Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire Brewery Trip

Something most CAMRA members come to know is that no two breweries are quite the same. They all have their own distinctive way of doing things - a major factor in the fabulous diversity of British beers. Consequently, you never know quite what to expect from a brewery trip.

No doubt with this in mind, Robert Cawte, our organiser for this trip, suggested a way for the trip report to reflect this unpredictability: by having it written on the move, with a different author for each section.

Our first stop was the Uley Brewery, deep in rural Gloucestershire. According to head brewer Ken Lush, breweries fall into two categories: heritage centres and working premises. Despite its honey-coloured stone exterior, Uley falls firmly into the second category. It was purpose-built in 1833, when the village of Uley boasted around a dozen pubs compared with its present complement of one. After a long period of dereliction it was reopened by its present owner, Chas Wright. It is a traditional Victorian tower brewery, which means that the brewing process works downwards from the top of the brewery, assisted by gravity. Our genial host Ken, leaning on the first-floor mash tun, explained the process.

On the top level, a liquor tank holds the untreated spring water with which everything begins. To protect its purity, locals are forbidden from using any chemicals on their land. The liquor (the term used inexplicably but universally by brewers for water) is piped down into the mash tun, where it is mixed with malted barley to extract the natural sugars. Uley use two malts: Maris Otter and Crystal, which they get from Tuckers Maltings in Devon. After infusing for an hour and a half the sugary liquid - called wort - is drained from the mash tun (bought second-hand from Mendip Brewery) into the huge, slightly rusty (on the outside - it gleams on the inside where it counts) copper, essentially a two-storey-high industrial kettle, where it is boiled for about two hours and the hops added.

Uley generally double-hop their beers, adding Fuggles or Goldings a quarter of an hour into the boil for bitterness and Challenger at the end for aroma. The exception to this is their Gilt Edge (4.5% ABV), which is triple-hopped. Most Uley beers have pig-related names: Old Spot, Hogshead etc. According to Julia, a gilt is a sow which has not yet had its first litter.

From the copper, the wort is piped through a heat-exchanger - cooling the wort and simultaneously heating the next batch of brewing liquor - and into the fermenting vessel.

Although the fermenting room was off-limits, being a small space with open vessels, Ken explained what went on inside. Uley uses its own yeast, stored off-site by specialists BRI. Each batch used nine times before being replaced.

After a fascinating tour we passed out (not literally!) into the vaulted cellar where casks of Uley Bitter, Old Spot, Pig's Ear and (my personal favourite) Gilt Edge had been tapped for us to sample. As simple as that - a beautifully cool underground cellar, full of excellent beer - mind your head and help yourself! It doesn't get much better than that.

This is Kevin Clarke, Uley, Oxfordshire, handing over to Chris Ryan for the next leg of the trip...

Thanks, Kevin.

The second stop of the day was at the Woolpack in Slad. Here we were quickly reacquainted with the Uley Beers: Old Spot, Pigs Ear and Uley Bitter. St.Austell Tribute and Bulmers cider were also available. The Uley beers were certainly in good form, tasting as good as they did half an hour ago in the Uley brewery.

The Woolpacks claim to fame is that it was Laurie Lee's local and features in his book 'Cider with Rosie'. There are wonderful views across open countryside and a sizable outdoor deck area from which to enjoy them. The pub dates back to the 16th century and with the exception of the modern food service and preparation area its interior has many original features - a cosy bar and a more slightly more generously proportioned end room.

We received a warm welcome from the friendly, if somewhat overwhelmed staff. The food was good, local produce, which was somewhat erratically priced - The Steak sandwich at £5.50 was considered good value, however £2.50 for a few radishes, a tomato and a bit of lettuce seemed a bit on the high side. [Sorry folks, it was £5 all in when I tried it on the recce trip, before telling them I was testing it out . RC]

This is Chris Ryan in Slad, handing over to Allan Duffy...

Thanks for that, Chris.

Arriving at Wychwood Brewery about 20 minutes late due to a slow lunch, we were greeted in the souvenir shop by our guide offering us some beer (always a good start especially as the Cup Final was just starting and the footie fans amongst us needed some form of distraction). This visit was probably a first for Solihull CAMRA as it is now 2 breweries in 1 since they have taken over the brewing of Brakspear's using their original recipes.

