Hop Hideout's Tenth Birthday Celebrations, Whit Whoo!

Hop Hideout 10th Birthday Beer Collab  

It’s a real pinch me moment to share our tenth birthday beer collaboration news with you all. When Jules first moved back to Sheffield, around 2011, and before Hop Hideout started in 2013, this brewery was our go-to sup and ten years later still is! So we’re thrilled to announce this #collab with the wonderful folks @thornbridge From delicious cask Jaipur to phenomenal collaboration beers with the likes of @sierranevada (Twin Peak ) and @odellbrewing (Pond Hopper) to their thoughtful, intensely flavoursome and skilful barrel-aged range whether it’s Days of Creation Flemish-inspired sour ales or their imperial stout series Necessary Evil. Or the way they brew timelessly quenchable lagers with such finesse. 

To brew a beer at #Thornbridge for Hop Hideout’s celebrations is honestly a dream come true and feels a very full circle moment to complete this decade! 

The #brewday starts tomorrow, so we’ll be sharing more about the collaboration then. Unfortunately Jules can’t make the morning due to family commitments, but we know it’s in good hands with the brew team. Jules will be heading up to check in on the beer and possibly do some packaging instead, whit whoo! So don’t worry we will still try to do our part in this beer ;)

One bit Jules will certainly be helping with is the drinking We’ll be launching and ‘first pouring’ the beer on tap our birthday weekend from Friday 10th November. Tickets are also available for our official birthday bash Saturday 11th November with a 2/3 pour of the beer (plus quiz entry) in with the price, £8pp. It’s family and doggie friendly here at the #foodhall too

Hope to see you then, if not before, and raise a big glass of good times with you all. Huge thanks for your support and custom over the years. And a big thank you to Thornbridge too.  

Mixy & Chill

Theatre. This is the one-word answer I give people when they ask what’s so good about a desi (British-Indian) pub. By “theatre” I don’t mean there’s some-sort of avant-garde performance going on - although when India win in the cricket, dancing can break out - but there’s spectacle and this show is put on by one sizzling dish - the mixed grill.

For those of you unfortunate enough to not know what a desi pub mixy is then it’s a pile of marinated meats (and fish) cooked on a bed of onions. It’s an Indian take on an English classic: out with the solitary sausage (?), grilled tomato (??) and peas (???) and in with spicy lamb chops, shish kebabs and fiery tandoori wings. It’s the ultimate sharing platter and the meat comes charred with splashes of lemon juice.

I’ve made you hungry. Now I want to make you thirsty. Eating a mixed grill is similar to having a BBQ and I think reveals a great deal of what beers pair well best with darkened meats. My hunch here is that lager is for the unadventurous and you’re better pairing black with black. So if you’re after imbibing inspiration while firing up your BBQ then I’m here to help.

When you’re sitting in the garden on a hot day the last drink you think you’ll need would be an Imperial Stout with a 12% ABV. But in moderation I fully recommend Memory and Perception, from Finback, a New York brewery, with its coffee flavours. It possesses a maple syrup tone that would work well with smoky meats and its vanilla flavour would go well with charred chicken.

Image: Finback Brewery

Rock Leopard’s Everyday Stout (5% ABV) also has a very apt name and it’s perfect with indulgent meats as its milk chocolate, cocoa and mild caramel tones worked well when I tried it with blackened wings and paneer. In fact, its Tia Maria-like subtle finish acted like a digestif to my meal proving that there’s a lot more to this stout than you would imagine.

Milds are always linked to food-free sessions and the first desi pubs as they were traditionally drunk by foundry workers in the Midlands in their lunch breaks. Interestingly, their typically low ABV was a relic of the First World War and prior to this conflict they had a lot higher alcohol volume. Put simply, I think the beer’s misunderstood and can pair well with food.

Take Merakai’s Modern Mild (4.5%). The brown beer acted as a wonderful coolant for a hot (as in chillies) marinade that I fashioned with some lamb. Its surprising black liquorice flavour gives it a bitter-y aftertaste that I found went well with hearty meats - especially burgers - and its soft caramel tones paired perfectly with the caramelised onions placed on top of my patty.

Image: Merakai Brewing Co

One of the forgotten tastes in general, with BBQed meats and, in particular, when it comes to beer pairings, is umami - the Japanese word for deliciousness that equally applies to Indian food. You may find it especially in seared, soy sauce-marinated flesh but also its ubiquitous in tamarind desi sauces that go with grills.

The St. Stephans Bock by Zötler Brewery in southern Germany has a mild unami scent and its light nutty flavour mixed well with the brown sauces that can be doused over kebabs and wings. At 7.1% ABV it was a substantial and full bodied drink which is best shared around. 

The British weather is notoriously unpredictable so instead of getting a crate of lager it makes sense to buy a few dark beers, like I’ve mentioned, because you don’t know when you’ll be eating your BBQ outdoors or indoors. It can be frustrating to be an al-fresco chef in the UK but with these recommendations I’ve given you there’s plenty of warm comfort from a bottle (or can) of the dark stuff.

David Jesudason is a freelance journalist, he writes a weekly essay on Desi pub culture here davidjesudason.substack.com and you can read more powerful and superbly written pieces HERE on the Bangladeshi legacy of the British curry house to IPA’s colonial identity and more. Which led him to be named Be Inclusive Hospitality's Writer of The Year in 2022. His first book has just been released covering Desi pubs which guides the reader through pints, food and the culture of this British-Indian institution (available to buy at Hop Hideout). Not all the beers mentioned in the piece above are available, due to being specials. However you can follow David’s beer and food pairing principles to find plenty of other tasty beers in our online shop, buy UK beers HERE and imported HERE.

Spice & Beer

The Regency in north London was originally set up as a members’ club in 1991 but don’t be mistaken into thinking it was an exclusive joint. The licensing authorities didn’t trust a bunch of Gujuratis who descended from India but moved to the UK from Kenya in the 70s and made them operate a member-only policy with blacked out windows - ghettoising their business. It was a huge success despite this and fast forward to 2023 and now the Regency offers the dining splendour of a decadent East Africa where fiery curries and sizzling grills are so popular that evening bookings are now a must.

Most crucially your dining and drinking - there’s a bar where uncles sit - experience has been expertly curated so even the smells are important. A wooden-shack-style open kitchen pumps out dishes and the spice aroma it produces mixes in with a sandalwood, vanilla and cloves scent which is wafted into the air with incense sticks.

This is a desi pub (a British-Indian boozer) which offers something different and instead of the usual industrial lagers you can have a Rothaus pilsner with your food. Sadly, most other desi pubs offer the beer range you’d expect in a local curry house despite the food being a step up from the British institution that relies on pre-made sauces and colourings. Cobra’s marketing of lager as the ideal pairing with a hot dish, though, has meant most people believe it - or Kingfisher - to be the best match with a saag, korma or karahi. 

As the Regency’s incense sticks show, spices can - and should - be delicately balanced with other flavours. So when you’re eating a curry it’s important to consider what spices are in it and match them with a beer which has corresponding tones. For this I think pale ales are excellent especially if the different flavours in the drink are subtle as they really can bring out the spice in your food. (It’s worth noting that often people will often call curries “spicy” when they mean “hot from chillies” and here I’m talking about spices you will find in your cupboard like cumin, coriander, fenugreek and cinnamon.)

Belgium-inspired Single Fluffy Rabbit (or SFR 5% ABV) brewed by Sheffield’s Saint Mars Of The Desert is a great example of this subtlety. Delicately fragranced with a range of floral (elderflowers), citrus (lime) and fruit (strawberry, lychee) tones it can work with a lot of Indian dishes that are finely balanced. Anything citrus-y, lime-y would complement dishes that contain ajwain (or carom) which has a thyme-like taste - fish pakoras often use this and, in fact, any spiced fish dish would work perfectly with SFR. 

Unbarred x Bird & Blend: Amazonian Zing Beer (2.5%), is a collab between the Brighton brewery (the former) and a tea company (the latter) that specialises in loose leaf tea blends. The low ABV Berliner Weisse (which isn’t a pale ale but then rules are meant to be bent, right?) means it’s perfect with drier meals and the lemongrass and ginger flavours will dovetail with any dish with cardamom - I particularly enjoyed it with a chicken biryani. 

Abbeydale Brewery’s Moonshine may have a daunting name but it’s actually a sessionable 4.3% classic pale ale. It had a pleasant citrus flavour - again great for fish or even marinated chicken, like tikka pieces - but the standout subtlety of its grapefruit tones makes it even more versatile as a pairer. Grapefruit is a bitter taste on my palate so it worked well with turmeric - found in most curries, especially deeply coloured ones - and any dish with amchoor (mango powder) common in certain aubergine dishes or samosas. 

None of the three pairings are based on hard and fast rules and - above all - I recommend experimenting with different beers with different spices. It’s time to look past heavily carbonated lagers and embrace the subtlety of craft pale ales. If it’s spicy - go pale!

