Kegerator is go!

For those who don't know, a "kegerator" is an American term for a contraption which dispenses beer from a keg, via some kind of cooling mechanism, to a tap.   Ours has been in the conception phase for months as Gazza has next to zero practical skills, and it's taken Gav joining to push the project through into completion....  which says a lot about Gazza's practical value to the brewery.

But, you ask, how does it work?  Well, the keg sits in the conditioning room where it's plugged into the CO2 ring main, 3/8" beer line goes through the insulated wall, through the back of the bottling bench and into an undercounter chiller, then from there into the tap mounted on the side of said bench; it's a simple way to achieve this and, as the whole line run (which is important as less run means less beer sat in the lines getting oxidised and warm) is probably about a metre.

The end result of all this jiggerypokery is that we now have one keg beer on tap in the brewery permanently (with a second to follow when we get the correct connectors) which could be very dangerous, especially when it's really warm weather... rehydration and all that kind of thing.  

When it was all installed, cleaned and tested we had to go through one final difficult decision... what beer to put on!  After a quick look through the available kegs there was only one real winner in the list and so on goes Citraic.... :-)

Just in case anyone was wondering, the reason we don't have a "caskerator" is that we'd never drink it before it turned, whereas the beauty of keg - one of them - is that it'll last weeks (and theoretically months, although I can't see it lasting that long) so we don't have to rush through it... unfortunately.

Note also the lovely bit of driftwood which Gav has fashioned into a pull.... we've affectionately named it the giant twig!

The finished Kegerator!

A little training needed...

Worst. Boyband. Ever....

Well, that's what we look like....  here's a few photos from our joint tap takeover at the Nag's Head, Reading last night with Mike and Iain from Wild Weather.

Jay, Iain, Mike, Gazza and Gav

Meet the brewer(s)!

This Wednesday evening (29th July) sees us traipse down the M4 to one of our favourite pubs in the whole universe, the amazing Nag's Head in Reading, for a meet the brewer along with our besties Mike and Iain from Wild Weather brewing... we'll be taking over the pumps (and taps!) for the evening - and beyond maybe - with hand-picked examples of our wares which will vary, in our case, from a 3.1% orange session stout to a 5.9% IPA... 

So, you know you want to, get yourselves down to Reading on Wednesday to meet us all - hopefully both Gav and Jay will be there - and sample some lovely beers!

Click here for the info...

No expense spared...

.... on the brewery doughnuts!!

Sharks against Surfers - v3.0

Yes, hop fans, tomorrow we brew one of our most popular beers and one which has certainly got us some excellent feedback!  So, what could possibly make us want to change a winning recipe?

Well, it's the usual problem of lack of hops, unfortunately... Basically, we have run out of lusciously fruity Amarillo hops, and so have to substitute in something else... after having a good think about this thorny issue Gazza has decided to try out Chinook as a replacement as they have a similar fruitiness albeit more a "rhubarb and custard" character but, still, should fit into the general scheme of things pretty well...

The other hops remain the same, namely Columbus, Centennial and Galaxy, so we're pretty confident that any changes will be very minor and the beer will be just as pale, fruity and hoppy as you've come to expect from us and our summer brew!

Citra Plus - new image!

With the re-awakening of the "plus" range (well, one of them....) Gazza thought it was time for a new image as the old clips had been done back in the very early days and were looking a touch rubbish compared to more recent efforts....

So, here we go, the new clip for Citra Plus, and who knows maybe more in the future?

More rebrews.....

I suppose it's my fault for listening to people but, hey, in business isn't that what you're supposed to do, in the main?  So, after some impassioned arguments for various rebrews, we've settled on the following two which are being done this week and next...

Citra Plus 5.4% - This was last brewed in February last year and was destined never to see the light of day again after the scrapping of our "plus" range on the grounds that Gazza was bored of them and the names were crap, but a few people have said how much they liked it and so, in a rare moment of munificence, we've dusted off the old recipe, updated it in line with current policy diktats, and so Citra Plus v3 is now sitting in FV2 waiting to dazzle you all with it's triumphant return to the field...

Sharks against Surfers 4.8% - Needs no introduction, really, as we only brewed it a few months back, but in case you've been under a rock on Pluto recently here's the gen; It's named after an Eastfield track and, so Gazza thinks, has the perfect name for a summer beer and is in itself the epitome of what we think summer is about beer-wise, namely super-pale and super hoppy!  With hops from America and Australia this brew is waaaaaay too drinkable and fruity...

After that we're brewing another batch of Tidy bitter as it's going down well in the Hopbunker, plus then there may be, finally, some more new beers!  We've plenty of ideas so no worries about that... and also pages of potential names too!

