Back to the farm...new tipples from Keelham Farm Shop

We have had a few expensive weekends in our house recently, built up of visits from friends and family members...with a significant amount of Prosecco consumed. This weekend we decided that we needed to have a quiet one. As a sneaky treat for the quiet weekend we decided that we were going to have steak night, so where else to visit but our favourite farm shop....Keelham.

My last post about Keelham will let you know all about this place, so I shall not repeat myself.

As we pulled into the carpark we saw a big sign stating that the Keelham Beer Festival was on...gutted as I was the designated driver for the day.
Unlike a typical beer festival the Keelham Beer Festival was business as usual for the shop, just with an added extra. At the end of most of the aisles were tables where local breweries (all stocked in the beer section) could showcase their brews and hand out shot sized samples. Apar


t from my recent discovery of Beer52 (and love of American IPA's) I generally tend to stick to local breweries. This made me feel less bad about not being able to sample everything.
Visiting breweries included Saltaire & Ilkley which are both on my doorstep...if you ever see their beer stocked in your local shop, or on offer in the pub then please try them, you will not be disappointed.  http://saltairebrewery.co.uk/saltaire/  http://www.ilkleybrewery.co.uk

The reason why I am writing this blog is because (if you read my last Keelham blog you will know) that this is the only farm shop I know that have their own beer. Whenever we visit I always pick up a bottle of Tipsy Pig. This time was different !
The shop were running a competition to find the next 'own brand' beer. With the name already chosen (Squiffy Sheep) all they needed was a decision on the brew. The choices were Fruity & Spicy Bitter, Chestnut Bitter and Golden Bitter all brewed for the shop by the Dark Horse Brewery based in North Yorkshire.
After picking up a couple of bottles I have to say that the Golden Bitter was by far the favourite, it was a little stronger than the Tipsy Pig and had a dark bronze look to it. It was not the most extreme in flavour, but was really fitting as a typical Yorkshire session ale. I may be biased to this as it reminded me of my beloved Black Sheep Ale.

If you get the chance to pop in, have a try and let them know your favourite...you never know it may just become available on your every visit!

As we walked out of the shop, beer, steak & cheese in hand we noticed one more stand by the door. How did we not know that Keelham now had their own cider!
I had to turn around and pick up a bottle for Liz.
At 6% this cider was very crisp and refreshing. It had a lot more taste than your typical branded ciders, but not as much as the high strength ciders that are found at festivals. This was a winner for Liz as she only likes fizzy cider. We would choose this over a Strongbow or Thatchers Gold...however Liz is still pushed more towards the fruity ciders of Rekorderlig.

Has anyone found any other local places like Keelham that do their own beer?

-Sam