Devils Backbone Debuts in the United Kingdom with American IPA
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MyBeer Buzz
From Devils Backbone:
Devils Backbone announces the launch of American IPA to be sold outside of the United States. American IPA will be brewed by Banks’s Brewery and released on tap at the 930 Wetherspoon pubs in the United Kingdom.
Lexington, VA, September 20, 2014 —Devils Backbone Brewing Company today announced the launch of American IPA, the first of the brewery’s beers to be sold outside of the United States. The beer is an original Devils Backbone recipe showcasing American hops and brewed especially for the English palate. The inaugural batch was crafted by Devils Backbone Brewmaster Jason Oliver at Banks’s Brewery in Wolverhampton, England and will release on tap at 930-plus Wetherspoon pub locations across the United Kingdom and Ireland on October 1st.
The beer features a mix of English and classic American hops which give it a bright, snappy, hop character. The English hop varieties, East Kent Goldings and Admiral, provide the underlying bitterness and flavor while the American varieties, added late in the process, fill out the flavor profile and give the beer a West Coast style citrus-pine nose. Working at Banks’s allowed Oliver to try some different brewing methods. The beer is made using a single-infusion mash of Pale Ale malt and fermented in open vats, which is significantly different from Devils Backbone’s traditionally Germanic approach at home in the US. The experience left Oliver nostalgic for the early days of his brewing career: “I started out at an English inspired brewery in Baltimore, and brewing at Banks’s really took me back, especially seeing the open fermentations. You can smell them, almost hear them slowly churning, and all but touch them. They’re tangible, alive and something I haven’t experienced in a long time.”
Devils Backbone American IPA will be served exclusively at all Wetherspoon locations throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The beer will be offered on draft, rather than as a cask, which improves the sharpness of the hop flavors. Devils Backbone was impressed with their new retail partner’s commitment to selection and freshness. “We visited quite a few Wetherspoon pubs and I was struck by the number of options offered to consumers, even in the country pubs, and by the knowledgeable managers we met who really cared about the quality of the beverages they were serving,” explained Chief Operating Officer Hayes Humphreys. “We’re confident that our beer will be well tended to.”
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