FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

The Next Stop On His Producer Series

JOURNEY TAKES ED THOMAS TO ABREWERY THATSHARES ITS NAME WITH PROUD SALOPIANS EVERYWHERE

The Salopian Brewery was first imagined back in 1994 when, from asite in Shrewsbury,a grand total of twobarrels could be brewed at atime. Fast forward to the present day and the Salopian Brewery has moved to Hadnall and its bespoke brew house with acapacity of 8,200 litres per brew

Full scale production means there is plenty to go round and quench the thirst of any Salopians who might be enjoying apint of cask ale in their local pub. Managing Director TrevorHourican explained that Salopian has always been, and firmly remains, acask focused brewery but brewing demands constant innovation andchange. With drinking habits changing with more people choosing to enjoy their beer at home, it has made sense for Salopian to continue to evolve. Change and adaptation has been ahallmarkofTrevor’s 30-year career in beer.

From humble beginnings with the UK’s smallest standalone brewhouse, Salopian hascontinued to adapt and change, adding beerstothe range, rebranding. The biggest changes came as aresult of the national lockdown announced in March 2020. Salopian pivoted, having never had any online sales capability things changed quickly and all of asudden more than100 cars were queuing up for their click and collects. It boughtdrinkers directly into contact with the brewery and this has become something Trevorhas maintained. He says that the local customer connection is a vital part of the overall ethos of Salopian where they say they are just ‘quietly brewing beautiful beer’.

As the brewery has grown over more than 25 years in operation, the reputation has grown and the awards have racked up. Salopian is well known for cask alesand youwill find them in pubs nationwide. Awards have followed, ranging from global beer award to third best beer mat of the year

Today,the Salopian range includes six traditional ales such as Shropshire Gold –a copper coloured bitter,Oracle –agolden ale and the rich and spicy Darwin’s Origin. This core range offers something for everyone, each of the beers is distinctive, built on consistency and focused on flavour

The Black range offers something just alittle different. Constellations is ariot of tropical flavours, Keepsake is aopaque Neipa-style beer and Waters of Lethe is astrong barrel aged stout. The black range represents experimentation and innovation and it offers generally stronger beers. No matter which one you choose each and every one of them is true to Salopian’s trademark style.

Of course avital ingredient for all great beers is aconsistent brewing process. Head Brewer KevinHarris explained that the process startswith quality raw materials, in the case of beer this means malted barley.AtSalopian they can store about amonth’s supply of their preferred extra pale malted barley which is then milled on site to their own specification depending on the final colour and sweetness required for that day’s brew

Hot water is then added to the milled malted barley in the mash tun. Forabout an hour enzymes get to work turning starch intosugar.To ensure consistency and quality,the temperature is then increased to stop theenzyme process.

Moving to another vessel shaped to create awhirlpool which means an even boil, proteins are broken up andany potential bugs removed. The first hops are then added before the whirlpool is slowed down. We now have raw beer,or wort.

Now comes the main hopping stage with the raw beer poured over thetop of the leaf hops to create the rounded flavours Salopiandrinkers expect. After just half an hour thebeer is moved again this time to afermentation tank where it can stay for up to three days.

Salopian’s black rangebeers are intensely hopped which more and more hops added during the fermentation stage.

Across the range Salopian use more than 30 varieties of hops all adding different flavours and characteristics to each brew.Hops from the UK offer earthy and floral flavours while hops from the USA and Australia and NewZealand offer more tropical notes

It is during the fermentation stage where sugars turn in to alcohol and the temperature will increase gently up to 21C having started off at 19C. After fermentation the beer is chilled and made ready for racking. Clarifying agents areadded andthen casks left for up to afortnight for conditioning. This is where the term Cask Conditioned comes from. It’s in thecellar at this stage that asecondary fermentation takes place which gives beer its low natural fizz. Not totally unlike making traditionalmethod sparkling wine.

Nine and 18 gallon casks, and 4.5 gallon pins are then ready for delivery to pubs, or for party hosting punters to pick up direct from the brewery.Beer destined for bottles andcans is sterile filtered and packaged.

Then comes final packaging, Salopian have bottled their own beers for some time enabling fans to enjoy their beers at home, since 2021 cans have alsobeen available.

Salopian beers are widely available in the county’spubsand bottle shops. You’ll also find them on the shelves in your local Coop and on P&O ships. Or pop to their taproom in Hadnall the first weekend of each month and enjoy apint served by the team that brewed the beer themselves.