Last year Chiltern Brewery based in Terrick resumed their monthly tours after a lengthy gap, with their 45th anniversary year coming to a close, I decided to sign up for their last tour of the year which took place last month. After a lengthy journey comprising of a multitude of trains and buses, I arrived at the brewery 30 minutes early and was the first to arrive. I offered a complimentary drink, so I went for their Dark Cask Special (4.5%) their latest small batch release, it was a glorious chorus of malts (Lager, Maris Otter, Munich and Chocolate) which helped gave its distinct roasty character profile, loosely inspired by Dunkel lagers. Before long, the tour commenced with the current co-director of the brewery Tom Jenksinson acting as tour guide.
The brewery site was formerly a farm, hence why the equipment is housed in converted barns where they produce 10,000 – 12,000 pints a week, six beers at a time, and over the years the brewing facilities have expanded, until it covered the whole site in 2010. Tom took us to the mash tun, he informed us that when his father George set up the brewery back in 1980, he had to source equipment from the milk industry and former breweries, one vessel which he acquired from Bass was 80ft high, which he had to cut down to size so it could fit inside. Tom informed us that in recent years, the malt they source is grown regeneratively and locally from the nearby Waddesdon Estate, and all their beers use a Maris Otter malt base. Meanwhile, the hops are mainly from the Herefordshire/ Worcestershire border, where the likes of Fuggles, Goldings and Challenger hops are primarily utilized for most of their beers. While other hop varieties are used for their small batch releases, which they produce using their pilot kit that creates enough beer for 10 firkins. During the mashing stage, their malt is boiled for an hour at 60c, extra water is added to extract more goodness. Then the boiling copper is filled with the wort at 2/3 full, the hops are then added in stages, firstly the bittering hops are added, then towards the end a large amount is added for flavouring, which is boiled at intervals. After going discussing the intricacies of the process, Tom took us to the newly built warehouse which was completed two years ago, and houses a range of square fermenters and conditioning tanks of different sizes, there are six conditioning vessels in total. Apparently, they always overshoot the strength of their beers a little so they can work their way down to the required ABV by flushing through excess sparge/ liquor, which usually takes 2-3 attempts before yeast is added. After a week in the fermenters the liquor is transferred to the conditioning tanks with more yeast added for secondary fermentation and carbonation.
Before long the brewery part of
the tour was over, and we were brought to the function room for an extra-special
beer and food tasting. Four beers were presented to us, along with a number of
their beer infused food products, such as their two cheeses including Terrick Truckle
made with their beer mustard and Beechwood Beer Cheese, a chutney infused with
their Three Hundred’s Dark Old Ale (5%) and a cake blended with Bodger’s
Barley Wine (8.5%) made by a local producer. The first beer presented to us
was Chiltern Ale (3.7%), which ironically their first ever release from
1980. Light and sessionable, a simple combination of Maris Otter with Goldings
hops that give a gentle honeyed flavour, making it an ideal aperitif for our
tasting session. Next, we sampled some Beechwood Best Bitter (4.2%)
their landmark product which debuted in 1982 and helped put the brewery on the
map. Profoundly bitter, with hints of fruit and oak that helps live up to its
name, while the aftertaste was warming and slightly spicy due to the use of
Fuggles in the brew. Out of all the beers I tried that day, this was the best paring
with the cheeses and chutney as it had the right balance of flavour. We soon
took things up a notch and tried their Dear Mr. Porter (6.3%) one their
latest small batch releases, it’s an export style India porter made from four types
of malt, and a blend of classic and new English hops. Upon sipping, I was met
with a prominent combination of roasted malt and a dry bitterness on the palate
followed by a kaleidoscope of flavours including chocolate, grapes, caramel,
coffee and burnt toast followed by a warming alcoholic hit that blended well with
the other flavours. Tom instructed us, by adding more ingredients, this helps
give it more strength and character in flavour. For our last beer of the tour
we tried their strongest Bodger’s Barley Wine (8.5%) which debuted in 1990 on
the brewery’s 10th anniversary and is almost as old as I am. A
barley wine in the classical sense, it is a homage to the estate brewers of the
18th/ 19th century who brewed beers to a high strength,
in absence of wine. It had big malt kick with double the ingredients of Beechwood
Best, although pale in colour it was deceptively powerful in strength, vicious
in mouthfeel with a noticeable fruity element offset with a bitter lacing of Fuggles
and Goldings. This was rounded off with a warming aftertaste, it was close as wine
as you can get with a beer and made an ideal pairing with their Bodger’s
infused fruit cake. With the tour concluded, I browsed around their brewery
shop which featured a number of their core range beers, beer flavoured food
items such as Chiltern Ale Mustard and Fuggles Pickled Onions, small batch
releases, canned products and limited-edition bottle including their Export Original
Imperial Stout (8.5%) making its first appearance in five years. After
filling up my basket, I ordered a half of their Chiltern Black (3.9%), a
session porter with rich bittersweet roasted flavours that bely its strength. It
made an ideal food pairing with their similarly richly flavoured Christmas
Pudding infused with Lord Lieutenant's Cream Porter, made at the kitchens at
their pub The King’s Head in Aylesbury. Wouldn’t it be great if they did a
Christmas Cake one day using this porter, with fruits seeped in Bodgers, they
would surely hit the jackpot? The tour overall was memorable and enjoyable, Tom
was incredibly informative and knowledgeable about the brewery, and the food/
beer pairing that followed helped give a deeper understanding about how they
brew and develop their glorious range of beers.
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