Hogs Back
Rupert Thompson
Q&A with Rupert Thompson
We are a small regional family-owned brewery in Surrey and have been brewing traditional English ales since 1992. Our most famous being TEA but in recent years we have started brewing lager, modern IPAs, and experimenting on our smaller brew kit.
Discover Hogs BackWhat inspired Little Swine?
"We began a brewing programme five years ago called "How low can we go?" to brew lower strength beers whilst retaining 100% of the flavour. We first started at 3.4% then moved to 2.8% and from that developed the confidence and experience to go for 0.5%."
How do you approach crafting flavours in your drinks, and what makes your product unique?
"We brew using a completely natural and traditional beer brewing process to constrain the alcohol fermentation whilst keeping a full 'mouthfeel' and in particular a lovely lemonly hop character. We do not use any alcohol extraction process like reverse asmosis or vacuum distillation because we are converned that not only does it take out the alcohol but it affects the flavonolds and complex hop molecules and so can affect flavour.
What is completely unique is that we brew using a number of aromatic hops including English Cascade hops that we have grown and harvested ourselves on our 8 acre hop farm – the only brewer in the UK to do this and one of a handful in the world. Our hops are as fresh as you can get, moving from field to chilled storage in less than 48 hours and moving in total less than 1 kilometer before brewing – ultra low mileage!"
What are the biggest challenges you face in producing a high-quality low/no alcohol product?
"The process we use is not easy and requires great care to ensure the brew fermentation doesn't run away with itself. We also put a huge amount of love and attention into growing the English Cascade hops we use."
How do you envision the future of low and no? Are there any trends you're excited about?
"We are currently testing Little Swine on draught in our own bar and shop and the results are promising, and sales very encouraging, so we will be making it available to a few local outlets in the new year.
We think low alcohol beer will continue to grow and start being sold in all the places that current soft drinks are sold. What is exciting is that low alcohol beers have less sugar and are more healthy. They also have more interesting back stories than many soft drinks so I think they have the potential to take a longer share of the overall soft drink market, as they have done in many parts of Europe."
What is one thing you wish more people knew about your product or the low/no alcohol industry in general?
"The huge amount of care and attention to quality at every stage that goes into their brewing.
We also wish drinks would support small local, independent producers – there is no reason we cannot brew great low alcohol beers and we just need people to try them and then stay loyal. Our challenge is we lack the huge financial resources of the global brand owners."
What makes your drink special?
"Swine is a variant of the name Hog and Little seems particularly appropriate as low strength beers used to be referred to as 'small' beers in the medieval period. Little Swine evokes the image of a cheeky little chap and our hop forward drink really will surprise drinkers as to just how natural tasting and flavoursome it is."
"Swine evokes the image of a cheeky little chap and our hop forward drink really will surprise drinkers."
Dry Drinker Loves:
Satisfying and Complex
"At Dry Drinker, we absolutely love Hogs Back Little Swine Alcohol-Free Beer because it’s everything you want in a pale ale, without the alcohol. Its lively, lemony, hoppy character delivers a bright, refreshing burst of flavour that’s a true mouthful experience. With every sip, Little Swine showcases the craftsmanship of Hogs Back Brewery, proving that alcohol-free beer can be just as satisfying, complex, and rewarding as the real thing."