Girls turn their hand to brewingto impress Old Town pub regulars

Two members of the team from the award winning Crown pub in Hastings Old Town, have joined forces with local Brewery Three legs to brew their own beer.
Anna and Me's Crown Brew SUS-180103-074646001Anna and Me's Crown Brew SUS-180103-074646001
Anna and Me's Crown Brew SUS-180103-074646001

Enthusiastic brewers Melissa Troth and Anna Graebe conceived the recipe and selected the hops for the refreshing 4.6 percent single-hop pale ale called ‘Two Halves’.

Anna explained: “I found a recipe I was keen to use, which included honey. Surprisingly honey adds a dry, rather than sweet quality to beer.”

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Melissa added: “The guys at Three Legs were on hand to guide us and gave us information, such as the correct temperature, but all the work was done by us.”

Anna said: “It was hard physical work, but we both wanted to experience the process of brewing from beginning to end.”

Melissa said: “It was great to get that involvement and support from the brewery.”

The ale is proving very popular with drinkers at the Crown. It is inti ally soft and fruity on the front of the mouth, quickly building up to a long powerful hoppy finish thanks to the aromatic Target bittering hops.

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The pair are knowledgeable about real ale and craft beer, with Anna citing her favourite tipple as Three Legs Pale and Melissa preferring London based hop-monster Beavertown Gamma Ray.

Female brewers are nothing new. Although later taken over by males, the original brewing profession back in ancient Mesopotamia was principally performed by women.

Women also brewed the majority of ale for both domestic and commercial use in England before the Black Death, and some women continued brewing into the 17th century.

The current head brewer at London based Fullers is Georgina Young.

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Three Legs Brewery is based at Burnt House Farm, Broad Oak, Brede, and is a small batch craftbeer microbrewery.

It has a brewery tap where people can buy beer direct from the brewery. This is usually open Thursdays 12 noon - 6.30pm and Fridays and Saturdays from 12 noon - 8pm.

Both Anna and Melissa are now hoping their brewing experience will lead to other beers in the future. They said: “We would love to go back and brew another beer.”

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