David Jesudason is a freelance journalist, he writes a weekly essay on Desi pub culture here davidjesudason.substack.com and you can read more powerful and superbly written pieces HERE on the Bangladeshi legacy of the British curry house to IPA’s colonial identity and more. Which led him to be named Be Inclusive Hospitality's Writer of The Year in 2022. His first book has just been released covering Desi pubs which guides the reader through pints, food and the culture of this British-Indian institution (available to buy at Hop Hideout). Not all the beers mentioned in the piece above are available, due to being specials, however Abbeydale’s Moonshine is a regular beer and can be purchased HERE. However you can follow David’s beer and food pairing principles to find plenty of other tasty beers in our online shop, buy HERE.

Small Business Success Sees Sheffield Indie Beer Shop Hop Hideout Collaborate To Celebrate 9 Years

At a time when we're hearing the hardships many small businesses face, it's also a good time to reflect on those who continue to survive and thrive. As one of a handful of 100% female owned beer shops in the UK, Jules Gray has from the very start championed women brewers and breweries as a passionate core ethos of Hop Hideout. She knows and values how much visibility counts in making the beer world a broader, diverse and ultimately more rounder and improved place to be for those in it and providing her customers with outstanding beers to enjoy. After a two year challenging period over the Covid-19 pandemic, Jules stated,

”I wanted to celebrate women that really light up the beer scene, who I not only look up to, but who provide so much positivity and inspiration to the whole beer community.”

This November Hop Hideout will celebrate their 9th anniversary as an independent beer shop and tasting room, releasing their beer collaboration, a flapjack stout, brewed at Wild Card Brewery with Crafty Beer Girls. From Friday 11th November they'll be pouring Wild Card Brewery beers as part of a tap takeover including their special birthday collaboration release with Crafty Beer Girls and the brewery.

On Saturday 12th November, they’ll be hosting a relaxed celebration tasting with Jaega from Wild Card and Crafty Beer Girls organisers in attendance. Everyone welcome, tickets are £10pp and include 3 beer pours plus extras, full details and to purchase head to the link for their online shop:

https://www.hophideout.co.uk/event-tickets/birthday-bonanza

On Sunday 13th November they’ll be hosting a free and fun family social. As a new parent Jules knows how much of a challenge it can be to find a welcoming social space that’s easily accessible and with baby changing.

She continued,

”I'm absolutely delighted Jaega Wise of Wild Card Brewery and Natasha and Natalya of Crafty Beer Girls agreed to this collaboration. Jaega is a phenomenal technical brewer, having just released her first brewing book and presents on national shows such as the BBC Food Programme. The Crafty Beer Girls is a beer community safe space created for women and non-binary folks to come together in their enjoyment of beer. Co-organised by two passionate and brilliant women Natasha and Natalya. Through the pandemic I turned to this group for support and really valued their virtual meet-ups.”

The celebrations will continue at Wild Card Brewery's new pub in Walthamstow, London - The Tavern On The Hill on Thursday 17th November with a Crafty Beer Girls London meet-up.

L to R: Natasha (Crafty Beer Girls co-founder), Jules Gray (Hop Hideout), Manuela (Crafty Beer Girls member), Jaega Wise (head brewer Wild Card Brewery)

COPY ENDS

Hop Hideout owner: Jules Gray. For interview requests please contact Jules: hophideout@gmail.com

Hop Hideout beer shop started in November 2013 in the Abbeydale area of Sheffield. In 2015 they moved into a bigger cafe location focusing on drink in and take home as a beer shop and tasting room. One of the first 'drink in' beer shops in the UK. In 2019 they moved into a new city centre location at foodhall Kommune. Jules is also the organiser of Sheffield Beer Week, a city-wide beer celebration in her home city of Sheffield. First held in 2015 - now coming into its 9th year in 2023. In addition to running Indie Beer Feast, Sheffield's independent craft beer focused festival, started in 2018.

Twitter/IG: @ HopHideout / @SheffBeerWeek / @ IndieBeerFeast

Website: www.hophideout.co.uk / http://indiebeerfeast.co.uk/ /http://sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk/

Wild Card Brewery make award-winning seasonal beer and serve it in their E17 taproom and all over the country. www.wildcardbrewery.co.uk

Crafty Beer Girls, a group for women (inclusive of all, including non-binary and transgender) who work in, enjoy or support the beer industry. www.instagram.com/crafty_beer_girls

A Right To Roam Beer Launch For Sheffield Beer Week

Sheffield Beer Week is back for it’s 8th year and we’re extremely happy that in-person events can go full steam ahead. We all need a little bit of joy back in our lives! This year we’ve teamed up with good friends Saint Mars of the Desert, author Nick Hayes and Sheffield Beer Week; releasing our collab Koelship hopped IPA beer in the week with a walking tour event. Here’s a little more on the project below….

Sunday Times best-selling author Nick Hayes has been on a mission to highlight and campaign for the right to access more of the UK's countryside for everyone. Connecting to the countryside is proven to help mental health and wellbeing and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic was a vital resource for folks fortunate enough to be able to access green spaces. However not everyone has access and only 8% of England is open to such access, for example National Parks. In Sheffield citizens are fortunate to have a wealth of green spaces, parks and of course direct access to the Peak District national park.

Joining forces on a collaborative beer with Sheffield independent businesses, who reside on the Peak District's border for Sheffield Beer Week. The project brings together a number of threads – celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Mass Kinder Trespass which happened within the Peak District. This was key in opening up the area as the first UK National Park some 50 years later, highlighting the much-needed spotlight on the work of the Right To Roam campaign to continue efforts. This also celebrates Sheffield as The Outdoor City and its citizen's access to green, open spaces and adventure trails.

Launching Saturday March 12th, for a whole month of focus leading up to the April anniversary of the Mass Kinder Trespass, will be 'A Right To Roam' beer collaboration between Nick Hayes, Saint Mars of the Desert brewery, Hop Hideout beer shop and Sheffield Beer Week. Tickets for the roam walking tour and beer launch are available via Hop Hideout: https://www.hophideout.co.uk/brew-kits-books/arighttoroam-launch

What better way to call for a right to roam than by ordering a pint of it in a pub, direct at the brewery or a can at your local beer shop!

A Right To Roam, Riwaka and Nectaron hopped hazy IPA,

5.4%

“On 24th April 1932, 400 young people walked up Kinder Scout to protest the lack of public access to the moors. They were beaten by gamekeepers, six were imprisoned, but ultimately they won. We now have a right to roam over 8% of England.

But today, 97% of rivers and 92% of our land is still forbidden to us. Science has proven how urgently we need regular access to natural spaces, for our mental health and physical health and also how we car more for nature if we have a personal connection to it. The Kinder Trespass, in what is now the Peak District, was the first step towards a new relationship with the countryside, but there is still much to be done.

Join us at rightroam.org.uk to campaign for greater access to the English countryside.”

Good Jules Hunting

Can’t quite believe being included on this Good Beer Hunting 2021 list. An absolute honour, especially considering the amazing folks on there. I’ve put the link below. Please go discover and support. From the UK alone there’s Jaega Wise, Charlotte Cook, Jay Patel, Burum Collective and Ruvani de Silva. Plus many folks around the world I’ve heard of, read/seen their work, listened to and admire. Thanks Adrian Tierney-Jones for nominating me. This one’s for the Sheffield beer community and everyone making the beer world a welcoming/safe place for ALL Hop Hideout Beer Shop, Indie Beer Feast, Sheffield Beer Week and Indie Beer Shop Day UK

Much of the irony in all the additional work I’ve done this year in the beer world, is that personally I’ve drunk very little. Being 4 weeks off giving birth has added another dimension to everything I’ve navigated throughout. My hope/goal is to build and stay vigilant over creating an equal place for all, with opportunity, kindness and respect.

Read the piece here:

https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/signifiers-2021/2021/12/15/jules-gray

Hop Hideout’s Jules: “What were their roles; what were they doing? I want to discover more and tell their stories.”

Here we republish a recent blog from the Sheffield Feminist Archive, who kindly came to chat with Jules and allowed us to share this here in addition.

Content warning: Discussion of sexual harassment in the beer industry and the #MeToo movement

Sophie (left), Laura (right), and Jenny (not pictured), meet Jules Gray (centre), owner of Hop Hideout.

In our first #WomenMakeSheffield post, we’re spotlighting Jules Gray (@beer_revere), owner of the award-winning beer shop Hop Hideout (@hophideout), based in Kommune at the heart of Sheffield’s city centre. SFA’s Jenny, Laura and Sophie joined Jules last month to chat all things: women in the beer industry; recording and preserving the female narrative in beer; Jules’ journey into beer; and how we can continue celebrating the positive stories arising out of Sheffield’s diverse beer industry, to counterweigh male violence against women. We learned so much from Jules about all of the incredible people who work toward achieving equity for women, people of colour, and the LGBTQ+ community (to name a few!), in beer communities up and down the country, and we hope to shed light on all of this amazing work in this post.

Jules’ shop, Hop Hideout within Kommune in Sheffield city centre. [Permission granted by Jules Gray to share image]

Jules founded Hop Hideout in 2013, one of the first ‘drink in’ beer shops in the UK. You can choose from over 200 delicious beers to either take away, or to drink inside the independent food/drink hall of Kommune. Jules is also the founder and director of both Sheffield Beer Week (@SheffBeerWeek) and Indie Beer Feast (@IndieBeerFeast), which have grown immensely in terms of popularity and attendance nationally (more on that to come!). Hop Hideout has won a number of awards and commendations; it was the winner of Independent Beer Retailer of the Year 2018 in the Drinks Retailing Awards, and since then has also been highly commended or has reached the final stages of multiple awards ceremonies. Jules also recently appeared on Channel Five’s ‘Summer on the Farm’, hosting beer tasting for Helen Skelton and Jules Hudson, and can be watched at around 45 minutes on this episode. Hop Hideout’s beers have also featured on Sunday Brunch, Jamie Oliver’s Magazine, and in the Telegraph, showing just how much national coverage the business has had. These are just a few of the things that highlight the success of Jules’ business, not least the wonderful reviews on Hop Hideout’s Facebook page.

Jules’ appearance on Channel Five’s Summer on the Farm, where she hosted beer tasting. [Permission granted by Jules Gray to share image]

Jules’ Journey

Jules’ experiences in the beer industry have been incredibly varied, with many high points, as well as challenges, along the way. We asked Jules about what drew her to Sheffield in the first place. She was brought up in Durham and came to study at the former campus of Sheffield Hallam University at Psalter Lane in the late 90s, whilst also doing some volunteering for Sheffield’s International Documentary Film Festival in the early 2000s – she described Sheffield as a friendly and welcoming place to be yourself and to learn more about the stories of diverse people. There were also benefits to living close to the hustle and bustle of the city, while also being able to appreciate the outdoors in the neighbouring Peak District.

Jules pictured next to the Women of Steel statue in the city centre, near the City Hall. [Permission granted by Jules Gray to share image]

Jules pictured next to the Women of Steel statue in the city centre, near the City Hall. [Permission granted by Jules Gray to share image]

Jules moved away from Sheffield due to a lack of opportunities for her career, and began working in Leeds at Molson Coors brewery (who brewed the iconic Sheffield Stones Bitter, at a time when Wards Brewing Company had been closed down in Sheffield!). She also worked in technical support resolving issues in pubs, which eventually led to her working in sales in the North-East beer industry. Like the experiences of many other women at the time (and to this day), Jules was told she wasn’t ‘good enough’ for a sales job in the industry, but was able to work her way into the male-dominated sector as a result of her self-guidance and hard graft. The sales job allowed her to develop relationships with colleagues and customers in the industry; she enjoyed hearing about what others would like to achieve, and making it happen for them.

As Jules recognised, people often see bar work as transient; something to do on the side for extra money. However, Jules was excited by the possibility of gaining more and more knowledge about the inner-workings of the global beer industry, which led to her success today. She feels her journey has allowed her to run large-scale beer festivals today, and has given her the opportunity to connect with so many groups of people.

Recognising Women in Beer

Jules pictured with a Hop Hideout beer and some food from Kommune’s Fat Hippo. [Permission granted by Jules Gray to share image]

It was clear to us that Jules has a passion for learning about, and documenting, the untold stories of women and marginalised groups in beer. As Jules said, women often don’t get the recognition they deserve until they’ve passed away, and that we should also be recognising and celebrating the achievements of women doing amazing work in the present moment. Jules is also interested in sharing the stories of the women who worked in the large-scale breweries dotted around Sheffield, such as Whitbread Exchange Brewery; such stories dispel the myth of a solely male workforce. Jules also highlighted the importance of women during war-time who took up roles in production. The names of women appear on the doors of many breweries today, for instance, Abbeydale Brewery was founded 25 years ago by not only Patrick Morton, but his wife, Sue Morton, who oversees so much of the production, IT and admin. Additionally, at Saint Mars of the Desert (SMOD) in Sheffield there is a husband and wife team, with Martha (Simpson) taking on just as much as Dann (Paquette) in terms of the brewing, artwork for the beers, events marketing, and more. Martha also has a PhD in microbiology from MIT in the US, and oversees the canning at SMOD, and is therefore a prominent figure in her field.

Whitbread’s Exchange Brewery in Sheffield, on Bridge Street by the River Don. [Attribution: Chris Downer, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license]

Cannon Brewery Gates, Rutland Road, Neepsend, Sheffield. [Attribution: Terry Robinson, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license]

Jules also highlighted the work of Jaega Wise (@jaegawise), founder and owner of Wild Card Brewery in London, who recognises the importance of inclusivity in beer, and has done the groundwork in ensuring diversity is at the heart of the brewery’s message (see her incredible story here written by Beer52). Lily Waite (@LilyWaite_) also aims to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ people in the brewing and hospitality industries through The Queer Brewing Project. These are just a few of the stories and experiences by women that deserve recognition and celebration now, and beyond. SFA instantly saw a connection with the work that Jules is doing (alongside many other women in beer), and the aims of SFA, in telling and celebrating the untold stories of women in the Steel City and across the country.

Celebrating Diversity in Sheffield’s Beer Industry

Jules feels there’s work that’s yet to be done in Sheffield, but that there’s clearly an appetite for celebrating diversity. She recognised the need for representation across all communities in Sheffield, and that we should be collaborating on issues of equality, rather than communication about these issues being siloed to one area. Jules mentioned Migration Matters as one great example of this city-wide representation of marginalised groups, who celebrate the positive effects of refugees and migration upon Sheffield. Out And About also create and promote safe spaces for queer people and allies in Sheffield’s beer community. These types of events are necessary for sharing the stories of marginalised people, and Jules aims to build on the work of these projects.

‘Beer For All’ pin. [Permission granted by Jules Gray to share image]

Social media has been a powerful tool for Jules as a small business owner, and has given her the opportunity to find a voice as a woman in a male-dominated industry. She co-created Sheffield Beer Week with a friend, Clare Tollick (@FeastAndGlory). The yearly celebratory event has snowballed; starting as a Twitter and Facebook campaign in 2015, to collaborating with 10-15 venues to celebrate Sheffield beer and breweries for a week, to having 50-60 venues and multiple breweries signed up, along with the support of Sheffield City Council, and national coverage, in just six short years. Since then, she has continued to use social media to promote Sheffield Beer Week, particularly as a celebration of women in beer, with the festival falling in March (the month of International Women’s Day). The three key strands of Sheffield Beer Week are Beer and Food, Community, and Heritage, with the aim to bring together all communities of Sheffield to enjoy beer. Alongside this, Nicci Peet (@niccipeet), Freelance Drinks Photographer, has done so much work to capture diversity in the beer industry, with a photography trail up and down the UK of brewery owners. A result of Nicci’s work is that if women see people who look like themselves on the canning lines, delivering beer, behind pub counters, etc., then they are more likely to join the industry, making it a crucial project for celebrating diversity. During Sheffield Beer Week, Nicci’s work was exhibited as part of The People’s Photography Trail.

Every year, Sheffield Beer Week aims to foster different communities, and show that it is more than just beer. As Jules put it: “Beer doesn’t make itself; it takes people to make it!”, highlighting the hard work that goes on behind the scenes in the beer industry.

Male Violence & Male-Centred Marketing in the Beer Industry

In recent years, there has been a shift towards the awareness and recognition of violence against women in the beer industry. The #MeToo movement has extended to all sectors of work, including craft beer, with stories initially being shared in the US, and now in the UK too (see this article which highlights sexual harassment in the craft beer and brewing industry in the US). It began with Brienne Allan, a brewer from Massachusetts, who opened up her Instagram account to share stories of sexual harassment in the US beer industry (ratmagnet), leading to the launch of Brave Noise, a collaborative project working towards a safer and discrimination-free industry. To continue the #MeToo movement, Siobhan Buchanan (britishbeergirl), founder of Queer Beer Drinkers Edinburgh, opened up her Instagram DMs for people to share stories of sexual harassment in the UK. As Jules poignantly recognised, women take on a huge weight; not only are women taking on the brunt of violence and harassment from men, but they are also working to combat this. It is important to address such violence in the industry, whilst also spreading awareness of the positive stories arising from women in the industry – a powerful way to bring women to the forefront and celebrate their achievements.

Image of Hop Hideout’s beer taps. [Permission granted by Jules Gray to share image]

Hop Hideout is part of the Know the Line campaign, which was launched by Safer Streets South Yorkshire in 2017 to address sexual harassment and violence in public spaces in Sheffield. The campaign has also received support from Sheffield City Council and local Labour MP, Paul Blomfield. Jules recognises the need for more training in the industry to make venues safer spaces. Currently, alerts about crime and unsafe spaces are spread by word-of-mouth in Sheffield bartending Facebook groups and through the Purple Flag initiative, but there is more to be done. Jules said that while there are positives arising out of beer, in its ability to spread happiness and joy, you must be aware as a licensed premise that people can be at risk, and that you have a responsibility of care for vulnerable people. Jules always ensures to challenge discriminatory behaviour, but as a woman this can be difficult.

