Here we will explore some of the flavours we encounter in beer…
Bitter
The essential counter-balance to sweetness.
Balancing sweetness in beers in many different ways. Resinous or zesty bitterness from hops, roasted or smoky from special malts or an earthy character from the yeast.
Flavours: Earthy – Roast/Smoke – Zest – Resinous
Sweet and Rich
Rich, complicated stouts are the perfect taste to end the night. Beer doesn’t have to be created for refreshment only. Cocoa nibs and freshly roasted coffee beans create rich, complicated stouts, full of new stories for palate.
Then there’s the smooth caramel and bready sweetness, from traditional English malts; this can be used to balance the floral notes of aromatic New World hops and create the perfect beer.
Flavours: Chocolate – Malty – Nutty – Caramel – Dried fruit
Dryness
We love the Belgian style of Saison beers and its distinct dryness. Our house yeasts are very hungry giving a distinctly dry character to a number the beers. The Belgian Saison style of beer traditionally has a refreshing, crisp dryness from its yeast. We use this yeast in a number of our beers, as it’s a character we love in them.
Flavours: Crisp – Prickly
Fruit
Fruit flavours in beer can be as complex as those in wine. Fruit flavours are common in many different beer styles. Some of the most common flavours found are berries, citrus fruits, tropical flavours, and stone or dried fruits.
Traditional and contemporary methods are used to give the beers these flavours. Malts, hops and yeasts all can give fruit characters as well as barrel-ageing, maturing on fruit or adding juice.
Flavours: Berries – Citrus – Stone/Dried fruit – Tropical
Sour
No. Come back. Sourness is delicious… Beers that are soured by the uncontrollable critters that are lactic bacteria and wild yeasts, inoculating our Wild beers with the help of sour fruits and barrels.
A number of different techniques are used to make our sour beers, blending, ageing, sour-mashing and inoculating. Complex and refreshing beers that dazzle the tastebuds.
Flavours:Citrus – Tannic – Crisp
Herbal
Cleanse your palate with clean, cool and refreshing flavours. Clean, cool and refreshing qualities with scents of being in the open air. They can be fresh, pungent or subtly hidden in the background. Great for enjoying on a hot summer’s day, these beers are like a gentle breeze for your taste buds.
Flavours: Mint – Cucumber – Dill – Rhubarb – Elderflower
Spicy
Some of the most complex flavours that deliver intense finishes. An array of aromas that leap from the glass. Gentle, sweet spiciness delivers warming tones and incredibly unusual complexity.
For a long lingering finish that’s intense on the palate, a peppery taste can create an interesting, crispness that’s dry and spicy, yet surprisingly refreshing on the tongue.
Flavours: Pepper – Spices
Barrel-Aged
Ageing in oak barrels brings woody complexity to beers. The woody complexity of beers like Modus Vivendi, is achieved by ageing the beer in oak barrels. With each batch we sample a number of barrels to identify the flavours that blend well.
We pick up character from the wine and bourbon that was previously in the barrel. The brettanomyces yeasts love the porous nature of the wood to develop a slightly sour cherry flavour
Flavours: Wood – Blends – Soured – Barrel