My stocks of homebrew beer are running a bit low but there are still a couple of months before the ambient temperature is likely to get high enough to cause fermentation problems with my heating / no-cooling set up so time to get another batch underway.

For this one, I’ve turned back to the Exe Valley Spring Beer recipe I’ve used several times before (from Graham Wheeler’s Brew Your Own British Real Ale) but, according to my notes, it is the first time I’ve actually brewed it with all the right ingredients (no hop substitutions) and without adding any extras (I’ve topped up with both marjoram and crab apple juices in the past). The result, with just pale malt and a couple of hops, will be a golden and moderate strength brew that should be good for supping at the other end of spring when it is ready. I was also delighted to find that I’d hit the target gravity (1.042) spot on.

It is going in the fermenter this morning with some Four yeast from Crossmyloof (a version of the widely used SO4) and should be ready for bottling in a week or two.

The name of this batch, by the way, is inspired by our neighbour’s magnificent magnolia tree, that is just on the verge of reaching full bloom. It does shed a lot of leaves and spent flowers over our garden throughout the year but its beauty (and its utility for the local bird populations) makes that more than worthwhile and it seems appropriate to celebrate that with a drink!