Ambient pub noise

tumblr and posterous crosspost test

All being well, this should autopost to Tumblr, and Posterous, as well as Facebook and Twitter, completeing the migration to Wordpress.

via Posterize

Migration

Those of you who follow me on twitter, or like Good Morning on Facebook, will probably be aware that I have begun to move my main blog to www.mrdavidj.co.uk

Once I have everything set up, all posts will be made through that site. New posts are likely to appear there first, so if you want to read them, bookmark that page.

The Friday Pint #23 - Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival

It’s overcast, raining a lot, and there are weather warnings across the country. Yes, it’s June. Summer is here, and with it comes festivals. Later I’ll be covering the highlights of the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival (there’ll be no full pint today, far too many I want to try after last years “failure”). First though, a brief bit about last weeks Friday Pint, and the absence of a post.

I did manage to drink a pint last Friday. It was at Joe’s Crab Shack in Pittsburgh, which served one of the biggest portions of chocolate cake I’ve had the delight to feast on, ever. It was this cake that was the posts downfall. That combined with the other food I consumed enduced an epic food coma. As it was, the beer in question was Landshark Lager, which was okay, it had a slight lemony hint, but other than that, it was nothing exciting.

Onto this week’s drinking. Last year, my trip to Cardiff for GWBCF was a last minute decision, and as such cost me £64 for the return ticket from London. This time I planned in advance, and saved a considerable amount. I had planned last year to use my time there to try a lot of beers that I rarely see in London or Southampton. As it happened, I ended up mostly drinking beers from the Otley Brewing Company.

This year I had a similar plan. I had my eye on a couple of Otley’s, but there was also some research to be done. I’ll be holidaying in North Wales towards the end of the year, and so today seemed like a good time to see what there is in terms of beer in that area. Alas, despite my best intentions, my beers mostly came from the south, with two each from Otley and the recently opened Tiny Rebel Brewery.

From the former I had another half of Odessa, their collaborative Imperial Stout brewed with Pete Brown, and my first taste of O6, their porter. I’m not sure how I’d managed to not try it up to now, but now I have, I want to drink it again.

Today was also my first taste of Tiny Rebel beers, with Cwtch and Dirty Stop Out being sampled. Cwtch was nice, but not really my sort of beer. Dirty Stop Out on the other hand, was one of my favourite beers of the day.

Among the other beers I tried was one of the first releases from Brains Craft Brewery, All At Sea. It didn’t grab me in the same way that the Otley and Tiny Rebel brews did, but I still think its a project worth keeping an eye on.

Overall it’s been a good day, with good beers, and good people.

Beer Drinking in America #2 - Enthusiasm Counts For A Lot

On the Thursday of my first week out in America, we drove (I say we, my girlfriend was the one doing the driving) up to Erie in Northern Pennsylvania. Whilst there, we paid a visit to the Erie Brewing Company.

When we arrived we walked into the shop area to find no one around. We went back out and pushed the bell outside the door and were greeted by Mark, who proceeded to be one of the nicest, and fun, guides I've ever had the privilege to meet.

I told Mark that I was there to try the beers, and I was told to buy a tasting glass for $5. Mark then proceeded to work through the beers that they sold.

The first was Presque Pilsner, which seemed much more like a Pilsner than the My Antonia that I had drunk the evening before. It seemed smooth and light, and just right for the hot humid weather there was those few days.

We followed this with Misery Bay IPA, which following a failed attempt at ordering an IPA in another bar, was actually my first American IPA of the holiday. There didn't seem to be much aroma, but it was wonderfully bitter, and exceedingly tasty.

The third beer I tried was Derailed, a 5% Black Cherry Ale. The beer had a feint cherry aroma, and a strong cherry taste, followed by a slight biscuity aftertaste. Essentially, it was a good dessert beer.

Railbender is a 6.8% Scottish style beer, which "exists to enjoy, but doesn't provoke words". This was followed by Oak Aged Fallenbock, which had been aged using oak spirals. I found it to be rather good for a bock beer.

After exhausting the taps they had, we moved on to some bottles. Mad Anthony's APA (which had run out on tap) wasn't the best in the range, but was still entirely drinkable and enjoyable. The real fun came with the Ol' Red.

Ol' Red Cease and Desist is a 10.1% Wee Heavy Ale. We first opened a bottle from the latest batch, which we were told was made with odd yeast, and so didn't taste how it should. Saying this though, it was still a very nice, rich and flavoursome beer. Halfway through drinking this version, Mike went out and came back with a two year old bottle, made with yeast that hadn't gone wrong. This version prompted the words "wonderful, wonderful beer". It was.

We finished off with a blend. taking two parts Misery IPA and one part Ol' Red, to create a mix that Mike called Old Misery. It didn't seem to be greater than the sum of it's parts, but it's good to see people experimenting with mixing beer.

I didn't take any notes walking around the brewery. They were bottling at the time, so it was rather loud. The one thing I do remember though, is Mike telling us that Fuggles is one of his favourite hops. With all the criticism it seems to get from some circles, I was initially quite surprised. Thinking about it though, it's probably more a case of saturation.

Mike's clear enthusiasm for the beer and the brewery helped us to enjoy the experience and the beer. He also helped us with where to go after we left, suggesting several venues in the area with large selections of beer on tap. We chose Jekyll and Hydes, which served good burgers, and a nice selection of beer.

Contrast the enthusiasm of Mike to the more rigid scripted tour style that we experienced at Great Lakes in Cleveland the following day, and it's clear what leaves more of an impression.

One more America post to come from this trip, in which I'll be covering the beers I haven't done in the first two posts, and anything else that may come to mind...

 

Beer Drinking in America #1 - Making the most of an opportunity.

So, I'm now back in the UK after almost two weeks in Western Pennslyvania and Eastern Ohio with my wonderful girlfriend, who drove me around to many bars and breweries. A fair bit of beer was drunk over that period, and much griping about the lack of smaller measures in some places, especially when it came to beers of certain strengths. I didn't really want to be drinking a whole pint of them, especially when there were others I wanted to try as well.

Enough moaning however, and on with the beer. To make things easier, I'll be splitting my notes into several smaller posts, with this one focusing on the Dogfish Head beers I drank whilst in Pittsburgh.

Dogfish Head is a brewery I've wanted to try more of for some time. I managed to try at least seven different beers that were new to me, and reaquaint myself with 90 Minute IPA. There were some odd beers, some very welcome beers, and one that was nice, but didn't really do anything for me.

The week started with Midas Touch, a 9% Ancient Ale made with ingredients found in the drinking vessel of King Midas. I'd say that this was an acquired taste. The first impression is that of a rather musky aroma, and the taste is quite dry at first, but a sweetness comes through in the aftertaste. This isn't a beer I'd rush to drink more of, but perhaps it would work better paired with some food.

The same night I shared a bottle of My Antonia. My Antonia is an Imperial Pilsner, which has been continuously hopped. As a result, the aroma reminded me a lot of 90 Minute IPA. In the 90 Minute IPA, I think that the continuous hopping is a good thing. I like how it tastes and smells. In My Antonia however, I found it to be too much. It wasn't how I expect a pilsner to be. I liked it, but as a pilsner, I wasn't a fan.

