Long Man Brewery Tour

Long Man Brewery’s logo features the eponymous Long Man of Wilmington.

Of course, weather is a fickle vixen, and this trip has been a bit different. My luck has run out (in terms of sunshine) and I’ve been treated to gale force winds, devilish deluges and just a sprinkling of broken umbrellas.

Dear Old Blighty is certainly known for her weather; it’s just that I’ve never been on the receiving end of her most torrential caresses.

With a dreary gray sky as my backdrop, I hired a taxi and headed towards my goal: Long Man Brewery, a craft beer – and cask ale – haven in the heart of Sussex’s farming country in Litlington.

After wending our way through the interminable and exceedingly narrow roads (for an American driver), the hedges finally opened up, revealing the Long Man of Wilmington (photo), whom the brewery and many of its beers are named for.

Upon entering the brewery grounds (after getting a bit turned around, thanks in no small part to a road literally called The Street), I was greeted by brewery founder and head brewer Jamie Simm. With a slim build, twinkling eyes and a clean-shaven, young-looking face, Jamie isn’t your typically hirsute head brewer.

Long Man head brewer Jamie Simm in front of the brewery offices.

The brewery was founded in February 2012 after Jamie left Royal Tunbridge Wells Brewery, a local brewhouse where Jamie got his start in the industry. Unlike so many other like-minded beer connoisseurs, Jamie was never a homebrewer.

“I started working at Royal Tunbridge Wells Brewery years ago,” Jamie tells me. “I began at the very bottom, cleaning casks, and worked my way up all the way to head brewer.”

It’s easy to see why he rose through the ranks so quickly. Jamie has a real gift for talking about the beers he creates and is highly knowledgeable and passionate about the brewing process, as well as the choice ingredients he uses in his beers.

Jamie led me to the 20-barrel brewhouse, where the eight fermenters are in use for brewing eight times a week. “We started out with our three flagships: Long Blonde, Best Bitter and American Pale Ale,” said Jamie. “And we’ve just continued to grow and grow.”

Long Man started out with three fermenters, but the demand locally has forced him to increase that total to eight, with two more on the way. Similarly, the brewery started out with one employee: “old muggins here,” Jamie jokingly called himself. But with the popularity of his brews, that total quickly grew to the 14 people he employs now.

American Pale Ale and Long Blonde are two of Long Man’s most popular flagship brands.

All of the employees, including Jamie himself, are from around the Litlington area. The brewery was also planted squarely in the middle of miles of farmland, so it has the feel of a family business. Everyone was very pleasant during my visit, joking with me and with each other. It was obvious that although it was still a job, everyone who worked at Long Man enjoyed waking up every day and brewing tasty beer.

Speaking of the beer, Jamie led me to a storehouse where suppliers, publicans and other prospective buyers can sample some of Long Man’s liquid assets. As is the case for many smaller breweries in England, “90 percent of sales comes from draft consumption, and roughly 50 percent of that is from Long Man Best Bitter,” Jamie said.

Just like (seemingly) all American microbreweries are expected to have an American IPA as a flagship beer, most British start-up breweries are expected to offer a Best Bitter in their stable of year-round offerings.

Following this trend, I begin my own sampling with the Best Bitter. Jamie does a hard pour from a great height, but there is still very little head as cask beers just aren’t as carbonated as their kegged brethren. This British beer trope is unusual to me, but Jamie says cask ale drinkers expect it.

“I’ve heard stories of people sending beers back if it’s got too much head. Kegged beers cream from the bottom, whereas casked beers cream from the top. It’s all just a matter of taste.”

And what a taste! Long Man Best Bitter is a delightful brew: A perfect amber-orange in color with a wonderful, biscuity aroma, the flavor is a lip-smacking blend of raisins and plums. A gorgeously smooth sweetness comes through in the finish.

Jamie cradles his favorite hop varietal, East Kent Goldings, which are abundant in the recipes for many Long Man beers.

Jamie is proud of his beers, and most of them feature his favorite hop varietal – the East Kent Golding. I can understand his admiration, as all Long Man beers somehow taste like England to me, which must have something to do with that thoroughly British varietal.

Of course, Jamie is not myopic in his love of Goldings. Copper Hop, a cleverly named amber ale, features a tasty tang of Citra hops in the finish, and Long Man American Pale Ale features a fully American blend of Cascade, Willamette and Summit hops.

Jamie certainly admires American craft beer, noting that Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is his favorite beer of all time.

“It’s just inspiring to remember that he [Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman] built everything himself when he was starting out, including what he brewed in.”

Taking his cues from Sierra Nevada, Jamie has made Long Man into a completely self-sufficient establishment.  The water comes from a nearby well, all the barley and malt are from farms in Litlington, and all the brewery’s power comes from a bank of solar panels in a nearby field.

“After we’ve done a brew, all the spent grain is sent to some neighboring farms as feed for pigs, sheep or cows,” said Jamie. “This focus on keeping everything in the area and Sussex-focused has led to a groundswell of support from the community.”

It’s easy to see why. The employees were kind, the beer was delicious and the area was strikingly verdant. Also, Jamie made a vibrant and gregarious guide.

According to Jamie, “I was told to get a real job, and this is as close as I got.”

Long Man Brewery is currently not open for tours, but with a visitor’s center and brewery shop set for completion in 2016, ale enthusiasts will soon be able to tour a brewery where friendly people and flavorful beers go hand-in-hand in the heart of Sussex.

The Long Man brewhouse: where the magic happens.