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.
Egg Nog Stout
Fallen Acorn Egg Nog (500ml bottle, 5.3% ABV) Egg nog, eh? It’s as Christmassy as stollen, or mince pies, or crippling credit card bills. Although, in my case, I have to confess I’ve never drunk it. Initially I thought this might make for a difficult beer review, until I realised that literally none of the…
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St Peter’s The Saints Whisky Beer
St Peter’s The Saints Whisky Beer (500ml bottle, 4.8% ABV) Given the similarities between beer and whisky (both are made with fermented barley) it’s surprising that more breweries haven’t tried mixing the two. Enter St Peter’s brewery and The Saints, which includes a measure of whisky from St George’s distillery in Norfolk, one of England’s…
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Firebrand Brewing Co NEIPA
Firebrand Brewing Co NEIPA (330ml can, 5.5% ABV) This is a foamy one. As soon as I open it, the top of the can – and my fingers – are enveloped with froth. Pouring it results in a head the size of the Mekon. Even though it’s a small can, I can’t get it all in the glass in one…
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Andwell Red IPA
Andwell Red IPA (500ml bottle, 4.5% ABV) I’ve written before about the widespread use of IPA for beers that aren’t pale, or strong, or even particularly hoppy. But what if you make a hoppy ale and it happens to be red? Calling it an India Red Ale might seem like a good idea, until you give…
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Hanlons Stormstay
Hanlons Stormstay (500ml bottle, 5.0% ABV) Hanlons used to be called O’Hanlons, but have dropped both the apostrophe (graphic designers seem to be allergic to punctuation) and the ‘O’. Perhaps they popped it into a time machine and sent it back to famed Hollywood producer David O Selznick (of ‘Gone With the Wind’ fame) who is…
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Quorum Brune Unity Brewing
Unity Brewing Quorum Brune (330ml bottle, 5.5% ABV, vegan) There are plenty of breweries in Britain devoted to US-style craft ale, but Unity of Southampton is the only domestic brewery I can think of that’s devoted to that other bastion of world beer: Belgian ales. Given the rarity of some of the Belgian stuff, it’s welcome to…
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Dark Star Imperial Export Strength Stout
Dark Star Imperial Export Strength Stout (330ml bottle, 10.5% ABV) Dark Star predate many of the new independent breweries, having been set up in the cellar of Brighton’s Evening Star pub in 1994. Since then, they’ve gone from strength to strength, now occupying a 45 barrel facility near Horsham. A dark star, surely, is a black…
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Azores – Atlantic Brewery (500ml bottle, 4.2% ABV, vegan, organic) Azores? Surely a small cluster of Portuguese-speaking islands in the north Atlantic haven’t got in on the ale-making game? Well, no. Atlantic Brewery are a Cornish concern, operating from an 18th Century farmhouse near Newquay. Their Azores is a combination of the American and English…
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Wilde Geest – Wiper and True / Siren Craft
Wilde Geest Siren Craft / Wiper and True (330ml bottle, 7.2% ABV) You at the back – yes, you – put your phone down. How are you going to pass your chemistry GCSE if you don’t pay attention? So, last week we were talking a bit about yeast. We know that most ale is brewed with the top-fermenting yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and…
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Southwick Brewhouse, Southwick, PO176DX
Tel: 02392 201133 Email: [email protected]