Marketing in the beer industry is also male-centred. There is a lack of stories about women in day-to-day advertising, and as a result, male customers are more likely to go towards the male bartenders if they have a question about it. On the other side of the bar, Jules emphasised how women often feel uncomfortable in bars and pubs with the focus shifted towards male consumers; she recalled her experiences working in men-only spaces with the exclusion of women in bars, and despite the eradication of men-only bars in the UK, there is still a long way to go. Jules said it is not surprising that there are a low percentage of women in Europe that drink beer; Women On Tap Festival’s Nichola Bottomley (@Nichola_b1) created an online survey about sexual harassment in beer to better understand the statistics surrounding female violence. Some key findings, as reported in Beer Today, were:

• “More than 80% of respondents said yes, they had witnessed sexual harassment while working in a pub or bar”

• “More than 80% of women said yes, they had experienced sexual harassment while working a pub/bar (more than 30% of men said they had, too)”

• “Only 30% of women said they felt comfortable going to a pub or bar by themselves (compared with almost 80% of men)”

An example of advertising in the beer industry in the early 1900s in the US (Boston Brewery), through the male gaze. [Attribution: Boston Public Library, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license]

While the findings may appear shocking, this only provides a glimpse of what women face on a daily basis, in all sectors and walks of life. When chatting to Jules we all recognised that women are aware of such violence and almost expect it. Data such as this are vital for documenting the problem; yet it is the small, independent businesses (often led by women) that are tackling the root, and not larger institutions or the Government.

On a positive note, some years ago, if you were to type in ‘women in beer’ into a Google search, there were likely to be many images of women in beer through the male gaze. In recent years, the work of Jaega Wise, Nicci Peet, and Lily Waite are attracting more attention and are being spotlighted, and bringing women and marginalised groups to the forefront of beer marketing. This type of positive work is an important method of counteracting violence against women in the industry.

Advice for Women

Jules is more than happy for people to contact her if they are looking to get into the beer industry. Here is some detailed advice she gave us for if you’d like to make a start searching for a career in beer:

Hop Hideout logo. [Permission granted by Jules Gray to share image]

Use Indeed.com to search for terms such as brewing, beer sales, beer marketing etc. – it’s generally a wide pool for jobs around the country. Follow your local brewery or fave venue on social media, visit them, talk to the staff, network, go on brewery tours if they’re available, do beer tastings if available; all of this will help you to be one of the first to hear if a job comes up and hopefully put you in good stead, as you have made the effort to make a connection already.

There’s also various groups on Facebook that post jobs such as UK Craft Beer & Beverages Jobs. Your local area may have a craft beer group to join which could be a good reference point, e.g. Drinking Craft Beer in Sheffield, Manchester Craft Beer Group, Crafty Beery Girls. Obviously ensure you have set up your security settings across all of your social media accounts and use two-factor authentication; Glitch runs great courses here.

Follow people on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) in the industry. Many great names have already been mentioned in the post but there is also: Maverine Cole, Melissa Cole, Rachel Auty, Annabel Smith, Jenn Merrick, Daisy Turnell, Jane Peyton, Emma Inch (British Guild of Beer Writers), Tasha Wolf, Natalya Watson, Ladies That Beer, Miranda Hudson (Duration Brewing). Daisy Turnell has created a list resource about women in all areas of the beer industry.

Check out if you have a local Beer Week and attend events, for example there’s events such as Sheffield Beer Week, Norwich City of Beer, Harrogate Beer Week, and more.

Sheffield Beer Week logo. [Permission granted by Jules Gray to share image]

If you have the resources, pay for courses from places such as Cicerone, The Beer & Cider Academy, you may want to do some more research as some may offer appropriate discounts or grants. Teach yourself and read up on the beer industry; there’s free online learning from a wealth of blogs such as Boak & Bailey (which do a good round up of reading material) Adrian Tierney-Jones (maltworms.blogspot.com), Good Beer Hunting, Burum Collective, Pellicle, The Brewery History Society, or Brew Your Own, which all allow some free reading online. Loan books from your local library, and some authors to check are: Garrett Oliver, Melissa Cole, Natalya Watson, Pete Brown, Jane Peyton, Adrian Tierney-Jones, Mark Dredge, Marverine Cole (print media – BBC Good Food), CAMRA books, Brewers Association books. There’s also information on local Sheffield historic pubs here. And finally, listen to podcasts such as Beer with Nat, Good Beer Hunting, Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, A Woman’s Brew, Ferment Radio, etc.

Indie Beer Feast logo. [Permission granted by Jules Gray to share image]

Start homebrewing! Join an International Women’s Collab Brew Day in March. This is generally open to everyone, and is not just a trade event (https://unitebrew.org/) You can also volunteer at a range of beer festivals which will allow you to network with others in the industry.

And finally, join in the conversation! Sheffield Beer Week (@sheffbeerweek) has been held annually on 2nd March since 2015, and Indie Beer Feast (@IndieBeerFeast) has now been rescheduled to 4-5th March 2022. Be sure to check out their socials for updates on the events – it is a great opportunity to get chatting to other women in beer, find out more about the industry, and to socialise over a nice cold beverage!

Enjoyed this blog post and have an idea for our #WomenMakeSheffield blog series? Get in touch at sheffieldfeministarchive@gmail.com, or via Twitter @ShefFemArchive.

A Taste of the Orchard

Each sip of cider drops a pin in a map. It suggests a whisper of sunshine, the scent of the earth, and a brief taste of an orchard that blossomed, bore fruit, and was harvested. Because at the heart of good cider there is only the apple.

Just like wine, cider is made from the whole fruit and, as with grapes, the individual variety of apple, the place where it was grown, and the weather during the year it grew, all impact upon its flavour.

So how can you navigate this rich landscape of fruit, terroir and vintage and find something you enjoy drinking?

Here in the UK, there are broadly two traditions of cider making. Eastern Counties cider - produced in places like Kent, Sussex and Suffolk - is generally made with dessert and culinary (or cooking) apple varieties, with familiar names like Braeburn, Cox’s Orange Pippin, and Russet. These apples produce ciders that are light, acidic and made to refresh. Brothers Sam and Tim Nightingale make cider on their family’s fruit farm in the Weald of Kent. Their Wild Disco cider is a 5.5% medium-dry sparkling cider, made from 100% wild-fermented Kentish Discovery apple juice. Zingy and bright with red apple aromas, this is a great place to begin exploring.

West Country cider - produced in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and the southwest of England - is made from traditional cider apples such as Kingston Black, Harry Masters Jersey, or Dabinett. This cider possesses a balance of acidity, sweetness, and tannins, which can imbue it with complexity, astringency, and bitterness. Ross-on-Wye Cider & Perry Company won the coveted Best Drinks Producer title in the BBC Food & Farming Awards 2019. Their 5.6% Single Variety Foxwhelp Cider showcases the bittersharp nature of this, one of the oldest recorded apple varieties, and gets straight to the core of West Country cider.

Cider has come of age in recent years and is no longer the sole preserve of student parties or rowdy camping trips. It is a drink to be savoured and shared with friends, and - just like beer and wine - it goes remarkably well with food. Little Pomona’s Table Cider - a 7.3% seasonal blend of cider apple varieties – is a deliciously drinkable dry cider that will complement pretty much any meal, and the 750ml bottle means you can share the conviviality that comes with this versatile drink.

Whether you prefer your cider zesty and acidic, or bold and tannic, there’s never been a better time to explore the different varieties on offer. Why not pick up a couple of bottles or cans and bring the soul of the orchard right into the heart of your home?

Emma Inch is a multi-award-winning freelance writer and audio-maker, and the former British Beer Writer of the Year. She has written for a number of national and international publications, and also produces creative audio and podcasts for the drinks trade. You can find out more about Emma at www.fermentationonline.com and follow her on Twitter at @fermentradio

Beer Styles, Spot the Difference - Part III

Photo: Other Half Brewing

Think all fizzy yellow lagers taste the same? Have you ever mixed up a gose and a gueuze? Do you really know the difference between a West Coast and New England IPA? We asked beer educator Natalya Watson to explain what sets each of these styles apart. She's also recommended a few beers to taste to help bring these flavours to life, so get your orders in and get ready to spot the difference. 

We’re closing out our three-part series with the most popular craft beer styles today: (West Coast) IPA vs. New England IPA

Ah, the IPA. Still the most popular style in the craft beer world, our expectations around the flavour – and the clarity – of this beer have certainly changed of late. IPA is, and always will be, a style that’s all about the hops. But what sets a more traditional American, or West Coast, IPA apart from the more modern New England IPA is how the brewers use those hops, because when hops are added to the brew determines what flavours they impart. To bring out their bitterness, hops have to be boiled. But the boil drives off a lot of their aroma and flavour contribution. To bump this back up again, more hops can be added later in the brew (once the liquid has cooled) in a process called dry-hopping, which typically takes place after fermentation.

Photo: Elusive Brewing

A West Coast IPA is packed full of hop aroma, flavour, and – importantly! – bitterness. The aromas and flavours here are those often found in more traditional American hops like Cascade, Chinook and Columbus – think grapefruit, pine and resin. And while the malt contribution here shouldn’t be too flavourful (we don’t want anything taking away from the focus on the hops) its presence is still important to provide a firm foundation for all that hop bitterness. For a classic example of this style and all of its punchy piney and resinous hop character check out Elusive Brewing Oregon Trail.

