Return of the Empire, Moor Beer Co

Moor Beer Return of the Empire 5.7%

Justin Hawke, the American brewer at Moor Beer Co in Bristol, created much interest a few years ago with his IPA The Empire Strikes Back. He has returned to the theme with this new beer that he describes as an English IPA: good to have an American on the side of English tradition!

The beer uses a new single English hop variety, Jester, which has been created to offer the zesty and citrus notes demanded by many brewers and drinkers. The hop is part of the development programme run by Charles Faram, the leading hop merchants, who are helping to revive the fortunes of the English hop industry. Jester is grown by Peter Glendinning on his hop farm in Herefordshire and is a cross between an American Cascade and a local hop. Justin Hawke points out that Cascade was originally an offshoot of the English Fuggle and therefore has an English pedigree.

The bottle-conditioned beer is in keeping with Justin’s belief in allowing yeast to create and maintain flavour: he does not fine his cask beers. Return of the Empire is brewed with pale malt and wheat and it has a pale, hazy bronze colour. There are spicy and peppery hops on the nose with a powerful note of lime marmalade and biscuit malt. The palate is bittersweet with juicy malt balanced by bitter hops and fruit notes reminiscent of lychees, lemon, lime and grapefruit. The finish has cracker wheat, tart and tangy fruit and intensely bitter hop resins.

The beer comes in an American-style "bomber" bottle, 660ml. It costs £5 from www.moorbeer.co.uk/online-shop/, from the brewery tap room Days Road, Bristol BS2 0QS or from independent stockists in Bristol and Somerset.