Godalming Beerworks : many readers will know the Star Inn in Godalming, Surrey (GU7 1EL), which has long been a ‘destination’ pub for good beer. The building, which dates from the 1700s and has been a pub since 1832, has now become home to a brewery, the Godalming Beerworks, and the landlord is one of the brewers. The town once had a proud record of brewing, with a John George being recorded as brewing ‘byere’ there as early as 1483 but brewing ended in 1887. Andy, the landlord, and his co- brewer, Phil, have been brewing together as a hobby for ten years but are now ready to go commercial.
Mondo go the whole Hog : the Mondo Brewing Company have brewed their first ever cask beer, in partnership with the Hogs Back Brewery from Tongham in Surrey. It is an American pale ale called When Hogs Fly (4.2% ABV) and went on sale on 4 July exclusively in a hundred selected Fuller’s pubs, as well as Hogs Back’s own brewery shop. It is brewed with Cascade, Mosaic and Cryo Citra hops. The Cascade come from Hogs Back’s own hop garden. It will be available for as long as stocks last. The managing director of Hogs Back, Rupert Thompson, said, “The partnership between our two breweries worked well, combining our different skills and expertise to create a beer we’re both very proud of. This was Hogs Back’s first collaboration with another brewer, but we’re confident it won’t be our last !” Tom Palmer, Mondo Brewing’s founder and director of brewing added, “We had never brewed a cask ale before and as an American it’s not a style I knew much about. Brewing with the Hogs Back’s team, including head brewer Miles Chesterton, was an eye-opener. I hadn’t realised that brewing cask ale is such a manual operation, completely different to keg in so many ways. It was also great to add Cascade hops grown just yards from the brewhouse, an option that’s not available to us at our brewery in Battersea.”
Portobello Brewing : Portobello, in conjunction with Peckham based mead producers, Gosnells, have produced a limited edition Summer Honey Ale which will be on sale in all of Portobello’s pubs. The ‘mellifluous blonde’ 3.8% ABV brew will be available in cask form only. It is brewed with honey from Oxfordshire Honey, pale and wheat malt and Styrian Golding hops.
Sambrook’s : over the weekend 27 to 29 May, the Sambrook’s Brewery Tap in Wandsworth hosted a successful mild revival festival with 17 cask milds on offer from UK breweries. The festival featured tutored tastings hosted by beer writer Des de Moor, who co-brewed one the beers, a light mild called London X Ale 1880, with Sambrook’s John Hatch. Sambrook’s hope to make this an annual event to coincide with CAMRA’s long-running May Mild Month promotion which aims to promote interest in this often misunderstood and historic beer style. Twelve of the 17 sold out, with those from Beerblefish, Gadds, Southwark, Twickenham, Tap East, Partizan and Sambrook’s all proving very popular. I drank at least one pint of all of them but the star of the festival was the magnificent Ruby Mild from Sarah Hughes of Sedgeley in the West Midlands. I personally can take some responsibility for its rapid disappearance.
Peter J Sutcliffe (CAMRA BLO for Sambrook’s)
Signature Brew : as part of the celebration of the Women’s EURO football tournament, AFC Leyton, one of the country’s largest women’s football clubs, have joined with Signature Brew to produce an IPA style beer. To match AFC’s shirts, the beer will be red in colour.
Vale Brewery : the brewery, based in Brill, Buckinghamshire HP18 9TY, won two bronze awards in the SIBA Midlands Independent Beer Awards 2022 for their Red Kite (4.3% ABV) and VPA (4.2% ABV) beers. Vale have also started doing brewery tours again. For more information and bookings, visit their website: www.valebrewery.co.uk. Their taproom and shop is open every Friday, 12 to 6pm, and on the last Saturday of each month at the same times.
Caledonian Brewery : not a London brewery, I know, but it is part of the UK’s brewing heritage. Heineken UK have announced that they will be closing the 150 year old Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh. It is the last of 41 breweries in the City. Heineken’s UK Supply Director was quoted in the Morning Advertiser as saying, “The sad fact is, its Victorian infrastructure means significant inefficiencies and costs, particularly as it is operating below capacity. To modernise the brewery, and to meet our own sustainability commitments, would require considerable ongoing investment, which would make operating the brewery economically unviable.” Consultations with the 30 employees are in progress. Heineken are negotiating with Greene King about the possibility of some of Caledonian’s brands, including Deuchars, being brewed under licence at the Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar, which is Scotland’s oldest working brewery.