Under New Management

February Competition

To be entered into the competition, simply make a purchase online during the month of February 2021 and you'll automatically be entered into our prize draw.

Shop now

Good Luck!

The competition is only open to people over the age of 18 and only to residents of the United Kingdom, i.e. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The competition will run from 01/02/21 to 23:59 28/02/21. One winner will be randomly selected and notified via the email address they ordered with.

The prize is a £100 worth of Weird Beard beer from our webshop. To be entered into the competition, participants must make a purchase online from the Weird Beard Brew Co website over the competition live dates. Everyone who makes a purchase will be automatically entered into the prize draw. The competition winner will be contacted after the competition has closed and will have 3 days from initial contact to respond and accept their prize. If the winner fails to respond after 3 days, this will result in forfeiture of the prize and the Weird Beard Brew Co will select another winner. Once the competition has closed, we will publish the name of the winner on our website and social media channels.

Web Shop Delivery Terms

As of Monday 1st June 2020 the following delivery terms apply:

·  Flat UK rate of £4.99 on deliveries under £50.

·         Free UK delivery on all orders of £50 and over.

· Free click & collect from the brewery. Place and pay for your order on line, and come by the brewery to pick it up yourself. Only available 9-5 on business days. Just bring proof of purchase.

·         We aim to get all orders out on the same day, if received before 1pm. But, couriers do come at some random times so, if they come early, your beer will be shipped the next working day.

·         Please allow two to three working days before contacting us. Breweries and couriers are very busy right now and some deliveries may be slightly delayed. We thank you for your patience.

·         Free local delivery on orders of £20 and over, but only to postcodes W7, W5, W13, TW8, UB6 & UB1.

·         We aim to get all orders made before 1pm out to you on the same day. But please allow one working day before contacting us.

·         We aim to get orders out on weekends and bank holidays, but this service is dependent on our staffing levels. Again, please allow one working day.

·         Orders with free local delivery selected outside these post codes will be cancelled and your order refunded. We will be in contact to explain. Please do not get upset, we cannot continue a small business such as ours by making a loss on orders.

From the end of March, people enjoyed free shipping on all orders over £35 and all local deliveries within 2 miles of the brewery with no minimum spend. This was because everyone was going through hard times and we wanted to do what we could to help. We were also tying out a new online shop and trying to keep our heads above water in difficult times. But things have changed and our attentions in the brewery are starting to shift, slowly, back to normal service. This means our overheads are starting to rise again as staff are starting to return to work.

So, we have decided to move our delivery terms a bit more in-line with other UK breweries and raise the minimum spend. This will only affect a small amount of customers, as most orders have been over this threshold anyway. We are sorry to the people that this does affect, but the lower threshold was becoming economically unviable.

We have changed the local delivery options, as there were a few cases of confusion as to where the 2 mile limit was. So we hope the new post code system is more clear. We also found a small amount of orders were coming in for just 2 or 3 cans or bottles. This, again, is not viable for continuing a small business and we, again, apologise for the small number of customers this will affect.

Reformatoey and Anti-Social Social Club

Weird Beard have been a little late to this particular party. We have kind of dipped our toes in a couple of times, with the very successful Boar Oat of Hell, brewed with local home brew club Beer Boars. And more recently Mariana on Mango, the amped-up version of our flagship Pale Ale, Mariana Trench, with added Mango purée. A couple of others have come close, Bat Oat of Hell and The Dodo. But we have never done a full-on hazy, juicy, what I would call a hype beer.

Why has it taken us so long? Well, anyone who really knows me, will know that I am just not a fan. Never have been. To start with, there were just too many people trying to rip-off other breweries that had mastered the style. Which to me meant there were just too many bad versions out there, meaning drinkers never quite knew what they were in for each time they ordered. And these beers in particular, all tasted the same to me. They all tasted like beer straight from the fermenter, with the yeast still in suspension. When I sample beer from the fermenter, it always tastes dulled to me. The hop characteristics were masked by the yeast. So when drinking beer that had this taste, it just felt unfinished to me.

I never really got over this. And still when I try these beers, I personally don't get that big juicy thing everyone talks about. I usually get yeast and hop burn. I also like my beer bitter, which is why my favourite style always has been West Coast IPA. Not what people are calling West Coast now. People have forgotten what bitterness is. I mean those big, 100IBU, piney, dank, clean, clear, resinous beers. But I digress. Essentially, I am not the man to brew these hype beers, as I can't really monitor their progress and judge if they are any good. But for now, if I don't like it, I know I'm on the right track. And if the rest of our fine team like it, I know we are on to a winner.

As much as I try and tell myself I am brewing beer for myself - that we are a craft brewery, doing things our own way, and for our own reasons - the harsh reality is that we are a business, with employees we need to pay. People want hazy, juicy beers. People are only rating these beers on popular rating sites. And as much as I wish I could deny it, these things are important. These things influence peoples buying habits, and these all contribute to paying the bills. To paying our staff. Far too many breweries have gone out of business this year alone. And that is not even taking into account Covid19.

So we, or should I say I, have bitten the bullet. I have drunk more of a style of beer I don't care for in the last few months than I have since the scene started. I have honed my taste buds and expanded my knowledge. But more importantly, I have jumped on the hype train, and am walking down the aisle with my little trolley to present to you our 2 new hazy beers...

Reformatory – A 4% hazy pale with very low bitterness and big juicy hop characteristics. We went with loads of wheat and oats in the mash, as you would expect. This along, with a high mash temperature, adds to the mouth feel. Yeast-wise we blended Belgian and English ale yeasts, and fermented at a temperature that will help bring out the juicy hops, while leaving enough in suspension that combine with the protein from the oats and wheat to cling onto the hops. And which hops i hear you ask? We only went and threw loads of Mosaic and Ekuanot in.

You can order you cans from our on line shop

Social Anti-Social Social Club - A 7.7% Double Dry Hopped Double IPA. You can't sit with us! Hell, right now you can't sit anywhere, with anyone. This beer has been in the pipeline for some time now, it just so happens the name really works in the current climate. But the name is more a nod to the way I felt the 'Hazy DIPA' thing has developed. As mentioned before, I have not been a big fan of these styles of beer. And because of this, I have felt slightly outcast from the 'Craft Beer Club'. So to me, the Hazy DIPA Club was a very social movement, but also very unwelcoming to people who maybe didn't hold the same views. This is stronger, slightly boozier, with more of a Belgian characteristic from the blended yeast, but only subtle. Again, we went with a classic hop combination of Mosaic, Ekuanot and Amarillo.

You can order your cans from our on line shop

Another thing you may have noticed is our decision to put these into a 440ml can. This was the sales teams picking at me over time, wearing me down. They told me that if we were brewing a hype beer, like everyone else, we had to package it like everyone else. Now, we have been doing this for a while now, we are one of the older generation of 'craft breweries', putting our first beers out in 2013. And back then, we packaged anything below around 6% in a 500ml bottle, remember them? But there came a time when these simply were not cool. So we changed to 100% 330ml bottles, to the annoyance of the CAMRA posse. And then came along cans, which I have no objection to at all, I like cans for so many reasons. They are the new cool. But what I can't get my head around is why the new cool packaging is embracing the seemingly uncool when we were all in bottles. Why are 330ml bottles cool, but not 500ml, when 440ml cans are cool but 330ml less so? I like 330ml cans. They are cheaper for the consumer to buy for a start. They fit into all my craft beer schooner glasses. Am I getting too old for all of this?

We're HIRING - Sales/Dray Person

So, our man Oscar, who's served us well over the last couple of years as sales person and dray, has decided it's time to move to Sweden and start a family. And who could blame him? We wish him all the best. This does however throw open an opportunity for a keen and motivated person to join the Weird Beard team.

Key roles will include, but are not limited to;

• Delivering 1 to 2 days a week to London and surrounding areas, which is a perfect opportunity nurture relationships with customers.

• Working with the sales team to meet sales targets.

• Managing existing customers, making sure they are up-to-date with exciting new releases, by being an excellent, friendly and articulate public representative.

• Finding and developing new customers, be that visiting in person, or friendly phone calls.

• Fielding incoming sales via email and phone.

• Researching and gaining a firm knowledge of industry information on key trends, customer demand, etc and reporting back to the team.

• Working, planning and leading tastings and other exciting events.

• Welcoming and assisting customers and over visitors. Be it retail sales to take away, or new customers dropping by for a tutored tasting.

• Helping manage warehouse stock and building pallets.

Job requirements.

• A full clean driving license for at least a year.

• Knowledgeable and passionate about great beer

• Strong presentation, communication and negotiation skills

• Excellent networking skills and industry knowledge

• Excellent organisational skills

• Able to work independently and as part of a team

• Willingness and flexibility to travel around London and region spreading the word about our beers, sometimes outside of regular work hours

• Computer skills, from using excel and outlook on a daily bases, to getting to know our brewery management software.

• Legal right to work in the UK

• Involves heavy lifting. A full firkin will weigh around 45Kg. Equipment will be supplied where possible.

Nice to haves

• Experience working within a brewery sales team.

• Experience driving a forklift

What we offer

• We are a certified London Living Wage employer. So all persons who work from us, from full time staff to friends helping out, will receive the Current London Living Wage at the very least.

• Competitive salary & benefits, dependant on experience.

• Location in an up and coming part of West London.

• Opportunity to expand skills and knowledge in all aspects of brewing. From sales to brewing to packaging, if you have aspirations, just say.

• The opportunity to help drive and be part of the growth and development of the brewery.

How to apply

Just drop us an email with a cover letter and current & up-to-date CV to

recruitment@weirdbeardbrewco.com

Mariana Trench Moves To Cans

It may surprise a fair few people, but Weird Beard were one of the first UK craft breweries to put beer into cans. All the way back in early 2015, we put our Faceless Spreadsheet Ninja and Decadence Stout into force carbonated 330ml cans. Back then it was very early days for the can thing, and only a few mobile canning companies were about. Maybe when we filled our first cans it was a bit too early, especially for the mobile canners, who were still learning their trade.

To cut a long and painful story short, for various reasons, it did not go well. Pretty much all the cans were under carbonated, which was OK for the Stout but not ideal for a Pilsner. Then, after just a few weeks, the cans were starting to taste oxidised. But even worse than that, we started having the odd can- say 1 or 2 out of a 6 pack- exploding. This hurt us and our reputation a lot. And if you were one of the unlucky ones affected by this, we apologised then, and we apologise now.

In those days, the market was also totally different. Cans were seen as a ‘Big Beer’ thing, and hard to sell over a bar without a bit of convincing from knowledgeable staff.

So why has it taken us a full 4 years to try again? Well, as mentioned earlier, we were scared by the whole experienced last time and we know lot of our customers were too. So, we wanted to allow plenty of time for those memories to fade into the past where they belong. Another factor is that we are not set up for force carbonating, which is why our beers are still bottle conditioned. We have the wrong tanks, pumps etc, which would require a huge investment to change. And I (Bryan) really did not like can conditioned beers. To me a can is something you grab from the fridge, chuck in your bag and drink on the go. I believe that beer conditioned in its container, is best poured carefully to stop any sediment being consumed. To me this sediment dulls the flavour of the beer, and the drinker does not get the best drinking experience.

But that was then and things have changed, especially here. We have learnt our trade a little better, improved ingredients, processes and equipment. This all means we can produce a 'bottle conditioned' product with the smallest amount of sediment. Which in turn makes it perfect drinking on the go, and therefore perfect to slip into a can. As most will be aware, the market is almost unrecognisable since way back in 2015.

For our second flirtation with cans, we’ve chosen to focus first on our Flagship Beer, Mariana Trench. We wanted to update our branding in line with the packaging change; no one likes a disproportionate bottle label slapped on a can. We’ve also wanted for many years to showcase our brilliant designer Chris’ Lupins- the little Bryan shaped skulls which he designs uniquely for each of our beers. This felt like the perfect opportunity to do that.

Photo Credit: Nic Crilly-Hargrave

Learning from last time, we sent the beer off to be contract canned elsewhere. This allowed us access to state of the art canning equipment, lowering our quality control fears.

We’ll be launching the new cans at our Late Summer Open Day this Saturday, with a second bar selling just these outside the brewery. We hope you enjoy them and that they are the start of a new era of the Weird Beard story.

Cheers,

Team Weird Beard

How would you like to be a big player at Weird Beard

My name is Bryan Spooner and I am the beard behind Weird Beard.

I started Weird Beard Brew Co. back in 2013. There were a few people involved in various ways right at the start, but ultimately it was Gregg Irwin and myself who took the plunge.

We both had other jobs at the time. I was working full time at the BBC, which left me little time to focus on the set-up of the brewery but I did have some savings.

So in the beginning, I put in more capital while Gregg put in more hours, doing the leg, vocal and brain work of opening a brewery. That is not to say I didn't get my hands dirty. During the set-up phase, I wrote a weekly blog on how things were going:

The idea from the beginning was for Gregg and myself to share everything, but it soon became clear who was better suited to certain roles in the business.

