English whisky’s field of dreams
Don’t fear the reapers: revellers at Fielden’s Lammas Day feast
The centuries old Christian and Pagan tradition of Lammas Day has been resurrected by Fielden whisky to honour the harvest and sow a new way of making spirits – with heritage grains once used by the Vikings. Tom Pattinson joins the happy throng
It’s mid-afternoon and I’m in a field in the English countryside with an expectant gathering of people. The sun pours onto golden grain. Charcoal clouds loom ominously in the distance. We’re being led through a maze of head-high crops that whistle and sway around us as the wind picks up, to a clearing where a circular flattened pagoda-shaped canvas tent appears. We enter and find it has been set with rows of communal benches. Winding vines weave up the pillars and around the bar. Flourishes of freshly cut wild flowers adorn the white-clothed tables. Highball cocktails are poured and music starts to play – a contemporary folk pop track that seems to be born of these fields. The song blows through the wildflowers and clover that grow between the tall grains outside.
This is Lammas Day. The first of August. And we’re here to celebrate a tradition that goes back centuries – the harvesting of grain from the fields of England. Derived from the medieval word ‘hlafmæsse’ or ‘Loafmass’ – Lammas was an ancient Christian holiday and commemoration of the harvest where bread (the loaf) would be brought to church for Eucharist (the mass) to be blessed.
Taking place on the exact halfway point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox, Lammas was once an important festival for Anglo-Saxons and Celts. It was also a great pagan ritual, although sadly the pagans have not put in an appearance today. At least I don’t think they have.
Today, in a decidedly more secular setting, this ancient tribute is being marked instead by those whose pilgrimages tend to take them to marvel at a different kind of pagoda: whisky people. Men and women who pay allegiance at the altar of uisge beathe, who worship the water of life. Inside this tented temple are a great swathe of the country’s finest whisky makers, whisky writers and whisky lovers, all of us here to break bread together and to give thanks to the earth’s bounty.
Our hosts for this clever and enjoyable reimagining of the Lammas Day tradition are Fielden, a new and innovative whisky company who are using heritage grains and ancient farming methods to create a very contemporary spirit.
Field of drams: The whisky from here describes “flowers amidst the grains, the fruited hedgerows”
“We chose Fielden, being the old English word for ‘of the field’ because we see whisky as a product of agriculture,” says head whisky maker Chico Rosa, as we take our seats for the Lammas feast.
Fielden is the new name of the rebranded and relocated The Oxford Artisanal Distillery (the acronym TOAD is a happy accident).
‘These ancient grains were once used by Vikings and Romans to make beer and bread but had been lost for centuries’
TOAD was the first certified organic, grain-to-glass whisky distillery in the UK and was born out of a remarkable discovery made over 30 years ago, when preserved cereals were found in the thatched roofs of a clutch of medieval buildings in the south of England. These ancient grains were once used by Vikings and Romans to make beer and bread but had been lost for centuries as monocultural practices – the mass farming of a single strain of crop – took over. The heritage grains were reintroduced into a number of fields in the Oxfordshire countryside, using an old method called ‘maslin’, where a variety of different grains are planted together. The aim was to go beyond organic farming and into Restorative Continuous Grain Cropping. And it worked.
By planting mixed populations of heritage cereals directly into an understory of short white clover, all of the nitrogen needed to grow a good crop is supplied. Then, by harvesting high on the stem, the straw is chopped to form mulch on the soil surface, which breaks down slowly to feed the next crop, enabling grain to grow continuously in the same field, without crop rotation, and producing three times as much grain as an organic farm.
TOAD was inspired to harness regenerative farming practices and ancient heritage grains to make whisky. Following an investment from Diageo’s investment arm, Distill Ventures, and a change of brand name, so is Fielden. Whilst TOAD has croaked its last, Fielden toils on, expanding its geographical footprint so that it now grows 2,100 acres of heritage grains across 15 farms spanning the UK, from Norfolk to Cornwall.
‘Building a more resilient and sustainable future for farming is imperative, and our move to regenerative, no-chemical techniques helps to protect the diversity of the grains’
One of those farms is Tubbs End in Warwickshire – the one we’re standing in today – run by Farmer Hugh Forsyth, now Fielden’s Managing Director of Farming. “As a fifth-generation farmer, my family have always worked to ensure that Tubbs End Farm thrives, but working with heritage grains has been transformative,” he tells Barley. “Building a more resilient and sustainable future for farming is imperative, and our move to regenerative, no-chemical farming techniques helps to protect the diversity of the grains, fostering healthier harvests and strengthening our local ecosystem. Every harvest is a learning curve, but seeing the results – like exceeding our expected yields this year – proves it’s worth every effort."
Regenerative farming methods are sustainable and better for the land and biodiversity
Fielden CEO Dave Smith explains that with plans to increase output from 30,000 to 250,000 litres of alcohol per year the original company simply outgrew its Oxford home. A new base is being developed in Goole, Yorkshire, but Fielden’s focus will remain not on bricks, mortar and barrels – the location of a distillery, or the casks the liquid is aged in – but on place, quality and terroir of the grain that is used to create it.
