These things come to try us....

Bacchus certainly knows how to twist our melons....

Our first brew is so close yet we'll have to wait another few frustrating days... well, when you build your own brewery things have a habit of unexpectedly packing up on you!

First, the good news; our gas burners are installed and working!  Lighting them at present involves lying on the floor and using all 3 hands to hold a lighting flame, press a button and operate a lever whilst trying to peer at a pilot light through a slitty hole which wouldn't be out of place in the Maginot line... sounds difficult? It is, but until we get our "access hatch" made that's how it will be done!  But they're in and working, that's the main thing after weeks of anguish and frustration which (almost) made us wish we'd gone with electric elements.

The bad news is that, during the first "hot run" with boiling water, our wort pump decided to blow it's main seal and spray Gazza with 95c water which was greatly appreciated, I can tell you; how I laughed as steaming water soaked through my trousers...  The offending contraption will hopefully be fixed earlier this week but, with 20/20 hindsight, we should have got the pumps serviced before use as they'd been sat in a shed for 5 years which looks to have degraded the seals.  Hey ho.

Ah well, better to lose a few gallons of water than it to happen on our first brewday and lose a 9 of wort!

So, with yeast, malt and hops at the ready we're poised and ready to make some great beer!

At last, gas burners under the copper!!!

The offending pump, yesterday.

Testing the FV attemperation modules.