Alan Thomson recreates his famous imperial stout, Good King Henry, at Grain brewery
Grain brewery, in Alburgh, Norfolk, has teamed up with Alan Thomson, following his recent retirement from Old Chimneys Brewery, to continue brewing Good King Henry, one of the world’s most highly rated beers.
The beer and brewing world shed a tear when Alan announced he would close Old Chimneys Brewery in March this, so the news that his famous brew, Good King Henry, a multi-award winning imperial stout will live on, will be greeted with much relief.
The bottled version, Good King Henry Special Reserve, has been England’s highest rated beer on ratebeer.com for eight years.
Grain director, Phil Halls, said: “I was very excited when Alan approached us to explore the idea of him brewing this amazing beer at Grain. It is not usually the way we work, but Alan’s beer has inspired my own Slate porter, and his years of knowledge and experience complement our mission of exploring grain characters and flavours.”
‘Brewing on a larger brewkit has given us the opportunity to improve the flavour even more’
Alan said: “Maintaining the beer’s quality and reputation, as well as finding people I am happy to work with, brought me to Grain. After a successful collaborative brew to create Vienna Red, a strong red malty beer, we agreed it was the way forward for Good King Henry.
“Brewing on a larger brewkit has also given us the opportunity to improve the flavour even more, by reaching a strength of 10% ABV on the new brew, so this is certainly a beer to be savoured slowly.”
Phil added: “For the very first time, Good King Henry will also be sold in keg as well as cask, making it accessible to more drinkers and craft beer bars across the UK.”
Good King Henry will be available at the end of October, making its first appearance at its new strength at Norwich Beer Festival, from October 21 to 26.
