SEASONAL BREWS
St George's Ale - abv 3.8%
One of only two seasonal brews regularly produced by the brewery. A traditional, old fashioned session bitter. Brewed to commemorate three momentous occasions that take place on the same date - St George's day, William Shakespeare's birthday and last, and certainly least, Philip Darby's birthday. Just one batch is produced each year, when it's gone it's gone.
Nottingham Noel - abv 4.7%
A very fruity amber ale produced each year for the festive season. It is brewed with a triple hop mix of Challenger, Northern Brewer and Goldings which gives it an almost spicy flavour. Originally a one off brew that was launched in 2005 at the beer festival in the Bell in Nottingham's Old Market Square.
ONE-OFF BREWS
Aug/Sept 2006 Boro Brunette - abv 4.0%
Specially brewed for the Peterborough Beer Festival, but also appeared at Melton Mowbray festival and a number of pubs as well. A brunette coloured best bitter
August 2006 XXS - abv 3.8%
The Alcohol Problems Advisory Service (apas) has formed a novel partnership with The Nottingham Brewery and pub companies JD Wetherspoon and The Pub People. The arrangement, the first of the kind in the country, will see apas receive 10p from every pint of a beer produced exclusively for this initiative. The brewery will brew and distribute a cask-conditioned bitter ale called XXS. The beer will be sold through JD Wetherspoon outlets in the Greater Nottingham area and Pub People outlets throughout the East Midlands. Other carefully selected pubs will also stock the product.
June 2006 Hooker - abv 4.4%
A second brew for the Fellows Morton and Clayton Brewpub, similar but slightly different to Achilles. Again the rest was fermented at Nottingham Brewery using our yeast and was sold by Baby Bottle Wholesalers of Coventry for sale to their customers, this time as "Hooker", one cask was also featured at the Newark CAMRA Beer Festival.
March 2006 Achilles - abv 4.4%
Nottingham Brewery were asked to part brew a beer that would be passed to Fellows Morton and Clayton brewpub (usually a malt extract brewery) for fermentation with their yeast. The resultant beer was sold at the FMC as "Mathews Clayton's Original Strong Ale". However, for capacity reasons, only half of this golden ale went to the FMC, the rest was fermented at Nottingham Brewery using our yeast and was then sold to Baby Bottle Wholesalers of Coventry for sale to their customers as "Achilles", although one cask was featured at the Newark CAMRA Beer Festival.
May 2006 Robin Hood Bitter - abv 4.5%
Well balanced brew with a hoppy finish. It is brewed with a triple hop mix of Challenger, Fuggles and Goldings. A one off brew for the Beer My Guest beer agency, it was launched at the Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival.
October 2005 Trafalgar Triumph - abv 4.7%
A mid-amber traditional English premium bitter specially brewed to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar. The beer was launched at a special dinner at the Nottingham Council House by the First Sea Lord
August 2005 Boro Blonde - abv 4.2% Specially brewed for the Peterborough Beer Festival, but also appeared at a number of pub festivals as well. A continental style blonde ale, very light in colour and with a distinctive hop character.Brewed with a fair amount of torrefied wheat.
Aug 2005 Olymic Flame - abv 4.2% Specially brewed for the Pub People Company pubs in Nottinghamshire.
July 2005 Spoon n' Arrow - abv 4.8% Specially brewed for the Wetherspoons pubs in Nottinghamshire. A distinctively hopped brew using challenger hops.
June 2005 Rainbow Chaser - abv 3.8% This beer was supposed to have been the annual brew of St George's Ale. However due to a mistake insufficient malt was added to the mash and the resultant beer, whilst extremely pleasant, was not as intended. The whole batch was sold to Baby Bottle Wholesale Ltd of Coventry who named it Rainbow Chaser in the various pubs they supply.
Aug to Oct 2004 Magpie Ale - abv 4.0% Two new beers were introduced for the start of the 2004/5 football season, Magpie Ale
to commemorate the mighty Notts County, and another beer named after another club both 4%. The Magpies Ale is a darkish, traditional bitter
and the other beer is a lighter coloured brew. The fact that the webmaster is an ardent Notts County fan has nothing to do with any bias that may
have been wrongly assumed when reading this information
Apr 2004 Wrong Rock - abv 3.8% A bit of a rock-up! This beer was meant to be Rock Bitter, but the wrong hops were used by mistake.
Nevertheless it proved a tasty brew and was featured at the 2004 Leicester Beer Festival.
It also appeared in a few pubs during April 2004 but there are no plans to repeat the error.
Oct 2003 Express Transit - abv 4.5% A blonde, hoppy ale brewed just once in October 2003. It was commisioned by Nottingham CAMRA
to celebrate the 27th Nottingham Beer Festival and to mark the imminent start of the first line of the city's tram system. It was one of a series of twelve on
the same theme that were brewed by each of the local breweries.
Jun 2003 Anniversary Ale - abv 5.0% A blonde, hoppy ale brewed for the 1st Beer Festival held at the Plough on the weekend of 20th
to 22nd June 2003. It was named to commemorate Philip and Niven's three years at the Plough. A one-off brew that was also available in the free trade.
Apr 2003 Magpie's Pride - abv 4.5% A hoppy, blonde brew that went on sale 26 April 2003 for an aproximate four week period.
Ten pence from every pint sold was donated to the Notts County Supporters Trust. Winter 2002/3 Rocking Bull - abv 4.2% A beer specially commissioned by the "Beer My Guest" beer agency of 23 Field Lane,
Burton Upon Trent, DE13 0NH, telephone 01283 561330 or 07711 349690. It was available to their regular outlets towards the end of 2002 and
again early in 2003. It was a special brew and not a brewery mix, but it was described by Philip Darby as being "half way between Rock Bitter
and Bullion" (ok so Philip isn't too hot at this beer description lark!) Oct 2002 Big Wheel Ale - abv 4.0% A dark tasty brew, it was commissioned
by Nottingham CAMRA to celebrate two of the largest events in the local calendar which occur each year within two weeks of each other -
the historic Goose Fair and the Nottingham Beer Festival. Named after attractions at the fair, twelve local breweries each produced a special beer
for this initiative. Jul 2002 Nottingham OVB - abv 4.2% An organic vegetarian brew, specially commissioned
for the 2002 Derby Beer Festival using organic ingredients. It was a vegan beer so no
traditional finings were added to clarify the brew as these are made from the swim bladders of
fish. This beer is very unlikely ever to be brewed again. Jun 2002 Queens Bitter - abv 4.7% Brewed to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee. It was based on a recipe for the
Queens Bitter which was the best selling beer produced by Tennent Brothers of Sheffield who took
over the original Nottingham Brewery. Queens Bitter was sold in all of the former Nottingham
Brewery pubs in the 1950's and early 1960's and it is still fondly remembered by many. Oct 2001 Double Jeopardy and Mushy Mild. - Both abv 4.2% Brewed for the 2001 Nottingham Beer Festival using a special extra ingredient - mushy peas!
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