North East Beer Review

For this week’s Sustainable Sunday, I am covering a brewery is a great example of sustainable practices despite its small size. If you have read my reviews before you will know I am a big fan of Fox Cub Brewing having tried brews such Solaris, Prankster and Windfall. Located a short distance from myself, this garage based brewery is already releasing quality small batch brews. That is why I gave FoxCub’s newest brew Deified a go, what did I think of the new Vienna Lager? Find out across the duration of this review as I cover the history of this beer and brewery, the pour, the taste and aroma and finally my verdict.

A rising star in Co Durham

The history of this brewery is from the FoxCub Brewing about page but I have kind of reworded it. Foxcub Brewing is nanobrewery based in Spennymoor, County Durham. This was founded in March 2025 by Jamie Fox who is the head brewer and Director. This was born from a home garage as a passion project, in which through various goals of quality, creativity and community blossomed into a local brewery. Jamie has a hands on approach to each batch he brews to show a high level of dedication, care and craftsmanship.

Foxcub Brewing has four values comprising of Sustainability, Community and Local Engagement, Creativity and Innovation and finally Quality and Consistency. Foxcub appear to utilise small batch brewing insuring that each brew has a major level of care shown to it whilst also ensuring boundaries are pushed. By sourcing local ingredients, it helps support local businesses by buying British ingredients whilst also ensuring Foxcub gives back to community in terms of minimising waste, by giving spent grain to local farmers and taking care of their environmental footprint. This is performed in their packaging which utilises paper fill and items such as card/plant fibre beer can ring holders.

Furthermore, Fox cub is a welcoming space for those to unite over the cause of loving a good beer and as a North East brewery, I certainly love to support breweries such as themselves. An expansion is due in July 2026 in which FoxCub teamed up with Brewhive Brewery Equipment for a dedicated full brewhouse system. This will help with the increasing demand and explosion in popularity of FoxCub. The aim is by Q1 in 2027 to have an operational taproom opened up too. So I would like to wish FoxCub the best of luck with that in the future and I would most certainly like to see whats in store.

Deified is a 5% Vienna lager which is described as “a crisp, elegant Vienna Lager that honours tradition with every sip.” It is brewed using Vienna malt and German pilsen malts which will give this a note light toast and biscuit. It is also hopped using Noble Saaz which adds the herbal bite you expect from the style of lager.

A golden lager pour

FoxCub Deified pours a golden to amber colour which has is clear appearance. A bubbly white formed which lasted quite a way through the drinking experience, leaving a fine ring of lacing down the glass. This was a lively pour which is to be expected from the style of beer, as you could see streams of bubbles rising consistently. Overall, an inviting and refreshing lager pour.

A well balanced malt and herbal flavour

Aroma

Immediately from cracking open the can I could observe the herbal nature of this Vienna Lager. This was followed by a sweet malt note accompanying the herbal nature. As the beer unlocks, it presents a sweet honey note. Overall, a very aromatic lager which has the notes you expect from the style and encourages you to take your first sip.

Taste

On the palate, Deified opens with a malty sweetness from the malt base which is reminiscent of a biscuit or cracker. A herbal bite then catches your taste buds and adds the distinct Saaz hops flavour. This adds a bitterness which is gentle enough to not become overpowering. The finish is immensely clean and dry which makes this inviting and refreshing. Overall, this is a high quality lager pour which I must say is a lot better than many UK brewed lagers I have tried. Incredibly refreshing and full of flavour, this is top notch.

Time for my verdict

Overall, this is another addition to the consistent top quality brews by FoxCub. This brewery is incredibly underrated and I feel that you really should pick some cans up to try. I honestly think this one of FoxCub better brews but of course the competition is strong especially with the likes of Prankster and Solaris but as a lager fan, this has certainly been nailed. Perfectly balanced and excellent utilisation of the malts and hops. I am honestly prepared to say that this is my favourite UK brewed lager yet. This is getting a 5 out of 5. Tremendous stuff.

Where did I purchase this brew?

I bought this beer directly from FoxCub Brewing’s website. Really fast and well taken care of. Check them out and expand their name. Cheers

If you liked my review, you will love my reviews of the FoxCub beer range which includes Solaris, Windfall and Prankster.