Beer Review: Rudgate Battleaxe

Name: Battleaxe

ABV: 4.2%

Brewery: Rudgate

Style: Bitter

Location: York, North Yorkshire 

Aroma: Grassy hops dominate, followed by a potent tangy maltiness reminiscent of lightly toasted wholemeal bread, a touch of orange, perhaps a  marmalade like element thrown in.

Colour: Amber orangey brown, hazy with a one finger ivory coloured head.  

Taste: A rush of bitterness dominates the senses, a tangy breadiness, followed by a bed of roasted malt and a medley of mellow fruitiness,  a gentle spiciness from the hops brings the flavours together to a rousing finale. The mouthfeel is creamy, though the aftertaste is a tad biscuity but not dry. The bitterness leaves a lingering note on the tastebuds. 

Verdict: An old school northern style bitter, brimming with lots of flavour despite its low ABV. Hops and malt deliver on their potential, creating a multi-layered portfolio of flavours that explode in the mouth, it leaves a indelible mark urging the consumer to drink more of the  brew, an ideal session number for fans of bitter.

Rating: 8/10

Beer Goes to the Movies

A few years ago, I came across the bottle of Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale (4.7%) by Black Sheep. The beer was a collaboration between the brewery and the Monty Python team first released in 1999, marked to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the comedy troupe’s founding. When it came to naming the beer, they took influence from their film Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), the title is an obvious play on words given its links to ale. In keeping with theme, the pump clip design uses Terry Gilliam style illustrations with a group shot of the Python team from the film standing inside a goblet (aka the Holy Grail). Its promotions describe it as being tempered over burning witches. Brewery founder Paul Theakston humorously described it as “a light golden beer with a fresh, zesty taste and a long crisp bitter finish... goes beautifully with Spam, albatross or battered herring.”  Since its release, it has become one of Black Sheep’s most popular products, the beer has been widely sold in supermarkets, it even has its own official beer glass, and building on its success the brewery has released a slew of beers under the Python brand.[1] This beer has a popular following, when the musical Spamalot held a residency at the Playhouse Theatre, Darlington in 2013, supplies of the beer ran dry within the first two weeks, this resulted in the brewery having to make emergency shipments to the theatre, in order to keep the bar stocked. Since the days when Black Sheep dabbled with the Pythons, a number of other breweries around the UK have taken influence from the world of cinema when it comes to naming and producing their beers, from catchphrases to pun filled titles and famous faces of the silver screen, there is a range of talent out there.

 

There is a slew of beers out there named after movie titles, like The 39 Steps (3.9%) – Durham, influenced by John Buchan’s famous novel and subsequent film adaptions, its ABV incidentally is 10% of the number 39. Moreover, Close Encounters (4.8%) – Fyne Ales, is named after Close Encounters of the 3^rd Kind (1977), in reference to the alien crop circles that featured in the film, keeping to the alien theme the brewers appropriately produced it as a wheat beer.  Another example of a themed movie inspired beer is Shot in the Dark (5.5%) – Lincoln Green, although its name highlights the fact its an American style stout, its release in 2024 coincided with the 60^th anniversary of the film of its namesake. Another beer named after a classic 1960’s film is The Italian Job (4.7%), a collaboration between Rooster’s and Italian brewers, Birrificio Italiano. A pale ale made with the addition of black pepper and lemongrass, they named the beer after the classic 1969 film, taking influence from the plot that deals with a gang of English criminals travelling to Italy to steal a shipment of gold bullion. The premise of a group of English brewers working in Italy making a golden ale for the British market is not too dissimilar, yet a whole lot more legal. While some breweries dabble with one off releases, Acorn brewery bucked the trend with their Decades series, starting in November 2018 they released a series of six beers celebrating films made between the 1950’s to 2000’s. Every few months they a ran a poll where customers would submit film names for upcoming releases marking each decade, the winners included Rear Window (1954), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Every Which Way But Loose (1970), Short Circuit (1986), GoldenEye (1995) and Dodgeball (2004) respectively. Another beer inspired by classic of British cinema is Titfield Thunderbolt (4.2%) – Great Oakley, named after the 1952 film, it features a steam locomotive on the pump clip. A NEIPA style beer, it was described as a thirst-quenching delight, brewed with two types of New Zealand hops. Since its release it has become one of the brewery’s signature products, winning a haul of SIBA Midlands awards and gongs on the national stage including overall Silver Award in the National Independent Beer Awards in March 2017.[2] One of the most noteworthy beers with movie links is Pale Rider (4.2%) – Kelham Island, the former brewery’s most iconic beer, named after the 1985 film of its namesake starring Clint Eastwood. The beer was first released in 1993, which came about following suggestions from customers at the brewery’s taproom The Fat Cat in Sheffield. Founder, Dave Wickett subsequently produced a beer inspired by American Pale Ales that was pale blonde in colour, with a light bitterness and brewed with German and American hops, giving its distinct punchy aroma. It was considered a trailblazer, inspiring many craft beers that followed, and it helped raise the fortunes of the brewery, in time becoming its flagship brand, putting Sheffield firmly on the brewing map.[3] Its also one of the most successful movie themed examples out there, winning a slew of awards including Champion Beer of Britain in 2004. Such was it’s following when Thornbridge brewery inherited Kelham Island's brands after the latter’s closure in 2022, they added the beer to their core range.[4]

