In 1962 at 461 Smithdown Road, the Handyman Supermarket came into being. Its bright yellow signs and horse's head have been a recognisable façade on the thoroughfare for over 50 years and under the stewardship of Roy Wilson for some time. The tenure providing locals with various hardware, tools, key cutting and other odds and ends came to a close at the end of 2016. Thankfully, as one door closes, another one opens... or at least a window does, or something along those lines. Step forward the Emporium Collective; a group of individuals who have come together gradually over time through academic acquaintances, professional or friendships and have finally stumbled on a suitable premises for their vision; a locally iconic landmark to host a brewery and brewtap to fit into the local landscape. With Smithdown Road undergoing something of a renaissance of late; Craft Taproom, Defend Vinyl, Naked Lunch co-operative café/restaurant and a host of other solid independents, this is another promising addition to the road. I was lucky enough to catch up with a few of the Emporium Collective members at the launch of their first brew in collaboration with Manchester's Runaway Brewery in Kelly's Dispensary and again a bit later with Patricia O'Callaghan who was kind enough to sit and entertain a few questions regarding their exciting project… Hi Tricia, so, have you got a firm opening date in mind (I seem to recall a July estimate)? “Yes we will be opening in July. We don't have a firm date unfortunately until we start work but envisage an 8-10 week build. We are hoping for a soft open on 8/9 July or 15/16th at the moment. Though we must open then as we have LIMF after party booked in following weekend and want to tap into the crowds at that!” Other than Colin Stronge from Buxton Brewery, the guys at Blackjack and Mark from Runaway, do you have any other firm commitments from brewers to come in and get involved in producing beers for you? I am assuming that Suzie (formerly of Liverpool Organic Brewery) is the permanent fixture brewer too? "Yeah, Suzie and Colin will be chief brewers in place for all our brews. They both are shareholders in brewery side of business. In relation to other brews we have done another collaboration with Blackjack this time; A pale ale at 4.3% abv. We don't have any others lined up at present but would love to do some with Liverpool breweries. The focus has been on festival opening so we will hopefully start some negotiations once that is over." Have you got any ideas about the beers that you're going to brew and those that you are going to stock when you open? "In terms of stock we will be stocking white hag a brewery from Sligo. Suzie recommended them. She has brewed a coffee porter and peaches and cream ale for festival too. These will also be featured regularly. We also intended to stock cloud water, ABC, we haven't firmed up who else at minute. Waiting on prices for line installations before deciding." What made you choose the location, given the area hasn't, in terms of recent history, been a massive rich vein to tap (the Brookhouse/Dispensary/Wilowbank excepted...) on the face of things? There's a bit of a student population at the moment, but they aren't exactly cash cows...? “We choose the area mainly due to the building and its character, it has heart and soul.also having a good customer knowledge of the area and listening to feedback. Smithdown is up and coming and people want diversity in terms of what the area has to offer. We hope that what we offer will attract people and if we get it right it will become a destination. Also properties in town are difficult to secure.” How big is the place going to be (how many people are you looking at accommodating)? ”With regards to capacity we hope to accommodate 120-150 people, with around 60-70 covers in front bar and 70-80 in the back bar/ cutting room. We are keeping the name in there too. This space will be very versatile with removable furniture.” What size/specs is the brew kit that you're going to be using? ”The brew has just been upscale actually from 200l to 400l (2.5BBL) kit as we have more room for kit than first expected and also due to the response we have had with our initial brew of the IPA. In terms of spec it will be clad with stainless steel and will be visible to the public above the bar in front.” What made you all get together and decide that you'd be doing a brewpub/micro? ”We all came together through our individual jobs and friendships really. Toby, Luke and Andy are all architects and do a lot of bar refurbs and new ventures in Liverpool, London and Leeds for their clients and wanted to tap into this for themselves, after seeing their ideas flourish for others. Myself and Kev both have bar backgrounds for 15 plus years and the dream is always to have your own bar and do it for yourself. Getting to create the Handyman from scratch is just mind blowing. Kev knew the other boys from his university days and I obviously work for him in Kelly’s Dispensary on Smithdown Road and hold the licence there. The 3 boys also met Colin through his time at university, when I think he studied to be an architect too. Then Suzie met the boys when she was planning a venture of her own (a micropub in Crosby, North Liverpool) that they were doing the plans for, sadly it fell through. However, it has brought