Category: New Brews

Categories
New Brews News The Playlist

Our “New Low”…

The Tuppenny and the NoLo movement

Despite us having partly built our business around a carefully curated selection of artisan beers, ciders, wines, and spirits, it is not always all about alcohol with the drinks at The Tuppenny. We like to be as inclusive as possible, not everybody likes alcohol and for every group of drinkers there is generally one person driving. We also realise that for many folks in our society alcohol is a problem, whether that is personally or because of the actions of others who cannot deal with it sensibly, and we have always been a bar that encourages responsible drinking and discourages excess and idiocy. In fact, we believe we have a far lower tolerance threshold for anti-social behaviour than almost anywhere else.

Since opening we have taken pride in offering a far more interesting selection of soft drinks than just your usual cola’s, lemon and orangeade’s and fruit juices, including in our fridge old classics like dandelion & burdock, ginger beer, cream soda and root beer. We also worked hard to ensure we always offered the best non-alcoholic beer we could find. In recent times however, this has all stepped up a gear. More and more people are watching what they drink, a recent report from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) revealed that one in three young adults have cut down on their alcohol consumption with a record 23% claiming to now be teetotal, meaning the no and low alcohol drink sector is currently the fastest growing part of the drinks industry and consequently the choice of interesting and flavoursome drinks on the market is increasing alongside this.

So we have kept stepping up our game, whilst always trying to maintain that interesting point of difference that sets us apart from the other bars locally as well as the supermarkets. In responding to this fundamental change of drinking habits one of the products we have adopted is Kombucha. Created from a natural yeast and bacterial fermentation of a sweet tea, this drink originated in China around 200 years ago.

It is a light, sparkling, delicate flavoured drink with a flavour profile that is somewhere between a fruity champagne and a light scrumpy cider. The approach and process is similar to the production of a champagne or prosecco but the fermentation technique results in a product that, because it weighs in at less than 0.5% ABV, means it is classed as alcohol free (it contains less alcohol than a ripe banana!) In terms of flavour, it has a subtle acidity that is similar in level to the sharper white wines, but with fruit flavours that come through. One of the two varieties we stock, Royal Flush, has notes of rhubarb and gooseberry and citric fruits coming through for example.

Kombuchas have received criticism in the past for a high price tag compared to soft drinks, but the complex fermentation processes distinguish them from soft drinks, they are made with a level of craft as complex as any alcoholic drink which results in a layered taste experience like you would get with beer and wine. It is no accident that the brand we stock, Real Kombucha, is listed at over 60 Michelin starred restaurants, including the 2-star L’Enclume where it is served as an aperitif.

Speaking of craft, we have been happy to recently extend out alcohol-free craft beer range to include Solo Pale Ale from our friends at West Berkshire Brewery. This is a delicious less than 0.5% ABV pale ale with a tropical hop aroma with grassy pine notes and a crisp bitterness, that sat nicely alongside the dry-hopped lager we already had and has gone down very well so far with our customers. The product has had such a positive impact for the brewery, that they have now launched a peach version of the pale, and a pilsner lager too, both of which have made an equally big statement on the alcohol-free trade (yep, there are retailers out there who specialise in low and no drinks). We have had both and they are up there with the best on the market –  the pilsner has a snappy bitterness and fresh, floral aroma whilst the peach pale is a light and crisp delight with bright citrus aroma and a refreshing peach taste. We will be stocking the entire Solo family eventually: the pilsner has already made its way on to the shop and the peach will be following as soon as possible but has been so popular has sold out at the brewery already! We think you would be hard pressed to find three better and more interesting low-alcohol beers anywhere.

The aim for us is to continue exploring this sector of our market and searching out for you the best examples of no and low drinks, much as we do with the rest of our offering. So, keep an eye out for anything new going on, and as always, rest assured that we have stringently ensured it is to Tuppenny quality, so give it a go! We have your backs…!

