Welcome to this month’s Lock Box. I hope you’re extremely excited by the beers you’ve 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! We’d love to see a photo on Twitter or Facebook, or just leave a comment at the bottom of this post.
What’s in the Box?
This month we’re showcasing some goliaths of the UK beer scene. First up we have the super-drinkable pale Pacer from Summer Wine. Summer Wine are a brewery based in Holmfirth ran by a couple of young lads who have been building a very solid reputations as one of the most experimental breweries on these shores. The list of beers they produce is fairly epic, and Pacer is among the best of them. Find the full write-up here: Pacer from Summer Wine.
From a similar area up in the Peaks we have AxeEdge from Buxton. Named after a rock formation in the area, this beer is recognised as one of the best IPA’s you will find in the world. Sound hyperbolic? Try it and see for yourself. Grapefruit, Peaches, Citrus, a clean and dry finish with a balanced hop bitterness to it. Delicious.
We recognise that last month’s box was a little hop heavy, and that’s my fault. I get a little excited about Pales and IPAs… So this month I’ve worked hard to put out a more balanced box with a mix of styles and ABVs that will keep you interested from beer 1 to beer 8. We have 3 cans in this months box, 2 from New Zealand brewery Three Brothers. We won’t usually showcase 2 beers from the same brewery but when an opportunity to get our hands on these fresh came along I wasn’t going to let it slip by. Their Wheat and Porter are both in the box. Both great beers, and a great introduction into what this new brewery is all about.
From Atom we have Dark Alechemy. This is a beer that represents Atom as a brewery, experimental but scientific. In the words of the brewer, a classic porter, utilising a variety of different techniques and ingredients to create a very unique beer. This beer is technically a medieval gruit, an unhopped ale flavoured with spices, that has been aged for at least 3 months. The combination of cardamom and coriander give a light floral note, mixed with spearmint and a hint of citrus. This lies over a melange of roast, chocolate and coffee flavours from a complex malt bill including Carafa III, melanoidin, crystal, chocolate, CaraRed and malted wheat.
The 3rd can is from another of the UK’s best breweries (voted top 10 new breweries in the world 2014) Weird Beard. We have Faceless Spreadsheet Ninja, their citra hopped pils. Looks great, tastes great and is all you’d expect from a brewery with this reputation.
We have Bristol Beer Factory making an appearance with their Milk Stout. This beer is literally a style benchmark in the UK. Anyone making a Milk Stout will have it judged against Bristol Beer Factory’s core beer, and not many will equal it. Sweet, roasty and full bodied, it is one of my go to beers and has been for years. For a full write-up on this brilliant brew, check out the Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout article.
From Celt we have Silures, a modern interpretation of light hoppy beer, which some would classify as a session IPA. It’s modest abv, yet high mash regime, which features the sweet and delicate Munich malt, giving a real sense of balance with the powerful Chinook and Simcoe hops. To spruce up the pine hop presence, well… Celt literally use spruce, foraged from Welsh woods near Caerphilly. This hop, pine and malt combo, delivers an orange hops and toasted peel aroma.
We hope you enjoy the beers, and we look forward hearing from you as you do so!
Bruce