The irony that I’ve moved from Surrey near Guildford in Canada to Surrey near Guildford in England (at least until we head up to London next week) isn’t lost on me. This time I’m not talking about Central City, Russell Brewing, or Big Ridge, but Hogs Back Brewery. Much to my surprise, I learned of Hogs Back Brewing through Google Buzz. It was recommended to me by a friend of friend in Canada who originally comes from Surrey. Without a car, I was trying to figure out how to get to Hogs Back when a random Google Buzz user let me know of a few pubs in Guildford that carry their brews. Who knew people used Google Buzz? Anyway, I eventually found Hogs Back’s beers at a small beer and wine shop in Shalford.
I picked up TEA and OTT, which stand for Traditional English Ale and Old Tongham Tasty (Tongham is the town Hogs Back is based in); both are bottle conditioned. I’ve only tried TEA so far and I quite liked it. As the name says, it is a traditional bitter. I found it to be pleasantly malty and full of flavor, if lacking in hops for my tastes. So far I’ve found that English brewers tend to focus on malt and its subtleties, versus North American brewers who make much more use of hops to provide bold flavors and bite. While both approaches have their merits, I’m currently enjoying the excellent session brews the British brewers are brewing (most bitters weigh in at 4% ABV). I’ll definitely buy TEA again and I can’t wait to try the other interesting beers that Hogs Head has to offer.
Cheers,
Chris
Once you hit the city.. You should search out UTO Beer in the Borough market. It has an acceptable selection
Also, somewhere nearby (I never found it) is the Rake. It’s a pub owned by the same people.
Gerry
Thanks Gerry, I have already found UTO Beer and it does look pretty decent. Sadly, it’s only open Thursday to Saturday and it’s still no Brewery Creek. I’ll have to find the Rake though.
Cheers,
Chris
I know Tongham really well, I have family who live not too far from that way.
Totally agree, it’s a great beer!
You should do a trip to the brewery, they do tours – is a great insight into how the beers are made and of course you get to taste them!
When we went tickets were only something like £10, which I thought was a bargain, especially bearing in mind the ‘free’ sampling!
Cheers Sam, I wanted to go for a tour, but I didn’t have a car and so was unable to get there.
If you ever head back this way to Surrey BC that is, you’ve got to check out the Stanley Park micro brew.
How do you like England? Can’t wait to visit there myself. And how are there two towns with the same names next to each other in two different countries? Pretty funny if you ask me.