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Cover, 1
Now incorporating What’s Brewing
BEER
VERSION
AUTUMN 2021
ISSUE FIFTY-THREE | AUTUMN 2021
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£3.95
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PRODUCTION
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YOUR
LOCAL
camra.org.uk
A lifeline to the community
BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN 91CACJUL21106.pgs 06.07.2021 14:33
Contents, 1
BEER | inside
contents
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Regulars
Page 38
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05 Welcome
The drinking public’s
passion for nation’s pubs
remains undimmed
15 Roger Protz
When a bottle of Carlsberg lager
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sent a shiver down the spine
28 History
Johnny Homer recounts when a
brewery helped end an epidemic
36 Food
A warm jacket is essential as Susan
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Nowak explores eating outdoors
41 Your shout
Carry out Camping memories
44 Volunteering
Mark Lovatt joins the team reviving
a brewhouse and old brewing recipes
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48 Get quizzic-ale
There’s no stopping you if you
know who brews No Brakes IPA
49 Bottled beer
The North East provides a clutch You’ll now find
What’s Brewing
of canny cans for Des de Moor stories at the back of
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50 Last orders Passionate your copy of BEER,
Kitchen brewing disasters revealed by about pubs on page 51. Find
craft beer fan Gorgon City’s Kye Gibbon Page 06 more online at
wb.camra.org.uk
Features Page 34
30 Fantasy screen shots
Comedian James Dowdeswell takes
06 Passion for pubs a lockdown tour of fictional pubs
How the pandemic reignited 34 Learn and discover
people’s passion for their pubs Jeff Evans reports on how classic beer
12 Craft beer pioneer recreation started with a big bang
Thornbridge – from garden shed to 38 Budvar buddies
state-of-the-art brewery in 15 years The pairing of classic Czech beer
16 Pushing boundaries and artisinal English cheese is hard
Adrian Tierney-Jones asks what is beer to resist, as Tim Hampson discovers
and are there limits on its ingredients? 42 Heritage
20 Beer and boats Quirky highlights from CAMRA’s final
COVER ILLUSTRATION: JEM MILTON
Hollie Stephens on the twin attractions regional guide – Real Heritage Pubs of the
of beer gardens and towpaths South East – are Paul Ainsworth’s focus
24 Real ale hero 46 Debate
TV presenter Adam Henson loves real Table service has been forced on
ale and growing the barley to make it pubs, but should it be here to stay?
Please check gov.uk/coronavirus for the latest advice on social distancing and other restrictions
AUTUMN 2021 BEER 03
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Ed's letter, 1
From the editor
VERSION
In many parts of the country the church has become
the place where people go occasionally for a wedding,
baptism or a funeral. The local high street, once
REPRO OP
busy with shoppers supporting local businesses, is
in sharp decline. But the disappearance of a pub from
a community represents something more profound
about the fading of the community.
Pubs matter, they really do. As Will Hawkes recounts
in this issue’s lead feature. He finds that pubs have
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rarely had it harder than in the past year. The good news is that across the
UK, there are many communities determined to support their local.
The past 18 months will have hit the finances of many pubs extremely hard.
Some will find it difficult to survive. However, what is indisputable is the fact
that pubs are the beating hearts of many communities from the rural idyll to
urban chic. So, it is hardly surprising that community groups have sprung up
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to rescue their locals. In many parts of the country, the lockdown has reignited GUEST
the community spirit that centres on many pubs. CONTRIBUTORS
Pubs are part of our cultural landscape. They are part of our very being. Freelance writer Will
The writer Hilaire Belloc, writing in the last century, said: “When you have Hawkes reports on
lost your inns, drown your empty selves, for you will have lost the last of the campaigners who
are unbowed in their
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England.” For England, please also read Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
determination to save
It is painful to see this great institution that is the pub potentially local pubs from closure.
disappearing. Pubs are a vital and vibrant part of our culture. As we start to
get back to pubs, we must remember that they will help us overcome the social Hollie Stephens brings
isolation and cultural confusion of our age. A good pub is multifaceted. It has together her two
passions: canalside
to be. A successful pub is one that moves with the times. To stay the same as
pubs and great beers.
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the traditional place people like to go out to, the pub has to modernise and
change. That’s what makes them so exciting. BEER’s food and pub
correspondent Susan
l BEER is changing, and from this issue it includes eight extra pages
Novak discovers the
dedicated to carrying What’s Brewing stories. In May, What’s Brewing joy of eating outside,
news transferred to a dedicated online platform. Visit wb.camra.org.uk whatever the weather.
Tim Hampson
BEER
Editor: Tim Hampson (tim.hampson@camra.org.uk) BEER is the quarterly magazine of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). Campaign For
Sub-editors: Kim Adams and Rica Dearman CAMRA campaigns for real ale, real pubs and consumer rights. It is an Real Ale Limited,
Published by: CAMRA Ltd independent, voluntary organisation with more than 180,000 members and
230 Hatfield Road,
Produced on behalf of CAMRA by: has been described as the most successful consumer group in Europe. BEER
is available online to all CAMRA members. To receive a hard-copy version St Albans, Herts
Think, 20 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JW
every three months, members need to opt in. Our campaigning newspaper, AL1 4LW
Tel: 020 3771 7200 What’s Brewing, is now online at wb.camra.org.uk. To join CAMRA, help Tel: 01727 867201
Design: Matthew Ball preserve Britain’s brewing and pub industry, get BEER and What’s Brewing
Advertising: John Galpin (tel 07508 036835; or email updates – and a host of other membership benefits – visit camra.org.uk
johngalpinmedia@gmail.com)
Client engagement director: CAMRA is a company limited by guarantee, run at a national level by an
Clare Harris elected, unpaid board of directors (the National Executive) and at regional
level by its regional directors, both backed by a full-time professional staff.
Printed by: CAMRA promotes good-quality real ale and pubs, as well as acting as the
Walstead Bicester, Chaucer consumer’s champion in relation to the UK and European beer and drinks
Business Park, Launton Road, industry. It aims to: 1. Protect and improve consumer rights 2. Promote
quality, choice and value for money 3. Support the public house as a focus of
Bicester OX26 4QZ.
community life 4. Campaign for greater appreciation of traditional beers, ciders
BEER is printed on GraphoInvent, and perries, and the public house as part of our national heritage and culture
which is PEFC accredited, 5. Seek improvements in all licensed premises and throughout the brewing
meaning it comes from industry. BEER will not carry editorial and advertising that counters these aims
well-managed sources. and we only accept advertisements for bottle- or cask-conditioned products.
