Things come and go in the world of food and drink - bandwagons occur upon which everyone jumps for a while, until the next big thing comes along. It’s particularly true when it comes to alcoholic beverages - newly created artisan ciders and gins have both been flying the public relations flag with great success over the past couple of years in the South West…

But what about that good old British staple, beer? Will it ever be in danger of being squeezed out thanks to all the trendy new drinks which appear on the bar and on supermarket shelves? 

Of course it won’t. The British will always love their ales - but more than that, beer keeps reinventing itself. 

That’s what I found out at a West Country brewery a year or two ago. I spent several hours following the process that Otter Brewery follows when it is making a new beer (in this case Otter Pale Ale) and heard a great deal of talk about the kind of flavours and hints of sweetness and bitterness which attract modern day beer drinkers. 

I also am aware of the constant reinvention of beer because I receive emails and even samples of new products from breweries large and small around the West Country.

For example, barely a month goes by without Salcombe Brewery talking to me some new brew or other - and very good they all are too. Salcombe Brewery has for some time been excited about its new range of barrel-aged porters and recently launched two new limited editions. They have been created by ageing the award-winning Island Street Porter in a Speyside whisky barrel and also in a Heaven Hill bourbon barrel. 

Brewer Sam Beaman comments: “Our porter has been a huge hit since its launch and has gained prestigious accolades. We wanted to build on its strengths and see if we could create a very special version as a limited edition gift.

“We age the porter in wooden barrels for six months to allow the flavours to evolve. The process creates beers with the characteristic undertones of our porter - chocolate and dark cherry - but with a far greater depth and complexity of flavour.”

The Speyside Whisky barrel aged porter has already won Gold both regionally and nationally at the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) digital awards 2020. 

Limited edition gift boxed porters can be found at www.salcombebrewery.com.

But let’s get back to my day out at Otter Brewery, high in the Blackdown Hills and the forward-thinking socially and environmentally conscious ethos shared by the McCaig family, who own and run the brewery. But this time we were there to witness the making of a refreshing new beer better known as the abbreviated OPA…

As we began our brewery tour Patrick McCaig told me: “We’ll be meeting Keith Bennett, our head brewer, did a four year brewing degree and has worked here for the best part of 18 years. He’s a class act - a next-generation artist. He is definitely one of the younger school and he recognises what makes new brewers click with the new drinkers. The beer we are brewing today is definitely part of that.”

Walking to the main brewing block at the eco-friendly site which is located at the top of a deep valley in the hills, Patrick went on: “It all started here at the family home in the Blackdowns. If we had moved down to an industrial estate the brand character of the brewery - what we stand for - all begins to fade away. It would probably have made the bank manager happier - but there are loads of people making good beer in this country now - and every business has to strive to have its own individual character. 

“If we can live in the hills in the old family style it just makes a difference between us and everyone else.”

When it comes to the ales the brewery chooses to create, Patrick said: “The temptation of any brewery is to have a scattergun approach and brew too many beers - but we’ve always felt we should have a stable of beers that everyone knows. Although we have extended that so we have a seasonal range. 

“The latest one we released was Otter Amber, which was the first time we went into the world of American hops. As the nation began to move away from the classic bitterness of English hops, so they began to move into a slight sweeter American hop-based drink. And what we are doing today is an evolution of that - taking the next step forward.

“We trailed OPA last year, based on an American IPA - and it’s got some pretty wonderful American hops in it,” continued Patrick. “But it’s taking the hop character to a different level. Keith wants to balance everything - so there’s a balance of alcohol and strength - and the bitterness and the maltiness. A good beer should just slip down, whatever the strength. American beers tend to be a bit more challenging in terms of balance. 

“The hops have two functions,” he explained. “One is to give the bitterness within the beer - and that can range from flavours of pure bitterness through to citrus. The other thing they give is aroma. If you had no aroma on a beer - when you go for a slurp it, there’s nothing there. It would seem almost quite naked.”

By now we’d reached the first room in the brewery plant which was the malt store and milling room where Keith was preparing the malted English barley for the brew. He proceeded to show me through the entire brewing process which, basically, is like a massive chemistry set that includes grinding and boiling and macerating. Some parts of brewing are like tea making, others resemble a mild form of pressure cooking - but one of the most important elements is in letting nature get on with its own work fermenting and turning sugars into alcohol.

Given a bit of equipment and just a couple of ingredients, anyone could make a beer -  but creating a good beer is, of course, another thing altogether. So much of it comes down to the individual skills of the head brewer and the flavour profiles he selects. And he really earns his money when it comes to making good beers retain a consistency of taste and quality, batch after batch after batch.

Beer making is fascinating. It really is a form of alchemy, in which some malted cereal grains and a few bitter flowers are turned into something which appeals to many millions of people. If that isn’t magic, I don’t know what is. What I do know for certain is that we are fortunate nowadays to have some very good beer makers creating fantastic new ales here in the West Country. 

Otter Pale Ale

At 4.9% ABV and made with 100% spring sown barley (Propino, Crystal, Cara and Wheat Malt) it has been designed as a proper craft beer with hoppy highs and malty depths.
The strong American hop flavours come from the El Dorado, Summit, Crystal, Delta, Bitter Gold and Nugget hops which give it a striking bitterness not usually seen in Otter beers.
Essentially deep amber in colour. Big apricot and peach, pink grapefruit taste and a long bitter finish.