Double-Barrelled
This spring Berkshire has seen some welcome visitors from Cornwall, with the renowned Verdant Brewing Co from Penryn paying a visit to both Double-Barrelled and Siren Craft for collaboration brews. DB’s is ‘Hyphenate This’, a 6% ABV West Coast IPA. It’s assertively bitter with a vivid hop character from Riwaka, Mosaic and Simcoe, giving rich tropical and floral notes backed up with west coast crispness. Hints of grapefruit, lemon and berry are also promised.
Recent events at the tap room have been pretty varied, including wrestling, ‘dragaoke’ (exactly what it sounds like) and themed bingo. Friday and Saturday continue to see a changing list of street food options outside, while the new no.18 bus from Reading Buses stops very close by on Portman Road.
Elusive
Several new releases have come out of the Finchampstead brewery this spring. Too many to feature them all, but here are a few highlights that are worth a special look.
Firstly, one of many collaborations – ‘Superred’ is an imperial red IPA weighing in at a hefty 8.5% ABV. Brewed in collaboration with Brew York and the Beer O’Clock Show Podcast, expect toffee and caramel from the malts and classic West Coast hops.
‘Ravenwood’ is award-winning, having picked up national gold in the Cask Imperial & Strong Beers category at the SIBA National Independent Beer Awards. This export India stout comes in at 6.8% ABV. A cocktail of dark specialist malts is combined with Citra and Centennial hops for notes of orange citrus, dark chocolate and coffee.
Finally, an old favourite ‘Morrisman’. This 5% ABV double chocolate dry stout is brewed in collaboration with Tim Lloyd, who features as the morris dancer on the can artwork along with his dog, Obi. The base beer is dry rather than sweet, which makes it very moreish. Chocolate is used at every stage of the brewing process to layer the flavour in, with a touch of vanilla to finish.
Hogs Back
Mentioned in the last issue, the ‘Little Swine’ 0.5% ABV Pale Ale has caught the eye of the judges in two prestigious beer competitions, winning gold medals in both the European Beer Challenge and the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) National Independent Beer Awards.
Rupert Thompson, managing director of Hogs Back Brewery, said: “We’re delighted that Little Swine 0.5% has won these two important accolades. The European Beer Awards are judged by buyers, who know exactly what beers consumers are looking for, while the SIBA Awards are judged by experienced brewers and beer writers.
“When we set out to brew a low alcohol beer, we wanted it to deliver the same character and flavour as all our beers, without compromise. Some no and low alcohol beers from the big players use harsher methods such as dealcoholisation, reverse osmosis or vacuum distillation. In contrast, Little Swine 0.5% is naturally brewed, using a stopped fermentation method which gently limits the amount of alcohol in the beer.
“Our head brewer Miles Chesterman and his team took their time in getting both the process and the recipe right, and these awards are recognition of that commitment. Our approach leaves more of the hop character in the brew, as well as retaining a fuller, more complete mouth feel.
“In line with our overall approach to sustainability, it’s lower-tech and less interventionist than mass-produced low and no beers, and these Gold Medal wins demonstrate that drinkers appreciate this more natural approach.”
Loddon
Tickets are on sale already for the Loddon Oktoberfest on 13/14 September. What’s promised at the brewery is ‘a night of fun, music, and of course, plenty of beer. Put on your lederhosen and get ready to dance to traditional German music while enjoying a variety of beers brewed on site.’
‘Secret Menu’ nights from Proper Kitchen continue, with the next dates being 8 May and 5 June.
Mysterious
Just before the scheduled delivery of this magazine, Mysterious were due to hold their first birthday party at the Nags Head on 4 May. A special collaboration brew with Ten Tun Brewery of Alton was planned. The beers are also due to appear at local beer festivals including Bracknell on 26 May and Twyford on 6-8 June.
The new web shop is now live and, alongside the regular multipacks and merchandise, you can build your own box of 6 or 12 beers from the selection available.
Phantom
Recent events at the Meadow Road tap room have included a vintage bazaar. They suffered a multiple-day power cut in one unit last month which led to some interesting serving arrangements as well as some rather cold customers! The main thing was that they managed to stay open and we enjoyed drinking under the hastily-rigged string of lights in the Haunt bar. Many thanks to all the staff for the effort they put in to keep the beer flowing.
Rebellion
360 degree virtual tours of the brewery are now available on the Rebellion website – head online to take a look.
The monthly beer specials chosen by the staff as their favourites continue, with these being the next few:
- May: ‘Finest Hour’ 4.2% ABV – a golden pale ale with a crisp hoppy finish. The use of Liberty, Motueka, Mosaic and Amarillo hops means this beer comes with aromas of tropical and citrus fruit.
- June: ‘Zebedee’ 4.7% ABV – a straw coloured, pale ale with a clean, fresh. The hops add a crisp bitterness, and Citra hops added in the hopback give Zebedee a tropical fruit aroma.
