2011 Highlights

We've been thinking about our highlights of the last year...

Our Top 10

1, Winning the BBC Food & Farming Award for Drinks Producer of the Year

2, Southville Hop winning at the SIBA Southwest competition

3, The 12 Stouts of Christmas, choosing them, brewing them & Stout Day

4, Vintage our 1000th Brew

5, A very small amount of a triple hopped Independence - just incredible

6, The first time we brewed Independence

7, The Beer & Food Tour, we can't wait to do more Beer Dinners next year

8, The standard of beers at the 2011 Homebrew Comp and how successful Indian Ink was

9, Great Taste Awards

10, Grillstock, wow, we sold some beer that weekend!


We can't wait to make lots more highlights in 2012...

January Pint Pot

Public Brewery Tour

Our first Public Brewery Tour of 2012 is on Monday 9th January at 7pm.

Come & join us for an evening of beer tasting, learn a bit about the brewing process, and get a branded glass and bottle opener to take away. The tour lasts about 2 hours and only costs £10.

To book your place on the tour email andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk or call 0117 9026317.

The next tour is on Wednesday 8th February.

2012 Homebrew Competition

Ever wanted to have your home brew in your local pub?
Ever wanted to brew professionally?
Here’s your chance!

Enter your very best in the 2012 Homebrew Competition. Will your beer follow in the footsteps of Indian Ink that was enjoyed throughout the country.

The Winner receives...
Your beer brewed commercially & distributed throughout the region.
A day brewing with the professionals.
9 Gallons of the finished product.
A launch event for the beer at one of our pubs.

Rules and Regulations

2 bottles of your beer must be submitted to the Bristol Beer Factory by March 16^th 2012 with a completed entry form.

This year there are no restrictions on type or strength of beer, however it must be possible to brew on a commercial level.

Extract or all grain mashes are permitted.

Competition entrants must reside within 50 miles of the brewery.

There is no limit on the number of entries someone can make.

Judges will give feedback on all brews entered.

5 Beers will be selected for the Final on April 3rd to which all entrants will be invited.

For any queries please call The Brewery on 0117 902 6317 or email andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk

Beers of the Year

As lots of newspapers and bloggers do their favourite beers of the year, here are ours...


Chris

BBF Beer - Acer
UK Beer - Moor Revival
Foreign Beer - 3 Fonteinen Doesjel
Keg Beer - Victory Hop Devil
Bottled Beer - Racer 5

Steve

BBF Beer - Southville Hop
UK Beer - Thornbridge Jaipur (cask)
Foreign Beer - Odell Myrcelle
Cask - Arbor Snufty Jack
Keg - Sierra Nevada Juniper Stout
Bottle - Sierra Nevada Southern Harvest

Brett

BBF Beer - Saison
UK Beer - Orkney Dark Island Reserve
Foreign beer - Green Flash Pallet Wrecker
Cask - Acer
Keg - Pliny The Elder
Bottle - Southville Hop

Andrew

BBF Beer - Independence
UK Beer - Kernel Super Alpha Pale Ale
Foreign Beer - Odell Red Ale
Cask - Fyne Ales Jarl
Keg - Southern Tier Mocha
Bottle - BBF Laphroaig Cask-aged Stout

Simon (only drinks our beers)

BBF Beer - Ultimate Stout
Cask Beer - Independence
Bottle - Southville Hop


Please let us know your favourite beers of the year...

Public Brewery Tour

Tuesday 13th December is the date for our next Tour for a Tenner.

Starting at 7pm and lasting about 2 hours, come and taste lots of beers, enjoy a brewery tour and receive a glass & keyring to take home.

Email Andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk or call on 0117 9026317 to book your place.

The most generous brewery tour in the world...

You can now purchase a tour as a gift from here or if you want to come yourself please book via email or phone and pay on the night.

Some reviews...

There are a few reviews of our beers on various websites over the last few days


Simon at the CAMRGB reviewed our beers here

Alcohol & Aphorisms reviewed Vintage here

Ultimate Stout reviewed on the Guest Beer Blog

BBC Food & Farming Awards Winners!

Bristol brewery wins prestigious National Award

An independent Bristol brewery has won one of the UK’s top food and drink awards, recognising not just its beers but its role in regenerating South Bristol.

