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.   

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!! 

Peanut Butter Beauty!

Something a little different from me today. A side by side comparison of two 'Peanut Butter Milk Stouts' both from USA breweries.

One from Nashville's Tailgate Brewery, purchased in Favourites of Cheltenham and the other from San Diego's Belching Beaver Brewery purchased in Barnstaple's Crafty Beer Shop.

I've had the Tailgate Milk Stout before, once in New Orleans and a couple of times in Pursuit of Hoppiness but I've never had the Belching Beaver before, that said I've only heard good things.

I love Peanut Butter, I love Milk Stouts and I love the USA. This should be good. I poured them both and got stuck in. 

Firstly the Belching coming in at 5.3% ABV.

It poured jet black with a small tan head which disappeared very quickly. The aroma hit me immediately, peanut butter and lots of it. As I continued to smell notes of milk chocolate and vanilla came through too. 

The Tailgate at a slight lower 5% ABV poured almost jet back with a little more light bleeding through than the Belching Beaver. It was well carbonated, with a small tan head which stuck around a little longer. The aroma was predominantly milk chocolate with some peanut butter coming through eventually. This was the complete reverse of the Belching Beaver Side by side the Belching Beaver appeared thicker, darker and fuller bodied, although only one thing was going to confirm this.

The first sip of the Belching Beaver was great, full bodied with loads of peanut butter and milk chocolate on the palate.

The taste of the Tailgate was equally creamy but with a slightly thinner body. The Tailgate however had more of a milk chocolate taste with peanut butter coming only coming across after a sip or two.

Overall both beers were enjoyable and easy to drink, not overly rich or sweet. Neither was completely balanced, the Belching Beaver was very peanut butter dominated and the Tailgate had a more chocolate focused taste like a regular milk stout with the peanut butter in a supporting role! 

Final thoughts? Well......I would happily drink both again, although if given the choice I would reach for the Belching Beaver first. I felt the stronger peanut butter flavour and the thicker body, resulted in the better peanut butter milk stout! The Tailgate was good, it just lacked that punchy peanut butter hit that I wanted and expected when I cracked open the can.