A small number of new one off beers were brewed especially for our Steel City Beer & Cider festival and are likely to also appear in pubs afterwards.
Abbeydale Brewery produced a special edition of their Black Mass, in memory of the late Martin “SillyWabbit” Reville who was a long standing festival volunteer. The regular beer is a black IPA, the special is infused with coffee and is served from a wooden cask.
Collyfobble Brewery had former Dronfield CAMRA chairman Rob Barwell visit for a brewday to upscale one of his home brew recipes – you can read about that elsewhere in this issue!
Crosspool Ale Makers Society and Hopscotch Craft Brewers collaborated to put in an appearance with “GingerBix and Chill”. This 6% ABV beer has a biscuit aroma and a sweet but fiery flavour from ginger biscuits and habanero chillies. It is amber in colour and leaves a subtle but satisfying warmth on the back of the throat.
BrewSocial is another brewer that supplied a special edition of an existing beer. “Good as Gold” is a strong hoppy ale, pure gold in colour. Sweetish, but not cloying. Generous addition of El Dorado hops give a tantalising taste experience. This cask at the festival had been specially dry-hopped for added golden goodness!