Two pubs in Falmouth were among the first to be able to offer their customers a taste of St Austell Brewery's new Harvest Ale, which is more special than ever after the brewhouse team raced to create the fastest and freshest route from grain to glass.

Brewers Rob Orton, Simon Matthews and Adam Lumb, headed out to Herefordshire to hand-pick the finest Goldings hops from Pridewood Farm at the heart of the UK’s Hopshires. Using fresh hops as opposed to dried requires a larger amount for each brew due to the moisture content within the freshly picked harvest so, having picked enough of the quintessentially English hop to fill a small pick-up, the team headed for home to get the small batch brewery kick-started.

Early the following morning, complemented by Cornish Gold and Cornish Maris Otter barley malt, the brew was lovingly crafted by Simon Matthews into a 4.5% ABV traditional English Ale and left to ferment, ready for casking to hit the pubs this week.

Brewing team leader Rob Orton, said: “We use all kinds of hops in our different beers, but there’s nothing like being involved in every aspect of the brew, it gives you a real sense of pride and ownership of the end product and working on the small batch brewery allows you to get hands-on at every stage.

St Austell’s Harvest Ale was due to hit the Chainlocker and Seven Stars in Falmouth on Monday along with the other members of the Small Batch Brew Club, including the Royal Oak at Perranwell Station, who get the chance to showcase each of the cask-based ales that come off the small batch brewery each month.