Yonder Brewing
With are very excited to have the first bottle releases from the fantastic Yonder Brewing and Blending. Matt H sampled the first kegs at Independent Manchester Beer Convention in October.
Based out of Mendip Hills, Somerset, Yonder are around an hour from Bristol and about 20 mins from fellow wild yeast enthusiasts Wild Beer Co.
Yonder are turning heads with some incredibly complex and exciting beers, based on a mantra of exploring fermentation, foraging and flavour.
Producing beers akin to traditional Belgian styles, spontaneously fermenting with the naturally occurring microbes of the area. See our Lambic blog for more details on the style and spontaneous fermentation.
Dunstans Exile
Named after St Dunstan, a Somerset cleric who was exiled to Belgium
This 5.5% Belgian pale is built on barley and wheat fermented with both ale and wine yeasts. Combined with English and European Hops, Somerset Lavender and Scottish Juniper,
Dunstan’s Exile is dry, fruity and complex.
Bees and Things and Flowers
A true celebration of foraging, this beer is a combination of honey, chamomile, meadowsweet, lavender, yarrow and pineapple weed. Balanced and tart, the 4.9% golden honey wit bier’s first batch was so popular that despite this being a summer beer Yonder felt they had to release it now.
Loop – Autumn
The first of the seasonal series, Loop’s base beer is spontaneously fermented using spilt flour and local micro organisms. It is then aged in oak and blended with fruit and herbs, changing each season. A small portion of the brew will be used to ferment the next seasons instalment.
Autumns Loop includes Victoria Plums, Damsons and Wild Thyme.
Fermhouse
Fermhouse is simple and effective. A 3.8% golden ale fermented with Norwegian Farmhouse yeast and local mixed cultures. Brewed to be clean and tart, complexity will develop over time giving easy drinkability with real depth of flavour.
Mikkeller Running Club – Sun 9th September
Join us for meet 30 of the Mikkeller Running Club Nottingham chapter, a drinking club with a running problem!
We’ll be meeting at Brew Cavern for an 11.30 start, run approx 5km, then pop to the Keans Head for Mikkeller beer and nibbles.
Free half pint of Mikkeller beer for all runners.
All abilities welcome. Pace is around 6:30min/km but we never leave anyone behind!
If anyone is interested in Mikkeller Running Club kit, there are some new items up on the Mikkeller Webshop. If we can put a decent order together we’ll get a discount so keep an eye on the site and let Matt know if you’d like anything http://shop.mikkeller.dk
Stuck for gift ideas?
Stuck for gift ideas? Want to find a unique present? Something produced in Nottingham?
Try beer.
We believe there is a beer for everyone, and those that, “don’t like beer” simply haven’t tried the right one yet.
Of course as beer advocates we would say that!
However with over 200 styles out there we are confident that a beer exists for everyone.
It might not become their go to drink over night but, as a persons pallet becomes adjusted to the varied personalities of beer, they will find much enjoyment in discovering new exciting flavours and styles.
Our experience teaches us to never presume someone else will like what you like.
Often the go-to for a lot of people would be a hoppy pale ale, but to a lager drinker that flavour may be too intense and therefore off putting. Maybe they adore chocolate and once they find a dark stout…
Never should beer have been seen as just for men, for decades now there has been an increase in women producing and drinking beer.
Led by a wealth of choice and a welcome ignorance of the past stigma over a lady drinking a beer.
Nows the time to see beer as not just a gift for him, CAMRA members and beer fanatics, but for everyone.
We have a huge selection of beers from around the world, and the booming Nottingham beer scene. With the expertise to help you find something perfect.
Once we’ve found some perfect beers we can present them in our custom gift boxes designed to present the beers saving you the awkward wrapping.
We also have our tote bags. Six separate holders fit every imaginable shape of bottle or can and entitle the holder to 10% off six or more bottles, every time you visit.
Don’t forget mail order too, send our beers all over mainland UK with free delivery over £50.
Not all Dads drink boring beer.
It wouldn’t be fair to presume all dads drink boring brown beer, however with Father’s Day approaching we thought now was a good time to highlight a few beers that will suit a more traditional ale drinker, all with a contemporary edge.
Arbor – Cit-chew-ecka
Bristol based Arbor Brewing have been putting out quality beers for ten years.
They are a great example of a brewery able to stay true to their heritage while staying relevant.
