Adnams Ghost Ship – A spooky citrus pale ale.
Adnams Ghost Ship is a ghostly pale ale which takes its inspiration from Adnams 600-year-old haunted pub, The Bell. Brewed with a selection of malts – Pale Ale, Rye Crystal and Cara. Adnam’s use Citra, and a blend of other American hop varieties to create some great citrus flavours. Bronze Medal Winner at The International Brewing Awards, 2013.
In 2010 the Adnam’s brewing team was asked to make a seasonal beer for Halloween. Furthermore, there were rumours of an old bottle of Deathly Pale Ale in Southwold’s Red Lion. So the idea was to make something that resembled it. Interestingly, Deathly Pale Ale’s label featured a skull and crossbones. What’s more, it looked like poison and was swiftly changed before release. After encountering similar issues, the beer remained pale, but the design was reviewed and thoughts turned to shipwrecks and ghost stories. Also, earlier that year, their master brewer, Fergus spent an evening talking hops with Brooklyn Brewery’s Brewmaster, Garratt Oliver, and the team from Brewers Select Group. Interestingly, they raved about a new American hop variety called Citra, and he decided to use it at the next opportunity. Consequently, they built Ghost Ship’s recipe around Citra, and it went down a storm. In 2011 they brought it back, but it went so well, they barely made it to Halloween before it ran out. Also, in 2012 it became a permanent beer in the Adnam’s range, and it’s now their best-seller.