Powderkeg launches West Coast-style amber ale

The beer, called ‘6ixes and 7evens’, is a big and bold amber coloured ale with rich citrus and spice flavours, and was first brewed in 2016.

The name refers to the precise muddle of six malts and seven hops used in the beer. The six malts used, including rye malt from Germany and ‘Chateau Special B’ from Belgium, create a fulsome, mouth-filling body and a beautiful, rich amber colour. 

US hops

The seven different hops, all sourced from the West Coast of the USA, combine to bring a bold edge of citrus and spice to the flavour and aroma.

Head brewer John Magill said: “After a summer that never was, we want to make the most of autumn this year and 6ixes & 7evens is the beer I want to be drinking. The colour of a turning leaf, with warming alcohol and spicy notes, it’s a beer that relaxes the rules and brings some much needed folly.

“It has a touch of barely tamed chaos about it – the only certainties will be what you’re going back to the bar for, and that there is always happiness in beer.”

'Searching for improvements'

Speaking about the decision to bring back the beer as a special, Magill added: “We had so many requests to brew it again and who are we to deny everybody? We have slightly tweaked the recipe from last year, lightening the colour a touch, replacing some of the sweeter malt with the more spicy rye, and turning up the hops a bit more.

“We always think of our beers a work in progress, we’re perpetual tweakers – always searching for improvements. But that’s what being a craft brewer is all about for me – we never like to say ‘it’ll do’, it’s always ‘can it be even better?’.”

Powderkeg beers can be ordered throughout the UK on Eebria Trade.