Brewpub is a labour of love
I'm sitting in a brewpub in Peterborough drinking Old Tosspot. Not quite my usual venue. Or my usual tipple. But Old Tosspot is November's seasonal ale, and one of brewmaster John Bryan's favourites. "When I'm let off the leash, I love to make beers that I want to drink," he says.
The brewpub belongs to Oakham Ales, which claims to be the biggest brewpub in Europe. They're probably right. The building used to be Peterborough's labour exchange and there's bags of space, with capacity for 550 people. There are at least 15 leather sofas, not to mention a huge expanse of furniture-free flagstone floor, plus a vast gallery above - the whole lot with an uninterrupted view through glass to Bryan's gleaming stainless-steel brewery with 175 brewer barrels.
Oakham Ales began life in 1993 when an insurance company made former owner John Wood redundant. He decided to turn professional after 20 years as a home brewer and install a brewing plant into an industrial estate near Oakham station, Leicestershire (hence the name). Wood's beers rapidly became popular with local pubs and beer festivals, picking up awards around the country (Old Tosspot won Fastest Selling Beer at the Lincoln Beer Festival in 1995).
Two years later, Wood sold the business to Peterborough bar operator Paul Hook and his part-time assistant, Bryan, took over as head brewer after jacking in his Wisbech farming job. "I was a fifth-generation farmer, so it was a tough choice at the time. I felt I'd let my father down for quite a few years after," admits Bryan, who started home brewing at the age of 16.
Hook then snapped up the old labour exchange and converted it into a much larger brewery and a pub in Peterborough's city centre. Why Peterborough? "The city hosts the second-biggest beer festival in the country, so we have quite a few real-ale lovers here," says Hook's marketing manager, Jake Douglas. And a fair few of them swing by the brewpub when the festival is on - including plenty of women, Douglas adds. "Our beers are known for being light and hoppy and extremely palatable." Not to mention being particularly food-friendly - the pub has a Thai kitchen and 40% of drinkers eat here.
Oakham Ales is most famous for its JHB, or Jeffrey Hudson Bitter (named after a local dwarf - it's a long story), also available in bottle. With an abv of 3.8%, it is a golden beer with a distinctly hoppy aroma, balanced by malt and a bitter base on the palate, with a soft fruity, slightly citrussy finish. It's won more awards than you can shake a stick at - including Campaign for Real Ale's Champion Beer of Britain. Safeway is rather partial to it too, and has just put it on its shelves.
The brewery sells its beers as far north as Derby and as far south as Kent, and there are three main brews. As well as JHB, there's White Dwarf (what is it with Oakham and dwarfs?) and Bishops Farewell, plus 10 seasonal beers, of which Old Tosspot (£71 per nine gallons) is one. Next month's special is Cold Turkey - Bryan's tribute to 19th-century beers, deep red in colour with robust malt flavours, blackcurranty hops and a porty finish (£85 per nine gallons). "I like to use mainly American hops - they have more va-va-voom," Bryan says.
