Blue Bee Brewery

Beery bits. The sound of punk-rock continues to emanate from Blue Bee. Solidus, at 5.4%, is the latest in the pUnK-tuation series. The odd hand-full of black malt in the mash gives a bit of an amber hue to the beer. On the hop front, plenty of Admiral (UK) for bittering, with a good charge of Willamette and Cascade (both USA) for aroma. And it wouldn’t be Solidus if it hadn’t fermented out to the sounds of Leatherface’s first LP “Cherry Knowle”, 13 songs in 35 minutes one second; in yer face. Festive fare comes by way of Chrimbo Hopping. Originally brewed at Raw three years ago, this 4% pale ale is big on hops, and a nice partner to the flagship Nectar Pale. Artist Nick has re-designed the pump-clip as well, to great effect. We hear that both Bees Knees Bitter and Lustin’ For Stout went down a treat at Norwich Beer Festival in November. Always good to see our locally brewed ales being well received by drinkers from farther afield. And the topers of Rotherham seemed to be fans of Tangled Up, if reports are to be believed. Finally, the next batch of Dark Blue should be arriving in a pub near you soon. Nicely spicy. Richard Hough