I read about two more UK breweries closing down this morning. That’s over 50 in 2022 now, and with less than a month to go before the end of the year there’s still time for that number to increase. But what does any of this have to do with a tasty collab we’ve brewed up with Manchester’s Track Brew Co.?

Photography by Matthew Curtis (header by Stefan Melbourne)

On a recent episode of The Pellicle Podcast, I spoke about how the challenges we’re seeing in beer and hospitality are merely the tip of the iceberg—the fact is, things will in all likelihood get worse before they get better. In my line of work, however, I also consider that it’s worthwhile investing in the belief that things will get better. As important as it is to be realistic, it’s equally as vital to remain positive. There still are many excellent breweries, pubs, bars and bottle shops in operation right now, and with continued support, they’ll still be here to make hay when the sun shines on British brewing again.

To capture and celebrate this feeling of optimism, we’ve teamed up with our friends at Track to brew a beer we hope will bring a smile to the face of even the most hardened of pessimists.

Always Trust the Optimist is a West Coast IPA that pays homage to the beers that made us excited about beer in the first place. In fact, it would probably be better described as an ‘American IPA’, but as I explored in Pellicle’s Essential Guide to IPA from earlier this year, that term has become rather ambiguous of late, so we’ve settled with ‘West Coast’. This is so that anyone can pick up a can and know that the beer inside is packed with bold citrus and pine aromas, shored up by a robust malt character that gives this style its classic bittersweet character.

And trust us when we say it’s bitter. We’re talking 70 IBUs (International Bitterness Units) here, coming from Citra, Chinook, Simcoe, and whole-flower Centennial. Even better than that, we’ve used a smattering of Vienna—and, yes—Crystal malt alongside Track’s usual pilsner malt base. These speciality malts will give this beer the correct amount of sweetness to balance all of those zesty hop aromatics. Delicious.

This is a beer designed to make us feel nostalgic for better times and to remind us that if we can hold out long enough then those times will come around once again. When things are tough I’m often reminded of the fable of Pandora’s Box, in which all of the evils we experience were unleashed upon the Earth. At the bottom of the box, however, was one saving grace: hope. The fable itself tells it better than I can…

“When there is trouble and sadness among us humans, we have hope to make us feel that tomorrow will be better.”

Here’s to raising a glass with friends, family and loved ones, as we enjoy a beer that reminds us it’s ok to feel positive about the future. Remember: Always Trust the Optimist.

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This beer will be available from Tuesday 13th December in select outlets in keg and can, including Track’s Taproom in Manchester. Thanks to Track for inviting us to brew with them. Read our profile of Track from back in 2020 (before they moved into their new site,) written by David Morgan, right here.