The fifth Geordie beer of Christmas

Wylam Brewery Sheer Chai

Wylam Brewery has always been a class act to follow on the Geordie scene. I will always remember my first Silver Ghost at Newcastle Beer Festival, a moment of sheer clarity. Like Allendale, Wylam came about during the early noughties period. This was back when I started drinking real ale, shit I mean craft beer. But back then everyone called it real ale, and Wylam were one of the earliest local go-to pints.

Nowadays Wylam have moved on a bit. From their no-brainer, single-hop series to more sophisticated offerings such as Hexan Black Wit (with its recent SIBA North award) and the uncompromising Jakehead IPA. This beer I only discovered recently.

Sheer Chai is a 3.6% concoction derived from pale and wheat malts combining with Himalayan and Indian green teas. What hops were used, I would have no idea, as the peculiar feature of the beer is in its mind-bending complexity for such a low abv. Its flavour profile is said to include cardamom, pistachio, cinnamon, liquorice root. I certainly get a lot of liquorice root and cardamom in the finish. It's very light and cleansing, think fresh spearmint like palate cleansing. Sessionable and odd yet still a class beer.