Author: abbeydale.admin

The story of this beer, as all good stories do, began in a pub. Myself (Christie) and Josh from Blue Bee were drunkenly admiring the many qualities of the Sorachi Ace hop over a pint of Brass Castle’s ‘Life’s A Beach’. And we both thought that it would be fun to take a similar idea to the next level and make something boozier. So to Makro it was to clean out the shelves of pineapple and dessicated coconut. Two weeks later and after a very full mash tun we have crafted ‘Getting Caught In the Rain’, our Pina Colada IPA at a very healthy 6.9% ABV! To give you an insight into how tasty it will be, it contains a mere 25 kgs of pineapple, 25 kgs of lactose and 15 kgs of lovingly hand toasted desiccated coconut  (that took far too long, don’t try this at home). What sounds more appetising than pineapple, coconut and booze?! Available very soon in cask and KEY KEG (shock horror) via Blue Bee Brewery.

Peace and love,

Christie 

Sunfest is almost upon us once more! This year, not only is it our 20th birthday here at Abbeydale, but it’s also the tenth Sunfest… a double cause for celebration!

Sunfest X starts on Thursday 7th July at the Rising Sun, Fulwood Road, Sheffield, and runs until Sunday 10th July. Here’s what to expect by way of cask ales!

 

Abbeydale	Not Just Jam	4.1%
Abbeydale	Barrel Aged Black Mass	6.66%
Abbeydale	Hop Smash	7.4%
Abbeydale	Red Wit and Blue	4.6%
Abbeydale	Sipper	3.7%
Acorn	England’s Dreaming	4.5%
Alechemy	Line Breaker	5.0%
Alechemy	Bad Day At The Office	4.5%
Ashover	About Thyme	4.5%
Ayr Brewing Co	Hiphopopotamus	4.0%
Bad Co	Slow Rider	2.8%
Bad Seed	Summer Ale	3.8%
Bad Seed	Session IPA	4.0%
Barlow Brewery	Orange Is The New Black	5.0%
Black Iris	Dark Angel	4.5%
Black Metal	Will-O-The-Wisp	6.0%
Blue Bee	Amarella Pale	3.9%
Bollington	Eastern Nights	5.6%
Bournemouth Brew Co	Stouty McStoutface	4.3%
Bradford	Northern Soul	3.8%
Bradford	Solero MK2	4.2%
Brass Castle	Mint Royale	3.3%
Brass Castle	Moka	5.0%
Brewster’s	Brittania’s Brew	4.8%
Brown Cow	Over The Moon Gold	4.2%
Caveman Brewery	Neolithic	4.1%
Cerne Abbas	Gurt Stout	6.2%
Chantry	Teeming Gold	4.3%
Chin Chin	Chin Up	3.8%
Cromarty	Brewed Awakening	4.7%
Dancing Duck	Sapphire	4.2%
Dorset Brewing Co	Chesil	4.1%
Emmanuales	Glory, Glory Aleluia	5.1%
Exit 33	Ginger Daze	3.8%
Fallen	Chew Chew	6.0%
Fernandes	Butterscotch & Raisin	4.7%
Five Kingdoms	Bysbie Blonde	4.5%
Fixed Wheel	The Kaiser	5.0%
Fixed Wheel	Summer Smiles	4.8%
Flipside	The Euro	4.1%
Fool Hardy	Risky’s Ginger Sister	4.0%
Great Heck	Proverbs 31:6	6.0%
Hilltop	Raspberry Beret	4.7%
Hopcraft	Mate, Spawn & Die	5.4%
Hopcraft	Temple Of Love	3.8%
Hopjacker	Spanish Suspect	4.7%
Intrepid	Journeys #5 – NZPA	4.3%
Jaw Brew	Surf	4.3%
Kelburn	Goldihops	3.8%
Kelham Island	Imperial Stout	7.0%
Kingston Farm	Zummertime	3.9%
Lenton Lane	Outpost	4.5%
Little Critters	Rye Fox	4.3%
Lost Industry	Lizzie Ward EIPA	6.5%
Magpie	Five For Silver	3.9%
Martland Mill	Lancashire Loom	4.2%
Martland Mill	Bombers	4.4%
Merlin Brewing Co	Dragon Slayer	5.6%
Neepsend Brew Co	Astraeus	4.2%
Northern Monk	Heathen	7.2%
Northern Monk	Eternal	4.1%
Oakham	Enough Rope	4.3%
Oldershaw	Ultimate Goal	4.6%
Ossett	Sizzler	4.0%
Partners	Mungo Mild	4.4%
Pied Bull	Matador	5.0%
Pilot	Orange/Green	5.1%
Pot Belly	Crazy Daze	5.5%
Prospect	Ginger Stinger	4.4%
Rat	Iron Rat	4.8%
Rat	Ratsputin	7.4%
Raw	All Along The Herb Garden	3.9%
Raw	Gin & Tonic	3.8%
Redwillow	Weightless	4.2%
Revolutions	The Paris Match	4.5%
Revolutions	Rip It Up	4.5%
Riverhead	Honey Blonde	4.5%
Saltaire	Belgian Red	7.2%
Seven Bro7hers	Water Melon Wheat Beer	4.5%
Sheffield Brewery	Festivale	4.0%
Slightly Foxed	Fox Glove	4.3%
Steel City	Beleidigung Zur Geshichte	5.3%
Sunbeam Ales	Honey & Lavender	5.2%
Sunny Republic	Guardian Angel	4.0%
Swannay	Island Hopping	3.9%
Tarn 51	Par 4	4.0%
Tarn 51	About Time	4.8%
Titanic	They Think It’s Ale Over	4.5%
Toolmakers	Vardy’s Measure	3.8%
VOG	Dark Matter	4.4%
Waen	Bunny Boiler	4.2%
Waen	Lemon Drizzle	3.7%
Welbeck Abbey	Flying Start	4.2%
Windswept	Weizen	5.2%
XT / Animal	Sloth	4.6%
Yeovil Ales	Hop 125	4.2%

