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Thoughts: The Rise and Rise of Non-Alcoholic Craft Beer

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Unfortunately, every so often we find ourselves in a situation that no craft beer lover ever wants to be in: The Designated Driver. Is there anything worse than being out surrounded by the temptation of Double IPAs and Imperial Stouts faced with only the ever unappealing selection of non-alcoholic beverages? Thankfully, gone are the days of awkwardly nursing a pint of orange juice and lemonade or choking your way through a less than palatable Becks Blue. Meet the new wave of non-alcoholic beers taking the market by storm. Brewing innovations have paved the way for low-alcohol, big flavour beverages with ever more breweries bringing their welcomed contribution to the party. With a variety of breweries all putting their own spin on the non-alcoholic craze, the offerings come as unique and varied as their “normal” beers. Non-alcoholic beer has recently been dubbed one of the largest gaps in the drinks markets. China, who currently lead in the non-alcoholic beer innovation market...
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Tour: Stewart Brewing

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Last weekend, Matt and I took a trip down to explore the historical sights of Edinburgh. Not only is it home to a growing number of craft breweries and heaps of unique bars; Edinburgh also houses the only university to offer a formal degree in brewing and distilling: Heriot Watt. You'll probably be surprised to discover how many of your favorite breweries have been pioneered by the expert alumni of this course. One of these breweries currently taking the Edinburgh craft beer scene by storm is Stewart Brewing. Started by husband and wife team Steve and Jo Stewart in 2004, the brewery is situated on an industrial estate just a short bus ride from the heart of the city. Here, Stewart Brewing opens their doors every Thursday and Friday night between 7-9 pm to show off their ever expanding custom built brewery, their exclusive craft beer kitchen and to share their truly delicious craft beers. Tours are £15pp. A price which includes snacks, a branded glass, loads of beers and the inv...
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Thoughts: Hoppy Easter!

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What are hops? Allgash Brewing , CC Along with water, grain and yeast, hops are one of the four ingredients of all beers. However, only three of these are essential. Without hops, beer would be unbearably sweet and disappointingly flavourless. Thankfully, after thousands of years of experimentation with flavour adding plants and herbs, one stand out addition earned itself the rightful place as the fourth ingredient of beer: hops. The extensive variety of different hops give our favourite beers their distinctive flavours and aromas. Hop History For modern commercial brewing, hops have always been one of the core ingredients of beer. But this hasn't always been the case. Prior to hops being used as a flavouring and preservative agent in beer, gruit (a herb mixture), was used to the same effect. Apart from the fact that hops seem better suited for purpose than gruit. As with many changes in the history of alcohol it was taxes that forced a change. Or more accurately, the id...
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Tasting: Yellow Belly: Buxton X Omnipollo

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Yellow Belly, Buxton X Omnipollo  Style: Peanut Butter Biscuit Imperial Stout  ABV: 11%  330ml bottle, purchased from Beer Moth in Manchester We're sure the words 'Peanut Butter Biscuit Imperial Stout' grab your attention almost as much as the risqué packaging. A beer created firstly from the word yellow and the collaboration pair's association with the colour and cowardice. Yet another genius product of The Rainbow Project.  One of the Omnipollo brewers noticed the votes across Europe and within Sweden were favouring extreme right-wing parties, more than you'd expect if you spoke to people in exit polls. Their votes were a hidden look into their true opinions. In a statement about the beer Buxton wrote " ... protesting anonymously at the expense of people’s freedom and right to co-exist without showing your face is one meaning that is particularly relevant at this moment in time. " So how does this show in the beer? Stouts, particularly those...
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Tour: Robinson's Unicorn Brewery

Last week Jorgie sent me off on a bit of an impromptu brewery tour. So on the train I went to visit Stockport and its brewery which has been running for over 150 years. Founded in 1849 the Robinson's family running the Unicorn inn began producing their own beer. Situated on a main roadway between Manchester and London, the inn must have been doing well as they soon expanded their site and began selling to local pubs. A post shared by Impact Brands (@impactbrands) on Jan 29, 2018 at 6:28am PST Fast forward to today and the brewery is still family owned and ran. A member of the 7th generation of the family since it began brewing recently completed his work experience there. So there's definitely a family feel to the place. With over 300 pubs owned by the brewery and a range of new and old beers readily available, it's safe to say that the Unicorn is still relevant to this day. Being a midweek event, the tour group was just myself and two others. This gave m...
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Tasting: Oedipus Brewing

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In a series of events which made me wonder how much of my life is coincidence (and how much is my own personal Truman Show). The month Jorgie headed on a short break to Amsterdam was also Beer 52's Amsterdam showcase month. This meant that her beer filled case of Dutch beers was among good company back on UK soil. It also meant we had a few more nice bottle caps to add to the collection. We managed to get a trio of beers from Oedipus brewery, named interestingly after an ancient Greek mythical king who married his mother after committing patricide. Beer #1: Mama Style: American Pale Ale. ABV: 5% Nose: Sweet, fresh, fruity Taste: Orange, grapefruit, passionfruit.            A lasting juicy finish with a hint of spice. Matt: 7 Jorgie: 6.5 Juicy and refreshing with a well-balanced bitter finish Sweet and fresh. An easy-going fruity pale. However, probably wouldn't go to the effort of re-obtaining it when UK c...
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