One of St Austell Brewery’s most popular limited-edition beers is back and this time it’s in a bottle! Harlequin, a golden English IPA, is the second release in the brewery’s 2021 Small Batch series.

St Austell Harlequin

Harlequin’s citrus and floral aroma charms the senses, says the brewer, before bursting across the palate with juicy passionfruit and pomegranate flavours. The beer offers both an assertive bitterness and a balanced drinkability.

Harlequin notably showcases an award-winning hop variety of the same name, sourced from hop supplier, Charles Faram. The Harlequin hop was crowned best new variety at the IBD National Hop Awards in 2019 and received overall gold for its crop of the same year.

This new hop originates from the Charles Faram Development programme, where it was grown from a single seed in 2015. St Austell Brewery was given the chance to brew the variety early on in its development stage. The brewery launched Harlequin as a special seasonal beer last year — for Cask Ale Week — and it’s been much sought-after since.

Georgina Young, brewing director at St Austell Brewery, said: “We’re constantly on the lookout for new hops to experiment with, from all over the world, and it’s great to have found such an exciting British variety in Harlequin. This brew was so popular when we launched it on cask, so we’re delighted to be making it available to beer fans in bottle for the first time.”

Paul Corbett, managing director at Charles Faram, added: “We tried the beer virtually last night with some of the hop growers. We all thought it was fantastic. The fruity aroma, full flavour, and mouthfeel were amazing.

“It’s very reminiscent of US hop flavour. I think that could be the unique ‘hook’ with this variety. We are extremely proud of our new hop and would like to thank St Austell Brewery for doing such a great job, as always.”

Harlequin is available from St Austell Brewery’s online shop while stocks last.. Keep an eye on the brewery’s social media channels for news of further limited-edition releases in the coming weeks and months.