WITCH HUNT is back in bottle.  Nearly sold out in cask and very possibly on a pump near you for Halloween but our ever popular Porter will be available in 500ml for a good few months yet.  It works beautifully in a Christmas pudding so if you’re getting round to thinking about that already pop in and grab a bottle from our brewery shop.

Roasted Chocolate Malt defines this devilishly dark porter. Fuggles, Goldings, Celeia and Aurora Hops are thrown into the cauldron to bring this beast to life. Bolt the door, find a cosy nook and get stuck into this bewitching brew.

As a mark of respect we have brewed a one-off Limited Edition red ale to commemorate 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day. We intend to donate proceeds from this brew to UK military charities.

Alex chose Phoenix and Bramling Cross hops to give this tribute beer a rich toffee molasses backbone with a blackcurrant hit.  Think bittersweet and hedgerow fruits.

Here’s to the venerable servicemen and women who defended and fought for us.

A Crystal Rye salute to them at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month 100 years on.

This 4% Red Ale is now available in cask and in a couple of we’ll have bottles.  Watch this space…

Wow! BRAZEN sold quick in cask.  All gone I’m afraid.  Might have to brew it again sometime.  Just shows you have to grab the Limited Editions while they last.  But…we saved some for bottle and these can be purchased from our shop, online or selected outlets throughout the county.

BRAZEN (3.8%) is an Amber Ale brewed with Cascade, Goldings and Bramling Cross hops which gives a hint of fruit, hedgerow and honey and a trace of spice.  Add to this bold, biscuity Munich malt and you have a shameless beer which beats pipe and slippers hands down.

It makes Autumn all the more palatable after the fabulous summer we’ve had.  Order yours now or pop in and see us!

1555 wins SILVER in the BEST BITTERS category of CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain 2018  competition. Results just announced at The Great British Beer Festival at Olympia.

We were really chuffed to have two of our core brands selected as finalists for the competition this year.  Heresy 4% Golden Ale and 1555 4.3% Trad Best Bitter are both on Bar B18 at Olympia for the festival.

Essex is leading the way with two fellow breweries garnering awards in the Bitters and Golden Ales categories too.  Congratulations Mighty Oak and Colchester Brewery.

Siren Craft Brew’s Breakfast Stout ‘Broken Dream’ has been crowned Champion Beer of Britain 2018.

Will post full results when we have access to them.  Very proud of the team here at Bishop Nick who are up there with the best following our triumphant SILVER overall win in the Bitters category last year.  Keep up the good work.

Don’t ride in to battle – it’s too hot – instead allow us to fix the tournament and send out JOUST our summer stout as the noble winner. Royally refreshing and dark as knights in velvet robes.

Launched at Chelmsford Summer Beer Festival, we now have JOUST in cask.  Our brand new summer stout is a 5.2% banquet of a beer.  It is jet black in colour with a dense creamy head, espresso coffee in aroma and roasted malts and dark chocolate in taste.  It has a distinct roasted bitterness but the addition of oats gives it a creamy sweetness to balance it out.

We sold all we took to Chelmsford Beer Festival and feed-back was overwhelmingly positive.  Alex Ratter came up with this recipe and we all know he is the king of dark beer (won Champion Beer of Britain for his Oscar Wilde Mild) in 2011).

NB – No horses were harmed in the brewing of this beer!

We’re due to get bottles back next week so keep an eye on Facebook or our website for availability.

Revelry Day 2018 was such a fun day last Sunday.  Our Father’s Day event is growing year on year and once again we attracted in excess of 800 people spanning generations to our brewery in East Street, Braintree.  Graham Good and his band entertained with easy festival vibes, Timmy Tickle delighted the children with balloons, magic and puppetry, the hog was roasted and gobbled up in its entirety, Japanese pancakes were tossed and loaded and we were drunk dry!

Our REVELRY 18 beer (an Golden English Ale at 4.3%) sold out quite early on despite us putting three firkins up.  Memo noted for next year!

We had locally produced Berties Cider and Perry and we had Felsted Vineyard wines which went down extremely well.  Molly Moos also chimed in with their delectable handmade ice-creams which are always a hit.

Nelion and Alex conducted brewery tours and were on hand to answer questions and Ridley juniors were busy bees re-filling the shelves in the shop which was a hive of activity for most of the day.  I guess people were stocking up for the World Cup!

Lots of smiley happy faces were testament to a job well done by the Bishop Nick team who all pulled together once again.  Cheers to that.

REVELRY DAY 2018 promises to be another brilliant afternoon out for all the family.  Father’s Day falls on Sunday 17th June this year and at midday we will be throwing open the doors of the brewery to welcome local Real Ale enthusiasts and their dads!

