NORTH BEER CLUB
AUGUST 2022
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HELLO! Welcome to the summer of SOUR! July’s box is packed with bright, refreshing sours that have got all sorts of different heavy fruit treatments. The latest iteration of TFG with our good friends at Newtown Park is Summer Pudding in liquid form and oh-so tasty, and our second Ice Cream Sour with local Ice Cream heroes Northern Bloc had us searching for a vegan ingredient that would impart colour, sweetness and complex flavour. Who would have thought we would find all three in a purple yam… all hail the Ube! However, when collaborating on a sour there are few better breweries to work with than sour kings Vault City! For our first beer together we used ingredients that had connection to both our localities, combining foraged elderflower and Yorkshire rhubarb with Scottish strawberries and wildflower
honey to create a big, tart yet balanced sour that’s bursting with sweet floral notes. This month also sees the next release from Field Recordings and it’s one that’s been sleeping on oak for a good while, building great complexity and depth of flavour. Monument marks the true start of our journey into both barrel ageing and blending, and it’s a journey we couldn’t be more excited about (as you’ll see in a couple of pages!) As always, please let us know what you think of the beers in July’s box by rating them on the new Member’s Area of the online shop. Not only will it help us better choose beers for your individual selection, but it will help us get a feel of what the Beer Club as a whole love drinking and want to see more of in future boxes! North x
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AN EVENING WITH PIGLOVE BREWERY TUESDAY 22 AUGUST / 18.00
We’re working hard on some great events for the rest of the year, both in Leeds and the rest of the UK. If you have any ideas of events you would love us to put on, please let us know in the suggestions box on the members area!
BELGIAN BEER + CHEESE EVENING FRIDAY 26 AUGUST / 19.30 SCAN THE QR TO BOOK YOUR PLACE
LONDON CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL 50% OFF TICKETS WITH CODE: LCBF-BREWERSFNF-50
MONU Barrel ageing, an avenue of beer making that until now North Brewing Co had only dipped two tiny toes into. Two oak pins from Theakstons Brewery that we aged our collaboration with De Molen in, to pour at the illustrious Borefts Beer Festival. The beer was an Imperial Mild composed of a recipe dating back to the late 1700’s. It was made 100% mild ale malt, 18g per litre of East Kent Goldings in the early boil and inverted sugars. We were just as excited as the festival goers to try our first barrel aged beer. North x De Molen XXK Mild - ‘from the wood’. The results of the beer resting on oak unlocked an array of incredible new attributes. One takeaway was how much
MENT more mellow and rounded the beer had become. Before there was a real rich bitterness to the beer, this had almost entirely vanished, transforming into a smoother, sweet banana or vanilla note with a touch of fresh herby bitterness on the finish. Of course it also helped that beer was poured from a handpull, sparkler on, of course.
North Bar has had a lot of barrel aged beers pass through its taps and fridge shelves over the years, a lot we’ve taken the opportunity to try. It would be very indulgent to list them all so we’ll just talk about one in particular that stands out. Lervig (NO) and Hopping Frog’s (USA) Barrel Aged ‘Sippin Into Darkness’, an already impressive and decadent
beer taken to new and dizzying heights from time spent in Bourbon barrels. With barrel ageing there comes this new dimension to a beer. The same beer is still very much alive, but a set of deep and characterful tones pierce through its profile. Some remain, some transform and new attributes arise. ‘Sippin Into Darkness’ with cacao nibs and vanilla worked into a velvety smooth imperial stout recipe and aged in bourbon barrels it was like drinking a chocolate martini. Luxurious and elegant, it really made you want to sit down, sip it slowly and get to know it. As this is written, we’re travelling back to Leeds from Penryn after pouring at Verdant’s Little Summer Beer Bash. One of our
neighbours was Estonia’s Pohjala, a brewery prolific in their ability to brew dark beers. Their beer ‘Boison in the Barrel Room’ was our beer of the festival. An Imperial Baltic Porter brewed with Bisongrass and aged in Apple Brandy barrels. It’s an incredible example of the ideas that can be achieved with creativity and imagination. Its complexity and balance was something to truly behold. Boozy, sweet - but just the right amount of sweetness, rich chocolate, espresso, with an underlying herbaceous tone that continues and builds through the whole drink. Barrel ageing beers was high up on our priority list when Field Recordings was conceived. In Monument, our first barrel aged release, we’re learning a lot already. We’ve brewed the beer slightly sweeter so that it can deal with a little drying from its time in the barrel. One thing we’ve noticed in some barrel aged stouts is that real dry aspect. It’s almost the same quality as when high proof spirits have that feeling of alcohol
