Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! As we welcome in 2022, we take a look back at the last 12 months. Here’s just a few of the highlights.
The brew team were kept busy all year with 250 brews. That’s nearly 1.5 million pints! There were some cracking new beers: our super-hopped Hogstar Juicy Lager for Valentine’s Day; Cochon Noir Black IPA for St Patrick’s Day; aromatic Juicy South and Juicy Hog IPA.
Green TEA, brewed with the first green hops of the season, went down very smoothly indeed and A over T was voted Champion Bottled Beer of Britain.
We were behind England all the way with Three Hogs in this summer’s Euros! Sell-out crowds thronged the Hangar to watch England’s progress. Despite a fabulous atmosphere for the Final, it just wasn’t to be….
After the long-awaited re-opening of the Tap Room in April, the beer garden was buzzing all summer. Comedy Nights provided some much-needed laughter, with the help of some famous faces from TV and even some outdoor improvised comedy!
Live music in the Hangar lifted the spirits, with Martin Harley, Guildford Jazz Festival, Juggernauts of Rock and the Friary Band’s Christmas Carol concert to name but a few. Quizzers scratched their heads and generously donated to local charities.
Beer flowed in the Tap. Cask Marque awarded us accreditation. The Tap make-over has started and both the comfy furniture and the new menu got a big thumbs up!
The Shop reopened in July alongside the Drive Through. Virtual Beer Tastings became a thing of the past as we welcomed visitors back on our famous Brewery Tours and Hop Garden Tours.
The Snorters and Snifters continued to go down a storm and you’ve helped us save thousands of plastic bottles this year, as well as win a local sustainability award.
The drivers were out and about, helping to deliver hundreds of orders locally!
The drivers were out and about, helping to deliver hundreds of orders locally!
We’ve been busy around the site. The Fermentation Room has a brand-new green floor. The new kitchen and posh loo block have both been finished. The first of the trees have been planted and there’s even a new mini roundabout in the yard for the Drive Through!
The hop garden turned up trumps with a bumper harvest. Sovereign, the Suffolk Punch horse, helped Matthew bring in the harvest, as did the Tongham TEA Club volunteers and the Hogs Back Hoppers. The harvest even made the national newspapers, whilst our hops made it to Chelsea Flower Show.
So there was plenty to celebrate at the Hop Harvest Festival & TEA Party! Over 2,000 visitors joined us for the weekend, enjoying the fresh beer, live music, street food and family fun.
Whilst it was fun hosting a virtual beer tasting and online quiz for the Tongham TEA Clubbers, there was nothing like welcoming them back for a proper beer tasting! The TEA Academy (Train, Experience, Achieve) launched and we’re pleased to report the first three apprentices have all made a great start to their careers at the Brewery! Our colleagues, Barrie and Nick, sadly passed away in 2021 but we remember them with fondness.
It only remains to say a huge "thank you" for all your support during the last year. It really means a lot to us.
Here's to a great 2022!
With all best wishes from Rupert and the Hogs Back Team
It only remains to say a huge "thank you" for all your support during the last year. It really means a lot to us.
Here's to a great 2022!
With all best wishes from Rupert and the Hogs Back Team