FESTIVAL NEWS ’ R L D S O B I G W G E E S H T T REAL-ALE FESTIVAL WED 25 MAR – SUN 5 APR 18 FEMALE BREWERS FROM THE UK AND AROUND THE WORLD CANADA USA NEW ZEALAND ITALY AUSTRALIA FEATURING 25 UK BREWERS AND 5 INTERNATI NAL BREWERS ALES AVAILABLE ON THE WETHERSPOON APP HE PERFECT PINT AT TH VE T E PER SER FEC ICH T T H EM W P S E B R U A P T U R R O E F C A S E S S K U M O A H RQ EE UE- FR ACCR OON EDITED J D WETHERSP CONTENTS WELCOME WOMEN WERE THE ORIGINAL BREWERS OF BEER; FOR MILLENNIA, THEY WERE THE PRIMARY BREWERS INSIDE THIS ISSUE WORLDWIDE – THEY STILL ARE IN PARTS OF 3 WELCOME AFRICA AND THE AMAZON 4–13 MEET THE BREWERS 14 OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH CAMRA 15 INTRODUCTION TO THE FESTIVAL BEERS 16–19 TASTING NOTES JANE PEYTON BREW MOON BREWING COMPANY 4 TERRAPIN BEER CO 5 FABBRICA DELLA BIRRA PERUGIA 6 Welcome to Wetherspoon’s spring 2020 real-ale These are five female-brewed festival beers which festival. This year, we are celebrating female brewers. we recommend you try. Of the 30 cask ales included nationally, we are showcasing 18 beers brewed by women – and, of PERSEPHONE BY BREWSTER’S BREWERY those, five are international collaborations with A 5.0% ABV pale ale with citrus fruit, zesty female brewers from Australia, Canada, Italy, marmalade and biscuit malt flavours, New Zealand and the USA, brewed at some of this was brewed by the multiaward-winning Britain’s best-known breweries. Sara Barton, who, among other accolades, has been the Society of Independent Brewers The overall selection demonstrates the diversity of ‘brewer of the year’. today’s beer styles. What are you in the mood for: amber ale, American pale ale, bitter, black IPA, OFF THE HOOK BY HOOK NORTON BREWERY blackberry porter, brown ale, chocolate porter, golden This hoppy golden ale, at 4.3% ABV, is dominated ale, India pale ale, oatmeal stout, pale ale, red ale or by citrus flavours. WHEATY LAND & SEA BATH HOOK NORTON ruby ale? Twelve of the beers were brewed exclusively BOURNE AND BOOTH BY JW LEES BREWERY BREWING CORPS 7 BREWING COMPANY 8 ALES 9 BREWERY 10 for this real-ale festival, so be among the first to try This is a 4.5% ABV flavoursome bitter, with a them. With our third-of-a-pint tasting glasses, you well-balanced, full-bodied flavour and emerging could sample them all! bitterness, resulting in a clean and crisp character. If you have never before tasted a beer brewed HEAVEN CENT BY HARVIESTOUN BREWERY by a woman, this is your chance. Women were the This is an IPA at 4.6% ABV, with pine, floral and original brewers of beer; for millennia, they were citrus hop flavours balanced by biscuit maltiness. the primary brewers worldwide – they still are in parts of Africa and the Amazon. In Britain, until the SILKIE STOUT BY LOCH LOMOND BREWERY medieval era, most beer (or ale, as it was known here This is an oatmeal stout at 5.0% ABV, with robust at the time) was brewed in the home by women as a chocolate and coffee flavours and a creamy finish. nutritious beverage for the whole family. Beer is made If you are ordering food, no matter what you choose from food (cereal) and so brewing beer was a from the menu, there is a festival beer to match. household chore performed by women. Nowadays, most brewers are men, but women worldwide are Cheers! increasingly re-entering this profession which they Jane Peyton HOGS BACK BREWERY 11 BREWSTER’S BREWERY 12 HARVIESTOUN BREWERY 13 had dominated for so long… and the beers in our Beer Sommelier, Broadcaster, Educator, Writer, festival reflect that internationalism. Public Speaker and Founder of the School of Booze 2 FESTIVAL NEWS WED 25 MAR – SUN 5 APR FESTIVAL NEWS WED 25 MAR – SUN 5 APR 3 BREWER BREWER BELINDA GOULD JESS HURD BREW MOON BREWING COMPANY, TERRAPIN BEER CO, NEW ZEALAND USA that, so far, it is yet to be named – and goes by THE BREWER: Hort 4337) and the Australian super hops Galaxy. THE BREWER: THE BADGES: “I used to be a winemaker who drank beer; “My first exposure to brewing came through “The brewery is very conscious of its “The beer has a pretty light malt base, so that the now, I seem to be a brewer who occasionally my dad, who homebrewed when I was growing environmental impact. This year, we were hops really shine. drinks wine. up – he likes to say that I was brewing as soon selected as one of the Georgia Water “In 2014, I was lucky enough to brew at “For most of my working life, I was a winemaker as I was heavy enough to sit on the bottle capper. Coalition’s ‘Clean 13’ honourees for our Hook Norton; this time, I’m going to be and was lucky enough to be in California “What motivated me to enter the industry was efforts towards more sustainably minded waste at Shepherd Neame. when the craft beer revolution was starting. a love of beer and a desire to have a hand in management and water consumption.” “It is really exciting (I love the Spitfire beer ads), “Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was my go-to, back in making a product which people would really enjoy. but, on a more serious note, it’s really special for THE BREW: those days, and it still is, if I’m lucky enough “Shortly after I moved to Athens (Georgia, USA) a new-world brewer to visit breweries with so “I’ll be brewing an American brown ale to be in California. and started working at Terrapin, I went much history, to try lots of real ales and to see with an English yeast strain, featuring prominent to a local bar and asked the bartender for a “When I started brewing, I was inspired by how they’re made.” notes of caramel, a smooth mouthfeel and recommendation and she recommended hoppy American pale ales – and American craft a solid hop presence. beer continues to be my inspiration.” our Watermelon Gose. “I’ve never brewed for Wetherspoon before “Her recommendation, as well as others I’ve and am really looking forward to working with received since, really made me feel like I was THE BREWERY: the team at Banks’s, on this visit. “Our little brewery is based in a small rural town making a product of which I could be proud. “I’m also looking forward to getting out and on New Zealand’s South Island, on the edge of “Before I became a brewer, I thought that I exploring the UK, especially the chance to visit a wine region, so many of our regular customers wanted to become a history teacher. I still love some historic locations and a local pub or two.” are winemakers who, like me, drink beer. history, and that experience gave me some very “There’s a saying in the wine industry that it valuable critical thinking and research skills, but, takes a lot of (good) beer to make good wine during my final year of university, I realised that – and that appears to be true. teaching wasn’t for me.” “Ours is very much a family business, started by my husband, Kieran, and me in 2002. THE BREWERY: We own the business with our two sons Toby Terrapin Beer Co began as a daydream between and Oscar. founders John Cochran and Spike Buckowski, who met while working for a microbrewery in Atlanta. “Everyone has worked here from time to time, although Toby is having a break at present, The two recognised that they had something mining gold in West Africa, leaving his younger to contribute to the brewery industry, brother, Oscar, and his parents to ‘man the ship’.” in the southeast, and began crafting recipes. In April 2002, Rye Pale Ale made its first THE BADGES: appearance in Athens, GA; in 2007, “We get the odd medal, including a gold at the Terrapin Beer Co moved to its current location. Australian International Beer Awards 2019, Terrapin’s production team (affectionately but I never think that they are that important.” FESTIVAL BEER: known as the Terrapin tribe) works in two facilities FESTIVAL BEER: Antipodean 5.5% ABV in Athens – one building used to house a jeans Hey Pal 4.2% ABV THE BREW: manufacturer, while the other, across the street, “I first brewed a beer called Antipodean for the HOST BREWERY (UK): was previously home to a clock manufacturer. HOST BREWERY (UK): Wetherspoon international festival in 2014. Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Banks’s Brewery, Wolverhampton, Kent West Midlands “This year, we have brought back the name for a pale ale, which we have brewed using our Beer No. Beer No. favourite new hops bred in New Zealand (so new 28 9 4 FESTIVAL NEWS WED 25 MAR – SUN 5 APR FESTIVAL NEWS WED 25 MAR – SUN 5 APR 5 BREWER BREWER LUANA MEOLA STEPH COPE FABBRICA DELLA BIRRA PERUGIA, WHEATY BREWING CORPS, ITALY AUSTRALIA “In 2014, after pouring everyone else’s excellent THE BREWER: THE BADGES: THE BREWER: beers for 11 years, we figured that it was “At the beginning of the third millennium, “The craft beers produced have enjoyed “I started home brewing in high school and time to start brewing our own – time to install a group of friends, in love with beer and their immediate success, not only in the local area, stuck with it throughout university and the start our own stainless and start walking the walk.