Book Review – Brewing in Hertfordshire
As a resident of North London I’ve cycled many times around the county of Hertfordshire but was unaware of its rich heritage of malt and maltings for supply into the brewing industry.
The short and pithy introduction to the recently-published ‘Brewing in Hertfordshire’ by Martyn Cornell (from Amberley Publishing) certainly fills the deficit in my knowledge and sets the scene for a 90-plus page canter through the county’s brewing history.
You are very much in safe hands with Cornell who is a leading historian of the brewing industry and I’d be hard pushed to think of anyone more qualified to pen such publications. He has many books under his belt and this particular easy-reading example of his work shows him covering ground well within his capabilities.
On the topic of maltings he informs us there were a remarkable 82 such places in operation in Hertfordshire by 1832 and that the town of Ware alone (where I have stayed at an Inn on my cycling travels) had 80 such businesses. Many of these were attached to breweries.
Sadly there is only one maltings still in use today and this demise has also been reflected in the brewery count, with only McMullen’s now remaining in operation from the 140-plus that were churning out beers pre-twentieth century. Thankfully some newer breweries have been added to the mix in recent years as part of the craft beer revolution we have witnessed and this has taken the count to around 20.
This book focuses on the county’s lost breweries – there is an Appendix listing breweries founded post-1980 of which some still trade – and takes the reader across the whole county pulling together historical sketches of numerous breweries of varying sizes.
Cornell’s detailed descriptions are well sourced and will keep the reader engaged. These are supplemented with an impressive mix of photographs and other imagery including bottle labels and pump-clips.
As well as providing the reader with detailed knowledge of Hertfordshire’s brewing history it should also undoubtedly give inspiration and thirst to enjoy some of the output of the county’s most historical brewery, McMullen’s, which will soon be celebrating its 200th Anniversary.
Glynn Davis, editor, Beer Insider