Sophie Atherton, the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group’s Beer Sommelier of the Year, is the latest collaborator to brew with us as part of the Continental Beer Challenge.
Timely to the season, Sophie decided to brew a Märzen, a German lager traditionally brewed in time for Oktoberfest, with the British twist of English hops.
The Ides of Märzen is a 5.0% ABV lager brewed wit
h Märzen yeast, Munich, Cara and Amber malts and East Kent Golding hops. The trio of malts gives Ides an initial bready aroma followed by a strong malty and biscuit backbone, while the late addition of East Kent Golding hops give an edgy bitterness complemented by fruity aromas with hints of orange marmalade.
Sophie Atherton is a freelance journalist with a speciality in beer. She was the first woman in the UK to be accredited as a Beer Sommelier, and is currently the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group’s Beer Sommelier of the Year.
The Ides of Märzen is the fourth collaboration Continental Beer from the Brains Craft Brewery. In our second Annual Challenges, we’ve invited writers and bloggers, including Pete Brown, Adrian Tierney-Jones and Robyn Black, to develop their Ultimate Continental Beer. Beers brewed so far have ranged from a saison, through to a dubbel and a schwärzbier. Two collaboration brews remain with Des de Moor and Glenn Payne. All seven Continental Beers, including our entry, will be independently judged at an event in December. The winning beer will become part of our beer festival programme.
Last year’s Ultimate IPA challenge saw the likes of Melissa Cole, Simon Martin aka Mr Real Ale Guide, Marverine Cole, Martyn Cornell and Tim Hampson brew their take on an IPA. Crowned the Ultimate IPA was Boilermaker, a whisky-infused IPA, which was brewed with Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham from Thinking Drinkers. Boilermaker is now a permanent fixture in Brains’ beer range and is available in 330ml bottles in Tesco and Morrisons nationwide.
The Ides of Märzen will be available as a keg beer in selected Brains craft beer houses from Monday 7th of October. For a full list of stockists visit www.brainscraftbrewery.com/findourbeers
Tasting Notes
Brewed in collaboration with beer writer and sommelier Sophie Atherton, The Ides of Märzen is a German Oktoberfest lager with a British twist. A beer with a brassy, golden glow, Ides was brewed with Märzen yeast and Munich, Cara and Amber malts and has an initial bready aroma followed by a strong malty and biscuit backbone. The late addition of East Kent Golding hops give an edgy bitterness complemented by fruity aromas with hints of orange marmalade. Sophie’s Dad would be proud!
