Beer Guide #2: Futurist, session IPA from Siren Craft Brew.
Futurist, session: IPA 4.8%
It's the second week of our Knutsford Beer Festival showcase and this time we're looking at gluten free (GF) beers. The event's crafty curator Ben Selby - @mycraftbeerbelly - wanted to introduce more GF ales this year to open up the festival to more people and make it more inclusive. It's also a good opportunity to show just how far GF beers have come. It's a far cry from older beer recipes where taking away the gluten felt like half the flavour had been extracted too.
Ben said:
"Over the past few years brewing techniques have changed increasingly for gluten free beers. Some breweries adapt a gluten free recipe, whereas others use a gluten-eating enzyme which breaks down the gluten proteins without having an effect on the finished beer. It’ll be interesting to see if your beer of the festival is certified gluten free this year!"
It is all part of a 12-week series where we will introduce some of the craft breweries involved at the festival and explain why they have been selected through some carefully picked beer reviews. The actual beers pouring will be subject to change but each brewery showcased will have beer at the sessions between April 23 and 25 at the Courthouse. So to showcase just how far GF beers have come, Ben has handpicked a session IPA from Siren near Reading.
Siren Craft Brew, Finchampstead
The Brewery
SIREN CRAFT BREW.
Known for their flagship West Coast IPA ‘Sound Wave’ which has become a bit of a modern classic, Siren like to live up to their name and slogan 'Temptation is calling'. Their mission statement is to encourage more people to enjoy, fall for and experiment with craft beer. Founded by Darron Anley, the brewery's full-flavoured and forward thinking beers were introduced in 2013 and Darron's philosophy, to source the best ingredients regardless of cost, lives on. It's paid off because in 2015 Siren was named best brewer in England by Ratebeer while their prolific schedule saw them release about 100 beers in 2019. The brewery also introduced a new canning line in July thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Siren’s Futurist outside The Courthouse
The Beer
Futurist session IPA, 4.8%
This IPA is typical of Siren in terms of its drinkability and hoppy, fruity punch. It's light, it's smooth but the flavour jumps out at you instantly. It left vibrant impressions of peach, apricot, pineapple and passionfruit. And - perfect for a session beer - it's so easy to drink. Leave any preconceptions of GF at the door because this is beautiful stuff.
You can read more about Siren Craft Brew on their website: Siren Craft Brew.
Co-Authors:
David Morgan - craft beer lover and creator of ‘Hop to it Beer Club’.
Benjamin Selby - craft beer nut and beer curator for the Knutsford Beer Festival.