While there are beers out there which are directly named movie titles, some brewers take it further and mince it through the pun machine. Notable examples come to mind like Blazin’ Barrels (5%) – Wye Valley, a take on Blazing Saddles (1974) or Reservoir Hogs (4.3%) – Hoggley’s in connection with Reservoir Dogs (1992). In keeping with the animal theme, Elgood’s boasted a menagerie of animal influenced movie titles like The Hound of Music (4.4%), Goatbusters (4.5%), Hen in Black (4.5%), Crocky (3.7%), The Prawn Identity (4%) and the hilariously titled Harry Trotter and the Deathly Swallows (4.5%), with the original poster designs spoofed in the pump clips. Some breweries use pun filled titles to promote the flavour contents of their beer, like Belma and Louise (4.5%) – Durham, a session IPA brewed with Belma hops; Citrazen Kane (4.2%) – Iron Pier, a pale made with Citra hops,  Live and Let Rye (5%) – Elland, which points to the fact it was a Rye IPA brewed with rye malt, or Full Nutty Jacket (4.3%) – Kelham Island, an American Red IPA made with four different malts, giving it a distinct nutty flavour. Meanwhile some examples namecheck hops (a principal product of the brewing process) in their promotions, like The Hopfather (3.9%) – Wye Valley, a session IPA brewed with Target and Goldings inspired by The Godfather (1972),  A Fist Full of Hops (4.5%) – Falstaff, a golden bitter made with a number of hops named the spaghetti western A Fist Full of Dollars (1964).[5] Keeping to the hop theme, Beverley Hills Hop (7.1%) – Brew York is a tribute to Beverley Hills Cop (1984), appropriately the beer was produced as a West Coast IPA, a beer style which originates from the region where the film is set in. Likewise, Hop Back to the Future (4.4%) – Goacher’s, a wry take on Back to the Future (1985), the beer makes direct reference to a vital component of the brewing process. Likewise, there’s Hop Gun (4%) – Robinson’s, a take on the film Top Gun (1986), which derives its name from a piece of brewing equipment used for extracting flavours from additional hops to conditioning tanks in a process known as dry hopping. The brewery trialled with the ‘big screen’ theme with this beer in 2016, following successful sales of 135,000 pints in 2 months, subsequently the following year they decided to roll out a film and TV theme across their entire seasonal range.[6] Many of the above beers tend to be limited edition specials, though some have gone onto become core brand favourites like Jurassic Dark (5.9%) – Dorset Brewing Co., a Dunkelweizen named the film Jurassic Park (1993), its pump clip was inspired by the design of its iconic poster that featured a stencil outline of T-Rex. It also has connections to the brewery’s location near the Jurassic Coast, and is a companion to their flagship product Jurassic (4.2%). The beer was launched shortly after the brewery was established in 1996 and quick became a firm favourite, it first gained prominence in 1998 when it won the National Wheat Beer challenge that year. The brewery subsequently added the beer to their core range, and it has gone onto win a number of awards including Gold in the Taste of the West awards in 2017, Gold at SIBA South West Independent Beer Awards 2018 held at Tuckers Maltings Beer Festival, and it recently was awarded Bronze (Speciality) at the Champion Winter Beer of Britain awards.[7]