AUTUMN 2021 BEER 05
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feature | COMMUNITY SPIRIT
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Passion
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for pubs
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reignited
Pubs have rarely had it harder than in the past
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year. Some have regrettably closed for good, but
it’s not all bad news, as Will Hawkes reports from
communities determined to support their local
ILLUSTRATION BY JEM MILTON
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By the start of February, Ollie Ripley being comically disappointed. It soon
was feeling the effects of a year spent became clear he wasn’t the only one.
largely at home. The 29-year-old maths His TikTok account – @thepubrunner
teacher “felt rubbish”, having not – rapidly gathered followers: 100 in the
exercised since the first lockdown, first week, then 1,000, 2,000, 5,000,
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so he pulled on his trainers and went more than 10,000 after less than a
for a five-kilometre run. month. At the time of writing, in early
As he reached the halfway point, April, it has more than 32,000.
though, something caught his eye – “Everyone missed the pub,” he says.
the Surrey, a sizable modern pub in “They were desperate for them to be
Woking, Surrey. As so often with pubs, open, and I guess my pub runs were
it provoked a moment of inspiration. like a countdown to that moment.”
“I thought ‘that’s quite interesting, The popularity of Ollie’s efforts,
it’s at exactly the point where I turn which raised money for the charity
for home’,” he says. “I decided that for Mind, illustrates one of 2020’s hidden
every day until pubs reopened, I was dynamics. Even as pubs have struggled
going to run to the pub.” economically, with many forced to close
And so he did. In the following weeks for good, the British public – forbidden
and months, he ran to pubs all over to step inside – has begun to understand
Woking and Walton-on-Thames, home why they’re so valuable.
to his father and occasional jogging “This past year has reignited that
companion, Andrew. community spirit that exists around
He documented his progress on pubs, and it’s shown that actually when
TikTok, a social media app better known there are times of adversity, pubs can
for family dance routines and soft-focus play a role in helping to address that,”
clips of fluffy pets. Each film followed says Dr Claire Markham, a lecturer at
the same formula: Ollie preparing to run, Nottingham Trent University and an
getting to the pub, finding it closed and expert in rural pubs.
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Above: Pub runner Ollie and dad Andrew struck a chord with a nation deprived of its locals
“We’ve seen that with pubs doing a week, was being deferred and not us.” It raised £3,410 to help keep the
takeaway, or being a space where food cancelled (Punch has “sorted things Station Inn alive. It was payback for the
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banks can be set up. That’s the out” since, according to Colin). central role the pub plays in community
community part [of pubs], which It was a perilous moment for a cosy life, says Jennie.
often gets overlooked.” back-street boozer known for its ales, “They did everything they could [for
As Dr Markham points out, this but the Faulkners’ loyal regulars weren’t the neighbourhood] during lockdown,”
revived relationship has manifested itself about to let them face it alone. she says. “They started doing a Sunday
in a variety of ways. Some pubs have “I felt it was really important to music session, for example. They would
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supported nearby people by setting support them,” says Jennie Willson, bring their speakers out and then
up food banks, delivering meals or by who immediately organised a fundraiser. everyone in the street would come
simply checking in on regulars. Some “They’re very much the local pub rather out into their own gardens, so still
regulars have supported their pubs by than just a pub that happens to be there. distanced, but able to have a bit of a
helping to pay rent, purchasing takeaway It’s a community place. community event. They really brought
pints or even arranging to buy pubs to “Colin and Trudy have always been the community together, they really
keep them going. really supportive to the community and made the effort.”
One of the most shared articles on to charitable events. They’ve always
social media this year was a Guardian given time, given money, done lots In Melling on Merseyside, a similar
story about developers being forced to of fundraisers. They’re really, really relationship between pub and
rebuild the Carlton Tavern, a London community-minded people.” community blossomed during 2020, and
pub demolished illegally in 2015, brick The fundraiser was resisted by the on a huge scale. With the first lockdown
by brick. It’s been an exceptionally Faulkners at first. “I was embarrassed, looming, Sue and Adam Franklin,
tough few months, but could pubs in but we said to her, well, you do what you leaseholders at the Horse & Jockey,
general be about to enjoy a similarly want… it’s up to you,” Colin says. “But decided to use the pub’s sizeable kitchen
Lazarus-like revival, buoyed by it was very humbling and fantastic really, to produce meals for vulnerable locals.
lockdown-fuelled longing? and nice to know what people think of A message seeking help on Facebook
was followed by a meeting at which 25
When the first government-enforced “Colin and Trudy have always locals turned up.
closure began in March 2020, Colin and been really supportive to the Before they knew it, that group
Trudy Faulkner, who run the Station community. They’ve always had become the Melling Community
Inn in Kettering, Northants, were told given time, given money, Volunteers and it was producing and
by owners Punch that their rent, £600 done lots of fundraisers” delivering hot meals seven days a week
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Main feature, 2
Clockwise from above left:
Station Inn; distanced music
evening; Horse & Jockey
(and next); Colin and Trudy
at the Station Inn, Kettering
to more than 100 people in the area, “There was a guy, an IT and working in this pub since late 2019,
funded by food donations and a consultant from Mumbai, while putting together a workplace
JustGiving page that raised more who dropped 500 quid ethnography about its role amid the
than £5,000 by midsummer 2020. onto the JustGiving page gentrification of the surrounding
“The community embraced it because he read about us” neighbourhood. When Covid-19
straight away,” Adam says. “The arrived, though, she decided to focus
volunteers have worked tirelessly, and Marcus Rashford highlighted the on documenting how this urban pub
Sue is at the heart of it. She’s a typical holiday-time hunger of kids who needed dealt with the pandemic.
landlady: heart of gold.” free school meals, for example, they It’s been a difficult year, but there
People from further afield chipped put together food packs and established have been reasons for optimism – like
in, too. “A lot of people who live down a pick-up service at the local Scouts hut. the regulars who’ve volunteered to do
south were asking, ‘Look, can I pay you This work will continue once the jobs around the pub for free, and the
to feed my mum?’ We were just like, current problems are over. They’ve welcomed new customers it acquired
‘No, no, no. We’ll just get a hot meal been given a 40-foot shipping container, when takeaway drinks were allowed
out every day.’ There was a guy, an IT which will be fitted out as a training back in the summer of 2020.
