Marks and Spencer Craft Ale Range

We all love something new. In fact you could go so far as to say that our society is obsessed with everything that is different, new and improved. Anyway, it has to be said that the same is true in beer-making as much as anything else in life.

Take hops: England used to have a selection of about a dozen “native” hops (Fuggles, Goldings, Challenger, Target, Northdown, Whitbread Goldings to name but a few). They have subtle earthy and fruity flavours. Maybe just a little bit spicy. Then along came the American varieties with their massive bittering and citrus and piney flavours (Cascade, Columbus, Centennial, Chinook, Citra – I think they all have to start with a C!). We loved them because they were NEW! Still do.

But now England fights back. We are starting to see some new varieties that have been bred in England but have all those “new” flavours drinkers are looking for. But are grown over here.

One of those new varieties is called Jester (maybe because it is taking the mickey out of the American hops varieties?!) This hop has only been available commercially since about 2012 and as yet I have not seen them for sale to homebrewers. But this week I discovered that one of Marks and Spencer’s “Single Hop Variety British Hop” ales is called Jester.

Oh my god it was good. It did not disappoint with its “soft, aromatic flavours of gooseberry and lychee”. This ale is billed as an “IPA”, but it left no noticeable bitter aftertaste. Just the gorgeous flavours of new world hops. In fact my wife, who usually hates beer because of “that beery aftertaste” said this beer was the first one that she felt she could actually sit down and drink to herself (rather than just sipping mine).

Anyway, SEEK IT OUT! We’ve all got an M&S nearby.

And while you’re in there, try some of the others in the range. I have to commend M&S on their whole “Single Hop Variety Hop” range. There are quite a number of them and every one I have had has been either good or excellent. Each is brewed on contract by a different brewer (Jester IPA is made by Adnams in Suffolk).

http://www.marksandspencer.com/l/food-and-wine/wine-shop/beer-cider-and-ale

Non-disclaimer: The author does NOT own any shares in Marks and Spencer. Honestly.

The Grainfather

I walked into my local homebrew shop today and Julie (who shall be called Sue) said “have you seen my Grainfather?”

I’d never heard of this thing. I’d seen some stuff about the PicoBrew Zymatic, which is a box that you pour grain into and beer comes out the other end (after waiting a while and taking $2000 out of your bank account). This is the breadmaker of the homebrew world.

But the Grainfather is a bit different – this is a mash tun, boiler and wort chiller all built into one device. You still have to do the actual brewing, but it’s all done with the one piece of equipment.

How does it work? Well it looks like this:

(Image from http://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/)

So it’s a five gallon boiler with a recirculating pump built into the bottom (left hand side on this photo). This allows you to mash with a temperature controlled heater (the black box on the side).

Once the mash is done, the grains are lifted up in a sort of inner basket, which allows the wort to drain below and sparge water to be added.

Once all the wort is collected, the Grainfather becomes a boiler and boils your brew. Finally the pump is used to pump your wort through the counterflow chiller (right hand side of the top photo) and into your fermenter.

Neat!

And the price? £599. But if you were starting out you wouldn’t need to buy a boiler (£150), a mash tun (£75) or a chiller (£75). OK, so the Grainfather is twice that, but it’s still pretty cool.