Gregg is an outgoing 'people' kinda person, who had already spent a lot of time on the business side of things. He was also not a great fan of cleaning, which brewing is mostly. So he naturally fell into the sales and business part of things. I was quieter, shyer, and came from an engineering background, so was a lot more at home hiding away inside the brewery, brewing and packaging the beer. So I naturally fell into the operations/production side of things. I have improved massively over the years, heading up plenty of events etc., but it is still a bit out of my comfort zone. We both very much contributed to the recipe development though, with Gregg's beers still very much a mainstay in our core line up today.

For various reasons, covered in THIS BLOG, Gregg decided to move on. With our main sales person following shorty after. We hired a new sales person and a financial controller. It soon became apparent that as a business, we had not been doing as well as we had thought for quite some time.

So we quickly parted company with our external accountant, who had let some very big mistakes go unchanged for some time. And set to work trying to get our books in order. Unfortunately it was a little late for a few decisions that had just been signed, sealed and delivered. We had just brought a large walk in cold store, and signed a contract on the building. Quite frankly, this was a luxury we could not afford, but we had agreed to. This meant we could not price our beer as competitively as we may have liked.``

I don’t think I am biased when I say that Weird Beard has a great reputation and huge potential. We are invited to international beer festivals on almost a monthly basis. We have been around since almost the beginning of the London craft beer explosion. But I am not afraid to admit that I have not had the business knowledge to run the business, sales and production. The people we did hire, for various reasons, have not all worked out.

We have learned a lot over the past two years. What I have learnt most of all are my own limitations. I am still not the man to sit and chat on the phone for hours. I am an introvert, and I have come to terms with that. But this does mean that I am not the man to single-handedly sit at the helm of a brewery. I need help, I need support, but I also need to share a mutual vision.

A number of people have sat in the comfy seat in what I liked to call Gregg's Memorial Office, until I tore the walls down, literally and metaphorically. But no-one who has sat there has quite gelled with what I feel Weird Beard is all about, and how we work together as a team.

Don't get me wrong, and don't mistake this for lack of ambition. We built up Weird Beard with our own hard work and our own money (plus some small investment from family and friends). When we had some money in the bank, we brought a new piece of kit, ticking off the brewer's Christmas list. We got a long way into this journey without any loans or other funding streams, and this is how I liked it. As long as we were making the beer we wanted to drink, our staff were getting paid, and we didn't have debtors beating down the door, I was happy. The beer and brewing world has changed a lot and I can't afford to let it pass us by. I simply do not have the time, skills or any more money to invest. But I am not ready to give up.

With all this in mind, I am on the look out for a new business partner. Someone with experience and vision. Someone who is ideally happy to invest a little bit of money to acquire shares in the company.

The person would be added to the board of directors, and will draw a salary for the work they do. The day-to-day work will be all those super happy fun things that 90% of people forget about when starting a brewery, which include:

• Accounts. We can farm a lot of accounting out to a Spreadsheet Ninja in an office, but there is a certain amount we need to do in-house,.

• Chasing money. We all know people don't like to pay their bills. It is shocking just how many business models are based around not paying for anything until pushed. So we need someone to do that pushing.

• Paying bills. Or juggling as it could be known. Once we secure payment from customers we need to push that into the direction of our own supply chain.

• Paying our fine team members on time.

• Liaising and being the main point of contact for all business stuff: utilities, landlords, HMRC, the list is endless.

• Being the general authority and go-to person in the office. We have three buildings currently, and I don’t get to spend much time in the office. Making sure we have all the correct paper work and the right times to be a fully functioning brewery.

• This is by no means an exhaustive list. There will be things I have forgotten about. Maybe even not been aware of. It will be your job to be aware of all this. Which is why experience is essential.

Ideally this person will be someone I already know or have good links with, or with links to a well-respected brewery. Part of the reason past relationships have ended was the lack of that familiarity. There needs to be some history there, we need to be able to talk frankly with each other without fear of it being taken the wrong way, as much as possible. Someone I can bounce ideas off of, who will tell me if I am being a fool. Someone who knows the business of brewing, of selling, and of having fun while doing it.

So I lay my heart and mind bare, and come to the brewing world with a plea for help. But I also believe I bring an amazing opportunity to be part of one of the original London Craft breweries, and to be the person who pushes that brewery head first into the future. Where we can continue to brew the beer we want, spread the good word all around the world, innovate, and have a lot of fun in the process.

If you are interested and would like to find out more, contact me on the details below for an informal chat.

Weird Beard Bryan

bryan@weirdbeardbrewco.com"

Ho Ho Holiday (Xmas) 2018 Open Day Tap List

Coming up this weekend on Sunday 2nd December 12-8pm is our final brewery shindig of 2018.

We always offer our freshest brews, new releases, super special recipes, special reserved stock and collabs. You'll find a comprehensive range of all our current beers available for drink-in at our unit 5 brewery and for take-out at our unit 9 warehouse. Several beers will be on draft.

Not just beers are covered, so are all your merch/christmas gift needs. Brand Spanking New Posters will be on sale, while stocks last.

We’ve got a festive TWELVE STOUTS OF CHRISTMAS and MULLED STOUT to offer, plus non-dark beers so expect some rotation in what's pouring over the course of the day.

ON TAP (KEG)!

BLACK PERLE 3.8% * 2018 CHAMPION BEER OF BRITAIN FINALIST, COFFEE MILK STOUT *

LITTLE THINGS THAT KILL 3.9% * LATEST BATCH SESSION IPA, EKUANOT & BRAMLING X *

BLACK CHRISTMAS 4.5% * SEASONAL, CRANBERRY CHRISTMAS STOUT *

DECADENCE STOUT 5.5% * SEASONAL, LUXURIOUS OATMEAL STOUT *

K*NTISH TOWN BEARD 5.5% * SPECIAL, AMERICAN WHEAT/PALE *

DEAD BY DAWN, RUM B.A. EDITION 5.6 % * RARE, BARREL-AGED CHERRY BREAKFAST STOUT *

DOUBLE PERLE 7.0% * FRESH RELEASE, THIS YEAR’S RELEASE DOUBLE COFFEE MILK STOUT *

SUCH A BOHR 7.0% * AGED BLACK SAISON BLEND, WILD WEATHER COLLAB *

SAFE STOUT 7.7% * SPECIAL, CHOKEBERRY FRUIT STOUT *

FOLLOW THE WORMS 8.6% * AGAVE CHILI, MEXICAN EXPORT STOUT. HEREFORD BEER HOUSE COLLAB *

SADAKO 9.5% * SPECIAL, IMPERIAL STOUT *

SADAGOTHICKO, BOURBON B.A. EDITION 9.5% * RARE BARREL-AGED, IMPERIAL STOUT PIG & PORTER COLLAB *

CROSSING OVER 9.7% * SPECIAL/WELL-AGED REVERSE BLACK & TAN, TIME & TIDE COLLAB*

OPULENCE, BOURBON EDITION 10.2% * BARREL-AGED SPECIAL, CELEBRATION MADAGASCAN VANILLA IMPERIAL STOUT *

ON CASK!

