REVIEW: Refreshing summer ales at Melton Mowbray's award-winning brewery
As the summer weather hots up and the World Cup reaches a critical stage many in the Melton area will be enjoying a cool beer or three.
One of the favourite local haunts for drinkers is the Tap Room at Round Corner Brewing, the multi-award-winning ale producers based at the town’s Stockyard, on the livestock market site.
The Melton Times was invited to do a taste test on some of the brewery’s core beers and, of course, we jumped at the chance!
It’s now nearly eight years since friends Colin Paige and Combie Cryan transformed a former sheep shed at the market to launch a brewery which continues to extend its range.
This summer there is a focus on their Drovers Hazy Session IPA with a campaign which links the beer to ‘hard work, shared journeys and well-earned refreshment’.
The ale has a strong link to what goes on at Melton’s historic market – drovers move livestock to sale pens and, in years gone by, they directed large groups of animals for miles to get to market.
Having sampled the Drovers IPA, it has a lovely refreshing quality – a fruity flavour which appeals to those who prefer something to quench their thirst on balmy summer days and nights.
It’s is also reasonably light, at 4.3 per cent ABV (alcohol by volume), so is ideal for a session beer.
On the concept of the beer, co-founder and managing director Colin Paige explained: “The drovers represented resilience, teamwork and community - values that still matter now.
"Today, hard work looks different for everyone.
"It might be finishing a shift, hitting a deadline, getting through the school run, cleaning the house, squeezing in a workout, hosting friends, or simply making it through a busy week.”
One of the most innovatively named ales at Round Corner Brewing is 10 Hours in LA – which actually relates to the wait at Los Angeles Airport travellers have to do en route to London from Australia and New Zealand.
It’s a lovely looking hazy ale in the glass and it also has a refreshing citrus taste thanks to the South Pacific hops used in the brew. It’s a little stronger at 5.2 per cent but is another lovely summer beer.
If you enjoy lager and beer you’ll savour the Frisby – a brew based on a German pilsner malt. It’s another session tipple at 4.2 per cent and has a taste which also satisfies the real ale lover among us.
Next up was Steeplechase, which has a connection with Melton’s proud equestrian heritage. It is brewed with English barley malts and has a deeper colour compared to most other ales in the range.
It has a lovely bitter taste and goes down a treat on a warm evening at 4.4 per cent. Steeplechase, which is brewed with English barley malts, has won some top world and European beer awards and has a very loyal following.
Go to https://roundcornerbrewing.com/ to find out more about the full range of Round Corner Brewing’s beers.