Coffee Porter

I know everyone makes one these days, but to be fair we did brew it last year so it's not entirely a matter of bandwagon-jumping.....

So, on Thursday we're brewing "Crema Extrema", our coffee porter, although this year things will be a little different as we're (hopefully!) using beans from our local coffee roasters, Ferraris of Bridgend - which we intend to buy tomorrow - rather than the random assorted stuff we used last time!  We're off there tomorrow to secure supplies of "Cafe Classico" and, hopefully, talk them into letting us roast our own blend on their cute little 10kg roaster for a special beer...

5kg of coffee will go into the 8 barrel (1400 litre) brew as well as lots of lovely roast barley, Carafa special, Melanoidin, Carared and the "Black forest gateaux" hop of Junga to hopefully create something pretty damn good; we can't wait!

Welcome Gav!

With Jay off to pastures new (helping to run Waen brewery's new Swansea bar) we welcome long-term friend and helper-outer Gav to the team!  As he's been helping out in the brewery occasionally for the past few months he knows pretty much what to expect....

So onwards and upwards; Jay will still be involved with the brewery one day a week (that's the plan at present) but from now on, Gav's the man!

Another new beer, another new hop

Liking, as we do, new hop varieties, when offered a brand-new American hop from the USDA dwarf hop breeding programme Gazza just couldn't say no!

To be honest, first impressions aren't that great; on a positive note Jarrylo are probably the oiliest, stickiest hop ever (over 3% oil) but.... well, they don't really smell of much, and what they do smell of isn't that thrilling!  Ah well, the cascade they were paired with were some of the best we've had for ages with that old-timey lychee and lemon character booming out of the bag, so if the Jarrylo don't bring owt to the party then, hopefully, Cascade will save the day!

Look out for this in a few weeks, but first it's going to be dry-hopped with yet more Jarrylo whereupon the hop gets a chance to show us all up for dullards who know sod-all about hops... it may do, but we'll see! 

A 3625 litre (20 Barrel) week!

Yes fact fans, this week we're brewing twice with one of the batches being a big 12 barrel (2175 litre) run, as well as putting beer into various different containers like casks, kegs and bottles... the fun never ends!

First up tomorrow is a big batch of our now semi--permanent very tasty session beer "Temple of Love" which has lots of Chinook, Cascade and Summit involved, then on Wednesday we're using a brand-new US hop called Jarrylo in an extra-pale brew which will, hopefully, be something interesting and tasty!

We're also replenishing supplies of casks, kegs and also bottles following last week's huge sales which have almost cleared us out... we're not complaining though, obviously.

New beer Thursday!

It seems as if we've been brewing repeats all the time recently - mainly due to them being in demand, but also because they're damn good beers and we like drinking them - but it was deemed time to make something new, and here's the result!

With a name culled from the pioneering Ska/punk band "Operation Ivy" (featuring a very young Tim Armstrong!) this is a straight-up US pale ale, but done the British way with no crystal malt but plenty of hops and attitude!

Using Munton's super-pale malt plus some Caragold for body and Wheat for head retention, this is an extremely pale brew with a restrained bitterness from Magnum and a big, citrussy, fruity hop character from Chinook and Centennial in the copper plus a big charge of Cascade and Mosiac in the dry-hop to add layers of citrussy blackcurranty skunkiness!

Look out for it in a few weeks... it'll be worth waiting for.

Happy birthday to us.....

Yes hop fans, Thursday is our second birthday!  Things have changed a lot since we began brewing here in Pontyclun two years ago, but what hasn't changed is head brewer Gazza's commitment to hops and flavour in the beer... we've learnt a few things along the way and have has some ups and downs - as is to be expected - but we're confident, with the opening of Hopbunker in Cardiff and the overall reception the beers are now getting, that we're on the right track and just need to keep plugging away...

So from Gazza, Jay, Gav and Steve here at Pixie Spring, may we ask you to raise a glass (of our beer preferably!) to us and, above all, keep the lupulous faith....

"Statement of Intent v3" uses a similar malt base as in previous years (pale, wheat, caraGold and Melanoidin) although this year we're using the new Propino variety as a base malt which gives great extraction and a solid malty flavour.  Hops will be Summit, Columbus, Amarillo and Mosaic in the copper plus Citra and Cascade dry-hop, decided on during a staff meeting about the beer last week!

This year's thing

Hopbunker is reality!

Some people said it would never happen... some people tried to stop it happening...  some people didn't care either way.  But, whatever your views, Hopbunker - our brewery tap - has passed the massive hurdle of the first night "preview session" and is ready to open for the public on Saturday at 18:00!

