A fantastic selling point matched by a good variety of quality beer.(19/94)
This month we head off to Suffolk and off to the farm with Shortts Farm Brewery. First off, I have to apologise to the brewer who in the last issue I misspelt as Shorts.
This review only features 5 beers, which normally would go against my rules (Six beers minimum). When I put the order in, I was advised that there were only five available. As it would have been extremely harsh to just say no, I rejigged the order a little).
I went with a build your own box 12x 500ml which cost £39 with £5.99 delivery costs. Resulting in an overall cost of £3.75 per bottle which to be fair in the current economy is about the average you would expect.
https://www.shorttsfarmbrewery.com/shop
In Their Own Words
Growing up on a farm working in the Suffolk countryside I always appreciated the importance of quality local produce. With a keen passion for food and drink and a desire to run my own business I often imagined of a life based around this.
One of my other loves is live music. During the summer season, I am most likely to be found with my friends and family, living it up in a field at a festival.
One thing I’ve always had a grievance about is the watery lager that you get at festivals. So, driven by the lack of real ale at festivals me and my partner in crime, Ellie started to come up with an idea of setting up a brewery.
After approaching my family about the idea of setting up a micro-brewery on the family farm we started to get our plan together. We spent a year learning, researching, volunteering and sampling beers from all over and took the plunge in 2012 to return to Suffolk and make the dream a reality.
We always associate good times with beer and music and this gave us an idea to create our branding around this... Real Ale inspired by Real Music.
We drew inspiration from cult music names and designs that attract a wide spectrum of people from young to old who also shared the love of beer and music.
With the help and encouragement of family we decided to go ahead with the plans and set to work converting part of a farm building into a brewery.
And the rest, as they say, is
history.
As you’ll see in the photos the artwork on the bottles is absolutely fantastic, as well as song listings to accompany each bottle. Towards the end I was lyrical about the fact that I should have listened to the playlists as I drank them, something which should anyone reading order, should strive to do.
Listed Songs:
- This Charming Man.
- Creep.
- Last Nite.
- Common People
- She Bangs The Drum
- Bitter Sweet Symphony.
- Seven Nation Army.
On the pour of this I was a little bit worried as it appeared to be quite a flat beer, from the picture you can see that there is a tiny one that had formed, which even by the time of putting the photo box away had faded away.
The nose is light, zesty and very welcoming a hint of sweetness to it coming from a fruity base rather than something like a molasses type flavour.
Hmmm this is very tasty and quite shocking in some ways too. First off this is a lot heavier than I expected, both in how it passed down the throat and the mouth feel. Although refreshing it certainly leaves its mark across the palate as it coats the mouth with a subtle bitterness.
With further drinks there is a slight hint of spice to it almost, a little peppery undertone hidden in with the bitterness, which actually elevates the taste. The tasting notes on the bottle suggests a hint of citrus, which does reveal itself over time. The palate has to become accustomed to the bitterness first before allowing the fruitiness to sneak through, as such I’d recommend drinking this at a slow pace so your taste buds can work their way around the nuanced flavour.
The more you have the fruitier it gets as though you are watching a film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and waiting for the teaser at the end, you have to wait quite a while but when you see it you ultimately get a really pleasant feeling and are left with wanting more.
What is really quite pleasing is the longevity of the hoppy flavour without it overstaying it’s welcome or becoming overpowering. The bitterness just stays that subtle in the background and allows you to delve back into the flavour at your own leisure.
Listed Songs:
- London Calling.
- Brand New Cadillac.
- Jimmy Jazz.
- Hateful.
- Rudie Can't Fail.
- Rock The Casbah.
- The Guns Of Brixton.
A beautiful smooth looking beer this one, which like the previous lost its head very quickly. I’m not expecting as much complexity and bitterness as the previous beer and am anticipating light and smooth drink.
The nose gives a deep sweetness, unlike the previous one, this seems to stem from a molasses like flavour and sits heavily on the back of the nose.
Ok there is a very instant tanginess to this beer, which quickly fades. The tanginess coming previously hinted at sweetness from the nose. There is a very slight bitterness in the aftermath, but it seems to sit at the sides of the tongue and doesn’t permeate the entire mouth.
The beer is indeed incredibly light and is not overpowering or overbearing whilst still maintaining a good balance of flavour and hops. That being said there is something a bit forgettable about this beer, there isn’t anything which truly leaps out and makes it above the rest. In the over inflated world of beer this would struggle to be noticed I feel, it’s good but doesn’t have that hook, good or bad, that will make me remember it in the future.
Listed Songs:
- A Message To You Rudy.
- The Tears Of A Clown
- Too Much Too Young.
- Let's Do Rock Steady.
- Rat Race.
- Ghost Town.
- The Prince.
We’re back in mild country and it’s a place I don’t have much experience with as a whole, as readers know I’m very much an IPA / Stout guy (now) but bitters/mild’s etc, typically haven’t been my bag but we’ll see.
