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Beer with a bite!
Andrea Waterhouse
Sneeze-y Drinking!
Sgt. Pepper Stout is one of the latest beers to come from Spire Brewery and for me the most unique beer I have come across recently. It weighs in at 5.5% ABV and is brewed using Northern Brewer and Fuggles hops, along with Maris Otter pale, Amber and Pale Chocolate malts. Along with this, as the name suggests, freshly ground black pepper is also added during the brewing process. Looks wise, this is a dark brown, almost black stout with a long lasting coffee coloured head. Aroma is a mixture of roasted malt, hops and fruit, with a hint of caramel and a spicy pepperiness. Texture is creamy and full bodied. The taste is definitely peppery, but there’s a lot more to it than that! The base flavour is roasted malt, blended with complex notes of liquorice, chocolate, hops and caramel. The pepper isn’t as noticeable to begin with, but builds in intensity as the pint progresses. This all leads to a bitter hop and malt finish and a long aftertaste that leaves a peppery tingle. I really like Sgt. Pepper Stout and am pleased to have come across a beer that is original and tasty too. The pepper flavour works well and is just strong enough to be noticeable without being too strong and overpowering. It is a good example of a full bodied stout with that little bit extra ~ the pepper gives it and excellent bite! I have recently tried Sgt. Pepper at a The Arkwright Arms Duckmanton and at The Industry Inn Newbold. On both occasions it was roasty, peppery and full of character and taste. Look out for at Beer Festivals and pubs near you. A unique and well crafted stout that I wholeheartedly recommend! For more information on Chesterfield’s newest microbrewery, visit Spire’s brand new website at www.spirebrewery.co.uk Andrea Waterhouse
Soapy Beer?! A recent holiday in the Yorkshire Dales saw us - not surprisingly - overdosing a little on Black Sheep Bitter and Theakston’s Old Peculier, which were on offer at virtually every bar. Guest beers on the handpumps were few & far between and often from these two local breweries! When we found Black Sheep Emmerdale at a Leyburn pub, I was more than happy to give it a try, as I had previously only seen it in bottles.
Their beer range includes Riggwelter (dark and strong at 5.7% ABV), Black Sheep Bitter (a good standard bitter beer at 3.8%) and Black Sheep Ale (slightly stronger than the bitter at 4.4%). Black Sheep Bitter is the usual one to be found in cask form, but bottled versions of all the range can be found in most supermarkets and off-licences. Emmerdale was originally launched in May 2003 on the set of the long-running TV soap by actor Patrick Mower (who plays Rodney Blackstock). The beer was a little stronger then, at 5% ABV. On January 27th this year, another Emmerdale cast member - Chris Chittel, long-standing character Eric Pollard - pulled the first pint of the new style Emmerdale Fine Dales Ale, at the Crown Inn, Manfield (the current CAMRA Yorkshire Pub of the Year). Black Sheep Brewery was using the occasion to re-launch two of their brands: Black Sheep Special was re-named Black Sheep Ale and Emmerdale was being lowered in gravity to 4.2% ABV. It was thought that this strength would make it more generally appealing and would sell better as a session beer than a strong ale. The new 4.2% Emmerdale is brewed using Goldings hops, Maris Otter barley and demerara sugar. It is a light and bright golden/copper colour with a slightly off-white head. My pint was very sparkling in appearance and the head was quite short lived, leaving only a small amount of lacing on the glass. The aroma
was quite fruity, with hints of orange marmalade. This
tartness combined well with the sweet smell of the sugar
and the slight aroma of toast from the malt. Although not one of my favourites, it was light, refreshing and pretty tasty - a beer to enjoy with food and one that can be quaffed rather than sipped - a good easy drinking beer and one for a summer’s day. I would certainly drink it again and would recommend it as a well-brewed and interesting beer. Black
Sheep Emmerdale isn’t as easy to find in the Branch area
as it is in North Yorkshire, but it puts in a regular
appearance at the Royal Oak, Millthorpe. Andrea Waterhouse
Bitter, not tart
Brewing would have started earlier, but the intended site was home to a pair of Barn Owls, and things had to wait until the chicks had fledged! This new brewery combines a very modern-looking 10-barrel German brewing plant with traditional brewing methods. So far Peak are only brewing a few beers (along with a couple of bottled ones) and these include Swift Nick (a pale golden Session beer at 3.8% ABV) and Dalesman (a 4% amber beer). Peak ales can be found at several pubs in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, as well as at Beer Festivals nationwide. Their bottled beers can be found in the Chatsworth Farm shop. Brewer Rob Evans intended Bakewell Best Bitter to be a Best Bitter like the ones he used to drink. He went for the name to emphasize the situation and local heritage of the brewery, opting for simplicity rather than any fancy names: a no-nonsense title for a no-nonsense Best Bitter! Bakewell Best weighs in at 4.2% ABV and is a true ‘Best Bitter’: having more malt and hops than a standard bitter, and tending to have dominant fruit and malt flavours, with an underlying hop bitterness. Bakewell Best is brewed using Crystal malt and a blend of English hops (Challenger, Fuggles and Goldings) to provide colour, aroma and flavour. Bakewell Best is golden amber/light copper with an off white head, which is quite small and leaves a similar amount of lacing on the side of the glass. The aroma is actually quite subtle, but I could detect a slight malt flavour (mainly giving a roasted edge) and a hint of fruit and citrus hops. Texture is dry and medium bodied, with a creamy mouthfeel. Bakewell Best a good old-fashioned bitter beer! First taste yields a hint of caramel sweetness, but the dominant element is bitterness. There is a well-balanced base of malt (again the roastiness) and hoppiness (citrus mainly), leading to a dry and bitter finish. The aftertaste is quite astringent and reasonably long lasting. The flavours work well together and overall you get a refreshing and drinkable bitter beer. Of the beers brewed by Peak Ales, I think that Bakewell Best is my favourite. It is a great example of a British Best Bitter and has done what the brewer set out to do. What it lacks in multi-layered complexity, it makes up for in class and attention to detail. In an age where a lot of beers are brewed to taste of cherries, blackcurrants and elderflowers (and other things) it is quite refreshing to find beer that tastes of beer! A good beer brewed with top grade ingredients is a wonderful thing to come across! I would recommend Bakewell Best to all Real Ale drinkers and to anyone who likes a no-nonsense drink. My last pint of the stuff (on special offer @ £1.80) was on St George’s Day at the Wellington, New Whittington, near Chesterfield. This was a real bargain, as around £2.20 seems to be the standard price for a beer of this strength locally. All in all, a fine beer from a new brewery! It also feels good to be supporting a beer that is brewed locally. I can see this being a popular choice amongst tourists: the pumpclip shows Bakewell church and would certainly appeal to Peak District visitors. The fact that it tastes good is definitely a bonus, too! Andrea Waterhouse
Simply the best
Andrea Waterhouse
Handy for Gandhi!
