On the grapevine
SAM WYLIE-HARRIS ON... CRAFT BEERS TO SIP IN THE SUNSHINE
EVEN as pub gardens open up, booking a table is likely to be difficult. To make sure you don’t miss out, we’ve rounded up some spring beers to have delivered straight to your door...
Adnams x Thornbridge Brewery, Nevermore India Porter, 5% abv
(£12.99 for 12 x 33cl cans, Adnams) Showcasing the first in a series of exciting collaborations, Adnams has teamed up with Thornbridge Brewery to bring you this rich and complex India Porter. Blending refreshing pineapple, grapefruit and pine needle with earthy herbs, notes of malted milk chocolate and coconut, it has the body to stand up beautifully to anything you might bring to the BBQ.
Beavertown Casting Circles, Tempus, 4.2%abv
(£4.50 for 37.5cl, Beavertown Brewery) This Brett IPA (brett-fermented with the yeast brettanomyces) ages in the bottle. In its youth, Casting Circles is fresh and fruity with strong, hoppy aromas, hints of stone fruits and touch of tartness.
Like a fine wine, hold a couple of brews back and you’ll be rewarded with something much deeper and complex, with a zesty bitterness. Beavertown launches a new Tempus edition every month and April’s will be landing soon.
Grevensteiner Original, Undefined Region, Germany, 5.2% abv
(£3.25 for 50cl, Laithwaite’s) Gravensteiner Original from brewers C & A Veltins is a light country beer with a smooth, creamy, bready maltiness, mild toasty notes, hints of caramel and almonds, finishing with a fruity apple freshness. Moreish.
Lowlander Beer Cool Earth Lager, 4% abv
(£2 for 33cl, Sainsbury’s) Delightfully crisp and hoppy, this pilsner has fragrant lemongrass aromas, with a smooth-drinking clean crispness, fruity basket to put the citrusy zing that tastes of summer evenings. Committed to fighting climate change, with every can sold, Lowlander adds another plant to a seagrass meadow with the support of dedicated charity, Project Seagrass.
Flavourly Craft Beer Mixed Case
(from £59.90 for 40 pack, Flavourly) With an ever-changing line-up – Flavourly has a fine array of craft beers. We’ve singled the Butterfly Collector (4% abv), a collaboration with Loch Lomond Brewery. A blonde beer, with ‘spicy marmalade aromas, subtle orange flavours and a malty finish’. Ideal anytime refreshment.