Right on our doorstep sits a brewery which has reinvented beer as we know it.
Having started out with just two people and a dog in 2013, Siren Craft Brew is becoming a worldwide success. Winning global awards and with stock now sold in Wokingham’s Waitrose, there’s no doubt that the Finchampstead-based brewery is making waves in the beer world.
“We’re just kicking off an exciting next phase of growth,” says Andy Nowlan, Siren’s marketing manager of four years, “and we’re certainly not slowing down!”
Based in Hogwood Industrial Estate, the Brewery runs a bar called the Tap Yard and offers a unique experience with a selection of beers on tap. A family and dog friendly environment, everyone is welcome.
“We have a nice, growing community around the Tap Yard. We’ve had an amazing response to it from beer fans near and far.”
The bar is currently open from noon until 8pm Thursday to Saturday due to its overwhelming success.
“We’re getting busier every week, so we’ll soon be opening on Wednesdays and Sundays too.” explains Andy.
The team also offer tours and tastings where guests can see the brewing process first hand, see some of the equipment used and, of course, hear some of the anecdotes from behind the scenes. At the end, you can even try four fresh beers straight from the source.
But that’s not all – the team also offer other events including an original take on the classic wine and cheese combination by hosting beer and cheese evenings.
Working with The Grumpy Goat beer and cheese retailer in Reading, Siren combines two of Britain’s favourite treats. Andy says they use this unusual combination to create a range of taste sensations for guests: “We want to either cut through the flavour of the cheese, balance the beer and the cheese or – and this is the the holy grail of taste experiences – complement the two to make everything even better.”
The Tap Yard is available to rent out for any occasion, from birthdays to work parties, vouchers are available for tours, making a lovely present for all Wokingham beer drinkers.
As Andy says: “Our beer is always flavour forward. We range from an accessible 3.6% easy drinking pale ale to a 6.5% coffee infused beer. Ultimately, we want to take you on a flavour adventure.”
Celebrating the company’s sixth birthday, they’re also bringing back the first ever brewed beer at Siren – their barrel aged barleywine, Maiden.
A special barrel-ageing process is used to give Maiden a distinctive flavour so that it varies year-on-year, using barrels which once housed other drinks such as red wine, whiskey and tequila. It’s then blended with fresh beer.
The brewery thinks about every element of the process and how to enrich it as much as possible, heavily focusing on quality not quantity.
Andy explains: “It’s quite incredible how the effects of the barrel can have a wide range of flavours in each. The combination of the wood, beer and time means each finished product comes out completely different.”
Meanwhile, the awards are coming thick and fast for the team, and last month winning Honest Brew’s Beer Icon award.
At the prestigious CAMRA 2018 awards – Campaign for Real Ale, one of the world’s largest consumer-driven campaigns – the team won Champion Beer of Britain with their Broken Dream Breakfast Stout.
Andy adds: “We’re very proud. It was a brilliant surprise to win such an award – especially as we won with a 6.5% stout in the middle of summer!”
This success has followed the team since their first year when they were voted second Best New Brewery in the World by Ratebeer.com, followed by Best UK Brewer in 2014. For the last five years, they have continued to make it into Ratebeer.com’s top 100 Breweries worldwide.
With this astonishing success, the brewery are clearly on the up. Just take a look at their social media; with 31,500 followers on Instagram, there’s no doubt they are a company to watch.
Speaking of the company’s rapid expansion, Andy says: “Needing to expand to meet demand is always a challenge but it’s a good problem to have.”
But, as he says, “our ethos is about creativity and always has been” and that’s what makes them different.
So why not head down to the Tap Yard this weekend to reawaken your taste buds and rethink your drink.
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