Farewell August. You were amazing. You saw Docks Beers host a gig by The Sherlocks, a Magic Rock tap takeover, a Timothy Taylor’s tap takeover, the launch of Overtime in can and a Magic Rock collab in keg and can. We appeared in a movie made by Ørsted and celebrated by launching a new beer called Wind Power to promote Grimsby’s renewables pedigree. The taproom was even turned into a cinema for the movie’s premiere. Our beers were featured at Brew York’s Kegfest. We sponsored Grimsby Town FC and Clee Town FC. Phew – and that was just the half of it!
September proves the old saying there’s no rest for the wicked. This month we will be launching the Docks Beers Gin, hosting a Stone Brewing Tap Takeover, we will be pouring on all the taps at the Draughtsman in Doncaster, putting on our first piece of theater, and our mobile bar will be out and about at the outdoor screening of Rocketman, at the Festival of the Sky, and at the Wakefield Beer Festival. Read on for more.
With our new beer Wind Power we knew we wanted something fresh, relatively low alcohol but a beer that still packs a punch with flavour.
So Mike and Lewis set about brewing with all things in mind, starting with five different malts to give a complex flavour. The Maris Otter Pale Ale malt that we use as the base for most of our beers is still there, but to that we added wheat to give a bit more body. We also added Vienna malt which gives a sweet grainy flavour, a lightly caramelised malt to add more body and toffee like sweetness, and Carapils, which is a malt high in dextrin (which gives unfermentable sugars that add sweetness and palate fullness).
We then packed more flavour in by liberally hopping the beer in the copper with Mandarina Bavaria hops, which gives a fruity, orange like flavour, and Amarillo, which adds a grapefruit citrus flavour. Then to make sure there was really loads of fruity flavour in there we added the same hops again during the fermentation. The resulting beer is more full bodied and rich than you’d expect from a low ABV beer, with a sweet malty flavour underpinning loads of orange and grapefruit flavours with a lasting pithy bite.
Come and try it on draft in our taproom when you can.
The power of social media!
The very talented indie band The Sherlocks ran a poll on twitter last month asking their fans to vote which town they wanted a gig in next. Grimsby & Docks Beers only went and won it! So on Wed 21st the band played a free acoustic gig for 170 competition winners in our brewery.
What a fantastic group of lads. They travelled to us, had a brewery tour, went for some Grimsby Fish & Chips, played two sets of brilliant music, had some pints of our Craft Beer, modelled our merchandise and met all their fans. Nothing was too much trouble and they thanked us at midnight, then left to go get ready for Leeds & Reading Festivals! Following their trip they have plastered Docks Beers all over their social media. If you’ve not heard their songs, then we’d recommend downloading their new album.
Watch their video of the Docks gig here
This is just the beginning for Docks Beers as a venue and music gigs, watch this space as we will bringing other artists to town in future!
We have all had a lump in our throats watching a new short film about our hometown, Grimsby.
‘Grimsby: Turning the Tide’ tells the story of how our town has reinvented itself to become a major global player in Offshore Wind Energy. It’s definitely worth a watch.
The film was produced by green energy giant Ørsted and features our very own Will Douglas & Docks Beers, among many other great Grimsby luminaries and businesses. We were delighted when Ørsted asked to premiere the movie at Docks Beers. It was exciting to see the brewery turned into a cinema for the night.
Docks Beers are honoured to be featured in the film, and to celebrate we brewed a new 3.5% Session IPA Craft Beer aptly named ‘Wind Power’ that is now available in our taproom.
Back in August Mike and Lewis collab brewed with Magic Rock’s Head Brewer (and legend) Stuart Ross. The joint effort resulted ‘Golden Hour’, a 6.5% Double Dry Hopped Mimosa Pale Ale.
Our brewer Lewis Birch, used to work at Magic Rock and he was really keen to get Docks Beers brewing with his ex-colleagues at Magic Rock in Huddersfield. Lewis said “Stuart Ross is one of the UK’s most highly regarded brewers and so it was a coup to get him over to Grimsby. We are thrilled with Golden Hour. It’s unmistakably a beer but bucks fizzesque tangy zest and juicy citrus notes really shine through. We have managed to get this with a complex mix of malts which provide a rich mouthfeel balanced with a low bitterness and citrus from orange, lemon and lime. It has been double dry hopped with punchy Mandarina Bavaria and Amarillo hops to give a full citrus, Mimosa like flavour. “
The draft version is already pouring in our taproom and cans can be bought to takeaway as well. Cans will also be available from our online shop later this month.
Overtime, the only lager ever to be brewed in Grimsby is now available to buy in cans.
The striking red, black and white can features an illustrated docks scene with the ABP Port Office clock tower taking centre stage. The launch of this 4% beer, our first core range beer to be packaged in a 440 ml can, has been long awaited. Docks Beers customers have been clamouring for Overtime in can for months but we get through so many pints in the taproom that saving any for canning was proving difficult. We have to pay massive credit to our designers Sourcefour who have again blown us away with their artwork. The bigger canvas of the 440 ml can has given Kirk Arnold a chance to shine and his illustration really smashes it. We love the grittiness of the shackle and chain and the clocktower is so cleverly incorporated to represent Overtime. It’s pure Docks. Cans are available from our taproom now and from our online shop later this month.
This month the spectacular Festival of the Sky arrives in Cleethorpes.
It is a long weekend of arts and culture, with free performances, activities and workshops for festival-goers of all ages.
The Docks Beers bar will be at the big ‘Forgotten Voyage’ event in Merdian showground on Sat 7th Sep. In celebration of the Montgolfier brothers, pioneers of manned balloon flight, this night time show will be a magical spectacle of music, lanterns, aerial performance and pyrotechnics – and of course there will be huge iconic hot air balloons as darkness draws in.
As the hot air balloons light up the Meridian Showground, you’ll be mesmerised by the incredible story of the first ever piloted ascent, and the world premiere of this outdoor spectacular.
Here at Docks we are firm believers that football plays an important role in bringing communities together and has a social and cultural impact beyond the on pitch activities.
This is why we are delighted to be renewing our sponsorship at Grimsby Town FC in the form of the Docks Beers hoarding. It has pride of place next to the clock above the Osmond Stand.
We are also thrilled to announce our association with Cleethorpes Town FC this season. Docks Beers has signed as Man of the Match sponsor for the 2019/20 season. We wish both teams a successful campaign.
September will 29th and 30th sees the arrival of drama in the taproom when ‘Bouncers’ will be performed by Sapphire Productions. Tickets £10, Seniors and Students £8.
This outrageous and brilliant comedy by the acclaimed playwright John Godber is a parody of the contemporary nightclub scene. Judd, Les, Ralph and Lucky Eric, the four brutish bouncers, will play over twenty different characters, inviting us to see their portrayal of a night out in what could be any town in the UK – Grimsby included! This will be a hilarious night out that you’re not likely to forget for a good long time!! Contains some adult humour.
ALL TICKETS SOLD OUT. WE MAY ADD MORE DATES.
Our mobile Docks Beers bar debuted successfully at a couple of outdoor events in July. This steel framed monster is equipped with 8 taps and you can expect to see it popping up at:
Sat 7th Sep
Festival of the Sky – Forgotten Voyage – The Montgolfier Moment
https://www.festivalofthesky.co.uk/attraction/forgotten-voyage%3Cbr%3Ethe-montgolfier-moment
Sun 15th Sep
Rocketman Outdoor Cinema Experience at Meridian Showground
https://www.facebook.com/events/485328445597483/
Thurs 19th to Sat 21st
Sep Wakefield Beer Festival in September
That’s it for now. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the ‘What’s on’ section of our website and follow us on social (@docksbeers) for all the latest news and offers. We’ll leave you with these beery words:
“Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.” – Dave Barry