Photo: Black Iris Brewery

New England IPA is still all about the hops, but the focus here is more on their aroma and flavour contribution – and less on their bitterness – which all comes down to dry-hopping. Not only does this process amp up the beer’s aroma though, it also clouds up its appearance. Hence why this style is often referred to as hazy IPA. The addition of grains like wheat or oats further compromises clarity, but they add a soft, smooth texture that perfectly complements the ripe, juicy hop flavours of stone fruit and tropical fruit – from hops like Mosaic® and Citra® – and perfectly completes the mental image of a fresh glass of fruit juice. Thirsty? Try Black Iris Don’t Fear the NEIPA.

While both of these IPA styles are all about the hops, they celebrate different aspects of hops’ character. And again, give us all a chance to find our favourites!

--

Natalya Watson is a beer educator, Beer Sommelier and Advanced Cicerone® passionate about sharing her knowledge of beer with others because she believes that beer is simply too delicious to remain undiscovered. She’s the founder of Virtual Beer School, host of the ‘Beer with Nat’ podcast, and author of Beer: Taste the Evolution in 50 Styles. Follow her on social @beerwithnat or learn more at beerwithnat.com

Photo: Natalya Watson

Note from Hop Hideout:

Thanks to Natalya for the third and final part in this beer styles series for Hop Hideout. We recently completed her Virtual Beer School and it’s rekindled our passion for the wonderful myriad of beers out there. Which then gave us this blog series idea. Beers do come in and out of stock, especially seasonal and specials, plus India pale ales seem on constant rotation release as often they’re showcasing the latest hops or process techniques (though we do have a few ‘fridge favourites’ we regularly stock). We generally try to keep regular availability across a great range of IPAs (West Coast, New England, a mix of the two styles WCIPA x NEIPA!, California IPA, Black IPA, Brut IPA, Sour IPA, English IPA, White IPA, Red IPA, Belgian IPA….. the list of combinations seems endless and constantly cycling in taste fashions and creative new ways!) and as excited beer drinkers we always look out for intriguing, well brewed beers.

Hop Hideout also recommends from our current online shop, via 100% cold-chain import from the USA to our shop fridges, New York City’s IPA stalwarts - Other Half Brewing: Small Citra Everything, Broccoli, Go With The Flow Strata and Mylar Bags.

If you fancy a cross-section of styles across one brewery we also recommend checking North West UK based Rivington Brewing Co: NE Pale, California IPA and Sour IPA.

Beer Styles, Spot the Difference - Part II

Think all fizzy yellow lagers taste the same? Have you ever mixed up a gose and a geuze? Do you really know the difference between a West Coast and New England IPA? We asked beer educator Natalya Watson to explain what sets each of these styles apart. She's also recommended a few beers to taste to help bring these flavours to life, so get your orders in and get ready to spot the difference. 

Next in our three-part series, we’re turning our attention to our mixed fermentation styles: Gose vs. Geuze

Mixed fermentation beers – as the name suggests – are fermented by a mix of brewer’s yeast, plus bacteria and/or wild yeast. This means that both of these styles have a tart taste, as the bacteria in the brew produces acidity during fermentation. But that’s really where their similarities end.

Gose (goes-uh) is a German style that’s brewed with added sea salt and coriander seed. It’s fermented by ale yeast plus Lactobacillus bacteria, so it’s got a clean lactic sourness (similar to the tart tang found in Greek yogurt), along with a light herbal freshness from the coriander seed and a soft salinity and slight mouthwatering quality from the sea salt. The acidity here is in balance with the beer’s other flavours, so a gose shouldn’t be sharply sour. (Check out the Berliner wiesse if that’s more your style!). It’s also relatively low in alcohol, too, averaging around 4-5% abv. Brass Castle Dune Bug is a great gose to start with or Mikkeller’s Classic Gose.

Geuze, on the other hand, hails from Belgium and it takes a very unique approach to mixed fermentation. When brewing lambic – the beer that’s aged and blended to produce geuze – brewers don’t actually add any yeast. Instead, using an approach called spontaneous fermentation, the soon-to-be-fermented liquid cools overnight in a large, shallow open vessel, and the microorganisms present nearby naturally settle in and start fermenting. The beer then ages in wooden barrels, which contain even more wild yeast and bacteria. And after years of aging, old beer is blended with young beer to create geuze. This style has many layers of complex flavours, including acidity from the bacteria and fruity and funky flavours (think wet hay, leather and barnyard) from the different yeast within the brew. Not only are these flavours more intense than those in a gose, this style is also a bit stronger, too, typically clocking in around 5-8% abv. To give geuze a go, try the HORAL Oude Gueuze Megablend.

If you’re new to mixed fermentation beers, gose is often a good gateway into these sour styles, before working your way up to the layers of complexity within a geuze.

Natalya Watson

Beer Sommelier & Advanced Cicerone®
Founder of Virtual Beer School

Author of Beer: Taste the Evolution in 50 Styles

Host of the 'Beer with Nat' podcast

Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Note from Hop Hideout:

Thanks to Natalya for the second part in this beer styles series for Hop Hideout. We recently completed her Virtual Beer School and it’s rekindled our passion for the wonderful myriad of beers out there. Which then gave us this blog series idea. Beers do come in and out of stock, especially seasonal, specials and vintages of geuze/gueuze (as often limited bottling runs occur). We generally try to keep regular availability across a great range with a specific Belgian focus, however as a wild ale and mixed fermentation beer lover and specialist beer shop we do look to exciting breweries and beers in this field from around the World. We’ve started to collate an aged beer list of these specialities and often make these available for special occasions and drink in at our foodhall home.

Hop Hideout also recommends from our current online shop: Oud Beersel, 3 Fonteinen, Brouwerij Boon, Moa - Sour Grapes (NZ), Trillium, Allagash, Mikkeller x Boon Collabs, De Ranke Mirakel, plus when we have De Cam, Tilquin, Hanssens, Girardin, Lambiek Fabriek, Lindemans, Jester King, The Lost Abbey, Tommie Sjef Wild Ales, Nevel, De Kromme Haring, Wilderness, Little Earth Project, Pastore, Burning Sky and Yonder.

The Toer de Geuze is a bi-annual celebration of breweries and blenderies in the Payottenland and the Senne Valley (started in 1997). Jules had the greatest of times visiting back in 2017 and highly recommends a trip to this celebration. Many of the breweries and blenderies in the Belgian region open their doors to the public and it’s one of the biggest beer events in the world. Unfortunately due to the pandemic this event has not been able to go-ahead this year, however there will be a 2021 at home event 1st to 2nd May 2021, whoop whoop! Find out more on their dedicated website: HERE.

We’ll certainly be popping a few bottles of Oude Geuze this weekend and toasting to future trips to this wonderful country.

Beer Styles, Spot the Difference - Part I

Think all fizzy yellow lagers taste the same? Have you ever mixed up a gose and a gueuze? Do you really know the difference between a West Coast and New England IPA? We asked beer educator Natalya Watson to explain what sets each of these styles apart. She's also recommended a few beers to taste to help bring these flavours to life, so get your orders in and get ready to spot the difference. 

First up in our three-part series: Munich Helles vs. German Pils

Let’s start with the lagers. Ingredients-wise, these beers are very similar on paper. They’re both brewed with golden-coloured Pilsner malt, traditional German hop varietals, and fermented with lager yeast. So what actually sets each apart? Their balance – aka which taste is taking the lead.

With Munich Helles, this bright golden lager has an even balance between malt sweetness and hop bitterness, so it’s best described as “malty but not sweet.” Balance often makes for an easier drinking beer, so for those of you looking for a good gateway German lager, a Munich Helles like Andechs Hell (or Donzoko Northern Helles, if UK beer is preferred) is a brilliant place to start.

For those of you who are fans of hops, the German Pils might be your happy place, as this beer is balanced towards bitterness. It uses a lot more hops than the Munich Helles, so not only is there more bitterness, there’s a lot more hop aroma and flavour here, too. (The traditional German varietals used are often described as floral or perfumy.) This bitterness, combined with the styles’ high carbonation, gives it a crisp, dry and refreshing finish. To give it a go, try Schonramer Pils.

Personally, I find the bitterness of a German Pils a bit too bracing, so I’m more of a Munich Helles fan. But by teasing out the qualities unique to each style, we can all find our favourites!

Natalya Watson

Beer Sommelier & Advanced Cicerone®
Founder of Virtual Beer School

Author of Beer: Taste the Evolution in 50 Styles

Host of the 'Beer with Nat' podcast

Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Note from Hop Hideout:

Thanks to Natalya for kicking off this three part beer styles series for us. We recently completed her Virtual Beer School and it’s rekindled our passion for the wonderful myriad of beers out there. Which then gave us this blog series idea. Beers do come in and out of stock, especially seasonal and specials. We generally try to keep regular availability across a great range of German, Czech, World and UK brewed lager styles, but this will chop and change. Hop Hideout also recommends from our current online shop: Ayinger, Tegernseer, Rothaus, Augustiner, Beak, Burning Sky and Vinohradsky Pivovar; plus Utopian, Lost & Grounded and Saint Mars of the Desert when we have them in stock!

We also suggest this useful resource, which can also be downloaded as an app on your phone, from the Beer Judging Certification Programme: https://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.php

Shine A Light: Ross on Wye Cider & Perry

Ross On Wye Cider - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost

In a market stifled by years of inertia, Ross On Wye stands apart by having a product range that’s unique in the truest sense of the word.

How’d you solve a problem like cider? It’s the question routinely asked by those seeking to engage and elevate the drink - so oft associated with the pungent smell of morning-after regret - to higher planes.

In an hour long chat with Albert Johnson, the third-generation cidermaker at Ross on Wye Cider & Perry, doesn’t proclaim to have all the answers. But he’s got a few ideas…

Since returning to Broome Hill Farm to carry on the work of his father Mike and grandfather Kenelm, Albert has set about modernising Ross on Wye. A small, artisan producer, producing around 88,000 litres a year, the company has long been respected for the quality of its bittersweet, wild fermented ciders, but has mostly lived in the shadow of Hereford giants Bulmers and Westons.

“We’d find it quite tricky selling to the pubs, particularly round here,” he says. “We’d be going in and saying - we’re a local cider-maker, and we’re making real good stuff from 100% juice - and they’d go - we’ve already got a local cider, it’s made five miles down the road. So then you end up trying to compete on price, which you’re never going to be able to do with someone who makes 40 million litres a year.”

Instead, Albert has sought to reframe and reposition Ross on Wye to reflect the quality, time and care that goes into every one of the 80 or so ciders and Perries it releases every year. Part of this process has involved introducing larger 750ml wine-style bottles, after Albert was left distraught by the sale of 200 litres of oak cask-fermented cider to a Russian exporter for “around £1.60 a litre”.

“We found this 1000 litre IBC of Dabinett and Michelin that was 18 months old at that time, and it was just blew everything else that we tried on the day out of the water,” he says. “It was so silky, so creamy and delicious, and bagging it up and watching it leave the farm in the lowest value container possible just made me think this is ridiculous”.

Desperate to ensure the rest of the batch was sold at a price point and in a format that reflected the quality of the cider, Albert set about putting the remaining 800 litres into 750ml wine bottles, naming the cider ‘Raison D’Etre’ and putting it up for sale at £10 a bottle, more than 50% more expensive than any other cider or Perry Ross on Wye had previously sold.

“I wanted to make a big statement,” he says. “It was about finding a way to display the value in the product that justified all the work that had gone into it.”

Since then, Ross on Wye has gone on to put a the majority of its ciders into the 750ml format (Mike continues to bottle some single varieties into 500ml bottles under the company’s old branding). One such drink is their single variety Flakey Bark Perry, a Perry so unique that it quite literally couldn’t be made by anyone else, or anywhere else on the planet.

The Flakey Bark variety of Perry, you see, is so rare that it’s thought there are just six mature trees producing the fruit in the world. These trees sit atop of May Hill, just a stones throw from Broome Hill Farm. Incredibly astringent to the point of being inedible, these rare pears are known for making deeply expressive and complex Perries. Ross on Wye have been using them for a little over ten years, whenever they’ve been able to get their hands on them. The 2017 vintage of Flakey Bark SVP, however, was very nearly Ross on Wye’s last. “There weren’t enough fruits in 2018 to make it,” Albert says, “and then in 2019 the elderly couple who owned the land on which these Flakey Bark Perry trees grew moved away. We didn’t hear anything from the people who moved in initially, and so we weren’t sure if we’d ever be able to make this Perry again”.

“One day, our friend Pat at Jolter Press (cidery) received a call from them offering them these Perries, which they’d been told made amazing Perry. And Pat said, "They’re not the Flakey Bark Pears are they?”, to which they said “Yes, we think they are!” And of course, Pat said to them “Well, I’d love to have them, but I can’t. You have to sell them to Ross because they’re the ones that make the Flakey Bark. So then he rang me, and I rang them and we’ve got it all sorted out.”

With the 2020 vintage of Flakey Bark not likely to see the light of day until 2022, however, the 2017 batch remains your best chance to sample this expressive and unique Perry Pear. Deep, golden yellow in colour, with a light natural carbonation, it’s not like any other Perry I’ve ever drunk.

Delicate lemon and funk on the nose give way to a pronounced astringency and a dry, silky finish. If you don’t like tannin, this won’t be for you, but if you do - fortunately I do - you’re in for a treat.

Enjoyed reading about Ross On Wye? Grab their latest releases over on Hop Hideout’s online store today.

James Beeson is an award-winning beer writer and photographer. To see more of his work, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

New Year, New Beer.... At Least Something Nice in 2021!

If you haven’t signed up to our newsletter, why not…? Maybe something to keep you perky in 2021 hey.

Here’s a little excerpt from the welcome intro below and you can read the rest (and sign-up)
here at this link:

https://mailchi.mp/d73ba273b23b/hop-hideout-brewsletter-ding-ding-4824526

Our 7th birthday Beer Cat (back in Nov 2020) new design by Kev Grey…

Welcome

I actually surprised myself logging into this Mailchimp account to find I'd managed to write three newsletters to you all in 2020. Last year was a bit of a blur, auto-pilot, just, just getting through and hoping for the best. Like most of you I feel. There's more I wanted to write but just couldn't find the energy or the time, so I'm sorry I didn't get round to sharing those 'doorstep Hop Hideout portraits', but there's still time hey now that we find ourselves back in national lockdown 3.0.

I hope this newsletter greets you well at home, safe and secure, it's been a tough bloody time for us all. Hope you're all ok. 11 months and ongoing, I don't think any of us imagined we would still be in this situation. Though positivity is on the horizon with vaccines, it is difficult to address all the pain and it'll be some time for that healing process to happen. If you are struggling, Sheffield Mind is a good place to look for help and support:
https://www.sheffieldmind.co.uk/


We continue to thank all our customers for your continued support and brewery/cider/wine suppliers who've kept us in tasty drinks over this tough time.

As a little re-cap of 2020, one line would say - one hell of a rollercoaster ride; one that I didn't pay to be on!

After the initial high of the beginning of the year leading into Indie Beer Feast and Sheffield Beer Week celebrations, within a few weeks we were closed along with the rest of hospitality in March, after a hectic time of re-launching our home delivery service. During that initial lockdown we closed the shop fully to try to understand and ultimately stay safe. After this period we returned to our Sheffield home delivery and UK mail order services. Driving out every weekend throughout Sheffield to bring you packages of beery joy. It felt like somewhat of an eternity, though sound tracked to better music (thanks to everyone on Twitter for the listening recommends).

We re-opened in the food hall July to November - with PPE, new till safety screens and hand sanitiser galore. Slowly starting with just walk-in retail, then adding back drink in a few weeks later. Face coverings came in on the 24th September (I remember the day as it was my birthday!), then the tiers with their substantial meals and table service (and many other requirements, big documents to read through from the Government website only hours before implementation, very stressful). In November, in line with our food hall home Kommune and Government guidance (from Thursday 5th November, Lockdown: The Sequel) we closed for walk in browsing and drinking in. Going to back home deliveries, mail order and with the additional pre-arranged click and collect.

Wanting to bring a bit of well needed joy and good light hearted fun back before the Christmas onslaught AND more importantly celebrate our 7th birthday. The only thing to do was to go virtual! Our Paws Party went ahead on ZOOOOOOOOOooooooooooom.

From December 2nd we were back open as a retail only space for walk in trade, with continued home delivery, mail order and click and collect. Newly located in a pop-up space at Kommune with its own access in what was the bakery space (door just up from main Kommune entry).

2021 didn't start how we all hoped. After a January annual holiday break, we are now back open (from Fri 8th Jan). However due to the new lockdown 3.0 and wider developments with new Covid strains, to do our part and as safely for everyone as possible, we will still be operating bringing you packages of boozy joy but reduced hours and services (Thursday to Saturday). We will only be offering UK mainland mail order, Sheffield home delivery and click and collect (the shop will not be open as a retail space for walk-in trade, you will only be able to enter for pre-arranged click and collect). Once you’ve placed your order online, we’ll be in touch to arrange and confirm delivery.

Cheers to you all,
Jules
Hop Hideout

Shine A Light: Saint Mars of the Desert

Using their ‘koelship’ to intensify their beer flavours….

Photo: Hop Hideout

Shine a Light: Saint Mars of the Desert

As far as names go, this Sheffield microbrewery’s doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue. It’s a good job then, that their beers are remarkable enough to demand you pay them attention. “I don’t think it’s a breweries job to even think about beer styles per se,” says Dann Paquette, in his signature Boston drawl.

“We try to make what we make as good as possible. If it goes out of style category, that’s for someone else to worry about.”

Dann and his partner Martha have rarely done things by the book. The duos previous brewery, Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, was so wildly successful that they could have quite conceivably sold up and kicked off into the sunset. Instead, in 2015, they shut down the cuckoo brewing project and, after two years traveling, arrived in Sheffield, where they found a home to set up The Brewery of Saint Mars of the Desert (SMOD).

Boston’s loss, has been Sheffield’s gain, but it so nearly wasn’t this way. Enticed by the idea of brewing in a rural, farmhouse location, Dann & Martha almost settled in a small French village (from which SMOD now takes its name). In the end, however, Sheffield, with its rich brewing history, won the day. Setting up shop in Attercliffe, an industrial suburb in the north-east of the city, and brewing on a 10hl kit complete with coolship, SMOD has been quietly establishing a reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting, yet unconventional breweries. While New England IPAs are a feature (somewhat inevitably given Dann spent much of 25 year’s brewing experience in actual New England), both stylistically and in terms of flavour profile, there’s a huge amount of variety - and not a whole lot of predictability - in the brewery’s output.

