2016 has been another year of building in a beer scene that really isn’t showing much sign of fatigue. Though there are still many local pub closures, our city centres are very much enjoying a proliferation of more bars stocking wider and grander styles of beer than ever before and quite possibly, the UK brewing scene is in one of its purplest ever patches. As stated last year, the number of breweries is only one indicator of health and things are still far behind what was present a century ago (though up another 8% on last year according to a few sources – up to around 1,700), but (being parochial for a moment) even across the Merseyside region there are now upwards of 32 breweries present. We have also just entered 2017 riding a fresh wave of controversy, with the announcement that Manchester’s Cloudwater Brewing Company have decided to cease their production of beer served from cask. Now there are a multitude of articles written on this subject and as with last years serving of the Camden sale to big business, I am going to abstain on the matter. Should you wish to read more, then I would point in the direction of a few articles I have enjoyed reading on the matter and they have distilled quite a lot of the pertinent information and opinions already: https://www.totalales.co.uk/blog/2017/1/2/cloudbursting-unpacking-cloudwaters-decision-to-drop-cask-beer http://zythophile.co.uk/2017/01/04/cloudwater-quality-and-camra-dinosaurs/; and https://beersmanchester.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/the-beerage-from-rags-to-riches-part-ii-or-to-cask-or-not-to-cask-that-is-the-question/ Crashing on, I have tried a few excellent beers this year too and in tradition with last year’s round up, I am going to narrow my list down to ten of the best I have managed to sample over the last twelve months. This was, yet again a very tough task and there have been a few beers that I really wanted in the list that have had to take a back seat, but I am sure many of you also struggled to consolidate a list such as this in your own heads! I also have been lucky enough to have some movers and shakers of the UK beer scene provide me with some of their own comments on how things have gone this year and also how they think 2017 might shape up. Onwards… ElectroKemistry Top ten Beers for 2016 10. Northern Monk – Neapolitan Pale A frighteningly good collaboration brew from Leeds based Northern Monk and Little Leeds Beer House; this hazy orange to red pale ale was the stand out beer from them for this year when I was lucky enough to attend a meet the brewer event and try this on keg. The aromas come through with various notes, as would be suggested by the name of all flavours of the Neapolitan ice cream combination. The body is a balanced medium level and works brilliantly with the combinations of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla along with touches of fruit acidity and a residual sweetness, which does not detract at all from the brew. Clever stuff! 09. Founders Brewing Company – Mosaic Promise An incredibly simple brew using a combination of golden promise malt and mosaic hops to produce something very, very satisfying, clean and accomplished. A brilliantly smooth mouthfeel along with carbonation that works with the fruit and cereal in the beer makes for a very drinkable package. The presence of lime, tropical fruits and gooseberries in tune with a balanced acidity means sometimes, simple is best.
02. Stone Brewing Company – Mocha IPA Quite simply one of the best double IPAs that I have tried. This manages to balance out coffee and chocolate with the deep citrus and tropical notes of a DIPA, which is no mean feat in itself. To present a remarkably complex, enjoyable and aromatic brew like this and hide the 9% alcohol is a superb bit of brewing and shows once again why Stone are held in such high regard. Light in body considering the strength and character. Wow. 01. Hoppin’ Frog and Lervig – Sippin’ into Darkness A ridiculous premise for a beer… a chocolate martini imperial stout… Or is it? At 12% it’s quite the beast, although there is absolutely no indication of the strength in the aroma or structure of this imperial stout. The use of caramel and chocolate malts along with cocoa, vanilla and other spices, gives a very complex array of flavours and aromas in this beer. The rich chocolately depths were plumbed courtesy of this year’s Indy Beer Man Convention, although I had to be satisfied with a take away can due to illness, this still blew my socks off and provided one of the best beers I have tried this year. I was also lucky enough to coax a few words out of one of the guys responsible for brewing Sippin’ into Darkness, Lervig’s Mike Murphy: “Fred from Hoppin’ Frog, another stout brewer extraordinaire and I put our heads together for this one. We decided those gimmicky big flavour sweet and desserty beers are what’s cool these days... so we decided to make a sweet stout, but an Imperial sweet stout with tons of chocolate. Nothing fake here, we spent hours toasting our cocoa nibs on one of the few nice summer days here in Norway. We think we hit our goal of making