Lockdown Brewing

When the pubs closed in March 2020, I found myself thinking about homebrewing again.

It had been more than fourteen years since my last brew. My pressure barrels had long since disappeared, my fermenting bucket was gone, and most of my brewing equipment had either been thrown away or lost over the years. Even so, the idea of brewing my own beer once again was becoming increasingly appealing.

With no pub visits to look forward to and plenty of time on my hands, lockdown seemed like the perfect opportunity to return to the hobby.

Unfortunately, I wasn't the only person with that idea.

As soon as I started looking online for brewing equipment, I discovered that homebrewing was experiencing a lockdown boom. Fermenting buckets, pressure barrels, beer kits and brewing supplies were either completely out of stock or selling at prices I simply wasn't prepared to pay.

Week after week I checked websites, hoping stock would return, but every time I looked the situation was the same. Either the equipment wasn't available or the prices had risen to levels that made little sense.

Eventually, I gave up.

For the rest of 2020 I continued buying beer through supermarket deliveries and occasionally treated myself to the increasingly popular 5-litre mini-kegs, including favourites such as Adnams Ghost Ship, Wychwood Hobgoblin and Sharp's Doom Bar.

As I drank them, I began thinking ahead. Rather than investing in expensive pressure barrels, I could simply reuse the empty mini-kegs and bottles for my own beer. The plan was straightforward: all I really needed was a fermenting bucket.

The trouble was, I still couldn't find one.

So once again, the idea of returning to homebrewing was put on hold.

An Unexpected Opportunity

In July 2021, shortly before my local pub temporarily closed for refurbishment, a friend mentioned that her ex-partner had some old brewing equipment. She was in the process of moving house and asked whether I would like it before it was thrown away.

After spending months unable to find reasonably priced equipment, the chance to acquire a complete brewing setup for free was too good to refuse.

It wasn't until 22nd July 2021 that I was able to collect everything, but when I finally did, I was amazed by how much there was. The collection included two fermenting buckets, three pressure barrels and a large number of bottles.

At first glance, however, it didn't exactly look like a brewing treasure trove.

Everything was filthy.

The fermenting buckets were covered in years of grime, the bottles needed thorough cleaning, and there was still beer sitting inside some of the pressure barrels. Judging by the condition of the equipment, that beer had probably been there for several years. Needless to say, I wasn't tempted to try it.

Fortunately, the fermenting buckets cleaned up surprisingly well. The bottles took a little longer but were straightforward enough. The real challenge was the pressure barrels. Years of dried residue, ageing seals and general neglect had left them in poor condition. Cleaning them became a project in itself and took far more time and effort than I had expected.

The barrels still needed replacement seals, and I initially planned to replace the caps as well. However, as I started adding up the cost of refurbishing them, I began to question whether I actually wanted to use pressure barrels at all.

After all, my original plan had been to store beer in bottles and mini-kegs.

In the end, I decided not to use the barrels. The buckets and bottles would be enough to get me brewing again.

With the equipment finally cleaned and ready, all that remained was to choose a beer kit and begin.

For the first time in more than fourteen years, homebrewing was once again a realistic possibility.

The long break that had started with a failed strong beer experiment was finally coming to an end. It would be November 2021 before I actually brewed that first batch, but after fourteen years away from the hobby, a few more months hardly mattered.

Homebrewing was back.