Brewery News 9

and have just brewed two old favourites: Bang Goes String Theory and Supersonic. Last week we went to Worcestershire and picked up fresh Pilgrim hops that had been harvested that day, and we brewed with them that evening when we got back. This green-hopped beer will be 4.2%. The shop has also been very busy, with sales of cans, bottles, 5L mini casks and 4 pint refills. We also take pre orders for 10L, 20L and firkins for bigger events. It’s been great to be back at beer festivals – some of those we supplied included Northampton, Norwich, Bedford and Booze In The Pews. We have brewed DXB again for the winter months and have also planned two new winter beers: Plumptiousness, a 5.8% Dark Ruby Ale, and Hibernating Grizzly, a 4.0% American Red. A new Bourbon barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout (9.5%) will be ready in December. This will be available in firkins, pins (these will need to be pre-ordered) and bottles from the shop. The shop is open Friday 11.30 – 1300 and 1400 – 1730, Saturday 1200 – 1600. Then from Monday 13th December to Saturday 18th December 1000 – 1700, and Monday 20th December to Thursday 23rd December 1000 – 1700, Friday 24th December 1000 – 1600 and Friday 31st December 1000 – 1500.

Bill Taylor

OAKHAM ALES

www.oakhamales.com

Like all in the hospitality industry, Oakham Ales have gone through difficult times in 2020 and 2021, with people leaving the business, restructuring and “difficult business decisions”. But the philosophy of producing good beer hasn’t changed, with the core range unchanged and the 2021 seasonal range featuring many new beers and all selling out. For the remainder of the year, two beers – Below Zero, a winter pale ale at 4.1% and an interesting 4.8% Harvest Hop Citra, using freshly-picked “green” Citra hops from the States, then freezing them for export to England, will be available. A couple of new additions to the vintage range – Sikander, a pale hop fusion at 5.2% and Obsidian Order, a black IPA at 6.2%, are now also available. Early 2022 sees Dr. Jekyll, a five USA-hopped pale gold beer at 2.8% - so no Hyding from it, that’s essentially Small Beer! February sees the latest singlehopped beer Waimea from New Zealand at 3.5%. Let’s hope the full brewing calendar can come to fruition in 2022, and for restrictions to become a thing of the past for all in the industry, with going out the new staying in – and hopefully an end to the media bombardment of adverts for food and drink delivered for home consumption.

Dave Allett

ROCKET ALES

www.rocket-ales.com

Mike Blakesley has left the brewery and Dave Smith will now have sole ownership. Dave will continue to run the brewery and will make an assessment of how things are progressing in six months’ time. He is currently brewing and supplying six beers: Bloodhound, Apollo, Lunar Module, Sidewinder, Meteor and Titan.

Don Rudd

TYDD STEAM

www.tyddsteam.co.uk

Cock Mild (4.4%) will be brewed for December and a new ale, a golden bitter called Top Cat (4.2%), using stavo hops, will be available by Christmas.

Dickie Bird

XTREME ALES

www.xtremeales.com

STAMPEDING&CRAWLING

It used to be called the Stamford Saunter, or the Stamford Stroll, and certainly (in my case at least) it has often been the Stamford Stagger, but on the 25th September the Stamford Stampede took place. I’m not sure how many people are needed to constitute a stampede, but it’s probably more than the four who gathered at the Jolly Brewer shortly after midday.

However, as Social Secretary Shep pointed out, we may have been short on quantity but we were high on quality as the compact group meant some interesting debate and even more interesting anecdotes!

On the basis that if you can’t say anything nice about something, it’s best to say nothing at all, I won’t comment on the Brewer, where I didn’t have a drink – there were some teething issues to contend with, although I will say that things are now improving. But things looked up in another former Branch Pub of the Year, the Green Man in Scotgate. George was busy preparing the day’s offerings and my pint of Grainstore 1050 was very welcome, as was the half of the same brewery’s Zahara which followed it. Next up – the Millstone in All Saints’ Street, recently reopened and under new management. Encouragingly busy with football watchers as our pints of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord went down and our number was swelled to five as my brother Gareth, who has recently moved to Stamford, joined us.

The Bird had flown.... And then we were six! Alan Binnington, half of BAE’s new distribution team, was in the next pub we called at, the King’s Head in Maiden Lane, and where I did something I don’t think I’ve ever done before. Readers of a delicate disposition need not look away! But my pints (I had a second one to make sure) of Baker’s Dozen Electric Landlady were so divine that I scored the ale as a perfect 5 on the NBSS site. A tribute to both the brewery and the pub!

Five of us pressed on to the Tobie Norris (Dickie had left to catch his bus) where more quality ale was supped, variously from Church End, Oakham and St. Austell.

Following this, we called at a boozer which hasn’t always been on the itinerary in previous years – the Lord Burghley in Broad Street. Eight handpumps offered a variety of ales as we sat in the large outdoor area and drank pints of Grainstore 1050 whilst chatting to veteran PBF volunteer Kim Couzens.

Sadly my memory fails me at this point, but I am reliably informed that some intrepid Stampeders (it must have been Shep and Kelvin) finished up at yet another former Branch POTY, Mama Liz’s, as (unusually for me) I reached contentment before capacity and headed for home, fish and chips under my arm……

A fortnight later and the Bourne and Deepings Crawl went ahead with a mere two crawlers –