This month’s top five new brews
July saw us host our first in-person New Brew event at the fantastic Brew Society. We also made our first homebrew (although we have to wait a while until that’s ready to drink). And we tried a whole host of lovely beers, including a selection of Heathens from Northern Monk, a random selection of ales from Adnams, and a delicious saison from Burning Sky. But which new brews made it into our top five?
Here’s a rundown of our favourite new brews for July 2025.
Saison De Fête 2023 by Burning Sky (South Downs, UK)
Mixed Fermentation Farmhouse Ale 7%
We do love a mixed ferm beer, and this one was excellent. It was mellow and not too funky with a little bit of tartness and subtle notes of white wine.
Brewer’s note: This specialist release wash mashed with pilsner, spelt, and wheat malts. Subtle spices compliment the noble hops. The beer has been fermented with our unique mixed fermentation culture and aged in barrels for a year before packaging.
Brewer’s website: Burning Sky
Wild Hop by Adnams (Southwold, Suffolk)
Amber Beer 4.8%
For one of this month’s New Brew Thursdays, we tried four very different Adnams beers, including this lovely wild hop ale with its treacle and fruit cake flavours.
Brewer’s note: Wild Hop Amber Beer is brewed with Pale Ale, Malted Wheat and Acidified Malts and hopped with locally gathered Wild and Garden hops including Fuggles, Goldings, Bramling Cross and Sovereign.
This exciting new beer is brewed with fresh (green) hops donated by the public, which produce fantastic clean, fresh, grassy, pine and citrus flavours and aromas, capturing all the excitement of the year’s hop harvest. To add complexity we have used some Saison yeast in addition to our 'house' Adnams yeast which adds a peppery spiciness.
Brewer’s website: Adnams Southwold
Triple Knot by Adnams (Southwold, Suffolk)
Tripel 10%
We probably would have put all four Adnams beers on this month’s top five list because they were all so good, but that wouldn’t have been a very exciting list. However, we couldn’t leave this Tripel out of the top five because it was so good.
Brewer’s note: This golden Belgian Tripel ale has intense flavours of honey and orange blossom, and delicate aromas of jasmine and lavender.
Available in 330ml bottles with a swing-top, Triple Knot is made with Pilsner malt, acidulated malt and invert sugar fermented using Adnams house yeast as well as white wine yeast. It’s hopped with Eldorado and Pacific jade and we add a sprinkling of botanicals – lavender, orange blossom and jasmine.
Inspired by the strong Tripel ales brewed in Belgium. Our take on this traditional recipe adds a few botanicals and enjoys six months of beautiful maturation, allowing the beer to pick up a slight bready character often associated with sparkling wine.
Brewer’s website: Adnams Southwold
Cheeky Porter by FTC (Manchester)
Porter 4.2%
During a flying visit to Manchester, we headed to the Microbar in Arndale Market, where we came across this super creamy and absolutely delicious Cheeky Porter. Lots of flavour, a lovely texture and only 4.2%.
Brewer’s note: From The Cellar porter with some added magic. And the magic's name is Vimto.
BEER OF THE MONTH
Lord Heathen by Northern Monk (Leeds)
Double IPA 8.4%
We first tried the original Heathen way back in March 2021, and thought it was excellent, so we decided to revisit it alongside some Heathen twists, including this double version. It was hoppier and stronger than Heathen, but just as good and worthy of our top spot this month.
Brewer’s note: Lord Heathen returns to its infernal throne. This year’s release is packed full of Citra, Columbus and Mosaic; an unholy trinity that brings big juicy and dank flavours to this haziest of Double IPAs. At 8.4%, blessed are the Heathens!
Brewer’s website: Keep the Faith - Northern Monk
Honourable mention
These new brews didn’t quite make it into our top five, but we still feel they are worth a mention.
Ibuki X by Pomona Island (Manchester)
Bretted IPA 6%
During our most recent visit to Manchester, we sought out some city centre venues that were serving good beer. We found this funky and flavourful bretted beer in North Westward Ho (which is well worth a visit).
Brewer’s note: Ibuki turns 10 this year and to celebrate we’ve blended 2 second fill Sherry Butts of barrel aged, Brettanomyces fermented beer and dosed with zingy yuzu. The traditional Sorachi Ace led dry hop is back, lending a herbal aroma to finish a well rounded complex, funky and fruity IPA.
Brewer’s website: Pomona Island Brew Co
Single Hop Series by SALT (Saltaire, Yorkshire)
IPA 5%
We’d love to be able to identify individual hop flavours in beer, but our palates aren’t that refined yet. That’s why we love trying single-hop beers. They are a great way to learn about the different flavour profiles of a hop. We tried both of these blind and attempted to guess which was which. I got them wrong, but Alex got them right (although he had a 50-50 chance, so I’m not sure whether it was just a good guess).
They weren’t the most amazing beers we’ve ever tried, but it was good to taste the difference between Citra and Centennial. And we’ll certainly keep our eyes open for more single-hop brews.
Brewer’s note: Hops are the flowers or cones of the hop plant. They are the reason your beer is bitter, citrusy, piney or fruity. Hops are grown around the world & different strains of hops have vastly varying characteristics. This series of single-hop beers aims to showcase the unique character of some of our favourite hop varieties.
Brewer’s website: SALT
Revisited
Not a new brew but a beer we’ve revisited recently because it’s one of our favourites.
Heathen by Northern Monk (Leeds, UK)
Hazy IPA 7.2%
I think Heathen might have taken the place of Faith as my favourite Northern Monk brew. And, if we hadn’t already tried it before, it would definitely have been competing against Lord Heathen for this month’s top spot.
Brewer’s note: The American-bred Citra hops made its splash into the industry with a bang, taking over the craft brewing scene by storm with its otherworldly tropical fruit flavour and aroma. Our take on this juicy hop takes the best of its exceptional characteristics to brew a bold yet balanced IPA. A simple base of British pale malt is coloured by small kettle additions of our UK and US hops blend for a soft, fruity bitterness. Come dry hopping time, we hit high gear with 16kg of Citra spread over three additions, layering them into the beer for the ultimate juicy, resinous taste experience and an aroma of tropical fruit that lures your olfactory sense from across the room.
Brewer’s website: Keep the Faith - Northern Monk
