Under the Spotlight: Stealth Brew Co.

The market town of Melksham in Wiltshire is home to the Stealth Brew Co. Formally known as the Kennet & Avon, the brewery has been given a new guise so it stands out within a traditional market. In a county where there are many large and well established traditional breweries, Stealth Brew Co. have stepped out from the shadow with new branding as well as some more experimental and exciting beers. The brewery have produced some more modern, hop forward brews and have added some keg beers to their existing portfolio of cask ales. I have been familiar with Stealth Brew Co. since visiting their micro pub, The Vaults, in Devizes four years ago and have since come to know the team. I caught up with one of the brewery’s partners, Malcolm, to ask him a bit more about the change in identity.  

The process for the new branding started in September 2017 with the final decision made in April 2018. The team felt that the old brand, Kennet & Avon, localised the products too much and felt that they were always having to explain the concept to anyone outside of the South West.  “We felt it’s important to have a brand name that doesn’t need any explanation or point to the area it is made, the brand lets the beer do the talking” says Malcolm. With the local area flooded with traditionally brewed styles, Stealth made it their mission to differentiate themselves. One way I feel that they are achieving this is by their decision not to use finings in their brews and producing naturally hazy beers. This was really important to the team at Stealth as they found a huge difference in flavour between fined and unfined beers on testing. It was then they decided to choose quality of flavour over clarity which has been well received by the regulars. Malcolm explains that they have clearly marked the beers as hazy and that this has not deterred consumers. 

Stealth Brew Co. also champion gluten free ales after a friend of Malcolm’s explained she was unable to drink beer like everyone else due to her gluten intolerance. This is a growing concern in the food and drink industry with 1 in 100 people suffering from coeliac disease so after investigating various brewing techniques Stealth launched their first gluten free stout in 2015 with more styles brewed since then. Many of the beer styles produced by the brewery are favourites of the team as well as by customers. “We are now brewing modern beers that we love to drink ourselves, by doing that it is a lot easier to sell it because you’re passionate about it.” says Malcolm. When I asked which was his favourite beer from the range Malcolm said, “That would have to be Camouflage”, which is Stealth’s stout/pale ale hybrid with a sessionable ABV of 4.7%. Malcolm also goes on to say that on a hot day he loves the citrusy flavours of Covert and I have to agree. This has got to be my favourites from the range however I’m looking forward to trying their new double IPA Surreptitious on keg!

Future plans for the brewery include canning their range of beers to open up a wider market as well as working towards opening another micro pub by the end of the year. Stealth Brew Co. would also like to develop the Tap Room and Backyard so that they can open it more on a weekly basis. Over this summer Stealth are hosting Pop Up Beer Garden Open Weekends to show off the new beer range with more dates lined up for August and September. 

So with Stealth Brew Co. lifting the veil, I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the future!