As far as opposites go in brewery murmurings, the last MTB blog featuring Anspach and Hobday could not have been further from this. Many people would have heard of the Bermondsey based brewery, but admittedly, in Liverpool and possibly further south, not many people would have laid claim to have heard of Wylam and their wares, despite a sizeable brewery and significant output in the north-east. The brewery is named after the area in which they are based and nothing more; this no nonsense approach comes through with a lot of their branding and beers. For this evening Dave Stone and one of the brewing team, Ben, are in Liverpool to give some insight into a brewery many have not heard of before but will certainly have following the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo, Indy Man Beer Convention and their flagship Jakehead IPA being crowned hottest beer in a recent ‘100 hottest beers’ list. Wylam Brewery was formed in 2000 by friends John Boyle (whose son is now a partner in the brewery) and Robin Leighton, in order to try and produce some beer that was different from ‘the big six’. Some of the earlier beers produced were products of the latter’s vivid brewing imagination, giving rise to some unusual stock before the scraft scene was even a twinkle in anyone’s eye. Nowadays, a Barley wine IPA hybrid is fair game, but pre-2010 it wasn’t really a ‘thing’. These days, they are renowned for the Golden Tankard ale (in cask and mostly in the North-east) along with one of their first session style ales in Landlord’s Choice, but none moreso in 2015 than the mighty Jakehead IPA which in some quarters has taken up the mantle usually reserved for beers such as Jaipur – an ubiquitous benchmark for others to follow. So what of their beers? Some were present at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo (and even made it into my top ten of the festival), but I don’t mind running down the numbers for the newcomers… Cascade This 4.2% pale-golden coloured light and punchy hopped ale was this time served from cask rather than keg. Ben informed us that each gyle of this ale has experienced tweaks, in the search for a perfect iteration, although they do feel that they are coming pretty close now. Using single malt variety in Golden Promise (also used in many Roosters and Magic Rock brews for the trainspotters amongst us) and 3 hops (cascade, Chinook and centennial) all of which go in for aroma rather than bittering. This comes out at around 45-50 IBUs and is apparently a rare beer for them to do on cask, usually served from keg. The tropical fruit aromas and light pine carry through into the flavours and leave a dry and crisp finish with a touch of florality, tidy, but less impressive than the kegged version which benefits from a fresher, more acidic punch. Remain In Light No brewery’s beer roster is complete (usually) without an obligatory reference to some music that the brewer or someone working at the brewery, loves. This is one such beer (it’s a Talking Heads reference), brewed based on a collaboration with Siren Craft’s former head Ryan Witter-Merrithew (sadly now returned back the US apparently) was based on a recipe swap and brewed to 5%. The collaboration was ‘The Lights are on’, this is the offspring and is served from cask used a combination of golden promise and small amounts of double roasted crystal malt, giving a toffee character to the beer. The hops are a combination of Simcoe, Chinook, Citra and Centennial (again for aroma rather than bittering), although there is a strong best bitter character to this ale. Remain in Light is very rounded and has a very lasting finish. Les Saisonnier Another of the top ten beers at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo for this blog, Les Saisonnier is a stunningly good, fresh, gently citric and dry finished saison flavoured with loads of rosemary and lemon balm. A variety of malts in the form of Concerto, Munich and some Vienna malt are used as the base for this beer, fermented with a Belgian strain of yeast and lots of oranges and lemons pulped along with spices to bring out the best of the flavours. Deeply refreshing, floral and carrying a stunning herbal character, the second gyle of this excellent beer didn’t disappoint. Jakehead IPA For those wondering where the name comes from, you’d be best reading this and seeking out a piece of music that Dave was thoroughly wrapped up in for a few minutes during the MTB. Go and listen to some blues in the form of Lightin’ Hopkins’ Jakehead Boogie [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9krYTZEhVyo], probably have a draft of the Jakehead IPA too? During the days in the USA when healthcare wasn’t quite so developed, especially in the deep south, medicine men used to wander towns with their tonics and tinctures looking for a quick sale to anyone who had any kind of ailment. One such medicine man was Dr. Jake, who wandering the countryside with horse and cart sold a potent tonic said to cure any illness. Sadly the claims were pretty spurious and the tonic actually had an effect of destroying certain proteins in a person’s spinal column (for those anatomically naïve, basically the main transit route for all the brain’s messages down to controlling mobility and feeling) and as such, some people experienced an issue with their walking – these people were noted to be colloquially, Jakeheads. Thankfully Wylam’s IPA doesn’t quite have such a debilitating effect, but it is delicious and potent. It was named the hottest beer out of many in the UK this year and has won many fans recently due to a very skilfully delivered brew. Think loads of fruit, pine, caramel and a balanced marriage of mouthfeel, acidity and finish. Superb stuff. Häxan The Witches Brew from Wylam, Häxan is a black wheat beer with a deeply sherbety character and an almost analogous push towards an alcoholic dandelion and burdock. Touches of cinnamon around the edges, spice and liquorice give this a very interesting feel. It does have a slightly medicinal feel to it, with some of the florality invoking ideas of throat lozenges, but there is a wonderful complexity to this black wheat offering from Wylam. Häxan started just as a Christmas beer, but gradually worked its magic to become one of Wylam’s main stable. Brewed using chocolate malt, black malts and spices such as cloves, cassia and fresh lime along with 10 months of maturation, this black wheat beer is perfect for a winter’s evening. Flannel Hammer This is supposedly the last time that Wylam are brewing Flannel Hammer, which is a very saddening thought, considering some readers might never get to try this excellent Imperial Stout. Brewed to 7.5%, the name is used to show off the fact that the strength is very much hidden beneath a complex but overtly soft animal. The original beer used to be around 11.4 to 11.5%, but along with some softening, this drinkable black velvet beast of a beer uses 18 months of maturation. The beer uses a combination of fuggle hops, black and coffee malts along with some toriffied wheat and marris otter to produce something that will be very much missed. That’s almost your lot everyone! Thanks for reading and hopefully you’ll get to try some of the Wylam beers before too long, since they have been on recently at 23 Club/Clove Hitch and at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo although, I fully expect their beers to be infiltrating across the UK’s bars following the recent accolades. David, Ben and the gang may even be coming to a bar near you for more MTB fun! Pedro. ----------------------------------------------------- Wylam Brewery South Houghton Farm, Heddon on the Wall, Northumberland NE15 0EZ Tel: 01661 853 377 Web: http://www.wylambrewery.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/wylambrewery Email: [email protected] Twenty Three Club / Clove Hitch 23 Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BQ Web: http://www.theclovehitch.com/# Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwentyThreeClub or https://twitter.com/theclovehitch Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Tel: 0151 709 6574
1 Comment
CatFacts.org
11/20/2015 06:40:18 am
A group of cats is called a “clowder"
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