The Bristol Beer Factory in Southville has won the ‘Best Drinks Producer’ in the BBC Food and Farming Awards, the ‘Oscars’ of the industry.

The award was presented at a ceremony last night and the brewery will be included in a special awards programme to be aired on BBC Radio Four at 12 noon on Friday (25^th November).

The shortlisted entrants were decided on votes from the public and the winners by an expert panel of judges chaired by chef and restauranteur Richard Corrigan.

The judges liked the fact that the Bristol Beer Factory is at the heart of the community in Southville and Ashton and central to the regeneration of the area. They also loved the Brewery’s ‘Twelve Stouts of Christmas’ idea of a dozen beers specially-created to celebrate the festive season, including one made with fresh raspberries, which are being launched this Saturday (26^th November).

George Ferguson, founder of the Bristol Beer Factory says: “We see this as an accolade for Bristol and the craft beer industry as a whole and feel very lucky to be representing independent brewers up and down the country who put so much care and attention into producing high quality craft beers.”

“We strongly believe that independent local businesses, whatever they are, are capable of producing higher quality products and services than national mass-producers and they make a vital contribution to the local economy supporting local suppliers and investing proceeds into the area.”

Chair of judges Richard Corrigan said about the winners: “They are working hard to save some of our greatest craft skills and artisinal traditions and reflect where Britiain is today and give us optimism for our future.”

Bristol Beer Factory was founded six years ago after a chance conversation in the Tobacco Factory, when George Ferguson decided to buy the building which now houses the brewery, which was then under threat. Originally known as the Ashton Gate Brewery, which boasted 120 pubs in the area, it was closed after Georges Brewery took it over in 1933 and the building stood empty since then. Initially unsure about what to do with it, George came up with the idea of returning it to brewing over a drink in the bar of the Tobacco Factory over the road.

The BBF started out as a traditional brewer but in the past couple of years has moved to the forefront of the craft brewing industry.

George continues: “As an architect interested in place-making, I believe that beer-making, along with great good, can play an important role in regenerating an area. Pubs have always been the heart of any community and we feel there should be local beers to go in them. But it’s not just about the ales we create, it’s also about being part of the local community and local economy. Like other independ

ent brewers, we’re not aiming to be the biggest, but strive to be the best we can.”

The Bristol Beer Factory is having an Open Day at the brewery this Saturday to launch their ‘Twelve Stouts of Christmas’, with beers to sample, specially made ‘beery’ food, brewery tours and goodies to buy for Christmas.

Friday in the brewery...

we are

Brewing Sunrise
Bottling Exhibition
Listening to JackFM
Drinking a can of Double IPA, want more of these...
Setting up for some tasting at the Tobacco Factory for their 10th Birthday celebrations tonight!
Preparing for our Beer Dinner at the Apple Tree tonight
Looking forward to hosting a tour for Otley tomorrow
Delivering to London tomorrow
& wondering why the cask store is quite so empty!

Coming up...

Beer Dinner at the Apple Tree Inn (Nr Glastonbury) on Friday

Tour for a Tenner at the brewery on Tuesday (book on 0117 902 6317 or andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk)

Favourite Beers (in Cheltenham) Beer tasting on Thursday 17th

Stout Day on November 26th - pick up your 12 Stouts, have a tour of the brewery, sample some beers, be happy...

Barley Mow Manager Vacancy

The Bristol Beer Factory, Bristol's independent brewery is looking for a full time manager for The Barley Mow.

The Mow is a lovely back street community pub in The Dings (7 minutes walk from Temple Meads Station), situated in contrasting new and old residential areas, whilst being a stones throw away from the businesses of Temple Quay.

A manager is required who is extremely sociable, friendly, fun and welcoming. The Mow benefits from business lunches and an after work crowd so a professional service is essential, as is fluent English. An enthusiasm for great beers and some cellar knowledge would also be preferred although training can be given.

The atmosphere of the pub is warm and cosy with an open fire and covered courtyard. Parties are regularly hosted for locals and businesses alike.

If you are interested please email your CV to hello@barleymowbristol.com. For more info about the pub please go to:

www.barleymowbristol.com <http://www.barleymowbristol.com/>

Beer Dinner at the Apple Tree Inn

Beer Dinner at the Apple Tree Inn on Friday 11th. £40 including all food & beer on the menu below. Due to a cancellation there is now a table available, contact the Apple Tree on 01749 890060 to book your table.

