With the increase in active breweries in the UK there is a line of thinking (one which I would support) that suggests that in order to survive brewers not only need to ensure quality across their craft but also give the public a reason to further talk about them. The humble brewery tap is definitely one way in which a number of rising stars of brewing are achieving this.
Sadler's Brewery has been firmly established as part of the brewing scene in the Black Country. Founded in 1900 in Oldbury to serve an estate of 12 pubs, the brewery and passion of Nathaniel Sadler has been passed from generation to generation and is still thriving in its new home Lye near Stourbridge.
Under the watchful eye of current Managing Director Chris Sadler the brewery has been going from strength to strength since 2004. Bringing with him a keen eye for quality and a solid core range of beers, that can be found up and down the region and increasingly further afield. In recent years this core range has grown with the introduction of a number of contemporary recipes being added to the cannon including a Black IPA 'Peaky Blinder', a double/imperial IPA 'Dr Hardwickes' and a grown up and very uninhibited imperial version of their classic 'Mud City Stout'.
Rumours of a brewery extension for Sadler's have been floating around the ether for a couple of years, so when not only an increase of of brewing length (from 10 bbl to 30 bbl at the new facility) but also a dedicated brewery tap was announced recently it grabbed my attention.
Having secured an invite the official opening event I headed along with Krishan from Stirchley Wines who I met on the train to Lye (the brewery and indeed the tap being a whole 30 second walk from the station). Upon arrival we wandered up into the taphouse situated above the new brewery and having had a quick look around the very well presented bar before grabbing a couple of the Sadler's signature beers on offer. The bar set up is well put together with 6 cask and 6 keg offerings available along with several fridges stuffed to the gills with beers from the UK (Siren, Mad Hatter and Pressure Drop amongst those represented) and further afield (Lervig, Mikeller, Evil Twin et al). Stand out beers for the day being 'Boris Citrov' from Sadler's; a punchy pale ale hopped with a mix of American and English hops to give a rich citrus finish almost bordering on marmalade. Of the bottled beers Siren's 'Smoke Signals' a dry hopped Berliner Weisse with a gentle smoke present in the carbonation.
Having managed to grab a few minutes with Chris in-between his rushing around the bar on hosting duties. He confirmed that plans for the old 10 barrel brewery were to use this to brew predominantly small batch beers in the vein of 'Dr Hardwick's Double IPA' and 'Imperial Mud City Stout'. I then took the opportunity to have a wander around the new brewing setup with Chris' dad John Sadler who is just as enthusiastic about brewing and Sadler's place in the current scene. The new 30 bbl set-up is in a word very impressive and gives massive scope for a number of directions for the brewery to go in, including a proposed line of kegged products for release in the near future.
All in all with this Sadler's are making a bold statement about how a brewery tap should be presented and as long as they continue to give the public at large a reason to go there long may it flourish.
Sadler's Brewhouse & Bar will be open Thu/Fri/Sat
