The first thing that struck me was their bright orange kegs, which were new to me. There was me thinking that kegs only come in stainless steel. I would expect they need to be strong and robust, and that they need to be food grade quality i.e. no scratches that bacteria can hide in and spoil your product. Note to self - what material is that made of? I would guess high density polypropylene. Have a look at this manufacturer in Worcestershire, UK.
The next thing that struck me was the simplicity of the equipment. I got the impression that this was a scaled up version of a home brewery. No frills. A simplified process of batching.
Aside from add-on temperature control I didn't see any sign of automation in place. The temperature control comprised a glycol-based chilling unit linked to the fermenters with poly-tubing.
Even the bottling is done by hand, with the bottling equipment conveniently stored on top of a Mash Tun until the next weekly bottling run.
Stock is stacked at the reception and payment area to remind you what this business is about - craft beer, passion, innovation, improvisation - an entrepreneur's dream.
The tasting was excellent - small little clear transparent plastic 'glasses', which enabled the taster to see the colour and appreciate the clarity. The aroma of the beer told me that the temperature for tasting was just right. The beers are branded with an elegant label displaying a stately steed on a uniform colour background that corresponds to the type of beer. The product line is numbered and the label contains a well balanced amount of information about the beer flavour and content. Following the tasting, this was the selection that I liked and bought:
The beers were packaged in boxes with simple markings and perfectly designed to hold 8 bottles nice and snuggly.
My favourite was No. 9, a 'lush golden beer with a crisp, hoppy flavour', and 4.3 per cent alcohol by volume. The back of the label describes the taste as being 'crisp and refreshing and brewed using UK Cascade hops lending fresh, citrus flavours'.
One of the things I don't like about commercial beers is the amount of fizz introduced artificially by injecting carbon dioxide into the beer under pressure. The way craft brewers get some fizz into their beer is to place some yeast and a bit of extra sugar in the bottle before it is capped so that a secondary fermentation can take place in the closed bottle (creating pressure) and dissolving the CO2 produced during the fermentation. The price one pays for this is that the bottle contains some yeast sediment, and can make the beer slightly cloudy when agitated during the handling or pouring process.
All in all this visit was a delightful experience and I will be enjoying their beer for a few weeks to come.
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