The Union
Thornbridge Brewery in Bakewell, Derbyshire, England 🏴
IPA Regular|
Score
7.35
|
|
A classic British-style cask IPA created using the very best ingredients we can get our hands on and then fermenting it in our new Union set. For our base malt, we have used Maris Otter from Norfolk, a touch of Simpsons' best Crystal malt to add a touch of colour and rounded sweetness and some of the special (and expensive) Brewers' Invert No.2 sugar from Ragus, which will add notes of caramel and toffee while helping to keep the beer's body in check. The all-important hops are British-grown Goldings and Northdown, which give us some gentle berry flavours and rounded, ceder-like hop aromas to balance the maltiness.
(Cask-6%, Bottle-7%)
Hops - Goldings & Northdown
Malts - Maris Otter, Crystal & Brewers Invert No.2
(Cask-6%, Bottle-7%)
Hops - Goldings & Northdown
Malts - Maris Otter, Crystal & Brewers Invert No.2
Sign up to add a tick or review
7.8/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle picked up from Beyond Beer webshop Hamburg consumed at home Wednesday 28th April 2026 after my last day at Grafenau Tafel and then gardening at home, listening to Huw Stephens on 6Music. Pours gold good clarity, mid sized white head. Nice fruity nose, mostly citrus but then a nice earthiness. Excellent English IPA, superb bitterness, dry finish, the Goldings and Northdown are doing a stunning job and really prove that an English IPA can really challenge others with more exotic hops. Score:7.8
Tried
from Bottle
from Beyond Beer
on 29 Apr 2026
at 17:09
7.4/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 8
Toasted and sweet malty and fruity with notes of caramel and some toffee apple, light citrusy stewed orange, biscuity malts, nice malty layers, soft cask carb, bitter hoppy and malty close. Nice one.
Tried
from Cask
at
The Hope
on 25 Nov 2025
at 18:48
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
EB - Can 440ml. @ [ Petalax 🇫🇮 💻👀 Virtual Tasting ] - fonefan & Brugmansia House. 🏠🇩🇰 🍂🍁 ☁️☂️ [ As Thornbridge The Union ]. ABV: 6.0%. [20251008]. 7/3-/7/3-/14
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Oct 2025
at 14:12
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 8
Golden colour, mediumsized white foamy head. Aroma is floral, nectary, some biscuity and a bit caramel tones to it. Flavour is floral, nectary, some sweet caramel with mild wooden and some toffee tones too. Foresty and nicely fruity bitter aftertaste.
Tried
from Bottle
from Alko (Webshop)
on 12 Aug 2025
at 17:17
7.6/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle from the Thornbridge online store. Nose is baked apple, citrus, apricot, kiwifruit. Taste is grapefruit, baked apple, lime, more kiwifruit. Heavy hoppy aftertaste.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Thornbridge Brewery Tap
on 16 Jun 2025
at 21:19
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
500ml. Golden colour, steady white head. Cracker, fruity aroma. Light to medium-bodied. Classic citrusy, bisquity malty English IPA flavour. Good drinkability and citrusyness holds to the aftertaste. It's been a while since last classic UK IPA tick.
Tried
from Bottle
from
K-Supermarket (Kampus)
on 20 Feb 2025
at 19:56
6.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 6.5
Texture 7
Overall 7
På Liverpool & Districts Beer CAMRA Beer Festival feb 2025. Delt med Rune.
Tried
from Cask
on 13 Feb 2025
at 20:22
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
Hand-pulled cask ale, half pint, shared with Finn. Attractive malt-fruity aromas, caramel and ripe fruits, hints of berry skins as well. Well balanced taste, hints of biscuit, dark berries, and mid-sweet malty depth. Caramel-fruity finish. Well bodied and well crafted. (First session, 44th Liverpool Beer Festival, Metropolitan Cathedral Crypt, 13.02.2025).
Tried
on 13 Feb 2025
at 18:15
8/10
The second beer they brewed on the historical Union fermentation set. Lovely! A very British IPA. Like an English sky, clear as day but a bit dark. Pleasant fruity hops. Would love to try it on cask.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Feb 2025
at 20:46
7.2/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle listed at 7%. Slightly hazy gold with a thick white head. Mellow hoppy aroma. Flavour has a nice mix of dry, grassy hop and a good amount of malt, with some bitter citrus zest, a dash of caramel. A dry, crisp and airy finish to it. Very pleasant.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Nov 2024
at 18:20