We’ll have two cask specials available throughout May (or until we sell out!), so grab ‘em while you can, as we won’t be brewing either for at least another year. Full details are as follows…

Maypole -  Alc. 3.7% Vol.

May is a month ‘for the elders’, according to Latin folklore at least, and it also sees Elderflowers come into season. With this in mind, Maypole is a seasonal pale ale brewed using Cascade hops and infused with Elderflowers, to produce a delicate floral and citrus aroma.

Cream – Alc. 4.7% Vol.

We’ve delved into the archives to brew one of Sean Franklin’s favourite recipes. Cream is a premium aromatic bitter that showcases the Liberty hop, which is from Washington State in the USA. Soft Yorkshire water creates a smooth bitterness, with a slightly citrus and spiced finish. 

April brings with it a brand new special in the form of Rude Boy, a single-hopped pale ale brewed using Dr. Rudi hops from New Zealand.

The name and design of the artwork is a nod to the Two Tone movement of the late 1970′s and is inspired by the imagery associated with bands such as The Specials, Bad Manners and Madness.

The beer will be available in cask from Monday April 8th until sold out. Full tasting notes are as follows…

Rude Boy – Alc. 4.3% Vol.

Brewed with 100% Dr. Rudi hops from New Zealand, which have been added to both the kettle and the fermenter, Rude Boy is a pale beer with grassy aromas of lemongrass and pine needles. Dr. Rudi’s ability to impart large amounts of bitterness has been harnessed to create a mid-strength beer with a balanced level of bitterness.

We’ve also brewed a brand new Outlaw beer, for which more details can be found here.

It’s a little bit overdue, but we’re really pleased to finally have our beers in bottles and believe that the three beers we’ve decided to enter the market with will appeal to beer drinkers across the scale, whilst also looking the business on the shop shelf and in the fridges of bars and restaurants.

The beers being launched are Yankee, which is the Brewery’s flagship beer, a 4.3% abv. original pale ale (the first of its kind in the UK to use the Cascade hop from the USA), Fort Smith, a 5.0% abv. India Pale Ale and Londinium, a 5.5% abv. traditional coffee porter that has brewed in collaboration with Taylors of Harrogate, an independent coffee merchant local to Rooster’s, whose After Dark blend forms part of the recipe for the beer.

We’ve been working hard for the last six months to ensure that the beers are represented in the best possible way when poured from the bottle, as there are a lot of differences between that and beer dispensed from a hand pump.

All three beers will be available in 500ml bottles and are being handled by Beer Paradise, an independent wholesaler who supply outlets within both the on and off trade throughout the UK. Beer Paradise is part-owned by Zak Avery, a prominent beer writer and commentator. Speaking of the news, Zak said: “We’re delighted to be working with such an influential brewery as Rooster’s, and the three beers that they are bottling will add something very special to our portfolio. We look forward to helping Rooster’s make the transition from the hand-pulls of the best pubs in Britain to the fridges and shelves of the best beer shops, bars and restaurants all over the country.”

A direct-delivery service for home drinkers is available online via www.beerritz.co.uk.

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve joined forces with Taylors of Harrogate, the UK’s leading roast and ground coffee merchants, to re-brew Londinium using a blend of their coffee.

Londinium was initially brewed as a special in 2012 , but, over the last six months, which have included numerous coffee tastings and beer sampling sessions, we’ve developed the recipe to include Taylors’ After Dark blend to ensure the final product is a beautifully balanced beer that will appeal to both coffee and beer enthusiasts in equal measure.

Taylors of Harrogate is an independent, family-owned company based a stone’s throw from the Brewery, so we’re really pleased to be working so closely with them to create a beer that, as of today, has been added to our core range of beers.

When we first approached Taylors with a view to using their coffee in the beer, we didn’t quite anticipate just how interested they’d be in helping us to find exactly the right blend to use. We were initially invited to join Rick Tingley and his team at Taylors’ coffee tasting room where we sampled a variety of different coffees from all over the world and discussed the best ways in which they could be used. We then brewed trial batches on our 60 litre pilot plant and returned the favour at the Brewery, before then sampling one of the trials at a local pub. We’re delighted with the final outcome of the beer.

Rick Tingley, Head of Coffee at Taylors of Harrogate, comments: “Taylors of Harrogate is proud to be working with neighbours, Rooster’s Brewing Co. on Londinium. The dark, rich nature of the beer matches flawlessly with the sultry tones of our After Dark blend, which provides a deliciously chocolaty aftertaste – perfect for enjoying long into the evening.”

