We arrived at the small but very well-formed Chelmsford brewery and tap room in Great Baddow around midday. We were greeted by a tiny yet well stocked bar. Through a door and round the back was the tap room seating area and main brewery. The place had a welcoming and typical Tap Room feel to it, with trestle-style tables and just a small peek of the brewing operations tucked away at the rear.
It was clear that this is primarily a cask focused brewery, evidenced by the stack of empty and conditioning casks on display around the building. This emphasis carried through to the bar offerings: three cask ales, each an excellent example of well-brewed and well-kept beer.
- Green Hop 2025 (Pale Ale)
- Landlocked Brewery – Nelson Secret (Amber Ale)
- Death of the Cowboy (Pale Ale)
After a few pints were sampled, we all gathered in the tap room where Hans, the owner, generously took the time to walk us through his setup and brewing operations. Having been open since 2016, it’s clear the process is well honed. Given the modest size of the brewhouse — just 700 litres — the system they’ve developed to scale up production is impressively clever.
Hans explained how they stack brews across three consecutive days to fill a 2000-litre fermentation tank. Day 1’s brew goes in and yeast is pitched. On Day 2, another batch is brewed and added to the same tank, and the process is repeated on Day 3. It’s a neat approach that reduces yeast usage — with Day 1 acting as a starter for the following brews — while also making the most of the available tank space. Not something that would easily translate to homebrew scale, but a fascinating solution for a compact setup.
Water efficiency is another area where the brewery shines. Hans described their dual-chiller system — a condenser followed by a plate chiller — that cools the wort from boiling (100°C) down to around 25°C in minutes. The cooling water is then pumped straight back into the hot liquor tank for the next brew, minimizing waste and keeping things sustainable.
We were then taken on a quick tour of the brewery. It’s a tight space, dominated by fermentation tanks, with the brewhouse itself tucked in at the back. We got a peek into one of the tanks that had been dry-hopped that morning — the aroma was incredible. Fermentation is done openly here; the tanks have lids, but they’re loose-fitting. Once the beer reaches terminal gravity, it’s cold-crashed and packaged for final conditioning in cask.
It was clear throughout that Hans is not only passionate about brewing, but deeply knowledgeable. The setup may be compact, but it’s smartly engineered, and I think many of us came away with a few new ideas and plenty of inspiration.
Challenge Tasting
We had 8 beers for the clone challenge, thank you all the brewers who took part I think Hans was surprised with how many we had. An informal tasting took place with some vague notes being taken as a group, evidently diacetyl was a common theme 🙂
| Tony T | Poured clear with good condition. Unfortunately, diacetyl was evident on both the aroma and flavour, which masked the hop character. Bitterness was present, with comments noting it had significantly more bitterness than the control. |
| Kevin Martin | Looks the part in terms of colour, it was noted there was a slight phenolic and pepperiness on the aroma and flavour, was a lacking a touch in the hops. The brewer noted this could be a very nice Saison! |
| Alan O | Colour and clarity were excellent. However, buttery notes were again detected on both the aroma and flavour, which detracted from the beer underneath. |
| Justin | Poured clear with great condition. Good hop aroma, although someone did detect a very slight buttery note on both aroma and taste — not as evident as the first couple, so there was hope things were improving! |
| Guy | Poured with a very slight haze (but not a Hazy IPA!). Excellent condition and head retention. The hop aroma was the most pronounced of the beers so far, with tropical and orange notes that carried through into the flavour. An excellent beer! |
| Tim | Excellent condition and clarity, although noticeably darker than the control — likely due to the addition of a small amount of chocolate malt. A very clean and enjoyable beer, although technically not close to the intended clone. Great beer nonetheless. |
| Dave C | Poured with a slight haze. Colour was a touch darker but still very close. Hop aroma was good, though some noted it lacked a bit of bitterness. A solid example overall. |
| Kev W | Good head and bitterness. Slightly darker than the original, with good flavour. Aroma was a touch muted, and once again, a hint of diacetyl was present. |
Once pressed, Hans choose Guy’s beer as the best on the day and we all agreed it was a very good example so well done Guy.
Post challenge
After the challenge, we all moved back to the bar to sample more of the excellent beers on offer, some food appeared (thank you Kev and Justin) which was much appreciated, we had a good discussion on Diacetyl over a few more beers.
Finally we thanked Hans for his hospitality andarranged cabs to various drinking locations closer to the station to continue the discussion and sampling of various ales.
A thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all!