a sweet chocolate cocktail of a beer, our inspiration was a Kahlua/coffee choco martini thing.... We won’t be rebrewing with the Hoppin’ frog logo (due to Hoppin’ Frog policy) so we will probably change the label soon!” What made this all the more brutal (compared to last year’s top ten – which seemed to be much easier to compile in retrospect), was the number of outstanding brews which I had to cull from my list, including the excellent Omnipollo Noa Maple Pecan Mud Pie stout, Founders Azacca Promise, Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion 004 (which I nearly sneaked into the top ten – although I had already written everything out by the time I tried it!) and Tempest Mexicake. Anyway, enough of the agonising about those that missed out, as alluded to, next up we have some contributions from the great and the good from the UK beer scene with some opinions on what made the grade for their best beers, what stood out in 2016 and what was less welcome, along with a quick glimpse into what they think will make 2017 another good year for beer and brewing…
What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? For me, it has been the good relations with fellow beer writers throughout the world -- an amazing coterie. What was less than welcome about 2016? Worst news is arrival of one global giant AB InBev controlling 30% of beer production and snapping up small independent brewers. What are you most looking forward to for 2017? I think we all need to redouble efforts to save British pubs, encourage bigger brewers not to be frightened of putting flavour into their beers. Use hops and use them to their full potential! (You can follow Roger here: https://twitter.com/RogerProtzBeer)
What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? 2016 will be forever engraved in our hearts as this was the year our dream came into fruition and we opened our bar. The thing I enjoyed most, and still do, is seeing everyone’s face when they walk in as they check out our huge selection of beers. They look like kids in a candy shop! What was less than welcome about 2016? 2016 has been a tough year in general with celebrity deaths, unexpected political outcomes and an uncertain economic outlook, but throughout all that we’ve had a constant source of great beer to help us through. What are you most looking forward to for 2017? Now that would be telling ;-) (You can follow Vicky here: https://twitter.com/vicky_morgan and DCBC: https://twitter.com/DeadCraftyBeer) Rogue, 4 Hop IPA (4.44%). This came all the way from the north west of the USA but smelled and taste amazingly fresh and blew me away. The aroma was so strong my husband remarked on it when he walked into the room where I was drinking it. Bursting with passionfruit, lemon grass, lemon zest, grapefruit, mango and mandarin flavours but also perfectly balanced with a biscuity malt backbone. Goddards Brewery, Inspiration (5%). I had a pint of this cask ale at a small, brilliant pub called The Volunteer Inn, Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. It put me in mind of a Belgian blond as it was boozy, perfumed and a little too easy to drink! I had it early in 2016 but the memory of it has stayed with me. Saltaire Brewery (Saltaire XS range), Imperial Stout (8.9%). A silky stout with a huge flavour of chocolate truffles, a touch of liquorice and a smidgen of coffee leading to a roasty bitter finish with a hint of blackcurrant. An accomplished, drinkable impy stout. What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? I moved house this year and between that and writing the Cask Report I didn't get out to as many beery events as I'd have liked. That said I had two great trips to the Isle of Wight and Norfolk respectively and thoroughly enjoyed drinking some very tasty but also fairly traditional beers from Goddards Brewery and Woodforde's Brewery. Then there was a fantastic beer matched dinner hosted by the US Brewers Association which was all vegetarian and even though I am an omnivore it was utterly delicious. In October I went to West Kent CAMRA's beer fest at Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells and that was brilliant - good organisation, great choice of well kept beers and even a craft keg bar hosted by the local Fuggles Beer Cafe. Three quite different highlights, which to me show the power of beer-diversity - which I think is vital for beer. Lots of different styles, places to drink and different ways of doing things. What was less welcome? I'm not overjoyed at huge multinational brewing corporations merging to make even bigger ones, nor the buyout of small craft brewers, but this is the beer industry, not just a sub cultural movement for beer lovers so these things are to be expected. Infighting and finger pointing around such things don't help beer's reputation though. Those who love beer would do better to pull together to face down the likes of the new age temperance movements, periodically trying to get us to give up drink, and things that threaten existence of the pub instead. What are you looking forward to in 2017? Hooking up with Tunbridge Wells based Pig & Porter Brewery (http://www.pigandporter.co.uk). We've been talking about doing something together for ages now so hopefully we will manage it this year. Sean and Robin of P&P are passionate about food and beer and never do anything boring so I have high hopes! Anything involving the US Brewers Association. The return of The Epicurean (http://www.epicurean.online), a craft drinks and food sampling event I was beer ambassador for in 2016. It was such a nice set up, included some amazing brews and seemed to attract a new audience to the wonders of beer. (You can follow Sophie here: https://twitter.com/SophWrites)
