Issue #3

When I started this website a year ago I wanted to explore the culture of mixed/wild fermentation beers in the UK, and try to profile the different producers and techniques being used. I then adopted the term British wild beer to cover this topic, which I still think is the best term we have available. I have since tried writing about different producers, but as someone unfamiliar to writing in this way, it immediately became quite daunting. Instead, I’ve mostly used this platform to write about my homebrewing, which was never my intention. I’ve found this really helpful in tracking my project and thought process and something I will certainly keep up. But I’d still like to cover British wild beer as well as other beer centric topics. To do this I’m going to try and be a bit more casual about what I write and not try to bite off more than I can chew. 

Another issue, something I was well aware of when I started, was the impermanence and instability in the wider brewing industry. Since my first post Little Earth Project, perhaps one of the oldest names in this scene of ours, has paused their brewing production. Epochal have recently announced they will be closing down. Even the wildly successful Beak brewery hasn’t returned to producing beers of this style in the last couple of years. But on the other hand, many producers are pushing on, other breweries have made great efforts at making these styles, and it even sounds as if Mills are expanding and launching a new project called Theremin. 

Also this year my partner and I moved flat, we have done some travelling, and we very recently got a kitten. I am very grateful for all of this positive change, so I am hesitant to say I’ve been distracted. But I’d like to be pragmatic about my output and actually capture my thoughts and feelings beyond ratings and tasting notes.  

When I had read about both Epochal and Little Earth Project, it became more apparent that these beers are very much lightning in a bottle. They are challenging to produce, have a niche appeal, and are risky financially. Their fleeting nature is both charming and heart breaking. I fortunately managed to try a range of Little Earth Project’s beers recently. To put it shortly their expertise and uniqueness will be strongly missed. Meanwhile, I have struggled to get hold of some remaining bottles from Epochal which I am sure are equally magical.