The Beer and The People!

Recently my favourite craft beer bar, ‘The Pursuit of Hoppiness’ in Exeter closed permanently following the turbulence of COVID-19 and lockdown. The Facebook post announcing the closure was flooded with comments of tributes and support. One comment stood out, it summed up my love for craft beer and the beer and brewing community. That comment was posted by Stannary Brewery.

‘Craft Beer is about more than just the beer, it’s about the people too’

Stannary Brewery from Tavistock on the edge of Dartmoor in West Devon are a small brewery who put a big emphasis on community.

Founded in 2016 by business partners Mark, Chris and Garry, Stannary are based in a small industrial unit on the edge of the town centre. They operate a 6 barrel brewery with an on-site taproom.

The start of their journey wasn’t an easy one as problems with the initial installation of the brew kit meant that their dreams were almost shattered before they could blossom. Thankfully with some extra investment and shed loads of perseverance they were back up and running.

My first experience of Stannary came when I helped organise the first Exeter Craft Beer Festival in 2019, alongside Topsham Brewery. We were seeking to promote the amazing craft beer available within Devon, in addition to Topsham’s own beers, we invited Utopian, Roam, Powderkeg and Stannary to name just a few.

I remember being really impressed with the quality across the board, that included Stannary!

The next time our paths crossed was thanks to my friend Neal who is a self proclaimed Stannary fan boy. He invited Chris and Garry to the Pursuit of Hoppiness during one of our many bottle shares. We chatted over a few beers including ‘Fat Head’ Stannarys’ 7.4% Brown Ale, which at the time I thought looked like dish water but tasted like heaven! Never judge a book by it’s cover.

Stannary have a small but perfectly formed core range. Stannary Pale at 4.5 % ABV, the first beer they ever brewed which they describe as a great gateway from real ale to ‘craft’ beer. Next @ 4.2% ABV is ‘All that Jazz’ a sessionable pale ale and rounding off the range are two IPAs. ‘Reverse Camber’ a nod to the west coast and ‘Hare Trigger’ a fruity east coast juice bomb! In addition to the core range they also brew a number of specials and have just developed two fruited pales; ‘OPP’ an orange peel pale and ‘Slight of Hand’ a mango pale, both fermented on the respective fruits to give a fruit tang.

Community is clearly important to Stannary, this is shown by their recent collaboration with local coffee shop Black Sheep Brew. The result is ‘Black Sheep’ (not to be confused with the Yorkshire brewery), a 4.8% ABV Breakfast Stout with vanilla and lactose. I shared my bottle with my wife, she’s not a massive beer fan but she does love a coffee stout. I’m pleased to say she approved.

Stannary, like most microbreweries, initially focused primarily on the on trade, supplying Kegs and Cask to local pubs and bars. Before COVID 19 and the closure of pubs they were bottling a very small amount of their brews, much of which went to places like Hops and Craft in Exeter, Vessel in Plymouth and a couple select venues across Cornwall. However since the pandemic they started bottling regularly to the point that in has recently represented 60% of their sales, with growler fills from the taproom accounting for the other 40%. Zero cask and keg!

Thankfully the increase in bottling has helped Stannary stay afloat during what has been an extremely challenging time for the brewing industry. In addition to the increased small pack, Stannary have also been overwhelmed by the support from the local community, shorty after the lockdown they announced that they would continue growler fills from their taproom. Initially they weren’t sure how much trade they would get, after a few weeks it was clear that the community had embraced the brewery, with new faces returning regularly to get their local beer. Hopefully now with pubs reopening their sales of cask and keg will slowly begin to pick up again and these new found Stannary fans will continue to seek out the beer, whether at the Taproom or in another local venues.

I managed to visit the boys at the taproom at the beginning of July, just as pubs and bars were being allowed to reopen. Unfortunately due to the limited space it is not clear when they will be able to open, but one thing is clear, the passion and drive to deliver top quality beer is still strong. Both Chris and Garry were positive, especially as they had just released a collaboration with Cornish brewery, Firebrand. ‘Vertical Isolation’, an 8.5% DIPA, although brewed and canned in Cornwall the Stannary influence was clear. It was dank and resinous with masses of grapefruit and pine.

After meeting the guys in the Pursuit of Hoppiness all those months ago and then popping in to the taproom recently one thing that struck me is that the guys are passionate about their community, good beer and are focused on combing the two.