“A new distillery is being built that takes into consideration the eccentricities of wild grains and mixed populations,” says Smith. “Think maslin, rye and wheat grown alongside each other in the same field. Likewise, a grain operations-centre where we will process all of our grain for replanting, malting and distilling. I hope all whisky lovers can find a little space in their hearts, minds and their drinks shelf for us. After all, not only is it delicious, it’s a good idea.”
As wines are not produced from a single grape variety nor beers from a single hop, increasingly it is understood that the variety of grains used in making whisky can have a great impact on the flavour profile. Crucially, on top of that, moving away from the monoculture farming practices that became prevalent in the 20th century and embracing regenerative farming methods used in the past, is more sustainable, better for the land and excellent for encouraging biodiversity.
Kings of corn: From left to right, Fielden’s Head Whisky Maker Chico Rosa, farmer Richard Tustian and Head of Farming Hugh Forsyth
“We wanted to delve into the symbiosis in the fields, where plants fully depend on the soil, and are an essential part of the ecosystem underneath – the fungi and insects, which allow natural cycles of organic and inorganic matter to re-establish the soil fertility and also help the plant roots to absolve wider nutrients,” explains Chico Rosa. “All this brought us to the concept of ‘above and below’ being the centrepiece in our label and essentially being the golden ticket to a healthier world where farming is part of nature and not just a human activity.”
Insects and birds, wildflowers and clover interspersed with a pioneering patchwork of grains
Fielden do not wish to hide their whisky behind heavy smoky flavours, but allow the grains to shine through and be the star of the show. They have chosen quality over quantity, experimentation over the well-trodden path of mass-produced genetically-modified grain. It’s a brave and bold vision.
Back in the field, the tall ears of rye sway noisily in the looming wind. Insects and birds, wildflowers and clover, interspersed with this pioneering patchwork of grains, are all thriving. You only have to look at the neighbouring plots of lands replete with generic grain, to see that Fielden farms are special.
Once harvested, these strong straw legs will be churned into the ground atop an understory of white clover – a natural fertiliser that relieves soil compaction, releases calcium and fixes nitrogen in the earth. Of course Fielden grains are organic with no pesticides or chemicals used anywhere on their fields, but the key here is regeneration. These crops are actively restoring and maintaining the health of the water, the soil, and the wildlife living among it.
‘Regeneration is the key, these crops are actively restoring and maintaining the health of the water, the soil, and the wildlife living among it’
We meander through a field of rye, spelt, heritage wheat and barley all growing together. This ingenious mixed grain maslin will soon become Fielden’s Harvest 2024 Whisky. For now, we enjoy the Harvest 2019 Rye Whisky (a maslin of 73% rye, wheat and barley, some of it malted). Unlike most whiskies the year stamped on Fielden’s elegant and modern bottles does not denote when the whisky went into the cask but rather the year that the grain was harvested. The mild and wet summer of 2019, explains Rosa, has produced a whisky that tastes “fresh, floral and full of flavour.”
The 2019 Harvest is lighter and more herbaceous than the Fielden Rye (90% maslin rye and wheat, plus 10% malted barley) which has wild berries on the nose, freshly baked bread on the palate and a pleasing peppery finish.
“Weather variations don’t necessarily impact the quality of the whisky in a good or bad way, but it certainly impacts the composition of the grains we use,” says Rosa. “The growing season reacts to conditions such as rain levels, temperatures, sunlight hours and so on, and this gives variable yields and quality parameters, such as levels of starch or sugars, and proteins that are direct factors impacting the whisky-making process.
A taste of summer: Fielden’s 2019 Harvest Rye whisky is fresh, floral and full of flavour
“Despite the heat spikes that year, the cooler, wet summer and wet harvest season allowed for a higher yield of grain in 2019 compared with the previous year and the UK average. It had a particular vibrancy, and it has created a refreshing, delicate and yet rich complexity in this year’s whisky.”
“Fielden Rye whisky is a journey which begins in our field. It describes the flowers amidst the grains, the fruited hedgerows, and the heat of the ripening sun,” says Rosa.
There’s little sun, ripening or otherwise, as we sit down for dinner in our Lammas Day marquee. The clouds are dark and ominous. Maybe the pagans have had their say after all.
Happy pagans all: Lammas Day guests enjoy the liquid harvest
Chef Johnnie Collins has prepared a sumptuous feast, using locally sourced venison with home grown vegetables and herbs from his fields in Warwickshire and London. As our meal ends, the heavens open, though this happy throng of revellers hardly notice the rain as it pummels down. This gang of whisky folk, rural farmers and urban hipsters are too busy rejoicing. We link arms, look up to the teaming skies and with muddy boots, full bellies and glasses brimming with a very special spirit – raise a joyful toast to a new era of Loaf Mass Day.
