BREWER I ES
does well, usually we all do well – we’re so close to each other that we share the same customers. It’s our community, all together. Between us, we borrow couplers from each other and exchange cases of Coca-Cola. We want to see each other succeed. When another pub gets shut down, we all mourn.” TOAST OF THE TOWN Richard has seen much change since building Milton Brewery. “In 1996, I was working as a travel writer – hitch-hiking to China and back – when I met my co- founder up a mountain in Pakistan. Both of us were on very long journeys and, naturally enough for Englishmen up a mountain in a dry country, the talk got around to beer pretty quickly.” The absence of other breweries in Cambridge at the time motivated Richard. What was intended as a side-hustle quickly became all-consuming. The Beer Tree was a happy accident, invented after hiding a stash of alcohol to enjoy after rowing in the Bumps; now, the initiative, where rowers donate to charity in return for beer, has raised over £50,000. The Pegasus Cup, meanwhile, is awarded to student rowers. A permanent and prominent beacon of the brewing scene, Milton Brewery is a regular award-winner and beer champion in East Anglia. “The malt that we use is one called Maris Otter,” says Richard. “It was developed in Cambridge in the 1950s and is the Rolls-Royce of malts. Hops
are a constantly changing kaleidoscope of different products. Varieties are being invented all the time and being a crop, of course, there is an annual change. In deciding what flavours we want for our beers, we have our own strain of yeast.” As a brewery revolving around draft and keg beer, the pandemic shook its foundations. All customers were closed off while pubs shut, which has not happened since Oliver Cromwell’s reign 380 years ago, Richard says. “We have cut back our range considerably. We’re feeling our way back into full-scale production. I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet, but SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF Nicholas Tregidgo (right) uses his microbiology knowledge to create stunning flavours for the BrewBoard. Wylde Sky (above) aims to create truly classic beer
FAMILY AFFAIR Calverley’s Brewery founded by brothers in 2014 (left), and Milton Brewery co-founded by Richard Naisby (above) in 1999, show the richness of the city’s beer scene
48 MAY 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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