The pun and games continue with beers inspired by noteworthy catchphrases in films. The likes of Yule Be Back (4.3%) – Hydes and Ale Be Back (4.4%) – Dorset Brewing Co. are named after the Terminator T-1000’s notable catchphrase that frequently pops up in the Terminator film series. Not Now Cato (4%) – Vale, is based on Inspector Clueseau’s frequently repeated command to his manservant Cato who constantly attacks him whenever his boss returns home in the Pink Panther series of films. Another example with links to iconic catchphrases is Yippie IPA (4.2%) – Robinsons, one of their seasonal releases from 2017, it was derived from the iconic line "Yippee-ki-yay, motherf*cker!" regularly uttered by John McClane in the Die Hard film series. The pump clip features the New York skyline, which was the setting for the film, the beer’s promotions include a parody of the catchphrase, “You asked for miracles I give you… YIPPEE IPA motherhopper!”. Robinsons continued with the catchphrase theme with Blonde, James Blonde (3.8%), a wry take on James Bond’s iconic introductory line which first featured in the debut film in the series Dr No (1962) and has been reused in nearly every subsequent Bond film since. In this case the name implies that is a Blonde ale. Away from the all the puns, there are more obvious instances like To Infinity and Beyond (4.5%) – St. Austell, named after Buzz Lightyear’s frequent line in the Toy Story series, the beer was released in April 2024 as part of the brewery’s cask club showcasing small batch beers, a NEIPA made with the classic bitterness of Aurora hops intwined with fruitiness of Solero to create what the brewery dubbed an out of this world flavour! Memorable lines in films have also featured in other beers like It’s a Beaut, Clark! (4.7%) – Wye Valley, derived from cousin Eddie’s line in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), or Dunkel Me Shirley (5.2%) – Moor, a wry take on the famous line uttered by Dr. Rumack (played by Leslie Neilsen) in Airplane! (1980), after he responds to reluctant pilot Ted Striker with the hasty retort “I’ am serious, and don’t call me Shirley”, arguably one of the most memorable lines in film history. Don’t is replaced with Dunkel, promoting the fact this beer is a Dunkelweizen, and the pump clip featured Neilsen’s likeliness from the film. Notable title sequences have also been under the spotlight like Born to Be Mild (3.7%) – Elland, named after the song ‘Born to be Wild’ by Steppenwolf, which features in the opening credits of Easy Rider (1969), though Wild is replaced with Mild, advertising this beer is a dark mild, released as part of CAMRA’s Mild May promotion. Likewise, In a Citra Galaxy Far Far Away (6.7%) Wylam, the brewers also promote the ingredients of their beer whilst marking a notable movie reference, in this case the title card that opens each film in the Star Wars series, in equal measure the name is also a play on words, since the beer contains both Citra and Galaxy hops.

 

Moreover, some examples are less obvious on the label, 3 Clicks (4.3%) – Lincoln Green is a reference to the climax of The Wizard of Oz (1939), when the Good Witch informs Dorothy that if she clicks her ruby slippers three times then she will be sent back home to Kansas. Quite appropriately given the theme, the beer was developed as a ruby ale and the pump clip features Dorothy wearing the slippers as she stands on the Yellow Brick Road with Emerald City in the distance, all in glorious technicolour. Likewise, Scoundrel (4.1%) – Leatherbritches features the likeliness of Oliver Reed in his most famous role as the villainous Bill Sikes in Oliver (1968) on its pump clip, keeping to the Victorian theme of its setting it was produced as a porter, which was predominate during the time the musical is set in. The beer was also a tribute to Reed, who was an infamous boozer with a penchant for excess drinking and legendary pub crawls like the Wimbledon 8.[8] Blue Parrot (4.5%) – Mighty Oak is even more vague; the pump clip makes heavy reference to the final scene of Casablanca (1942) where Rick and Ilsa say their farewells at the airport before she leaves off with her husband. Bogie is replaced with the brewery’s mascot embracing Ingrid Bergman, and the iconic catchphrase is remodelled as “we’ll always have beer”, instead of Paris. Mighty Oak has produced a slew of beers marking iconic moments in classic cinema history like El Rancho (4.3%) which references Citizen Kane (1941) in the pump clip, Top Hat Porter (4.3%) which namechecks the film of its namesake Top Hat (1935) to more obvious examples like Faye Wray (4.1%) which plays tribute to her signature role in King Kong (1933).[9] Other breweries have paid their own tributes to luminaries of the silver screen like Go-Lightly (3.8%), the beer is named after Holly Golightly (played Audrey Hepburn) in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), the pump clip features her likeliness as the character in the film. The name also is a play on words, since the beer is a light session pale ale.[10] Or the likes of High Time (3.9%) – Vale, a take on the film Safety Last (1923), the title is in reference to the climax of the film when Harold (played by Harold Lloyd) climbs the department building, after he accepts a promotional stunt organised by his workplace. The pump clip features the memorable shot in the film where Harold hangs off from a clockface, which has become one of the most iconic images of early cinema, and has been copied a number of times.[11] Other instances include Cogburn (4.3%) – Rooster’s¸ which references Rooster Cogburn (as played by John Wayne) who appears in True Grit (1969) and Rooster Cogburn (1975), given that the brewery is named Roosters, this oppertunity was too hard to resist. Robinsons has a slew of examples like Dark Vader (4%), Hannibal’s Nectar (3.9%), Freddie Brewger (4.3%) and Hoppy Wan Kenobi (4%) respectively. In the case of The Simcoe Kid (4.5%) – Maxim, the brewers not only pay tribute to the iconic Western character The Cisco Kid, the name also promotes the fact that the beer is brewed with Simcoe hops,[12] the beer was originally produced as a one-off for a Wetherspoons beer festival, much like the character it emulates it amassed a popular following and the brewery subsequently added it to their core bottle range.[13] There are countless beers out there named after famous movie actors, yet Brew York took it step further with their pun-filled titles like Kirsh Russell – Escape from L.A. (6.5%) and With a Spoon (12%), in the pump clips they also make reference to the actors respective signature film roles. Occasionally non-actors have also been referenced like Stay Puft (5.2%) – Tiny Rebel, inspired by the giant marshmallow creature that terrorises New York at the climax of Ghostbusters (1984). The development of the beer was spearheaded by the brewer’s concern about how dark beers were being massively outsold by pale beers at the time. In late 2015, they immediately thought of ways of improving the marketability of their darker beers. Early the following the year, they produced a porter that combined sweet flavours with the familiar roasty, coffee and chocolaty notes associated with stout. In keeping with the theme, it was brewed with lactose from creaminess, and naturally marshmallows. The beer was launched in January 2016, the first two casks sold out within 36 hours. It was originally a one-off but public demand encouraged the brewery to produce it on a regular basis and subsequently producing a popular series of beers within the Stay Puft brand. 

