New beer launches and collaborations this week, in store, on bars, and online, from around the UK.
Made Glorious Summer (5.8% ABV) is a special pale ale made on Thornbridge’s Union Set, a collaboration between New York brewing legend Garrett Oliver and Belgium’s Brasserie de la Senne. Garrett and De La Senne’s Yvan DeBaets have been friends for many years and are both ‘knights’ of Belgium’s ancient brewer’s guild, but they have never brewed together before. This beer is brewed with African fonio grain and continental Pilsner malt, with oats and unmalted wheat for a classic Belgian touch.
Podkováň — one of Bohemia’s historic Czech breweries — is launching in the UK with two premium lagers, one light and one dark. The brewery was founded by monks in Kováň, Central Bohemia, in 1434.
Both beers are 4.8% ABV, brewed in Czechia using traditional open fermentation, pure underground spring water, and natural cold maturation for around 40 days. Every batch is overseen by a Czech brewmaster with more than 25 years’ experience.
The Things We Say (5.5% ABV) is Left Handed Giant’s latest DDH hazy pale. “Our Lakeside Mosaic folds in perfectly with the ripening orchard character of Rakau, giving it a citric lift,” says the brewer. “The heady green of Strata plays underneath its own signature jammy sweetness.” Expect notes of blood orange, stewed fig, and wild strawberry.
Track have collaborated with Ghost Town Brewing, in California, on Haunt, a 7.2% ABV DDH West Coast IPA. They’ve partnered Nelson, Mosaic, and Nectaron with Deep Cut Cascade — a late-harvest variant of the hop with twice the oil content of classic Cascade, expressing sweet mandarin and peach alongside its signature grapefruit notes.
Lightness Illusion (8% ABV) is a new DIPA from Verdant. This beer rounds our Verdant’s Colour Theory Series, which includes previous releases Chromaticity, a 5.2% ABV pale ale, and Neon Colour Spreading, a 6.5% ABV IPA. Verdant says of the new brew: “By elevating the ABV and hop saturation, we’ve brought forth waves of joyous tropical fruits floating atop a dank, brooding, and wonderfully complex underbelly.”
There’s a new special edition of Siren’s popular IPA, Soundwave Ascension (6.5% ABV). “For this special edition of our flagship IPA, we used Krush and Strata hops to bring out strawberry and tropical sweetness, alongside a signature dank depth, embellished by Abstrax terpenes,” says the brewer. “We’re using modern techniques to get maximum fruit character from delicious hop oils.”
DEYA have collaborated with Bale Breaker, in the Yakima Valley, on Magnetic Bines, a 7% ABV West Coast IPA. Bright orange and apricot are imparted from Citra and Simcoe hops, and there’s jammy peach notes from DEYA’s house yeast.
Pomona Island describe Where a Dixie Cup Becomes a Chalice (6.6% ABV) as a modern West Coast IPA. “Spruce and lemon zest on the nose,” says the brewer. “It drinks with a gentle bitterness. Super hoppy with plenty of lemon and grapefruit.”
Lollypop (4.7% ABV) is a new Solero and orange zest pale ale from Elusive. “We used Hopsteiner Solero Salvo in the whirlpool alongside a load of real orange zest,” says the brewer. “Then we dry-hopped with Amarillo to layer in more hoppy, orangey notes. Super refreshing and aromatic, with the ideal balance of hoppy and juicy.”
West Coast Routes is a collaboration beer from Northern Monk, part of their Patrons Project. Photographer Mark Newton is back with the next chapter of his journey down the California coast. Joining the team are Spanish brewer Gross, and Crosby Hops.
The beer is hopped with an experimental variety, CF3, paired with two more Crosby varieties, Columbus and Comet. Expect a waft of dank cannabis, overlayed and softened by white grapefruit and peach rings. There’s a pronounced peppery dankness to the 8.2% ABV West Coast DIPA, with notes of cantaloupe melon, lemon zest, and bubblegum, all over a clean pilsner malt base for a softly resinous body with light bready notes. These let the hops shine before a long, pithy finish.
Brand design agency bluemarlin is building on its partnership with Maltese brewer Simonds Farsons Cisk with the launch of a low-alcohol lager. With Cisk Session, the agency was tasked with creating a distinctive yet cohesive offering — one that leverages the strength of the Cisk masterbrand while carving out a clear role within the growing low- and no-alcohol category.
The two businesses have already teamed up on Cisk 0.0% and Cisk Excel. “Cisk Session isn’t about restriction,” said Charlie Spiers, bluemarlin account director. “It’s about unlocking a different kind of experience – one that allows people to stay present, extend social occasions, and get more out of every moment.”
