Windswept Brewing Co, Lossiemouth

The Moray coast

Lossiemouth, Moray, is 44 miles from Inverness on the North East coast of Scotland. RAF Lossiemouth is an important fast jet main operating base with both Tornado and Typhoon squadrons based there. Windswept Brewing Co is based in Coulardbank industrial estate on the edge of Lossiemouth and within earshot of aircraft noise from the RAF station.

Al Read and Nigel Tiddy, former RAF (Tornado) pilots enjoyed the outdoor life on the wild and unspoilt coast and nearby Highlands and established West Beach Brewery in 2012. The name was changed to Windswept Brewing in November 2012 due to legal problems.

Al Read in Windswept Brewery yard.

My visit to the brewery with locally based friends on 30 July 2015 had been arranged in advance and Natassia Barksby told us about the brewery and the beers in the white portacabin office and shop opposite the two main brewery units.

Natassia Barksby kindly posed with a West Berkshire Ullage magazine

The bottle range currently includes: APA a 5% ABV American Pale Ale hopped with Columbus, Willamette and Cascade; Blonde and Wolf in 500ml bottles and Weizen, Tornado (6.7% Citra IPA) and Typhoon (6.2% Amarillo IPA) in 330ml bottles. Wolf of Glen Moray, 9.2% ABV, aged in oak whisky casks, is also available in a special 330ml bottle pack.

Windswept Brewing Co has won several awards including SIBA Scotland Gold for APA and Wolf in 2013. APA went on to win SIBA National Bronze in the 2014 Champion Strong Bitters category.  Weizen was awarded Overall Champion award at the 2014 CAMRA Aberdeen and North East Beer Festival.

APA - label on back of bottle

Back in the brewery yard, Al Read (Director of Operations) told us about his interest in brewing that started with homebrewing. On a three year exchange visit to North Carolina (2003-6), Al discovered interesting new beers that were not generally available in the UK. An American navigator on an exchange stay in Lossiemouth who had experience of competition brewing was also an inspiration for Al. Visiting local breweries like Cairngorm and Cromarty he realised that apart from the scale there was no major difference between home brewing and commercial brewing. Al developed his tasting skills on CAMRA courses and with the Craigellachie Real Ale Club. He was invited to be a judge for the Champion Beer of Scotland and there he found that his tasting notes were similar to those of the experts. Al said that drinking beer socially in clubs and groups was an important factor in developing his tasting skills.
Al had brewery work to do so he left us with Natassia to take a look inside the brewery.

Assistant brewer, Doug Russell, digging out the mash tun

The success of the brewery has led to a requirement for more space. The brewery started in a single unit with the office inside. Later, a mezzanine level was added and the adjacent unit was acquired. The portacabin and space in the yard were added and there are now plans to add a third unit to give space for a bottling plant. There are two 10 barrel and four 20 barrel fermenters and a fifth one will be added. The kettle (copper), the middle vessel in the photo above, is 10 barrel capacity. The hot liquor tank is in the far corner. The spent grains from the mash tun end up going to a local farmer as compost for the sandy Moray soil.

Marooned, Blonde, APA and Aurora mini kegs for tasting

Natassia fetched some mini kegs so we could taste some of the beers including Blonde, APA and Marooned, a seasonal 5.2% ABV blackcurrant wheat beer. Marooned was maroon in colour, lively with a refreshing slightly sour flavour. We returned to the portacabin to purchase a mixed pack of six bottled beers to enjoy later.
Natassia told us about the music and beer festivals that the brewery is involved with including Moktoberfest in Elgin Town Hall, North Hop in Inverness and sponsorship of Speyfest at Fochabers.
Kirsty McLeod handles exports with beers from Windswept Brewing being exported to distributors in Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, France and Andorra.
Before leaving I had a chance for a quick chat with lead brewer, Charlotte Cook. Charlotte said her favourite beer from the brewery is Wolf, the 6% ABV dark strong Scottish ale named after the Wolf of Bladenoch, infamous for burning down Elgin cathedral. She also mentioned that brewing a Russian Imperial Stout, for ageing in whisky casks, is planned.

Calum Stewart Trio on the 'Windswept Stage', Speyfest, 31/7/15

My friends and I would have another chance to tast Windswept beers the following evening at Speyfest in Fochabers where the highlight of the Friday night musical entertainment was a performance by Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham.

The Windswept Brewing bar, mounted on whisky barrels, was set up in a corner of the separate bar marquee. Brewery staff behind the bar included Kirsty McLeod (left) and Marketing Manager, Julie Smith (centre). Pam was disappointed that the seasonal Marooned blackcurrant wheat beer was not ready to be served but I was happy to find my favourite, APA, was available. Later I enjoyed my first pint of Wolf, one of the few Windswept beers I had not sampled by this stage!