NUTTIN’ ELSE MATTERS 6.5% * SPECIAL, OATMEAL STOUT WITH PEANUTS *

SPECIAL BOTTLES!

We always have stock of plenty of bottles, for drinking in at unit 5 and for take-out at unit 9. Make sure to don't miss out on the hard-to-get-hold-of beers. Several bombers on sale, several barrel aged rarities and lots of specials/collabs which you’d probably struggle to find elsewhere. Come fill your boots people!

🎅 🎅🎅 See you Sunday 🎅🎅🎅

September 2018 Brewery Open Day & Tap Room

Here comes the weekend and with it, comes the next installation of our Open Days. Below is what we have in store for you folks who make the effort to come over to our West London brewery. We've surely got some treats lined up this Sunday 2nd Sept!

We always offer our freshest brews, new releases, super special recipes, special reserved stock and collabs. You'll find a comprehensive range of all our current beers available for drink-in at our unit 5 brewery and for take-out at our unit 9 warehouse. 7 beers will be on, generally at all times, so expect some rotation in what's pouring.

ON TAP (KEG)!

BORN OF FIRE 6.5% *NEW, SPECIAL RELEASE, MIX FERMENTATION, SMOKED SOUR*

RUM EDITION: GOD OF THE COLD WHITE SILENCE 5.5% *SPECIAL RELEASE, BARREL AGED WHITE STOUT, STEEL CITY COLLAB*

*SOURSLAVE 4.0% *HOP CHANGING SESSION SOUR*

MOSAIC hop edition

KILL PILS 5.0% *CHANGING DRY HOP PILS, NEW BATCH*

ARCHER, PACIFICA, MINSTREL hop edition

HEAVY FUEL 5.6% *SMOKED BREAKFAST PALE ALE,  HASBEAN UPPERS & DOWNERS COLLAB*

CALL YOUR FRIENDS 9.7% *SPECIAL RELEASE COFFEE BLACK IPA, TIME & TIDE COLLAB*

MY OWN SUMMER 4.8% *OAT PALE ALE, NEW BATCH*  

WEIRD WIRED 5.5% *SPECIAL RE-BREW, EXTRA PALE ALE, 8 WIRED COLLAB*

BLACK PERLE 3.8% *SUPER FRESH, CHAMPION BEER OF BRITAIN 2018 FINALIST, COFFEE MILK STOUT*

ON CASK!

SADAKO 9.5% *SPECIAL RELEASE, RARE CASK OF OUR FLAGSHIP IMPERIAL STOUT*

SPECIAL BOTTLES!

We always have stock of plenty of bottles, for drinking in at unit 5 and for take-out at unit 9. Make sure to don't miss out on the hard-to-get-hold-of beers including:

• Sadako (Our Imperial Stout) various editions of Barrel Aged: brown wax and white wax in super purdyyyy bombers

• Rum AND Tequila Barrel Aged Follow the Worms (Agave Chipotle Chilli Mexican Export Stout) Hereford Beer House collab in 660ml bombers also

• Rum AND also Bourbon Barrel Aged Sadagothicko (Barrel Aged Imperial Stout) Pig and Porter collab, *BREWERY EXCLUSIVES ONLY*

• Rum Barrel Aged God of the Cold White Silence (Barrel Aged White Stout) Steel City collab

• Rum Barrel Aged Fade to Black (Barrel Aged Black IPA)

See you Sunday :)

Summer 2018 Open Day Tap List

Sunday 3rd June is not far off and with it, is our Open Day. So, what is going to be pouring?

Event in, event out, we always offer our freshest brews, new releases, super special recipes and collabs. You'll find a comprehensive range of all our current beers available for drink-in at our unit 5 brewery and for take-out at our unit 9 warehouse.

ON TAP!

MY OWN SUMMER 4.8% *LAUNCHING NEW, OAT PALE ALE*  

DEATH GROWL 8.6% *LAUNCHING NEW, HONEY LEMON TRIPEL,  SOLVAY SOCIETY COLLAB*

HELLO, GRISETTE ME YOU'RE LOOKING FOR 4.1% *NEW RELEASE, HOPPY GRISETTE, UNITY COLLAB*

KILL PILS 5.0% *CHANGING DRY HOP PILS, NEW BATCH*

OLICANA hop edition

SOURSLAVE 4.0% *SESSION SOUR, NEW BATCH*

MOSAIC hop edition

BLACK PERLE 3.8% *SUPER FRESH, COFFEE MILK STOUT*

DIRRTY HAANDS 9.8% *IMPERIAL SCHWARZBIER, HAAND COLLAB*

SPECIAL BOTTLES!

We always have stock of plenty of bottles, for drinking in at unit 5 and for take-out at unit 9. Make sure to don't miss out on the hard-to-get-hold-of beers including:

• Something Barrel Aged (Barrel Aged Double India Stout
• Rum AND also Bourbon Barrel Aged Sadagothicko (Barrel Aged Imperial Stout) Pig and Porter collab, *BREWERY EXCLUSIVES ONLY* 
• Rum Barrel Aged God of the Cold White Silence (Barrel Aged White Stout) Steel City collab
• Habitual Offender (Belgium Inspired Barleywine) Northern Monk collab bombers

See you there!

"SPRINGTIME" BREWERY OPEN DAY TAP LIST

As The #BeastFromTheEast moves on and our Open Day draws nearer, we've thought to let you know what the Sunday 11th March, at our place, holds in store.

Pouring on draft will be only super special brews and collabs. You'll find a comprehensive range of our core, seasonal, occasional and specials available for drink-in at our unit 5 brewery too and for take-out at our unit 9 warehouse.

ON TAP!

KILL PILS 5.0% *CHANGING DRY HOP PILS, NEW BEER LAUNCHING*

Amarillo hop edition

SOURSLAVE 4.0% *SESSION SOUR, NEW BEER LAUNCHING*

Calypso hop edition

LITTLE THINGS THAT KILL 3.9% *SESSION IPA, LATEST RELEASE*

Sorachi Ace and Wolf hops, a.k.a "Sorachi-Wolfcub" edition

DARK HOPFLER 2.5% *DARK SMALL BEER*

THE FROG IS FIRED 4.4% *GOOSEBERRY PALE ALE, LERVIG COLLAB*

COCONHAGEN INTERPRETATION 6.5% *COCONUT STOUT, WILD WEATHER COLLAB*

DOUBLE PERLE 8.6% *DOUBLE COFFEE MILK STOUT*

OF WOLF AND MAN 9.6% *IMPERIAL WHEAT ALE/MASSIVE K*NTISH*

One-off CASK special:

SADAGOTHICKO, CHIPOTLE CHILLIES EDITION 9.7% *IMPY STOUT, PIG & PORTER COLLAB*

SPECIAL BOTTLES!

