46
In the drink With Paul Antrobus
BY PAUL ANTROBUS
Make mine a double… Two ‘hybrid’ beers to tide you over as spring transitions into summer.
T
he Dutch favourite Grolsch Premium Pilsner is now back in the UK, and there is also the German style London brewed Hells hybrid lager. All beers can be classified as either lagers or ales and that is determined by the type of yeast used during the fermentation process. Lagers are made with yeast that ferments at the bottom of the beer mixture, for three to four weeks and at a cool 10° - 13°C. Ales are made with yeast that ferments at the top, warm at about 16° - 20°C, for a total of four to six days. That is the easy starting point, but within each category are hybrid beers born on the tsunami wave of new beer recipes and exotic extra ingredients that have hit the market in recent years. Grolsch Premium Pilsner is one of these hybrids. Invented in Holland in 1615, its ‘hybrid’ classification comes from being twice brewed with two different hops and two different malts, ale and lager.
The Kölches
The style, which originally came from Cologne, Germany, is fermented with ale yeast but then finished in cold
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temperatures like a lager. They are categorised as ‘Kölches’. Over here they have never been trendy – so far! When you look around you will find quite a few and they are growing in popularity, getting away from traditional ales and with more body and flavour than a regular lager. Grolsch is now owned by Japanese brewer Asahi, which also owns Fuller’s Brewery in Chiswick, famous for London Pride English ale, and Peroni classic Italian lager. It was withdrawn from the UK market in 2019 due to falling sales, but in October 2020 it relaunched in the UK at the new strength of four per cent abv (down from five per cent), delivering a lager-ale with a fresh sparkling slightly sharp taste and a texture well suited to the warmer weather.
"When you look around you will find quite a few and they are growing in popularity."
It comes in 500ml cans, 330ml bottles and the iconic 450ml swing top, which has been a Grolsch special for years - its resealability is so useful for picnics with dinghies on the beach and on board. The October relaunch was swiftly followed by the second lockdown and rebuilding distribution has been slow, but it is coming. In my area it is available at Waitrose at £1.68 for 450ml. Or it is available online. I found a 20 x 450ml multipack for £39 (£1.95 each), excluding shipping, at www.thebottleclub.com.
Hells Lager
In the same genre, Camden Brewery’s Hells Lager is a classic of the hybrid ale-lager beers. Brewed in Camden Town, London, it is made from two German beer styles, a 50-50 mix of Helles and Pilsner, using Pilsner malt and Bavarian lager yeast. At 4.6 per cent, it is unpasteurised, clean, crisp and dry and suitable for vegetarians and vegans. It comes in a generous 660ml bottle for £2.50 at Sainsbury’s and is widely available in other stores. Grolsch and Hells, two beers which can bring a touch of European flavour to stay at home holidays that look like being the norm for this coming summer.
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