07/05/2026
MALDON & BLACKWATER WILDLIFE BEERS 2026
May - Brock Mild 4.0% abv dark mild
🦡 Out of the sett and into your glass… meet Brock Mild — smooth, dark, and quietly full of character.
“Brock” is of course the traditional name for our largest native land predator, the Badger. Familiar through their appearance in countless books and regular spots on Springwatch, their nocturnal habits can make them hard to see in real life. Kenneth Grahame portrayed Badger as the wise and gruff elder statesman of the Wild Wood in Wind in the Willows. Certainly there are few woodland creatures that would even contemplate picking a fight with one. Bill Badger is a less serious portrayal, as Rupert the Bear’s oldest chum, and his dress sense is questionable. The appearance of Tommy Brock, in Beatrix Potter’s Tale of Mr Tod, reveals more of the darker side of a Badger’s lifestyle: stealing baby rabbits and taunting his arch-rival, Mr Tod the Fox.
Badgers do not hibernate as such, but enter into a sleepy lethargy until they wake up fully when Spring arrives. In the past, Celtic worshipers recognised the symbolism of this new life emerging from beneath the earth during their spring festival of Imbolc. The goddess Brigantia has the badger as her totem.
Nowadays it is great to report that this characterful mammal has a good population around Maldon, Essex and East Anglia in general, and that it is legally protected. Their omnivorous diet and innate adaptability has meant that they have been able to spread from traditional woodland and open country habitats to our modern urban environment.
John Buchanan