Wychwood was originally established in the 1830s by the Clinch family and was known as Eagle Brewery, operating with its own maltings, which was more common in that era. They ceased trading in 1963 and remained closed until the early 80s when Glenny started brewing under the name Glenny Wychwood. The Glenny was dropped in the early 1990s.

They brew up to 1000 barrels a week from Monday to Friday with 8 of the 80 employees involved in the process. Their main range consists of Brakspear's Bitter & Special, Wychwood Best Bitter, & Hobgoblin (the one with the brilliant "lager boy" adverts.) but they also brew organic beers - Circlemaster from Wychwood and Organic Honey beer from Brakspear's. They also brew organic ale for Prince Charles' Duchy Originals range.

Most beers are made using crystal or chocolate malt, Burtonised Thames water and pelletised hops (shame, they don't smell nearly as good as the pockets of fresh ones). Separate yeast strains are maintained for Brakspear's, and the old Copper and Fermenting Vessels have been transported from the old Henley on Thames Brewery. They also continue to use the unique Brakspear's "Double Drop" method of fermenting where the liquor is fermented in a high level vessel and the dropped down into a low level vessel to complete the fermentation process. This method oxygenates the liquor. In this way, Wychwood hope to recreate the original Brakspear's taste.

After the tour, we ended up in the sampling room (as you do). We were then offered rather small samples of their range of bottled beers. Whilst they were interesting, I personally would rather have gone back to the draught ales we sampled on arrival. In any event, we had to make a hasty departure to try and make up some lost time.

One final thing. If you do visit Wychwoods, do look out for pictures of "male model" Chris who, we are assured is a genuine employee in the brew house.

And now, this is Allan Duffy handing over to the slightly wobbly Gordon for an account of our next port of call.

Thank you, Allan.

We approached the final brewery of the day with some trepidation. A bus-load of ale drinkers on our way to a lager factory. Surely this was against CAMRA's constitution, wasn't it?

The setting was delightful. The village of Foscot lies deep in the heart of the countryside, quite close to... well nothing, actually. The brewery is housed in a large barn, on a farm right at the southern edge of the village. Richard Keene, our host, started the Cotswold Brewing Company in 2005 with equipment bought from the USA. At something over £100,000, it was still cheaper than an estimated half-million for buying it in Europe.

The inside of the brewery is unlike any other brewery we've visited before. Although it has the usual mash tun and copper (actually a lauter tun and kettle, in lager brewing terms), long lines of conical-based fermenting vessels take up most of the floor space.

Richard, a graduate of Heriot-Watt University, talked knowledgeably about the brewing process. He invited us to sample a Cotswold Premium lager (5% ABV) while he explained both the similarities and differences between lager and ale brewing, and also the difference between mass-produced lagers and his own product. Until yeast is added to the wort, it could easily be an ale. From that point the story changes. Ale uses top-fermenting yeast that produces a barm (a foamy yellow head) on the wort. Lager uses bottom-fermenting yeast that produces no barm. The fermenting vessels are sealed at the top and fresh yeast for the next brew is cropped from the bottom of the conical base of the vessel. Fermentation occurs at a lower temperature than ales, typically around 11°C rather than the 23°C required for ales. Once fermented, Cotswold lager is then stored for 4-6 weeks (lager is the German word for "store") where it slowly develops a natural carbonation and the taste evolves.

We were encouraged to sample the other beers at various stages of fermentation; some still sweet, cloudy and low in alcohol; some clearer but lacking the typical lager fizz. You feel rather silly filling a pint glass from a 12-foot high lagering tank, but these things have to be done. What became apparent to us was that the hop aroma, imparted by hop pellets added during the boil, was slowly reduced during the long lagering. We also tasted Cotswold Three Point Eight and a weissbier (brewed from malted wheat rather than barley). We noticed that one of the vessels was labelled a little differently to the others, and Richard let us try the bitter he was brewing for Ridgeway Brewing (a "cuckoo" brewer that has no brewing premises of its own).

This was a fascinating insight into areas of brewing we were not familiar with and a very enjoyable way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon. Unconstitutional? No. This is lager made with care and attention, not chemicals and gas.

This is Gordon Clarke, in the Cotswolds for Solihull CAMRA.

Story: Kevin Clarke, Chris Ryan, Allan Duffy, Gordon Clarke. Photos: Robert Cawte, Gordon Clarke.