Inside Beer Review

2010-02-03T15:36:00.001Z

Well I did say in my inaugural post that I may use it to unashamedly promote my business! All three of my beers have recently been reviewed by Jeff Evans, author of The Good Bottled Beer Guide, and it seems churlish not to post a thankful link here. Inside Beer is a wonderful resource and shares my aim of trying to broaden people's beer horizons. I'll also include the full review below. Thanks Jeff!

Mitchell Krause American Pale Ale, 3.8%; Czech Pilsner, 4.2%; Bavarian Hefe Weiss, 5%

Graeme Mitchell has years of experience in marketing beer. It shows in the way he has launched his own brewing business.

Graeme once headed the speciality beers side of the Whitbread business. He’s also worked for Carlsberg and a drinks strategy and design company called Drinks Works. Six months ago, Graeme founded Mitchell Krause Brewing in Workington, Cumbria. The company name is an amalgam of that of his parents – an English father and a German mother. The presentation of the company has been excellent. But what of the beers themselves?

Well, let’s start by saying that Graeme is playing to his strengths and is not, at this stage, brewing himself. He leaves the recipes to his brewing consultant, former Boddingtons head brewer Paul Buttrick, and production to his contract brewer, Hepworth & Co. It’s a wise move: the products are good.

As for the range of beers, the clue lies in the company’s logo, which reads ‘Mitchell Krause World Beers’. Put more expansively, it means that Graeme is looking to produce beer styles from around the world, rather than simply focusing on the British tradition.

His rationale-cum-sales pitch runs along the lines of ‘why import these beers across thousands of miles when they can be brewed to a high standard closer to home?’. In a sense, it’s an echo of what Samuel Adams has been doing in the USA for a quarter of a century.

Three beers make up the package. Number 1 on Graeme’s beer list is simply called Czech Pilsner. It’s very pale golden in colour, with quite a strong citrus-lemon aroma for a pilsner, but with some appropriately creamy maltiness and herbal notes behind.

The taste is bittersweet, crisp and refreshing, with herbal and lemon notes from the Sladek and Saaz hops leading over malt. Herbal hops linger nicely in the very dry, increasingly bitter finish.

The ABV is only 4.2%, however, which would slot it just into the 11 degree bracket if actually brewed in the Czech Republic, as opposed to the fuller-bodied 12 degree that most Czech beers that are shipped abroad fall into. So, while it compares exceptionally well against the Carlings of this world, it might look a little lightweight against the Budvars.

Numbers 2 and 3

Number 2 is American Pale Ale, inspired, no doubt, by Graeme’s two-year stint in the USA, where he launched Boddingtons. From the name you’d expect fragrant, citrus notes in aroma and flavour, and that’s certainly what you get, courtesy of Liberty, Chinook and Cascade hops.

The taste is bittersweet and dry, with floral and grapefruit notes that continue into the equally dry finish. This is a quenching, golden bitter, but surprisingly low in alcohol for the style at only 3.8%.

The last of the three initial beers (and I hope there are more) is Bavarian Hefe Weiss. It’s a golden, 5% beer with an apple sharpness to the aroma, which also features creamy banana, a touch of bubblegum and some clove.

Stewed apple tartness leads in the mostly sweet, slightly bready taste, supported by creamy cereals, a warming, clove spiciness, a hint more bubblegum and just a little banana. Clove bitterness is the main feature of the dry, bready finish, which – in keeping with the house pattern – is not particularly full.

Mitchell Krause is a good concept, well executed. The branding, in Graeme’s own words, suggests an ‘understated elegance’ and the same can be said for the beers, which, while certainly clean, enjoyable, tasty and fresh, are, to my mind, a little underpowered.

But there is a reason for this. Graeme has deliberately aimed the range at drinkers who have yet to appreciate the great beers of the world, and so he’s set the ABVs close to British mainstream ale and lager brands.

Thumbs are up, though. A lot of time, money and experience has been invested in this project and it deserves to succeed.

Inaugural Post

2009-12-17T06:38:00.000Z

The proverbial blank piece of paper! Where do I start?

Having followed a few blogs for a while now (all about beer of course) they all seem to be written from the heart, getting right down to the 'nitty gritty' of any particular topic in a very personal way. As a reader I feel as though I have known the blogger for ages when in fact we may never have even met. There is usually some structure to the post and the writing style can vary from rant to rational. Often they are broad in scope, sometimes narrower, rarely egotistical.

I have never kept a diary. As a person I tend to keep things bottled up rather than sharing a problem to halve it. I do have strong views, particularly relating to beer, but other than in conversation have kept them to myself. If I write anything it is usually short and to the point, with bullet points. I like bullet points.

I don't know how my own blog will turn out but I am interested to find out. If you are reading this please let me know what you think.

I'll try to post frequently and will keep a sheet of paper next to my desk to jot down any topics that I feel I should be posting on.
I'll try not to 'preview' my posts too often so that the reader gets raw feeling rather than refined script.
I'll try to play my part in the blogging community by commenting on others posts in the hope that they may reciprocate.
I may use my blog to get something off my chest.
I may use my blog to unashamedly promote my business (http://www.mkbrewing.co.uk/) but as my business is set up to unashamedly promote quality, crafted beer and this is what I'll be blogging about there seems to be a nice fit.
I will probably mis-spell some words and include the odd extra apostrophe. Sorry Dad.
In any bullet point list I will probably forget something.

I think I'll leave it at that. After all, I don't want to burn myself out in my first post.

Mitchell Krause Brewing Blog

Inside Beer Review

Inaugural Post