The Ale Archive

The brewery: “Buxton Brewery’s first ever brew was mashed-in on a cold, dark, January 1st, 2009. The brewhouse was the family garage and the batch size was about 40 litres……Fast-forward 9 years and the team, which has steadily grown to be 11 strong is now based in a 7000 square foot modern building on Staden Lane, Buxton. Its custom designed and (British) built brewhouse produces around 3500 litres per brew, 3 times per week.” The beer: “Kinder Scout – the highest point of the Peak District, about 10 miles north of Buxton, was in 1932 the scene of a mass trespass by hundreds of walkers, some of whom were imprisoned for their actions. This led, arguably, to the formation of the National Parks and later, the Countryside Rights Of Way Act. Opening the land up to the people, with the Right To Roam, enabling forever, people to enjoy and cherish the wildest areas of Britain.” No longer on the brewery web site, this appeared to be produced to celebrate the above. A fairly pale light bitter, i...

The brewery: “In 2003 Robert and Debra Evans had a carefully prepared plan – sell the house, uproot their family, leave secure jobs and set up a microbrewery in the Peak District…..Chatsworth suggested he took a look at Cunnery Barn on the Chatsworth Estate, the barn buildings were in disrepair but the potential was obvious; the perfect location for a microbrewery had been discovered. Two years later and after many hurdles including planning, electricity, drainage, renovation, finance and resident barn owls, the first beer had been brewed and the owls had a purpose built nesting box – no other barn owls in Derbyshire have accommodation so grand!” The beer: “Chatsworth Gold is a golden beer made with honey from the Chatsworth Estate. The delicate sweetness is well balanced with bitterness from Goldings and Fuggles hops.” Pleasant enough and crystal clear but not surprisingly, not to my taste - just not my favourite style of beer. Lovely location though. 4.6% A.B.V. The Anglers Rest, Mil...

The brewery: “Our story began in April 2013 with one simple mission to bring people together through our love of beer. Based in the beautiful North Yorkshire hills in Well, near Masham our 18 barrel microbrewery brews three times a week. We are a fiercely independent family brewery and pride ourselves on brewing the finest and characteristic beers.” The beer: Appears to be brewed specifically for The Monsal Head Hotel and gets a rating of 3.22 on Untapped . Nothing fancy about it but a very pleasant Bitter that wasn’t too strong in a lovely location. 3.9% A.B.V. July 2021

The brewery: “The original Sadler’s Brewery was founded in 1861 and continued until 1927, but in 2004 descendants of the former owners began brewing again and it remains very much a thriving family run craft brewery that supplies its beers to bars, restaurants and shops throughout the region and beyond. “ The beer: “A Black IPA brewed with five different malts and five different hop varieties. Dark and delicious, refreshing and hoppy.” This was more to my taste than the Pale Ale. Nice to sometimes drink a dark beer that isn’t heavy. It was very refreshing too. 4.4% A.B.V. July 2021. Related entries

The brewery: “The original Sadler’s Brewery was founded in 1861 and continued until 1927, but in 2004 descendants of the former owners began brewing again and it remains very much a thriving family run craft brewery that supplies its beers to bars, restaurants and shops throughout the region and beyond. “ The beer: “A light and refreshing pale ale brewed with English hops and barley. A gentle fruit bitterness leads to an uplifting citrus hop finish. “ Refreshing it certainly was, and it was certainly put to the test, being drunk on one of the hottest days of the year. More of a deckchair than a fireside beer to me. 4.3% A.B.V. July 2021. Related entries

The brewery: “We’ve been running pubs and brewing award-winning beer from our base in Bury St. Edmunds ever since the company was founded in 1799 by 19 year-old Benjamin Greene……Edward Greene grew the business in Bury St Edmunds significantly to the point where he merged operations with business rival Frederick King and Greene King began to become more recognisable as the brewery that we see today.” The beer: “Very full bodied, rich and sweet with a higher bitterness to provide balance. Bursting with malty, biscuity and fruitcake character from the mixture of pale, amber and crystal malts. Masses of tropical fruits and floral fragrance from the hops in particular the fragrant, floral and spicy fuggles. Very complex,rich and warming.” Another I’ve had before but omitted to add to the Archive. I’ve always liked Abbot Ale this was even better. However it is very much like Old Crafty Hen and given that they are both brewed at Bury St Edmunds it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s just a bit of re...

The brewery: Is in fact Greene King and brewing takes place at it’s site in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. GK acquired the Morland Brewery - based in Abingdon - in 1999. There is now housing on the site where the brewery once stood. The beer: “A strong fine ale combines the malty taste with a smooth raisin finish. It has great complexity, but it is still rather refreshing. This superior ale is great on nights with a bit of a nip in the air!….Our Master Brewer has created a premium, vintage oak-aged beer which delivers a variety of sophisticated tastes. The marvellous 5X brings resonance, depth and an eruption of fruity, raisin notes, underscored by the malt and toffee from Old Speckled Hen to create a perfectly smooth and rounded beer. Complex, mysterious… and a question and answer all in one.” I’ve drunk this many times - not least because my nearby Co-Op stocks it - however it was only recently I realised that it wasn’t in the Archive. So here it is. I must say I like this a lot, wonderfu...