Moorhouse’s Pendle Witches Brew

From Pendle Hill you’ve more chance of seeing Ian Holloway celebrating at Bloomfield Road than coming across any broomsticks or clandestine hurlyburly. And that’s on a cloudy day.

The sandstone plateau does have a slightly spooky aura about it though. Standing proud from the undulating hillside you can imagine a cackling coven of witches peering over the landscape and plotting the demise of their rivals. Especially if you visit during thunder and lightning…

Moorhouse’s Pendle Witches Brew is inherently charming. Perhaps it’s the verve for local legend – not only are the witches still much talked about but the brewery itself has had a somewhat rollercoaster existence – that makes this beer so appealing at the bar and in the local supermarket.

For something conjured up in the cauldrons of witches, Pendle Witches Brew is surprisingly fresh. Citrus fruits and uncooked dough illuminate the nose, and reappear in the washing-up liquid backbone.

Too cold from the fridge initially, it warms and fruity flavours gently emerge – lemon, oranges and caramel; Fuggles hops and Crystal malt (we assume) make it entirely English. It’s pleasantly bitter-sweet, finishing dry in the mouth with a slightly medicinal bitterness, more alkaline than acidic.

I can’t think of a better beer to refresh the body after an excursion atop Pendle Hill. In the comfort of a local pub that caters for weary legs, there’s nothing more appropriate or becoming of the moment. You can call it a type of occasion terroir.

Which sounds like the perfect end to a Sunday summit with friends. You might even see Blackpool Tower on a good day.

Moorhouse

Beer information:
Beer: Pendle Witches Brew
Brewery: Moorhouse’s
Style: Golden ale
ABV: 5.1%
Country: Burnley, Lancashire, UK

Michael Jackson (beer writer) was so under the spell of the witches of Pendle that he took a trip there and took quite a shining to this beer http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-001296.html