Earlier this week, we announced our beer rebrand and shared refreshed designs for six of our best sellers. At the same time, we described how this new look and feel would be rolled out to future releases and hinted that something was imminent. Well, hot on the heels of the rebrand announcement we’ve launched Big Skies and Deep Seas, the first ‘new’ beers we’ve produced using the rebrand creative. Available in 440ml cans, they have flavours that will take you above and beyond.
Suffolk is famed for its never-ending landscapes and even bigger skies. They’ve inspired the name and the style of this latest release. Big Skies is a Double Dry-Hopped IPA, which uses hops like Mosaic and Simcoe to help us soar to great heights. As if that wasn’t enough, you can also explore unfathomable depths with Deep Seas, our Belgian-Style Blonde. Immerse yourself in the big waves of flavour, that come rolling in during fermentation, thanks to Adnams unique dual-strain yeast strain.
The brewing process:
We’re the first to see the sun in the morning and our days stretch out into the beautiful sunsets. Our Head Brewer, Dan, was inspired to brew an expressive American West Coast-style IPA for Big Skies. He used big-hitting hops like Mosaic and Simcoe and dry-hopped with them twice, to elevate the flavours and aromas he loves. It is expansive, intense, and awash with vivid colour. “The generous dry hopping increases the complexity and overall intensity of Simcoe’s resinous pine and stone fruit and the citrus, blueberry, tropical and green fruit notes of Mosaic,” said Dan.
The origin of Adnams house yeast dates back to the 1920s and we've been using it in Southwold since the 1940s. For Deep Seas, he wanted to craft a beer that accentuated its unique characteristics. “We’ve always said that our yeast has a slight Belgian accent when you really dive in, so a Belgian-Style Blonde fitted the bill as we could really embrace the fermentation process.
“Paying particular attention to temperature in the brewhouse helps us make the most of the big fruity esters our house yeast imparts. We used Mandarina Bavaria hops for some tangerine notes and there is a small amount of malt flavour for balance. Careful use of wheat gives this brew real depth,” he added.
The creative process:
When painting the artwork, artist Vanessa Sorboen was starting afresh. These were the first beers she’d worked on that had no previous references. With guidance from our Head of Creative, Jess, alongside Lee and the team from our design agency, she has created two expansive vistas for our latest releases.
“It's always been an ambition of mine to paint the sea. But I’d never envisaged painting it from underneath,” said Vanessa, laughing. I've never made anything up before and would usually work from a photo. When I’m walking the dog, I might stop and think – ‘oh, that's nice.’ My first thought was, ‘I can't take my palette down there. I thought I’d have to pop on a Go-Pro!’ So, I panicked when they mentioned Deep Seas, but I thought, now come on Vanessa, you tackled a galleon for Broadside!”
With lots of moments and landscapes to choose for Big Skies, we were lucky to capture a scene after harvest, with a glimmering gold stubble field. It felt like a real embodiment of where we come from and reflective of the beer style.
“We did Big Skies first and the design agency was interested in creating a directional effect using the clouds, something that took your eyes to the horizon. You do see that formation in nature, but it takes some work to make it feel natural and to get the correct placing of highlights. I had lots of fun with the colours. Whenever people talk about this region, they always seem to mention the gorgeous sky. It’s the range of colours you see, as well as the scale.
“Deep Seas was initially harder to envisage. It was explained that we wanted to be under the water and looking upwards. I would need to create a sense of both depth and distance - to have that hint of the surface but feel far away and deep down. It was a real learning process. They made some suggestions about how the surface texture might look and the way it might look on the can. It was something I could really get on board with, and then I was off.
“We were having lots of conversations about how black things should be at the bottom to give that feeling of depth, but it’s quite It’s hard to gauge when painting in oils - they have a sheen to them, so it changes as you move around the canvas. But when I stepped away from it, I was like, ‘Well blow me, I'm gonna do more underwater.”
Have fun diving in!