By The Mash Tun

Brewing has existed for millennia so when something truly new comes along people tend to pay attention. Brut IPAs are so new and have captured so many imaginations that we had to try it out for ourselves! Focusing on more of an aged Brut Pale rather than the dry fresh and hoppy Brut IPA, we're treading fairly new ground here, but will our experiment work? We also try these commercial styles of Brut Pale/IPA: Siren Craft - Cuvée Brut https://www.sirencraftbrew.com/ Abbeydale and Haand - Splash It All Over https://www.abbeydalebrewery.co.uk/ http://haandbryggeriet.no/ Pressure Drop - Breaking Out Of My Tomb https://pressuredropbrewing.co.uk/

In this episode Cal gets to revisit one of his earliest brews, the Coconut Brown. Combining the sweet malty robustness of a Brown Ale with the unique creaminess of Coconut, it's a style not seen very often but enjoyed by most that try it. We try some commercial examples of beer with Coconut in: Mongozo - Coconut https://www.mongozo.com/ Siren Craft and Basqueland - Hawaiian Shake https://www.sirencraftbrew.com/ https://basquebeer.com/en/ Dark Revolution and Vibrant Forest - Baloo https://www.darkrevolution.co.uk/ https://www.vibrantforest.co.uk/ Then we try THE Brown. The one. The one that all are compared to: Newcastle Brown Ale https://www.newcastlebrownale.co.uk/

As the sweet, roasty, yet smooth drinking evil twin of the Black IPA, the White Stout is lesser known but just as beloved to its fans. Is the illusion great enough to justify the "Stout" name, or is it just a Coffee Pale Ale? In this episode we're joined by Kieran Johnson (who recently brewed one with BlackJack Brewery) as we delve into what makes this elusive style so delicious. As usual we try some of these commercial examples of the style: Butcher's Tears - Grainiac https://butchers-tears.com/ Eight Arch & Bexar County collaboration (part of Collabageddon 18) - Right Platform, Wrong Station http://www.8archbrewing.co.uk/ http://bexarcountybrewery.com/ Weird Beard & Azimut - I Scream For Choco Azimut http://www.weirdbeardbrewco.com/ https://www.azimutbrasserie.com/ We also go out of the style to self indulgently try these two extra special beers: Pilot & Hale collaboration (part of Collabageddon 18) - Crunchie Stout http://pilotbeer.co.uk/ http://hale.beer/ Omnipollo - Hilma Vanilla Fl

In this special episode we visit Reading's newest brewery "Double-Barrelled" as they brew an Imperial Stout due to be double barrel aged! We also review these Imperial Stouts: Elusive Brewing - Invisible Wall https://www.elusivebrewing.com/ Gipsy Hill - HFO https://gipsyhillbrew.com/ Omnipollo - Noa Pecan Mud Cake http://www.omnipollo.com/

In Final Gravity we take a look at the various beers we’ve brewed after they’re completed. Find out what went right, what went wrong and most importantly what we’ve learned on our journey to learn by brewing. This episode we're joined by beer reviewer James Moore as he gives his opinions on our beers and talks about his quest to drink all "1001 Beer You Must Try Before You Die" https://youtu.be/DYJ8uHsQxaQ In this episode we sample: Black IPA Tropical Pale Ale Pancake Beer German Pils

In this episode we hit the hybrid between the classic German style of sweet wheaty Hefeweizen and the Belgian style of spicy zesty Witbier. A wheat heavy hazy pale beer flavoured with orange peel and honey! We delve into the two styles, talk about our own take and try some of these commercial examples: Paulaner - Hefe-Weissbier https://www.paulaner.com/ Howling Hops - Traditional East End Hefeweizen http://howlinghops.co.uk/ Northern Monk and Bundobust - Bombay Dazzler https://www.northernmonkbrewco.com/ http://bundobust.com/

Guest homebrewer special! In this episode Mike heads north to York to brew with award winning homebrewer Mike Bates, as he recreates the Saison that won him the award. Afterwards, Mike and Cal return to Reading to try these fantastic examples of the style: Crooked Stave - Vieille http://www.csartisans.com Time and Tide - Echo https://www.timeandtidebrewing.co.uk Burning Sky - Saison a la Provision https://www.burningskybeer.com

In this episode we embrace the smoke and brew a "Rauchbier", a big smoky delicious and malty style from Bamburg. We're also joined by Chris MacLennan, Cal's co-host from The Space Jam Continuum, also part of the Kaiju.fm Network. As usual, we brew one ourselves, talk about the style and our recipe, before trying out these commercial examples: Butcher's Tears - Smoke & Mirrors https://butchers-tears.com/ Torrside - Hopfenrauch I - http://www.torrside.co.uk/ Yeastie Boys - Rex Attitude https://yeastieboys.co.nz/

In this episode Mike and his lovely wife Rachael have a look at the floral, delicate and yet rich flavour found by adding Jasmine Green Tea to pale ale. As usual, we brew one ourselves, talk about the style and our recipe, before trying out these commercial examples: Siren Craft - Yu Lu https://www.sirencraftbrew.com/ Wild Weather - Storm in a Teacup https://wildweatherales.com/ And a second one by Wild Weather - The Complete History https://wildweatherales.com/

In this episode we use up all the little bits of leftover ingredients from other brews to make a "Pancake Beer", a usually amber yet hoppy style that always changes (depending on what you have left). Good for those that hate waste! Since there are no (publicly described) commercial examples of the style, we instead look at a couple of English Amber Ales: Purity - Pure UBU https://puritybrewing.com/ Bath Ales - Gem https://bathales.com/ And we also try one of Cal's very old homebrew. It was chunky.

