Spring at Hardknott

It's been ages since I blogged and look, its all changed. Blogger is trying to be Facebook it seems.

I thought I'd just jot a quick note down with some of the things we've been up to over the last couple of months. Some exciting times have been enjoyed and thanks to a new account with Ales and Co in Italy, we're busier than ever. The popularity of our mid-range beers, Code Black and Infra Red, has soared, in cask, keg and bottle too. To the point where we're brewing them more or less non-stop now, a tricky task with only 3 fermenting vessels....

We held a highly succesful Meet the Brewer evening at Cask Pub & Kitchen in Pimlico back in early March, you can see the video of Dave's shenanigans here. I was left at home to babysit the beer on that occasion, it has to be done!

Towards the end of March, we made a brand new prototype beer, completely off the wall. I can't say much more than that just now, needless to say keep your eyes on our twitter accounts, you'll know when it happens...

The next excitement was brewing with John Keeling, in early April. John and his wife, Simone, came up to visit the Lakes and John was keen to come and see our setup and make something new with us, which was incredibly cool. He is a very genial chap, keen to share his knowledge with us and develop a really special beer for the occasion.

John and Jeff Pickthall admire Dave's skills with the mash paddle.

The beer we brewed together has matured very well and was tasting great this week when we bottled the first half of the batch. Again, keep your eyes peeled for news on our twitter feeds.

Lately, just last weekend in fact, I had the pleasure of The Kirkstile Inn's Beer Festival. The Kirkstile is by far my favourite pub in the Lakes, amid stiff competition from pubs such as The Swan Inn, The Derby Arms and The Queens at Biggar. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Loweswater in the northern Lakes, the building is a 16th century stable housing to serve the neighbouring church (kirk-stile or church-stalls). It has a cosy bar with gently glowing fire, low beams and historic photos and artefacts adorning the walls. I was apprehensive about coming as it involved a steady, 14-mile cycle from Whitehaven up into the Lakes, however I was pleasantly surprised at how easy, dare I say it, even enjoyable, I found the ride.

 

Roger Humphreys, owner of both the Kirkstile and Cumbria Legendary Ales invited me up to the pub and kindly offered me a bed for the night. Extreme generosity from one of the gentlemen of this business. Roger knows good beer and had one hell of a selection lined up, in addition to his own superb range of beers, he had procured casks from Thornbridge, Red Willow, Highland, Magic Rock, Marble and Hawkshead. He had also put on CLA's own superb doppelbock Croglin Vampire, served from cask. Having already polished off 8 pints of beers ranging from 3.9% to 6.0%, for some reason I thought the 8% Vampire would be a good way to finish off the night... a whole pint of it to be precise. I have no memory of leaving the bar and going back to my room...

 

 Roger gets stuck in to keep the customer satisfied.

Melbreak catches the last of the sun, as seen from the beer garden.

What I do remember though, a great chat with Roger and his head brewer at CLA, Hayley. A great example of friendly beer folk within Cumbria and the industry at large. I also remebered the 14 mile cycle back to Whitehaven to catch the train home the next morning. That was "fun".

No sooner had that hangover subsided then did I find myself on a train bound for Manchester on Monday afternoon. Another Meet the Brewer event loomed, this time at one of my favourite drinking establuishments I've yet had the pleasure of, Port Street Beer House. A great bar, chock-full of great beers. In addition to our contributions of Cool Fusion, Continuum, Code Black and Infra Red (all on cask) and Colonial Mayhem (on keg), I got to try some amazing beers from Summer Wine, Nogne O, and some more Magic Rock. 

 

 

 

The night descended into general mayhem when Dave produced a 3-litre bottle of Infra Red's predecessor from the Woolpack days, Zippy Red Ale. This behemoth had been aging since 2009 and had matured beautifully, the hops had mellowed and rounded into a subtle fruity, slightly sweet, slightly sharp combination. It was amazing.

 

But (in my opinion) it was topped, incredibly. Some young chaps we were speaking to by the names of Jack, Clifford and Liam (sorry, didn't catch any last names) very generously shared a bottle of Goose Island Lolita with Dave and I. At £22.00, this was a serious chunk of cash and we are ever so grateful to them for sharing. Aged in wine barrels with raspberries, this is an absolute beast of a sour beer. Dry as a bone with the gentle tartness of the raspberry to give it an irresistable edge.

 

It was really cool to meet Gregg Irwin (@dredpenguin) this week, we gave him a quick brewery tour, and of course got him up the ladder, helping out. He very kindly left us some beer to try too, something we shall be investigating soon, I'm sure.

So now, apart from my bad back, the reason I am writing this now, you're up to date. I'm now very much looking forward to the summer, primarily the Beer Blogger's Conference in Leeds and finally getting back down to London for GBBF (at least). Not to mention a great time ahead brewing more great beer and breaking new ground for Hardknott.