Website: windsweptbrewing.com

Windswept Brewing Co
Unit B
13 Coulardbank Industrial Estate
Lossiemouth
Moray
Scotland
IV31 6NG

Email: info@windsweptbrewing.co.uk
Brewery: 01343 814310

New handpump at De Cervesia, Lucca

Lucca lies about 12 miles north east of Pisa in Tuscany.

Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, Lucca

I blogged about De Cervesia, Lucca after previous visits in January 2014.

De Cervesia Tap Room, Lucca (Photo: Richard Lock)

In June 2015, I booked a room in a B&B in Via Anfiteatro, near to Piazza dell'Anfiteatro and only a short walk away from the De Cervesia Tap Room at Via Michele Rosi 20. The tap room is situated in a traffic free area opposite Ciclo Divino (wine bar) and customers from both establishments can take their drinks outside where there are benches and wide pavements.

Matteo behind the bar at De Cervesia Tap Room

 Revisiting De Cervesia tap room / beer bar with friends in June 2015, it was great to see Matteo behind the bar which now has a raised Angram handpump.

Matteo demonstrated how the housing for the handpump could be opened to provide easy access for maintenance (see adjacent photo).

'Blackout' stout from Birrificio Rurale, based in Desio, north of Milan, was an appropriate beer to serve through the handpump as it could be served less chilled and without gas pressure.







It was nice to be able to give Matteo the issue of  Ullage (Mar/Apr 2014), which included my article about De Cervesia and Orzo Bruno (Pisa), published following my previous visits.

There were three beers served through fonts from KeyKegs. The first beer we tried was Eva, a Pilsner from Birrificio Brùton, based at San Cassiano di Moriano, in the valley of the river Serchio, about 5 miles north of Lucca. This was a refreshing way to start the evening and it was soon time for a glass of Terzo Miglio, an American Pale Ale from Birrificio Rurale that would prove to be my favourite beer of the evening. 

Cheers Matteo! from Richard, Tim (with Ullage), Roger and Derek

A big change at De Cervesia since my last visits was expansion from the corner unit into the adjacent shop unit. This provides extra indoor space for customers and space for a cold room where bottles and KeyKegs are stored.

Cold room door on left in extra room (Photo: Richard Lock)

Kyle, on holiday from USA, asked Matteo for a beer suggestion and returned from the cold room with a bottle of Zona Cesarini from Birrificio Toccalmatto based near Parma. 

Kyle & Matteo in the cold room (Photo via Kyle Dean Reinford)

Matteo explained that Renato Cesarini played football for Juventus and was renowned for scoring in the last minutes of the game so that Zona Cesarini was another way of saying 'at the last minute'. 

Matteo said Japanese (Sorachi Ace) hops were added at the last minute to this beer and this explains both the name and the inspiration for the label art.

The third beer we tried was Jale, a 5.6% ABV ESB style beer brewed by Brewfist Italian Ales based in Codogno, near Piacenza and Cremona. This was full flavoured and a darker colour than our two previous beers.

Some of the beers we had been drinking were in Brewfist glasses labelled with their slogan 'More beer More people' (NB Not 'Mare beer Mare peaple'). Several customers asked for bottles of Brewfist Spaceman IPA (7% ABV) during our stay.

Matteo's brother, Michael, on a stint behind the bar

Matteo is an AC/DC fan and so are some of his customers. Matteo kindly put on some music by St Paul and the Broken Bones when I requested a change from his favourite music.

Derek, Roger and Richard - De Cervesia

By now we had all enjoyed a few beers at De Cervesia and as now food is served we asked Matteo for a Pizza restaurant recommendation. He suggested Tre Merli in Via Anfiteatro but when we got there it was 'fully booked' so it was back to Mara Meo in Piazza San Francesco for a late pizza.

As well as the beer bar / tap room, there is also a De Cervesia beer shop, open during the daytime at Via Fillungo, 92 (Closed Mondays).

Map shows position of De Cervesia beer shop (west) and tap room (east )

De Cervesia Taproom, Via Michele Rosi 20, Lucca.
Open: Tue-Sun 19:00 - 22:00
Website: http://www.decervesia.it

New handpump at Orzo Bruno, Pisa.

I blogged about beer from Bientina at Orzo Bruno, Pisa, after my first visit to the beer bar in January 2014. All the beer for Orzo Bruno is brewed by Birrificio Artigiano di Bientina at nearby Bientina.







It was interesting to see a new Angram handpump on the bar when I revisited Orzo Bruno on Sunday 28 June & Wednesday 1 July, 2015.

Angram handpump and Livio serving at the bar

Valdera Rossa

Valdera Rossa is an Irish style red ale with plenty of malt character. By serving the beer from a handpump it is less gassy and chilled as appropriate for appreciating this style of ale.