2. American Barleywine 2015 - Torrside Brewing (bottled) The best beer that I've ever drunk from a bottle. In qualification, I do - by nature - generally restrict my intake to beers from Northern England, but I have drunk more widely previously. And this beer quite literally rocked my head back with the first mouthful. Yes, there is a sweetness that you would expect from a Barley Wine, but this was overmatched by the punch of peppery hop spice, dancing on the silky raisin and other juicy stone fruit flavours Altered my perception of barley wines. 3. Damage Plan (keg & bottle) - Marble Beers In a year which saw a plethora of big hopped IPAs and DIPAs, none for me could match the clean crisp refreshing punch of Damage Plan. Big and bold citrus flavours, clean and unfussy. Easy drinking to the point of being ruinous. A beer that tastes like a beer and not a vodka laden fruit cocktail. Marble hit some heights this year. What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? Whilst I really enjoyed The Independent Salford Beer Festival this year (truly for the first time), I can't say that - even if I thought that it was. But this must go to Manchester Beer Week. From the moment that myself and Andy (Tryanuary) Heggs meet Connor Murphy in the Knott Bar in September 2015 and he started to sketch out some of his thoughts, I knew we were in for an event. For a first effort, it was a triumph. The range of events of both general beer and technical nature were fabulous. From five-course beer matched menu at Marble Beers’ 57 Thomas Street, to The “Power of Yeast” at BrewDog there was something for beer lovers of all persuasions. Connor has tweaks and improvements in mind - of that I am certain - but for the sheer scale of ambition and the execution, it took some beating. What was less welcome? The continuing ridicule heaped upon CAMRA. Disclaimer: I am a member - although inactive. I may be wrong, but there seems to be an increasing body of opinion that CAMRA is irrelevant in the age of “craft”. To my eyes, “craft” beer in the UK is a little like liberal politics. Prevalent in metropolitan areas, but almost unknown outside of those “beer bubbles”. CAMRA is, however, recognised - rightly or otherwise - as some kind of pointer towards good beer nationwide. I myself sometimes read the letters pages in the CAMRA magazines and shiver at the anti-keg prejudice of the membership proletariat, but on the whole, the organisation IS a force for good. As I said “I may be wrong…. “ What are you looking forward to in 2017? And it won't happen. I would dearly love next year to be the year that people just let beer be what it is. Beer. Cut the idea that if it ain't Craft….. Cut the idea that if it ain't brewed in either a Bermondsey or Mancunian railway arch that it ain't worth shit. Cut the idea that Keg is superior to Cask. And vice versa. Some beers work well in one format. Some in the other. Get with that please. Er….. Enough for now. (You can follow Jim here: https://twitter.com/BeersManchester)
3) Dugges/Omnipollo - Anagram. This was just ridiculous in every way, how did they even do it? Two of my favourite breweries coming toghether to create a Blueberry Cheesecake Stout is a literal dream come true. Outstanding both in bottle and keg, I'll always have fond memories of opening crates of it and getting a distinct cheese waft from the box. Beautiful. What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? The first thing that comes to mind is the amount of collaborative brews that have hit the craft scene this year. It's a wonderful thing to see so many well established and up and coming breweries coming together to share their knowledge and create something out of camaraderie. What was less than welcome about 2016? Buy Outs. As an Independent Bottle Shop Owner, seeing breweries wiping their hands of everything (or half of what) they've built is always disappointing. I can't name one brewery that has done this that has kept their philosophies, let alone kept the quality and integrity of their beer to the standard they originally set out to. As an enthusiast, I see a brewery sell out and automatically assume their beer won't be anywhere near what it used to be. Presumptuous perhaps, but this is from personal experience. Remember kids, money is great and all but no one wants to see you succeed more than yourself, so if you have a vision and a goal, see it to the end. What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Expansion of the Craft Scene. 