Otter Brewery
The building of the Otter Brewery was, and still is, a labour of love. Located in the heart of the Blackdown Hills, green thoughts run through every aspect of production.
After seventeen years with Whitbread it was the vision of David McCaig to create a complete antithesis to mass produced and artificially flavoured beers. Family values, traditional methods, environmentally sound practices and first rate ingredients all underpin the brand. The Jack are proud to serve Otter Ale, a premium beer with a 4.5% ABV and a perfect accompaniment to food.
The brewery boasts some sterling green credentials. Waste products from each of the brewing processes are extracted and used to benefit the immediate surroundings. Spent malt is collected to feed a beef herd in the Luppitt Valley, waste yeast goes directly to a pig farm in nearby Stockland and the used hops make excellent mulch for organic gardeners. All remaining brewery effluent is treated naturally using ponds and willow beds and the site is a haven for frogs, toads, birdlife, badgers and deer.
A new eco-friendly cellar finished with a living sedum roof was completed last year. The building itself sits half underground and cleverly uses the earth's core temperature to naturally cool the lower level of the cellar to 12°C (the ideal temperature for storing cask ale). The intelligent design will save approximately 6½ tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum - the equivalent of removing 8 chillers and compressors.
