Roux Brew shortlist drawn up

Michel Roux Jr has whittled down five brews to choose from in his quest to find the new suppliers for ‘Roux Brew’.

A high profile judging panel including Michel, Albert Roux, head sommelier at Le Gavroche David Galetti, Gregg Wallace, Silvano Giraldin, head chef at Le Gavroche Rachel Humphrey and Luke Finegan, sous chef at Roux at Parliament Square, have completed round one of the judging process and picked out the ones they felt stood out with varied flavours and styles.

Michel said: “We were amazed at the complexity and originality of the beers that were entered into the competition, but we drew up our shortlist from those that we felt would best pair with the fresh flavours that characterise our summer menus.”

12 top London breweries, all from the London Brewers Alliance, submitted their selections but the five who have made the next stage are:

Brew by Numbers – Saison – 5.6 ABV – hibiscus, chamomile, Seville orange zest, Amarillo hops, raw and malted wheat

By the Horns – Pale Rye Ale – 5.2 ABV – lemongrass, lime zest, rye malt and Sorachi Ace hops

Fourpure –  Belgian-style - 5.6 ABV - Belgian yeast, fresh pink grapefruit zest, fresh Sicilian Navelina orange zest, and coriander seed

Hackney – Pale Ale – 5 ABV – Nelson Sauvin hops, fresh crushed gooseberry and grape infusions

Windsor & Eton – Golden Ale – 5.3 ABV – locally grown (Windsor Royal estate) floor malted barley, Waimea and Saaz hops, pink peppercorns and thyme

The ‘Roux Brew’ will be a special house beer to be paired with seasonal summertime food for the Michelin 2 starred Le Gavroche, and for Roux at Parliament Square and Roux at the Landau restaurants.

The listing will be guaranteed from April until the end of September this year with a second competition for winter menus scheduled for the autumn.

The winning brew will be announced at an event this Friday at Roux at Parliament Square.