Fresh

Hello folks,

     "when did people start giving a shit about how fresh a bottle of imperial stout is" I remember moaning, probably in early 2013, after reading the "Drink fresh" advice on the side of a bottle of Kernel. Then, less so now, I was into collecting beers, storing them for a period of time and opening them to find a changed and often much better product. I still have a bottle of Eldridge Pope Thomas Hardy Ale which I bought in 1994, and a few other vintages, along with other strong bottled stouts. The last thing I would want to do is drink them fresh.

Having checked my write up of that post about the tasting am afraid there is no mention of my horror, but in the four  years since I have started to hear more and more people comment, praise and rave even about the freshness of beers. As a libatious enthusiast, I have neither the time nor sobriety to look into "facts" or similar muddleheaded musings about the capacity of hops and malts to keep their flavours over long periods of time in a can or bottle. So instead am going to rely solely on observations, memories and, mainly,  guesswork.

At Tramlines's I was in Shakespeares nursing a two thirds of Siren in the clock room, which I own. In came Rodney who I know from serving him at Archer Road Beer stop years ago. He was raving about two brand new cans they had at Hop Hideout. The Cloudwater N.W DIPA (I think), and the Verdant Further DIPA, were both brewed within the last ten days and this had made him very excited.

We looked at the cans and as a massive fan of both breweries I started devising plans to go up and sample some of the same at the earliest opportunity.  I only bought the Verdant Further in the end, but that was absolutely fantastic. Did it matter that it was so fresh from the brewery? I would say yes. If nothing else, because of the style of beer produced -  a hoppy, cloudy, fruity IPA.

There is no discernible price difference (although both Cloudwater and Verdant are "high end")  so in effect you are now able to get the freshest beers straight from the brewery (almost). I think this improves the hops  - their flavour, bitterness and citrus notes appear to be more noticeable, and the beer seems, at least, easier to drink. I know this may seem like a hoodwink kind of plan by micro brewers but I would buy their beers anyway, so in effect all that is happening is I am enjoying their beers fresher, and probably all the more.

The other evidence in between 2013 and now about freshness, bearing in mind of course that all cask beer needs to be as fresh as possible once tapped, is that IPAs don't seem to work well when kept for any period of time. Its simply a style that doesn't suit ageing. I remember years ago when Blue Bee aged their 6 or 6.5% Tangled Up IPA in cask for 6 months or so. I tried it twice and found that the astringency of the hops had diminished, and the beer although more rounded, was more like a strong English ale. That is not a flavour or style that I want from an IPA.

When Shakespeares had a Cloudwater IPA on cask at New Year 2015 it had been ageing in the cellar for a period of months. Many regular drinkers, not all of whom were IPA fanatics I should point out, noticed that it had decreased in hoppiness and wasn't as vibrant as when fresh. Cloudwater no longer do cask beer but their kegs always say drink fresh. Their beers are invariably excellent, as are Verdant and Kernel's output.

It seems therefore, that another notable benefit of the excellence of brewing in the UK microbrewing scene is that fresh ales are becoming more popular, and since thus far they cost the same (if sell out quicker) I can only see this as a benefit.  And I still have numerous ageing dark or traditional English strong beers to enjoy when I want something heavier, for years to come.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Weird Beard Tap takeover at Shakespeares

Morning!

        am late with this as always since it was last Friday, but am going to tell you what I experienced at Shakespeares on the day when people wear hats and act like twats (mostly, but not all). I never like going out on St Patrick's day because of the twat in the hat element. Luckily, with Thrash band Regulus (I think?) launching their new album and playing upstairs, along with the Tap takeover, Shakespeares was T.i.T.H free all night....

Arriving about 18.00 I was not all that shocked to find it absolutely chuffing rammed. I spotted Dan H, Ian and Richard in the clock room which, of course, I own, and having failed to get a seat went and stood with them. Richard loved the Weird Beard Boring brown beer, a brown non boring beer on keg at 9.6% which he was sampling, and went back for another. I meanwhile was on a half of Holy Hoppin Hell on cask at 9.5% and a pint of Mariana trench American pale ale at 5.3. This was going to be a night of hops!

I was soon joined by my friend Mr G and he had a drink whose identity escapes me, whilst I went for halves of Fire, a smoked chipotle Rauchbier, and another half of Holy Hoppin Hell. This is one o the hoppiest beers I have ever had and only just escapes having a paracetamol flavour in the background - there is sufficient fruity tropical notes in the mix along with the giant slabs of bitter hoppiness to make this a beer to savour.