2016 was a brilliant year for growth, both for breweries and Independent shops/pubs. Word is getting out that you can actually drink a beer and it not taste like watered down piss, which I absolutely love. My favourite customers are the ones that come in having a completely blank slate when it comes to craft beer. It's easy to open people's eyes to the world of flavour when you have 400+ beers around you at all times but you know you've done something right when they come back for more. While I am looking forward to seeing what certain breweries are planning for the new year, I'm more excited about getting said breweries' beer into the hands of the people that keep this industry going, the consumers. Being the middle-man has its perks and I'm fortunate enough to know what's going on from both sides, which has only furthered my knowledge of beer, how it's made and who drinks it. I can't wait to see what 2017 has in store for us and everyone involved in this glorious Industry. Hoppy New Beer and all the best for 2017! (You can follow Robyn here: https://twitter.com/Bottle_Baroness and on Instagram as @lovebeerlookhere)
Finally, Double Penny Lane from Mad Hatter served on keg at Craft Beer Calling scaling this recipe up for the 500th brew at Mad Hatter was a personal highlight for me, it's not simply a doubling of all the ingredient. I was really happy with how the mosaic mango magic came through. What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? From a beer perspective I really enjoyed going to more different festivals than usual, Craft Beer Calling & Leeds International really stood out. The setting at Wylam for CBC is ridiculously beautiful & the beer/atmosphere/food at Leeds was excellent. Can't recommend them highly enough. What Was Less Than Welcome? I became more aware of beer snobbery this year than I had been before. On occasion it's seemed like it's not the flavour/aroma/texture of the beer that matters it's the rarity/exclusivity/brand. I'm all for a bit of fuss where it's due but there's some great breweries making great beer under the radar that deserve more exposure! What are you looking forward to in 2017? In 2017 I'm most looking forward to brewing on our 20Bbl kit at the new massive site on Lightbody Street. That's going to be a fun gear change from 3.5 Bbl to 20! Oh and also Barcelona Beer Festival, really looking forward to that. (You can follow Lally here: https://twitter.com/AngusBrews) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And that is that for 2016…. I hope you’ve enjoyed the articles throughout the year and will continue to follow me through next year with all the beer, food and other adventures that I get to writing about. Thanks to the guys above that made contributions to the article and continue to enrich the scene with their output and presence! I hope you’ve had a very merry Christmas and that you all have a great 2017!! Pedro x -------------------------------------- A number of images used in this blog belong to the Author, whilst others have been kindly supplied and are being used under agreement with the original owners: All profile pictures above are property of the contributors. The Founders Mosaic Promise image, Fourpure Planet Simcoe, Stone Brewing Mocha IPA and Lervig/Hoppin' Frog Sippin' into Darkness images are property of each of the brewers. Permissions must be sought to use these images and no unlicensed reproduction is allowed.
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Welcome to the latest beer blog, featuring some brews picked up through the Summer and drunk in September. Though this is perhaps a little later than expected, we do have a bumper month for you next edition, which will feature more than the usual eight brews. It’s been a busy time of late and there will be a few extra blogs coming along featuring beer from the Philippines, beers from Hong Kong and an article showcasing some of the newest breweries in and around Liverpool who will be looking to make an impression in 2017. For now though, lets see about those September beers…
So, that is your lot for this month; next month will be an amalgamation of October and November's beers; sadly I was rather ill over this period and as such, wasn't able to make my full quota of eight beers for October; so I will make some effort to make a bumper edition in November! As ever, there will be a mix of styles and hopefully it will give you some ideas for Christmas stock, or indeed stocking fillers for that special person who loves a brew! Until next time... Pedro. Another month, another 8 beers. Hopefully you’ll have all had a go at breaking the barbecue out at some point over the last few months, as we (despite the awful patches in July and August) have had some pretty warm and dry weather – perfect for selecting a few lighter and fruitier beers to wash down some burgers, kebabs or whatever floats your charred boat. As ever, there’s a spread of beers from across the region and a focus on some lighter, more hoppy beers with a slant to picking up on refreshment. We have a couple from Mad Hatter and a decent selection of beers picked up from 23 Club’s basement beer shop. Go forth, seek and indeed, enjoy!
