It was rather fitting that this Meet the Brewer Event for Tempest Brewing Company took place in The Clove Hitch/23 Club, since it was the first time I was exposed to the beers from Tempest (notably at the same time as trying their Scottish counterparts, Cromarty's beer for the first time too) via a generous helping of Long White Cloud. Fast forward some four years or so and waiting for Clove Hitch to open for the event, Graeme Martin appears weighed down with display stands and boxes of extra bottles for the event; this left me thinking that this MTB was going to go an extra mile, or two. Before the inception of Tempest, a meeting over food and beer between Scottish Chef Gavin and New Zealander Annika in Whistler at the end of the 1990s led to a move over to New Zealand and some experimental garage brewing. This in turn led to a move back to the UK and up to Gavin's native Scotland. Tempest began life as a brewery in Kelso in the Scottish Borders around 30 miles South of Edinburgh, brewing beers for a bar/restaurant that Gavin and Annika decided to take on a few years prior to Tempest's birth in 2010. It was soon found that moving up to a ten barrel plant meant the ability to supply pubs in Edinburgh and soon, extra capacity was needed once again. Following a move to Tweedbank 2015, Tempest now works on a 30HL kit, currently they have 3 full time brewers allowing Graeme to concentrate on other matters for the brewery. All the beer is what is defined as 'Real Ale' or 'Live Beer' and though Tempest started brewing exclusively for Cask dispense, they have a bottling plant and send much of their beer out into the UK in kegs, not favouring one dispense over another. The range of beers that Tempest Brewing produce is quite surprising for some, given that they have a quite muted presence, at least down in Liverpool (and fingers crossed, more of their beers will find their way further South). Having spent a fair bit of time up in Edinburgh over the last few years, I was exposed to some particularly good beers and knew we were in for a treat on this MTB. So what were the beers like? Dawn of Justice This 3.6% session IPA is a golden coloured ale with a soft white head thanks to the cask serve, on the nose it has a lot of citrus including a slightly burnt orange note along with a lot of malt presence, there are fragrant hints of a coriander-herbal nature and some floral honey notes. The body is light and the mouthfeel is slightly residual and very smooth. The finish comes through with the malt bill driving things and hints of light spice and citrus. This is the newest beer that Tempest have brewed on cask and they've plied it with plenty of Centennial and Simcoe hops to try and bring a rounded character to the beer - something which is a massive theme and that Graeme was explicit about for all the beers of the evening; and he wasn't wrong. Balance is key and was noticeably present in all the beers. The Pale Armadillo Another cask dispensed pale ale, this time it carries a bit more of the marmalade character and bitter orange through than its lighter counterpart. The body of the Pale Armadillo has been bolstered too in comparison to the Dawn of Justice. The finish has a touch more sweetness present too, making things very rounded and enjoyable. Harvest IPA/Saison A keg-dispensed hybrid beer hopped up with loads of Victorias Secret (in the dry hop) and weighing in at 6.7%, this saison and IPA hybrid is golden in colour and has only a trace of head. This iteration uses the same kettle hops as other version of the Harvest beers, but the late addition of Victorias Secret changes things via the aroma and dry hopping. It is characteristically fermented very slowly to potentially reduce the esters in the beer and make for a smoother brew, but it remains a pretty complex beer. There is loads of pepper and green fruit on the nose, along with some banana like spice and a slight earthiness, the bitter malts and dry fruity nature of this beer mean it is a very easy drink all the way down the glass and there's a great balance and mellow finish to boot. In the Dark We Live A 7.2% kegged Black IPA which apparently during the brewing process, begins its life as an iteration of Brave New World only to be sparged with the addition of dark malts. A robust malt bill and plenty of hops give rise to a fragrant and robust tasting beer with plenty of complexity in the structure. Aromas of blackcurrant, blackberries, liquorice and cassia bark along with more roasted flavours are followed by flavours which are much the same. The mouthfeel is very juicy, fresh and acidic but has enough body to balance things out; it's a very dry and light beer given the colour. Not that it may be immediately obvious, but the IBU count is higher in this beer than in many of the IPAs that Tempest produce - mainly due to the presence of the darker malts. Marmalade on Rye A 9% Double IPA on keg which has loads of character and fits the bill nicely to be an end-of-the night beer and pairs very well thanks in part to the residual sweetness with a cheeseboard or some desserts. Graeme said that this beer was made with the aim of getting a marmalade on toast kind of