Over eons and through civilisations, women had brewed beer as naturally as they baked and nurtured their families. In recent centuries though, a woman’s role within the brewing craft had changed. Old fashioned societal norms and industrialisation had turned women away from being the natural brewers of beer. In modern times things have been changing and thankfully the world is different now; the new age of the Brewster is dawning.
After equipping herself with a Masters degree in Brewing and Distilling from Heriot Watt in 1989, Sara was to join the tiny band of female pioneers working in the brewing world and then in time she took the step to lead her own brewing company.
Sara took the name Brewsters for the brewery as it was an old English word for a female brewer. In the mid nineteen nineties when Brewster’s brewery was started it was a term seldom used or even understood.
Brewster’s brewery is now a 32 hectolitre (or 20bbl if you are old school) single infusion brewhouse located in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Cask conditioned ales predominate but brewery conditioning is developing to be an important element for the brewery and allows other beer styles such as kegged beers and canned small pack to develop. The small batch size gives scope for great variety in styles.
oh6gdx (51139) reviewed Rutterkin from Brewster's Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Cask@The Horseshoe. Clear golden colour with small white head. Aroma is a lot of fruityness and nectar. Flavour is wooden, fruity, hoppy and has some hints of grass in the aftertaste. Slightly sticky palate.
bb (18428) reviewed Mata Hari from Brewster's Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Bottle. Amber beer with an off-white head. Grassy, earthy, citrus hops. Nice grassy, citrus hop flavor with malt backing. Low bitterness. Medium body. LIngering hop flavor.
Harrisoni (26233) reviewed Hop A Doodle Doo from Brewster's Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Cask handpull at Wetherspoons, Folkestone. Copper colour with lasting off white head. Aroma of strong grapefruit and hop. Very hoppy for a UK bitter, more like an APA, with glittering floral hop on finish. Some American hops I guess from the amount of grapefruit. Malts show moderate juiciness with just enough balance to carry the hops. Man, what an APA at the end of a long week. Lovely and tingly on the finish. Good grapefruit. Barman? Another one of these please.
Beese (811) reviewed Hop A Doodle Doo from Brewster's Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Cask at The Moon Under Water (JDW), Watford. Poured a clear copper colour, with a scummy white head and some lacing. Malt heavy aroma, with some caramel and floral hop. Grassy hop flavour, with some soft fruit and grain. Finish was light bitter hop, bready malt and mango sweetness. Pretty so-so.
beastiefan2k (4724) reviewed Mata Hari from Brewster's Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Tap @ Blind Tiger poured into a pint glass. Poured orangish-amber. Aroma is cookie dough with a marmalade twist. Seemed a bit weird, but I will burrow from sheatripper below and say "burnt sugar." To me it seemed a but overly sweet. Taste has an underlying citrus hoppiness and that burnt sugar-marmalade aspect. Slightly under-carbonated mouthfeel. Overly, it seemed like they couldn’t decide whether or not they wanted an ESB or an APA.
Ungstrup (52110) reviewed Rutterkin from Brewster's Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Cask at GBBF 2006. An orange beer with a white head. The aroma is sweet hoppy and fruity, the hops giving it notes of grapefruit - is it Cascade? The flavor is a sweet hop soup, and the body is quite powerful.
oh6gdx (51139) reviewed Mata Hari from Brewster's Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Bottled. Amber colour, small white head. Aroma is fruity and flowery hops. Flavour is hops, salts and some grassyness. Not much aftertaste, but is very mouthdrying.
Harrisoni (26233) reviewed Rutterkin from Brewster's Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Cask handpull at Pembury Tavern BF March 2007. Just about my beer of the festival I guess. Pale gold with lasting white head. Rich flowery fruity aroma. Sweet and flowery. I love it very much. Flavourful, flowery and a good pint.
Ungstrup (52110) reviewed Mata Hari from Brewster's Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Bottled conditioned. An amber beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is sweet malty with primary notes of caramel, but also a light spicy note. The flavor is sweet and very spicy combined with notes of elderberries, leading to a dry spicy and nicely bitter end.
Harrisoni (26233) reviewed Cheval Mort from Brewster's Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Cask handpull at Pembury Tavern March BF 07. Very deep chestnut/brown colour with lasting bubbly beige head. Quite a malty bitter. Malt aroma, malt flavour, bit of choc in mouth. Spicy hop finish. Bit spritzy in the mouth. Decent malty bitter.