The Rise of Fruit Beers (Part 2)

With the coming of the new Millenium, Fruit Beers were beginning to make an impression on the festival scene, at the 27^th Cambridge Beer Festival in May 2000, a number of fruit beers featured including Lemon & Ginger Spiced Beer (4.7%) – St Peter’s, Raspberry Wheat (5%) – Iceni, Damson Stout (4.8%) – Bartram’s,  Orange Wheat (4.2) – Green Jack, which has since become a regular part of the brewery’s range, Red, White & Blueberry (4%) – Iceni, Cherry Stout (4.8%) – Batrams, which was awarded beer of the festival. At the Darlington Beer & Music Festival that Summer, the fledgling Humpty Dumpty Brewery met with early success when their Lemon & Ginger (4%) was awarded overall champion. As the year 2000 drew to an end, in November, J.W. Lees released Plum Pudding (5%), a dark brown beer made with plums, it was initially sold as a seasonal special in pubs around Manchester, yet its ensuing popularity ensured it’s continued survival and is now released seasonally around the Christmas period by the brewery.  Early in 2001, St. Peter’s released Fruit Beer - Grapefruit (4.7%) essentially a wheat beer with added Grapefruit flavours, the Beerly described as “it’s just an already well-designed beer that happened to have grapefruit added to it. And it’s actually the light malt body, high carbonation and mild yet flavourful yeast and hop notes that make the beer. The grapefruit is certainly there, and it adds uniqueness, nuance, and a bit of sweetness.” [1] The beer subsequently became a regular part of their bottled range and would go onto win a slew of awards. Later that year, on the festival circuit saw the likes of Takin the Pith (4.3%) – Leatherbritches, a wheat beer brewed with orange peel appearing at the Derby Beer Festival, whilst Iceni won a Best Speciality beer award for Raspberry Wheat (5%) at the Cambridge Beer Festival, and the microbrewery Fernandes in Wakefield released Blackberry Way (4.6%) and Black Cherry Stout (4.1%) as seasonal/ one off releases that year. Meanwhile, over in Ingleby, Lloyds Country Beers was making itself heard with its wide range of fruit beers including the likes of Wild Cherry May (3.8%), Peach Wheat (4.4%), Mandarin Porter (4.5%) and Pineapple Ale (4.4%), with some of their beers even appearing at GBBF that Summer, although the brewery ceased production the following March. The year 2002 marked a turning point with several major players making their debuts, in February, Burton Bridge Brewery released their first fruit beer, Bramble Stout (5%) which uses a combination of their established Top Dog Stout (5%) with the addition of blackberry juice to add sweetness. Sam Cohen described it as “the initial flavours are a surprisingly refreshing blend of blackberry and chocolate malt, which gives a definite astringency to the beer.  Fruit flavours are controlled, and blend well with the use of dark malts, but certainly dominate the aroma.” [2] This beer quickly became a popular draw for the brewery, subsequently becoming a regular part of their range, which is still sold till this day. The following month, Wells debuted their Banana Bread Beer (5.5%) at the London Drinker Beer Festival, an amber ale made with bananas; it was subsequently voted beer of the festival. Steve Plumridge wrote at the time of its release “this flavoursome pint retains the qualities and style of traditional bitter but with the subtle (or strong, depending on your tastebuds) flavour of Britain’s biggest selling fruit, being made by adding real Fair Trade bananas to the mash.”[3] Although its ABV went down to 5.2% in 2005, the beer continues to be produced and sold till this day, and is one of the most successful British produced fruit beers sold abroad. The same month, Salopian released Lemon Dream (4.5%), initially a one-off special at the Wetherspoons Spring Beer Festival. A golden ale made with real lemons, which adds the brewery describes “adds beautifully subtle zesty aromas and a citrus filled fruity finish.” The beer was well received, and subsequently became a regular fixture in their range and continues to be sold in cask and bottle. In the Summer, Fuller’s dabbled with fruit beers with Honey Dew with Cranberry (5%) made with real cranberry juice, Beartown released Strawbeary (4.5%) and Pandamonium (4.5%), Iceni debuted Raspberry Wheat (4.5%), Clockwork Beer Co. launched their Hazy Daze range of fruit beers and around this time and Coach House in Warrington became one of the first independent breweries in the North-West to release fruit beers including the likes of Passion Fruit, Cranberry, Ginger & Lemon and Raspberry (all 5%).

