Pete’s Legacy

As loyal followers of both pub and brewery will know, last year we suddenly and very sadly lost Pete – co-founder of the brewery and a hugely popular figure in the brewing scene right across the South West and beyond.

We’ve already quietly marked a year since we lost him, but now we want to contribute to Pete’s legacy and look to the future of his beloved brewery here in Trevaunance Cove.

Pete was kind-hearted, hard-working and fun! He is sorely missed.

The first step is to create a beer in memory of Pete. Pete’s independent and pioneering spirit is the foundation of the brewery – something which very much lives on in our new Head Brewer, Mike Mason.

Like Mike, Pete had an eclectic taste in beer and loved to experiment, but he also had huge respect for the craft and traditional practices of brewing. Pete’s family came up with the concept of making a Mild Beer, an idea which arose at one of the last beer festivals he attended, and so this is the style of beer we have chosen to make in his memory. It will of course be called Pete’s Mild (or you can think of it as Pete Smiled if you prefer)!

Mild Beer is an intriguing style which is beginning to come back into fashion after being overshadowed by drier, more hoppy styles. Mild is usually dark in colour and these beers (which were traditionally low-alcohol but these days are slightly stronger) are generally based on roasted barley, so are slightly sweeter than a regular bitter. Mild beers often have notes of dark fruit, chocolate, coffee, malts and caramel and, like all of Pete’s beers, ours will balance bitterness and sweetness.

To design this beer we enlisted the help of Pete’s friends and family to make it a true reflection of his life-long love of beer. We held a virtual tasting, with Mike and his fellow brewer Tim charged with the task of brewing the beer we came up with!

Our new Head Brewer Mike Mason takes after Pete in his pioneering, experimental and community-minded approach

We have a plan for the label of Pete’s Mild which will bring together two of his passions, but you’ll have to wait for the big reveal on that…

We will launch Pete’s Mild at our annual beer festival – The Dark, The Light & The Saison – which take place virtually this year and will coincide with Pete’s birthday on 15th March, when he would have been 58 (the actually group tasting via Zoom will take place on Saturday 13th). We’ll be selling tasting cases of dark, light and saison beers made all over the world, including our own. You’ll need to purchase yours by the end of Feb, and we’ll send you the case along with tasting notes and details of the event for you to join online. We hope the tasting will be joined by other brewers, many of whom met Pete, who will talk about the beers as you try them!

We’ll release more details about this virtual beer festival shortly. Make sure you keep an eye on social media and sign up to our newsletter to find out more.

Finally, we want to do Pete proud and emulate what he achieved at the brewery during his lifetime. Mike has launched a Crowdfunder campaign to buy a Pilot Brew Kit to give us the flexibility to really bring to life those bright ideas which Pete thrived on. There is no doubt that Pete would have loved this bit of kit, with the 70 litre capacity allowing for true small batch experimentation.

There are lots of great rewards available to anyone who can donate and help us get the project off the ground – from a bottle of the very first brew we make, to the chance to brew your very own beer on our pilot kit. To donate now, click here.

We hope to see you virtually in March to raise a glass to Pete, and celebrate the bright future of the brewery he loved.

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