us all together which is a happy ending and we all gel really well together. I think each of us brings something different to the table; many connections to breweries and local musicians between us all. So basically our passion for beer and amazing spaces made us want to find a bar. The five of us have been looking for a premises for over two years, we came close with a few but nothing felt right until we found the Handyman. Due to the sheer volume and scale of the premises this allowed us to incorporate a brewery. This also adds another dimension to the bar and taps into the skills we have on offer within the group.” Have you experienced any difficulty with the planning process or any local opposition with what you are looking to do? ”Sadly yes, we did have some objections but nothing too serious or insurmountable. One example was with the Council; they were cautious that deliveries are scheduled outside of peak hours to minimise traffic disruption to locals, they want us to open daytimes as well as nights because they don't want Smithdown full of shutters in daylight. The bin storage area is indoors now too, as they were concerned about large waste containers outside that would contain glass, which sadly could be used to cause damage to the public or property by vandals, this also ensures the area is kept tidy. We’re going comply with all this and ensure all precautions are taken to reduce noise pollution so we will insulate parts of the building and must maintain the vestibule entrance and two doors. The landlord has replaced the glazing in the roof so it is efficient and reduced the glass panels above bar area to minimise sound escaping. All pretty standard stuff really.” So have you any plans that might placate or bring locals on board or ways in which you are looking to do some 'public engagement'? ”We want the building to be as versatile as possible. That's why the two zones will really work. Midweek, the space could be used by community groups if they approach us, maybe mother and baby classes etc. On May 6 & 7th we returned the building to its former use as a Picturedrome. We worked with Empty Spaces Cinema to show three films during the course of the weekend that are under the hammer and nail theme, Withnail & I (Saturday) sold out quickly, Wreck-it Ralph is a kids film that showed on the Sunday at 3pm with free arts and crafts session from 2pm, then we had The Hound of the Baskervilles in the evening. We want to offer something for all ages. We are also planning further cinema events during summer and in October for Liverpool Irish festival, Halloween and Christmas. We would also like to do a carol service around Christmas and maybe even incorporate some local schools choirs. We intend to be a part of the community and hold fund raising events periodically too. The cutting room will also be available for hire for parties and functions (funerals, birthdays, christenings, baby showered, graduation etc).” I recall that there was a bit of a chat about the buoyancy of the brewing scene over in Ireland at the moment; is there going to be any plan to get some of their beers over here? Given Liverpool's historic and immeasurably strong Irish ties, it seems odd we've never had much come over other than obviously, Guinness and the odd bit of craft stuff coming online at 23 club in the city. ”Yes we are having an Irish beer festival in October that will run along Liverpool Irish Festival (Dates and details to be confirmed soon!). This is a growing event year on year and Smithdown has a huge Irish population as well as myself, Suzie and Colin influencing this beer festival in Handyman. I have been in discussion with a couple of breweries who are going to come and showcase some of their beers and do a meet the brewer event. We are currently in talks with plenty other breweries in Ireland who we would like to do a tap takeover with. You’ll have to stay tuned to our media channels to see what’s coming up, but it’s very exciting!” Do you have any current plans for say, MTB events/Food Pairing nights/Quizzes etc? ”We will have live acoustic music weekly and have some mellow tone events scheduled as well as the LIMF after party I mentioned earlier. With regards to quiz nights I can imagine we will but we haven't got down to that type of planning as yet. We have a French film night pencilled in after being approached by a member of French community who would like arrange this for fellow French people to network and get to know others in the area. We are open to all suggestions and the Smithdown Festival will be a great chance to meet the locals and potential customers and hear their ideas. We may use the back room to screen events, but will never put screens in front bar!!! The screen will be retractable and only down when in use. We will do beers from around the world events and wine & cheese tasting events in collaboration with our wine merchant. I think we will also run a gin festival too at some point, we want the room to be used as much as possible and would like a mini market to showcase local independent produce, maybe on a monthly basis. As previously mentioned we will obviously do MTB events with Colin and Suzie and have had many enquiries from home brewers who want to come down and help already. On the food front we are hoping to keep it simple; just some rustic homemade food, things like Scouse, pies, homemade soups etc. We endeavour to keep produce local where possible. We have so many plans but nothing written in stone yet but we will keep you in the loop as we know more so will you!” So now you know, Handyman will be up and running and will be doing some very interesting, tasty and exciting things from this Summer onwards. I for one cannot wait.
