On the day before the Rotherham Real Ale & Music festival opened at Magna, all the beers from Yorkshire were judged for their own Champion Beer of Yorkshire competition.
Rotherham Real Ale & Music Festival organiser Dr Stephen Burns at Chantry Brewery
The winners…
Mild – Timothy Taylor, Dark Mild.
Session Bitter – Timothy Taylor, Boltmaker
Premium Bitter – Chantry, Special Reserve
Session Blonde/Pale – Ossett, Melon
Premium Pale – Bradfield, Farmers Pale
IPA – Triple Point, Debut
Porter – Doncaster, Liquorice Lump
Stout – Great Newsome, Liquorice Lad
OVERALL JOINT CHAMPIONS..
Chantry, Special Reserve & Triple Point, Debut.
Triple Point has also won awards at Sheffield’s Steel City Beer & Cider Festival for their Debut IPA
First up is our big news for the month… almost a decade after we last brewed one (3,577 days to be precise), WE’RE MAKING A MILD! This one’s made it into the plan at the behest of our marketing team, who’ve had a petition on the go since 2021. From our Restoration series, it’s a classic 4.0% Dark Mild, characterised by a smooth, malt-driven sweetness, balanced by a touch of roast character and hints of coffee. The ultimate British hop, Fuggles, provides a gentle bitter finish. Comforting, rounded and mellow. Mildly excited for this one.
After that bombshell, back to the pale, hoppy beers we’re most well-known for! And we’ve got a cornucopia of them coming up this month – our single hopped series returns with Through the Hopback Citra, 4.0% and with an overt citrussy character and a thirst-quenching finish. We’re bringing back our Ossett Brewery collaboration, Discover Ossett (4.1%), too – this was our quickest selling special last year, a beer created from a mixture of the recipes for Deception and White Rat, with Nelson Sauvin, Amarillo and Columbus hops.
The ever-popular Alchemy (4.2%) is due to make its annual appearance, our very own liquid gold single hopped with Amarillo for a lovely satsuma-esque flavour. And finally, we’ll have the first in a new series out at the end of the month. It’s still under development as I type but will be themed around mythical creatures from around the globe!
And finally from our Brewers Emporium, look out for a couple of soft and juicy hazy pales which will both be available in cask as well as keg and can – Hinterland, a 4.5% Sabro and Vic Secret New England style session IPA, and the latest from our Wanderer series, a single hopped Mosaic NEIPA at 6.2%.
Our Pale Ale series, which is brewed and bottled onsite here in the Loxley Valley, now have been accredited to the new CAMRA One To Try scheme, which promotes the sale of live beer in small pack. All these, plus our core range, which are all bottle conditioned, are now available in 500ml bottles from all good beer shops and online, www.loxleybrewery.co.uk
Bradfield Brewery‘s current seasonal beers include Farmers Irish Dexter (A deep red coloured ale with a sweet malty flavour and a dry finish) which has been available since 19 February and Farmers Plum Bitter available during March.
Lots of excitement at Triple Point Brewing with the brewery expanding into the warehouse area following the arrival of a number of new vessels of varying capacity – 5,000 litre, 2,500 litre and a pilot vessel. The pilot kit means they can play around brewing new experimental beers in smaller quantities. March then sees the brewery’s bar hosting a number of Sheffield Beer Week events as well as the team pouring their beer at Indie Beer Feast. That is just the warm up however, for Friday 15 March sees the brewery’s 5th birthday bash, kicking off at 7pm across the tap room and warehouse areas which will be open until 1am with four special birthday beer releases on tap (including a limited edition pilot brew from each brewer), birthday cake and a DJ playing music from 2019, the year Triple Point launched.
Dave Unpronouncable from Steel City Brewing believed only a madman would cask a 7% stout these days, so obviously, that’s what he did. This minikit production was available to try exclusively at the Wellington in Shalesmoor and was called “I’m Sparticus and So’s My Wife”. It was a strong stout brewed with muscovado sugar and molasses.
February saw Stancill‘s Valentines special hit the bars. “Juliet” is a 3.9% ABV pale ale.
A recent new beer from Lost Industry Brewing available in both cask and keg form is “Woodpecker from Mars”. It is a 5.2% ABV pale ale brewed with Mosaic and Amarillo hops, delivering a light, crisp and fruity beer. You can usually find their new beers at their tap bar, Lost in West Bar.
Acorn Brewery of Barnsley are currently running a series of IPAs brewed with experimental hop varieties supplied by Charles Faram. The latest beer release in this series is CF299.
A recent beer release from Chantry Brewery of Parkgate, Rotherham, has been “Magical Hopster Tour”, a 4.1% ABV pale ale. One of their tap pubs – the Chantry Inn – is in Handsworth, Sheffield and is usually a good place to try their beers, alternatively the brewery itself has a bar that is open as a live music venue at the weekend and it can be easily reached from Sheffield on the Tram Train.
