It’s all feeling rather pleasant. Warmer weather is on the horizon, and we’ve brewed a beer for those moments when the sun breaks through. It’s called Balmy Days and it’s our first collaboration of 2024, brewed with our friends at Vocation, from the market town of Hebden Bridge, in the Calderdale district of West Yorkshire.
At this time of year, the world bursts into life. Enlivened by the prospect of brighter skies and balmy days, we’re celebrating the spontaneous origins of lager yeast and the moment it took that first spring forward. We’ve brewed a mixed style of beer, that has our Head Brewer, Dan, throwing around words like ‘hybridisation.’
“In anticipation of balmier days, we’ve combined the crisp, flavour-packed qualities of a Cold Session IPA with the ripe fruit and spice of a White IPA and fermented with lager yeast, to create a Spring IPL (India Pale Lager).”
“All lager yeasts are derived from a relatively recent hybridisation of yeasts,” Dan explains. “There is a theory that a single brewery in Bavaria was brewing wheat beer in the 1600s and was responsible for the hybridisation moment. This has partly inspired the wheat in our brew.”
Wheat and extra-pale malt keep things light and breezy, while Lemondrop, and a touch of HBC586 hops and orange peel bring a fragrant air of sweet citrus fruits. It’s a brew that’s zingy upfront, with a crisp lager finish.
“Lemondrop, as its name suggests, offers a unique lemon character and HBC586 is one of Matt from Vocation’s favourites, as it is mine. It’s a lovely US hop. This beer should have lots of lemon and orange with low levels of spice. There should be a nice wheat cereal note and a refreshing hint of acidity, making it perfect for your own spontaneous moments.”
Balmy Days is available in cask, as well as keg and 440ml cans, and we are excited to be brewing cask lager styles for our 2024 collaborations. “Matt and I talked a lot about cask on the day. And with a cask lager, that natural carbonation from careful conditioning is going to be key. Yes, there was the inevitable discussion about whether to sparkle or not to sparkle!
“We’re all big fans of cask, and cask is obviously a big part of what we do here at Adnams. However, brewing cask lager’s a rarity, so we can’t wait to see how that translates.”