 

We’ve also got an extended keg selection available this year. Firstly, we are thrilled to be putting on a real showcase of our keg range…

 

Abbeydale	Heathen	4.1%
Abbeydale	Last Rites	11.0%
Abbeydale	Double Brimstone	8.1%
Abbeydale	Lady Ra Ra	4.5%
Abbeydale	Full Moon Lager	4.3%

As well as this, we’ve gone with a bit of an international flavour this year, here’s a taster of what’s to come…

Arbor	Basta Rosse	5.0%
Bad Seed/Mashtun & Meow	Mojito: Lime Gose	4.9%
Black Iris/True North	Morning Glory	5.0%
Blackjack	Belgian IPA	6.0%
Brew Age	Hopfenauflauf	5.4%
Buxton	Nth Cloud	8.2%
Dry & Bitter	Alone In The Dark	6.7%
Elgood’s	Coolship Ale	6.0%
Firestone Walker	Velvet Merlin	5.5%
Gypsy Inc	Pale Trail	4.7%
Gypsy Inc	Tipsy Gypsy	4.7%
Hardknott	Brownian Motion	4.5%
Pica (Magpie)	Oatmeal Stout	6.5%
Redwillow	Faithless 54	4.6%
To Ol	Sur Mosaic	6.0%
White Hag	Fionnabhair	5.0%
Yeastie Boys	Pot Kettle Black	6.0%

Last month we embarked on our very first run of bottled beers, and we chose the first of our special birthday beers Double Brimstone – 8.1%! So for a few weeks, the 150 bottles were conditioning nicely at the brewery, and when they were ready, we have sent them out into trade! Find below where will be stocking them so you can find yours!

The bottles are 750ml sharing bottles that have been bottled conditioned and wax sealed. Price will vary by outlet.

Sheffield

The Rising Sun
Devonshire Cat
Archer Road Beer Stop
Beer Central
The Dram Shop
Starmore Boss
Turner’s
Walkley Beer Co.

Outside of Sheffield

Beer Stop – Dronfield
Brew Cavern – Nottingham
Cotteridge Wines and Ales – Birmingham
Tall Boys Beer Market – Leeds
Three Stags Head – Wardlow Mires, Peak District. 

We would like to announce the newest permanent beer to our range. 

When we first started brewing keg beers early in 2014, we set about a series of one-off beers that were (imaginatively) named ‘Pale Ale #1′, ‘Pale Ale #2′ etc.  Our favourite recipe was ‘Pale Ale #6′, which formed the basis of Mosaic. The initial artwork for Mosaic was originally intended to be a stop gap and the long term plan had always been to rebrand the beer at some point.

So we set about upon a task of coming up with a new name for this wonderful beer.  We wanted something that was worthy of us shouting about, something that recognised our past, but also can help drive the image of the brewery forward in this ever changing industry.  We enlisted the talents of a new, young artist who is starting to create a name for his work, especially in relation to good beer, and I hope you agree he has done a fine job. We hope this is the start of a long working relationship between him and the brewery.