Until next time take it easy - drop me a retweet or a share on Facebook using the buttons below if you enjoyed the read! Cheers!! Pedro. ------------------------------- 02-09-2016 - Article Edited to correct name of Mad Hatter Brewing Beer 'Te Punca' to 'Te Punga'. 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. So, I’ve finally gotten around to writing up what I drank in May, disappointingly it has come a bit late… although the excuse is that things were gearing up so heavily for the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo amongst other things, this pot didn’t get brought to the boil quite so quickly (incidentally, the June review is ready and will follow soon, as will the LCB Expo 2016 round up – so stay twitchy for that one!!). Anyway, I had some excellent beers during May 2016; this is just a round up of a few of them. There are some humdingers in there, alongside some less inspiring choices which you may be warned off following reading of the review, although as ever, I have done my best not to colour your preferences too heavily and just err on the side of being as factual as I can without focusing on too much opinion. Onward... for the beers!
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!! Cheers for now! Pedro. Greetings one and all!! Another month goes by and more beers have been drunk, not only this but the Summer festival season is almost upon us, with many things going on across the UK to keep everyone busy. I have a rack of other articles ready to be finished off, written and conceived at the moment, this should make up for a relatively shy period of activity at the start of this year… it’s amazing how busy things can get without too much product, speaking of which let’s see what got drunk in April…
Now that is your lot for the moment, but please pay close attention to Twitter or the ElectroKemist Cuisine Facebook page for updates… you’ll have lots more articles coming in store soon!! Cheers for now! Pedro. So here we go again, the fourth year of the Expo and its second to be based in the Constellations venue just off Jamaica Street in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. Have you been before? Have you read the reviews from the last few events yet? If you answered ‘no’ to either of these questions, then you’re in luck, as I’ve dug out the links to the ElectroKemist Review of the events as per below: 2013: http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/liverpool-craft-beer-expo 2014: http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/liverpool-craft-beer-expo-2014 2015: http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/liverpool-craft-beer-expo-2015 Each year that has gone by has seen a shift in the way the event is run; with ever more excellent beers being brought into the Baltic Triangle, it is very hard to keep up. Luckily last year saw me finding my feet with a writing rhythm and being very prepared for taking notes and remembering each of the beers that I had tried. Hence forming a solid top ten of the event. Give it a read, you might have had some of those beers over the last twelve months or so! Anyway, I was lucky enough to have a catch up with Paul Seiffert and Rob Tuffnell, two of the event’s organisers, they provided a bit of information with what we can expect in terms of layout and brewer presence at the Expo this time around. Thought there is no formal interview this time around, in which Paul can’t insult my very manly hands (they’re not small at all). There will be around 250 beers and 40 different ciders on, along with the absence of the Whiskey Den this year, there will be even more room for beers and some more food stalls. This time, the dispense of the beers will be from brewery led stalls, rather than from rows and rows of indistinct bars where consulting an ever shifting programme or massive chalkboard can be problematic. There was a hint of this at the last Expo, with Wylam, Cloudwater, Beavertown, Camden, Liverpool Craft and Fourpure all having their own stalls set up. This year, it will pretty much be all brewery-led aside from the cask bar, which is rumoured to be outside this time rather than at the back of the venue indoors – and the line up is actually quite exciting. The line up so far: AD HOP Brewing Company Alphabet Brewing Atom Beers Beavertown Big Hug Brewery Blackjack Brewery Black Lodge Brewing Company Cloudwater Five Points Brewing Company Fourpure Liverpool Craft Beers London Beer Factory Mad Hatter Brewing Company Thornbridge The Wall Wild Beer Company Wylam Brewery This isn’t to say more won’t be added at some point soon, not to mention all the breweries represented in cask beers and individual keg offerings. We also have the return to Liverpool of the excellent Karkli (Hi Kumar!) who has been frequenting a lot of Beer Festivals over the last 18 months and is set to continue with his rather brilliant beer snacks for the foreseeable future.
