Robinsons Brewery - Trooper

This traditional English brew presents a rich brownish amber on the pour, with crystal clarity and a sizable head of beige foam that laces as it drops. Look for the beer’s maltiness to jump out in the aroma with prominent notes of caramel, toffee, and lightly buttered toasted bread. Overlaying the malts we find touches of woody, earthy, and lightly citric hops. As we expect for ESBs and English Pale Ales, this brew delivers an excellent balance between malty and hoppy qualities. The central malt core offers plenty of toasty and caramelized character to support the hops as they bring herbal and earthy notes along with a hint of citrus zest. Some flashes of fruity esters pop through here and there, as well. Bitterness comes through moderately firm, offering plenty of counterbalance to a touch of residual malt sweetness, and lingers on in the finish. For pairing options, we’d recommend steering towards roasted meats or breaded dishes like fried chicken and fish & chips. Traditional shepherd’s pie sounds good as well, as does a simple snack of English cheeses like Cotswold, Cheddar, or Gloucester. Cheers!

Robinsons Brewery is one of the most well-known independent breweries in the UK, although they remain much less known here across the pond. Their story begins in 1838 when William Robinson acquired a pub and inn called The Unicorn in Stockport, England. When William moved away in 1849, his eldest son George took over the business and began brewing his own beer. Ten years later, his son Frederic took over and purchased a warehouse behind The Unicorn to expand the brewing operations. With capacity increased, the brewery was able to supply many other pubs around Stockport with Robinsons beer.

Over the next few decades, Frederic bought a dozen pubs which began offering Robinsons beer exclusively. It was the start of an empire than continues to this day on a much larger scale. After Frederic died in 1890, the brewery remained in the family, with his widow Emma and their son running the operations, with additional members of the fourth generation joining by the early 1900s. The business expanded throughout the mid- 20th century, with new bottling lines, pubs, and packaging centers opening up and expanding the Robinsons brewing influence. After the sixth generation joined the business in the early 2000s, they invested 7 million pounds into the construction of a new brewhouse in 2010.

Today, Robinsons is one of the largest family-owned breweries in the UK with approximately 250 pubs around North West England and Wales. The brewery produces a multitude of beers on draft and in bottle, including various IPAs, lagers, strong ales, and traditional cask ales. Bruce Dickinson, the frontman of Iron Maiden and a fan of traditional British ales, teamed up with Robinsons’ head brewer Martyn Weeks to produce Trooper in May 2013. The beer became an iconic hit, and since then several additional beers under the Trooper sub-brand have been released. For more information about this impressive English brewery or their pubs, inns, and hotels, visit them at www.robinsonsbrewery.com.