We present Abbeydale Brewery ‘Heathen – American Pale Ale’, with artwork by James D Murphy.  

Now in just it’s second year, Sheffield Beer Week has already firmly established itself as a key part of the events calendar, not just here at Abbeydale but across Sheffield and beyond. Co-ordinated by beer guru Jules Gray, who also runs bottle shop Hop Hideout, Sheffield Beer Week hosts events galore and is a real showcase of the breweries, pubs and other beery venues worth shouting about in our fine city.

Sheffield Beer Week also handily happens to be at the same time as the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) Beer X conference and festival, meaning that there are already hundreds if not thousands of beer lovers in the area and plenty of brewery folk around to both lead and attend events.

Here’s a little overview of what we’ve got going on…

Firstly, we’ve made a special collaboration beer in conjunction with beer bloggers Mashtun and Meow (mashtunandmeow.co.uk) and food and beer events duo Karma Citra (@KarmaCitra on twitter). “Wet Yer Whiskers” is a 5.5% unfiltered coffee white stout brewed with oats, lactose and cacao nibs. Look out for it popping up on bars across the city!

On Tuesday 15th March, our Office Manager Laura will be teaming up with Liz Casserly, our wonderful GM down at the Devonshire Cat, for a women’s networking event and tasting session. From 7pm, free entry.

Also on Tuesday 15th March, our Sales Director Dan and the beardiest of our brewers, Jim, will be hosting the online Craft Beer Hour from the Rising Sun on Fulwood Road. Expect tweets about the upcoming celebrations for the brewery’s 20th birthday, including our first foray into bottling. There’ll also be a competition to win a bottle from the very first batch! Join in on twitter using #craftbeerhour between 9 and 10pm, or if you’re in the area pop along and have a pint!

On Saturday afternoon (19th March) Liz at the Devonshire Cat is also hosting a tasting session featuring oodles of our beers, perfect if you haven’t had chance to try our whole range yet.

For more of what’s on during the week, a full list of events is available on the Sheffield Beer Week website, sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk.

Some of the Abbeydale team will be spending time at the Beer X conference (Dan’s even presenting a little speech!), and we’re having a big night out at the festival on the Friday too, so please do come and say hello if you spot us!

Brimstone is a beer that’s been with us for over a decade. An American hopped take on the classic English bitter, it’s become renowned for its robust, well balanced flavour and of course the horny goat-like devil in a pentacle pump clip. It’s a much loved beer here at the brewery and one that our brewers always enjoy creating.

However, there’s recently been a bit of a twist in Brimstone’s tale (or should that be tail?!). Many of you may be aware of the global hop crisis that’s going on at the moment. As a result, it’s becoming harder and harder to get our hands on certain hops. One of those most affected for us is Amarillo, the very backbone of our Brimstone brew. With such a distinctive character, we’ve had to have a major think about whether we want to allow our beloved Brimstone to quietly fade away as the hops diminish, or whether it’s best just to call it a day. Sadly, we’ve reached the difficult decision to lay this particular Beelzebub to rest.

BUT! This isn’t a beast that’s going to die quietly, oh no! The first of our limited edition birthday beers is to be DOUBLE BRIMSTONE… a 7.8% American brown ale, with a mammoth malt grist, outrageous hop quantities and a special new yeast strain.

We’re also thrilled to announce the winner of our competition to design the pump clip for Double Brimstone as Carl Flint. He’s managed to capture the spirit of our beloved beast and suitably soup it up. The “groovy red pentacle shades” really suit him, don’t ya think?! You can find out more about Carl and his work on his website, http://www.carlflint.com/.

In further exciting news, and an absolute first for us here at Abbeydale, we’re going to be releasing a limited run of Double Brimstone in bottles! We’ve decided on 750ml bottles to make them perfect for sharing. Look out for them at select local retailers and our pubs, the Devonshire Cat and the Rising Sun, in the spring.

2016 is going to be a massive year here at the brewery… it’s our 20th birthday! To commemorate this milestone, we’re going to be launching a super special range of super special beers, and we’re looking for an artist (or artists) to help us to reflect this.

This is where you come in! We’re opening up the opportunity to be a part of our celebrations by creating a new side to our brand and having your design featured on pump clips across hundreds of bars and pubs around the country!

The briefs are as follows…

1. Our birthday range of beers, starting with Double Brimstone (where we’ll be cranking up the hops and ABV from the original version). For this one, we’d like something which maintains the spirit of the current Brimstone pump clip whilst taking it to a whole new level. There’d also be the opportunity to create special versions of the pump clips for the rest of our core range.