Mr G had a pint of the Little things that kill next, a viciously hopped pale at 3.9%, brilliantly showcasing the, am guessing, astringent US hops used at a very quaffable volume, whilst I had halves of Fade to Black Black IPA and Five o clock Shadow, a 7% American IPA.

By this time we had managed to grab some chairs and a table to sit at, and were enjoying the buzz, and loud thrash coming form upstairs - we even toyed with the idea of going up to watch the band play, where I would have bumped into my mate but in the end we decided about 20.30 to leave and head across the road to the Bar Stewards. It was slightly more quiet here....

I returned on Sunday for another pint of he HHH, and also a half of the Double Perle imperial coffee stout (this and the Five o clock may be the wrong days round by the way....). Given the number of excellent strong stouts available this was an amazingly easy to drink strong stout although the coffee was slightly lost in the overall flavour.

Once more Shakespeares pulled off another Sheffield beer week supershow, and although I did not get to meet the brewers (who may or may not have been there) it was still an excellent showcase of one of my favourite London breweries.  Well done to the staff at Shakespeares for a brilliant night and line up of beers and music.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Wednesday - Tiny Rebel and Great Heck, Sheffield Beer Week

Hullo,

     having missed the beginning of the bibulous event that is Sheffield Beer Week 2016 I was feeling a little better on Wednesday and opted to visit the Bath Hotel. They were having a Tiny Rebel Brewing tap takeover and meet the brewer evening. This was my first event at the beer week, and was very well attended.

Tiny Rebel Brewery are a small Welsh brewery with an interesting an successful range of real, keg and bottled ales. Starting after a warm walk up West Street we opted to try some keg first - I had a pint of the Fiasco Lupilus saison at 6.7% and Tash the Cali multi hopped Pale Ale. Both beers were distinctive hoppy and tasty, with the saison having an interesting taste in the background and the Cali being perfectly drinkable at about 5.7%. After we found a seat in the corner of the back room after finding the front packed, we set about sampling some other beers.

I did see the brewers, but in the melee it was difficult to find chance to chat with them. Stef, Fiona and the team were rushed off their feet and Mike P was around bringing bottles of beer in boxes into the pub kitchen, no doubt in preparation for the bottled beer tasting the next day. Myself and Tash tried Beer a birth, a sweetish barra birth cake inspired ale, along with a pint each of the Fubar and Dubbl Dragon, a Belgian Monastery style dark Ale at around 6%.

The Dubbel was quite a hefty brew so am glad we stuck to one, and the Fubar was hoppy with a slightly sweetish element - I remember that when I last visited Wales in 2013 I longed for a hoppy beer all the time I was there, with only a strong Celt Experience IPA really satisfying my need. That said, they are brewing for a market where less hoppy ales are still quite popular and lets face it Sheffield is still a place where predominantly hoppy beers are very popular. Overall this was an excellent start to my week with interesting, well kept beers.

After wards we met with Clare and Rich and Kath at the Devonshire Cat for the Great Heck Brewery  Tap takeover and meet the brewer - he wasn't difficult to spot with his red hat, although I did not get to speak to Denzil Valance either - or Denzil Dexter, the scientist form the Fast Show, as I mistakenly called hoim at least twice.

Here we were on pints of the Shankar IPA, and free samples of the Patrick stout which were being handed out. Accompanied by numerous packets of pork scratchings this was a fine way to celebrate the brewers craft.The Shankar is one of my favourite cask beers and was in fine form, and provided a fantastic hoppy end to the night.

Details tomorrow of Thursday and Friday;s beery adventures.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Oktoberfest Social beer tasting

Now then,

                     last night I attended an event at the Archer Road Beer Stop and Hop Hideout specialist off licenses in Sheffield. Dave at Archer Road and Jules at Hop Hideout were co-hosting a tasting event with three German  Oktoberfest Marzens and two American German style Oktoberfest beers.

The event started at Archer Road Beer Stop at 20.00. Jules explained to the guests that she had wanted the Archer Road Beer Stop to be involved as it was Sheffield's longest established specialist real ale off license - that said, Dave himself was not sure if it opened in 1981 or 1982. Either way, it was a co-hosted event between one of Sheffield's new off licenses and its first.