- July: Blonde 4.3% ABV – a light golden summer beer, with a citrusy hop character (I thought this one was a regular beer but apparently not!)
Siren Craft
Exciting times at Siren as they have now opened their first town centre tap room in Friar Street. Near Sainsbury’s in the new Station Hill development, it features 30 beer lines. Thanks to Siren for allowing us to share these CGI images of what you can expect.
In their press release for the bar, Siren shared that “Station Hill will be home to the Berkshire-based brewery’s first taproom and restaurant with Siren signing a 15-year lease for a 3,800 sq ft space on Friars Walk. Siren Craft Brew will bring its excellent range of locally produced ales, porters, and lagers to the centre of Reading.” The venue will also boast outside seating.
The idea behind this expansion is to create a flagship home for the Siren Craft brand. Along with the beer lineup, which will include guest beers from all around, wines, cocktails and all kinds of non-alcoholic options will feature. The bar will have a high-spec kitchen to deliver street food inspired accompaniments, and it’s intended to be a showcase for independent producers of all kinds.
Darron Anley, Founder, Siren Craft Brew, said: “One of our all-time ambitions has been to open a flagship tap room in our home town of Reading, so it’s incredible to finally announce that we’re doing it. We’re committed to building something new and unique, while supporting the great work that other like-minded independent businesses have been doing for many years. Station Hill is the right venue, in the right place, at the right time, and we align with its ambition to bring a diverse and exciting offering to the town centre. We cannot wait to be pouring brewery-fresh pints from the new site this spring.”
Outside of this exciting new venture in Reading, there’s been lots of interesting beers coming out of Siren. Cornwall’s Verdant have collaborated with both Double-Barrelled (above) and Siren Craft this spring. Verdant specialise in big, hazy IPAs and ‘Leapling’ is no exception. At 6.5% it’s a US meets NZ hop profile in a triple dry-hop. Expect aromas of lime, guava and gooseberry, with a soft body and minimal bitterness.
Another recent brew of note, ‘Serendipity’ is a 7.4% ABV nitro ruby chocolate stout, created to celebrate International Women’s Day. Brewed exclusively by women of Siren – Amy, Ashley, Ellie, Emma, Emma, Hayley, Josie and Zoe – the result is described as ‘a luxuriously decadent beer with red berry, chocolate and marzipan aroma.’ Done right, the nitro pour will give a smooth mouthfeel.
Following on from the news in the last issue about Siren’s first low alcohol beers, this time we follow the new trend of hop-flavoured water drinks. ‘Hopwater’ is zero alcohol, zero calories, zero caffeine and zero sugar. This sparkling water comes in 440ml cans and is infused with two different hop varieties – Citra (citrus with tropical and piney notes) and Idaho 7 (sweet, stone and tropical fruits along with citrus).
Two Flints
Deya Brewery of Cheltenham recently partnered with Two Flints and ‘Subliminal Messaging’ was the result. This 5% ABV pale ale showcases the new hop HBC1019 as well as the better-known Citra and Motueka. Tropical fruits and lime are found in this juicy and full-bodied beer.
In addition ‘Night Air’, ‘Big Keth’ and ‘Mr Fluff’ all made their debut in April.
Night Air is a 4.8% ABV bright pale brewed with lager yeast and heavy dose of Simcoe and Columbus cryo. Big Keith, an 8.0% ABV DIPA is loaded with a huge bill of Strata, Strata CGX, Citra, Citra Spectrum and Simcoe, while Mr Fluff weighs in at 6.0% ABV and is DDH IPA with NZ Cascade – a beer that Two Flints worked on with Hop Burns & Black for their 10th anniversary.
Windsor and Eton
‘Independence IPA’ at 4% ABV is a new beer, vigorously hopped with Chinook and Cascade, giving it a pleasant, flowery and spicy, citrus-like aroma and bursting with zesty fruity flavours.
The pump clip and bottle label are based on a bespoke artwork crafted by artist ‘Autistic Ian’. Ian was born with artistic talent but also a severe stammer and high-functioning autism. He defied all odds and worked his way from art director to Executive Creative Director of Europe at one of the world’s leading advertising agencies. Unfortunately, after many years struggling with his condition and mental health he was finally overwhelmed and in 2012, Ian suffered a mental breakdown and as a result lost his job and his home. After years of struggle and even sleeping rough, Ian inadvertently created a sketch which he reckoned resembled the Michelin starred chef, Tom Kerridge. Ian sent his sketch to Tom’s wife Beth who loved it and shared Ian’s work. This was to be the beginning of Autistic Ian the artist, whose work has gone on to receive acclaim and recognition from a host of A-list chefs and restaurateurs worldwide.
It’s available in 330ml bottles and 5p from each bottle sold will be donated to a charity supporting Autistic individuals in the UK.
Phil Gill
Published in Mine’s A Pint, issue 63
Mine's A Pint - Reading & Mid-Berks CAMRA 