Categories
Events New Brews

Yonder Brewing & Blending TTO / MTB

Yonder TTO WEB

Two delicious, seasonal beers, brewed by Yonder Brewing & Blending are making their way in to cans and to celebrate they are launching these beers across the UK at 25 bottle shops and bars on Thursday 27th February, including at The Tuppenny

As a bonus Stu, the founding brewer at Yonder, will be joining us at The Tuppenny to celebrate the occaison and talk wild fermentation, blending and foraging. Of course, there will be a bar full of draught Yonder beers too and all the usual fun and games.

Categories
Events New Brews

Third Birthday Takeover from Moor

Moor TTO Poster WEB

So – we have got through the terrible twos and made it to the ripe old age of three! To help us celebrate we have hooked up with the good folks at the brilliant Moor Beer Company, who will be hanging out with usl, and are bringing 7 of their finest current brews and helping us concoct some beer cocktails and boilermakers for you with them!
 

The Beers – Brewers Notes

Time & Space – 6.0% Universal IPA (keg) This is a beer that has come from one of our brewers, Jude. We love Cashmere as a Hop and Jude’s recipe showcases it to its fullest – super juicy with a subtle but clean bitterness. This is a one off that will not be coming around again.

Raw – 4.2% Untraditional Best Bitter (keg) RAW was originally commissioned to be the house beers for Real Ale Weston and the Royal Artillery Arms, both now sadly closed. The landlord and drinkers were already huge fans of our Merlin’s Magic but wanted something a bit hoppier. They were also intrigued with our unfined natural approach to beer. So we trialled three different unfined, dry-hopped versions of Merlin’s Magic. Layering the herbal dry-hopped characteristics over the rich malt base and padding it out with body and flavour enhancing yeast really transformed the already sessionable beer into something even more enjoyable. We only make this available to select pubs whose customers appreciate its natural nature and enhanced flavours.

Galaxy of Mosaic – 4.7% Ravennate Pale Ale (keg) Italian styled Pale ale featuring two of the all time classic big hops to deliver a beer that is as you would hope – fruity as hell with citrus and peach flavours from the Galaxy and oodles of blueberry from the Mosaic, with maybe a hint of pineapple and mango tropicality.

PMA – 5.3% American Pale Ale (keg) A Pale Modern Ale for those with a Positive Mental Attitude. Brewed in support of Hardcore Hits Cancer. The colour of Mango flesh, this intensely flavoured Pale Ale has a Citrus, Summer berry and floral aroma with Grapefruit, Blood Orange, Pineapple and blueberry mingling in the mouth.

Lager – 4.0% Traditional Pilsner style (keg) Brewed originally as a one off for the inaugural We Are Lager Festival in Manchester, we rapidly fell in love with the slightly hop forward crushable 4% lager. With the summer around the corner we couldn’t not re-brew it again and again! A very traditional lager brewed in homage to Franconia.

Stout – 5.0% Classic Stout Porter (keg) Craft beer can get a bit silly and miss the point. Usually what we want is something purely enjoyable to drink, not a curiosity beverage to tick off. We were asked by our Italian friends if we would ever consider such a simple request. This is that beer. No unicorn hair, solar dust or celebrity nail clippings. Pontificate if you must, but please just drink and enjoy. Salute!

Envy – 4.2% Fresh whole leaf hopped pale (cask) Envy is our green / wet hopped beer. The idea was to showcase the impact of wet hops versus dried ones so we made the base beer a very simple 4.2%. We went to a hop farm in Hereford and collected a very large quantity (8x our usual amount – not an efficient use of such a precious commodity!) of just-picked First Gold hops. They were in the kettle less than 24 hours after picking, or should I say in the mash tun as the quantity was so large that we didn’t think our kettle would cope. We turned our mash tun into a massive hop back, allowing the hot wort to marry with the wet hop cones. The beer was very fresh and vibrant. The hop profile was a bit different, with some not surprising vegetal notes, but in a good way. Fresh hopped beer is best drunk, well, fresh (and of course naturally unfined).

