Brewers for a day: Competition winners help to brew at Bell Street Brewery

July 25, 2016

l-r: head brewer Malcolm Mayo with Ken Baker and Caroline Ham in the Bell Street Brewery

Two work colleagues from Henley enjoyed a half-day at Brakspear’s Bell Street Brewery helping to brew, after winning a competition in the Henley Standard, which also included lunch at the Bull on Bell Street, behind which the brewery is sited.

Caroline Ham and Ken Baker entered the competition earlier this year. Working for Simmons & Sons on Bell Street, they had already enjoyed the food and drink at the Bull several times including at their Christmas party last year.

Caroline said, “The brewery day was a fascinating experience and Ken and I came away knowing a lot more about brewing than we did at the start of the day.  This was my first time in a microbrewery, and it was interesting to be so close to the brewing process. They were brewing Goldfinger on the day we visited.

“We worked alongside head brewer Malcolm Mayo and brewing assistant Richard Ashplant. They helpfully explained all the stages involved in brewing, so we learned why the ingredients need to be so carefully weighed, and what flavours are added by the different hop varieties used in Goldfinger.

“The beer we helped to brew will be ready in around four weeks, but luckily the Bull had Goldfinger on tap so we could enjoy a glass afterwards.  Lunch at the Bull was, as always, very enjoyable, with delicious food and attentive service from manager Marlyne and her team.”

She added, “Now when we go into the Bull, we’ll understand what’s going on behind the glass screen of the microbrewery and I’m sure that we’ll appreciate our beers a bit more.  We’re both delighted to have won the prize.”

Brian and Angela Davies, of Upper Basildon, near Pangbourne also won the ‘Brewer for a Day’ prize, but took a tour of the brewery and lunch at the Bull instead.   Brian said, “Although we weren’t able to help brew at the Bell Street Brewery, we did enjoying looking behind the scenes with Malcolm and learning a bit more about how they brew.  We followed our tour with a lovely meal at the Bull on Bell Street which we really enjoyed and will definitely be dining there again.”

Malcolm Mayo, head brewer at the Bell Street Brewery, said, “We enjoyed having the prize winners visiting and helping out in the brewery.  It’s always good to involve our customers in brewing, as they learn about our beers and we get closer to the people who actually drink them, which helps us when creating new beers.”