The Fellowship Of Beer

22/05/2026

Whoop whoop! Party Party! 🥳🎉

Yesterday we honoured the Fellowship's wishes for a Parti-Gyled beer in Cycle 2. Essentially making multiple beers from the same big mash.

We made a variation of Steam Machine's Debauchery Imperial Stout (most of which will be barrel aged in Bourbon & Rum Barrels as per members' votes), and we've also brewed a highly hopped export stout with a twist (shh...!).

Some brew days go swimmingly and are an absolute breeze. This wasn't one of them sadly! The mash was sticky, got stuck, and made Nick says rude words which rhyme with stuck.

A couple of things required impromptu maintenance, and the whole thing was just looonnnggg... Over thirteen hours, and over twenty thousands steps later.

Party party indeed :D

15/05/2026

After a long wait, we finally received two unusual dark rum barrels. These belonged to long-gone Uitvlugt Distillery on the Demerara River, Gayana.

The Fellowship members have voted that we fill them with Imeperial Stout and Belgian Quadrupel. Both beers are rich, caramel-laden, and perfect for that big boozy hit of burnt brown sugar. At we have experience of both these beers being aged in rum barrels, with previous releases including "Blackbeard's Birthday Party", "Rackham's Rum Shoppe", and more recently "Reed's Rampage".

Stephen of - spirit expert extraordinaire - happened to pop in and have a sniff of these barrels as they arrived. The smile on his face hopefully means that these two beers will be ones not to be missed...

06/05/2026

14/04/2026

Can you guess what this picture is of? (Yes it's brewing related!)

01/04/2026

I see lots of breweries are doing the usual posts about releasing silly beers for April Fools.

For us that's just a Wednesday!

Never change Fellowship Community. We can't wait to see what monstrosity you dream up and vote on next... ;)

16/03/2026

After a long wait, we finally have some Calvados barrels to play with! And obtusely, they fill from the top!

Look like maybe ex-wine barrels before they had Calvados in. They are very good quality, smell amazing, and there's some liquid in the bottom...

We also picked up a few freshly emptied Jim Beam barrels.

I wonder what the Fellowship will want to put in these beauties to age away? Quads? Tripels? Imperial Stouts? Barley Wines? Something else?!

13/03/2026

Last week we had an amazing Community Brew Day and Bottle Share. Great to see members from near and far, those interested in the brewing side of the Fellowship, and those wanting to share big hefty beers together.

Members brought ingredients, weighed the malt, mashed in, prepped the fruit and spices - then retired to sample copious amounts of beer.

The big Community Wit smells amazing in the FV, and we can't wait for it to be in the Cycle 1 Box shipping nationally.

A big thanks to everyone who inputted to this fun day; and a special mention to Chris for bringing the pyrotechnics! 🔥

05/03/2026

It's been a busy week so far brewing Fellowship Cycle 1 beers, but how lucky was to enjoy a quiet few minutes in the sunshine early March!

More brews to come, including our Community Brew Day and Bottle Share on Saturday. I can't wait!

27/02/2026

In case you missed it, here's the superb article from The Pellicle about Steam Machine Brewing Company and The Fellowship Of Beer, including some background you might not know... :)

You’d be forgiven for thinking that 26 Northfield Way was just another warehouse. It stands, grey and inconspicuous, on the outskirts of a 400-hectare business park in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. But behind the doors of this unremarkable-looking building is a beer lover’s equivalent of W***y...

13/02/2026

Let’s talk hops!

At Steam Machine Brewing Company we’re putting together something very close to our hearts — a quaffable, old-school IPA inspired by the days before the haze craze took over.

Think West Coast vibes.
Clean, drinkable, mid-strength.
Nicely bitter. Crisp fermentation. No heavy malt distractions, with mainly the hops doing the talking.

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When Nick (that's me, talking in the 3rd person) designs a West Coast-leaning IPA, he usually builds it around **two hops from a piney / resinous camp, plus one from a modern fruity camp.

Piney and resinous hops contain compounds that give structure, dryness and firm bitterness — they create the backbone of the beer. Fruity hops carry more volatile aroma oils that sit on top of the beer, giving bright lift and modern character.

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🍻 Past hop cocktails have included:

• Simcoe + Columbus paired with Citra
• Motueka + Chinook paired with Blanc
• Green Bullet + Chinook paired with Moutere
• Summit + Idaho 7 paired with Nectaron

And many more, those were just from the top of Nick's head...

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Very soon, Nick will be asking Fellowship members to jump in, discuss, and vote on the hops they’d like to see in this new Steam Machine brew.

Working title?
Retro-Modern IPA …maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see where the discussion goes.

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🌲 Hop List A — Piney / Resinous (the backbone)
These bring structure, dryness, bitterness texture, and that classic West Coast edge:

• Chinook
• Columbus (CTZ)
• Simcoe
• Summit
• Target
• Green Bullet
• Warrior
• Nugget
• Northern Brewer
• Idaho 7 (leans fruity but still brings resin + dankness)
• Pacific Gem
• Galena

(These hops help the beer finish crisp, bitter and drinkable rather than soft or sweet.)

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🍊 Hop List B — Fruity / Expressive (the lift)
These bring aroma, brightness, and modern character — the hops you notice first on the nose:

• Citra
• Nectaron
• Moutere
• Motueka
• Hallertau Blanc
• Mosaic
• El Dorado
• Rakau
• Nelson Sauvin
• Cascade
• Vista
• Azacca
• Cashmere

(These sit on top aromatically and give the beer its modern fruit expression.)

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Fellowship members — this is where you come in!

We’ll soon be asking you to help choose:

➡ two hops from List A
➡ one hop from List B

…and that trio becomes the heart of the new IPA.

What would YOU pick? 👀

Pic of last year's Steam Machine beer harden hops.