Pedro. -------------------------------------------------------------- Handyman Supermarket (and Brewery) 461 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool, L15 3JL. Twitter: https://twitter.com/handymanbrewery and https://twitter.com/handymanSmarket Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/handymanbrewery/
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And so the season for some excellent beery goings on is hurtling towards us at a rate of knots! The Liverpool Craft Beer Expo looms on the horizon and there is much buzz about things and many other events taking place around Merseyside and Liverpool over the same period; as such I have made an attempt at trying to ringfence everything and corral the information into one location for you lovely people... just so there is an 'at hand guide' for the following weeks. The date spread is from the first weekend in June and through until just after the Craft Beer Expo finishes, so read on and see if there are any places that you think you need to be in June! Saturday, June 3rd Brewery Open Day and Tap at Connoisseur Ales, St Helens (12pm until 10pm). Over in St. Helens, the first Saturday of most months sees family run Connoisseur Ales open their doors for impromptu brewery tours and a chance to try reasonably priced and brewery fresh cask or bottled beers from their range. Entry is free and there is usually a range of up to eight cask beers on, only a 30 second walk from St Helens Central train station. [Wolverhampton House, 121-125 Church Street, St Helens, WA10 1AJ] [email protected] / www.connoisseurales.com Monday, 12th June Founders Love Left Hand - Summer of Love Event at Dead Crafty Beer Company will be taking place, with representatives from both Founders and Left Hand breweries present from 7pm onwards, ready to chat and with many of their beers for attendees to sample (2 are included in the ticket price). [98 Dale Street, Liverpool. L2 5TF] www.deadcraftybeercompany.com Tuesday, 13th June Dead Crafty will be hosting another round of the Dead Good Bottle Society, Ben from Top Rope Brewing will be presenting and talking through a selection of beers stocked in the Dead Crafty fridges. The event starts at 8pm prompt and includes at least 4 beers to try. Tickets are £15 per person and the more people attend the tasting, the more beers there are to try. [98 Dale Street, Liverpool. L2 5TF] www.deadcraftybeercompany.com Wednesday, 14th June The Wildly Different Dinner event - Oktopus will play host to Bristol’s Wild Beer Co.; there will be a paired dinner with beer from the brewery consisting of 5 plates and matched beers. The event takes place at Oktopus restaurant in Hardmans Yard from 7pm until around 10pm and costs £30 per person. Wild Beer Co’s Andy Gibson will be on hand to compere the event. The link for tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-wildly-different-dinner-tickets-35015536412?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=esfb&utm-source=fb&utm-term=listing [Hardmans Yard, Hardman Street, Liverpool. L1 9AX] https://www.oktopus-restaurant.com/ The Dead Crafty Beer Company is hosting the Liverpool leg of the Juicebox500 tour from Fourpure Brewing Company. The event will launch the brewery's excellent IPA - Juicebox and there will not only be the beer to try, but merchandise and cans available as part of the event, which will coincide with the ever fun Dead Crafty Quiz night starting around 7-8pm. There will be a fee for participation in the quiz, to be confirmed. [98 Dale Street, Liverpool. L2 5TF] www.deadcraftybeercompany.com Also on the 14th June, Brewdog Liverpool have got a Tap Takeover and Meet the Brewer Event taking place at their bar featuring beers and representatives of Danish outfit, Dry and Bitter. The event starts at 6.30pm and runs all evening; admission is at the very agreeable price of... free! Beers likely to feature are the Christian Bale Ale, Citra Bale Ale, Body Pillow APA and many more! https://www.facebook.com/brewdogliverpool/ Thursday, 15th June - Sunday, 18th June The Liverpool Craft Beer Expo takes place at Constellations on Greenland Street in the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool. Sessions include Thursday evening, Friday evening, Saturday day, Saturday evening and all Sunday. This event usually sells out (in fact at time of writing, the Saturday afternoon is full), so get tickets rather than chancing it on the door. The event is one of the best beer festivals around with a great atmosphere, excellent beers from around the UK, Europe and the US and a mix of indoor and outdoor areas means a chance to mix things up if the weather allows! [35-29 Greenland Street, Liverpool. L1 0BS] www.constellations-liv.com / www.liverpoolcraftbeerexpo.com Across the same range of dates as the Expo, Deva Craft Beer are hosting a four day Best of British beer festival at their Deva Taps in Chester. The festival will feature over 30 beers on keg and cask