 

Breweries up and down the country have produced movie themed beers over the years, though the vast majority have tended to be purely one-off efforts available for a limited period, which makes it harder to track down evidence due to the scant information on them. While some brewers have dabbled with the occasional movie themed release or two, other brewers have produced ongoing series like Robinson’s entire 2017 season schedule of ‘pun-y’ titled beers inspired by notable films and TV shows, Mighty Oak’s homage to iconic movie actors and films of the silver screen, Elgood’s animal themed parody movie titles, Brew York’s pun-filled gallery of cinematic luminaries or Vale’s cinema influenced range of seasonals that celebrated their 20^th anniversary in 2015. Occasionally, these seasonal offerings have gained enough popularity and fruitful sales to encourage brewers to add it to their core range, this was the case with the runaway success of Stay Puft (5.2%) – Tiny Rebel and The Simcoe Kid (4.5%) – Maxim. Some of these core range beers have even gone onto become flagship releases for their respective breweries like Jurassic Dark (5.9%) – Dorset Brewing Co. and Titfield Thunderbolt (4.2%) – Great Oakley which have won a number of local awards. Pale Rider (4.2%) – Kelham Island not only built the brewery’s reputation through its slew of industry gongs, it’s success also helped inspire a number of craft brewers to get into the industry and it also established Sheffield as a major brewing area. Breweries have even collaborated with the filmmakers directly in the case of Black Sheep, with their collaboration with the Monty Python team which resulted in Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale (4.7%). It subsequently became one of the brewery’s most successful releases, spurring them to build an entire series of beers under the Python banner, even taking inspiration from the same film with Monty Python’s Black Knight Reserve (5.7%) named after the ill-fated villain in the film.[14] In the rare case of a follow up release being inspired by another follow up, in late 2016 Black Sheep released Monty Python’s Brian (3.9%), a sequel to their earlier release Holy Grail Ale, it was the brewery’s second collaboration with Monty Python. Named after their follow up film The Life of Brian (1979). The name came about following a vote to name their latest beer on Python’s Facebook page. It was launched for the Christmas market, the blurb on its pump clip stated it being a very naughty pale ale, in reference to the iconic line from the film uttered by Mandy Cohen (the mother of the so-called prophet Brian) when she yells at a crowd who have assembled outside her house, after he’s caught in the act. The tagline was suggested by Michael Palin, who confessed he’d quite like to see the word ‘naughty’ on a beer bottle. Movie themed beers, much like their counterparts in television have proved to be a profitable enterprise for their respective breweries, from pun-filled names, imaginative pump clips, affectionate tributes to blatant cross-promotion of the beer’s ingredients; long may the credits roll as beers continue to go to the movies. 

Footnotes

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[1] Building on its success, the brewery have released a number of beers under the Python brand, including Monty Python's Flying Circus (4.5%), Monty Python's Black Knight's Reserve (5.7%), Monty Python’s Dead Parrot (4.1%) and Monty Python's Brian (4.1%), incidentally named after another Python movie ‘The Life of Brian’ (1979).

