Delving further into the craft beer scene, it’s amazing how many varieties and styles of brilliant beers are being produced in the UK.
If you are looking mix things up and drink something a little different over the festive period this year, something other than Champagne, Prosecco or sparkling English wine, the good news is that a sparking brut beer, from award winning, Bristol-based Duette Beer, may well be exactly the drink that you have been searching for!
Brew Did That? caught up with Jamie Gatley, co-founder of Duette Beer to find out more about the beer, and working alongside Bristol brewery Wiper and True.
Can you tell me a little about Duette?
In 2015 myself and Nick set out to create a company that brought people together, through quality experiences, music and products, with the vision of launching a drink like no other, and we like to think that we did just that.
More than just a beer, Duette is a drink with a purpose and a drink designed to be worthy of the special moments that happen when people come together and share. Duette started life as a concept in a garage in Bristol, England, working with our expert brewer and flavour extraordinaire, Will Davies.
In 2018 Duette was launched, driving the development and production of this unique drink. The drink is backed by the internationally renowned Wiper and True Brewery in Bristol who brew Duette at scale with the team, far bigger than the original test brew and garage.
What is Sparking Brut Beer and how it’s brewed?
There are three different water sources in Bristol alone all delivering water at a different PH levels, that’s just step one, neutralising the water.
The first process is similar to many other craft beers, with a few tweaks of our own to give our unique flavour and makeup. We carefully select and sustainably source our ingredients, which Include our blend of Larger and Vienna Malt which are there balance to enhance flavour, colour and aroma of Duette. These are combined with German Hallertau Blanc and Mittelfreuh Hops, sugars, Kölsh and Champagne yeast.
The beer will sit in tank before fermenting, before the last and final part of the process, which is moving it into the bottles, where we add more simple sugars and yeast before corking and caging the bottles at Three Choirs, one of England’s oldest and most prestigious vineyards, and leaving to ferment until its ready to drink.
How is your beer connected to the local area?
We live, work and operate out of Bristol. Wiper and True are at the heart of the Bristol Brewery scene and have opened us a door for us to join them and other breweries producing a wide range of drinks. We have focused our energy on Bristol and will continue to always focus on producing, selling and supporting events here.
What do you think is unique about your beer and your brewery?
The drink itself is a little different and bridging two categories of beer and Champagne / Prosecco.
We see it as an award winning beer with a purpose. We want people to come together and share unique moments, celebrations, achievements, thoughts, feelings, memories, food, passions, stories and more.
We are committed to finding harmony in the best ingredients, the best people and our beloved planet. A Duette is the coming together of two things to be greater than themselves as individuals parts, we believe we have crafted a sharing beer worthy of this.
Are there any beer styles you are looking at tackling in the future?
At the moment we are focusing on Duette and putting everything behind it, we have ideas in the pipeline but they are a while away.
What efforts do you make to be environmentally friendly?
Sustainability is an integral part of our company. We operate on a triple bottom line sustainability policy. Meaning we ensure the sustainability of People, Planet and Profit in all operations. We produce locally, our products are plastic free, we use sustainable and innovative local packaging, and where possible we reuse or recycle items back into operations.
Our t-shirts are made using bamboo, we don't use poly bags and we make every effort to be friends with old mother nature, as should you. All of this hasn’t come easily, at first DHL and Amazon would not let us send bottles without using their plastic packaging. They now allow us to send using our recycled and recyclable packaging which we worked closely with Flexi-hex to develop.
What have been your biggest challenges over the last 12 months?
Corona Virus has presented unexpected challenges but also opened new doors. It has impacted bar sales but opened up new online retail opportunities. Along with that, our biggest difficulty is convincing outlets to try a drink that hasn’t really existed before. They are used to adding new beers or other existing category drinks but asking people to try new categories that require buy in from the staff is more of a challenge.
What are the biggest problems you run into in producing your Sparkling Brut beer?
Getting it produced in the first place. We were trying for 3 years until we managed to convince Michael Wiper to brew it with us. Many of the successful breweries are at the limit and Wiper and True kindly snuck us in their production line after we kept pestering Michael and the team.
They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but how important do you think branding/package design is for your beers?
We believe it's incredibly important, the design and visual level in the beer and drinks industry is incredible high, especially with craft beers. Our flexihex packaging along with being sustainable also offers us a distinction to many other drinks before you sent the bottle.
Do you feel that non-alcoholic beers have an important part to play in the craft beer industry?
We were next to Big Drop Brewery at the Bristol Craft Beer Festival and were amazed at the wide range of drinks. It fascinating to see the different methods of production that are becoming more natural and producing great beers.
What’s next for you over the next 12 months?
Getting ready for Christmas, driving new listings and awareness of Duette and attending more events and getting face to face with the public. We had an amazing reaction at the Bristol Craft Beer Festival and want to reach as many people as possible. Along with this we have a few conversations in the pipeline that would mean Duette will be more accessible and available for people across the county.
From the Author
A massive thanks to Jamie Gatley. for agreeing to be interviewed during what is a very busy time for them.
Please do try their award winning sparkling brut beer, you will be helping out an independent brewer at a time where they definitely need all they help and custom they can get.
About Duette Beer
Awards
Awarded Silver at The World Beer Awards
Two Star Great Taste award
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