We always have stock of plenty of bottles, for drinking in at unit 5 and for take-out at unit 9. Make sure to don't miss out on the hard-to-get-hold-of beers including:

• Something Something Barrel Aged (Barrel Aged Double India Stout)
• Bourbon Barrel Aged Double Perle (Bourbon Barrel Aged Double Coffee Milk Stout)
• Bearded Nurse (Barley Wine) Tequila Barrel Aged Edition
• Sadako (Impy Stout) MULTIPLE Barrel Aged Edition bombers
• Follow the Worms (Agave Chili Stout) Hereford Beer House collab bombers
• Crossing Over (Reverse Black and Tan) Time and Tide collab bombers
• Habitual Offender (Belgium Inspired Barleywine) Northern Monk collab bombers

FOR FURTHER DETAILS, SEE THE EVENT HERE!

Bring yourselves. Bring your friends. Bring your Ma, it's #Mother'sDay after-all, and she'll get a beer on us.

Of Wolf And Man - a beer with quite a tale behind it

Anybody who knows me (Weird Beard Tasha here) will know I love wolves and I love stories. That is a random introduction right there but, given that my name is Natasha Wolf and I had a sizeable input in the beer concerned you’re just going to have to embrace my love of both these things. So grab a bevvie, settle down and let me begin the story behind “Of Wolf And Man”...

Back in the day! (Some true baby-faced beer folks pictured here).

Back in the Olden Days, when Weird Beard first started in 2013, before I was part of the cog-works of the brewery I was offered the opportunity to brew here as part of BrewDog’s first ever Collabfest. The bar I then worked for, BrewDog Camden, excitedly paired up with Weird Beard to make an American Wheat Ale. 13 or so of us made the epic trek to Weird Beard and to-date, with 5 Collabfest brewdays under my belt, that experience was by far the best. Not only was it super fun-filled, informative and exhilarating, with a huge team of enthusiastic beer folks and friends, it was my very first brew ever. Add Bryan’s iPod on shuffle, a blast of my teenage past with Coheed and Cambria coming on, and life as I knew it would never be the same for me after that.

So, the beer that was made on this occasion was Weird Beard’s Gyle 29. Being ultra-keen and signing up to return to the brewery for dry-hopping, packaging and labelling with a few others of the BD Camden team, I really felt I contributed to the beer we brewed that day. Weird Beard (I say this as at this point of the story I wasn’t employed there) released it initially as “Camden Beard” which eventually after all this faff happened, was renamed “K*ntish Town Beard”. For years on after it has remained a main-stay in the Weird Beard beer portfolio. Now that I have been employed at Weird Beard for many years, it is a constant positive reminder of my cutting my teeth in the Brewing World.

My narrative so far has given you the back-story to “K*ntish Town Beard” (KTB) but there’s more to it!

We mark our centenary brews here at Weird Beard by scaling up a beer that is in important to us. Our followers and fans will know this but in case you didn’t:

• Gyle 100: Black Perle 3.8% (Coffee Milk Stout) scaled up to Double Perle 8.6% (Impy Coffee Milk Stout)

• Gyle 200: Sorachi Face Punch 3.9% (Session IPA) scaled up to Defacer 11.1% (Triple IPA)

• Gyle 300: Saison 14 5.5% (Farmhouse Saison) scaled up to Saison 28 10.3% (Impy Saison)

• Gyle 400: Decadence 5.5% (Luxurious Stout) scaled up to Opulence 10.2% (Madagascan Vanilla Impy Stout)

And so to mark Gyle 500, it called for another special something. Since we have a very open-book policy here and absolutely anyone may suggest recipes to be brewed, I suggested we imperialised KTB and that idea was met with a lot of enthusiasm. I cannot write beer recipes so Bryan designed the amplified recipe, keeping all the ingredients essentially the same as KTB. Weird Beard Ben and I made the beer on our 500th brewday. Besides me being the token Vegan of the brewery and Ben being the token Vegetarian of the brewery, the cool thing about this beer is that it's made by a Wolf and a Man. If you think that’s pretty witty, you’ve yet to cotton on that this beer is also named after a truly incredible song by one of the biggest Rock bands of all time. We’ve named more beers after songs by this particular band than any other band, and we’re not going to be stopping that anytime soon. Have a listen!

Off through the new day's mist I run Out from the new day's mist I have come I hunt Therefore I am Harvest the land Taking of the fallen lamb Off through the new day's mist I run Out from the new day's mist I have come We shift Pulsing with the earth Company we keep Roaming the land while you sleep (shape shift) Nose to the wind (shape shift) Feeling I've been (move swift) All senses clean (earth's gift) Back to the meaning, Back to the meaning of...

Being a bigger version of KTB the grain-bill weighed in hefty, making the mashing in perhaps not my most enjoyable. Over 20% of the grist was wheat and it’s this key ingredient that makes up the thick and delicious body of the beer. Packed full of tangerine meets grapefruit; there’s a lot of pithy citrus in the aroma and following through into the taste. While the dry & bitter flavours kick in, you get full-frontal pine from the American hops we’ve used, at various additions in the boil and also for dry-hopping to create a layered hop profile. Like I said, keeping things just as in KTB, we used the same trio of Willamette, Cascade and Centennial to be reminiscent of the flavours we love of the inspirational, original beer.

Thanks to our wonderful artist Chris for whipping up the label, similar in style to KTB yet very much also featuring what looks like my very own Lup'in.

Join us in celebrating our milestone and enjoying the first sips of "Of Wolf And Man" at the newest bar of the The Craft Beer Co. fleet.

Tapping tonight 18/01/2017 at 6pm at The Craft Beer Co Old St, with a few other brews of ours rocking the taps for the event too!
 

MERRY KRAMPUS 2017 OPEN DAY BEER LIST

MERRY KRAMPUS 2017 OPEN DAY BEER LIST

We've got a little something new in store for this brewery Open Day and Taproom. Despite the horror-film reference, you are in for a real treat. We're essentially trialing our possibly "permabar". So come down and see, plus get in on the festive action.

Pouring on draft will be only super special brews and collabs. You'll find a comprehensive range of our core, seasonal, occasional and specials available for drink-in at our unit 5 brewery too and for take-out at our unit 9 warehouse.

