Two Cornish Discoveries - Fantastic Brewery and Equally Good Pizza Place
Cornwall Road Trip Delights: Award-Winning Beers, Butchers, and Harbour-Side Sourdough Pizzas
We are creatures of habit, and one example we discussed recently in these pages is the regular port of call people make when they are travelling to certain places. I mentioned calling into Appledore on a drive back from Cornwall. If I’m going the other way I’ll often make a point of leaving the A30 at Launceston so that I can visit the truly excellent Philip Warren butchers’ emporium just off the main road. If you’re a carnivore and you are passing one of the best purveyors of meat in the country, you’d be mad not to.
Ian Warren of Philip Warrens Butchers
Stopping at Philip Warren Butchers in Launceston – A Carnivore’s Must-Visit on the A30
Imagine my delight, then, to discover there’s a first-class brewery located just behind the famous butcher shop. I called into the Firebrand Brewing Company the other day to try some alcohol-free beers and take home a selection of stronger ales, and very very good they were too. Up until now I’ve tended to avoid the low or alcohol free stuff, not because I am an alcoholic, but because it doesn’t often seem to have the mouthfeel or satisfaction of what I’d call “the real thing”.
Firebrand Brewing Co – Craft Beer and Alcohol-Free Ale from Cornwall
Joe Thomson, co-owner and head brewer of Firebrand Brewing Co
But Firebrand’s low or alcohol-free offerings are different. You can tell the young team which runs the operation thinks very hard about the challenge of making a fermented drink that has barely any alcohol. It’s good stuff - I’d be quite happy drinking either their zero ale or lager anytime I am the allotted driver.
Best Places to Break a Journey on the Atlantic Highway (A39)
By the way, if we go “the other way” to or from Cornwall (by which I mean, taking the Atlantic Highway route down past Bude and Wadebridge) it’s likely we’ll break the journey at one of the harbour towns or villages like Appledore along the way. On a recent trip we called in at Padstow where we discovered a really good new pizza place right by the harbour-side. The Stables proved to be exactly the right kind of destination for a perfect lunch. More about that establishment later…
Visit Firebrand Brewing Co – From Farm Beginnings to Craft Beer Success
Back on the A30 at Launceston, a good many readers will know how to find the Warren’s butchers’ emporium on the industrial estate located literally seconds off the main road. Just behind it, a little further into the estate, there’s what used to be a soft-play centre which now houses Firebrand’s state-of-the-art brewery and tap-room. It was there that I was lucky enough to meet Joe Thomson, co-owner and head brewer of Firebrand Brewing Co.
He told me how the business started out in 2008 under the name Penpont Brewery, based in a local milking parlour in a farmyard, only to grow and later transition into Firebrand, with a leaning toward modern American-style craft beer, cask ales, and lagers.
Today, the brewery supplies over 50 pubs, mostly in Cornwall and Devon, and also retail a range of beers and lagers in cans. There are nine core beers and make monthly seasonal brews, and a significant part of their business now includes alcohol-free beers, which they began producing about three years ago.
Meet the Brewer: Joe Thomson and the Science Behind Firebrand Beers
Joe started brewing at the age of 21, partly driven by a passion for the science behind the art of fermentation and also with a desire to make good beer. “I was doing a marine microbiology degree, so I am interested in the science behind microbiology - that is sort of my thing. And brewing is, effectively, applied science.”
Joe agreed that setting up a new brewery in Cornwall was a bit like taking coals to Newcastle. “Cornwall really does push above its weight when it come to brewing - you’ve got St Austell and Sharps - but in some ways that means you can enjoy a name for quality through association.
“However, we are a bit different - we make craft beer which is a little different to the traditional pint like Doom Bar or Tribute. Not that we are super-niche. We don’t make the really wild stuff that you can get from some places. We like to say it is accessible craft beer.”
The Rise of Alcohol-Free Craft Beers in the South West
I asked Joe to tell us about the low or alcohol free beers… “A few years ago I was trying to lose a bit of weight and, you know, trying to be a bit healthier. And I was trying some of the alcohol-free beers that were around - and I thought: I can do better. The challenge is really interesting. It is much harder to make.
“There’s two ways to do it. You either make the beer and take the alcohol out, which requires incredibly expensive equipment that we don’t have - or you just do what’s called ‘brewing to strength’. I won’t go into all the technical details, but you make your mash really hot and that gives you more flavour, more body, than you’d normally get. You also select the right yeast to, again, give you more flavour. It is much harder to get right.