Like they said; Craft Beer, it’s about the people too.   

Doppelbock - A Thing of Beauty

Style in Focus – Doppelbock

After focusing on a brewery in my last post I thought it would be a good idea to focus on a specific beer style for my next.

But which one? IPA?, Stout?, what about Weiss bier? When you survey the list of styles and sub styles you can be forgiven for being utterly confused, overwhelmed and simply bewildered! I thought long and hard and decided to go with one of my favourites, one that is, in my opinion, under rated and misunderstood. The Dopplebock.

The first thing to get your head around is that a Doppelbock is a Lager. Not a pale, fizzy American light lager like Bud or a beautifully crisp Traditional Czech Pilsner like Pilsner Urquell but a lager all the same. If you want to understand more about lagers then check out my previous blog post or pick up a copy of ‘A Brief History of Lager’ by Mark Dredge, great reading.

The Dopplebock is a stronger, fuller bodied version of the German dunkel, it will be typically around 18 degrees Plato and be in the region of 7 or 8% Alcohol by volume (ABV). The BJCP 2015 describes a ‘strong, rich and very malty German lager that can have pale and dark variants’.

But what does that really mean? Well that called for some market research. During my preparation for my Certified Beer Server exam last year I tried a beer called ‘Celebrator’ by Ayinger. Frankly, it rocked my world. Malty, fruity, sweet but also toasty. This was my introduction to the Doppelbock, and I haven’t looked back. Over the next few months I sort out some great examples of the style, including ‘Naughty and Nice’ from Lervig, ‘Bocktoberfest’ by Vocation and finally the brillant collaboration between North and Thornbridge, which so far is one of my favourite beers of 2020.

The history of the Doppelbock is an interesting one. The simple translation of Doppelbock in English is ‘Double Goat’, however, you’ll be pleased to hear that its origin has nothing to do with goats! So how did it get it’s name? It’s essentially a Doppel or ‘Double’ version of a Bock beer. The Bock beer itself finds it’s routes in Einbeck, Lower Saxony, Germany in the 14^th Century. The popularity of this strong Einbeck beer grew and it eventually found its way to Munich in Bavaria. Anchor Brewing explain in their article ‘It’s All About Bock’ that the accent of Bavaria quickly converted ‘Einbeck’ to ‘Einbock’ and this in turn was shortended to ‘Bock’….there you go. Nothing to do with goats!

The Doppelbock as were know it today originates from Munich around the 17^th Century when it was originally brewed by monks of the order of Francis of Paola as a stronger version of the ever popular Bock. The Doppelbock quickly became popular in monastic circles. ‘Salvator’, which is probably the most well known Doppelbock, was often drunk by monks during lent and became known as ‘liquid bread’ as it helped them through a long days fasting.

As a result of Salvators’ success other Barvian brewers started to brew Doppelbocks, in an attempt to harness the popularity of Paulaner’s Slavator they also used to ending -ator when naming their brews. As a result Celebrator (Ayinger), Animator (Hacker Pschorr), Maximator (Augustiner) and Triumphator (Lowenbrau) were born, and I could go on!

A Doppelbock is traditionally a malt forward beer often using Munich and Vienna malt plus a little dark malt to add colour. To add further colour many Doppelbocks will be docoction mashed, a traditional method which involves removing a small amount of the mash, boiling it and adding back into the main mash. This results in sweet malty, toffee, caramel and toasted flavours. A classic Doppelbock may also feature, raisin, date and figgy dried fruit flavours along with some subtle milk chocolate notes. Generally Doppelbocks will have almost no hop flavour or aroma and should be medium to full bodied, smooth and velvety.

After my first experience of Celebrator I managed to try a couple of German versions and one from Lervig. It wasn't until early 2020 when my love for the style was confirmed, not by a German classic, but by a collaboration between two British breweries. Better known for their IPAs and Stouts, North Brewing Co and Thornbridge brewed a 7% ABV Doppelbock which knocked my socks off. It was everything I wanted from a Doppelbock, sweet toasted caramel, milk chocolate, raisins and sticky dates all coming together in with a thick velvety mouthfeel. Not too sweet, yet clean, fruity and easy to drink.

After my experience with the North x Thornbridge collabation I decided to round this piece off by comparing the North x Thornbridge effort against 2 other Doppelbocks brewed outside of Germany. ‘Naughty and Nice’, the Lervig I had at Christmas and ‘Bocktoberfest’ a seasonal special from Vocation, both coming it at 8% ABV.

