• Swindon & Wiltshire News
• Monday September 27 2021
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Brewery expands its range with £100,000 investment

Swindon brewery Arkell’s has expanded its range with the installation of four new 7,000-pint tanks.

The new tanks will be used to promote the firm’s new American pale ale and its Malthouse Craft Lager.

Head brewer Alex Arkell (pictured) who studied brewing in the United States and in Munich, said: “There is a change in the industry at the moment. Keg, filtered beer sales are up against the more traditional ales which we are known for.

“While we are still selling and making great volumes of our cask ales, we are seeing tremendous growth in our new beers and specifically our keg lager.

“We are able to brew a very good lager using Cotswold ingredients, but to meet demand and future-proof the brewery we’ve made this great investment.

The new tanks will also aid the production of Voyager, their new pale ale. It relies on late hopping to get that ‘American style’ and is a “recipe and flavour for the new drinker,” Alex added.

Voyager is inspired by a 19th Century Arkell who was a farmer by trade.

Times were hard in British farming so he upped sticks and voyaged to the uninhabited plains of Canada to build a new farm and a new life.

He returned to the UK in 1833 and soon after built the Victorian brewhouse, now home to the new tanks.

“Voyager was first released only in bottles last year – another area of brewing we are seeing a rise in popularity in,” said Alex.

“This could be for a number of reasons and I think the lockdown added to the interest as we were all drinking from bottles and cans.

“We were operating a delivery service during this time and were inundated.

“The beer was so popular we made the decision to brew it on draught as well, and so far, it’s been as much of a hit in the pubs as it was at home.

“The new fermenting tanks are an investment in our brewing capabilities and will enable us to become future-proof so that we are still here in another 175 years.”