The event is running from Thursday afternoon 16th June and has sessions on Friday evening, Saturday daytime, Saturday night and all Sunday 19th June. If you need to grab your tickets head here: [https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/liverpool-craft-beer-expo-2016-tickets-21586784654] and if you want some more information on the event, then look no further than here: [http://www.liverpoolcraftbeerexpo.com/]. So we’ll see you there then? Pedro. A lot of breweries are located in business or industrial parks on the outskirts of a town, often unassuming places where the first giveaway to their industry are a number or kegs, casks or spent grain sacks sitting idly near to the roller shutter doors. Deva Craft Beer are no different, at least not on the day I visited them on a very sunny and fine afternoon to find them preparing for their stall at the Chester Food and Drink Festival. Deva (for those not familiar with the area or its history) are so named after the city of Chester's historical ties as a Roman settlement, the brewery is the creation of Nick Gilbody and his father, Adie. The brewery, which has been going since mid 2014 has support from other family members and brewer Tom Sinclair, who has brewing awards to his name (from a previous life at the Pied Bull Brewery in Chester). The beers they have produced thus far in a relatively short space of time have been very, very promising. The Pandemonium, Eureka and Equinox have been steady beers, along with the likes of the excellent Dual IPA and series of Cellarium ales (specially brewed for the bastion of craft cask and keg beers at the Cellar on Chester's City Road) and the more recent heavy hitter 'Instruments of Destruction'. The beers tend to be heavily hopped pales and IPAs (for example the Pandemonium is a fiercely hopped American Pale Ale, the Equinox an English Pale with hops of the same name laced throughout), though there was some indication they were looking to expand into other styles at some point in the future, which is rather exciting considering the prowess of the team thus far. Currently, this is the only real weakness in the brewery's repertoire, but something easily rectifiable and given the application to quality in their other products not much to worry about. The other pleasing item for consideration is the reticence of Deva to draw upon an oft-trodden path in naming of their wares - though with the likes of 'Gladius' and 'Nemesis' there is a some classical influence, the temptation must have been there to make beers named 'Centurion', 'Collosseum' or even 'Patrician' in drawing upon the foundations of their home city (though 'Vomitarium' would certainly be a step too far... and you would expect very unlikely to sell). The first proper encounter I had with the team was at the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival in Sefton Park, 2015, where the brewery shared a tent with the likes of Tatton Brewery and the now fully operational Dead Crafty Beer Company. The team seemed happy to be there, were very happy to engage with the festival goers and even entertained my presence for a while, all the while providing some great beers and looking to spread their reputation as a go-to brewery for any cask or keg drinker. Some six months on and the brewery has expanded to take on adjacent premises, entertained parties of beer enthusiasts to peruse their site and was setting up a stall at Chester Racecourse. Luckily, following the conversations with Adie and Nick, they were kind enough to provide a little interview for the ElectroKemist and it went a little something like this... ---------------------------------------- Hi Nick, so when exactly did you set the brewery up? We set up the company in June 2014. It took us until March 2015 to get the brewery installed. And what made you give up what you and the others give up the other day job to pursue brewing? I loved being a homebrewer so to do it for a job was very attractive, plus I'd had a taste of being self-employed so wanted to go for it. What was the first beer and were you happy with it? The first beer was Nemesis. I was mostly happy with it (as much as I can be with my beer as I'm my own harshest critic!), though it went under some big tweaks including changing the yeast and upping the amount of hops used for example. What size kit are you working on at the moment and are there any plans to expand further? We are working on a 5BBL kit (we can kind of push it to 6BBL). We recently built a new cold room to increase our storage capacity. We may look at expanding early next year, but at the moment we are working towards full capacity on the current kit. Are there any plans to change gear and attempt a few different styles considering the shift to produce sours/saisons/yeast experimental brews? Yeah, we are looking at producing a sour over the summer and I have a few ideas for incorporating chilli and fruit into a very interesting pale ale. I'm looking at getting the fruitiness of the chilli more than the heat. Would love to play with yeasts but would need some equipment modification first. Are there any big plans for 2016 and 2017 with your brews/events? 