State of Kind Brew Co.

I visited State of Kind Brew Co. on two occasions in the last month. It's a classic microbrewery setup, tucked away on an industrial estate. In fact, this particular industrial state and the premises themselves were once owned by my father-in-law as a bakery, and he's as pleased as anyone that his former workspace is being used to brew great beer.

On my first visit, a quiet Friday afternoon, I sampled a couple of beers on draft - Late Night Tales, a 4.5% pale ale, almost sharp in it's refreshing hoppiness, and Jude, a 5.5% pale, similar to the Late Night Tales but with the fruitiness amped up. Jude is in fact the only beer that the brewery has re-brewed, and was my introduction to the brewery when I tried it in Real Crafty in Wigan. It was a late contender for the best beer I'd drunk in 2022, putting State of Kind well on my radar. I also got a tour of the brewing equipment from one of the founders of the brewery, which culminated in sampling the three beers that were in the fermenting vessels at the time. This included Swans and Lilos, which even in it's green state was clearly magnificent. Before leaving, I also had a nip of Welcome To The Dark Side, an 8% chocolate, hazelnut coffee cake stout. Generally speaking I shun beers that have an endless list of adjuncts, but this was an excellent exception. The dryness of the hazelnut balanced with the sweetness of the other elements to make it extremely drinkable rather than cloying.

As for the taproom itself, it is a sleek and modern use of the industrial space. There are quirky touches like a Japanese beer vending machine and arcade game, as well as shuffleboard. On my return visit, a sunny Saturday on a bank holiday weekend, the taproom was packed with visitors young, old, male, female and canine. Loads of tables were set up outside and the atmosphere matched the weather. There was also an excellent example of one of the many food dealers that rotate at the taproom at a weekend, selling burgers, and extravagantly loaded fries.

On my return visit, I drank two of the beers I'd sampled from the fermenters on my first visit, the delightful Swans of Lilos, a 5.2% pale, and a 4.2% New Zealand Pale, which was also wonderful and a perfect beer for a sunny day.

On to the takeaways.

- Last By The Pool 6.8% NEIPA

- 3 Eyed Fish 6% DDH IPA

- Hello Can You Hear Me 7.5% IPA

- Some Funky Shizzle 4.8% Pale

- Space Cowboy 4.5% Pale

These beers manage to achieve those two great things: their stronger beers are deceptive and don't seem as strong, and their lower ABV beers pack a flavour punch. The orangey citrus notes of Some Funky Shizzle, combined with the tongue-tingling hoppiness might make it my favourite of the beers.

My overall impression of the brewery is overwhelmingly positive. I felt warmly welcomed both when the taproom was nearly empty and when it was full to bursting. All the beers were hugely enjoyable. My only word of warning would be that if you aren't keen on hazy, hoppy NEIPAs, this probably isn't the brewery for you. Although there was the excellent Welcome To The Dark Side that I sampled on my first visit, a sessionable dark beer is probably missing from State of Kind's roster at the moment.

I'm delighted that State of Kind Brew Co. was the first Brewery of the Month - it's small, new, local, friendly and modern, and I can't wait to see what else they produce.