For this post I’m looking a lot closer to home… about 3
miles away to be precise, at a relatively new brewery in Swindon
Now, Swindon (And Wiltshire in general) seems to be a bit of
a craft beer black hole… a place where real ale reigns supreme, with only a
handful of decent bottle shops to choose from for anything crafty.
So, you can imagine my surprise, and sheer joy to find,
purely by chance, a craft brewer practically on my doorstep.
Old Town Craft Brewing, as the name suggests, is based in
the old town area of Swindon. The area itself has gone through a bit of a
renaissance and redevelopment, including the addition of a new craft beer bar
and improvements in craft offerings from the local bottle shop.
Although very young, by brewery standards, Old Town Craft
Brewing has been around in essence under former guises. Originally Ormskirk
Brewing Company (OBC) back in 2011 and producing a style of wheat beers
inspired by the German Weisse beers and more modern American HefeWeizen styles.
After initial success in the North of the country, OBC was moved south to
Swindon and Old Town Craft Brewing was established in 2012 with the aim to
produce high quality crafted ales and fruit wines.
Throughout 2013 and into 2014, the Brewery started to
embrace the idea of craft beers fully, experimenting with different techniques
and flavour combinations to produce unique brews and using locally grown hops
and foraged fruits and other ingredients.
At the end of 2014 and into 2015 the Brewery started its #CoHop
project. Supplying local residents, business and other interested parties with
hop plants for them to grow in their gardens, with the hops grown harvested and
brewed into fresh new beers and then shared by the local community and beyond.
This kind on project is a big step forward for a small brewer as it allows the
use of the freshest possible hops and all locally, sustainably sourced and also
gives a sense of connection with the local community. If you’re local and want
to get involved click here.
The first time I had even heard of Old Town Craft Brewing
was on a flyer for a Christmas market last year and I was immediately curious…
how could a craft brewer just a fair walk away go under the radar so easily! Therefore,
I took the wife and kid along to the market under the guise of ‘christmas
shopping’ and lo and behold I was met with a stand full of delicious looking
beer (at which point my wife twigged why I was really so keen to go).
I was lucky to have gotten there early enough to have a good
chat while sampling some of their core beers, at that time two different pale
ales and a porter, that I will discuss more below. At the time of the fayre,
the Brewery was still operating on a small scale, producing what can only be
described as nano batches for the local craft and ale bars and bottles for fayres
like this. Only now, after being granted a premises license are they able to
sell direct to the public from the brewery itself which will no doubt have a
profound impact on their sales and allow for much easier availability.
Now, onto the important things….. the beer!!
I was lucky to have been able to pick up one of each of the
three available beers at the time, these were two from their Artisan range, a
green hop IPA and their Easy IPA, and one of their core beers, the Bushcraft
Porter, a hand-crafted porter brewed with craft and aged hops along with some
foraged fruits.
The Artisan range consists of very small batch brews, using
all of the locally grown and foraged wild hops that are crafted into a wide
variety of beers, from standard IPA’s to Saison/farmhouse styles, wheat beers,
porters and more. The two on offer here were;
Artisan project #25, their Easy IPA brewed with 6 different
hop varieties giving a big fruity punch and a nice balanced bitterness.
Artisan project #26, the 2016 variant of their green hop
IPA. Using only locally grown ingredients this beer is bitter to the extreme,
owing to the huge amounts of ‘green’ hops used in the brew These are fresh,
unprocessed hops that need go into a brew straight from the bines with the beer
needing to be drank as soon after bottling as possible for the best taste.
Brewing with ‘green’ hops also means you never really know what flavour profile
you might end up with, it could be grassy/herbal, decidedly bitter, or
intensely fruity.
Initial favours with the bottle I had were very much like
any IPA, light and fruity, but then the bitterness really kicks in. Personally,
I loved that big contrast from delicate fruit sweetness to in your face
bitterness. The other real plus for me is that the bitterness doesn’t linger in
your mouth, meaning each sip gives that same light initial taste then transforms.
In a market place that is in danger of becoming saturated
with the ever growing number of craft breweries, it’s my hope that Old Town is
in there for the long haul. With a unique approach and even more unique beers they
have so much to offer.
Nice work!
ReplyDeleteThanks David. I appreciate all your help!
DeleteThose bottles look great! It's fun to have a local craft brewery to root for.
ReplyDeleteCheers Keith! Helps that they have some amazing brews!
DeleteReally great review!! So much information had to read it twice, must be great to have a brewery within walking distance. Cheers from Marty_Mcfly127
ReplyDeleteCheers Marty!!! I'm so lucky to have them close by
DeleteGreat blog post... sounds like a brewery on the right track to me
ReplyDeleteThanks Barker. They are indeed. I have really high hopes for them to succeed
DeleteReally informative. The bush craft porter I had certainly gave the impression of a brewery that's here to stay!
ReplyDelete