PART ONE
Today, 6th January, is an auspicious date. The twelfth night of the year is celebrated in Christianity, Shakespeare and superstitions. It is also the night associated with the tradition of wassailing. Prevalent in Anglo-Saxon times, and still undertaken in some rural areas today, wassailing is the ritual of awakening apple trees from their winter rest, ridding them of bad spirits to encourage a bountiful harvest.
This January, we’ll be starting a tradition of our own by celebrating the first release of Old Twelfth Night, our barrel-aged Orchard Ale.
This beer embodies our respect for heritage brewing with its guiding principles of locality and seasonality. It is a celebration of our sense of place, blending a wort created from a traditional farmhouse malt recipe with 2017 vintage apple juice and pulp from our own orchard. Old Twelfth Night is a product of its surrounding environment physically, historically and philosophically.
Terroir has long been held in high regard for its influence on the character of its produce. The aspect, soil, climate, flora and fauna all collaborate to create something unique, with a sense of place at the core. This is carried through every apple pressed and added to the blend.
The countryside surrounding our Bristol home is the perfect assortment of these contributing factors for orchards to flourish and is steeped in a rich history of cider production. We’ve drawn from this history to create a beer that has the area’s spirit as its heart.
We’ll be continuing the story of Old Twelfth Night, highlighting the people who have been influential in its creation, leading to the launch on the 17th January.