 

The following year saw a slew of releases, Belhaven released Classic Fruit Beer (4.6%), initially sold in bottle form only, Kelham Island debuted both Lost My Cherry (4.5%) and Gone Bananas (3.8%) at the Stockholm Beer Festival, Meantime Brewery in Greenwich released Raspberry Wheat (5%) in cask and bottle, it was later sold in branches of Sainsbury’s, and a stronger Grand Cru version was released a couple years later. Cwmbran launched Pink Panther (4.5%), a fruit beer flavoured with raspberries, later that year it was shortlisted for the Champion Beer of Wales award. Whist Liverpool based brewer Cains released two beers Sundowner (4.5%) a golden ale produced with lemon peel; and Fine Raisin Beer (5%), which is brewed with American raisins and Goldings hops. Roger Protz described it at the time as “the copper-coloured beer has a rich vinous aroma underscored by spicy hops. Raisins, juicy malt and peppery Goldings dominate the palate, while fruit continues into the long, complex finish with rich biscuity malt, and hops add a deep layer of spicy bitterness.”[4] Initially sold in bottle, in August the beer won Tesco’s Autumn Beer Challenge and it was subsequently sold in 650 stores throughout the UK, quickly becoming a major seller for the brewery. Meanwhile at GBBF the same month, Banana Bread Beer (5.5%) won top prize at a Women’s only tasting panel, later that year Cwmbran's raspberry flavoured beer Pink Panther (4.4%) made its debut and was soon and in October, Hydes released Firkin Fruity (4.5%), a seasonal Autumnal red ale flavoured with raspberries; it was soon voted joint 1^st place at the 23^rd Booze on the Ouse festival. In January 2004, Burton Bridge released their 2^nd fruit beer, Damson Porter (4.5%) which used a mixture of their classic Burton Porter (4.5%) with Damson juice, it quickly became popular and continues to be sold as a regular part of their range. Moreover, Downton released their first fruit flavoured beer Raspberry Wheat (4.5%), Muldons brewed Mulberry Harbour (4%) exclusively for that year’s Cambridge Beer Festival. In March, B&T debuted Fruit Bat (4.5%), a bitter brewed with raspberries, it would subsequently become a regular part of their range. Leatherbritches’ Spiced Berry (4.6%) featured at the 2004 Derby Beer Festival. It was an early version of their Spiced Berry Mild (4.4%) which would succeed it five years later; Zerodegrees produced their first fruit beer, Wheatbeer Mango (4%), it was soon followed by Strawberry, Elderflower, Raspberry and Apple versions. In June, Meantime released Strawberry Ale (4.8%), whilst Church End Brewery entered the fruit beer scene with Mango (4.2%) and Raspberry Porter (4.5%), the latter being a one off special, Whitstable Brewery debuted their Raspberry Wheat Beer (5.2%) available in both cask and bottle; and at GBBF that year, the newly opened Eastwood & Sanders brewery (later known as Elland) releases Up the Kriek (4.3%), a limited-edition cask only special created in the style of a Kriek, though the general response at the time was far from favourable. Commenting on the flock of British fruit beers on the scene, Brian Bosworth (head brewer at Rockingham Ales) commented at the time “the use of fruit in English style ales is notoriously difficult to get right as you need to balance the sweetness with some sourness.”[5] The same year he produced Fruits of the Forest (4.3%) which contained a complex mix of berry fruits, herbs and spices, the later directly sourced from Belgium; the beer managed to achieve joint 2^nd place at the Cambridge Beer Festival that year. Other festival successes followed, Fine Raisin Beer (5%) was voted Beer of the Festival at the Liverpool Beer Festival that year, and Belhaven met with a string of success for their Classic Fruit Beer (4.6%), winning both Overall Winner and 1^st place in the strong beers category at the Eastleigh Beer Festival; it was also voted the best beer by a panel of young drinkers (aged 18-34) at GBBF, organiser Mark Bridges told Pints West “the Fruit beer was liked by all of the panel and most of them were pleasantly surprised that real ale can be so fruity.”[6]  Robin E. Wild attributed its success as “most fruit beers have, I fear, too much fruit flavour, but this beer tastes like beer but with a magnificent aftertaste of those tinned travel fruit sweets.” With such a fruitful year coming to a close, in October, Hydes in Manchester released Over the Moon (4.3%), a seasonal special as part of their ‘Feeling Fine’ range which they described as “special warming seasonal ale, brewed with just a hint of natural berry juice”.Whilst their local competitor J.W. Lees unveiled Crackerjack (4.7%), brewed a combination of malts to give off a nutty flavour and Brambling Cross hops for fruitiness, along with a slug of blackcurrant. 2005 saw more releases, Green Jack released both Cherry Popper (8%) and Raspberry Blower (8%) as a seasonal specials, Leatherbritches strong ale Blue (9%) made with berries made a good impression at a Food & Drink event in France and Raspberry Belter (4.4%) makes its first appearance that Summer appearing at GBBF; meanwhile Nethergate released Lemon Head (4.1%), a seasonal made with lemon and ginger and Greene King dabbled with Ruddles Orchard (4.2%), an ale blended with apple juice, unfortunately it was met with a mixed reaction. Meanwhile on the festival front, Belhaven won Bronze for their Classic Fruit Beer (4.6%) in the Specialist category at the Cambridge Beer Festival. And in September, Burton Bridge gained a series of awards, winning Bronze in the Speciality Beers category for their Damson Porter (4.5%) at the Nottingham Beer Festival, and later the same year Bramble Stout (5%) was awarded the coveted 1^st place title as S.I.B.A. National Bottled Beer of 2005. The subsequent year saw a continued run of success, at the Aberdeen Beer Festival, Pandamonium (4.5%) was awarded beer of the festival, and Orange Wheat (4.2) won Gold (Speciality Beers) at the Peterborough Beer Festival. The year also saw the release of several significant examples, Meanwhile, at the Cambridge Beer Festival in May, Moonshine Brewery featured Red Watch (4.5%), a bitter made with blueberries that would go onto win multiple awards and remain a regular fixture for the brewery, and in August William Bros brewery (formely known as Heather Ales until 2004) released Roisin (4.2%), a beer made from tayberries that could be described as being a cross between raspberries and blueberries. Shortly after its release, Boak & Bailey noted “like other British fruit beers — notably Cain’s excellent raisin beer — it’s an ale first, and a fruit beer second. You can taste the malt, and particularly the hops, and is only slightly redder than a standard bitter.”[7] They added “the hop bitterness is perhaps rather overpowering, although it seemed to mellow as we got down the glass. It has a very pleasing fruity aftertaste.” This beer continues to be sold as part of the brewery’s regular range. With 2006 drawing to a close, Downton debuted Elderquad (3.9%), the brewery described as “a pale, generously-hopped session beer, hints of sweetness and a subtle elderflower aroma offer a terrific balance to the hops, a real thirst-quencher!” Initially sold as a one-off special, it quickly gained a following and was soon sold as a regular part of their range (which continues to this day).