[2] Other awards have included SIBA Midland Region Competition October 2016 - Silver: Overall Champion of the Competition, SIBA Midland Region Competition October 2016 - Gold: Best Bitters & Pale Ales, and SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2018 – Gold - Regional Cask Winner - Session IPA (up to 4.3%).

[3]  The brewery has also produced a sister beer, Easy Rider (4.3%), itself named after another film.

[4] Thornbridge owe their existence to Kelham Island, in 2004 Dave Wickett visited his friend Jim Harrison’s newly acquired property at Thornbridge Hall. After walking past the former stable blocks, he suggested to Harrison, this would make a perfect place for a brewery. Thornbridge was subsequently created in order to manage demand at Kelham Island, Wickett himself hired two brewers fresh out of brewing school, Stefano Cossi and Martin Dickie.

[5] The brewery later released The Good, the Bad and the Drunk (6.2%), based on another film in the trilogy, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).

[6] Robinson’s seasonal themed releases for 2017 included Magnum I.P.A. (4.1%), Pint of Thrones (4%), Robohop (3.6%), Yippie IPA (4.2%), Dark Vader (4%) and Bah Humbug (4.3%).

[7] In 2023, a barrel aged version at 6.5% was released, matured in bourbon barrels for 6 months.

[8] Unlike many of its contemporaries, this beer is a core range product.

[9] Rather appropriately it was brewed as a blonde ale, in reference to the hair colour of her character in the film.

[10] It is one of a number of beers released by Vale, celebrating iconic actors from the golden age of cinema,

[11] In keeping with Lloyd’s all American go-getter image, the beer is appropriately an American Red Ale.

[12] The name is a tribute to the Cisco Kid, a Mexican desperado played by various actors in Westerns made between 1928 – 1950. The pump clip is a recreation of the poster for The Return of the Cisco Kid (1939).

[13] The beer is available in cask every September.

[14] Tiny Rebel have taken a leaf out of Black Sheep’s book, and produced a series of beers under the Stay Puft banner, these included Imperial Puft (9%), Chocolate Stay Puft (5.2%), Irish Cream Stay Puft (5.2%), Oreo Stay Puft (5.2%), even a festive version Sleigh Puft – The Chocolate One (5.2%) to name a few.

Beer Review: Fuller's Chiswick Bitter

Name: Chiswick Bitter

ABV: 3.4%

Brewery: Fuller's

Style: Light Mild

Location: Chiswick, London

Aroma: A grassy hoppy aroma, slightly floral followed by notes of malt and maramalade. 

Colour: Light amber with a one finger ivory coloured head. 

Flavour: A light lingering bitterness, followed by lacings of malt, a background of fruity hops can be detected that gives it some edge, a residual spiciness from the use of Goldings leaves the mouth tingling. The mouthfeel is slightly chewy and biscuity, rather refreshing and quite light. Very sessionable and noticably lacks strength. 

Verdict: An unobtrusive beer, that is notably light in strength but delivers in flavour, hops and bitterness can be detected though at a gentle level. It is effectively a rare version of a light mild, a style that is virtually extinct among brewers, its great to see Fuller's reviving this classic beer that helped establish their brewery. 

Rating: 8/10 

Tracing the Rails

Within my immediate locality of Mill Hill/ Edgware there are several pubs with a connection to the railways, in Edgware there was the Railway Hotel opened in 1931, yards away from the original Edgware Station, terminus of the GNR branch line from Finsbury Park, alas both the railway station and pub have long been consigned to history. Over towards Mill Hill there’s the Bridge Tavern situated near the  M1 flyover and railway bridge that carries the Midland mainline and Mill Hill Broadway station. Further up Hale Lane is the Railway Tavern, which was constructed in 1867 to cater for railway navies working on the nearby railway line that was under construction at the time. These gabble of pubs represent a microcosm of the slew of public houses situated near train (and underground) stations around London named in tribute to the railways that branch around London.

The most common names that crop up are the The Railway Tavern (8 pubs), The Railway (7 pubs), The Railway Bell (5 pubs) and The Rocket (3 pubs). While most towns generally have one railway themed pub, some areas have bucked the trend like Gispy Hill, Battersea and New Barnet respectively. Railway themed pubs are usually situated nearby railway stations, although some have been constructed within the station complexes themselves like the Doric Arch (Euston), The Betjeman Arms (St. Pancras Int) or The Sir John Hawkshaw (Cannon Street). Some have pubs have repurposed former railway architecture, like The Parcel Yard at King’s Cross station which was built within the former parcel sorting offices, likewise The Station House in Acton is located within the former booking offices at Acton Central station, and Tap on the Line in Kew is situated within the former station buffet at Kew Gardens station. Various pubs have taken inspiration from railway architecture, like The Crossing in Barnes located near the rail crossing that straddles White Hart Lane, The Junction in Upminster derives from the multitude of rail routes that branch off from the local station, The Signal Box in Euston is located near the major rail termini, while in Forest Hill and Thornton Heath respectively there are pubs called the Railway Telegraph named in reference to the telegraph lines that once straddled the railway lines. Meanwhile there are more obscure instances that take inspiration from railway slang, like The Iron Horse in Sidcup, a micropub situated opposite the station that pays tribute to the pervasive terminology coined for steam locomotives, while The Surbiton Flyer in Surbiton located just outside the station is seemingly inspired by the express locomotives that used to speed through the station towards Surrey and beyond, its name has a double purpose as it also draws reference from the nickname coined for professional cyclist and local residence John Keen.  

