#ISBF9 Brewday 6 - First Beer Crush
“… So he paints a pretty picture
And he tells you that he needs you
And he covers you with flowers
And he always keeps you dreaming
If he always keeps you dreaming
You won't have a lonely hour
If a day could last forever
You might like your ivory tower
But the night begins to turn your head around
And you know you're gonna lose more than you found…. “
“The Night” - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
You never forget your first crush.
In my early blogging days, I was hugely influenced by my dear friend Jaz. It's not a stretch to say that without Jaz there'd be no blog. And without that ‘Beers Manchester’ blog there's no ISBF.
So, really, it's all his fault! drops mic
(Like you, I wish I could end this part here! 😂)
Jaz introduced me to a number of Breweries locally. Beers that would change - quite literally - my world. Chief among these in those early days was a brewery called Allgates in Wigan.
Beers like California, Pretoria, Victoria (all named after local collieries). Pale, light, hoppy, sessionable. Right up my street.
They made an indelible impression.
My first ever Brewday was at Allgates. Quaker House Oatmeal Stout - brewed with Peter “Tandleman” Alexander and Alex “Tyson” Koval - was a thing of beauty.
David Mayhall (former part owner of Allgates) was one of the people in Beer whose opinion I sought. He organised the greatest of beer events - The Road to Wigan Beer - just…… so many memories.
Allgates closed. The brewery returned as Wigan Brewhouse. Same location - a beautiful tower brewery - in the centre of Wigan, same brewer, Jonny Provost. Change of theme, branding, closer link to the mighty, legendary, Wigan Casino, arguably the most famous Northern Soul club of all.
Northern Soul - Memories……..
Following his heart, Jonny and his wife Beckie bought the brewery recently and those beautiful easy drinking beers still flow.
I bumped into them at a beer event earlier this year and we brewed a beer for East West Fest.
They belong on the bar at ISBF too. So….8am, Wigan…..
This brewery is small (5 Barrel) but perfectly formed.
It's a tower brewery. Grain on the top floor, down to Mash Tun & Copper on the floor below, to the fermenting vessels on the next floor down.
There's such a logical flow.
There certainly was for the lovely malt bill, plenty of pale malt for the base, but with a large helping of darker (roast barley & chocolate) to take us to the dark side.
Mashing in was really straightforward. That's partly a result of the tower set up.
With mashing in done and the grain releasing its beautiful fermentable sugars, we talked hops. We’d agreed the beer style previously, but not the hop bill.
My call.
It had to be Centennial. My personal catnip.
The beautiful aromatics of Dark Malt. Imagine Chocolate Porridge - breakfast of Dreams.
The wort was a perfect colour. Black. And was soon headed to the Copper to get to the boil and for an addition of zesty Centennial - I left that to Jonny, there's a knack to not getting steam burns!
We got to talking - as you do - Jonny & Beckie have got plans for regular tap openings (they already do brewery tours). It really is - in my experience - a unique brewery space.
Fantastically located - centre of town, 90 seconds walk to Wallgate train station - great pubs and bars close by. It'll be a great addition to the Wigan beer landscape.
Before I knew it, it was time for yeast deployment and time to head home.
Chatting and formulating recipes for new beers is always exciting. But when it's with your first beer crush, it's well….. special.
Jonny makes lovely cask ales in that there tower.
So. Anyway. What have we made for you?
“The Night” - a soulful US Porter. Single hopped with Centennial.
A beer with Soul. What could be finer?
Massive thanks to Jonny & Beckie for having us over. Let's see more of their beers in Manchester eh?
If you haven't yet got your tickets for ISBF, better get a shake on. There are very few left for Thursday & Saturday evenings.
Tickets here
Back soon
Be kind to one another.
Jim x