Hops – SoBeer Blog

SoBeer Year 2021: October with Big Drop Brewing Co.

Published on 4th Nov 20215th Nov 2021 by sobeerbloggerLeave a comment

I had fully intended to do Sober for October this year. Not to particularly get sponsorship, or to challenge myself to turn away from alcohol for a month, but mainly for my own health reasons. I felt it might be a good opportunity to cut down on the booze before the festive season as well as maybe loose a few pounds and save a few pennies! I had the idea to feature Big Drop Brewing this month, as they are one of the leading names in low alcohol beer in the UK currently. I had hoped to share with you my experience of a dry October, but it didn’t go quite to plan. I quickly realised my social calendar was filling up with brewery events, tap room open days and birthdays so I couldn’t fully commit to being completely teetotal. That being said I still wanted to talk about alcohol free beer and Big Drop’s impressive portfolio of different styles.

‘But why bother having an alcohol free beer? You could just have a soft drink?’

I have been asked this question a few times be we could equally ask ourselves why we have mocktails or alcohol free gin? For me AF beers are great for inclusivity, they help prevent that feeling of being singled out. I also like how they can help slow the pace of a session down and that they are relatively guilt free.

For founders Rob Fink and James Kindred, it was their impending fatherhood that led them to start up Big Drop Brew in 2016. Both of them wanted to cut back on the beers for their new lifestyle but as keen craft beer drinkers they found that the offering at the time was limited. After further research they realised there was a gap in the market for low ABV beers with big flavour. They teamed up with Johnny Clayton, formally of Wild Beer Co. and famed for his experimental brewing, who took up the challenge of producing naturally 0.5%ABV beers that didn’t compromise on flavour. With different combinations of barley, rye, wheat, oats and hops, Big Drop have been able to produce low alcohol versions of many beer styles including Stouts, IPAs, Lager and Sours to name a few. They also have brewed many special edition beers as well as collaborated with other leading full-strength ABV brewers. With a cabinet full of international awards it is no wonder that they have become one of the most recognised breweries in AF beer.

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I may have favoured Big Drop’s darker beers from my order to reflect the time of the year but that doesn’t mean to say that I haven’t enjoyed the vast range of styles on offer. I could imagine that the pales, lagers and IPAs would be the perfect thirst quenchers on a hot summer’s day. In particular the Paradiso Citra IPA had a delicious tropical, citrus fruit flavour and the hop bitterness on the finish makes you want to go back for more. The lemon notes made this a very refreshing and quaffable beer, without the feeling of guilt if you fancied having a few more.

I think my favourite from the range has to be the Off Piste Hazelnut Porter. Rich dark chocolate and a heap load of hazelnut flavours made this taste just like Nutella spread. As the beer warms more of the chocolate flavours come through giving it a feeling of indulgence. A great after dinner beer that could act like a dessert without being too filling! Similarly I also really enjoyed the Woodcutter Brown Ale with it’s nutty, sweet malt base and a hint of coffee notes. It felt like I should be sat in front of a warm, crackling fire after a chilly autumnal walk.

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Theres nothing better then on an autumnal walk then kicking the leaves and feeling them crunch under your feet. This was the inspiration for Big Drop’s latest seasonal release, a coffee infused Amber Ale called Leafkicker*. Brewed in collaboration with Square Mile Coffee Roasters, who focus on speciality coffee beans, this beer aims to encapsulate the flavours and colours of Autumn. From the first taste coffee is the star flavour of this beer backed up by the rich caramel-sweet malt. The addition of Citra hops really brings some freshness in the finish which is also tantalisingly bitter, leaving you eager for another sip.

I can’t mention Big Drop without highlighting their World Collab Series. The project started in October 2019 with the help of Melissa Cole and the goal was to produce innovative beers with other full strength alcohol breweries at just 0.5% ABV. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get hold of all the beers from their latest 2nd series ‘The Nordics’ but the ones I did have were definitely something different from Big Drop’s core range. As stand outs the Arctic Beach Coconut Stout in collaboration with Icelandic brewery Einstöck and Fländerlätt Elderflower IPA with Hop Notch from Sweden have flavours that do exactly what they say on the (tin)can! I’ll be interested to see who they collaborate with next year.

