NOTTINGHAM’S craft beer shop, Brew Cavern, has sold 30,000 bottles during its first year of trading as the shop celebrates its first anniversary on Saturday.
The independent retailer located in the Flying Horse Walk, which sells unique beers, ales and ciders from across the globe, has gone from strength to strength and is celebrating this weekend with the launch of its very own beer.
Matthew Hinton, owner of Brew Cavern, is delighted with how successful the shop has been during its first year. He said: “I first gained an interest in craft beer whilst living in Sheffield when I noticed that several pubs and shops were starting to offer hard to find beers. When I moved back to Nottingham I noticed a gap in the market in the city so decided to set up Brew Cavern.
“We have a fantastic selection of loyal customers, most of whom have supported the shop since day one. The first customer to walk through the door on opening day still comes in every week.”
Interest in the craft beer industry has grown considerably in the UK and Nottingham has certainly not been left behind in the country’s fascination with unusual ales.
“A particular highlight this year would be the Nottingham Craft Beer Week. Hull-based brewery Atom came into the shop with a brew kit and brewed some beer right here for customers to see. It was a fantastic day – the smell of hops and malt filled the arcade,” added Matthew.
The milestone weekend will be marked by the launch of the independent retailer’s very own beer.
“Black Rose, which has been brewed with Landlocked Brewery based in Derbyshire, is a Gose which is a style originating from Leipzig in Germany and traditionally brewed with salt and coriander. To give it the Brew Cavern treatment we brewed it with greengage plums for a sweet tartness and we used some speciality dark malt to produce what we call an Imperial Dark Gose – or Kaiserliche Dunkel Gose to our German friends.
“The beer will be ready for release at 12pm on Saturday and samples will be available throughout the afternoon,” said Matthew.
Brew Cavern stocks 350 different beers and Matthew said: “It’s difficult to pick my favourite as I rarely drink the same beer twice. If I had to pick, however, I would say Hall of Fame – brewed by the American Alesmith brewery. It is an Imperial San Diego Pale Ale and comes in a beautiful large champagne-style bottle, it’s a very rare and special beer.”
