Wooden Ships

The IPA Heritage Project is a three month experiment to try replicate the conditions beer would have experienced hundreds of years ago.

You may or may not have heard something about us ageing barrels of beer on boats on the Thames

It started one evening after brewing. The team got talking about how great it would be to replicate the journey of the traditional IPA to see what actually happened to the beer. An idea that started as loose conversation, cemented itself in our minds and couldn’t be shaken until we gave it a go.

There are countless different theories about the traditional IPA, with a few elements seen as fact across all. The beer was brewed and put in wooden barrels, the barrels were shipped to India and additional hops added to help the beer survive.

We settled on using a blend of quite traditional hops – Admiral, Pilgrim and First Gold, alongside a more modern variant – UK Chinook. Malt wise, we keep it simple and refined – Pale, Crystal Light and English Cara. The goal to make a bready base with earth and stone fruit notes.

With beer in barrel, the last hurdle was finding someone to allow us 1000l of beer on their boats for three months. City Cruises jumped at the opportunity. With their large fleet, tours and pop up events, they were a perfect match. Their boats sail up and down the Thames every day, regaling the history of the Thames to all on their boats. This is only the start of the journey. The beer will be on board until the end of November.

At the end of the three months, we will take the barrels back to the brewery for tasting and testing. We have planned a tasting party so as many of you as possible can come try a recreation of history. Show Less