Autumn resolution

This morning the weather was glorious, sunny but fresh. More like late September than August. As if the bright, crisp hand of autumn were already reaching out to touch us.

I've always thought of the autumn as Drinking Season. Not quite sure why. It isn't as if I abstain the other three seasons. Perhaps it's a subconscious connection with my first term at university. That started in October and that's when I began drinking beer seriously.

There's a twinge of regret at the end of summer. Regret at the loss of opportunites that, like this year's sun, will never return. Time isn't unlimited. There's my own mortality, for one thing. Am I making good use of my time? How much longer can I put off writing that book? Shouldn't I start now?

I keep telling myself it's because I haven't completed the research. But that's just an excuse. I'll never finish the research, I know that. There will always be more to learn, mysteries to unlock, puzzles to decipher.

Beer, Ale and Malt Liquor
British Beer Styles 1700 to 1973

There. That's a start. The title's a good place to begin. Now the chapter headings.


Introduction

1700-1750 Stitch, Brown Beer and Pale Ale

1750-1780 Porter, Stout and Entire

1780-1815 From brown to pale malt

1815-1850 Porter supreme

1850-1880 Ale comes of age

1880-1914 Adjuncts arrive

1914-1920 A teetotal PM - disaster!

1920-1939 A sort of stability

1939-1949 War and austerity

1950-1973 Stagnation and decline

Appendices:
- Tables of og and fg's for British beers 1700-1973
- Brief history of BP, Whitbread and Truman
- Tax rates


I'll discuss the brewing methods, materials and the characteristics of the beers brewed in the period in question. Each chapter will conclude with a series of typical recipes for the main styles.

Now I just have to come up with the words themselves.

What's my autumn resolution? Stop engaging in arguments with idiots on the interweb and write my book instead. Chapter one is already starting to take shape.