Menu

Tempura Oysters & Beer Rarebit - Black Velvet

Confit Duck & Plum Terrine with red wine syrup & brown toast - Exhibition

Duo of hot & cold Chew Valley Smoked Salmon - Acer

Blade of Beef braised in Bristol Stout with confit shallots, chantenay carrots & horseradish mashed potato - Bristol Vintage 2011

Trio of locally made artisan Cheeses - Gold, Hefe, Milk Stout

Dark Chocolate cylinder, milk chocolate mousse & black cherry sorbet - Raspberry Stout

Coffee / Lahloo Tea & Petit four

A Beery treat!

Tuesday in the Brewery

we are

Brewing Acer
Labelling Southville Hop bottles
Cleaning our newly arrived brand spanking new casks
Taking lots & lots of 12 Stouts orders, over half have been ordered
Listening to nothing... its eerily quiet today
Heading to London for Melissa Cole's book launch
& hoping the BBC Food & Farming Award judges liked us yesterday!

The Friday Question

The Friday Question...

What happens to the malt once we've finished with it?

Well it makes a delicious sweet treat for Mike's cows.

The 12 Stouts of Christmas on Sale Now

Our year long project to produce 12 Stout's for Christmas is now complete. The first time & place to get the 12 Stouts is at our Open Day on November 26th (10am - 4pm), however you can pre-order yours at our online shop today.

You can pre-order your case of 12 Stout's now. The case costs £48 which includes delivery OR alternatively includes entry to our Special Stout Open Day on Saturday November 26th - where you can pick up your case, have a free brewery tour & taste some samples. You can meet the team, talk all things beer with us, there will be beery food, beers for sale & other brewery goodies.

*Please indicate in the "message" box when you place your order whether you want the beer delivered or if you would like to pick it up on our Open Day. Deliveries will be sent out on the week commencing November 29th.*

THERE ARE ONLY 150 CASES AVAILABLE ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS.



THE 12 STOUTS OF CHRISTMAS ARE....

BRISTOL STOUT - DRY IRISH STYLE STOUT
Velvety smooth & packed full of flavour for a 4% stout. Black with a ruby red tint, well balanced and warming this rich & malty dry ‘Irish-style’ stout has a smooth full flavour with a long bitter finish.
In the 18th century the Irish (tired of importing porters & stouts from Bristol & London) started making their own Stouts. A few hundred years later the Bristol Beer Factory (tired of importing stout
from Ireland) created a tasty blend of 7 malts to rival the most flavoursome beers of this style.

MILK STOUT - EVER SO SMOOTH OLD-FASHIONED STOUT
A delicious, multi-award winning stout, that has a creamy chocolate sweetness & roasted coffee bitterness with a hint of dark fruits. A fantastic partner to blue cheese. 4.5%.

CHOCOLATE STOUT - SMOOTH DARK CHOCOLATE FLAVOURS
Gloriously chocolatey stout from a blend of 5 different malts, raw cacao nibs & an addition of lactose sugar giving a smooth chocolatey texture. 5%

ULTIMATE STOUT - STRONG, YET TART & DRINKABLE
This is our Ultimate Stout, strong, black, unctuous & delicious. Hints of coffee, chocolate & dark fruits, made using a Belgian yeast & roasted malts. Thick, engine-oil texture but tart drinkable flavour.
The Ultimate after-dinner treat, pair with blue cheese or chocolate desserts. Drink from a brandy snifter & savour the aromas & flavours. 7.7%

IMPERIAL STOUT - STRONG & FULL-FLAVOURED STOUT
Imperial Stouts were originally brewed in the early 19th century for export from Britain to the imperial court of Russia’s Catherine the Great. The high alcoholic content prevented the beer from freezing in transport in the Baltic Sea.
Our Imperial Stout has a rich, malty sweetness, notes of dried fruits & a robust full body. This brew will improve and develop complexity over time and has an intense flavour which is complex and distinctive. 8.5%

VANILLA MILK STOUT - VANILLA INFUSED MILK STOUT
The multi-awared winning Milk Stout has been gently infused with vanilla pods to create an ultra smooth stout with flavours reminiscent of a creme brulee. Best described as a dessert in a glass, gloriously rich and satisfying. 4.5%

