The Bishop's Tipple is back

August 1, 2005: An old favourite of us Westcountry types - Gibbs Mew's Bishop's Tipple - is being revived, seven years after the brewery ceased production.

The 6.5% brew is being made by Devizes-based Wadworth - most famous for 6X - and has already been seen in draught form. Now it is being bottled and will be Sainsbury's bottled beer of the month for August.

"The Bishop's Tipple has been a legend among ale drinkers since it was first brewed in 1973 to celebrate the inauguration of George Reindorp as Bishop of Salisbury," said Wadworth's sales director, Fred West.

"It always was deceptively drinkable for a higher strength beer, tasting both complex and delicate at the same time; now our head brewer, Trevor Holmes, has spiced it up a little to make it even more lusciously aromatic - a crisp, turbo-hopped brew with wonderful citrus flavours, a real beer to savour."

New Bishop's Tipple is a pale gold beer, brewed from low-colour Optic barley with a small proportion of cane sugar added to give it a smooth, easy drinking palate. The beer is fermented at low temperature with a special yeast, chosen to avoid the fruity ester flavours often associated with higher alcohol beers.

The two hops used are the classic low acidity Saaz variety, from Bohemia, a vital ingredient in many Czech lagers and renowned for its delicate peppery bitterness; and an equal portion by bitterness strength of Styrian Goldings, which contribute a smooth, rich bitterness underpinned by a spicy citrus finish. One third of the hop grist is reserved for a late infusion, so as to extract and enhance the aromatic hop oils in the brew.

Bottled Bishop's Tipple is being distributed in Britain by Refresh UK.