| |
Little Valley Brewery, run by Wim van der Spek and Sue Cooper, is a micro-brewery dedicated to beer brewed only from 100% organic malt and hops. Based at Cragg Vale near Hebden Bridge high in the Yorkshire Moors, Little Valley is approved by both the Soil Association and the Vegan Society and is also licensed to the Fairtrade Foundation for its Ginger Pale Ale.
The brewery is based on a former chicken and pig farm and has fine views over the surrounding Pennine hills. Wim is from the Netherlands and grew up close to Rotterdam. At the age of 18 he created a Beer Club - De Gustibus est Disputandum - with a group of friends and from there he studied at Wageningen University where he obtained a MSc in Food Science. As a student, he did a placement with the leading Dutch brewery Gulpener and then studied to become a brew master in Munich.
He settled in Britain in 2000 after meeting Sue Cooper while they were both cycling to Tibet - Wim was searching for the world's highest brewery. Sue grew up in Jarrow, Tyne & Wear, and worked for 20 years in community and economic regeneration in Yorkshire, Lancashire and the North-east. She then worked for Voluntary Service Overseas in Nepal and met Wem while she was cycling home to Jarrow. She joined Wim in the brewery in 2008 where she works in management, sales and marketing.
Wim set up Little Valley in 2005 after two years with Black Isle Brewery in Inverness. The brewery is on a site that is being redeveloped as a rural business park with a wind turbine. Wim has use of the finest brewing water that flows down from the Pennines. He brews eight beers on a regular basis with 12 monthly seasonals. All the beers are available bottle-conditioned and in cask. Wim uses a custom-built, 10-barrel plant with an annual capacity of 3000 barrels.
At the end of July, Wim and Sue re-launched their beer range with new labels and pump clips (for the full range see www.littlevalleybrewery.co.uk). Python IPA is their premium product, named after the famous Indian snake and also the pipes in pub cellars that keep cask beer cool as it travels from cask to bar.
Little Valley, Python IPA (England) 
The beer is brewed with pale, Munich and wheat malts and is hopped with First Gold, Fuggles and Pacific Gem. It has a bright gold colour with spicy hop resins, orange fruit, freshly-harvested grain, and a hint of diacteyl (butterscotch) and sulphur on the nose. Tart citrus fruit and bitter hops dominate the palate while the finish is long, complex, with a fine balance of spicy hops, tangy fruit, juicy malt and a continuing hint of butterscotch.
Malt: medium. Fruit: high. Hops: high.
The beer is in 19 of Booths stores as well Oasis, Hebden Bridge �2.25; Unicorn Grocery, Chorlton, Manchester �2.15. and from the brewery for �32.95 for a box of 12. For draught outlets, see website. 6.0% ABV, 50cl, �1.89, Booth's.  | |
go to beer of the month archives
|
|
