Brewing Origins

Brewing Origins

This year we are celebrating ten years since reclaiming our independence.

To mark this special occasion, we’ve brewed a Limited-Edition Golden Ale called Origins in collaboration with our long-standing hop and malt suppliers, Charles Faram and Crisp Maltings.

We wanted to brew a beer that tapped into their unique craft of producing world-class Malt and Hops. Over the last few months, we’ve worked closely with both suppliers to create an incredible beer recipe.

We have used traditional floor-malted Maris Otter barley alongside Wheat and Cara Gold to give a light golden hue and full soft mouthfeel. We’ve also used Harlequin, cf298 and cf299, experimental hops trialled through Charles Faram’s hop development programme in the boil, hop back and late ferment to give a rounded profile brimming with tropical and soft fruits leading to a full malt mouthfeel, making for a very satisfying summer golden ale.

Crisp Maltings were established in 1870 and are the no 1 Independent Maltster in Great Britain. They also house one of the last working floor maltings in the Country, where they continue to use a time-honoured and profoundly traditional way of handcrafting malts.

We are fortunate as brewers to be situated in Norfolk, surrounded by prime malting barley farmland. As Maris Otter barley is the core malt in all our recipes, it made perfect sense to mark our special occasion by producing our Anniversary Beer using traditional floor-malted Maris Otter, creating a rich and moreish ale with the malt body characteristic Maris Otter is famous for.

While our batch of Maris Otter Barley to be used in Origins was undergoing the traditional floor malting process. Our brewers were invited to Crisp Maltings to partake in the original hand-raking technique that Master Maltsters have passed down through generations since the 19th Century. This experience added a further layer of authenticity to this magical collaboration.

“This has been a fantastic project, and we can’t wait for everyone to try Origins. Using Lacons ancient yeast strains to weave the past and the present endows this new beer with centuries of brewing origins.”

Charles Faram has been supplying hops for over 150 years. As our hop supplier, they have been committed to helping us create great beers since we reclaimed independence in 2013. The Charles Faram Hop Development programme plays a significant part on a global scale to bring new and innovative hybrid hop varieties to brewers while ensuring viability to the grower.

We’ve played an active role in this programme since 2013 and, throughout this project, worked closely with their team’s expertise and solid grower relationships to create a fantastic recipe using new and experimental hops, mentioned above.

Origins will be available as a seasonal cask ale in pubs across East Anglia from May 2023.