Since we’re expecting another heatwave, many of us will be looking forward to relaxing outdoors with a cold one. We take a look at some British brands working to ensure you can enjoy a summer beer without it costing the earth.
Hepworth Blonde lager (5% ABV)
With the impacts of packaging and transportation much more difficult to address than the recipe, one way to make your beer drinking much more sustainable is to keep it close to the brewery. Hepworth’s of Pulborough has a taproom on site. Set up in 2000 to continue a local tradition of skilled craft brewing, they also supply pubs in Sussex. They use organic, locally-sourced barley and keep other ingredients as local as possible. Their purpose-built brewery was designed to be green, and they’ve since added solar panels and EA-approved reed-bed filtration for their wastewater. They’re particularly proud of their novel, self-developed ‘beer-sourced heat pump’ which uses heat generated by fermentation to boil the water to start the brewing process, creating a closed-loop. And the beer? It’s naturally sulphite-free and naturally delicious. We particularly like the Blonde, which comes in keg draught and bottled versions, both of which are vegan, gluten-free and organic. It’s light, crisp and fresh with a subtle floral note. Not too fizzy, it’s great chilled with a meal. If you don’t live in the South, you can buy the bottled version online direct or from Abel & Cole.
https://hepworthbrewery.co.uk/shop/
Little Valley Radical Roots (4% ABV)
If you’re in Yorkshire (or Manchester), look out for a free house with Little Valley on draft. Set up in 2005 with traceability in mind, Little Valley in Cragg Vale, West Yorkshire, produces an impressive range of draft and bottled craft beers due to a pioneering spirit and a bona fide Master Brewer (qualified at Doemens World Brew Academy in Munich). Beside their signature Cragg’s Bitter and a Tod’s Blonde named for local Todmorden, there’s the twice CAMRA Silver Medal-winning Hebden’s Wheat, a creamy Stoodley Stout, and a fragrant Cherry Saison, all vegan and GM free. Most of the ingredients are sourced locally, and, with a few exceptions, are Soil Association-certified organic. The Radical Roots pale ale also has the distinction of being the only Fairtrade-certified UK beer. Ginger and notes of citrus and dried fruit give this pale amber bottle-conditioned gluten-free ale a refreshing twist that’s just made for summer drinking. As well as supplying local hostelries they sell via off-licences and supermarkets across Yorkshire and Manchester, including Morrison’s, the Co-op and Waitrose. If you’re further afield you can buy them direct online.
https://littlevalleybrewery.co.uk/shop/category/beers/
Toast American Pale Ale (5% ABV)
Inspired by beer’s bread-based history, London brewery Toast was set up in 2016 as a circular economy solution to reducing food waste while raising both awareness and funds. They estimate that 44% of bread produced in the UK will be thrown away. The perfect, fresh, end-slices of loaves used in the sandwich-making industry are routinely discarded. Toast have already used millions of these to replace 25% of the barley in their brewing process. The first ever B-Corp brewery in the UK, they’re working towards Net Zero 2030 and all their profits go to charities working to fix the global food system. Their beers are all vegan, and that includes the fully-traceable bread. They’ll even support you in brewing your own bread-based beer through their ‘homebrew club’. As luck would have it, their first founding principle is to brew great-tasting beer, and their dizzying list of plaudits includes multiple Great Taste Awards. Alongside occasional collaborations, the range comprises two Pale Ales, an IPA, a craft lager and an alcohol-free version. Try the fruity American Pale Ale or how about an ice-cold, hop-forward lager? If you can’t make it to their Good Company taproom in Triton Street, NW1, you can pick them up in cans or bottles at your local Co-op, or buy direct online.
https://www.toastale.com/browse
Freestar Primetime lager (0% ABV)
If you’re aiming to keep a clear head but don’t want to feel left out, (or all this talk of bread is making your stomach ache!), say hello to Freestar. The most sustainable of the alcohol-free options, it’s also gluten-free, vegan and just 62 calories. Rather than brewed and then de-alcoholised, which can destroy flavour and body as well as wasting resources, it’s crafted without yeast to be alcohol free, emitting 50% less CO2, using 75% less water and 60% less energy, creating 40% less waste and earning the company B-Corp certification. As if that weren’t enough, they also contribute to a mentoring hotline for young jobseekers and sponsor Street Elite, an award-winning programme using sport to engage 18 to 25-year-olds affected by serious youth crime. The refreshing Primetime lager is a blend of hops, water and gluten-free Pilsner malt, with natural flavourings like pomelo and bergamot. Fruity yet dry with floral notes, it picked up the World Beer Awards 2019 UK Low Alcohol Award. There’s also an IPA that’s well worth checking out.
Look out for the bottles on the shelf behind your local bar, grab a pack of cans next time you’re in Tesco or Sainsbury’s, or buy direct online.
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