HAZLENUT LATTE STOUT - COFFEE HOUSE FAVOURITE IN A BEER!
Roasted Hazlenuts & Java Coffee have been added to our creamy Milk Stout to produce a comforting coffee rich beer with a delicious hazlenut sweetness.
The favourite beer at our 2010 Factoberfest, this is the first time we have bottled it. A rare treat of a beer, enjoy, once it’s gone, it’s gone. 4.5%

CHILLI CHOC STOUT - CHILLI INFUSED CHOCOLATE STOUT
Local chilli’s from the Upton Cheney Chilli Farm have infused our rich chocolate stout with a subtle amount of chilli aroma & a pleasent warming aftertaste. The fruitburst habanero chilli gives a big hot kick, so we have been careful to use it respectfully.
The chilli adds something different to the stout working well with the bitter chocolate flavour without overpowering the other flavours in the beer. 5%

CHOC ORANGE STOUT - ORANGE INFUSED CHOCOLATE STOUT
Orange zest & juice have been added to our Chocolate Stout just prior to bottling to give a fresh orange aroma & flavour to the beer. The classic chocolate orange combination work incredibly well together in this rich, smooth stout.
The orange character adds a refreshing aspect to the beer. 5%

RASPBERRY STOUT - 25KG OF RASPBERRIES - AMAZING
This is our Raspberry Stout, strong and black, yet tart and fruity, a delicious treat of a beer. Surprisingly drinkable, there are flavours of raspberry, chocolate & dark fruits. Brewed using a Belgian yeast & roasted malts & 25kg of Raspberries!
A great after-dinner treat. Drink from a brandy snifter & savour the aromas & flavours. 7.7%

LAPHROAIG CASK STOUT - IMPERIAL STOUT AGED IN LAPHROAIG WHISKY CASKS
This Imperial Stout has spent the last 6 months ageing in oak taking on the famous characteristics of Laphroaig’s 10 year old whisky of peat, smoke & the sea.
The Stouts rich, smooth, roasty flavours combine with the whisky character to produce a complex beer, layered with big flavours.
Enjoy as an after-dinner treat or as an accompaniment to full-flavoured cheeses. 9.5%

GLENLIVET CASK STOUT - IMPERIAL STOUT AGED IN GLENLIVET WHISKY CASKS
This Imperial Stout has spent the last 6 months ageing in oak taking on the famous characteristics of Glenlivet whisky. The Stout's rich, smooth, roasty flavours combine with the whisky character to produce a complex beer, layered with big flavours.
Enjoy as an after-dinner treat or as an accompaniment to full-flavoured cheeses. 10.7%



In January 2011 after the dust had settled on Christmas we decided on a year long brewing challenge to produce 12 bottled Stouts for Christmas 2011. After a great deal of arguing, bickering & hair pulling we decided on our 12 favourites with a number of wierd and wonderful ideas not making the final 12 (next year??).

A year of trials, experiments and patience has nearly come to an end. Tasting, blending and arguing over different brews has lead to a point where we have a truly unique case of 12 different bottle-conditioned stouts.

Head Brewer Chris Kay said “I have enjoyed the challenges this project has thrown up and I’m particularly happy with how the Raspberry Stout has turned out, the 25kg of raspberries that were used in making this beer have given it an incredible aroma. I’ll definitely be having a bottle on Christmas Day.”
Managing Director Simon Bartlett added “We think the ‘12 Stouts’ case will make a fantastic Christmas present, what more could a beer lover want this year?”

There are only 150 cases of the 12 Stouts of Christmas available, they will be available from the brewery or online only.

Caption Competition

Our favourite caption wins a case of beer...

Brewery Tour for a Tenner

Our next public brewery tour is on Tuesday 15th November. It starts at 7pm & lasts about 2 hours, the tour includes plenty of beers, a glass, bottle opener & bottle of beer to take home. There will be some new or unusual beers for you to try as well as learning a bit about the brewing process and the exciting new releases on the way.

All for only £10...

Please call us on 0117 902 6317 or email andrew@bristolbeerfactory.co.uk to book on to the tour.

