Sharp’s Turbo Yeast Unspeakable Abhorrence from Beyond the Ninth Level of Hades III

European Beer Bloggers Conference 2011

ABV: 24%
Origin: Rock, Cornwall, England
Website: www.sharpsbrewery.co.uk, http://brewingreality.blogspot.com 

Sharp's Turbo Yeast Unspeakable Abhorrence from Beyond the Ninth Level of Hades III. Pic: Reuben Gray, www.taleoftheale.com.

Sharp’s brewer Stuart Howe has produced some inventive stuff in his time, recently setting himself the challenge of producing a new beer a week, but this liquid, which appeared as a digestif at the Friday night dinner of the European Beer Bloggers Conference from a tempting looking pin, must be one of the most extraordinary to have ever flown from the Rock brewery.

It evolved from an experiment in Week 44 of the new beer project with a super fermenting turbo yeast which was set to work on a high density wort with masses of pale barley malt fortified with glucose. Hops were Mittelfrüh, Strisselspalt and Marynka. I seem to recall Stuart mentioning that this version was fortified using some of his equally extraordinary Gorse Ale which had been distilled in a nearby friendly distillery, before being wood aged, so whether it genuinely counts as beer or not, I’m not sure — higher gravities have been achieved elsewhere purely by fermentation. But it certainly hit the spot as an after dinner treat, served appropriately in brandy snifters.

It’s a dark brown, with a very slight head, and an aroma of church pews, wax, dark orange peel and woody spirits. The palate is very complex with chocolate, spirity whiskyish esters, hops and bourbon biscuits with obvious alcohol and a woody note pursing the tongue. A rummy, malty, slightly grapey finish is nicely smooth and slightly savoury, with a herbal Vermouth-like tinge. It’s long lingering in the mouth but not quite as persistent as you’d expect. A privilege to sample.

Read more about this brewery’s beers at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/brewers/sharps-molsoncoors/2110/