Warm the damn jar!
I did a bit of brewing as a grad' student and generally it went well. After a while, we decided to branch out from beer to some more ambitious concoctions including a rather tasty spiced mead.

The recipe we had involved boiling the honey to sterilise it, then topping up the jar with boiling water. However, being a complete idiot, I didn't think of warming the jar before pouring in the boilig honey.

Four pounds of boiling, spice-infused honey has an interesting effect on a glass demijohn - it cracks the whole of the base off into a beautiful glass frisbee and, of course, spills vast quantities of sticky spicy goodness all over the kitchen floor! I don't know whether you have ever tried to mop up several pounds of hot honey but it's not an easy task. The kitchen smelled lovely for weeks, but you felt that if you ever stopped moving you might find yourself permanently bonded to the floor.
( Ugi , it's a game of give and cake, Tue 16 Dec 2014, 16:50, 3 replies)

This is a grand bit of anecdoting, so it is.

( .Yeti. El amor en los tiempos del cólera, Tue 16 Dec 2014, 17:30, closed)

If only he'd posted while the question was still open.

( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 16 Dec 2014, 23:28, closed)

tis a fine yarn ye be telling

( cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Wed 17 Dec 2014, 4:28, closed)