Double Down: a vote of confidence

DOUBLE DOWN intransitive verb

1: to double the original bid in blackjack in exchange for only one more card

2: to become more tenacious, zealous, or resolute in a position or undertaking

As a small business, every financial decision we make becomes the most important one to date. And at the moment, with the cost of living and the price of energy, that has become even more stark. When it comes to big spends, caution is the way forward.

Except when it isn’t. Sometimes the only course of action is to Double Down.

Buy Double Down in 440ml cans online here

Double Down is the result of a series of firsts. It is the first double dry-hopped (DDH) Pale Ale we have brewed, and it was the first beer we canned on our in-house canning line, back in the days of COVID-19 when it seemed like every one of those financial decisions could be our last.

Those were extreme times for all of us, but from it emerged a mentality that we just needed to take a risk. Not something we do very often but there was very little choice. Pre-COVID we had to ship our beers down south to be canned, and then driven back before heading out for sale.

Living on the edge of everything makes us more aware of the Climate Crisis than others, maybe. We definitely recognised the importance of bringing something in-house, if we can. So we can in-house now, and have done for three years.

This batch of Double Down is an improved version of that debut canning run; it is 4.5% ABV and hopped with a trio of American hops (Mosaic, Amarillo, Simcoe) that are then added again in the dry-hope stage, to reveal even more citrus and stone fruit flavours, with some aromatic resinous pine. 

DDH Pale Ales are hugely popular, the reason being when done well they are balanced, drinkable and hugely refreshing. We like our because it reminds us of the huge hurdles we have cleared to still be brewing today.

That first pandemic-era batch was followed by a second, which we timed perfectly to sync with a nationwide shortage of carbon dioxide, making it another time of sleepless nights. Thankfully, this third batch arrived with not quite as many dramas.

But it’s still a point of significance for us. Double Down reminds us of the decision we make to pull the trigger on a colossal outlay right when our very future was up in the air. It reminds us that sometimes, taking a leap of faith is the right thing to do.