Hops. The centrepiece and maybe the most charismatic element of modern craft beer and a huge part of what has driven us as a brewery. For the longest time, our passion led us down a path dominated by hop-forward beers, enchanted by their exquisite aromas and unique characteristics.
While every beer we create is a canvas for our deep appreciation of these verdant buds, there comes a moment when we crave a more intense focus. Enter our latest project, "Brewers Cut" – a series born from our desire to amplify and celebrate the essence of hops.
Our aim is simple: to craft exceptional beers that showcase the freshest hop varieties & processes, whilst collaborating with breweries who we know share the same love, and then partner them with the beautiful artwork of Cheryl Malsen.
"Brewers Cut is a series of collaborations built around unique, hand-selected hops. Beers which capture a snapshot of hops at that point in time, echoing the changes in environment from harvest to harvest." Matt Dutton, Head Brewer.
For the first beer in this series, we have teamed up with our friends from Seattle - Fast Fashion, to showcase their experimental hop grown out of Segal Ranches, Anchovy. If you want to have a deeper read on all things Anchovy, check out this article.
They shipped it in especially for us to use and with it, we created this flavour bomb of an IPA, Fractured Smile.
Artwork
We wanted to give Brewer's Cut a totally different feel to anything we'd done before and when we saw Cheryl's work, we knew it would be perfect for the project. Our designer Amy, met Cheryl during one of our open brew days for International Women's Day and they immediately hit it off.
"I met Cheryl at one of our IWD Brew Days back in March. During the creative workshop we got a chance to speak about her personal creative work and discovered she made these beautiful hand-carved Lino prints. In her prints she often uses landscapes inspired by her travels - which I loved straight away. She also uses elements of nature which we thought would work really well for the Brewer's Cut collection with it focussing on fresh green hops in their most natural form - straight off the vine." Amy Haselden Designer
Cheryl's work resonates with nature and adventure, which aligns seamlessly with how we came to be. We couldn't be more excited to feature her art throughout this series.
"I’ve always been a walker. As a child I was drawn to the forests near my home, walking for hours looking at the trees whilst my Dad tested me on all their names and wood properties. Later, walking alone, enjoying the quiet and allowing myself space to conjure up new creative ideas."
"I was lucky enough to study fine art at Falmouth University in Cornwall and it was there that my work really became consumed and driven by nature and landscape. Inspired by the raw, salty sea cliffs and moody moor walks. I began experimenting with printmaking and became obsessed with the process." Cheryl Maslen, Artist.
To buy Cheryl's prints, including 'Palms', the latest artwork for our Brewer's Cut collaboration with Bagby, click here!
What's next?
This is a slow project, something that will continue for a long time and is not in any great rush. When the opportunity arises and we feel that all of the pieces are in place to make something new and exciting, we will, and hopefully... you'll enjoy it too.
Keep your eyes peeled for what is to come...