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TRYANUARY BEER&CHEESE @ OKTOPUS

1/14/2019

Beer and cheese pairings are a match made in heaven for many; though a windy and wet January evening on a Sunday of all days might have been a bridge too far for many.

Despite the inclement conditions and the time of year when many often hide away from social occasions, the turnout was incredibly healthy for Black Lodge Brewery and the Liverpool Beer Collective for the pairing event as part of Merseyside’s #Tryanuary offerings. Decamped from the former Black Lodge premises (as the brewery is currently undergoing a move to new premises and a significant brewery expansion – due for business, hopefully sometime in the early Spring), Oktopus played host to the event on this occasion.

The menu of five different Black Lodge beers along with five carefully selected cheeses and accompaniments was excellent – a balance of compliment (augment or draw on similar flavours), contrast (present different flavour sets to bring out the varied characteristics of both drink/food in a harmonious manner) and cut (using acidity of the drink to cut through any rich or fatty flavours of the food). Black Lodge Brewery’s Rachel held the fort admirably for the event, not only being the perfect host but picking brilliant pairings for the evening, which went down well across the table.

The pairings were as follows:

Equinox Pale Ale x Mozzarella/tomato/basil

Knoxville Girl ‘Acid Mash’ Pale x Cornish Brie/Grapes

Konami Code Lactose Sour x Welsh Goats Cheese/Grapes

Children of the Haze DDH US IPA x Snowdonia Cheddar/Pickled onion

Chapter Brewing - Forgotten Decibels Abbey Ale x Blue Cheese/Fresh figs

Some of the sour ales present were a bit too challenging for a few people to finish the full measure – but everyone to a person indulged in the spirit of the event and tried everything. Hopefully new friendships were forged, new experiences and preferences gained and judging by the atmosphere at the end of the evening, a superb evening had by all.

A perfect #Tryanuary evening; well done Black Lodge and well done Rachel!

#TRYANUARY 2019

12/15/2018

Following on from our participation in the #Tryanuary initiative in 2018, the Liverpool Beer Collective is again volunteering to be a local Champion for the cause and encourage people to support local breweries, pubs and bars in what is traditionally a really tough trading period for them.

The upshot is that following often serious levels of indulgence over the festive period, people feel for many reasons that they need a month of abstinence or even a ‘detox’ (*shudder*). Whilst having a break from rich food and alcohol is certainly good for your body and mental health, having a liver and kidneys is what really gives you that ‘detox’ – there doesn’t appear to be any consensus, scientifically at least, that you can actually detox over a period of a month.

Tie this idea of a month-long detox into a collective effort to do good and you end up with an initiative such as Dryanuary – people seeking sponsorship in their efforts to abstain from alcohol and raise money for a number of worthwhile charities. Whilst well-meaning, sadly the truth is that this often hurts smaller businesses and in the worst instances, costs people their jobs and livelihoods due to a significant dent in revenue when they do need it most. Local and independent businesses often bear the brunt of the tightening of purse strings during tricky trading periods; whilst larger companies suffer a bit, they have reserves and resource that the person down the road brewing lovely beers, baking cakes or making fresh bread every day can only dream of.

The full remit for #Tryanuary can be seen via this link: [https://www.tryanuary.com/].

The full list for the Merseyside events is over on this part of the website: www.liverpoolbeercollective.com/tryanuary.html

Given we at the Liverpool Beer Collective are in this for the long-haul, we encourage people to use this time of year to be sociable, try a new beer and support a local micro-pub or bottle shop. Cut down consumption by all means, be sensible (as you should all year round) and do feel as though you can contribute still to any charitable plans you were making anyway! We will be working with many local venues to host events, aimed at broadening people’s horizons in the world of beer, be it real ale, craft beer, cask dispense or any other format. These events are there to help break up what is often a bleak month that drags in light of Christmas passing and people battening down the hatches.

So relax, enjoy your Christmas and keep checking our website and social media feeds for updates – there will be a number of events hosted in Liverpool throughout January to help ease the post-Christmas Winter blues, both ticketed and free to attend. If you are a venue looking to get involved, please drop us an email and we’ll get you added to the #Tryanuary Calendar!

Any time you try something new - a pub, a beer, a shop or bar... just tweet/facebook or instagram post using the #Tryanuary hashtag.

LIVERPOOL BEER WEEK - HANDYMAN COLLAB BREW

7/20/2018

Although they only opened their doors about a year ago, Handyman are already well established (and much loved) on the Liverpool beer scene. Brewing out of an old hardware shop on Smithdown Road, Handyman has a bit more of something about it, more than your average brewery or bar.

They regularly host and get involved with events in the local community (Smithdown Road festival, craft fairs, etc) and are often giving local artists opportunities to show people what they have to offer.

For Beer Collective member Andy, this Liverpool Beer Week colab encapsulates the ethos of what Handyman is about. The Liverpool Homebrew Club (LHBC) were invited to the Handyman to host one of their monthly meetings, this time with a special IPA competition. There were around 20 submissions with all the beers being blind tasted and judged by homebrew club members and local brewers from the likes of Mad Hatter. The winner of that competition would get the opportunity to brew their beer at Handyman. Fortunately (and unusually) for Andy, his recipe came out on top.

Andy met with Ken, Pete (LHBC members) and brewer Colin Stronge on yet another stifling Sunday morning. Colin (formerly of Buxton Brewery and now at Northern Monk and Handyman) has a sterling reputation for knowing how to make a good beer and Andy really couldn't wait to get started; a massive opportunity to nerd-out, ask questions and learn.

The brewery at Handyman is not in your typical setting. Elevated in the centre of the premises above the bar, almost as if on stilts, the ‘nano’ brewery is a relatively small space.

We started the day by running through the recipe which was kept was true to the original and simply scaled up. We planned to make a New England IPA with mega juicy tropical flavours of pineapple, mango and grapefruit. When the boil ended we cooled the beer to 80c and started a whirlpool adding generous amounts of Citra, El Dorado and Denali before finally transferring to the fermenter. The smell from hops was fantastic.
Many thanks to the Liverpool Homebrewers, Colin, Suzie, Andy and everyone else at Handyman for making this happen.

The Handyman Brewery and the Liverpool Homebrew Club give to you a big and juicy, hop-forward NEIPA; Handyman x Liverpool Homebrew Club NEIPA

[If you wish to place an order for this collaboration brew, please contact
admin@handymansupermarket.co.uk - supplies are very limited]

Liverpool Beer Week - Rock the Boat Collab Brew

7/19/2018

The hot liquor tank started up before 6am, quite a brutal start for the uninitiated. 170kg of English pale malt and a touch of torrified wheat was enough to give this collaboration brew a lovely golden colour. The weather was glorious, albeit rather warm as per the previous brews the Collective have undertaken!

Beer Collective member Jaime arrived and helped to get the brew moving on the day, discovering how physical and tough a brewers' day can actually be.

Rock the Boat's premises out in Little Crosby are quite detached from the rest of Crosby on the outskirts of Liverpool and given how remote it seems, you'd be forgive for thinking the former carpenter's workshop was in another county altogether. A little later in the morning, the transfer to the kettle began, followed swiftly by a boil. No hops were added initially, to avoid overly bittering the final beer, but equal amounts of Ekuanot and Mosaic were added over four stages to the wort over the course of an hour. American yeast was added to bring out the juiciness of this beer and on the second day of fermentation, additional hopping was undertaken.

After six days, the final gravity was taken and the beer weighed in at a robust 5.8%; the beer was then kegged and racked to cask.

Quite a departure for Rock the Boat in terms of brewing technique and style, but finally, a West Coast US IPA has been created and we cannot wait to try it!

Rock the Boat Brewing Company and the LBC give to you a big West Coast US IPA; Brigantine

[If you wish to place an order for this collaboration brew in pin or in key-keg, please contact beer@rocktheboatbrewery.co.uk - supplies are very limited]

LIVERPOOL BEER WEEK - AD HOP COLLAB BREW

7/18/2018

It was all go at AD HOP Brewing on collaboration day. A brewery borne of the old days at 23 Club (may it rest in peace), AD HOP have steadily grown over the years from a cuckoo outfit to their own premises, whilst providing the Liverpool scene some very memorable beers in both cask and keg.

The brewery, run by the duo of Anders and Andy has delivered a stream of eccentric brews and when the Collective was invited to brew with them, we could hardly pass the offer up. Especially for Liverpool Beer Week.

The Collective's Andy Lynes joined AD HOP's Andy at the brewery on another sweltering day on Merseyside, starting things off with a brief tour of the facility before getting on with the matter at hand. The premises are in an unassuming area of the city and littered with brewing equipment over the whole premises, meaning they can engineer their kit in a flexible fashion.

