More T.E.A. vicar? (Hogs Back Brewery)

Andrew Catchpole visits Hogs Back Brewery in Surrey, England

As product development goes, Martin Zillwood Hunt’s philosophy takes some beating. “I start by taking an empty glass and imagine what I’d like in it,” he says. “This is how all our recipes have developed.” It’s no more than you’d expect from a self-taught brewer who began by home brewing small batches in old Burco boilers and then gifting barrels to local pubs for feedback on his brews.

“It all started because I wanted to go into a pub and be able to drink a beer with good flavour,” he says. “So I thought I’d see what I could do.” Then, as today, Martin began working with Hook Norton yeast and soon switched from Goldings hops to the remaining local grown, high-wire trained Surrey Fuggles. Three styles of malt – chocolate, crystal and pale, provide the other variables in all the brews. “Because I wanted a bit more flavour we typically use a shorter fermentation with aroma hops rather than bittering hops for our brews,” says Martin. “I’d always liked the beers of Hook Norton, and especially Old Hooky, so we started using their yeast and still do today.” It’s a recipe in itself that would have big brewer marketers and bean counters fermenting at their desks, but one that has seen Hog’s Back Brewery grow from a fledgling 10-barrel micro in 1992 to a contender for small regional brewery status, with capacity for up to 40 barrels a day, with a range of superb, punchily-flavoured beers.

These include the dangerously drinkable, hoppy bitter-sweet fruitiness of its TEA (Traditional .....

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By Andrew Catchpole

Section : Spotlight

Page number : 62