BEER BOX SET CLUB SUBSCRIPTION NOTES

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Issue 69

Ponderings:
June, it's June... Can't believe we're in month six of the year. Well, we best crack on with your box then!

This month's box has two AMAZING compare and contrasts from two breweries based in Manchester - no we didn't plan that! Plus potentially the last IWD brew beer for this year and a brewery first for us.

We hope you enjoy this selection of beers while a wistful looking up to see the big blue sky! 

Duration x Polly's Brew Co | Rockin’ Chairs | Pale Ale
4.3% 440ml

Duration say...

"When the sun bares down heavy on a hot day, nothing beats kicking back with a thirst quenching beer and watching the world roll on by. Rockin Chairs our collab with Polly’s pours bright amber with pine and resin aromas. Drinks dry with a bright citrus zing, backed up with warm biscuit notes. Finishes snappy and bitter to allow you to go back for another!"

Duration and Polly's brewing together is rather exciting. We know both love a bright bitter beer with a twist. Polly's obviously known for their hazy beers and dare we say it, Duration becoming increasingly hazy, but still with balance, we were excited to hear about this, and we thought you had to try it too. Unfortunately the weather isn't quite as they wish for it to be when you drink this, but it'll be back, so maybe wait for that moment or just pretend.

We've done highly entertaining events with both these breweries, one was a virtual tasting during Lockdown with Arron from Polly's the other Miranda from Duration came down to see us we had a hoot and her and Gareth connected over Brixton clubs they used to frequent and the fact they probably shared a dancefloor on several occasions.

This will go well with Gwen McCrea and spicy snacks to balance off that bitterness. Gwen will help with that too.

Atom Beers | Latitude 44 - Vic Secret | Australian Pale Ale
4.8% 440ml

Atom Beers say...

"Soft and gently hazy with a smooth, rounded mouthfeel. Vic Secret brings bright notes of pineapple and mango, supported by light citrus and a subtle pine edge. Clean, juicy, and well balanced with a smooth, easy finish."

Atom are a new brewery for us. Based in Hull they were set up by a bunch of scientists who wanted to combine their love of beer with their love of science. Brewing with precision but also creativity.

Hull was also the home of an old record label called Pork Recordings, an old pal Murray was very involved with them. They were the label who signed Fila Brasilia if you know them? Gemma is particularly keen.

We didn't get a chance to try this beer but it's in the fridge and we hope the description hits the bill as we'd really like to pour them too. We'd be interested to know your feedback. So please let us know via Social or drop us a line.

One interesting thing about this beer is the single hopping with Vic Secret from Austrailia. We're seeing an influx of hop usage from New Zealand and Australia. We're currently looking into this trend and will be releasing a blog on it shortly. Keep an eye out.

Goes well with Fila Brasilia, John Grant and Colin from Accounts.

Your first compare and contrast:

Sureshot Brewing | Milson | Pale
5.2% 440ml

Sureshot say...

"New England pale ale brewed with Citra, Galaxy & Mosaic. Built on an oaty body for a satisfying gulp, full of tropical fruitiness from a high dry hop. Trust the taste you know is top - Milson!"

 
Sureshot Brewing | Milson Sauvin | Pale Ale
5.2% 440ml

Sureshot say...

"Our pale pup with a New Zealand twist! A hazy pale dry hopped with heaps of Nelson Sauvin, plus old favourites Mosaic and Citra. Crunchy, sweet, white grape aromas carry through a beaming brew.!"

Last week was MILSON DAY! We made a weekend of it. Why the heck not! It was a funny old weekend in Worthing though. Very quiet but then on Sunday at the East Worthing Jukebox Society - our BYO Vinyl all dayer it went off! Especially when Sideboard Steve played the original of Sureshot - we always thought it was the Beastie Boys - we're not sure who it's by though!

