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
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.
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.