A few weeks ago I popped across to Clarkshaws microbrewery in Brixton. Never has the word ‘microbrewery’ been so accurate; I have no idea how they manage to fit so much brewing equipment in there (plus a couple of taps, plus a couple of benches, plus the occasional cat).
Other than being itsy bitsy, Clarkshaws are a little different to most other breweries for two main reasons:
1. All ingredients are sourced from the UK (the bottle proudly sports the ‘brewed with British hops’ mark).
2. All of their beers are veggie (no isinglass here) and are accredited by the Vegetarian Society.
So it seemed like an apt time, with the London Vegan Beer Fest on tomorrow, to review this lovely lager that I picked up. Lager went through a slump, didn’t it? I know there was a significant time period when it wouldn’t occur to me to grab a lager when there was a juicy IPA available, but, in this current heat wave, I am loving a cool, refreshing lager.
Clarkshaw’s Coldharbour Hell Yeah! (5.3%)
It poured a clear orange with a minimal white head. I was particularly excited by the aroma which was very tropical indeed, not the typically British hoppiness I was anticipating. There was a little honey in there too (present for particularly deep sniffs).
As for the taste? Again, a surprise. Crisp, refreshing and with a strong taste of lemon coming through, livening it up and making it oh so perfect for summer. The carbonation was spot on; the beer packed full of flavour, but not at all heavy. THIS is my perfect summer beer; my lager of 2015!
There are still early bird tickets available for the London Vegan Beer Fest available here. At only a fiver to try 8 of the UK’s finest vegan-beer producing breweries you can’t go wrong, can you? See you there!
The Crafty Beeress 
Skulls on the label and calling their lager Hell Yeah? They're brave! Foolish but brave.
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JINX. That was literally the first thing I said, too. It's a mistake a lot of newer breweries make, taking 'inspiration' from the success stories rather than building their own identity. I think they'll get there.
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it's not very creative to copy beer concepts from other countries! Look to the real Hell yeah Beer: http://www.hellyeahbeer.com
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