Hargreaves Hill "Melanie"

In an attempt to bring a female touch to his brewery (or perhaps revealing a hitherto untapped weakness for puns) Hargreaves Hill founder Simon Walkenhorst gave his latest beer the working name Melanie. A Topaz & Amarillo India style Pale Ale, it's been brewed using fresh Topaz flowers given to the brewery by Hop Products Australia on the day they were harvested. He says the working name is in part because the beer "tastes pretty melon-y, like honeydew melon, with a healthy bitterness". They've also used 99% maris otter grain and a little bit of Simpson's Chocolate Malt "to add colour and flavour". Apparently the working name has been replaced by the rather more prosaic "Topaz & Amarillo IPA", but why not test out the bar staff with "A Pint of Melanie, please?" anyway?

Published June 18, 2011 2011-06-18 00:00:00