Overkill 4.5% (45SPEC014)

For our May special we thought we'd experiment a little, well a lot actually.  First of all this is our first wheat beer and secondly it's the first time we've used fresh fruit in a beer.  So, coming soon to a bar near you is Overkill a rhubarb wheat beer named after the Motörhead album from 1979.

Why Overkill you may ask.  Well, as well as a cynical attempt to appeal to heavy rock fans (just kidding), we thought that since the wheat beer is a German beer style the fact that Motörhead use an umlaut in their name was kind of appropriate.

Why rhubarb you may also ask.  Well here in Whitwood, West Yorkshire we are on the edge of the largest rhubarb growing area in the UK - known locally as The Rhubarb Triangle.  So the fruit used in the beer is locally grown here in West Yorkshire.

Andrew:  I'll be honest I'm not a fan of Motörhead apart from a couple of classic singles.  I don't own an album but I'm going to try and find a secondhand vinyl copy of Overkill!  Ahh, I still remember eagerly sitting down to watch the first episode of series two of the Young Ones featuring Ace of Spades as the musical number while Mayall, Edmundson, Planer and Ryan tore around Bristol flicking the Vs at bemused British Rail staff at Temple Meads.  After me everyone 'crop rotation in the 14th Century was CONSIDERABLY more widespread after...'.

 

Replicas 4.5% (45SPEC013)

In February 2012 we launched a brewing competition with the Leeds Homebrew Society, the winner getting to have their recipe brewed commercially as our April 2012 special 'Replicas'.

Firstly, a bit about the competition.  The parameter we set for the entrants was that the beer must contain only European hops.  We received eight entries and a distinguished panel of tasters convened at Mr Foley's Cask Ale House in Leeds at the end of February to decide a winner.  After much slurping and beard stroking (literal and metaphorical) the winner was announced as Peter Hindle from Doncaster.

Peter came and brewed with us in the middle of March and the beers started shipping late March/early April.  Casks made it as far afield as the Euston Tap in London and more locally at Doncaster Beer Festival, Doncaster's Cask Corner and Pontefract's The Golden Ball.  There are a few casks still out there so keep your eyes peeled.  There'll be one going to Coopers in Guiseley for a beer festival on 18/19 May.

Secondly, the album reference.  'You know I hate to ask but are friends electric?'.  Enough of a clue?   Yes, it's the classic Tubeway Army album Replicas from 1979 featuring the No.1 smash hit single (not 'arff) 'Are Friends Electric?' and the less well known 'Down In The Park'.

Andrew:  I came to this album only in the last few years though I had the single from way back.  Are Friends Electric has always been one of my favourite singles.  Despite singing the song in his cold, automaton style, Gary Numan still manages to inject a huge amount of emotion into the song.  The line 'you see you mean everything to me' still raises the hairs on the back of the neck.

 ..and finally the beer.  It is described as a pale ale but is actually somewhere between a pale ale and a traditional bitter.  It's a pale brown colour and drinks with a medium body.  There is a degree of sweetness on the finish.  The hop profile is spicy and citrus with a little peppery note.

Secondhand Daylight 4.5% (45SPEC012)

Magazine are perhaps one of the less well known/more unheralded bands from the post-punk era.  Formed by ex-Buzzcock Howard Devoto the band released a classic early single 'Shot By Both Sides' - if you've never heard it, go check it out.  That single was from the first album 'Real Life'.  Their second album 'Secondhand Daylight' was released in March-79 and peaked at No.38 in the UK album chart.  The band reformed in 2009 and released a new album 'No Thyself' in 2011.

The image we used in the pump clip is from a small cemetery close to the brewery.  Our brewery is on a former colliery site (Whitwood) and many of the graves tell the story of tragic accidents that befell miners as well as other workers at the colliery.  Mary Alnie died in her 20s accompanying a party on a tour of inspection of the mine.  We are reminded of this almost daily as our brewery dog Lily often gets her walk in the graveyard.

The beer is a very pale ale with a little rye added to the grain bill.  Lightly hopped with classic European noble hops and infused with a little fresh ginger in the cask.

Background on the band: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magazine_(band)

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/magazineofficial

Record label website: http://www.wire-sound.com

Milk & Alcohol 4.5% (45SPEC011)

"White boy in town - big black, blue sound
Night club I paid in
I got a stamp on my skin"

So begins one of the classic singles of the post-punk era, Dr Feelgood's 'Milk & Alcohol'.
Had no idea until we started researching the piece that the song was co-written by Nick Lowe.  It was released in January 1979 and peaked at No.9 in the UK charts.

This is not a 'spot the difference' competition - as usual we've had a bit of fun with the pump clip design making reference to the original Kahlua bottle design.  If you want to know more about the origins of the sleeve design read the wiki article - it's rather interesting.

Dr Feelgood wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_and_Alcohol

The beer is a milk (or sweet) stout.  For the uninitiated, milk stouts use lactose in their production.  Lactose is unfermentable and so adds body and sweetness to the final beer.  We are indebted to Dean Pugh of Mr Foley's Cask Ale House in Leeds and Leigh Linley (The Good Stuff blog) for their help in formulating the recipe and participating in the brew day.
Mr Foley's: http://www.mrfoleyscaskalehouse.co.uk

The Good Stuff: http://goodfoodgoodbeer.wordpress.com

Unknown Pleasures 4.5% (45SPEC010)

This really is going to make a lot of you feel very old.  33 years ago saw the release of Joy Division's seminal debut album Unknown Pleasures.  Great sleeve, fantastic songs and amazing production by legendary studio wizard Martin Hannett.

We had a bit of fun with the pump clip to take the homage just that little bit further.

There's a possibility we might do some t-shirts of this one - kind of lends itself to it we think.  Watch this space.

Andrew's memories of the album: "Well actually Joy Division passed me by back in 1979 - I hadn't started buying records regularly at this time.  Actually I still don't own Unknown Pleasures in any sort of physical form - only an MP3 version!  I do intend to purchase every special we do if I don't already have it so off to my local record emporium I go.  I do own a copy of Substance however and if I have a favourite Joy Division track it is probably Dead Souls which I think is taken from the album Still."

Mark's Favourite Albums and Songs of 2011

Magazine - Do The Meaning by Cargorecords

Fairytale 4.5% (45SPEC009)

You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap, lousy faggot

No, not you, beer drinkers - that's just a lyric from The Pogues' classic Christmas hit Fairytale of New York and the inspiration for our Winter Ale.  The beer is a pale-mid brown ale finished with festive spices.  The pump clip is a homage to the original record sleeve.  We invited local writer and broadcaster Ian Clayton for a pint or two in Castleford and while in town popped down to the new bridge over the Aire & Calder to get the photo.

Hope you enjoy the beer.  Merry Christmas your arse, I pray god it's our last...