Tiny Rebel Celebrate Turning 7
South Wales based brewer Tiny Rebel are one of the biggest success stories in modern brewing, with a stable of award winning beers in their portfolio and a huge reach and influence in the industry. Therefore it is hard to understand how they have only just turned 7 years old! But
To celebrate they collaborated with seven breweries they have become good pals with over that period to brew some absolutely fantastic brews. There’s a few special things about this set though, as it marks their first release of 440ml cans and each can features unique, standalone artwork full of little details and easter eggs, all inspired by the beer inside.
Each brewery picked was invited to brew a beer that really sums up what Tiny Rebel loved about them, meaning as a set, it illustrates the massive breadth of the UK beer industry. So, with Fourpure, they brewed a Double Dry Hopped Pils, because their lagers are some of the best in the UK. With Deya, it was of course a mega-juicy New England IPA. Magic Rock brew some of the most drinkable, hoppy, sessionable IPAs in the land, so that’s what they brewed with them.
The rest of the set is completed by a Pomegranate & Molasses Belgian Ale brewed with Yeastie Boys, a Tropical Sorbet IPA brewed with Neon Raptor and a Dark Chocolate & Cherry Barley Wine created with Siren Craft Brewing. They also added to the set a 0.5% Not So Imperial Mocha Vanilla Stout created with alcohol-free masters Big Drop.
The beers are available as a gift set, or on draught at selected outlets. Lucky beer drinkers who can get to Swindon will get a chance to try these as the extended Birthday celebration tour takes in a stop at The Tuppenny on March 21st for a Tap Takeover and Meet The Brewery night.
Oxford CAMRA awards 2019
The Oxfordshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale recently celebrated all that is good in the local pub and brewing industry by handing out their annual gongs for ale-related excellence in a ceremony at St Aldates Tavern in Oxford.
City pub of the year once again went to stalwart of the Oxford beer scene Chris Mee, landlord of The Masons Arms in Headington. Chris has now picked up this award a staggering 6 times since 2004 in deserved recognition for the breadth and quality of his beer selection.
Town and Country Pub of the year also went to a previous winner, The Brewery Tap in Abingdon who were collecting the award for the second year in a row, and third time overall. Landlord Matt Heritage pointed out how it was down to the pubs ability to appeal to a broad market without compromising on quality that enabled this level of consistency and excellence.
The brewing gong for best beer of the Oxford Beer festival went to Little Ox’s Yabba Dabba Doo, an IPA full of peach, passionfruit and citrus flavours. If Little Ox are new to you, go and check them out – they are based in the village of Freeland. Head brewer and owner Ian Hemingway is creating some magical brews on their 10 barrel kit that are well worth a taste.
Notable mention must go the team at Tap Social who scored runner up with one of my recent favourite brews, Get Your Hops Off. Not a bad result for a brewery more used to brewing keg beers rather than the cask ales that CAMRA promote.
The Unwise Monkey 