 

As the year 2007 dawned, it was becoming clear that Fruit Beers were on an upward trajectory in terms of industry recognition. At the World Beer Awards that year, Fine Raisin Beer (5%) won the award for World’s Best Fruit Beer, Fruit Bat (4.5%) won Best Speciality Beer at the 21^st Stockport Beer & Cider Festival, and Fruit Beer - Grapefruit (4.7%) won a pair award including Best Speciality Beer at the Cambridge Beer Festival, and Bronze (Speciality Beer) at GBBF that Summer. The increasing popularity for fruit beers was questioned that year when Pints West Magazine launched a survey of which beer styles were preferred by Women or Men, and interestingly Helen Featherstone noted at the time “the pundits had something right. Nearly 47% of women like drinking fruit ales, while only 24% of men do.”[8] So, it seems coincidental that brewers were increasing their output of fruit-based beers, to cash in on the increase in Women beer drinkers. The same year saw a handful of notable beers making their debut; Milestone Brewery debuted their Raspberry Wheat Beer (5.6%), which soon became a regular fixture in their range, Downton released a number of fruit beers that year[9] including Apple Blossom Ale (4.3%) and Chocolate Orange Delight (5.8%) with the former becoming a regular part of their ‘specialist’ range and the later sold as a Winter seasonal. At the Saltaire Beer Festival, the newly opened Saltaire Brewery (which had been in production for just over a year) trialled their 1^st attempt at a fruit beer with Apricot Ale (4.2%). Later that Summer, Coach House released their first regular fruit beer Blueberry Classic Bitter (5%), a pale ale made with blueberries. It would go onto win multiple awards, and become a permanent fixture in the brewery’s main range; although initially sold in cask, it was released in bottle in October 2008 sold in supermarkets like Morrisons and Tesco, becoming one of the most widely sold fruit beers in the country. Later that year, Buntingford Brewery dabbled with fruit beers for the first time with Cherry Red (4.7%), whilst Badger (Hall & Woodhouse) launched Poachers Choice (5.7%), a strong ale with notes of hedgerow fruits including damsons, that Stephen Sinfield quoted as “a true gem of a beer. Beautifully rich auburn in colour, with a fruitcake twinge of aroma, it slips down like a velvet dream. Malty and full of deep red fruits, the aftertaste is smooth and mellow with a hint of cherry and vanilla.”[10]  It went onto become a regular part of their range, renamed as Cranborne Poacher in 2018, and has since won a number of awards for the brewery.

 