The next beer came in the shape of Chicory Stout, a good enough stout, though I'm not too sure what happened to the chicory. Saying that though, I'd still drink it whenever the opportunity arose.

On the Saturday Evening we shared a bottle of Bitches Brew, Dogfish Head's beer brewed in honour of the 40th anniversary of the Miles Davis album. My notes have just two words by this beer, "wonderfully tasty", and it was. My girlfriend was asked to perform at a show that evening, which turned out to be longer than she had been told, and the second worst show she had performed in. By the time we got back, I think any beer would have been "wonderfully tasty". We have another bottle which is being saved for my return in November. Hopefully it will still be "wonderfully tasty" then.

For Memorial Day we returned to Pittsburgh, and once again I raided the beer shelves of the Shop and Save, this time picking up the Victory and Dogfish Head versions of Saison Du Buff. Saison Du Buff is a collaboration beer between Victory, Dogfish Head and Stone, first brewed at Stone in 2010, and then replicated at the other breweries using the same ingredients. The beers have been brewed again this year, and the Dogfish Head version isn't bad (I'll say one word about the Victory version, soap.), there seemed to be a malt base that the Victory Saison was lacking, which gave the beer a much better overall taste.

A return in the other direction to Columbus brought with it another return to the Shop and Save, and this time a four pack of Burton Baton, Dogfish Head's IPA flavoured with oak spirals. I found it to be a rather nice IPA that gives way to oakiness in it's after taste. I've left two bottles behind to see how it ages. I think it could go well.

As well as this lot, I also bought back with me bottles of Sahtea and Black and Blue, which I'll be drinking when the right time comes. With the amount of Dogfish Head I drank you could easily be mistaken for thinking I was in Delaware rather than Pennslyvania or Ohio. I was though, and beers from those states will be coming up soon...

 

Pictures will come later, when I can actually upload something.

Black and Tan Experiments #14 - Sam Adams Imperial Stout and Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

I'm still in America, the land of big roads, big cities and big beers.

Sam Adams Imperial Stout is a gloriously delicious stout. Full of rich chocolate flavours and aromas with hints of aniseed. By far one of the best Imperial Stouts I've had in a while. I'd been enjoying it for a while when I thought about adding some Hoptimum for a Black and Tan.

Hoptimum is an Imperial IPA with an IBU of 100. It's an extremely bitter and hoppy beer. It's not that strong in aroma compared to many DIPAs, but it's very strong in taste and alcohol.

The mixture surprises me. From experience I was expecting the high IBUs to cut through the stout and add bitterness to the stout. As it is, the Stout overwhelms in this case, with only a bit of hoppiness in the taste.

Two individually great beers make an okay black and tan.

The Friday Pint #21 - Great Lakes Elliot Ness

Those of you who follow me on twitter (@mrdavidj if you don't and would like to) will probably be aware that I am currently in the USA. I've drunk a fair amount of Dogfish Head, and had a rather good afternoon at Erie Brewing Company yesterday, but those will be covered in another post. For this is The Friday Pint post, and although my netbook tells me it's 1:11 on Saturday Morning back home, here it's only 20:11, and so the night is still young.

The weather today in Cleveland was hot, at least to me it was hot. It was the kind of heat where just walking a few minutes makes that entire pint of water you just downed seem worthless. This probably wasn't the best weather for me to enjoy beer in, but I made a good go at it.

This week's Friday Pint came from the Great Lakes Brewing Company, and was an Amber Lager, called Elliot Ness. It was one of those beers that served it's purpose, but failed to provoke any kind of notes in my notebook.

The pulled pork sandwich that I had with it however was gloriously tasty, with some of the best chip seasoning I've ever had on chips. I followed this with some of their homemade chocolate chunk ice cream, made with their porter. Whilst it was rather tasty, I felt it didn't quite seem exciting as the description.

After food and beers, we went on the tour. The things of note that I felt worthy of mentioning are the fact that some of the waste malt is used in the resturant for baking pretzels and bread, and that the beer served in the resturant comes straight from the tanks in the brewery, completely bypassing the kegging process, meaning fresher beer.

I liked Great Lakes. After the tour I popped back in to use their toilet before the drive back and discovered the pub downstairs. It seemed like a good place to drink in, and if it wasn't for the fact that I was feeling perpetually dehydrated, I probably would have stayed for one more.

Black and Tan Experiments #13 - Brewdog 3

Late on Saturday Night, Jonny Bright posted this tweet...

I'm guessing he was rather drunk at this point, though this tweet still put the idea into my head, and so earlier this evening, once I had got back from Leeds and dropped my suitcase off, I headed up to Brewdog Camden.

I've had both Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink The Bismarck! on their own before. I find of them to be a bit harsh, especially when it comes to the aroma. It's difficult to distinguish anything underneath the burning alcohol that wafts up from the glass.

Combine the two though, and it actually becomes a lot more drinkable. Everything about it mellows, and the taste becomes a chocolate followed by burning followed by a lingering sweetness, that ultimately satisfies.

Quick research tells me that I'm not the first person mad enough to actually try this. At least one other person has tried it, and noted this fact on the internet. There are references to A TNP/STB Black and Tan here and here. It's not clear if these are two seperate people, or the same insane beer drinker.

It's not something I'd reccomend having on a regular basis, but it's something I reccomend trying, even if you didn't like the component beers.

 

Black and Tan Experiments #9b - The Bourbon Barrel Bearded Lady Edition

A few weeks ago, I tried a black and tan using Magic Rock's Human Cannonball and Bearded Lady. Yesterday, as part of the European Beer Bloggers conference, I got the chance to try this mix using the new barrel aged version of Bearded Lady, of which there are just 8 kegs in existence.

The barrel ageing has made Bearded Lady a lot smoother, and as such, it drinks a lot easier than a 10.5% beer should do. It's full of bourbon hints in the aroma, but they're not overpowering like some barrel aged beers can have. When it becomes mixed with Human Cannonball, it's very similar to the standard mix, with slight hints of bourbon taste coming through, which presently surprised me as I was expecting this to be drowned out by the hops in the Human Cannonball.

Photo to come later...

European Beer Bloggers Conference - Live Beer Blogging

Okay, so this isn't "live". I'm writing it whilst drinking the beers I'll be talking about in this post, but I've opted to not try and actually tweet anything about the beers, as the wifi in the room we're drinking in is horribly unreliable.

The first brewery at our table is Marble Brewery from Manchester. They've bought with them a beer made in collaboration with Emilisse Brewery from Holland, an Earl Grey IPA. It's been made using earl grey tea, and has a lot of citric bitterness.

Second to pimp their beer is Roosters Brewery, with a single hop IPA called Baby-Faced Assassin.  It's a Citra IPA, made with a single variety of malt. As with most Citra hopped beers, it's not really my thing, but it does seem to be at the more likeable end of the range for me. Now I've had a few sips, it actually tastes more like grapefruit juice than it does a beer.

