Big Ideas Series 10
Pale Ale
5.6% ABV
Modern Pale Ale brewed with fruity European hops.
Celebrate variety. Reflect a sense of place. Brew modern takes on traditional styles. Brew contemporary styles with a twist. Avoid overused hop varieties. Full flavour spectrum brewing.
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This is the Big Ideas Series, the first set of releases from the brewery. The beers are all unfined, vegan friendly and conditioned in package: bottle, keg and cask. We love our beers and hope you do too... let us know!
Description
A tasty, modern hop-forward Pale Ale, but not quite as we know it. European hop varieties have been carefully selected for their powerfully fruity aroma, while oats and wheat alongside the finest quality Maris Otter malted barley provide a smooth, sweet foundation. A classic British fermentation ensures easy drinkability from a Pale Ale that’s the same, but different.
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Tasting Notes
We have low bitterness here, a soft mouthfeel courtesy of Glasgow’s trademark Loch Katrine water and a healthy dose of oats in the grist and, of course, a full and flavoursome hop profile. Three European varieties, together with a warm fermentation, present a cocktail of orange zest, grapefruit, berries, passionfruit and vinous gooseberry, while allowing the sweetness of the malt to shine too.
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What The Hell Was I Thinking?
Good question! Brewing a new-school hoppy pale ale on an old-school brewing kit with open fermenters is not an easy task. This type of beer has huge potential for spoilage through exposure to oxygen and as such it feels like tending a delicate flower through a thunderstorm. So why not ramp up the challenge a bit further and avoid the hop varieties that have become synonymous with this style; your Citras, Mosaics, Simcoes, Ekuanots, Galaxies and whatnot? These guys aren’t known as the ‘cheat hops’ for nothing. But no, me and my ‘Big Ideas’ mean it’s a quest for the most assertive European hops, and with this beer style we can rule most of the options out straight away because any significant amount of spiciness just won’t work. So after extensive trials we've opted for hops from Germany (Hallertau Blanc, Mandarina Bavaria) and France (Barbe Rouge). The result isn’t the same as a pale brewed with more sophisticated kit and using the hops mentioned above, but it is a cousin, perhaps, and that’s sort of the point. Taste the difference, celebrate variety.
Bottle conditioned, vegan friendly
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Ingredients/Allergens
Malts: Maris Otter, Oats, Wheat, Munich
Hops: Magnum, Hallertau Blanc, Mandarina Bavaria, Barbe Rouge
Yeast: Nottingham