All three poured well with good carbonation and a dark brown with the Lervig being the lightest of the three with more of a ruby tinge. The aroma of all three was as I expected, malty, toasted caramel, milk chocolate and the classic dried fruit flavours of raisins, figs and dates. In addition to this the ‘Bocktoberfest’ also had strong ethanol/alcohol aroma which wasn’t the most pleasant and certainly not to style. Similar was true of the taste and mouthfeel. The North x Thornbridge was my favourite, thick, full of complex malty and fruity notes. Raisin, dates and smooth chocolate. This was closely followed by the Lervig, which had a similar complex flavour but sadly not the body to match. Once again the Vocation suffered from a little ethanol/alcohol on the aftertaste. The sweet raisin and date flavours did a little to mask this but it was not quite enough; it did have the velvety thick body similar to the North x Thornbridge collab.

3 very enjoyable beers. It shows that this classic style has an important place and relevance in today’s world of hazy juice bombs and pastry stouts. Long live lager.

Hill Farmstead - More Than Just Beer.

Brewery Focus – Hill Farmstead

When asked to name craft breweries from the USA, many people will initially name those brewers who started the craft revolution, such as Sierra Nevada or Goose Island. Alternatively they may name breweries like Other Half, Trillium and Monkish who are renowned for their big hazy IPA as well as their big adjunct filled stouts and sours. 

Few however are likely to mention a relatively small brewery from North East Vermont, known for producing amazing; IPAs, Porters and Saisons. Beers, which have resulted in them been named RateBeer.com ‘Best Brewery in the World’ in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 . 

 

Brief History

Hill Farmstead Brewery from Greensboro, in Rural Vermont was founded in 2010 by brewer Shaun Hill after he returned to his home town from Denmark where he had been brewing with Fano Bryghus and more recently Norrebro Bryghus. 

Shaun comes from a long line of the Hill family who have lived in Greensboro ever since the town was founded by Peleg Hill Sr and Peleg Hill Jr in 1788 . 

The brewery was founded with the simple aim of brewing ‘succinct and elegant beers of distinction’  This was an ethos developed by Shaun, as he believed that this was what was lacking in most of beers being brewed at that time.  He wanted Hill Farmstead focus more on the quality of the beer than the dollar signs! By hand selecting hops and working closely with local fruits producers Hill Farmstead are able to keep the quality high whilst also being able to trace their beers from it’s beginning to bottle. Initially Shaun had to save and scrounge the first $100000 investment for the business, he even had a 10-barrel Mash Tun donated by nearby brewery ‘The Alchemist’   

Over the first 2 years of operations Shaun and his team expanded organically, starting with the construction of new brewery, packaging facility and barrel room on the families land at Greensboro. It was important that Hill Farmstead did not let the development effect the quality of end product, because of cause that’s what it was all about.

Once the fabric of the brewery was complete Shaun turned his attentions to developing his staff, the best people, using the best equipment and the best ingredients. By getting this right and the beer will speak for itself.  They began to explore new and differing beer styles and evolving the breweries expectations one step at a time. Shaun is once quoted as saying ‘A lot of brewers now go straight from home brewing into making a chili-chocolate-chipotle porter or whatever, and it’s like . . . well, just fucking make a good porter first, and understand what a porter is instead of trying to re-invent it’ .

Start with the basics, make them great and then develop them….simple.  

As the brewery grew so did the range of beer; Hill Farmsteads beers generally fall into one of 2 categories, the Ancestral series and the Philosophical series. 

The Ancestral series take their names from various members of the Hill family throughout the generations. It includes beers like ‘Arthur’, an IPA and arguably Hill Farmsteads most well-known beer, ‘Anna’, a Vermont Honey Ale (see below); ‘Mary’, a German Style Pilsner and ‘George’, an American Brown Ale, however that is just the tip of the iceberg! The Ancestral series has a beer to cover most styles and tastes, beers like Flora; their Barrel Aged Wheat Ale has several iterations. This depends on the fruit that particular each version has been aged on.   

