In 2001 I went round Palmers and was amazed to see that they had a cask of their now defunct Bridport Bitter set up for the workers, a survival from a different age — a wet brewery no less, something that I originally wrote about here. Visiting the brewery the other day, I asked about it, recalling my first visit, and mused that it must be long gone. How wrong I was — there in a corner, was a barrel of the brewery’s Copper Ale (fruit chews nose — is that tangerine? — grainy, chewy mouthfeel, refreshing citrus notes, dry biscuity finish), something that the staff have a drop of when work is done and there’s fat to be chewed. People aren’t on the bevy all day long but it’s nice to see a brewery think about this and also trust their people (I remember hearing of one West Country brewery that was reputed to sack anyone who touched a drop during working hours). Nice one Palmers.