flavour and the addition of rye, citrus peel and ginger gives plenty of subtle flavour and aroma to tick the boxes needed. Marmalade on Rye started out life as a one-off collaboration brew with Brewdog in 2012 and as a toasted IPA, it has evolved to something far richer, jammy, balanced and quite decadent. It's a full on experience drinking this beer, but despite that slightly alcohol strong burn you can sometimes feel drinking a DIPA, this remains very rounded and a well structured brew. Red Eye Flight A fully-fledged coffee/mocha porter keg ale weighing in at 7.4%, Red Eye Flight is a staple of Tempest's brewing roster and has been a winner at Scottish Beer Awards of which Tempest can be rightly proud. Brewed using espresso beans from local supplier, Steampunk, this is a remarkably smooth beer, balanced and flavoursome. It is very acidic and fruity on the nose, backed up by a full roasted malt and coffee character giving way to a full body, bitter chocolate and coffee flavour twinned with chestnuts, hazelnuts and toast. Delicious and a great end of night beer to work with heavier puddings, chocolate and darker desserts. The food on the evening was once again provided by Oktopus, who now have their own premises (at time of writing!) on Hardman Street in the old Picket Courtyard (adjacent to the Old Blind School). The food was simple and stunning once again, with maximum emphasis on the flavours and quality of ingredients – something that will no doubt be showcased in the new premises, which will be paired up with Black Lodge beers. I believe, as ever, that is your lot for this installment of the blog. Tempest are available locally infrequently sometimes, but when 23 Club have run out of their keg and cask, there is always Crosby Beer Bottle Shop which carries a significant range of what Tempest produce. Their beers are highly recommended if you have not already given them a shot; in particular Long White Cloud, which is one of the flagship brews and quite possibly a modern pale ale classic. Until next time! Pedro. ------------------------------------------------ Tempest Brewing Company Block 11, Units 1 & 2, Tweedbank Industrial Estate, Galashiels, TD1 3RS. Tel: 01896 759 500 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.tempestbrewco.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TempestBrewCo
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Oktopus has finally opened its doors on Hardman Yard; an unassuming location and a fairly unassuming launch given it has had a bit of a run as a pop-up on the premises of the Baltic Triangle's Black Lodge Brewery and also hosted the kitchen for two Meet the Brewer events at The Clove Hitch. Hardman Yard, for those not familiar, is the location of Buyer's Club and Wild Loaf, formerly playing host to live music venue, The Picket. Stand by the Old Blind School or opposite the Flute pub on Hardman Street and you're about there. This is a venture put together by the minds behind the Black Lodge and showcases Head Chef Chris Ineson's skills in the kitchen; the preview along with previous Meet the Brewer food hints at that being quite considerable. The premise is quite simple; 'Sea and Shore' is the motto, with ingredients and inspiration being taken from quality produce taken from the environs of the motto. The focus on small plates for sharing, snacking and especially pairing with the Black Lodge beers (amusingly dispensed from a bespoke and garish Welsh-dresser) were all lovingly prepared to please the eye and tastebuds. Elementary but complimentary combinations are presented in a contemporary fashion and the flavours do indeed point to an additional caring on the source of the individual parts of each dish. The popcorn mussels are dangerously addictive; crisp, meaty, savoury and sweet and a I firmly believe a gateway for those who usually shun shellfish to partake in good way to showcase mussels. The carrot was a spin on the dish tried at the Hawkshead Brewery Meet the Brewer event [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/meet-the-brewer-hawkshead-brewery-the-clove-hitch-liverpool] and was every bit as good as it was then - an exercise in how to make the simplest of ingredients sing by sourcing good produce and providing complimentary plate-mates. The cabbage dish was a bit too drenched in caper berries, any brassic character was drowned out a bit, although this made for a good palate refresher. The lemon sole and beef onglet with purple broccoli dishes were both splendid too; cooked perfectly and prepared in an unfussy manner and will pair very well with quite a few of Black Lodge's beers. The final salvo for the preview was the chocolate nemesis, which was incredibly rich and screaming to be paired with an equally robust and characterful stout. There will be some follow up visits to look into the rest of the menu (shown on the Oktopus website) and some scrutiny from other media outlets to come, but this is a very, very welcome addition to Liverpool; finally a restaurant which provides a fairly diverse menu which is simplistic, well thought-out, well prepared and much to many people's pleasure; puts pairings with beers at front and centre.
