A bond made in Yorkshire between Brew York and Kelham Island Brewery made this collaboration possible. This session IPA looked really interesting from the can design so I thought why not pick it up to try it. I have tried many Brew York brews over the years and many of their collaborations such as Midgard Mist with Thornbridge. However, Kelham Island Brewery is a new one for me, so sit back and relax and I will go through the history, the pour, the taste and aroma and finally my verdict.
A Yorkshire based collaboration
To start I will briefly go over the history of both breweries. I will cover Brew York first. Brew York was founded in 2016 and is one of the key pillars of craft beer in York. Originally, founded by hobbyists who had a passion for craft beer and home brewing. The taproom and beer is located within York’s historic walls and they expanded to a twin 30-barrel facility to meet the ever growing demand Brew York face. Brew York is known to experiment with different styles with a strong emphasis on hops and fruit. They often focus on can, keg and cask.
The other brewery in this collaboration is Kelham Island Brewery. Founded in 1990 by Dave Wickett, in a beer garden, it was the first new independent brewery in Sheffield in over 100 years. Initially, they brewed 10 barrels per week before increasing to 30 barrels once a new purpose built brewery was found. Unfortunately, closure occurred in 2022, however it was saved by a group of local businesspeople and the Thornbridge Brewery. Pale Rider, which won Champion of Beer 2004 lives on with Thornbridge Brewery. Ever since, they have continued in the legacy of Dave Wickett.
In terms of Freyr’s Bounty, this is part of Brew York’s Nine Realms Ale series, a part of their 9 year anniversary collection. This consists of 12 beers, 9 collaborations with other breweries and 3 birthday brews. The theme of the beer is mythology, which draws on Norse myth. Freyr’s Bounty corresponds to Alfheim, the realm of the Bright Elves, ruled by the god Freyr. Alfheim is associated with beauty, magic, creativity. The beer is intended as a tribute to that realm.
The style is a session IPA which carries an ABV of 4.5%. It was released to Morrisons around the country along with Odin’s Gaze. The collaboration brings tradition to modern with Brew York being known for experimentation and Kelham being known for traditional brews.
A modern look to a traditional pour
When the commencement of the pour began, I immediately noticed how lively the beer was, it had a noticeable head form almost immediately. Once the head calmed down, it unearthed a pale golden colour which has a slight haze to it. The more I drank, the more I noticed the rings of lacing left around the glass. A very typical session IPA pour.
A fruity taste and aroma
When taking a sniff of this fruity session IPA, I immediately noticed a note of stone fruit maybe like peach along with a weak citrus aroma. It had a smell reminiscent of the use of citra and mosaic hops but I am not 100% sure. Towards the end there was a hint of pine most likely from the hops.
In terms of taste, when I took a sip I noticed a tropical fruit explosion which tasted like pineapple and peach. Shortly thereafter, a sharp citrus bitterness followed along with a pine backbone. Towards the end here there was a lingering bitterness but it didn’t throw the overall balance of the beer. The beer was quite smooth and soft when drinking too. Overall, a very session able IPA and it does the job.
Time for my verdict
This collaboration is a cool one as it keeps with Brew York’s theme of Norsk mythology whilst also gaining help from Kelham to keep the overall style traditional. The can design is cool and the story of Kelham is something I really appreciate as it shows a story of redemption almost. In terms of the beer, it does almost everything you could ask of for a session IPA. A very smooth beer which is bursting with flavour despite its low ABV. Before I get on to my verdict, I want to inform you how I rate my beers, I rate them based on how they represent the style for example Hazy or Session. I don’t tend to compare Session IPAs to other styles such as Pilsners or Lagers as they are completely different. Thats why you may see an ale brewed by Beak get a 4 rating and then I might rate a Marzen a 4.5. In terms of how I rate this a 4.25 out of 5 as I could easily drink many more of these.
Where did I purchase this beer?
I bought this beer from Morrisons and I think it was £3.50 but you can get it in the 4 for 3 craft beer deal.
Cheers for reading this beer review. If you enjoyed this post, please check out my review of Brew York Coney or Time Travelling Taxi. Also, don’t forget to subscribe so you can catch the rest of my beer reviews.
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