
Bring your timber in and we'll cut it to length while you grab a coffee at the pub. While you're here, drop off your flyscreen doors and windows for a re-screen. Pet-tough screen options too if the dog or cat has been busy.


Feed the soil first. Compost or blood and bone before the first big rain, and the worms do the rest. Lift summer bulbs like dahlias and gladioli into a cool dry box. Mulch your beds three centimetres deep but keep the layer clear of trunks and stems. Get garlic and broad beans in the ground while the soil is still warm. Wait until leaf-drop before pruning your deciduous fruit trees. Any of those, pop in and we'll talk you through what you need.

Sanitation, twice. Anything that touches the wort gets a no-rinse sanitiser. Temperature. Hold fermentation between 18 and 20 degrees for ales and a temperature controller pays for itself inside two batches. Patience. Most kits say seven days but a fortnight tastes better. Hydrometer at the start, hydrometer at the end, and the same reading two days running means it's done.


