Box Steam Brewery has teamed up with Bath Rugby Ladies to mark the 15th anniversaries of both while also launching the brewery’s new Firsty Friday taproom tasting sessions.
The mark the occasions, three Bath Rugby Ladies players visited the brewery to make a signature brew of Piston Broke, the team’s favourite tipple.
The fruity, bittersweet beer is the club’s official drink for post-match gatherings in the Pulteney Arms in Bath.
Sarah Burgess, Gemma Thorburn and Sarah Holloway joined Tom Downes, head of Box Steam’s brewing team in its Holt brewery, to learn how to produce a cask of the handcrafted ale.
Sarah said: “We’ve had a fun and fascinating time being shown the ropes and finding out much more about the beer making process.
“The art of brewing is quite a physical thing – helpfully doubling up as training for the weekend and, of course, the celebrations afterwards.”
The following Sunday Sarah scored a try in the team’s 53-0 win over Gordano Ladies, putting Bath through to the Somerset Cup final for the third year running.
Box Steam Brewery managing director Andy Roberts said: “What better way to celebrate our mutual success and 15-year anniversaries than over the making of great beer.
“We’ve supported this fantastic team for a few years now and we’ve really enjoyed watching them go from strength to strength.
“We’d like to lay claim to our regional beer playing a part in Bath Ladies’ success – but as it helped our brewers to win a tug of war against them, I may need to tread carefully.”
The Bath Rugby Ladies trio also enjoyed a pint of Piston Broke in the bar of Box Steam’s newly refurbished tap room. The event kicked off the brewery’s monthly Firsty Friday afternoons – a chance for beer fans to come and try new brews and old favourites direct from the brewery.
Established in 2004 as an independent brewery, Box Steam has become known for producing steam-infused varieties of cask, keg and bottled beers. All are handcrafted in its brewery, which takes its inspiration from the idea of beautiful engineering and the achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his famous Box Tunnel, near the company’s original site.
The brewery, now based in the village, has capacity to produce 6,300 hectolitres a year.