evaporating from your tongue leaving your mouth feeling dry. In some barrel aged stouts we’ve noticed this quality can be a little overbearing and we want to avoid that. Too dry and all that booze stands up in front of the pallet and muffles every other flavour. Too sweet and well… you just have a beer that’s too sweet? - we’re not into that. Monument also sees us take our first turn at blending. We have a range of barrels and across them all, two different Imperial Stouts have been ageing in them all. Over a period time we’ve been tasting them, monitoring changes in the beers and eventually deciding that they’re ready to be moved. Monument is a blend of beer aged in Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Appleton Rum and Speyside Scotch barrels. There’s still some of the base beer in those barrels, and there’s another stout made of a different recipe in those same types of barrel and in some other types of barrels too, Islay Scotch for example. A different blend of all these different beers in all these
different barrels could make for an Imperial Stout with a completely different set of attributes. We can also start to think about what we do with a blend once it’s made it out of barrels. We could move a beer into a steel tank and let it sit on more ingredients. Coffee beans, coconut chips, cacao nibs, tea leaves, cherries, dates, pistachio, bison grass? We could then balance it out with more beer from another barrel. We can begin to think about other beer styles to barrel age. Barley wine, saison, grisset, farmhouse ales. We’re in a new realm of brewing and it’s incredibly exciting. The possibilities are endless and we are endlessly excited about what we’re going to do with our barrels. We hope you enjoy Monument as much as we have enjoyed creating it.
SIT BACK, IT’S GOING TO BE A LONG AND PATIENT RIDE.
NORTH BEER CLUB
BOXES THIS MONTH GOLD SUBSCRIPTION
PICKED FOR YOU
SILVER SUBSCRIPTION
PICKED FOR YOU
FIELD RECORDINGS MONUMENT Style
Barrel Aged Stout
ABV
11%
Our first Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. A beer that has slept in waiting for almost a year. Luxurious, robust, deep and strong. Drink this like you would a fine whisky. We started with a complex and varied grist of the choicest malts bringing a plethora of rich and enticing flavours. Then aged the finished beer in Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Appleton Rum and Speyside Scotch barrels, before blending. It starts with upfront flavours of brandy soaked raisin, moving through to a gentle warming note of cinnamon. Slightly tropical coconut notes come forward quickly dissipating into a bitter dark chocolate note. As it warms, it sweetens bringing out a touch of slightly tart red berry, morello cherry with a lasting and continuously building whisky character finishes the beer with long notes of allspice, more cinnamon, cloves, orange zest and sherry.
VEGAN / CONTAINS BARLEY + WHEAT + OATS
NORTH x NEWTOWN PARK Style
Triple Fruited Gose: Strawberry + Blackberry Red Currant + Raspberry
ABV
4.6%
We return with a brand new edition of our Triple Fruited Gose! This time brewed in collaboration with our friends at Newtown Park from Bristol! We spent a lot of time on the festival circuit last year describing our love for summer pudding, so in this iteration of Triple Fruited Gose we’re bringing you that love for the season’s best dessert! Strawberry, Blackberry, Red Currant and Raspberry have been conditioned on our extra thick and creamy signature gose base made with a heap of oats, a touch of lactose and a sprinkling of salt. Pair with a picnic, sunshine and a 99 flake!
CONTAINS BARLEY + OATS + LACTOSE
NORTH x NORTHERN BLOC Style
Ube Ice Cream Sour
ABV
3.2%
We’ve been hard at work with Northern Bloc’s technical chefs making a beer that replicates their Ube Ice Cream, it’s soft, cold, incredibly smooth, full bodied, colourful and vegan! We started out with a conversation with Northern Bloc, they Ube straight to the table. What’s Ube? It’s a purple yam aka Dioscorea Alata, but that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as nicely… What does it taste like? Vanilla! A more nutty kind of vanilla though. Pilsner malt and flaked oats make up the grist, we had a lot of room in the mash tun for a lot of oats and we squeezed out as much of that delicious pale smoothness as possible! Ube was added to the whirlpool and post ferm letting loose its incredible colour and bountiful sweet vanilla custard flavours and aromas! We fermented with Philly Sour yeast for a gentle touch of zesty lemon tartness on the finish. Is it ice cream or is it beer? We don’t know where to place it, other than in a glass on a hot summer’s day. VEGAN / CONTAINS BARLEY + OATS
NORTH x VAULT CITY Style
Fruited Sour: Strawberry + Honey Rhubarb + Elderflower
ABV
6%
The return leg of our collaboration with Scotland’s most out there sour beer slingers, Vault City! Vault City are experts when it comes to bringing flavours together into a sour harmony and so are we, we’re playing to both our strengths and bringing you another summer inspired sour combining a blend of Yorkshire and Scottish ingredients. Scottish strawberry, Scottish wildflower honey, Rhubarb harvested from the Yorkshire Rhubarb triangle and elderflower picked from fields surrounding our brewery combine to make a delightfully refreshing sour beer full of sweet sweet lychee flavours, a lasting finish of floral honey and tart rhubarb.
