Andrew's tour of the West Midlands Brewing round the back

Date Published:

13/06/2008

The rear of most boozers is the preserve of pub debris, smokers, fights and car park smooches. The Lord Nelson in Ansley, Warwickshire, however boasts what must be one of the smallest micro breweries in the country, tucked away between its beer garden and car park

The Tunnel Brewery is staffed by Bob Yates and Mike Walsh, with Bob taking on the business side of things and Mike handling all matters zymological. But what it lacks in staff numbers it makes up for in top draw beers and brews.

What's currently occupying their minds though, isn't their location, but the location of a ship from New Zealand carrying a precious cargo of Pacific Gem hops. These hops from down under are a key ingredient in 'Light At The End Of The Tunnel', their dark golden session bitter much beloved by the regulars in the pub next door and the surrounding region.

"Can't people grow it here?" I ask. "It wouldn't be the same," says Mike with a sigh. "Hops are like grapes, They have a terroir. It's only one of over 20 hops we use, but an important one." Anyway, they've enough to keep them going for the foreseeable but it's uplifting to see them taking such care in the sourcing and forward planning of their beer production.

Another of Tunnels' charms is the story on the back of each bottle of how the beer came about, all created by Bob. He shows me the artwork he's commissioned from a local artist that will form part of the label. You get a sense from these lads that each bottle or cask is crafted with love, care and an attention to detail.

Every mans dream

Larry Miller once did a sketch about the Five Levels of Drinking. Level three is to own your own bar with your friends, or indeed brewery. I jokingly put this to Bob when he tells me how the brewery was born. In 2004 Mike was running a beer connoisseur evening at the local college, to which Bob and others attended. After a while the talk turned to setting up a brewery, but instead of just the beer talking, they all came together to arrange the finances and start things up. The Depertment for Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) added a rural business development grant and the Tunnel Brewery started brewing in April 2005.

I ask Bob and Mike why people seek out their beer. "These days, people are looking for depth, flavour and complexity," says Bob. "Mass produced beers might use rice or sweetcorn instead of barley to get the required starches and sugars, but these are flavour neutralizers," says Mike. He then goes on to talk me through the beer brewing process, late hopping, malt quality and such. It leaves me with the impression that Mike is something of an artist; water is his canvas and the other ingredients are his paints.

The Future

We move on to talk about a special night Bob's planning in conjunction with the Windmill Inn in Leicestershire, where each course is matched with a beer produced by Tunnel. They're also supplying their bottled beer to Tesco via a wholesaler as well as attending local farmers markets and food fairs, and finally they’re conducting tours and taster evenings in conjunction with the Nelson Inn next door. So if you're in the area why not slip round the back of the Nelson and ask for Bob or Mike.

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Find out where else Andrew visited in the West Midland