Although the world was in grip of a financial crisis in 2008, the steady release of fruit beers continued unabated, in March the fledgling Dunham Massey Brewery which had been open for five months, started selling Chocolate Cherry Mild (3.8%) as a bottle only beer at their beer shop. Later that year, it made its cask debut at the Stockport Beer & Cider Festival where it won Bronze. In it’s first year alone it won a batch of plaudits including Beer of the Festival at Chelmsford & Mid Essex Camra Branch Festival, Double Gold at Huddersfield Octoberfest including Gold for overall Beer of the Festival and 1^st place in the Mild Section, and Beer of the Festival at the Rochdale, Bury and Oldham Festival. Beer Manchester described this beer as a deep red brown beer with a chocolatey floral nose, noting “initial chocolate on the tongue, followed by a layer of tart cherry, light bodied but really smooth and an easy drinking beer that you could do all day. The fruitiness of the cherries leads to a light bitterness in the finish. A beautiful beer.”[11] In subsequent years as a regular part of their range, the beer would win more awards for the brewery, becoming one of their most popular sellers. In May, Saltaire Brewery released Blackberry Cascade (4.8%), a pale ale flavoured with blackberries, which goes onto be a seasonal release for the next few years. Later that same year, Art Brew then based in Holsworthy, Devon; debuted their Blackcurrant Stout (4.8%), it went onto to becoming one of the few fruit beers to appear in ‘The Bottled Beer Guide’ by Jeff Evans. In October, Wentworth released Strawberry Silk (4.2%). Moonshine debuted Chocolate Orange Stout (6.7%) which went onto be a regular fixture in both cask and bottle, and won beer of the festival at the Elysian Beer Festival that year. Meanwhile, Iceni won a Gold Award for Raspberry Wheat (5%) in the Speciality category at Peterborough Beer Fest; and Green Jack released Fruit Bat (5.5%), which subsequently was sold as part of their seasonal range in the Autumn months. The final year of the decade saw continued success on the fruit beer front, Chocolate Cherry Mild (3.8%) sustained it’s run of awards, achieving Bronze at the Stockport Beer Festival and two gongs at the Woking Beer Festival including Best Mild and Beer of the Festive. Meanwhile Amber Ales’ Chocolate Orange Stout (4%) won Bronze in the specialist beer category at GBBF, it will go on to win on two more consecutive years in Gold and Silver respectively. Downton Brewery won a pair of awards, including Silver at SIBA South-West for Apple Blossom Ale (4.3%) and Silver (Specialist) as voted by the Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA branch for Chocolate Orange Delight (5.8%). At the Cambridge Beer Festival that year, both Fruit Beer – Grapefruit (4.7%) – St. Peter’s and Chocolate & Orange Stout (6.7%) – Moonshine, won Silver and Bronze awards in the specialist category. And Pink Panther (4.4%) was awarded beer of the festival at the Tredegar House Folk Festival. There was a slew of releases that year, in February that year Hornbeam released Blackcurrant Stout (4.7%), Meantime debuted Elderflower Maibock (6%) as a seasonal special in cask and bottle, Art Brew release their 2nd fruit beer Happy Fruit (4.9%) which featured at the Egham Beer Festival, Saltaire released several fruit infused beers, including Cherry Stout (4.7%), Eldeflower Blonde (4%), Strawberry Republika (4.1%) and Raspberry Blonde (4%), the latter beer becomes a regular in their range.  In the spring Buntingford released both Peach Highwayman (3.6%) and Mango Lightning (4.4%) as seasonal specials.  In June, Brentwood Brewery unveiled Chockwork Orange (6.5%), a strong ale made with real oranges; once described as one of life’s guilty pleasures in a Telegraph article, this beer has since been designated as the official beer for the book ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by the Anthony Burgess Foundation who described it as “their acclaimed Chockwork Orange beer is a deep chocolate, malty beer brewed with oranges and matured to create a classic ‘old ale’ style. ‘Milk-plus’ strength at 6.5%.”[12] Later that year, the beer won a pair of awards including Best Strong Ale at the Chelmsford Beer Festival, and Silver at SIBA East, the beer would continue to win a slew of awards for the brewery and continues to be sold as part of their regular range. Meanwhile, in August, Phoenix launched their Phoenix Fruits range of Fruit Beers beginning with Strawberry (4.2%) and quickly becomes a hit with drinkers; it is only sold in keg only form, Passion (4.3%), made with passion fruit follows on soon after. As the decade drew to a close, Waen Brewery debuted Blackberry Stout (3.8%), it became one of their more popular beers sold in both cask and bottle; and in December, Sharp’s released Winter Berry (4.3%) as a Winter seasonal, and the same month Hydes first sold Berry Good Ale (4.5%) as a cask special for Winter 2009-10, it was re-released in 2012. The Noughties were a pivotal period for the development of fruit beers in the UK, as their growing success helped shake off the negative publicity they endured in the previous decade. Though the next few years would see even greater success, as home-grown fruit beers cemented their reputation as recognised and revered beer style.

References

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[1] ‘St. Peter’s Grapefruit Beer’; The Beerly, c.2012

[2] ‘Bramble Stout – Burton Bridge Brewery’ by Sam Cohen, Sam’s Brew’s, 9^th November 2011

[3] ‘Banana Bread Beer?’ by Steve Plumridge, Pints West, No. 54, Apr-Jun 2002

[4] ‘Down in One – Cains Fine Raisin Beer’ by Roger Protz, The Guardian, 8^th November 2003

[5] ‘Classic Beer Styles - Part 7: Lambic and Geuze’, Beer Around ‘Ere, Issue 114, Christmas 2003

[6] ‘Young people do like real ale if only they knew it’; Pints West, Issue 63, Autumn 2004

[7] ‘The August Session – Blackberries & beer’ by Jessica Boak, Boak & Bailey, 5^th August 2007

[8] ‘The Fem-Ale debate’ by Helen Featherstone, Pints West, No,76, Winter 2007/8

[9] Other fruit based beers, Downton released in 2007 included Orange Chocolate Stout (4.5%), Double Cherry Draught (4.5%) and Logan’s Berry (4.4%), all were limited edition one-offs.

[10] ‘The best of this year's bottled beers are put to the test’ by Stephen Sinfield, Staffordshire Live, 11^th November 2017

[11] ‘Chocolate Cherry Mild’; Beer Manchester, 21^st April 2014

[12] ‘A Chockwork Orange, by Brentwood Brewing Company’; The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, 4^th October 2012

The Rise of Fruit Beers (Part 1)

When visiting a bottle shop or a craft beer pub, the chances of encountering a fruit beer nowadays are quite high. With a dizzying array of options out there such as Sours, Gose, Saison and IPA’s, it’s hard to avoid them; even the breweries themselves have gone to great lengths to boldly proclaim its fruity contents like Juice Forsyth (5%) by Brew York, an punchy IPA featuring the likes of pineapple and mango along with whole host of hops that promises a ‘tropical explosion’, Wild Un-Bongo (5.8%) a NEIPA inspired by the famous tropical drink, packed with mango or Fruitbooter (5.7%) by The Wild Beer Co., a sour made with raspberries and pink peppercorns that has nothing to do with rollerblades. Fruit beer is not a specific beer style like Old Ale or Stout, Josh Weikert states “as a Specialty style, Fruit Beer is necessarily broad (or, more accurately, user- and declared-style-defined). The overarching theme of the style is “balance,” though, with a beer that’s still recognizable as “beer” but also with “evident” fruit character.”[1] Weikert suggests that certain types of fruit are more suited to specific beers, dark beers are better suited to bright acidic fruits, whilst pale and lighter beers are better matched to more subtle fruits. The strength and quality of a fruit beer is down the fruit that is used, some fruits likes Raspberry, Cherries and Plums are more potent than the likes of Peaches or Blueberries; overall it shouldn’t give the impression of a fruit juice drink, although this is not always adhered to. When it comes to fruit beer, Roger Protz notes “the inspiration for fruit beers comes from Belgium. Lambic and gueuze beers are one of the world’s oldest beer styles and are made by spontaneous fermentation.”[2] We usually associate fruit beers with classic Belgium examples like Kriek, Frambroise, Cassis and Peche, which are made by adding fruit to maturing barrels of beer and leaving them to mature for several months. According to Craft Beer & Brewing, in the UK brewers usually use frozen fruit purees, concentrates and extracts due to the high cost of using fresh fruits, purists may baulk at this practise but it has been regularly utilized for the past 30 years.  The rate of fruit beers on the current domestic market has dramatically increased in the past decade following the craft beer revolution, they often get good press and attract sufficient demand. Yet there was once a time where it was hard to find a bottle fruit beer on the shelves or find it available in a pub, even at the turn of the century fruit beers were generally relegated to festival specials or seasonal one-offs. Although these beers were few and far between, when sampled they were often derided and ridiculed by critics, the Beer Monster summed this up in an issue of Opening Times in 1997, “they ruin the palate, almost necessitate being drunk in halves (slowly) and most of them taste like amateur vimto. If this is the micro-brewers answer to alcopops then my advice is not to give up the day jobs, and stick to malt, hops, yeast and water.”[3] At the time fruit beers were alien to British tastebuds, that were used to the likes of Bitter, Mild and Stout, and any attempts were often criticised and at worst unfairly compared to their established Belgian counterparts. In this series of articles, we will chart the struggles brewers had to go to produce fruit beers for market, from the one-off specials in the Nineties to the efforts of pioneering brewers like the Kitchen Brewery, Salopian, Coach House, St. Peter's and Lloyd’s Country Beers to give fruit beers a better reputation, and the establishing of staple regulars like Banana Bread Beer (5.3%), Lemon Dream (4.5%), Bramble Stout (5%), Orange Wheat (4.2%), Blueberry Classic Bitter (5%), Fruit Beer - Grapefruit (4.7%) and Plum Porter (4.9%) that helped place fruit flavoured beers firmly on the map.

 

The earliest recorded records of brewing fruit with beer date from neolithic China in 7000BC where villagers created a beverage which contained honey, rice, and hawthorn fruit and/or grapes, whilst in ancient Egypt, they were using dates and pomegranates in their beer. In Britain brewing fruit with beer can be traced back to the 9^th century when Welsh druids whom emigrated to Scotland brewed ale with elderberries. This Elderberry Ale, as William Bros brewery in Alloa mentions that the brew “was part of the Celtic Autumn festivals when the ‘elders’ would make this strong ale and pass the drink round the people of the village.” Meanwhile, in England the brewing of beer with fruit dates back a few centuries, the writer Dorothy Hartley in seminal book ‘Food in England’ published in 1954, notes “old ale flavoured with cherries, known in many locations at least since the early 18^th Century, but especially associated with Kent.”[4] Indeed, she mentions in the same book, trying out a Cherry Ale brewed and sold at a village pub near Molash, Kent. The earliest widespread use of mixing fruit adjuncts with beer in this country occurred in the mid-19^th century with the introduction of Shandygaff (later shortened to Shandy). Initially it was a mixture of ale with ginger beer, but over time as Vritti Bansal notes “in the late 19th century, shandygaff was modified to shandy, and mixologists began to use lemonade instead of ginger beer. Orange and grapefruit juice followed, as did cider.”[5] These mixtures were usually mixed by the barman onsite rather than produced in the brewery; however this all changed in 1974 when Watney’s released Biaritiz (ABV ?), one of the first fruit beers commercially sold and brewed in the UK, which featured a mix of their Pale Ale with Merrydown Orange Wine, it was sold in third pint nip bottles and designed to attract female drinkers, in order to divert competition from the likes of Babycham and Cherry B. Despite their audience, the label had a rather chauvinistic design, featuring a ring of ladies’ legs around the centre, the likes of Biaritz barely made an impression on the market and was soon forgotten.

