April 2015 Lock Box: Full Line-Up & Tasting Notes

April 2015 Lock Box: Full Line-Up & Tasting Notes

Welcome to this month’s lock Box. We hope you are extremely excited by the beers you have just received and can’t wait to try them. We really enjoy you folks sharing with us on social media your opening of the box and the beers, so get in touch! 

Over the months we have been in existence we have showcased some pretty great beers, from some pretty great breweries. Most of these beers and breweries have been from the new wave of craft breweries, whose launches have swept the nation over the last 5 years. It’s great that the UK has seen such a boom, and we’ll continue to support these guys, as we have done this month too.

However we thought it was also important to bring some heritage to the table.  We want to showcase some of the guys on these shores, and across the pond, whose innovation, creativity and bravery is pretty unique. Some of these established brands  are taking a side-step from the staid industry-created beers of old, even though without them the new batch of brewers most certainly would not be where they are, with the inspiration the have.

Meantime Brewing have been doing their thing for longer than most folks currently in the industry have been alive. They have focused on hop forward, experimental beers since day 1, and did so against the trend of what was at the time popular. Despite this, and as proof that if you focus on quality and innovation you’ll find a market, they thrived, and as such when the current craft beer boom took off they were there, with great beers, ready to ride the wave! Yakima Red is a beautiful hop forward red ale, balancing a sweet malt backbone with a big hop hit. Enjoy, and toast the grandfathers of the british craft beer revolution.

Next up, Founders Brewing Co. If Meantime are the Grandfathers of the British scene, there can be no denying that Founders have been around, influencing brewers on the other side of the Atlantic since the early days of the US craft beer scene. It’s hard to believe that only 20 years ago there really wasn’t much of a scene over there, but with breweries as great as Founders forging their way with world class beers such as All Day IPA it’s no wonder the scene has accelerated to where it is today. All Day IPA is a session IPA (in that it has a IPA hop and malt profile) but the abv of a Pale. At 4.7% it is a drinkable hop hit, designed to drink All Day!

We have a London triumvirate to enjoy for you this month. Camden Town introduce their Gents Wit. I love Wits. Once you throw in lemon and bergamot, this beer becomes a liquid lemon meringue pie. I reckon you’ll love it too.

We have London Sour from the UK’s top dogs The Kernel. Berliner Weisse is a style famously described by Napoleons troops as the Champagne of the North. Originally, like champagne, regional, the gloves have come off and Berliner Weisses are currently being made all over the world. Owner and founder of the Kernel Evin O’Riordain has done his homework, this beer is a work of art.

Lastly from London we have Fourpure Pils. A wonderfully well made Pils, crisp, moreish, aaaaaalll good on a warm spring afternoon! It doesn’t hurt that the cans Fourpure package in look the business!

We’ve got a super special treat for you guys this month, in that we have leavered a 660ml bomber style bottle from Moor Beer in there for you. Revival (3.8%) is Moor’s hop forward pale, and is, in my opinion, one of the best sub 4% pales in the country. It’s a big bottle, and it’s a big beer for such a small ABV!

One of the top 10 new breweries in the world last year, Siren have gone from strength to strength in their 2nd year of existence. Hill Farmstead were voted THE BEST BREWERY IN THE WORLD 2015. Love of Work is a collaboration between these 2 breweries. You’d expect something special, and you’ll not be disappointed. A hoppy little blonde ale at 3.6%, it’s brewed with Earl Grey Tea making it all sorts of interesting.

The New Zealand beer scene is a pretty happening place. Tuatara are one of their favorite sons, and their APA is one of their most popular beers. Coming in at 5.8%, this beer is a iteration of a American Pale. Balanced with a strong malt backbone with the hops to match, it’s a great example of an APA, brewed all the way round the world.

We hope you enjoy the beers, and we look forward hearing from you as you do so!

Bruce and the Beer Vault Team