2. An entirely new series… a run of pieces following a theme focused around the Abbeydale Brewery archway.

3.Freestyle category! Anything goes, but we’re looking out for something that fits in with our ethos whilst moving our brand forwards.

You can enter as many ideas as you like for any or all of the above categories. Have a look around on our website for inspiration! Further opportunities to continue working with us may also be available. Winning pieces will be purchased by the brewery, artists retain all rights to the artwork up to this point.

The required dimensions are 127x102mm, allowing an extra 1mm around the edge for bleed, and each pump clip must display the Abbeydale logo (please be aware that this must not be modified), an ABV for the beer and our website, abbeydalebrewery.co.uk.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 13th January 2016.

To send in your submissions or for more information, including to request a hi-res version of the logo if required, please email [email protected].

 

Firstly, we recently had our beery pals and Abbeydale neighbours Hop Hideout down at the brewery for the day to make an absolute goliath of a collaboration brew… Marshmallow Meltdown Stout, weighing in at 7% ABV, and chock full of robust flavours including coffee, chocolate and of course marshmallow, making it ideal to sup on whilst gathered round a bonfire at this time of year! The artwork was created by Ben Cooney, a good friend of Hop Hideout’s, and it’s pretty spectacular I’m sure you will all agree. You can read more about the collaboration over on Hop Hideout’s blog: http://www.hophideout.co.uk/blog/2015/9/8/collabortation-brew-day-with-abbeydale. The beer debuted at Steel City Beer Festival in late October and is currently flying out all around Sheffield and beyond, so keep your eyes peeled!

Next up for us was an invitation to host a Tap Takeover and Meet the Brewer event at Sheffield’s Brewdog bar. Our keg range is something we’re incredibly proud of, so it was fantastic to be able to show it off at a venue so well known for its craft beers. Five of our beers were featured, – not only our widely available range, including our core keg, Mosaic American Pale, but a couple of specials too… the only keg of our black IPA, Black Magik, plus a nitrogenated version of the Marshmallow Meltdown Stout (which was served cocktail-style with a couple of mini marshmallows on top!). We made a proper team night out of it and all had a blast chatting away to happy beer drinkers! Big thanks to James and the rest of the Sheffield Brewdog team for having us down.

Look out for more updates and events as we move towards the New Year… 2016 will witness the celebrations of our 20th birthday, so we’ve got oodles of surprises in store!

Earlier this year, our very first signature beer “Bex” was brewed using with a specialist Belgian yeast strain. During the brewing process, we niftily cropped enough yeast to nurture and use for another beer, and so in June our Production Director John decided to brew a 7.0% Belgian style Dubbel. This was then filled into seven of our Burgundy white oak barriques and left to age in our cold store. However, each of these barriques had some different ingredients added in to represent each of the deadly sins… Behold!

Envy – Insatiable desire

Spiked with bourbon oak chips. Aroma of black forest gateaux and a glace cherry flavour. Dominant bourbon finish.

Gluttony – Overindulgence to the point of waste

Spiked with raw cacao nibs and vanilla. Delicate milk chocolate aroma. Rum ‘n’ raisin fudge flavour. Full bodied with a beautifully silky chocolate finish.

Greed – Rapacious desire and pursuit of material possessions

Spiked with fresh orange and ginger. Aromas of orange and hints of clove. Fairly tangy orange, almost cranberry flavour, with ginger fruitcake. 

Lust – Intense and uncontrolled desire

Spiked with fresh raspberries and vanilla. Full-on raspberry aroma and flavour. Schnapps-like warmth at the end.

Pride – Belief that one is essentially better than others

Spiked with fresh ground coffee. Aromas of coffee & sweet walnut. Slight cream soda flavour with dried fig and apricot. Warm, dry finish.

Sloth – Failure to utilise one’s talents and gifts

Spiked with vanilla and an extra dose of molasses. Oak smoke aroma with Rioja notes. Very more-ish sweet sherry flavour with subtle vanilla.

Wrath – Self destructive rage

Spiked with coriander seed. Fresh coriander aroma. Slight spicy cracked pepper flavour with fruit and nut pudding coming through on the finish. 

As well as this, we’re also releasing an unadulterated version of the Dubbel base beer. Being free from Sin, this one is simply Heavenly!

Who will try them all?! There are only 5 firkins of each Sin, so keep your eyes peeled!