A LASTING TRIBUTE: NEW ELIZABETHAN ALE 750ML COLLABORATION BEER
Harvey's Brewery have produced a celebratory edition of their Elizabethan Ale using sparkling wine yeast, in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. Bottled in a 750ml format, the beer has been a collaboration between the brewery and Court Garden Vineyard in Sussex. This commemorative brew was mashed in January 2022 prior to Her Late Majesty's Platinum Jubilee and has been bottled in the aftermath of her glorious reign.
The beer has all the attributes of a strong beer that has been aged and matured. A balanced barley wine with an added richness from the sparkling wine yeast. The residual sweetness is not cloying and is matched by the hop resins to produce a smooth, lasting finish. The bubbles are delicate yet vibrant and the beer has a white, creamy head that persists. Final fermentation in the bottle has left a tight sediment of yeast and the beer should be poured carefully. It can be served chilled or at cellar temperature.
As a mark of respect, it is the final 'Elizabethan Ale' that Harvey's will brew. This 2022 vintage is limited to 1200 bottles and is Harvey's lasting tribute to a much loved monarch.
Adam Bagnall, Harvey's Retail Manager, outlines the journey of this very special beer, below:
"The original concept was to produce a special beer to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabethan Ale had been devised in 1952 for the impending coronation and was brewed the following year. Such was the popularity of the beer that it had been brewed every year since – this was to be a Platinum Jubilee Brew in its own right, as well as a tribute to our longest reigning monarch.
We wanted this to be something very special – a vintage brew in a bottle that reflected its renown. If it was to be the ‘Champagne of Beers’, it should appear in a similar format.
It was decided to approach a Sussex wine producer and ask them to subject the finished brew to a further period of fermentation, using a sparkling wine yeast, before packaging it as they would their most treasured vintage.
Working with such celebrated local wine producers as Howard and Hugo just seemed such a natural fit for this project. We met up on a beautifully sunny day at the vineyard, talked the project through and it quickly became apparent that we had a shared enthusiasm to make this very special beer.
Following secondary fermentation at the brewery, the finished beer underwent further conditioning and maturation at Court Garden Vineyard, where a sparkling wine yeast was introduced. The resultant bottles underwent a traditional riddling process before being corked, wired and labelled."
Elizabethan Ale (7.2% abv) is available to buy online and in Harvey's Lewes Brewery Shop.
