Apples and rosehips

Last Saturday Matt and I picked some tasty apples en route to The Museum of English Rural Life (a fascinating little place in Reading town which is packed full of countryside curios). We then joined in their Apple Day celebrations - learning how to press juice, sampling many different varieties of fruit, purchasing local cider, watching apple-and-spoon races and being thoroughly entertained when a friend attempted the longest apple peel competition! Afterwards we headed to Oxford to partake in the mini beer festival Oxtoberfest, where I drank cider. Which I probably would have done anyway, but I used Apple Day as an excuse...



On Tuesday I went for a long walk in the rain and collected about a kilo of rosehips. If nothing goes wrong they will eventually become rosehip wine - my brew is currently glug-glug-glugging away in the kitchen... I think this is my sixth homebrew. I've previously made mayblossom wine, nettle beer and haw wine, as well as a couple from kits. I've had no disasters so far, and the haw wine I made last year was actually very good indeed. I'm hoping the rosehip will turn out well too as the recipe is very similar (it's from Roger Phillips' Wild Food).