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Whether you want to cut down on the booze for health reasons or to cut it out completely I think alcohol free beers are a great option without compromising on flavour. With Big Drop’s huge range of different styles they make great fridge fillers for when you want a beer without the alcohol. Although I didn’t fully commit to Sober October this year I enjoyed taking a slower pace this month and discovering alternatives to some of my favourite beer styles.

https://shop.bigdropbrew.com

*Disclosure – I was sent out free samples of Leafkicker from Big Drop after hearing about my feature for this month.

SoBeer Year 2021: August with Gravity Well Brewing

Published on 31st Aug 2021 by sobeerbloggerLeave a comment

Railway arches have become quite synonymous with breweries and tap rooms over the last 10 years or so. They seem like the perfect venue, they are spacious, with high ceilings to accommodate brewing equipment. They quite often have some outside space and the are close to train stations or other modes of public transport. I often find myself looking at empty railway arches and begin to start building my dream brewery and tap room in my head. I’ve already imagined the design of the layout, complete with a mezzanine floor for seating, all in a split of a second. This will probably forever remain a fantasy project for me but for many others, like this month’s featured brewery Gravity Well Brewing, it becomes a reality.

Ben Duck, founder for Gravity Well Brewing, started out by home brewing for a hobby whilst working as a lawyer for an investment bank and at first never had the intention of setting up his own commercial brewery. After spending a year practicing and perfecting his recipes in his London flat he looked at moving into a commercial premises to begin working on a larger scale. He too had seen the popularity and potential of railway arches for start up breweries and found the perfect one in Leyton, East London. Here Gravity Well was born, focusing on hazy New England styles and IPAs with big hop flavours. The modest but delicious core range consists of Cosmic Dust 3.8% Session IPA, Termination Shock 5.3 Pale Ale and Galaxies Apart 6% New England IPA but the brewery also enjoy experimenting with different styles. Recently, with the help of their reverse osmosis filter to purify their water source, they have played around with styles such as sours, goses and stouts.

I absolutely love NEIPAs so I was looking forward to my delivery from Gravity Well Brewing who also share my adoration of this style. I was also excited to try their range of sour beers, another style that I am particularly fond of. Here are some of my highlights from my box this month:

Planetary Alignment Fruited Gose 4.6%

As soon as I was pouring this beer into my glass I was hit with the smell of tropical fruits and the vivid yellow colour was reminiscent of juice. The scents on the nose were echoed by the flavours of mango and passionfruit that burst in my mouth. The juice-like mouthfeel that coated my tongue was followed by the prickle of carbonation and tart sourness, balancing out the fruity sweetness. I was worried that with such strong fruit flavours that the subtlety of the added salt for this style would be lost but I was pleasantly surprised to find that touch of salinity on the finish. This was both a very mouthwatering beer as well as a great thirst quencher. I think I may have to crown it as one of my favourites from the range.

Cosmic Dust Session IPA 3.8%

I can’t write about Gravity Well without mentioning one of their core beers. Don’t be fooled by this beer’s modest ABV as it is delightfully flavourful and had a much thicker mouthfeel then I was expecting. The bold piney, hoppy flavours followed up with tropical papaya fruit makes this the perfect session beer. In the blink of an eye I had finished my can of Cosmic Dust which goes to show what an easy drinker this it was. Definitely a great beer to always keep to hand in the fridge.

Pale Blue Dot Imperial Stout 11.5%

This is Gravity Well’s first stout and it was absolutely delicious! Really fruity on the nose which was mirrored in the taste as blueberry is the dominant flavour. The cacao flavours follow giving this beer both a rich chocolate finish as well as some complimenting fruity notes that I often detect when I am eating very dark chocolate. I find that sometimes blueberries are quite tart but with the fruitiness of the cacao this is smoothed out before you get the boozy warmth that you associate with Impy Stouts. This is a lovely beer to finish with at the end of an evening.