The brief discussion of the recipe led to the aim of a session IPA being created, showcasing some of the two Andy's favourite hops. Upon completion of the mash and transfer to the kettle, things relaxed a little and a few additions of hops to the boil were followed by 30 minute whirlpool additions including Amarillo, Chinook, Nelson Sauvin and Simcoe. A few beers were then taken in to take the edge off proceedings!

Upon completion of the fermentation, the beer was dry hopped with Citra, Lemon Drop and Amarillo hops to complete a juicy and dank beer; a true hop cocktail at 4.9% abv.

AD HOP Brewing and the LBC give to you a Hop-heavy Session IPA; Gollum

[If you wish to place an order for this collaboration brew, please contact sales@ADHOPbrewing.com - supplies are very limited]

Liverpool Beer Week - Gibberish Collab Brew

7/18/2018

The ever changing mind of Gaz Matthews is a tricky thing to harness. He's found his new home in the Gibberish Brewpub, the former site of his old stable in Mad Hatter Brewing and since December 2017, has set about creating something which has added a vast swathe of colour to the Baltic Triangle.

It's not quite the precision of Mondrian, but neither is it a blitzkrieg crayoning of a huge orange sun on a child's drawing of a sunny landscape, as with most things it's somewhere in between.

It's a cobbling together of styles along with no shortage of craft and creativity, in short, it is Gibberish by name and almost Gibberish by nature; and it works.

Brew days with Gaz are never dull days and our collaboration was no exception. Before arriving there were a number of idea floating round about the style that was going to be made; a herbal stout, a big hazy and juicy NEIPA, an adjunct pale ale and finally, the style that was settled on, a fruit-sour ale.

Using Pilsner Malt, wheat, unmalted wheat and flaked oats in combination with a low hop dose from Tettnanger hops, the beer was keg-conditioned and soured with lactobacillus courtesy of Chorlton Brewery's 'sour power'.

The final flourish was to add the passion fruit to the ale, tempering the acidity and bringing some balance and adding to the refreshment of the brew. Ready to serve at the Liverpool Beer Week Launch Party.

Gibberish and the LBC give to you a passion-fruit sour; Passion of the Grist.

[If you wish to place an order for this collaboration brew, please contact brewerygibberish@gmail.com - supplies are very limited]

LIVERPOOL BEER WEEK - Neptune Collab Brew

7/8/2018

Making beer this Summer has been quite an ordeal, so we can only feel sympathy for our brewing brethren.

Heavy lifting, hot liquids and digging out mash tuns is no work to be doing whilst the sun is shining; surely that kind of work should be for colder days and the fruits of brewing labour should be for the warmer moments?

Regardless, there was brewing to do, for members of the Liverpool Beer Collective and head brewer, Les O'Grady; getting a delicious beer ready in time for the festivities of Liverpool Beer Week was the order of the stifling Saturday morning.

Thankfully most of the calculations had been carried out by Les prior to the arrival of the Collective members, so all there was to do for the first part of the morning was to empty the sacks of malt into the mash tun and release all the sugars ready to prepare the wort for the boil.

A generous dose of Summit hops was weighed out and added to the boil for the final half of the boil. The liquor was then transferred across and cooled ready for pitching the yeast, but before the microbes were released to do their thing, a generous helping of grapefruit pulp was added to get this saison into a fruity and lightly acidic mood for palates of the discerning Liverpool Beer Week drinkers.

Further additions of grapefruit have been added to this grapefruit dry-hop saison following fermentation to bolster the fruit element of this beer in readiness for the end of July and the launch party.

Neptune Brewery and the LBC give to you: Tempestivus

[If you wish to place an order for this collaboration brew, please contact info@neptunebrewery.com - supplies are very limited]

LiVERPOOL BEER WEEK - CHAPTER COLLAB BREW

7/6/2018

It was a day of hard work and headbands at Chapter Brewing for Collective member Andy, who is no stranger to brewing himself having been a member of Liverpool's Homebrewing Club for some time.

Since Chapter burst onto the Liverpool Scene in 2016, they have become a firm favourite for the Collective. Their beers have been named taking inspiration from various pieces of literature and have been growing in stature over the course of the two years. It was logical to brew with them for the forthcoming Liverpool Beer Week.

