10 issue
GOOD NEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOOD BEER
F R EE
CRAFT BEER REAL ALES GOOD PUBS TASTING NOTES ARTISANAL SPIRITS + other nice stuff
The FUTURE of BEER
Crazy ingredients, environmental chaos, flavour tech, big business… what does beer look like in 2026?
+ HOMEBREW How to make Brooklyn’s Sorachi Ace & Dark Star's Espresso
WHEAT BEERS / 48 BEERS FEATURED / ARGENTINA & PORTUGAL / DIPAS
EST 2000 based in Greenwich, London. + 0° 0 mins 30 secs East of the Greenwich Meridian
Limited Edition beer for the ‘Make Time For It’ campaign Meantime have challenged six craftsmen to create something original, in the same six weeks it takes to brew them a beer Honouring Liam Hopkins of Lazerian, Manchester
Bespoke hand crafted furniture created by Liam Hopkins Meantime creates over 40 different beers every year
MAKE TIME FOR THE SIX WEEK MEANTIME CRAFT CHALLENGE. It takes us six long weeks to brew every pint of Meantime beer. Which gave us the idea to ask six people from six Cities across the UK, to craft something truly original in the same period. Manchester furniture designer Liam Hopkins has taken up the challenge to see how he got on, and to try the beer we brewed in honour of his endeavours, make time to follow their progress at meantimebrewing.com/MTFI.
MEANTIMEBREWING.COM/MTFI BREWING COMPANY
Photo: Gary Lashmar
Issue 10 | Contents
Cover photo by Rob Vanderplank for Original Gravity%. / robvanderplank.com
The Mash /p04 • Homebrew /p10 • Future of beer /p12 • Photo essay /p16 Tasting Notes /p19 • Argentina /p20 • Your round /p23
THE BRIGHT FUTURE... of the world’s best drink
ORIGINAL GRAVITY Contact daniel@originalgravitymag.com 01323 370430 Advertising originalgravitymag@gmail.com 01323 370430
In this issue we’re looking at the future of beer. Will we be creating synthetic hops in labs? Getting drone beer deliveries directly to our homes (cold, naturally)? Will water shortage be the biggest challenge? We’ve assembled writers, scientists, brewers and even a cartoonist to imagine what beer might be like in 2026. There are some fascinating insights – the future looks bright indeed. Elsewhere we’re celebrating the world of beer by travelling to Germany, Portugal and
Argentina, where I’m writing this, for a global perspective on bier, cerveja and cerveza (you get the idea…). Meanwhile in our remarkable photo essay we’re looking at a skill long-thought to be relegated to the passing of time but now making a comeback: cooperage. Photographer Peter Byrne paid a visit to JW Lees’ cooper and returned with some stunning shots; see them on page 16. We’re also continuing with the homebrew
theme that’s run throughout the year and this time, as well as tips and our regular stovetop recipe, we also have recipes for Dark Star's superlative espresso and Brooklyn Brewery’s Sorachi Ace – both thanks to Euan Ferguson, who gathered homebrew recipes for a book. If this democratization of beer is the future, we like it. No one really predicted where beer would be in 2016, but we reckon things can only get better. Daniel Neilson, Publisher and Editor
Website: originalgravitymag.com Twitter: OGBeerMag Facebook: /originalgravitymag Instagram: ORIGINAL_GRAVITY Editorial design: @adamonsea
What’s the most interesting beer you’ve tried recently? © 2016 Original Gravity is published by Don’t Look Down Media. All rights reserved. All material in this publication may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without the written permission of Don’t Look Down Media. Views expressed in Original Gravity are those of the respective contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publication nor its staff.
BUY THE BEERS You’ll notice we mention our partners who supply many of the beers mentioned. Ales By Mail (alesbymail.co.uk): ABM Beer Hawk (beerhawk.co.uk): BH Real Ale (realale.com): RA
Daniel Neilson
Ant Miller
Alan Hinkes
Adrian Tierney-Jones
Peter Byrne
Daniel is the editor and publisher of Original Gravity%. He’s edited several magazines and books, including Time Out guides and national mags.
Ant likes a beer. He hasn't worked out which yet, so tries a lot in the hope it'll be one that's available on this planet at this time in history. / @meeware
Alan Hinkes OBE is the only Briton to climb the world’s 8,000m peaks. He lives in Yorkshire and enjoys walking mountains and discovering beers.
Adrian TierneyJones is a journalist who writes about beer, pubs, food and travel and how they all intersect. / maltworms. blogspot.co.uk
Peter Byrne is a freelance photographer based in York. In this issue he visits a coooper for our photo essay on page 16. / peterbyrne.co.uk
Easy! Thornbridge and Brooklyn collaboration Serpent, made with wild cider lees.
So on that basis the raw dehydrated beer that was about 40%abv was pretty interesting
Bumped into Black Sheep founder Paul Theakston who gave me some of his boys (Rob & Jo) new beer.
Poppyland, Saison Alexanders, brisk and fulsome; contains the pungent herb Alexanders.
I’ve had a couple of bottles Cascade from the great Bad Seed in Malton recently and it’s really nice.
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The ART OF BEER The art of beer extends far beyond the boundaries of the label. We’ve seen stunning murals on taproom walls, framed images of beer-related work hung around our favourite pubs and brilliantly creative designs on T-shirts, badges, websites and pump clips. We rejoice when a brewery commissions the work of a painter, illustrator or a photographer – it not only shows that the brewery cares about its visual image, but about the artist themselves too. The latest eye-catching collaboration between Brighton street artist SNUB23 and Dark Star is a great example. “I believe it was fate that we’d work together, and in a way it was,” says SNUB23. “As a street artist living and working in Brighton I walk the streets every day. I’m visually aware of all I see. The Evening Star pub (the birthplace of Dark Star) is very local to me. Not only did I love their beer but also the logo and branding, and I’d often mention to other artists while gorging myself on their ale how cool it would be to work on some designs with them – maybe a T-shirt or some beer mats.” A certain amount of serendipity led to their collaboration. After using some artwork from an agency that seemed closely ‘inspired’ by SNUB23, Dark Star decided to go straight to the source. It’s been a mutually beneficial relationship ever since, with Dark Star supporting SNUB23’s exhibitions and livepainting events, and SNUB23 in turn decorating their brewery, one of their pubs and appearing at Dark Star events such as Hopfest, the Spin Up in a Brewery and the recent
Blockheads gig. He also designed the livery for their delivery vans, beer mats and bar runners, featuring a mischievous hop monster. They’re even working on a bottle opener together. However, it’s the T-shirt and tote bag that sum up the collaboration best. “They’re the most recent work and show the crossover between our brands,” SNUB23 says. “The mongrel character in my work is my interpretation of an old comic story in 2000AD (which also featured Judge Dredd) called the ABC warriors. Mongrel was a mute beast of a robot, letting his strength speak for him. Over the years he’s changed and grown, and in this design he’s hunched up protecting his pint, as you do. He just has more bulk than most. “Dark Star has a history to be proud of, born in a pub and now celebrated everywhere. The name alone is in tune with the SNUB ethos – snub meaning to disagree and ignore. This isn’t arrogance, more a stubbornness to stick to what you believe. Dark Star believes in what they do, they are proud of their product, they are a family. One I am very proud to be part of.” / snub23.com /darkstarbrewing.co.uk
Win P4
We’re giving away a bundle of Dark Star goodies, including some of the merchandise designed by SNUB23. Go to originalgravitymag.com to answer a very, very easy question.
THE MASH
The 6 PACK WHEAT BEERS
Beer meets... BEES Let’s not forget, beer is an agricultural product. It is the sum of elements that rely on sun and water for their existence. Occasionally beers appear with an aroma that transports you to the hop fields of Yakima, even if you’ve never been there. Honey beers should do the same; take you back to the time you first tried honey out of the comb. The best honey beers are sprightly rather than cloying, and taste of sun, of life.
/ Brooklyn Brewery, Local 2, 9% Brooklyn’s Local 2, one of their ‘bottle fermented’ range, is a Belgian-inspired dark ale, and my word, it’s a blinder. From the list of ingredients you’d expect it to be sweet – dark candi sugar, raw wildflower honey from a NY family farm – but it’s brilliantly balanced. The honey notes are mildly floral and add a depth and grace. This is a beautiful beer, just beautiful. / brooklynbrewery.com
A weissbier, or Hefeweizen, is all about context. It’s the whipped cream head not quite tipping over the edge of the tall curved glass; it’s the gentle banana and spicy aroma; it’s the clinking of the bottom of the glass with friends. Most of all, however, it’s about the environment you’re in. My first weissbier was outside an Austrian alpine hut under the
snow-capped, double-peaked Grossglockner. It was the perfect place to glug this mountain of a beer. Then, of course, there are the fabled Munich biergarten where big heavy glasses are poured, chinked and chugged. Weiss or ‘weisse’ means white, and describes the pale wheat beers from Austria or Germany. (A witbier, incidentally, is the
Belgian version we'll cover soon). Weizen means wheat. Hefe means yeast, and usually signifies that a beer is unfiltered and bottle-conditioned. It’s also characterised by flavours of bananas, cloves and occasionally bubblegum and vanilla. There’s little hop character, and it’s fizzy, bright and lively with a massive head. Pure summer. DN
/ Erdinger, Weissbier, 5.3% This is one of the benchmark German weissbiers, and for good reason: this Bavarian brewery produces an admirably restrained beer that draws back on the sometimes cloying sweetness. It is stunningly refreshing.
/ Bad Seed, Hefeweizen, 5.1% Hard to imagine a beer like this coming out of North Yorkshire, but this is very much a hefeweizen. It’s full of notes of spicy cloves and rich banana bread notes, yet there’s a husky aftertaste that keeps the beer balanced.
/ Sunseeeker, Fordham, 5% A curious beer this – there’s a hoppy nose, and on first taste not too much going on, but then a big wave of vanilla and cloves strikes, loading the senses. It’s followed up with a mild slap of bitterness at the end.
/ Weihenstephaner, Hefe Weissbier, 5.4% Weihenstephaner is one of the oldest breweries in the world, and their ‘Hefe Weissbier’ is another classic. On the nose? Bananas, tick, cloves, tick. When you take a big swig you realise it’s a more restrained beer – and that means another.
/ Cloudwater, Hopfen Weisse, 6.5% Cloudwater have made a hefeweizen by numbers... no, no they haven’t, they’ve made yet another beautiful style-smashing beer, popping wildly with tropical fruits from the dry-hopping, yet giving a savoury finish. Yet, this is definitively a wheat beer, and it’s one loaded with character.
/ Goose Island, 312 Urban Wheat Beer, 4.2% This isn’t a Bavarian-style Hefeweizen, nor does it pretend to be, but it uses wheat to give a sweetness to the palate and also has, yes, a hint of cloves. The malted barley is clearly present too, offering an English ale crossed with a Weissbier.
/ Hiver, The Honey Beer, 5% Hiver is a wonderful success story – a beer created out of respect for London’s urban bee keepers, and having met the founder Hannah Rhodes we can vouch for its authenticity. As for the beer – well it’s delicious. Not nearly as sweet as you’d imagine, but a subtly hoppy blonde ale. / hiverbeers.com / Buy at ABM, RA
/ Fuller’s, Honey Dew, 5% This readily-recognisable honey beer from Fuller’s is the biggest selling organic beer in the country according to the brewery. Warning signs in the notes about being a beer ‘even for those who don’t like beer’ are unfounded: this is a subtlyapproached summer beer with a sharp enough citrus tang to make it very drinkable. / fullers.co.uk
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THE MASH
DIPA. It’s a thing. And that’s mainly down to one beer in particular: Cloudwater’s DIPA v1, v2, v3, v4, v5… probably the most sought after beers in the country right now. The brewing of a double IPA – a strong IPA also known as an Imperial IPA – is usually a special occasion in a
brewery. It’s where the brewer gets to play and experiment with a beer that is usually produced in small volumes. DIPAs are designed to be super-hoppy, like an IPA, but are also significantly stronger (usually
/ Thornbridge, Jaipur X, 10% It was Thornbridge who turned out one of the best IPAs in the last decade, the award-winning Jaipur. So when they made this astonishing ‘Imperial IPA’ at 10% for the brewery’s 10th anniversary, it became much in demand. It seems to have stuck around, and thank goodness. This is a beer that needs to be savoured. / thornbridge.co.uk / Buy at ABM, BH
8-10%). These are huge, bold, thrilling beers and feel pleasantly naughty to drink. For many hopheads (including those in this office), this is one of the ultimate expressions of craft beer. According to The Oxford Companion to Beer, it was the owner of Russian River Brewing
/ Cloudwater, DIPA v3, 9% What’s not been said about the country’s most hunted-after beer? DIPA v3 may be gone by the time this edition hits the bars, but v4 and v5 are coming, and they’ll be different (and brilliant no doubt). What makes it so special? Flavour, flavour, flavour. It’s quite astonishing. There’s a reason it’s been snaffled up. Make the next one yours. / cloudwaterbrew.co / Buy at BH
DIPAS
/ BrewDog, Hardcore IPA, 9.2%
/ To Øl, Nelson Survin, 9%
Hardcore eh? Well, yeah! It is, and it even deserves an exclamation mark. The hops come tumbling out of the glass wrapped in a warming alcoholic fug. The aroma is loaded with expectation and this beer delivers a huge hit of booze, tempered with an earthy undertone. This ‘Imperial IPA’ is a powerful beast, and one worth picking up very soon. / brewdog.com / Buy at BH
Woah. This is a beer like no other – a sour DIPA. We recently interviewed Tore, the co-founder of To Øl, who said the brewery always looked to push the boundaries. And blimey, they do with this one. Where to start? Imagine a DIPA, full of tropical Nelson Sauvin hops but mightily sour. It’s breathtaking in the truest sense. If you want to see how far beer can be pushed and still remain drinkable, try it. / to-ol.dk / Buy BH
Beer
BOOKS “It brings together homebrew recipes directly from the breweries.” P6
Company, Vinnie Cilurzo, who is acknowledged to have invented the style in 1994 with his Pliny The Elder, one of the world’s most coveted beers. Yet a glance at the beers we’ve picked out below demonstrate how diverse the style is, and will continue to be. DN
Craft Brew / Euan Ferguson This is an impressive book that brings together 50 homebrew recipes based on some of the world’s best beers. Journalist Euan Ferguson has brought together homebrew recipes directly from breweries such as BrewDog, Mikkeller, Anchor, Beavertown, Kernel, Evil Twin and more from around the world. What’s more, many are flagship beers (or at least some of the best of each brewery) and it includes the recipe for Brooklyn Brewery’s Sorachi Ace we’ve reprinted on pages 10-11, along with the Espresso from Dark Star. / quartoknows.com
Food & Beer / Daniel Burns & Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø If there’s any doubt that beer isn’t quickly being promoted to the level of wine on the tables of fine restaurants, this sumptuous book should alleviate any uncertainty. The two authors, Daniel Burns & Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, came together under the roof of a shared space in Brooklyn. Daniel runs the Michelin-starred Lukus while Jeppe, the Danish owner of Evil Twin brewery, runs the Tørst bar in the same building. The book includes more than 75 recipes from the duo with beer pairings. It also has some fascinating musings on the intersection of beer and food. / phaidon.com
Pint to Pint / Various The best of the Telegraph’s popular pub review columns have been brought together in a 288-page hardback book called Pint to Pint: A Crawl Around Britain’s Best Pubs. It features a diverse selection of pubs from around the country, from community-owned pubs to those with microbreweries, and from modern bars to historical pubs. Adrian Tierney-Jones has contributed 13 reviews alone, including BrewDog Camden. What ties the reviews together across the book, however, is a focus on good beer, good company and pubs with character. / books.telegraph.co.uk
THE MASH
Festivals & EVENTS July 6 | Brooklyn Brewery Records x Graveltones Brooklyn Brewery take over Flashback Records in Bethnal Green for a vinyl launch of a Graveltones live show. Also in Nottingham. / originalgravitymag.com July 21-23 | Birmingham Beer Bash The 2016 event over five sessions will focus on keg beers. Plus food and entertainment. / birminghambeerbash.co.uk Aug 5-14 | London Beer City A huge amount of events around the capital, including tours and offers. Unmissable. / londonbeercity.com Aug 9-13 | Great British Beer Festival It’s the big one – CAMRA’s flagship beer festival held at Olympia, London. / gbbf.org.uk / See originalgravitymag.com for loads more events.
The Q&A
Luke Raven, Director, Ilkley Brewery What do you think sets Ilkley apart from other breweries? One of the things we’re proud of here is being able to make beers for a wide range of drinkers – so whether it’s a pint of Mary Jane in a rural country pub or a third of The Mayan in a city-centre taproom, there’s something for everyone. I love that there are so many great breweries around. It keeps us all honest, and focused on making the best beer possible. What’s next for Ilkley? We have big plans for Ilkley – for starters, we’re increasing our production by 30 per cent this summer, and taking on another unit to increase our warehousing. It will also house a shop and taproom. Look out for new keg beers Lotus and Barbarossa this summer too, and by the time you read this, you should be seeing our new branding popping up around the place as well. We’re going to be packaging our keg range shortly too…
What is the ethos that you have at Ilkley? We are all in it together. We have bold ideas, each of us has a voice and we all love what we do. So having fun is important, but also having an absolute dedication and focus on quality, consistency and standards. Not least because we are all beer drinkers ourselves.
Anatomy of... HELLES Summer’s coming, and that means one thing: lager. One of our favourite styles is the Helles, a full-bodied, slightly sweeter beer from Munich, a city we know well. ‘Hell’ means ‘light’ and ‘Helles’ means ‘a light one’, fitting in well with the say-what-you-see world of naming beer. It’s a beautifully coloured drink – a straw blond with a big
STRENGTH Typically 4.7% to 5.4%. Those over 5% are sometimes known as ‘Export Helles’.
FLAVOUR It’s a complex and rich lager. There’s a clear maltiness that a Pilsner often hides. Has a soft bitterness on the palate and a sense of hops.
APPEARANCE Lovely. It’s a bright, pale golden straw colour with a satisfying head and sprightly bubbles.
HISTORY Born: March 21, 1894. Yep, this is one of the few beers with a history traceable to a single day. It was Munich’s Spaten Brewery who created it to take on Pilsner.
creamy head – and it’s best enjoyed in the paper-thin glasses of Munich’s Augustinerbrau. According to the German Beer Institute, Helles sums up the spirit of Gemütlichkeit, a German word that evokes a sense of “sociability, geniality, joviality, good nature, comfort, and cosiness.” Can't disagree with that.
AKA... Hell, Helles, Helles Lager, Export Helles, Urhelles, Urtyp-Helles, Spezial Helles.
FOOD The Helles cuts through greasy food well and accompanies light and soft cheeses, pork and shellfish.
WHEN TO DRINK A summer drink, but remains popular into the autumn during Munich’s Oktoberfest.
WEIRD FACT There’s a town in Austria called ‘Fucking’. Cunning marketeers created a ‘Fucking Hell’ beer, but disappointingly, it’s a Pilsner and not brewed in Fucking.
Which beers are you enjoying now? Buxton are probably my go-to UK brewery, but I’m in San Diego in June so looking forward to sticking my head in to Stone, Modern Times and Green Flash. I’m fortunate not only to be able to source great beer at work, but my wife works in a craft beer store too, so there’s always something new and tasty an arm’s reach. / ilkleybrewery.co.uk
THREE TO TRY
/ Augustiner, Helles, 5.2% Probably our favourite Helles is this subtly malty beer, with a deep, complex, earthy aftertaste. Best sampled at an Augustiner bar in Munich. / augustiner-braeu.de
/ Hofbräu, Original, Bellerose, 5.1% Served to many, many, many thirsty tourists in the Hofbräuhaus, it is nevertheless a brilliant example of the style. / hofbraeu-muenchen.de / Camden Town Brewery, Hells, 5.8% Camden Town’s flagship beer is a wonderful brew and redefined how many think about lager. Crisp, dry, tasty and complex. / camdentownbrewery.com
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THE MASH
Perfect 10
Letter from... PORTUGAL I was midway through an insipid menu do dia in a café in northern Porto when I happened to glance across the road and see salvation. A man in black, complete with regulation hop-shaped beard, was setting up tables and chairs on the pavement opposite. Behind him, four words were printed onto a window: Catraio Craft Beer Shop. Less than ten minutes later I was taking long sips of a hefty 7.5% bock and rearranging my plans for the afternoon. History is repeating itself in Porto. Down on the banks of the Douro, the old port wine warehouses are still emblazoned with British names – Taylor’s, Offley, Graham’s, Croft – while here in Catraio’s pale-wood bar the tap-board was chalked with stouts, porters and IPAs from Brewdog, Kernel and other modern-day UK standardbearers. Keeping them in fine company were beers from Denmark, the Czech Republic, the USA and, of course, plenty from Portugal itself.
COMPETITION We’re also giving away a set of these fantastic tea towels and beer mats. For details visit originalgravitymag.com
360° Cans
Cans are here to stay. It’s now widely known that the natural enemies of beer are light and oxygen, and these receptacles go a long way to avoid those elements. They also look cool. Beer from cans should usually be decanted into a glass to get the full impact of aroma, but sometimes that’s just not possible – so can technology has moved on. The excellent London Beer Factory will become the first UK brewery to launch 360-degree cans where the full lid can be removed – perfect for a picnic in the park. They look pretty great too, with a design from Philip Harris. / thelondonbeerfactory.com
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We love a bit of great design here at Original Gravity%, even tea towels. This range of beery kitchenware from Stuart Gardiner Design caught our attention with the brilliant use of typography. Stuart Gardiner has a degree in information design which, presumably, helps with his other area of expertise: designing album covers for the music industry. “Going from designing Iron Maiden album covers to tea towels wasn’t the career path I’d envisaged, but food and drink is the new rock’n’roll, so there’s some synergy there I guess!” he explains. “Beer is also in my blood – my granddad was the head brewer for Younger’s in Edinburgh way back, and also set up Broughton Ales.” Buy from stuartgardiner.com
“We set up here because the craft scene is getting bigger in Portugal and, well, someone had to do it,” smiled barmanowner Ricardo, who opened Catraio last year with partner Maria. “It’s more developed in the north, with breweries like Letra, Burguesa and the first craft brewers in the country, Sovina.” Loosely defined, the word “catraio”
means “kid”, which seems a fair description of a beer scene still in its nascent stages. By the same measure, the scene also has a bouncy, pup-like enthusiasm for the fruits of its labours. Down in the pounding heat of Lisbon a few days later, however, I sought out another craft beer spot, Cerveteca Lisboa, open since summer 2014 and set deep in the city’s backstreets. It was a weekday evening, and the clientele had spilled out into the little cobbled square across the street. The menu was a rich one. There were weiss beers and pilsners, imperial stouts and grisettes. There was a double India pale lager from Lisbon brewers Aroeira called “Look, I’m Your Lager”. I ordered a raspberry sour from local brewers Dois Corvos and headed outside to enjoy the last of the sun. For the next twenty minutes, the happiest man in the Portuguese capital was wearing a daft smile and writing down words like “tart”, “puckering” and “jammy”. In a country where beer-drinking is still roundly dominated by Super Bock – a refreshing but bland mass-produced lager from beverage overlords Unicer – craft is in many ways still finding a firm foothold. On the evidence of my time here, however, its future is looking anything but shaky. Ben Lerwill / @benlerwill
THE MASH
The BIG PICTURE American Voodoo and Scottish Salmon in Brooklyn’s Beer Mansion one of the most inexperienced beer buffs in the building. I assured him that I’d refine my paltry tastes, at least until Brooklyn Mash spat me back out into the dark streets of Dalston. I melted into the maze of moody speakeasies and shuffled hazily over wooden floorboards and past stacks of vintage vinyl. In the bare brick corridors of the crowded Beer Mansion, bombastic, bold Americana blended seamlessly with hipster chic. Neon signs and dust-
covered chandeliers hummed below the skylights, colouring a hazed, bubbling hootenanny of laughter, swigging and shoe stomping. A man in an apron soon spread mustard on my palm, topping it with salmon and seasoning. “Go ahead, shove it in there, buddy,” he grinned. “The flavours compliment the hops.” “Do you know where Johnny Depp is?” I asked. “I heard Johnny was supposed to be coming.” He shrugged, apologetically. “Don’t worry, I’ll track the bastard down,” I assured him, receding back into the bustle. By the time I was on the rooftop terrace, sat beneath a statue of the
Virgin Mary while swilling on Serpent ale brewed on cider lees with Thornbridge (Garret Oliver and Thornbridge's Jim Harrison pictured below), I felt converted, spoilt and baptised. Garrett Oliver was there. The rest blurs into madness, cheers and music. I didn’t embarrass my editor as far as I can recall. I did, however, fail to coherently capture the story, the bleary whirlwind of sweating faucets, distorted guitars and faces. Jim Reader
Photos: Gary Lashmar (marshalgrayphotography.com)
Don’t tell anyone you drink Budweiser,” said my editor, who was propped up against a plywood bar. “You’ll be dragged outside and flogged savagely like a protestor at a Trump rally.” I nodded, sipping a smooth but deceptively boozy slug of Bel Air Sour Ale. “At worst,” he added, “you may embarrass me.” Daniel already knew that I was
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Home BREW THE MASH
Making the WORLD’S BEST BEERS In his amazing new book, Craft Brew: 50 homebrew recipes from the world’s best craft breweries, Euan Ferguson has brought together just that. Inside it you’ll find homebrew recipes from Mikkeller, Gigantic, Kernel and more from across the globe. As Euan writes: “When you get more confident, (you can) use the recipes as springboards to dive off into your own creations – more/fewer/different hops at different stages, a touch of roasted malt or rye or oatmeal, complementary ingredients
like fruit, herbs, spices, tea, chocolate, vanilla, coffee… You’re only limited by your imagination.” Here we speak to the author about collecting the recipes, and exclusively extract two of our favourites. • Craft Brew: 50 homebrew recipes from the world’s best craft breweries by Euan Ferguson (Frances Lincoln, £14.99)
Q&A Where did the idea from the book come from? With my book, I wanted to highlight the inherent link between craft beer producers, drinkers and homebrewers, and celebrate the fact that they’re all part of the same scene. I also wanted to provide a straightforward but detailed method for homebrewing. The more people who are into good beer – whether that’s making it professionally, selling it, brewing it at home, writing about it or just drinking it – the better the world becomes! How did you go about getting the recipes? I wanted the book to be as global as possible to illustrate the fact that craft beer doesn’t have boundaries and there’s great beer being made all over. I wanted to create a balance of established breweries as well as smaller, up-andcoming producers – for instance, Anchor, Brewdog and Brooklyn, but also Crooked Stave and Burning Sky – but they were all companies I knew and respected. Were the brewers receptive to giving away the recipes? Most breweries were really receptive to the idea, but a couple of the older, ‘first-wave’, more commercial companies were more protective of their recipes. I can understand it, in a way – when they began making their beer say twenty years ago, not many other people were doing it that way. Their recipes were what made them unique. But today’s craft
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brewers operate with a philosophy of openness. They know that their recipes are not what makes them succeed – what does is rigorous, consistent process in the brewery, unbending adherence to principles, careful marketing (whether it’s subtle or in-your-face), thoughtful packaging, collaboration. They know that by encouraging others to get involved in beermaking, they’re creating an environment where good beer flourishes. How were the recipes adapted from the full versions? A variety of ways. I found that almost every commercial craft brewer started out as a homebrewer, so most of them were happy to be involved and to scale their recipes down; many already had homebrew versions from prototypes they’d made. I used professional software calibrated to replicate typical homebrewing kit and conditions, making allowances for the technical variations (hop utilisation, efficiencies etc) that exist between home and brewery equipment. And – testing! All the recipes produce great batches of beer. How did you choose which beers would go in? I wanted to have a really wide range of recipes, both in terms of style and technical difficulty, so that beginners and experts would find something to inspire them. • Read the full interview at originalgravitymag.com
THE MASH RECIPE CARD
DARK STAR Espresso Dark coffee beer Espresso dark beer
HOMEBREW 101
Choosing your first recipe
5 gallon
It’s maybe not quite hefty enough to be called a stout, as the only really dark grain involved here is the roasted barley. It adds a beautifully sweet aspect to cushion the bitter jolt from the ground coffee. Other coffee-based beers may use more ground beans by weight, but in Dark Star’s version it’s more of a background brew within a brew. Brewing information ABV: 4.2% OG: 1.048 FG: 1.014--
VOLUME: 20L, 5gal MASH: 67C/153F for 60 mins FERMENT: 20C/68F
Ingredients: GRAIN Pale ale malt, 3kg/6lbs 10oz (70%) Wheat, 690g/1lb 8oz (16%) Roasted barley, 470g/1lb 1oz (11%) Caramalt, 130g/4.6oz (3%) HOPS Challenger, 30g/1.1oz, 60 mins Challenger, 11g/0.4oz, 0 mins
YEAST Danstar Nottingham Ale or White Labs WLP039 Nottingham Ale OTHER INGREDIENTS Freshly ground Arabica coffee, the best you can get your hands on, 22g/0.8oz at the end of the boil. Leave as you would aroma hops before transferring to fermenter. Best to use a fine bag – coffee grounds are messy to clean up!
RECIPE CARD
BROOKLYN BREWERY Sorachi Ace US-Hopped Saison Sorachi Ace
Essential advice from Home Brew Depot’s Simon Pipola Craft beer bug? Check. Home brewing equipment for a fivegallon brew? Check. Name of your nanobrewery? Check (Hold The Door Brewery?). Final choice of recipe for Batch Number 1? Well, let’s see… narrowed it down to either a Cloudwater DIPA v.3 clone (v.3.1?), a Pacific Pale Ale (‘cause our brew buddy has some Nelson Sauvin!), but then possibly an American IPA (West Coast of course) or what about trying to do that amazing Neapolitan Ice Cream beer from Northern Monk?! Argh so much choice! It’s easy to get carried away when you first start, hell I know I did. My first ten brews were all different recipes. A couple came out great, most were drinkable, some not quite so much. The main problem was with so many different recipes, different
tastes and aromas, plus slightly changing processes, every brew was practically the first brew – of that recipe at least. A very important part of home brewing is ensuring that you are learning about the processes and chemistry to improve with each brew. Identify one beer that stands out for you. A beer that appeals to you because of its balance and simplicity, rather than its out-there style and complexity of flavours. Pale ales and porters are a good start. These are beers that can be brewed with clean yeasts (which don’t add a lot of yeast’s own unique flavours) and therefore showcase the flavours of hops and malts. These are the two ingredients you will want to master first. Once you have chosen the alpha test beer (the BeerSmith
app is great for recipes incidentally) then brew it and brew it again. And again. And again. Make detailed notes – exact quantities, temperatures, timings, steps taken. Practice the art of cleaning and sterilising all your equipment. Master that art. Drink the beer. Make notes. Dissect the beer. Visit the BCJP (Beer Judge Certification Program) website to see exactly how your beer should taste. Research why certain off flavours may have occurred and adjust your next brew accordingly. Soon you’ll be brewing a beer your mates will jump at the chance to sample. And your next brew? Well you’ve mastered the basics, have a little fun and experiment! IG @homebrewdepot T @homebrewdepotuk
5 gallon
This twenty-first-century reimagining of a saison by Brooklyn Brewery uses only one hop, Sorachi Ace, which provides a flowery, lemony character you won’t get anywhere else. And the technique in this recipe is evidence of the way that staggered deployment through the boil draws out a range of flavours, from bitterness through flavour to aroma. Brewing information: ABV: 4.2% OG: 1.062 FG: 1.008-VOLUME: 20L, 5gal
MASH: 50C/122F for 10 mins, 63C/145F for 60 mins, 67C/152F for 15 mins, Mash out at 75C/168F. Draw off wort at 1.054 SG and add corn sugar FERMENT: 22C/71F
Ingredients: GRAIN Pilsner malt, 5kg/11lbs (92%) HOPS Sorachi Ace 12% AA, 14g/0.5oz, 60 mins Sorachi Ace 12% AA, 14g/0.5oz, 30 mins Sorachi Ace, 56g/2oz, 0 mins
Sorachi Ace, 84g/3oz, dry hop 5-7 days YEAST Wyeast 1214 Belgian Ale or White Labs 500 Trappist Ale OTHER INGREDIENTS 450g/1lb corn sugar (8%)
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F E AT U R E
The
FUTURE OF BEER What will the beer scene look like in a decade? Adrian TierneyJones jumps into his DeLorean and sets the flux capacitor to 2026
The problem with the future is salt being offered to all and sundry), years after being welcomed into that it never turns out the way you what might the world of beer look the Ab-AmBev ‘family’, even if expect it to. Back in 2006, who like in 2026? some mutter that its beers have lost could have thought that ten years their lustre (I prefer to think that later beer would have such a hold Buyouts of small dynamic breweries things have moved on). Everyone on the imagination that people by larger corporates, whose sense has a price. Lazy commentators would be tattooing hop cones and of adventure has become almost speculate on whether this brewery brewery names on their arms; that sclerotic, will continue and will or that brewery will be sold, but not there would be over 1500 breweries probably still cause geeks the being a betting man I wouldn’t like in the UK and several thousand in kind of agony that occurred when to speculate. I doubt, though, we the US; that craft beer (you know Camden sold up. Perhaps the will be seeing the likes of BrewDog – that beer they make over in the cynical part of me will expect attempting to buy Wadworth. States?) would be in Tesco? breweries to be set up with that purpose in mind (what do you With the beer behemoths still in However, even then there were mean it’s happened already?). mind, I would expect them to keep some pointers to the future floating Another question to ponder: will looking back on past achievements about in the ether. Some writers the current wave of bought-up and resurrecting beers from their were certain that wood-aging would breweries still be going, or will early days. Carlsberg have recently be important, though when I wrote the big beer corporations act like made a lager based on yeast from about it in 2005 it was the nostalgic Whitbread did from the 1950s the late 19th century, so who’s wooden cask I had in mind, as onwards, when it bought up to say that sometime in the next opposed to, say, beer spending its breweries and closed them? decade the likes of Anheuser-Busch time in a cider or grappa barrel. So or Heineken won’t go back to their looking ten years forward (fingers I would hope not, and after all, log-books from a similar time and, crossed behind my back, a pinch of Goose Island is still around several perhaps with the happy accident of finding and isolating a yeast from be stuck with the safer options of the categories continue to increase. that period, brew the originals Doom Bar and Greene King IPA Beers will be in cans more than in again? Will they be any good? Who rather than new versions of Jaipur bottles, while can-conditioning knows, but there is clearly a thirst (which will exclusively be on keg). will be a given (and will give rise to for such historical recreation, in New breweries wanting to make a the same amount of horrors as we much the same way crowds turn splash with beer will be exclusively often see in bottle-conditioning). up for living history displays keg, while the word ‘craft’ will be More technology in the brewery during the summer. used without much thought. No could see brewers not having to one apart from the true obsessive get out of bed as they dial in a Collaborations will continue will try to work out what it means; brew and produce their between breweries, sometimes with it will be a word bandied about in latest TIPA (tart India several on the brewing floor at the the same way we use ‘post-modern’, pale ale). Breweries same time. I would hope that the without thinking too much about everywhere will still sense of adventure that is threaded its meaning. be encouraging through British brewing will women to drink continue; after all, people still took The bolder breweries will be less beer, while the to their boats even after Columbus bothered about having a core range. statue of the ‘discovered’ America. The genie is Cloudwater have paved the way unknown beer out of the bottle, the revolution with their four seasonal releases. blogger will finally has happened, Pandora’s Box is This will be hell for writers who be taken down from open. It will be hard to suppress like to have at least one regular beer its plinth in Trafalgar the excitement and exploration that they can feature in their list of Square. Oh, and that beer is going through, even beers to drink before you shuffle British breweries will over the span of ten years (unless off this mortal coil (or will beer be producing more lagers there’s pestilence, famine and war list books die?). In tandem with and finally masterminding of course). this sense of anarchy, the concept and changing the nature of of beer styles will become even Bocks, Kellerbiers and Dunkles What about dear old cask beer? It looser and perhaps at the Great – though that might be just a bit of will continue to grow, but it might American Beer Festival we will see wishful thinking. Happy 2026.
More technology could see brewers not having to get out of bed as they dial in a brew and produce their latest TIPA (tart India pale ale)
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F E AT U R E
THE SCIENTISTS John Willetts, Director of Craft, Simply Hops and Tim Kostelecky, Brewing and Technical Specialist, John I Haas
John Willetts – produce the highest quality localisation will always take Director of Craft, Simply product with the highest precedence for the faithful, Hops (EU) quality ingredients, as but there will be pressure to "At Simply Hops we consumers’ palates become make some beers available obviously look at the future increasingly sophisticated. globally. Solutions will have of beer through a certain Poor beer quality will to be highly creative to green-tinted filter. We be quickly spotted, and protect the flavours. Maybe ourselves supply the highest reputations will be made or there will be specially built quality hops to craft brewers broken on that basis.” multi-compartmental beer around Europe, and we’re trucks that move beer also a member of the world’s Tim Kostelecky – around the world, similar to largest hop supply group: Brewing and Technical those that ship different fuel the Barth-Haas Group. Our Specialist, John I Haas (US) grades today.” crystal ball-gazing often “The craft movement has has a global perspective for legs to be sure, but many Tim adds: "In the past this reason. In the short to are thinking that the market twenty years alone, the medium term future I and may be close to saturation number of popular hop Tim Kostelecky take a view in the U.S., where we now varieties has grown from from our European and US have more than 4,000 about 30 globally to more operations respectively. breweries. However, craft than 100, and brewer beer volume in the U.S. is hopping rates are rising “Looking at the immediate still below 15% of the total with the tide. The future future? In the same way that market so has further room is going to provide a we’ll never go back to being to grow here. Obviously challenge for hop-providers satisfied with only Blue Nun this U.S. growth in craft will and brewers to carry this and Black Tower for our level off, but its influence on progress on, but a welcome wine choices, we will equally global styles and consumer one nonetheless. Flavour no longer be satisfied with choice will continue for technology in hops and simply blond or brown for many years – hopefully beer is growing at a our beer choices. Flavour centuries – to come.” fevered pace, and is the key driver, along brewers can look with choice and creativity, In the longer term, both forward to new and although we will John and Tim see flavour varieties and hop undoubtedly see the number being the dominant force products providing of breweries level out, or behind future change. even greater maybe even drop a little opportunities, both over the years, beer volumes John says: "Longer term, I in uniqueness and will still likely continue to can see that the emphasis efficiencies. It’s a grow for many years beyond on flavour might create great time to be in the that. The breweries that a challenge for efforts to industry, and to be a win out will be those that globalise craft beer. I think beer consumer."
The emphasis on flavour might create a challenge through efforts to globalise beer. Localisation will always take precedence.
READER TWEETS
@OGBeerMag: So, it’s 2026. What does the beer scene look like?
