Deception turns 18!
The New Zealand hopped star of our core range has now been part of the history of Abbeydale Brewery for EIGHTEEN YEARS! Happy birthday, Deception!
Packed full of tasty New Zealand hops, bursting with an elderflower aroma and flavours of gooseberry and juicy white grape. Twice Champion Beer of Sheffield, and a firm favourite amongst both staff and customers, we really wanted to celebrate this much-loved brew becoming old enough to buy itself a pint… and fittingly, this occasion falls right at the start of our thirtieth anniversary year too! And so we’ve brought back one of our most requested specials, a beer that pays great homage to our Nelson Sauvin hopped pale and yet simultaneously brings a new twist to it too – it’s CRYO DECEPTION!
Using the same gorgeous hop, just in myriad different ways, Cryo Deception includes Nelson Sauvin in leaf, T90 and Cryo form, added throughout the brewing process. A slightly higher ABV than “regular” Deception at 4.8% helps all those delectable aromas come to the fore with an extra oomph of flavour. Light, luscious and very refreshing.
The story of Deception starts back in 2008, when we were trialling some new hops in a series of specials. Friend of the brewery Stuart Noble wouldn’t stop talking about a new hop from New Zealand, Nelson Sauvin, a hop that supposedly brought with it flavours of Sauvignon Blanc, and so we thought we’d give it a go. Our hop suppliers, Charles Faram, also knew how much our brewery owner Pat loved experimenting with new varieties and so were happy to help us get our gauntlet gloves on some. We brewed one full brew length of it, sold out of it within weeks and promptly had to brew it again!
We then had so many requests for it we brewed it every year. (As a slight aside, the following year, word on the street was a hop called Citra and we used that in Duck Baffler – another perennial beer, also available now as a cask special!) Deception remained an annual release until 2013 when we were finally able to pin down a regular supply of Nelson Sauvin and fulfil the demand all year round! Deception is now one of the longest standing beers in the UK to make use of Nelson Sauvin, and is right at the heart of our range, second only to Moonshine in terms of the volumes we produce.
Deception was formative in the beer journeys of many of Team Abbeydale and holds plenty of fond memories for us all. It was the very first beer our brewer Christie both bought for himself, and served a pint of as a bartender at the Kelham Island Tavern, and many of you may know both our Export Manager Robin, and our Retail Manager Lucienne from their days slinging a LOT of pints from behind the bar at Shakespeare’s – still one of our biggest customers .
To help us celebrate this milestone, here’s a list of some of the venues joining us to showcase Nelson Sauvin at its fruity, fantastic finest! At all of these below you’ll find either Deception and/or Cryo Deception from the week of Monday 19th January:
- Rising Sun, Fulwood… who are also hosting Deception’s birthday party! Drop in between 5-7pm on Wednesday 21st December for a FREE tasting with our brewer Christie! Donations to our charity of the year, Ben’s Centre, would be much appreciated.
- Shakespeare’s, Kelham Island
- Bath Hotel, Sheffield City Centre
- Itchy Pig, Banner Cross
- Crown and Cushion, Burncross
- Brothers Arms, Heeley
- Broomhill Tavern, Broomhill
- Jacobs Beer House, Bradford
- Crafty Fox, Brighouse
- Victoria Inn, Rugby
- Draughtsman, Doncaster Train Station
And cans of Cryo Deception will be available from Wednesday 21st January (Deception’s actual birthday) from the following retailers:
- Beer Central, Sheffield City Centre
- Starmore Boss, Sharrow Vale
- Premier Valley Road, Sheffield
- Dunston Hall Food and Deli
- Trembling Madness, York
- Penistone Beer Shop
… with more to follow! And of course you will be able to find it at our online and onsite shops too.
Happy 18th birthday, Deception!
Cheers,
Team Abbeydale