consultant from Mumbai, who dropped kitchen and a larder for the community. “We attracted a younger demographic
500 quid onto the JustGiving page They’re speaking to a landowner about – people in their 20s and 30s, groups
because he read about us. taking on some land at a peppercorn rent of friends going over to the park,” she
“That’s why we do this job. You lie to grow food for Adam’s course, Fed Up, says. “We started doing jugs of Pimm’s.
awake in bed every morning, you’ve got where he teaches locals how to make the This new clientele hadn’t really tried
no money, you’ve got a VAT bill that is most out of fresh food with a slow cooker. our pub before, but now they’ve seen
going to take forever to pay off, you don’t The past year has brought the pub, us and they’ve realised that we’re open
know when you’re going to be opening, which Adam and Sue took on four late [until 3am]. And they said, ‘Oh,
but that sort of support makes you go, years ago, closer than ever to the local yeah, we’ll come and try it.’ Then of
‘Right, come on, let’s crack on again.’” community. “I do feel it’s brought us course we had our regulars who were
It’s been a huge feat of organisation – together,” Adam says. coming back [for takeaway beer] that
“Well-established social enterprise groups missed us. Even from a brief interaction
look at our spreadsheet with envy,” In London, meanwhile, one working- [with us], they were getting something.
says Adam – and community cohesion. class pub has been able to attract a new ‘Well, have you seen this person?
The Volunteers have taken on challenge demographic during lockdown. Dr Jenny Have you seen that person? What’s
after challenge over the past year. When Thatcher, a sociologist, has been living happened there?’”
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feature | COMMUNITY SPIRIT
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A remarkable £260,000
was raised from 430
investors to take
community ownership
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of the White Swan in
Gressenhall, Norfolk
Where pubs have closed Ribena – while Alex had experience
permanently, meanwhile, local people of social investment through previous
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have taken control. The community- employment in London. £100,000 coming from the Plunkett
run pub movement has been gaining “Gressenhall is a really special Foundation. “We’ve probably got about
momentum over the past decade – there community,” says Alex. “There are all 50 per cent of the households in the
are now 150 across the country, up by sorts of societies and things that make village invested,” says Alex. “Even if
50 per cent since 2015, according to it really great, but I think the missing you’ve only got a £50 stake, which was
the Plunkett Foundation. The arrival ingredient was we’ve got this lovely the minimum investment, that gives you
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of Covid-19 in March last year might green in the middle of the village where a bond and a small sense of ownership.”
have been expected to have slowed their the pub sits, and it just seemed like such They got the keys in January, planning
spread. It hasn’t turned out like that: 13 an own goal to let it go.” permission in February, and hope to open
opened in 2020, with more on the way. So they didn’t. The Gressenhall in the autumn. Did lockdown make a
Norfolk seems to be a particular Community Enterprise was founded to difference to the fundraising?
stronghold for the community pub raise the £360,000 required to buy the pub, “While we were raising money, I heard
movement. Two recent projects are and locals were asked what they could people talking about what they really miss
breathtaking in what they’ve achieved. afford to invest. These were awkward at the moment,” says Alex. “A foreign
The Locks Inn, in Beccles, where conversations, says Alex, but it helped that beach holiday might seem miles away, but
£600,000 has been raised in eight weeks the team came from all walks of life within the nice little pub at the end of the road
from a remarkable 1,400 shareholders, the village. “It’s a good cross-section,” he is within reach. Maybe pre-pandemic we
and the White Swan in Gressenhall, says. “It’s not just a little clique.” were all guilty of taking for granted what
which, like the Locks, aims to reopen Fundraising began in August 2020 and was there on our doorstep. Maybe it has
its doors for business later this year. was completed by the end of September, been an opportunity for us to re-evaluate
The White Swan [then known as the spurred on by a Swan-shaped totaliser at and to treasure what’s important.
Swan] closed in July 2018, and by that the pub built by members of Dereham It’s really difficult to tangibly measure
autumn the owner had published plans Men’s Shed. A total of £260,000 was it, but yeah, I’m sure there’s a bit of that
to turn it into four dwellings. At that raised from 430 investors, with the final [in our success].”
point villagers started to mobilise, led
by Rosie and Alex Begg, who moved “A foreign beach holiday In Culross, Fife, they’re hoping for
to Gressenhall at the end of 2018. might seem miles away, but similar success. David Alexander and
Rosie was returning – her family owns the nice little pub at the end Ann Dowds have run the Red Lion pub
ALAMY
a local farm, growing blackcurrants for of the road is within reach” for 30 years but are retiring and want
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The owners of
the Red Lion
in Culross, Fife,
want to leave
the pub in the
community’s
hands when
they retire
to leave it in the community’s hands. “I’m not particularly a a marketplace for that, [and serving
A campaign to raise money was drinker. I’d much rather go those drinks] and well, actually, there’s
postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, to a pub and be with people more to pubs than alcohol. I’m a perfect
but in February this year, a first fundraiser and enjoy the atmosphere” example. I really couldn’t care less in
was launched to pay for initial costs. terms of drinking. It’s not that that draws
It flew past its £9,000 target, ending You never know who you’re going to me going to these spaces. I want that
just short of £11,000. meet – and the craic is always good.” community feel.”
“We thought if we got a couple of Rural pubs like these are
grand, it would allow us to print some Dr Markham’s speciality. As the author Ollie finished his daily runs in April,
literature, get a website up and do some of a series of academic papers focused when pub gardens opened, undertaking
bits and pieces,” says organiser Tim on village pubs, she’s fascinated by a few final trips before customers were
Collins. “The thing shot up to £9,000 how community and pub intersect. allowed inside in May. (He celebrated
in two days! We were getting donations “One of the pubs that I go to is the with a glass of Guinness.) As someone
from around the planet. And not only Geese and Fountain [in Croxton Kerrial, at the centre of one of lockdown’s most
was that coming in, but we were getting Leics],” she says. “When the first intriguing social media phenomenons,
feedback saying, ‘Let us know when you lockdown hit, they went above and he thinks customers have learnt to
do the share offer.’ That’s given us a lot beyond. They said, ‘We can get toilet appreciate what is great about pubs –
of confidence.” rolls for you, we can get this. We can their huge community value.