Another innovation was the seasonal beer, Juni, a beer with Juniper flavouring that could be 'intensified' with an extra drop of juniper essence from a bottle on the bar.                                            
                                                                                                           

Juniper essence can be added to Juni

Unlike my January 2014 visit when it was raining and cool, in June / July 2015 it was hot, the front windows were open onto the street and customers were dressed accordingly.

Thanks to all the staff at Orzo Bruno for chatting with me and serving me with beer and food. A special thank you to Miki on Sunday and Livio on Wednesday who were running the bar. It was also nice to chat with Dave & Jackie, visiting from Yorkshire, on the Wednesday.

Miki with Yeti and Wombat fonts

The beer is very good value at Orzo Bruno. 0.3 litre costs 3 euro, 0.5 litre costs 4 euro (Prices in June 2015). There is a choice of glass styles, 'pint' or tall tankard.

Orzo Bruno opens at 7pm. There is some free food on paper plates on the bar at opening time. Meals can also be ordered from the bar and are reasonably priced.

Orzo Bruno,
Via Case Dipinte n. 6/8,
Pisa 56100
The Orzo Bruno website (Italian only) http://www.orzobruno.it/

La Torre del Luppolo, Pisa. Beer shop/bar

There are now at least two good beer bars to visit in Pisa!
La Torre del Luppolo is situated at Via Renato Fucini 13, within a few minutes walk of Orzo Bruno. This is on the 'Leaning Tower' side of the river Arno - cross the river on Ponte di Mezzo if you are approaching from Pisa Centrale railway station in the south.

View looking south from the north bank of the river Arno with Ponte di Mezzo on the right

La Torre del Luppolo only has a small frontage but you can't miss the sign above the entrance.

Via Renato Fucini 13

The five beer taps are positioned just inside the door, near the front window.

Just above and to the right of the beer taps, a flat screen monitor gives details of the draught beers (Birra alla Spina) - Beer, Brewery, Country, Style, ABV, Colour and Description.

On my visit on a Wednesday evening (1 July 2015), Alessandro Tomeo was behind the bar. He had just changed over a keg for one of the beer taps and generously offered everyone in the bar a sample of the new beer.

Alessandro Tomeo behind the bar

On the opposite wall from the bar space are wooden cubes and tall fridges holding bottles of beer for sale to drink at the bar or to take away.

I had a look around at the wide variety of beers on offer which included a good variety from the United Kingdom including St Peter's Brewery, Black Isle Brewing Co and Moor Beer Co.. There were also beers from Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and USA.

The narrow wooden bar is just deep enough for a beer mat and so there is just enough space to rest a glass or bottle of beer on it. Towards the back of the beer shop are more shelves of beer, and other items for sale including T-shirts, glasses and books.

Before leaving I enjoyed a (plastic) glass of Bianca wheat beer from  Birrificio Brùton, based at San Cassiano di Moriano, in the valley of the river Serchio, just north of nearby Lucca. The recipe for Bianca includes local Garfagnana spelt wheat. 

Ciao Alessandro!


www.latorredelluppolo.it

Via Renato Fucini 13, 56127 Pisa, Italy.

Opening Hours (July 2015) Mon - Wed: 18:00-24:00; Thu - Sun: 18:00-01:00

5th annual Newbury Racecourse Beer Festival

 The 5th annual Newbury Racecourse Beer Festival was held on 17/18 April, 2015 at Newbury Racecourse, Berkshire, UK.

Newbury Racecourse advertise the beer festival in local Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) magazines including Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine. CAMRA members qualify for half price entry to the Grandstand section of the racecourse by booking tickets in advance.

The Beer Festival area has an area near the Grandstand entrance to the racecourse which includes picnic tables and an open ended marquee. A smaller tent with a stage provided shelter for musical performances.

Bar staff poured beer from casks or cider from boxes into branded plastic glasses.
Queues at the bar would build up after the end of a race but by the time another race was about to start there would be only a few people at the bar.
As I was there for the beer rather than the racing it was sensible to wait until a race was about to start before heading to the bar to order another beer!

There were printed programmes, in dispensers at the bar, with tasting notes and details of all the beers available at the festival.
West Berkshire Brewery sourced beers for the festival and their flagship beer 'Good Old Boy' was advertised above the stillage for the beer casks.
Another local brewery, Two Cocks Brewery, based at Enborne supplied four beers including Frank-Ale which is supplied exclusively to the racecourse and is named after the horse Frankel, a popular winner at Newbury.

The tasting notes in the beer festival programme covered the 44 beers that were available including beers from Fuller's, Springhead Brewery (Southwell), Binghams Brewery (Ruscombe), White Horse Brewery (Faringdon), Arbor Ale (Bristol) and Windsor & Eton Brewery.