The water was treated, the malt weighed out and the brewing began. The common theme as with the other collaboration brews to date was a rising heat in the brewhouse; carrying sacks of malted barley and tipping to mash in was tough and overseen by head brewer Noah Torn.

The arrangement of a tangle of hoses saw the transfer of the wort over to the kettle, whilst a small rest and a restorative beer was taken. Once the kettle came up to temperature and a rolling boil, hop additions were in order before the 60 minute boil gave way to another transfer, this time into the fermentation vessel.

The next stage was kettle souring and a slightly different technique needed to make an acidic sour beer. Late additions of adjunct ingredients mean we have now got something very different and very special ready for Liverpool Beer Week.

The final result will be an immensely refreshing and summery Grapefruit and Watercress Sour ale...

Chapter Brewing Company and the LBC give to you: A Crowd of Distractions

[If you wish to place an order for this collaboration brew, please contact chapterbrewing@gmail.com - supplies are very limited].

Liverpool Beer WEEK - MELWOOD COLLAB BREW

7/4/2018

The Collective has been quite excited about this brew day for a while, as the lucky attendees got to spend a day in the old Gun Dog kennels of the Knowsley Hall estate where Melwood Beer Co do their magic.

In the soaring temperatures, the work began with hot liquor transferred to the mash tun where the grain bill was added.

Pale ale malts, wheat and oats; the mash was a thick and gloopy one, meaning plenty of hard work stirring the tun as the fermentable sugars were drawn out of the grains.

At this point we were briefly joined by Stan Shaw, another of Melwood’s brewing cadre - it was an honour to meet the man who mentored Mark Yates of Connoisseur Ales brewery, who is sadly no longer with us. Not only does Stan brew, he is an experienced engineer and has an important role producing parts for and physically tweaking the brewery kit.

The wort was then transferred to the kettle in several small runs and then the wort boiled away in the kettle to sterilise and get ready for the hop addition. The unenviable task of digging out the mash tun began in the rather hot brewery, with head brewer John ducking out periodically to add bittering hops at varying stages of the boil; a large amount of sweet orange powder was also added in at this stage. The hop and orange aromas combined into a fug of heady fruit.

New England yeast was finally added to the cooled hoppy malt liquor, finally the fermentation vessel was sealed up for a week or so to do its magic. The final touches were to dry-hop and dose the beer with more fruit.

Many thanks to John and Stan for working with us on this brew day and for making the beer a reality. It was a pleasure to visit the kennels and we’d love to do another collaboration brew in future!

Melwood Beer Company and the LBC give to you: Storm Over Seville

[If you wish to place an order for this collaboration brew, please contact admin@melwoodbeer.co.uk - supplies are very limited].

Liverpool Beer Week - Glen Affric Collab Brew

6/26/2018

Craig McCormick, head brewer for Glen Affric, met Liverpool Beer Collective member, Neil Ashton, outside their rather imposing building overlooking the Birkhead Tunnel, ready to weigh out the grain bill for mashing in on the collboration day.
After plenty of stirring and a bit of sparging, the wort was ready. A super-hazy, almost gloopy sweet broth and the oats had really played their part in making the brew thicker in body!

The wort was then transferred to the kettle, where it was boiled for hop additions; naturally, during the boil, the honours of digging the spent grain out of the mash tun were shared, making them ready for collection and use by a local farmer as animal feed.

Following crash-cooling and transfer to fermentation vessel, the yeast was added. Although that signified the end of the brew day for Neil, the work continued in earnest for Craig, as he monitored fermentation, conditioning, packaging and labelling of the beer.

The brew included copious amounts of lemon and lactose with the oatmeal, with the aim of giving a summery, refreshing but slick-bodied experience of a citrus-shake pale ale, between 4 and 5% in strength.

This brew will be another ready in time for Liverpool Beer Week, running from Friday 20th of July through until Sunday 29th of July. The beer will get one of its very first pours at Glen Affric’s wonderful Tap Room on the opening Friday of Liverpool Beer Week, so if you want to give it a try from source, hit up the brewery that weekend!

A huge thank you to everybody at Glen Affric for helping this idea come to fruition and thanks to head brewer Craig for being an excellent host. Neil had a great time and learned lots of new things about the brewing process! Oh, and one final bit of excitement for you all - Glen Affric canned beers are coming soon!

Glen Affric Brewery and the LBC give to you: Morning, Lemon

[If you wish to place an order for this collaboration brew, please contact sales@glenaffricbrewery.com - supplies are very limited].