Until next time! Pedro --------------------------- OktopusHardman Yard, 24 Hardman Street, Liverpool. L1 9AX Web: https://www.oktopus-restaurant.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hello_oktopus Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Oktopus-1101343593327705/ It's good to get packages of beer through the door, especially ones which are a bit of a lucky-dip. I've had such an experience again recently when Bradgy Conwy Brewery asked for a review and write up on some of their beers in line with having a bit of a push on their brand with possibly a few bloggers and beer writers. Admittedly, I have had very limited exposure to Conwy Brewery's beers; they are quite plentiful on cask in North Wales and through to Wirral, but haven't been as visible across the Mersey in Liverpool to date, though it is likely the case that I have just missed them when they have been on. Thanks to some handy pamphlets provided with the beers, I have got some source information to pass on regarding Conwy's origins and where they profess to currently be in terms of their brand. Having started in 2003 by Gywnne and Adele Thomas, Conwy's inception was propagated by fermenting beers in an airing cupboard (and coming from a home where my own Dad did exactly the same for his homebrewing, I know the warm spaces needed have to be taken where they can!) before moving up to proper premises, which have since been left behind for the hills above Old Colwyn. The brewery boasts quite an extensive range of beers, with some newer emergents popping up between a raft of old and classic styles of brew. Black IPA styles, American hopped pales, best bitters and porters all nestled together brewed based on seasonality, local Conwy ales and West Coast US styles. The brewery offers a few different days out too from a pre-booked tour, to a brew day and even the chance to brew your own recipe at the premises and take some of the beer home (a bit later, given fermentation and conditioning needed of course). As mentioned at the head of this piece, I was sent a few of the beers that Conwy have brewed for sampling and review and honestly, I wasn't disappointed. Given that they are approaching 15 years in business, it should be expected that they have nailed down many of their beers; and they certainly have. I tried four of their bottle conditioned beers and they were as follows: Welsh Pride A 4.3% Copper coloured ale, which is bright and well carbonated thanks to good conditioning, upon pouring the beer carries a thin bubbly white head. The aromas on Welsh Pride are of bitter orange and honeyed lighter citrus with woody, floral and toasty maltier notes hovering at the back of the bouquet. The flavours carry through on the promise of the nose; malty orange with gentle strokes of honey and a slight woodiness. The body is around medium and ever so slightly slick; there is some cloying and this leads through an orangey, slightly spicey, crisp and bitter finish with a balanced level of acidity. A good solid sessionable bitter style brew. San Francisco A label professing to carry a 'quad-hopped US IPA' is always something that piques my interest and San Francisco does actually deliver quite a lot of character that is expected. There was a bit of concern on the level of carbonation at the pour of San Francisco, it was seemingly a little flat at first, but does gradually build into thin and fluffy white head. It appears a ruddy brown to gold colour and lightly hazy. The aroma is fruity, citrusy (mostly lemon, but with some hints of orange coming through) and has some lesser tropical notes along with more wood and pine at the back end. The flavours carry rounded and gently bitter notes throughout thanks to the balance of the citrus and tropical fruit along with more wood and gentle cereal elements. The mouthfeel is pretty round; juicy, mouthwatering and a subtle acidity mean an easy beer to keep returning to, with a bit of length in the finish. Very good balance to this beer. Rampart A dark malty 4.8% ale which pours from the bottle a red-brown colour with a well structured and soft beige head on top. The nose is of floral orange, raisins and toasty malt along with subtler metallic malt notes at the back. The flavours of Rampart come through initially with a tangy toast-malt at the front followed by