Back in the early days of this column, the principle of each month’s feature was to focus on a single element within the brewing process, be it an ingredient or method, and expand on it. In a typically Hop Burns & Black fashion, that went out the window in favour of fun and whimsy.
But for a one-off I’m going to try and reign that back in. Forgive me if I get a little sentimental over the next few paragraphs. (It is Christmas after all, and if you can’t do that now, then when can you?)
Trust is one of the most important fundamentals in beer and brewing. People who make beer put a lot of trust in a lot of different people: in the farmers and suppliers who deliver the raw ingredients that make their beer taste good; in the equipment they’ve spent a lot of money on to ensure the beer is made well and efficiently; in the people who will deliver and serve it ensuring that us drinkers are content. Brewers also have to put a lot of trust in each other – brewing is a dangerous job after all, with dangerous hot liquids, chemicals and vessels at high pressure to contend with.
We also put our trust in brewers to deliver us delicious beverages, and I have a lot of trust in Peckham’s Brick Brewery. In HOP – brewed to celebrate the illustrious Hop Burns & Black’s seventh birthday – the Brick team has once again delivered something super tasty, combining Citra, Simcoe and Nelson Sauvin hops to imbue this beer with notes of grapefruit, lime, apricot and gooseberry.
The hazy East Coast style body gives this beer a soft, dry character, ensuring that each sip is as satisfying as the last. It’s a testament to how hard this brewery has worked to become one of the best in South London, if not the UK.
It’s a given that you’ll love this beer, so at this point I’d like to take a moment and thank Jen and Glenn at Hop Burns & Black for putting their trust in me. That it’s their seventh birthday means I’ve been writing these beer reviews for them (and you) for nearly the same amount of time. It’s my longest standing freelance gig, and for that I am truly thankful.
Cheers to you, HB&B! Here’s to seven more years, and happy Christmas to every last one of you. It’s mad out there, so be good to each other.
Matthew Curtis is a writer, photographer and editor of Pellicle Magazine. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @totalcurtis and @pelliclemag. Sign up to our All Killer No Filler subscription box and you'll find incredible beers like this one every month, plus more great writing from Matthew and our food writer Claire Bullen.