Patience and a unique perspective on beer making make beers from Cradley Heath brewery very desirable

The West Midlands has a long-standing tradition of brewing and beer making.

Breweries have been a part of the region for centuries, providing the welcoming aroma of hops and yeast in the air across the region and many different types of beer loved by thousands.

In the wake of the news of the planned closure of Banks's Brewery in Wolverhampton, the Star wants to support our local breweries and show that there are still many out there producing quality beers to be enjoyed in pubs across the region.

As part of our Backing Our Breweries campaign, we are going to look at what different breweries do, how they grew and built up their reputation, what their products are, how they continue to run in what are difficult financial times and what makes them special.

Some breweries become successful because of following the well-tread path of the traditional way of brewing, producing pale ales, ruby reds and dark bitters.

Other breweries become successful because of taking a different approach to brewing, using their own tastes, experiences and techniques to brew beers with a more unique taste and flavour.

A good example of the different approach working is the Cult of Oak brewery in Cradley Heath, which has taken the techniques of the continent and created something which has received high acclaim from those in the know.

The brewery is the creation of Roberto Ross, who has been a beer sommelier for more than 15 years and who developed his craft working for breweries in Belgium, a country known for rich, dark and strong beers and a history and culture admired by many.

Mr Ross, who also runs his own bar in Halesowen, said his time in Belgium had influenced his own beer tastes and he had put plans into place to eventually start his own brewery before the Covid-19 pandemic made him accelerate his plans.

He said: "I used to work in Belgium for various breweries and, obviously, Belgium has a huge history and culture of brewing and beer drinking and the whole idea was that I was going to copy that idea and create a very niche brewery where we barrel age everything in oak barrels, which is a very different method of production to how you see many breweries today.

"Most breweries today are stainless steel tanks, whereas I'm full of wooden barrels, which is also why other breweries can produce most beer in a week, while my beer takes years to make.

"I started to acquire barrels at the back end of 2019, so it happened at the same time as Covid and we went into lockdown, meaning that I couldn't go back to Belgium, so this kind of escalated things on a quicker timescale than I had prepared to do."

Mr Ross said that despite having to start earlier than he planned, he had begun to brew and produce beers, with the first brew juiced in January 2020.

He said that the process had been about his own passion and tastes, saying that he was very much about the high levels of beer and said that this had translated to his own brews.

He said: "I've been a professional beer sommelier for about 17 years now, so I've always been in for the high level end of beers and I just want to make awesome beers that are unusual and which most people aren't going to make or even try.

"When we have a release, it sells out on some websites in minutes and we get customers from America to Belgium to Japan, so it does go worldwide on release.

"I'm not going to get rich on it and some people have felt that the process taking years could be commercial suicide, but I feel that it's a high end product that is up there with whisky and wine and that's where I want to position myself."

Mr Ross said the barrels used can influence the type of beer produced, from red wine barrels which produce a more vinegary and sour beer, similar to a Flanders red, and also from the types of fruit used in the process, including raspberries and damsons, as well as wild yeasts.

He said that the beer rating website Untappd was a big advocate for his beers, with Cult of Oak beers regularly ranked in the top five beers on the site worldwide and said the brewery was the culmination of a dream he'd always had.

He said: "I'm a massive beer drinker myself and it's something I've always wanted to do and was a dream for a long time.

"I've been able to use my learnt expertise from Belgium and all the events and all the breweries I've worked at across the country and the world and I've been able to start producing something which is unusual and which I love.

"The releases are few and far between, but when you make something that proves hugely popular and sells out almost as soon as it's released, then that is a wonderful thing."

Cult of Oak's best beers

Waghoba 10.4%

Aged in a freshly emptied Makers Mark barrel for ten months to elevate this Quad to the highest level, Waghoba is to be savoured and respected 

Sabis 8.4%

Named after the Battle Of Sabis, this beer was created by first brewing a Bière de Garde, with French Barbe Rouge hops, then a period of conditioning for six months in red wine barrels followed, which imparted grape & oak tannins