Milson is Sureshot's flagship pale ale, they released four versions of it but we thought Milson Sauvin was the best, so wanted you to have it too. Many in Beer No Evil HQ preferred the original but some where smitten with the Sauvin. We are of the latter camp. Gareth can find New Zealand hops overpowering, a bit too pungent but thought the balance of Citra and Mosaic, with the addition of Nelson Sauvin worked wonderfully well. And we both think their dry base beer is just so refreshing, in more ways than one, than so many other hazy beers out there. Let us know what you think.

Goes well with that other version or The Beastie Boys Sureshot and some 90s hip hop kitchen dancing.

Your second compare and contrast:

Track Brewing | Carpenter | DDH IPA
7% 440ml

Track Brewing say...

"To showcase the inimitable quality of our hand selected hop varieties, we have brewed a beer for each containing just that hop, named after the farm that grew them. Carpenter Ranches are a six-generation farm in Granger, Washington, and with founder Charles Carpenter planting the very first hops in the Yakima Valley in 1868, they are somewhat of an institution. They’ve remained family-owned all this time, with Brad now running the show alongside a whole bunch of other Carpenters. During the harvest season, they work day and night, harvesting around 65 acres a day to ensure that hops are harvested in the correct window and in peak condition. We chose Carpenter’s Citra for its aromatic intensity, leaning hard into the variety’s signature grapefruit character, with accompanying orange pith freshness and passionfruit pungency."

Track Brewing | Newhouse | DDH IPA
7.2% 440ml

Track Brewing say...

"To showcase the inimitable quality of our hand selected hop varieties, we have brewed a beer for each containing just that hop, named after the farm that grew them. Dan Newhouse is a third-generation farmer in the Yakima Valley, where his grandfather began raising cattle more than 100 years ago before moving into hop production in the 1940s. His son Devon and daughter-in-law Halley now manage day-to-day operations on the 850-acre family farm in Sunnyside, Washington. We chose Newhouse’s Centennial for its super bright lime, prominent pine resin and dank notes, all with less of the earthiness and spice we got from other lots."

We were excited to see these come up and thought what a wonderful compare and contrast they would make for you. An EPIC Manchester Brewery. Two farms. Two different classic American hop varietles. Two of the C hops nonetheless. And two favourites of ours. Citra and Centennial. And what better way to try them than two Double Dry Hopped IPAs. DDH meaning they have two late hop additions, these are usually done at two stages, during fermentation and after fermentation. The first addition means the hops undergo 'biotransformation' giving the tropical flavours while the later addition ads to the aromatics.

These are in our fridge and we can't wait to taste them. We just love the whole detail around the ram and where the hops were grown. It took us back to something Evin from The Kernel told us about when he first went to New York as a Cheesemonger for London's Neal's Yard Dairies and about how amazed he was people could talk about beer like he could cheese. Telling him the farms the grain and hops were from. Very different to how beer was, and maybe still is, spoken about in the uk. So, see what you think and let us know.

Big IPAs love a bit of spice, with citrus fruit being mentioned across both beers, perhaps something with a Mexican Tinge? And some Mariachi!

Lost and Grounded | The Sum of Us | Gose
4.2% 440ml

Lost and Grounded say...

"Brewed in celebration of International Women’s Day with some of our friends who love and work in the beer and hospitality industries. Our take on the classic Gose style is tart and zesty, with a touch of salt for added bite! 10p from each can sold goes to Womankind Bristol. Together we are stronger! Cheers, Team Lost and Grounded"

We've been waiting to see this beer become available for sometime. We love Lost and Grounded and they are very good at making German Beer styles. So a Gose is a Go to...sorry, not sure where I was going with that.

The Gose is a very old beer style, some say dating back to the 12th century. First brewed in Goslar Germany but became particularly popular in Leipzig. It was originally spontaneously fermented meaning no yeast was added, it relied on open fermenters and wild yeasts. Now harnessed for commercial brewing. They have very few hops in them often with coriander added, and salt. They are super refreshing and worth waiting for a hot day to really enjoy. And you know you're also doing good in drinking this.

Goes well with Leipzig's Juliane Wolfe and Sunny Afternoons dancing.