Spring has sprung and we are now about (or have just been - depending on when you read this and when I get round to publishing it!!) to be treated to some seasonally influenced brews like quite a number of blood orange IPAs which are making waves for people, not to mention some of the bigger double/triple and even quad strength IPAs which are making their way into our bottle shops. For the purposes of this review however, we'll keep things broad and slightly easier to procure (depending on where you are!). In other news, Liverpool has seen the arrival at the end of March/start of April of two new beacons of beer, with Sanctuary opening on Lime Street, possibly on the same spot of former computer games lovers paradise, Liversoft (for those of use who remember Saturday afternoons browsing local shops for new software!) and also a new establishment on the former Moparts premises on Smithdown Road in the form of CRAFT Taproom. Both these newcomers have different remits, with Sanctuary looking to appeal to CAMRA members and those who prefer a cask-dispense (boasting six lines, along with a few keg) and CRAFT catering for keg-dispense only. Though both places offer a significant line in bottles and cans to broaden their appeal to the city's drinkers. A piece on CRAFT Taproom has been written and will be published soon! For now... on with the reviews:
And that's your lot for the March Beers - until next time! Pedro.
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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. So, 2017 is now three months in and things are ramping up in the world of beer and brewing. As I am writing up and putting the final touches to this article, I am letting the news sink in that Hawkshead Brewery is the latest name to be bought out by a big firm, though on this occasion it's not Diageo, AB or Heineken, it's a firm local to where I am based. Halewood International, the company that has managed brands such as Crabbies and Lambrini (and more recently acquired the Liverpool Gin brand) has taken a majority stake in Hawkshead. The noises are all positivity from both camps - that Halewood will plough funds in to allow increased scale for Hawkshead and expansion to a bigger brewery whilst affording those in charge of Hawkshead to continue their day-to-day business, whilst this is the first foray into beer for Halewood International so strictly speaking, unknown territory for them. The whole thing has been dressed up as an investment deal, rather than a take-over. Time will tell whether anything will change with the Hawkshead brews, but it is likely that with the expansion, their cans, clips and bottles will become a lot more visible to people at some point in the next couple of years. Anyway, moving along briskly, here are the beers I managed to find time to assess during the first month of this year...
And that is about your lot for the first foray of 2017! As ever, hopefully you enjoyed the read, if you would be so kind to give a share or a retweet on your way out, it would be gratefully appreciated!! Take it easy and I'll be writing to you again soon. Pedro. Having to go near enough a month without being able to really review, or even enjoy a decent beer was pretty tough. Throw into the mix the fact that I had to give Indy Man Beer Con a miss and it was a bit of a wash-out of a month. Though I am still not quite right, I managed to knuckle down and hit November with a vengeance, partially to give me something to do, but also to try and make some space for getting some beers in ready for Christmas. As ever, there are a number of styles and throw into the mix a trip back north of the border to check out the bottle shops in Edinburgh (no to mention getting over to Andrew Usher and Sons for a Mad Hatter Brewing Co tap takeover which was serendipitously taking place), then we have some really good things to discuss this month. Special shouts out again to Great Grog and especially to the guys at Bottle Baron, which I visited to the first time and was made to feel very welcome. I'll be reviewing a bit more of what I picked up from Scotland in next months blog, but there are a large number already making their way into this month's selection. So what of the beers? Read on...
And that's about your lot from this burgeoning round up! Hopefully this will give you some good ideas for Christmas beers wherever you are going to pick them up from.
Happy hunting! Pedro. So, it’s been a little sporadic of late with the write ups, this was partially due to demands of work and also agonising and trying to come up with a perfect write up for the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo article, which seems to have done well. We’re back again anyway, with another selection of 8 bottled beers from around the Liverpool/Merseyside region and full notes along with a food pairing are offered up for each (where appropriate). I had a pretty good spread this month and there is some great value out there, both in the supermarkets and in the local bottle shops. Happy reading and then hopefully, hunting and drinking!
Now that is your lot for this month, pay close attention to Twitter or the ElectroKemist Cuisine Facebook page for updates… you’ll have more good reading in store soon, not least the July review blog!!
Cheers for now! Pedro. |
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