Beer Tasting with Freedom Brewery

(AD Event Invite*). Who could turn down the chance to drink beer, eat pizza and listen to live music on a Monday night? Not me. I was excited to attend my first event in a while with a bunch of Brum’s best bloggers, writers, social media peeps and beer bods. It was time to “#TasteFreedom” with Freedom Brewery.

The Event

I was invited to Freedom Brewery’s first event in Brum as they seek to grow their brand across the Midlands. The Stable was the perfect venue, with their pizza, charcuterie and brownies the ideal food to soak up the alcohol. The knowledgeable Joe was on hand to answer all of our questions during the beer-tasting session. There was also the opportunity to pull our own beer behind the bar. Yep, we had to work to get our beer. Not having the bar experience of some of my fellow guests I approached the pump with trepidation, but managed somehow to pull a near perfect pint. If an inch or two short of the top of the glass.

Call Me Unique provided the soundtrack for the evening, with a mix of laid-back tunes and a UK Garage mix which had us bopping with delight. And one of the best parts of the event was meeting up with other people from the city who are as passionate about independent businesses, Brum and beer as I am. As anxious as I was before the event – I lost any semblance of social skills during lockdown – those feelings soon drained away as I walked in to a host of friendly faces. I came away buzzing after reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. And with a goodie bag. A surprise bonus but much appreciated. After all, who doesn’t love a brewery-branded tote bag and glass?

The Beer

The beer tasting gave us the chance to sample four of Freedom’s range: Freedom Lager, Freedom Pils, Freedom Helles and Freedom Pale Ale. I’m usually a Pale Ale fan but the light, crisp flavour of the Lager was my favourite of the four. Definitely a beer-garden-on-a-sunny-day kind of drink. Rooting around the beer buckets strategically placed around the room and I came across Freedom’s Black Lager. It reminded me of drinking Dunkel in tiny German bars.

Freedom Brewery aren’t interested in gimmicks. No fruity beers or heavily flavoured imperial stouts. Just drinkable lagers and sustainable brewing. Located in Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire, the brewery benefits from a nearby natural spring, meaning that the water used is as fresh and local as it can be. The minimum of ingredients are used in their lagers – spring water, barley, hops and yeast. The addition of rye for the pale ale. And all their beers are vegan certified too.

I’ll definitely be looking out for Freedom’s range in the future. To buy direct from Freedom Brewery, you can find their online shop here. Thanks to Freedom Brewery, The Stable Birmingham and the lovely Laura of Bite Your Brum – event organiser, food blogger and all-round good egg.