Sexy Sadie

Well, Sadie the Goat went very well. We know a beer is going well when we make arrangements to go to a pub to check it out only to find its been drunk very quickly before we get there. Sadie kept us on our toes while we hunted her down.

Since this is a development recipe we are working on different aspects of the beer with a view to the final product. This time we have decided to gear up the hops towards our expected IPA level and this is why Sadie has become sexy.

Dark amber beer with a buzz’n hoppy fruit citrus aroma that leads all the way into the flavour.

Sadie the Goat

Sadie the Goat was a very naughty girl. Her real name was Sadie Farrell and she was an American criminal and a river pirate. She first came to prominence as a vicious street mugger in New York’s “Bloody” Fourth Ward. Her modus operandi was to find a lone traveler, she would headbutt  them in the stomach, her male accomplice would then hit the victim with a sling-shot and rob them. Sadie, according to popular underworld lore, was engaged in a longtime feud with rival female bouncer Gallus Mag who once bit off her ear in a bar fight.

Taking inspiration from Sadie we are testing out malt and hops combinations for a new IPA which will bottled and kegged. The beer is deep amber with a first hint of fruity mango leading onto lemony lime grapefruit finish.

Freakin’ Helles, we pimped the lager

Dudes, it’s awesome. We brewed a Helles and the colour was a shade out for some reason. We didn’t know what to do, so we freaked it. A rather ridiculous application of uber aroma hops to pimp it and we got Freakin’ Helles. This  brew just burst out of it Germanic straight jacket and went postal with the hops. So wrong but so right man…

The British Guild of Beer Writers announce Sara as their Brewer of the Year

It was a fabulous end to 2012 for Sara to be named as Brewer of the Year by the British Guild of Beer Writers. The award was presented by Tim Hampson at the awards dinner in December 2012. Sara is the first woman to be given the award in the history of the Guild. Among the other winners were Roger Protz and Pete Brown who was crowned Beer Writer of the Year.

Here is a link to a video of the event

We’ll be on the telly… Jamie Oliver’s Food Fight Club (Channel 4 Dec 27th)

Sara travelled to the Grand Place in Brussels with Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty. In the main square Brewster’s Pale Ale joined other British beers from Kernel, Ampleforth Abbey, Stroud and Innis and Gunn to battle it out with some big hitters from the Belgian beer scene.  It was a Britain versus Belgium battle of the beers for Jamie’s new series Food Fight Club. As well as the main event there was a visit to a classic Belgian brown bar along with beer cocktail mixing.

We are in episode 4 which will show on Channel 4  December 27th

The  Food Fight Club series starts on December 6th at 9pm on Channel 4.

For more details try Jamie’s website and Channel 4′s website

Good King(s) Wenceslas… our new Christmas beer

There were two Good King Wenceslas. They both lived in Bohemia which is a great beer making country. The first one was the Duke of Bohemia who braved harsh winter weather to give alms to the poor on the feast of Stephen (Boxing Day). As he was an all round good egg, he was made a Saint and bestowed the title of King after he died. The second one really was a King, Wenceslas the First, and to his credit he was very interested in beer. In his day Bohemian hops were so prized that he ordered the death penalty for anyone found exporting hop cuttings. While he was at it, he also convinced the Pope to revoke an order banning the brewing of beer in Bohemia which lead to the growth of the beer industry in the area which later became the Czech Republic. That reputation for great beer still goes world wide today.  That is why, each in their own right, they  both became the Good King Wenceslas.

So what has this  Ronnie Corbett ramble go to do with our Christmas beer. Well as a nod to the name, all the hops are continental European; Junga from Poland, Herkules and Perle from Germany. We loaded the hops, as you would, for a chunky American Pale Ale onto a grist that included a good dose of crystal and we are really pleased with the result. We were not expecting high aromatic top notes but a altogether different style. You still get the sense of powerful hops but with a much fruitier, rich, “cakey” and rounded beer.  Merry Christmas

Heavenly beer for Wetherspoons Festival

We are really excited to be part of the worlds biggest real ale festival and thrilled to be chosen to be on the  bar along with some of the most interesting international brewers.

Our planning started last year. First came the hops. Galaxy and Stella were ordered from the last Australian hop harvest to be ready in time for this festival. With the hops already chosen, a simple malt grist with a touch of colour from Munich malt to showcase the hops was in order.
As part of the Wicked Woman range we needed a name. With celestial names like Galaxy and Stella we thought of the constellations and while not strictly wicked Andromeda fits the name for a heavenly beer.

In Greek mythology Andromeda was chained to a rock to be eaten by a sea monster as punishment for her mother’s bragging. She was rescued  by Perseus who became her husband.

The artwork for the pump clip was specially commissioned from Phillipe Fenner

Andromeda has a rich golden colour, with a passion, tropical fruit aroma on the nose. The taste is lightly malty overlayed with zesty citrus hop notes giving a satisfying fullness on the palate.