Oakham Ales brews cask for 30th birthday

Since 1993, the business has brewed nearly 300 different beers, and the new products will complement its core range.

Past classics have been revisited but new beers have also been developed to celebrate the milestone.

The brewery’s current cask aged release is Lord Maximus (5.5% ABV), its celebration ale, which is a tribute to Mount Hood, the first hop variety it used for its first beer back in 1993.

This reboot is a double-hopped version of the Jeffrey Hudson Bitter with mild herbal notes and a honey flavour balanced with a bitter finish.

Other companies are also launching cask beers. Greene King, for instance, is releasing a limited-edition Spring Break cask beer​, which was created last year in collaboration with the National Brewing Apprentice Programme.

Brewing up a storm

Making its return as a seasonal ale, Spring Break is a 4.4% ABV golden ale, which was launched in early 2022 as a partnership with the National Brewing Apprentice Programme, called Future Brewers.

Greene King said Spring Break is just one of the beers it has collaborated on with students on the apprenticeship programme. 

Spring Break is described as a “full bodied, hoppy ale that includes delicious malty characters, which are perfectly balanced with citrus flavours” and claimed to be “great for the time of the year as the temperature starts to rise”.

New launches

East Anglia brewer Bruha Brewery​ is also planning to roll out a series of seasonal cask beer throughout 2023 with the aim of broadening the horizon of on-trade customers.

Joining Bruha’s Session Pale and Sunrise Blonde for a limited time from March, is Bruha Porter 4.5% ABV. The brewery describes it as a rich and dark beer with notes of caramel, toffee and caramel and adds it is “clean and crisp, whilst still delivering bold and complex flavours”.

Bruha, which is located halfway between Norwich and Ipswich, hopes its first seasonal release of the year will allow customers to discover the brand for the first time while offering those who are fans already to try a darker beer.