If you’ve not been before give it a try.  Real Ale on tap, hog roast, Japanese Street Food (new), vintage ice-cream van with delectable home made ices, live acoustic music, children’s entertainment, English wines….  Suits you sir!

Nelion and his Head Brewer Alex Ratter will be conducting brewery tours and the shop will be open for purchases.

Profits will go to EACH (East Anglian Childrens Hospice) charity – so keep your glass to add to your collection!

Free entry and ample parking.  Buy a refundable glass on entry and fill it up all afternoon to say Cheers to the Big Man!

See our Facebook page for more information about the event.

REVELRY DAY 2018 EVENT

Hope to see you on the 17th.

All at Bishop Nick

Our Dark Mild (3.7%) is back for CAMRA’s Mild May.  This British Classic is intense, dark and malty.  It has sold extremely well in past years so we’ve not tinkered with it at all.  It’s a really refreshing brew and very smooth on the palate – easy drinking 3.7%

Mild ale is hard to come by these days so CAMRA go great guns to promote this underappreciated style of beer for the month of May.  Most of our fellow Essex breweries will pull a Mild out of the bag for Mild May so let us know what you think.

It is now available in cask but we will most certainly be bottling some and those will be ready in the next couple of weeks.

So if you don’t like an overly hoppy beer give this one a try.  Chocolatey and moreish.

Enjoy.

East Street for Easter? Our extremely popular blond ale (4.2%) is back for the Spring.

The first gyle has practically sold out in cask but don’t worry we’ve bottled plenty and we might even brew it again because it is proving to be a real crowd pleaser.  It is really aromatic and smacks of florals and fruit with thirst-quenching citrus flavours.  It’s a pretty beer too.  A brillian straw colour since we bunged in a load of speciality extra pale malt.

This adds to an already varied and top quality range that we have in bottle right now.  The sumptious, rich pudding of a stout Black Cloak (4.8%) is still going down really well amongst the dark beer drinkers out there and casks are all but gone.  And in the middle, our Amber ale Toast (3.8%) is holding its own too.

So all of the bottled range are available in our shop on East Street (did you see what we did there?) and online through our web shop.  Three packs and six packs make a great gift.  Or a gift voucher for the undecided!

Hop to it.

We’re recruiting again.  The team is growing. As is the call list! We are looking for an experienced Telesales person to join the gang on a part time job share basis.  3 days a week including Mondays.  Is it the challenge you’ve been looking for? Do you know of someone?  Looking to fill the post asap and applications will be accepted up until 6pm on Friday 16th March.  Please send a current CV and a ‘sell yourself’ cover letter to info@bishopnick.com.

It is an exciting time for Bishop Nick.  We’ve just been joined by expert brewer Alex Ratter who brings with him oodles of knowledge (and beer trophies) and we have just scooped top prize in CAMRA’s Champion Beer of East Anglia 2018 awards in two categories for our core beers.

So if you want to work for a GOLD award brewery with a rich heritage and steeeped in history with a relaxed, close knit team of passionate individuals then now’s your chance.

Job Description

 Title:                          Office Sales Administrator

 Hours:                       8.30am-4.30pm – three days a week to include

Mondays (part-time job share)

 Skills essential:      Telesales, current Microsoft Office, ability to learn new IT software package, typing, interpersonal social skills

Skills desired:                     Knowledge of/interest in Real Ale industry

 Attributes essential:         Excellent telephone manner, good interpersonal skills, organised, efficient, good initiative, flexibility, reliability

 Duties include:

 Telesales                   Working through a daily call list. Up-selling across the range of beers and liaise with brewery staff re delivery routes and schedule. Building on existing customer database and extending the distribution network for Bishop Nick cask and bottled beers.

 Answering incoming calls – handling/fielding as necessary.

 Brewery Management System

Populate and keep up to date, brewery management database (training provided)

Office management

Filing and general office administration – keeping good order at all times.

 Personal assistance          Administrative assistance for the brewery director as required.

 Shop                          Taking card and cash payment for items purchased in the brewery shop, recording sales and stocking the shelves ensuring the space is presentable and attractive at all times.

 Bottles                       Online sales – preparing packages for courier collection.

 General                     Keep domestic areas stocked, presentable and clean, taking turns with making teas and coffees for fellow staff etc…

 Events                       Duties may include staffing on-site events, tours and off-site festivals.

 Permanent post    Salary payable last working day of each month.

Annual leave 28 days including Bank Holidays allocated on a pro-rata basis.

Based at the brewery site – 33 East Street, Braintree, CM7 3JJ.

To start ASAP