The last of the hosepipe bans are being lifted, the shops are running two for one deals on pencil cases and all the ice-cream men are wistfully googling the best budget autumnal getaways. As September looms, we are, undeniably, entering the final stages of British summer time.
As we soak up the final rays of patchy sunshine and pant our way through the final weeks of the UKs hottest summer on record, we thought we’d take a sunlit stroll down the dappled cobbles of memory lane and reminisce on some of our favourite seasonal brews from this summer.
And there have been some belters!
Back in May this year, it’s fair to say we weren’t optimistic about the British Summer weather ahead of us… Can you blame us? Every year we get our hopes up with a smattering of sunshine in late April stoking fantasies of drinking cold beers on the beach while a barbeque gently puffs out smoke and sausage smells up into the atmosphere. Just to have our dreams dashed by buckets and buckets of rainwater heaved over us, one after another by the British climate.
Well not this time we thought… we’ll go in with our eyes wide open, we’ll name a beer specifically for the early summer rainshowers which are sure to arrive bang on schedule, just as soon as we’ve donned our sunnies and packed away our big coats. That was the plan, and it was a good one, right up until the weatherman delivered bank holiday weekend after bank holiday weekend of glorious, golden sunshine!
SUNSHOWER BLONDE – 4%
Named at the start of the year with a touch of pessimism, Sunshower Blonde arrived just in time for the first of this summer’s ‘Mini-Heatwaves’.
Although it’s namesake proved elusive, we weren’t about to let the lack of rain stop play and this tasty, mosaic hopped, beer proved to be an early beer garden smash hit with those laying down their base tans ready for the summer ahead.
DIGITAL NOMAD NEIPA – 4.8%
This one was brewed with a tropical fruit salad of hops, with 6 stacked into the recipe line-up! Adding in Ahtanum hops (A first for us) contributing a mild bitterness along with heaps of lemon, pine and floral flavours. Brewed with oats for a silkier mouthfeel, and glowing radiantly with a light NEIPA haze
(Cue the phone calls – “Is it meant to be Hazy?!)
After a month of Bank Holiday’s and and uncharacteristically good weather all through May, we started June by seemingly, completely and utterly losing grip of our senses…
It was the beginning of June, shaping up to be the warmest British summer in years, and we were brewing dark beers! Not exactly the sort of beers you see surfers with radiant tans and glistening abs queuing up at the beach bars for are they? Well we’re in Manchester, 100 miles from the nearest beach, and lets just say we know our city and we know our audience. While the mercury in the thermometers was climbing, we had you sipping stouts as sundowners and basking in the rays with bitters in hand.
And then it rained…
DARKSIDE STOUT – 4.6%
Just as we thought we were on a roll with ‘summery’ beers. Our inboxes were flooded with messages asking about dark beers. The dark drinking community had spoken and they didn’t give a toss about what the weatherman had to say
This jet black stout was packed with flavour with hints of espresso coffee and dark chocolate, with more than a touch of smoke on the finish. Vanguard and Columbus hops were used to give the beer a deep yet understated touch of citrus fruit, with delicate herbal and woody notes making this a deliciously moreish dark beer, perfect for a summer nightcap as the sun went down and the bbq embers faded.
EARLY DOORS BITTER – 4%
We Northerners take great pride and pleasure in our pubs, and when we have chance to get there sooner than expected, even more so! Early Doors Bitter was brewed to celebrate those perfect afternoons when everything goes just right, and the beer is spot on. As with all good bitters, this coppery coloured session beer was built around a sturdy, rich malty core, with hops used to tighten up the palate, and freshen up the finish.
