TheNoiseThatWeMade

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!    Jane & Pine N...

Fruit Smash & Higher Tier looking tasty     Honesty is the best policy, so I’ll get this out now - I’m a straightforward beer lover (no follower of trends, furrow your own path I say). Beer cocktails makes me think of hideous concoctions more interested in strength than flavour along the lines of stout mixed with champagne (an expensive Black Velvet) or something called a Turbo Shandy; there’s some contradictions going on with this one! Cynical is one word for my feelings on sullying a glass of dazzling beer with anything other than, well beer, downright erroneous could be another.   A few months back on a shindig with food blogger Clare @FeastAndGlory , I was offered a beer cocktail made with Thornbridge Brewery’s Jaipur. To my surprise the India Pale Ale infusion was tasty and moreish hitting a fragrant thirst quenching spot. I put the pleasant experience down to a one off and continued along on my 100% ale journey, no mixers please.   Co...

The Reader : Ben Smith, aka The Hop Box Why is this ‘Your Local’?   “The Hop Box celebrates interesting beers from the UK and worldwide brewing scene. There’s a real renaissance going on and I wanted to ensure that beer offering is showcased at outdoor events and with integrity.” Favourite tipple:  American and UK pale ales such as Redwillow ’s Wreckless 4.8%, The Kernel Table Beer 3.2% and Buxton Brewery ’s Moor Top 3.6%. The Local: Bringing a twist on the usual shenanigans we thought going with the philosophy of bringing Your Local to you would chime the right bells. Without realising that attempting to hunt down a mobile bar in the height of summer was a challenge unto itself! Ben Smith started The Hop Box mobile bar specialising in independent micro-brewed beer in 2011. A fortuitous set of circumstances found him running an event for the social research charity he worked for after their agreed provider dropped out at short noti...

 First Gold hops climbing In a quiet village called Ellerker in East Yorkshire, a small holding of 2.5 acres is growing an uprising. In-between the grassy lanes and farm buildings are sixteen rows of timber poles and wire trellising with green shooting hop plants climbing slowing upwards. It may not be the same degrees latitude as Washington State’s famous hop growing region Yakima Valley but a farmer and head waiter have a mutual vision – Yorkshire Hops. Britain’s hop gardens have diminished dramatically, presently adding up to roughly less than three per cent of the World’s hop acreage. Chris, Mike Pivovar & Matt taking a stroll Whilst the gardens have been diminishing Chris Bradley and Matt Hall's family friendship has been growing. Not that there is any hop versus humanity correlation (I'd like to see that mapped out); just awe at the spirit of human nature to grow hops for beer for Yorkshire people. An arable farm is a hard-w...

#Beerstagram What's it all about then?  Stewart Brewing Visit        

Sheffield's love of music goes on through the whole year. Pretty much every night of the week you could watch bands in local pubs. Every year Tramlines brings this thriving scene together to celebrate and with Sheffielders hitting the Radio 1 playlists regularly; such as the loveable rogue Toddla T, the event's causing quite a draw for further afield daytrippers. So with no further delay if you are visiting Sheffield for this massive music knees up and are unsure where to go, I've put together a quick reference guide (with a beer focus ofcourse!): The Sheffield Tap: Oustanding Edwardian converted pub at the train station 20 taps of cask handpulls and craft European and US beer taps. Multiple fridges of craft beer & cider. Great way to start and end the festival if you're arriving by train. I always put this as a must visit for any beer lover. Sheaf Street · Sheffield, S1 2BP, 0114 273 7558 The Rutland Arms: Camra pub of month numerous times ...

Did you have an Alien Workshop Dino Jr Tee? A four hour train journey is definitely good for one thing.....focusing your mind on the writing you probably should have done, but got carried away with just enjoying yourself instead. It seems like a funny sentence to write but in my novice head the Beer Blogging Conference was about meeting people and discovering Scottish beers. I kind of go through different stages on the page evolution, I spend a lot of time thinking and making connections in my head before a blog comes out. I’ll be honest I struggle with ‘in the moment’ writing; unless it’s a simple line in a Vic and Bob stylee from that blue bird social media platform.  The beer's over there As I reminisce over the last few days beerconnaisance, the Northumberland coastal line stretches out along my train window with its shimmering blue and deep greens of luminous beauty. An inspiring scene can really be the deal breaker in this writing activity. One of the...

This beer festival stone just keeps rollin' & rollin' - with Craft Beer Rising (London), Indy Beer Manchester Convention , Liverpool Craft Beer Expo  & Leeds International Beer festival   all adding to the building beer scene in the UK.......now for Birmingham. David Shipman, Director of Birmingham Craft Beer Limited and one of the organisers of the Birmingham Beer Bash kindly agreed to share his story and a little insight as to what we might expect at the do: Q: Please tell us a little about you & the team behind the new Birmingham Beer Bash......I'd love to know your beer story; were you the originator, what inspired you to organise this celebration of beer? Birmingham Beer Bash is very much a team effort born out of social media. In the early part of 2012 a group of us who had never met before other than through (usually beer-related) conversations via twitter got together at the first Birmingham "Twissup" ...