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13-12-2012, 18:40
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http://goodfoodgoodbeer.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/006.jpg?w=300&h=224 (http://goodfoodgoodbeer.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/bitches-brewing-co-miles-to-go/006-5/)Well, that’ll teach me to be clever.
I’ve known Brian Dickson, one half of Bitches Brewing Company, for a while now. He’s the cheeky, bouncy barman at The Grove – one of the best pubs in Yorkshire – but I know that he’s a bit of a Jazz nut. So I *- as you do if you’re a smartarse like me – automatically assumed that the company name was a reference to Miles Davis’s 1970 album (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitches_Brew). When I suggest it, Brian takes a sip of his pint (Marble’s Draft, if you’re interested) and puts me right.
‘Not really!’ he laughs. ‘It’s just a jokey thing between Ian and me. Ian wanted to get more involved in brewing, and I’m the brewbitch, basically.’
Self-deprecating, I’m sure, but Brian takes it all in his stride. He’s much more than that, he’s the guy that goes and gets things done. When Ian Hayes (landlord of The Grove) decided he wanted to have an in-house brewery, it turned out that what they ended up with wasn’t just asking someone to brew for them every once in a while. Using his not-too-slim contact book, Ian and Brian realised they had some pretty high-calibre friends to call upon. Now, Bitches Brewing Co is a cuckoo proper; more than The Grove, and grounded in some pretty serious know-how.
‘When we decided to set it up, I wanted to brew’ explains Brian. ‘I spent time brewing and working with Dark Star, Red Willow and Thwaites, but spent a lot of time living with, and working for, Eddie Gadd.’ Gadd’s beers are still somewhat of an exotic import for this part of Yorkshire; although regularly featuring at The Grove. Brian returned from ‘work experience’ with enough knowledge to get cracking on The Graduate IPA, Bitches’*inaugural*beer.
A pale ale in the US mould – think Sierra Nevada Pale Ale back when it was really good – and you’re on the right track. Except -*perhaps*with a*subconscious*nod to Eddie Gadd – it’s hopped with Goldings and displays that typically brassy *Kentish hop-bite on top of a chassis of boiled sweets. As a house IPA for today’s tastes it certainly does the job.
http://goodfoodgoodbeer.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/099.jpg?w=228&h=270 (http://goodfoodgoodbeer.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/bitches-brewing-co-miles-to-go/099-2/)Brian and Ian’s beers certainly carry an air of*their*own cheeky personality;*their*offering to Autumn’s IndyMan Beer Con was a Chocolate & Chilli Stout (Brewed with Stockport’s Quantum Brewery) infused (via a Randall) with fresh Naga Chilis. As someone that wasn’t expecting much for such a beer the stout certainly held up; all rich mocha and sweet, roasted grain, and the chili heat grew as the sip went on. And after it finished. Which I think, watching Brian’s face get more excited as I sipped it in a sort of here-comes-the-punchline kind of way – is the point.
So, what’s next for this boutique brewery? More collaborations, of course – with Brodie’s and Hand Drawn Monkey (http://www.hdmbeershop.co.uk/the-shop/)on the cards. Then maybe, just maybe, a place of their own. Keep an eye out for their beers in bottle (occasionally, not yet) and on Keg in selected bars across Yorkshire. Better still, get to The Grove.*You*won’t need much excuse to go back once you’ve been.

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