 The Philosophical series is born from Shaun’s longstanding interest in philosophy which he developed whilst at college.   It features beers such as ‘Genealogy of Morals’, ‘Karma Emulsion’, ‘What is Enlightenment’, and the ‘Society and Solitude’ series. Again it covers a range of styles and demonstrates that Shaun’s passions run deeper than the liquid in the bottle. In addition to this Hill Farmstead have dabbled with small batch canning and a number of standalone single hop beers. Despite this fairly extensive range Hill Farmstead remains a small brewery, producing around 3000 barrels per year.   

When talking about the idea of becoming a ‘big’ brewery and moving to a large industrial park he said’ “I didn’t start this brewery so I could keep growing and move it away from here; that wasn’t the point,” he says. “It wouldn’t be fun anymore. It wouldn’t have purpose or meaning.” 

Clearly Hill Farmstead values quality over quantity

A Beer in Focus – ‘Anna’ 

As Hill Farmstead are such a renown brewery, producing relatively small amounts of high quality beer it is fairly uncommon to find them available for sale in the UK.  I was fortunate enough to buy a bottle on my birthday trip to the Brew Dog bar in Bristol in 2019.  The beer in question was a 750ml bottle of Hill Farmstead’s 'Anna' a Vermont Honey Ale brewed using Vermont flower honey.  Anna Hill (1902-1993) was Shaun’s great auntie, one of 13 children who grew up on the land now occupied by the brewery.  

I stashed it away for a rainy day, however it was actually a beautifully sunny day during the COVID-19 lockdown when I decided to open it. 

I was hoping for a light, refreshing yet complex beer....that's exactly what I got. 

The aroma was crisp, floral and funky, with notes of apples, lemon and honey. The taste was amazingly complex without being overpowering or overwhelming. 

Each sip started with a crisp honey and citrus taste followed by a malt driven crackery and peppery edge, rounded off by a floral, funky subtle bitterness. It was medium bodied and amazingly drinkable. 

I was hoping that I was going to be disappointed, I certainly wasn't, it was well crafted, brewed with quality ingredients, by skilled brewers using a lots of care. 

Hopefully you now have a brief insight into one of the world’s most interesting breweries.  By sticking to his values and initial vision Shaun Hill has managed to create a brewery than not only produces exceptional beer but also a brewery that puts care into every drop.  

References

  1https://www.ratebeer.com/ratebeerbest/2019/best-brewers-top-100

2https://hillfarmstead.com/our-story/

3https://www.robhopkins.net/2017/05/24/shaun-hill-of-hill-farmstead-on-brewing-beer-to-capture-the-imagination/

4https://www.robhopkins.net/2017/05/24/shaun-hill-of-hill-farmstead-on-brewing-beer-to-capture-the-imagination/

5  https://narratively.com/the-wonderbrewer-of-nowheresville/

6https://www.vanityfair.com/style/food/2013/04/shaun-hill-brewmaster-hill-farmstead

7https://www.robhopkins.net/2017/05/24/shaun-hill-of-hill-farmstead-on-brewing-beer-to-capture-the-imagination/

 8https://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/2015/03/24/shaun-hill-farmstead-brewery/

9https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/business/craft-beer-the-very-limited-edition.html

Breakfast Time......

New and Improved? My thoughts...

Recently Vocation Brewing announced that they had rebrewed their extremely popular Waffle and Blueberry, Breakfast Stout. 'Breakfast Club'

The original, brewed in collaboration with Yeastie Boys has been a very popular member of the Tesco craft beer range. The 2nd version 'Breakfast Club 2.0' sees Vocation go it alone, and in their words is, bigger, thicker and fruitier!
2.0 is very shortly set to replace the original on the shelves of Tesco.

Therefore I thought in the name of research I should taste them side by side and put Vocation's claims to the test.

The pour was similar, both were well carbonated with a slight purple tinge. The original appeared slightly thinner letting a little light bleed through. 2.0 was completely opaque.

The aroma of both was fruity, chocolatey and sweet. The original however had a distinctive spicy aroma which was missing from 2.0. I later realised this was due to the lack of cinnamon in 2.0. As I'm a fan of cinnamon this was slightly disappointing.

The taste of 2.0 certainly made up for the lack of cinnamon. Compared to the original it was thick, fruity and well balanced. Loads of tart berry character woven into a sweet doughy and chocolatey beer. The original was very chocolatey, but the fruit was actually muted slightly by the spicy cinnamon. The irony....proof that a great aroma does always equal a great taste!

2.0 had a much thicker body, probably due to the addition of Lactose in the latest version, sorry vegans. The original for a 6.9% ABV was a little on the light side.