 

In 1988, Heather Brewery was set up by brothers Scott and Bruce Williams initially in a brew-shop in Glasgow, who came onto the scene with Froach (5%), an ale produced with heather that was based on a historic recipe called ‘Leanne Froach’ which was donated to the brothers by a woman of Gaelic descent whom wanted them to recreate her family recipe, so that she could share this brew with her relations, after several years of development it was released commercially in 1992. Before long, the brothers set up a brewery in Taynuilt, in 1995 Roger Ryman joined the brewery and encouraged the brothers to diversify their range, Ryman notes “eventually, Williams Bros started to look at producing some secondary brands. They were selling niche beers into a broad market, which was really unusual at the time. It was a strong brand – selling the Scottish dream. I helped to develop Grozet, Ebulum and Alba. It was about finding the right balance between interest and authenticity, and practicality.”[6] Around this time they introduced several more beers that utilized botanicals in their recipes, including the likes of Alba (7.5%), Kelpie (4.4%), Grozet (5%) and Eblum (6.5%); the latter two beer utilized fruit in respectively in their recipes. Grozet is a golden ale brewed with Gooseberries and Bog Myrtle, Mark Dredge describes the beer as “the aroma is light and fruity and inconspicuous which belies the first taste of pale ale with a kick of sour berries, not wild-beer-sour, but fresh fruit sour. It’s bready and clean with a kick of earthy, heathery, flowery hops and then that fruitiness, which mellows as you drink.”[7] Conversely, Eblum is a strong dark ale brewed with Elderberries which was based on a 16^th century recipe for Elderberry Ale. Jeff Alworth describes the beer “it is a deliciously rich and creamy ale, and fairly beery--although interesting new flavors abound, you're on more familiar footing here. The elderberries are rooty more than sweet, and they contribute a strange astringency that seems like it's anesthetizing your tongue.”[8] Both of these beers are usually available in bottle form, sold in 330ml bottles, and to this day the brewery continues to the sell them as part of their regular range. When inquired about these beers, Ryman adds “I was aware of how unusual these beers were but I don’t think I had any sense that we were being ‘revolutionary’.” But revolution was already afoot as brewers across the country began experimenting with their beers, brewing with them with fruit, spices and botanicals, change was underway but the brewers faced an uphill battle with critics and punters alike.

 

