WEST PINTS

PINTS WEST
Silver celebrations and green
plaudits for Otter Brewery
Otter Brewery in Devon, source of a core range of six cask
ales, is celebrating a quarter of a century in a business run on
environmentally-friendly lines. Established near Honiton in
1990 by David and Mary Ann McCaig, the brewery is still family run,
with three of the McCaig’s four sons involved either in the brewery or
the Holt pub and restaurant.
The core cask range under the care of head brewer Keith Bennett
includes Otter Ale, Otter Bitter, Otter Amber, Otter Bright, Otter Head
and Otter Claus for Christmas, with several seasonal ales produced
at key times during the year. The vast majority is distributed to over
1,000 pubs and restaurants across the South West and selected outlets in
London and Hampshire.
To help mark the silver anniversary celebrations, a party was
organised at the brewery for landlords, suppliers and associates,
followed two days later by a black tie charity ball attended by 340
guests which raised over £7,500 for three local charities. Patrick
McCaig, sales and marketing director, praises the key part played in the
brewery’s success by local landlords: “They are an amazing bunch of
passionate and like-minded individuals who support what we do and
make the pull of the West Country so strong. I don’t think mum and dad
had any idea what they were getting themselves into when they started
brewing just a few barrels in the middle barn back in 1990!”
What started as a small operation in that middle barn has expanded
somewhat in the past 25 years. The brewery’s 19-acre site at Luppitt
near Honiton has evolved to house a state-of-the-art stainless steel
brewhouse, the UK’s first underground ‘carbon busting’ eco cellar and
a series of willow beds to naturally treat waste water on site. The eco
cellar uses the earth’s natural temperature to cool 5,000 casks of beer, in
turn saving over 6.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per annum.
So what about the next 25 years? Patrick suggests that this family-
Otter Brewery founders David and Mary Ann McCaig
25 YEARS OLD
and looking better than ever
run business will continue to stay true to the roots his parents set down
in 1990: “Keep innovating, and keep supporting local pubs, charities,
music festivals and sports clubs as much as we possibly can.” To that
end, in November 2015, the brewery will once again be raising money
for the Poppy Appeal with 5p from every pint of the seasonal Poppy
Otter sold in West Country pubs going straight to the Devon branch
of the Royal British Legion. It’s a 5% beer, dark ruby in colour, with a
bittersweet chocolate edge that comes from the Fuggles and Challenger
hops. Look out for it – or any of the other Otter range – in a pub near
you and raise a pint to the next 25 years for Otter Brewery.
Lesly Huxley
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