Trouble brewing

Homebrewing - a fascinating, worthy and productive hobby or merely redolent of boozy desperation?
Tim Hayward home brew
Tim and his winemaking gear. Photograph: Graeme Robertson

I'm usually game for trying out pretty much any kind of culinary adventure, from smoking my own bacon to butchering my own sheep, but there's one little bit of kitchen DIY that's stayed off the agenda. Homebrewing has always seemed so resolutely naff, so hopelessly redolent of either sandal wearing loons in homespun smocks singing songs about crop failure or prisoners knocking up hooch in a bin liner. It seemed so … well, desperate.

But when G2 decided it might have appeal in times of financial belt-tightening I finally decided to give it a go. You can find out how I got on here.

First surprise was the variety of stuff available. I was able to find kits for London Bitter, Anchor Steam beer and, almost unbelievably, Barolo, pretty much covering my repertoire of favourites. The other surprise was how easy the process has become with modern packaging technology replacing the bottles, carboys, demi-johns and barrels I remember from my dodgy Uncle Rick's attempts in 1978. These days all you need is water, space and patience to produce something that's really quite drinkable.

For me though homebrewing falls short of the fantasy of unlimited cheap booze. It's a bit of a curate's egg; far more drinkable than some of the rubbish you might get over the counter (at least according to Monday night's frightening Dispatches programme) but still inclined to turn your teeth blue and blow the roof off.

I'm sure there's fantastic stuff being brewed out there - after all some of our finest beers are brewed in small batches using techniques well within the abilities of a cook - but I'm afraid magic didn't happen in my shed.

Am I being unfair here? What are your experiences of homebrewing?