Five years ago Will Laithwaite set up his own brewery in Abingdon. Today, Loose Cannon produces about 4,300 pints of beer a day. It had continually picked up industry awards for its ales and porters, but has not yet won the elusive first prize. Pete Hughes found out how the Suffolk Way brewery is going gold

Milkshake, tea, and fish bladders are some of the surprising words that come up when taking a tour of Loose Cannon Brewery.

From malt, hops and the brewery’s unique yeast, each batch of golden ale has to go through some strange transformations before it can be drawn at your local.

Each day, the three brewers decide which beer to make that day – perennial favourites Abingdon Bridge and Gunners Gold, a seasonal special or a limited edition like their Robust British Porter, which won a silver medal from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) in February.

What they decide to make is largely determined by what is selling well from the casks.

At the moment, most things are selling very well which is why the brewery is expanding.

It has just sold the two 40-firkin (50 litre) fermenters in which it brewed its first ever beers back in 2010, and replaced them with a 60-firkin fermenter.

Founder and director Will Laithwaite, 33, of Henley, said: “We’ve made some beers we’re happy with but we haven’t won that elusive gold yet.

“But it’s going to happen, we’re working our way up.”

Mr Laithwaite was working at Marlow’s Rebellion brewery for several years before he decided to found Loose Cannon.

It was from Rebellion that he got a starter culture of yeast, which has been giving Loose Cannon beers their punch for years.

He said: “Phase two, which will be a few years away, will correct a lot of mistakes from phase one, we’re re-jigging a lot of stuff now.”

The team usually brew 4,300 pints on four days of the week, then spend a day doing a deep clean.

Sales manager Chris Harrison said: “That could be trebled if we did shift working: it takes eight hours to do a brew, but there are 24 hours in a day.

“Even if we did that five days a week, we still wouldn’t be near to being a regional brewer.”

Another big issue to consider in expanding is the fact that beer duty increases as your brewery gets bigger.

As a small brewery, Loose Cannon takes advantage of the Government’s Progressive Beer Duty (PBD) rates, meaning they pay about half of what a big brewery does.

The company could also look at bottling its beer in-house, but that could cost millions of pounds.

Mr Harrison, 47, from Abingdon, said: “I’d certainly like to see us take on a national distribution of one brand.

“We look to produce a beer which has got a shelf life, something which people will drink in the long-term.

“We want to be part of peoples’ lives.”

Oxford Mail:

  • Founder: Loose Cannon’s Will Laithwaite

One man for whom that is already the case is retired music teacher John Marsh, of Longworth.

He buys gas-pressurised mini-barrels of his favourite beer direct from the brewery’s shop so that he can have pub-quality beer at home.

He said: “There is a crucial difference to understand between something that goes in a bottle and something that’s live.

“With a mini barrel, you end up with something remarkably similar to what you get from a pub.”

The difference is that when a beer is bottled, it hits the air and starts to oxidise, impairing the flavour.

In a barrel carbon dioxide produced in the fermentation process keeps the beer brewery-fresh.

He pays £50 a year to be a Loose Cannon member, meaning he gets deals on buying beer, so when he pulls a pint at home, it costs him something like £1.65 a pint.