We’re back with the latest edition of Brewed & Reviewed, and as you may have already guessed, this edition is all about Verdant Brewing Co. Now I know Plus One Magazine is a Yorkshire based magazine, but that doesn’t mean we have to solely feature Yorkshire breweries, right? Well I don’t care I’m doing it anyway, and they’re based in Falmouth, Cornwall, some 350 miles away. Seriously though, we strive to bring you the very best up and coming breweries wherever they may be and we think you’re really going to want to try Verdant, if you haven’t done so already.
So, why are we featuring Verdant? They first caught my eye after seeing some of my Instagram peers post about Bloom, their 6.5% IPA. These bloggers are the guys that show off their trans-Atlantic bounty such as Trillium and Other Half while the rest of us look on with jealousy and awe. They know good beer though, so if they talk about Bloom in the same breath as some of my bucket list beers then I immediately take notice. I luckily managed to track a can down at this year’s Leeds International Beer Festival thanks to Raynville Superstore’s take out stand. Needless to say (Sorry I needed to get in my Alan Partridge line) I loved it! I’ll talk about it a little more later on, but that one can made me want to try more, and well, here we are.
Verdant are three guys – Adam, James, and Rich. Adam and James were both friends and home brewers before setting up the brewery, although neither knew the other was brewing to start with. They started out in a shipping container brewing 200 litres but have since moved into an industrial unit with a capacity of 10 barrels, 3 times a week. Rich joined the crew as an additional brewer later down the line. With the team now fully assembled, they set out to brew beer not attainable this side of the pond. I asked them – Which brewery would you love to collaborate with and what would you brew with them? Apart from naming different breweries (Magic Rock, Garage Project and Trillium to be exact) they all plucked for double IPAs. I’m not going to lie, this made me love them even more. The trio are absolutely passionate about hop-forward beers and have gone against the grain by not brewing for cask in a region like Cornwall which is steeped in CAMRA and real ale history. I think passion from breweries has to be part of the draw for any craft beer enthusiast, if they don’t care about the beer then they can’t be craft!
This is the part of the article I enjoy the most, 3 fresh cans from Verdant themselves, it’s time for the taste test;
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| 'Light Bulb' |
Light Bulb – 4.5% Extra Pale Ale
Hazy and straw like in colour with a non-existent head. A pungent but pleasant aroma of grapefruit and lime fills the room as soon as the liquid is exposed to the elements. Very fresh and very hoppy indeed. The instant flavour is of lemon and lime with a sort of dank undertone that’s just fighting its way out but being held back down by the juicy fruit. I can detect a little stone fruit a few sips in, peaches to be exact, and then further after that there’s even blood orange and grapefruit dancing its way onto the palate. The malt base is like the bottom layer of a cheesecake. A delicious low ABV beer this, jam-packed full of flavour. 4/5
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| 'Headband' |
Headband – 5.5% Pale Ale
We start with a beautiful dingy, murky and rich caramel colour. The head is a fluffy white cloud of a crown. There’s a malty grain-like base with an almost Americano coffee undertone. A good boost of pine gives it freshness and there’s also a herby taste finding its way through in the form of rosemary. It has a sticky quality with a mixture of freshly squeezed oranges and plums with a few different layers of flavour. Its deep and the flavour carries for a while and you can taste it long after you exhale. It has a dank but not bitter flavour. 3.75/5
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| 'Bloom' |
Bloom – 6.5% IPA
As I mentioned earlier in this piece I have tasted this one previously. It was an evening where I also consumed Sixpoint’s Resin and Mike Hess’ Solis Occasus, and you guessed it - this came out king. The smell is all grapefruit, the colour is almost ruby red with more murkiness, you find this more and more from the smaller brewing outfits, but the die-hard beer fans are just crying out for beers that are more opaque. Like 'Headband' it’s dank but it’s not bitter, but its sweet, luscious, plenty of red berries thrown into the equation with waves of strawberries and blueberries lapping at the taste buds. There’s a gritty sort of taste in there too, a little bit earthy and deep. Bloom starts off strong and ends up fantastic, the more you drink the better it gets – an excellent IPA and one I enjoyed even more this time around. 4.5/5
Some really tasty beers here, I will certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for anything else they release. I have heard their double IPA ‘Pulp’ is a super hoppy 8% juice bomb so definitely one to watch out for. In conclusion, if you like hop forward pale ales, IPAs and imperial beers brewed with influences from the likes of Alchemist and Monkish, look no further than Cornwall’s own Verdant. The only way is up for this brewery, with their beers now accessible to the masses online via Eebria and Honesty Brew.
Words - David Dickinson (Beer_Baron_Lincoln)
Verdant Brewing Official