Vying For The Knot....

                                                   .... VYING FOR THE KNOT....

                                         Windsor & Eton Breweries latest brew...

It is definitely one of those happier quirks of fate when both your location, and an article of clothing, can conspire so well together to produce possibly the best named Wedding Ale so far - Windsor Knot. 

For the Windsor & Eton Brewery, who have just marked their first year of brewing in April this turned out to be a double celebration, and the wedding ale seemed the ideal way to mark both occasions simultaneously.

What is good to see is that the beer is in fact a completely new blend in the micro / regional tradition, and not a tweaked or existing beer re branded to satisfy consumer demand, as has  happened with some larger scale brewers in the past. 

The label too has been thoughtfully and well designed, and compliments the existing beers in the breweries range. 

In draught form the beer weighs in at a session level of 4%alc/vol. and the bottle slightly higher at 4.5%alc/vol.

The beer is also a bit of a departure for the brewery in terms of hops used within the brew with Sovereign and Nelson Sauvin chosen for bittering and aroma. Both are interesting choices combining a touch of the Old World with the New.

Sovereign, a new hedgerow  variety, is described as an  'English Noble'  hop (very apt!) adding a nutty pine depth to a brew, and ideally suited to the English Bitter style. 

Nelson Sauvin on the other hand is from New Zealand ( a touch of the Commonwealth thrown in for good measure! ) and was released in 2000. As the name suggests it pays homage to a grape variety that has become synonymous with New Zealand's wine success - Sauvignon Blanc .

This grape variety put New Zealand on the world wine map producing a style of wine unique to that country.