Key to this has been Culross’s heritage deliver, we can do that.’ Things like that “I think what’s happened has made
as a film and TV location, most notably are so important.” a massive difference to the way we
for the series Outlander. It means that She believes pubs that innovate – as see pubs,” he says. “We took them for
West Fife Community Trading can many were forced to do during lockdown granted beforehand, thinking that they’ll
rely on more than just local support – could now have a chance to establish always be there. But when you’re not
in its bid to buy the Red Lion, a place links with people who were not regular allowed to go to them, you realise how
where locals and visitors have long visitors before. much of a lifeline they are.”
mixed happily. “I’m not particularly a drinker,”
“It’s a community hub; people meet she says. “I’d much rather go to a pub Will Hawkes is the author
there casually or drop in for lunches and and be with people and enjoy the of Craft Beer London,
meals and things,” says Tim. “You go in atmosphere. That’s what draws me in. a guide to the city’s beer
scene. He is a former British
there, you’re bound to meet somebody. What would draw me in even more is a
ALAMY
Beer Writer of the Year. He
And sometimes you’ll meet film stars! broader range of, say, soft drinks. There’s tweets at @Will_Hawkes
AUTUMN 2021 BEER 11
91CACJUL21111.pgs 07.07.2021 09:30profile | THORNBRIDGE
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Growing from
strength to strength
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Thornbridge brewery is celebrating 15 remarkable years
that have seen it move from a garden shed to a state-of-the-art
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plant. Roger Protz caught up with its founders
Thornbridge brewery, hailed as become one of the founders of BrewDog
Where it
one of the pioneers of the craft beer in Scotland. A third brewer, Kelly Ryan,
all began
movement, started life as a small became a major force in the beer
operation in a garden shed and has revolution down under when he
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gone on to become a sizeable one returned to his native New Zealand.
with a capacity of 25,000 barrels a year The first Thornbridge beer was a
and an impressive portfolio of beers. traditional bitter called Lord Marples
Along the way, Thornbridge has won (4 per cent) after the 19th-century
a vast number of awards for its beers owner of the hall. It was followed by
and has turned its leading ale, Jaipur Blackthorn (4.4 per cent), which could
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IPA (5.9 per cent ABV), into an have caused problems as there’s a leading
international brand that has helped cider with that name.
drive the global pale ale revival. “We didn’t get a lawyer’s letter!” Jim
The brewery was the brainchild of Jim laughs. “The beer was named after a
Harrison and Simon Webster. Jim made motif in a stained-glass window in the
money from his company that supplied ‘“The place was a wreck,” hall designed by William Morris and
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insulating materials to steel and other he says. “We needed to Edward Burne-Jones.” The pair were
industries, and he was able to buy the commercialise it and one leading members of the arts and crafts
12th-century Thornbridge Hall in the way was to make beer”’ movement in the 19th century.
Derbyshire Dales. He moved in with (5.2 per cent), one of the early hoppy The breakthrough came on 7 June
his wife, Emma, and their children, and golden ales. 2005 with the launch of Jaipur IPA. It
set about restoring the hall – which had Even though Dave supported Sheffield was named after the city where Jim and
become a teacher training college – United – and such things matter in Steel Emma got married, but the beer also
and its 12 acres of gardens. City – Jim loved Pale Rider and discussed stressed the links to the early pale ales
“The place was a wreck,” he says. setting up a brewery at the hall with brewed in England for the Raj in India.
“We needed to commercialise it and Dave’s support. They sourced a 10-barrel “Jaipur was influenced by American
one way was to make beer.” plant from a closed brewery near IPAs,” Simon says, “but we’re a nation
Jim met Simon through their shared York and installed the kit in of pint drinkers and we needed
support of Sheffield Wednesday football 2004 in a former stonemason’s a cask beer with drinkability.
club. Simon worked on the marketing and joiner’s shop in the IPA is an English style that
side of the food business and he and grounds. It took a year to went to the US and then
Jim launched a range of pickles and redesign the building and came back again.”
specialist coffees at Thornbridge. They squeeze in the kit, and the first Jim adds: “Dave said we
added beer as a result of supplying pickles beer was launched in 2005. needed a beer that would turn people’s
to the Fat Cat pub in Sheffield run by They hired two mustard-keen young heads. He took one sip of Jaipur and said:
Dave Wickett, who also owned the brewers, Stefano Cossi and Martin ‘That’s a world beater.’”
Kelham Island brewery. The brewery Dickie. Thornbridge proved a good The beer, originally in cask and bottle
won CAMRA’s Champion Beer of training ground, as Stefano later joined but now also in keg and can, lived up to
Britain crown in 2004 for Pale Rider Molson Coors and Martin went on to Dave’s prediction. It accounts for 40 per
12 BEER AUTUMN 2021
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Top: Beer and football fans Simon Webster (left) and Jim Harrison Above: Thornbridge brews an impressive range
cent of the brewery’s output and is And better beer includes cask the power of the water to build his
exported to more than 30 countries. It’s ale. Before the coronavirus crisis, cotton-spinning frames.
brewed with top English malting barley Thornbridge had planned 12 new cask Thanks to his Italian connections,
Maris Otter and – stressing the American ales for 2020 and the brewery, Simon Stefano recommended Jim and Simon
influence – hopped with Ahtanum, says, was selling more cask than at any should commission a plant from Velo,
Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, time in its history. which designed kit capable of producing
Columbus and Simcoe varieties. “It’s part of our heritage,” he says, both ale and lager.
“but we’ve brought modernity to the Head brewer Rob Lovatt says he can
It’s won more than 100 awards in sector with the likes of Ice Cream Porter push four brews a day through the plant.
competitions around the world and [4.5 per cent] and Flat White Pale Ale His lagers, such as Lukas (4.2 per cent),
Simon recalls it winning two in one [4.9 per cent].” enjoy a cold fermentation at 9˚C and
week from beer festivals as far apart The demand for Thornbridge beer are stored for a minimum of four to five
as Aberdeen and Penzance. rapidly outpaced the original plant. weeks. He uses malt from the German
He’s careful not to claim Thornbridge In 2009, a new site, the Riverside, town of Bamberg, world-acclaimed for
was the pioneer of craft brewing. “We was built in Bakewell alongside the the quality of its brewing grains, and his
either started the wave or caught it,” River Wye, close to where Richard yeast culture also comes from Bavaria.
he says. “Our aim was a simple one: Arkwright – the Father of the Rob joined Thornbridge in 2010 from
to bring people to better beer.” Industrial Revolution – harnessed Meantime in London and he uses
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Above: Rob Lovatt heads the brewing team Right: Four brews a day are possible Below: Award-winning Saint Petersburg
that experience to fashion a wide its double-digit growth. He exports to
range of beers. He plans more bottle- 35 countries and sells cask beer in such
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conditioned ales and says his draught unlikely markets as France and Italy.
beers are “properly cask-conditioned”. “France is our second-biggest export
He’s critical of some brewers who cut market,” he says. “Finland is the biggest
corners where cask ale is concerned. market and cask has cult status there.
