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Slideshow

Fourteen beers that stole the show during Tryanuary

By Phoebe French

Tom Stapley from Tryanuary, a UK-wide initiative that encourages people to seek out and try new beers in January, shares with us the 14 beers that proved particularly popular during last month’s campaign.

January can be a challenging month for retailers and drinks producers alike, especially given the rising popularity of Dry January. Money is short, the gym is beckoning and we’re less inclined to brave the weather and venture out.

That said, in 2017, beer, wine and spirits sales actually witnessed an increase during the first month of the year, due in part to initiatives like Tryanuary.

The social media campaign, which was launched in 2015 by beer blogger Andy Heggs and brewery owners Stuart Swann and Shane Swindells, encourages beer lovers to drink local and to support independent businesses.

At the helm of this year’s campaign was Tom Stapley, known for his work on Craft Beer Hour, a weekly Twitter gathering that covers all things beer and showcases many independent brewers.

To support the campaign, drinkers use the hashtag #Tryanuary on social media to increase exposure to their local bars and breweries.

This year witnessed the introduction of ‘Beer Days’ which saw a different region of the UK take over the social channels for a day. In addition, breweries, shops and bars organised their own events, from brewing a special beer to hosting an aged beer tasting.

“A campaign like this needs local people to galvanise local businesses,” said Stapley. “It needs people all over the country to celebrate the beer on their doorstep and share that with the nation through the different mediums of Tryanuary.”

As well as those listed on the following pages, Stapley also noted that three breweries produced special beers especially for Tryanuary. These breweries were 8 Arch Brewing with its 3.2% “Eponymous” table beer, Vibrant Forest with 4.5% “Ilex” pale ale and The Park Brewery with its 4.4% “Sylva” pale ale.

Stapley shares his favourite beer of the month and also those of the Tryanuary community. If you took part in this year’s campaign and would like to offer some feedback, please click here.

Cornish Tiergarten with Raspberries, Small Batch Brews, St Austell Brewery (Cornwall, England)

From the brewery: “Brewed by our very own German ‘Bierbrauerin’ Kim Buckenauer after one of her favourite styles from back home in Berlin, Cornish Tiergarten is a classic Berliner Weisse laced with raspberries to create a deliciously sour beer, slightly hopped with a fruity twist. Fizzy, light and refreshing, Tiergarten (which translates as ‘Zoo’ in German, referencing the famous Berlin animal park, packs in both wheat and barley malt to create a perfect balance on the palate and a fruit finish that’s simply Kapital”.

Style: Berline Weisse

Strength: 3% ABV

Submitted by: Tom Stapley @Tryanuary

Divine Elements, Black Iris Brewery (Nottingham, England)

From the brewery: “A hazy, New England-style IPAs that’s packed with mango, peach, lychee and pine aromas”.

Style: IPA

Strength: 6%

Submitted by: Rachael Smith @lookatbrew

Blacklist, Kiln Brewery (West Sussex, England)

From the brewery: “A classic jet black stout with spicy berry aromas finishing with a roasty lingering bitterness”.

Style: Dry Stout

Strength: 4% ABV

Submitted by: Rachael Smith @lookatbrew

Galaxy Mosaic, Loka Polly (Flintshire, Wales)

From the brewery: “A 6.5% hybrid IPA blending both East and West coast beer styles. An East-coast malt and hop profile fermented with American ‘Chico’ yeast to dry things out a little”.

Style: IPA

Strength: 6.5%

Submitted by Katja Knox @ChesterBeerBlog

8. Parabola, Chapter Brewing (Cheshire, England)

From the brewery: “8. Parabola is a punchy, fragrant APA with a huge Columbus burst that complements the smooth malt bill. More? Okay, as you travel across the parabola of our beer’s taste profile you should experience the same joy that we had in making it. If nothing else it will help you recall “the sibilant scented silence that shimmered where we sat”.

Style: Pale ale

Strength: 4.7%

Submitted by Katja Knox @ChesterBeerBlog

You Have to Call Me Nighthawk, Rivington Brew Co (Lancashire, England)

From the brewery: “A hopped, export Porter”.

Style: Porter

Strength: 5.6%

Submitted by: Tina Ambury @amburytina

Banshee, Nomadic Beers (Leeds, England)

From the brewery: “Brewed and DDH with Falconer’s Flight 7Cs hop blend. This is a blend of hops that gives the best of all the ‘C’ hops and flavours that will get you shrieking with delight”.

Style: IPA

Strength: 6%

Submitted by: Rachel Auty @marketerach

Beeching Axe, Harrogate Brewing Co. (North Yorkshire, England) 

From the brewery: “Hoppy IPA style beer. Fruity, citrus and dry hopped for extra aroma”.

Style: IPA

Strength: 5.2%

Submitted by Rachel Auty @marketerach

Chocolate Chow Wow, Ollie’s Brewery (Cardiff, Wales)

From the brewery: “Ollie’s and Wales Ales, chocolate and beer, both winning combinations. We wanted to create this pure-bred chocolate chow chow, or as we prefer a chow wow! Why choose between chocolate and beer, have both!”

Style: Chocolate stout

Strength: 7%

Submitted by: Neil Goodman @wales_ales

Opium Wars, Tapstone Brew. Co (Somerset, England)

From the brewery: “Dark brown, grassy and roasted chocolate aromas with light citrus, cherries and bitter chocolate on the palate”.

Style: Black IPA

Strength: 5.6%

Submitted by: Mark Pursey @markthegasman

Loafers Coffee Milk Stout, Elland Brewery (West Yorkshire, England)

From the brewery: “Brewed in collaboration with Loafers Vinyl, this 5% beer is brewed using Loafers house blend ‘Crowtree’ coffee beans. A Tryanuary special edition beer”.

Style: Milk stout

Strength: 5%

Submitted by: Dean Horsman @Bradford_Lives

Remember 430, Wylam Brewery (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England)

From the brewery: “A plethora of Oats, Wheat and Dextrin. Seductive volumes of DDH Citra and Mosaic swallow up the hordes into fresh pink grapefruit, tropical juiced out foreverness”.

Style: Double dry hopped pale ale

Strength: 5.5%

Submitted by: Jamie Tickner @Ale_n_metal

Windermere Pale, Hawkshead Brewery (Kendal, England)

From the brewery: A highly refreshing, very pale ale, bursting with hop character and a fine fruity aroma. Brewed with soft Lakeland water, Maris Otter malted barley and full flower hops – blending three traditional English hops and the modern American hop, Citra”.

Style: Pale ale

Strength: 3.5% (cask), 4% (bottle)

Submitted by: Paul Beck @pbeck1

Dutty, Tiny Rebel Brew Co. (Newport, Wales)

From the brewery: “Unfiltered. Hazy. Murky. They might describe the look, but they don’t really describe what we’ve achieved. We prefer Dutty. Clean it ain’t, but that’s no bad thing. In fact it’s very, very good. We’ve retained more flavour and a silky smooth texture in this Vermont style IPA, and made sure it’s one you can enjoy time and time again by keeping the ABV nice and low. A mild bitterness and a big juicy blast, refresh with Dutty!”

Style: Vermont-style IPA

Strength: 4.2%

Submitted by: Kevin Durkan

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