The ‘Burton Union System’ is a method of fermentation using wooden barrels that dates back to the early 19th century.  After the announcement that the last Burton Union system was to be decommissioned, a transatlantic collaboration between Garrett Oliver, Thornbridge brewery and Epochal Barrel Fermented Ales sought to preserve an important part of British brewing heritage.

In this session, Dominic Driscoll and Ben Wood from Thornbridge are joined by Gareth Young from Epochal to discuss the history of the Burton Union, its brewing and cultural significance and how it is now being utilised in two different breweries 250 miles apart.

Dominic Driscoll has been brewing for 19 years. His career began at Marble Brewery before moving to Thornbridge in 2011. Dominic is the Production Manager at Thornbridge and a keen grower of vegetables. He spends his time organising the production of 45,000HL of beer per year and cultivating his allotment in Derbyshire, England.

Ben Wood learnt to brew in Australia before moving back to the UK and found a job at Thornbridge Brewery in 2011. Starting with an entry level role he has worked his way to Technical Brewer where he is responsible for the shift brewing team. He also oversees all processes, leads R&D projects as well as installation of new equipment.  

Gareth Young is an ex-academic philosopher with a longstanding passion for fermenting beer with non-standard microbes. In 2018, he left academia for a career in brewing to realise his dream of brewing Scottish-style Brettanomyces-fueled beer. 

In 2021, this took shape as Epochal Barrel Fermented Ales, the only brewery in Scotland to ferment all its beer in wood. Though Epochal's beers are modern, Gareth draws with conviction from Scottish brewing history which he approaches with an academic boffinry.

THIS SESSION IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

MELISSA O’MALLEY