Brewery Feature: Shortts Farm, Suffolk
Brewery name: Shortts Farm
Location: Thorndon, Eye, Suffolk
Mission statement: Real Ale inspired by Real Music
Dyke's End favourites: Strummer (Amber 3.8%), 2 Tone (3.8% Dark Mild)
When did you start brewing and why?
Growing up on a farm I’ve always been interested in the provenance of our food. When looking at ways to diversify I realised that brewing is very closely connected to cereal farming, particularly in East Anglia where some of the best malting barley is grown in the world. With the love of beer firmly installed already in me, I set about my mission to unite the two on Shortts Farm.
What's the best part of the job?
Seeing people enjoy something that I’ve created.
How important is the local area to the beer you make?
It’s hugely important to me to be able to use as many local ingredients as possible to make it as sustainable a business as possible, and as I’ve already mentioned, East Anglia is really the best place for growing malting barley. It’s incredibly important to have created a likeable product and brand locally to ensure we have as much local support as we can.
'It is more of an artisan product from the love and care that goes into small scale brewing. This is something that the big guys will never really be able to offer.'
As a smaller, independent brewery, how do you compete in a market often dominated by larger, multi-brand owning breweries?
It’s difficult to compete with them as it’s such a competitive market. I just make sure my beer is as consistent as possible whilst using the very best ingredients. I feel it is more of an artisan product from the love and care that goes into small scale brewing. This is something that the big guys will never really be able to offer.
What was the first beer you brewed?
‘Strummer’ our 3.8% light and hoppy, session amber Ale.
If you could pick any live music gig or festival from around the world to drink your beer at, which would it be?
Green Man festival in Wales. I’ve not been but it’s on the list and I hear it has an amazing real ale festival within the festival itself. It’s actually something I really hate when I’m out at a festival enjoying great music and the offerings are really average in terms of beer choice and quality. I feel the two go hand in hand which is what initially inspired our theme.
What's your favourite hop and why?
That’s a tricky one as that quite often changes for me depending on the quality of the hops each year. We use mainly English hops, but blended with the addition of American hops in some beers to get those more tropical flavours and aromas that can be hard to achieve with just UK hops. I’ve always liked Citra but have had some really nice Bramling Cross hops I’ve been enjoying using lately.
If you could take one firkin of beer to a desert island, what would it be?
This is the hardest question yet! Instead of being boring and choosing one of my own beers I’ll go for something different! A firkin of Oakham Green Devil IPA would be rather nice.
This blog post is about Shortts Farm brewery in Suffolk, likely providing information about the brewery, its beers, brewing process, history, location, and local presence.
The article fits the broader food & drink, craft beer, brewery, agriculture, and local business category, with a specific focus on a regional brewery and its products.