Our Guide to Brewery Fresh Beer

Christmas comes but once a year, so let us spread some Hogs Back Cheer! Throughout December, we welcome a number of customers who make their annual visit to the brewery to get their Christmas beer and gifts. We will undoubtedly get a number of new visitors both in our shop and to our website looking for beer fresh from the Brewery to enjoy on Christmas day.

It can appear quite daunting choosing the right beer but we are here to make your decisions as easy as possible with our helpful guide to what Brewery Fresh beer to buy and when. We’ve split our guide into six simple questions you need to ask yourself to choose the right beer for you:

1. What Fresh Beer is available?
2. What size beer containers are there?
3. How can you order your beer?
4. How long will the beer stay fresh?
5. When should you order your beer?
6. How should you store and serve your beer?

What Fresh Beer is available?

TEA – 4.2% - Our flagship amber Ale, sweet, malty and incredibly moreish
Surrey Nirvana – 4% - A Session IPA with delicious citrussy fresh tones
Advent Ale – 4.2% - Our festive favourite with a lovely chestnut richness
Hogstar – 4.5% - An English craft lager brewed to have a deeper and floral flavour
Hog IPA – 4.5% - A modern IPA with a zingy grapefruit and pine character
Hazy Hog – 5% - A full-flavoured cloudy cider with real apple freshness

(Keep an eye on our website for details of limited edition seasonal brews too!)

What beer containers are there?

Plastic Bottles – 3.5, 5.5 & 9 pint PET bottles – great for collecting just a few days before Christmas. Unopened, they last up to 3 days and are best to be consumed within 24 hours of opening.

Snifters & Snorters – 1 ¾ & 3 ½ pint refillable glass flagons – our more eco-friendly option. Pay a small deposit for the bottle and refill as many times as you like! Keeps unopened beer fresh for up to a week and then are best to be consumed within 24 hours of opening.

Mini Kegs – 5Litre recyclable keg – Get the party started with a mini keg which keeps unopened beer nice and fresh for up to 1 week and then are best to be consumed within 24 hours of opening. Great for keeping Hogstar & Hog IPA full of life!

Beer Boxes – 20 & 40 pint boxes – Having a bigger gathering? Order our real ales either Bright (lasts for max. 3 days, drink within 24 hours once opened) or sedimented (lasts for max. 3 weeks if unopened. Needs to be left for 2 days to settle and then stays best for 2-3 days once opened))

Firkin ­– 72 pint cask of Real Ale – Bring home a barrel! We’ll provide you with all the equipment you need to be your very own landlord for the day in return for a small deposit. These can be filled with any of the Real ales (in green) and are available Bright (lasts for max. 3 days, drink within 24 hours once opened) or sedimented (lasts for max. 3 weeks if unopened. Needs to be left for 2 days to settle and then stays best for 2-3 days once opened) Available for collection from the brewery only.

How can you order your beer?

Order from the Brewery Shop & Drive-through
No need to pre-order. All fresh beer containers available

For all the best advice and the easiest beer service, why not visit our lovely Brewery Shop in Tongham? Our Shop team are happy to help and will pour what you require in a matter of moments. We’re open 7 days a week up until Christmas Eve and will be back open again from the 28^th for New Year’s Eve orders.

Shop Opening Hours

Drive-through opening hours

Click & Collect
All fresh beer containers available

You can place your fresh beer orders online now and arrange to collect from the Brewery Shop up until the 23^rd December – make sure you read our recommended dates to choose the best collection date for your chosen beer container. When you arrive at the brewery, either come into the Shop, ask a member of staff or use our speedy drive-through service and present your order number and the shop will have that ready for you to take right away. 

Shop Opening Hours

Drive-through opening hours

Order online for Home Delivery
Local home delivery (up to roughly 30 miles from the Brewery) all fresh beer containers available (except firkins). UK Courier available on Mini Kegs & Sedimented beer boxes.

Our drivers will be out and about every day in the run up to Christmas, delivering direct to your door if you’re lucky enough to live within about 30 miles of the Brewery. If you are ordering fresh beer for Christmas through Local Home Delivery, please make sure you place your order between Thursday 16^th & Sunday 19^th December to give us time to get your order to you by Christmas Eve. All local home deliveries of fresh beer will be made between Wednesday 22^nd & Friday 24^th December to make sure they are nice and fresh for the Christmas weekend.

But don’t worry if you’re not local - we can courier our 5L Mini Kegs and sedimented beer boxes to almost any part of the UK! The last order date for delivery in time for Christmas for both local and UK courier is Sunday 19^th December – so don’t leave it too late!

Delivery FAQs

Shop Brewery Fresh Beer

How long will the beer last?

Whatever festive event you are buying beer for and in whichever container, once opened we’d recommend consuming it within 24 hours. Sedimented beer boxes and firkins can last for 2-3 days but make sure you have enough thirsty drinkers to share them with so you don’t end up throwing too much away!

When should you buy or collect your beer?

All our brewery fresh beer is available to order online now so to help you enjoy your beer at its freshest come Christmas day, here’s our advice as to when you would want to get your beer. The dates below are the earliest we’d recommend arranging click & collect for your beer, coming to the shop or placing your home delivery order:

Real Ales

Sedimented beer boxes from the 11^th December
Snifters, Snorters & Mini Kegs from the 18^th December
PET bottles & bright beer boxes from the 23^rd December – we’d recommend ordering from the shop or through click & collect

Kegged beer & cider
Snifters, Snorters & Mini kegs (not Hazy Hog cider) from the 18^th December
PET bottles & Beer boxes from the 24^th December

Shop Brewery Fresh Beer

How should you store & serve your beer

Once you have got your beer home it is important that you store it correctly so it is tasting its absolute best come Christmas Day. Our Head Brewer Miles makes these simple suggestions so your fresh beer is at tip-top condition:

• Fresh beer should be stored in a cool and dry place away from direct sunlight. A garage or cupboard would be perfect and nowhere with carpets
• The ideal temperature for storing real ale is 13°C
• Sedimented beer has tiny particles of yeast in it to keep the beer ‘alive’ If undisturbed it takes 48 hours for these particles to drop harmlessly to the bottom but if you move your beer box again, the beer will need time to settle again so once in the cool, dry place, don’t move it and serve from there. If you have a beer box make sure you leave room for pouring!
• If you are taking home a firkin you will be given the right equipment and instructions to vent and tap the cask. Make sure you leave between 30 – 60 mins between venting the cask and pouring so the beer has time to settle. Be prepared that the beer can sometimes be a little lively so another good reason to choose the garage and avoid carpets!
• Kegged Ale, Cider and Lager should be stored as cold as possible. A fridge is perfect with an ideal temperature for serving kegged ale and cider is 5-8°C and lager 1-3°C
• We want you to enjoy the beer at its freshest so once opened should be consumed within 24 hours.
• Please keep an eye on the best before on the beer too as it should not be consumed beyond this date

Hopefully this has covered all you will need to know, however if you have any more questions about the shop or beer please visit our Christmas Shop FAQs page or email shop@hogsback.co.uk or call 01252 784495.

We hope to see you very soon!

Earliest date for getting your chosen beer home:

Shop Brewery Fresh Beer