Early summer ales

Crack some coriander seeds and they release a pungent, spicy aroma with surprising citrus notes of orange, lemon and lime. Add some dried orange peel (careful now, the pith is bitter) and chuck the lot in the copper just as you're finishing the boil on a pale wort (a wort containing 30% malted wheat and hopped to a low bitterness level). Throw armfuls of soft, fruity Perle hops in afterwards (perhaps some Saaz hops too), cool and ferment warm with an ale yeast.

Cask condition the beer and enjoy it, served cool, on warm, sultry afternoons when you should be at work. Watch the world go by. Relax.

Feel better?

Good.



SHESELLS SEASHELLS, with its pale straw colour and clean (Northern Brewer) bitterness, starts as if it might be a lager style beer. But then the zesty, juicy Cascade hops kick in and you know you've got a thirst quenching summer ale in your hand. And a straightforward, easy drinking one at that.

Obviously local weather conditions ensure these beers are suitable most of the year and we only stick to form for the sake of our poor customers who live inland, where it's cold and raining for much of the year.

Doktor Sonnenschein's

Dr Sunshine's Special Friendly English Wheat Ale has been more popular than ever but tomorrow we take the whole thing a step further - we're brewing exactly the same beer - wheat, zest of orange, freshly crushed coriander seed and fruity Perle hops - but fermenting the whole with a very, very different yeast.

Bavarian weizen is characterised by it's coudy, pale yellow appearance (in tall, elegant glasses), smooth, mild and refreshing nature featuring cloves, banana and phenols. Most of that is a result of the unique yeast strain used, and I'm using it tomorrow, albeit on an english recipe. Having done this before, years ago, I'm confident that it'll produce a very tasty beer, and equally confident it will be a complete pain in the arse - sticky, messy and unpredictable. Fun, real fun.

Can't wait.

The Bells of St Helen's

Flavour, and I deliberately include that organoleptic duo of olfactory and oral, is a strange and fascinating area of study. Last week I crushed a few handfuls of coriander seeds and hunted down random citizens in search of feedback: 'orange', 'lime' and 'lemon' were the perceived aromas, along with the to be expected 'spice', 'curry' etc etc. But that first citrus family is what I found especially intrigueing - do try it at home, preferably on a saturday night whilst cooking curry. It doesn't work with powdered coriander, only freshly crushed.

So, along with some grated zest of fresh orange (I'm still working my through the residual fruit) I tossed the coriander into the copper and followed this mixture up with some very fruity Perle hops from Hallertau. The morning mash had contained an unusually high proportion of wheat and the hope was that these four flavours would meld in some beneficial way.

Well, the beer is going into cask as I write (thanks Steve) and I've had a sneaky little taste - yup, we have a lovely and refreshing wheat ale redolent of citrus spice and soft vanilla. There is a firm but welcome fruity hoppiness in there too and a mellow maltiness unfettered by bitterness - the whole is a rather balanced and tasty beer, very much reminding me of sunny afternoons sitting outside cafe bars watching the world go by.

From May 1st, everywhere in East Kent.

The Year in Beer 08 - June

I promised to tell you more about Dr Sunshine's Special Friendly English Wheat Ale and I will:

It's refreshing. And not overly strong. It's also pretty different, so I expect the usual comments from the usual people.

When out and about drinking beer in the best independent free-houses in East Kent, this is the pumpclip to look out for:



'A little bit of sunshine in every glass'
[Lorrie-the-brick]

Where's the Sunshine?

For some it's the sight of the first swallow and for others it's the Solstice but for me, the first day of summer is signaled by the first day of the Lords Test. Today in fact. (Even though rain has inevitably delayed the start of play).

And it is by happy coincidence that today I have begun to brew the first of this year's triptych of summer ales, Dr Sunshine's Special Friendly English Wheat Ale. First created by me & Scooly back in 2004 it is a mongrel cross-style between a Dutch Wit, an American Wheat and a light English Mild.

But what's it like?

Like nothing else. A high proportion of wheat in the mash provides a mellow soft base, spicy Perle hops a lovely fruity spicy middle bit with fresh ground coriander seeds & organic Valencia orange zest for some lovely citrus overtones.

Refreshing, one might say. I'll tell you more nearer the time.

The Year in Beer 08 - April

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more...

On most occasions a decent well crafted ale does the job fine and dandy - it would be churlish to ask for more and one has to allow room for a time when 'extra-special' is warranted: a birthday or wedding perhaps. An anniversary or holiday maybe. Or a Patron Saint's Day.

Now I'm no jingoistic-patriot head of any kind but Act 3 Scene 1 stirs the old blood in my veins as much as the next woman and I can't deny a deep love of England, and even the English. And since one of my many names was/is George, April 23rd is an excuse for something a bit special.

Since Bitter is pretty much the emblematic beer style of day to day Blighty, Extra Special Bitter must be the natural choice for St George's Day. So what is 'ESB' and how do I make it? Well, remember the tangy spicy balance we achieve between bitter hops and sweet malt when we brew a bitter? In the crafting of an ESB we increase the maltiness, increase the alcohol and max up the bitterness. My own little trick is to use far too much astringently bitter Goldings hops from east Kent - the bitterness produces a long satisfying finish - and temper the astringency by maturing the beer on a bed of resinous Fuggles hops. Add a twist of aromatic Challenger, a few weeks aging to mellow all that bitterness and away we go: a big beer in all senses of the word: rich, malty, blood red ale with tangy, spicy fruity bitterness, English hop aroma and a long, a very long, satisfying bitter-sweet finish.


So as of April fools day (ironically the day the man from Tesco wanted to come and tell me how to brew my beer), Dragon's Blood ESB will be available in all discerning ale houses across the land!

I see you stand, like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit and upon this charge

Cry 'God for Harry, England and Saint George!'