Zostera

Man alive! The things you do for beer art! What better way to mark the weather than take our new product out in the snow for a photo session? You think? It wasn’t that windy when I left the house but once I arrived at location there was nothing but gust after gust of Siberian chill. Still, we’re made of stern stuff up here on the north coast (I mean to say the next north of here is actually Iceland).

However, the bottles would hardly stand up in the wind. And...I couldn’t get the camera to work. Yes, yes I know. Man defeated by tech. But then defeat was snatched away from me for who was out with a camera at the same time at Landsdowne? None other than intrepid Portrush photographer – the White Cockroach!! What luck! Staggering against the blustering wind he came up to me with that impish look in his eye. ‘What’s the craic here then?’

Needless to say we did our best in setting up some shots. At one point I had to crouch beside the White Cockroach to ensure I acted as a wind block as he would have been blown over as he crouched to snap away. Even the crate of beer was sidling along on the ground with wind assistance.

Hopefully we captured the green and white of the sea – there were some epic colours out there. We parted with a few words – there was no time to stand for chat. When I got back to the van an American couple appeared and said ‘we saw you with a crate of beer out there and we thought, bet that is Lacada.’ Nice to know the name is getting around isn’t it?

The original idea was to photograph the beer by a fireside. Perhaps we’ll all just drink one by the fireside, hmmm? We’re very pleased with our first black IPA which again has come about through recipe development by a few Lacadians at home. Zostera is noteworthy for a wee bit of chocolate coming through on the malt and also a wee bit of blackberry from the hops. It’s also got a soft-ish mouthfeel and pours with a nice head. Mmmm, hmmm.