Category: Breweries

As the trees are coming into leaf and the buds of spring are starting to bloom we have three very unique monthly specials. Sligo is a 5.4% Irish Stout. This dark ale is a velvety smooth, chocolatey brew, created using the finest roast British malts and rolled oats. The Welbeck estate is famous for its network of underground tunnels which were built by the great philanthropist, the fifth Duke of Portland. This traditional brew remembers the Irish workers who helped construct the network, their campsite being nicknamed ‘little Sligo’.   Our second offering for March is The Loyal Duke, a bold golden ale at 4.0%. William Cavendish, ancestor of the Welbeck dynasty, was known as the Loyal Duke. He was so trusted, that the Duke was appointed as commander-in-chief of the Loyalist forces in the North by Charlies I. This is a luxuriously smooth and biscuity four-grain golden ale, brewed using the very finest transcontinental hops to compliment these British malts.   Finally, we have our next Brewers Choice brew, Helen’s Let’s Get Fiscal. Helen holds the purse strings in our microbrewery, and having worked with us for several years is a firm real ale convert. Her favourite Welbeck beer is Harley, although her guilty pleasure is Bacardi and coke! A fresh, vibrant New Zealand pale ale this 5.3% brew is full of syrupy sweet canned-pineapple flavours.

Steel City’s collab with Freigeist ‘Mein Herz Brennt’ is doing the rounds now after a launch in cask form at the Shakespeare winter fest. Sweet malt balances sharp acidity and fruity hops in this resurrection of the extinct Berliner Braunbier style. Also currently in the wild is the Reise Reise variant with the addition of redcurrant and cranberry, while Blitzkriek has been tucked away in a red wine barrel with cherry and redcurrant. The first brew of 2020 was on the minikit. Following the surprise totally expected success of the barbecue stout Lucienne off of the Shakespeare was invited back along with McGregor off of the Facebooks to brew a Hoi Sin Stout. Too Drunk to Duck has a similar profile to the BBQ, but this time the adjuncts are plum, five spice, cardamom, chilli, and muscovado sugar. The second brew is an exciting development but patience is needed – London Beer Factory are bringing their mobile coolship giving SCB and Lost Industry an introduction to the world of spontaneous fermentation. Two brews will be done, the first is in three wine barrels in Sheffield and the second is going back to That London to ferment in wine barrels there. The brew is part of a series by LBF where they brew a broadly similar recipe at various breweries and take the coolship out to pick up local wild yeasts. Steel City will be keeping the barrels for at least a year, and are looking at the possibility of repeating the process in 2021 and 2022, with the eventual aim being to blend the 1, 2, and 3 year old beers to make a ‘Yorkshire Ersatz-Lambiek’.

Triple Point have brewed their first anniversary special celebration beer. Aptly enough, it’s a Tripel, and if well received could be the first of many. This one will be ‘New World’ rather than Belgian in that they are using wonderfully aromatic Galaxy, Wakatu & Wai-iti hops to deliver passion fruit, peach, lime & vanilla notes. Head Brewer Alex Barlow promises that there are other tricks in store too, including some being put into Sauvignon Blanc barrels.

The former Hopjacker Brewery based underneath the Dronfield Arms pub has been taken on by a new business and is being launched as the Gravity Brew Co. At the time of writing a launch date was yet to be announced. Drone Valley Brewery are back up and running following flood damage back in November, the seasonal special released before Christmas that managed to escape the devastation was named Flood Red Ale to reflect the determination of the people involved with this community enterprise based in Unstone, Dronfield, to recover and keep things going. The brewery is now back to hosting tap sessions every Saturday afternoon with cask beer available to enjoy on site and bottles on sale to take home. Buses 43 and 44 from Sheffield stop at the end of the drive. A beer for the new year from Bradfield Brewery is Farmers 2020, a light 3.5% ABV beer that is medium hopped with a sharp aftertaste. If anyone fancies a ride on the Hope Valley train to New Mills this summer, Torrside brewing have announced their monthly brewery tap dates for 2020. These are 10th/11th April, 23rd/24th May, 27th/28th June, 25th/26th July, 29th/30th August and 26th/27th September. On these weekends they will be open 12-8pm with 16 beers on draught, dogs & families welcome. Thornbridge Brewery are ready to commence their monthly taproom sessions at Bakewell Riverside too. These take place towards the end of the month, the Saturday socials kick off for 2020 on 29th February with the tap room open 10am to 8pm and a street food trader open from midday. They also open the previous Wednesday in the evening for a Beer & Pizza night from 5pm to 9pm. TM Travel bus 218 provides a regular link from Sheffield to Bakewell. Summer Wine Brewery has ceased trading.

A couple of limited edition brews from Acorn have hit the pubs this new year. King Creole is a 4.2% ABV  pale golden coloured bitter brewed to celebrate music albums of the 50’s. USA Cascade and Crystal hops impart a floral, citrus grapefruit aroma. UK Goldings add a nice crisp bitterness. Krpan IPA (5% ABV) is the latest in a range of single-hopped IPAs. Slovenian Krpan hops have a light grapefruit aroma.

