American Brewer in London

Nearly three years ago, Eddie Lofthouse of Harbour Brewing Co (Cornwall, England) walked into the Zipline taproom while on a shopping spree at Lincoln’s American Beer Equipment.   

After two or three (or six) pints, the parallels between our breweries were immediately apparent; from brewhouse to branding, we were simpatico.  The idea for a cross-continental collaboration was hatched, and we splashed Baltic Porter across Nebraska for the first time in November 2015.   We continue to brew the silky smooth dark lager every fall in tribute to the collaborative spirit that denotes craft beer and brewing. 

This time it was our turn to travel.  So Marcus and Tom packed up and left for Cornwall (via London) to visit our friends at Treckillick Farm.  Harbour is set in the idyllic rural village of Bodmin.  There, Cornish walls challenge even the finest of lorry drivers seeking to load up on Eddie’s wares, which include everything from traditional Cornish bitters to new world IPAs and fruited sours. 

Putting our brewers’ brains and the ABE brewhouse to work, we set about constructing an American inspired session IPA for the UK hop set.  One struggles to find an English-made IPA over 6% ABV, except in the most progressive bars in East London.  Nevertheless, the hop craze is starting to take hold in the cities, and the kids are demanding their flavours.  So we loaded this one up with late hop additions, including the newly available German varietal known as Relax.  It’s characterized by its extraordinarily low Alpha Acid content (0.25), high oil content, and aromas of Alpine meadows and lemongrass.

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to share this one in the States. But rest assured the next collaboration will be on our turf.  Meantime, we hope Marcus and Tom will keep the pints to a minimum and remain able to navigate the tube system sufficiently to return intact. 

Cheers to Eddie and the crew at Harbour, whose generosity won’t soon be forgot and we can only aspire to match.