He plans a number of collaboration Denmark is also big for cask.”
beers with other brewers, starting with Thornbridge owns six pubs in Sheffield
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Salopian; Harvey’s and Timothy Taylor’s and a further two food-led outlets. Jim
will follow when the current crisis is over. personally owns the Packhorse in Little
The most innovative ‘collab’ was a Longstone near his home. The brewery
beer called Serpent, brewed with Garrett runs three brewpubs in collaboration
‘They’re well placed to
Oliver, the renowned brewmaster at the with Pivovar in York, Leeds and
weather the storm, with half of
Brooklyn brewery in New York City. Birmingham. The partnership is
production available in bottle
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The 10 per cent ABV Belgian-style with the Czech brewer Bernard.
and can, along with mini kegs’
golden ale beer was aged in bourbon While Thornbridge doesn’t own the
casks for 18 months and it had an awards and Simon says the team was brilliantly restored Sheffield railway
addition of lees, the sediment in a cider especially pleased when, against stiff station tap, its beers are on prominent
cask that’s packed with protein and wild competition, it was named CAMRA’s sale there and many travellers, including
yeasts. This element was supplied by Champion Winter Beer of Britain in this writer, have been known to miss
Tom Oliver, the acclaimed Herefordshire December 2019. a train or three while supping in the
cider maker, and its inclusion created In that year, Thornbridge produced opulent Victorian bar.
a secondary fermentation before the an impressive 85 beers, and new cask and Whether or not Thornbridge started
beer was filled into Champagne bottles keg beers were planned for 2020 before the craft beer wave, it’s certainly on
and sold in 2016. the coronavirus pandemic meant all the the crest of it now, with its large range
plans had to be shelved and rewritten. of beers available at home and abroad.
Brewing still continues at the The brewery’s sales and marketing The only sadness has been the death
original plant at Thornbridge Hall, director, Dominic Metcalfe, says they’re in 2012 of Dave Wickett. Dave inspired
where small-batch and experimental well placed to weather the storm, with Jim and Simon, and remained a
beers are made. Rob and his team half of production available in bottle consultant until he lost a brave struggle
are keen on barrel-ageing and have and can, along with six-litre mini kegs. with cancer.
experimented with several different Dom has an impressive track record Jim has picked up the flame lit by
ers versions of Saint Petersburg Russian of eight years with Adnams, a year Dave with the Fat Cat and Kelham
Imperial Stout (7.4 per cent) using with Tim Taylor’s and also a spell with Island. “Cask ale is quintessentially
whisky, bourbon, wine and sherry barrels. Black Isle in Scotland. He’s convinced about British beer and pubs,” he says.
In common with its Jaipur stablemate, cask beer will bounce back when the “It’s the best way to drink.”
Saint Petersburg has picked up many pandemic ends and Jaipur will continue And long may it remain so.
14 BEER AUTUMN 2021
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ROGER PROTZ | column
Lager revelation
VERSION
Carlsberg may not produce the best lagers in the world,
REPRO OP
but it could claim to brew probably the most interesting
There are rare moments in life when like – until I visited Carlsberg in 2017.
Carlsberg
something extraordinary sends a tingle I was with a group of brewers and beer
brewery founder
down your spine. It happened the first Jacob Christian writers from around the world who had
SUBS
time I came across Stonehenge and Jacobsen been invited to join in celebrations for
realised the stones had been there since the 170th anniversary of the brewery.
the dawn of civilisation. To our astonishment and delight, we
Can beer have a similar effect? Yes – were presented with samples of a beer
I got the tingle in 2017 when I sampled called 1883, the year Carlsberg’s Bavarian
a glass of Carlsberg lager in Copenhagen. Beer was launched. An old bottle of the
ART
It’s not a typing mistake. I really do original beer had been discovered and
mean Carlsberg, for there’s more to the it proved possible to take the yeast
Danish giant than the bland brews that sediment and culture up a working
come out of the Northampton factory strain that was used to recreate it.
and which – with sincere apologies to ‘Its impact was so profound Forget golden lager. The beer was
Orson Welles – are probably not the on a world scale that it was brown, for at the time malt was heated
given the scientific name of
PRODUCTION
best lagers in the world. over wood fires. Beer, both ale and lager,
The beer in question was a recreation Saccharomyces carlsbergensis’ only became pale when wood was
of what was called Bavarian Beer and mills, and they wanted refreshment in replaced by coke as the source of heat.
launched in Copenhagen in 1883. The the form of beer. Until then, beer was The beer had a malty, slightly funky and
founder of the brewery, Jacob Christian brewed only in the cool times of the sulphury character, with delicate hop
Jacobsen, had made the arduous coach year, as hot summer weather turned bitterness, and was a fascinating insight
CLIENT
journey to Munich to see at first-hand beer sour and undrinkable. into how beer tasted all those years ago.
how the Spaten brewery had developed Carlsberg and other Nordic brewers
commercial lager brewing with what Carlsberg opened a sophisticated continue to produce further historic
was called bottom-working yeast. This laboratory where a scientist called Emil beer styles in the shape of porter and
was yeast that worked slowly at a low Hansen analysed brewing yeast and stout. They are based on beers brewed in
temperature and sank to the bottom discovered it contained bad strains as London for export and which became so
of conditioning vessels, in sharp well as good ones. After months of popular that Nordic and Baltic brewers
distinction to ale yeast that works tireless work, he was able to isolate created their own versions, in several
at a warm temperature. a single strain of perfect yeast that cases using lager rather than ale yeasts.
Jacob returned home with a sample enabled lager beer to be brewed all Carlsberg has a Stout Porter (7.8 per
of Spaten’s yeast, experimented for some year round. Its impact was so profound cent ABV), while in Sweden you can
time and finally opened a brewery on a world scale that it was sample Carnegie Porter (5.6 per cent)
he named Carlsberg after his given the scientific name of and in Finland Koff Porter (7.2 per cent).
son Carl and the hill, or berg, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis. You can buy 1883 at the Visit Carlsberg
on which it stood. He dug deep Emil’s work was not lost on Museum in Copenhagen. Get it if you
cellars to store his brews and ale brewers in Britain. They, can – you may consider it to be probably
when he launched his Bavarian too, employed scientists who the most interesting lager you have tasted.
