Helles Lager, Braybrooke Brewery, Leicestershire 330ml

This young brewery in the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough is the brainchild of three men whose business interests lay further south, in the heart of the capital. Restaurateur Luke Wilson, beer wholesaler Nick Trower and chef Cameron Emirali have busy careers in London, but seeking to exploit a perceived gap in the market they got in touch with German brewer Stephan Michel, of the renowned small and venerable brewery of Mahr’s Bräu in the Franconia region, to help them make a top-quality English lager. Stephan is hugely regarded in the brewing world and he gladly came on board to advise and mentor as Braybrooke set about brewing.

Only top quality ingredients are used at their state-of-the-art brewery, and they follow a Franconian recipe, slow-lagered (lager means to store or rest) in a process that the partners took great pains to perfect. To ensure authenticity even the barley and hops are bought from Franconia, and they even mill the barley themselves to get just what they want. The water used is put through a reverse osmosis machine to soften it and the equipment in the 10hl Brewhouse allows them precise temperature control of the mash, and unlike many breweries they use fresh, wet yeast. The lager is bottom-fermented and then matured for weeks before release, again unlike many commercial lagers. What they create is a kellerbier, a Franconian style that aims to be as refreshing as can be, but with all the flavours and characteristics of the great ingredients...