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The Old Mill, Mill Road, Netheravon, Salisbury, SP4 9QB, England
Description
The Old Mill is in the most idyllic setting imaginable on the bends of the River Avon. The Old Mill started life in 1914 as an electricity generator for the Netheravon Airfield using waterpower from the River Avon.
In 1983 Tony and Robinetta Bunce bought the old power station from the MOD and converted in into a brewery. They started brewing in 1984. Had it not been for the Bunces, we probably would not have been brewing at The Old Mill today.
In 1993 I, Danish Master Brewer Stig Anker Andersen, my wife Anna Marie Andersen and our 7 months old daughter Amalie uprooted from our native Denmark. We took the jump into the deep end and bought the brewery and embarked on the long, challenging road of brewing award-winning, handcrafted English beers. Of course, we didn’t go it alone – without our loyal customers and dedicated team, we would never have managed to be where we are today, still running one of Wiltshire’s oldest micro-breweries.
Our brew plant is arranged so that brewing ingredients and wort mostly move downwards, using gravity as in early tower breweries. One pump only is used in the entire brewing process for transferring the hot wort through a plate cooler prior to fermentation.
Each beer is brewed to its own recipe using the traditional infusion mash method and with only the finest quality malt and whole hops and Stonehenge Spring Water as ingredients. After fermentation the beer is run off into carefully sterilised stainless steel casks where the final conditioning takes place.
Our beers are allowed to condition naturally in the cask and call for a certain care in handling and dispense; a first class pint owes much to skill in the cellar and pride in the pub.
In 1983 Tony and Robinetta Bunce bought the old power station from the MOD and converted in into a brewery. They started brewing in 1984. Had it not been for the Bunces, we probably would not have been brewing at The Old Mill today.
In 1993 I, Danish Master Brewer Stig Anker Andersen, my wife Anna Marie Andersen and our 7 months old daughter Amalie uprooted from our native Denmark. We took the jump into the deep end and bought the brewery and embarked on the long, challenging road of brewing award-winning, handcrafted English beers. Of course, we didn’t go it alone – without our loyal customers and dedicated team, we would never have managed to be where we are today, still running one of Wiltshire’s oldest micro-breweries.
Our brew plant is arranged so that brewing ingredients and wort mostly move downwards, using gravity as in early tower breweries. One pump only is used in the entire brewing process for transferring the hot wort through a plate cooler prior to fermentation.
Each beer is brewed to its own recipe using the traditional infusion mash method and with only the finest quality malt and whole hops and Stonehenge Spring Water as ingredients. After fermentation the beer is run off into carefully sterilised stainless steel casks where the final conditioning takes place.
Our beers are allowed to condition naturally in the cask and call for a certain care in handling and dispense; a first class pint owes much to skill in the cellar and pride in the pub.
6.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Cask at the Tap and Vine, Penwortham. Pours hazy amber with a thin off-white head. Aromas of caramel and biscuit. Taste is light sweet, more biscuit, crunchie bar, light floral hop bitterness. Thin finish.
Tried
from Cask
on 17 Aug 2018
at 21:35
6.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Cask at GBBF 2018, Olympia, London. A golden coloured pour with a medium white head on top. Hoppy, malty, citrus aroma. Tastes hoppy, ,malty, citrus, not much happening here.
Tried
from Cask
on 11 Aug 2018
at 18:08
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Pours a clear pale gold colour with a small lasting tight white head. Aroma is a subtle toasted grain and lemons. A sweetish grainy taste with a grassy hop bitterness progressively becoming sweeter. Okay
Tried
on 17 Jun 2018
at 13:50
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6
Pint at the Gatehouse Doncaster. Medium creamy white head. Hazy golden pour. Light bitterness.
Tried
from Cask
at
The Gate House (JDW)
on 09 Jun 2018
at 18:27
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Cask at the Crosse Keys (JDW), Gracechurch Street, London. Pale straw with a thin white head; a thin lemony citrus aroma; rather watery with a sweet lemon sherbet taste with some sour grains; and a herbal bitterness adding a touch of spicy warmth to finish.
Tried
from Cask
on 02 May 2018
at 20:43
6.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 3
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Cask at PoW, Farnborough. Nil aroma with my summer cold nose. Pale Fairy Liquid green. Thin bright white head. Light bitter. Sugared veg. A hint of lime - fitting as it could be lime cordial. Light. Thin. But benefits from a tad lively soft carbonation. Abrupt finish. Easy drinking. On one hand it's not great but there's something I like about it.
Tried
from Cask
on 20 Apr 2018
at 12:16
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Pint at the Crosse Keys. I met the head brewer (a Danish expat) of this brewery so of course I had to try this beer. I also used to drink a lot of this brewery's Dog Booter, which over 20 years ago was rather good. Anyway, quite a fruit juicy flavour and a rather nice colour in the glass. As the pint developed it started getting sweeter and sweeter and the last two mouthfuls I really didn't enjoy at all as they tasted rather sugary. Anyway, a nice one to try for old times sake, but not the best. Re-rate in November 2024. No, this is really good!
Tried
on 17 Apr 2018
at 13:35
5/10
Tried
from Cask
on 27 Mar 2018
at 17:45
6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Handpull cask at the Seven Stars, Bristol. Dark brown, almost opaque. A small sandalwood head sits on top. Some smoky notes in the aroma alongside weak malt. Taste sweet with light notes of Ovaltine. Watery body. Hard to get excited by this.
Tried
from Cask
on 05 Mar 2018
at 20:29
5.1/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 4
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 4.5
Handpull cask at the Bell, Bath. Food-colouring green, clear with a film of white head on top but pretty flat. Sulphur-tinged aroma, hard to smell anything else. Tastes bittersweet, still sulphur-led but there's a touch of fresh fruity hop nearer to finish. All in all, this is a poor beer buoyed up by a gimmick.
Tried
from Cask
on 04 Mar 2018
at 19:58