I love Adnams’ Brewery and where it is. Right on the east coast of the UK in Southwold it’s tucked behind sand blasted shutter boards, and quirky wonky constructions. It’s apparently hugely fashionable to go to Southwold, and rightly so. It has brilliant – seriously brilliant – seafood and shellfish, served in the pubs and bars which scatter the town. It is the epitome of an English country sea side resort with its lighthouses and beach huts.
Ghostship was originally a 9% beer called Deathly Pale Ale but it was pulled after the brewers realised that the label resembled too closely the symbol for poison.
Luckily, Fergus Fitzgerald came along as Adnams’ charismatic head brewer. He barely looks old enough to drink, has a brain the size of a planet, and Nelson Sauvin is his favourite hop. He totally understands the importance of balance in a beer and how to create a ‘symphony’ of flavours.
(The name Ghostship is inspired by one of Adnams’ most haunted pubs, The Bell at Walberswick. The shores of Walberswick are littered with eerie wrecks of smuggling ships from a bygone era).
Ghostship is your go to beer with white fish: sea bass, sole, cod, haddock, and halibut.
It’s delicate and fragrant, but with enough sharpness to cut through brine. At 4.5%, it has a backbone of malty sweetness, and coupled with those juicy, zesty hops it pairs perfectly with seafood, particularly a creamy fish pie.