After going through all the traditional choices our team moved to the last brewery bar where we reconfirmed our love for Five Points’ XPA and we also had a reminiscing moment tasting Brew 61’s Greenfields Gold that we used to stock in bottles. Next in line was the bar named after Ben Nevis. We had a lovely session tasting Andwell’s Gold Muddler, a lovely hoppy pale ale named after a fly-fishing lure used to catch trout. We very often stock the cask version and their King John and Resolute bitter at our Northumberland Arms pub in Brentford. Ben Nevis also poured Jaw’s Wave which we used to sell in bottles, alongside Drop which is currently available at TippleHub. The next bar was the Caernarfon Castle, which was like a fountain of discoveries for us. We were privileged enough to enjoy so many new beers such as Avid Brewing’s Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream Pale, Brew York’s Juice Forsyth, and Zest’s Atomic IPA. We probably had had a few beers too many by then but we had the same feeling at the Angel of the North stand where we stumbled upon so many new to us brews and we loved Acorn’s Summer Pale, Salopian’s Darwin’s Origin, and both beers offered by our neighbours from Thames Side in Staines – Black Swan Porter and White Swan American Pale Ale.

We then moved to Binnenhof ( a Dutch word meaning Inner Court) – a bar serving great European beers from kegs or in bottles. The range of Dutch and Belgian beers was comprehensive and there were so many new to us breweries – Alvinne (Belgium), De Graal, Struise Brouwers (all from Belgium); Butchers Tears, Kaapse Brouwers, and White Dog (Netherlands) to name a few amongst the many. However, we were astonished by the newcomers from Italy and Malta – such as Alder (Italy), Lord Chambray (Malta), Hammer(Italy), Klanbarrique (Italy), and many more.

Slightly tipsy, we moved to the next international bar, Brandenburg Gate. As the name suggests, it featured not only traditional beers from Germany – such as Andechs and Ayinger (that we had proudly included in our portfolio), Fruh, Hofbrau, Jever, Lowenbrau, Maisels, etc.; but some Czech and Austrian brews too – Bad Flash, Masa, Matuska, Permon, Strahov and Uneticky Pivovar ( all from the Czech Republic) as well as Stiegl (hailing from Austria).

The other international bar that we paid special attention to was the Statue of Liberty bar. The presence of US beers at the Great British Beer Festival has always been very strong and this year was not disappointing at all. There were so many serious beers to try and all served from cask using just gravity. Our favourites there were Coffee Marzipan Gunner’s Daughter Milk Stout by Mast Landing Brewing Company (USA) and Lowlands American Style Brown Ale by Tributary Brewing Company (USA).

After that, we quickly visited the Cider and Perry Bar. It was our last stop so we took it easy and paced ourselves knowing the danger these drinks possess to even experienced humans. We loved Salted Caramel by Dudda’s Tun Cider, Katy Perry (Pyder) by Purbeck Cider Company, Marmalade by Seacider, Vintage by Taunton, Dabinett by Temple Cider, and Lazy Days Perry by Ty Bryn. A lot can be written about cider alone so we promise to dedicate our next blog post to that traditional drink and stock some at TippleHub too.

After our visit to the Cider and Perry Bar, we headed to Maidan Square where we took some bottles to go out of the extensive choice of bottled beer from Australia, New Zealand, Latvia, Romania, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Poland, and Estonia. Fulfilled with joy and smiling with happiness, we made our way home.

