Two Cornish brewing opposites, Sharp’s Brewery and Bluntrock, have united in a Rock-solid collaboration and a new limited edition, available in both can and keg, is the result.
From an outsider’s viewpoint, it might appear that Cornwall’s largest producer of ales, Sharp’s, and the county’s smallest nanobrewery, Bluntrock, would be natural adversaries: they’re on opposite sides of the road, they have vastly contrasting scales of production and even their names are ‘opposing forces’.
Yet due to their close proximity and shared love of brewing and history, the two actually couldn’t be more excited to be working together. Their first co-conceived small batch brew, Camel Trail Pale Ale, is a hoppy, hazy 4.5% beer, brewed using a special American IPA yeast strain, and it launches on the 9th September.
Sharp’s is the largest brewer of cask ale in the South West, and Doom Bar is probably the most successful cask beer of its generation. Doom Bar is currently the UK’s no.1 cask beer brand, alongside national favourites such as Atlantic, Sea Fury and Offshore. In comparison, Bluntrock is one of Cornwall’s newest breweries, having set-up in August 2021, with a focus on modern styles of beer, from hop forward hazy IPAs to fruited kettle sours. Sharp’s sells its beer from John O’Groats to Land’s End, whilst everything Bluntrock brews is sold from their onsite Taproom, which is right next to the nanobrewery.
George Collins, Bluntrock’s Head Brewer started his career in beer when he moved from his home in Burton-on-Trent, aged 19, to take up a position as a Brewer at Sharp’s. Whilst there he learned all the fundamentals of the brewing process at scale, including the need for optimum precision and consistency as well as all the skill that goes into creating highly accessible beers. He then went on to work at Padstow Brewery before co-founding Bluntrock with Hugo Roads.
In a perfect case of ‘neighbours’, George has joined forces with Sharp’s Head Brewer Aaron McClure and Technical Brewer Jon Wide, all of whom worked together at Sharp’s in the early days of their brewing careers, to collaborate on a new limited edition beer, that they have co-created on both brewing kits. And the resultant small batch of Camel Trail Pale Ale, named after the local cycle track where people regularly use tandem bikes, is a departure from Sharp’s typical style. It will be available as a limited edition cask beer at local Cornish outlets including The Mariners in Rock and as a canned version from both the Bluntrock and the Sharp’s Brewery shops.
Sharp’s Technical Brewer Jon Wide says, “It’s been really fun to work with George and to create the same brew on both of our brewing kits. George’s nano-plant makes 150 litres and our small-scale pilot plant makes over 1,000 litres per batch, whereas our normal scale is up to 25,000 litres per brew so it’s great to brew at different scales and on different equipment. George’s beers are big and bold and he challenged us to step out of our comfort zones and create something different from our norm. We’ve used liquid hops in this beer, which Bluntrock Brewery use a lot, but which we’ve not used before at Sharps. It’s been a really interesting journey, and just brilliant to be collaborating now as close neighbours.”
George Collins of Bluntrock says, “This has been really exciting for all of us and it’s good to see that a brewery with Sharp’s success is still keen to engage with a tiny brewery like ours at Bluntrock. For me, it’s been great to be able to go back to where I started brewing and be made to feel so welcome all these years later. It’s also been really good to see how a brewery like Sharp’s has approached a collaboration with a different brew style like ours, and how we’ve been able to complement each other’s brewing styles in the process. Sharp’s help us out a lot, and we’ve all enjoyed creating this new, and very tasty, beer together.”
A launch party for Camel Trail Pale will be happening at Bluntrock Brewery on Friday 9th September when the new beer will appear in both can and cask. Members of the public are invited to join the Sharp’s and Bluntrock brewers and team members from 4:00pm at Unit 8, Pityme Industrial Estate, Rock, Wadebridge PL27 6NS. Catering will be provided by Fat Cat and a live DJ will also be there.
