Readers, I have seen the gap from FV to tank. It is indeed 60cm tops. You’d be hard pushed to fit a sack of malt down there. And because the beer is piped directly from the fermentation vessels into the serving tanks, it never sees light or oxygen, which are the two main enemies of beer’s freshness.

“With any kind of brewery taproom you want to be able to deliver that best possible version of what you’ve got. Having tank beer as we do gives the added bonus of preserving this beer at the moment of freshness, as soon as it is ready,” Chris says.

The beer is also unpasteurised and unfiltered. Not only that, but each tank is individually temperature controlled. Basically what you’re getting is a beer exactly as the brewer intended.

There are also environmental reasons to opt for this style of serving. With no packaging and no transport involved, its impact on our climate is substantially reduced compared to cans or kegs.

This isn’t quite the same for Pilsner Urquell, Budvar et al. Their tanks are filled with beer held in big plastic bags that are shipped by road from Southern Bohemia. But still, it’s better than the alternatives.

Finally, for Howling Hops and other breweries who serve from tanks on site, it means fewer kegs to clean and fill, plus less time changing kegs on the taps and cleaning lines. They can keep the bar going with fewer staff and make more money on each pint sold — a very important factor in today’s beer market.

So, if that’s convinced you to give tanks a try, where will you go? Not everyone can make it out to Hackney Wick when the mood takes them. Thankfully tank beer bars are starting to pop up all over the place.