On Saturday 18 April, my friend Pat (2nd from right in photo above) was beginning his stag event at the beer festival and so good company was available as well as good beer and plenty of sunshine!

As well as supplying some beers for the beer festival including Oliver's Island, Fuller's also brought their dray to the racecourse pulled by the drayhorses Griffin and Pride.

The Crafty Filly is the pub at the racecourse located in the Premier Enclosure. Two Cocks Frank-ale is served throughout the season at this pub near the Premier entrance to the racecourse.

Also in the Premier Enclosure was a Barrel Bar. I spoke to the guys inside who told me the bar was originally made in Austria and is now usually based at Goodwood in Sussex.

Inside the bar were cask ales from Hepworth & Co Brewers Ltd (Horsham) and ciders from Wobblegate (West Sussex).

 Cheers!

Bell St Brewery, Henley-on-Thames - Honey Bee launch

The Brakspear brewery at New Street, Henley-on-Thames, closed in October 2002. Brakspear Bitter (3.4% ABV), Brakspear Oxford Gold (4.0% ABV) and Brakspear Triple (6.7% ABV) are now brewed by Wychwood (owned by Marston's PLC) in Witney.

Brakspear has 145 pubs including the Bull on Bell Street, Henley-on-Thames. In January 2013, the pub was refurbished and opened on 29 March 2013 with a new 4 barrel brewery visible through internal windows of the rear dining room. Malcolm Mayo, formerly Quality Manager at Wychwood Brewery, is the Head Brewer of Brakspear's Bell Street Brewery.
Brakspear Special (4.3% ABV) is the regular beer brewed at the Bell St Brewery. It has been brewed by Brakspear for over 40 years and the original recipe is still followed.

The latest beer to be brewed at Bell St Brewery is Honey Bee (4.4% ABV) a golden ale brewed with honey from beehives at Orwells, a Brakspear pub near Shiplake, renowned for its good food. 20p from every pint of Honey Bee sold is donated to The Bee Cause organised by the Friends of the Earth.

A pint of Honey Bee and a beehive from Orwells

At the Bell St Brewery Honey Bee launch event on 31 March organised by Shiel Porter, I enjoyed the opportunity to taste the beer and tour the brewery with Liam Trotman and Ryan Simpson of Orwells.
We entered the brewery from the courtyard and were greeted by Head Brewer, Malcolm Mayo.

Fermenting vessels in back room of the brewery

One of the fermenting vessels contained a recently brewed beer and was frothing over at the top as the yeast worked to convert sugar into alcohol. Malcolm described the brewing process and showed us some of the malt and hops used. As well as the honey from Orwells, and Willamette hops, about 5% of the malt used is from oats and about 95% is from barley, including Maris Otter pale malt, for the Honey Bee recipe.
Malcolm explained that the honey needed melting in the kitchen before it could be used. About 20kg of honey is used in each 4 barrel To maximise the natural honey flavours in the beer, most of the honey is added at the end of the boil in the copper, after the addition of some late hops and cold water. Some sterile honey was also added to the fermenting vessel at a later stage. Malcolm showed us some leaf hops from the chest freezer where opened foil packets of hops are stored to keep them fresh.

Malcolm Mayo (left, by the Mash Tun), Liam Trotman and Ryan Simpson (R)

We moved into the 'window' part of the brewery and here Malcolm showed us the Hot Liquor Tank, the Mash Tun with a sparge arm inside and the Copper which is heated by electricity.

Paul de Zylva (L) and Tom Davies (R) with brewery behind

Back in the dining room, with refreshed glasses, we now heard from Paul de Zylva, Friends of the Earth, about The Bee Cause campaign, which is supported by several organisations with Bee Worlds including the Co-Operative Group, Marks & Spencer and Brakspear pubs. It was interesting to learn that there are 266 species of bumblebee and solitary bee but only 1 species of honeybee.
Paul mentioned that since a Bee Summit organised by Friends of the Earth 2013, the UK Government agreed to introduce a National Pollinator Strategy. After his speech, Tom Davies, Brakspear's Chief Executive thanked Paul and presented him with a Brakspear tie featuring their trademark bee. Wendy Gupta and Saminder Kharay from Friends of the Earth wore bee outfits and make an eye catching contribution to the launch.

Honey Bee will be available on draught from Orwells, the Bull on Bell Street and several other Brakspear pubs in Henley and the local area including the Dew Drop, Hurley and the White Hart, Nettlebed.

Further Links:
Brakspear story about Honey Bee, including list of pubs where the beer is available: Brakspear News (1 April 2015)
History of the Bell St Brewery: Brewing in Henley
Brakspear Brewery History: Brewing in Witney