Harts of Stur Kitchen Issue 6, spring & summer 2018 | Page 61

Craft Beer
Style it out
Here’s Amanda’s expert guide to the main beer styles: where they come from, what they are made from, which
food to match them with and which glass to best enjoy drinking them from.
Dartington Brew Craft
Stout and Strong
RRP: £18.00
Harts Price: £14.40
Porters and Stout
These virtually black beers were first made
commercially in the 18th century in the port cities
of London and Dublin where the water profile is
well suited to these types of beers.
It is thought that the name Porter came from the
beer’s popularity with railway and river porters.
Style file
Malts - Pale, chocolate, black, roasted barley
(stouts only), smoked grains (for smoked porter).
Hops - Large amounts added for bitterness and
aroma.
Yeast – Ale yeast.
Adjuncts – Oats, chocolate, milk lactose,
oysters, chillies etc.
ABV – 4% up to 10% or even higher for very
strong beers of this type called imperial stouts
which historically were shipped to Russian
imperial courts.
Glass – Nonic or traditional handled tankard.
Food match – Chocolate desserts such as a
rich chocolate cake or black forest gateau.
LSA Bar Beer Tankard
RRP: £22.00
Harts Price: £17.60
Try these…
Brad’s Coffee Stout (4.5%)
by Gyle 59 has an adjunct of
roasted coffee from Finca in
Dorchester and is a medium
-bodied stout with perfectly
balanced bittersweet notes.
The coffee intertwines with
the roasted malts and barley
to give a complex but smooth
coffee finish leaving you
feeling warmed and satisfied.
Gyle 59’s porter called The
Favourite is stronger at 6.6%
and is full-bodied, with roasted
flavours of chocolate, with
black cherry and blackcurrant
aroma and flavour from the
Bramling Cross and Brewers
Gold hops. It is smooth and
velvety. Starstruck, its sister
beer has a subtle addition of
star anise lending liquorice and
aniseed flavours.
English Bitter
Bitter encompasses many different English beers that I have grown up with and love. They range from pale through
to dark amber in colour and are usually split out by ABV – session bitters from 3% – 4.1% and best bitters a little
stronger at 4.2% - 4.7%. Anything more than 4.7% is generally classified as a premium bitter or special bitter. Hop
additions vary by recipe but are more noticeable in the lower strength session bitters
Style file
Malts: - Pale, amber, crystal and possibly small amounts of chocolate malt & wheat for head retention.
Hops - Traditionally English hops such as East Kent Goldings and Fuggles, although the new
wave of craft brewers will use other hops for both bittering and aroma purposes.
Yeast – Ale yeast, could be a cocktail of strains.
Adjuncts – Torrified wheat for head retention.
ABV – 3% - 7% including special and premium bitters.
Glass – Nonic or traditional handled tankard.
Food match – Mature cheddar cheese, fish and chips, lemon & coriander hummus
Try these…
Based on a 19th Century recipe, Freedom Hiker
3.7% was created for a pilgrimage from Plymouth to
Tolpuddle taken by Jonny Gordon-Farleigh and friends
in 2015 to commemorate the Tolpuddle Martyr’s march
home in 1838. Dumped in Plymouth having been
pardoned and brought back from exile in Australia they
undertook the long walk home.
Gyle 59 brewers added a twist to the old bitter recipe
by using Australian hops as a nod to the martyrs. The
result is a hoppy amber bitter which has a floral aroma
and notes of coffee grounds. Biscuity and hoppy to
the taste it is very refreshing with a long bitter finish
suitable for a weary pilgrim
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