Next to the table is Great Heck Brewery, serving us Stormin' Norman, an American Style IPA, hopped with Cascade and Columbus.  I don't seem to be getting much hop aroma from this, and to be honest, the taste isn't really doing much for me either.

Brewer number four is Slater's Ales with Top Totty (queue Parliament jokes and pump clip taste debates).  To me, it's a nice, lager like ale. There's not much aroma, but it's clean, crisp and very refreshing. I'm not a fan of pale ales, but this I enjoy

Next to our table is Mark Dredge, representing Camden Town Brewery with a bottle of US Hells. I've had one bottle of this that I've "got". The others haven't quite met expectations, and this is the same. It's nice, but it doesn't quite match that bottle that made me "get" US Hells

Half way through and Adnams are serving us with Ghost Ship, a "Ghostly Pale Ale". It contains a combination of Moteuka and Citra hops. These combine to create an aroma and taste that I quite like. It's still not my style as a pale ale, but in the right circumstances, it's a beer I'd enjoy.

Seventh to the table is Innis and Gunn, showcasing their Scottish Pale Ale, which will be available to buy soon. As with all Innis and Gunn beers, it's aged in oak barrels, in this case, Bourbon Barrels. It has a sweet, whisky like aroma, with a hint of vanilla in the aroma and the taste. It's a good beer, but the fact it is sold in clear bottles does put me off

The Leeds Brewery are the eight people to the table, bringing with them Hellfire, a "Fiery Pale Bitter".  It had a subtle aroma of grapefruit, and a bitter taste. After several pale ales I'm starting to get tired of them now. Variety is a good thing. Thankfully, I know Otley have bought Oxymoron with them

Talking of which, Nick Otley is at the table now. Oxymoron is a Black IPA. Aromawise it's one of those annoying bastards of a beer which I can recognise the aroma, but can't quite place what it is. It seems to be a mix of coffee, chocolate, liquorice and aniseed, with something else as well.

Finally, we end with Brains and Brains' Dark, the brewery's Mild. It's full of rich, chocolates and burnt malt flavours. This is the sort of beer I enjoy, and I'm pleased to finish on this.

Sprawling across the web...

If all is well, this post should autopost to the following places:-

Twitter - @mrdavidj

Facebook - www.facebook.com/mrdavidjbeer

Tumblr - mrdavidjbeer.tumblr.com

Blogger - mrdavidj.blogspot.co.uk

Anti-Social Beer Drinking

Right now, the attendees of the European Beer Bloggers Conference are enjoying beers from all around Europe. Beers from the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy and Bulgaria are all present.

I tried a few myself. There's some good beers there, but I found myself struggling to appreciate them. I needed to sit down, and relax with a good beer. This is what has bought me to North Bar.

It's incredibly antisocial of me, but you know what, I don't care. I enjoy beer best when I can relax, just me and a beer, which is exactly what I have right now. There are other people here, but at this table it's just me and a bottle of Mikkeller 19. From what I understand it's brewed with 19 hops. I can't say I'd know that if I hadn't been told, but I can say I rather like it.

Anti-social beer drinking. Try it some time, you might enjoy it.

The Friday Pint #20 - Raw Brewing Company Grey Ghost IPA

With the EBBC registration and trade show in an hour and a half's time, choosing to come up to North Bar and drink my 20th Friday Pint probably isn't the best of ideas. Here I am though, with a pint of Raw Brewing Company's Grey Ghost IPA. I'm impressed. It's pale, and bitter and seems like a very good start to the day. It's not really inspiring any extravagant descriptive hyperbole from me, but it is a rather good IPA. So, 20 weeks on from when I started this strand, with no real plan in mind other than to improve my writing and descriptive skills, what have I acheived? Well, I'm still not entirely sure if there is a plan or structure. I'm trying to stick to my original idea of trying something new, though this hasn't always been possible, or appropriate. Some of the pints have been responsible for a stream of writing about themselves, whilst others have merely been sipping matter as I jot down what's in my head. I'll be honest and say this one isn't really doing either, despite it being one of the best Friday Pints in recent weeks. Kind of disappointing this post really, isn't it?

Black and Tan Experiments #12 - Magic Rock and Brooklyn.

So, I am now in Leeds, and after failing to find a comic book shop to buy this weeks issues of Batman, I find myself in North Bar.

I like it. It's how a bar should be in my mind. A bar is long, it can get busy, and conversations often merge into one murmuring noise. A pub in comparison is more square, it will often have separate areas for different purposes. A pub is very different from a bar.

I look at what's on. Behind the bar on the blackboard I see the words "Black and Tan", in this case a mix of Magic Rock's Dark Arts, and Brooklyn Lager. On the bar though is Brooklyn's Soriachi Ace. I order a half only to find it's run out.

And so here I am, Black and Tan #12 in front of me. It's my first beer since reaching Leeds. It's not overly impressive. The lager mellows the stout in a way that isn't really noticeable, but makes it a lot more quaffable. Dark Arts on its own I tend to sip. This I appear to be swigging.

I have half a glass left. The question is, with the pre conference pub crawl looming, do I stay for another?

Untitled

iPad test post

This is a test post using basic HTML

Thus should be a separate paragraph with a link in it

This should be another nee paragraph

Second app test post

This is to prove a point.

Something isn't right.

I think.

Email test post

This is a paragraph. This is a separate paragraph. As this should be too.

App test post

This is a test of the app, rather than the website, which is creating the paragraph issue.

This should be a new paragraph. This is a sentence in that paragraph.

This is a separate sentence in another new paragraph. These paragraphs should be separate.

Test post

Please ignore this, it'll be deleted eventually, I'm trying to work out why despite typing posts out with paragraphs, they end up posting as a single block of text. This should be a new paragraph. As should this. Though those two might have merged. Dum Dum de drum Test paragraph post conclusion.

The weeks ahead...

With just two sleeps before I head up to Leeds for this year's European Beer Bloggers Conference, and just seven until I head to America, I felt it was time to take a look at what I'll be doing, and also, what I'll be missing.. Firstly, this weekend in Leeds. The location was partially influential in me deciding to go. I've never been to Leeds, and so it'll be nice to take some time to have a look around after the Magic Rock Trip on Sunday. As for the conference itself, I'm hoping to come away with a lot of new knowledge, and put faces to a lot of the names I have been talking to on twitter, and on here. It'll also be nice to meet the faces I've already seen again. I'll have a couple of dry days after the conference (I think we'll probably all need them) before I fly to America. I'm going over to visit my Girlfriend, who will be taking me to several beery places in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. I also know that she already has several bottles waiting for me, including some Dogfish Head, and a few bottles of Infinium (I rather love her somewhat for some reason). There will be Friday Pint posts, and I'm hoping to try at least one Black and Tan Experiment whilst I'm over there. Of course, being out of the country means I'll be missing a few things here and there. Firstly, there's The Skatalites, who play in London on the day I leave. Southampton Beer Festival takes place on the 31st May to the 2nd June, and Brockenhurst Football Club are having another festival between the 2nd and 4th June. Random Hand are playing somewhere in Stoke Newington on the 2nd. I don't know where, I can't go, so it's worthless finding out for me. I'm sure there are more things I'll be missing, but these stand out. To make matters worse, I miss the chance to see The Real McKenzies in Pittsburgh by a couple of days. Still, I doubt I'll be worried about that when I return with a case full of American beers.

