The science of DIY

One of the tasks I enjoy doing at home is cutting grass. Yes, I know that some will think this is sick (in the old sense, not the new) but there is something to be said about the power of a 3.5hp Rover over things green reaching for the sky.

While doing the adult equivalent of pushing a toddler's push cart around the back yard, you have time to think about things that you have not done and should do, and also make amazing revelations.

For example, I have a dog that enjoys a good bone, or at least most of it. The left over bit is duly left in the most succulent and long section of the "lawn". When the high speed blades of a lawn mower propel a splinter of bone, previously hidden, towards the shins of the one pushing the mower, you gain an instant understanding of what it means to fertilize with blood and bone.


This of course has nothing to do with this issue's DIY projects, except that while you are waiting for the lacerations on your shins to clot, is an excellent time for a beer. DIY beer making is a noble and ancient craft, but conventional wisdom says it's like cooking - fresh is best. You can read more about brewing your own in the March issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

However, in looking for some empty bottles for the latest batch, I came across three bottles with rusted caps that I must have bottled 10 years ago. Resisting the common-sense urge to empty the contents down the sink, one of the bottles was put into the fridge and in the interests of science, opened at arms length the next day.

A first tentative sip, and then a second to make sure.

It was fantastic. A 10 year aged Coopers Real Ale as good as anything else in the fridge. So, have a go at making your own, it's fun and cheap (but if you can get someone else to wash the bottles, all the better).

Happy DIY!
Dieter