@RichTWarms: Former pubs being ten years... I have said that before @teninchwheels: Living in space, wine in restaurants @mccolldanny: All the way Science reopened as pubs as government and I am sure it will come true. drinking space beer. In shiny suits. decides they actually play a social & @CavemanBrewery: Everyone OG will have its own space brewery led Quality Consistent Wonderful World Beers & New Styles the norm community role in improving mental realises cask is sold too cheap, moves called ZerOG health. Digital home/small brewery to producing keg and CAMRA realise @Coluleeds Senient superhops rule the for Everyone & changing planet and have enslaved all bearded men. @blahblahellis: All the GenXers who kits have led to a boom in micropubs. they shouldn’t have re branded quit their jobs to open craft breweries Brewdog has 3,020 anti big brand bars. @ThaBearded1: North Korea leads All we have is malt liquor and cider. are broke, back wage slaving and Duff @yeastieboys: Everyone wishes the way for hops in the world.. Milds @ChefJhalsall: Good beer is now controls 98% from one site. they’d been living in UK over the last everywhere... available in as much abundance as
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F E AT U R E
THE ENVIRONMENTALIST
Dan Lowe, co-founder of Fourpure (Pictured below)
What do you see as the that we are growing without their wastewater and their at places like the Russian over the course of the next biggest challenges in any thought of consequence. transportation issues. By that River up in California, great decade, so we may see the next 10 years for Many new brewers are I mean things like how they breweries like Bear Republic that it’s going to affect the brewing? coming online, everyone’s get large amounts of material were stopped in their tracks capability of businesses and It’s very difficult growing and many people into central London, how they because they just couldn’t breweries to actually grow to imagine the are taking their waste, their use carbon dioxide for things get any more water. A longat all. landscape of our spent yeast and hops and like force-carbonating beer, term drought meant they The last point is that as a very embryonic just putting it down the drain. and the environmental taxes ran dry, so they had to push brewery we’re shipping London brewing And when that’s happening that need paying on that. the technology side. They around beer, which is scene in ten on a small scale, who’s going There’s also a very simple now use the space to wring predominantly water. years’ time, but to notice and who is going to resource which we take for every last drop of water out As transport gets more I think there come asking? At some point granted but which will have of everything, they even expensive, we are shipping are areas that’s going to change, and a strong piece to play, and recover their spent grain, dry a very, very heavy product which jump suddenly regulations around that’s just plain water. Getting it, take that water and use around – and before we out to me. how we treat trade effluent hold of enough water. As we it for brewing again. They even start to consider export. The first are going to come into force witness the impact of climate use every bit of the water, I don’t know if this is in a one is and that’s going to be a new change, I think in ten years because everything they ten-year timeframe, but the around challenge. we’re going to see more could do generated them viability of exporting water this stages of unpredictability. output. doesn’t seem to be a longidea So are brewers are going Very, very dry summers, term thing. to have to tighten up? Will limited amounts of water What we’re looking at here some struggle? What are in the reservoirs, too much is being more efficient; not a • Read the full interview at the environmental concerns rainfall – all those things are bad thing? originalgravitymag.com in a decade? going to have an impact. A I think it’s a great thing, but With the increase in very wet period could cause it poses a challenge to many breweries, those in city an impact on crop yields, and breweries who aren’t giving locations such as London if there are very dry summers it a thought. Every brewery is and Manchester will start where we get rationed on going to be looking at their to come onto the radar water, we’re rationed on water bill and thinking ‘so we of regulators in terms output. can’t waste water?’ We’re of how they handle Looking around the world going to have a restriction
"I don’t know if this is in a ten-year timeframe, but the viability of exporting water doesn’t seem to be a long-term thing."
10 THINGS we’d like to see by 2026 1. ICE-COLD DRONE DELIVERY Order through the BeerDrone app and get your delivery of cold New Belgium La Folie in an hour 2. ZERO WASTE BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING Aluminum is generally better than glass, but is there anything better?
6. CRAFT BEER TAPS IN EVERY BOOZER Sky Sports, fruit machines, meat raffle, Magic Rock Salty Kiss on tap. 7. SYNTHETIC HOPS The great hop shortage is shortened by the discovery of synthetic hops.
8. VIRTUAL REALITY TOURS Visit Yakima for the hop harvest? 3. MINI OAK BARRELS Chat with Garrett Oliver in Make your Founders KBS at home. Or Brooklyn – VR makes it all a at least give some beer a kick. reality. Sort of. 9. CRAFT BEER ON PRIME TIME Ant & Dec head up the first craft beer reality show pitching brewer against brewer
flick r.co m/p hot os/m aris safe ssen den /
4. HOMEBREW KIT IN EVERY HOUSE Start bread maker, click on homebrew kit, come home and enjoy a drink.
5. BEER FINGERPRINTING 10. MARS YEAST Trace every aspect of your beer, from Bacteria found on Mars is used to make the heritage of the crops to the beer. Mars Brewing Company types of hops. launched with outpost on moon.
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F E AT U R E
The future...
TODAY 1. SYNEK Bar-quality draft beer at home? Well with Synek it’s easier than ever. This countertop beer dispenser allows you to fill a cartridge at a bottle, brewery or your homebrew kit with a five litres of beer and maintain its quality, freshness and temperature for 30 days. It also looks rather lovely and at $329 not a bad price. Any place that can fill a growler can fill a Synek dispenser but they’ll need a tap adapter – or take your own. You also need to be able to refill CO2 canisters. It’s only in the US right now, but expanding rapidly. /synek.beer
2. PICOBREW 3. BEERDECODED 4. NEXT GLASS 5. BEER This table-top machine brews five litres BeerDeCoded is a project to sequence We’re now used to personalised CONCENTRATE of beer at the push of a button in only the genomes of 1,000 beers, identifying recommendations for our We first came across Pat’s two hours – yep, less than a breadmaker. the key components of each one. The digital life. Netflix and Spotify Backcountry Beverages at an outdoor It’s fully automated and simply pop in aim is to build an understanding of how recommendations – based on the trade show in Germany, being sold to your PicoPak – a biodegradable pack the beer is created with the end game of fact that if your favourites overlap the hiking market. It looks like those that contains all the ingredients you helping you decide what beer you like with someone else’s, chances are energy gels marathon runners suck need, tune your PicoBrew and off you next, possibly through a smartphone you’re going to like it too – are up at mile 19, but it’s a concentrated go. The clever bit is that the PicoPaks app. You like Beavertown’s Gamma commonplace and often accurate. beer syrup that requires the addition have been opened up to breweries Ray, right? Well if you can decode Well, imagine that for beer. Next of water and carbonation. They have meaning you could be brewing that its elements, in theory, we should Glass – only in the US for now – is their own carbonator bottles that 21st Amendment beer you’ve been know what other beers you like. The an app that will recommend beers uses water from any source and an craving at home. And as we go to press scientists, based in Hackuarium and for you. But unlike Netflix, their powdered activator to bring the beer they should be getting ready to ship SwissDeCode, say: “Mad scientists like science is based on your rating and to life. Useful for backcountry trips their first packs. It will cost $999, but Darwin and us have classified animals then recommending similar beers yes, but in a world with increasing there’s a pre-order pricing of $699 (plus and plants for many years. All we want based on your increasingly complex water scarcity, and 95% of your pint postage). And if you want an all-grain to do is a create a 'tree of beers' with the dataset and having analysed the water, this looks an important step version, the heftier PicoBrew Zymatic is DNA of 1,000 beers.” chemical makeup of a beer. Smart. forward. It tastes pretty good too! what you’ll need. / picobrew.com / genome.beer / nextglass.co / patsbcb.com
THE FUTUROLOGIST
Ant Miller (@meeware)
The specific strand of of yeast, chemical composition of the water, even the specific local air the yeast uses, can be perfectly replicated anywhere.