I was joined by Spence, who I met at the Three Valleys and SIBA beer festivals, Skippy, or Mike as he is actually known, Laura who is involved with Sheffield CAMRA and a couple who I think knew Jules. Dave had cleaned up the back room behind the shop (to the extent that it echoed!) and had 6 chairs around a somewhat rickety plasterers table with a beer stein, water biscuits and beer mats on it. Soon we were tasting our first beer.

Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Marzen was the weakest of the German beers at 5.8%. Dave told us some of the history of the brewery, which originally was two rival brewing families. When one brewery was bombed during the second world war the other let them brew on their plant a couple of days a week until in 1974 they became Hacker-Pshcorr. This was a traditional Oktoberfest Marzen style since it was a chestnut brown in colour. It was slightly sweet and malty with a hint of orange in the mix, a caramel and burnt sugar aftertaste and was incredibly easy to drink.

Next up was one from Munich's oldest brewery Spaten. Their Oktoberfestbeir is 5.9% but much paler in colour. It was suggested that they had changed the colour due to the populariyu of pale lager like beers to meet custoer demand. This had much more of a lager style taste, and was once again very easy drinking. Whilst we did so Dave provided details about the Oktoberfest itself. Apparrently, 75% of those attending are Bavarians,with Americans, Australians and the British in 4th. Despite many of our misconceptions about levels of drunken revellery, on average guests only drink 1 litre of ale. Dave also explained about the tapping ceremony performed by the Mayor and showed us a web cam shot of the festival.

Our final German beer was the one which was receiving the most points on rating sites, that being the Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier at 6.0%. This was lighter still and much less malty, very much a lighter tasting strong lager than the original Marzen that we tried. Not everyone appreciated this beer, some feeling it lacked the distinction of the traditional recipe, but Laura really appreciated it - as the youngest person there, it was interesting to see which beers she preferred.

We walked down to Hop Hideout next to find Will waiting for us and to sit down with glasses and more water biscuits, and a beer contained full of water, to have Jules talk us through the two beers there. The first was the Brooklyn Oktoberfest, brewed in the US but with wholly German ingredients. The malts, Bavarian Heirloom, Munich and Pilsner, were apparently malted especially for the brewery in Bamberg in Germany, and the hops used were Hallertauer Perle and Hallertauer Mittelfrueh. The beer was more rounded than I expected, and not overly carbonated. It was 5.5% so the weakest so far but held its own well against the Germans beers.

Our final tipple was the Flying Dog Dogtoberfest. This was brewed to 5.6% and featured artwork inspired by Hunter S Thompson who apparently lived near the brewery when it started up. The malts used were Light Munich, Munich 90 Munich 100 and Vienna. This was Laura's favourite beer of the 5 and was once again a good beer compared to those brewed in Germany, but I thought the spiciness described on the label detracted from its authenticity, and it was somehow, despite using all German ingredients, noticeably American!

After the event finished we all had a further drink, myself a bottle of the Cantillon Gueze, and Jules, whose birthday it was, drank an amazing sour beer which I think was from Brooklyn. Or maybe Buxton! Whilst we drank Jules showed us original 1950's Pathe news footage of the Oktoberfests, which was amusing and fascinating at the same time.

The event was well run and very informative, and it was great to meet up with fellow drinkers to share the drinking and tasting experience. Well don to both Dave and Jules for their hard work and research and for delivering an excellent, joint-run Oktoberfest Social.

Cheers!


Wee Beefy

A beer tasting and a meet the brewer - Sheffield Beer Week

Hello,

           given that it was the end party yesterday I think I am quite certain that Sheffield Beer Week is now finished. Due to a lack of funds at times, I haven't actually been to many events, but before I forget (any more) I thought I'd write about two events I went to on Monday and Tuesday at Shakespeares.

Arriving late, I was given a "posh glass" from the bar and went to find the organisers and a handful of guests enjoying their first beer, which was an IPA called 11/08 from Brew By Numbers. I like their saisons, and I recall this was a session IPA at low gravity. It packed plenty of punch hops wise, but in comparison to other beers lacked the requisite clout - which to be fair, as a session IPA, its entitled to. Looking at my terrible photos I can see this featured Mosaic and Centennial hops - being two of my favourites that explains why I loved the hoppiness.

We were joined by Ed and there was Mr Cullen, John, Steve who I found out I'd met before, a man who left early, Nicci Peet who photographs breweries, Jules from Sheffield Beer Week, Sean from Beer Central and a Chinese media student. Although she didn't pay, she was kindly offered a taster of all the beers, as well as interviews with Chris and Clare and Jules. I don't think she liked any of the beers though.....