In this special episode, instead of brewing at home we travel to Elusive Brewery to chat with owner and head brewer Andy Parker. On the brewday itself we look at his version of a Belgian Pale Ale (called "Plan B") as well as talk about the brewery and his new book. Featuring reviews of the following beers: Elusive - Plan B (first version) Elusive - Exxxtra Life https://www.elusivebrewing.com/ Weird Beard and Tiny Rebel - Cardinal Wolf http://www.weirdbeardbrewco.com/ https://www.tinyrebel.co.uk/ Elusive - Level Up Level 12 (from the book "Homebrewing") https://shop.camra.org.uk/essential-home-brewing.html NB in this episode Mike mentions Weyermann logo is red on white, whereas it is actually red on yellow. He's just an idiot.

In this episode we take a look at the crisp refreshing world of pilsner lagers, focusing on the German interpretation of the style AND THEN the British interpretation of the German interpretation and... you get the idea. As usual, we brew one ourselves, talk about the style and our recipe, before trying out these commercial examples: Camden Brewery - Camden Pils http://www.camdentownbrewery.com/beer/pils-lager/ Electric Bear and Red Cat collab. - Water Lane https://electricbearbrewing.com/ https://www.redcatbrewing.co.uk/ Lost & Grounded - Keller Pils http://lostandgrounded.co.uk/

In this episode we embrace the warm weather and make a tropical brew! Pale ale with additions of actual fruit, tropical pale ales are very popular and very delicious. As usual, we brew one ourselves, talk about the style and our recipe, before trying out these commercial examples: Tiny Rebel - Clwb Tropicana https://www.tinyrebel.co.uk/ Brewski - Pango http://brewski.se/ Renegade - Witness The Citrus https://renegadebrewery.co.uk/

In this episode we look at Mike's favourite style of beer the Black IPA. Many despise it's contradictory title, but inside the beer itself you'll find two elements that go together better than expected, roasted malts and heavy hops. As usual, we brew one ourselves, talk about the style and our recipe, before trying out these commercial examples: Beavertown - Black Betty https://www.beavertownbrewery.<wbr></wbr>co.uk/ De Kromme Haring - Inktvis http://www.dekrommeharing.nl/ Pohjala - Black Forest IPA https://pohjalabeer.com/

In Final Gravity we take a look at the various beers we've brewed after they're completed. Find out what went right, what went wrong and most importantly what we've learned on our journey to make better beer.In this episode we look at: SMaSHWest Coast IPANew England IPAKettle Sour

In episode 4 we look at Kettle Sours, a method of souring beer without having to wait a couple of years! As usual, we brew one ourselves, talk about the style and our recipe, before trying out these commercial examples with our guest reviewer Rachael Harrison-Wood: Tiny Rebel - Frambuzi https://www.tinyrebel.co.ukNorth Brewing - Volta https://www.northbrewing.com Wild Weather - Ask Me About Loom https://wildweatherales.com

In episode 3, Mike and Cal take a look at a very new style making waves in the beer world. With characteristics like hazy, fruity and even dank the New England IPA is delicious and easy drinking, but big, full and smooth. As usual, we brew one ourselves, talk about the style and our recipe, before trying out these commercial examples: Eight Arch and The Tipsy Pig - Dainty http://8archbrewing.co.uk/ Unbarred and Forest Road Brewing - Unwind NEIPA http://www.unbarredbrewery.<wbr></wbr>com/ Boutilliers - Teenage Lakes http://www.boutilliers.com/

In our second episode we look at a style that's taken the world by storm, it's the West Coast IPA. A big hitting hop monster with high bitterness and robust but supportive malt. As usual, we brew one ourselves, talk about the style and our recipe, before trying out some commercial examples: Lagunitas IPA by Lagunitas https://lagunitas.com/ 5 O'Clock Shadow by Weird Beard http://www.weirdbeardbrewco.<wbr></wbr>com/ Treason by Uprising http://www.uprisingbrewery.co.<wbr></wbr>uk/

The First episode where we brew a straight forward beer using just marris otter and Cascade hop, its going to be crisp malt flavors and big citrusy flavors. We will cover the recipe, the brewing process, tasting and reviewing some commercial brews. Beers tasted and their web pages: Only Warrior from Mike's home brew - No Website (yet) Pale ale Simcoe - Wiper and True http://wiperandtrue.com/ Simcoe - Arbor http://arborales.co.uk/ Hero factory - Wild weather brewery https://wildweatherales.com/