Take, for example, its Hopfenpils World Lager, which is brewed with a combination of new-world, Southern Hemisphere, and traditional noble hops, and mashed using an old-world European souring technique. The result is a balanced and exceptionally drinkable lager with tart, refreshing character, lingering hop bitterness and enough complexity to keep you coming back for more.

“To me, all the good beers are like that,” Dann says. “Sure, if you buy a can and drink it alongside a 13% chocolate what-have you, it might not stand out, but if you want to take the time with it, as Martha and I frequently do - we both analyse these things endlessly - you’ll taste things that are embedded in these beers.”

The complexity in other SMOD beers is more immediately obvious. Inspired by the brewing traditions of Europe, the brewery produces regular releases of rustic, mixed-fermentation pale ales. One such beer is Mixto - produced as a celebration of The Independent Manchester Beer Convention (Indy Man), which this year, like so many other festivals, was sadly unable to take place. To the eye, there’s nothing particularly to distinguish Mixto from countless other pale ales on the market (aside from its wonderful, foamy, effervescent head - we’ll get to that later). Take a sniff, however, and things start to get a little weird. Sure, there’s orange, tangerine and other more tropical fruit notes, but underpinning it all is the unmistakable funky, leathery smell of fresh Brettanomyces. To taste, the beer is something of a hybrid - a modern pale ale, with fresh citrus and an underlying sweetness, balanced by more complex Belgian characteristics.

“We’re looking to create a house character that’s not, you know, the more esoteric sense of place that you hear people talking about, but is about the brewery itself,” Dann says. “We like beers that have all the benefits and all the faults of our processes here.”

One theme that runs throughout SMOD’s beers is their remarkable head-retention. Dann attributes this to the brewery using whole-leaf hops, and passing the wort through a stainless steel basket on entry to the coolship. The end result is a head that’s soft, loose and fluffy, but lingers on long after the can has been poured.

“Yeah, it’s dreamy that,” Dann remarks, almost whimsically. “I love it. I’ll never go back. I always say it’s what real beer looks like. And you know, that’s literally just from running into a coolship and using a very small quantity of hops.”

One consequence of this process, is that some of SMOD’s beers don’t always come out exactly as intended. Take Leavy Greave, the brewery’s New England-style Double IPA. Made using whole-leaf Mosaic hops, Dann had hoped the finished beer would give off huge, overripe fruit flavours.

“We had a hop that we thought was going to give us massive fruit character,” Dann tells me. “But it tastes a little bit more of a tobacco-like flavour, and the booziness is crazy! I’ve always been known as someone who makes strong beers tastes like low gravity, So it’s an odd one!”

That’s not to say the beer is without its attractions, however, and drinkers who are into big, boozy, piney Double IPAs will certainly find something to enjoy here. But a classic, juicy, smooth New England it is not. Perhaps though, given SMOD’s distain for sticking to traditional style guidelines, that’s all part of the charm.

Next on the release radar for SMOD is a series of Abbey inspired beers including a Belgian-style Quad. If the brewery’s beers to date are anything to go by, these should be right at the top of any beer geek’s Christmas list.

(Note from Hop Hideout - the Smod Belgian beer range was so popular we sold out really quick! We do have a limited supply of their Quad left in store HERE).

James Beeson is an award-winning beer writer and photographer. To see more of his work follow him on Twitter and Instagram for links.

Shine A Light: Rock Leopard Brewing

Shine a Light: Rock Leopard Brewing

photo courtesy of Rock Leopard Brewing

Few breweries have suffered as a result of COVID as much as Rock Leopard Brewing, but this hasn’t stopped founder Stacey Ayeh from using his brewery as a platform to champion causes he believes in.

Around ten minutes into my chat with Stacey Ayeh, the charismatic and passionate owner of Rock Leopard Brewing comes about as close as anyone I’ve had the pleasure of meeting to summing up exactly what craft beer means.

“Craft beer is a space to make a difference. To me when you talk about craft beer, it infers something that is greater than the liquid in the glass. It infers doing right by your staff, not cutting corners with your production process, so why shouldn’t it also be a means to try and achieve something?”

Achieving positive change is something Ayeh has made a pivotal part of the identity of his brewery in its short lifetime. As a prominent black-brewery owner, Ayeh has championed diversity through collaborating on Step Up, a Stout with Manchester’s Cloudwater Brew Co that raises money to help “those facing society’s biggest hurdles”. Teaming up with four other gypsy brewers also contract brewing out of Missing Link Brewery, he’s taken part in Other Half NYC’s All Together Initiative to raise money for Hospitality Action. Most recently, he has brewed How Are You On Your Good Days, an 8% DIPA brewed in response to the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

“On a personal level if I see something that is unjust I won’t stay silent,” he tells me. “If I can get involved and try and help then I will. I don’t see why that can’t be a part and parcel of my business.”

It’s an admirable statement, particularly for a brewery that has been so heavily impacted by the events of the last few months. After brewing with Cloudwater in February, demand for Rock Leopard’s brews soared and the brewery was just beginning its first major foray into the on-trade when pubs were forced to close. Luckily, Ayeh has been able to call upon the support of loyal bottleshops such as Hop Hideout, allowing him to continue brewing throughout the pandemic.

photo: James Beeson

One such beer is Savage Scene, a 4.9% ‘Inner City Pale’ that forms a part of Rock Leopard’s core range of beers. Hopped with Mandarina Bavaria, Nugget and Cascade, and fermented out with a clean yeast strain its classically West Coast in style. To taste, it’s clean, restrained and balanced, with big tropical top notes and aromatics of citrus fruit and pine. Even in an era dominated by juice bombs, it’s exceptionally drinkable, with just enough bite to feel like a throwback to a bygone age.

If Savage Scene feels like a slight throwback, then How Are You On Your Good Days is a full on wave of nostalgia. A proper, old school West Coast DIPA, it’s a supercharged version of the brewery’s core range Distant Cousin of a Mu Mu Cat, hopped with Centennial, Columbus, Azacca and Mosaic. Despite its strength, there’s minimal alcohol burn, with grapefruit, tangerine and pine on the palate.

photo: James Beeson

True to form, Ayeh has little interest in discussing tasting notes, instead regaling me with the story of the beer’s name, taken from a speech by US black-right’s activist Jordan Jr (AKA Pharaoh Almighty). Jordan Jr. was arrested after peacefully protesting and kneeling in front of riot police in Charleston, South Carolina, and Ayeh has pledged to donate a portion of the beer’s profits towards his bail fund (the remainder will go to community-based non-profit initiative Sistah Space in Hackney).

“Drinking beer and talking about beer is great, but I can only talk so much about beer itself until I get bored,” he says. “I want to talk about other things when my mind is it that loose state after a few beers… I want to talk about things that we can do to make a positive difference.”

The combination of exceptional West Coast style beers and strong sense of social responsibility is a powerful marriage, and speaking to Ayeh, you get the sense that in Rock Leopard here is a brewery that truly believes it does not and cannot exist in a vacuum, and that is surely something worth celebrating.

James Beeson is an award-winning beer writer and photographer. To see more of his work follow him on Twitter and Instagram for links.

Shine A Light: Indie Graft

In our new series called ‘Shine a Light’ beer communicator James Beeson picks up the spotlight to showcase some brilliant beers, the breweries, processes - both practical and creative and most importantly the people behind them.

First up Donzoko’s collaboration with Hop Hideout and forty UK independent beershops - Indie Graft.

Shine a Light: Indie Graft

photo: James Beeson

I absolutely adore the pub. I go absolutely ga-ga for pints. I think I might actually be in love with cask ale. It may come as a surprise to you, therefore, when come July 4th, I found myself not stood with a pint in a beer garden, but placing yet another order online with my local bottleshop.

Bottleshops have been my saviour throughout lockdown, and for many independent breweries, they’ve also been a lifeline when other routes to market closed. One such brewery is Donzoko, the one-man tour de force that is Reece Hugill. Donzoko found itself unable to access grant support for his business, and without the loyalty of his customers and local bottleshops who continued to order, would surely have not survived the last few months.

Hop Hideout has long championed Donzoko’s beers, and saw an opportunity to collaborate with Reece on a beer to champion the independent beer shop sector. Pulling together support from a group of like-minded retailers, owner Jules Gray suggested a collaboration that celebrates the symbiotic relationship between brewery and retailer.

The collaboration is a vinous version of Donzoko’s hoppy Belgian inspired pale, Graft. Brewed with Nelson Sauvin and fermented with Beaujolais wine yeast, its available exclusively through independent beer retailers across the country.

photo: James Beeson

Out of the can, the beer pours a pale, translucent yellow, with a huge, fluffy white head that has become Donzoko’s signature. Glowing gently in the setting Saturday sunshine, it’s an appealing prospect. A generous dosing of Nelson in the dry hop means that on the nose, Indie Graft is a pure gooseberry and grape, with a hint of freshly mown grass. A malt bill featuring spelt and buckwheat creates a full bodied, silky and pillow-soft mouthfeel, almost NEIPA-esque despite the obviously vinous quality running through the beer.