Beer, it met with great approval perfected ale yeasts, removed
by drinkers. bad strains and enabled beer to Roger Protz’s latest
The Industrial Revolution was be brewed throughout the year. book, The Family Brewers
in full swing. People were moving As I lack access to a time of Britain, is on sale
from CAMRA’s online
in large numbers from the country machine, I had no way of knowing bookstore. Follow him
to work in factories, mines and what the first lager beers tasted at @RogerProtzBeer
2021 BEER 15
AUTUMN 2018
BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN 91CACJUL21114.pgs 06.07.2021 14:49feature | PUSHING BOUNDARIES
VERSION
REPRO OP
What is beer?
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“The beer we drink today is an extract of malted barley,
boiled with hops and fermented by yeast…”
The Book of Beer, Andrew Campbell, 1956
ART
WORDS: ADRIAN TIERNEY-JONES ILLUSTRATION: CAMERON LAW
The above quote is the easiest mixed fermentations and cultures in Leipziger gose feels obliged to drop in
definition of beer you can use if someone sour beers and saisons.” flavourings of fruit, tea or spices. Even
ever asks how it is made. Funny-sounding How about cake mix? The first time the mighty IPA has not been spared.
PRODUCTION
words like wort, strike heat, hop back I visited a Mikkeller bar in Copenhagen, Fruit smoothie IPA, anyone?
and esters can be also floated about, I really fancied an imperial stout and there
but beer is by definition a pretty simple was one chalked up on the blackboard. My Sometimes it feels like it is carnage
combination. Ask most brewers and you heart sank as I read the description, though out there as brewers look to replicate
will get a similar answer, such as the one – the impy that was available on this every flavour they can remember from
I got from Colin Stronge, head brewer at particular night had coffee, cinnamon, their childhood onwards. Meanwhile,
CLIENT
Salt Beer Factory in Yorkshire: “To me, almonds, cocoa nibs, vanilla beans and in the opposite corner, the purists ask if
beer is a beverage made from mostly habanero peppers added. I just wanted nothing is sacred, and others plaintively
water, malt, hops and yeast.” an imperial stout, so I ordered an IPA. ask for a beer that tastes like beer (that
Mostly? Let us dig deeper into the begs a question, though: does that mean
question, which I also asked Sophie de
‘Even though some of us stout, IPA, bitter, etc?). Has the mighty
Ronde, who heads up the brewing team
might get aerated at the fortress that is British brewing fallen?
at Burnt Mill in Suffolk. You could say
thought of a prune gose or a It’s a question I ask myself now and
that the answer expands on Colin’s
bitter made with strawberries, again, and then recall how beer has
brief statement.
is it such a bad thing?’ always been like the sea, with the tides
“Beer for me is a beverage that has Stretching the meaning of beer so that of fashion dragging it this way and that.
been made from cereal, water, hops and it becomes as infinite as the universe is Even though some of us might briefly
fermented with yeast,” she emailed. a common thread running through much get aerated at the thought of a prune
“However, what classifies as ‘cereal’ of modern brewing. Look elsewhere and gose (OK I made that one up, but you
for me means it doesn’t have to be just you will find beers that replicate the know what I mean) or a bitter made
barley and/or wheat. Other grains and flavour of jam roly-poly, Neapolitan ice with strawberries, is it such a bad thing?
pseudo-cereals make up beers all over cream and barbecue sauce. Pale ales have Shouldn’t brewers be pushing the
the world with the use of maize, quinoa, peach added, and bitters are laced with boundaries of what we know as beer?
sorghum, etc. I also think hops can cinnamon, though this might not be After all, I certainly don’t want to go
be replaced by herbs/spices, and this such a surprise given if we go back a few back to 1948 when, in The Brewer’s Art,
then of course goes back to the now years, cask beer stalwart Batemans was part of the Whitbread Library, the author
interchangeable ale/beer and the adding fruit, coffee and biscuit flavours wrote: “In this country there are four
meaning of ‘gruit’, which I would still to its beers. Meanwhile, it seems that chief types of beer today: pale ale, mild
classify as beer. The same goes for anyone who does a Berliner weiss or ale, stout and Burton.”
16 BEER AUTUMN 2021
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Sub feature, 2
feature | PUSHING BOUNDARIES
VERSION
For an insight into the thinking ‘The reason I picked him was ice-cream dispensers are a gimmick and
behind some of today’s more eclectic I recently tried the brewery’s a passing phase, but good on the brewers
beers, it works to talk to the brewers, Krankie, an Iron Brew Sour, for trying these things. It is a tough
and so initially I turned to Exale which was a bit of a homage market out there and if you can do
Brewing’s founder and brewer Mark to the Scottish soft drink’ something to make yourself stand out,
Hislop, asking him how far would he then create that USP. I might argue,
REPRO OP
stretch the meaning of beer. The reason to the history of a style but adds new though, is the use of an ice-cream
I picked him was I recently tried the depths of flavour from a more modern dispenser innovative? It is a new and
brewery’s Krankie (4.2 per cent ABV), perspective. I’m not interested in different way of pouring beer, but as
an Iron Brew Sour, which – you guessed preserving a history, I’m interested a dispensing machine it’s not an
– was a bit of a homage to the Scottish in interpreting traditions and pushing innovation, is it?”
soft drink. boundaries within styles and seeing
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what we end up with.” Returning to that cake mix imperial
“I think it’s detrimental to be too As it happens, I would love to stout in Copenhagen, what I didn’t
protective of meanings and styles for try those two examples of Exale’s realise at the time was that what I was
beer,” he told me. “I love traditional beer experimentation, though maybe it’s the drinking is now known as a pastry stout.
and love making them, but I like to mess wilder shores of beer experimentation A doughnut stout, a jam roly-poly porter,
around with parameters and combining that has inspired me to write this article. these are pastry stouts, but for Colin –
ART
cold brew coffee with a traditional ESB, I’m thinking of beers that taste like who I saw give an excellent presentation
or making a Flanders red with black the contents of that sweetshop you used on pastry stouts at the Brewers’ Congress
trumpet mushrooms can be respectful to linger in on the way home from in 2019 – dark beers provide an excellent
school or are served up like ice cream. canvas for different flavours.
Again, though I’m conflicted in my “I think that the extra complexity
views, there is no iron law that says an provided by the dark malts gives a wider
PRODUCTION
ice-cream serve is wrong or right, it’s just range of flavours to play with and
another way of presenting a beer. accentuate or work against,” he said.
