Back in September, we headed down to London for The Craft Beer Channel’s Love & Beer Festival.
There were so many great beers on offer that we couldn’t possibly try them all on the day. We really wanted to try some of the specially brewed collaborations, so we treated ourselves to this awesome selection to try at home.
All the beers were brewed especially for the festival, but four of them were collabs between two breweries and the other four were collabs with The Craft Beer Channel. We decided to split them over two evenings starting with the collabs between two breweries.
We thought there might be one or two that were pretty average, but they all turned out to be fantastic beers – all excellent representations of their different styles. It’s not surprising Jonny and Brad selected these breweries to create the festival beers as they all know how to brew a great beer.
The beers
Franconian Dunkel by Utopian Brewing (collab with Braybrooke Beer): Franconian Dunkel 4.9%
We haven’t tried many Franconian Dunkels (hoping that will change when we head to Munich later this year), but this one definitely impressed. It was delicious. Lovely aroma and even better taste. Toffee and bread notes with a very subtle smokiness. Sweet but not sugary sweet. Fantastic.
Brewer’s note:
Brewed with our friends and titans of lager brewing, Braybrooke Beer Co, to celebrate the Love & Beer festival 2024. This is our take on a Franconian Dunkel, brewed with dark malts and a touch of smoked malt, double decocted, fermented cold (of course), and hopped with East Kent Goldings. Pours a deep mahogany, bread crust, toffee and tobacco on the nose. Rich body with biscuit and toast leading to a pleasantly crisp and bitter finish. A tribute to the lagers of yesteryear.
Brewer’s website:
Talk it Over by Wild Horse Brewing (collab with McColl’s): New Zealand Pilsner 5.4%
This NZ pils was citrusy, with subtle lemon and lime flavours. There was hardly any bitterness and it had a quick finish. Another great beer.
Brewer’s note:
Talk it Over is a bright and refreshing NZ Pils showcasing Pacifica, Motueka and a dash of German Blanc hops. Brewed for Craft Beer Channel’s Love & Beer Festival 2024 in collaboration with our new pals McColl’s Brewery from Evenwood, Co. Durham and inspired by our shared love of easy-going beers for talking over.
Brewer’s website:
Liquid Dreams by Phantom Brewing (collab with Neon Raptor): Pale Ale 5%
We started to see why The Craft Beer Channel picked these breweries to brew for their festival because this was another great beer. Hazy with notes of dank pineapple, a thick mouthfeel and not too much bitterness.
Brewer’s note: Strata, Nectaron, Citra, Idaho 7.
Brewer’s website:
Mighty Mountains by Hackney Brewery (collab with Bunrt Mill): Vermont IPA 5.5%
The final beer of session one and just as good as the others. Another hazy beer with tropical flavours, but not as dank as Liquid Dreams and with a slightly longer finish.
Brewer’s note:
Unfiltered and unfined for bigger flavour. Hazy. Tropical.Floral.
Brewer’s website:
Love & Lemons by Pastore: Sour 4%
We tried this beer at the Love & Beer festival and it was fantastic – it was our beer of the month in September – so we were looking forward to revisiting it. It was just as good as we remembered. Makes your mouth pucker with every sip. An outstanding sour.
Brewer’s note:
A pink lemonade sour, fermented with our fresh sour mixed culture & conditioned on Sicilian lemons & Scottish raspberries.
Brewer’s website: Pastore – Brewing & Blending
Pastille by Two Flints: New Zealand IPA 6%
This had a lovely aroma and tasted amazing. Juicy and tropical with a slight woodiness and a wonderful mouthfeel.
Brewer’s note:
Pastille is an all-out NZ hopped hazy IPA brewed in collaboration with Jonny and Brad from the brilliant Craft Beer Channel. We were tasked with producing a slightly crisper, drier and bitter hazy than our usual output and we love the results!
Hopped with the freshest CY24 hops that included Nelson Sauvin T90, cryo and hop kief alongside late harvest Motueka from Eggers hops and Rakau, we used a more neutral yeast strain as a platform for the hops to shine. We’re tasting green fruit pastilles (hence the name!), zingy passionfruit, preserved lime and subtle cracked black pepper.
Brewer’s website: Two Flints
False Azure by Pressure Drop Brewing: American IPA 7.2%
This beer had a lemony aroma, with lots of citrus and pine flavours and a lovely bitterness. An excellent West Coast IPA – probably one of the best we’ve ever had.
Brewer’s note:
We’re remixing a classic with Brad & Jonny from The Craft Beer Channel. It’s just like Pale Fire – but bigger! Hops: Mosaic & Citra.
Brewer’s website: Pressure Drop Brewing London
Trees of Endor by Emperor’s Brewery: Imperial Stout 11.7%
They only made 3 kegs and 120 bottles of this beer (ours was bottle 17) so it seemed almost a shame to break the wax seal. But we’re glad we did as it was delicious. It was thick, gloopy and syrupy with so many beautiful flavours of chocolate, coffee, and vanilla fudge. And for an 11.7% beer, it didn’t taste very boozy at all.
Brewer’s note:
Here amongst the Trees of Endor, there lurks a formidable army. A legion. Creatures so vicious and intimidating they can defeat the Empire’s best troops and technology.
After a hard day slaying your foes, what could be better than sitting around the tribal fires, sipping a stout with rich Guatemalan coffee, creamy toasted coconut and sweet, luscious maple syrup?!”
…after the slaughter that has just happened though, why are your rebel friends asking where you got all the fresh meat from?!
Brewer’s website: Emperor’s Brewery
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