Brewery profile The home of Harvest Pale… …and its new 40brl brewery in Nottingham... The good burghers of Nottingham must have been mortified to learn that historical novelist Jack Whyte reckons that their famous outlaw son Robin Hood might have been a Scotsman. Yet they can be proud that the city’s largest brewer Castle Rock is increasing annual output by 10,000 barrels this year on the back Castle Rock of winning the prestigious CAMRA Supreme Champion Brewery Beer of Britain Award for its delicious Harvest Pale Queensbridge Road beer by installing a 40 barrel brewhouse. Nottingham NG2 1NB Hood together at once – and Castle by Roger Putman T: +44 (0) 115 985 1615 Rock mobile bars are always much in evidence. www.castlerockbrewery.co.uk Chris Holmes studied economics he brewery is the hub of a 22 and spent four years in the City T pub estate whose official name working for Slater Walker where he is Tynemill, a shell company bought no doubt must have learned a deal off the shelf in 1977 to buy the first about wheeler dealering. A quieter pub in Newark just down the River life beckoned and he became Senior Trent. The ensuing three decades Economics Lecturer at Nottingham have been a roller coaster of a ride Trent University, then Trent Poly. encapsulating all the change in the This post, he admitted, gave him lots brewing scene up to the “ludicrous of free time in which to indulge his choice of cask beers” – Chairman greatest passion – which was beer Chris Holmes’ words not mine – we drinking. He was a keen early have today. There are 29 micro- supporter of CAMRA and helped brewers within 25 miles of found the Nottingham branch. He Nottingham and if the quality is became National Chairman in 1975. good, Holmes will support them for he has a policy of not flooding his Time to indulge pubs with his own brands although if He wanted to own a pub to allow he did I doubt too many customers himself even more time to indulge would be disappointed! and saw his chance in Newark. That Tynemill Ltd trading as Castle town originally had two breweries; Rock Brewery stretches from Warwick and Richardson which Boston in the east,York in the north, joined John Smith’s in 1962 and Burton on Trent in the west, James Hole was taken into the Loughborough in the south but Courage empire in 1967. When firmly centred on Nottingham, with Courage grabbed John Smith in the brewery nestling not too far from 1970, there was clearly a local the 40m cliff face of the Castle. The monopoly and many pubs were medieval fortification is long gone shuttered. Holmes thought he could replaced by a late seventeenth reopen the Kings Arms as a century mansion – famously freehouse with a bank of cask hand costs – vive le status quo! depicted on millions of packets of pulls, a trading concept hardly heard Holmes’ pub strategy was simple; Players cigarettes but the long of at the time. He was turned down he would only own pubs that he was passage down to the foot of the rock and the appeal process took him happy to run and happy to drink in. which must have been useful in King expensively to the High Court. His He surmised that there must be John’s day is still extant. There are adversary was the local LVA and he enough customers out there, who many touristy pageants throughout says that it was only after the thought the same way as he did, to the summer including attempts to settlement in his favour that he make a go of it. He takes the view get the most people dressed as Robin discovered Courage paid the LVA’s that the licencee knows the local 40 Brewer & Distiller International • August 2011 • www.ibd.org.uk Brewery profile Tynemill director and is able to Main picture: Vents for supply almost any beer in the the copper, its gas country while James Clay helps with heating exhaust and hot liquor tanks at Castle imports. Rock Brewery in Marstons Oyster Stout spares for Nottingham. not stocking Guinness on margin grounds and Bitburger is a Above: The view of the prominent lager. A deal with Carling brewery buildings in and Grolsch has been superseded by Traffic Street. Carlsberg and Heineken as the latter two brewers offered a superior deal. The pubco’s ‘one over the eight’ promotion is now it its eighth year – some items from the house list including wine, spirits and food and of course beer are marked with a ‘8’ badge.You get a card stamped for every purchase and once you have collected eight you can redeem it for one of the eight. This 11% discount scheme is a popular one which His pub strategy engenders loyalty, brand recognition was simple; he and some 86,000 cards