by colinmcgray | May 5, 2015 | Lock Box: April 2015
Welcome to this month’s lock Box. We hope you are extremely excited by the beers you have just received and can’t wait to try them. We really enjoy you folks sharing with us on social media your opening of the box and the beers, so get in touch! Over the months we have been in existence we have showcased some pretty great beers, from some pretty great breweries. Most of these beers and breweries have been from the new wave of craft breweries, whose launches have swept the nation over the last 5 years. It’s great that the UK has seen such a boom, and we’ll continue to support these guys, as we have done this month too. However we thought it was also important to bring some heritage to the table. We want to showcase some of the guys on these shores, and across the pond, whose innovation, creativity and bravery is pretty unique. Some of these established brands are taking a side-step from the staid industry-created beers of old, even though without them the new batch of brewers most certainly would not be where they are, with the inspiration the have. Meantime Brewing have been doing their thing for longer than most folks currently in the industry have been alive. They have focused on hop forward, experimental beers since day 1, and did so against the trend of what was at the time popular. Despite this, and as proof that if you focus on quality and innovation you’ll find a market, they thrived, and as such when the current craft beer boom took off they were there,...
by Judy Esguerra | Apr 28, 2015 | Lock Box: April 2015
4.1% ABV | Amber Ale | 330ml | Meantime Brewing Co. | London There are craft breweries – passionate startups consisting of a handful, dedicated enthusiasts who brew their hearts out to meet the demand of a growing following – and then there are craft giants, massive well-oiled, keg-filling machines that churn out beer in astonishing quantities.These goliaths blazed the trail for the little guys to make a dent in the otherwise impenetrable and even more gigantic entity known as “Big Beer.” Without them, it’s tough to imagine that the craft beer scene would exist at all, let alone be the veritable beer playground that it has become today. Meantime Brewing is one such brewery (you’ve probably heard of them). Founded in 2000 in Greenwich, the advent of Meantime marked the largest investment in London brewing since 1930 and changed how beer would be brewed in London forever. In the decade and a half that followed, Meantime acquired a collection of accolades in their own right: from being the only English brewery to medal in the 2004 World Beer Cup to the introduction of their unprecedented champagne-style bottling of their India Pale Ale and Porter, Meantime proved it not only had some weight to throw around, it had the weight to get somewhere. A staggering number of beers, a new brewpub restaurant and a bevy of awards later, and Meantime has cemented itself as an aforementioned beer goliath in todays beer culture. Meantime Brewing continues as the epitome of modern craft brewery, with a streamlined operation that pumps out some of the country’s (and world’s) favorite brews, including the Yakima...
by Judy Esguerra | Apr 22, 2015 | Lock Box: April 2015
3.1% ABV | Sour | 330ml | Kernel Brewery | London Kernal Brewing, according to the brewers themselves, “springs from the need to have more good beer” – as though anyone needed any more reason than that to start a brewery. But we’re certainly happy they did – this pragmatic brewery, located near the heart of London, eschews ornament and decadence in favor of positively nailing the classics. With a minimalist website, label, and general all-around vibe, Kernel nevertheless adamantly seeks to create “beer deserving of a certain attention.” Their weapons of choice are their “upfront hops, lingering bitternesses, warming alcohols [and] bodies of malt.” Such tools mingle artfully to create carefully and caringly brewed beers, and Kernal offers your favorite styles with confidence. One such offering is their London Sour, an impressive beer in the classic Berliner Weisse style. For the uninitiated, a Berliner Weisse is Germany’s offering of what is colloquially called a Sour: a tart, low-alcohol beer that makes use of lactic acid in tandem with traditional ale yeast to create a distinctive, tongue-puckering funkiness. A beer with a storied history that reaches back into the 16th Century, Berlineer Weisses, as well as their quirky Belgian brother, the lambic, have recently propelled to the forefront of the modern beer scene. Berliner Weisses are often served with some flavored syrup – raspberry and cherry are popular options – to balance out the sourness, but what you have here is the pure, unadulterated classic version. London Sour pours a hazy, pale yellow with a delicate white head, and gives off a mineral aroma. The first thing you’ll notice...
by Judy Esguerra | Apr 22, 2015 | Lock Box: April 2015
3.6% ABV | Earl Grey Pale | 330ml | Siren Craft Brew | Berkshire, England “All beer drinkers should be able to enjoy craft beer as wine drinkers enjoy the finest wine,” claims Siren Craft Beer, and we’re inclined to agree. Beer drinkers have often been relegated to a second-class enthusiasts, curmudgeons who would sooner crush an emptied can on their forehead than dissect the nuances of a fine Belgian Trippel. Luckily for us (the sophisticated beer chuggers of the world), breweries like Siren exist, eager to readily disprove this misconception and elevate the art of brewing of brewing to a level that parallels the offerings of any vineyard. Take that, sommeliers. Sophisticated and exacting, the brewers at Siren have an almost sinful amount of pride in their process. They make use of the finest ingredients. Their methods are measured and meticulous. They absolutely, positively care. Everything Siren does seeks to exalt the glorious and noble beer, and the fervor and passion in which they brew is an enviable force indeed. And it works. In a short period of time – they opened their doors in Berkshire in Berkshire in 2012 – Siren has garnered the adoration of the public, going from RateBeer’s “Best New English Brewery” to “Best Brewery in England” in record time. But all of this sophistication lives alongside a certain playfulness that brings it all back down to earth. Celebrate the quality of your malt bill all you want, Siren, but you have a beer called Big Inflatable Cowboy Hat. And we like that about you. But we’re not here to talk about cowboy hats, inflatable or otherwise....
