Author: Andy Cullen

In November we became one of the sponsors of Kendal Mountain Festival, a world class event that ‘sets the standard as an innovative, inclusive and creative celebration of everything outdoors’. We wanted to work with the festival as we felt they shared many of our values, striving for quality and fun whilst being inspired by the outdoors environment that we are blessed to work in. To celebrate the partnership we brewed KMF a 4.8% Pale Ale, brewed with big American hops that entices with Grapefruit and Mandarin aromas before exploding with tropical fruit flavour. The beer was a big hit at the festival on draft and in bottle. We have been donating an amount from the sale of each keg and bottle to the Kendal Mountain Festival charity funds, however in light of recent suffering facing people in the area due to the flooding we will now be doubling our donations from each keg and bottle sold direct from the brewery and from selected Booths stores from which it will soon be available.  We hope this donation goes a little way to helping people at this time in Kendal and the surrounding area.

When we launched our strawberry beer I Love You Will U Marry Me in 2015 there was always the possibility that someone might seize the opportunity and use the beer to really make that proposal. So we were delighted when Sinead O’Connor contacted us to say that her fiancé Ian Batterbee had done just that by proposing with a bottle of the beer on Christmas Day. Sinead says it was really appropriate to make the proposal with beer as the couple as beer lovers had met in a pub in Didsbury. The wedding – including a selection of great beers – is now being planned for 2017. The proposal took place at Marsden Waterfall in West Yorkshire on Christmas morning where the couple regularly walk their dog. “It wasn’t a surprise to walk there on the morning” says Sinead “but opening my final present and reading the label was a fantastic surprise”. I Love You Will U Marry Me was launched in June 2015. The beer was  brewed to support S1 Artspace’s ambitions to create a major new cultural venue at Park Hill for Sheffield, funds raised from the sale of the beer will go towards this development. The beer’s name originates from a marriage proposal when the words ‘I Love You Will U Marry Me’ were painted onto a Street Bridge at Park Hill, this urban romantic gesture has since become famous throughout the city. This is a fruit beer absolutely packed with fresh strawberries. It has been very carefully brewed so as to not overwhelm the palate with sweetness and create a balanced taste.

Firstly the team at Welbeck would like to wish all our supporters a very Happy New Year. We couldn’t continue if it wasn’t for those who do therefore we wish you all a prosperous and happy 2016. It’s already shaping up to be a busy one here at the brewery and there are plenty of plans afoot and treats in-store. We’re currently in the process of sampling and racking our second batch of Lady A, an abbey dubbel- style ale which is currently wood-cask maturing in the tunnels under Welbeck Abbey itself. It’s a fine libation full of dry wood tannin, rich abbey yeast and red fruits. Imagine a vastly ramped up, imperial strength Red Feather and you may be getting close. Some of you were lucky enough to get your hands on the first batch we released. Keep your eyes peeled on Twitter and Facebook for announcement of the release of the second batch. Our newest venture Portland House, based on Ecclesall Road in Sheffield has settled into its surrounds nicely and the pub is preparing to start promoting tasting evenings in the very near future. It’s a lovely place to sit and watch the world go by (with a tasty beverage in hand) so drop in and say hello if you find yourself in the area. Our January Specials are out now so look out for brewery favourite: Kaiser, a 4.1% lager-style pale brewed with German hops for an authentic herbal aroma and cereal malt tones. It’s crisp, dry and refreshing- just what you need to kick off a new year! Our other Monthly Special for January is Seven Sisters pale ale at 4.2%. It has a refreshing lemon barley citrus flavour, giving way to light bitterness. It was brewed to celebrate a medieval oak tree on the estate, which sprung seven trunks- known locally as the Seven Sisters. February specials are also planned and the hugely successful Savoy Hill (USA pale) and Firehouse Red (hoppy red rye) will be making a return. Finally we have a few staff announcements at the brewery. Some of you may be aware that Head Brewer, General Manager and (brewery) Mother Goose- Claire is expecting her first child. Claire is now on maternity leave for 6 months and we wish her and husband Tom well for the new arrival very soon. During this time please direct all enquiries to Hannah at the brewery who is Acting General Manager in Claire’s place. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Assistant Brewer, Joe, as he moved on to an apprenticeship with a civil engineering firm in Sheffield. He will be missed however we wish Joe all the best in his new career. Some of you may now have met our new full-time Delivery Driver, Peter, who has settled into brewery life very well. Give him a wave if you see him on his rounds! Finally we welcome Tom Roe as Assistant Brewer. He is already enjoying learning to brew on a large scale after tinkering on his home brew kit. So that’s it for now folks, we would like to thank you all once more for your continued support throughout the last five years and wish you all well for the year ahead. Hannah Bolton

After a hectic first six months we are looking forward to an exciting 2016 here at Neepsend Brew Co. Since we started brewing in June we have produced fourteen different beers and are starting to settle on a core range of our 4.0% Blonde, 5.2% Stout, a 5.0% IPA with a changing selection of hops and a couple of pale and hoppy specials around 4.2-4.5%. We also brewed Hokkaido IPA – a 5.6% IPA dry hopped with Sorachi Ace – which has been well received and there are plans for some further stronger and more experimental brews. We were delighted and very flattered to be named as ‘brewery of the year’ for 2015 by local bloggers, the Two Beer Geeks. We are a work in progress but are very happy with the start we’ve made and have got big plans for 2016. Watch out for a Neepsend presence at Sheffield Food Festival in May as part of the Sheffield Breweries Cooperative and and a brewery showcase at the Sheaf View during Sheffield Beer Week in March.