Hello and welcome to the Kraft Werks Brewsletter. In this issue, we bring you our thoughts on one of the country's best beer festivals, give a shoutout to a couple of our favourite breweries, and take a cheeky look at some of the new beers we've landed recently.
Natural wine and fine cider, which we looked at in the last issue of the Brewsletter, have now both arrived at Kraft Werks! So if you've ever wondered what fermented grape and apple juices are really supposed to taste like, then here is your opportunity to find out. Following on from feedback we received some time ago in a customer satisfaction survey, we have also taken delivery of some brand new, bespoke-made furniture for your increased drinking comfort.
Indy Man Beer Con
At the start of October, on a famed drizzly Manchester day, I set sail to the impressive Victoria Baths for the Independent Manchester Beer Convention. Now in their 8th year, and what is considered as the UK's premier craft beer showcase, the guys behind some of Manchester's favourite bars have raised the 'bar' again on how to put on a show. The setting is stunning. A grade II listed building that has been carefully converted into a space where your beers are served in the now emptied swimming pools, quirky little 'changing booths' so you can admire your beer in peace and more hidden brewery rooms than you can shake a stick at, leave you feeling hard pushed to find everything in the 5 hours you get at each session.
Anyway, onto the main event. The beer.
Luckily this year Indy Man provided a handy little app that gave you a map of the building and a shortlist for beers you would like to try, so finding and trying the beers you wanted was a breeze! Burning Sky 2017 Anniversary Saison was a perfect aperitif to the amazing array of food on offer. Cloudwater are still pushing boundaries and are consistently producing world-class triple IPAs, and to top it off I even got to try my first Omnipollo Soft Serve! There was a small discussion on the various social media platforms about the token pricing and how expensive it was compared to the previous years(£29 for 11 tokens, all beers were served in 1/3 pint measures and some cost up to 3 tokens each), however I still feel that this is truly justified, as to find all these world-class breweries under one roof made me feel lucky to be a part of it.
The buzz around Indy Man is definitely justified. Everything just works. A great choice of beers, cracking food and some good music thrown in makes for a wonderful afternoon, and one I will definitely be attending next year!
- Review by Josh Smith
Brewery Focus
While the number of new brewery openings has certainly slowed down recently, there still remains an overwhelming amount of talent in the UK brewing scene. We'd like to take a moment to highlight a couple of our favourite fledgeling breweries whose wares you may not have sampled yet.
Round Corner Brewing
Based in Melton Mowbray's cattle market, Round Corner have only been brewing since December 2018, but have already had their lagers voted best in the world at the 2019 International Brewing Awards! Not only is this no mean feat, but it also makes them the youngest brewery to ever take home the prize in the awards 150-year history. Having recently had a keg of Gunmetal, a stunning black lager that forms part of Round Corner's core range, we can easily say that it stands shoulder to shoulder with its German counterparts. We look forward to trying an imperial, barrel-aged version that is scheduled for release soon! The brewery has a taproom attached to it, and we highly recommend a visit if you find yourself in Melton Mowbray and in need of a good beer.
Yonder Brewing & Blending
Established in 2018, Somerset outfit Yonder Brewing & Blending set out to create small-batch brews with a strong sense of time and place. They use a mix of traditional and contemporary methods in the brewhouse, using a lot of local and foraged ingredients in their recipes. Their Loop series of beers are fermented and aged in oak barrels, and then when the time is right, blended with whatever fruits, herbs and other seasonal ingredients are available and at their best. Each time this happens, a new batch is brewed up and inoculated with a bit of the last batch, and so the house culture of yeasts and bacteria will continually change and develop. Every iteration is different, but still a part of the same Loop. We currently have bottles of Precursor in stock, a Belgian style witbier brewed with foraged flowers for the perfect balance of herbal, bitter and sweet flavours. If you haven’t tried any beers from these guys yet, we highly recommend that you do!
In The Fridges This Week
We've had a couple of big deliveries this week and our fridges are looking nice and full ahead of the weekend. As always, we have a great selection of heavy-hitting American IPAs begging to be cracked open, with offerings from the likes of Decadent Ales, Separatist Beer Project, Stillwater Artisanal, 2nd Shift and Evil Twin. There's also plenty of choice from some UK stalwarts. North Brewing Co. continue on their path of IPA flavoured domination, accompanied by fresh beer from Track Brewing Co., Left Handed Giant, Northern Monk and others. So if you're in need of a hop-fix this weekend, you know where to find it!
Currently pouring on draught we have ImpEx, an imperial best bitter brewed by Wylam for De Molens 'Borefts' beer festival under the brief of a 'regional traditional style'. Based on an amber-toned cask beer brewed originally in 1928 for the Great Exhibition of the North, it's well worth a sip!
That's all for now. We hope to see you soon.