Londinium’s available in both cask and bottle, with the bottles being available to buy online at www.beerritz.co.uk.

Londinium – Alc. 5.5% Vol.
A dark beer with a hint of coffee on the finish, brewed using four malts, English hops and the addition of Taylors of Harrogate After Dark coffee, Londinium is a nod to the beer of yesteryear and, in particular, the style made popular by the street and river porters of London in the 18th century.

March brings with it a new special in the shape of True Grit. Brewed using a blend of Citra, Summit and Simcoe hops, it’s available for all of our free trade customers and has also been picked up by a few wholesalers who’ll be delivering it across the UK on our behalf, so keep an eye out for it hitting a bar near you soon.

True Grit – Alc. 3.9% Vol. Named after the 1969 John Wayne film that centres around the character of Rooster Cogburn, Rooster’s True Grit is a bold, pale ale with aromas of citrus fruit and a lasting, bitter finish.

True Grit will be joined by the return of Cogburn for a limited time. Cogburn is a 4.3% Robust Pale Ale we initially brewed in 2012 and is a beer for which we’ve received plenty of requests to brew it again, so we have.

Cogburn – Alc. 4.3% Vol. A homage to the lead character of True Grit and loaded with juicy fruit aromas from a combination of American hops, Cogburn is a robust, mid-strength pale ale with a great length of flavour.

February sees the return of an old favourite in the shape of Leghorn, whilst we’ve also produced a dry-hopped version of our flagship beer, Yankee, which will be available for a limited period only. It’s amazing what the difference the addition of extra hops in the FV can make – grab it while you can!

Leghorn will be available from January 30th until the end of February or until it sells out.

Leghorn – Alc. 4.3% Vol.

Named after an American breed of Chicken, Leghorn is a creamy, pale ale brewed using a mixture of four American hops that combine to create a cocktail of fruit aromas. It’s a beer with real pedigree, having pushed our YPA^® into silver position at the internationally-renowned World Beer Cup.

Dry-Hopped Yankee – Alc. 4.3% Vol.

A dry-hopped version of our flagship beer. Yankee^® is a modern classic. Light and easy-drinking, it’s a beer that showcases the floral and citrus fruit aromas of the Cascade hop, grown in the USA, projected against a back drop of soft Yorkshire water and golden promise pale malt.

Humble Pie is now available as our first special of 2013 and is a low strength pale ale, with a pleasant lemon, citrus fruit aroma and soft level of bitterness. Brewed using a blend of Aurora, Crystal and Galaxy hops, it’s ideal for those who’ve over-indulged at Christmas!

Humble Pie will be joined by Franklin, which proved to be a big hit in December, so much so that we have decided to brew it again. Franklin will be ready for delivery from Thursday January 10th.

December sees the Return of Black Math, a liquorice stout we brewed at the same time last year for the first time that went down really well (although we’ve tweaked the abv. ever so slightly to 4.5%).

Black Math is joined by a brand new special in the shape of Franklin, which was originally brewed especially for October’s J D Wetherspoon Ale Festival Festival. The beer’s named after Rooster’s founding brewer, Sean Franklin and uses two of his favourite hops (Cascade and Chinook) – hops which Sean imported from the USA, before anyone else really cottoned on to just how amazing they are.

Both beers will be available from November 29th, whilst the full tasting notes for each are as follows:

Black Math – Alc. 4.5% Vol.

Take a trip to the dark side with Black Math, a smooth, easy-drinking stout, with a rich roast malt aroma, infused with liquorice, leading to a subtle fruit finish.

Franklin – Alc. 4.3% Vol.

A mix of Cascade & Chinook hops & Simpson’s Golden Promise pale malt, Franklin is a celebration of the modern-style pale ale, pioneered by Rooster’s founding brewer, Sean Franklin. Aromas of citrus fruits & grapefruit give way to a quaffable level of bitterness.

We’re delighted to have been asked to brew an exclusive, brand new beer for the JD Wetherspoon Ale Festival, which runs from October 24^th to November 11^th. With brewers flying in from Australia, North America and Japan to take part in the festivities, there promises to be a range of unique and interesting beers on offer.

Franklin, a 4.3% pale ale brewed using a mixture of Cascade and Chinook hops, is nod to Rooster’s founding brewer, Sean Franklin, who pioneered the use of such hops in the UK and developed a reputation for brewing well balanced, aromatic, session strength pale ales of exceptional quality. We hope to have done him justice and plan to brew Franklin for our free trade customers at a later date.

