DE14

DE14 is not just the Burton postcode it’s the name of the new experimental nanobrewery

set in the heart of Burton upon Trent, the spiritual home of brewing. The 2.5 barrel brewhouse is beautiful, with gleaming copper-clad vessels in a Victorian-style tiled room, but this isn’t just eye-candy for the Burton beer pilgrims arriving at the doors, as Sam Coles who is heading up the DE14 beer creation project explains: “There remains something intrinsic about Burton. Like Pilsen, it is a brewing capital: Like Pilsen, it was and is an innovator, a creative boiling pot which masterminded the growth and export of a beer style – Pilsners for Pilsen, IPAs for Burton. Our DE14 nano-brewery acts as a brewers’ playground for creative ideas and it’s our chance to push the boundaries of what is possible when testing the sciences behind brewing. We want to ensure Burton remains an innovative hub and DE14‘s experimental beers and brewing techniques are going to help us do that.

“It’s also really helped us engage with the local home brew community, hosting the Burton Home Brewers Club and encouraging local amateur brewers to develop their skills.” In fact, one of the beers DE14 poured at London’s February beer festival, Craft Beer Rising, was home brewer Morgan Silk’s NEIPA. Morgan is a renowned professional photographer and enthusiastic home brewer, he grew up in Burton, studying photography at Burton College before moving to London to develop his career. He still takes photography commissions but recently moved back to Burton where he enjoys brewing beer in his garage.

Sam explains: “Morgan was one of the first to join the brewery’s home brew club in 2017 and has been a regular contributor to the group. We set challenges to the brewers, and that month it was cereal based. Morgan brought a super-hazy NEIPA to the brewery and we were so impressed that we offered Morgan the chance to replicate the beer on our 600 pint brew kit which we poured at Craft Beer Rising.”

Morgan says: “When you grow up and live in Burton, you can’t help but be passionate about beer and I’ve really found that passion since I started brewing my own. Head brewer, Pat McGinty and graduate brewer, Callum Turner, have been so helpful with their advice and encouragement.”

The innovation doesn’t stop there and DE14 have been busy looking at more offbeat collaborations. One of which is their collab with Alex Hely-Hutchinson of 26 Grains in Covent Garden. The thought being that if quinoa, freekeh, rye, buckwheat and linseed work well in muesli and porridge, might they perhaps provide tempting flavours and mouthfeel for DE14 beers?

Brewer Callum Turner explains: “Hops are still a very hot topic amongst craft brewers and rightly so, but malt is also massively important. It’s about the flavour and quality of the barley and the way it translates into extra flavour and complexity in our beers. DE14 is like a stripped down acoustic version of brewing so a fantastic place to experiment with new grains to complement the malt we use in our beers. Working closely with Alex we brewed four unique beers including freekeh and pomegranate molasses, smoked wheat and honey, oatmeal with fig leaf and our Hygge Liquorice Rye beer.”

DE14 beer distribution is selective by design, turning up at festivals, events and even some lucky ‘hero’ pubs across the UK. Sam says “We have a great range of beers already under our belt including two beers in Flight Suit and End Point that will become more widely available over the coming weeks. We are always looking ahead and I get really excited when I look at our upcoming brewing calendar. We’ve got something to suit all tastes, but I’d like to think we can serve up a few surprises too.”

In addition to brewing Morgan’s beer, DE14 also included one of Morgan’s Saturn V Rocket photographs on the Lens for Craft Beer Rising.