Picture a brewery with an Untappd rating of 4.04 and you’re probably thinking of hyped hazy DIPAs and pastry stouts, resplendent branding, perhaps some inkblot cartoon merchandise and ostentatious glassware, and an impressive Instagram following. In this instance, you’d be wrong, as this is Old Chimneys Brewery and none of the above applies.
For those of you unfamiliar with Old Chimneys, the brewery was established by Alan Thomson back in 1995. A Master Brewer, Alan worked at the original Vaux Brewery in Sunderland back in the 1970s, before relocating to the village of Market Weston in Suffolk and establishing a more modest set-up to serve his new local customers.
Over the years, Old Chimneys has been revered for the quality of its beer releases, with the flagship brand, Good King Henry Special Reserve, achieving a perfect 100/100 on ratebeer.com. Production ceased at the Market Weston site in 2019 and Alan has chosen instead to focus on collaborating with like-minded breweries across the UK, including Grain (where the regular Good King Henry is now brewed, under Alan’s supervision), Pastore, and Wylam.
(Photo credit: Vaux Brewery)
This latest collaboration, Stormy Petrel, saw Alan returning to Sunderland, to work alongside Head Brewer Les Stoker. Here he experienced the new iteration of Vaux, which is a much altered operation from those early brewing days when the original Vaux Brewery dominated the Wearside landscape.
The beer
The collaboration is based on an old Victorian recipe, which had the working title ‘1899 Imperial’. From these old foundations, the team worked together to modify the recipe to release something which blends the traditional with the contemporary; something fitting for Vaux v.2.0.
At 11% ABV, this imperial stout is also Vaux’s biggest beer to date. You can expect a decadent stout, satisfyingly deep and filled with notes of dark chocolate, cinder toffee, liquorice, and a hint of something slightly smoky. A half of this is perfect for the current change in season and a welcome companion for comforting evenings cosied up by the fire in your favourite pub.
(Image credit: breweryhistory.com)
The name
The ornithologically-minded amongst you may recognise the name, as a storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) is a small, square-tailed sea bird. Petrels are associated with St Peter, due to the birds’ giving the appearance of walking on the water. With the brewery a short walk from St. Peter’s Church (one of the oldest churches in Britain, built in 674AD), it’s also appropriate that the heritage of old Sunderland is celebrated in a modern way; something the new brewery encapsulates with the regeneration of the area.
“‘Stormy Petrel’ was the nickname given to heroic Sunderland resident Joseph Ray Hodgson (1829-1908) who saved countless lives in the North Sea, often by himself. Whenever a fierce gale arose, the ‘petrel’ might have been seen on the shore, gazing intently seaward, ready to risk his life to save others from numerous shipwrecks.”
Steven Smith, co-owner of Vaux
The other definition of ‘stormy petrel’ is ‘one fond of strife’, or ‘a harbinger of trouble’. We couldn’t possibly comment…
Stormy Petrel’s launch
An iconic beer collaboration requires an iconic launch venue, which is why Stormy Petrel launches in keg today (Friday 23rd September) at The Free Trade Inn in Newcastle, and at Vaux’s taproom in Sunderland.
Can’t make it to a launch venue? The beer will also be pouring after the official launch in selected beer venues (check Vaux’s socials for updates) and shall be available in 440ml cans from the Vaux webshop next week.
Want to know more about Old Chimneys Brewery? Jessica Boak and Ray Bailey covered ‘The Mystery of Old Chimneys’ back in 2016 (go and give it a read via All About Beer).
Follow Vaux Brewery on social media for more Stormy Petrel updates: