Talk to the Brewer

Thanks for sending us your feedback and questions. Getting them is really important to us. We will be posting them here, most recent first, along with my replies.

Keep your comments coming.

Cheers - Alastair

Alastair Hook: don't let the legs put you off.

Hello
We tried your chocolate beer at a pub here in Jonkoping, Sweden a few days ago. We think the beer was very nice. Because we are homebrewers we then discussed the receipt and specially when and how much you added of the chocolate. Did you add the chocolate in the wort in the end of the boiling period or did you add it during the fermentation. Did you add chocolate bars?
I hope you could reveal some of your secrets.

Regards
Rolf Engström

Dear Rolf,

Firstly, let me say that I am delighted that you enjoyed our beer, that is, after all, why we make it. I am afraid that our method for getting the chocolate into the beer is a secret, and would probably not be much use to you if scaled down to homebrewing level. The best thing I can suggest to you is do what we did - experiment. Best wishes.

Hello
I would just like to compliment you on your fantastic India Pale Ale. I have tried beers from all over the globe and my previous favourite beers had sadly come from America. They were Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and the IPA from Stone Brewery. I am moving to Australia next month and will have to make sure to pack a few bottles. Do you run brewery tours as I would love to take a look around being a keen home brewer myself.

Regards,
Chris Sheldon

Dear Chris,
Thank you for your kind words. We are not surprised your favourite beers have tended to be American. We have drawn a lot of inspiration from the innovative nature of the US market, and have tried to marry this with the best traditions of british brewing. It is a shame that British brewers feel that there is no demand for real British beers like full strength IPAs and Porters. Our great-grandfathers drank them by the gallon. Are we to conclude that we are mere shadows of our ancestors?

I am afraid that we are not really geared up for brewery tours,because of the less than suitable nature of our building, and the amount of work required to comply with the necessary H&S standards required before we can welcome visitors. We look forward to the day when we can. We wish you all the best in Australia. Try the Coopers.

16th September 2005
My name is Sean Smith and I am a beer manager for one of the oldest liquor retailers in the state of Delaware. I order beer for our two stores. This past week my salesman sampled me on your beers. I was blown away by the porter it was fabulous. Right away I ordered a case of each. I have a few questions for you like why did you choose 6 pack cases over the usual 12 pack case. Also are you going to release any other styles in the near future? In Delaware we are limited to the selections of beer we can buy. Because of our size, being one of the smallest states has it disadvantages. But we love great beer and part of my job is to educate consumers on real beer. This is something I am passionate about. To tell you the truth I don't have a favorite beer but I do have favorite styles like porter, IPA and Belgian specialties. Thank you for bring this beer to the USA and I hope more will follow.
Sean Smith

Dear Sean,

Thanks for the kind words about our beer. The reason for the 6 bottle case is that a 12 bottle case would be too heavy. We have also launched a 7.5% IPA in the US and that should also be available through your distributor. We shall be introducing new beers in the future and concentrating on accurate recreations of old styles, so expect to see a Scotch Ale, a Smoke Bock, an Imerial Russian Stout and a 18th century English wheat beer in the months to come. We are also in the business of educating consumers so we are also creating a series of generic websites to help people learn about the history and origin of the styles we produce so have a look at www.london-porter.com and www.india-pale-ale.com. More will be added as the months go by.