Conditioned in it’s pint size bottle, this 4.5% pale ale is built on a traditional clean malt bill. American Citra and New Zealand Motueka hops bring subtle citrus and tropical fruit aromas with a drinkable dryness and light bitterness.
Marble – Berimbolo and Dobber IPA
In their 20 year history, Marble Brewery have successfully remained true to there origins while experimenting and evolving.
We present two beers that sum up a balance between old and the new, enjoyed by traditional drinkers and modern craft kids alike.
Berimbolo is a blonde ale, meaning a clean malt bill and very light hopping. Traditionally this style will be bitter but Marble have dialled that back and further enhanced the aroma with dry-hopping.
Dobber is a beer Marble built their reputation on. So much so that after being discontinued in 2016, it’s back.
Originally brewed at 6.5% then falling to 5%, but now it’s back at it’s original ABV and tasting as good as ever. A return welcomed by beer blogger Matthew Curtis, who was paramount in driving demand for Dobber’s return.
A rich biscuity malt based IPA with real weight that finishes with an explosion of tropical fruit and grapefruit and a lasting bitterness.
Black Iris/Torrside
Nottinghams own Black Iris have collaborated with Torrside Brewery from New Mills to create an exceptional brown ale.
Torrside love smoked beer, and in Bury Me In Smoke they have created a deep smoky but refined brew with a wonderful malty backbone.
Without the smoke it would be a terrifically drinkable brown ale but the addition creates an interesting and unique beer.
Blue Monkey – BG Sips
Staying in Nottingham we have this classic beer in the modern local real ale scene.
This english hopped ale offers the best of British ingredients.
Subtle balanced flavours, moreish bitterness and fresh grassy and floral hops.
North End – Old Island Burton Ale
Anyone who has drunk Real Ale for a number of years will tell you the importance of Burton to brewing history.
Famed for its water, the city has given it’s name to it’s very own style, the Burton Strong Ale.
Once found all over the UK the style is now almost extinct so we’ve had to source this beer all the way from New Zealand.
Sweet toffee and biscuit malt combined with a light hopping of local New Zealand hops. The classic English ale yeast is sure to leave a beautiful lacing down your glass.
A historical style, imported and presented in a can, what a great melding of old and new.
Hogan’s – Vintage Cider
We don’t just love beer at Brew Cavern and for us Hogan’s produce some of the most interesting Ciders around.
This vintage cider was brewed in 2014 from all English apples and pears and aged. Over this times flavours become more pronounced and provide real depth. The cider contains no fruit juice and quality starts with the fruit harvested and washed by hand.
Complex but super drinkable and perfect for summer days.
We hope some of these beers we have picked out will inspire you to find something perfect for Father’s Day.
Buy online or pop in store for the perfect recommendation for his tastes.
BBQ Beers
There’s always that week in April. The Daily Mail heatwave, the “hotter than Ibiza” weather reports and red faced men in vests. A few days of sunshine and madness then back to winter.
We’ve just had another balmy weekend but this time it looks like summer is finally here. Time to get used to the sun and make plans to enjoy it with friends, barbecues and of course beer.
Here are our recommendations for perfect summer craft beers available in store and straight from the fridge.
Brouwerij Boon – Geuze Mariage Parfait – 750ml – £11.60
Belgian Lambic from one of its best producers. Spontaneously fermented using the natural yeast that lives in the atmosphere in the brewery, Lambic’s are often considered to be some of the best beers of the world. Hops are used solely as a preservative with deep complex flavours created by the yeast over a clean wheat base.
Different ages of Lambic are blended giving different flavours, the young is zingy, acidic and dry, the vintage savoury, tart and fruity. These flavours are blended in the perfect marriage. More than just a sour beer it is complex but not heavy, tart sour and refreshing, you’ll notice different flavours the more you drink.
Geuze will cut through greasy burgers and accompany more subtle flavours like grilled salmon.
In a 750ml bottle it is perfect for sharing, top up glasses with half of the bottle then fill with the rest and see how the yeast settled in the bottle changes the taste.
Burning Sky – Printemps Lees – 750ml – £13.20
In my opinion Burning Sky are the UK’s best producers of Belgian beer. Brewed over winter, when wild yeasts and other bacteria are less abundant to alter beer, to drink over the summer by farmworkers, Saison’s are dry, savoury, grainy and lightly hopped. Some can possess a hay like “farmyard” finish, some have a tartness with wild yeasts, these develop over time into more complex fruity or sour flavours. Many brewers add herbs and spices to add complexity.