Moreover, some pubs are named after railway stations like The Catford Bridge Tavern in Catford, near Catford Bridge station; and The Junction in Battersea which is located close to the entrance of Clapham Junction station. A few yards up Lavender Hill is another railway themed pub The London and South Western, its name derives from the L&SWR (London and South-Western), a railway company which existed between 1838 - 1922 that managed routes from London to places like Southampton, Dorchester, Weymouth, Exeter and formerly Padstow, its extant lines still go through Clapham Junction. There are other instances of pubs being named local railway lines like The Great Southern in Gipsy Hill, the station of its namesake is currently run by Southern, while north of the river The North London in Kilburn is situated near Brondesbury Station on the north London line, likewise The Great Northern Railway Tavern in Hornsey is located near the station that is owned by Great Northern. Back in the steam age, a great number of locomotives were given nameplates, some have been reflected in pubs like The North Star in Ealing, named after Robert Stephenson’s broad gauge GWR locomotive built in 1836 that once straddled the routes between Paddington to Bristol. A more recent example is The Kentish Belle in Bexley named a locomotive that formerly ran on the nearby mainline from London towards Faversham and Canterbury East between 1948 to 1959. The Rocket is currently the most common example among locomotive names for pubs in London, another Stephenson locomotive it notably ran that first steam hauled passenger service between Liverpool to Manchester in 1830, and its design provided the template for steam locomotives going forward. A number of notable luminaries from the railway industry have also been namechecked in pubs, like The Brunel in Rotherhithe named after civil engineers Marc and Isambard Kingdom Brunel who developed the Thames Tunnel, markedly the first underground commuter tunnel built under the Thames, completed in 1843. Another example The Sir John Hawkshaw in Tower Hill, references the civil engineer who was intially responsible for navigating routes and branch lines in Lancashire and Manchester, before moving to London in 1850 where he developed L&SER routes from Charing Cross and Cannon Street, the East London line and the District Line that runs through Tower Hill station. The Charles Holden in Colliers Wood namechecks another designer of note, architect Charles Holden who designed a number of underground stations during the 1920’s and 1930’s noted for their distinct art-deco appearance, including Colliers Wood. Another railway pub that pays tribute to its heritage is The Lord Aberconway in Liverpool Street, named after Liberal MP Charles McLaren – Lord Aberconway, who was the chairman of the Metropolitan Railway between 1904 – 1933, which happens to run through this station. St Pancras is likewise another major rail termini that has a railway themed pub, The Betjeman Arms, named after poet laureate John Betjeman who successfully campaigned to save the gothic mid-Victorian station building designed by George Gilbert-Scott from destruction in the 1960’s. Overall its quite understandable for a city with such an extensive and integrated rail network to have a sizeable number of railway themed pubs that pay tribute to its rich railway heritage, from namechecking rail routes, referencing architectural features, notable luminaries, iconic steam locomotives, to common names like The Railway Tavern or The Rocket for instance, London has it all.

Beer Review: Old Crafty Hen

Name: Old Crafty Hen

ABV: 6.5%

Brewery: Greene King (Morland)

Style: Strong Ale

Location: Bury St. Edmunds

Aroma: Plums, cherries, toffee, malt, oak and even a distinct of whisky is detectable with a hint of tartness that suggests it was aged in oak barrrels.

Colour: Deep ruby red with a fluffly one finger ivory coloured head. 

Flavour: An assaulting bitterness, leads off to a fruity background with hints of fruitiness swirling away in the tastebuds. The maltiness is evidently present along with a whisp of grassu jops yet it leads off to a tart underlay of oak and aged spirits that give its depth of character that leads off to a pleasing warmth that enlivens the senses. 

Verdict: The ultimate blended beer, it borrow the distinct toffee malty features that makes Old Speckled Hen with the distict sour stock ale notes that makes 5X so legendary in beer circles. It is reminicicent of Belgian sour ales like Rodenbach, and feels almost out of place as a British ale. It is a facinatingly unique strong ale that is not one to miss in a hurry.

