A look at the year ahead...

Since we started brewing in 2008 we have seen massive changes in the brewing industry & some of it is hard to absorb when you're on the inside & things move so quickly, back then no-one was talking about the word 'Craft' not many brewers were regularly dry hopping core range beers & kegged beer from small brewers was nowhere near being entertained.

How times have changed, six years on the British brewing scene is eclectic & diverse, cask, keg, bottle & can, IPA, Saison, Sours & more. The explosion of small breweries with their energy & endless creativity have thrilled & delighted those looking for exciting new beers & equally frustrated others.

2013 - We went from strength to strength.

I think we are now coming to the end of this frantically paced period of change & hopefully we'll see all brewers settling into the serious business of putting consistent quality at the heart of everything they do, but by the same token not relinquishing the originality which has fueled the great new found interest in beer.

We have put in some extra QC procedures & equipment at the brewery this year to ensure you are enjoying our beers a their best, we are determined to have our best year yet & build on the quality we achieved last year & go a step further.

Sabertooth, our new US IPA, low IBU's Big Hop/Malt Character

2013 was our best year to date, two new team members added, new equipment, more capacity & a lot of fantastic new beers not least 'The Devil Loves' *HOP* series, Mokko Milk Stout & Pacer our session keg pale ale, which have proven extremely popular.

We will be posting a monthly blog detailing what's happening this coming year, which leads me onto some changes in our range for 2014. Sadly, Resistance Dark Mild & Cohort are being retired, making way for 'Sabertooth' IPA 6.9%, 'Mokko' Milk Stout 6.0%. & seasonal 'Klooster' Belgian Wit 5.2% (April - October).

Our range in 2014 will now consist of the following:-

Zenith Pale Ale (Cask) 4.0%
Pacer Pale Ale (Keg) 4.1%
Barista Espresso Stout (Cask & Keg) 4.8%
Teleporter Ten Malt Porter (Cask & Keg) 5.0%
Oregon West Coast Pale Ale (Cask & Keg) 5.5%
Klooster Belgian Wit (Keg) 5.2% (Seasonal April-October)
Rouge Red Ale (Cask & Keg) 5.8%
Diablo IPA (Cask & Keg) 6.0%
Mokko Milk Stout (Cask & Keg) 6.0%
Sabertooth IPA (Keg) 6.9%
Maelstrom DIPA (Keg) 9.0%

This months new beers include:-

Huldra - Smoked Porter 5.4% - A smoky US style Porter brewed with Rauchmalt & Perle, East Kent Goldings, Mount Hood & Willamette hops.

Piha - Cask Pale Ale 3.9% - A riot of Kiwi hops such as Motueka, Pacifica & Nelson Sauvin, resulting in a sessionable pale ale with bags of dry hopped character.

Here's to 2014 being a positive 'pint half full' kind of year.

Here's to a great 2014 for us all, brewer, publican & most importantly the drinker!