Right. So a small package arrives. Obviously not a bill, tax or beer duty return, so I open it. Inside are a couple of samples of a specialist beer yeast that I want to trial a new brew on. Nothing remarkable or comment worthy so far, but I find my face broadening into a look that is normally reserved for close encounters with Aston Martins and saying ‘Ooh, lovely!’
I think I’m turning into a lab geek. This is not good.
At this juncture, I should point out that Mart’s response to this was: ‘Turninginto a lab geek?’. Admittedly there…
Filed under: Diary Entries by owen on Tuesday, April 5, 2011
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Not only is Christmas over and done with, but we’re also past the most depressing day of the year (according to… someone on a large grant, in all likelihood). So, it’s about time to face up to the fact that it’s 2011 and it’s not going away.
The festive season is always the busiest time of the year for the booze trade and this year was no exception. Even if the weather did its absolute best to derail us. We like to think we’re a fairly hardy lot - winter surfing (Mart), hill walking (me) - but this December really…
Filed under: Diary Entries, Uncategorized by owen on Sunday, January 23, 2011
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Well, our fifth and final beer of the year is now out.
Ember has made its triumphant return after lying fallow for 6 months. And if you’ve missed it, just think how we feel. Not being able to get your favourite seasonal beer is frustrating, but doubly so when it’s a self imposed drought and you have the means and ability to make it if you WANT to…Don’t talk to me about willpower…
Anyway, it’s back now and this year I’m going to make sure there’s a secret brewer’s stash to get me through the summer months. It’s tasting as…
Filed under: Diary Entries, Uncategorized by owen on Monday, November 8, 2010
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If you’re wondering about the title, there’s a scene in Empire Strikes Back when Han spectacularly fails to get the Millennium Falcon and most of the main cast out of bother, and, when blamed, plaintively whines: ‘It’s not my fault!’
I’d like to echo that sentiment now - the lack of posts has not been (for once) my lack of imagination, drive or discipline, but a problem with accessing the site. A problem that has now been sorted and, look, here I am on a Sunday afternoon with all the Untapped nonsense that you could possibly never want to know.…
Filed under: Diary Entries, Uncategorized by owen on Sunday, October 3, 2010
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So; having noticed that the last time I posted a blog was at the beginning of June; most of you must, by now, think that I’m some sort of Ent or closely related to a glacier , such is my lack of speed.
Now, in my defence, we have been monstrously busy lately. The brewery is pretty much running at full tilt, with the chillers (and the brewer, come to think of it) close to meltdown. Having a summer for the first time in about three years is lovely, of course, but does make brewing just a little unpleasant.The best…
Filed under: Diary Entries, Uncategorized by admin on Monday, July 26, 2010
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I know that despite global turmoil, environmental disaster in the US, and Ferdinand’s knee going completely confit de canard, what you’ve really been worrying about in the last week is: ‘What new beer have Untapped been making?’
This may say more about my slightly obsessive, egomaniacal traits than anything else, but hey, no one’s perfect and I’m a hell of a cook, so it’s not all bad.
Well, I can now reveal that the lucky style of choice is…Stout. This may seem a little incongruous in the middle of summer, but by the time we see the results of the…
Filed under: Diary Entries, Uncategorized by owen on Sunday, June 6, 2010
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Yes, I’ve finally got around to posting a new page on the world’s most temporally challenged blog (by that I mean it’s seriously late, not flipping back and forth through history like Lost. Talking of which, does anyone have any idea how they’re going to wrap that up in just two more episodes? ). Life in the brewery has been fairly busy recently – U.P.A. has gone down an absolute storm, threatening Sundown’s crown as our top seller, and we’ve just about managed to keep up with demand. Our website is in the last throes of a redesign, and we’ve…
Filed under: Diary Entries by owen on Tuesday, June 1, 2010
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‘Of course we still have to come up with a name…’
This, it turns out, was one of those statements that was a massive underestimation of the task at hand. A bit like
‘Rebuild Iraq? Sure, how hard can it be?’
or
‘Well, we made it to the South Pole. Now we just have to get home…’
Ok, so maybe comparing naming a new beer with a national rebirth or extreme exploration is overstating the case (just a tad), but at times it doesn’t feel like it. This is roughly how the process works:
1 - Choose name
2 -…
Filed under: Diary Entries, Uncategorized by owen on Friday, March 26, 2010
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Well, It’s been minus something dreadful outside, I’ve got on more layers than a neurotic onion and our couriers have started to use huskies, so obviously we’re thinking about summer beer. I must admit, trying to picture the perfect bevvy for a gloriously hot day doesn’t come naturally when you’re hacking the ice off the lock of your malt container, but we donned our most hibiscus covered shirts and gave it a go.
The recipe that has come out of this painful thinking (I won’t use the terms ‘blue sky’ or ‘imagineer’ on the basis that I still have some self respect)…
Filed under: Diary Entries, Uncategorized by owen on Friday, January 22, 2010
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The latest discussion point between Mart and myself is whether you can actually have an office Christmas do with only 2 people, or whether that’s only 2 blokes going out for a pint. There has been a suggestion that Santa hats would make the difference, but I believe that, at best, that this suggestion should be treated with withering disdain.
As you may have guessed, I’m not all that big a fan of the run up to Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the actual event as much as anyone. Any occasion that involves champagne at 10.30 am is a…
Filed under: Diary Entries, Uncategorized by owen on Wednesday, December 9, 2009
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