ON TAP!

LITTLE THINGS THAT KILL 3.9% *SESSION IPA, LATEST RELEASE*

Amarillo, Olicana and UK Cascade hopping!

BLACK CHRISTMAS 4.5% *CRANBERRY XMAS STOUT, SEASONAL SPECIAL*

It wouldn't be Christmas without a seasonal beer and despite our loathing of mentioning the C-word anytime before December, we have made a tasty festive beer....here's ours.

SMOKE 6% *RAUCHBIER, SPECIAL*

TWO MUSCATEERS 7% *MUSCATE BARREL AGED KETTLE SOUR, FIERCE COLLAB*

F YOU I WON'T BREW WHAT YOU TELL ME 9.3% *WEST COAST IPA, ODYSSEY COLLAB*

SADAGOTHICKO 9.7% *IMPY STOUT, PIG & PORTER COLLAB*

BUFFALO TRACE DOUBLE PERLE 8.6% *BARREL AGED IMPY STOUT*

GOD OF THE COLD WHITE SILENCE 5.5 % *RARE CASK, STEEL CITY COLLAB*

SPECIAL BOTTLES!

Be sure to nab some really hard-to-get-hold-of beers including:

• Bearded Nurse (Barley Wine) Tequila Barrel Aged Edition
• I Scream For You Bruce (Ice Scream Pale) London Amateur Brewers collab
• Sadako (Impy Stout) MULTIPLE Barrel Aged Edition bombers
• Follow the Worms (Agave Chili Stout) Hereford Beer House collab bombers
• Crossing Over (Reverse Black and Tan) Time and Tide collab bombers
• Habitual Offender (Belgium Inspired Barleywine) Northern Monk collab bombers

FOR FURTHER DETAILS, SEE THE EVENT HERE!

Wanted - Sales Manager

Weird Beard are a small, independent brewery based in West London. After almost five years of steady growth, we have decided we need to move from reactionary sales to active, meaning we can get our message and beers out to a wider audience. To achieve this we are looking for an experienced sales manager to take us to the the next level.

The role

• Manage & grow key relationships in the areas of export, wholesale and the local London market.
• Working directly with the founder, along side our financial controller, warehouse manager and events & communications manager, and manage currently one sales/dray person.
• Be a brand ambassador out in the field.
• Use experience to negotiate new relationships, manage discounts & incentives for customers, while influencing brew schedule and pricing.
• There will be opportunity to work events in the UK and internationally.
• We also actively encourage all our staff to get involved in recipe development and the chance to brew.

Requirements

• At least 1 year experience leading a sales team within a brewery. Or 3 years as a member of a sales team. (Sorry, managing a bar does not count).
• A good understanding and experience of the market and beer/bar scene.
• A keen love and knowledge of beer, along with a good palate.
• Needs to be highly motivated, friendly, sociable and articulate.
• Good IT knowledge, with confidence use of the usual software (Excel, Word) and ability to learn new.

We are a tight, small team that is passionate about beer, music and what we do. If this sounds like the place for, drop us an email with CV and why you would excel in this position to recruitment@weirdbeardbrewco.com.

Full-time Dray/Warehouse/Sales Person Required

A bit about us

Weird Beard Brew Co Ltd. is a small (10 barrel), independently owned brewery based in Hanwell, West London. Well known and established in the London beer scene and beyond, we have been brewing since early 2013 and have built a reputation for brewing consistently high quality and innovative new beers. We have a core range, but are in no way restrained by it, releasing at least one new beer each month.

We are expanding our resources, with both new equipment and new staff in vital roles. The focus on getting our product to the customers as fresh and conveniently as possible, with a friendly, knowledgeable brand ambassador, means we are bringing deliveries in-house.

About the role

We are looking for an adaptable, beer loving, hardworking dray, warehouse and sales person. The role will be split between each of these jobs, spending 2-3 days a week on deliveries, 1 day a week working in the warehouse, 1 day sales support.

Your role will include (but is not limited to):

Dray Duties

·         Being responsible for delivery of cask, keg and bottled beer to London accounts. This will sometimes include going outside of the London area.

·         Collecting any empties that pubs may have, keeping a log of what you have returned.

·         Being a friendly and knowledgeable representative of Weird Beard to bars and shops.

·         Communicating with the sales team regarding orders, invoices and volumes.

·         Working with the warehouse team in building up and loading orders.

·         Whilst delivering products, giving out samples to promote new and exciting launches we have coming up.

·         Maintaining a good upkeep of the vehicle

·         Handling cash and making sure that paperwork is filled out correctly.

Warehouse Duties

·         Labelling bottles (with the use of an automated system).

·         Building up large pallet orders safely.

·         Helping with deliveries into and out of the warehouse.

Sales Assistant

·         Helping the sales team on busy days.

·         Confidently dealing with telephone and email orders.

·         Using our CRM system effectively to input and manage customer orders.

·         Serving walk in customers who want to buy retail stock to take away.

·         Serving customers at the Weird Beard bar during open days.

·         Covering the sales team during periods of sick leave or annual leave.

Other Duties

·         Working at events for Weird Beard pouring our beer.

·         Occasionally assisting on brew days or packaging days.

Required Skills

·         ESSENTIAL: Full Clean UK driving licence held for over one year.

·         ESSENTIAL: Ability to speak, read and write English language.

·         Job involves heavy lifting and manual handling, bending and sitting for long periods.

·         Must be able to lift over 40kg.

·         Excellent customer relationship skills.

·         Must be 25 and over for insurance purposes.

·         Good knowledge and passion for craft beer.

·         Forklift licence would be an advantage.

·         Occasional weekend work may be required, but time off in lieu will be provided.

Salary 23K per year.

Apply to recruitment@weirdbeardbrewco.com for the attention of Rachel. 

Closing Date: 13th June.

Gumball - Go Suck On This!

Watch out WEIRDos! Today we're rolling out one helluva big juicy gumball. This is a **Sweet New Beer Alert**

Our latest offering, Gumball is a double IPA (DIPA) packed full of candied fruit flair.

It's a traditional DIPA in its components but not in its composition. As you can tell from the ABV, this is a big beer but its drinkability belies its strength.

We’ve kept the malt bill simple, with a combination of pale malt, lager malt and oats. But we brought it all together with a long, low temperature mash, which maximises the fermentability of the wort, and dries out the beer. The secret of a good DIPA is to hit a low final gravity, to take the weight out of the final product.

You will taste some sweetness here but that’s from the hops, rather than the malt. We were trying to recreate memories of gumballs sucked on during childhood outings to the arcade at the British seaside. We took Centennial and Simcoe from the American camp, and Motueka and Galaxy from our Australasian cuzzies to culminate in an intense fruit cocktail.

