Ant from Ledbury Real Ales came to talk to us about the real ale production company which he and his wife own.

They began initially in a shed, they now employ five people and make 7,000 pints a week in casks, supplying customers regularly. All main hops are locally grown, with Herefordshire being the main growing area in the UK.  The company has a well, but Welsh water is used too, which is cleaner than some other water, not requiring chemicals to be added.  Nine pints of water are used for every pint. Ledbury Real Ales uses solar power. There are 4 ingredients in the production of beer: 95% water, malted barley, hops and yeast.

A porridge of malted barley is made by steeping it in water. It germinates, and then the seed is dried out. The more the seed is dried, the darker the beer will be.

Four different types of hops were passed around for members to look at and smell, some had a citrus smell.

Hop development is happening in Hereford - it takes 10 years to generate a new plant.

Ant was very enthusiastic and members learned a lot about the production of beer by a local company.