“You end up with beer that’s 0.5 percent. That’s about the same small amount as you find in yoghurt or a banana. Some sourdough bread can go up to about one percent. And, no, of course you couldn’t get drunk on that - you could never eat enough for your body to metabolise it in time!”
Firebrand has two main alcohol-free options: the Little Wave lager and the Shorebreak hazy pale ale. And sales are obviously going well… This year began with a record-breaking effort - their alcohol-free January sales were up 12% on the previous year and the brewery has enjoyed a huge 227% increase in subscriptions to their alcohol-free beers since the start of the year.
Joe commented: “In the past, most of our revenue was generated in the summer beer drinking months, with another spike around Christmas. The first few months of the year were always very quiet, but since we started adding alcohol-free beer to our range, things have changed. Shorebreak and our more recently launched non-alcoholic lager, Little Wave, do a lot of the heavy lifting to support us in the quieter months at the beginning of the year.
“Alcohol-free drinks used to be confined to Dry January and midweek occasions but that has all changed in the last few years so we are seeing much more consistent sales throughout the year and we continue to enjoy significant growth annually. This January, Shorebreak appeared on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen and was named ‘Best Alcohol-Free Beer’ by The Guardian, which boosted sales even more.”
The brewery has grown significantly, especially since 2021, and now employs 12 people plus taproom staff. They are exploring new developments like an alcohol-free stout and a lower-calorie lager. They also do pilot batches to experiment with new hops and techniques.
Where to Eat in Padstow – The Stable Offers Sourdough Pizza and Westcountry Cider
From beer to cider. And even better, fermented apple juice served alongside a very special fermented bread dough.
That’s the combination I discovered on another trip to Cornwall recently when we called at Padstow for a break in our journey and a spot of lunch. Right there on the now world-famous harbour-side, we discovered a newly opened pizza restaurant called The Stable, which not only specialises in sourdough pizzas but also serves an impressive range of West Country ciders.
The Stable at Padstow
It’s part of a fast growing chain based here in the South West - The Stable has other restaurants in places like Bristol, Plymouth, Bath, Falmouth and Newquay (Fistral beach) - which is a great thing for the region because the company takes great care to partner with local producers.
When we called in (for what turned out to be a truly first class pizza) the other day I was able to have a quick chat with restaurant manager Charley Paines, who told me her team was particularly proud of the sourdough which is used in all their offerings.
“We use a special sourdough starter called ‘Jerry’ who is probably the longest serving employee of The Stable. He’s been with the company since the beginning. We feed him everyday. So our sourdough makes us a little bit special, but so too does the range of Westcountry produce. That was always going to be important in what we offer at The Stable. We are offering an interesting range of ciders so that visitors can have a taste of what the region is all about.
“We work very closely with local growers and suppliers on the food side of things, so it’s good to be able to do the same thing with the drinks. For example, we serve Sandford Orchards cider from Devon and feature a locals' drinks menu, highlighting producers just up the road like the Bearded Brewery. I think in a world where craft beer seems to have taken over in a lot of places, we’re trying to be the front runners when it comes to bringing good quality artisan made ciders to the fore.”
Blazing Saddle, featuring slow-roasted pulled beef, jalapeños, red onion marmalade and roasted red pepper
Sourdough Pizza and Local Cider by the Sea in Padstow
I went for one of the signature dishes, a large, nicely thin and crisp pizza called the Blazing Saddle, featuring slow-roasted pulled beef, jalapeños, red onion marmalade and roasted red pepper. It really hit the spot as I sat in a warm and comfy window seat just a few feet from the water’s edge, watching the crowds pass-by on a sunny but chilly day. The new 120-seat Padstow restaurant is the first of The Stable venues to serve a new menu offering larger, thinner, crispier pizza bases, alongside other plates such as smashed burgers and classic fish and chips. The venue also serves the brand’s first-ever breakfast menu.
Emma Blackmore, director of The Stable, later told me: ‘We’re excited to have opened in beautiful Padstow, a place loved by so many. We pride ourselves on value for money and exceptional tasting food, and we are delighted that so many locals and visitors are now enjoying our fresh sourdough pizzas, ciders, and new breakfast menu in our Padstow restaurant.”
When I started writing about West Country food and drink just over 25 years ago, the idea that you could break a journey in the region to enjoy world-class pizza and award winning ciders on a pretty harbour-side - or pop in to a local brewery to buy some of the best beers in the land - would have been, alas, unimaginable. But these are the sort of treats which can be enjoyed nowadays with very little research or effort on the part of the consumer. And more power to their elbow, says I…