Jolly Boys Brewery of Redbrook, Barnsley, have changed the recipe of their 3.8% ABV Blonde. It is still brewed with Yorkshire Malt and British grown hops but the flavour is now more leaning towards new world with subtle notes of citrus, melon and stone fruit. Their tap pubs are located on the Arcade in Barnsley town centre and on Moorthorpe station.
March means it’s time for Sheffield Beer Week! We’re delighted to be playing a small part in the 10th anniversary celebrations of this fantastic citywide festival. We’ve got a few special beers to celebrate – our collaboration with Sheffield Beer Week itself, Cloud Peak (4.8% Cryo Session IPA) makes a welcome return, as does heritage pale ale Sheffield Rocks (4.1%) … joined this year by all-new Sheffield Stout! A 4.5% classic stout inspired by the history of the city we call home. Expect a pronounced roasty body and flavours reminiscent of rich dark chocolate. A gently spicy hop character provides balanced bitterness before rolling into a smooth and long-lasting finish.
From our Stained Glass series, we’re heralding the arrival of Springtime (4.1%). A light and tropical pale ale to welcome the new season! Vista hops bring sweet, fruity notes of tangerine, cantaloupe melon and orchard pear, with an aromatic hint of green tea alongside.
And from the Brewers’ Emporium, a new series is on the way. We’re diving into the world of new and and exciting hop products, with Aquanaut (4.6%) searching for hidden depths of aroma and flavour. Immerse yourself in the intense tropical notes of Spectrum Galaxy and Lupomax Azacca, followed up with a piney, resinous finish from Incognito Centennial.
Finally, we have a very special collaboration with the iconic Sheffield electronic music duo I Monster. Fly P.A. is a 4.7% dry hopped pale ale brewed to celebrate the 20th anniversary reissue of their album “Neveroddoreven” and their 2024 tour. Featuring Galaxy and Sabro hops for a tropical fruit explosion. A beer that’s perfect for dreaming amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, on a beautiful day.
In early 2020, Carlsberg and Marston’s announced a joint venture: the Danish corporation taking 60% of the new Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) with Marston’s holding 40% and receiving a cash payment of over £270M. At the time, we commented that we had concerns regarding the future of the internationally unique Burton Union System as used in Marston’s Albion Brewery. http://tinyurl.com/498ss642
Almost four years later, these concerns have come to fruition: CMBC have announced plans to retire the historic Union System, a method of brewing using an arrangement of wooden barrels and pipes which recirculates beer and yeast during the fermentation period. This system was developed in Burton-on-Trent, patented in 1838, and used extensively for many years. Brewing scientists regard the system as unparalleled for the production of bright, clean, strong-tasting pale ales.
For example, Draught Bass, the best-selling cask beer in the 1970s was brewed using the Union System. Over the following decades, Bass fell into decline, in both quality and sales. The turning point came in the early 1980s, when Bass decided to rip out the System that had been used to produce its flagship Pale Ale for over 150 years.
Across town, Marston’s established their Union System in 1898 when they relocated from their Horninglow Brewery (built 1834) to their current site, the Albion Brewery on Shobnall Road. Described by Roger Protz as, ‘The Cathedral of Brewing,’ there are ten sets of Burton Unions in a single brew-house, mostly used to produce, Pedigree (4.3% abv), a beer originally introduced in 1952. In recent years, volumes of Pedigree have declined and only four of the sets were in use during 2023. Until earlier in January, the Marston’s website described Pedigree as ‘the only beer to come through the Burton Union System. It gives Pedigree it’s one-of-a-kind taste. No Burton Union. No Pedigree. End of.’
After 125 years of use, including over seventy of Pedigree, Marston’s are now to follow the lead of Bass, leaving, world-wide, only one variation on this unique brewing method. The Firestone Walker Brewing Company (Paso Robles, California, USA) use a modified Burton Union system: forty, 65-gallon, American oak barrels.
This decision will see a unique, and historic, part of Britain’s brewing heritage extinct. Ideally, CMBC would reverse their decision or, at least, make the Union Sets, in situ, available to others. This is unlikely to happen – I’d hope to see them, as, at least, a working museum piece. However, with the recent closure of the National Brewery Museum, this is unlikely. For many years, one of the Bass Union sets was on display in the museum car park.
It seems Carlsberg have no care for the heritage they have acquired in the UK – in addition to this backward step, recent years have seen the closure, or disposal, of several cask breweries: Eagle, Jennings, Ringwood and Wychwood. In their home country, Carlsberg have a reputation as a patron of the arts and a respecter of heritage and tradition. However, not in the UK, where a race to the lowest common destination seems to be the plan.
Carlsberg: probably the worse respecter of brewing tradition in the world.
Doctor Morton is back with a new brew, it’s 100% reliable Fake News (4.1%)! Juicy Idaho 7 hops are balanced by delicately resinous and earthy Savinjski Goldings. Completely ineffective against truth seekers, flat earthers and mardy Yorkshire folk who have already made their bloody mind up.
