New ‘dinner wine’ ale range from Doom Bar kings Sharp’s
By: JimOldfield
May 27th, 2012
Award-winning Cornish brewer Sharp’s is launching a new premium range of high-strength, bottled beers, specifically designed to complement food.
The Connoisseurs Choice comprises three unique new beers – Quadrupel Ale, Single Brew Reserve and Honey Spice Tripel – all hand-crafted by innovative Sharp’s head brewer Stuart Howe.
What is more, the new range will be updated every year, with a new series of offerings annually.
Quadrupel Ale is a 10 per cent dark ruby, filled with bittersweet fruitiness. Its 10 per cent stablemate
Honey Spice Tripel combines spice and fruit flavours with a long dry finish.
The third ale in the series, Single Brew Reserve, is a 4.5 per cent showcase for Czech Saaz hops.
Stuart said: “The beers in this range are all distinct. I haven’t gone for a theme, because the Connoisseur’s Choice range is designed to show the drinker the breadth of flavours and sensations available from beer.
“They are packed with enticing flavour, a partner to good food and something to savour. The flavours and sensations are intended to impress and astonish but not to alienate. All of the beers are designed to be balanced and complex, remaining subtle where necessary.”
To highlight the growing theme of replacing wine with English ales at our dining tables, the Doom Bar maker is set to run a beer and food matching competition, which will to be judged by top chefs, Nathan Outlaw, Jack Stein and Alyn Williams.
The contest will be launched on the brewery’s Facebook page and it will run from June until September. Watch the main Sharp’s website (link below) for full details.
Meanwhile, here are the full tasting notes for the new range, as supplied by Sharp’s.
Quadrupel Ale, at 10% ABV, is dark ruby in colour with a full bittersweet fruitiness and warming finish.Produced with pale, crystal and chocolate malts that are combined with Centennial, Hallertauer and Aurora hops, the beer is then fermented with three strains of yeast and matured on fresh Simcoe hops for a month at -1oC, before finally being seeded with a fourth yeast strain and bottled conditioned.This painstaking production process leads to a beer perfect for savouring and contemplative relaxation and an ideal partner to mature cheeses and rich chocolate desserts.
Single Brew Reserve, at 4.5% ABV, is a showcase for the noblest of hops, the Czech Saaz. Whole cone Saaz, fresh from the harvest are used to dry hop the beer during maturation. Mid golden in colour, this ale has a fresh, herbal lemon aroma. In the mouth, light barley sugars give way to a perfumed bitterness. The finish is dry, clean and exquisitely appetising. Serve as an aperitif or pair with light dishes such as fresh salads or grilled white fish.
Honey Spice Tripel, at 10% ABV, is an effervescent and refreshing beer with spice and fruit notes with a long dry finish. The Tripel turned the experience of a 9+% ABV beer from one of satiation to one of refreshment with a hint of provocation. A specialist strain originating in a trappist monastery has been used to add its signature spice, fruit and tartness to the beer. Honey Spice Tripel is intended to have an intoxicating aroma of bubblegum and spice with subtle clove, banana and cherry liqueur notes. All the strings have been pulled with the recipe and process to ensure the flavour belies the beer’s mighty 10% ABV.