I must admit that this year’s trade session’s attendance was either or the infrastructure was a lot better built so we managed to grab a table just before 2 o’clock and in very close vicinity to the food stalls. The first one we visited was the Crusty Pie Company. They had a wide variety of pies, pasties, and sausage rolls alongside their homemade pork scratchings – the perfect match for a pint of beer! Next to them was Gupta’s Bombay Sreet Food – they did have the best chicken wrap in town but also yummy Karahi chicken masala with long-grain basmati rice and breath-taking Tadka dahl, samosas, and bhajis. Their neighbour was Simon’s Sausage. They were flame grilling Bratwurst, Cheesewurst, Smoked Krakauer, and Jumbo Bratwurst for the most hungry. Some of our colleagues enjoyed No 2 Pound Street’s great range of handmade farmhouse cheeses served on their own or in platters, baguettes, ploughman’s lunches and focaccias. At the other end of the food lane, there was Shawarma that looked and smelled amazing and it also had a vegetarian option. There were some more stalls spread around the festival area and those included another place specialised in pork scratchings, a crisps stall, a Greek food place, a handmade Cornish Pasty stall that had a great selection of Scotch eggs, and for desserts – Henley’s traditional sweets that are made in the UK. We stuffed ourselves as we normally do but not to the point that we could not handle more beer, so we headed to the brewery bars just opposite the food stalls. The first one hosted Siren, Vocation, and Wild Beer Breweries and they all had great selections of beers to taste. We had a quick session there and we all loved Wild Beer’s – Shnoodlepip 2022 – a foudre-aged solera Saison brewed raspberries and pink pepper, then blended with some spontaneous coolship sour beer and passion fruit and hibiscus. It is a beautifully balanced beer with floral notes, a hint of spice, dry woody tannins, and rich tropical fruitiness and we recommend it. The next brewery bar in line hosted Adnams, Fyne, and Harveys, and the one next to it – Arkells, Bedlam, Bishop Nick, Black Storm, Bradfield, Titanic, and Anspach & Hobday. We had a quick tasting and probably because we were still in dessert mode we all loved the hand-pulled Titanic’s Plum Porter (that we sell in bottles), and also Titanic’s Chocolate and Vanilla Stout. 

The hours were passing very quickly as we were having so much fun and there came the time that the live music kicked in. That particular night the entertainment included a gig by  Fisherman’s Friends, Britain’s favourite buoy band hailing straight in from Cornwall, followed by two gigs by Chaminade, one of the most established string quartets in the field of background music. Originally formed in 1990, they have been playing music that appeals to all ages and musical tastes. 

One of the gems of CAMRA’s festivals is the Real Cider and Perry bar. Traditional still ciders and perries are so difficult to find nowadays – they have become almost extinct in favour of their modern fizzy variants sometimes flavoured with exotic fruits. Stay tuned for the next episode where we will cover some of these apple and pear drinks as well as some non-traditional beers from abroad. 

To be continued . . .

This week is full of excitement for us because of a single event – The Great Beer British Beer Festival running from the 2nd to the 6th of August. Organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), this great celebration traditionally takes place at Olympia London – the iconic convention centre that had been purposely designed to hold international trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences, sporting events, etc. Olympia has been a destination for the biggest events in art, culture, technologies, entertainment, music, food and drink, et al. This particular beer festival has a heavy accent on real ales/ciders, or top-fermented beers and ciders that are brewed/fermented from traditional ingredients, then conditioned naturally in the containers that are dispensed from, without the assistance of extra carbon dioxide. These are also known as cask-conditioned or bottle-conditioned beers and ciders. However, the event hosts some of the best international and local, non-traditional brews that have proven to be of significant interest.
Our journey began at the Windsor Castle bar. Please note that all bars were named after famous landmarks (except for the cider/perry, gin/wine, the international beer or the individual brewery bars. That bar had between thirty and forty handpumps pouring some of the best British beers that one could taste. After a brief session of tasting some well-known beers by breweries such as XT, Beartown, and Thornbridge, we came up with our favourite – Elderflower by Ashover, an award-winning brewery from North East Derbyshire. The description read that it had been ” brewed with more fresh elderflowers that you can shake a stick at ” and probably that was why this 4% pale ale was so crisp, refreshing and moreish. It perfectly matched the weather and we promised ourselves to be back for more.
Next in line was the Edinburgh Castle bar. There we tasted some masterpieces by Alechemy (Bad Day At The Office – a 4.5% light golden, fruity, citrussy ale with a heavy hoppiness ) and Burning Sky (Aurora 5.6% and Plateau 3.5%) alongside some more conventional beers by Bath Ales and St. Austell. They were all great but the one that impressed us was Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll by Billericay Brewing – a 5% golden hoppy ale that features three American hops added at three different times in the brewing process. An excellent and very memorable hoppy IPA!
As we proceeded, we stopped at the Giant’s Causeway bar. The beers at this bar were served out of kegs and through a more powerful chiller and they were pouring colder and fizzier. Some of the breweries were new to us but we did love everything we tasted. We enjoyed most the Hop Drop by Stroud – a 4.5% tropical bomb hopped with organic Citra and El Dorado hops, as well as Pulping On Your Stereo by Nene Valley Brewery – a 4.5% IPA brewed with the addition of tonnes of oranges and hopped with Mandarina and Citra hops.
The time was nearly 2 o’clock and everyone on our team suffered an extremely increased appetite enhanced by the beer tasting, so we decided to have a break and check out the food stalls that were just opposite the Giant’s Causeway bar. Stay tuned for our next installment where we will review the food choices at the festival in greater detail.