Friday Sing Song

"Let us sing our own treasures, Old England's good cheer, to the profits and pleasures of stout British beer.
Your wine tippling, dram sipping fellows retreat, but your beer drinking Britons can never be beat.
The French with their vineyards and meager pale ale, they drink from the squeezing of half ripe fruit.
But we, who have hop-yards to mellow our ale, are rosy and plump and have freedom to boot."
-- English drinking song, circa 1757

Bristletoe

As the days get colder and the nights draw in our thoughts turn to darker beers and we remember the mad rush to get all the Bristletoe we could bottled for last Christmas. This year we are a bit better prepared and already have a large amount bottled (& quite a bit sold!).

Bristletoe will go on sale on November 1st from the brewery and online shop, when it will also be available to retailers.

Bristletoe is a dark spiced beer with ginger, coriander and orange peel, with a long full aftertaste of coffee and chocolate. It is deliciously full-flavoured yet only 4.3%, so also very drinkable for a Christmas beer.


Bristletoe Christmas Gift Packs will go on sale for the festive period with mini casks of it available too.

More 12 Stouts News

The 12 Stouts of Christmas will go on pre-sale in the next couple of weeks.

There are only 150 cases available.

The Great Stout Open Day is on Saturday 26th November.

12 Stouts in a box, because we could, we did.

Independent Beers for Independent Drinkers.

Wednesday in the Brewery...

and we are...

Brewing Acer
Bottling more Bristletoe
Delivering in Bristol & Somerset
Sending a pallet of bottles to Norfolk
Taking photo's
Listening to Prodigy
& talking about how good last nights Beer Dinner was at Flinty Red

BBC Food & Farming Awards Finalist!

BBC Food & Farming Awards 2011 Finalists announced

We are delighted to announce that we have made the Final 3 in the Best Drinks Producer category of Radio 4's prestigious Food & Farming Awards. Final judging happens very soon and we can't wait to see how we have got on against Bruichladdich Distillery & Chapel Down Vineyard. Managing Director Simon Bartlett said "Wow, we are blown away to have made the finals at this years Food & Farming Awards. It is fantastic that people have nominated us for such an award, and great justification in what we are trying to achieve at the Beer Factory."

These are just a few of the talented finalists in this year's BBC Food & Farming Awards. A cook who travels to remote villages with a wood burning pizza oven in a truck, a man who has helped changed the way Britain thinks about bread, a cook who serves food to young offenders in a Scottish institution and a supermarket that grows some of its fruit and veg on its high street roof.

The twenty seven finalists also include a gin distiller on the Hebridean island of Islay, a Kentish sparkling wine producer, one of Britain’s oldest food markets and a marketing executive who switched careers six years ago to become a low carbon farmer. Each year The BBC Food & Farming Awards celebrate the people and organisations behind the best of British food.

The awards – nominated by BBC audiences – set out to find the best if British including Best Food Market, Best Drinks Producer, Best Food Producer, Best Local Food Retailer, Best Retail Initiative, Best Public Caterer, Best Takeaway and the BBC Farmer of The Year. Winners will be announced at the Food and Farming Awards’ ceremony held on November 23rd at the NEC, Birmingham. They will include the 2011 BBC Food Champion, awarded in previous years to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver and baker Richard Bertinet.

Chef and restaurateur Richard Corrigan chairs this year’s panel of judges which includes farmer and Countryfile presenter Adam Henson, school dinners champion Jeanette Orrey, chef Jeremy Lee and food writer Charles Campion. Chair of judges Richard Corrigan said: "The finalists on this list are cooks, farmers and food producers who all, in their own way, reflect where Britain is today, and what it can be in the future. “We have young entrepreneurs using food to create exciting new businesses, farmers with radical ideas of how our food can be produced in a more sustainable way, we have school cooks who believe the meals they serve each day are helping to change the lives of young people and drinks producers working hard to save some of our greatest craft skills and artisinal traditions.


"I grew up in a farming family and always understood the power of being connected with the land, with livestock and with people who were proud to play a role in feeding their community. Few of us are lucky to have that connection today and for that reason these awards are invaluable for one simple reason; they help reconnect people with the story of the best of British food, where it comes from, how‘s it‘s made and who makes it.

We boast some of the world’s best farmers, food producers and food entrepreneurs and so I hope when people hear more about the stories on this shortlist they’ll und erstand why it gives me some optimism for our future”. 