Loxley Brewery have been busy brewing over the festive period, with the new Milk Stout at 5.0% ABV being the most popular hit over the Christmas. Named Black Dog, this speciality ale has a heart-warming face behind it – Charlie, our Black Lab brew dog. The beer also has a musical twist, and those of you who love Led Zeppelin will have spotted that straight away! The owner of Loxley Brewery is a Led Zep superfan and it only felt right to include them in such a sentimental brew – check out the pump clip! Things can only get bigger and better in 2020, with plans underway to create a popular summer ale, to go alongside the ever popular winter brew. The last series of beer commemorated local reservoirs, including Dale Dyke and Dam Flask. Who knows what the next will be? You can find all things Loxley at The Wisewood Inn, and now The Raven Inn – a newly opened brew tap for Loxley Brewery. It is a very cosy and modern pub serving the finest cask and keg ales which go nicely with the selection of pork pies and sausage rolls on offer. Loxley ales are £2.50 between 12pm and 4pm weekdays, and you can’t get a better offer than that! CAMRA discounts are available at both venues. 2020 is looking to be an exciting year for Loxley Brewery, lots of events are planned so keep your eyes peeled to see where you can next get your hands on a pint. Happy New Year, or Happy New Beer (if you prefer!) Hannah

A we near the end of crisp winter days and optimistically head for spring we have three cracking brews to help you on your way! Sleeping Beauty is a 5.3% Honey-sweet IPA made with enchanting English ‘Beata’ hops. These flowers impart subtle notes of honey, apricots and almonds. This English IPA is inspired by the ornamental plasterwork ceiling of the Titchfield Library here at Welbeck Abbey. The delicately entwined display of flora and fauna has enchanted visitors over the years, and is said to have been inspired by the Sleeping Beauty fairy-tale. Our second offering for February is Admiral Keppel, a golden bitter at 4.3%. Under Admiral Keppel’s command of the channel fleet in 1778, a great battle against the French ended poorly. Keppel was accused of treason by parliament and tried by a court martial. He was acquitted in 1779. The Duke of Portland and others were made commemorative English gold anchor pins to thank them for their support to Admiral Keppel throughout. Inspired by this piece of history we have created a golden English ale brewed with Admiral hops which brings a pithy bitterness and the delicate aroma of spiced oranges. Finally, we have our first Foraged and Found brew for this year, Wake Up And Smell The Coffee. Brewed using the coffee grounds from our friends at the Harley Café, this 5% Coffee Porter has a rich roasted flavour. The Harley Café keeps the estate and it’s visitors well fuelled with quality coffee from Darkwoods in West Yorkshire. A huge volume of coffee grounds are generated during the process, which we have utilised to make this robust porter.

As usual, there are a couple of monthly specials brewed for February: Liquid Weapon – A Golden Ale Brewed with pale and lightly toasted malts for a golden finish with just a hint of caramel. The blend of American hops give a balance of bitter and fruity flavours with hints of pine below the surface. Bête Noire – A behemoth stout brewed with a trio of roasted malts to give an aroma of sumptuous dark chocolate with a sweet satisfying palate and silky-smooth finish. Joe.

This month, we’re looking forward to unveiling the first of a new artwork series for 2020, showcasing my personal favourite little piece of kit, our hop back! Originally our very first mash tun, and now used to ensure our beers benefit as much as possible from delicate hop oils and aromas that would otherwise be boiled away and lost, it’s a special part of our brewing process and we’re looking forward to giving it a bit of glory on our pumpclips this year. Final details of which hops we’re using in the first of the series are still to be confirmed, but we can promise a refreshing and quaffable pale ale from this one. Doctor Morton’s Ship’s Biscuit (4.1%) is making a comeback after a long absence, having last been seen in 2013! An easy drinking beer, well balanced with floral notes and a gentle spiciness. We’ve also got Demon coming up, a golden beer with a biscuity backbone from the addition of Vienna malt, and Bobek and Spalt hops for an earthy, piney character, balanced by notes of citrus. And a classic stout (4.8%) is to be the next version of Salvation, we’re looking forward to going a little bit back to basics with this one. Also in the Brewers’ Emporium range, after 21 different versions we are having a return of the original Voyager recipe! Citra, Centennial and Mosaic hops get together to provide a clean and juicy body to this flavoursome, fruity IPA (5.6%). Finally, look out for Funk Dungeon – Chapter 3: Heavy Nettle. A punchy, spicy saison weighing in at 6.66% and packed full of locally foraged nettles… our brewers don’t half go the extra mile for these beers! Cheers! Laura.

As we ‘cheers’ our pint glasses to the new year, we have three cracking specials to chase away those January blues. Ernest George is a well balanced 4.2% ruby ale. Blended using traditional roasted malts we have created a deep ruby ale with distinctively bitter-sweet chocolate notes. British Bramling Cross hops provide a subtly blackcurrant note in the background. Ernest George, this beer’s namesake, was a well-known country house architect who worked on the Welbeck Abbey between 1900 and 1901. He was responsible for remodelling the interior of the Oxford Wing after it was decimated by fire. Our second offering for January is Henrietta Grande, a pale ale at 4.0%. A more intense version of our most popular core range beer, Henrietta Grande is a clean-tasting, delicate golden ale, brewed with German Hallertau Brewers Gold. Named after two famous Henriettas in the Welbeck family linage; Henrietta Cavendish-Holles, and Henrietta Scott, this light golden ale has notes of honeysuckle and fresh hay. Finally, we have Tink’s Pixie Dust Pale. You may have heard of our head brewer James, but we like to call him Tink – short for Tinkerbell the beer fairy! He works tirelessly to produce our 15,000 pints of hand-crafted real ale each week with a great deal of skill, care and we think a little help from Pixie dust. Tink’s Pixie Dust Pale is a 3.8% fruity session ale brewed from a magical blend of hops from three continents. Louise