Aaah, Home Brew! It’s always had a bit of a bad rep, hasn’t it? I remember my own kit, a birthday present from Argos, many years ago. It was bad, really bad.
I was asked to trial the ibrew home beer brewing kit, and I thought “well, why not? Nothing to lose”. Although I am sure I lost a micron’s worth of stomach and throat tissue from my last home brew attempt nearly twenty years ago, but I will do anything in the name of research!
Cheap beer making kits that produce great tasting beer. Available for just £64.99, the ibrew starter kit offers a complete re-usable home brewery with everything you need to begin brewing – including ingredients to make 40 pints in two batches. Re-fills cost £9.99 for 20 pints, which means home brewing costs from just 50p a pint.
So, cheap beer. Never normally bodes well. You get what you pay for.
Not so with ibrew! There are three varieties – a refreshing lager, a hoppy bitter and a rich stout, all of which are ready to drink within a mere 21 days.
I was sent sample bottles of the lager and a bitter brew kit. In the name of testing, I tried to reconstruct an optimum time for drinking lager. With the lager nicely chilled, I cut the grass in the back garden on a scorching day. With me tired, hot and sweating, I had reached that optimum point…I tried the ibrew lager.
This is as good as homebrew is ever going to get. Clear, sharp, crisp lager that you would think had been professionally brewed. It was so nice and I was so hot, I had another. Just to be sure (research) I had one more after that.
There are many commercially brewed lagers that I would leave on the supermarket shelves and go for the ibrew lager instead. It really is that good.
The ibrew pack includes a fermenter, which also doubles as the outer packaging, and a clever dispenser tap unit that fits onto the storage bottles. These bottles are designed to sit neatly on the fridge shelf making it simple for you to pour your draught beer ready chilled. The ibrew kits include the finest UK-grown malt and hops and require the addition of yeast (which is supplied) and water. All ingredients are 100% natural.
As far as ease of use goes, I had no issues setting up the bitter beer making kit. Very simple and concise products and instructions – and I normally have trouble making the bed. It’s brewing away as I write. My little baby.
ibrew kits and refills are available to buy online at http://www.ibrew.co.uk and in numerous retailers nationwide (visit website to find nearest stockist).
The ultimate gift for beer lovers.
Homedics, the market leader in home massage therapy has released some really innovative and useful new massagers.
First up is the HoMedics Hot & Cold Mini Vibration Massager (£19.99)
This homedics compact massager would sit well in any sports bag, ready for use immediately after a hard, punishing session. Incorporating a stylish design, this massager is designed for use with shoulders, legs or back.
Other features include -
• 3 massage settings including: massage, massage with heat and cold massage
• 3 massage heads: acunode, cold (refrigeration required) and heat
• Battery operated
• Available in purple, orange and green
• Available at Boots.com and MenKind
This heat massager is highly recommended.
The HoMedics Shiatsu Neck Massager £49.99
This is where Homedics excel. This neck massager performs at the highest level, offering immediate relief. A State-of-the-art moving massage mechanism is used that feels like the hands of a massage therapist, a very good one!
The Shiatsu massage and soothing heat gently kneads away neck tension and daily stress. The heat also really helps to ease muscle stiffness.
A very impressive addition to the range, Available at Argos, Amazon, Next.
This Homedics Shiatsu massager is as good as the real thing!
With the school holidays here, we all want our kids to get outside and burn off that energy that they seem to have so much off. I have a 4 and 5 year old at home and know that they can get so bored at home. There is only so much a child can do in their garden! So when I got the 3-in-1 Rebounder Trainer Goal, they really couldn’t be happier.
This football goal is very popular, being a top seller year after year. BrightMinds, the stockists of the 3-in-1 Goal state:-
‘This 3-in-1 lightweight, but high impact UPVC football goal is ideal for individual practice or team games. The target practice coaches youngsters to take the most accurate penalties; top right, bottom left and straight at the goalie and the strong rebounder is ideal for kicking a ball against to develop kick strength.’
