#ISBF6 Brewday No 5 - Wishbone Brewery (aka “This Could Be……”)

In my mind, I had a song by The Kane Gang in my head when starting this write up. No. Not “Small Town Creed”. Not “Gun Law” (as if you've a CLUE what I'm on about!) neither….. In my mind, I had “The Closest Thing To Heaven”. As prime a slice of love lorn 80s pop (that featured an accordion) as you are likely to find.

Let me explain….

I've played my part in innumerable brewdays. I've even designed a multiplicity of beers. But there aren't many brewkits (and - by extention - breweries) that make me catch my breath and go “Yeah. This is how things should be”.

And Wishbone is one such.

This may sound intensely nerdish. But the brewkit is laid out and designed so as - to these dim eyes in any case - to maximise efficiency. To simplify process. To give the best opportunity for consistency.

Yes. You've also got to have the Brewers who can take advantage of this Bounty. Of course you have. And in Adrian & Oli, Wishbone have them. And I struggle to find many breweries that produce such consistent excellence.

And that is down - yes to that kit - but more than that. An eye for detail. A commitment and a passion to excellence. And flavour.

And no little skill.

*curses traffic* I missed the mashing in, but with the minimal manual intervention at this Keighley brewery, there was little manual assistance I could provide. So we went straight to the aromatic bliss that is “the weighing of the hops”. In this case, Enigma, Nelson Sauvin and Mosaic (Permission to stop drooling? Ed). May I never wash my hands again. They smelled utterly delicious. Edible even. But not recommended.

Brewdays are brewdays. Small details differ and - indeed - the devil is in those details. But, YOU want to know what we're making (or Oli was….)

Well….

That's a first for me. Kolsch yeast.

So. Yes. A Pale Ale/IPA style beer. Hoppy, fruity (and the aromas from the brewday shouted that), with the fruitiness from the hops added to and enhanced by that yeast.

And just to show that it wasn't ALL observation - unlike a certain lazy BeerFinder….

Yup. I did that. Not a pretty face you know. Er…..

I could have listened to Adrian & Oli all day. And learned tons. But - unfortunately - I had to duck out prior to completing my self-appointed task of cleaning out the spent hops.

So. What do we have. “Whimsy”. A Session IPA style (MY description) Pale, hoppy, fruity, balanced and oh so sessionable. This is going to be high on my must try list. And make no mistake.

And where - in the Manchester area - do you get this first?

If you have to ask that question, you haven't been to ISBF before…….

Massive thanks to Adrian, Emma, Oli & Lisa. For making me feel so at home, the coffees, the chat and for tolerating me in their lovely lovely beer home.

Whimsy. Come get some.

Back soon. Very soon.

Be kind to one another.

Jim x