WEST PINTS

PINTS WEST
Bath Ales reaches 20-year milestone
Bath Ales will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in September.
To mark the occasion, drinkers will be able to enjoy a ‘Birthday
Happy Hour’ on Tuesday 22nd September from 5pm to 8pm at
selected Bath Ales venues, where a pint of Gem will cost the same it
would have done 20 years ago – £1.50. The venues to seek out are the
Wellington, Graze and Beerd in Bristol, the Hop Pole, Salamander
and Graze in Bath, the Swan at Swineford, the Grapes in Oxford, and
Graze Cirencester.
Twenty years ago the first batch of Gem was brewed and the
hare logo was created (by the late Pat Warren). The size and scale
of production has changed dramatically, but Bath Ales still uses the
same recipe. And 20 years later the flagship brew continues to impress
competition judges, this time in bottle form, after winning a silver medal
at the International Beer Challenge. (Last year Gem was awarded a
gold medal and won the trophy as the ‘Best Ale up to 5% ABV’ in the
same competition.) More than 630 beers from 30 countries entered the
competition this year, which was judged blind by a panel of beer experts
including retailers, publicans, writers and flavour analysts.
Commenting on this latest award for Gem, Roger Jones, joint
founder and managing director, said: “Gem was the very first beer
made by Bath Ales in 1995 when the hare was originally born. We were
determined to create an exceptional ‘best bitter’ with a superb depth of
flavour and great balance. Despite the influx of new breweries opening
and more beers to compete against, Gem has continued to be highly
regarded by competition judges and beer fans alike, which is testament
to the quality of that original work. In a market that’s changed with
the craft beer movement, Gem has remained constant. A consistently
high quality, traditional ale that remains incredibly popular with beer
drinkers.”
The bottled version of their smooth stout, Dark Side, has also been
awarded a gold medal. In the category covering stout, porter and dark/
brown ales, it was awarded the medal by an independent panel of the
British Bottlers’ Institute after a blind tasting.
This year Bath Ales had to increase production of their Summer’s
Hare seasonal ale by over a quarter following a surge in customer
demand. The next seasonal available in September will be Forest Hare,
the 3.9% ABV copper-coloured autumn ale. Forest Hare is brewed with
out now
The scene at a previous Welly Fest
wheat and barley malts and, due to the New Zealand Sauvin hops, has
hints of kiwi fruit and gooseberry.
Now known as the Welly Fest, the annual beer festival held at the
Wellington in Horfield will continue the theme of the 20th anniversary
from 18th to 20th September. Not only will there be a good selection
of ales and ciders, including guests, Bath Ales will be bringing back
some of the beers which they have produced in the past. All weekend
there will be a barbecue, and live music from a selection of local bands.
Check the Bath Ales website nearer the time for further details.
Colston Street Bar & Kitchen, the ground-floor bar in the Colston
Hall entertainment centre managed by Bath Ales, no longer serves cask
ale.
News from the Beerd Brewery
The sad news from the brewery is that Shane O’Beirne, the highly
qualified, innovative and friendly brewer, will no longer be cooking
up interesting and unlikely, but very tasty, unusual one-off brews. He
has returned to Ireland where he hopes to eventually set up his own
microbrewery in County Galway. He has been replaced by an appointee,
Joe, from within the company, who will be carrying on the Beerd
tradition that was started by Shane.
3.9% vol
Shane O’Beirne
For Bristol Beer Week, 19th to 26th September, Beerd will be
collaborating with Crane Beer, the new brewery located in St Philips,
Bristol, to produce a “very traditional saison” with flavours of orange
peel, cloves and black pepper. This will be available at Beerd Craft Ale
& Pizza bar and other selected outlets – check the Bristol Beer Week
website nearer the time for full details.
Roy Sanders
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