To be continued . . .

At TippleHub we are all about food and drink; they always go hand in hand to ensure the best experience. Whether it is beer or wine, a cocktail or simply a vermouth spritzer, here at the headquarter’s we always try to match it with the most suitable appetiser or meal to enhance satisfaction. Food and drink pairing is not only great fun, but it makes a dish or a beverage come out and taste better at the time. 

We stick to two major rules when dining and drinking in style and the first one is mirroring. This method works particularly well when you want to emphasise the more pronounced flavours of a dish or a beverage while not silencing either of them. For instance, if you host a BBQ and you pour a rich stout or porter such as Titanic Brewery Plum Porter, the latter will complement the rich and smoky meats while preserving its bold character. Other examples include pairing a complex, full-bodied wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot with rich beef dishes or game. Our all-time favourite is Beronia Organic Rioja Crianza 2019, ideal for drinking with flame-grilled meat, ibérico cured meats or mature cheese. However, you should be careful when applying this rule because you can easily numb some characteristics of more complex dishes or drinks and in that way impair the general feeling. It may sound strange, but you should never pair a cake with champagne as the sugars in desserts overpower and completely take out the sweetness of the champagne and leaves you with a glass of unbalanced, less fizzy tipple which is bland and more acidic than anything else. 

Another common way to get the best out of both food and drink is contrasting. This method is a bit more challenging, but if you get it right – you will get the best experience. Here, we usually play with opposite characteristics such as creaminess, fruitiness, bitterness, sweetness, saltiness, acidity, fragrance, umami, etc. and stand them against each other so that we can achieve a perfect balance. We often pair a crisp, zesty white wine with a dish with a cream sauce, a sparkling cava (such as Vilarnau Organic Brut Reserva) with a salty dish, or a hoppy IPA (just like our Taras Boulba) with pork dishes. Think of the perfect marriage of tomato and mozzarella – you have the fruity, sweet, slightly acidic and packed with umami tomato paired with the creamy, mild-flavoured, milky with only a hint of tanginess cheese. Sprinkle a few drops of fruity but bitter olive oil, tear a leaf of fragrant basil, and you will have a match made in heaven. Then, you may raise a glass of cava, prosecco or champagne to celebrate that holy union. 

There are, of course, many other techniques to match food with drinks, such as having them in a different order, using one of the two to clean the palate and reset your taste buds and smell sensory cells, etc. Nevertheless, you should always pick your favourites as it would have been very unlikely that you would suddenly enjoy something you had never liked simply because of the right pairing. Remember: eating and drinking should always be fun, and at times, the right amount is the most crucial factor, that determines the quality of the experience. 

 

 

Geographically, Belgium is situated amid the so-called “beer belt” that stretches through Europe from the Island of Ireland to Slovakia. In Belgium, beers are incredibly diverse and vary from pale lagers and blonde ales and wheat beers through sour beers and fruit beers to brown ales and stouts. But why are Belgian beers so superior and one cannot simply order ‘a beer’ while visiting the kingdom? 

