Tring Brewery

 

Tring Brewery Company is currently the only brewery in the Mid-Chilterns CAMRA branch area and was established 1992.

 

It is run by joint directors, Richard Shardlow and Andrew Jackson with brewing under the command of Barry Phipp.

 

Read more about the Past and Present of Tring Brewery as reported by your brewery liaison officer.

 

Congratulations to Tring Brewery

Colley’s Dog won  Champion Beer of Hertfordshire at the St Albans Beer Festival

 

TRING BREWERY AUTUMN BEER SELECTION
SEPTEMBER: TEATIME TIPPLE: 4.0% abv.
Red-copper in colour, this traditionally styled ale is
great for quaffing. Neither hops nor malt dominate
this balanced, smooth best bitter.
OCTOBER: PHANTOM FIDDLER: 4.0% abv.
Honey in colour with an ever so slightly sweet palate.
Saaz hops impart a spicy and peppery hop aroma,
while Challenger hops impart a noticeable lingering
bitterness.
NOVEMBER: GUNPOWDER BELL: 4.2% abv.
Brewed with some rolled oats, this light copper
coloured bitter has a smooth finish. Plenty of
Goldings hops added both halfway through and at the
end of the boil, provide a dominant hoppy finish.

 

Beers available throughout the year:

	Side Pocket for a Toad 3.6% ABV	Unmistakable citrus notes from only the best Cascade Hops with a floral aroma and a crisp dry finish make this straw coloured ale a fantastic session beer
	Mansion Mild 3.7%ABV	A smooth creamy, ruby dark mild with a fruity palate and gentle late hop aroma
	Jack O’ Legs 4.2% ABV	A combination of four types of malty and two types of aroma hop provide a copper-coloured premium ale with a full fruit and a distinctive hoppy bitterness.
	Colley’s Dog 5.2% ABV	Dark but not over rich, strong yet very drinkable, this premium ale has a long dry finish with overtones of malt and walnuts.
New	Brock Bitter 3.7% ABV	A light brown quaffing ale with a hint of sweetness and caramel on the palate. Challenger hops impart a gentle bitterness, which is matched by a late hop aroma from Styrian Goldings.
New	Ridgeway Bitter 4.0% ABV	A beer with a pleasant mix of hop and malt flavours in the aroma and taste, leading to a dry often flowery hop, aftertaste.
New	Tea Kettle Stout 5.0%ABV	Plenty of roasted malt produce a rich and complex stout with hints of liquorice. The bitter malty flavours are enhanced by a moderate bitterness  and a rounded late hop aroma is provided by East Kent Golding.

 

 

They also supply polypins on request to help lubricate any event.

 

For articles about the Tring Brewery Company, see editions of the Mid Chilterns Tapler available at good ale outlets near you.

 

Below is a list of pubs – near and far – which regularly serve Tring ales.

 

 

Nip back to the top for pintbut make sure you get a fuller measure than this!

 

Tring Brewery - The Past

 

After a gap of over 60 years, brewing was rekindled in Tring when the Tring Brewery Company was founded in 1992 by Richard Shardow (who had brewing experience with Greene King, Ruddles and Devenish) and the former town councillor Kerr Hill.  Their first beer launched in December 1992 and named ‘The Ridgeway Bitter’, is still brewed today and available from selected outlets.   Following on from the success of Ridgeway, the stronger premium bitter, ‘Old Icknield Ale’, soon followed in October 1993.  The names of these brews owe their origins to the two paths that cross the Icknield Way and started a trend that was to continue with the names of many Tring beers having local meanings.

 

The powerful ‘Death or Glory’ with an ABV of 7.2 % was also launched at the end of 1993 and is still brewed in time for Christmas every year so keep a look out for it (last spotted in the Kings Arms, Tring April 2002).  We are reliably informed that the beer gets even better with age (wish we could all say that).  Once again there is a story behind the title – Death or Glory is the motto of the regiment of the 17/21 Lancers in which Kerr Hill formerly served and the beer was initially brewed on 25^th October – Balaclava Day - which commemorates the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ when the regiment was almost wiped out.

 

In April 1994, Tring Brewery played host to the launching of the CAMRA Hertfordshire Real Ale Guide.  At the time Kerr Hill stated in the local press “Real Ale is very nice and extremely good for you.  A good pint of honest beer is worth 12 bowls of All Bran – it keeps you regular”, say no more!