The hop selection was critical here, but we also treated them a little differently this time around. Rather than adding the hops to the end of the boil, we lowered the temperature and let the hops stand in the wort for an hour. This clever technique is (unsurprisingly) known as a hop stand and its purpose is to retain more of the hop oils.

Then there’s the double dry hopping. Instead of putting all of the dry hops in towards the end of fermentation, half were added immediately after high krausen (when the yeast is at peak activity). The biotransformation of the hop compounds releases intense fruitiness that would otherwise remain locked in. Upon final gravity, these hops were dropped out and we hit the beer with a second dosage. To get the most of this addition, it was recirculated in the fermenter a number of times.

The bitterness hasn't been neglected either, thanks to our typical first wort addition, which is always on the generous side. This creates a definite bite to balance things out and imitates the tang you get from a gumball.

It all comes together to create a DIPA that goes down just a bit too easily.

You remember how to play. Put your coin in, pull the lever, and let them drop.  

Opulence - its making

Hey WEIRDos... (Weird Beard aficionados)

As this is the first time I have taken to the airwaves at WB Towers, I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Ben, a brewer here at WB, and I want to tell you a story about a journey of opulence stretching from Madagascar to Hanwell.

This is me...

Back in January we hit a milestone – our 400th brew. And the WEIRDos out there will know we celebrate our centurion brews in style. The brief was simple: take an existing WB beer, beef it up and give it a damn good twist. Decadence was the chosen victim this time around, and we were going to lace it with vanilla.

Decadence is a great base on which to build an imperial stout. It’s a proper, honest ale, rich in malty goodness and appropriately bitter. We wanted to stay true to the original – it just needed to be more; more of everything. And what’s ‘more’ than decadence? Opulence. Name and vision established, we got on with the recipe.

We knew we wanted huge body, and an increase in mash temperature alone wasn’t going to achieve that. We definitely weren’t going down the lactose route either – personally, I think that’s been overused by brewers lately.

If you’re looking for body, a good place to start is with oats. Decadence already has a substantial dose but we upped it as much as we dared in a single infusion mash, really pushing it to the limit. This added a rich creaminess that complements the star of the show, the vanilla.

We weren’t worried about the potential astringency of a heavy oat addition – this is an imperial stout after all. We were just concerned about getting a stuck mash. The brewers amongst you will know what I’m talking about. It’s like trying to run off liquid from a thick porridge.

The hopping schedule was suitably scaled up to balance out the additional sweetness from the increased Original Gravity. The bitterness would also interplay nicely with the deep, dark flavour of the vanilla.

My slicing and scraping of high grade Madagascan vanilla beans

In its purist form, vanilla is one of those intoxicating ingredients that conjures up images of far-off lands. It’s seriously like a drug. We bought the best raw ingredient our money could buy. The moment our boxes of class A Madagascan vanilla arrived, we knew they were going to lift Opulence to another level. The huge pods were so plump and supple, we couldn’t wait to slice one open. It was stuffed full of caviar, the main flavour component of the pod, which filled the room with its aroma. With one down, only another 499 left to hand slice and scrape. Time-consuming but well worth it for a very special 400th brew.

(Photo credit: Dom Hemy)

Much like a fine wine or a whisky, the mark of a really good imperial stout is the length and complexity of its finish. The drinker is taken on a journey, rising and falling along a wave of flavours. Here, it’s the vanilla that’s providing the transportation, through the nuances of this dark and daring stout. Go enjoy the ride.

Opulence is being lavishly launched at the Drafthouse Westbridge on Friday 28th April from 6pm with the option to Meet the Brewer (myself). More details here and on our Events Page. 

Spring 2017 Open Day Beer List

With the weekend fast approaching, we thought to whet your appetite for all the delicious beers that will be on offer at our brewery Open Day and Taproom.

Pouring on draft will be only super special brews and collabs. You'll find a comprehensive range of our core, seasonal, occasional and specials available for drink-in at our unit 5 brewery too and for take-out at our unit 9 warehouse.

ON TAP!

Top Ranken Bitter *Hop City Special, LONDON release*

Sunshine-sweet mix of summer-fruits and hops muddled with the banana and light spice quality you get of Belgian beers. We've made a sup-on all day long beer, inspired by our favourite Belgian bitter pale ale, that showcases "hot side" additions of whole leaf Motueka and Ella hops. A highlight at Hop City Festival Leeds last week, this beer is pouring first in London at our Open Day.

SINGLE HOP CENTENNIAL *APRIL Seasonal*

Number 5 in our ‘Single Hop Series’, hopped with Centennial and brewed with English Ale Yeast to kick out more fruitiness, this is a brewery favourite DIPA we release once a year. It is in-your-face hoppy, resinous, floral but mildly sweet to balance the bitterness.

 

Kwantum State *Wild Weather Collab*

This collab beer was brewed at Wild Weather Ales. An easy-drinking, fresh and zippy saison, with big Kaffir lime flavour. Zesty and floral with some white grape sweetness from Nelson Sauvin and lemony Sorachi Ace hops, it's very refreshing.

Fade to Wit *Left Hand Brewing Collab*

Brewed at the amazing Left Hand Brewing in Colorado, this is a black Witbier, inspired by the fact both us and Left Hand have beers called "Fade to Black". You get roasty dark malt character paired with crisp citrus from Curacao Orange Peel and spicy Coriander. A super small amount of this beer has made it over this side of the pond! 

Mesca Ulad - Ulster Exile B.A. Veda Porter *launching*

Launching this same weekend in Northern Ireland where the Ulsters are at, this is a brand spanking new and special beer. It is made of Veda (Irish malted) bread and has been barrel aged in The Quiet Man whiskey barrels. Expect sticky, date-y, malt flavours meets Irish dry porter paired with vanilla and oak sweetness. More info on this special brew can be found on the blog! 

SADAKO *Rare Cask*

Our deliciously rich, complex and intense imperial stout that boasts dark, rich malts, coffee and molasses and is aged in the brewery for at least 6 months before release, will be tapped on cask at our Open Day. There will only be the one pin of this, so don't miss out to avoid disappointment!

SPECIAL BOTTLES!

Be sure to nab some really hard-to-get-hold-of beers including:

• Bearded Nurse (Barley Wine) Tequila Barrel Aged Edition
• Boring Brown Beer (Imperial Best Bitter) Bourbon Barrel Aged Edition
• Mesca Ulad (Barrel Aged Veda Porter) bombers
• Sadako (Impy Stout) Red Wine Barrel Aged Edition bombers
• Follow the Worms (Agave Chili Stout) Hereford Beer House collab bombers

For all general details, click here and join the event here!