Traditions are everything. In Belgium, just like in the UK, top-fermented beers (ales) are the most popular types of beer and this way of brewing at higher temperatures allows the yeasts to develop stronger various flavours. Techniques vary from region to region and the recipes have been developed and kept secret for centuries. Very often, breweries use the local wild yeasts, for instance when brewing spontaneously fermented beers, such as Lambic, Gueuze, Faro, or Kriek. An example is Boon Oude Gueuze, a traditional 100% spontaneous fermentation Lambic. A few Belgian beers are brewed by Trappist monks and certified as Trappist, many breweries market their beers as Trappist-style while others just call them Abbey beers. It is useful to note that Trappist and Abbey are not styles as such, unlike Enkel, Blonde, Dubbel, Tripel, Quadrupel, etc. Out of 13 breweries recognised as Trappist by the Trappist Association, 6 are Belgian. We stock two of these breweries’ beers – Achel Bruin and Rochefort 6. 

New styles are constantly appearing on the scene. Despite the long-standing traditions, some brewers have rebelled and produced more experimental and new styles of beer often adding unconventional ingredients, utilising ‘new wave’ techniques such as dry-hopping, and emphasising the new variety of hops that are available nowadays. For instance, La Chouffe brewery brews their flagship 8% ABV La Chouffe Blonde with the addition of coriander and produces an unfiltered golden beer that leaves citrus notes on the palate, followed by a refreshing, pleasantly spicy note, giving it a lovely lightness. Another example is Taras Boulba IPA by Brussels’ Brasserie de la Senne. Taras Boulba is A blond dry-hopped beer, thirst-quenching but yet demonstrating a strong character, completed by malty notes of fresh cereals, fruity/spicy aromas of fermentation, a powerful hop bitterness, citrussy nose, and a dry finish.

The experience is important. Belgian beers are traditionally higher in alcohol per volume, more round in body, and stronger in flavour. They are carefully bottle-conditioned to perfection, often laid down to age and develop certain desired notes, and served at the correct temperature in special glassware that corresponds to the particular brew. Beer sommeliers pair them with the right food and some restaurants even cook with them. 

The terroir is perfect. Belgium’s temperate maritime climate has been good for developing good quality barley and hops and some unique strains of yeast. The temperatures are also suitable for fermenting ales and storing them during the warmer months. The fact that Belgian beers are traditionally bottle-conditioned contributes to their long shelf-life and the possibility of beer getting better with time. 

A lot more can be written about Belgian beers, but here at TippleHub, we would prefer you to get your personal experience. Head over to our online store and design your starter pack and meet some of the well-known world-famous Belgian breweries and have a taste of their beers.

In the final part of this series, we would like to take the chance to share with you our experience with the fortified and dessert wines that Gonzalez Byass feature in their excellent portfolio. We have not covered any of the wonderful spirits that the group sells in large quantities simply because we do not retail any of them yet but we took notes and we promise we will write a blog post about them once we get a hold of them. 

We initiated that sequel of our wine journey at the stand of Disznókő which made it a reasonable transition from the vast selection of red, white,  and sparkling wines that we had tasted so far. Established in the distant 1413, the winery is renowned for creating a magnificent style of sweet Tokaji wines and some very unique dry white wines. TippleHub stocks Disznókő’s Tokaji 1413 ÉS which is an excellent example and can be very well enjoyed not only with desserts and cheeses but with seafood or duck dishes too. 

Next, we stopped at our favourite drink for the season – Vermouth La Copa, by Gonzalez Byass. The producer’s recipes have always been a well-kept secret although one could guess some of the botanicals that are blended with Fino, Oloroso, and Pedro Ximénez wines. La Copa’s whole range of vermouth is delicious and so versatile – you could enjoy it as a party drink neat over ice, or as a long drink with soda, tonic, or your favourite choice of mixer. For beginners, we recommend the Vermouth Blanco Extra Seco La Copa. You could easily find it at your hub for online shopping, TippleHub, where you can also buy craft beer online, buy wines online or simply follow the latest trends within the industry of craft drinks, party drinks, and healthier non-alcoholic or low-alcohol drinks. 

