Basher Posted September 4, 2020 Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 On 9/3/2020 at 8:24 PM, Ron Hixon said: @basher I lived in London up until 20 years ago, I now live one hour west of Bristol in a little village looking out into what is called the Somerset LevelsSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk That’s beautiful country Ron. I have a strong connection with The Forest of Dean.Turned 18 at the Lydney rugby club.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Bill Posted September 4, 2020 Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 @basher Yes it is a very beautiful part of the world. Here is the view from our Orchard to our village 12th Century Church with our four Labradors wandering around. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted September 4, 2020 Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 Gosh @Ron Hixon, our cats would love that freedom! Lovely view. I reckon you are about 2.5 hours from where I live near Portsmouth. Happy to introduce you to a real live KK - either my old ones on their own or my new ones as well when they arrive. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Bill Posted September 4, 2020 Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 On 9/4/2020 at 9:12 AM, tekobo said: Gosh @Ron Hixon, our cats would love that freedom! Lovely view. I reckon you are about 2.5 hours from where I live near Portsmouth. Happy to introduce you to a real live KK - either my old ones on their own or my new ones as well when they arrive. Expand @tekoboI used to work in Portsmouth a lot as I worked for IBM and they were based out of North Harbour for many years - I know it well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Bill Posted September 4, 2020 Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 On 9/4/2020 at 9:12 AM, tekobo said: Gosh @Ron Hixon, our cats would love that freedom! Lovely view. I reckon you are about 2.5 hours from where I live near Portsmouth. Happy to introduce you to a real live KK - either my old ones on their own or my new ones as well when they arrive. Expand @tekobo Also, I should have said thank you for the kind offer, which I may well take you up on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted September 4, 2020 Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 On 9/4/2020 at 9:14 AM, Ron Hixon said: @tekoboI used to work in Portsmouth a lot as I worked for IBM and they were based out of North Harbour for many years - I know it well Expand Small world! You would be very welcome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted September 4, 2020 Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 I could easily settle in to scrumpy country.Ron have you made your own cider?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Bill Posted September 5, 2020 Report Share Posted September 5, 2020 On 9/4/2020 at 6:36 PM, Basher said: I could easily settle in to scrumpy country.Ron have you made your own cider?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I made some 10 years ago, bought a press and what is called a scratter (a hand driven machine to chip the cider apples as a mush cannot extract the juice) and a day’s effort later produced 5 gallons of cider - so after all the effort I could bought this for £10 - do have all the kit and never did it again Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 It's like many things - beer making, bread making - it's not about saving money so much as it is about control of the ingredients and the satisfaction of making it yourself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Bill Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 On 9/6/2020 at 4:22 PM, tony b said: It's like many things - beer making, bread making - it's not about saving money so much as it is about control of the ingredients and the satisfaction of making it yourself. Expand @tony bTo be fair, I agree, a big reason for not making cider again is that I live in Somerset, UK, where I am surrounded by small volume cider makers who make brilliant ciders. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 Understand that completely. I started out brewing beer before the "craft beer" wave, when the selection of "good beers" was very limited, especially where I live. And, what was available was very expensive. But, even now when I can buy all sorts of amazing beers, both at the store and at local breweries, I still brew my own, just not as much as I used to. Now, it's more about experimentation than trying to clone a commercial beer. New hops and yeasts coming out all the time. I have a new, small brewing system coming that will be more tailored to experimenting with than my current system, which is geared toward making "standard size" batches of 5 gallons. I've enjoyed exploring ciders and meads, as well. Sourcing different ingredients and seeing what I can come up with? A few "winners" and a lot of so-so batches. Similar to concocting your own BBQ rubs. Lots of good commercial ones out there, but nice to tailor your own sometimes. YMMV 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