Beery Cocktails

Strong Alliance – A radical reworking of the legendary Tuppenny Espresso Martini – Peaky Blinders black spiced rum shaken with a shot of espresso, coffee liqueur and the special ingredient, some Dark Alliance Reduction – Moor’s Dark Alliance hoppy-coffee-Stout, reduced 50% down to bring out and amplify the beers flavours.

The Great-Grandfather – Take a measure of Amaretto, 1 of Buffalo Trace bourbon and a dash of Angostura bitters, whack in a shot of Moor Stout, stir and serve over ice with an orange garnish. Unbelievable.

Hi-Tea Sling – A zingy blend of Berry Brothers & Rudd London Dry Gin, lemon juice, apple juice and a couple of dashes of orange bitters, along with another special ingredient, Moor Beer Company’s Do It Together Mango Tea Pale Ale syrup – a reduction of the mango tea pale ale with added sugar to emphasize flavour notes.

Universal Sling – Brugal White Rum, lemon juice, sugar syrup and fresh raspberries shaken then served over ice and topped with Moor Beer Co’s Time & Space Universal IPA and garnished with lemon and raspberry

The Tuppenny’s Moor Margarita – A twist on a classic – lime juice, sugar syrup and our premium Espolon Tequila topped up with Moor Beer Company Lager. Yes, you read that right.

Boilermakers

Ordering one of the fantastic Moor beers? (see above for details). Why not make it a Boilermaker? A Boilermaker is a classic and very simple old beer cocktail – a measure of Whiskey followed by your beer of choice (or you can double down and mix the two). We recommend the following combinations:

Time and Space Universal IPA with Johnnie Walker Black Llassic and very simple old beer cocktail – a measure of Whiskey followed by your beer of choice (or you can double down and mix the two). We recommend the following combinations:abel Scotch Whisky

Raw Untraditional Best Bitter with Woodford Reserve Bourbon

Galaxy of Mosaic Ravennate Pale Ale with Auchentoshen American Oak Single Malt Scotch

PMA American Pale with Laphroaig Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Stout Classic Black Beer with Southern Comfort Whiskey Liquer

Lager Franconian-style Lager with Buffalo Trace Bourbon Whiskey

Envy fresh-hopped cask beer with Paddy’s Irish Whiskey

 
Free entry, all are welcome (if over 18) – the rest of the usual Tuppenny drink selection will be available so don’t worry if beer isn’t your tipple, Usual party rules apply – be cool, have fun and stay safe. Music vibes will be courtesy of one Avocado Brother..
Categories
New Brews

Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder..?

69821245_2366994780081320_6351686065853562880_n

We have had this little beauty for a while, so with the party season coming, we ought to shout about it a bit more, as we are very proud to to be able to bring to you fine folk absinthe, in the traditional way.

150 years ago, no hip bohemian hang out was complete without an absinthe fountain. There’s much myth and mysticism surrounding this fine old European spirit. It’s hallucinogenic, it’s addictive, it was once banned and so on and such forth. None of this is true. It’s never been hallucinogenic, or addictive, (that was the Laudanum, a powerful opiate sedative that was commonly drunk alongside absinthe in the late 19th century, that had those properties) it was never banned in the UK, (although it was in its native France). Granted, it’s a strong spirit, but lengthened with iced water and sugar in this most traditional way, it becomes a deeply complex and satisfying drink. Definitely not smashing back in shots. Sip. Savour. Smile.

Categories
New Brews

Time to get Mild…!

18382706_1636537389722231_1940163154260525056_nMaggs’ Magnificent Mild, our latest new additon to the fridges, is one for the traditionalist beer drinker as well as those crafty folk who like to tip their hat to the old way of doing things. It is also the latest addition to our canon of award winning brews having just landed a silver in the GBBF Champion Beer of Britain Mild Category no less. Full of roast malt flavours coupled with a smooth mouth feel and gentle sweetness it is a silky drink indeed.