As the day was coming to an end we moved on to Quinta do Noval to taste some fine ports by a producer dating back to 1715. What a treat! So much can be written about this house and we will probably dedicate a whole article on them later on. In the meantime, you can get in touch with their Noval Black Port at TippleHub – a delicious dark ruby port with complex character and notes of ripe berries, violet, plums, cherries, oak, and vanilla. А well-balanced sweetness/acidity/tannins ratio makes this fortified wine a perfect match for dark chocolate. 

Other Gonzalez Byass masterpieces on display included quality sherries from their home in Jerez. The product range is very extensive and one can definitely find something to fall in love with. We are so looking forward to getting some of these on our online hub. 

Another sherry producer, the UK’s leading Pale Cream sherry brand, Croft Original has satisfied UK customers for generations with its Fino. Nowadays, however, they have come up with a great summer ready-mixed drink based on their sherry and the Andalusian ‘rebujito’, adding elderflower, lemon, and mint flavours plus sparkling water to produce their version of a spritz, a Fino Spritz. We are a proud stockist of this summer party drink although within the team there are some fears that we are drinking too much of it and the stock can run dry. Oops!

After a quick bite for lunch, we headed to our favourite South American winery – Veramonte from Casablanca and Colchagua valley in Chile. Having farmed since the late 1990s, Veramonte’s business involves organic farming, maintaining healthy soils that yield the best fruit and making some of the finest certified organic wines that the New World produces. TippleHub sells Veramonte Organic Chardonnay 2019 and Veramonte Organic Carmenere 2019, but we also tasted some other very delicious wines and we are intending to get a few more on board as soon as possible. Veramonte Organic Pinot Noir Rosé grabbed our attention with its freshness and crispiness. This dry pale pink rose wine features notes of summer fruits and berries and has a long refreshing finish. We also loved the Veramonte Organic Pinot Noir 2020 – a medium-bodied, medium-acidity wine with a good level of tannins and hints of red berries that produce a silky long finish. We also developed very strong feelings for Veramonte Organic Merlot 2019 and Veramonte Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2019. Both at 14% ABV and medium-bodied these wines just need to be present at your dining events and they are even better paired with fine food. 

The next winery to pay a visit to was Vinas del Vero. Established in 1986 in the outstanding Somontano DO region, this is the leading producer in the young and fast-developing Denominación de Origen. You can find an example of their craftwork – Viñas del Vero Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot at TippleHub. We also enjoyed their Colección Pinot Noir Rosado 2020 so expect to see it soon on the shelves of our craft drinks online shop. 

Our wine tasting was coming to an end but what could have been better to round that part of the event than taking a sip of some organic Rioja? Beronia was founded in the early 1970s by a group of friends sharing a common passion for pairing the greatest wine with fine culinary masterpieces. In addition to following the long-lasting Rioja traditions, the winery’s philosophy is very innovative and is all about sustainability. Please try their amazing certified organic Rioja Crianza 2019 at TippleHub. Beronia’s inventions include the usage of mixed oak barrels – a construction combining French oak ends with American oak staves, achieving a perfect balance and complexity of flavours and aromas. The growth of the winery incorporates entering the Rueda region where Beronia owns 65 hectares of vineyards and produces a delicious fine Verdejo wine.

We kept the chilled champagne for the end of our wine tasting and we were not disappointed at all. Champagne Deutz House is one of the founding members of Les Grandes Marques – a syndicate currently consisting of twenty-four Champagne Houses dedicated to preserving traditions, maintaining global brand awareness and high quality together with loyalty to the customers. The winery owns a big chunk of its vineyards and ages its wines in cellars underneath the village of Aÿ which is saturated with history. Deutz produces a Classic, a Vintage, and a Prestige Cuvée ranges. We enjoyed all but decided to retail the Champagne Deutz Brut Vintage 2015 ( a dry, crisp, pale, and mellow champagne wine featuring notes of citrus zest, apples, and flowers) and Champagne Deutz Rosé Vintage 2014 (a lovely fresh pale rosé champagne wine with notes of strawberries, summer fruits, and cake). 

To be continued . . .  

