Aaaaaarrrrrrr she's back.....

If you didn't guess what is back from this clue, then you've obviously not heard of our Jamaican stout "Spanish Main" before! 

We brew Spanish Main once a year, or when we feel like it (which seems to equate to once a year), mainly because it requires dark Muscovado sugar which is a bit of a pain to get hold of in 25kg sacks without a bit of forward planning - never our strong point - and I'm certainly not going through the tills in Tesco with 25 bags of bloody sugar!

Anyhow, Spanish Main is a big, brooding, bruiser of a stout in a vaguely defined style called "Tropical stout" after the examples brewed in the Caribbean, although we - being contrary types - call it a Jamaican stout which, when you think about, is basically the same thing...

It's full of various of types of dark malts, the aforementioned 25kg of dark Muscovado sugar, plus a smattering hops, the amount reduced this time, and a not-so-secret ingredient to give it a touch of the Caribbean... and no, it's not ganja or chillis, but black pepper!  Ah, and you thought we stuck ganja in it for a minute didn't you?

Anyhow, it's in FV4 now and should be ready to unleash upon the world in a few weeks once it's calmed down and lost a bit of it's youthful vigour, as it were.... watch out for it, me hearties, thaaaaaaar she blows.... or something equally piratesque.

Meet the Brewer(s) in Derbyshire ....

Last week we completed a gruelling two-day meet the brewer tour of Derbyshire, taking in Derby and Waingroves, a village near Ripley... the bright lights indeed!

Our first stop was the excellent Smithfield in Derby.  Gazza remembers this place from ye olde dayse when it was a beer ticker magnet (hence the frequent visits!) but now, after a few years when it seems doomed to either a) fall into the river or b) become offices, it's now reopened and has an excellent new manager in the shape of Emily who is bringing back the customers and, more importantly for future prosperity, finding new ones.

One way of attracting beer lovers - for the Smithfield now has the reputation of having the best beer range in Derby - is to hold events such as tap takeovers and meet the brewer events... which is why Gazza and Sue ended up there on a Thursday afternoon!

We filled the pumps in the pub and, despite being briefed that we were only expected to talk for ten minutes or so, over an hour later and we were still answering questions and eating nutella butties and, of course, drinking beer and gin!  This continued for some time....

The next day we headed over to Waingroves, out in the Amber Valley, for a tap takeover at the famous Thorn Tree pub which I used to deliver to as Steel City 8 years ago!  It's now, after a period of being rubbish, become a cask beer haven again thanks to the team of Rob and Sam with lots of help from Mike of Landlocked brewery and Tom Soar, local bon viveur and beer lover.... we were feeling a little under the weather but soon perked up :) 

As for the "battle of the brewers", Waen Pamplemousse sold out first, just pipping Mate Spawn and Die to the trophy... but there were some great beers on and the locals seemed to appreciate them, so all was good!