Blowing Raspberries! (Thornbridge Katipo)

Member Name: tange

Product:	Thornbridge Katipo
Date:	31/05/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty, well balanced fruity stout from an award winning brewery

Disadvantages: Has a picture of a spider on the pump clip !

I am a big fan of dark beer, so when I heard that the award winning Thornbridge Hall Brewery had produced another one, I just HAD to give it a try. This new beer was Katipo (pronounced Kar-ti-paw).

==THE BREWERY==

Thornbridge Brewery are based in Ashford in the Water, Derbyshire, in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall; a small, but perfectly formed stately home. Set up in October 2004, many of their beers are brewed using local ingredients, or often feature an interesting twist. Since their foundation Thornbridge have built up an impressive portfolio of beers and an even more impressive array for awards for their outstanding products. Beers you may come across include Jaipur IPA (strong and tasty golden beer at 5.9% ABV), St Petersburg Stout (dark, strong and rich at 7.7% ABV) and Kipling (packed with tropical fruit flavours at 5.3% ABV).

==THE BEER==

==~~A Bit of Background~~==

A short while ago the brewery issued a challenge to their brewers; each of them had to produce a unique beer to showcase their skill, talent, style and taste. Through a variety of means (via the ratebeer website and in pubs for example) a winner was announced. Kelly Ryan, the brewery's resident brewer from New Zealand had come out on top with Katipo! Kelly named his beer after a small, but pretty deadly spider from his native New Zealand,

==~~Vital Statistics~~==

Katipo weighs in at 5.4% ABV and is brewed using raspberries from Belgium. It is brewed in the style of a Porter - dark, not too heavy.

==~~Tange's Taste Test~~==

Looks wise, Katipo is a very deep brown, almost black, coloured beer with a light beige head. Aroma is quite smoky, with hints of chocolate and a little bit of berry fruit. Texture is not too heavy, but not thin and watery like some Porters can be. Taste is a subtle blend of bitter dark chocolate, roasted malt and an underlying, but not overpowering tinge of raspberries. The finish is quite dry and bitter, with a slightly citrusy hop coming through in the aftertaste. This all makes for a tasty and intensely drinkable beer, with bags of flavour, without being over the top.

==WHAT I THOUGHT==

I was really impressed by Katipo and really enjoyed drinking it both at Chesterfield Beer Festival in February and also during our Stouts, Porters and Old Ales trip, when we visited the Coach and Horses at Dronfield. On each occasion the beer was on top form and really easy and pleasurable to drink. The subtleness of the raspberry was enough to taste, but not overly strong and the other flavours provided a good balance to the beer. It's a lovely looking beer too; deep and dark with good contrast between the body and the head. The levels of flavour work so well and give depth, without any of the flavours being too dominant or weak.

All in all a very impressive and well crafted brew that was a pleasure to drink. We paid £2.60 a pint at The Coach and Horses, which is pretty standard for a drink of this strength. I would thoroughly recommend Katipo to anyone to enjoys dark beers and those who like fruity flavours. It was extremely tasty and had me rushing back to the bar for more once my first pint had gone....and all this from someone with a fear of spiders!

A real winner!

==BREWERY DETAILS==

Thornbridge Brewery
Thornbridge Hall
Ashford In The Water
Bakewell
DE45 1NZ
01629 641000

www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk

www.ratebeer.com/

Summary: Excellent stout!