THE NEW CELLAR

Boy has it taken a while, but for what it's worth, the new cellar will provide the perfect place for the beer to rest for a week or so before making its way to some of the West Country's best pubs, hotels and clubs. 

The cellar - a large part of which is underground, is fabricated from clay blocks and its 'lid' sports a beautiful 'green', living Sedum roof.  We went underground to capture the core temperature of the earth (12ºC).  Funnily enough, that is the target temperature for all good cellars to aim for.  It is no coincidence that the underground cellars of yesteryear are the ultimate in terms of natural temperature control - protected and insulated from the warmth, and the cold. 

There are both financial savings and environmental savings to be made with this new building.  We aim to save about £20,000 worth of electricity a year, which, environmentally 'costs the earth' around 6½ tonnes of CO₂ emissions per annum.  Every little bit helps!  In addition to the underground qualities, the building materials will all help to regulate the noisy sound of clanking steel barrels as they are being washed and filled.  Mother might even get a lie in!!

The week in cellar at the brewery is where we can guarantee secondary fermentation truly gets underway.  This is when the yeast, in suspension inside the cask, feeds on the residual sugar and releases CO₂ as a by-product.  This is where the natural fizz in cask ale comes from - an essential ingredient for preserving the beer during it's dispense and of course delivering that natural sparkling product.