The Friday Pint #19 - Otley O3 Boss

With a week to go until the European Beer Bloggers Conference in Leeds, and a week and a half until I go to America, I'm back in Southampton, and I've stopped off at the South Western Arms, next to St Denys station, to try some of the beers at their festival. Hopefully, I'll be able to ignore the fact that they have Rochefort 8 and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout in their fridge, both available for a rather reasonable price of £3.60 a bottle, and try some good beers. There's some breweries I recognise here, but a lot that are new to me.. For my Friday Pint this week, I have chosen one of those that I am already familiar with, Pontypridd's Otley. The beer in question is O3, a chestnut red ale, with 4.4% alcohol. I think I may have had this before, but not being one for caring about ticking, or keeping meticulous records of what I've drunk, I can't really be certain. Let's ignore that though and just focus on the pint in front of me. It's the first of the day. It's the only pint I'll have today. After this it's halfs all the ways as I attempt to try as many beers as I can before I start to feel either a) drunk, b) bloated or c) I can't really taste the beers anymore. I highly expect though, that we'll be leaving long before any of those occur. The beer is a light red in colour. It catches the light well, creating an amber glow on the table as it shines through. It's the sort of image a marketing campaign could be built upon, a glowing amber pint, a shining beacon of relaxation and enjoyment. Aroma wise (I have a slight cold again, perhaps unsurprisingly) it's subtle. If there is anything distinguishable, I'm not experienced enough to distinguish it. Taste wise, well, I'm half way down the glass already. I keep going back for more. It coats the mouth with a lovely moreish taste with a hint of sweetness. This is what I want a beer to be like when I *need* a beer. I don't want anything challenging or unusual, I want something I can drink and enjoy without thinking about it. London Pride is one of those beers, and now Otley O3 has been added to that list. I'm going to enjoy the rest of this pint, and then go for one of those Rochefort 8s. I might as well enjoy myself whilst I'm alive.

The Friday Pint #19 - Otley O3 Boss

With a week to go until the European Beer Bloggers Conference in Leeds, and a week and a half until I go to America, I'm back in Southampton, and I've stopped off at the South Western Arms, next to St Denys station, to try some of the beers at their festival. Hopefully, I'll be able to ignore the fact that they have Rochefort 8 and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout in their fridge, both available for a rather reasonable price of £3.60 a bottle, and try some good beers. There's some breweries I recognise here, but a lot that are new to me.. For my Friday Pint this week, I have chosen one of those that I am already familiar with, Pontypridd's Otley. The beer in question is O3, a chestnut red ale, with 4.4% alcohol. I think I may have had this before, but not being one for caring about ticking, or keeping meticulous records of what I've drunk, I can't really be certain. Let's ignore that though and just focus on the pint in front of me. It's the first of the day. It's the only pint I'll have today. After this it's halfs all the ways as I attempt to try as many beers as I can before I start to feel either a) drunk, b) bloated or c) I can't really taste the beers anymore. I highly expect though, that we'll be leaving long before any of those occur. The beer is a light red in colour. It catches the light well, creating an amber glow on the table as it shines through. It's the sort of image a marketing campaign could be built upon, a glowing amber pint, a shining beacon of relaxation and enjoyment. Aroma wise (I have a slight cold again, perhaps unsurprisingly) it's subtle. If there is anything distinguishable, I'm not experienced enough to distinguish it. Taste wise, well, I'm half way down the glass already. I keep going back for more. It coats the mouth with a lovely moreish taste with a hint of sweetness. This is what I want a beer to be like when I *need* a beer. I don't want anything challenging or unusual, I want something I can drink and enjoy without thinking about it. London Pride is one of those beers, and now Otley O3 has been added to that list. I'm going to enjoy the rest of this pint, and then go for one of those Rochefort 8s. I might as well enjoy myself whilst I'm alive.

The Friday Pint #18 - Hardknott Æther Blæc (2011 Epsilon)

This week I was unable to get to a pub due to having to wait for a delivery which never came (try to avoid companies using Yodel if you can). As a substitute, I have decided to open one of the bottles that normally I'd put off opening, in this case, Hardknott's Æther Blæc (2011 Epsilon).

Æther Blæc (2011 Epsilon) is a "stout beer aged in a 28 year old Speyside whisky cask". The bottle states that the cask was originally filled with Aultmore in 1982, and that the stout was aged in them for six months.

I'll be honest and say I had hesitations about opening a bottle of which a) I only have one of and b) there are only 636 of in existence. I had planned on leaving them for a couple of years (I also bought a bottle of the Lambda) thinking that they would be better then. The only thing is, better than what? As I say, I only have one bottle of these beers. Unless I go out and track down some more the moment I drink them will be it. I'll have no idea if they've improved or not.

As for now. This bottle that I have poured out. The aroma seems to be full of blackberries, somewhere between blackberry yoghurt and blackberry cheesecake, with each attempt to try and distinguish the aroma giving me different things. The blackberry element also seems present in the taste, and contributes to the beer seeming much less than the 8.5% that is stated on the bottle.

This beer is currently very easy to drink, though as a downside it seems to be lacking in flavour for a stout. Actually, that might be wrong. It's more that the flavour is subtle, rather than the full on flavour that I was expecting.

If I come across another bottle I think I'll buy it and put it away for a few years. If I don't then I'm reasonably happy with this. It's not a beer that has made me stream praise, but it's good enough and after today, that's just what's needed.

The Session #63 - The Beer Moment

 

This month, The Session is being hosted by Pete Brown. The topic for discussion this month is "The Beer Moment" This is what came to mind when I read the announcement...

Last year, on the 23rd of December to be exact, I had a beer moment. It involved a beer I had drunk numerous times before, Young's Double Chocolate Stout.

I was on my way home from London to Southampton for the Christmas Weekend. I had packed a bottle and glass to enjoy on the train. One of my favourite things about winter is that there are times where it is so cold that a beer can be just left outside for a while to bring it to a good drinking temperature. This was one of those nights, and so by the time I got to open the bottle on the Woking to Weymouth train, it was the perfect temperature.

Now, as I said earlier, this is a beer that I've had many times before. It's amongst my favourites from my eight or so years of drinking beer. On this occasion though, there was something different. It tasted better.

This got me thinking, is there something more to the enjoyment of beer than just the beer itself? Was the enjoyment of this beer moment influenced by the fact that I was on my way home, to share and enjoy more beers and a few days off work. How much is enjoyment of anything influenced by the circumstances in which that thing was enjoyed, or not enjoyed.

I can't actually think of any other occurences that have come close to feeling like a "moment" as this one. It actually seems like the last time I drank a beer for pleasure, rather than a purpose, like my "Friday Pint" or "Black and Tan Experiment" drinking. As I think I may have read another blogger (or perhaps a few bloggers) write before, it's easy when trying to be analytical about beer to lose track of what got us started in the first place, those moments.