along with a range of ciders and gin. The event starts at 3pm on the 15th June. Keep an eye out for some newer Deva beers including a smooth mango IPA and also get ready for their new menu launch soon too with plenty of food at the festival! [121 Brook Street, Chester. CH1 3DU Tel: 01244 401777] www.devacraftbeer.co.uk The afterparty for the Expo will take place at Black Lodge for another Tap Takeover in Liverpool, this time by Beavertown; the event is free to attend and the Black Lodge will be open for business until 3am. Brave and thirsty? To make that time you will need to be! [4 Kitchen Street. L1 0AN] http://www.blacklodgebrewing.co.uk/brewery/ Dead Crafty Beer Company will also play host on this evening to Hawkshead Brewery for a Beers with the Brewer event. A six-tap (allegedly with some special kegs) takeover will be launched at 7pm, with the representatives from Hawkshead talking through their beers and brewery. Tickets are £5 per person and includes a beer on arrival for the event. [98 Dale Street, Liverpool. L2 5TF] www.deadcraftybeercompany.com Friday, 16th June The Black Lodge Tap Takeover part two is hosted by Firestone Walker; as ever, loads of their beers will be on and the venue will host an afterparty and be open til 3am. No door tax either. [4 Kitchen Street. L1 0AN] http://www.blacklodgebrewing.co.uk/brewery/ Saturday, 17th June Red Star Ales host a Brewery Open Day and Tour at their site in Formby. The brewery tour will start at 1pm and runs until 4.30pm, the tour costs £20 per person and includes food and unlimited cask beer to go at, brewery fresh. [54b Stephenson Way, Formby. L37 8EG] www.redstarbrewery.co.uk Black Lodge will host its final Tap Takeover afterparty event for the Expo, with the lines being handed over to The Kernel for their beers to be poured. As ever, Black Lodge will be open late and entry to the event is free. [4 Kitchen Street. L1 0AN] http://www.blacklodgebrewing.co.uk/brewery/ Sunday, 18th June This Father's Day Brewdog Liverpool will be hosting a Stone Berlin Beer and Whisky Pairing with Zippo from Stone Berlin. The tasting will include 5 Stone Berlin beers, 5 amazing whiskys, and lots of paired German-style small plates. All that, with a branded glass to take away as a memento for each attendee. Tickets are limited and on sale at £31.85 per person. The event runs from 7pm until 10pm approximately: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beer-whisky-pairing-with-stone-berlin-tickets-34321388196 [8 Colquitt Street, L14DE.] https://www.brewdog.com/bars/uk/liverpool Good luck to everyone planning on attending all that – physically impossible as it may probably be, but there is something to whet your appetite for beers going on thick and fast over the coming weeks around Liverpool and the Northwest (including some things over at Manchester Beer Week – post-Expo). Hope you found this guide useful! Pedro. 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. 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 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/ 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. Over in Chester, the premises formerly known as Kash Taps was occasionally pretty divisive; the level of décor/atmosphere/comfort was often a talking point, but the serving of beers from a brewery with a rather naff selection of pumpclips often got many people’s backs up (they were pretty sexist). Having only ventured there a handful of times myself, it was never a must-visit venue in the way that other places were for me. Things have changed hands; a few days since getting the keys and Deva Craft Beers have scrubbed, painted and exacted their own plan on the premises near Chester train station and stamping some authority on the pumps. They are making the place their own and have got a chef who is taking a beer snacks type menu very seriously, putting out some rather great food to go with the missed selection of Deva brews, guest beers and a healthy can and bottle fridge selection. The food menu changes depending on the ingredients available and what the season provides, with the visit I write about giving me homemade oatcake with whipped goats cheese, nduja on crackling flavoured crackers and some excellent sourdough with smoked butter. Everything and I do mean everything, was superb. Anyway, back to nuts and bolts for the Deva Tap, I had an afternoon in the place and had a good chat with Deva Craft’s Nick and Aidy Gilbody, with Nick being kind enough to give a proper interview of sorts… Hi Nick, good to talk to you, let’s start with an easy one… what made you want to set up your own Brewery Tap? ”Primarily it is so we can sell our product directly to the consumer - this is for increased revenue for reinvestment into the brewery, face to face feedback and its really fun to run a tap room.” So why did you choose Kash? ”Geographically we like the location and the building. We have The Artichoke, Cellar Bar and the Cornerhouse close too so wanted to add to the Chester beer scene and also try and make this corner of Chester the place to go for a good beer. The owners of KASH were looking to move onto other ventures so the timings all worked out nicely.” Was there a lot of work in getting things ready? ”It was so much work it was untrue! Got the keys on Sunday 26th Feb, opened 4pm Thursday 2nd March. The hours