Tring Brewery Tour

Nestled in the quaint market town of Tring in North Hertfordshire in the foothills of the Chilterns lies Tring Brewery. Better known as Hertfordshire’s 2^nd largest brewery (after McMullens), it was established by Richard Shardlow in 1992, whom revived the brewing industry in the area which had been dry since the last brewery closed some sixty years before. Shardlow was already an experienced brewer having worked for the likes of Greene King, Ruddles and Devenish; he was later joined in 2000 by Andrew Jackson (formerly of Whitbread) whom together helped propel the brewery into becoming of the major beer producers in Hertfordshire. Every fortnightly Thursday and Saturday of the month, the brewery holds tours of their brewing facilities, so seizing the opportunity I sought to give it a try. As we entered the brewery, I struck by its appearance as it was merely a converted cow shed purchased from the adjacent farm, repurposing buildings is a common feature in modern day brewing. Access to the brewery was via the beer shop, on the left there was a tasting bar where visitors could try samples of Colley’s Dog (5.2%), Pale Four (4.6%), Citra (3.9%) and Dapper Deer (3.9%), their August monthly special. There were dozens of packs of bottles containing various beers closely packed together throughout the vicinity, along with other bits of memorabilia including Caps, Hoodies, Clay Beer Mugs, Coasters and beer flavoured food such as Beef Jerky and Chutney (flavoured with Death or Glory, 7.2%), along with a Hot Sauce (flavoured with Raven King, 5.5%). Every nook and cranny was taken up, and was difficult to get around when crowded. By the far right of the shop, was the Brewery Bar where visitors could obtain takeaway bottles of various cask and keg beers, as well as Gift Packs; although there was no seating area to try out beers, you can request a sample before deciding to purchase.

     

As 2pm struck, a group of us were taken into the brewing area by PR director Jared Ward. The brewing area was closely packed with maturation tanks of various sizes, with the largest containing session beers destined for the cask trade, and smaller ones intended for monthly/ seasonal specials. Jared assembled the group of us, and began an extensive history lesson about the brewing of beer from it’s humble origins up to its mass industrialization in the 18^th century. He then discussed about the various types of malt that the brewery uses, such as Pale Malt which they use as a base for all their beers due to its high fermentable content, Crystal Malt which they use for additional flavour and colouring (for amber/ brown coloured beers) and Chocolate Malt which they use to colour their darker ales such as Stout. I was intrigued to hear that they only use a small amount of this, which makes all the difference to the colour of the brew. To get a better idea of how malt works, we tried samples of Side Pocket (3.6%), Ridgeway Bitter (4%) and Tea Kettle Stout (4.7%), where Jared described how each of the three beers were developed with the various malts that give the beer styles of Golden Ale, Bitter and Stout their respective appearance and flavour profile. We then got to sniff and try some of the malt grains, the Pale Malt had a delicate flavour, whilst the Crystal Malt was slightly more pronounced with a touch of sourness, and the Chocolate Malt tasted like burnt toast which understandably gives Stouts and Porters their characteristic dark colour and roasty 'n' toasty flavours. 

      

Following on from this, Jared informed us about the Hops the brewery uses that rounds off the flavours. He talked extensively about Hops, it’s importance as flavouring, keeping and sterilization properties, as well as the various hops the brewery uses that helps give their beers their distinctive flavours. One beer in particular he mentioned in detail was Raven King (5.5%) which we subsequently got to try, it was a punchy hazy IPA with a medley of tropical flavours and aromas wafting through, made possible through the likes of Mosaic and Citra hops thrown into the mix. We then had the chance to sniff these two hop varieties, with the latter being distinctly Citrussy in it’ aroma which helps give this beer its distinctive edge. Jared then moved us along to the mighty Mash Tun where all their beers are developed from. The malt grains are mashed and boiled, then the wort is filtered and drained, and the spent grain is donated for use in animal feed in the neighbouring farm. The wort is transferred to the boiler, where hops are added prior to the end of the boil, before the wort is sent to a fermentation vessel. Jared then took us to one of those vessels, where yeast is added to ferment with the sugars in order to give off alcohol and carbon dioxide which gives out natural carbonation. The brewery uses the same yeast for all their beers, which they constantly have to use 24/7 in order to keep it viable. Even when they suffered a power cut during lockdown, they had to keep the brewing process going using emergency generators and invertedly created an Imperial Stout version of their Tea Kettle Stout (4.7%), which measured at a hefty 11% ABV, which was never has been released commercially at the time of writing.

      

As the tour came to a close, Jared took us back to the maturation tanks where he described the alternating lengths of time that their various beers require to mature before it is dispensed into casks and bottles. He then showed us a cask, where he demonstrated how the cask must be vented with a cask breather in order for carbon dioxide to build up in the cask in order to prevent oxidation, and prolong its shelf life. The gases are applied at a low pressure in order to prevent excessive carbonation, the cask is racked at an angle in order to settle the gases before the spout is added for dispensation. He mentioned that cask ales generally last around a week in a pub before they turn stale and sour. Jared also pointed out that he regularly visits pubs around Hertfordshire where Tring Brewery's beers are served, in order to assess how each pub maintains their quality. After 90 or so minutes, the tour was over and a group of us spilled out into the shop to browse around and sample some more brews before buying. After much deliberation I took home with me a trio of their small batch brews, Raven King (5.5%), Ashwell’s (4.5%) and Dagmal (5%), and a coaster of the Brewery’s iconic mascot, a pipe smoking Toad that adorns their cover designs of the bottled version of Side Pocket (4.5%). 

      

The tour was an interesting experience, and Jared talked at length about brewing history and the development process that goes into their beers. Unfortunately, we weren’t taken to the bottling and cask dispensing areas for health and safety reasons which was a bit of a letdown and Jared didn’t go into detail about how their small batch monthly/ seasonal brews are developed like Dagmal (5%), Lunardi's (4.2%), Shonks (4.5%) and Santa's Little Helper (4.8%) which would have been a intriguing adjunct to our tour. Overall, I would thoroughly recommend this brewery tour, not only do you get to understand more about the brewing process, you can also sample a wide range of their beers too. So if you happen to be in the area, avoid the Grand Union Canal and the Taxidermy museum and head down to Tring Brewery instead.