News update

Here's a quick roundup of brewery news:

The White Cliffs Winter Beer Festival kicks the beer season off this evening (sorry for the late notice) and a sell out crowd will inevitably leave you outside in the cold. However, tomorrow is also a good day to visit and is not sold out.

Here is last year's post about it - not much has changed. This year we sent a cask of INDIA - it's a strong pale ale. A very strong one, with lots and lots of hops in it.

Our bi-monthly specials, 80 Shilling Ale and Great Scot!, are selling very well indeed - the latter, you'll remember, is malty and sweet whilst the former is something unique: a pale beer brewed with Islay peated malt for that juicy smoky flavour, unavailable anywhere else, to my knowledge. This is such a strange brew that I'm completely dumbfounded by its seeming popularity out there - you are a bunch of nutters! I've already brewed thrice as much as I intended to and it has still sold out with three weeks to go - well done, you deserve an 'open-minded beer drinker' T-shirt.

The next bi-monthly installments have both been brewed this week and will each spend two weeks reposing on a bed of hops - Dragon's Blood ESB is back to stay for two months this year, partenered by 'A Common Conspiracy' - another collaboration with the Saints and Sinners Brewers, Steve & Phil. I'll tell you more when I have the time but for now, know that it's an amber ale in the Californian Steam (or Common) Beer style - a beer that transcends the lager/ale boundary. We brewed it just 24 hours ago and the fermenting room smells of gorgeous German and American hops.

The shop shelves are largely bereft of euro-beer at the moment and nothing is yet on order - I'm waiting for the Mighty M to fill some of our casks and hoping the exchange rate swings in favour in the meantime. Watch this space.

That's all for today, now, when's the next Dover train?