Exeter & East Devon Branch

Oh we do like a beer beside the seaside

On arrival at Great Seaside Farm (Branscombe Vale Brewery), Paul Dimond and Graham Luxton welcomed us by immediately showing us where to help ourselves to their Branoc and Best Bitter. A fantastic way to start a brewery tour!

The building and land are owned by the National Trust and were originally old cowsheds in disrepair. The setting is beautiful overlooking Lyme Bay, in fact it's so good it almost made me want to go to work there each day. The brewery was born in 1992 by Paul and Graham after they had been made redundant from Express Dairy Foods, Honiton. A decision had to be made and the decision was made to start a brewery. Paul is a self-taught brewer, gleaning knowledge from a book on brewing. Beers at first, went mainly to The Fountain Head in view of family connections at the time.

In 1997 capacity was increased from 5 to 10 barrels and by 2008 demand resulted in a complete refurbishment with brand new equipment made to measure from AB UK Canada being installed. The National Trust built an extension to ensure future growth and this now houses the 4 fermenters, which means that brewing only has to done 3 times a week. As the brewery has been extended, it was decided to split us into 2 groups for the tour. Paul gave us a quick tour and talk on the brewing process. The steam boiler is oil fired, and a clever system has been devised to dispatch the spent mash from the brewery to outside containers, for the local cows to enjoy. The water used is from natural springs, which for Paul contributes to consistency with the beers.

Four beers are brewed Branoc 3.8%, Draymans Best Bitter 4.2%, BVB Best Bitter 4.6%, and Summa' That 5%, with Branoc contributing to 85% of sales. Beer is delivered to 80 outlets and various beer festivals. Draymans Bitter is also available in bottles. Seasonal beers are Anniversary Ale 4.6% (Feb to March) (The Bridge, Topsham have this bottled each year to celebrate ownership by the same family, this year reaching a landmark of 111 years), while Hells Belles 4.8% and, Yo Ho Ho 6% are available at Xmas.

After thanks were given, a much needed comfort break followed it was then all aboard the bus to the other end of the village; destination The Fountain Head Beer festival (always held the weekend nearest to the Summer Solstice). The theme this year was Land, Sea and Air, with some rather obscure beers (one being a chilli beer) not for the faint hearted. 34 beers plus 3 Branscombe beers and several ciders were available accompanied by some good music. A hog roast, jumbo sausage and burgers, which we all enjoyed, were provided for us courtesy of Branscombe Brewery. We enjoyed a couple of hours, sampling the various beers before starting the journey back to Exeter and the surrounding areas.

I would, on behalf of the branch like to thank Paul and Graham for a brilliant evening at the brewery, the generous hospitality and time given. We wish them continued success at the brewery.

Jean Cottee