The awards will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday 23rd November at the BBC Good Food Show, NEC, Birmingham, and will be hosted by Sheila Dillon, presenter of The Food Programme. She will be joined by some of the biggest names in the food world including Rick Stein, James Martin and Angela Hartnett. 


The finalists for this year's awards are as follows: 


BEST FOOD MARKET
- Bolton Market, Ashburner Street, Bolton
- East Oxford Farmers’ & Community Market, Cowley, Oxford
- Maltby Street, near Tower Bridge, London 


BEST DRINKS PRODUCER
- The Bristol Beer Factory, Bristol
- Bruichladdich Distillery, Isle of Islay, Scotland
- The Chapel Down Winery, Tenterden, Kent 


BEST FOOD PRODUCER
- Golspie Mill, Sutherland, Scotland.
- Loch Arthur Creamery, Camphill Community, Dumfries, Scotland
- Alder Tree Fruit Ices, Alder Carr farm, Needham, Suffolk. 


BEST TAKEAWAY
- Jack and Linda Mills, The Brighton Smokehouse, under-the-arches, Brighton
- The Sea Tree, “alternative fish bar”, Cambridge
- Rico’s Pizza Shack, mobile wood burning oven, Oxfordshire 


BEST LOCAL FOOD RETAILER
- The Brockweir and Hewelsfield Village Shop, Chepstow
- Hawkshead Relish Company, Hawkshead, Cumbria
- Pink Pig Farmshop, Holme, Scunthorpe, Lancashire 


BEST PUBLIC CATERER
- Carol McMath, Kibble Education Centre, Paisley
- Libby Lewis, Farley Hill School, Eat Smart Café, Berkshire
- Wayne Wright, Harper Adams College, Shropshire. 


BEST RETAIL INITIATIVE
- The True Food Community Co-operative Limited, Berkshire
- The Ice Organisation, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
- Thorntons Budgens Stores, Crouch End, north London 


BBC FARMER OF THE YEAR
- Andrew Hughes - Trinley Estate, Andover, Hampshire
- Paul Sousek - Cottage Farm, Jacobstow, Cornwall
- Adrian Dolby - Barrington Estate, Burford, Oxfordshire 


DEREK COOPER AWARD
- Andrew Whitley, baker and “real bread” campaigner
- FareShare, food charity, fighting hunger & tackling food waste
- The Food for Life Partnership, Bristol 


BBC FOOD CHAMPION 2011 (to announced at the awards’ ceremony).

Independent Blog

Read about us on the Independent blog...

http://ind.pn/pEWASJ

What does Vintage taste like?

A very dark beer with a slight red hue to it, there is a sweet aroma of raspberries. It is a rich, full-bodied beer, with berry fruits to the fore and with chocolate and toasted notes. The finish lingers with a nice hint of oak and moreish hop bitterness.

Bristol Vintage is delicious fresh, with the hop characters really prevalent, however it will age really well, developing flavour and complexity as the hop flavours diminish and the strong malt backbone of the beer takes over. Try it fresh, but also put a bottle away for months or years into the future.

Vintage & Pick & Mix

Bristol Vintage 2011 has now been bottled and is available from the online shop. Read all about this very special 1000th beer here. We are thrilled with how it's tasting, and hope you will be too. We've packed it full of 5 different malts to give a big sweet, fruity backbone & then thrown masses of our favourite hop varieties at it to balance out the sweetness & give a lovely fresh hop character to it, just to make it extra special & add a layer of complexity we aged it on fresh oak... we hope your as excited about our first Bristol Vintage as we are.

You can now Pick & Mix your bottles on our online shop, buy beer here. Pick what you want to drink in your case. We have listened to your feedback and you can now pick & mix your favourite beers to drink at home.

Beeramisu

At the BBF we love to cook with beer.

