Chiltern heads for the woods

Change is underway at the Chiltern Brewery where a younger generation is forging new beers at the oldest independent beer-maker in Buckinghamshire. The company was founded in 1980 by Richard Jenkinson. He has handed over the reins to his sons George and Tom and they are busily expanding sales and adding new beers to their range.

The brewery stands in ravishing countryside between Aylesbury and Wendover, against a backdrop of rolling fields and the lowering Chiltern Hills. The clearest sign of change are oak casks that line the lane alongside the brewhouse. Tom Jenkinson, who is in charge of brewing, says he is using casks obtained from the Scottish whisky industry to serve his 300s Old Ale. The casks, which are between 60 and 100 years old, come from a bottling plant at Balgray in Ayrshire. The “heads” or ends of the casks have been added by Alastair Simms at Wadworth’s brewery in Wiltshire and are made from English oak. Alastair, who has also repaired some of the staves, is one of the few remaining master coopers in the brewing industry.

Tom says he doesn’t age 300s in the whisky casks. “We rack it into the casks as normal but the pick-up of whisky is instant.” The interest created by the beer has encouraged him to consider adding new dark seasonal beers that will be racked into the casks. He is also experimenting with ageing beer and at Christmas 2011 he introduced a beer that had matured in bottle for four years. He also had a surprise for me later in my visit.

Richard Jenkinson worked as a businessman in London for many years but when he tired of commuting he decided to turn his love of beer into a small commercial operation. When they came of age, George and Tom joined him and in 2004 they invested in a new brewhouse and temperature-controlled cold store. Richard has now retired, but lives on site, is a jocular presence in the brewery shop and has left a legacy of beers that reflect his interest in the history of Buckinghamshire.

One of his beers is named after John Hampden, a local squire and Member of Parliament in the 17^th century: it was Hampden’s refusal to pay “ship money” or tax to Charles I that helped spark the English Civil War. 300s Old Ale records the ancient practice of dividing English counties into areas known as hundreds, with each one controlled by a steward. The Buckinghamshire divisions still have an important role to play: any Member of Parliament who wishes to resign his or her seat must apply for permission to do so from the Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds.

George and Tom have built on their father’s legacy. They produce 50 barrels a week and production has doubled over the past three years. “2011 was the busiest year to date,” Tom says. But he knows he has to be innovative in a fiercely competitive sector of the brewing industry and has to produce consistently good beer. “Quality among micro brewers has grown enormously: you can’t serve cloudy beer!” He is especially proud of the fact that he sources all his malts and hops from British farmers.

George Jenkinson plays a key role in sales and marketing and says production is evenly split between cask and bottle. Cask sales are growing and the brewery has 80 regular pub accounts. George uses the direct delivery scheme devised by the Society of Independent Brewers – SIBA – that cuts out wholesalers. “We guarantee that our beer will be in pub cellars within 48 hours of being racked in the brewery,” he says.

George’s main role is to manage the brewery’s flagship pub, the King’s Head in Aylesbury, an important shop window for the beers. This is a pub of breathtaking antiquity. It dates from 1455 and is a massive coaching inn in the town’s old market place. It stands on the site of a former Greyfriars’ monastery where the monks almost certainly brewed beer. Coaching horses were stabled there as they rested on the route from London to the Midlands and such historic luminaries as Henry VIII, Oliver Cromwell and “Hanging Judge” Jeffries used the facilities. Henry held one of his wedding nights at the King’s Head, Cromwell visited several times as the civil war raged over Buckinghamshire, while Jeffries used one of the rooms to pass the death sentence on hapless prisoners destined for the gallows.

The inn was owned in the 20^th century by the Rothschild family, the financiers and benefactors, who gave it to the National Trust in the 1920s. The trust is the landlord of the site. Chiltern Brewery uses one part as the Farmers’ Bar while other buildings house craft shops and small enterprises. The bar is not short on history. Heavy beams were originally ships’ timbers while tables in the dining area have been fashioned from malt bins obtained from the long-defunct Shipstone’s brewery in Nottingham.

As well as Chiltern beers, George serves cask ales from other artisan breweries and he stages regular beer festivals and celebrations of ales from different regions of the country. In August 2011, for example, he held a celebration of beers from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland – “and we sold every pint,” he says. Beer is used to match dishes in the restaurant and is also used in cooking. George and his staff are happy to recommend particular beers to go with food and they also offer a “try before you buy” system for the ales on offer.

An oak cask on the bar announced the presence of the “whisky” version of 300s. The 4.9% beer is brewed with Maris Otter pale malt and a large amount of crystal malt. The hops are whole flower Challenger for bitterness with Fuggles and Goldings for aroma. The beer has a rich malt and vinous fruit aroma and palate with tangy and earthy hops. The version from the oak cask had an immediate hit of honeyed whisky, vanilla and wood while the fruitiness of the beer had become almost cake-like character.

To add to the pleasure, George and Tom produced their piece de resistance – a version of the 8.5% Bodgers barley wine that was brewed in 2002 and matured in wood since then. It has a nose and palate similar to Christmas   cake and marmalade fruit with nuts, sultanas, raisins, rich malt, oak and vanilla. Bodgers has fallen victim to the government’s recent increase in beer duty for strong beers but the brothers have no intention of decreasing the strength.

Richard Jenkinson has good reason to be proud of his sons. They are building on his legacy and the rich traditions and heritage of Buckinghamshire with a superb range of beers.

*King’s Head, Market Place, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 2RW. 01296 718812; farmersbar.co.uk. 11-11; 12-10.30 Sundays.

Chiltern Brewery, Nash Lee Road, Terrick, Aylesbury, Bucks HP17 0TQ; 01296 613647; chilternbrewery.co.uk. Brewery tours every Saturday at 12 noon. The brewery shop sells beer in bottles, polypins and eight-pint containers. The shop also sells food from local farms and craft producers.