Happy New Year from Belvoir Brewery
It’s been another busy year down in the Vale and we’d like to thank everybody for all their support and wish you all a Happy New Year. It’s been another enjoyable year brewing and supplying our Star Quality Beer to people far and wide. We’ve said goodbye to Pat and Derek but we’re pleased to have welcomed Rory and Ellis to the team, and we’re all looking forward to brewing more beer for you all to enjoy in 2017. Here are a few highlights from 2016…
The year started off well with our ‘Belvoir Brewery on tour’ whistle stop tour of some local pubs we deliver to. A great night was had by all and plenty of beer was consumed (for research purpose!) with some (the younger generation) having more than others. All turned up for work the next day…although some were a little bit later than others!
February/March:
To celebrating 75 years of the Jet Age we brewed ‘Sir Frank Whitt’Ale’, in honour of Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle who is credited with single-handedly inventing the turbojet engine. The 4.2% turbo powered golden amber ale was light, fruity, and refreshing, and sales soared at the Leicester Beer festival in March as it sold out on the Friday night!
Brewery owner and Master Brewer Colin took the brewery balloon over to Europe to compete in the Belgian Balloon Trophy and we were delighted to host a group of Steamin’ Billy managers, staff and friends last week, to say thank you for their continued support.
Colin was once again up in the brewery balloon as he took part in the Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta and we celebrated as Leicester City defied the odds and created sporting history with a moment that will surely never be forgotten.
We celebrated again as our mild Dark Horse and premium best bitter Beaver won awards at the East Midlands CBOB. As ever we thank the brewery team for their efforts and in particular brewers Sean and Pat who worked tirelessly behind the scenes making sure the product we delivered was of the highest standard. This award was for them.
We also found the biggest bottle of beer in the world on a beach in Scarborough. It happened to be a bottle of our very own Beaver!
Our Blue Brew became world famous when it was featured in a fantastic book about strange and wonderful beers from around the world. The book features 65 of the weirdest, wildest, and most wonderful beers on the planet, and was perfect for our beer which has a smooth full-bodied flavour with a creamy texture derived from the infusion of Stilton Whey into the unfermented wort to produce a unique beer.
Our new 6 barrel (1,728 pint) fermenter made its debut with our special one off brew “Skyrider”. A refreshing, golden, 4.6% fruity beer with a generous hop aroma, Skyrider was premiered at the Melton Beer Festival and was a big hit with all who were lucky enough to try it. Skyrider was also a test run for our new aviator range which was due to be launching in the not too distant future.
We had another great Nottingham Beer Festival and once again really enjoyed the opportunity to meet all the people who enjoy our beer, from our regular drinkers, to many new drinkers who were trying (and clearly enjoying!) our beer for the very first time. All our beers went down well including a fresh batch of our world famous Blue Brew and as ever our “I love Beaver” badges were a big hit with all who were wise enough to enjoy a half of our premium chestnut best bitter…as at the end of the day, everybody loves a Beaver.
November:
We were thrilled to launch our new Aviator range of beers inspired by the Brewery Balloon, and as a result Colin came up with a fantastic and unique design for the new pump clips. The first two beers from the range were made especially for the Melton Mowbray Choc Fest - Choc’s Away was a gorgeous 4.3% Double Chocolate Stout and White Knuckle Ride was a 4.3% White Chocolate Stout, which although is probably not the first thing you’d think of for a Chocolate beer, it really did work (just ask anyone who tried it!).
The Belvoir Brewery Visitor Centre celebrated 9 Years of serving Star Quality Beers to the lucky people of Old Dalby, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and beyond. Back in 2006 founder and head brewer Colin Brown had reached capacity in the old brewery at Woodhill farm at the top of Dalby Hill, so along with brewing he was busy trying to find some new premises to enable the business to grow, and allow him to brew even more wonderful beer for everybody to enjoy.
We also brewed a cracking winter ale for you all to enjoy and help bring in the new year.
Here’s to 2017…Cheers