Burning Sky have taken their regular spring saison and aged it in a barrel formerly used to hold natural wine. The “bacchus” still contains the leftover yeast as Lees, these further ferment the ageing beer to create an acidity and delicate floral note. The light addition of black pepper and ginger compliment the many flavours contained in this Saison.
Buy this to share with the white wine drinkers. The pepper and ginger work well with butcher sausage hot dogs and aged cheeses.
Black Iris Four Pack – 440ml x 4 – £17.80
A selection of amazing craft pale ales from Nottingham Legends Black Iris.
Endless Summer: 4.5% session IPA with all the flavour of an IPA at a percentage to enjoy all day.
Divine Elements: Nottingham’s highest rated IPA and a stunning fruity beer with a touch of bitterness.
Circle of Snakes: Juicy and hazy New England Double IPA packed with citrus flavours and hardly any bitterness.
Ride The Lightning: Full bodied wheat pale packed with juice and a rich refreshing body.
Mini Keg – Welbeck Abbey Cavendish/Henrietta – 5%/3.6% – £22.00
Welbeck Abbey Mini Kegs are perfect for the BBQ. Containing 8 pints these balanced golden ales are uncomplicated and at a sessional percentage. Not every beer needs to blow your mind, especially when you’re bringing beer to a barbecue and want it to suit many different people. Traditional drinkers will enjoy both Henrietta and Cavendish while contemporary craft beer heads won’t be disappointed.
Omnipollo/Buxton – Original Rocky Road Ice Cream – 10% – £8.80
Pastry stouts are not the type of beers that immediately come to mind for a summer drink. Rich decadent 10% liquid chocolate cake, flavoured with Marshmallows for a sweet finish. Who could resist any time of year.
Take it up a notch for the warm weather. Pour into a glass and use a scoop of vanilla ice cream to create a cooling delicious float, breaking up the richness and completing this dessert in a glass.
Whatever you choose make sure to get out in the sun and share the beer in good company.
Why we chose to refrigerate all of our beer
“We don’t keep beer in the fridge as we have limited fridge space available in store and beer doesn’t need to be refrigerated. Gary”
Gary works for Sainsbury’s, and a few weeks back he made quite the stir on Twitter.
Beer blogger Peter McKerry was responding to a conversation on quality control within the beer industry.
He facetiously linked Sainsbury’s in his response, calling them out on poor practises.
His ongoing argument has been for them to refrigerate beer, especially as Sainsbury’s, like all supermarkets are expanding into Craft Beer. In fact all major supermarkets store some or all of their beer outside of fridges.
Gary, who presumably works in customer care not comedy, should have read his audience. Over 50 comments followed, all citing the importance of refrigerating beer. Amongst the responders were Brewdog, wholesalers that include those that supply Brew Cavern, as well as many beer bloggers and brewers.
So why all the fuss?
All beer needs to be kept stable. Light and temperature can degrade it quickly. Hop flavours will fade and heat causes increases in oxygen making the beer turn sour. A consistent supply chain from brewery to customer is the best way to deliver the product as intended and protect it from dropping in quality. Cold storage is key, especially regarding Craft beer, with bigger hop flavours, fruit, lactose and other additions and lack of pasteurisation.
Refrigerated beer delivery in Britain is fast becoming the norm. American breweries have worked this way for decades and it is demanded by many, often brewers will refuse to use a distributor that doesn’t store their beer correctly. Soon in the UK many will refuse to supply without cold chain storage or to non refrigerated retailers.
With more advanced hoppy IPA beer styles from Verdant and Cloudwater having only three month best before dates, it is crucial to store these highly perishable beers correctly.
This is why we made the commitment in 2017 to be 100% refrigerated. The vital last piece in the chain to supplying quality and cared for beer. What a waste it would be to have beer travel from brewery to our store kept cool, to sit on a shelf and lose all that flavour the brewer passionately created. It’s not just about beer being cold, although every beer is now able to be consumed immediately after purchase.
With all the benefits consumers too will soon be demanding this approach be taken by all, to part with your money for a sub standard product is incredibly irritating.
It is doubtful supermarkets run by people like Gary will ever understand the importance of this cause.
Nottingham Craft Beer Week 2019: Watch This Space
Keep an eye out for event announcements soon on the NCBW Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NottinghamCraftBeerWeek/