Beer’s come a long way since pect to see new grains, more suitWe’ve tried dehydrated beer 1971, to the extent that the bar able to difficult conditions being here at Original Gravity% and scene in Get Carter (always pressed into service. Spelt beer though interesting, it really isn’t worth a watch btw) feels as alien (I love spelt, lovely flavour, and all that palatable. However, the as a Dickens novel. But what called ‘dinkle’ in Germany) may cost of transhipping beer globmight beer look like in 2060 - as spread from its current specialally isn’t going to diminish much more far into the future as Get Carter ist role in the low countries, and over the next 44 years. Cans than is into the past? look out for more beers based are lighter so cheaper to move a on quinoa too – it’s a hardy crop, than bottles (and everyone tells manuThe post hangover universe? and the beer is gluten free too. me they’re better), perhaps we’ll facturer. a quick shot of probiotic geBeers that are less likely to upset get an even better, lighter, more It’s an enneticallyengineered yeast will tummies are going to have a real clinical container (graphene ticing world flush your system of booze and advantage when more people anyone?). Perhaps though digital for the render you gloriously hydrated globally enjoy beer (a very strong micro breweries as networked amateur too – and sober. But, unless something trend already). beer replicators will catch on like that malty really interesting happens with secure links ensuring the data roundness on managing alcohol and its effect Genetic engineering technology for all the ingredients including a darker spelt laon the human body and sociwill allow us to manipulate the the specific genetic strand of ger? Base a recipe ety, we’ll probably be drinking properties of yeast radically – limyeast, chemical composition of on an open source less. And if the volume of beer its of what *can* be brewed with the water, even the specific local base (BrewDog have is down, we’ll be drinking more will fall away. Any vegetable starch air the yeast uses, can be perreleased theirs already) expensive stuff too. can be turned to the approprifectly replicated anywhere. and modify to suit your ate sugars with well-designed taste. You could pop in, Barley may not be the base of yeast. One of these days we’ll see In a way this takes us back to the or- see how it’s going, or just most beers - Budweiser is a beer a beer made from a nice bit of igins of brewing – where a brewery check progress remotely, made with rice, and so are many furniture; Chippendale pale ale, a was valued most for its knowledge, and then release it to the others. As our climate changes ex- Stradivarius stout? and a brewer was an author, world.
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P H O T O E S S AY
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P H O T O E S S AY
ENGLAND’S MASTER COOPER Alastair Simms, a Master Cooper based in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, is the last remaining Master Cooper in England. It’s a job he thought would die a death when he retires in a few years, but as luck would have it, the recent surge in microbreweries has kept him pretty busy – so much so that he’s even taken on an apprentice. The art of coopering goes back a very long way, and techniques haven’t really changed since the 14th century. It’s a tricky business – Alastair begins by splitting lengths of seasoned English oak wood into staves, the edges of which are then cut and planed to precise angles. Metal hoops are made at various sizes to fit around the barrel. Between 20 and 25 staves are then inserted into the bottom hoop, after which the other hoops are fitted around the barrel and hammered down to tighten the staves together. The barrel is then put into a steam-room, where the staves expand and lock into each other, forming a tight seal. It’s finished off by hand, checked for quality and, most importantly, inspected for any leaks. As a bit of a beer fan myself and a great lover of traditional crafts, I decided to spend a couple of hours photographing Alastair and his apprentice Kean Hiscock in their workshop in Wetherby. Words and photographs by Peter Byrne (peterbyrne.co.uk)
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Dark Star
Ilkley
DISCOVER YOUR COLOUR Burning Sky
keltekbrewery.co.uk
Discover Your Colour_110x161_V7.indd 1
23/11/2015 19:37
TA S T I N G N O T E S
Sambrooks Brewery BLACK IPA [6.9%]
Hardknott Brewery Meantime RHETORIC EDITION 4.1 LONDON GRAVITY
This black IPA shows the Battersea brewery in full stride with a confident beer Let’s sidestep the tedious debate on whether the term Black IPA is an oxymoron and concentrate on the beer in the glass (though I’m quite fond of using the phrase India Dark Ale for beers such as this). So, here it is glistening in the glass, a dark chestnut brown with a crimson tint at the edge accompanied by a rugged and rousing parade of orange marmalade, mint humbug and barbecue char on the nose. The aromatics are inviting in their self-confidence, which is mirrored on the palate: a big blast of citrus marmalade, a light tarriness, a mid-palate smoothness and creaminess with a dry and soft roast finish. Accomplished and comfortable in its skin, this is a beer that will have you salivating whatever you want to call it. ATJ / sambrooksbrewery.co.uk
Thornbridge & Brooklyn collab SERPENT [9.5%]
Fourpure SHAPESHIFTER
[11%]
[5.5%]
A huge imperial stout to be savoured and saved
A black lager collaboration with... us!
An impressive range from Gloucester covers most bases with full-flavoured brews
Spring might have sprung but given the continued coolness of the weather, it’s no surprise that this big booming imperial stout can still add lustre to the day. Produced at the end of 2015 to celebrate Hardknott’s 10th anniversary, this is a big beast of a beer, as dark as a murderer’s thoughts and as deep as the earth’s core with vanilla, soot, chocolate, mocha, citrus sweetness, roast dryness leaping out of the glass onto the nose and palate. Needless to say, this is a beer that will improve and encourage itself over time. It’s also a labour of love for the brewery’s founder Dave Bailey: the grist includes peat smoked malt, a bag of which was delivered uncrushed. The brewery doesn’t have a mill and Bailey spent two days hand rolling the malt… ATJ / hardknott.com
Back in January, Team O/G were invited down to Meantime’s rather pretty tasting room and pilot brewery in Greenwich to make a beer, any beer. There was no doubt in my mind what I wanted to brew: a black lager, my current favourite beer style. It’s also one that fits in with Meantime’s expertise in lagers – a difficult, time-consuming beer to make. Several months later, at an exclusive session at the tasting room, we cracked it open and supped heavily. On the evening it was paired with slow-cooked Meantime Yakima Red beef brisket with a cornbread muffin & slaw. Later it was paired with lots of joyous chatter. See, this is a beer to enjoy. It’s complex and dark enough for a brisket, but the lagering of the beer adds a very drinkable levity to it. DN / meantimebrewing.com
Gloucester Brewery is, at least for those of us outside of its namesake city, a bit of an unknown quantity. Yet in the Gloucester Docks something pretty impressive is happening. The beers we’ve tasted generally fall into two ranges: the core and the craft range. From the craft range, the Galaxy, named for its hops, was my pick, a sprightly Aussie beer full of tropical aromas but with a grounded maltiness. The Chinook – again both the name and the hops – is a stronger affair at 6.6%. My favourite of all, however, was the Mariner, an English-style bitter packed with big, citrusy Cascade hops. It’s a cohesive whole joy of an English beer that still pleases my occasional hophead needs. DN / gloucesterbrewery.co.uk
Serpent: the collaboration between Brooklyn Brewery and Thornbridge that has been years in the making. Spoiler alert: it’s incredible, truly incredible, both in its wildly ambitious execution and as a final product. My word, sipping it now, it’s special. So what is it? It’s a Belgian golden ale that has been aged in Four Roses bourbon barrels, sent from the US to Thornbridge in the Peak District. The key to this beer is however is
A barrel-aged masterpiece fermented on cider lees
[6.4%]
Gloucester Brewery MARINER [4.4%]
Flying Dog TROPICAL BITCH
[8%]
that in the barrel it’s been sat on lees from Oliver’s Cider for more than a year. The resulting beer is unlike any other. The cider is immediately present on the nose and it’s almost wine-like – it could be a heavily-oaked Chardonnay – and then sip it back… first, and most strikingly, it’s truly balanced, amazing in a beer where, frankly, quite a lot could go wrong – and
testament to some of our finest beer makers: Thornbridge Brewery and Brooklyn Brewery. This is a beer where the collaboration is in harmony. DN / thornbridge brewery.co.uk