raisins, cereal and a return of the metallic malt tang that eventually leads into caramel and light toffee. The body is medium, with a hint of chewiness present along with a slightly residual tone in the finish. As with the other beers, balance is present here with the dry and crisp cereal-driven finish lingering on the middle of the tongue. Riptide Conwy's Black IPA is a little lower in abv than most others in the style at around 4.6% and it pours a very dark brown to black colour with a beige head, which sadly sinks shortly after the pour. The aroma profile is actually quite unusual but definitely not unpleasant; sweet malty notes are followed briskly by bitter fruit and then into dried stone fruit notes, there is also a subtle hum of bread afterward down the drink. The flavours are driven by toffee malts, caramel and other elements reminiscent of a best bitter, but these lead into crisp cereal and onto dried red fruit, there are also hints of green fruit lingering at the end with some wood and pine. This is probably the most complex of the four beers I tried and certainly the most interesting. The body is very round and smooth, especially considering how light the mouthfeel actually is. The finish in Riptide is treacly and very dry, which thanks to the effervescence is actually quite balanced in rounding off the malt drive. And that's it for this article. Hopefully you're thirsty enough to go and seek out some beers of your own (responsibly as ever, of course) and should you want to try any of the brews I have reviewed above, the contact details for Conwy Brewery are below. Take it easy! Pedro. Disclosure: The beers reviewed in this article were kindly provided without charge by Conwy Brewery. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bragdy Conwy Brewery Unit 2, Ty Mawr Enterprise Park, Tan y Graig Road, Llysfaen, Conwy, LL29 8UE. Tel: 01492 514 305 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.conwybrewery.co.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/conwybrewery Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Conwybrewery/ Glen Affric have hit quite a few bars of Merseyside over the last couple of months, with two main brews and some more prototype brews on the way. I was lucky enough to get hold of two bottles of their first brews and give them a try, the tasting notes are further on in this article. Before we get to that though, the guys from Glen Affric have been making waves and indulging in quite a bit of development, taking part in the Bottle Club at Southport's Tap and Bottles on Wednesday 4th April (along with fellow newcomers Top Rope and Chapter). The Bottle Club at Tap and Bottles was quite eventful, with Glen Affric sharing the limelight with Top Rope and Chapter Brewing. The Birkenhead based outfit used the occasion to launch a test batch of their Blood Orange IPA - Atomic Orange (a timely launch given the seasonality of the oranges and with other breweries also holding similar launches). The full brew of this will probably take place in the next few weeks. The Atomic Orange was well received and the brewery is currently weighing up their options on brewing more test batches, or just ploughing ahead with a tweaked recipe. So there's another thing to keep your eyes and ears open for. Other brews to look out for from Glen Affric are a number of single hopped prototypes, including a Mosaic (Medal of Mosaic, which came out at 5.6% according to Craig from Glen Affric) brew, Simcoe beer and an Azacca hopped pale. These beers (at time of writing and speaking to Craig) haven't got a home yet, but I am sure that they'll be snapped up by local bars soon enough - so keep your eyes peeled. The 'Loch and Load' lager that has been brewed will be ready in under a fortnight, therefore hitting taps shortly after this (as the conditioning is nearly complete). Then finally, the canning line that has been installed at Glen Affric's premises is nearly ready to go; so once test runs are out of the way and beers are made, we can look forward to seeing cans of Glen Affric on the shelves of our local bottle shops. Progress for Glen Affric's own Tap Room is ongoing, with works and licensing being negotiated carefully, at the moment it seems that it should be ready in the next few months, but there is no set date given the rather volatile scheduling the