Export Opportunities
The team is also looking at export opportunities in the future, with opportunities in Italy, France, China, as well as the US. But closer to home, Ayling and Wright have used their presence across the UK to collaborate with breweries such as West London’s Weird Beard and Manchester’s Runaway Brewery, the former taking the form of a steam-style beer that used EXP341 hops in its first commercial use in the UK.
And while Wright adopts an envious look at the space some of their counterparts in cities such as Manchester have at their disposal, the Pig & Porter team are keen to ensure that when the time does come to move, it’ll be somewhere with good transport links, suitable office space and accessible from the duo’s Whitstable and Hastings bases.
“On an personal basis, we deliver to quite a broad geography. It gives you time to think, and what better way to meet your customers. A new location will improve our office setup too, as we are getting to the point where at least half our beer is not sold locally, so there are all things to take into account,” says Ayling.
And in terms of the brewery’s output, Pig & Porter sells in both cask and keg, as well as in bottles.
Wright explains: “But we are having a rethink as kegs are fundamentally a real pain in the neck as so many pubs don’t know how to serve them, and to be fair, so many breweries don’t know how to fill them properly, either.
“The market is growing but it’s still very early days, and nowhere near advanced as I thought it was, to be honest. The ideal split for us is somewhere like Glassworks Manchester, where they want 75/25% split in favour of cask.
“You can produce a perfect beer, in perfect conditions, with perfect carbonation levels and there is a good chance that a decent number of people could end up with a fobbing mess that they don’t know how to serve.”
The problem, says Wright, is people have been educated for many years in serving cask beer and management, and the acceleration of keg has surprised people, “so they don’t all know how to do it properly”.
Lupulin Threshold Shift
But it’s this point in the conversation that the focus turns to a figure that Ayling and Wright have no fear whatsoever of doings things improperly, their so-called “Hop God” Dr Peter Darby. Darby is a hop researcher, and the public figurehead behind Wye Hops.
While they hold Darby, and his work, in high regard, its what the future holds that has Ayling and Wright particularly excited. “There’s probably a dozen or so hops regularly grown in the UK but the variety we have runs far deeper. There is one variety, a Kentish Hop, Kentish soil, Kentish climate, but you’d swear is from the US West Coast. OZ97a,” enthuses Wright.
He adds: “Field notes from the 1950’s showed that it passed its field trial, but failed its commercial trial as it was deemed to ‘flavoursome’ as they only wanted a hop for bittering purposes. But thanks to efforts from Darby, among others, planting took place last year and recently, 15kg was harvested. And we have it, so watch this space!
So while Ayling’s latest efforts with OZ97a are pending with baited breath, what other beers are on the horizon for Pig & Porter? It’s collaboration with Runaway Brewery, ‘Runaway Pig’, was well-received, as was the Weird Beard link-up ‘Weird Pig’.
Wright explains: “Whenever we collaborate, we follow the naming format of the other brewery first, and the name ending in Pig. ‘Runaway Pig’, ‘Weird Pig’, so who knows, maybe Cameron’s Brewery are up for it.” Don’t hold your breath….
