8 January 2008
Moor JJJ IPA Please!

A lot has happened since co-owner and brewer, Justin Hawke, a native of California, took over the running of the award-winning Moor Beer Company at the beginning of last year. They upgraded the brewery to 10 barrels and expanded the range of regular beers, winning recognition and a cult following across the UK for their aggressively flavoured beers. The latest beer to join the range is JJJ IPA (9%).

Founded in 1996 in Ashcott, Somerset, the brewery gained national notoriety by winning the Champion Winter Beer of Britain in 2004 with Old Freddy Walker (7.3%). The beer continues to be a regular favourite, winning three awards in 2007. Five of their other beers also won awards last year, including Milly’s (3.9%), which won the SIBA National Bronze Medal Mild, Revival (3.8%) which was the Supreme Champion for CAMRA Devizes, and Merlin’s Magic (4.3%) which won the Best Bitter category at the Bath and West Wessex Beer Festival.

However, it is JJJ IPA which is currently getting all the buzz. Justin was chatting with James Scrancher and Josh Whitlam from the Queen's Arms, Corton Denham, (hence JJJ) about their shared passion for great beers and were lamenting the lack of intriguing IPAs in the UK. So they decided to brew their own version of heaven as a one-off. Double IPA was just not good enough - they wanted a triple IPA. Triple the gravity, triple the colour, and more than triple the hops. With nearly 700 kg of malt and over 11.5 kg of hops this beer is big in every sense. “The hop bed was so thick in the copper that it broke our pump when transferring it!”

The result is an amazing beer that is deep copper in colour, over the top in aroma and flavour, but somehow still remaining somewhat balanced. They liked it so much that upon racking they decided to make it a permanent part of the range, and launch it in style. The Queen’s Arms hosted an amazing launch night, attended by a bus load of CAMRA members, locals, and the press.

BLO Kerry Pridham was enjoying herself. "It is absolutely stonking," she said. "It is full of flavour. I like hoppy beers. For a full-strength beer, the alcohol is disguised. Other beers I have had, you cannot have another one. But they have got the reach just right."

Colin Heapy who has been a real ale campaigner since 1974 was also very enthusiastic. "It is great for a British brewery to be doing this type of beer," he said. "There are strong beers but not along these lines. This is going back a long, long time. These days they tend to dumb beer down. People want something different. This is pushing the limits - how we brew beer and how we taste it. It is an extreme beer but it is what we want to be the norm."

Justin was quoted as saying, “Some of our beers have been called extreme, either because of high hopping or alcohol content. But the truth is that we won’t drink bland, boring beer – and neither should you! We brew beers to dazzle your taste buds, not just to pour down your neck.”

If you have any questions or comments please visit their websites at www.moorbeer.co.uk and www.thequeensarms.com to get in touch. Whatever you do, don’t forget to Drink Moor Beer!

Pictured on the launch night from left are Josh Whitlam, Justin Hawke and James Scrancher.