“Regrets, I’ve had a few. But then again, too few to mention.” Be honest, how many of you have belted out this line at a wedding reception, a drunken karaoke night or your gran’s 80th birthday party? Yep. And us.
Pondering our regrets since we launched Cotswold Lakes Brew Co., there aren’t many biggies (thankfully) but one we all agree on was our first attempt at adding a lager to our range.
It’s not that it wasn’t a tasty brew, it’s just that we misjudged the market. A light and refreshing 2.9% ABV lager for the hikers and bikers around the lakes just didn’t hit the spot. Some people loved it, but our overriding conclusion was that a mid-strength beer was neither light enough for non-drinkers nor strong enough for drinkers!
So, the idea of resurrecting the recipe for another bash in 2022 wasn’t met with universal enthusiasm from Team CLB. But Nick, our very own ‘Chairman of the Board’ (another Sinatra reference for you there), convinced us he’d nailed a version that was far superior to the original.
Complete with a new name, our Cotswold Craft Lager is crisp, refreshing and delicately hopped, but full of flavour. And coming in at 4.7% ABV, we think this is going to have genuine appeal for traditional lager drinkers.
Once again, we’re inspired by the Kölsch beers of Cologne. Our recipe combines British malts with East Kent Goldings hops and locally-sourced, surplus bread to make a clean-tasting, modern beer. And we’re sticking with the orange label because we think it looks great.
So where can you try it? It’ll be available to all our stockists before the end of July, in plenty of time to enjoy over the rest of this lovely, warm summer. But if you want to get your hands on an ice-cold can or bottle sooner, get down to our taproom where we’ll be launching it this weekend.