The term “mild” originally meant young beer, as opposed to “stale” aged beer with its resulting “tang”. It is a style of beer that originated in Britain in the 17th century or earlier and therefore is one of the oldest styles. It has a predominantly malty palate. Modern mild ales are mainly dark coloured due to the use of well-roasted malts or barley and are less hopped than bitters, often with a chocolatey character with nutty and burnt flavours.  Alcohol by volume (ABV) of 3% to 3.8% are usual, although there are (as always) exceptions!

Once sold in every pub, mild experienced a sharp decline in popularity after the 1960s and was in danger of completely disappearing. However, in recent years the explosion of microbreweries has led to a modest renaissance and an increasing number of milds are now being brewed.

If you prefer a malty taste and not all the explosively hoppy beers around then give this a crack!

West Berkshire Brewery

Categories
New Brews

An award winning beery lovechild is here…

We now stock bottles of the super tasty Red Eye Pale Ale, a collaboration brew from our friends at Renegade Brewery and their friends Farmageddon Brewery in Northern Ireland

Packed with Columbus, Galaxy and Centennial hops this hoppy Red IPA begins with big aromas of burnt orange and passion-fruit followed by sweet malt flavours and a dry resinous finish. Full-on with bags of flavour it is unfiltered so has a nice haze on it that gives the red colour a really menacing air.

Red-Eye-2This hook-up began with a bit of a “swipe right” at Craft Beer Rising last year between the intrepid brewers at Renegade, and their counterparts at Farmageddon. After bloodshot eyes met over a “few” pints at the event and a subsequent exchange of hoppy love notes a genuine beery bromance was born. The result of this was a bromantic break at the Farmageddon brewery in Northern Ireland for the Renegade boys that led to this hoppy beast of an IPA love-child. We are told a lot of fun was had and a lot of beer “sampled”.

Amazingly, the Farmageddon crew entered the beer straight into the Belfast Beer Festival, fresh into its kegs, and it only went and won Champion Beer of All Ireland!! Amazing what can happen with a drunken idea at a beer event…

Categories
New Brews

Sour Times

We have a new beer in our fridge, and it is our first proper sour beer. This is one of the big trends in brewing lately, as modern brewers look back to the past for inspiration and to test their skills as a brewer (sours are damn hard to do well as they are so unpredictable).

Unlike in modern brewing, which is done in a sterile environment to guard against the intrusion of wild yeast, sour beers are made by intentionally allowing wild yeast strains or bacteria into the brew. The most common agents used to intentionally sour beer are Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces, and Pediococcus, which all give their own unique taste and character to the beer. Traditionally, Belgian brewers allow this to happen by cooling the wort in vessels a bit like large bathtubs (called a coolship, or koelschip), left open to the outside air to allow these wild yeasts and bacterias into the beer. Of course, this is an extremely unpredictable way of brewing, so modern brewers tend to avoid it. This uncertainty can mean the beer may take months to ferment and can take years to mature.

burghisland websiteOur first sour to be stocked is the brilliantly named Big Boy Pants, from newly established Oxford brewer with a conscience Tap Social Movement.  They are an interesting and exciting business borne out of a passion for good beer and social justice. With founders with a background a range of positions across the criminal justice system, they are a craft brewery which provides training courses for people serving prison sentences, offering courses in brewing and business start-up, and providing one-on-one support in securing permanent employment to assist in effective rehabilitation. The beers are knockout too!

Big Boy Pants is a Belgian farmhouse sour ale with tart grapefruit flavour and aroma and low bitterness. The acidity in the beer is derived from lactic, acetic and other organic acids naturally developed with acidulated malt in the mash. It’s a great sour beer for those who haven’t tried one before – the low ABV and high carbonation make this a very refreshing session sour ale. We love it and wear our Big Boy Pants with pride!