TippleHub’s main wine supplier, Gonzalez Byass, had their 2022 portfolio of products showcased last week on Tuesday, 14th June at the Savoy Place in London and our team had the great chance to get acquainted with the new vintages as well as taste the old and see how they have developed. We are extremely delighted that we made it to the event and had a very pleasant time that expanded our knowledge and gave us great ideas for the future. 

Our epic journey started at the amazing Vilarnau cellar from Barcelona – our favourite cava manufacturer. They produce certified organic sparkling wines and use traditional methods along with science to achieve the best results. Vilarnau 0,0% White and 0,0% Rosé non-alcoholic cava wines, for instance, have been fermented the traditional way and then de-alcoholised using breakthrough technology to preserve the best flavours and produce a healthy drink that is nearly impossible to recognise as alcohol-free or even low-alcohol. We love them and stock both as well as their Organic Brut Reserva at TippleHub.

We then moved on to Domaine Zind Humbrecht, a 40-hectare certified organic and biodynamic, family-owned since the 17th century, winery hailing from Alsace. We were all stunned by every single wine they displayed and the wonderful stories and the knowledge Olivier Humbrecht shared with everyone. Although TippleHub stocks only their amazing Pinot Gris Turckheim 2019, we have set a new short-term goal to get more of their excellent wines in!

Our next stop was Domäne Wachau, an Austrian winery from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wachau that produces something like one-third of the wines in the entire region. Domäne Wachau’s Riesling and Grüner Veltliner wines did find a special place in TippleHub’s heart and we promised ourselves to list more of these Danube Valley specialities on our online drinks shop.

As we proceeded, we stopped at Jackson Estate, a great new winery from the well-known Marlborough region in New Zealand. Here at TippleHub, we are always thrilled to discover new products and create a hub online that will connect you with the best wine, craft beer, or any craft drinks, either alcoholic, low alcoholic, or even non-alcoholic. We got astonished by Jackson Estate’s Grey Ghost Barrique Sauvignon Blanc 2018 and we are looking into getting some of their wines as soon as we can. 

Next in line, there was Wirra Wirra, a South Australian winery that began exporting to Europe in the early 1900s. TippleHub stocks their Adelaide Shiraz 2016 but we had the chance to taste other and more recent vintages and fell head over heels for their MVCG Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, a high-profile, complex, full-bodied example of the style with a good alcohol content that goes unnoticed. Check our online hub regularly for new lovely wines from Wirra Wirra soon to be available for online shopping. 

Just before lunchtime, we stopped at Neill Ellis, a South African winery that is relatively young but well-established as a great winemaker. TippleHub already sells their Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, but the weather dictated and their Groenekloof Sauvignon Blanc 2020 just went down so well with our team that we took an instant decision to acquire some so you can have a wider choice when buying your wine, craft beer, and craft drinks online.

To be continued . . .    

English Beer Culture

Who doesn’t like going to a place that serves beer, primarily to socialise with others? Every Brit loves to get together in bars, pubs, and restaurants to talk about politics, watch sports, and catch up on gossip. Traditionally, Brits would order beers like bitters, pale ales, porters, stouts, milds, red ales, brown ales, etc. and often more non-traditional styles like lagers and pilsners or Belgian beers too. In this blog article, our focus will be on English bitters and will cover the essential information about that beer style.

What are English Bitters?

Bitter is another term used for an English pale ale or English-style bitter. English bitter is, in essence, a type of pale ale. During the 20th century, English brewers constantly adjusted their recipes to create a cost-effective ale with a great flavour. After World War 2, bitters were the most popular beer sold in British pubs and eateries. Gradually, they became a part of the British tradition for celebrations and parties.Bitters became popular because they had more round and robust flavour than light lagers and were comparatively less bitter than heavily-hopped IPAs – imagine having a perfect blend between traditional English ale and a bitter IPA. English bitters are an excellent choice for people who do not want anything too extreme, sweet or heavy. If you prefer more flavour and imperceptible bitterness in your beer, unquestionably, English bitters are your beer style. You can check some examples on Tipplehub.

