Clapton Helles & Collaborating With Lager Legends Braybrooke
Clapton Helles is available across the sites from Friday, and online now!
Our admiration for breweries sticking to classic, impossible to master styles in the current craft climate truly knows no bounds. Though, we’re inundated with amazing hazy IPAs, triple fruited sours, and mega pastry stouts, we can’t help but return to lager as one of (if not the) definitive styles. And, after a summer of supping on German greats from the likes of Tegernseer, Augustiner and Einsiedler, we only had one form and one brewery in mind for our latest collaboration. So on a suitably frosty morning (pre-lockdown!) we headed up to Braybrooke, to meet up with Mario and the team, renowned for their commitment Franconian tradition and technological lager know-how!
Set next to a rather idyllic family farm, we were bowled over by the breweries rustic charm and it’s plentiful supply of cats, dogs and horses (and sheer open space and clean air, thanks London). Mentions of their Harvest Party also bring up mixed emotions, being the perfect spot for such a gathering there were plans afoot for a full time, on-site taproom though these have been put on hold for now. Inside there’s a suitably refined set-up, though there was more than enough stainless steel to keep your average beer geek entertained for a few weeks. But, after an indulgent lunch of Fish & Chips, Pork Pies, and crispy lagers we thought it was probably about time to get to work and get that compulsive Instagram shot of throwing hops into the kettle.
Composing a rather traditional recipe with the team, we opted for 100% Bamberg Pilsner Malt (imported from one of Mahrs Brau’s exclusive farms) for a solid, sound backbone to allow the technique and hops to really shine. After being presented with a number of different varieties we chose floral, dank Hallertau Tradition and Spaltz Select for it’s citrusy, clean aromas. After a customary cold, slow fermentation and five weeks of lagering, the end result is a classic lager with a Braybrooke touch: bready and malty like a good Helles should be, but with a generous noble hop aroma and just the right amount of bitterness and body to balance it all out. We truly can’t wait for you lot to try this one and we’re lucky enough to be able to offer bottles by the bucketload and growlers refills (while kegs last!).
A big thanks to the Braybrooke team, for enabling us to create this future-crispy classic, we’ll be back for the next Harvest Party!
