Mini-casks are small (8.5pt) versions of the 9-gallon casks we send to pubs, filled exactly the same way with the same beer and live yeasts that give a soft carbonation (or ‘conditioning’) to the beer.

Mini-casks are not pre-carbonated, but instead are packaged with live yeast which continues to gently ferment the beer inside the cask, creating a soft fizz; this process is known as conditioning.

Most of the conditioning takes place in the time between filling up the casks at the brewery and arriving on your doorstep, but because of the live yeast, they require about 24 hours to allow the yeast to settle to the bottom of the cask before opening. During the colder months, you may find you get a little more conditioning in the beer if it’s kept at 10-12°C for a few days before opening, but make sure that if you’re moving the beer somewhere cooler between conditioning and drinking, that you give it time to settle again.

Mini-casks will usually have approximately 4 weeks shelf-life (un-opened) from when they leave the brewery. The best before date can be found on the base.

Once opened, the contents are best consumed within 2-3 days and the mini-cask kept cool and steady.

Imagine bag-in-box wine. It’s a bit like that but for beer.  A collapsible bag with tap sitting inside a rigid recyclable cardboard box.

As the beer is served, the bag collapses down on itself so no oxygen is drawn in. This means the beer will last longer than its mini-cask counterpart when stored in a chilled environment.

Keep the beer cool – we suggest around 10-13 degrees.

Setting up the box – place box onto a firm and steady surface where you plan to serve from, slightly tilt it forward (try propping it with a hard back book under the back edge) and open the flap around the perforations to reveal the tap.

Allow your beer to settle. (Our beer normally settles within about eight hours but, ideally, we’d suggest leaving 24 hours between setting up the beer and serving).

After leaving the brewery and before tapping, the minipin/polypin should last (if kept cool) for about two weeks.

Once opened, the beer should pour in good condition for approx’ 5 - 10 days but, in reality, it could well be perfectly drinkable for longer.

Note – the last pint might be a bit cloudy especially if you have to tilt the box to serve as this will disturb the sediment at the bottom.

We offer a Standard Delivery (goods received within 3-5 working days) or an Express Delivery (goods received within 2-3 working days).  We will let you know when your order is ready for dispatch.

We welcome visitors to our brewery shop which is open Mondays to Saturdays from 9am-4.30pm.  Pre-order online and we will let you know when your beer is ready for collection.  Or just come and browse. We have the facility for contactless payment and the transaction can take place outside.

If you would like to pop in and buy some of our beers we have a shop at the brewery which is open Monday to Saturday, 9am - 4.30pm.

We also offer Brew Day Experience days for 1-2 people – see Brewery Day Experience for more details.