Brewing With Braybrooke & All Star Lineup: Verdant, Vault City & Vibrant Forest
H E L L O
C L A P T O N C R A F T
F A N S !
We've been blessed with a pretty frantic week of fun this time around, but as always we'll do our best to fill you in on all the details! Having admired Braybrooke since their inception just a few years ago, we were ecstatic to head up to the lager legends to collaborate on a future crispy classic. Don't panic yet though Juice-Heads, you can also read about the tidal wave of fresh beer from Verdant, Pressure Drop, Siren and one of our all time favourites, Vibrant Forest. Not forgetting, of course, a handful of insane culinary-inspired sours from those boundary pushers Vault City, and a brand-spanking new Rosé Pet Nat from Johan Meyer's (Mother Rock) sister project Force Celeste...
B R E W I N G U P
A S T O R M W I T H
B R A Y B R O O K E
Our admiration for breweries sticking to classic, impossible to master styles in the current craft climate truly knows no bounds. And, after a summer of supping on German greats from the likes of Tegernseer, Augustiner and Einsiedler, we only had one style and one brewery in mind for our latest collaboration. We can't wait to share with you the results, but in the meantime you'll have to stay patient - rest assured our latest addition to the family is in safe, rather cold hands. Be sure to watch this space though for a full lowdown on the day including how we composed our recipe, some insider knowledge from one of the finest Lager-makers in the UK and our tour of a pretty spectacular brewery, marrying Franconian tradition with technological know-how!
F R E S H
S O U T H C O A S T
S U D S
We've waxed lyrical about Vibrant Forest many times before, but this time around it's probably best to let the beer do all the talking. Pupa, easily one of the UK's top five core pales returns, plus citrus session stunner Summerlands, and West Coast pine bomb Kaleidoscope. Heavyweight NEIPAs Summer of Sundays and Stone Sap also join the fray alongside the Raspberry and Rhubarb sour sensation Viridis. Finally, we're delighted to have grabbed some winter warmers in limited numbers including Bourbon Oktober, a gloriously thick bourbon-barrel aged Imperial Stout, and Stygian Abyss, a monster coffee and cognac Stout, full of rich oak, and sticky-sweet liquor joy.
B R E W E R Y
O F T H E W E E K
V E R D A N T
What is there to say that hasn't already been said about the Cornish wizards, Verdant? They've truly changed the landscape of Craft Beer in the UK over the last few years, in regards to the sheer standards of flavour, but also with a juicy cultural imprint. Having gone hand-to-mouth with drops from the hop aficionados, we're delighted to now have a frequent supply after their move to a bigger brewery earlier this year. Fittingly our trio of freshies begins with the epiphany that started their journey, and the Lightbulb moment. At the time their head brewer James described it as the exact colour he wanted the finished beer to be - the shade of a 100w light bulb. Still as good as it ever was, it's one for the heads out there, meant to be enjoyed time and time again.
Their foray into the New England style, Even Sharks Need Water, might have felt like a drop in the ocean at the time but now it's been cemented as a bit of a modern classic. Fruity English yeast amplifies hop character, alongside a thick, creamy mouthfeel and a soft, sweet finish. With almost slightly vegetal, green notes it might have become the staple Verdant beer. Showcasing their ability to lean on the crispier side, Invisible Ceiling utilises BRU-1 and Strata hops for ripe grapefruit, pineapple and a skunky dankness. With a gently bitter bite and a dry finish this proves they can do grown up, when they want to.
Of course there's double loyalty points in store across all the latest Verdant beers, including DIPA brilliance like Don't Tell Gus and Fruit Car Sight Exhibition, as well as their excellent Black Lager, so do make sure to dip your toes in the hoppy water. You can sign up for the club in store, or shoot us an email and we can do the rest.
P I N O T A G E
P E T N A T
P E R F E C T I O N
We've been hooked on Johan Meyer's excellent offerings through Mother Rock and Force Celeste from day one, so having just found out he was releasing a new Pet Nat Rosé (previously only available in Japan) we jumped at the chance to get it in to the shops. Here South Africa's native Pinotage is put in the pink spotlight, providing bright aromas of raspberries, blood orange and earthy rhubarb. Impossibly fresh in the mouth, with crunchy cranberry notes and a slight savoury edge, this is dangerously drinkable sunshine in a glass stuff, when we most need it!
M O R E
H I G H L I G H T S
T H I S W E E K
🌇 VAULT CITY 🌇
Havana Session Sour - Huge hits of pineapple and coconut, umbrella optional.
Raspberry Session Sour - Scottish berries couple compote sweetness w/ bright acidity.
Sour IPA V3 - Nelson and Vic Secret deliver the juicy southern hemisphere goods.
Pinazo Sour - Mojito inspired with mouthwatering sweet-sharp lime and mint.
💧 PRESSURE DROP 💧
Understanding Whole Systems - Soft Citra stunner and many a beer of the year last time.
Cast Iron Billy - Imperial Brown Stout behemoth. Traditional and utterly indulgent.
🚨 SIREN 🚨
Twin Flames Classic - Bursting with caramel-filled berries, a beautiful Red IPA.
Twin Flames Nitro - Creamy, souped up spin on the original - compare and contrast!
☔️ UMBRELLA CIDER ☔️
London Apple Cider - Thirst-quenching and easy drinking, made with apples from the capital.
London Rhubarb Cider - Clean, tart and delicately fruity.