Love Lane Brewery – A perfect adventure #Review
Stephen Wundke
3rd July 2018
Quite some years ago a very clever man in Liverpool by the name of Higson decided that the people of Merseyside needed a decent drink after a hard day’s work and so the eponymously named Bitter appeared in the pubs of the city and surrounds. As happens over time with global marketing budgets and changing tastes the name Higsons all but disappeared until Cheshire entrepreneur and former Cheshire County Cricketer, Steve Crawley appeared on the scene. After reviving the ailing fortunes of Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh he decided that the time was ripe to do something a little nearer to home and on the site of the old Higson’s brewery he opened the Tap and Still.
A beautiful old warehouse that now houses not just the gleaming new stainless still brewing tanks that provide the rejuvenated Higson’s ales but in addition to that they produce a bottled beer range named Love Lane and three Gins also distilled on the premises.
Steve kindly invited Taste Cheshire to come and do a tasting of their beers and their gin and for this we enlisted the help of our eight times Sausage Judge and resident beer expert, Michael Muter. He went along with me to test the ales and gins and give his verdict on this Higson re-incarnation.
The warehouse is just off the Albert Dock and is a great place to base yourself when you know the places on the front will be too full and too expensive for what they offer. Inside we were greeted by a long amazingly stocked bar, ample table and chairs and a view of both the brewery and distillery. While we were there a party of 14 had signed up for the tour that included the time of the head brewer and ample samplings as well as lunch. Sounds like heaven – it looked it. They all looked very happy with their choice after lunch I can assure you.
Back to our tasting.
Michael suggested that we start with the Higsons cask ale as these were sessions beers and for that reason not quite as strong as the others so to taste them later might be unfair against the bigger, bolder flavoured drinks.
We started with Higsons Amber Ale. It was rounded, had a great soft finish and was a superb example of a traditional bitter. Easy drinking and quite fulfilling. Michael said it was an exceptionally drinkable pint with a caramelised Orange finish and fitted the role perfectly. Just as it was designed. At 4.1% something you could have quite a few of, we were sure.
Our next sample was that of the Pale Ale. These are making quite a name for themselves as people rediscover this traditional beer, originally designed to entertain the troops out in the sub-continent, hence the name, India Pale Ale. The hops were fruity and tropical without being fizzy or too brash and left a very clean simple taste. Not as obvious as some Michael had tried but he said again an exceptionally pleasant drink and made with no little amount of skill as the blending of the East Kent Hops with the wheats was subtle and effective.
The Pilsner was next on the list. For those unfamiliar with this style it is German famous and where the Pale Ale is all floral and hoppsy this flavour is more earthy and sharper as the Munich malt gives the dry finish with the German hops providing a slight sweetness . It is a lighter colour has a cleaner finish than most I have had and Michael said it reminded him of a Holsten Pils – when they used to taste of something nice and were imported back in the 80’s before they became just another Euro-Fizz. We thought this an excellent beer.
The Fourth taste was to us the strangely named West Coast. We had no preconceptions although Steve Crawley said they were trying to create a melding between US West Coast craft beers and UK craft flavours. We were knocked out by this one. Floral Hops but not a pale Ale, Soft with a fruity background with the bitter taste rounding off the finish. Michael declared this his favourite and it was hard to argue.
Palette cleansed with some waters we then went to the bottled beers that come under the name Love Lane. The first was a Pale Ale. It was fresh, fruity and somehow finished with a salted caramel zing. The best description for me was it was layered. In the way a proper Malaysian meal has total depth of lots of cultures and it keeps revealing more flavours this beer did just that. It was fabulous.
Our final bottle for tasting was the Rye Ale. As it says using Rye as its base cereal and blended with malted wheat, it therefore has an entirely different taste and against the backdrop of our other flavours it stood out. This one was a grower. One taste and it seemed wrong, two tastes and you were now getting the flavour combinations, three tastes and you wanted more. Moorish is the best description and I can see this one has its own distinct market. A bit like Marmite. We liked it a lot.
Seven beers tasted and time for a break. We ordered a couple of dishes off the menu. A burger for Michael and two sharing plates for me. We enjoyed them and in doing so re-traced our tasting steps of the beers – just to confirm our first impressions of course!! Michael said he wanted to try more of the West Coast – just to make sure he was right in his assessment and that it would complement proper pub food. By the end I managed to prise the glass from him and explain we now had Gins to taste.
Under the name of the Ginsmiths, Steve and his team have created three Gins and we set about tasting them.
The first was simply called Dry Gin. It was full of pine notes with an earthy citrus base, a hint of licorice on the finish and a slight peppery after taste. It was a wonderful example of Gin and if you were trying Gin for the first time you would wonder why you had waited so long.
The second was Called Marshmallow G&T and this was created for the burgeoning area of cocktails, which are simply taking off in the bars and pubs. Marshmallow and vanilla abound with nutmeg, all blended perfectly. It will be a real winner with the cocktail masters as it gives them such a full-bodied base to work with and in the younger market this will really appeal.
Gin three was our favourite – it is called Merchant Navy and I can honestly say if I never had another gin to drink but this one I would die happy. Grapefruit and clementine were early smells and then when you taste, its fills your mouth with pepper, spices and vanilla and leaves a smooth velvety finish. This gin is a masterpiece and the use of Yuzu peel and Australian Pepperberry (look them up) is inspired. This one is not for the faint hearted because it is 51% proof and although you will know when you have had a couple the alcohol really works with the flavours. Such a winner.
Having now tasted 12 different drinks and eaten well from the bar menu we felt like kings. This is a very special place where people who truly like the taste of quality alcoholic drinks will gather and enjoy great produce without the ridiculous price tag. A trip to The Tap and Still is an adventure and as a birthday present for someone who likes a drink a tasting tour of this outstanding creation is worth it, in the extreme.
Well done to Steve Crawley and his team. Yet another Cheshire entrepreneur excelling in Food and Drink.
Check out the inside of Love Lane Brewery here.
Private: Love Lane Brewery
62-64 Bridgewater Street, Baltic Triangle, Liverpool, L1 0AY
Love Lane Brewery is a unique drinks experience, a working brewery & distillery with on-site bar, tasting room and eatery. Home to Higinsons, Love Lane & The Ginsmiths of Liverpool
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