Otter brews up green idea for production in its hillside eco-cellar

A REMOTE spot in the Blackdown Hills is the unlikely location for a pioneering development in sustainable beer production.

Otter Brewery, based at a 16th century farm near Luppitt, in the hills above Honiton, has opened an eco-cellar.

The first building of its kind in the South West, it is expected to save the brewery £20,000 a year in energy costs and cut its annual carbon emissions by 6.5 tonnes.

This is because much of the building is underground, naturally keeping the temperature inside at the perfect 12C for storing barrels of beer during secondary fermentation — eliminating the need for chilling in the summer and heating during winter.

The result of a "substantial investment", the new storage facility was designed by architect David Highet, from Axminster, and took more than two years to build.

Inside the two-storey cellar, barrels are washed, filled with Otter's renowned Ale, Bitter, Amber or Head brews, stacked and stored for a week before heading up the winding lanes and on to the 700 pubs across the South West supplied by the brewery.

The process is now fully automated, meaning less heavy lifting for the workers.

"At some point in time, every business has to move to a more efficient way of doing stuff," said Patrick McCaig, whose parents David and Mary Ann founded the business in 1990. It now employs 26 staff.

He explained that the new facility was a natural progression from the investment in a hi-tech new stainless steel brewery five years ago.

"We took the decision not to move onto an industrial estate but to stay here, because we didn't want to move to a clock-in environment and lose the whole ethos of a family business," he said.

"Part of that philosophy is about looking after the environment."

As well as using the earth's core temperature to naturally cool the lower level of the cellar, the building's green features include a grass roof. This not only insulates the building while providing a habitat for wildlife and absorbing carbon dioxide, but also captures water which is used for washing vehicles.

A twin set of sliding doors, creating an air-lock effect, help maintain the temperature inside.

"We have definitely combined modern technology with old fashioned thinking," said Mr McCaig.

The storage was needed to cope with rising demand for Otter beer. Nearly 20,000 brewer's barrels, each holding 36 gallons, will be produced this year.

The eco-cellar has ample capacity to handle a doubling of current production levels.

"We are not doing it with a view to growing it, we are just doing it at a rate that demand dictates," said Mr McCaig.

Aside from developing some new beers, Otter's future plans include buying two or three pubs in the area, to complement the Holt in Honiton, which it already owns.