brewery has. At current count, the tap will have an 8-line bar (though this might be subject to change during the build). Fingers crossed that everything progesses smoothly for the project! yway, given the kind donation of brews from Glen Affric for a review, how did the initial brews come out...? Read on: Commander IPA (4.4%) A straw to light gold coloured session IPA, Commander is hopped to 35 IBU using Colombus hops, then given a combination of Azacca, Chinook and Centennial for the aroma, along with a similar combination on the dry hop. Commander pours with plenty of effervescence and leaves a thin white head and a discernible amount of haze. The aromas are quite malt driven, with plenty of cereal and biscuit coming through along with some citrus notes. The flavours back this up with cereal, honey and hints of lemon and orange poking through, leading to a bitter and acidic finish. The mouthfeel is light and very smooth, even conveying a lightly silky element in the body. The finish leaves a puckering to the sides an back of the tongue. The balance is a little out with the strength of the bitterness, but with a bit more fruit on the aroma and in the flavour, things will straighten out nicely. The foundations are good on this beer, a little flabbiness can be trimmed off easily enough; look forward to future iterations building a very pleasing session IPA. Payload Pale (5.0%) An American style pale ale, Payload pours a hazy and robust golden colour with a thin white head, at 40 IBU is hopped using a combination of Colombus, Chinook and Centennial, similar to the Commander. The head is crisp, but diminishes fairly quickly sadly, but the beer retains a good level of fresh carbonation. The aromas are of lemons, bitter fruits and cereal, backed up with lesser notes of wood and pine. The flavours are driven again by the malt bill, with a metallic cereal tang bolstered by more lemon and some gentler pine notes. The finish is as with the Commander, bitter and dry along with plenty of puckering effect and leaving your mouth watering through the acidity. The body is a little thin and carries a bit of a residual quality. As the Commander, this has the makings of a very solid brew; a bit more body and fruit presence in the aroma and it'll be spot on. You can get more Glen Affric beers in places such as Tap and Bottles, Rookwood, Brewdog Liverpool, Dead Crafty Beer Company and West Kirby Tap amongst other places. I have been reliably informed that Glen Affric are also working on a bit of software jiggery pokery to show on well known mapping websites where their beer is currently being served...
Happy hunting and cheers! Pedro. ------------------------------------------------------------ Some of the photographs and the pumpclip art/labels were kindly supplied by Glen Affric for use in this article. Replication or image use without the permission of Glen Affric is prohibited. So February has been and gone (so has March!), with many pubs not suffering quite as badly as expected from the early year lull in footfall (anecdotally at least!), we can now look forward to a full programme in spring and early summer with things ramping up across the UK. Not least here in Liverpool, where early March has seen a charity beer festival which raised £500 for Royal Trinity Hospice took place at the Black Lodge and things are pushing on with Meet the Brewers and one eye is now on the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo in June and then onto Manchester Beer Week. We have also had the brewer's lectures recently, which sadly I was unable to attend, but many contacts have said how much I would have enjoyed and benefitted from them. I suppose a trip next year would be in order if possible! In other news, we have also seen Deva Brewery take over from Kash Taps and install their own stamp on the location near to Chester train station; there will be a piece written on this fairly soon, but suffice to say, it is worth making a trip to if you are nearby and worth grabbing some of the wares from the kitchen. I will of course, elaborate further when I have written my thoughts into a coherent piece! Time for your eight beers for this month's review...
As ever, that is your lot for this month! Take it easy and keep drinking good beer!
Pedro. |
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