This is perfect for my boys as they are just really starting to get interested in football (with thanks to the so called World Cup!). The goal rebounder net is an excellent idea, you just kick the ball against the net and it comes right back to you! This is great if there is only one person playing ball. You don’t have to keep going to fetch it back; it does it for you, fantastic. Or, if you fancy a competitive game, take of the net and you have a proper goal. And furthermore, the target practice is just the thing to perfect those ever important penalty shoot outs! The goal is relatively easy to assemble, and doesn’t require any tools what-so-ever. It is also supplied with a football and pump, a good quality net and a storage bag.
I feel that this is a great product, and will guarantee, not hours, but years of fun for any family. I know that as my boys get older; this football goal will grow with them! The kids will enjoy it and the grown-ups will also love it. Trust me; it will be the buy of the year in your household!
Retails at £69.99 from http://www.brightminds.co.uk, go on, buy yours today!
For those looking for a little desktop action at work (décor that is), check out Lighting Direct who offer some fun solar powered boys toys which could suit many professionals. This desktop toy is definitely something you should look at, if like me, you have a hard to buy for man. Lighting Direct will have something for all those who just adore big boy’s toys, and with the added bonus of keeping him occupied for hours playing with his new toy, we couldn’t be happier (could we!).
With many products to choose from, your man will not be disappointed with what he gets. He could possess his very own Solar Powered Wind Turbine! This is more or less a Desk Fan Kit which is a small detailed replica of a full scale wind turbine. The rotors really do work as well! Using the sunshine or even your desk light, the integrated solar panel powers the rotor blades helping keeping you that little bit cooler in the office.
Lighting Direct say:- “Made from laser cut Perspex for easy assembly the Solar Powered Perspex Desk Fan Kit is a great demonstration of how efficiently modern solar cells work even when the only available light is from a desk light.”
You can assemble this Solar Powered Wind Turbine in less than a minute (well, if I can, anyone else can!). Just simply snap together the base, pillar and rotor units and you will have instant action. It really is as simple as that.
So, if you want to impress your colleagues with this desktop toy, and let them know that you are all about everything ‘Eco’, then this is on gift you may have to buy. The Solar Powered Wind Turbine is priced at £23.99.
Please do check out the site for the other solar powered toys available. Maybe your man will want the whole series! Others available are the Wooden Windmill (£18.99), the Watermill (£18.99), or another favourite of mine; the Solar Powered Helicopter which comes ready made (£23.99).
Prepare for something Unique, something very clever and something that is a whole lot of fun.
Paper Jamz have unleashed their electric guitar to great responses - me included - and this revolutionary instrument looks set to feature on a lot of Christmas lists. Yes, July and I start talking Xmas! You have to believe me though, these guitars are going to be huge!
The guitars feature circuit-embedded paper (the touch electronics is actually in the paper surface of the guitar), allowing Paper Jamz to create ultra-thin instruments that pack a serious sound. Don’t be mistaken by the paper part, this is no flimsy product, it’s a tough little cookie.
A fully playable electric guitar with over 30 major, minor, sharp and flat chords that’s as little as 3mm thick in its bulk. There are five designs in the range and each features a built-in speaker to pump out the tunes and 3 built-in licensed rock hits to jam along to (such as Smoke on the Water, Born to be Wild, You really Got Me, Blitzkreig Bop and more) should you wish to have a backing band!
Yep, I rocked out to the Kinks….A very liberating experience.
Paper Jamz drums (£24.99) are launching next month and feature the same paper-thin technology to create a fully playable 10 piece drum kit. There are cymbals, bass drums, high-hats – everything you need to be soloing but without taking up an entire room! Paper jamz have also just revealed a range of mini amps (£15) which again look just like the real thing only smaller. These will launch at the same time as the drums. Expect a review on these asap!
The beauty about these products is the price versus performance. At £24.99, You get the closest thing to an Electric guitar without shelling out for a real (much more expensive) model. The guitar is instantly playable, and is as educational as it is fun. The question is, who would not enjoy one of these guitars? The Paper Jamz guitar is available now from all good toy retailers.
Check out the Paper Jamz Guitar in action - click HERE
If this is to be the standard of new Christmas gifts to market this year, we are in for treats galore!