Next up was probably a canned beer - and the overuse of the word controversial. Frankly, I've not drunk beer out of a can since I was 19 and have no intention of doing so again, however, the canned beer, much like the kegged beer, you get now, is a whole different kettle of fish. This was Baby Faced Assassin from Roosters brewery. it was significantly stronger than the BBN and had  a much more rounded flavour. It relied heavily on Citra and it was noticeable on the nose and not as much as I'd expect in the initial or after flavour. It was, crucially, an excellent canned beer.

WE also had a beer from far away Without the notes I was promised (clears throat) I can't possibly be expected to remember what it was, although I do have some photos to look at......

So, as I wasn't saying, next up was Port Brew Wipeout IPA, a 7.5% American IPA - straight away I noticed the aroma, very much Belgian style but with that bite of American Hops. A much more impressive beer in terms of style, but actually quite heavy to drink. Sean gave us a detailed history of the brewer and brewery and this was something that he and Chris both did throughout. I think this beer was Ed's favourite.

Next up was further Camtroversy - an India Hells lager in a can, from Camden Town Brewery. They have probably tried to claim ownership of the word Camtroversey. Even though I only just made it up. Anyway, despite hype and background issues this was a very tasty and commendable beer style. Refreshing as it used lager malts, but with a punchy hop bite at the end. Just what we needed, in fact, to wash out our palates after the enjoyable but heavy Wipeout.

Next we tried Dugges HopBlack, an unusual Black IPA from the Belgium. Or Netherlands. Or neither. This was a lot of peoples' favourite, although no-one could agree on how to pronounce the brewery name. I am told there is no point searching it either as the beer does not even feature on the beer list on their website! So I haven't. Cho welcome.

The final beer was a fantastic treat - Siren Craft Brew Liquid Monstrous. Essential a stronger version of their Liquid Mistress IPA, this was a hefty but hugely complex brew. A monstrous black in colour (controversial?) the beer was delicious, but had far too many flavours for me to remember. In short, I can't, I was a little refreshed by this stage. For interest, the brewery have a website and the following description . To be fair it lists four amazing hops so I'm bound to have loved it. Its just the haze of alcohol that is shielding my memory from accessing the details of the beer....hic.

I realise this leaves me little space t tell you about the meet the brewer event the next night with the Siren Craft Brew. Well, judging from the number of photographs of me drunk, its hardly surprising that I can't remember much. In effect the event was to launch the only cask (or only one of 2 , can't remember) of Maiden 2014, a whopping 12% blended and different barrel aged beer of incredible flavours. We also tried a small tasting of Fortunata, their Christmas beer, and their unusual sour smoked wheat beer which I can't even describe - not because of alcohol, but because it tastes like no beer, and no thing, I have ever had before.

The guys from the brewery arrived to have one of them give a brief introduction and talk, before members of the team sat among us and told us more details about the brewery, their roles, previous experience and plans, and of course about each beer. The Maiden 2014 was still on yesterday, and despite its strength, I would highly recommend you go and try and try it. The overwhelming flavour for me was wine, with port and whisky and also red ale, for some reason. Its an incredibly complex and powerful beer, yes, but its easy to drink for its strength.

The event was a £10.00 entry fee but were given at least that much to drink ( I think I am forgetting the broken dreams, which I bought a bottle of for a fiver) and the level of detail provided into the blending process was fascinating, even though I have "mislaid" most of it in my memory...

Overall these two events were very much in keeping in terms of quality, with others that took place last week. They mean I will have many fond, and indeed blurred, memories of it for a long time to come. Congrats to Jules, Clare Chris Bamford and Sean, and many many others, for all their hard work on Sheffield Beer Week.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Simian and ape thought procesess in beer rating

Hello,

          a few weeks a go me and Davefromtshop had our biannual beer tasting - this time it was at Chez Boeuf, and comprised an odd mixture of aged beers, beers bought in pubs, beers shipped across Europe, beers from Supermarkets and beers form specialist beer shops. This time, to ensure a fair reviewing and reporting process, we recorded everything we said and slurred, about the beers, on video. What follows is the *potentially* choice excerpts form he untranscribable nonsense we uttered, along with salient points about which beers were best...

I described the first four beers, noting that Santorini Yellow Donkey was unfiltered and refreshing. Ilkely Dinner Ale was  a hoppy and refreshing low gravity beer which was very very hoppy...Geeves Presidents Ale was very nice actually, pleasingly hoppy, but probably could have done with being a but stronger, and Shepherd Neame Mainbrace IPA was in effect, a bit poor. It didn't really have an aftertaste, and was not really an IPA, whatever an IPA is....

