Home by Christmas

Wheat beer (Weizen) 6%
Bottle conditioned, in 500 ml bottles, crown capped.
Release date 3 December 2014.

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Brewed on: 17.10.2014 Bottled: 8-23 November 2014 2014

This beer builds on the success of Maid of the Mill and Sir Humphrey the Sea Dog, which sold strongly through the summer of 2014 and won many plaudits. This version uses a slightly different yeast (two yeasts actually), has an extra spice (bay leaves) and is slightly stronger (at 6%). It is at once a Remembrance beer and a Christmas beer, taking its name from the widely held belief that the war in Europe in 1914 would be quickly over. The nostalgic label features Louie Jermy, recalling the closing decade of the nineteenth century and the opening years of twentieth when Poppyland was at the height of its fame. But the troops were not home by Christmas 1914, nor for three more Christmases. Many never returned at all. Britain, and the World, would never be the same again.

Tasting notes

The yeasts from Bavarian breweries used in this beer produce the esters iso-amyl acetate (banana) and 4-vinyl guaiacol (clove). These are supplemented by Curacao orange peel, lemongrass and bay leaves. The outcome is a delicious, low-hopped Weizen. My wife doesn't enjoy hoppy IPAs or porters but she loves this one.

Free-from

This beer is produced without the use of any finings, filtering or pasteurisation, so all the flavours of the ingredients are preserved for your enjoyment. The style is meant to be cloudy, from wheat and from yeast in suspension. Contains wheat and barley but is gluten-reduced (<20ppm) by the Brewers Clarex protease enzyme. This batch was tested by an independent laboratory with the Ridascreen Gliadin Competitive ELISA method and found to be less than 10ppm gluten.

Martin Warren, The Poppyland Brewer