Jaega Wise of Wild Card in east “We have since played with using paler
London is a brewer I have a lot beers with some flavourings, but I feel
of respect for. I like the beers she the broader flavours in stouts give
makes and have also judged in beer more room for experimentation. I love
CLIENT
competitions alongside her. I asked making stouts, of all kinds and strengths.
about her thoughts on what is I love the smell of dark malts in the
innovation and what is gimmickry. mash, the complex aromas throughout
“We did a passion fruit gose and the brew day and the richness of the
bought a slushy machine to serve it wort. They are worth the extra effort
through,” she said. “It was a gimmick they generally take.”
for a trade show and was then used at There is no easy answer to what is
our taproom. For people who do not like beer any more. It’s a shifting and restless
beer, it was a surprise to them that they product and culture, a moving target and
liked it. We did a doughnut stout last market, with brewers needing to make
year, and it was quite an interesting beers that sell. Meanwhile, if you have
one; we used fresh raspberry and ever asked why beer can’t taste like beer,
cacao nibs, and it had a slight I asked Exale’s former head brewer, Daniel
tartness, right next to roasted Vane, for his thoughts if someone said
barley. I think innovation is that to him: “That’s fine. Personal choice
aiding the growth of the craft and opinion are what drives discourse.”
beer market; people are
interested in new flavours, Adrian Tierney-Jones
is editor of Beer, In So
new combinations of Many Words – The Best
hops and I’m all for it.” Writing on the Greatest
Sophie has a Drink (Safe Haven Books).
He tweets at @ATJbeer
different view: “Most and more of his work can be found
of the time things like at maltworms.blogspot.com
BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN 91CACJUL21116.pgs 06.07.2021 14:53VERSION
REPRO OP
SUBS
ART
PRODUCTION
CLIENT
Beers, boats
and belonging
Hollie Stephens celebrates the canalside pubs of Britain, which now
host beer lovers and tourists rather than hard-working boatmen
On a warm, cloudless summer’s day above. At the exact spot that I have in I think pubs and canals go together
in the UK, there is no better place than mind, I feel a unique sense of tranquillity. perfectly. As a former narrowboater,
a beer garden, but for me, an ambling All road traffic is muffled, and the only I may be a little biased, but my love for
stroll along the towpath comes in at a sounds are birds, the gentle scratches spending time on the towpath began
close second. Along my favourite stretch, of my boots on the gravel path and before I got into boating, when I was
SHUTTERSTOCK
I’m enveloped by trees, and I can see sometimes the low, soothing hum of living close to the Grand Union Canal.
nothing but blues and greens as the the engine of a canal boat, following This canal did not originate as a single
glassy water reflects the clear blue sky me to the next lock. waterway, but rather, its modern form
20 BEER AUTUMN 2021
BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYANTravel, 1
CANALS | travel
is an amalgamation of several. It is Clockwise from main: Where it started Many months later, I’d caught the
the longest canal in the country, and for Hollie – the Rising Sun; the Grand boating bug. I returned to the same lock
Union Canal stretches for 137 miles;
the main line links Birmingham to the aboard my own boat, and I enjoyed
moorings on the Bridgewater Canal
Thames at Brentford in west London another pint in the Rising Sun beer
via miles of gentle meandering through garden after navigating it (with some
picturesque countryside. learned this strange object – L-shaped help from a few other punters, of course).
Ask anyone who has ever been a boater with a square at one end – was called
and they will tell you about a moment a windlass (or lock key), and is used to The construction of the Bridgewater
they felt a powerful connection to the operate the locks. I was intrigued by it Canal by engineer James Brindley led to a
water. For me, I was standing outside all – the sense of shared labour and the waterway-building boom in the late 18th
a pub, the Rising Sun, Herts, with a pint kindness of helping a passer-by, all while century. The first canal boats were drawn
of cask ale in my hand, one evening in enjoying a pint of Tring brewery beer. by horses, which could move much more
late spring. The pub is situated right on Half an hour later, another boat entered weight than they would be able to by
the Grand Union Canal, and there is the lock, and I asked someone to hold cart. The waterways were key to the
a lock directly in front of the entrance. my pint so I could help. Industrial Revolution, as they were used
As a boat entered the lock, I noticed to transport coal and other raw materials
a handful of drinkers waved to the ‘Ask anyone who has been a to factories. By 1850, 4,800 miles of
SHUTTERSTOCK
boaters, and someone reached out to boater and they will tell you the inland waterway had been constructed.
take something made of metal from the moment they felt a powerful Back when the waterways were critical
person stood at the boat’s stern. I later connection to the water’ for transportation, the pubs played a
AUTUMN 2021 BEER 21
91CACJUL21117.pgs 06.07.2021 14:54travel | CANALS
VERSION
crucial role as rest points for weary in their names: the Boat, the Navigation, a lot of passing trade from tourists on
travellers. “The first canalside pubs were the Barge or simply the New to their way to the castle. Wayne explains
farmers selling home-brewed beer, firstly distinguish it from the old, established the site was once owned by Fellows,
to the navvies digging the canals through pubs in the area.” Today, the UK’s canal Morton and Clayton, a haulage company
their land, and then to the boatmen that network is home to more than 2,700 that used the canals to move goods up
REPRO OP
followed,” says Jonathan Ludford of the listed structures, 50 scheduled ancient and down the country. The building the
Canal & River Trust. monuments and no less than five Canalhouse now occupies was used as
“Waterside pubs were the coaching UNESCO World Heritage sites. a warehouse, and a large crane was used
inns of their day, where horses were baited to lift heavy loads from the boats that
[fed] or changed, and travellers refreshed Stepping inside the Grade II listed cruised into the space the resident
or lodged for the night. For working Canalhouse pub in Nottingham for the narrowboats now occupy, providing a
SUBS
boaters, pubs were a place to tie up, first time is a unique experience. Across way to quickly move goods on and off
exchange stories, rest and forget the stress the wooden floorboards, metal railings the boats indoors out of the rain. Later,
of a hard day’s work, and would have been abut an indoor mooring space. To reach the building housed a canal museum.