This is one of our favourite dessert recipes, replacing the coffee in a tiramisu with our new Imperial Stout to make Beeramisu.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

* 250g mascarpone
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 180ml Imperial Stout
* 150ml single cream
* 4 tbsp icing sugar
* 16 sponge fingers
* Frozen bar of 70% of chocolate bar
* Cocoa powder, to dust

Method: How to make easy Beeramisu

1. Whisk the mascarpone with the vanilla and 75ml of Stout, until everything is thoroughly mixed together. Whisk the cream with the icing sugar until smooth, then fold in the mascarpone mix

2. Pour the remaining beer into a bowl (sweeten with more icing sugar if you like). Take one sponge finger at a time and dip it in to the beer. Set it to one side and continue with the remaining biscuits

3. Line 4 serving glasses with 4 sponge fingers, breaking them in half if you need to. Spoon the mascarpone mix in until you reach the top of the glass. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

4. Remove the Beeramisu from the fridge. Take the frozen chocolate bar and grate a little chocolate over the top of each Beeramisu. Finally, dust with sifted cocoa powder to serve.

Monday at the brewery...

we are...

Brewing Sunrise
Bottling Hefe
Racking No.7
Sending a pallet of bottles to London (order through Pigs Ears Beers)
Cleaning CT's
Plotting & Planning...
Looking forward to Beer Dinner's
& having Bristol Vintage bottles for sale next week

Flinty Red Beer Dinner

We are very excited to be returning to Flinty Red to do another of our famous beer dinners. Matt has pushed the envelope even further this time, a menu with bells & whistles we think.

Join us on Tuesday 18th October for this delicious menu each course paired to a beer of our choosing...

Beer Tapas of Tortilla, Chorizo & Cecina de Leon paired with Independence

Smoked & beer pickled Pork Belly with our new Laphroaig Cask Stout

Tadka Dahl with malt & hops accompanied by Southville Hop

Scallops & Rarebit partnered with Milk Stout

Steak Tartare paired with Gold

Bratwurst & Sauerkraut cooked in beer & paired with Bristol Vintage 2011

Cheeses - 3 cheeses each paired with a beer that shows off its character

Sticky Toffee Pudding with wort cream & Exhibition

A little Surprise to finish with!


All of this for only £40, book now on 0117 973 1620.

Bristol Vintage 2011

BRISTOL VINTAGE 2011, is a beer we have created to celebrate the 1000th brew in our brewery. You can buy it here. It only seemed right to celebrate this milestone with an extra special beer. MD, Simon Bartlett, along with brewers Chris Kay and Brett Ellis have carefully selected 5 malts and 4 of our favourite hop varieties to make a full flavoured strong dark ale. After fermentation the beer was aged on some fresh English Oak to add another layer of complexity to it.


BRISTOL VINTAGE will be available in both casks and as a bottle-conditioned beer. Casks are available now... bottles to follow in a couple of weeks.


An extra special brew day was required to produce the amount of beer we wanted to get, Simon starting the brew day off at 1am, and Chris finishing the day at gone 9pm. 3 mashes were required to produce the 6000 pints we wanted. Hops were selected from England, Germany, New Zealand and the US that all bring something different to the beer, and lead to a distinctive hop presence that compliments the malts and balances the beer.


Tasting notes;
A very dark beer with a slight red hue to it, there is a sweet aroma of raspberries. It is a rich, full-bodied beer, with berry fruits to the fore and with chocolate and toasted notes. The finish lingers with a nice hint of oak and moreish hop bitterness.


Bristol Vintage is delicious fresh, with the hop characters really prevalent, however it will age really well, developing flavour and complexity as the hop flavours diminish and the strong malt backbone of the beer takes over. Try it fresh, but also put a bottle away for months or years into the future.


A unique, one and done beer, but hopefully the first of an annual release of a Bristol Vintage.

Beer Dinner at Hotel Du Vin

Our next Beer Dinner at Hotel Du Vin is coming soon. This is the menu, I hope it gets the mouth watering.

Bristol Beer Factory Dinner
Friday October 14th 2011

Canapes
BLACK VELVET
--
Escabeche of Mackerel
ACER
~
Roast Monkfish, Curried Mussels
SOUTHVILLE HOP
~
Braised Pork Cheeks, Butternut Squash Puree
EXHIBITION
~
Apple and Blackberry Crumble
RASPBERRY STOUT
~
Selection of Cheese
GOLD, HEFE, MILK STOUT
~
Chocolate Truffles
IMPERIAL STOUT

£45 per head

Tuesday in the Brewery

We are

Brewing Acer
Bottling Bristol Vintage 2011
Transferring Bristletoe (ready for bottling)
Racking No.7
Cleaning FV3
Listening to far too much rock!
Finalising Stout labels
Thinking about food...