Dave reckoned the Santorini Red Donkey was very fruity and very satisfying. It followed on well form their Yellow Donkey but the IPA crowned the whole set (see later). Tatton Obscure was really interesting with lots of licorice flavours which provably shouldn't have been there but tasted all the better for it. Dave would have liked to try a fresher beer to compare. He also liked the Blue Monkey Marmoset, considering it a valuable addition to their range. Its low gravity emphasised the hop nature of the beer, and it was totally different to anything else they brew. Meanwhile 

Shepherd Neame IPA (6%) was a great contrast to the Mainbrace, as there was nice hoppiness, good aroma, and it balances well. Lastly, we both thought Santorini Crazy Donkey was a very interesting beer in a nice way, with  prickly hoppiness, and fruitiness to support it. It had good texture, and was really a good classic beer.

Nogne imperial Brown was reviewed by us both at some stage but "somebody" forgot to video almost all of our reviews - I thought it was very strong but smooth with quite intense flavours but Dave felt it didn't go anywhere, dropping away towards the end. Meanwhile Dave reviewed 60 Degrees North lager from the Hebrides  a lager that "wasn't necessarily complex but is remarkably clean and does a good job of cleansing the palate but it does stop right dead there. It was a worthy beer however. 

On next to the big hitter - Thornbridge and Dark Star Coalition Old Ale, a beer which was no doubt about £10.00 a bottle and which I had been preciously refusing to open for years on account of nobody else I knew owning one. Here are the "highlights" of our increasingly tangential musings on a much anticipated drink:

Beefy:  its not that dark...

Dave: lots of carbonation which is always a good sign, 

Beefy: ooh God it smells nice! (note, this is a professional beer sommelieres phrase). 

Dave: ooh! That's not bad at all. 

Beefy: orange as well, in a really really good way, that's good its ever so slightly ascorbic which is brilliant, because its actually quite sweet. There's definitely orange in there. 

(I think this is why no-one writes blogs entirely from transcribed reviews. I mean, who is this guy?)

Dave: very floral, quite well balanced, for its strength you'd expect some sort of punch there. It is very mellow and I suppose that's what the brewer would want to achieve with an aged beer. Ooh with a bit of a candy follow through,. 

Beefy: its a really accomplished mix of sort of orange and then there's a kind of candy sort of a flavour and also a little dry bitterness but thats not as strong as you would expect.....

Dave:  its got good depth, its got a deal of fruit to it, I would have expected a bit more but nevertheless its a good beer, 

Beefy: I think that you expect it to be dark for a start, and expecting more kind of dark malt and you think of Harveys old ale from the same county as Dark Star - its more like a Belgian to me

Dave: It probably epitomises the expectation versus delivery point. It does seem to have altered a little bit,  there are notes there that weren't there before but nevertheless its not the full package.

Beefy : I like it but like you say its not what I was expecting it to be,  its expected to be a smooth malty dark beer and its not, but its still good.

And finally, with increasingly ponderous assessments - the conclusions!

Dave: Its between Crazy Donkey and the Nogne Brown 

Beefy: its a tie between Red Donkey and Crazy donkey and Marmoset.

Dave: Marmoset, on a  blow for blow account because it delivers much more than you expect.... 

Beefy: Crazy Donkey has a lot to it, its incredibly impressive but does tail off to the end a little, the Red Donkey I could drink all night basically and Marmoset is just a victory of delivery over expectation; and expectation is the key.

Dave: tonight has been exceptionally good because there are no beers there that are bad but there are some that deliver more than the others and I think given the range that we've tried that  is where we will get a winner and.......

Beefy:  Marmoset could be the winner....?

Dave: it gets my vote!

Beefy: in which case I go for that; Marmoset beer of the day, donkeys red and silver and Nogne imperial brown and Coalition all brilliant but actually Marmoset is more ballsy, it does more than you expect it to do, it confounds your expectations and therefore, Marmoset is the winner.

For reference, prior to tasting the last two beers here are our top four beers.

Me: 

1. Santorini Red Donkey

2. Blue MonkeyMarmoset

3. Ilkley Dinner ale

4. Santorini Crazy Donkey

Dave :

1. Santorini Crazy Donkey 

Equal 2nd: Shepherd Neame IPA/Blue Monkey Marmoset

Equal 3rd: Red donkey/Tatton Obscure

4. Santorini Yellow Donkey

I'm not sure whet this tells us, apart from suggesting that the limbic brain which is possibly more prevalent in simian and ape thought processes (I'm making this up by the way but it sound convincing...) helps us to identify beers named after monkeys as the best...?

