Hello and welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists,
In 2022 it was announced that the iconic Sheffield live music venue and nightclub The Leadmill was in danger of closing. The new landlords have denied this but will takeover the venue from April 2023 however served the landlords notice.
This caused uproar amongst many with campaigns to save the venue launched, and to support this Thornbridge teamed up with The Leadmill to brew a beer (Leadmill IPA) which is backed by the hashtag #WeCantLoseLeadmill and also features a QR code on the can to take drinkers to an online petition to save the venue.
This all sounds like a great cause, but how is the beer?
1. Name : Leadmill IPA
2. Brewery: Thornbridge, Bakewell
3. Hops : Azacca, Citra & Mosaic
4. Grain : Barley & Malt
5. Aroma : Unmistakable Thornbridge aroma once the beer hits the glass. As you inhale more the hops become more evident giving off nice citrus aromas with the promised flavours of mango and guava appearing on the nose.
6. Appearance : Pours a hazy straw colour with a fluffy two finger white head and nice levels of carbonation.
7. Body : I had to check twice that this beer was only 3.8%abv as this has a good mouthfeel with a light body.
8. Taste : Juicy hops to the fore giving a very refreshing and moreish flavour. This gives quite a punch to the palate with a great array of flavours for such a low abv.
Straight away the appealing can art on this one struck me as it certainly stands out well amongst other cans. This is great as people will be drawn to this and hopefully seek out the hashtag or scan the QR code to save The Leadmill. Props to Sheffield based illustrator Tom J Newell for his work on the design.
The beer looks good in the glass and pours quite lively although this soon passes leaving a lingering head and nice lacing in the glass. The aromas are very appealing and tease you in to what is to come with the taste. As the beer hits the palate you are soon hit with a great flavour profile of juicy hops that linger well and have you craving more.
Leadmill IPA is not only a beer brewed to support a great cause, but also a great beer in its own right. Describing this as a session IPA is absolutely right with this one and at 3.8% abv it is certainly a beer that you could enjoy several pints of, and as an added bonus this one is vegan friendly. Overall I would highly recommend this and although it will not blow your socks off, it is a pretty solid effort indeed.
Our overall rating: 3.6/ 5.0
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