Ulster Exile Collaboration

The Concept

It all started with a beer, as many things do, or to be honest probably more like a surfeit of beer. I can't remember if it was Birmingham Beer Bash, London Craft Beer Festival or a random night in the Euston Tap that first got us interested in the idea. I can't even remember who it was that I started the discussion with.  It may have been Colin at Buxton or Joe who was then at Magic Rock. All I know is that from that day any Ulsterman/woman in the beer industry was sounded out about the possibility of all getting together and doing a collaboration brew.

We did some shout-outs on Twitter and while we did not pick up too many more members, we did have a suggestion for a beer from Emma Stump. A Veda Bread Porter.  For those who do not know about Veda bread here is the first line of the Wiki entry:

Veda bread is a malted bread sold in Northern Ireland. It is a small, caramel-coloured loaf with a very soft consistency when fresh. Since it is only available in Northern Ireland, many people rely on their relatives to send them Veda to other parts of Ireland and the UK.

It is marvellous slathered in loads of cold butter and more importantly we thought we could make a decent concept for a beer. 

Herding Cats and Sourcing Bread

The next job was to try to get a date for the brewday... We first started talking about this back in 2013 and finally agreed to brew the beer in the Summer of 2016... talk about herding cats! Unfortunately neither Colin nor Joe made it to the brewday for assorted reasons but we had a healthy representation from the UK craft beer scene arrive at Weird Beard to brew the beer.

We approached the the major manufacturers of Veda bread to see if they would sell us some bread to both put in the mash and eat on the day. Neither of them were interested.  As it says above, Veda is only sold in Northern Ireland so we had to rely on our relatives to send over the bread. And what a job they did, as we ended up with 50 loaves plus some for on-the-day consumption. Big shout-out to the Mums and Dads who came through with the goods!

Barrel Aging

One other crazy idea we had was to age the beer in some Bushmills barrels. A bit like Veda bread, on the mainland these barrels were rather hard to get your hands on. However the great guys from  NS Craft Beers sorted out a contact with a new distillery that had opened in Derry, The Quiet Man. 

The guys at The Quiet Man sent us enough fresh bourbon barrels to barrel-age the whole batch and when the beer was packaged we sent the barrels back so that they could finish a whiskey in the beer-soaked barrels. We very much look forward to trying this.

The Naming of the Beer

We bounced a few ideas for the name around. We thought of taking the piss out of the troubles and the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland, but Weird Beard had already done that with Suspect Device that they brewed with Farmageddon. 

The thought then came round to Ulster myths and ancient history. There is a story in the Ulster Cycle called Mesca Ulad. It is a story of Ulster warriors going to two feasts in one night, instead of choosing one, and ending up careering drunkenly around Ireland. The translation of Mesca Ulad is The Intoxication of the Ulstermen. We found this to be fairly apt.

Launching the Beer

What better way to launch this project than for the Ulster brewers to head home for a bender. We are brewing a beer with Boundary Brewery on Friday 21st April before doing an Event in Belfast that night and then another in Derry on the Saturday. 

• Friday 21st April: The Woodworkers, Belfast 6pm. Meet the brewers and try Mesca Ulad and assorted beers from the contributing breweries.
• Saturday 22nd April: The Walled City Brewery, Derry 2pm. Meet the brewers and distillers and try Mesca Ulad and assorted beers from the contributing breweries.
• Sunday 23rd April: Weird Beard Brew Co, London 12 noon. Mainland UK Launch of the beer.

Roll Call

So who was involved with the project?

On the Brewday:

• Gregg Irwin, co-founder of Weird Beard Brew Co
• Chris Taylor, brewer at Weird Beard Brew Co
• Ryan McLean, founder/brewer at Bullfinch Brewery
• Jonathan Hamilton, brewer at Beavertown
• Chris Heaney, head of production at Partizan Brewing
• Russell Lee, brewer at Brick Brewery

Also involved:

• Colin Stronge, head brewer at Buxton Brewery
• Jan Rogers, owner of Marble brewery
• Joe Ince, brewer at Marble brewery
• Russell Erskine, brewer at Brewdog

Get involved...

If you are from Ulster, in the beer industry outside the province, and are interested in getting involved, then get in touch. Best bet is to contact me @dredpenguin on twitter.

We hope to continue to have get-togethers and brewdays going forward.

Packing it in with 500ml Packaging

The subject of "packaging" is one very hot topic in Beer these days. And when we say these days, it's been heavily discussed for the best part of last year when talking about canning and for a lengthy time before then over cask. Plus, there was a fair bit on different types of kegs. So, we can all get it straight that "packaging" is not something a brewery can take lightly.

Being what the Americans would call a 'production brewery'; one which makes beer and sells the product to others to primarily dispense rather than serving at the source, our packaging is very important. Making the right decisions about it, means we are likely to get more of our beers to others and because we care about beer a lot, we want to do so in the best way possible. Since we're not at the stages of moving to canning for all its benefits, we've put adequate emphasis on reviewing our current packaging. It's our decision, therefore, to make the move away from 500ml bottles, except from our sharing beers (a.k.a big ass stouts and the like) which will remain in 660ml bombers.

What is this change about? So, originally we packaged almost all out sub 5.5% beers into 500ml bottles, such as Little Things that Kill, Dark Hopfler and Black Perle to name a few. We did this because we quite like to drink a pints' worth of those lower ABV beers and a 500ml bottle would cater to those preferences of ours. However, for a long while now we've been asked "why the different bottle sizes?", trying to express our reasons of doing so, sometimes met with confusion by customers who think we package all beer in both formats and noticing an increasing demand from our accounts for 330ml.

In a nutshell, customers and pubs prefer 330ml bottles and principally because it's the standard size all over the world. Shelf and fridge space are better suited to one size ie: 330ml bottles. Our 500ml bottles sometimes look side-lined from the others. On a related subject, the aesthetics of 330ml bottles appeals more to restaurants and within fine-dining where they have begun serving bottled beers as an option of drink at meals. All these factors don't entirely exclude our 500ml bottled beers but did show signs that maybe our want for that size of packaging wasn't going to get those beer as widely enjoyed. We've always said we brew what we like to drink and we certainly don't like to jump on any ol' bandwagon; we do feel that we're making the right move here for our beers and for our customers. For every batch of beer, although our manual bottling days will be longer and harder, there will be more bottles out there. We're willing to embrace that and hope those of you who are fond of the 500ml bottles, don't feel too put out by the change.

As of this week, Dark Hopfler is now in 330ml and we'll start rolling out the others shortly.

We may be standardising our bottle size but you can still count on the same exciting beers within the container!