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Not content with having just one archway, Ben went on to open his brewery tap room a couple of arches down from the brewery, right next to Leyton Midland Road overground station. The location was perfect, close to the brewery and potential customers could see the taproom from the platform of the station, great for catching those thirsty commuters!

Although I might not ever have an opportunity to have my own place to run a bar, I hope to make the trip to Gravity Well’s tap room to drink more of their beers fresh as well as take a few ideas for my own dream railway arch.

Small Beers – Big Flavours

Published on 15th Apr 201922nd Aug 2019 by sobeerbloggerLeave a comment

“Why don’t more places sell low ABV beers like this?” I asked as I took my first sip of Marble Brewery’s Petite Small IPA.

After arriving in Manchester a day earlier than expected for the Cloudwater Friends & Family & Beer festival my partner and I used this a good opportunity to try some bars and pubs we had not been to before in the city. We decided to make the trip to Marble Arch, which is somewhere we had always wanted to visit, so we braved the weather and it did not disappoint. The interior of the Grade II listed building is breathtaking with a beautifully tiled floor that leads you towards the bar. The cosy fireplace in the middle of the room was very welcoming and after the walk in the rain I made myself comfortable in a vintage armchair whilst my partner went to the bar. During the course of the day we had both had quite a few beers so I really felt like I needed to slow down a little. It was then I spotted the Petite Small IPA and at 2.8% a pint of this was perfect for what I wanted. As I took my first sip I was surprised that this small beer packs a big punch. With such a low ABV I expected the mouthfeel to be a little thin but I was blown away by how hoppy and juicy my pint tasted. “Why don’t more places sell low ABV beers like this?” I asked my partner. It was then he pointed out to me that my Petite IPA was actually 20p more per pint then his Marble Pint.

My partner, who works in the industry, explained to me that the reason why we don’t see more beers like the Petite IPA could be attributed to the average consumers’ perceived value. When given the choice of a 3.9% beer or a 2.8% priced at 20p more per pint then the average consumer is likely to choose the higher ABV as they may feel this is better value for money. To be honest this isn’t something I have thought about before and it made sense, why would I spend more for beer that has lower alcohol content? My answer was at that particular moment I wanted to slow down after my afternoon of drinking and have something light and refreshing. I was then pleasantly surprised to discover that my pint tasted amazing for a small beer. I then began to think that to achieve a great tasting beer like this with a lower ABV then perhaps more hops have been added into the brew. With traditional recipes hops were added to help preserve beer however in modern brewing techniques they have taken more of a leading role to make up for lack of body as well as produce really interesting flavours. Many of the newer hops can be difficult to get hold of and are often more expensive.

Hops are not the only thing that can be added to a brew to help enhance the flavour and body of a beer. Adjuncts such as fruits or spices can add big flavour but these can also be expensive ingredients. Breweries are also using adjuncts to improve the mouthfeel of a beer and can do this quite cheaply by using grains such as oats or wheat. In January I decided to try a few low alcohol beers, not for any particular reason other then to see what they would be like and I bought the Dry January box from BeerBods. As I was making my way through the box I was amazed at how the beers had a really good mouthfeel and tasted great considering they were only 0.5% ABV. I noticed that these breweries were using more hops or adjuncts to make up for the lack of body and flavour commonly associated with low alcohol beers much like Marble’s Petite IPA.

I would really like to see more small beers like Marble’s Petite IPA in bars and pubs as there is a market for it but I feel that at the moment these are underrated. There is a bit of a stigma attached to people who choose a lower ABV option which is something I have been confronted with before. I believe that to change the perceptions of the average consumer more eduction on low alcohol beers is needed. I think that bar staff should play a large role in this by encouraging people to try samples and discuss that big flavour doesn’t also have to mean a high ABV.