Or, alternatively, it might not....

Wee Beefy 

Beer tasting, with Davefromtshop.

Hello,

         this time last Tuesday I was out and about waking up my palate at Shakespeares in anticipation of Davefromtshop arriving to sample some bottled beers. This is our second beer tasting of the year, if nothing else organised in recognition of my having quite a few aged beers that needed sharing, and also the fact that last time we made exactly no notes. This time we had the camera and  took pictures and videos throughout.

We started on Dunham Massey Mildly Ginger  a 3.8% BCA (bottle conditioned ale), probably not chilled enough  due to bad planning on my part, but this was still a really good beer to wake the palate (not that mine needed waking...), with just enough ginger to make it zesty but not overpowering. It became a much softer slug with the yeast in.

Derwent Parsons Pledge 4.0% was our next bottle. Hmmm. Derwent Eh. I had one of their stronger beers once and it was OK. Just OK, you understand. This was a glass of toffee with no discernible bitterness. Not as woeful as their Carlisle State Bitter, which was an exercise in redefining the word flavour, but in a bad way, this was very much like a West Country bottled light brown, except it was 4.0%. And it had a label that would make Jeff Pickthall fume. And any right minded person.

Moving on, Geeves Brewery No.1, 3.8% was an inoffensive (I have been swotting up on euphemisms for "poor") malty sort of brew that cries out "Brown Bitter". This time the novelty addition of hops gave it an edge over the Derwent but it was quite a standard beer with a mahogany colour to it.

We switched to Germany for Hainhauser Schlok-weisse Dunkel, 4.8%, probably illegal in not being 5.2% like what Dunkels are, it was a very agreeable beer not dissimilar to the Geeves but having a far greater depth of flavour and biscuity wheaty malt at the end, which also made it quite refreshing. Dunkel in colour, this was a move towards more distinct flavours on the night.

Dunham Massey Porter 5.2% BCA was our fourth beer. One of the bottles I received in compensation for the rather disappointing purchases in December, all had been great so far (although the light orange coloured stout was, if nothing else "a surprise"). This was also a surprise, but in a comprehensively bad way. It had 11 months date on it and had been stood for 6 weeks yet was decidedly undrinkable. I know that not every beer with live yeast in it can be perfect but this was just bad.

Nearby (erm, in the sense that they are in the same county) Tatton Brewery's Obscure, 5.7% was up next. A dark bitter beer with plenty of body and chocolate malt notes, and a big bunch of hops in the aftertaste that reminded me of those distinct New World flavours one comes across. Was this the obscure element? It was in essence a subtle black IPA, and perhaps all the better for it.

Dunham Massey East India Pale Ale, a 6.0% BCA came next. I had three of these in my box and this was the last one so I was fairly confident, and it didn't disappoint. As far as I know its an IPA made with all English malt and hops, and, I suppose, irrespective of arguments over strength, it at least makes sense that its brewed with those ingredients. Bitter, but quite floral with lemon and orange predominating in the long aftertaste. A good effort.

Kernel Export Stout London 1890, at 7.2%, (and a BCA?) is a big favourite of mine and Davefromtshop had the opportunity to fall for it now as well. There was oatmeal in a luxuriously thick body, with Dave identifying coconut after we'd added the yeast, as well as chocolate. In the end we decided it was a kind of dark chocolate Bounty with coffee, and worryingly easy to drink. Much better served at room temperature as well, having bought it from the fridge in a licensed premises.

Kapplerbrau Altomunster Export Hell was a bit of a break from the stronger ales and a palate cleanser before the monsters that lay ahead. This was perhaps the maltiest beer I ever tasted yet it still managed to be refreshing on the palate, no doubt an ingenious by product of the lager malts used (although it was a Hell(es?) in style, so am not sure which malt they use?). However it reached its flavour balance, it was a good beer to have when we did.

Thornbridge Alliance Strong Ale Reserve 2007, at 11%, was the first of the two finishers. The Strong ale, which is unoaked, is matured for 18 months before bottling. It didn't seem plausible,  as we tasted the heady whisky tinged notes, that it hadn't been in a spirit barrel but whatever and however that edge was achieved  it was a stupendous creation. Sweet, still noticeably hoppy, honeyed but not cloying and very easy to drink.

