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I live in Cardiff but I’m originally from Lancashire. I am retired and started brewing when my children bought me a BrewDog 1 gallon brew-in-a-bag kit just after lockdown in 2020. The results were successful so I started looking at other kits and equipment, and came across the Dark Farm (MASHED) kits and eventually tried them all.
It’s been a busy couple of months since our last issue. Opening MASHED Brewhouse and taking part in the Aberystwyth Beer Festival has been both challenging and incredibly rewarding.
There’s not much to hide behind when you’re brewing a lager. So when you find a really epic one, it’s a thing of beauty.
Enter Aberystwyth town centre over Trefechan bridge and you’ll spot an old oast house - a hint at both the brewing history of the area and the modern day draw for beer lovers, brewers and the brewing industry.
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The UKs beer scene is thriving, with festivals celebrating everything from traditional cask ales to cutting-edge craft brews. Whether you’re after a cozy local tasting or a massive beer extravaganza, theres something for every enthusiast.
This issue has become something of a shrine to IPAs and Aberystwyth - and rightly so! What a truly amazing town and community we’ve found ourselves in: a thriving, bubbling scene that extends far beyond beer. There’s the sea, the mountains, and a bold, colourful mix of people who give this place its heartbeat. If you haven’t yet been, let this serve as your invitation - there’s never been a better time to visit.
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Think you can brew the best Ale, German Beer, Dark Beer or ‘Weird ’n Wonderful’ brew? Compete in the 2025 MASHED Homebrew Micro Tournaments to win the glory, the homebrewer’s cup(s) and a £50 homebrewing voucher from MASHED!
The UK’s beer scene is thriving, with festivals celebrating everything from traditional cask ales to cutting-edge craft brews. Whether you’re after a cozy local tasting or a massive beer extravaganza, there’s something for every enthusiast.
Introducing Mango Madness yeast, an innovative and cutting-edge strain selected to revolutionise the brewing process with its unique aromatic profile, thermotolerant properties and ability to accelerate fermentation.
After a much-needed escape to Thailand, the vibrant flavours and relaxing moments fuelled by cool lager, piña coladas and an abundance of mangos have left a lasting impression.
Find homebrewing events and beer festivals in the UK. From CAMRA real ale festivals and national homebrewing competitions to smaller, local beer events and homebrew club meet-ups.
I hope you had a wonderful festive holiday and enjoyed a homebrew or two. I know I say this every year, but where does the time go?! 2024 was a busy one for us, but we do feel like we’ve made a lot progress over the past year.
Do you have a beer festival bucket list? They are a great way to discover new beers and meet up with your beer buddies. They are also an awesome excuse to explore new places, and can be an excellent focal point to explore UK and overseas destinations. Obviously one of the beer festival heavyweights is Oktoberfest, which we covered in issue 9 (read it online at www.mashed.beer), but there are many other amazing contenders. We asked our community for their best beer fest experiences. Here are some of their recommendations.
What a weekend we had at Aber Beer Festival at the end of August. MASHED Community Brewery managed to brew over 180L of beer, and sold out! With the help of our amazing guest amateur brewers, many of whom had zero brewing experience, we created 6 epic beers. Four of these were casked (our first time) and all were created using our Brew Tank and UniTank.
Q: I’m having difficulty in hitting my OGs. Can you help?
Great to have David & Susan visit us at MASHED Community Brewery today. Back in the spring they planted one of our Nugget hops as part of our community adopt-a-hop scheme. Looky look, they have had a harvest in their first year! 🥳🻠I’ve been brewing a green hop bitter with them this afternoon on the Dark Farm Brew Tank.
THANK YOU to everyone who joined us at MASHED over the weekend during Aber Beer Fest. We had an amazing time - what a great vibe you all created.
MASHED Community Brewery is taking part in Aber Beer Festival on the 29th - 31st August 2024. We have invited the people of Aberystwyth to come in and help brew a selection of beers and we are very excited with what they have come up with.
Were you there? Did you enter? No? Yohanna Best fills you in on what you missed.
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Our 20th edition, wow… 5 years in publication, nearly 10,000 copies of MASHED Magazine printed! What a journey from our humble beginnings, living off grid(ish) in a 4 acre field learning to grow hops, to running a community brewery in Aberystwyth. A true life of adventure.
Well done for making it through another year. We can’t thank you enough for your support. It’s always a pleasure working with you, this year especially. It’s been a tough one for all, with costs of living soaring, and world politics a mess. But at least we have comfort in our homebrew!
It’s said that a glass of beer can turn any person into a philosopher. Our recent homebrew club social illustrates this perfectly. An evening which witnessed conversation traverse topics from country wines to luxury watches and guitar scams, to dating woes, and tripping up our future selves by lacking method in the present.
In our household, Gareth is the undisputed king of anything pastry. Pies, sausage rolls, wellingtons, he is the man to go to. All of which make excellent accompaniments to beer. But recently I’ve thrown my hat into the ring, and brought an easy-to-make, yet smart and outstandingly good snack to the drinking table. Enter the Danish speciality, smørrebrød.
Wonder what it’s like brewing on equipment similar to the professionals, but don’t have the budget to get your own?
Win a top prize. Gain full bragging rights. Be hailed champion and crowned the heavyweight of homebrew! It’s time to roll up your sleeves and show us what you’ve got.
What are your current homebrew challenges? We put the question to our awesome homebrew community on Facebook and Instagram (@darkfarmhops ). Here are the remedies prescribed by our very own Dr Brew.
It seems that, since we started Dark Farm Homebrewing back in 2018, the world has constantly been on the verge of collapse. Whether it’s a pandemic, climate emergency, financial mess, or some nutter with a weiner complex. But life continues, and therefore beer is needed. In this spirit, we have taken the leap and found ourselves some bricks and mortar, aptly named MASHED HQ.
The date of the first MASHED! Homebrew tournament is within sight. All 32 places have been filled, and we’re really excited to taste the brews they have created on April 27th. Take a look at some of the entries. Who do you reckon will win the trophy?
Our new UniTank has landed! Forged from the same fires as the Brew Tank
