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Thwaites marches on
by Willard Clarke, 05/09
A southern-based journalist once described Daniel Thwaites of Blackburn to me as "a sleeping giant." He should whisper it quietly in the North-west of England, for Thwaites is a vigorous and far-from-sleeping giant. It's one of
the Top Ten British breweries, is the biggest producer in the north and also actively supports sport, including sponsorship of Lancashire County Cricket Club and Lancashire league cricket.
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Daniel Thwaites founded his brewery in Blackburn in 1807. It was a curious move for him to make as he was an excise officer but he seamlessly made the move from taxing beer to making it. His company was
successful and he passed it on to members of his family. Today it's still family-owned, run by the Yerburghs, descendants of the Thwaites by marriage.
The company celebrated 200 years of continuous brewing in 2000. It owns a formidable 430 pubs in northern England and serves cask beer in 60% of them. Several of the beers are also available in bottle and they
reach a national audience via supermarkets.
The bottled beers
Thwaites, Thoroughbred Gold (England) 
(RP) A pale gold beer brewed with Maris Otter and Pearl malts and hopped with Fuggles and Goldings. It has a rich toasted malt and spicy hop aroma with a hint of lemon fruit. Tangy fruit, juicy malt and bitter hop resins fill the mouth. The finish is long and refreshing, with rich malt, tart fruit and peppery hops.
4.0% ABV, 50cl, �1.69, brewery website, Beersofeurope, independents.  |  |
Thwaites, Double Century (England)
(RP) The beer was brewed to mark both the brewery�s anniversary in 2007 and its commitment to cricket in the north. It�s brewed with Pearl pale malt and crystal malt and has a complex hop recipe with Bramling Cross, Cascade, Challenger, Fuggles, Goldings and WGV � Whitbread Goldings Variety (30 units of bitterness). The bronze beer has a big citrus fruit � oranges and lemons � nose with spicy hops and nutty malt. Hops resins, tangy fruit and rich malt dominate the palate, with a lingering finish finely balanced between malt, hops and fruit.
5.2% ABV, 50cl, �1.99, brewery website, Beersofeurope, independents.  |  |
Thwaites, Wainwright (England)
(RP) This entrancing golden beer
commemorates the remarkable Alfred Wainwright, author of the celebrated mountain walks in Cumbria. It's made with Maris Otter pale malt and hopped with Hersbrucker and Magnum varieties, with a late addition of Styrian
Goldings (25 bitterness units). It has a fruity pear drops aroma with lightly toasted malt and hop resins. There's Weetabix-style grain in the mouth, tart fruit and spicy hops, followed by a long, quenching finish with sappy
malt and fruit balanced by gentle but persistent hop bitterness. It finally becomes dry. 4.1% ABV, 50cl, �1.79, brewery website, Beersofeurope, independents.  |  |
Thwaites, Lancaster Bomber (England)
(RP) �Bomber� is Thwaites� flagship brand, a chestnut-coloured beer brewed with Maris Otter and Pearl pale and roasted malts and hopped with Challenger, Fuggles, Goldings and WGV (30 bitterness units). It has a big burnt fruit note � raisins and sultanas � on the nose with malt loaf and peppery hops. Bitter, spicy hops, burnt fruit and toasted malt dominate the palate followed by a bittersweet finish with rich malt, spicy hops and dark fruit.
4.4% ABV, 50cl, �1.79, brewery website, Beersofeurope, independents. |  |
Thwaites, Flying Shuttle (England)
(RP) This deep russet/brown beer is a strong mild, the type of beer that once refreshed mill workers in Lancashire who made cotton and cloth with the aid of a shuttle. It's brewed with Pearl pale malt and dark malt and hopped with Challenger, Fuggles, Goldings and WGV. It has a big roasted grain, burnt fruit, brown sugar and liquorice aroma with sweet, dark chewy malt, toffee, burnt fruit, molasses and gentle peppery hops in the mouth. The finish is surprisingly dry, the sweetness fading and overtaken by dark fruit and light hops.
4.9% ABV, 50cl, �1.89, brewery website, Beersofeurope, independents. | |
As well as Thwaites' pubs, the bottled beers are available in specialist beer shops and some supermarket chains, including Morrison's. They are also available by mail order from the brewery:
www.thwaites.co.uk
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