Brewers trial new beers at LWF Brewhouse

Batemans, a family brewer based in Lincolnshire, is one of many craft brewers participating in Brewhouse, the new dedicated beer tasting area of the London Wine Fair being held at Olympia this week (June 2-4).

Batemans is exclusively trialling Batemans Gold, a refreshing new bottled beer. This is a golden beer brewed with Lincolnshire lager malt and American Chinook and Cascade hops to create a zesty citrus flavour and aroma while tasting quite dry. It has an ABV of 3.9% and is available in 50cl bottles.

The exhibition’s new Brewhouse beer tasting area comprises a selection of UK and overseas brewers and beer distributors in recognition of the growing importance of micro-brewed, craft and specialist beers.

The full Batemans range – the Bohemian Brews, Black Pepper Ale, and Triple XB Orange Barley, Mocha, Hazelnut Brownie and Mocha Amaretto, will be available for tasting as well the new Batemans Gold. And, especially for the London Wine Fair, Batemans has created food matches for each of the beers.

Brewhouse can be found in the gallery of the National Hall, next to the Esoterica importers section, and is being curated by award-winning beer writer Sophie Atherton, the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group Beer Sommelier of the Year and author of the blog 'A FemAle View'.

Jaclyn Bateman, marketing director of Batemans, comments: “We think this will be an excellent opportunity for us to trial Batemans Gold and present our other delicious beers to key buyers from around the UK. Like wine, we believe our beers can be enjoyed as part of a meal, which is why we’ve compiled food matches for the bottles we have at the Fair.”

Sophie Atherton says: "It's exactly the right time for a beer section at a wine trade event because of the growing interest in high quality beers and in pairing beer with food.  It's something that other brewing cultures - like the US and, of course, Belgium - are already making the most of. Deciding what beers to stock needs as much thought and consideration as wine menus do. We think a visit to Brewhouse will enable buyers to put together some excellent beer selections, to make the most of the growing interest and increased sales the category is experiencing."

Chris Sherwood, managing director of Bottle Apostle, which has three stores in London comments: “Craft beer is increasingly important to Bottle Apostle customers, and we have limited opportunity to meet so many London craft brewers in one place. I’m sure Brewhouse will be a very popular addition to the London Wine Fair.”

Show director, Ross Carter, adds: “There is undoubtedly a crossover with craft beer and wine; we are seeing independent, niche beers appearing in restaurants and in our independent wine merchants more and more frequently.  Whilst giving our visitor even more of a diverse offering, it also has a real commercial purpose, and we expect this to be a very busy feature for the show.”

The London Wine Fair is expecting to welcome over 12,000 drinks trade professionals throughout its four days.

2 June 2014 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor