chocolate malt flavours I wanted to brew a dark beer that was not a stout, a porter or a mild.

Some people call it an Old Ale." At 3.9% ABV this beer is becoming a popular session beer. Mike is also very excited about the latest addition

to the Wild Weather portfolio: 'Shepherds

Warning' is a smooth, rich IPA with an ABV of 5.6y", first introduced at the Egham Beer Festival in November. Brewed with the American Citra

hops, the flavours are complex and dynamic. "When you get it out of the cask, it is rea lly splendid. lt starts off smooth and almost sweet,
then you get more of the grapefruit, mango, and peach flavours coming through, and as it subsides on the palate, it bitters off. ltt absolutely lovely!" Mike is currently brewing B barrels a week, and the plan is to triple this rate over the next year. The plant is capable of delivering 36 barrels a week without modification, or 48 barrels with the addition of a fourth fermenter vessel. Mike is proud that the brewery is run entirely from Green energy suppliers, and of course he uses only natural ingredients. His barley comes from Warminster Maltings, and the spent grain goes to feed a beef herd in Ashford Hill near Newbury. Mike is meticulous with the new beer creation process. "l think very carefully about the recipes, the hops, and the malt profiles. Then, we'll brew 6 barrels and test the results. Luckily, every beer has hit the spot so far." With six excellent beers now in production, Mike is going to focus on quality and growing the sales volume over the coming year. There will probably be only one or two new beers during 2014 a winter ale called 'Blizzard', and a beer called 'Raindancer' for which Mike is keen to use the Nelson Sauvin hops from New
Zea land.

ust across the road from AWE Aldermaston

is a modern, attractive industrial estate called Easter Park. For the past yeal Unit 19 has

her to create

the logo

pump
designs.

and clip

been home to Wild Weather Ales run by Mike

Tempest and his wife Karen.

Mike gave up a professional engineering career at Thames Water to start Wild Weather
Ales, a venture he had been planning for over 3 years. "l love beer - | LOVE BEER!" he claims
enthusiastically. The brewery name is derived from Mike's own surname. "We couldn't use 'Tempest Brewing', because there is already an excellent brewery with that narne in Kelso. Tempest means Wild Weathe[ so we chose that instead." One

The Wild

a superior product, then it will sell." He is very clear about how to build a successful brewing business. "You need to have an absolute focus on cleanliness and process repeatability. Here we have very clear process stages, and we can reproduce the beers with a very high accuracy every time." The brewery is spotless, and Mike makes a point of cleaning his casks twice before racking a new brew. The brewery has a West Berkshire 5* hygiene award. At the end of the first trading year; Mike is very positive about the future for Wild Weather. "Our plan was to break even this year; and we have done better than that. The public reception of our beers has been excellent, from the very first cask of 'stormbringer' delivered to the Tadley Rugby Club onwards." This is a man who is really enjoying his job. "Talking to people about beer is so different to the corporate world. lt is a joyful thing to do! The satisfaction of being in a bar with someone drinking your beer; or reading someone tweet that they just had a nice pint of Wild Weather - it's a brilliant feeling!" Michael Hadson

Weather brewery is

a 12-barrel plant, installed by Porter Brewing lnstallations in late 2012. "The first beer we brewed was 'Stormbringer', and it went really well," says
Mike. "We literally proved out the brewing plant

by making the finished beer. We sampled the

very first cask on the day after Boxing Day, and it was lovely!" 'Stormbringer' is a premium ale of 4.5% ABV and was very well received in the local pubs and clubs around Tadley. For his second beer; Mike chose to produce something slightly less powerful, to cater for the rural pub

of the most striking things about the brewery is the bright, cheerful logo and branding. This was

created by award-winning artist Caroline Downey,

from the Black Mountains in Wales. Mike commissioned

trade: 'Little Wind' was

at
4.2o/o

introduced
a

ABV followed by the session

Mike is very serious about the quality of his

beer'Big Muddy' at 3.8%. Next came

beers. "All microbreweries are not equal,"

he

golden summer ale'sundowner' at3.47o, and then 'Black Night'was introduced as the Summer turned into Autumn.

says. "Most of them are good, but I believe what we make here is better than good and if you have

"'Black Night'has been a massive

hit," says M ike. lt's a slig htly unusual

beer;
dark

but

not

and with a fine balance of hop and

oPaque,

completely