It's taken just over a year from the first contact to opening night; I shan't bore you with the details but we've had lots of issues and setbacks but have come through them all to produce what we hope will be a So, here's a few photos from the opening night, now please spread the word and come down to enjoy the fruits of our labour!

Hopbunker, Northgate House, The Kingsway, Cardiff, CF10 3FD, Wales.

Scrum at the bar!

Pumps

Jay showing off the view from the front door

View from behind the bar just after opening

Final clean just before the first opening!

Havin' it large

Our unusual latrines!

Hopbunker is almost open!

Barring Russian invasion or suchlike our first bar, Hopbunker, will open this Saturday 13th June after a long and tortuous build, but we hope you'll think it's been worth the wait!

So, spread the word and come along to sample some lovely craft beers, ours and selected guests will be available on cask and keg...

Front of the bar!

First delivery

Full cellar

Restocking with P&H...

... which is "pale and hoppy" as any fule kno.

Tomorrow Gazza and Gav (Jay is temporarily unavailable waiting for appliances!) will re-brew one of our most popular beers of recent times, "Mate Spawn and Die" which, in a bit of coincidence, Gav helped to brew the first time around and also provided the music which gave it the name, so it's only fair he's involved with the brewing the second time around!

An almost entirely Pacific affair (apart from the Summit bittering hops) involving hedgerowy, leafy Green Bullet and fruity floral Waimea in the copper and the gorgeously intense fruitbasket of a hop which is Vic Secret for dry-hopping, this 5.4% pale beauty showcases the tropical fruit of pacific hops to a tee.

Then on Thursday it's the turn of yet another rebrew, this time "Citraic" our mad-popular 5.2% pale ale with masses of juicy, fruity hoppy goodness in the form of Citra and Mosaic hops, hence the name!  It has flavours of blueberries, mango and tropical fruit and always sells well, so well that the whole lot sold out in less than a week so we're brewing it again straight away!

It's getting closer....

.... hopefully within the next few weeks!  We've now got a sign so it must be imminent!

For those who don't know or have been living under a pebble on Neptune recently, this is our bar in Cardiff (opposite the castle on the Kingsway) which will, once it opens, have 20 keg and a dozen cask beers on sale - ours and a whole load of guests too.

We've had quite a few problems with the building, build and just about everything else, but it's finally coming together now and isn't far away...

Warmer climes...

No, not Wales (although it is today...) but Gazza is off to Mauritius for the rest of the week so Jay is in charge of Hopcraft Towers!  All the usual stuff will be happening; bottling, casking, transferring and suchlike... so it's business as usual as far as we're concerned.

Next week will see two brews with the much-requested return of "Mate Spawn and Die" plus another brew of "Citraic" as we've sold the lot in a week!

Double it, maybe double it again?

That's what is happening with our bottling at present!

We started by bottling a single cask into 330ml bottles (we get about 120 bottles per cask) but soon decided that this just wasn't enough and so went to two casks of each beer, or about 240 bottles which gives 13 cases of bottles.

We're now at the point, a mere 4 months into the project, when we may have to start bottling at least 3, maybe 4, nines of each beer; this is 162 litres or 1 brewer's barrel (an eighth of the total batch) and will be getting on for 500 bottles!  We'll probably try 3 casks first, but even so the growth of sales in bottles - and, to be fair, kegs too - has surprised us immensely, although several people did say we'd soon be overwhelmed with demand... Sue from Waen Brewery was right!

So, expect to see more of our bottles around very soon as they're now on their way to wholesalers, but even so they'll still remain  a fairly small part of our output... albeit a growing one which we're keen to encourage.

Two more favorites return!

Here at Hopcraft towers we've got rebrew fever!

Put that down to lack of inspiration in new recipes if you want - you'd be wrong! - but the fact is that drinkers and customers have been asking for some of our beers again.  Top of the list seems to be our gloriously fruity display of the luscious Vic Secret hop "Mate Spawn and Die" (which will re-appear shortly, we promise) but, first, we have two very different beers in case you missed them first time around or liked them so much you want them again...

First up is a variant on Graveyard Eyes (our chocolatey Sorachi Ace porter) "Gazza and Jay's Maple Porter" where we take a 700 litre tank of Graveyard and then add Maple Syrup flavouring to it as well as, when casking/kegging/bottling, yet another squeeze of maple syrup goes into the containers (although not the bottles, that would take way too long....)

If there are any requests for rebrews then let us know, and we'll consider them!  Some beers will never be brewed again for various reasons, but there are plenty we are either planning to make again or are in the "maybe" pile so are ripe for suggestion!