We had a slow new brew start to the year as Alex was hit by what we think was COVID, which meant he had no sense of smell for a week (not good for trying new beer). Once he’d recovered, we made up for it with some lovely new brews at home, including a selection from Kirkstall Brewery, a selection from Hogs Back Brewery, and many beers from Northern Monk (one of our favourite breweries).
Here’s a rundown of our favourite new brews for January 2026.
Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries by Vault City (Edinburgh)
Pastry Sour 4.5%
Not much to say about this beer other than it tastes exactly as the name would suggest - like chocolate-dipped strawberries. We’ve had a lot of stouts this month, so it was nice to mix things up with a sour, and Vault City do know how to make a good sour.
Brewer’s note: Luscious, Fruity, Smooth. This decadent dessert sour combines juicy Scottish strawberries with the rich, luxurious taste of creamy chocolate. Pouring a deep ruby red colour, we’ve double dipped our favourite fruit to create a sweet-sour symphony and a velvety smooth finish.
Brewer’s website: Vault City Brewing
Fresh From The Old Flax Store by Northern Monk (Leeds)
Pale Ale 5.3%
Northern Monk release a ‘Fresh From The Old Flax Store’ every month, and we’ve tried a few. We had the 8, the 10 and the 11 from 2025 in our fridge, so we decided to try them in one of our New Brew Thursday sessions. They were all good, particularly the Green Hop Ale (10 of 12).
They’ve just released this year’s 1 of 12 (we haven’t tried it yet), and have announced that they’ve upped the ABV for this year.
Fresh From The Old Flax Store 2026 Update: Along with a larger hop dosing scheme and wide variety of formats, we have upped the ABV to 5.6% this year to help get more punch from our hops. We have also increased the complexity of the malt bill to build a thicker mouthfeel as well as a denser haze.
Brewer’s website: Northern Monk Craft Beers
Rifleman’s Pale Ale by Kirkstall Brewery (Leeds)
Pale Ale 4.7%
We had a selection of ales from Kirkstall this month, and we really enjoyed this pale ale, which had lovely marmalade flavours. We love that it uses heritage malt and UK-grown hops.
Brewer’s note: Official collaboration with Bernard Cornwell to celebrate the release of SHARPE'S STORM, this historic Export Pale uses heritage malt and UK-grown hops. Floral, resinous hop notes balance the biscuity, marmalade sweetness of the malt, leading to a clean, dry, hoppy finish.
Brewer’s website: Kirkstall Brewery
Tongham TEA by Hogs Back (Surrey)
English Ale 4.2%
This was one of four Hogs Back beers we tried, and all four were very good. We actually struggled to pick a favourite, but this one just pipped it with its jammy, malty flavours and slight bitterness.
Brewer’s note: Our top selling, award winning, classic Traditional English Ale [or TEA for short] in bottles. Amber in colour, a malt-forward taste with the hops providing balance. A lingering malt sweetness leads to a long, satisfying finish. Tongham TEA is surely the best drink of the day!
Small-batch brewed with finest English malted barley, Surrey-grown classic bittering hop, Fuggles, and water drawn from the chalk aquifers under the Hogs Back ridge. Named after the village of Tongham, which we have called home for over 30 years. Best with rich, full-flavoured meat and cheese dishes.
Brewer’s website: Hogs Back Brewery
BEER OF THE MONTH
Golden Bertha by Northern Monk (Leeds)
Stout 8.4%
It says on the can that this is a luxury chocolate cake stout, and luxurious pretty much sums it up. The recipe is based on Get Baked’s popular Bertha cake, which is a 12-layer chocolate cake. We haven’t tried the cake, but we can confirm the beer is good and makes it into our top spot for January.
Brewer’s note:
A Slice of Gold.
A rich caramel & chocolate stout.
Decadent
Indulgent
Thick
With Love, Bertha
Brewer’s website: Northern Monk Craft Beers
Honourable mentions
These new brews didn’t quite make it into our top five, but we still feel they are worth a mention.
Wild Sounds by Northern Monk (Leeds)
Black IPA 4%
We’ve got two honourable mentions this month because two Northern Monk beers divided our opinions. First up was this Blueberry Black IPA, which I really liked, but Alex thought was ok (he started to like it more as it warmed up a bit). I thought it was delicious and would happily have had another.
Brewer’s note: Inspired by the recent collaboration done for the Steven Yoyada series with Barbarian Hermit, we brought in brewery collaborator Bereta Brewing from Romania once again to work on this session version of that fruited Black IPA. A favourite style of many in the brewery, Black IPA is an oxymoronic style that combines the dark colour and silky chocolate flavours of a porter or stout with the big hop character of an IPA.
Close your eyes and you might just be fooled into thinking your drinking a pale beer! We lead with Mosaic (ripe tropical fruit, dark berries) and Sabro (creamed coconut, pineapple, lime) hops and then accentuate the darker fruit notes from the hops and malt with blueberry.
Festive Star Gift Wrapped by Northern Monk (Leeds)
Christmas Stout 8.4%
Alex really liked this one - he said it tasted like liquid mince pies. I wasn’t so keen - probably because I don’t like mince pies. It definitely had plenty of Christmas flavours, so if you like mince pies, give it a go.
Brewer’s note: This festive favourite gets the department store treatment. Festive Star Gift Wrapped is an extra indulgent twist on our annual classic. And shouldn’t all treats be a touch decadent this time of year?!
With a liberal dusting of cinnamon for those yuletide vibes and even thicker and sweeter than usual, there’s more than enough chocolate and caramel to land this one on the naughty list. An 8.4% treat, perfect for sipping while the tree goes up, or for after the big dinner.
Brewer’s website: Northern Monk Craft Beers
Revisited
Not a new brew but a beer we’ve revisited recently because it’s one of our favourites.
Northern Rising by Timothy Taylor’s X Northern Monk (Yorkshire)
Stout 4.4%
We tried this on cask when it was quite new, and we liked it, but weren’t blown away. However, we decided to revisit it after Alex spotted a few cans in M&S, and we decided it was better second time round. Would definitely give it another go on cask.
Brewer’s note: A collaboration between two of West Yorkshire’s finest breweries, resulting in a silky-smooth nitro stout. Chocolate and roasted malts, plus Timothy Taylor’s signature Golden Promise malted barley deliver a full-bodied stout with hints of dark chocolate, subtle caramel and an easy drinking creamy finish.
Craft brewed with Northern pride and swirling with smooth, dark, malty flavours.
Brewer’s website: Northern Monk Craft Beers
Winter Berry Crumble by Vault City (Edinburgh)
Pastry Sour 6%
We tried this back in April 2025 as part of our Vault City selection and decided it was a great winter beer, so we got a couple of cans for this year. I don’t like strong cinnamon flavours, but I think they are really well balanced in this beer and it’s just a lovely winter brew.
Brewer’s note: Fruity, Warming, Spiced. A silky-smooth seasonal sour with a vibrant mix of winter fruits combining ripe pear, tart blackberries and juicy strawberries with warming cinnamon spices.
Brewer’s website: Vault City Brewing
