A collaboration between Norfolk and Greater Manchester brewers is an ale with a tale, coming about due to the chance spotting of a hare on social media.
The beer is a German porter, called I’m Already Here, and will be created by Moon Gazer Ale and Bríd’s Cross Brewing (pronounced breed’s cross), of Rochdale.
A German porter’s defining characteristics include deep, espresso-like colour and malt-forward flavour, with a low hop bitterness and an underlying sweetness.
“We are delighted to be brewing this beer with Sean and Ruth,” said David Holliday, of Moon Gazer Ale.
“Sean has links to East Anglia and had previously enjoyed Moon Gazer beers at pubs such as The Racehorse, in Westhall. Sean also has a passion for brewing and all of his ales are inspired by, and named after, folk tales and mythology associated with the British Isles.
“Obviously, sooner or later Sean would use a hare in one of his beers, which we duly spotted on social media and liked — because we like hares too!
“Before you knew it, we had agreed to a collaboration, and after a few suggestions on social media the idea of a German porter was born. A style neither of us had brewed before.”
Authenticity
To add to the beer’s authenticity, the brewers are using 100% German malts and hops. Usually, this style used Munich malts to a very high percentage of the malt bill — up to 70% to add to a very rich mouthfeel and malt forward body. The espresso colour is achieved by the addition of dark roasted malts, but crucially they are de-husked, so you add colour but not any astringency.
As for the hops, they are using German-grown Perle, which although very sparsely used will add a slight hop profile and aroma of spice, cedar, and orange.
However, the final key ingredient is the tale — the ale needs a tale — and one that happens to be German and ideally involves a hare!
Step forward The Brothers Grimm with a tale from Saxony about The Hare and The Hedgehog. It’s a fairly dark fable where two hedgehogs conspire to repeatedly beat a hare at a race, shouting from the finish line to the hare after the start of each race “Ick bün all hier!”, which translates to I’m Already Here. Hence the name of the beer.
The beer will also use vegan finings, in-keeping with Sean’s brews. The brew will be in selected pubs in the week commencing 25th November.
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