Rating: 9/10 

The Hoppy World of Easter Ales

The origins of Easter ales date back to medieval times, when monks were ordered to fast during Lent following an edict ordered by Pope Pius V, Simmone Massenza notes “the faithful had to abstain from eating for forty days. It was, therefore, necessary to have a beer that was stronger, thicker, and more nourishing than everyday beer.”[1] Some accounts state Easter Beer was established in Germany, with the likes of Fastenbier, a smoked Rauchbier developed by monks in Bamberg, Upper Franconia in the 12th century, or Bock beer which was produced by the Paulaner monks of Bavaria (c.1600), a strong ale produced the Winter months for consumption during lent. Heather Truckenmiller notes “later, discontent with the strength of Bock style beer, monks developed an even stronger variant known as Doppelbock, meaning double Bock. This beer was so laden with nutrition that some dubbed it “liquid bread.”[2] Meanwhile in early modern England, church congregations frequently developed a Church Ale for Easter Sunday, consisting of warm, thick, dark homemade ales produced to accompany the social activities over the Easter weekend. The earliest modern commercial use of Easter Ales dates to early 20^th century Denmark which came about in response to counter the growing popularity of Doppelbocks. The Danes developed a style known as Påskebryg, a pale lager produced through top fermentation with an alcohol content between 5% - 7% typically. Beers like Tuborg Påskebryg Carl's Påske and Fynsk Forår became established names, and by the 1950’s, Massenza points out that these beers had become increasingly popular with Easter themed motifs (such as rabbits, hares, chicks, eggs, and daffodils) featuring on bottle labels. While Denmark is often considered the capital of Easter beers, in the UK meanwhile, Easter themed beers have struggled to gain traction, due to poor promotion and lack of faith among brewers to tap into this market. The lack of popularity for these beers are in stark contrast to Christmas Beers which have more or less become an established industry in the past few decades.

 

Across the home counties, there have been examples of Easter ales such as Hot XXX Buns (3.9%) – Brentwood, a session bitter infused with lemons and spices to create a taste reminiscent of Hot Cross Buns; Hoppy Bunny (4.5%) – Wantsum, which notably features a distinctly hoppy mix of Idaho 7, Citra & Mosiac hops in the traditional American IPA style; and on the stronger end of the scale Easter IPA (6.8%) –  Pope Yard, released in 2016 it was promoted as a cross between Simnel Cake and hot cross buns with aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger thrown into mix giving way to a lingering spicy aftertaste. In more recent times we have seen the likes of Pure Hoppyness (3.9%) – Mighty Oak, a hoppy golden ale with a floral background, true to its name it features a multitude of hops including Columbus, Keyworth, Early Calypso, Chinook and Mount Hood; accompanied by an equally varied malt bill featuring Munich, Vienna, Pale and Marris Otter; and Easter Ale (4.5%) – Chiltern, an English pale ale (made with Jester & Godiva UK hops) which was released as part of their monthly small batch releases last year along with their Easter Amber Ale (4.5%), it was described as having notes of gooseberry, grapefruit and lychee, making it a perfectly rounded Springtime pint. While most Easter themed ales tend to be pale ales, IPA or bitter, some have bucked the trend like Thumper (3.9%) by Gipsy Hill Brewing, a chocolate stout made in collaboration with CBGB (Craft Beer, Good Banter), the craft beer Meetup group. It was first released in March 2020 as part of their Illustrator Takeover series, showcasing a series of cans featuring artwork by a set of guest illustrators; the artwork for Thumper was designed by David Biskup which features the likeliness of CBHB’s co-founder in a bunny costume. More recently, the likes of The Egg Cracker (5.1%) by Acorn attempted to recreate the flavours of an Easter egg in beer form, described as a white chocolate stout the beer was developed upon the return of brewery founder Dave Hughes who took back the brewery in late 2024 when Sonas relinquished control of the 25-barrel brewery. To celebrate the brewery’s independence, he was inspired to produce a Reboot series of beers featuring six limited edition ales. Hughes noted “while the Reboot Series brings a touch of nostalgia to revisit brews from our early days, we also promise exciting and innovative new rollouts to meet the needs of a keenly competitive market.”[3] The Egg Cracker was a new release, combining smooth vanilla notes of white chocolate with a potent roasted malt bitterness.  

