I can’t imagine many people have heard of Denton, let alone been there. Using the youth of today’s scale of rating places which goes as far as to ask the question ‘Does it have a Primark?’ the answer is no, although there is one in Stockport now which isn’t a million miles away from Denton. It does have a TK Maxx though, and it turns out, it also has a micro brewery called the Hornbeam brewery. Having spent a lot of my childhood in Denton visiting my Gran I was particularly surprised to find this out and also saddened at the same time. A quick Google search reveals that I drive past the brewery every Tuesday on the way to taking our little pesky dog to his training course; we even stop at the Sainsbury’s for beer amongst other things fairly regularly. I’ve never seen a bottle of Hornbeam in there and it’s right next door!

In 5: Vanilla, Cloudy, Amber, Citrus, Denton

In a world where it’s cheaper to buy something on ebay shipped in from China than it is to buy the same thing at the shop on the corner of your road this isn’t surprising. Perhaps the issue of the big supermarkets stocking real local produce is an argument for another day.

So how was the beer itself?

It poured nicely, even though it had been kept in the fridge instead of room temperature as directed on the label (not to self (again) read the label first!!!). It has a lovely vanilla nose with a cloudy outlook – a bit like the Manchester weather where it is brewed. It is amber in colour with a sharp yet palatable taste as the sweet vanilla aroma contrasts nicely with the citrus ever so slightly floral taste. If I had to categorise it I’d say it is somewhere in between an IPA and a best bitter and it was thoroughly enoyable.

On a side note, I really love the styling of the bottle and branding of the brewery, great work!

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