Here geddon, I’m back for my next instalment of our almost regular blog, discussing all things from the world of Padstow Brewing Co. This month we have some exciting new beers dropping and we cannot wait to share them with you, and here’s the thing… They are all lagers, well almost! (crispy boi’s and girls).
Cold Desert – 8.1% Baltic Porter
So, to kick off our exciting new beer drop, we have our delectable Baltic Porter. This beer is my first solo recipe. I am now a seasoned pro at bringing you your favourite pints of Padstow, as well as the most recent collaborative efforts from myself and Simon (aka Captain Howers).
This beauty is a beer that I am very proud of. Simon challenged me with putting together this really interesting brew. A task which I embraced by immediately purchasing several examples for inspiration and I then created a recipe that I thought was a bit different to all of them.
I wanted to maintain the high ABV synonymous with the style and its a mere 8.1% – which is still pretty spicy. What I’m really hoping you’ll get from this beer is a clean tasting, malt-forward beer that gives you lots of chocolate, coffee and a nice balanced finish without the more coplex, roasted flavours you’d get from a stout.
And, before you say it, yes I know it’s not a lager. However, it is fermented like a lager – at a low temperate and using lager yeast – which has helped to achieve the flavour profile I have mentioned and is synonymous with the style.
Only by the Dusk – 4.99% Munich-Style Dunkel
My second recipe which follows straight on from the Baltic Porter is that classic German dark lager that has so much history. I’ve been reading and listening to lots of German lager literature and so not only do I have a huge thirst for this style of beer, but I also really wanted to do it justice!
After some serious quality testing now that this beer is ready, I’m really pleased with the result. I have used traditional German malt from Weyermann and although the beer is at the dark end of the Dunkel spectrum, I’m super happy with it.
On the nose the beer is really ‘bready’ and has a definite brown sugar vibe, and both of these flavours follow on when tasting, the bread becomes more like toast and the sweetness is definitely there. The beer definitely has body to it but at the same time has a real cleanness at the same time!
I’d like to additionally shout out to Julia Kerrison, who produced the fantastic artwork adorning both of these cans and continues to make our beers look extra special!
German Style Helles Lager
The next new beer on the horizon, which is not quite ready and still lagering is Captain Howers first new recipe. The beer is a magnificent golden colour that you would expect from a Helles style beer and better yet, it is an extremely quaffable 4.1%.
Despite not being carbonated yet, this beer is tasting ace! It has a rich malty character and is extremely refreshing. Once the finishing touches have been added this is going to be an amazing beer!
At this stage you might be thinking, why so many lagers? Well its simple, while the early part of 2022 is quieter in Cornwall, we thought there was no better time to start playing around with these beers that taste so much better the longer they are left to lager. For anyone that wasn’t sure, ‘lager’ is the German word meaning to store.
As I said before, lagers have a very deep history but often have a bad rep. So I would encourage anyone to dive into this style, even if its not your go to. If you needed some encouragement, I recommend the book by Mark Dredge, ‘A brief history of lager’. It literally made me want to visit each location he mentions and sample as many different lagers as I can!
It also seems rude not to mention our long running core beer when discussing all things lager. During this serious time of lagering, we have taken the opportunity to get ahead and brew as much of our award winning Pilsner while we can.
That’s right, you heard me, Pilsner is now the South West regional winner of Gold from SIBA for 2022. Which means in March we will be attending Beer X in Liverpool, hoping a national title.
If you haven’t tried our Pilsner, its a beautiful light golden colour. We don’t filter, so it carries more flavour than you might expect. It’s a clean, crisp beer with a spicy bite from the Saaz Hop addition.
This beer is something as a team we are really proud of. If you are visiting Padstow please do get stuck into our lager tasting flight when quenching your thirst and let us know what you think!
To get your hands on any of these beers outside of Padstow please visit our website by clicking here. We deliver all over the UK and you can sample a ‘Pint of Padstow’ wherever you are!
Until next time!
Ricky.