It’s always good news to hear about a new brewery springing up, especially a local one. Which is why I was extra pleased about Merlin’s Brewery who are based just over the Staffordshire border in Arclid (near Sandbach) in Cheshire.
I got in touch with David Peart from the brewery via his Twitter feed @MerlinBreweryCo who very kindly alerted me to an imminent arrival of his beer at The Leopard in Burslem, quite apt for a mystical beer considering the pubs history and alleged supernatural past..
Merlin’s currently have four beers available, Spellbound, Merlin’s Gold, Kings Ale and Dragonslayer, it was the Gold available on Friday and Saturday night, with Spellbound due and probably on as as we speak.
As the name suggests, this is a light golden beer despite the rather eery picture.
It has strong citrus aromas predominantly of hoppy grapefruit. The taste too is dominated by that citrus grapefruit flavour with hints of lemon with a lip pursingly dry bitter finish where the hops take over. All in all it’s very refreshing and I would happily sup this all night on a warm summer evening as long as it’s served as cool as it can be without spoiling the flavour.
Merlin’s Brewery have a website which is limited at the moment but under construction with more to come soon.
Merlin is available in bottled form from The Beer Emporium in Sandbach, ring them to confirm stock, I’m not sure about any other online outlets at present. (If you are one and reading this please let me know and I’ll amend, or else just add a comment)
Merlin’s Brewery
The beers from Merlin’s Micro Brewery are distinctive craft beers. They’re full flavoured with an excellent finish. Brewed for a magical taste.
Beersay 