- Feature length film: ‘The Time is Now’ – showcases the amazing variety and potential of locally produced and fully UK-sourced IPA
- New collaboration beer Meantime ‘Now!’ offers beer lovers a 100% British IPA
- Campaign highlights challenges for local supply chains and the solutions
The Craft Beer Channel and Meantime Brewing Company have thrown their weight behind Britain’s struggling hop industry, with a documentary about the nation’s most famous beer style – India Pale Ale. The Film will be premiered at Meantime Brewery in Greenwich, on 21 September 2022, documenting a road-trip in pursuit of IPA’s true history, and the channel’s efforts to support British hop farming by bringing the beer style up to date.
Previously the largest hop growing nation in the world, UK hop acreage has fallen in recent years – and it’s still falling, with less than 100 British hop farms remaining. The main cause has been a decline in the amount of traditional British beer styles drunk in the UK, as well as pressure from other hop growing regions around the world. Turning the dramatic decline around relies not just on reviving the fortunes of classic hops like Goldings and Fuggles, but on new varieties being crossbred to compete with super aromatic hops in the US, Australia, and New Zealand.
In the documentary, Craft Beer Channel founders Jonny Garrett and Brad Evans travel hundreds of miles to research the IPA’s history, original recipes and authentic ingredients, using what they learn as inspiration for a new style of IPA. The resulting beer, called Meantime Now IPA, takes elements of 19th century versions but is brought up to date using new hop varieties bred by hop grower and merchant Charles Faram.
The result is a beer that combines the citrus and pine aromas that have made modern IPAs the flagship style of the craft revolution with the turbo bready character of Chevallier malt and stone fruit of a classic British real ale yeast.
Every can of Meantime Now IPA will carry a QR code linking to the documentary, sold via the Meantime Brewery shop and online store. Following the exclusive screening at Meantime Brewery in Greenwich on the 21 September 2022, there will be a tasting and Q&A with Brad, Jonny and others involved in the campaign.
Some highlights of Jonny and Brad’s journey in The Time is Now documentary includes: ● Visit to Charles Faram where new hop varieties for Meantime Now IPA Beer were grown ● Exploring the National Collection of Yeast cultures to choose a yeast used in the 1800s ● Visiting Crisp Maltings to learn about the malt varieties that made up these beers ● Burton On Trent to ensure they use the correct kind of water for a historic IPA
In the finale, the beer is launched at the Gladstone, a desi pub in South London with an Anglo-Indian focus. This location gives Brad and Jonny the chance to talk candidly about IPA in context of Britain’s colonial past in India, before launching a new beer as a brilliant symbol of the British pub and brewing scene’s increased diversity.
Jonny Garrett says: “Most beer drinkers think that British ingredients aren’t capable of creating modern flavors and changing that cliche is at the heart of this film. We have some of the most exciting new hop varieties in the world, but if we want them to flourish and farmers to plant more of them, we need to support them now. Meantime are one of the original British craft brewers, and they started with a stellar example of English IPA – so they were the perfect partners to work with.”
Joe Gardner, Head Brewer at Meantime Brewing Company says: “British hop growers are struggling due to the impact of lockdown, closure of pubs and affects of COVID-19 and through this collaboration with the Craft Beer Channel, we want to encourage beer lovers and drinkers to choose British hopped beers to support the industry and maintain the heritage of British Hop Farms. The message of ‘Time Is Now’ has never been more relevant and we’re proud to be playing our part in this industry wide issue by championing all that is British just as Alistair Hook did when he founded the company in 1999 and kick-started the nations love of Craft Beer.”
The film is only the start of a campaign to support British hop growers. On the night of the premiere, the Craft Beer Channel pair will launch a homebrewing competition in association with
Meantime, Charles Faram and homebrew store The Malt Miller. Homebrewers will be asked to brew an English IPA using Olicana hops, with any form or approach welcome. The victor receiving a year’s worth of beer and the chance to brew their winning beer at Meantime, and details on how to enter will be revealed on the 21st.
ENDS
- To book complimentary tickets and a beer tasting to the premiere on Wednesday 21st September from 6pm-9pm, contact Jonny on craftbeerboys@gmail.com
- For further information, photography, samples of Meantime Now IPA, please contact shoma.amin@asahibeer.co.uk
About the Craft Beer Channel
The Craft Beer Channel is a Youtube channel dedicated to great beer, people and breweries. Founded in 2013 by Jonny Garrett and Brad Evans, it has over 140,000 subscribers and around 9 million views to date, as well as awards from both the North American and British Guild of Beer Writers for its mini documentaries. As well as uploading videos every Wednesday they also publish a podcast, the Bubble, every Friday
About Meantime Brewing Company
Pioneered in Greenwich! Meantime Brewing Company was founded in 1999 by Alastair Hook, originally the brewery began on a small industrial estate in Southeast London before moving to its current home in Greenwich, 0° 2′ 12″ east of the Greenwich Meridian. The brewery was setup to change the way that people thought about beer in the UK, to move away from the boring and bland and embrace variety and flavour. Meantime was one of the forefathers of the craft beer movement and the Pioneer mindset is still what drives the brewery forward to this day. The breweries flagship beer is the award-winning London Pale Ale (Changing its Name to Prime Pale in 2022) which combines the best of British ingredients with American hop varieties that add, grapefruit and pine into the mix. London Lager (Changing to Greenwich Lager) is also unique in that it combines German brewing techniques with 100% British ingredients making a truly local lager.
Press release from The Craft Beer Channel.
For further information, please email Jonny via craftbeerboys@gmail.com.