After the disappointment of having to dump the first batch of beer we brewed, there was a combination of excitement, anticipation and relief to finally get some beer into its packaging. This was actually my first experience of seeing beer packaged up close on a commercial scale. Previously, I have only seen it from a distance on tours of much bigger breweries. Kegging beer is not the most interesting of operations.

The keg is connected to the beer line with the same connector which takes beer out in a pub cellar. The tap on the beer line is opened for a couple of minutes and then closed to disconnect the now full keg. Then it was just a case of lugging the, now rather heavy, kegs into my van, transporting them to my premises and then lugging them into my chiller.

Canning is much more fun, with lots of movement on the canning line. Cans march through the machine, get purged with CO₂, filled with foaming beer, capped and then spun as if on a fair ground ride to seal them, and then, finally, a more genteel rotation to apply the label.

Now the really hard work of selling the beer can finally begin. Cans of Ash and Elm, branded Bríd’s Cross glasses, and a range of guest beers, will be available on the webshop in the next week by early September.