Thursday 16th July: Quartz Brewery

Meet up at the Keys for a swift pint before a three-car convoy heads to the Heart of the Country Village at Swinfen and the Quartz Microbrewery, for a tour, a talk and a beer tasting. If you’ve not visited the Quartz brewery (it’s open to the public) then it is small. They also have a larger brewery at Kings Bromley, that does cask brew – here it’s all bottled beers (800 at a time), though bottles and draft was available at the bar. The bar area is right next to the brewing area, so there’s not much walking involved in the tour. We sniffed and tasted some examples of the malted barley, then sampled the four beers that Quartz brew: Blonde, Extra Blonde, Crystal and Heart. Then we moved upstairs for some food and some extra beers. Also tonight we presented Pete with a caricature we’d had done for him as an end-of-year gift, depicting various scenes and exploits from his year as Chairman. Then it was back to the village for a final pint (or two) in the keys.