In conclusion. 2.0 has done exactly what it promised. It was thicker and fruity. The lack of cinnamon and the addition of the lactose has resulted in a better balance and improved mouthfeel. Although I enjoyed the spicy character of the original I understand why the cinnamon is not present in 2.0

For those who love the original I'm sure you won't be disappointed by 2.0. Be sure to try it for yourself.

Milk Stouts - Blind Tasting

2 breweries, 2 beers, 1 style!

I love milk stouts, in fact the first can I bought from my local bottle shop Hops and Crafts in Exeter was a milk stout! Therefore I thought milk stouts would be the ideal place to start some blind tastings.

I picked two beers with similar ABVs, similar adjucts and from a similar part of the UK, hopefully so the water should be fairly similar! 

For me the choice was obvious. 'Deeper Water' a 5.1% ABV Milk Stout with Vanilla, Cacao adjuncts from Bristol's Left Handed Giant and 'Milk Shake' at 5.6% ABV also from Bristol but this time from Wiper and True.

I've had these beers before, enjoyed them both and honestly found it difficult to separate them. This said I've never had them side by side so this could be interesting!

To make sure it was truly blind I used 2 identical glasses and poured a similar amount into each. I immediately noticed one was much more carbonated than the other. 

Beer 1, initial thoughts on the aroma, Milk chocolate, latte coffee and some vanilla. After a short time, the vanilla definately came more prominent.

Beer 2, this aroma was more muted. Certainly not as strong as beer one. Milk chocolate and vanilla were still very noticeable. I let it warm up a little but apart for some subtle coffee nothing much else came across.

Taste.... Beer 1, roasted coffee, milk chocolate, vanilla latte. Nicely balanced, lovely depth of flavour. It finished with a lovely lingering milk chocolate flavour. Almost like letting milk chocolate melt on your tongue!

Beer 2, similar to beer 1, a lovely milk chocolate initial flavour, roasted coffee and some vanilla on the aftertaste. Beer 2 also had a smokey edge which worked surprisingly well with the sweet chocolate and vanilla.

Both beers had reasonable bodies. Beer 1 was the more carbonated but did feel a little thin. Beer 2 was thicker and as a result felt more satisfying on the palate.

Overall beer 1 was my favourite, it had a fuller aroma and more depth of flavour. The mouthfeel of beer 2 was far and away the best but unfortunately the more subtle flavours let it down.

Both beers tasted and Beer 1 crowned winner....but which was which??

The big reveal!

Beer 1 - Left Handed Giant 'Deeper Water'
Beer 2 - Wiper and True 'Milk Shake'

Supermarket beer, but not as you know it!

Bread, Milk, 9% Nitro Infused Vietnamese Coffee Stout....not your usual shopping list.

At the beginning of March the latest round of Brewdog beers launched into Tesco Personally the most exciting 'Roaster Coaster' a 9% ABV Nitro Infused Vietnamese Coffee Stout brewed in collaboration with the brilliant Eviltwin and canned in the USA.

I had seen various reviews online, so with excitement I cracked open the can with that satisfying crunch you get as the nitrogen is released into the beer to works it's magic.

The pour was a thing of beauty. As it settled I was left with a jet black beer and wonderful thick tan coloured head. The aroma was as I hope that great coffee, caramel, chocolate combination. In my opinion the backbone of any sweet coffee stout. If anything it did lack a little roasted malt quality that I normally expect.

On the palate the sweet creamy milk chocolate hit me first, this was followed by a bitter strong coffee flavour and was rounded off by an almost chocolate/caramel sweetness on the backend.

The mouthfeel was superb thanks to nitro can, creamy, smooth, like the lovechild of Guinness and Starbucks!

Personally I look at this beer two ways, you can compare it to other Imperial Coffee Stouts. In which case I felt it lacked depth and balance of flavour and was a little too sweet. Also I would say drink local, support independent bottle shops, breweries and craft beer venues. However you can choose to compare it with other beers available on the shelves of Tesco and in that case I'm putting one in my basket every trip.

I know Brew Dog have the ability to divide opinion in the beer world. For complete disclosure I wouldn't describe myself as a superfan, although I am an Equity Punk with my single lonely share in that massive and expanding Brew Dog world! That said this review, like all my reviews has been as impartial as possible and if this was a truly bad beer I would tell you!!