that were put in by ourselves and all the volunteers who came down to help made that turnaround time a reality. Couldn't have done it without all the help we received.” Do you have any plans to do exciting things from the Tap, aside from the sale of your own brews and the output of the rather excellent food? ”We are looking to do quite a few things in the next few months. The décor needs adding to and we will be increasing the size of the menu and increasing the amount of cask and keg lines available. It will go up to 6 cask lines and 10 keg - with the possibility of another 2 keg lines extra in the summer! We are going to be running beer tastings, food pairings and spirit tastings such as Gin, Whiskey and liquors. We will be changing the seating layout to get more table space and looking at making the best use of the outdoor space we have at the front of the building. We will also be tying in possible brew day experiences where small groups come down to the brewery, make a beer with us then back to the tap for dinner - all transport included. Meet the brewers too! Oh and a beer festival every 3 months throughout the year. So yeah its going to be one busy year!” Will this hold you back from making appearances at any other festivals this year, having a stall etc? ”We're actually at Chester Food and Drink at the end of April, Hoole Street Festival in the Spring and have a few other events we are looking into locally over the summer. We have a few meet the brewers planned as well. The main priority is making sure we have adequate supply for all of our customers and the tap. We'll have to see what else we can squeeze in.” And so what are the longer term plans now for the brewery given you have taken on a relatively large responsibility with this venture? ”We are brewing at our maximum capacity at the monument so we need more capacity. My hope is in the next 12 to 18 months is that we upscale to a 12 to 15 barrel brew kit with another small outlet and look at exporting. To further improve our beers we will be moving onto a house yeast strain. We also hope to be serving up some really fantastic food 7 days a week.”Was there a lot of work in getting things ready? ”It was so much work it was untrue! Got the keys on Sunday 26th Feb, opened 4pm Thursday 2nd March. The hours that were put in by ourselves and all the volunteers who came down to help made that turnaround time a reality. Couldn't have done it without all the help we received.” Do you have any plans to do exciting things from the Tap, aside from the sale of your own brews and the output of the rather excellent food? ”We are looking to do quite a few things in the next few months. The décor needs adding to and we will be increasing the size of the menu and increasing the amount of cask and keg lines available. It will go up to 6 cask lines and 10 keg - with the possibility of another 2 keg lines extra in the summer! We are going to be running beer tastings, food pairings and spirit tastings such as Gin, Whiskey and liquors. We will be changing the seating layout to get more table space and looking at making the best use of the outdoor space we have at the front of the building. We will also be tying in possible brew day experiences where small groups come down to the brewery, make a beer with us then back to the tap for dinner - all transport included. Meet the brewers too! Oh and a beer festival every 3 months throughout the year. So yeah its going to be one busy year!” Will this hold you back from making appearances at any other festivals this year, having a stall etc? ”We're actually at Chester Food and Drink at the end of April, Hoole Street Festival in the Spring and have a few other events we are looking into locally over the summer. We have a few meet the brewers planned as well. The main priority is making sure we have adequate supply for all of our customers and the tap. We'll have to see what else we can squeeze in.” And so what are the longer term plans now for the brewery given you have taken on a relatively large responsibility with this venture? ”We are brewing at our maximum capacity at the monument so we need more capacity. My hope is in the next 12 to 18 months is that we upscale to a 12 to 15 barrel brew kit with another small outlet and look at exporting. To further improve our beers we will be moving onto a house yeast strain. We also hope to be serving up some really fantastic food 7 days a week.” Thanks to Nick and the rest of the team at Deva Brewery and the Tap and am sure we all wish them the best of luck with whatever the future holds for their adventure. As ever, places like this need continuous support… the old adage ‘use it or lose it’ applies here too. Get down, eat, drink and be merry and support an excellent local business who currently deserves to go from strength to strength. Cheers Pedro. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to Alex and Nick for additional photos used in this article. These photos are property of Deva Craft Beer or of The ElectroKemist. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deva Tap 121 Brook Street, Chester.CH1 3DU Phone: 01244 401777 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DevaTapChester/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DevaTapChester Web: devacraftbeer.co.uk/ Nearly a year has passed since the last major MTB event at the Clove Hitch/23 Club in Liverpool; a whirlwind of Fourpure's wares in the run up to the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo 2016. This time, it's a relatively unusual choice for some, in Staveley based Hawkshead Brewery. I say unusual, as these Meet the Brewer events are often a 'proving ground' for up and comers; we have had pre-canning and hype Beavertown, early Anspach and Hobday, Brass Castle, Brewfist and the relatively heavyweight Buxton in a change of gear. This time Hawkshead provide a much more established proposition, having been around a while prior to the current purple patch; they have been brewing since setting up in an old barn in 2002, providing many very good quality cask beers up until a shift in gear more recently to join in with the 'craft beer movement'. Hawkshead Brewery have also been involved the last few years with the Rainbow Project, brewing with the highly rated Crooked Stave and they are currently slated for the 2017 and 2018 iterations to be collaborating with Modern Times to generate more Anglo-American delights. During the course of the evening, I did try to tease out where the shift in gear from producing 3-4 solid cask beers to upping the roster to include a lager, then a range of wit beers, sours, pales, IPAs and imperial stouts (particularly the excellent Tiramisu, brewed in collaboration with another highly rated US outfit in Cigar City). Sadly, the 'teasing' didn't seem to lead to any pinpointed moment for Hawkshead on where the influence to experiment came from. The hiring of a brewer from New Zealand coincided with a transition to using some Antipodean techniques and ingredients, but this was dismissed as not the sole catalyst for change by the night's hosts, Mark (brewer) and James (sales, brewing and a little bit of everything). Hawkshead's current sensibilities on dispense are plain to see; they are happy sending beers out in cask, keg, bottle or in can and their only concern seems to be about the quality rather than the method of serving. They have a strong workforce of around 30 people who allegedly happy about their business and all manage to have a turn with the brewing team, regardless of their own personal remit in the business. Regarding the business, the potential elephant in the room was called out very, very quickly on the evening. A potentially sensitive subject was tackled pretty much head on within the first two questions or so; Halewood International have bought a majority share in the business to expand their portfolio and take on their first brewery (having bought out Liverpool Gin last year, already involved with alcopops and some other spirits businesses). A case was well made for the purchase, with founder of Hawkshead Brewery, Alex Brodie unlikely to be able to continue running the business forever, a different solution was needed and looking at the available press releases and listening to what Mark and James said at this MTB it is big positive step to securing the Brewery's future and to also enable further growth. The 20 barrel output brewery had reached a point where they simply couldn't take on new accounts; this enables some further growth and a chance for the Brewery to return to more experimentation with recipes and keep existing customers happy. This all possibly sounds too good to be true, but time will only tell, that and the keen tastebuds of customers who will move on if the quality should ever stray from the benchmark set. Given the brewery doesn't have room or access to a pilot kit, a lot of the brews have to be full invested producing large amounts of a beer which potentially might not shift units is a gamble too far, so the transition into better funding might provide some more experimental brews; Mark said as much when he suggested that a Sorachi Ace brew may be on the way in some fashion this year. We'll come back to the evening round up anyway, there are six of Hawkshead's beers to discuss first... Cumbrian 5-Hop - 5% One of Hawkshead's most ubiquitous ales is the Cumbrian 5-Hop, which is a golden ale, this time served from keg, appearing a golden, lightly hazy beer with a heavy white froth on top. The aroma is massively malt driven with hints of orange and wood. The flavours deliver a metallic cereal tang along with more wood and orange. It's actually very easy to drink and gives a bitter and malty finish. Mark and James agreed that this is one of their 'gateway' beers, in that it is easy enough for lager drinkers to make a transition to ales from this beer. The hop profile changes for this beer depending on what is available and what has produced a good quality harvest in the English hop farms, occasionally there may be 6 different hops present, but on the aroma they do sometimes include US Citra or Amarillo. ITI New Zealand Pale - 3.5% This is the little version of Hawkshead's NZPA (as Iti means 'small' in the Maori language), this delicately pale and thin ale has the simplest malt bill of any of their beers and is hopped using varying amounts of Nelson Sauvin, Pacific Jade, Green Bullet and Motueka. The nose goes from a green plummy note through to some light butterscotch, conveying the same theme into the flavours. The thin but refreshing mouthfeel leads into a rich malty finish which is actually slightly sweet given how light this beer is in every other