A full list of the festival beers (and ciders), along with all the tasting notes, can be found here.

Cheers!

For your delectation this November, but available now…

Astro – Alc. 4.3% Vol. Brewed with Galaxy, the hop du jour, which is an exciting new hop grown in a country far, far away (Australia), Astro is a pale ale with a striking citrus and passion fruit character.

Londinium – Alc. 5.5% Vol.
A dark beer with a hint of coffee on the finish, brewed using a blend of four malts and English hops, Londinium is a nod to the beer of yesteryear and, in particular, the style made popular by the street and river porters in London in the 18th century.

There were no fewer than fourteen entries for the home-brew competition we announced at the last Leeds Home-Brewers’ meet up at the end of July – a number that far exceeded our expectations – with the judging having taken place yesterday afternoon at the Mitre in Knaresborough.

.

We put together a five-man judging panel that comprised of Adam Gray, the manager of The Mitre, Stuart Goddard and Des Tinline, manager and assistant manager respectively of Ake & Humphris, a top notch wine and beer shop in Harrogate, with two representatives from Rooster’s completing the line-up.

.

Adam, Stuart and Des all have a strong pedigree when it comes to wine tasting and judging (Adam holds a WSET Diploma in Wines & Spirits and is a qualified trainer, having previously worked in such a capacity for Oddbins. Stuart, a home-brewer himself, has over ten years’ experience of tastings and working in the off-trade, whilst Des is a wine and beer enthusiast, who’s been actively tasting for more than fifteen years), so it wasn’t a difficult job when it came down to choosing who should help us with the competition.

.

Given that there wasn’t a set brief for the competition, with the emphasis being on quality, rather than brewing to a particular style, we had a wide range of beers to sample, from a classic English bitter to a pumpkin brown ale, with pretty much everything in between. We organised the beers in order of perceived intensity, from pale ales all the way to the other, darker end of the spectrum.

.

Judging was based on appearance, aroma, flavour, mouthfeel and an overall opinion, with each judge giving a score out of fifty, before discussing the beer as a group. It was agreed, as it is with such competitions, that, once all the beers had been scored, the highest and lowest scores would be removed from that beer’s total, with the remaining number being divided by three. This was to ensure that any personal preference or dislike towards a particular style could be eliminated from scoring, as we wanted this to be all about the quality of the beer, how well it had been brewed and whether it was a good representation of the style.

.

Suffice to say, the quality of what had been offered up was very good, very good indeed, with the final result being a close-run thing.

.

The names of the brewers behind the beers were kept in sealed envelopes and only became known to everyone around the table once the winning beer had been confirmed. So, without further delay, in reverse order, the top three beers on the day were as follows…

.

3rd Place -

Saison De La Maison (6.1%) – Neil Gardner
A delicately-balanced Saison, this beer was an understated triumph. Far from being brash and in your face, it was a beer that quietly went about its business in ticking all the boxes for the style, without being over the top or ramming it down your throat. Lovely stuff.

.

2nd Place -

Amber Ale (6.5%) – Jon Ainsworth
There wasn’t a great deal to get excited about in terms of aroma with this beer, but the complex bitter-sweet flavours that had been brought together resulted in a very well-balanced and moreish beer, with a good length of flavour, that proved tricky to put down.

.

1st Place -

Transatlanticism (6.8%) – David Bishop
A hop-forward porter in the modern style, this beer screamed HOPS at you from the glass. Bursting with juicy fruit aromas amidst a touch of coffee, backed up by a big hit of roasty bitterness, the carbonation was spot on and it retained its head well. A worthy winner.

.

We’d like extend our gratitude to all those who took part and will arrange for a small token of thanks to be delivered for each brewer to either Friends Of Ham or Beer Ritz, depending on where the beer had originally been dropped off, along with the judging sheets for each beer. We hope the brewers involved will find the feedback useful.

Londinium is available from today, with Fort Smith following suit next Monday (August 27th), so keep an eye out for them on a bar top near you soon.

Fort Smith – Alc. 5.0% Vol.
Named after the town in which Rooster Cogburn lived, Fort Smith is a big and bold India Pale Ale, brewed using Citra and Chinook hops from the USA to create tropical and passion fruit aromas and a lasting, bitter finish.

Londinium – Alc. 5.5% Vol.
A dark beer with a hint of coffee on the finish, brewed using a blend of four malts and English hops, Londinium is a nod to the beer of yesteryear and, in particular, the style made popular by the street and river porters in London in the 18th century.