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.
Cali – Tiny Rebel
Cali – Tiny Rebel (330ml can, 5.6% ABV, vegan) Tiny Rebel is one of the roaring successes of the Welsh beer scene. Starting in 2012 with two mates and a dream, by 2017 they had ballooned to 110 employees. Not so tiny now! Their brews are immediately identifiable through their charming logo – a threadbare teddy that looks…
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Amalgamation Houblon Tripel
Unity Brewing Amalgamation Houblon Tripel (330ml bottle, 8.0% ABV, vegan) ‘So, let me get this straight, yeah?’ Josh says. ‘This beer we’re brewing is a Belgian Tripel, but with some late hops that give it a bit of the character of an IPA?’ ‘That’s right.’ ‘And this is a style made famous by monks brewing in monasteries…
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Pure Gold
Pure Gold – Itchen Valley (500ml bottle, 4.8% ABV) The phrase ‘pure gold’ always reminds me of Lord Percy’s attempt at alchemy in Blackadder II. Rather than a nugget of gold, he ends up with a splat of green. Thankfully, Itchen Valley’s Pure Gold makes no such mistake, and looks every bit how it sounds. A soon-to-be-gone fizz leaves…
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Becoming North
Becoming North by Good Chemistry (660ml bottle, 6.0% ABV, vegan) When is a porter not a porter? When it’s a Baltic porter. When is a lager not a lager? When it’s a Baltic porter. In the 19th century, Britain was doing a roaring beer trade with Russia, Poland and other countries around the Baltic sea.…
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Kick-Start
Kick-Start – Vibrant Forest (500ml bottle, 5.7% ABV, vegan) Breakfast, we’re told, is the most important meal of the day. What do you have for breakfast? Maybe some porridge oats and a cup of coffee. Or, given that it contains both of these ingredients, why not kill two birds with one stone and have a bottle of Kick-Start instead?…
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D-Day Revival Southwick Village
Southwick D-Day Revival The annual Southwick Village D-Day Revival event is this weekend, and it is a biggie. Last year we had over 10,000 visitors to the village and this year we are expecting even more! If your planing a trip to the Brewhouse this weekend here are a few things you should know: Peak…
Read More Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard – Narrow Gauge (500ml bottle, 3.9% ABV) Apparently there’s a light railway in Leighton Buzzard. The things you learn from beer bottles, eh? It makes you wonder if, after the apocalypse, some future society might be able to piece together our history purely from beer bottle labels. Although, if they happen to find Skull Splitter, Bishop’s Finger and Sheepshaggers goodness…
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Fred in London
Fred in London (330ml, 11.0% ABV) Siren Craft ‘Fred in London’ is named for the late Fred Eckhardt, a pioneer of the American beer scene. He started homebrewing when it was still illegal in the States*, and was also a celebrated beer writer, historian and critic. It’s common to get a beer that showcases hops (American…
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Trapped in Amber
Trapped in Amber (440ml, 3.2% ABV) Staggeringly Good Table beer, or small beer, used to be a very fashionable thing – a beverage with such low alcohol you could drink the stuff all day, even feed it to your kids! Of course, people didn’t need much persuading, given how disease-ridden Britain’s water supply was at the time. Trapped…
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Black Buzzard
Black Buzzard (500ml, 5.8% ABV) Leighton Buzzard I love English place names. From the energetic (Westward Ho!, complete with its exclamation mark) to the oxymoronic (Lower Upham), England is full of settlements both historic and strange. Leighton Buzzard has always struck me as an one of these. How many other town names include a bird of prey? The…
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Southwick Brewhouse, Southwick, PO176DX
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