How homebrew has changed

We have been homebrew retail specialists since 1976 so as you can imagine we’ve seen some significant changes over the years. Our retail shop used to be called Harris Homebrew in the early 1980s.

Products and Communication channels were very different

In the early days home brewers had access to only limited ingredients. There were no pelletised hops and leaf hops were packed in loose plastic bags with a header card. Any information was provided through a specialist magazine called Amateur Winemaker.

Later on, a free newspaper called Homebrew Suppler was freely distributed through retail shops. We could not have imagined back then how the craft brewing market would develop and the impact that the internet would have. Nevertheless, the one constant that we have witnessed is the passion that homebrewers have for the hobby and their continued desire to experiment.

Homebrew trends were different too

Products were different and trends in consumption and kit styles bore little resemblance to the market that we enjoy in modern homebrewing. Beer kits were initially supplied in 24-pint standard form (the principal manufacturers were Edme, Unican, and Muntons) and only later migrated to the 40-pint standard that prevails today. The wine kit market looked different too. The overwhelming majority of kits sold were in 1-gallon format, making six bottles. There were far fewer 40-pint kits and relatively few winemakers made them.

There were also a lot of specialist one-gallon kits making sweet and dry Vermouths, Port, and Sherry kits, and a wide range of country fruit wine kits. There were even Champagne kits but these have all but disappeared now.

We operated a brew school where we taught winemakers how to make five different gallons of wine from a single 5-gallon basic wine kit. This involved splitting the bulk into 5 demijohns prior to fermentation. We experimented by adding Vermouth powders to one gallon, and Elderflowers to another to make a Liebfraumilch (German wines were all the rage in those days!). It was all good fun. Most winemakers made both country wines and kit wines and there were lots of winemaking and brewing circles that met frequently to support the hobby.

The desire to experiment has always been there

We also experimented with beer kits and many brewers adapted kits to produce seasonal beers, especially around Christmas. A favourite twist was to take a 5-gallon bitter kit and add a 16-pint Barley Wine kit into it to boost the flavour and strength. We also advocated switching sugar types to adjust the flavour and style of beer. In his best-selling book “Making Beers Like Those You Buy” the late Dave Lines suggested using Golden Syrup instead of sugar to brew a Lager kit in the style of Spanish San Miguel. The addition of Black Treacle or Molasses into Mild Ale kits also changed the flavours.

These were the days before products such as Pure Brew and Beer Enhancer were available to ensure consistent professional results. There was no Still Spirits equipment available to make liqueurs and spirits. Instead, we bought 140 proof Polish Spirit and concocted recipes to copy Advocaat, Baileys, and Tia Maria.

The experiments that were made back then and the successes that were made (often by accident) undoubtedly paved the way for the higher-quality products and innovations that we enjoy now.

When we open our Tap Room in Lower Gornal you may like to pop in and peruse some of the memorabilia and old Amateur Winemaker magazines that we will showcase. We would be only too happy to share stories and recreate some of those old recipes if you are interested. In the meantime here are a couple of beer kit adaptations you might like to try as a blast from the past!

Try some retro homebrew recipes

Spanish Style lager kit

• One 40-pint Harris Lager Kit.
• 1kg Golden Syrup.
• One measure of Pure Brew
• Starbrite Finings

Stand the opened can in a pan of hot water for 5 minutes to make the extract more runny. Then pour into a pre-sanitised 5-gallon fermenter and add the Golden Syrup. Add 4 litres of boiling water (rinse the contents of the cans with some of this boiling water and add to the fermenter). Stir well to dissolve then top up to 40 pints (22.5litres) with cold tap water. Allow the liquid (known as wort) to cool below 23 degrees then add the sachet of yeast supplied with the kit, together with a measure of Pure Brew. tir well for 1-2 minutes with a paddle to aerate the wort. Secure the lid fitted with an airlock filled with water) then leave in a warm place (19-23C) to ferment. Fermentation should take around 7-10 days. Follow the kit instructions to complete the process. Add Starbrite beer finings towards the end of the fermentation to ensure a crisp clear lager.

Winter ale (Old Peculier Style)

• One 40-pint Harris Mild Kit.
• One Dark Rock Beer Enhancer (Dark).
• 500g Molasses Treacle
• Starbrite Finings

Stand the opened can in a pan of hot water for 5 minutes to make the extract more runny. Then pour into a pre-sanitised 5-gallon fermenter and add the Molasses and Beer Enhancer. Add 4 litres of boiling water (rinse the contents of the cans with some of this boiling water and add to the fermenter). Stir well to dissolve then top up to 40 pints (22.5litres) with cold tap water. Allow the liquid (known as wort) to cool below 23 degrees then add the sachet of yeast supplied with the kit, together with the measure of Pure Brew supplied with the Beer Enhancer. Stir well for 1-2 minutes with a paddle to aerate the wort. Secure the lid fitted with an airlock filled with water) then leave in a warm place (19-23C) to ferment. Fermentation should take around 7-10 days. Follow the kit instructions to complete the process. Add Starbrite beer finings towards the end of the fermentation to ensure a clear final ale.

You may also like to try this old traditional Yuletide Ale. A few pints of this will guarantee you miss the King’s speech on Christmas day. Give the ale at least two months to mature before tasting. The longer you can leave it the better it will be.