I find that "The Beer Moment" is most likely to come when I'm not thinking about it. Sometimes it's good to step away from being critical and to just enjoy something for what it is, not just in the world of beer, but in the world in general.

The Friday Pint #17 - Water, water everywhere...

Yet again I'm having a week without an actual Friday Pint. This is though my last day on the current shift pattern of 11 - 11. After the weekend it's all change again, and so next Friday I'll be seeking out somewhere for a pre-work Friday Pint before starting the 1 - 1 shift.

So, what to write about in place of a pint? Well, this week I started reading one of the old books on beer that I'd downloaded from Project Gutenberg, "A Treatise on the Brewing of Beer" by E. Hughes. It's the second edition of the book published in Uxbridge in 1796, and contains advice on all aspects of beer from ingredient choices, to "Some very useful and necessary directions to the Publican who retails Common Brewer's Beer".

I've yet to read to that last section, but of the sections of the book I have read so far, the bit that has stuck in my mind has been the first section on water. Within it, E. Hughes goes over three different types of water, Well water, Spring or River water, and Rain water.

Well Waters, the book says, should only be used when waters of a softer nature cannot be obtained. These being the Spring or River, and Rain Waters. The book claims rain water to be prefered to river and well water, due to it being of a "simple and soft nature".

There is also a paragraph on "Many persons" prefering to use Pond Waters, though it points out that these are generally muddy, and these sediments can have a detrimental effect on the yeast and the beer in general.

Reading this segment of the book got me thinking. We are now used to water being treated for use as liquor in brewing. How much difference would it make if the water wasn't treated. I'd quite like to see a brewer, or perhaps a collaboration of brewers from various parts of the country, using the same ingredients (from the same sources to maintain that the only difference is the water source), brewing the same beer, only with different waters.

It might turn out to be a failure, but it would be fun and interesting nonetheless. 

 

Sadler's Dr. Hardwick's IPA (Plus Black and Tan Experiment #11)

A few weeks ago, Chris Sadler posted this tweet. I was instantly excited, and wanted to try it as soon as possible. On Monday, he posted this tweet, and  by the end of that day I had booked train tickets to and from Birmingham New Street, with enough time in between for trains to and from Lye, and a couple of pints of beer.

I started with a pint of the Dr. Hardwicks, and a pint was more than enough, especially on top of what I'd already had at the Euston Tap beforehand. It's a dangerously drinkable beer, not too far away from how I remember 90 Minute IPA to taste, with perhaps a tad more grapefruit.

As I was there I took the chance to see how well it worked with Mud City Stout as a Black and Tan. I'm pleased to say that this blend works well, with the stout taking off some of the bitterness of the IPA.

I was opening to write more, but I stopped making notes quite early on. I hope that Dr. Hardwick's proves successful. I'm not sure if it will do well on tap, but I think it could find a market in bottles. Here's hoping it has a future.

Black and Tan Experiments #10 - Thornbridge

You'd have thought, with Thornbridge being Thornbridge and all, that this experiment would turn out to be rather good. It turns out that if you thought that way you'd be wrong. At least, you would be in my opinion anyway.

For the tenth installment of this irregular series of blog posts I took a bottle of St. Petersburg, Thornbridge's 7.7% Imperial Russian Stout and a bottle of Halcyon, their 7.4% Imperial IPA.

I'd had St Petersburg before, last February (2011) at the Battersea Beer Festival. It was one of the best beers I had during my session there, and one I've wanted to try again since. As a result I was looking forward to opening this bottle. Another result of this was that I was slightly disappointed that this bottle didn't seem to live up to that first time I tried the beer.

The aroma is a mixture of subtle spicy berries and high cocoa dark chocolate. It has a warming alcohol taste to it, with a burnt toast after taste that coats the mouth and lingers far too long for it's own good. If there was more in the initial taste of the beer I could cope with this, but there's not, and so ultimately, I was disappointed.

The Halcyon was a new beer to me. The aroma was a floral/grassy aroma, rather than the citrusy aromas that are common in Imperial IPAs. It seemed to be much more subtle, and less hoppy than most Imperial IPAs, and as a result, much easier to drink.

This subtleness wasn't a good thing for the mix though. The characteristics of the St. Petersburg dominate, though the harshness of the burnt aftertaste has been lessened by the Halcyon. The good mixtures I've been able to write a fair bit about. This inspired nothing.

 

Sadler's Sprung - The Friday Pint #16

I was unable to connect to the internet on Friday, and so was unable to post this on Friday. What is written below is what I would have posted Friday, and so certain times and facts are inaccurate (I don't have several bottles of Mud City Stout in my suitcase for instance.

This weekend also saw the first Birmingham Twissup, which I joined in on, as I was in the area anyway for the Stourbridge Vs AFC Totton match (which Totton lost, 2-1). It was a good night, with good people, and if its on a weekend I'm off, I'll be doing Twissup 2. The Birmingham Twissup was organised by Danny Brown, who blogs at Mediocre Beer Adventures.

Herein commences this weeks Friday Pint entry...

"Earlier this evening I was at The Windsor Castle in Lye, the home of Sadler's Brewery. I was there with one thing in mind, Mud City Stout. Mud City Stout is one of my favourite beers. I'll be leaving on Sunday with several bottles of it in my suitcase, a number of which have already been claimed by friends and family. Before that though, there was one beer on the bar that I hadn't tried before, and so that was to be this week's Friday Pint.

Called "Sprung" it was a 3.9% pale ale. The recent  changes in weather mean that yet again I find myself unable to smell anything, so if it has any aromas they are not strong enough to get past my blocked nasal passages.

The taste reminded me of the Bitter Lemon drink (can you still get that?) with a bit of grapefruit. It was okay, but the beer coated the mouth with a lingering bitter aftertaste that was rather unpleasant for me. Half way down the pint though, the taste of the beer began to change to a much more pleasant and enjoyable, more fruity and less bitter taste.

Overall I think this is the best of the Sadler's monthly specials I've had so far this year, though it's still not a patch on Mud City Stout.

As an aside, earlier this week I began looking into historical brewing methods, in particular those of the Egyptians and Mesopotanians. I'm hoping that after enough reading I'll be able to replicate some sort of historical style beer. It's either that or I'll be making some cider.I'm sure you'll be hearing more of whatever path I go down, and my reading in the meantime, over the coming weeks."

The Friday Pint #15

Those of you who reguarly read this feature of my blog may have noticed a deviation from the usual format of the post title. That would be because this week, there was no pint.

I was going to head up to Camden Brewery after work, but then I had second thoughts. I finished at around 21:30. By the time I would have got there it would have been 22:30. The bar will shut at 23:00. Is it really worth the effort just for a 30 minute window of drinking?

I like beer. I like trying new beer. I especially like the bar at Camden Brewery, and Unfilitered Hells Lager, and Big Apple Hotdogs. I also like to relax when drinking beer, and not feel as if I have any time constraints. This is one of the many reasons why midweek afternoon drinking appeals to me so much (along with the fact that much of the crowds are at work, and the bars aren't three deep with people trying to get a drink in).

