Siebenhundertneunundzwanzigstes Bier:

Vocation Brewey Pride & Joy 5,3% vol. Hebden Bridge, UK

RESEARCH // VOCATION BREWERY

3.3.2018

BRIEF SIX.

These can designs, created by Vocation&Co., are ones I come across regularly on Pinterest, as well as seeing them in the supermarkets. The top row are quite similar to that of Birmingham Brewing Co, in regards to their modern, simplistic design, as well as the colour choices. The bottom row also has more of a dark twist on the design, which is beautifully reflected on their beer taps in pubs (see image below). I really like the contrast in these designs, as well as the names given to the darker designed beers. It shows how the design needs to be versatile so that it can lead onto a beer tap, as well as a bottle or can.

Vocation&Co is a restaurant / bar located in Hebden Bridge (just outside of Bradford), and is named Vocation because it is all about working with others - sourcing the best local suppliers, passionate staff and stocking beer from breweries they respect. They produce and sell their own craft beers, as well as serving food to go alongside them.

Vocation Brewery

Hailing from the charming mill town reinvented as an arts and crafts centre of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, Vocation Brewery pounced upon the collective conscience of the UK craft beer community like a flat cap wearing puma early last year. WIth strong credentials, a high-end set up, striking imagery, and killer beers they’d soon garnered a rep as strong as that branding (take a closer look at those individual labels, they’re just <3) . Just not in this house. Y’see, there’s so much awesome beer sloshing around this already rather damp island it took me ‘til now to get ‘round to ‘em. But at this moment I have a trio of brews from their core range to get stuck into and I’m really rather looking forward to it. 

First up is Pride & Joy (5.3% abv), a lovely lil APA. The tropical, citrusy hop notes are fresh and vibrant, with mango and grapefruit particularly standing out. There’s a good dose of pine in there, a decent med-sweet grainy malt base bringing some balance, and it finishes clean with a nice hoppy bitterness. Rock solid stuff.

Next is Life & Death (6.5% abv), this time an American style IPA. Bold grapefruit and lime-led citrus with pine dusted tropical fruit hop notes rule, a subdued caramel malt base lurking. Oily and somewhat resinous, dry and bitter to finish, and nothin’ short of delicious.

Divide & Conquer (6.5% abv) is my last of these lovely Yorkshire brews, and prob'ly my personal favourite. A smoooth black IPA whose bright citrus and pine hop notes are superbly balanced by those sumptuous roasty malts that bring a charred wood tinged mocha presence to the whole thing. Medium bodied, zesty, roasty, dry and bitter, this is one I’ll be returning to with some frequency.