The Brewery: “Now in its seventh year of operation Poppyland Brewery has gained a reputation for doing different. For me, Martin Warren the Poppyland Brewer, it has been a challenge in semi-retirement, a means of self expression and it helped to satisfy my creative instincts. It made a small living too. As an ex-museum curator I couldn't help myself from revelling in the character and culture of North Norfolk and I reflected this in my beers. I have produced extraordinary ales that were far removed from industrial beer found in supermarkets or even beer found in British pubs. I have been exploring just what beer can be, using the best ingredients and new techniques, seeking to innovate and aiming to really please my customers. I often drew inspiration from the local environment and local history. Where I could I used local ingredients - wild and cultivated. Where I couldn't, I got the best ingredients from all over the world - like hops and yeasts.”
The Beer: “Golden colour. Grapefruit aroma. Intense, luscious, mouth-puckering hops hit you immediately. The bitterness is combined with complex citrus fruit flavours and a wild note from the yeast which, when combined with the delicious flavour of the Maris Otter malt, makes your mouth water. This beer is huge and dry and it is difficult not to chug it down because of the sledgehammer citrus zest but at 7.2% it needs to be drunk more slowly, swilling the beer around your mouth to savour all that it has to offer before swallowing it off and coming back for another gulp. It is long: the hoppy bitterness and fruit flavours will linger on the tongue for ages. Brewed with pale Maris Otter malt, high colour Munich, oats and malted wheat and sucrose. Hopped with Ella, Centennial, Cascade, Columbus and Summit. Fermented with a Belgian saison yeast.”
Yep. Quality undoubted but as you may have guessed, not my thing. Powerful stuff though, both in flavour and A.B.V. August 2019