Last Christmas Santa brought me (and my flatmate) a home-brew kit and today I’m pleased to unveil the second (and seasonal) real ale to be produced from the ‘Blaggers Brewery’ in Guildford: ‘Old Bearded Git’.

Our first ale, ‘London Proud’, was an instant success and “surprisingly drinkable” as one friend commented. This time we went for a different recipe resulting in a slightly paler ale with a more bitter and hoppy taste.

The home-brew process is pretty simple once you have all the basic kit. Then all you need is a ready mixed real ale, 1kg of brewing sugar, 20 litres of water and some yeast. Once mixed together and left at room temperature in a sterilised brewing bin, the yeast will happily feast on the sugar and turn the watery mess into 44 pints of ale (more detailed explanation here).

If you’re a fan of real ale, home-brewing is a great way to get involved in the process, and at the end you get the satisfaction of being able to sit down and drink a pint of your very own beer. Once bottled they also make great gifts, like the bottle above.

If you’re interested in brewing your own then there are plenty of resources available, but don’t forget to drink the fruits of your labour responsibly!