We often get asked how or why we got into brewing. Call it destiny or 'beer's in the blood'. However it happened, it has allowed the whole family to play a role in building a brewery that reflects and respects the heritage of good beer production. Generations of experience have taught us that consistently good beer and service make for a brewery worth remembering. That is fundamental to everything that we do. Our new, state of the art brewery was commissioned in August 2005 and is about as high tech as a small brewery gets. Using modern technology and our very best local ingredients enables us to brew consistently good beers. The new brewery also gives us ultimate flexibility as it houses two plants. This means we can brew individual runs of 30 or 50 barrels or a total length of 80 brewers barrels. We are lucky enough to be located in the heart of the Blackdown Hills , an area of outstanding natural beauty and also an area of special scientific interest. With this in mind, we have always felt a responsibility for our environment and not only do we have a number of initiatives that we operate already, we also have more in the pipeline for the future. Our most important plan is to continue what we are currently doing - only to do it even better. The mini Otter Brewery: 2 years ago, we installed a mini brewery that can produce 8 firkins of beer. We use this to maintain the consistency of our current beers and to develop new brews for the future. Each year we face the 'new season's malt' which brings its own challenges, as the makeup of the grain differs physically and biologically according to that season's growing conditions. These changes need to be analysed and the brew adjusted to cater for these annual changes. The mini brewery means we can make the necessary adjustments to maintain consistency without wasting huge volumes. The Future: Who knows where we will be in 2020 - all I can say is that what lies ahead fills us with excitement. The cask ale sector of the beer market has performed well over the last year or so and on average, 10 years has been knocked off the age of consumers showing interest in cask ale. This marks a radical change in the overall perception of cask ale and bodes well for the future. I'm sure we will continue to be part of this growth, where regionality is so important. Who knows, there may be room for another Otter pub or two? One thing's for sure - Mum won't be cooking any less! Also, this baby will let us dabble in the unknown and venture into pastures new.