Over the last couple of months, many readers will have spotted Windsor & Eton Brewery’s beer, Return of the King, brewed to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III. This gold coloured 4.2% ABV beer is brewed with (what else) organic hops and malts, including barley grown at the Royal Farm in Windsor. The beer has continued a tradition of its own; it is just one of many that the brewery has produced to celebrate the town’s long association with royalty. Windsor & Eton Brewery has a reputation of engaging with the local community and the portrait used on the beer’s labels and pub clips was the work of a local artist.
Matt Stead, the head brewer, explained that the brewery itself attracts quite a few tourists and many were looking for presents to take home. With the coronation boosting visitor numbers, they produced a celebration pack for the occasion. For those of you who have not visited the brewery for a while, the old tap room has now been converted to a small laboratory and accommodation for the newly installed canning line. “It runs at 20 cans per minute but, for the celebration packs, we use bottles, which are contract packed for us,” said Matt.
There are still a lot of rural pubs in the area around Windsor, Slough and Maidenhead. Matt said that this, plus the fact that some pubs had still not recovered to pre Covid levels, had affected buying patterns. “At one time we were producing mostly kils (18 gallon casks); it’s now firkins (9 gallon) and there is increased demand for pins (4.5 gallon). Unfortunately, we have a high loss rate with pins. A couple of years ago, we purchased 96 pins and now we have only 24 left.” That hasn’t been the only change. Matt reported that keg is now 50% of their sales. One of their biggest sellers is lager, particularly in the summer. They brew two varieties: Capital, which is lagered for 25 days, and Republika, which is lagered for 35 days.
With summer now approaching, you could do worse than taking a day out to combine a walk around Windsor Great Park or a trip to the Castle, followed by a walk by the Thames to finish with a visit to Windsor & Eton’s tap room before taking the train home. The full address of the tap room is 4 Vansittart Estate, Duke Street, Windsor. The train journey from Waterloo takes under an hour.
Christine Cryne