I will be having a beer tonight. I have stuck my second bottle of the Kernel/Brodies collaboration Stella For Breakfast in the fridge, which should be at about the right temperature by the time I finish writing this post.

Next Friday I'll be headed to Birmingham, for another weekend of Football (Stourbridge V Totton) and Beer (Birmingham Twissup amongst other things). I'm hoping that Sadler's new DIPA will be ready for me to try when I visit the Windsor Castle. If it is, that will be next week's Friday Pint. If it's not, I'll be on the Mud City Stout again all evening.

Black and Tan Experiments #9 - Magic Rock.

Magic Rock are generally considered to be one of the best new breweries to have emerged in the last few years. The Brewery was started in 2011 and quickly built up a solid reputation. This afternoon I decided to see how well thier Imperial IPA, Human Canonball, and their Imperial Brown Stout, Bearded Lady, mix as a Black and Tan.

The first thing I notice about the Bearded Lady is the alcohol. It has a rich smell of alcohol with a few hints of chocolate. The alcohol is noticable in the tasting as well. Before the burnt aftertaste that lingers a bit too much there's a warming feeling, similar to that given by drinking a whisky (or whiskey, as is more likely in my case). As I move down the glass the flavour and the aroma of the beer seem to subtley change. More chocolate starts to come through, and on occasions there are very feint hints of cherry.

The first thing I notice about the Human Cannonball is the hops. As soon as I lifted the glass to my nose I was hit by a waft of grassy hop flower aromas. There's a distinct lingering aftertaste, but on a different part of the tongue. In theory, if the beers mix well, I should get the burnt flavours of the Bearded Lady lingering on the front of my tongue, and the bitterness of the Human Cannonball lingering on the back of my tongue.

Human Cannonball is bitter. It stands at a mighty 115 IBUs ("approximately") and as such, it's hard to distinguish any tastes other than that bitterness. That's not to take anything away from it though. Human Cannonball is one of the best beers in this country right now.

Now, for the mix. Aromawise, it's much like a Black IPA, a mixture of strong hop influenced aromas and burnt malt influenced aromas. Tastewise, it's pretty much as I expected, only better. If there's one thing I've discovered after doing just nine of these, it's that strongly hopped IPAs and rich flavoursome Stouts work the best. Here I have two very unique and strong flavoured beers. It would be very easy for one to overpower the other, but instead there is a compliment. Like a couple of previous Black and Tans I have done, there is a lingering bitterness that slowly gives way to a lingering burnt malt taste. This is starting to become a quality that I'm looking for in these experiements.

The Human Cannonball/Bearded Lady Black and Tan is one of the best I've had so far. I'd give it a go too if I were you.

Brodies Superior London Porter - The Friday Pint #14

This weekend is Easter, and with that comes the Brodies Bunny Basher festival at the William IV. As I'm working on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, today was the only chance I had to travel across London and try a few of the beers that had caught my eye from the list.

I started by ordering a pint of Brodies' London Lager, though miscommunication led to this being a half. Seeing as how I'd be drinking quite a few of these I thought I'd stick with it and just pick a half to write about, just like I did with the Odell IPA at Camden Town Brewery two weeks ago.

I had come across to try the Rioja cask Romanov, and to have another glass of Elizabethan. Everything else was a combination of curiosity, or in the case of the Superior London Porter, an old favourite.

I worked my way through the beers that I couldn't remember having before. Sometimes I can see a use in ticking, or rather, having a record of which beers to avoid or try again. Most of the time though I remember that I actually have a life, and a reasonably good memory, and also, I'm very unorganised when it comes to having a pen and notepad in the same place at the same time.

Post Lager, I had Brodies Brick, Winter Saison and Summer Saison, and an Amarilla, before deciding that none of the other beers that appeared to be on really appealled to me, and settled for a pint of Superior London Porter.

I say appeared, as there were a few pumps without pump clips, and two of these contained the two main beers that I had come across for, the Rioja Romanov and the Elizabethan. Both beers were sublime, though were probably not appreciated as much as they would have been had I known they were on earlier. The latter is a beer that feels like a perfect beer for a cold winters night. If only Brodies would bottle some of it so we could do such a thing.

I'm now off to sleep, it's been a fun week, but now my body needs a break.

The Session #62 - What drives Beer Bloggers?

This month, The Session is hosted by the Brewpublic blog and poses the question "What drives Beer Bloggers?"

Now, the first answer that springs to mind for me is "train drivers". Sometimes I'll catch the bus, but mostly I'm headed to pubs, bars, breweries or festivals on a train.

On a more serious note, and actually answering the question as intended, for me its a combination of wanting to improve my writing, or at the very least keep my creative brain active, and keeping some sort of log of my drinking experiences.

In terms of reading other peoples blogs, I look for information, and inspiration. Many blogs have been influential in my decisions whether or not to buy a certain bottle of beer, or in opening bottles I already have.

Blogging has made me want to drink more. Not just more beer, but more varieties of beer. Styles that I've never tried before, in places I've never been. This in turn makes me want to blog more, or on occasion, search out other blogs or articles on those beers. It all makes for a nice little circle of beer drinking and beer appreciation.

Fullers London Pride - The Friday Pint #13

Earlier this evening I recieved bad news. The bottle of Life and Limb that I had purchased from Bitter Virtue two weeks ago had exploded as it was being put into the car ready to go to Cornwall, where it would have been opened on my birthday next Wednesday. The scene on reading this news was fortunatly captured on camera.

Okay, so that maybe an exaggeration, but I was looking forward to that beer. For those of you read this blog who are not aware of Life and Limb, it is a collaboration beer between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head. It's a strong dark beer made with birch syrup, a description that makes me want to try it even before I get to the fact that it's a collaboration between two of my favourite American breweries.

All being well, I should be able to get another bottle, unless someone gets there before me. Even if I can't, the bottle shop I'll be going to now has a full range of Magic Rock beers back in stock, meaning I'll be able to try a Cannonball/Dark Arts and a Human Cannonball/Bearded Lady Black and Tan at some point.

As for this weeks pint, it will be a pint of London Pride, from across the road in the George and Devonshire. I can't really get to many other places, with the exception of heading up to the high street. Hopefully it will be on form. There's few things better than a good pint of your regular beer. (Likewise, there's few things worse than a bad pint of your regular beer).

Tomorrow, I'll be going on a birthday crawl, taking in The Southampton Arms, Brewdog Camden, and the two Euston Taps. It's a joint birthday crawl that I'll be sharing with my good friend who turned 27 on Tuesday, so I'll be calling him an old man all day.

Next week, it's my birthday, and I shall be in Cornwall. I'll also be coming back via Newton Abbot, so there'll be a bit of cider drinking on Thursday before heading across to East London for Brodies Bunny Basher Festival.

It's going to be one beery (and cidery) week...

Odell IPA - The Friday Pint #12

Okay, firstly I should probably confess that this week I didn't actually have a pint. I did however have several rather good halfs at Camden Brewery.

I set out from Chiswick at around 12pm. Making the most of the nice weather I decided to walk up to Camden Brewery.My plans were to try the Ska Brewing's Modus Hoperandi and the Sierra Nevada Relentless Rye before moving onto Unfiltered Hells until I'd had enough.

As it was, Mark Dredge told me that the Odell IPA and regular Hells Lager were tasting particularly good. He wasn't wrong either. If you happen to be reading this tonight and can still get down to the brewery (it's right next to Kentish Town West station) I'd do so if I were you.

As lovely and flavoursome as the Odell was I couldn't distinguish any specific flavours, unlike the Hells which had developed a slight bananary taste.

Rather than make a seperate post about the subject, I'm going to put my thoughts on minimum pricing here. There is now an official news article on the Number 10 site here.

Whilst I welcome anything that might get more people drinking in pubs rather than their homes, I can't help but feel that this plan is somewhat flawed. The main question I have is who will benefit from this financially.

Steve Lamond of the Beers I've Known blog pointed out this morning that Supermarkets raise the price of other groceries so they can sell multipacks of beer at below cost price. While it would be nice to think that if they were forced to sell alcohol at a certain price they'd use these profits to lower prices elsewhere, I doubt that will be what happens.

I could accept a minimum unit price if it somehow benefited the makers of the products, as well as the sellers. The news stories and the Number 10 report aren't exactly clear as to how the policy will be implemented. I'm assuming that this has still to go through parliament and the House of Lords before being passed. If it's already been through, what the hell were we doing to let it go through so easily?

Black and Tan Experiments #7 - Brewdog 2

Last month I mixed together Brewdog's Hardcore IPA and Riptide for one of my Black and Tan Experiments. Someone commented on that post about waiting for Anarchist/Alchemist to be released, so they could mix it with Tokyo.

I am currently in Brewdog Camden. I have tried this years IPA is Dead range (which I think is better than last years) and Paradox Jura, and I am now sat with a third each of Anarchist/Alchemist and Tokyo in front of
me.

Tokyo has long been a favourite beer of mine, ever since I first tried it on cask at Pub du Vin in Birmingham. Anarchist/Alchemist however I'm not a big fan of. It's just too strong for my liking.

I think this is also something that is a limitation of the mix. This is, essentially, a two thirds 17% Black and Tan. Even with just a third this is a high percentage of alcohol.

Flavour wise, the beers mix well, with the hoppiness of the Anarchist/Alchemist giving way to the flavours of the Tokyo. I think this is a drink worth trying, though it's probably best to have someone to share it with.

I'm now going home for a beer induced sleep.

See you all tomorrow for the Friday Pint.

Fuller's Spring Sprinter - The Friday Pint #11

Some pints aren't particuarly special, but they're often tasty, and feel deserved. That was certainly the case with this week's Friday pint, which came after a morning in which the phone seemed to ring non-stop.(It actually only really rang a lot around 10am, when everybody else started work).

I'm actually quite pleased that Spring Sprinter has returned after it's debut last year. I didn't quite have enough of it as I would have liked. That said, I was slightly disappointed when I had this pint. I'm sure the Spring Sprinter I had last year was much more enjoyable, not that this years isn't an enjoyable drink.

Whilst drinking my pint I made my usual notes. The best I could come up with to describe the pint was that it seemed "grassy", in both aroma and taste.This led to me thinking how would I market this beer, and a phrase came into my head from an advert.

"a refreshing, easy taste"

Look at it. Annoying isn't it. At least, it is to me. Refreshing I'm fine with, I like refreshing beers. It's the "easy taste" that bugs me. What exactly is "easy taste"? Is it something that doesn't challenge your tastebuds in anyway at all, like say, water?

I'm starting to sense that my Friday PInt sessions are becoming less about the actual pint, and more idea sessions for blog posts. As I finish making notes on the beer I have found myself continue to write things down. In a way, I think the purpose of The Friday Pint is working already.

Black and Tan Experiments #7 - Sierra Nevada

This morning, before I left the house I looked at the bottles of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Stout that I had recently purchased, and decided to stick them in the fridge. The plan was to walk along the Grand Union Canal up to Uxbridge, but this wasn't the case. As it is, I now find myself back, and with the two beers mixed, about a third of each, in a pint glass.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was essentially my introduction to the world of American beer outside of the likes of Budweiser, MIller and Coors. The flavour still provokes memories in me of that time I discovered the beer, and I still get excited when I see it on tap in a pub.

The stout is a beer I've had before, but I can never remember what it's like. Drinking it now, I find myself thinking that there seems to be a distinctive taste to American stouts, that is very different to English and Irish stouts. For me, this is a good thing. I quite like it. It's rather rich, and increases in flavour as it warms up.

In terms of the mixture, the stout is the dominant beer, though the richness has been replaced by a subtle burnt malt flavour. The pineapple notes of the pale ale aren't noticable at all, which in a way, makes this Black and Tan slightly disappointing.

After doing seven of these experiments, I'm starting to develop an idea of what I want from a Black and Tan. I want something that changes as I drink it. A mixture that begins with a wave of hops, then gives way to an aftertaste of burnt malts and chocolatey flavours, or the other way round. This isn't an example of that.

ELB Foundation Bitter - The Friday Pint #10

So, here we are at the tenth Friday Pint already. This was the first week I wasn't really up for going out and having a pint, but go out I did, and I actually ended up having a few other beers and a cider.

This week I went to The Southampton Arms for my pint. I'll admit now that I already can't remember without looking back over these posts where I've had the previous nine Friday Pints, so I expect I may be repeating venues sooner rather than later.There's also the factor that I am incredibly lazy, and so the easier a place is for me to get to, the more likely I am to go and drink there (step forward Southampton Arms and Brewdog Camden).

The beer in question chosen for this weeks pint was East London Brewing's Foundation Bitter. I'll admit now that it surprised me, though whether this is due to having drunk a number of poor bitters recently, or that this bitter is actually very good is subject to debate. Personally (and really, when the beer is hitting my tastebuds, my opinion is all that matters), I'd like to think it's the latter. There was a slight citrusy element to the beer, and unlike a lot of bitters I've had over the years, it actually tasted bitter.

I had planned to do a small crawl after this pint, walking down to Brewdog Camden via Camden Brewery (a route I'm hoping will be the start of a crawl at the end of the month). So accomodating is The Southampton Arms though, that I ended up staying there for the afternoon, even delving into the ciders for the first time, after a year of saying to myself that I must have a cider there one day.

Another factor about The Southampton Arms that draws me back is the music. The collection of 12" vinyl records that spin on the record player in the corner. It's led me to discover a few bands I wouldn't have done otherwise, Kitty Daisy and Lewis being one. I wouldn't be surprised if I have another Friday Pint here before the year is out. In fact, I could easily have them all at The Southampton Arms.

Beer Stories #1

Some beers provoke memories. They may be from the first time they were drunk, or they may be from a special time in which that beer was prominant. It's not an exclusive phenomenon to beer of course, but as this is predominantly a beer blog (I still reserve the right to post about other things if I feel like it) those are the memories I will focus on.

I'm currently drinking a bottle of Trappistes Rochefort 8. This is the second time I've had this beer. The first time I had Rochefort 8 was during a late shift at work in August of last year. I had spent most of the evening watching News 24, and the riots had hit Ealing. It was a genuinely frightening evening, having no idea where things would move to next.

