My guess would be that it is much easier to report on some metric and compare that to other metrics compared to content critique.

Or that industry cares more about metrics about profitability than anything else.

Not OP but also a Swede. I mainly use two stores as I can get them to weigh up all my specialty malts in custom weights. If I want 2kg of one, .5kg of another and .25kg of a third they do it. For an extra fee. They are MaltMagnus and BryggNisse. Humlegårdens Ekolager is the "fancy" store I browse from time to time, seldom purchase.

I have a brick-and-mortar store "nearby" but out of the way that I should buy more from. But I so seldom pass by.

Great writeup!

A few comments/additions.

a) if you are hesitant at brewing a whopping 10L with all the mess that entails (my first was horrendous) go for a smaller batch. 5L is great for experimentation. In fact i often brew smaller batches when I want to try something out. But I find it is almost the same amount of work brewing 10L as 5L.

b) mashing can cheaply be done in an extra fermentation bucket you have drilled a whole bunch of holes in. Or any other large container that fits inside your pot. 1.5-2mm large holes I have in mine. This way when mashing is done lautering can be done by just lifting the bucket out of the pot and put a grate between it and the pot. Now it can sit there and just drain off. And do insulate the mash. Old foam sleeping mat, blanket or whatever all works well.

c) yes you can use baker's yeast. Have done it and it gives a very fruity-yeasty taste and smell. Does ferment much faster, 2-54 days is often enough. Some traditional beers (the Finnish Sahti for example) is made with baker's yeast.

d) before bottling I highly recommend you transfer the beer from the fermentation bucket to another vessel because of all the gunk at the bottom. I have a bucket with a tap that connects to the tapper for this purpose and only this purpose. But you can just use the pot you mashed/boiled it in.

dd) a word about oxygen. It destroys beer. The more oxygen the finished beer is exposed to the shorter its shelf life. Doesn't matter much if you drink it within a month or two after bottling but beyond that oxidization will start to be noticeable. May not matter much for the first batch but beyond that I highly recommend investing in a bottling setup. Rough calculations put me at 50€ for this (bucket 16L, tap, tapper, siphon, 1m silicon tube).

e) on cooling. If you boil and while boiling put on a good lid you have a pretty sanitary environment for the wort to cool in. I have seen some use plastic cans they pour the hot wort in and seal with a screw cap. If you have one laying around that could be an option.

f) yes you can use plastic bottles for bottling. But do be careful as they cannot handle as high pressures as glass ones. Great for green (unaged) beers, kombucha, kvass etc. Just be ready to release the pressure in the every now and then. Look up kombucha bomb" for what can happen.

I think that may be all my comments. Again. Great writeup.

Europe's free speech is far more free than the US

But not Europes FREEZEPEACH(tm)! And freezepeach is all that matters

Yes.

Socks in sandals is an almost keelhaulable offense.

99% of what I drink is Ceylon and my supplier is my local middle eastern stores. Pick up pound of loose leaves every now and then, brand varies.

Actually not. They quickly dried, took about 5-10 minutes while walking. Sure a little bit slippery at first but somehow that soon turned into even better (sticky) grip.

Played in a creek. Didn't take shoes off. Was awesome, can recommend.

Not as much reading but I'm taking much of my cues regarding mythology from Red over at Overly Sarcastic Productions (https://www.youtube.com/@OverlySarcasticProductions).

Two related videos
Wrath of Demeter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhhANZKerug
Hades and Persephone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac5ksZTvZN8

What I especially like about their content is that there is plenty of source critique. Things are seldom presented as "this is the exact truth". Mentioned in the video about Hades and Persephone is "we don't know the original myth" which I find telling of much of their mythology work.

Demeter is up there.

Her baby father (Zeus), aka the big douchebag, married away her daughter Persephone to his brother Hades. Patriarchy does what patriarchy does. The brothers were aware neither Persephone nor Demeter would approve of the deal so Hades had to kidnap Persephone and force the deal upon her.

So Persephone were abducted and her mother were beyond herself with worry about her absence. Once Demeter learnt about the deal she threw the hissy fit that all hissy fits are measured against. Plants stopped growing, livestock stopped giving birth and the world soon was in a cataclysmic state. Behold a mother's justified wrath and tremble.

Douchebag-in-chief was forced to negotiate but wouldn't anull the whole deal. Only that Persephone would spend half her time with her mother (spring, summer) and the other half with the husband forced upon her (autumn, winter).

For me about 10€. At work I have free "coffee" and at home I alternate coffee and tea. For the coffee I've found a nice 500g bag of whole brand for 8€ that is my go to.

"Antique" 2€ grinder bought well over a decade ago and french pressing. No expensive equipment.

I've got a new camping hammock that I want to go out and try out. With a bit of rain during the week the fire danger will drop because a little coze fire is awesome. Not sure how much it will drop but at least it will drop enough for the camping stove. I need my fresh coffee damn you.

And yes we have had a fire ban since last week. Probably lifted now after a good rainy day.

Don't have your mouth write checks your ass can't cover

Or

Under promise while over deliver

To those whose lives flicker like a candle in the wind elves are royal and in their societies live free of want.

I spent thirteen years growing bonsai, fifteen pining over Loravindrel. That brought me into my eight year long emo-goth period which produced poetry I've since fed to the flames. For sixteen seasons after that I meditaed under a plum tree and swept the eight hundred and seventy two dozen and five stars. Six years I practiced the letter œ to master the uhm. Fifty seven years I spent in the arms of Madeleine and our oldest grandchild is about your age. And the last three seasons I've been chasing the south-western gale that robbed her from me decades too early.

Swede yes. Fil is our national variant of soured milk. Runnier than yoghurt but still creamy, about same fat content as milk.

By the wiki article it sounds very similar. Milk plus micro culture equals deciciousness.

Imma fight y'all.

No milk. Use fil (sour milk), yoghurt or something similar. Put cereal on top, no mixing. The cereal touching the "liquid" get soggy while the rest stays crisp giving the best texture heterogeneity. Berries are awesome, frozen a super convenient alternative. If using frozen mix these with dairy before adding cereal.

Your fermented dairy of choice brings a nice crispy and fresh acidity to the meal. And if it (still) have an active bacterial culture it is super good for your gut.

Muesli is best cereal.

Honey only approved sweetener.

Why is mercury ranked second despite having the same number of medals (zero) as the unranked ones? Who did Mercury pay off for this "mistake" to happen? Is big Mercury subtly trying to influence our perception of them?