2013 and the list

Ever been in that awe-inspiring position where you've wondered what a past version of yourself would think of your present day situation? To the 2009-era Rob this would have been a distant dream. Back then it seemed the company I worked for was taking a (very gradual) turn of interest towards pleasing wider audiences. Homebrewing was my not so secret love affair, and having a range of special release beers like the ones listed above at a brewery where I was the head brewer was something that I thought would only ever exist in some kind of fantasy world.

But here we are. The Mordue 2013 monthly specials range combines some big abvs, fruit beers, bold hops in places and some slightly more unorthodox ingredients here and there. Myself and the Fawson brothers are responsible for the list in its entirety and yes four new Panda Frog beers are also featured. Many of the old seasonals are out but the Tyne range remains (Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn Tyne). Al Wheat Pet it to be re-vamped to become Al Cherry Pet at a slightly higher abv than the original. Killswitch 51, the munich malt, single malt beer from last years battle of the beers at Newcastle Beer Festival is coming back. Then a few months later, the biggest Panda Frog beer of the year the 6.8% Operation Red Thunder imperial red ale comes out in October.

I could go more into the Panda Frog range, but that's another blog post in itself. For now there's plenty of work to be done i.e sourcing ingredients, planning brewing schedules as well as trying to find the time to get plenty of special releases kegged and bottled. Mostly it's going to be about keeping on top of it all, so wish me luck.