A few, very few, have wondered what the seasonal artisanal brewing company of Scobby Dobby Doo Brewery GmbH got up to in early 2022, especially after the stupendous season that was last year.

Not wishing both of our fans to live in suspense, we share below our two seasonal labels. The first one is … wait for it … you’re really not going to believe this … a cardamom ale, “Cardemonium”. Inspired by my Norwegian friend Lars Andersen’s ravings over his favourite spice, during the winter of 2020 we tried, with some success, baking cardamom buns in Germany. Naturally, beer had to be next. The result was surprisingly different, as expected (ahem). It was also surprisingly good, and really grew upon me and my neighbour Clive across the hall, the only person daring enough to engage in competitive brewing against a self-acknowledged master. At 5.4% it was strong, but also refreshingly crisp as cardamom goes intriguingly well with hops.

The second beer was a strong, dark porter for dark, hard times, coming in at 6.4%. It was tough to think of a name, but with the various miscalculations going on all over the world, it seemed appropriate that one of the few good calculations should celebrate hope, thus Vyvo Pyvo! in support of Ukraine.