CONTAINS BARLEY + WHEAT
NORTH RUNNING CLUB Style
Session IPA
ABV
4.6%
Hops
Cryo Pop + Idaho 7 + Zappa
Our running club has been going for just over a year now, it’s run a total just hitting 100k and our runners are thirsty! We’ve brewed a steady and flavoursome Session IPA to quench their thirst after all those miles! A smooth base made with oats and wheat sets the pace for a dose of Yakima Chief’s CRYO POP blend, Idaho 7 and Centennial to shine and bring all of their bright juicy flavours! Upfront flavours of tropical fruit salad, slightly tart and zesty clementine is balanced with a quenching and refreshing bitter finish of freshly peeled lemon rind and crisp pine resin! The perfect post run refreshment!
VEGAN / CONTAINS BARLEY + OATS + WHEAT
SQUARE BALL Style
Pale Ale
ABV
4.5%
Hops
Citra + Mosaic Cascade + Chinook
Giving you a break from those tantalising sours, here’s a fresh and breezy pale ale! We’ve been brewing The Square Ball for 2 years now and the recipe is and brew has well and truly hit its stride! Brewed in collaboration with The Square Ball, the Leeds United fanzine and podcast, to celebrate our home team, Leeds United! Citra, Mosaic, Cascade and Chinook hops bring a refreshing and sessionable balance of sweet tropical fruit and crisp bitterness that keeps us sipping on together. It’s tasting spot on right now, enjoy!
VEGAN / CONTAINS BARLEY + WHEAT
INVISIBLE CITIES Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.7%
Hops
Talus + Citra + Mosaic
IPA is for life! Invisible Cities is another beer hitting its stride in our production. We always aim for continuous improvement in our brewery and this is a beer we’re getting dialled in right now. We’re dead happy with this latest batch. There’s been some changes to the recipe following changes in the latest batches of hops from our supplier. Mosaic has been moved to the hot side of brewing and reduced in quantity whilst Talus and Citra have been turned up a tad! Made using a fine crush of extra pale malt and oats, it’s soft, smooth and loaded with Talus, Citra and Mosaic hops. We started the beer with our Into the Merzbau recipe and built from there. More oats, a tweak in the water profiling as well as finishing the dry hop with Citra and Mosaic it’s a bounty of coconut cream, lime, succulent pineapple and juicy orange that swirl into a laid back delight of tropical punch.
VEGAN / CONTAINS BARLEY
GUEST BREWERY NEWTOWN PARK, BRISTOL
TAPROOM OPENING TIMES THUR–FRI 17.00–22.00 SATURDAY 13.00–22.00 SUNDAY 13.00–18.00 NEWTOWNPARKBREWINGCO
NEWTOWN PARK NO COMPLY Style
Session IPA
ABV
4.8%
Hops
Citra + Mosaic + Simcoe
No Comply is back - new look, same great taste! This Session IPA is a crusher, with a soft mouthfeel and fluffy body, it is packed with citrus and stone fruit aroma. Expect flavours of mango + pineapple with a hit of bitterness. Brewed with our mates from Campus, a not for profit organisation that uses the positive energy and influence of skateboarding for community engagement. Started by a youth worker and a social worker to engage with children and young people, using their personal passion for skateboarding and our professional understanding of working with young people to build their dream. Find out more: campusskateboarding.com Artwork by George Henry Rowe
VEGAN / CONTAINS BARLEY
NEW MEMBER’S DASHBOARD! There is a new member’s area over at shop.northbrewing.com! Here you’ll be able to access the discounted member’s shop and get tickets to exclusive Beer Club events, as well as discount codes for tickets to UK beer festivals we’ve been invited to! You’ll also find the new-and-improved beer ratings section, where you can let us know what you think of all the current North beers! Your answers will go straight to our database and begin to build your personal profile of beer preferences, and will decide the selection for your next month’s ‘Picked For You’ beers.
@NORTHBEERCLUB Follow our new Instagram for all things beer club! Get the low down on what’s in the tanks, who we’re collaborating with, special beer club projects and exclusive events!
IN THE TANKS
SPRINGWELL SESSIONS
FIELD RECORDINGS
NORTH x POMONA ISLAND
DDH IPA
MATCHA IPA
PINEAPPLE FLAMBÉ