I had bought the bottle of Rochefort 8 earlier that day before my shift from the newly opened Beer Boutique in Putney. It was sat in my bag along with a Dark Star Imperial Stout. Towards the end of the evening I'd had enough. After an afternoon and evening watching rolling news coverage of the riots, I needed a beer.

I found the best glass I could, and used a spanner to prise the bottlecap off before pouring the beer into the glass. Not only was it incredibly welcome and relaxing, it was also the beer that proved to be my Belgian beer epiphany.

I'd had a few Belgian beers before, some of the few you can find on supermarket shelfs like Chimay and Duvel. At the time I tried them they didn't really do much for me (I'll have to try them again, to see if my tastes have changed). Rochefort 8 though, made me take notice. I instantly wanted to try the 6 and 10, which I have since tried and neither of which I preferred to the 8.

When buying from bottle shops now I always try to pick up at least one Belgian beer that I've not tried before, and on my two trips to The PO Vaults in Birmingham so far it has been the selection of bottled Belgian beers, rather than the cask ales, that I've been drawn to.

So, there it is, my Trappistes Rochefort 8 story. Here's a picture...

Black and Tan Experiments #6 - Fullers

Sometimes, a beer is needed.

Some times among those sometimes, a beer comes along that rewards the wait you've had to make for it all afternoon. Fuller's Past Master's Double Stout is currently one of those beers.

Yesterday afternoon, midway through an unnaturally hectic Wednesday afternoon (It's never hectic on a Wednesday, Monday mornings and Friday afternoons yes, but never Wednesday) I decided I needed a beer. Actually, I decided that what I wanted to do was to head to The Mawson Arms and see if I could attempt a Fuller's Black and Tan.

For the pale ale I used Fuller's Bengal Lancer, a beer which I find much more enjoyable bottled than I do on cask. For me, on cask it seems lifeless and dull, whereas the bottled Bengal Lancer seems to have a bit of character to it.

The dark beer I used was the aforementioned Double Stout. It has aged spectaculary, with a gorgeous chocolatey bourbon aroma, and similar aspects in the taste as well. Of all the stouts I've had doing these experiments so far, this has to be a strong contender for the best.

So powerful was the taste and aroma of the Double Stout that I really needn't have bothered with the Bengal Lancer at all. The mixture was by far the most disappointing yet, the only slight difference between the mixture and straight stout being a slightly weaker taste in the mixture.

As it was, I had tried the Double Stout before mixing, and so conciously had a much smaller mix than usual, and finished the night enjoying what was left of it.

If you can get some Double Stout, I highly reccomend you do.

Drinking in Birmingham.

Around this time last year I went up to Birmingham to drink some beers at The Anchor's Church End Brewery Festival. (The two posts can be found here and here). This weekend, I was there again, though today I find myself compelled not to write about those beers, but about an entirely different place altogether.

For those wondering about the beers at the festival, there was nothing particuarly exciting or surprisingly tasty, like last year's Strawberries and Cream. Perhaps the closest that this years selection got to that was a beer called Banana Bonkers, which was a dark beer with a banana aftertaste. The only other beer of note for me was one that had been made with beetroot, which I tried and disliked, but it perhaps suggests that the best way to get me to try anything new is to make a beer from it. I'll happily try chilli beer, even though I don't really like chilli.

I had finished what beers were left at The Anchor on Sunday night, and so Monday was free to spend more time in some of Birmingham's other pubs and bars. The Wellington was first up, and after I had a few beers there I moved onto The Brown Lion, only to find it was closed. As a result, this meant I ended up spending more time in the newly opened Post Office Vaults.

It's easy to miss if you're walking along New Street, a red door nestled inbetween the shops near Victoria Square. There's not much space inside either, and from what I understand it already gets very busy at nights and weekends.

There's very good reason for this too. As well as having eight cask taps, Hogans Cider and Freedom's Lager and Stout on tap, along with a guest keg tap (a rarity in Birmingham), The P.O. Vaults also stocks a respectable range of bottles.

The website currently states that there are 198 different foreign beers in stock. Among these bottles are beers from De Molen, Flying Dog, Aecht Schlenkerla, Anchor, Sierra Nevada, Nogne, one of the largest selections of lambics I've seen in a pub, and Delirium, to name just a few. That really is just the tip of the iceberg. The menus are full of wonderful beers at quite reasonably prices.

The good thing for travellers, is that it's not that far from New Street Station, and so is perfect for a pre journey drink or two. Hopefully the success of The P.O. Vaults will result in a couple of other similar venues opening around the city. I think Birmingham is pretty much covered for cask ales, but there's a much more limited choice when it comes to kegged and bottled/canned beers. Maybe there isn't as much of an audience for it, but until someone tries, and fails or suceeds, we won't know.

Black and Tan Experiments #5 - Camden Town Brewery

After four experiments involving bottles, I now have my first with draught beer.

I'm currently at Camden Town Brewery, who have opened their doors to launch US Hells. On the table in front of me I have a half each of Pale Ale and Ink, and a spare glass which I have poured a bit from each into to give me my Camden Brewery Black and Tan.

Ink, as served here, is wonderfully creamy, and a world away from the disappointing beer I had at The Jolly Butchers in January. It has a gorgeous mouthfeel, and to me only further proves how overrated Guinness actually is.

The pale ale has a nice and rather familiar hop element to it, both in taste and aroma. There's an element of citrus in there. For a pale ale, it's actually very drinkable.

Now for the mixture. There's still some of the creaminess from the stout there. The hops from the pale ale aren't as prominent, but the flavour of the stout is less harsh.

I think this might be the best Black and Tan so far. It isn't loaded with complex and interesting flavours like the Brewdog and Great Divide ones, but it's very drinkable.

Otley Brewing Co - The Friday Pint #9

For this week's Friday's Pint I did something I rarely do, something that I knew I would have to do eventually. I ventured out to a non local pub on a Saturday night.

I'm fully aware that when I'm on the 11-11 shift (which usually finishes at around 9:30pm on a Friday) my choices of venue for The Friday Pint will be rather limited. As a result, I find myself catching tube trains to selected venues. This week was the turn of Tap East, situated in Westfieldm Stratford. It wasn't as busy as I expected, yet I still wasn't able to get myself a table and enjoy my pint as I'd have liked to.

The Pint (or rather pints) in question this week, were O8 and Motley Brew. These are both beers that I have had before, but that is the reason I travelled out to Stratford this evening. It was more for the now retired O8 than the Motely Brew.

That being said, the O8 was slightly disappointing. It has tasted a lot better for me, as has the Motley Brew. After a rather busy (and deceptively long) day at work, they were much enjoyed.

These two pints are merely the beginning of a beer filled weekend. Tomorrow I'm off to Camden Brewery to try US Hells, and Sunday will see me returning to Birmingham for the Anchor's Church End Brewery festival.

Expect a summary from me on Monday.

Blogger link test post

This is a test post to test autoposting to my new blogger account at mrdavidj.blogspot.com