The development of fruit beers gathered pace during the mid-1990’s as other breweries based across the UK started to produce their own fruit beers, often released as seasonals or limited-edition releases at beer festivals. In the summer of 1995, Whitbread introduced Colonel Pepper’s Lemon Ale (5%) as part of their series of single varietal cask ales released that year. Brewed at Flower’s Brewery in Cheltenham, it was a golden ale infused with lemon and black pepper which the brewery audaciously proclaimed in their trade ads “is a wonderfully refreshing beer, unusually light and golden in colour for an ale, with a spicy aroma – the lemon peel and ground black pepper added into the brew give it a clean and fresh ‘tingle’ for the drinker’s palate.”[9] Whitbread were seeking to promote this drink as an alternative to lager, although this barely made a dent as it was only available between the 10^th July – 5^th August that year. Later the same year, Batemans released Strawberry Fields (4.2%), which the writer John Clarke described at the time as truly horrible. The following year, in 1996 the brewery released Waynflete Hedgerows (3.7%) an elderflower pale ale, fruit beers were also beginning to make appearances at CAMRA beer festivals with the likes of Banana Madness (4.6%) – Blackmoor, and Cherry Bomb (5.6%) - Hanby, both appearing at the 23^rd Cambridge Beer & Cider Festival. In 1997, the newly launched St. Peter’s introduced Fruit Beer (3.6%) released in both Elderberry and Raspberry varieties, and is one of the few fruit beers to make it onto Roger Protz’s ‘Real Ale Almanac – 5^th Edition’ published the same year. Whilst, the fledgling Salopian Brewery in Shrewsbury produced their first fruit beer Dragonfly (4.4%) made with raspberries, sold exclusively at Oddbins. Subsequently in 1998, Salopian followed this with produce their second fruit beer Puzzle White Wheat (4.8%), a wheat beer made with orange and coriander. Other fruit beers on sale that year included the likes of Krieky Knees (4.3%) – Finnock and Firkin, Raisin Stout (4.8%) – Kitchen, Damson Beer (6%) – Strawberry Bank, Very Cherry (4.2%) – Funnel and Firkin, Strawberry Blonde (4.2%) - Kitchen and Raspberry Lambic (4.7%) – Leatherbritches, the latter of which was described by one reviewer at the time as smelling like Sherbert with strong raspberry and vodka like flavours and resembling a cloudy Tango. The slew of fruit beers released at the time attracted disapproval from critics, with John Clarke thunderously stating “a growing and unwelcome development, in my opinion, is the growing obsession of British brewers with fruit beers as the end product is usually quite disgusting. lt was bad enough when this was confined to a few micros but now more established brewers are jumping on the bandwagon.”[10] The common consensus felt at the time was that Belgians did a better job as producing fruit beers which were well established and respected by that time, whilst the British examples were in comparison amateurish and dire. However, the tide was beginning to turn for British made fruit beers, later that year, St. Peter’s gained an award for Best Speciality beer for Lemon & Ginger Spiced Beer (4.7%) at the 1998 Norwich Beer Festival. The same year, Sameul Smith’s reopened the defunct Melbourne Brewery in Stamford, exclusively producing fruit beers that included the likes of Cherry, Strawberry, Raspberry and Apricot all of which continue to be sold to this day. As the 20^th century due to a close, the Kitchen Brewery in Huddersfield was making big waves in the fruit beer scene, set up by former chef Robert Johnson. He experimented with a wide a variety of fruits (and even vegetables) releasing the likes of Pert Pear (4.4%), Grimacing Grapefruit (4.3%), Tropicana (4.3%), Laminated Lemon (4.6%) and Tubby Tangerine (4%). The Beer Monster gave a glowing response about Johnson’s beers describing Grimacing Grapefruit as “pale and dry with a nose of hops and citrus, a lightish body is dominated by light and dry malt flavours, with some bitter hop hints”[11], whilst reviewing Tubby Tangerine as “it was very nice with a citrus sweetness that cut through the malt, and whilst in the taste it could have been almost any fruit, there was a just perception of tangerine on the nose.”[12] Johnson experimented with a slew of fruits such as Rhubarb, Plum, Dates, Sultanas, Grapefruit, Cherry and even Mango, many years before they became popular flavours among modern craft brewers, John Clarke notes this in his article on the brewery. Unfortunately, due a series of poor business decisions, the brewery closed in March 2001, and Kitchen remains an overlooked footnote in the history of home-grown Fruit Beers. Meanwhile in September 1999, J.W. Lees debuted their first ever fruit beer, Sloeberry (4.4%), a copper-coloured beer made with real sloeberries. The October 1999 issue of ‘Opening Times’ (the branch magazine for the CAMRA Stockport and South Manchester region) reported “its not only of the few British fruit beers that is worth drinking, it’s worth actively seeking out.”[13] Meanwhile with the Christmas season fast approaching, on 15^th November, Fuller’s released Jack Frost (4.5%) a winter ale made with blackberries. London Drinker (the branch magazine for the CAMRA London region) noted at the time “Jack Frost is a warming yet deliciously light amber ale with a malty flavour. Thanks to blackberries in the brew, it also provides a smooth, fruity sweetness complimented by a refreshingly hoppy finish.”[14] The beer was put on sale at Fuller’s pub that Christmas, and subsequently continues to be released on a seasonal basis every Christmas, and was is briefly sold in bottle form. With a new decade and a new century just around the corner, the next few years would prove pivotal towards to the shift in public opinion towards fruit flavoured beers, and several major beers would first appear on the scene that would help engineer this sea change.

References

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[1] ‘Make Your Best Fruit Beer’ by Josh Weikert; Craft Beer & Brewing, 30^th September 2018

[2] ‘Big surge in fruit beer sales: up 80%’ by Roger Protz; Protz on Beer, 30^th July 2012

[3] ‘The Beer Monster’; Opening Times Magazine, Issue 157, May 1997

[4] ‘Foods in England’ by Dorothy Hartley, MacDonald General Books, MacDonald and Jane, 1954

[5] ‘Shandy: The History Of The British Drink’ by Vritti Bansal, 31^st March 2022

[6] ‘Williams Bros: Craft Before It Was A Thing’ by Boak and Bailey, 28^th February 2015

[7] ‘Williams Bros Historic Ales’ by Mark Dredge, Pencil and Spoon, 7^th January 2010

[8] ‘Froach and Eblum, Ancient Beers of Scotland’ by Jeff Alworth, Beervana, 2^nd August 2006

[9] ‘Artyfacts from the Nyneties #1: Lemon Ale’ by Boak and Bailey, 14^th September 2015

[10] ‘In the Editor’s View’ by John Clarke, Opening Times Magazine, Issue 136, August 1995

[11] ‘The Beer Monster’, Opening Times Magazine, Issue 195, July 2000

[12] ‘The Beer Monster’, Opening Times Magazine, Issue 190, February 2000

[13] ‘Brewery News’, Opening Times Magazine, Issue 186, October 1999

[14] ‘Brewery News: Chill out with Fuller’s Jack Frost’, London Drinker Vol 21, No.11, Dec 1999/ Jan 2000 

Beer Review: Kirkby Lonsdale Jubilee Stout

Brewery: Kirkby Lonsdale

 

Style: Stout 

 

ABV: 5.5%

 

Location: Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria

 

Aroma: Plums, raisins, figs, coffee, chocolate and some strength in the background.

