Turns out Jane Austen wasn’t just a great writer; she was a great home brewer, too. Here’s her recipe for 'spruce' beer. It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen knew how to write the hell out of a book. Less universally acknowledged is the fact that Jane Austen also knew how to brew the hell out of a beer. Born into a comfortable farming family of “enthusiastic” craft brewers, Jane would have been into the suds from a young age. Untreated water was often unsafe to drink in Regency-era England, so boiled, brewed, fermented light (or ‘small’, as it was known) beer came to th ..read more

Want to be that person in your group who can still do useful things like chop wood? And want to know the scientifically proved best-way to do it? We have the guide. There’s no ignoring the fact that classic pioneering skills like chopping wood with the precision of a lumberjack are fading from the modern person’s repertoire. But if you feel like going against the grain and having a crack, Modern Farmer have put together a handy, scientifically researched guide to help you get into the swing of things. Their first tip: don’t use an axe. Axes are for chopping down trees, and though they can ..read more

Heading out tonight? Need to brush up on your dance moves? Let James Brown show you how to get down (right on, right on), in this short video. Heading out tonight? Need to brush up on your dance moves? Let James Brown show you how to get down (right on, right on), in this short video. Watch as the Godfather of Soul teaches you how to do the Boogaloo (“one of the hardest dances in the world”, apparently). Marvel as he breaks the Funky Chicken down into a series of easy-to-mimic waddles. Laugh as he suggests that the Mashed Potato is something you might actually want to do on the dance floor ..read more

Don’t want to blow the bank, but still impress your friends and family? These DIY presents are sure to go straight to the pool room.  Do you walk around markets thinking: “Yep, I could make that.” But then you just – well, don’t? We’ve curated a list of some of our top DIY gift ideas to help you follow through and do that thing you say you’ll do every Christmas but then run out of time for: make your own presents.  Stout and Coffee Soap Beer - you’d bathe in it if you could… turns out you can. These are two of our all-time top ingredients. Might need to stick a “not for consumption” la ..read more

Mike Basich’s off-grid, hand-made mountain cabin (complete with its own chairlift) is giving us a serious case of house envy. Mike Basich is just like any other guy. Except for the fact that he’s a professional snowboarder who basically pioneered the act of filming yourself while boarding well before before GoPros were invented, and who now lives in a spectacular off-the-grid fantasy lodge that would make any half-adventurous person go spare with envy. But yeah, other than that he’s pretty normal. Actually, there’s also the fact that Mike’s cabin, called Area-241, is nestled on a 40-acre pr ..read more

First, drink the beer. Then follow these handy instructions.According to these instructions, making your own camp stove is as easy as cutting up a beer can and putting it back together in a different order. It’s sort of like a low-fi Transformer that alternates between getting you drunk and fed. You’ll need an empty beer can (don’t know where you’ll get one of those), a knife and a pair of scissors to make the stove, and some fuel and matches for getting it going. The full how-to comes from Left Foot Right Foot, who make smart looking walking guides and outdoor tips for the casual camper. Th ..read more

Along with a lot of knots you’ll never need but are nice to look at anyway.Without knots, our lives unravel. Just a few weeks ago, a bow tie knot issue made Neil Gaiman late to the London premiere of Amazon miniseries Good Omens. Neither Neil nor his wife, his publicist, his agent – nor even the staff at the hotel he was staying at – knew how to tie a bow tie, and Neil refused to attend without one. Eventually, crisis was averted, with a barber helpfully intervening, and the universe returned to bow-tie-bearing order. For next time, there’s always Animated Knots, a nifty website with easy-to ..read more

The only thing complicated about this mouth-watering pie? The flavour. In this post, Island Menu's Samuel Shelley shows us how to make a simple dish that looks nice and fancy on a plate.After trying Jansson's temptation (basically a potato bake with anchovies through it) in Sweden, the dish has made regular dinner appearances at our place. Ever since, I've wanted to make a shepherd's style pie with Jansson’s crust. And this week I finally got around to it. Here's how. Ingredients: 700g lamb cut into large chucks (I used the sinewy part of the leg) 6 small onions, chopped A bunch of baby ..read more

Dislike being cold? Looking for something to do with your hands? Good news: the University of Southampton has uploaded over 300 gloriously daggy knitting books to the internet.Unless you’re an incredibly dedicated hygge enthusiast (or one of those strange, hardy types that enjoy being cold all the time), winter can begin to feel like a bit of an endurance test. The obvious solution is to rug up. But an even better one is to start knitting your own winter woollens – not only will you be warmed by your output, but the act of knitting will give you something to do while you’re trapped indoors ..read more