In January we released our NORTH VS SOUTH PAVOLVA PASTRY SOUR as part of an exciting project with Northern Monk and Tesco. This collaborative beer was conceptualised with both Yonder Brewing and Staggeringly Good, two standout independent breweries from the south and two breweries that we hold in high regard. We all agreed that a dessert-inspired fruited sour beer was a high-target, difficult style to produce but would showcase each brewery’s expertise and specialty for these heavily fruited beers. This style would also give us a unique opportunity to show progression by putting a fruited sour on supermarket shelves up and down the country. The idea was brilliant, but our first attempt has fallen far short of expectations.
Ultimately the first batch did not come out as we had hoped, and we must apologise and take responsibility for that. Our move from Bermondsey to Greenwich alongside Covid restrictions meant the first batch was a little rushed and was brewed without either Yonder or Staggeringly Good in attendance. The beer tasted great in tank but since packaging we have seen reviews that show some of the canned beers have an off-flavour that should not be present. This beer does not represent the high-quality that we aim for in all Brew By Numbers beers and certainly is not a fair reflection on the excellent beers that Yonder and Staggeringly Good produce. We have identified the issue as stressed yeast which although not harmful has produced this off-flavour, affecting some cans at the end of the pack. This has been addressed with an updated recipe and more involvement from our collaborators.
To set things on the right course we are going to recall the remainder of the first batch in Tesco stores and will take the financial hit for that move. This is the right thing to do for Yonder and Staggeringly Good and for the project with Northern Monk and Tesco as a whole. We want this project to succeed by getting the right beer onto shelves as soon as we can. With this in mind, we have brewed the second batch with both breweries in attendance and are looking to restart the project with an updated recipe and colourful label alongside a beer that best represents the SOUTH in this project. We believe the second batch is significantly better and will be hopefully hitting shelves at the end of next week. We hope you consider trying the latest batch and are certain it will hit the high level of quality you come to expect from all concerned.
