We thought we would like to tell you a bit more about Peak Bagger IPA and the Peak Bagger range.
The range was born a few years ago as an experiment to produce a series of seasonal specials to a similar recipe and the same strength every year, but never the same as the previous year. This sets a challenge for us as brewers to produce a great beer every year but with different hops, malts or yeast every time. We try to cycle through the range once a year and have had great success with many of the iterations of each of the Peak Bagger range (Pale, Blonde, IPA, etc). We also decided that we would not limit ourselves and, in the future, you may find Peak Bagger Red, Sour or Stout gracing a bar near you.
This year’s Peak Bagger IPA is, we think, the best yet. We have managed to get hold of some very sought-after hops including Mosaic and Ekuanot for this year’s IPA. This brings a very modern taste to the beer with citrus, pine resin and pithy flavours and a clean bitterness that leaves you wanting more.
We added the vast majority of the hops to the copper right at the end of the boil, just before flame-out; this ensures the volatile flavour and aroma compounds are not lost to the ether and keeps the level of bitterness low. We have also used a good slug of malted oats in the grain bill, this helps smooth the beer out even further and gives a very modern, soft mouthfeel to the finished product. Finally, we used a “neutral” yeast that does not affect the flavours during fermentation and ferments in suspension (rather than at the top or bottom of the tank) ensuring that the carefully selected ingredients are allowed to make their presence known without being masked by unwanted esters.
All this, combined with a dry hop charge that is allowed to steep in the fermented beer for a few days prior to racking into cask, produces a beer that we are very proud of and is proving to be hugely popular with drinkers in The Old Crown and wherever Peak Bagger IPA is sold.