Beer, Bread & Cheese

Many thanks to everyone who came to the Beer, Bread & Cheese Tasting last night, I hope you all had a great time, we certainly did.

A big thank you to Mark of Mark's Bread & Todd & Ned from Trethowan's Dairy for their vast knowledge and expertise it's a joy to listen to them evangelise about their products.

My favourite pairing of the evening was Ragstone Goats Cheese with Mark's Rye bread & our Hefe, all of the flavours worked incredibly harmoniously together and it was great to hear that Ned thought it was just about the best cheese & drink pairing he's ever had.

Independence was really good with GWR (Gorwydd Washed Rind) and baguette, the big hit of hop bitterness worked really well with the cheese.

We paired Gold with Gorwydd Caerphilly & 7 seed Sourdough, the citrus aspects work fantastically well & biscuit malt character of the beer was really brought out by the savoury, mushroomy rind of the cheese.

Finally our old favourite paorong, Milk Stout & Stichelton, a creamy blue that compliments the creamy stout perfectly, the intensity of the flavours of each is pitched perfectly with the other.


Our new beers were really well received, the Bristol Vintage, Raspberry Stout & Glenlivet cask Stout seem to have found lots of fans already. They will be ready for release as soon as labels arrive...

Cheers

October Newsletter

Beer & Food Matching at the Butcher & Grill

The Butcher & Grill beer dinner last night was everything we love about these events - fantastic cooking, well-paired beers and an enthusiastic, appreciative group of people to enjoy it all. It's always a joy to introduce people to new beers, or styles of beer they might not otherwise drink.

We began the night in our favourite way, with a glass of Black Velvet on arrival, made with our new Imperial Stout.

The first course was my favourite of the evening - a Venison Scotch Egg with a bramble jelly and land cress. The breadcrumb coating of the scotch egg included some crystal malt to give a delicious sweet crunch. We paired the scotch egg with 2 different beers - Exhibition (probably the favourite), the berry fruit flavours from the rich, dark, old English ale worked perfectly as a compliment to the rich venison. We also paired our new Raspberry Stout, the raspberry aspect to the beer working almost like a chutney to the scotch egg.

The main course was Lamb shoulder slow roasted with sea vegetables, hay and hops inside a salt crust. The lamb was delicious and melted in the mouth. We paired Southville Hop with it (mostly because we wanted this group of BBF virgins to try it!), the beer acted as a palate refresher, and cut through the fattiness of the lamb, although the flavours weren't poerfect together.

Lincolnshire Poacher cheese with a Milk Stout fruit cake followed. It was a little bit of guess work to try to match to this dish - to the cheese or the fruit cake? I went with No.7, I thought the toffee malt sweetness might work with the fruit cake and the hop bitterness pairing with the cheese - I was wrong, the fruit cake over-powered the beer. The cheese and the beer worked very well together though, but the fruit cake needed a stronger flavoured beer to cope with it's sweetness. Matching the intensity of food and drink is vital when picking pairings to work together.

The final course was a divine chocolate truffle made with Imperial Stout and coated in cobnuts. We tried both the Milk Stout & Imperial Stout with it, the Imperial winning the day with the stronger alcohol and bigger flavour matching the intense rich truffle better than the milder Milk Stout.

It was a fantastic evening, we had a great time with the guys from The Butcher & Grill, its definitely worth a visit if you haven't been, the food is gorgeous.

Beer, Bread & Cheese Tour

On Monday 3rd October the BBF join forces with Mark's Bread & Trethowan's Cheese for an evening of beer, bread & cheese pairing, as well as a tour of the brewery, a tour of the bakery and a talk from the cheese maker. This is a fantastic opportunity to spend the evening with 3 real hands-on artisan food & drink producers and to taste their wares.

The BBF are even doing the first tasting of their brand new beer "Bristol Vintage 2011" a beer to celebrate 1000 brews and the first Vintage ale they have produced.

The producers will be carefully pairing beer, bread & cheese combination's to show how flavours can be enhanced by pairing them together. We will show you & educate you in how each of the products are made, even showing a bit of the alchemy off!

Tickets still available for £20, including all your beer throughout the evening as well as cheese and bread pairings. A very special evening, not to be missed.