Funny old week. One door closes — that of my local, the Star Inn, Crowlas, where I’ve worked for six years and drunk in for 23 — and others open.
Left to right: Black and Motueka, from St Ives Brewery, Verdant’s new Bissoe IPA, and Bristol Beer Factory’s Milk Stout
So many things and people I’ll miss, for now anyway, until it re-opens (the glass, remember, is always half-full). For now I’m concentrating on beer. And the biggest gap for me will be my regular intake of Penzance Brewing Co IPA (6% ABV), a comfortingly English-style IPA, all balance and warm marmalade tones, and a lovely touch of bitterness.
A pleasure, then, to make the acquaintance of Verdant Brewing Co’s Bissoe IPA (5.3% ABV) at the Pilchard Press Alehouse, in St Ives. One of Verdant’s rare casks, and this is a beauty. Great balance between bready malt and citrus notes with a cracking bitter finish. Hopped with English Cascade and Harlequin, it was delightful. I missed a bus.
Also at the Pilchard this week, a lovely drop of Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout (4.5% ABV), an old favourite of mine and, it seems, plenty of locals. It’s quite sweet, but there is bitterness in there and a delightful chocolatey note that makes it very moreish. Perfect accompaniment for the Cork an Barbor shanty singers who put on a cracking show on Friday evening.
Speaking of black stuff, a word for St Ives Brewery’s new black IPA, Black and Motueka (6.8% ABV), which I realised far too late might be a pun on a well-known brand of electric tools. Anyway, I’m a sucker for BIPA and this is a beauty, with Motueka and a side helping of Rakau hops giving great fruit notes against that base of light roasty malt. Well worth searching out.
Elsewhere on Beer Today, I feature the new branding for St Austell Brewery’s Proper Job. “Our investment in the brand is all about honouring Proper Job’s loyal drinkers with a design that doesn’t stray too far from its roots, as well as reaching new audiences with its fresh look and feel,” says marketing and communications director Laura McKay. “There’s absolutely no change to the much-loved IPA’s recipe.”
At the Royal Standard last night, for Liz’s Quiz, we encounter this new branding for the first time, and fair to say it divided opinion. But I like it, and the new shape of the glass, even if it is very much like a Thatcher’s Gold vessel. Alas, it was the 4.5% ABV keg version of PJ and not the cask, but even so it was very decent once it had warmed up a little. Look out for the new branding and tell me what you think. The quiz? We came equal first but lost on a tie-breaker, since you ask…