To taste, there’s more rich, fruity, gooseberry and white-wine flavours, balanced delicately with notes of banana, bubblegum and just an edge of pepper. It finishes off-dry, with a moderate astringency that leaves you thirsting for another gulp. Ironically, Indie Graft is exactly the kind of beer that demands to be drunk in the pub by the pint. It’s supremely balanced, effortlessly refreshing yet subtly complex.

James Beeson is an award-winning beer writer and photographer. To see more of his work follow him on Twitter and Instagram for posts.

Grab a can of Indie Graft from Hop Hideout.

photo: James Beeson

Indie Graft

Indie Graft - our Jules has been working hard to bring a positive celebration out of the horrible last few months...

Indie Graft beer collaboration with Donzoko Brewing and over 40 independent UK beer shops celebrates their sector in the beer landscape with a big collective cheers!

Join in the cheers, Sat 18th July: Indie Graft, support your local beer shop

Independent beer shops have ridden the rollercoaster of the pandemic, continuing to operate within Government guidance on the sector through this hugely challenging time. Managing to traverse this situation has been tough emotionally, economically and physically for many in the sector. Though the driving passion to keep their customers smiling has always been the ultimate goal and shown the indie beer shop sector as a vital link and valuable connection between brewery and customer within their communities.

The sector has a high number of owner-operators and that has meant no story is the same as individual businesses have had to plan differently. Overall it’s been a mixed outcome for the sector with some beer shops choosing to close for health and personal safety reasons, some pivoting business models to completely online sales, others maximising on multi-sales channel selling through online/off sales/growler fills/home deliveries and others running forced reduced hours due to operating within shared spaces such as markets and food halls. Creating significant stress and anxiety within the sector. You can read more on a number of retailers’ individual stories via off-trade publication Drinks Retailing’s series ‘Beer Shops Under Lockdown‘ online.

The stress has rippled throughout the beer sector and affected everyone on many levels. One brewery in particular who chimed with the struggles was Donzoko, who, being an owner-operator and small brewery located within a business enterprise park has been unable to access grant support and has faced similar challenges to keep his business operating.

To champion the indie beer shop sector and highlight the vibrancy they bring to the high street, their communities, to the local economy and support they give to breweries this beer collaboration was suggested by Sheffield based beer shop Hop Hideout’s owner Jules Gray to a group of like-minded retailers; with a resounding yes. The collaborative beer is a riff on one of Donzoko’s core beers and is aptly named Indie Graft.

The twist on Graft sees dry-hopping with Nelson Sauvin variety which has a white grape and gooseberry like quality boosting the profile achieved from the fermentation with Beaujolais wine yeast and kicking the abv up to 4.7%. This vinous version of Donzoko’s hoppy Belgian inspired pale, Graft, will be available exclusively through independent beer retailers from early July 2020.

On Saturday 18th July, 7.30pm, the group welcomes everyone to raise a beer and a collective cheer to their local community and beer shop. Purchase Indie Graft as locally as you can and join in the free online tasting with Donzoko Brewing, Hop Hideout and indie beer shop friends.

Find out more: https://www.donzoko.org ; use our hashtag on socals to join in #IndieGraft and search your local beer shop here https://tinyurl.com/IndieGraft

Reece Hugill (Donzoko Brewing),

“Not accessing any grant support and having all our revenue streams cut, really hit hard. But seeing people turn to their small independent shops and producers is really good to see. This beer is a celebration of that, sticking together and grafting to keep people in good beer.”

Jules Gray (Hop Hideout),

“This beer collab not only celebrates the hard-working people and businesses in the sector, but is also an exciting exploration of beer and wine hybridisation, showcasing the experimentation within the industry plus the thirst from our customers for that too. Having kept people in good beer, acted as community hubs and grafted through the Covid-19 pandemic this Indie Graft beer will provide a much needed toast to all the hardwork pushing through those gruelling moments.”

Tasting to be hosted on Donzoko Brewing Co Instagram Live - follow @DonzokoBeer and @HopHideout 

BUY from Hop Hideout: https://www.hophideout.co.uk/uk-beer/2020/7/8/indiegraft-4pack-can-glass-donzoko

Celebrate The Endless Toil, Send Beer!

It’s been a few months since we last updated our blog and a lot has happened since then! We’re now nearly 3 months into the new opening of Hop Hideout at food hall Kommune, in Sheffield city centre. Not sure where the time has flown to, but it’s been a bit of a whirlwind (good). Now that we’re getting a little more settled, we’ve started to organise more events and exciting collabs. Whit whoo….

First up, Thursday June 20th, is our beer collaboration launch celebrating Tom J Newell’s latest art exhibition at The Viewing Room gallery space at Kommune entitled Endless Toil. We’ve collaborated with local hotly-tipped Sheffield brewery Saint Mars of the Desert and Tom to brew up an orangey summer ale, a perfect sup’ to help you ease the endless toil and see the beauty in life’s drudgery. Read more about Saint Mars and their intriguing beer journey over at Food & Wine - HERE. We first discovered their beers a number of years ago under their Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project brewing moniker. One of the beers we bought on holiday - Field Mouse’s Farewell was inspired by a little field mouse found in their Yorkshire home (they’ve lived back and forth between American and the UK; and Martha is from Yorkshire. Just to add more intrigue to their story!). An apt beer connection as we now find ourselves sharing our lives in the same beery city of Sheffield.

Tom’s used inspiration from his exhibition pieces to bring four designs to life on the can labels:

1. Forget Me-Not

2. Plenty More Fish

3. Swan Song

4. Pass The Torch

The Endless Toil exhibition covers a series of his new paintings and prints celebrating the suffering of our everyday existence, embracing the struggle, and finding beauty in life’s relentless drudgery.

A 1300 litre orangey brew meant plenty of naval oranges were needed and Martha from Saint Mars spent a good few hours peeling and juicing [insert hearty round of applause].

With a sizeable addition of Centennial hops in the koelschip (a tasty bit of kit usually seen in spontaneous ale brewing such as Belgian lambic or German lager brewing for resting beer to reduce DMS). Saint Mars use their bespoke built koelschip currently to rest the beer and boost the flavours. In this collab beer there’s ‘‘Super Cascade’’ Centennial hop addition layered with candied peel and zest of orange. The beer was then dry-hopped with bags of Amarillo. The base malt has wheat, barley and oats - accentuating the smooth mouthfeel. The hop varieties chosen add more tropical/orange notes hinting at a ‘New England’ style reference point alongside the American yeast strain.

We hope you enjoy our beer and embrace the Endless Toil…..

The exhibition runs from June 20th through till July 20th. To keep the celebrations bubblin’ throughout the month we’ll be hosting the Sheffield Chapter Mikkeller Running Club route on Sat 6th July from the exhibition to Saint Mars via the scenic Five Weirs route AND releasing a limited Tom J Newell designed glass on Saturday July 20th. You can find more details on our Facebook events page - HERE.

Big news klaxon 🚨 We are moving 🚨Hop Hideout - new location *coming soon in 2019* 🚨

There comes a time when you have to move on & now is the time for Hop Hideout. We've absolutely loved setting up our indie beer shop along Abbeydale Road these last 5 years & we've met & made friends with some lovely folk here. We've built up such a great community, welcomed a host of ace breweries over the years for events & managed to snag a few national awards along the way. We'll be sad to leave but we've been offered a truly unique & exciting opportunity.

We hope that all our customers come visit us at our new location; we have some 10% discount vouchers to hand out this week in store to make that even more attractive ;) AND we look forward to meeting a whole load of new good folk too. We know people have commented on social media they'd like to make it out to us more, but getting out to Abbeydale can be awkward if you don't live that side of Sheffield. So with that in mind, we've found a city centre location!!!

It will take a little to transition to the new location, so we'll be packing up & doing a few pop-ups through the next couple of months. Our last day of trading at 448 Abbeydale Road is Saturday 17th November. We will release a schedule of location & dates for all the pop-ups asap. We have also planned a big sending off with Swedish flavour maestros @duggesbryggeri hosting a meet the brewer & tap takeover as our final hurrah 🎉

All beer tastings, gift vouchers & bottle return deposits will be valid at our pop-ups & new location - so don't panic. We will also extend any that come up for use in the next couple of months, till the end of April 2019, to give you plenty of time to use. You'll also still be able to order online www.hophideout.co.uk for #homedelivery & #mailorder #beers 🍺

We've some big plans for @sheffbeerweek with an event collab with @fem.alefestival to announce. We will also be back along Abbeydale in March with an international focused beer bar at our craft beer festival @indiebeerfeast Longer term, we'd love to have a location back along Abbeydale Road, so if you know of anywhere - do send us a dm via our Twitter, FB or IG. *Hugs* 💜🍺

Hopulist Magazine Visits Hop Hideout

New beer magazine Hopulist kindly visited Hop Hideout a few weeks ago to chat beer and find out more about our Sheffield story. Head online to catch up on issue five - link below. 

'The Hideout For Everybody' awwwwww cheers folks! 

https://www.hopulist.com/