aspect. NZPA (New Zealand Pale Ale) - 6% This is the bigger brother to the Iti and hopped using the same profile, Hawkshead claim to have made this prior to the fashion of making New Zealand Pales. Its an amped up version of the Iti for sure, deeper in colour, deeper in flavour and finish. The mouthfeel isn't quite comparable, due to the NZPA being on cask and the Iti on keg dispense, but there are good contrasts to be had in tasting. On the night, Mark and James said there may (along the lines of never say never!) be a double version of this on the way at some point, given the line of questioning from the crowd. Session IPA - 4.7% Oddly, for such a simple style and premise and for such well balanced beer, this is the first time I've seen or tried Hawshead's Session IPA. It pours a light gold colour with a thin white head, the carbonation is good and makes the mouthfeel quite spritzy. Aromas of tropical fruit and citrus come through along with some sharper green fruit, including gooseberries and rhubarb. The flavours are pretty much the same, but this is very easy drinking and has a round malty and fruit balanced finish. Probably the beer of the night for me and one to look out for! At the moment, the 'Session IPA' moniker is possibly temporary, but it has a diverse malt bill in the use of caramalt, oats and crystal before the loaded hop profile driven by Centennial, Citra, Simcoe and Mosaic (with much more focus on late hopping) are put into the beer. IPA - 7% A bigger brother to the session IPA, this relatively new Hawkshead brew on keg is full of New Zealand and US grown hops including Centennial, Citra and Simcoe, though the aroma of this is mostly woody, it has a big rich quality which drifts into slightly dank and fruity areas. The roster of hops changes based on what Hawkshead have available and what works with the malt bill. Decent, but not as rounded and accomplished as the session version. Jantar - 4% A really odd way to end an MTB, with something quite light in ABV in relation to, admittedly, pale ales. This Polish style amber ale is very malt driven and similar in many ways to a Best Bitter style beer. The aromas are malt driven, along with some berry fruit, giving way to flavours of blackcurrant and raisins and considering it is only at 4% abv, it punches well above this level in terms of how rich and deep the beer is. Plenty of red fruit and citrus come through on the finish, a very good brew from Hawkshead. The food on the night was supplied by the Black Lodge located (at time of writing) pop-up restaurant Oktopus, which provided some excellent talking points and 3 absolutely delicious courses to match with the beers. The goat's cheese and carrot dish was wonderfully simple and executed well, the mains of Skrei Cod was succulently brilliant and the dessert, a chocolate cake was moist, rich and delicious, although one minor gripe would be that there wasn't a beer that really worked with it; the red ale was close, but no stout or porter which would have been a perfect accompaniment here. On this last point, we do have a bit of a sticking point on the roster of the Hawkshead Beers; considering the pedigree and usual remit on MTB of providing a range of beers that show what a brewery can do, 5 pales and a new recipe amber ale simply doesn't do justice to the brewery. A more diverse roster would have potentially included the Solar Sour, the Great White Wheat Ale, Imperial stout in the Tiramisu, even some Brodie's Prime which is rather different to what was provided. A massive opportunity to really push the boat out was missed here; there may have been issues of availability on certain lines, but it's perhaps something the brewery can bear in mind for their next outings. The evening was still very enjoyable and the two hosts from Hawkshead were a credit to their brewery, best of luck to them whatever the future holds! Cheers, Pedro. ------------------ Hawkshead Brewery Mill Yard, Staveley, Cumbria LA8 9LR Brewery Tel: 01539 822644 The Beer Hall Tel: 01539 825260 Email: [email protected] Twitter: https://twitter.com/hawksheadbrewer Web: http://www.hawksheadbrewery.co.uk/ 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. So we finally get to lay 2016 to rest, the round up article done, the final month of the year now written up. I'm being extra nice (and tardy, appreciably, due to writing up a lot of other articles and being inordinately busy) this month, as my December had, as with anyone who enjoyed a tipple over the Christmas period, a larger than normal quota. This means you lot have twelve rather than eight beers to pore over for this article! Don't say I'm not generous. As ever, the beers are sourced from across Merseyside's bottle shops, but also there are a few from Edinburgh's excellent Bottle Baron (if you're around Clerk Street, pop in and have a gander at their very tidy and discerning selection). I was fortunate enough to be up there towards the end of 2016 and had to pay them a visit, given they rather nicely held onto a bottle of the Omnipollo Anagram for me - see later in this article, it was worth it!
And that, is that for 2016... we can finally move on to 2017's wares in the next beer blog, taking in some of the best bottled brews picked up and drunk in January. Until then, stay frosty! Pedro. |
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