2016 we will be having monthly open days over the summer at the brewery with food and tours of the brewery - some with potential live music too. I have a few big things on the horizon for 2017 but it is in the very early stages so people will have to keep an eye out I'm afraid! What beer are you most proud of that you've produced so far? I would have to say the Dual IPA, Pandemonium and the new Oatimus Prime. I think they all encapsulate the brewing we have honed over the last year. It has been a real team effort and its great to see the progression in our products. ----------------------------- Thanks very much to Nick, Adie and the rest of the Deva crew for their time and patience. As ever, I hope you enjoyed the read and will now have a bit of a thirst for trying some of the Deva Craft Beers' range, which are predominantly available across Chester, but expanding their radius all the time. Please share on the usual social media channels if you did enjoy this read and seek their beers out, you won't be disappointed! Pedro. -------- Deva Craft Beer Unit14 Engineer Park Babbage Road Sandycroft CH5 2QD Email: [email protected] Tel: 07841384143 Web: http://devacraftbeer.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DevaCraftBeer Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devacraftbeer Greetings!! So we’re into March and looking on into April and there has been much to consider on the scene. In Liverpool we have had the opening of Dead Crafty, The CAMRA AGM and a Beer Festival in the old Cain’s/Higson’s site on Stanhope Street and a few other bits and pieces, parochially speaking. There is a glut of articles to come from these pages over the next few weeks and hopefully months, as things gear up for the summer and a number of festivals and other new items filter down onto social media. Tickets are on sale now for some of the bigger craft beer festivals and you would do well to pick them up as early as you can, rather than hold off and suddenly find yourself short when the thin end of the wedge is finally upon you. Anyway, on with the beers…
And that is your lot for March, a range of styles and strengths once again. See you soon for another blog! Cheers for now! Pedro. Some things really are worth waiting for… the best things come to those who wait… there are a number of proverbs, mantras and sayings all paying testament to those who are patient and are subsequently rewarded with something duly, well err.. rewarding, I suppose? The wait for Dead Crafty has been a while, considering the rumour and innuendo that was brewing in Liverpool for quite some time. The doors to the newest haven for craft beers opened on Friday 18th March for a select few and then again the next day for the first full opening to the public. Located near to one of Liverpool’s most famous pubs in the Ship and Mitre, Dead Craft sits in Westminster Chambers at the bottom of the flyover heading over from the direction of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool World Museum and part of the John Moores University campus. The brainchild of Gareth and Vicky Morgan, this bar is dedicated to serving kegged beers and many hard-to-find bottles and cans from not only this country and Europe, but with a heavy slant toward bringing slices of the massive American craft brewing market into Liverpool; given Liverpool’s history this is somewhat serendipitous and rather apt. The opening night had the ribbon cut by a special mystery guest, that Vicky and Gareth managed to keep secret until around a week before the opening, none other than Steve Hindy, the CEO of New York’s Brooklyn Brewery and being one of the forerunners of the craft keg beers to become available, seemed rather proper in the circumstances. Gently enthralling, Steve spun the yarn of his life’s work and how he ended up becoming involved in the brewing trade; from the tribulations of his work as Associated Press’ War correspondent based in Beirut in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, he witnessed the assassination of Egypt’s then President Anwar Sadat up close and personal, he was then present for gun battles between UN peacekeeping forces and militia forces in the region before returning back to the USA. In between these events, he found some solace in tasting the (by all accounts, very competent) homebrew of friends and acquaintances during his Middle Eastern tour, as the region is not really renowned for its brewing prowess. Choosing to return home rather than pursue his reporting career in the Philippines, Steve then had the joyous pleasure at the brewery of armed robberies and brushes with Organised Crime before finally striking on some luck with the Brewery and solid investment due to some hometown ties from Ohio. Fast forward to 2016 and Steve seems happy to tell the stories and