tap water.
4 - Add the nutrient and yeast from the John Bull kit (don't use the Simply yeast)
5 - Put in a warm place for 7-14 days to allow the fermentation to finish
6 - Rack off the sediment and add sweetener to taste, approx 50ml wine sweetener.
7 - Dissolve 150g sugar in 100ml Boiling water and add to ginger cider
8 - Bottle and put in warm place for 1-2 weeks for secondary fermentation
9 - Transfer bottles somewhere cool to clear for 2-6 weeks
10 - Pop open a bottle and enjoy, chilled or mulled.

Watch the full method on our YouTube channel
Making Ginger Cider - Watch the Quick Video
Making Ginger Cider - Watch The Full Video
That’s all from us for now.
We'll be bringing you some new recipes and videos for beer and wine in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled.
In the meantime, if you have any suggestions or questions about brewing, feel free to get in touch.

Until next time - Happy Brewing
Stay Safe.
Brew!
& Drink Responsibly.

Happy Brewing!

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