Its a conundrum of flavours really, because you end up thinking of rich vinous and sticky tastes like Christmas pudding yet it drinks like a 5% honey beer.  Best summed up by Dave - "its multi-layered but nothing is jarring, its well rounded and a great argument for aging beers". Adding the yeast made it a little easier to drink, if that was even possible, but added another dimension, with hints of marmalade coming through. A faultlessly executed beer, and only one bottle left now. A crying shame!

Goose Island Bourbon County 2012, at 15% was our last bottled beer, for obvious reasons. Subtle only in the sense that it didn't knock you out, it inhabited a region in the taste-buds between beer and bourbon. Not a subtle background tang or Islay aged phenols, just a massive chunk of alcohol.

At one stage during our final wobbly angled video summary (where I helpfully covered the microphone, like a pissed up genius) we concluded it was "not unpleasant" and "drinking it is a bit like running into a brick wall". Dave advised he didn't fancy an entire evening on it - I wholeheartedly agree. With the time getting on and a taxi required we opted to down the last bit just to get that burning cheek, fuzzy headed  thwack that the alcohol and thickness promised. It did not disappoint.

So, a fantastic five hours of drinking and listening to Tom Waits and Frank Black (note - this is not a collaboration album before you go hunting for it) was had by both.  Possibly a more gradual climb to the stronger beers would have been beneficial, but the two we finished on were magnificent. Overall though, the Alliance won by some margin. A beer that you simply could not improve upon.

Other notable entrants were two of the three Dunham beers, the Kernel and Tatton Obscure. Overall it was a varied and mostly enjoyable meander through multiple beer styles.

Cheers.

Wee Beefy

Beer tasting 2013 - night of the imperial stouts.

Hello

         last night I managed to finally get together 3 friends to help me sample a range of bottled beers, some bought over the past year, some in 2006 and in between, and all promising to be rather good. Postponed from November when I caught housemaids knee or similar, not even the snow and ice could scupper our plans, and since everyone brought along contributions of their own it was clear that we'd need a good go at getting through what was on offer.

We started low with a bottle of O Hara's Irish Red, a 4.3%, erm, red ale that was exactly that. Recognisable red malt made an interesting comparison between this and the more hop forward reds I have seen, meaning you could taste the malt a bit better.

Up next was a Bottle Conditioned Beer (BCA) from Ilkely Brewery, their Holy Cow Cranberry Milk Stout. There was much anticipation but little agreement on what we would find in this beer - in the end it was a pleasant milk stout with a fruity flavour, but not really cranberry (although Steff insisted she could taste it). Odd but enjoyable.

Anchor Brewing 2012 Christmas Ale followed. A reliable old favourite with a good blend of spices which I understand changes every year. An enjoyable reliable Christmas beer that was true to style.

Up next was the first disappointment. Kernel India Brown Ale, 5.6%, initially started well by being incredibly brown! Having been brought only an hour earlier the sediment couldn't be separated, but if anything slightly improved the flavour. The let down was, this was just a decent brown ale with a shit load of hops thrown in. Much debate followed about the laziness of taking an ordinary beer and ramming it full of hops, and also the important element of balance. This was not a balanced ale. We hoped the two Kernel stouts wouldn't be ruined by the same process.

Up next was disappointment number 2. I was looking forward to introducing my fellow drinkers to the delights of Dunham Massey brewery, since its not often you can buy it in Sheffield, and the Porter, which is usually excellent (and which I had already drunk 6 bottles of) was off. That's now the 3rd Dunham Massey BCA that's been off in a row. Not an impressive display, all yeast and sour acidity, but with plenty of date on the bottle. Quite a bit didn't get finished.
 

Next up was a slight ABV hike, what with two pale hoppy beers still to come before the dark monsters appeared, we tried a bottle of Thornbridge Imperial Russian Stout. This 9% beer is a recreation of an 1850's Courage recipe, no doubt similar to the Courage Imperial Russian Stout which they brewed until the mid nineties. It smelt of that beer straight away, but to be fair the taste was much more complex and intense, with a good balance of traditional imperial stout roasted malt and a licorice like flavour in the after taste. Excellent.
 

Flying Dog Raging Bitch was next, at 8.3% we figured it could stand up to the stout, although Ems passed on this one as she knew she didn't like it. I had reservations, but it was quite a pleasant Belgian style IPA, the Belgian yeast being prominent in amongst the punchy hops, but reminding me of the one flavour that I dislike about American IPA's, that sweet, yeast heavy background. Not bad.
 

