BUSINESS
In August, Hogs Back Brewery celebrated 30 years of brewing from its home in the village of Tongham, in the heart of the old hop growing region of Surrey
CELEBRATING THREE DECADES OF HOGS BACK BREWERY To kick start the anniversary celebration, its flagship cask ale, TEA (which stands for ‘traditional English ale’) was given a fresh new look. TEA was the first brew by Hogs Back when the brewery opened in 1992 and was affectionately known as Tongham TEA.
The design is deliberately different from other beers, particularly those with abstract names and designs that currently characterise the craft brewing sector and reflects the Brewery’s values of being genuinely local and sustainable.
Brewed to an almost unchanged recipe, the name “Tongham TEA” has been reintroduced to the new, simplified and more modern design. The book cover style of illustration shows Hogs Back’s journey to brewer and hop grower. As a ‘Farm Brewery’, Hogs Back is leading the way for brewers in the UK who have been founded on a farming heritage that gives them a deep understanding of their brewing ingredients.
The hop garden continues to flourish as the hop plants mature in their eight-acre home just yards from the brewhouse. Following a bumper 2021 harvest, this year has been challenging due to the long, hot summer, but the quality of the 2022 hop harvest is reassuring high. The three -week harvest culminated in the annual Hop Harvest Festival & TEA Party with 3,000 visitors. Embracing the consumer trend towards “no and lo” alcohol beer has seen the launch of Little Swine 2.8% and its even ‘smaller’ brother, Little Swine Alcohol Free (0.5%). The reward of being able to offer consumers a range of naturally brewed pale ales, packed with hop flavour and mouth feel, far outweighs the technical challenges of brewing this type of beer, where it is critical to manage the fermentable sugars that produce the alcohol. With more consumers wanting an authentic beer but with a lower alcohol content, Little Swine is well placed to capitalise on this growing trend.
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