were traded would only own in 2010. To keep the brand in pubs that he was people’s minds, there is beer in bottle.You can get Harvest Pale happy to run and brewed, sterile filtered and bottled happy to drink in. by Marstons listed by Morrisons, He surmised that Tesco and Asda and for bottle there must be conditioned fans there is its big enough customers sister, still pale but without the “out there, who Yankee hops - Elsie Mo which is thought the same packaged by Hambleton. way as he did... area so within some rules, they are suppliers are Bateman and Everards. Not interested in brewing allowed to take some risks including If a pub has 12 hand-pulls perhaps Originally Chris Holmes said he was the guest beer portfolio. seven of them will not be Castle not interested in brewing but the Remember there were few micros Rock beers. Some pubs are 90% opportunity came in 1997 with some in 1977 so he started off with cask beer, the Canalhouse in 15 pubs in the estate. The tiny Marstons Pedigree, Sam Smiths Nottingham city sells the most lager Bramcote Brewery set up in a double Bitter,Youngers No. 3 and a local but the average split of the beer sale garage at the rear of founder Philip mild and bitter from nearby is 80% cask. Tony Eastwood of Darby’s brother’s house in Kimberley. Today his largest wholesalers Small Beer is a Nottingham’s suburbs was Brewer & Distiller International • August 20”11 • www.ibd.org.uk 41 Brewery profile threatened with closure. The beer found the Nottingham Brewery Co. was sold at Tynemill’s Victoria pub Needing another brewer, he found in Beeston a couple of miles away Pete Wooding, originally trained at and soon became the best seller. The Shipstones in the City which was local council then had second closed by Greenall Whitley in 1991. thoughts about granting planning Pete designed a new 22-barrel plant permission for a brewery in leafy which was sourced from the defunct suburbia. With outhouses vacant Cambrian Brewery and formulated beside Tynemill’s Vat and Fiddle pub the recipe for Harvest Pale. (originally Whitbread’s Grove) just a stone’s throw from the railway Finding ‘Beer of the Year’ station in the centre of As Castle Rock pubs probably sell a the City, a joint third of their own beer and rest are venture was formed guests, they have regularly polled as the Castle Rock customers to find the ‘Beer of the Brewery. With it came Year’ to give a steer to next year’s Hemlock, a 4%ABV stocking policy. Back in 2002 it was Top left: Sacks of precrushed malt from Fawcett quaffing ale and clear that golden ales with a distinct and Muntons about to be conveyed to the grist hopper. named after the local citrus hop were already popular with Hemlock Stone rather Oakham JHB, Deuchars IPA, Top right: The mash tun and liquor tank viewed than the plant rich in Archers Golden figuring strongly in from above. pyridine alkaloids the list. The brewery already brewed Above right: Extra mash hydration below the which saw off Elsie Mo a 4.7%ABV very pale original tangential unit. Socrates in 399BC! product with a pump clip depicting a Above: The underback with the slot to accommodate the The seven-barrel plant moved 1940s pin up, the sort which used to swinging run off arm. The inset shows the high and low level from the garage and in 2002 the adorn the noses of B-17 Flying switches to control the flow to the copper. original brewing partners left to Fortress bombers. The source of the 42 Brewer & Distiller International • August 2011 • www.ibd.org.uk Brewery profile name is more prosaic being derived (making five in total) was soon walkway. Both working floors have from low colour Maris Otter or L C producing over 100 barrels a week. been treated with resin in a pleasing MO. The first brew of what was to By 2009 nothing more could be yellow colour. With the copper just By 2009 nothing become Harvest Pale at 3.8%ABV squeezed out of the existing plant cast into the hopback with Cascade more could be with a colour of 9°EBC and 30BU with inflexible pipework, low and Centennials on the plates, the squeezed out of was sent off to the Nottingham Beer ceilings, low beams and not a lot of aroma was simply heavenly. The rest the existing plant Festival as Trammie Dodger as all storage space. There was no of the building is a rabbit warren of with inflexible the local breweries were charged opportunity to increase the footprint little offices once no doubt the scene pipework, low with celebrating the inauguration of of the brewery as the adjoining busy of many a painful interview but they ceilings, low the city’s new tramway system.