The drink poured quite light to the eye and flat, looking incredibly dark. In fact, holding a torch to the back of the drink I am barely able to see it with just the slightest ruby hue breaking through the abyssal darkness.
The nose suggests I’m in for a good time though, giving off cocoa hints and an underlying sweetness, puts me to mind of some of my favourite stouts I’ve had, as such I’m hoping that it translates through to taste.
Oh, wow this is very tasty and a far cry from a standard mild. Your mouth is blasted with a roasted chocolatey coffee like flavour which sticks to the mouth wherever the beer made contact. When you take a bigger mouthful, you get that first pang of sweetness almost electric like, waking up the taste buds before the bigger and bolder flavours move in for the kill.
This is a beer I could drink a lot of, the flavours and low percentage put it firmly in the session camp, but there is also an underlying suggestion of luxuriousness which is presented in the chocolate. As a mild (drink) sceptic I don’t know if I’m over compensating because of how much I actually do like it, but as it stands this is probably my favourite so far.
Listed Songs:
- My Old Man's A Dustman.
- Tom Dooley.
- Rock Island Line.
- Pick A Bale Of Cotton.
As I poured this drink, I have to admit I was incredibly captivated by it. It had almost a perfect pour and just looked incredibly appealing, with a slightly darker look than a standard ale, hinting at a more caramelised like flavour.
The nose gives hints of deep malty bitterness, with none of the sweetness that I was originally anticipating. Although it’s just the nose there doesn’t appear to be that hint of freshness either are gives the impression that it’s going to be quite a powerful flavour profile.
Hmmm, there’s a lot going on here and it’s going to take a while to unload as it’s quite complex. With the first mouthful and subsequent firsts (each drink), you are expecting something more as it appears first off, all to be quite a nothing beer, however as soon as the beer is swallowed its as though a trigger has been pulled for the action to start.
There isn’t really anything bitter about this which I was expecting, instead there is a malty hum in the mouth which doesn’t feel overbearing or oppressive. There isn’t the hinted at sweet, molasses like flavour either, it’s all based in the malt as such there isn’t any issues in the balance of the drink.
What you get, whilst complex is also a very simple drink. Here’s your malty goodness, dissect it and work it out for yourself. The tingle that is left over in the mouth is fantastic as it almost makes you want to stop drinking, not so you don’t get it again but just to see how long it lasts as your tastebuds are dancing.
Without exaggeration I am salivating inadvertently MID drink as I type the notes. I’ve had the premature anticipation before, but rarely are my taste buds acting up like this in the middle of a drink, wanting more of that tingle sensation.
All in all, a lovely beer which really leans into the premium aspect of its designation, this is a very clever and well executed beer.
Listed Songs:
- Another Brick In The Wall.
- Wish You Were Here.
- Comfortably Numb.
- Money.
- Time.
- Breathe (In The Air).
- Hey You.
- The Great Gig In The Sky.
On a completely non beer point this is easily my favourite design and very much influenced by Pink Floyd, thus my love in. The whole ethos of music inspiring their beers is a really clever selling point, it’s only now I wish I’d actually listened to the soundtracks that accompanied them.
To the eye and even with a phone torch shining right behind it, the absolute bare minimum of light is able to penetrate the thick oppressive darkness of the beer, leaning into the Dark Side of The Moon vibes. Its sits very still and looking at it waiting to be tasted appears imposing almost.
The nose is giving off a strong sense of richness, with hints of cocoa and molasses with no indication of bitterness suggesting this could be a smooth beer.
The Porter is very smooth and starts incredibly subtle and requires you to go searching for the key notes it delivers. Instead of wrapping itself around your tastebuds. You get little slip of sweetness across your lips and tongue. Then the lightest dark chocolate taste remains around the extremities of the mouth.
There is a little hint of bitterness given away from this cocoa flavour, but all in all as noted this is an incredibly smooth and drinkable porter, if a little forgettable in taste. There are notes and hints of flavour which are delicious, but they could have been pushed a little bit further in order to make a really complex and challenging porter. As it stands whilst the porter is good, it just doesn’t reach levels of greatness which a small ramp up of flavour could have done.
Final Thoughts:
Although there was only five beers in the order I felt that Shortts Farm Brewery showed a wide range of beers in which they have won a number of awards. They have also latched on to a fantastic unique selling point and leaned into it encompassing all parts of their character and ethos into all aspects of the beer.
A few of the beers felt a little safe and could have been pushed a bit further, however I also appreciate that doing so would potentially risk alienating a casual drinker who might have chanced picking it up based on bottle design alone. (I honestly would probably have picked up Darkside in a shop based on the bottle).
Rather surprisingly, this is one of the few milds that I’ve actually been drawn to and enjoyed, I refer to myself as a mild sceptic in the tasting and that’s purely owing to previous milds, I’ve had been bland and disappointing, where as the 2 Tone really popped with flavour.
Next County: Devon