a haven of refuge from the overcrowded the bar, visitors cross the water over a Today, the beer garden – once the
boat cabin and rowdy children.” footbridge, with a view of the resident wharf – is a beautiful spot to sit with a
Jonathan says pubs might have narrowboats below. “It’s definitely a bit pint. Gerry Mulvaney, who is the chair
ART
served multiple functions as important of a wow factor,” says general manager of the Nottingham Narrowboat Project
touchpoints for boaters. Wayne Harvey. He tells me the pub gets board of trustees, and one of the skippers,
“They were the hub of the boaters’ tells me the organisation operates from
community and would often have been a “For working boaters, pubs the wharf and occupies offices upstairs
pub, general store and butchers all rolled were a place to exchange in the Canalhouse building. “Castle
into one,” he says. “Pubs that grew up stories, rest and forget the Rock brewery is a fantastic host for us,”
PRODUCTION
alongside the canals often reflect this stress of a hard day’s work” he says. He adds the project provides day
Unique experience
for drinkers at the
Canalhouse pub
in Nottingham
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SHUTTERSTOCK, ALAMY
22 BEER AUTUMN 2021
BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYANTravel, 2
Clockwise from left: Royal Oak in Pencelli, Wales; working the
locks at the Admiral Nelson; the Kings Ransom has a prominent
spot on the banks of the pioneering Bridgewater Canal
trips, as well as overnight trips, aboard over the pub together a few years ago. residents, just as there was with fellow
two 70-foot narrowboats seven days She says she loves the area and the pub regulars. Feeling part of a community
a week, for groups from local schools, welcome respite from city life. is what makes our pubs what they are,
care homes, charitable organisations “It’s absolutely beautiful,” she says. and it is also what keeps our canals
and businesses. Gerry and his team are “It’s invigorating, totally different.” welcoming places to be.
preparing for a busy season, after having She says the pub benefits from plenty
a lot of trip plans disrupted last year due of tourist trade thanks to the canal, It takes community spirit to maintain
to Covid-19. “We’re looking forward to as well as a fantastic local community. the canals, too. In conjunction with
getting the boats back up and running,” “We’ve built up a rapport and a bit of the Canal & River Trust, groups of
he says. “But what we’re really looking a relationship with the regulars. Not volunteers work together to maintain
forward to most of all is sitting down just the villagers, but also the boaters.” their local stretch of canal, by lending
with a pint of Castle Rock in the As I speak with Aimee, I realise a hand with essential upkeep, such as
sunshine at the end of the trip.” rapport is a great word to describe that giving lock gates a coat of paint. This
sense of comfort I’ve felt in both pub and sense of community is key to preserving
Pubs are at the heart of communities, boating communities, and especially at tourism for the canals and the pubs
and in rural areas they often provide a the intersection of the two. In boating, that are close to them, ensuring boaters,
particularly important role as a meeting I found a sense of subtle belonging, beer drinkers and towpath walkers alike
place for locals. This is especially true which sometimes feels like the only kind will be able to continue to enjoy all
in Pencelli, a small village in Wales, that is available to a somewhat socially they have to offer for many more
where the family-owned Royal Oak awkward Brit. I would offer a kindly nod years to come.
is positioned close to moorings and to a not-quite-stranger on the towpath,
SHUTTERSTOCK, ALAMY
campsites along the Monmouthshire and a bright smile to the helmsperson at Hollie Stephens is a
& Brecon Canal. Aimee Griffiths, who the tiller of a boat travelling the opposite freelance beer writer. She
owns the place along with her husband way on a chilly morning. There was contributes to publications
including Ferment and
and parents, tells me the whole family something comforting about maintaining Pellicle. Follow her on
moved to the area from Cardiff to take a calm familiarity with other canal Twitter at @GlobeHops
AUTUMN 2021 BEER 23
91CACJUL21118.pgs 06.07.2021 14:55BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN VERSION REPRO OP SUBS ART PRODUCTION CLIENT
Real ale hero, 1
REAL ALE HEROES | feature
Real Ale Heroes
Number 35: Adam Henson
A rare breed
Adam Henson is a farmer and a Countryfile presenter. He loves real ale and
grows the finest malting barley to make it. He also has a beer named in his
honour to mark his work in protecting rare species, writes Roger Protz
It’s a great honour to have the protection of North
a beer named after you, but it’s Ronaldsay sheep from the Orkney
important to get the name right. Islands. These short-tailed sheep
When Adam Henson and have survived in isolation,
Duncan Andrews suggested to haven’t interbred with other
Butcombe brewery’s Guy Newell varieties and fed on seaweed.
that a collaboration beer should Eight-year-old Adam fondly
be called Muddy Puddle, Guy remembers joining his dad on
raised an eyebrow and told them the trip to buy some of the sheep
the name should tell potential to bring south to add to his
drinkers it was clear and rare-breed collection.
flavoursome, not thick and rank. “Dad saw rare breeds as part
After further thought, the of our heritage and also as a
“Dad saw rare breeds as part
Butcombe brew was labelled Adam genetic resource for the future,” Adam
of our heritage and a genetic
Henson’s Rare Breed and, in line with says. “Today, we continue his legacy
resource for the future”
Guy’s marketing nous, it’s a pale ale, of rare-breed conservation and keep
crystal clear, without a Wellington boot and other TV programmes. Off camera, Old Spot and Berkshire pigs, poultry
in sight, but with a White Park rare- he and Duncan, his business partner, run and ducks, Cotswold sheep, Suffolk
breed cow on pump clips and labels. the Hensons’ 650-hectare Bemborough Punch horses and Exmoor ponies,
The 3.8 per cent ABV beer is brewed farm tenancy at Guiting Power in to mention a few.”
with Maris Otter pale malt, hopped with Gloucestershire. The farm is alongside
Amarillo, Cascade and Fuggles hops, and the Cotswold Farm Park that Adam’s Adam also loves real ale – not a rare
brewed with spring water that has filtered father Joe launched in 1971. It’s open breed, perhaps, but certainly part of our
through the chalk and limestone of the to the public and visitors can see not heritage. “Dad liked beer. He wasn’t
Mendip Hills. Since 2015, Butcombe has only life on a working farm, but can also a heavy drinker, but he would give the
been part of the Liberation Group based admire the collection of 50 rare breeds kids a sip. In my teens I would have
in the Channel Islands, and Rare Breed of animals and birds. a small glass and enjoyed it very much.
remains a regular member of the portfolio. As a teenager, Adam, now 55, helped I started to drink in pubs when I was
Adam is Britain’s best-known farmer on the farm with his three sisters. One of at agricultural college in Devon
thanks to his appearances on Countryfile Joe’s rare-breed projects was to help with and then, when I worked on the
Left: Adam taking time to enjoy the fruits of his labours Above: As a youngster, Adam helped out on his father’s farm
AUTUMN 2021 BEER 25
91CACJUL21119.pgs 07.07.2021 09:19You can also read
