THE heady, bready smell of fermenting barley, hops and yeast is the first thing you notice when you step behind the scenes of Ringwood Brewery.

Then there are the vast stainless steel vats known as mash tuns, containing a frothy, bubbling, brown, liquid which on this occasion, is Ringwood Best bitter in its early stages.

For an avid ale drinker, this would be nirvana. No wonder head brewer Jeff Drew and his deputy Maurice Walton look so happy. “I do enjoy my job, which is just as well as I’ve been in the industry for more than 30 years,” says Jeff.

“It is a very friendly business. Everyone looks out for each other and we are very proud of what we do here.”

I’m being given a whistle-stop tour of the brewery, which has just had its first revamp since it was established in 1978.

During my visit I get to taste the malted barley, sniff the hops and see the fermentations which are bubbling away in the Tun Room. Between them Jeff and Maurice also give me an overview of the finely-tuned brewing process, which takes around two weeks from start to glass.

Finally, I get a chance to sample the finished product in the bar, which has been re-named The Winding Downs.

Ringwood Best is very palatable, sweet and smooth – no wonder it is their best seller. They produce seven million pints of the stuff every year.

“It is what we call a session beer as it’s very moreish,” explains Jeff. “You have one pint and then you fancy another!”

Both Jeff and Maurice are hard pushed to name their favourite brew as they seem to love them all. “If I had to choose then it would probably be the Forty Niner, which is a lovely balanced beer,” says Jeff.

Maurice is keen on Boon Doggle, which is one of their newest blonde ales.

But even if you’re not a real ale drinker, you can’t fail to love their beer infused New Forest ice creams.

Old Thumper and Fudge is probably one of the best combinations I’ve ever tasted in a long time. You can also buy beer infused sausages too.

Visit ringwoodbrewery.co.uk

Centuries of tradition

BEER has been brewed in Ringwood for centuries ever since medieval man first mixed water from the River Avon with the malted barley harvested from the surrounding fields of Hampshire.

The market town was a magnet for merchants and dusty drovers who needed their thirst slaked and whistles whetted before they could get down to the business of bargaining and bartering.

Many a deal was sealed over a draught and a noggin in one of the many taverns, inns and ale houses that gave Ringwood one of the highest pubs per head of population.

Ringwood Brewery was founded by Peter Austin in 1978, a man who is revered as ‘the father of British micro-brewing’.

Ringwood Brewery’s first brewhouse was in a former bakery in the old station yard brewing Best Bitter and Fortyniner for local customers.

1979 marked the production of Old Thumper, which has since become the flagship brew and was voted Champion Beer by CAMRA in 1988.

In 1986, having outgrown its yard premises, the brewery moved to its present site, the location of the old Tunks’ Brewery, which ceased trading in 1821. Today the brewery is able to produce around 40,000 barrels of its beers.

Although the brewery was taken over by Marston’s in 2007, it has continued the commitment to premium cask ale and is now the leading Free Trade ale brewer in the area.

  • For a behind the scenes look, see our video clip at bournemouthecho.co.uk