GOLDEN PROMISE

Golden Promise Pale Ale is our second foray into the cask beer world. You many be used to seeing beers named after hops. Some of our favourite beers we have named after hops include Solero Pale, Nelson IPA and Superdelic Pale. This beer is different...

Golden Promise is named after the malt.

WHAT IS MALT?

Malt is actually a shorthand for malted barley. Malted barley is barley grains which have gone through the malting process.

Each grain of barley - or kernel - contains a store of starch inside. These are used by the plant as energy reserves for growing but they're kept safe until the conditions are just right to support germination. Malting the barley is the process whereby it can be tricked to germinate, making all those starches retrievable. More about the malting process.

WHY IS MALT IMPORTANT IN BEER?

Malt is used as one of the four main ingredients in beer because we use those starches for a very important job in brewing.

Base malts, such as Golden Promise, used in beer are rich in starch and the enzymes needed to convert starch into sugar - this happens as brewers "mash in". These sugars are later converted by the yeast into alcohol and CO2 during the fermentation process.

We also use speciality malts in beer just to add colour or flavour to the beer, not as a sugar source. They are roasted at a much higher temperature to give dark colours and chocolate or coffee-like flavours.

WHY WE LOVE GOLDEN PROMISE

Golden Promise is a special malt, unique to the UK and it's perfect for cask beer. It's a heritage malt that we have sourced from our well-renowned supplier, Simpson's Malt.

What our Head Brewer, Vinny loves about this malt, which we're lucky to have, is that it has nice, strong traditional malt qualities such as an aromatic flavour and provides the beer with a rounded mouthfeel. However, this malt also allows hop characteristics to come through in the beer and truly shine.

We decided to brew a more modern cask beer this time to keep experimenting, learning and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone. We included two modern hops, Azacca and Sultana but balanced them with the traditional British hop, Goldings. These hops lend the beer fruity flavours such as orange and grapefruit alongside a malty backbone giving you notes of honey and marmalade.

We hope you enjoy our second journey into cask beer - a Golden Ale, with Golden Promise and Goldings hop - our Golden Promise to you is that you will enjoy that pint!