The “travel poster” inspired series which we launched last year continues by staying right at home – Visit Beauchief Abbey (4.1%) is a classic pale ale, single hopped with Galaxy. We also have more collaborations with other fantastic cask-led breweries to follow from this range, planned for a little later in the year.
And rounding off a trilogy of new pale ale specials this month, we have Through the Hopback Belma (4.0%) on the way. A new hop to us, Belma promises notes of melon and strawberry with a clean citrussy character alongside.
Onto returning beers and we see Sheffield Rocks (4.1%) back on bars, inspired by our wonderful city’s long heritage. And from our Brewers Emporium range, Irish Stout (4.5%) from our Salvation series makes a welcome return along with Sheffield Beer Week collaboration Cloud Peak (4.8%). Look out for more news on our plans for Sheffield Beer Week itself coming soon!
It’s hard to believe it but 2024 marks 10 years of Biblical brews for Emmanuales. A lot has happened over that period for brewing, balding, modern monk Nick Law.
Starting off in his cellar in 2014 with a humble fermentation bucket, his first beer – Ale the Lamb – fermented hot and tasted like old hymnals with an aroma of fusty-churches thrown in for good measure. After honing his beers of biblical proportions and gaining local popularity, Nick assumed the role at The Sheffield Brewery Company as the Head Brewer.
By January 2018, was apparent that he could no longer support both Emmanuales and The Sheffield Brewery Company simultaneously and decided to put Emmanuales on hiatus whilst he figured out what to do next.
After away from The Sheffield Brewery Company, Nick sought to help other brewers through his many skills in branding, marketing, and business and set up consultancy and agency Hop Forward to help a variety of businesses, including Lincoln Green Brewing Company, Great Beyond Brewing Co in Hoxton, Nigeria’s first craft brewery Bature Brewery, and filmmaker Guy Ritchie’s Gritchie Brewing Company.
During Lockdown, Nick felt it was time to resurrect Emmanuales and set up a fully functioning nano-brewery in his Walkley cellar, where it resides today.
To celebrate 10 years of Emmanuales, Nick is kickstarting the year with two beers: Ale the Lamb (6.0%) – a homage (and much superior version!) of his first beer, an Extra Special Bitter – and the second incantation of Swinging The Incense (9.6%): a peated quadruple with sweet smoky flavours and fruity undertones.
As ever, the beers will be available from local stockists including Beer Central, The Green Shop, Walkley Beer Co and The Dram Shop. For more info on Emmanuales and where to pick up these divine beers, head over to www.emmanuales.co.uk or follow us on all the socials @emmanuales
Thornbridge are this year again running a year of beer programme with a different cask beer each month appearing as a guest in pubs partnering in the scheme (and probably a few other places too!).
The 2024 brew schedule kicks off with a cask version of Green Mountain, the hazy session IPA that is a regular on keg followed in February by Coco Cocoa, a coconut edition of their regular chocolate porter.
In March is a mild called Grand Purposes, to be brewed as part of the International Women’s collaboration day then in April is Hirundo, a 4.5% pale ale. In May the release is “Lost in the Forest” a Slovenian hopped pale ale, June sees the return of Wye cucumber pale ale with a red rye IPA in July and a tropical pale ale in August.
Into the autumn and the flavours start to change with the seasons – in September Lucaria ice cream porter puts in an appearance, this type a Biscoff flavoured version and for Halloween in October of course pumpkin is involved! November has a Chai Latte flavoured stout then for Christmas in December it’s a gingerbread pale ale.
Thornbridge have also been involved with the brewing of a couple of Titanic brewery collaborations. The away fixture (brewed at Titanic in Stoke) was an extra special bitter called Carpathia whilst the home fixture (brewed at Thornbridge in Bakewell) is an IPA called Britannic, brewed using Galaxy and Simcoe hops. Both beers are 5.3% ABV.
Bradfield Brewery now have two Gluten Free beers in their bottled range, available from their on site shop. The bottled versions of Farmers Blonde and Farmers Brown Cow are now suitable for those needing a Gluten Free option!
Meanwhile on cask the first half of 2024 will see a similar calendar of monthly seasonal specials from Bradfield as last year with a rotation of Light Ale (January), Irish Dexter (February), Plum Bitter (March), CruciBull Ale (April), Cherry Beer (May), WimBullDon (June) and Elderflower Ale (July).
Grizzly Grains released another beer just before Christmas, meaning they had 3 ales plus mead out in the pubs over the holiday season. The latest beer was Lustre, a citra hopped golden ale.
Tapped Brew Co, based at the Sheffield Tap bar, celebrated their 1000th brew with “Grand”, a 5.9% ABV classic IPA with a hop bill that delivers some pronounced bitterness.
A recent brew from Triple Point has been Cappadocia, a 4.6% pale ale. Soft and fruity, with peach, tangerine, and pineapple flavours. Using El Dorado, Cashmere, and Wolf hops. This beer kicks off a new series of bucket list inspired beers, with this one based on a hot air balloon ride in sunny Cappadocia, Turkey, apparently!
