Brewhouse Beer Blog
by Richard Salsbury
A Little About Richard
I try to write on a broad variety of topics, but I have a particular interest in technology, society, and personal philosophy, which all sounds very grand, but I’m also deeply concerned with writing stuff that entertains. An element of humour and/or irony often creeps in.
Some of my favourite writers include David Mitchell, Scarlett Thomas, Jonathan Coe, Kurt Vonnegut, Graham Greene, Dickens, Shakespeare … I could go on.
All of my novels are based in the fictional town of Strathurst, on the border between Hampshire and Surrey.
In my previous jobs I have worked as a civil engineer, software engineer, training instructor and technical writer.
You Got This
West Berkshire Brewery You Got This (440ml can, 4.1% ABV, vegan) With the onslaught of beers hopped with American varieties, it’s often easy to forget that there are other parts of the world that grow their own unique hops in abundance. New Zealand is one such country, with many native varieties, some of which have…
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Escape Artist
Siren Craft Escape Artist (440ml can, 5.9% ABV, vegan) ‘Sometimes you need a last minute recipe that can get you out of trouble’ it says on the can of Escape Artist. What’s this? Evidence of a brew gone wrong? With all the experimental beers that Siren Craft make, I wouldn’t be surprised. Perhaps the powdered…
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Turkey’s Delight
Summerskills Turkey’s Delight (500ml bottle, 5.1% ABV) With a label that looks like it was designed in the 1970s by someone with red-green colour blindness*, Turkey’s Delight is a Christmas beer by Plymouth’s oldest brewery, Summerskills. They’ve decided to use Phoenix, one of Britain’s most unusual hop varieties. Phoenix is the only hop I know that has a…
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Pudding Ale
Driftwood Spars Pudding Ale (500ml bottle, 7.5% ABV) Pudding is bad for you, they say. Beer is bad for you, they say. Oh well, having decided to be bad, you might as well combine the two and go for a pudding beer. Having said that, there is one group of people for whom Pudding Ale…
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Santa Monium
South Hams Brewery Santa Monium (500ml bottle, 5.0% ABV) There’s a time-honoured way of making a beer for Christmas: brew up a strong ale, then throw loads of spices at it. Cinnamon? Check. Nutmeg? Check. Cloves? Check. Star anise? Check. That stuff has been in the spice rack for years, so it probably needs replacing.…
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Hoppy Chrimbo
Red Rock Hoppy Chrimbo (500ml bottle, 4.0% ABV) Red Rock are a Devon brewery founded in 2006. Like many modern breweries, they divide their range up into categories, in this case: traditional beer, craft beer and ‘slow’ beer (which makes much use of natural, local ingredients, such as elderflowers and blackberries). No prizes, though, for…
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Criminally Bad Elf
Ridgeway Criminally Bad Elf (11.2 fl ozbottle, 10.5% ABV) Ridgeway’s ‘Elf’ series of beers have become something of a Christmas institution. The range now consists of seven brews in various different styles, including this 10.5% kick to the baubles. Criminally Bad Elf is a barley wine, so called because it’s basically a wine strength beverage, but with the…
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Lump of Coal
Ridgeway Lump of Coal (500ml bottle, 7.5% ABV) Dark beers, perhaps more than any other, have their fair share of forbidding names: Harvieston’s Old Engine Oil, Hambleton Nightmare, RCH Old Slug. ‘Edible things shouldn’t be black,’ these beers seem to be saying, ‘but we know you love us anyway.’ You can add Ridgeway’s Lump of Coal to that roster – a beer named…
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Land of Hop and Glory
Suthwyk Ales Land of Hop and Glory (500ml bottle, 4.5% ABV) One hundred. The temperature of boiling water. A century in cricket. The age at which you get a telegram from the Queen. Yes, in case you hadn’t guessed, this is my 100th blog post for the Southwick Brewhouse. Blimey. Where has all the time gone? Where has all…
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Unity Fresco
Unity Fresco (400ml can, 5% ABV, vegan) Fresco is a wheat beer in the Belgian style (a ‘witbier’, or white beer) but with a couple of twists. Rather than the usual orange peel and coriander that characterises a wit, this version uses locally foraged lemon balm and spruce tips. Who knew that Southampton was such a bonanza of…
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Southwick Brewhouse, Southwick, PO176DX
Tel: 02392 201133 Email: [email protected]