Little Valley Brewery Edinburgh Beer Factory STAGE WINNER [3.5%] PAOLOZZI [5.2%]
This West Coast-style IPA impresses with its upfront and confident hop character
This powerful beer fuses a massive hop hit with Belgian yeast flavours.. and wins
Brewed in Yorkshire, and good for getting on yer bike
A brilliant lager from new a Edinburgh startup with an admirable focus
Wow. If you want one word that would describe this barnstorming, hop-bombard of a West Coast IPA, then wow it is. After travelling through Oregon and Washington last year and finally getting what this style is about, I can honesty say that Fourpure have not only nailed it, but made it their own. It’s savoury and tropically fruity and resiny and piny on the nose; swaggering hop cones dressed in leather; onions and lemons. Taste it and go wow: it’s big, bold and brutal, a dry and bitter tropical fruit fusion that clangs away like a San Francisco street car; there’s bittersweetness, poignancy, a splinter of pine cones, a chewiness and throughout it all, it’s a beer that keeps asking to be drunk. Wow. ATJ / fourpure.com
Beer never fails to astonish me. There are moments, of course, where beer after beer fades into one, and then ‘POW’ – another one comes along, hits the olfactory senses and tells the brain something very interesting is going on. This is one of those beers. Flying Dog’s Tropical Bitch is a ‘Belgian-style IPA’ (whaaa?) with pineapple, mango juices and passion fruit flavours all added. And I’m not sure I know where to unpick what’s going on here. It’s a beer as jarring as its name – and that’s what makes it so interesting. The tropical fruit has been bridged with the fruity Belgian yeast flavours, and then its serious hops cut through the sweetness. This beer is both surprising and impressive. DN / flyingdogbrewery.com
While I was lurking in God’s Own County, watching and photographing the Tour de Yorkshire, I found this delightful refreshing pale ale at the VIP finish in Settle. The nice organic people (Wim and Sue) at Little Valley Brewery had provided bottles of real Yorkshire beer to slake our thirst. And it went down grand. Stage Winner is a seasonal spring/summer bright and bubbly beer, pale straw in colour with a delicate, fresh, light, malty hoppiness. The bottle label is branded with King of the Hill red spots, in the style of the Tour de France cycle shirt. Perhaps cyclists should quaff it, after all it is isotonic, with vitamin B, iron, carbohydrate and fluid. What more could a cyclist need? Oh, the alcohol... Alan Hinkes / littlevalleybrewery.co.uk
There’s a denim company in Wales called Huit Denim. Their tagline is ‘Do one thing well’. It’s a sentiment I admire. Whether it’s great-fitting, ethically-produced denim or a fine beer, the pursuit of perfection is a wonderful thing. Edinburgh Beer Factory have ambitions beyond lager, but they have poured time and love into Paolozzi, their first beer. And you can tell: it’s a bitter, crisp beer full of character and big on mouthfeel: rounded, chewy almost. The name comes from the Scottish Pop Art pioneer Eduardo Paolozzi, who identified the ‘Sublime in the Everyday’, and that’s what a lager can be – a brilliant daily beer. I look forward to more of their beers, but really I want more Paolozzi. DN / edinburghbeerfactory.co.uk
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BEER
T R AV E L L E R Otra Vuelta
Broeders Nola Otro Mundo
NORTH
Buena Birra Social Club Cossab WEST El Granero de Finn
Prinston Pub
Jerome
On Tap
Pinta Point
BlueDog
Antares
Hops
BUENOS AIRES
EAST
Buller
Finn Kraken
Jugetes Perdidos
Bier Life Los Bichos Mandan
Cerveza in Argentina has always been extremely popular. An ice cold Quilmes while you're waiting for the barbecue coals to whiten is a part of the ritual, but it's always been fairly limited. Not any more. Like elsewhere in the world the craft beer boom has hit Buenos Aires and it will continue to grow and improve over the next decade. It's an exciting time to be in the city with breweries like Juguetes Perdidos proving they can compete worldwide. BARS 1. Bier Life This vast bar in San Telmo includes several indoor spaces and a long patio. It gets very busy most evenings no wonder given the 20 or so beers on tap. Note they often stock Juguetes Perdidos. There's a good happy hour too. Humberto Primo 670, San Telmo (4307-6315) / bierlife.com 2. BlueDog This small bar in Palermo has only been around for a year or so, but is a popular place. They serve good beers from Grunge, the owner's side project, as well as Finn, Breoghan and La Cruz. Gorriti 4758, Palermo / facebook.com/bluedogbeerstation
SOUTH
get a great beer. It's in the posh Recoleta neighbourhood by the famous cemetery. Pres. Roberto M. Ortiz 1827, Recoleta (4808-9061) / bullerpub.com 5. Breoghan Brew Bar Breoghan Brew Bar in San Telmo serves mainly it's own beers, among the best in the city. Try the San Telmo Fire IPA. Bolivar 860, San Telmo (4300-9439) / facebook.com/Breoghan-Brew-Bar 6. Cossab Pub Cervecero This is another long-standing pub in the city that has been at the forefront of bringing in great beer to Argentina. Carlos Calvo 4199, Boedo (4925-2505) / pubcossab.com.ar 7. El Granero de Finn Ignore the fact they are out in Ituzaingó, this place is worth the trip, especially if combined with a Saturday at Juguetes Perdidos. The beer made on site is very good. De Las Cañoneras 595, Ituzaingó / facebook.com/granerodefinn 8. Hops Cerveza Artesanal The passion of the owner shines through this lovely little bar on the Villa Crespo/Palermo border. Unlike many bars who just serve their own beer, this is the place to drink your way around Argentina's beer scene. Castillo 422, Palermo / facebook.com/hopscerveza
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San Telmo Brew Pub
but the quality of the brew is very good here. It's a thoroughly enjoyable place to drink. Malabia 1401, Palermo / jerome.beer 10. On Tap The most happening place in Buenos Aires? It seems it when the Palermo Hollywood media crowd descend on the bar for the generous happy hour. Loads of amazing beers from around the country. Not to be missed. Costa Rica 5527, Palermo (3016-2863) / ontap.com.ar 11. Otra Vuelta This bar is the place to pick up those international bottles you've been craving, as well as beers from some local heroes. Gurruchaga 1324, Palermo (2058-1391) 12. Prinston Pub Although out of the city somewhat, this bar is one of the best and knows how to look after its beer. Worth combining with Finn. Moreno 272, B1704BGF, Ramos Mejía 13. NOLA Gastro-Pub Named after New Orleans, NOLA specialises in Cajun comfort food served alongside a great range of beers, an appealing prospect. The food is fantastic – amazing fried chicken – and the beer a perfect match. It is reasonably priced too. Gorriti 4389, Palermo (6350-1704) / nolabuenosaires.com 14. San Telmo Brew Pub Another great spot in San Telmo is this brewpub. It's a laid back boozer with good, reasonably priced beers. One for a late night out. Bolívar 583, San Telmo (4342-5706) / facebook.com/santelmobrewpub
3. Buena Birra Social Club In the lovely neighbourhood of Colegiales, is this great spot for a wide variety of beers. Zapiola 1353, Colegiales (6428-3457) / buenabirrasocialclub.com 4. Buller Pub A decade ago, the Buller brewpub was one of the few places in the city where you could
Breoghan Bohl
BOTTLE SHOP
9. Jerome Brew Pub Many of the brewpubs in Argentina mainly serve their own beer, and this is no exception
15. Pinta Point This is one of a couple of outlets of a growler station. There are 20 or so taps from a selection of Argentinian breweries. Olleros 1693, (4776-0874) / pintapoint.com
BREWERIES 16. Antares It was Antares from Mar del Plata who led the craft beer movement in Argentina. Their brew pubs in their hometown, as well as in Palermo, Buenos Aires, and Mendoza have long been focal points for the beer community. Their Barley Wine is excellent. / cervezaantares.com 17. BarbaRoja Another one of the early microbreweries in the country, BarbaRoja (Red Beard) is among the best in Argentina and increasingly available. / barbaroja.com.ar 19. Los Bichos Mandan 'The Bugs Rule!' – an amazing side project from one of the brewers at Juguetes Perdidos – more in the next issue. / facebook.com/juguetesperdidoscerveza 20. Juguetes Perdidos For us, easily the best brewery in the country. These guys can turn out superlative styles and always different. We'll be featuring them in the next issue of Original Gravity% / facebook.com/juguetesperdidoscerveza
21. Sir Hopper Eight American IPAs, and each one different. This project is an excercise in hop flavours and characteristics made by a brilliant brewer. / facebook.com/sirhopper 22. Otro Mundo Clean, crisp and well made beers from down in San Carlos. Widely available and worth picking up. / otromundo.com
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