Press Release
Beers from Stroud’s newest, freshest brewery are now on tap in local pubs
Beers from The Fresh Standard Brew Co—which have been going down a storm in canned and bag-in-box form during lockdown—are now available on handpump in selected pubs since the partial easing of lockdown.
Pub-goers have been able to enjoy Fresh beers at the Prince Albert in Rodborough, the Butchers Arms at Sheepscombe, the Old Fox at Coaley and the Old Spot in Dursley. And you will soon be able to drink Fresh beer at the Vine Tree in Randwick and the Butchers Hook in Thornbury
‘For me, cask-conditioned beer is the epitome of Fresh’, enthuses Richard Taylor, Brewing Director at The Fresh Standard. ‘It’s young beer that needs to be consumed quickly and has had the fewest things done to it at the altar of shelf life.’
The Fresh Standard Brew Co began brewing in December 2020 and until now has only been available to residents of the Stroud Valleys via online delivery.
‘We wanted to get to know our beers and refine them using the feedback we got from beer lovers on our home patch before rushing to a broader release,’ Richard Taylor explains. ‘We aim to brew distinctive, hoppy ales, inspired by the Stroud Valleys and the places where we drink them.
‘Our philosophy is to create simple, low intervention beers, using limited but best quality ingredients and get them to the drinker in as fresh a state possible.’
With pubs closed due to Covid restrictions, the traditional routes to market have been severely restricted. With help from the Crown in Minchinhampton, some cask-conditioned bag-in-box beer was available for home delivery via wholesaler the Beer Agent in Cheltenham. Now pub-goers can enjoy Fresh beers at the Prince Albert in Rodborough, the Butchers Arms at Sheepscombe, the Old Fox at Coaley and the Old Spot in Dursley. And you will soon be able to drink Fresh beer at the Vine Tree in Randwick and the Butchers Hook in Thornbury
‘I’ve known Richard personally for many years and his dedication to brewing and passion for creating beer that would suit everyone’s palate is second to none,’ says Alastair Kerr, general manager of the Butchers Hook. ‘He is a fantastic brewer and his beer, for such a small operation, is of exceptional quality. I look forward to ordering some fantastic Fresh Standard Beers for the Butchers Hook over the coming year.’
Fresh Standard beers are :
– additive-free, with only four ingredients, water, barley, hops and yeast.
– are suitable for vegetarians and vegans
– once the brew is in the fermenter, no additional clarification aids such as enzymes, chemicals, or finings obtained from the swim bladders of fish are used. The beers have a light natural haze, which means much more flavour and mouthfeel than artificially clarified beers and are best enjoyed fresh.
-All our beer is naturally carbonated by the yeast, this creates a much nicer mouthfeel and foam with smaller bubbles. This is also the way real ale conditions naturally inside the cask in the pub cellar.
The Fresh Standard Brew Co is currently concentrating on crafting two beers, Solution and Pothering.
Solution Common Pale Ale (4.8%) is the flagship easy-drinking pale ale. Inspired by California common ales, Cow in the middle of the road and continental ales, it is fermented with a clean, high-attenuating Kolsch German ale yeast and hopped with Southern Cross, Tettnang and Idaho 7 hops for a refreshing crisp lemony finish.
Pothering IPA (6.2%) is influenced by the classic West Coast IPAs from the early US craft beer scene. This is a hoppy, malty and bitter IPA jam-packed with Centennial, Willamette and Bravo hops to create a rich, marmalade finish.
‘These are the sorts of beers that I love and look out for’ says Richard Taylor. In nearly eight years as a professional brewer, these are the beers I’ve wanted to create. The small scale I’m now brewing at allows me the opportunity to focus on beers that are a little bit different from other local ales’
Richard has previously brewed at Stroud Brewery and Cheltenham’s Battledown Brewing Co.
‘Our customers have enjoyed the various beers brewed by Richard at Stroud and Battledown over many years,’ says Lotte Lyster Connolly, Landlady at The Prince Albert, Rodborough. ‘We are all thrilled that he has bravely taken a giant leap to create his own brewery in Stroud, and the results are delighting everyone who tries them. He is a true beer lover and has grown into an experienced brewer with his own unique style.’
‘This past year has been the worst on record for the hospitality sector, especially pubs and breweries’ adds Alastair Kerr, south west regional representative of The Campaign for Pubs. ‘It is fantastic to see Richard branching out and supporting pubs in the local community by providing fantastic cask-conditioned beer for our beloved local pubs. The Fresh Standard Brewery will make an excellent addition to the already fantastic beer scene in Gloucestershire and I for one look forward to supporting Richard and Fresh Standard by trying his beer in some of our brilliant pubs in the South West.’