 

May 1995 saw the brewery in the news again when they supplied 1,500 free pints of Victory Ale to the British Troops in Bosnia.  During the VE day celebrations the brewery gave out collection tins in 40 local pubs and the collection known as the  “Beer for the Boys in Bosnia” began.  The brewery matched the number of pints the collection tins funded, resulting in copious amounts of ale being shipped to Bosnia via the Household Cavalry at Windsor.

 

The brewery continued to brew its regular beers, Ridgeway and Icknield, together with several seasonal ales, and regularly supplied the local pubs and beer festivals (including Chesham, St.Albans and GBBF).  In 1997 one of the original founders, Kerr Hill, left the company.

 

The year 2000 saw Andrew Jackson join Richard Shardlow and brewer Barry Phipp, and the company began the transformation into its current modern image, producing the award winning range of ales we know today.

For further instalments on Tring Brewery and its parent company Brewery Design Services, see the forthcoming newsletters due out in September and December 2002 at a venue near you.

 

Nip back to the top for pint

 

 

Tring Brewery - The Present

 

Andrew Jackson joined the original founder Richard Shardlow as co-director/ partner at the Tring Brewery in 2000.  With a background in brewing research and experience in retail, he quickly set about modernising the Brewery’s image.  Out went the ‘old fashioned’ oval pump clips, to be replaced with the now familiar inverted triangle (based on the Tring Triangle and using the same type face that greets you on the town sign).  The range of beers were increased to 3 regulars and 4 seasonals which are supplemented every month or so with one off specials.

 

The work force are proud of the traditional methods and fine ingredients, which together with their own yeast and the local hard water are used to brew the classic ales in the compact brew house.  With the exception of wheat and malted rye used in some of the recipes, they do not currently use any of the weird and wonderful ingredients employed by some breweries to produce novelty beers, preferring the traditional approach.

 

Under the command of head brewer Barry Phipp they are brewing 4-5 times a week almost to capacity.  In recent times they have been rewarded in several competitions: Jack O’ Legs 2^nd in CAMRA East Anglia Beer of 2001, Side Pocket for a Toad, Cuckoo’s Coming, and Colley’s Black Dog 2^nd, 2^nd and 3^rd in class at the East Anglia SIBA awards respectively.

 

The Brewery motto is ‘Legendary Beer from Hertfordshire’ reflecting the fact that many of the ales take their names from local ghostly tales, myths and sayings.

 

The session ale Side Pocket for a Toad takes its name from a disused Hertfordshire saying, meaning that something is useless - obviously not referring to the beer! 

 

Best bitter, Jack O’ Legs was a Hertfordshire giant who lived in a wood in Weston. He was the giant equivalent of Robin Hood – robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. When the local tradesmen did away with him, they granted his last request and, again mimicking R. Hood, he fired an arrow into the air and was buried where it landed – the path leading to the door of Weston Church.  Apparently you can still see his gravestone today, I’ve yet to check it out (the grave that is, not the ale). 

 

The dark Colley’s Black Dog takes its moniker from the black dog spirit of Thomas Colley, a chimney sweep.  To cut a long story short, he was involved in catching a local Tring woman accused of being a witch.  She and her husband died when under going ‘trial by water’.  Colley had his come-upance when he was later gibbeted at Gubblecote Cross where his spirit now roams.

 

Witches are also involved in the light, refreshing summer seasonal Mother Haggy’s Summer Ale.  Mother Haggy was a witch from St. Albans.  She could appear as a ghost or take on the form of other creatures such as cats or dogs.  It is also rumoured that she rowed up and down the River Ver in a kettledrum.  Luckily, as far as we know, she hasn’t been seen for years.

 

The autumn ale Reap the Rye is appropriately named after the call accompanying the harvest and Cuckoo’s Coming is an old Hertfordshire saying welcoming the spring (when we will be welcoming the beer). 

 

The final seasonal ale for winter - Santa’s Little Helper - does not have any local connotations; it just honours the hard working elves, who do all the work for the man in red. The one off brews often reflect local stories or events. One special will be Anniversary Ale, celebrating ten years of Tring brewery and will be available in November. Keep your eyes and mouths open.                   

 

 Nip back to the top for pint