Viking Beer
Viking beer? Well it's Scandinavian-inspired spruce beer - Ilkley Brewery’s gone & done it again with a collab-brew called the Norseman. Beer guru Jane Peyton has collaborated on this project to brew a 5% ruby coloured ale using locally foraged pine needles along with Douglas fir needles and buds from Ilkley Moor. Part of Ilkley's Origins range which has focused on beers that celebrate traditional brewing techniques and innovative ingredients - check The Mayan chocolate chipotle stout if you haven't yet.
From September through to November, the Norseman will be served in cask at Nicholson’s and Castle pubs. This may mean a trip to Leeds could be in order as an excuse to sample! As the Victoria Hotel on Great George Street and the Adelphi, on Hunslet Road will both have this on tap. Wonder if it'll appear anywhere in Sheffield? Let me know if you find it anywhere PLEASE!
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| Jane & Pine Needles = ALE |
Bit of the Press Release ta da:
Meet the Brewer
On Thursday 3 October, Jane and the team from Ilkley Brewery will be hosting a Meet the Brewer evening at the Coal Hole (91 - 92 The Strand) in London where craft beer customers will have the opportunity to sample the Norseman and chat to its creators. The event will run from 17.00 to 20.00 and is open to the public.
Spruce beer heritage
It is believed that spruce beers were introduced to Britain by the Vikings and would have been drunk in Yorkshire, a region ruled by the Vikings in the 10th century.
In Viking culture, women were the brewers and by law, women owned the brew kit so if a marriage ended or a husband tried to sell his wife’s possessions, he could not take or sell the brew kit.
Haworth’s Brontë sisters were also known to make their own spruce beer, both as alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions, using pine needles sourced from the iconic moors that inspired Emily to write Wuthering Heights.
To find out more about Ilkley Brewery, visit: www.ilkleybrewery.co.uk or follow Ilkley Brewery on Twitter @Ilkleybrewery and Facebook www.facebook.com/ilkley.
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