The Beer Emporium, Sandbach

The Beer Emporium is a small but well stocked beer shop in Sandbach, a quirky and slightly curious town, situated straight off the M6, with a far reaching history that’s most prominently displayed in the Sandbach Crosses, a scheduled monument dating back to the Middle Ages. Despite the wood framed buildings and a posh deli stuffed to the rafters with fine foods and continental delicacies I’m assured that the town is sports mad, with barely a dash of culture amidst the football posts and cricket stumps (the last bastion of hope is WH SMith’s, the only place you can buy a book). The ancient looking pubs are beautiful from the outside but to my shame we didn’t have time to venture in them with the young cousins in tow.

I liked the Beer Emporium because its emphasis is on local beers. There’s a solid if unadventurous Belgian inventory and a fine UK selection, but both were top-trumped with a wide selection of beers from Cheshire, the North West, the North Midlands and beyond.

Given the amount of away weekends in February and March which will be zapping my wallet for everything it’s got I plumped for just 7 beers: a kriek for Sarah (mandatory on visits to beer shops); a Lagonda IPA and an Orval to sample with my uncle; and 4 local beers to bring back to Leeds (2 of which didn’t make it past 11pm on Saturday).

Half the Lagonda was drunk and half or the other half ended up absorbed in kitchen roll in the front room (the joys of entertaining kids eh!) whilst the Orval was eminently pleasant as usual and wolfed down quicker than expected. I enjoyed Lymestone Brewery’s thinking man’s beer aptly named Ein Stein (Maris Otter + German hops) whilst I was underwhelmed with Dunham Massey’s Cheshire IPA.

I just hope this tiny little shop finds enough business to sustain itself. I’m told it’s the sort of unique retailer that opens up all the time in Sandbach…the implication being that all too regularly they shut down as quickly as they appeared.

Cheshire can keep its footballers wives but if you happen to be passing, try Sandbach, and call in the Beer Emporium. They’ll give you a free beer mat with your beers too.

By the way if any folk in Cheshire or the vicinity of Sandbach fancy some Marble Special or Decadence (included the fruity ones) they are in stock at The Beer Emporium! And whilst you’re there I recommend the ice cream from the little gelateria, amazing!

Dunham Massey IPA and parsnip soup

On my return, after 2 x hamstring stretch + 2 x abductor stretch + 2 x hip flexor, but before my super hot sauna style shower, I popped open a beer whilst I liquidised the soup that had been simmering in the slow cooker.

This was part of a haul from the Beer Emporium in Sandbach, one of the first I picked up because I can’t help but be drawn to anything that says IPA on the label/pump clip. It poured very well for a bottle conditioned IPA, very clear, with a copper gradient and deep amber colour. Its nose and taste belied its appearance: I would expect it to be much more yellow and thinner because it tasted pale and gaunt, despite some upfront hop flavours and a little bit of biscuit.

The nose was floral and fairy liquid; the taste was bland and the texture watery. The hops didn’t provide any zest; the malt provided little sustenance. Without impact and without complexity or challenging bitterness this beer didn’t cut the mustard. It was drinkable, but because it was easy to drink rather than it being interesting, salivating or uncharacteristically smooth.

Perhaps my late supper (the unliquidised broth of parsnips and sweet potato left over from soup-making) wasn’t a good partner. Nor the last of Sarah’s milk and white chocolate Milka that provided my muscles with the sugar they’d been craving since the Tingley Fish Bar junction (about 6.3 miles in). Either way, I didn’t enjoy this beer. I’ll look out for it again and hopefully try in bottle and on cask. It could have been a bad ‘un, as despite leaving the sediment virtually untouched the last pour had a distinct farmyard character to it. But somehow I think it’s just a bland beer.

I’m disappointed as Dunham Massey sound like a brewery I could really like: they were relegated from Cheshire to Alty (and therefore Manchester) because of administrative jiggery-pokery and they create craft beer from a National Trust site, both of which appeal to my instinctive love for an underdog. I hope the rest of their beer portfolio has a bit more umpf to it (I don’t half fancy their Cherry Chocolate Mild!)

I pondered (as any self respecting vacuous nobody would) over the reason for this beers inherent washing up scent. I’ve heard Saltaire Cascade accused of the same washing up liquid nose, but as far as I can see Cheshire IPA doesn’t use Cascade hops, so I’m (with insufficient brewing experience) going to blame either the Fuggle or the Goldings that it is apparently finished with. I’m not sure that is the cause though, anyone have any ideas?