WHAT’S this? Another local brewery on the shelves of the Trembling Madness? Well... yes and no.
Little Brew are indeed local – based in Copmanthorpe – and have a strong local focus, producing Bishopthorpe Road’s special beers, running their own bottle shop that stocks beer from Brass Castle and Bad Seed among others, and being a regular sight in various bars around York.
But they also started life in London, as a one-barrel plant (read: four casks of beer per brew), delivering beer by wheelbarrow.
Things are slightly bigger at Little Brew now they’ve moved to the blessed North, but the handmade ethos remains in place.
Extra Porter is, at just shy of six per cent, the brewery’s strongest offering in bottle. Pouring deep walnut brown with a mid-amber edge, the head is thin, compact, and almost pure white.
The aroma offers bran flakes, sweetened by Florentines and raisin flapjacks.
Banana bread and plum pudding give way to malt loaf, roasted figs, and scorched sugar.
A classic British hop character lies beneath the surface, with moist earth pairing with a developing liquorice sourness that contrasts the fudge-sweet finish delightfully.
Recommended by Michael Bates, Trembling Madness, York
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