Cheddar Tales Archive

An Autumn Special from Cheddar Ales

We are very proud to say that our Autumn special, Goat’s Leap IPA, is now available. We’ve been looking forward to this moment, having spent a long time trying to get the beer just right so that it stays true to style whilst appealing to modern tastes.  You see, traditionally, the IPAs that were sent by ship to India would have been copper-coloured, very strong and very hoppy to help preserve the beer during its long voyage. But, while brewing an IPA to a strictly traditional recipe may have won us praise from the beer historians, we would bet that not many people would actually enjoy drinking too much of it. So, in our usual style, we have created an IPA that stays close to its roots, but is eminently more drinkable; which, let’s face it, is the whole point. In keeping with tradition, we have been bold in both the strength and hopping, and the beer certainly packs a big bitter hop punch. We have also added a little caramel malt to try and reproduce the original colour of old-style IPAs and add a little more depth to the malt flavours. However, to give the beer a more modern appeal, at different stages of the brewing process we have added a range of carefully selected hops to achieve a strong but rounded hop flavour and aroma that both complements and balances the bitter hop kick.

The beer has been named ‘Goat’s Leap’ after one of Jem’s favourite fishing spots.  Goat’s Leap (or Mekedaatu, as it is known locally) is near Bangalore in Southern India, at a point where the river Kaveri flows through a deep, but narrow, gorge. The story goes that a goat, which was actually the Hindu god Shiva in disguise, is believed to have leapt across the gorge leaving giant hoof-prints in the granite rocks on either side.  What that has to do with beer, we’re not sure, but it’s got a connection with India and a Gorge, and we’re happy to leave it at that.

Folks, this is a cracking strong beer to build up your spirits in the run-up to Christmas. It’s available in cask from today and the bottle-conditioned version will be available from the end of October. Make the most of it while it’s around – we’ve only brewed 15 brewery barrels and we expect it to go quickly – not least because we’ll be drinking nothing else ourselves, until it’s all gone for another year.