Tag: England

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Draught Devil

The last few years have brought to light women in brewing (finally and belatedly), the latest being The Devil’s in the Draught Lines: 1000 Years of Women in Britain’s Beer History by Dr Christina Wade.

It is from the publishing arm of CAMRA and is described as a “new groundbreaking book that delves into the history of women in brewing, explaining the real reasons why women brewers became marginalised, while also debunking some tired old myths along the way.”

Since I am a beer history fan, you know I will be ordering this one.

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Find YOUR Beer

Wilderness England has created a simple little internet tool for people to find just the right British beer for their tastebuds.

Here is the scoop, “Working together with craft breweries across England, from Yorkshire to Cornwall, the Wilderness team has indexed the flavour profiles of approximately 100 beers (and counting) across the entire country. Using a few key pieces of information – indicating preferred colour, body, alcohol content, bitterness and hop preferences, sweet or sour, fruity or not, or somewhere in between – this simple tool helps users discover which English craft beer best matches their tastes. It also provides information about the beer, which craft brewery makes it, and in what region in England to find it.”

Seems like a lot of data entry behind the scenes but as the number of beers grows this could be a fun sort of beer roulette you can play. Give it a spin right HERE.

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Santa’s Pint Glass – Day 23

We head to merry Old England for a Scandinavian styled holiday ale from Thornbridge Brewing…

“A dark mild with Low Colour Maris Otter, Crystal, wheat and chocolate malt, hopped with Goldings. A brand new beer to provide comfort in deepest darkest December

Knäck is a 4% dark mild, with a rich malty soul giving notes of hard toffee and roasted nuts, much like the Swedish Christmas treat of the same name.”

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London Brewery # 2 – Boxcar Brewing

The second English stop is at Boxcar of London. A somewhat trippy destination if their motto is any indication, ” Transporting you to a place of rainbows and hops, dreams of barley and oats, ideas about yeast and water, hallucinations of colour and light.”

Now on to the beers that I would sample first…

starting hoppy with PAL-019 BRU-1 DDH Pale then moving on to a Belgian BIG-001 Mosaic & Vanilla Tripel then to a Dark Mild, DRK-004 Dark Mild and then finishing with an IPA, IPA-005 Ekuanot IPA.

This brewery has a cool design look, very color filled outer space plus the bottles are odd shaped for my eyes. And you can get more Boxcar info from this article in Pellicle

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London Brewery # 1 – Affinity Brew Co.

Our first brewery in London to visit is called Affinity Brew Co. and one of the reasons that I selected them is this statement on their website, “We do not filter or pasteurise our beer, allowing the yeast to produce a natural carbonation within the can.”

Now lets get to what I would try first…

Breeze – “A sparkling golden Saison brewed with Lime Zest and crushed Coriander Seed.”

Social Seduction – “A big, bold, west coast I.P.A brewed with a rotating selection of U.S hops.”

Toowoomba – “A Lamington inspired, coconut and raspberry stout. Toowoomba’s complex malt bill produces a rich, dark, chocolatey Stout. It is fermented on fresh Raspberries and conditioned with toasted Coconut.”

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Review – Cloudwater


Mikkeller DTLA had a Sunday surprise recently. They had acquired five beers from the English brewery Cloudwater Brew Co. based in Manchester.

I ordered up the taster tray and got a seasonal pilsner, a farmouse ale and two IPA’s.

Fool For You – My first gooseberry beer if my memory serves. It has a strange slight berry/grape taste. Saison base is solid. Hazy almost rust brown color is a bit off-putting.
Spring/Summer pils with Mandarina Bavaria – By far the best of the four. This pils really nice with some orange juice notes. Quite sharp up front
NW DIPA – Not much color difference between the NW and NE. The West Coast has grassy and pine notes and a tiny bit of orange peel. Aftertaste is more bitter than the front of mouth.
NE DIPA – This IPA is a little softer but I am also getting the grassy and woodsy notes. Also a bit papery. Has that weird top of the mouth feel that I get from this sub-style.

Neither of the IPA’s really blew me away though even though I have heard wonderful things about them. I lucked out that the Pils was a mandatory inclusion of the taster tray. Otherwise I may have picked all IPA and come away with a lesser appreciation.

Thanks to Mikkeller for getting these beers to us.

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English Brewery # 3 – Tiny Rebel Brewing

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It started with a garage and Gazz and ended up as a three time winner at the Champion Beer of Wales in 2013. Not a bad start for Gazz and Brad (the other half of the duo) and their Tiny Rebel Brewing.

And here is what I would order when in Cardiff….

1. “Arguably the coolest word on the planet, Cwtch is our very own untraditional Welsh Red Ale. Six malts, two US hops and weeks of Tiny Rebel love and attention go into making this unique beer. Citrus and tropical fruit dominate the taste that is backed up with caramel malts that balance the moderate bitterness. Drinkability & balance makes this beer.”

2. Full Nelson. “Our ‘Maori Pale Ale’ came together after months of experimentation with a very unique hop – Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand. Strong grape flavours are complemented by the sweet Munich malt, making this beer crisp and refreshing.”

3. Bonsai IPA. “”International” collaborations like this don’t come along very often, but when they do, someone’s supply of hops usually gets rinsed! Brewed with ALL of Arbor’s hops, this IPA is big on flavour and way too sessionable.”

4. “A unique schizophrenic beer where you’ll face off against floral hoppy flavours up front, leading into a dry spicy bitterness on the back. Need something a bit different to wake up your taste buds? It’s time to get FUBAR.”

5. And on cask: Hank an American Pale Ale. “This light US-style pale ale took a bit of tweaking to get just right. With tropical and citrus aromas and a low-to-medium bitterness, this is one easygoing West Coast-style beer. Floral flavours with slight caramel and biscuit notes make this well-balanced and highly drinkable.”