 

The erstwhile Easter Bunny has been a common theme among Easter ales, from the likes of Rabbit Punch (4%) – Coach House, to Hare Brained (4%) – Loddon. Some breweries have even employed clever marketing campaigns, like Bad Rabbit (4.1%) from Church End. When it debuted in 2011, the brewery teamed up with advertising agency Ress Bradley Hepburn, portraying the Easter bunny as a thief, vandal and arsonist. They mentioned in their blurb the easter bunny is not bringing chocolate eggs he's bringing chaos and a damn good ale. An RBH representative stated “if he dishes out eggs, it's only to distract you while he nicks your wallet, makes off with your plasma screen and does something unspeakable on your daffodils.”[4] While the beer is a traditional deep-brown session bitter, it featured burnt malt overtones and a hop heavy flavour profile featuring Mosaic and Amarillo hops sourced from Charles Faram based in Malvern, who supply hops from all over the world. In 2022, Wild Beer Co. released One a Penny (5%), described as a New Zealand IPA without the hops, combining the distinctive flavours from a hot cross bun, by adding raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla during the brewing process. The brewery caused quite a stir in the local press at the time with this release, co-founder Andrew Cooper told reporters “at the Wild Beer Co. we love to get creative with our flavour combinations and produce beers that pair harmoniously with and are inspired by food.” During the development of this beer, he reportedly sampled 15 different hot cross buns, in order to understand the bready sweet flavours and complex spices; as a means of reflecting the flavour of hot cross buns accurately in the beer. The same year, brewing giant Badger (Hall & Woodhouse) cashed in on the Easter market with their Hop Cross Bun (4.2%), a bitter combining spices, rich fruit notes and bready notes with a varied malt bill of Amber, Crystal, Munich and Caramalt, they dubbed it a real taste of Easter with not a bunny in sight. While the beer was sold in cask at selected Hall & Woodhouse pubs during the Easter Weekend, the following year they also produced a bottled version in partnership with Sainsbury’s through their Taste the Difference range. Youtuber and prolific beer reviewer Simon Martin from Real Ale Craft Beer described it at the time as having a creamy mouthfeel, a distinct hot cross bun flavour with citrus, nutmeg and a peppery spiciness on the backend.[5]  

 

While most Easter themed beers tend be stuck in the endless doom loop of limited releases and are eventually forgotten about. Some have bucked the trend and have reappeared on an annual basis, like Bad Rabbit (4.1%) – Church End since 2011, Hoppy Bunny (4.5%) – Wantsum since 2018 and Rabbit Punch (4%) – Coach House since 2022 respectively. For several years since 2014, Great Newsome treaded the boards with their seasonal number Hops in Spring (4.5%), it was markedly their first IPA made with a 100% English hops including Admiral and Northdown for bittering, and Progress for aroma, an underused hop first commercially grown in the 1960’s. While the beer has the conventional notes of citrus fruits commonly associated with this style, it was billed as a celebration of the diverse range of English hops. In more recent years, Easter Ale (5.6%) – Harvey’s has gradually established itself as a major player of the Easter beer front. It was first released in April 2021 to mark the reopening of pubs following lockdown, the beer directly takes its influence from monastic brewing when strong ales marked major feast days, they claimed that after the six-week Lenten Fast, monks brewed a feisty ‘Easter Ale’ to celebrate, though this evidence is spurious at best. In the fine tradition of Easter Ales, it was originally produced to a higher ABV of 6.5% before it was reduced a few years back, and unusually for an Easter Ale, it is also sold in bottle and is available in the latter all year round. This beer has won a slew of awards from Gold at the Beer Bottler’s Institute Competition 2024 and the same year it won Silver in the Pale Ale category at the World Beer Awards and last year it gained a Bronze at the International Beer Challenge; thus, proving the potential for British based Easter Beers to attract global recognition. The success of Harvey's Easter Ale (5.6%) shows their potential for locally UK produced Easter ales to go beyond the cottage industry of limited edition and locally distributed releases, and gain wider recognition. While Easter beers may never gain the lofty status of their Christmas forebears, through good promotion and ingenuity, these beers may have more of a chance of success, rather than being just a flash in the pan after-thought by the marketing department.

List of references 

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[1] ‘Toasting Easter, with a beer!’ by Simmone Massenza, Vinhood

[2] ‘Bock - The Traditional Easter Beer’ by Heather Truckenmiller, 9^th April 2020, Valley Girl Views

[3] ‘Acorn Brewery founder returns to bring new lease of life’, The Brewer’s Journal, 25^th November 2024

[4] ‘Church End Brewery turns to a bad rabbit for Easter ale’, The Drum, 12^th April 2011

[5] ‘Sainsbury's Hop Cross Bun Ale Review | Sainsbury's Craft Beer Review’, Real Ale Craft Beer, 20^th March 2023