Beer School: Burning Sky
He mentioned this on the same day we were visiting former Dark Star brewer Mark Tranter at his new place to learn more about what he was brewing these days. It was a swelteringly hot day and we were making light of it by journeying together and talking about music and beer.
Tranter now runs Burning Sky in Firle, tucked away in the Sussex Downs - a small brewery with a priority for brewing imaginative beers not limited in their existence by a lack of readily-available ingredients, costs or time. Working alongside Tranter is former music teacher turned assistant brewer Tom Dobson.
Their union began when Tranter tried some of Dobson’s homebrewed beers during an annual homebrewing competition one year which he was judging at the Snowdrop Inn in Lewes. He obviously liked what he tried. Tranter and Dobson work quietly and harmoniously side by side.
Breweries are such great places to witness such silent mutual respect. But there are always things to do, even during the waiting game of brewing.
Tranter scribbles handwritten recipe notes onto sheets of paper with charted ingredients, amounts and temperatures.
They are all kept in a binder, a great swot book of care and attention. There he records what he’s brewing. The most interesting developments however are housed to the right of the brewery in a wall-to-wall collection of foudres and barrels that previously held red wine and are now filled with Flanders style red ale that are aging beautifully in what, to the eye, could be mistaken for a dull corner.
Not so. I have not had a bad Burning Sky beer yet (and I’ve tried a few) so I urge anyone to contact the brewery and find a way to list them.
Tranter’s techniques are his own.
“What’s that piece of equipment?” I ask.
“Oh, I invented it, so I don’t think it has a name yet,” says Tranter. “Most of the yeast strains I use are ones I’ve invented as well,” he adds, casually. It’s clear Tranter and Dobson have begun re-writing a rule book for brewing, something many well established brewers would find interesting to witness.
Their journey is an exciting one. I know for certain that when it comes to my own brewing story, I’ll be revisiting Firle for advice and guidance. Oh, and to retry that amazing Flanders ale.
Pubs to visit: The Snowdrop Inn, Lewes, The Craft Beer Co, Brighton