As well as brewing some beers for Kelham Island, Thornbridge now brews a range of interesting and tasty beers. These include Blackthorn Ale (a moreish Pale Ale at 4.4% ABV), Lord Marples (an easy 4% drinking session Bitter) and Brock (a smooth, dark 4.1% Stout). You will
find their beers at selected pubs in the surrounding
area and appearing at Beer Festivals nationwide. Andrea Waterhouse This webpage was last updated on Sunday, 02 September 2007 |
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York
Brewery was started up (within the city walls) in 1996.
As well as the usual brewery tours, visitors can choose
between two shops - one at the brewery and one in front
of the Yorkshire Terrier pub. The brewery has won a good
few awards for their beers, which are readily available
nationwide. Amongst their range, you will find
Centurion’s Ghost (a dark and bitter beer at 5.4% ABV),
Guzzler (a 3.6% light coloured session beer) and Wild
Wheat (a dry wheat beer at 4.1%).
Spire
Brewery was set up by former schoolteacher and Scot’s
Guard Bandsman David McLaren in spring 2006. The
brewery is based on the Ireland Business Park in
Staveley and is housed in two industrial bays. Inside
the brewery buildings is a 10 barrel brewing plant and 6
handpumps, where brewery tours can be arranged. At the
moment Spire are brewing a range of beers including
Chesterfield Best Bitter (a brown premium bitter at 4.8%
ABV), Encore (a pale amber session beer at 3.8% ABV) and
Land of Hop and Glory (a golden hoppy ale at 4.5% ABV).
Their beers can be found at selected pubs and are
beginning to feature at Beer Festivals around the
country ~ in fact Land of Hop and Glory has recently won
Silver Medals at Peterborough Beer Festival in the Best
Bitter and Beers from New Breweries categories.
Masham’s
[pronounced Masam] Black Sheep Brewery is a stone’s
throw away from Theakston’s. It was set up by Paul
Theakston after the family lost control following a
take-over - although Theakston’s is, ironically, now
back in the hands of the family! Brewing began in 1992
in a building that was the site of the old Lightfoot
Brewery, which had been bought and closed by Theakstons
in 1919. Black Sheep now runs a successful business,
producing over 50,000 barrels of beer a year and has a
foot in the tourist market. Their brewery tours, bistro,
bar and ‘Sheepy Shop’ attract thousands of people
annually and their beers can be found in pubs, clubs and
shops nationwide. 
Peak
Ales originate from the Barn Brewery on the Chatsworth
House estate, near Bakewell in Derbyshire. The first
brew took place on February 1st 2005 - so
they have really only been in business for a very short
time in brewing terms, compared to like Fuller’s and
Young’s, who have been going for a few hundred years
[Hurry now while stocks last - Ed. 
As
Mild Month is fast approaching I thought I would point
you in the direction of an excellent Mild. While having
a crawl around some of the Real Ale pubs in Sheffield we
happened upon the Gardener’s Rest. Along with a
selection of other Cask and gravity served beers they
also stock a range of beers from the Timothy Taylor
brewery. Some of their beers are really easy to find,
but the Gardener's has one of my favourite, slightly
less easy to get hold of brews ~ a light coloured Mild
Ale called Timothy Taylor Golden Best.
Golden
Best is actually quite a subtle beer. There are no huge
rushes of flavours; instead there is a steady building
of layers and tastes. It starts off with barley, then a
surprising amount of hops (giving a grapefruit and
orange citrus flavour), balanced out by the underlying
biscuity base taste of malt. This all leads to a finish
that combines a slightly floral sweetness and a
refreshing hoppy bitterness. Aftertaste is not
particularly long lasting, but is dry and bitter ~
refreshing the palate and making you want more.
Thornbridge Hall Brewery is a relatively new business,
which can be found in some former outbuildings, attached
to Thornbridge Hall, in Ashford-in-the-Water,
Derbyshire. The ‘Baby Brewery’, as it is known to its
Kelham Island ‘parent’, uses both new equipment and some
adapted kit from the old Malton Brewery.