Elusive Turns 5

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Five years ago to the day - 27th April 2016 - was our first ever brew day in Finchampstead. Baz (my Dad) and me had toiled away through a bitterly cold February and March to prep Unit 5 and commission the brew kit, aided by a builder, flooring specialist and electrical contractor. I didn’t appreciate how long commercial HLTs can take to come up to temperature from cold, so it was an afternoon mash and a pretty late finish. To top it off, the beer ended up going down the drain due to a basic error of over-sparging a low gravity beer and extracting tannins into the wort. I got it right the second time though and the first ever beer to leave the brewery - Starship Fleet (Wave 1: Target & Summer) - went on to win beer of the festival in Bracknell a few weeks later. We haven’t really looked back and, despite 2020 being a very testing year, we’re still here!

One thing that has been consistent throughout, from the moment I wrote of my intentions to start Elusive, has been the amazing support we’ve received from the home brewing community and this was certainly a huge help in navigating the challenges of 2020. ‘Brew Your Own Elusive’ (in which we published the recipes of our beers on our website) at the start of lockdown coincided with a huge upswing in home brewing. Our friends at The Malt Miller were already overwhelmed with orders but took time to get kits put together and into the hands of folk who wanted to brew them. Rob Neale’s The Malt Miller, an online supplier of all things home brewing, has been there for us since day 1 and indeed, a long time before that. They’ve dug us out of several holes down the years - mostly holes borne out of our disorganisation landing us short of ingredients - and sponsored my book, CAMRA’s Essential Home Brewing.

The amazing support we receive from this community is rooted in me being a proud participant in the scene since I started home brewing back in 2012. At first hoovering up knowledge and later sharing experiences, this community helped me learn how to brew and hone my skills - both via online exchanges and my time as a member of London Amateur Brewers. The home brewing community is genuinely one of the most supportive and welcoming groups of folk you’ll find online. No question is too basic - we were all asking those same questions when we started - and no subject is safe from being forensically analysed in the never-ending quest to make the best beer possible. Commercial and home brewers share a love of the ‘what if?’ and ‘why not try it?’. We’re all still learning and still seeking out those gratifying ‘I MADE THIS!’ moments when everything comes together in the glass.

We’re going to celebrate turning 5 in two ways. Firstly, we’ll be releasing a series of 5 special collaboration beers that really tell the story of Elusive both in terms of the styles of beer we love to brew and those who’ve helped or inspired us along the way. You’ll be able to buy these beers through our wonderful trade customers in May and early June. Details of the beers will follow as they’re released but as a little sneaky preview, here’s who we’re working with:

  • WEIRD BEARD - a huge part of how we came to be

  • SIREN - our neighbours and absolute rock who support us endlessly

  • DOUBLE-BARRELLED - Reading besties who continue to amaze and drive us to be the best we can be

  • MARBLE - Craft OGs and a true inspiration to us and hundreds of other small breweries

  • THE MALT MILLER - friends, supporters and it leads us nicely on to…

The second thing we’ll be doing (and a nod to The Craft Beer Co’s National Home Brewing Awards, which set me on this adventure) is launching a killer home brew competition in collaboration with The Malt Miller! Today we’re brewing a beer with Rob and Rakey and it’s a style we have a big mutual love for. On the 8th May, a home brew kit of this recipe will go live on their website. 80 entries, 1 winner! Here’s what you’ll need to do:

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  • Buy the kit which will include ingredients for a 20L brew

  • Brew a beer using that kit as a base

  • You can play around with ingredients as you wish but we’ll be judging to style

  • We’ll allow approx 8 weeks from kits going live to beers being received

  • Strictly one entry per person, 3 bottles per entry

THE PRIZE

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  • We will support to the best of our ability in launching your own brewing venture. Be that mentoring, business advice, technical support - whatever you need!

  • A commercial beer brewed to a recipe of your choice at Elusive (doesn’t have to be the winning recipe)

  • We will brand the beer as you wish. Your own logo, name etc. We want to help get your name/brand out into the world - be that a future commercial brand or stepping your hobby up a notch

  • We’ll release the beer in cask, keg and can and host a launch event at the tap room or a venue near to you, so your friends and family can join you as you start your journey to becoming a commercial brewer

  • Some other nice things too (e.g. sponsorship, prizes - we’ll tell you about these when the comp goes live).

We’ll post specific details of how, where and when to enter across our social channels and here on this blog in the week prior to Saturday 8th May. The teams at Elusive and The Malt Miller (plus 1-2 guest judges) will judge the entries in early July, after which we’ll announce the winner and get to work helping someone follow their dream! In the mean time, thank you so much for your ongoing support. We wouldn’t be here without you.

Cheers!

Andy, Ricky and Ruth - Team Elusive.

Andy Parker