Fermentation Part II

Not very long ago, I started making our first ever batch of home made vino mucho collapso. That particular experiment is still very much ongoing; the single demijohn of gently fermenting deep red liquid is sitting, out of direct light in as close to a constant temperature as we can manage, and doing its stuff with a hubbly-bubbly air-lock keeping a lid on things as we speak.

With a little bit of luck we'll be ready to "rack it off" (that's "rack", thank you Mr Ross).

Meanwhile, phase two of the Millbrooker Towers carry-on-drinking-without-paying-very-much campaign is very much in operation.

In the same big white bucket in which the blackberry wine began its life, there now resides a seething morass of fermenting raisins and wheat. In time (and not too much time, we hope) this will turn into Cumberland Brandy.

Once again, in the absence of a tight fitting lid for the fermentation bucket (something that all the manuals recommend), Mrs The Millbrooker's collection of old and no-longer-usable-for-their-original-purpose tights has been pressed into service to hold a jerry-rigged sheet of cling film in place. After the first fermentation in the bucket is completed, the micro-mesh will come in handy for straining the liquid into the demijohns in which it'll finish its transformation from mushy goo into delicious and inexpensive port substitute.I'm told that Cumberland Brandy can be ready to drink pretty quickly - so this batch might even be on offer to the brave few around Christmas time.

Chin chin.