January saw us release not one, but two new low ABV beers, designed to help ease you out of DRYanuary.

The first was Low Tide, an easy drinking 3.5% Session Pale Ale with a soft mouthfeel. It’s our lowest ABV yet and a 330ml can is only 1.2 units. We went with a name that evokes both our coastal location and the low strength of the beer and the can features Cleethorpes’ beautiful beach at sunrise and the silhouette of an RNLI worker.

We also released the second beer of our Fruits of Labour series – a 3.4% peach and apricot sour. The sweetness from the fruit is nicely offset by tart sourness and Citra and Cascade hops add an extra fruity hit. If you like peach and apricot flavours, you need to get on this ASAP!

Both beers are belters and they are available online or from our taproom.

Kasbah Gin is the new name for our delicious sea buckthorn berry gin.

It’s the same best-selling gin, just with a new name and a slightly different label. We had to change it because we were asked to cease and desist from calling it Maritime (and Dockmaster) by other large distilleries. So we thought, why not call it after the densely-packed network of buildings in Grimsby’s docks which is now one of the most exciting sites of regeneration in Grimsby?! This is the third incarnation and hopefully it’s going to be third time lucky!

Kasbah is a refreshing, citrussy gin made to a bespoke recipe for us by fellow Lincolnshire drinks business, Coastal Distillery in Mablethorpe. If you haven’t tried it yet, we now have plenty of stock in time for Mother’s Day next month (consider this your reminder!).

Last weekend we hosted our good friend Thomas Turgoose’s surprise 30th birthday party and were delighted to welcome his friends, family and some recognisable faces from the world of British film and television – including Vicky McClure.

Vicky co-starred in cult Shane Meadows film This is England with Tomo and she shot to fame for her role in BBC drama Line of Duty. She was at the BRITs just a few days before her appearance at Tomo’s bash and it was great to have genuine TV royalty at the brewery… just ask Stu who obviously couldn’t help getting a selfie with her! Other guests included This Is England’s Andrew Shim and Jo Hartley and Eleanor May Tomlinson who starred in Poldark.

2022 looks set to be a memorable year for Docks Academy. March is action packed with the highlights including spoken word performer Luke Wright on March 4th and New Orleans Blues Maestro Dom Pipkin with his band The Iko’s on March 25th.

Then we kick off April with one of the UK’s best new indie bands, October Drift, on April 2nd followed by former NME best solo artist nominee and pioneer of indie/folk/electronic fusion Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly who headlines the Academy on Friday 8th April as part of the 15th anniversary tour of his iconic debut album ‘The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager’.

Local indie heroes Orphan Boy play two sold out gigs over Easter weekend and on April 30th we welcome back the UK’s biggest Indie and Alternative club night, Propaganda, following the success of their monster NYE party.

Cult British folk singer Beans on Toast takes to the Academy stage on Thursday 5th May and he’ll be doing what he does best: singing songs, making friends, telling stories and putting the world to rights. And on May 25th we have the rearranged and not to be missed Oh My God It’s The Church gig.

And finally this week we announced the return of legendary Blues musician, Errol Linton. Errol, along with his live band, was one of the first acts to perform on the Docks Academy stage after the long Covid hiatus for live music and we’re looking forward to another stellar night of British blues at the Church on August 25th!

Calling all Rugby fans – get yourselves to Docks Academy to watch the finale of the 6 Nations on Saturday 19th March, AKA ‘Super Saturday’.

We have the biggest screen and loudest PA around and we’ll be screening all three fixtures of the finale, starting with Wales v Italy, followed by Ireland v Scotland, before culminating in France v England.

So get Saturday 19th March in your diary, and make sure you come early to secure yourself a table. The Academy bar opens at midday, Mockingbird will be cooking up a storm and the event is free to attend – what’s not to love?!