Step 1: Select only the best ingredients

You won't find chemicals or artificial additives in Badger Cask Ales. Our ingredients are ripened by the sun, watered by the rain and are traditional, natural and healthy. Badger Ale contains fewer calories than the same amount of wine, apple juice, milk or yoghurt and that's a fact.

Step 2: Insist on the purest of liquor

The water or 'liquor' we use in Badger Ales comes from natural springs, which filter through the chalk downs of Dorset and are drawn from one of the two 40m wells we have at the brewery. This crystal clear, sweet tasting water is ideal for the brewing of our ales.

Step 3: Follow traditional brewing methods

Malt is as vital to our ales as grapes are to wine, and its high number of enzymes helps convert the starch into sugar. Of course different malts, give different flavours and we currently use premium ale, crystal and chocolate.

Then we begin the malting, mashing and boiling process. Firstly we germinate our barley and then dry it in a kiln - this is known as 'malting'. The malt is then milled into 'grist', which we put in circular mash tuns where hot water is added.

Step 4: Introduce more flavour

Following the mashing process, we strain off a sweet liquid called 'wort'. The wort is put into traditional brass copper vessels, hops are added and the mixture is boiled for an hour. We use a variety of different hops to give Badger Ales their distinct flavours.

We currently use: Admiral, Goldings, Scyrian Goldings, Challenger, Target, and First Gold. These hops have been specially selected by our head brewer for their bittering flavour and aroma.

Step 5: Add a secret ingredient

The current yeast for Badger Ales has been a closely guarded secret since 1934. Developed from two strains, this special yeast not only turns sugar to alcohol, it also has a significant effect on the taste of the ale.

The yeast is added into a fermentation tank and this is where the magic begins. It begins to multiply rapidly, feeding on the sweet wort and turning the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. When fermentation is complete, the yeast is drawn off and the remaining beer is allowed to mature.

Step 6: Transport carefully

To ensure your Badger Ale reaches you in perfect condition, the beer is chilled at the brewery and stored to allow a more rounded flavour to develop.

As the ale is live it is racked into the casks where a secondary fermentation takes place. We also add a small quantity of hops to the cask of some Badger Ales, re-introducing some of the aroma, which may have been lost in brewing. Every step from the tank to the cellar is temperature controlled. Even our draymen park in the shade when loading to keep Badger Ales nice and cool. How's that for service?

Step 7: Store carefully

Badger Ales need time to relax, so they are stored in cool, deep pub cellars where the casks are placed on their side to encourage sediment to settle and the beer to clear. During that time, carbon dioxide is naturally produced. This has to be controlled by the cellar manager, who uses a small wooden peg to prevent the beer from having a nasty bite, or going flat.

All Badger Ales are chilled in the cellar to 11-12 degrees and stored for between 4-7 days. They're served at cellar temperature too, so that the ale loses none of it's natural conditioning, liveliness and subtle flavour.

Step 8: Pour the perfect pint

The care and attention we devote to Badger Ales is evident even at the end of their journey. Our cask ales are served from a hand pump on the bar, which uses a beer engine to draw the ale from the cellar by hand.

Presentation is the key and we insist that all Badger ales are served in their own glasses whenever possible: preferably clean, dry, not chipped or cracked, and always facing the customer, so you can enjoy it at it's best. Cheers!

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