Hops In A Bottle

I took a mate up to Mansfield the other day for a visit to a beer shop I'd not been to before. I first heard about it on Twitter just before Christmas, which I think was not long after it opened.


Hops in a Bottle's focus is very much on local beers. There's a small selection of Wychwood and the like from outside of the surrounding area, but they seem to be more to provide something familiar for the less adventurous than a core of what the shop is about. Similarly don't go in expecting a selection of trendy American craft beers, or indeed anything foreign, or you'll be disappointed. That is in no way a criticism, the shop seems proudly local, and the beer range simply reflects that. The policy seems to be to stock as much of the range as possible from the breweries too. Welbeck Abbey Brewery (who also have a blog) is the closest to the shop, with breweries such as Blue Monkey, Nottingham Brewery, Flipside and Castle Rock from down here in Nottingham. Derbyshire's represented by Brampton, Buxton, Spire, Peak Ales and Thornbridge. Lincolnshire and Yorkshire in the form of Sleaford, Springhead, Wold Top and Kelham Island. I also caught sight of Newark's Milestone brewery. I apologise for any I missed, no notebooks were harmed in the writing of this blog post. I think that's a pretty extensive range when you factor in how many lines each brewery provides, and all of this traditional beer is set out in a very modern way. It was refreshing to see the temptation for decking the shop out in all sorts of mock 'Olde Worlde' rubbish was resisted. As you might be able to see from the photos, when we have our scorching summer (surely we're due one?) they might need to protect some of those precious bottles from the sun, but it's nothing a blind won't sort out.



Here's a brief tasting note for a couple of the beers I picked up:

Welbeck Abbey Brewery Ayrshire Amber Ale 4.6%. £2.70 (50cl)
Seasonal amber ale. Really fruity - hint of crushed raspberries and red/white currants. A great spring beer.

Flipside Clippings IPA 6.5%. £2.70 (50cl)
Lively IPA with good bitterness. Less overt tropical fruit than most modern IPAs, more vinous white fruit. Lovely smokiness on the finish.

Hops in a Bottle's website is still under construction, but you can say hello on Twitter, or even better, go and have a chat in person - allow some of that enthusiasm for a locally produced product to inspire you!

Hiatus and Return

I've had a brief break from blogging, mainly because I've had a lot on, and much of my time has been spent reading about spirits - not something I'd imagine most readers of beer blogs are interested in.

Today, it's budget day. Tax on beer will go up. A tiny number of people have signed the petition against beer duty escalation, and Camra have come under criticism for not urging their members to sign it. In a way this is understandable - their members, I think, should be urged to sign it. In the end though it's a large and (as far as I can see) democratic organisation, and by its very nature is therefore unlikely to do something quickly enough to be effective. Still, maybe a pointer towards the fact that it is there, suggesting to members that they make up their own mind about whether the government should be supported in doing this? I'd suggest silence from beer's largest consumer group on the issue could be construed as tacit consent.

Locally, BrewDog Nottingham seem to be going strong, presumably because it is 'The only destination for real beer in Nottingham!' which means the pint I had in the Lincolnshire Poacher the other night must have been a figment of my imagination. Bastards. £2.60 for a glorified dream. BrewDog are going ahead with Totem 'Red Indian' Pale Ale. I was rather surprised a company who go so far as to use 'flavor' on their website and 'draft' on their chalkboards are so clueless about culture across the pond that they don't know 'Red Indian' isn't exactly politically correct. Maybe we should be glad it's not a dark beer they're releasing with an accompanying racial slur as a name. Nottingham's criminal reputation doesn't need any enhancement from scenester-induced race rioting after all.

Anyway, proper blog to return very soon. I'm off to check out Hops in a Bottle in Mansfield today before the prices go up, and hopefully get to write about some nice beer!

* Website not up and running yet but they're on Twitter.