seems happy to report that Brooklyn Brewery is in much better health than the first 15 years of its life. The tap takeover at Dead Crafty is testament to that, with 8 of their beers present and Steve continuing his talk to sing the praises of Brooklyn’s brewmaster for his skill and innovation; Garrett Oliver. Hindy’s final focus from his regaling, is that the seeds of Brooklyn came from family investment and hard work, much like that of Dead Crafty who began their journey sometime ago, but culminating in the opening on a cool but fine Liverpool evening in March. What made you guys want to set up your own bar in Liverpool? We've spent many years travelling around the US visiting breweries and craft bars. Two years ago we did a road trip from New Orleans to Houston, Texas. While we were there we attended an event ran by Goose Island called Migration Week. It was in a bar called the Hay Merchant in Houston. We were inspired by the whole ethos they had. The place was packed out with people, many on them on their own, sharing bottles and bonding over beer. We wanted to bring that vibe back home. What will Dead Crafty offer to the city in terms of an experience in what is a fairly competitive atmosphere already? What sets us apart from the rest is that we travel far and wide to bring beers and new breweries to our bar. We have great relationships with brewers right across the globe. Our range is second to none. We have the whole of the New Zealand Collective in our fridges and on draft and a huge selection of Rogue, again both draft and bottles. Every beer we sell we can vouch for, we only sell beers we have tasted or breweries we know produce high quality beers. We aren't scared to approach the bigger breweries either. We are great friends with Harpoon Brewery, Founders Brewery and Brooklyn Brewery. We had the honor of Steve Hindy from Brooklyn Brewery come over to officially open the bar. We've also had an article written about us in the Boston Herald as we are one of the only bars outside the US to have Harpoon. We are also the only bar to specialise in beer alone. We don't serve wine or spirits (apart from an amazing Rogue Brewery single malt whiskey! How glad are you going to be when DC finally opens its doors, given you've had a pretty long 'gestation' period and the launch has been held off for a while? We were very glad to be open to let everyone in on all the amazing beer we have been sourcing for the last couple of years, but now the hard work starts to keep the beers coming. Granted that you won't want to say too much about any surprises you may have in store, but are there going to be any exciting developments or new beers coming to your premises that we won't have seen in the city or the UK? We have Magic Rock, Unhuman Cannonball launch coming up (which will be on the Tuesday, 12th April). We've also got 4 US breweries, never been seen in the UK launching in the bar this year. Is there going to be any particular focus on beer style at Dead Crafty? (For example, we understand there's going to be no cask lines) We will have a style that suits everyone’s taste. I think it's important to always have a selection of styles on tap at any one time. Seeing the (almost) finished article put together, has it been worth all the work, arduous travelling to build a network and tasting a lot of beer? This has been one of the hardest things we have ever took on but both pulling from our different backgrounds we have managed to build a bar that represents us and now delivering amazing beer and atmosphere. Was there any temptation to deviate from doing just a bar - no thought given to opening a brewpub/brewtap, producing your own beers as well? Our expertise lie in drinking not brewing! However, the whole team will be brewing seasonal brews with Melwood Brewery. This is something the staff will be proud of when selling their own beer. Was there ever any worry about the location and your keg offerings, given Dale Street is home to a corridor to a lot of cask ale favourite drinking dens? I think Dale Street is the perfect place for us. The Road is known as ‘Beer Street’ and we fit right at home here. Dale Street has really developed over the last year, especially now Rigby's have embraced craft beer. I don't see it as a hindrance being in a cask ale area, I see it as an opportunity to broaden people’s horizons. In the 2 weeks we've been open we only been asked for cask a handful of times and each person has enjoyed a keg beer instead. Thanks so much to Gareth and Vicky for their time and efforts in getting this article together for Dead Crafty Beer Company. See you in there soon! Pedro. -------------- Dead Crafty Beer Company Westminster Chambers Crosshall Street Liverpool L1 6DQ Website: http://www.deadcraftybeercompany.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/deadcraftybeer Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Dead-Crafty-Beer-Company-486370501493491/ |
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