A Taste Of: Farm Yard Brew Co.

I’ve drunk my way through around 20 different Brewser boxes now, and this one from Farm Yard Brew Co. has been one of the best.

I like their story, too. Steven Holmes would be the sixth generation of his family to run their farm, but instead of being out in the fields, or looking after livestock, he decided to build a brewery on the land. That was in 2016. They’ve expanded a lot since then, won lots of awards, added a great taproom, and built in good sustainability measures, including solar power. Before opening this box, I hadn’t actually had any Farm Yard beers, but now I want to drink many more of them.

My box had nine beers, and a nice mix of styles, though mostly hoppy beers (which is what I most want to drink, so that’s good for me!).

Löf is a German-style Pilsner and it’s very good. Very pale, lovely thick foam, little bit of fresh sulphur aroma (which I like in a lager), some lemony hops and a crisp, dry finish. If a brewery can make a Pilsner as good as this, then they get my attention.

Sheaf is their Citra and Mosaic pale ale, and it’s a perfect example of this style. Juicy tropical and citrus, papaya and mango, orange, a light body, great hop flavour through it, refreshing. It’s as good as any other 4.1% ABV pale ale on the market. I’ve Got You is another pale ale, this one raising money for Six Connections, a mental health charity. I got oranges and bitter lemons, and a lush hop complexity through the beer.

There were two session IPAs in the box. Chaff was peach skins, soft tropical fruits and a great depth for the style. Splish Splash was maybe my favourite beer in the box because of how good the Sabro hops taste in this beer. It’s a divisive hop, but in this you get pink grapefruit, creamy dill and coconut (in a good way!), orange, lemon and lime, and it’s superb.

Smoove Bitter is their nitro amber bitter, and while the nitro didn’t leave a creamy foam after a hard pour, the beer tasted like a cask ale in a can, with a comforting and familiar biscuity and toasty malt depth. Chocca Mocha is their vegan vanilla, cacao and coffee stout, and it’s very impressive for 4.4% ABV, with a really rich depth of malt, lots of cacao flavour and fruity coffee. Excellent.

Two IPAs to finish. Many Hands Make Light Work 2 is a 6% ABV collab NEIPA raising money for cancer. Big juicy tropical fruits, a soft and full texture, sweet tropical fruits and bitter citrus to finish. And Gulf is their 5.8% ABV IPA. I loved this beer. They don’t name the hops but it has a distinctive Sabro or Talus pink grapefruit character which I really like, then lots more citrus fruit (all the different types of grapefruit you can think of), an impressive depth of hop flavour and a lasting pithy bitterness.

This is the sort of beer box that makes me excited for beer. All killer, no filler, and beers with character and complexity, but also ones you want to drink several of. Great stuff from Farm Yard Brew Co.!