Flavour profile 

The flavour profile of different types of beers results mainly from the malt-to-hop ratio. Brewers create an approachable balance between lightly toasted malt flavours with herbal, earthy hop aromas to make bitters. Please, note that despite the name, bitters are not that bitter in taste. When you taste beers in a microbrewery, you will usually get served different beer styles in distinct glassware. We recommend a nonic pint glass for bitters because its shape allows enough room for the 1-1.5 inch foam head usually found within the style.

Pairing food with bitters

If you want to have the best experience matching bitters with food – go for the following choices:

• Roasted Chicken: A crisp, flavourful taste of chicken perfectly blends with bitters. Bitter beers have a strong enough flavour to stand up to the roasted chicken crispiness, sapid and harmonic taste.
• Fish and Chips: Malty flavour of bitter beer compliments the batter on the fish, while the malt sweetness adds a contrast to the salt and vinegar. Fish and chips are an excellent match for bitters.
• Cheese: The sweetness of English bitters perfectly matches the tanginess in cheese, while hops in beer add contrast to the creaminess.

Some types of English bitters you can find in our online drinks shop.

By experimenting with the malt-to-hop ratio and alcohol content, different microbreweries create unique flavoured bitters that are different from your standard list. Some examples you can find at TippleHub include:

• Jaw Brew Drift: A mellow golden ale with notes of biscotti. Subtle British hops, Challenger and Fuggles, create a perfect flavour for the beer and a distinct taste typical for the style.
• Summit Else English IPA: Although it is marketed as “An English Style IPA”, Summit Else can be seen as a special bitter. It is a full-bodied, complex flavoured amber beer with a rich hop aroma that is brewed by combining traditional English methods with innovative techniques. Almost sure to deliver satisfaction with every sip.

Greetings from TippleHub, an online shop, a community, a hub for humans sharing common interests in craft beverages! We have decided to maintain a blog where we can discuss together topics related to our love for craft drinks. TippleHub is the child of Tiny Vessel Brewery, a multiple award-winning London microbrewery that was established at the end of 2016 as an experimental project. Although we brew a few core beers we are always keen to try out new innovative recipes and approaches to brewing. We also run a little craft beer pub/taproom where as well as at TippleHub we sell our produce along other craft beers, fine wines, craft gins, whiskies and other spirits, aperitifs, liqueurs, bitters, low-alcohol and non-alcohol drinks and anything else that we like ourselves. We are an independent merchant so the only driven forces behind our operations are quality and customer satisfaction. 

Tipplehub will share information about the products we sell e.g. description of craft lagers, pilsners,  IPAs, porters, stouts, ales, Belgian ales, sour beers, wines, sparkling wines, fortified wines, spirits, etc.; will get you acquainted with breweries, microbreweries, nanobreweries distilleries, microdistilleries or even individuals that produce at home for own consumption such as homebrewers or winemakers; and share their stories. In these series of informal writing we would like to take the opportunity to not only suggest the most enjoyable way to consume a certain craft beer, wine or spirit according to us, recommend the most appropriate food pairings in our opinion, but also listen to what you have to say and benefit from the information and the knowledge you can share. We would be extremely glad if you participate actively by asking questions, giving us clues, commenting on our posts or simply suggesting topics for discussion. As long as they are somehow related to our mutual interests in the industry of craft beverages we will be more than happy to research any area together with you.

In this blog TippleHub will explore the vast world of speciality craft beers, wines, aperitifs, liqueurs, and so on; introduce to you products from small independent breweries, wineries, distilleries and give you ideas for parties, celebrations, food pairings or any other social events. We would like to connect with you and make your party, life event or casual social gathering enjoyable, memorable but also educational as we believe that knowledge brings success. We will do our best to ensure that all the stories and information that we share are first-hand or otherwise specified and that TippleHub will get established as a credible source where you could learn from us rather than getting mislead.

As an online hub where you can buy craft beer online, buy wine online, etc., here at TippleHub we believe in promoting healthy lifestyle and do not advocate in any way drinking regularly over the recommended guidelines. Therefore, we have also dedicated a shop category for low-alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks that have been carefully chosen by us according to our likings and our blog will cover regularly these too. 

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