First published in BEER May 2008 as part of a piece about Norfolk milds. More Norfolk milds in previous post.
ABV: 4 per cent
Origin: Lingwood
Website www.littlebeershop.co.uk
Uncle Stuart's Pack Lane Mild
Uncle Stuart’s on the outskirts of Norwich is one of a small but growing number of small breweries that are finding an alternative route to market with a twist on vertical integration, using a bottled beer shop rather than a cask-driven pub as their retail outlet. In this case it’s the Little Beer Shop at Blofield, and they do mean little – it’s essentially a shed run as a franchise in a sprawling garden centre, but it’s packed from floor to ceiling not only with house brews but with a wide range of other hard-to-find East Anglian craft beers, almost all of them bottle conditioned.
The Uncle in question is Stuart Evans, who graduated from home to full-time brewer in 2002 on what was then one of the smallest commercial brewing plants in Britain, though it’s since expanded. The first beer brewed was Pack Lane Mild, named after the street where the business is located, and the rustic scene depicted on the label is actually the view from the brewery, which uses water from a nearby borehole as brewing liquor.
Made from Pearl pale, crystal, black and wheat malts, roasted barley and Goldings and Progress Hops, this mild pours a very dark brown with a generous fawn head as bubbly as the inside of an Aero. The chocolatey impression is complimented by the palate which also has a hint of roast and farmyard scents.
There’s Ovaltine and vivid tart fruit flavours in an interesting chocolatey palate with a herbal hop note, and a mouth-coating cocoa powder finish with a roast hit and a nugget of bitter hops. It’s a distinctive beer that’s on the roasty side for a mild, and well worth trying.
More Norfolk milds in next post.
Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/uncle-stuarts-pack-lane/35798/
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