 

Colour: Jet black with one finger tan coloured head, which is rather low by Northern standards.

 

Flavour: Named after the Jubilee class of steam locomotives that used to run on the LMS, this stout understandably tries to echo the smokiness of the engines. Roasted malt immediately comes to the fore giving off a rich and smoky bitterness, supplanted by a background of liquoriche sweetness that helps offset overwhelming dryness. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy which makes it pleasant to drink. The sweetness is relegated to the background and surprisingly there is no hint of fruitiness; while Black and chocolate malt are particularly noticeable along with the use of roasted barley which gives this drink it’s character. There is some strength in the background given it’s ABV, the flavours come across quite strongly.

 

Verdict: A rather bitter stout, which would be ideal for lovers of dry Irish style stouts. The balance is a little top heavy for my liking, with the roasted malt taking centre stage, overtaking any hints of discernible sweetness. The bitterness gives a lasting effect in the mouth, and its strength borders on strong so drink with care. The mouthfeel though makes it more pleasant to drink, and its nice to see it retains its head unlike most bottled beers I’ve sampled, although after a while it can be a little heavy on the appetite which is quite normal for stout or porter. As far as stouts go, this one has character highly reminiscent of coal, but the bitterness is too overwhelming, which gives the beer a lack of balance of flavours.

 

Rating: 7/10

Pub Guides: The Swan, Bushey

Address: 25 Park Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire, WD23 3EE

 

Opening Hours: Mon – Sat (11:00am – 11:00pm), Sun (12:00pm – 10:30pm)

 

Tel: 020 8950 2256

 

Tucked away on a residential street resides an intriguing looking pub, although relatively small in size for a boozer, it ticks all the boxes as a quintessential community local. Built in 1867 by local entrepreneur Jane Farmer, the building was originally a beer-house for local brewer Thomas Wild, since then the pub has since changed ownership a dozen or so times, although uniquely for the area it is still a free house. The pub’s mid-Victorian interior has largely remained unchanged since it was built, the embossed windows, wood panelled walls, double fireplace and bar counter are all original, enough to award this place one star by CAMRA’s historic pub interiors scheme, yet its despite its historic status it is not a listed building. As you walk into the pub, it is quickly noticeable that its rather small and compact, no larger than an average sized living room; a mishmash of dining and small circular tables line the vicinity all closely packed together, and a row of stools line the bar for extra seating, despite all this when the pub gets busy, it can be rather on the crowded side. Despite this the pub has some rather intriguing features that help give its unique character, the walls are adorned with the photos from the pub’s illustrious past that includes an extensive collection featuring the pub’s long running Darts league and the Cricket team, along with old snaps of the building and the local area in general. Also featured is a collection of army insignias, club ties, scale models of ships and air balloons, along with a wide array of Breweriania, that includes jugs, beer bottles, embossed mirrors and a slew of posters featuring the likes of Guinness, Glen Spey, Timothy Taylor and former local brewery Benskins, on the later note there is a large array of Benskins related memorabilia, indeed this was the location where the very last pint of Benskins was served in 2002. Dotted along the shelves resides a mini-library of books that include past CAMRA Beer Guides, local history books, Cricketers almanacs, pub walk guides and even a Bradshaw edition, that would keep any bookworm engrossed for hours on end.

 

To add to the list of ecclectic features, there is an extensive pub garden at the back which is almost as large as the pub itself, that allows for extra seating during the Summer months; a wide selection of TV monitors stacked closely together continuously showing an array of sports and a Darts area towards the back of the building, which sits precariously between a selection of neatly stacked board games and the entrance to the Gents toilet. Rather curiously and if not unsurprisingly for a pub of this size, the Ladies’ toilet is unusally situated outside around the back with no access from within the pub. For the discerning drinker, the pub has a small variety of cask ales on offer that have relatively remained unchanged over the years, including the likes of Landlord (4.3%), Abbot Ale (5%) and London Original (3.7%) which were available that the day, The pub also sports a large range of keg beers, and a hand-pull for Real Cider, there is additionally a large range of wines available and an extensive collection of spirits, some of which are seldom found in most pubs. However this pub does not feature a restaurant menu as such, although it does serve hot meat pies and toasties on request, and intriguingly it also features the largest and most eclectic range of bar-snacks that I have yet seen in a pub, including a wide variety of crisps, pork scratchings, r jerky, Pepperami, olives, pickled cockles, beef jerky, rice cakes, Bombay mix, pickled eggs, giant pretzels and every type of nut, that the pub proudly exclaims. You certainly won’t leave hungry whenever you visit this pub.

On the whole, despite it being diminutive in size, this pub more than makes its up with its treasure trove of features that are dotted around the vicinity. This place exudes a charming, warming and inviting atmosphere, whether your local or new to the place you’re always greeted with the same warm welcome that encourages one to visit this place time and time again. It is easy to why the pub has featured in the CAMRA Pub Guide on more than several occasions, and was notably voted pub of the area by the local Watford and District CAMRA in 2002, this pub is essentially a classic example of a community local that has been much revered by generations of customers. If you’re ever passing the area, this pub is definitively one to visit.