Unique Gloucestershire March 2016

Wild Beer
44 45
Cheltenham beer enthusiasts must be pinching themselves right now. Not only
do they have Favourite Beers to stock up their home supplies, and also Sandford
Park Alehouse to pull up a pew and drink their beers in
correctly branded glassware, but at the end of last year
Wild Beer Co made itself a home in the town.
Roasted Asian Wings, which had been marinated
for 24hrs, roasted, then glazed, were dropped off
on various tables. Sweet, sticky with a gentle spice,
these were a particular highlight. You can actually
get a sharing board of these with the Baby Back Pork
Ribs (that I only spied longingly from afar) for £12 - an
excellent plan if you're a couple of hungry carnivores.
around the world.
Anyone that knows a thing or two about beer will have
heard of the Wild Beer Co before, but if not, they're
all about brewing "wildly different" beers and are
pretty much considered one of the UK's most exciting
breweries. Full-flavoured beers with unusual ingredients
and yeast strains are their forte, and here at their first
bar - Jessop House on Cambray Place - they showcase
an ever-changing range. It's not just their own beers on
tap either; as well as the WBC's wild, sour and barrelaged
beers, there are pale ales, IPA's, lagers, saisons,
stouts and many other styles of beer from breweries
Having been open for a few months, Jessop House have gotten into the swing of
fuelling Cheltenham's booze-loving crowd, and to launch their latest food menu,
they threw a party - with live music from Thom Kirkpatrick - and dished out some of
their tasty new offerings!
The new menu is creative; rather than sticking to British fare, they let customers go
on an exploration of flavours from around the world, and each dish can be expertly
paired to the beers available. Breakfast, brunch and Sunday lunches are still staples
at Jessop House, but it's the daily menu which has had a revamp; there's a lunchtime
set menu that runs from 2-3pm Monday-Friday, as
well as a selection of small plates priced at 3 for £15,
and numerous comforting mains. Lots of options!
So what did we sample? To start off with, we had
slider versions of the juicy Wild Beer Burger - 28 day
aged homemade beef patty, mustard mayo, crisp
lettuce, beef tomato and gherkin - and also (hotter
than the sun because they'd come straight out of
the kitchen) Crispy Pumpkin Pieces with a citrus
yoghurt dip. Deep fried veg has got to have some
health benefits somewhere, right? Quaver like Pork
Crackling with chipotle mayo did the rounds, whilst
Bibble Battered Cod (beer battered to those familiar)
was another triumph; in goujon form, they had
pillowy batter on the outside with flaky white flesh in
the middle, served with a gloriously garlicky tartare
sauce. I probably could have wolfed the whole plate down, though I'm glad I
didn't because the pièce de résistance was the Canadian Poutine; beef dripping
fries covered in chicken gravy, dotted with Westcombe Dairy cheese curds and
crispy chicken skin. In all honesty, I've had some out-of-this-world poutine in other
places, and although this version might not reach such acclaim, the addition of
chicken crackling certainly put it in the running.
I'll be back for more.
Sugar crusted doughnuts were apparently
floating around, but unfortunately I missed
them, *cough* I was too busy dancing. I didn't
manage to see the dessert menu either, but
having experienced their beer-infused sweet
treats before, I don't doubt that every option is
a dream. I just hope that the Banana Bread Pain
Perdu still makes an appearance - it's heavenly!
You can taste Wild Beer's wares at Jessop House
from 11am Monday - Friday, and from 10am at weekends. Trust me, you won't
regret it.
Wild Beer at Jessop House,
30 Cambray Place,
Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire,
GL50 1JP
Lucienne Simpson Food & Drink Editor