The last "weak" (!) beer of the night was the Dunham Massey East India Pale Ale at 6.0%. I intended it to be an interesting comparison in IPA styles, and it was certainly that, but mostly because it was not well conditioned and again slightly off. I think the stronger alcohol perhaps carried it through, and it tasted better than it smelled, but this was another disappointing show.
 

A slight climb in ABV accompanied our tasting of the Kernel Export Stout (London 1890), a 6.7% stout with an amazingly smooth and satisfying burnt toffee aftertaste, which swiftly allayed any fears we had about any needless hoppyness, although, there was hop flavour in there. The sweeter malty aftertaste melded with the burnt roast malt flavours brilliantly. A really well executed beer.
 

From this point on, with the exception of the saison I'd put aside for cleansing our palates later, it was all very strong beers. Our next beer, Thornbridge Imperial Oatmeal Stout was 11% and quite simply stunning. Incredibly easy to drink for its strength, full of glorious roast malt and a milk chocolate almost burnt sugar aftertaste made all the more palatable by the oatmeal. Much debate ensued following the claim of a hint of coconut by Steff but nothing could detract from how brilliant and accomplished this beer was. Fantastic.
 

We then tried Fullers Vintage 2008, which nicely demonstrated that in some ways the earlier aged bottles highlighted more of the hops that are showcased, this time being Challenger and Northdown. That said though, this was an immensely well balanced orangey (Fullers yeast I reckon!) beer with a detectable alcoholic nose and satisfying malted barley aftertaste. Only Ems had tried this before, Jamie and Steff were new to it, and everyone seemed to agree that it was a fine beer.
 

Kernel Imperial Brown Stout London 1856 quickly showed up the holes in their India Brown brew sheet. This was a fabulously smooth roasted malt and bisucuity sweet stout, with some hoppyness and a fabulous vanilla aftertaste. At 10% it shows a heck of a lot of alcohol in the mix but is perhaps less easy to drink than he stronger Thornbridge Oatmeal. An excellent satisfying beer.
 

With tiredness setting in and weary palates, I introduced the Fantome Saison to give us a refreshing break. In the fridge for some 5 hours now it did exactly what it was supposed to - and, whether as a result of the beers tried prior to it or not, was as refreshingly lemony as I had hoped. Very little of the odd orangey bitterness that I had noticed before was present. All agreed that this was a much needed and highly enjoyable diversion. My faith in Fantome is restored!
 

The snow was falling faster now so we agreed to select the last two beers from quite a lot that were left. The first was the 2007 Thornbridge and Brooklyn Alliance PX Strong Ale Reserve. I had tried an Alliance not long after it was brewed and was disappointed by its fairly clumsy, overly sweet face-smash of unsubtle flavours. Now, after more than 5 years in the bottle it was simply stunning. The sherry cask flavour came through on a sumptuous base of malt and hops, with a sweetish, but not overly so, finish, perhaps reigned in by the massive alcohol present. The best bit is - I have two bottles left!
 

The final beer of the tasting was the Thornbridge 2006 St Petersburg Islay cask reserve at 10.2%. This was quite a strange one really, after so long in the bottle the massive peaty malt and phenols of the Islay whiskey had muscled in on the flavour. The stout seemed to have slightly disappeared in terms of the overall taste but was still offering a conciliatory roasted malt smoothness in amongst the huge alcohol present. Its interesting to note that I had the Highland Reserve only a few months ago and that was far more a stout, far better balanced and probably more enjoyable. Maybe over time, the mellower whiskies used provides a better balance. Still an excellent beer to end on though.
 

My fellow tasters departed through the snow in a taxi soon after and I decided to grab a bit more food and to finish on a beer of my own. The 2009 De Dolle Stille Nacht (12%) was the smallest I could find but was still so massive in flavour that I would probably have been better off sharing it. Its not a subtle beer, hence its an ideal finisher, but it was obvious from some of the other amazing beers we had tried that it lacked their poise and character, not to mention the subtle balance that made them so enjoyable.
 

So, a great night spent drinking really good quality (with a price to match) beers finally happened. My clear favourite was the Thornbridge Imperial Oatmeal Stout, but The Kernel Imperial Brown, the Alliance and the Fantome Saison were all out of this world. Can't wait to plan my next one for 3 years time!

 

Wee Beefy

Hardy companions

Hello,

    as you may know already from my post on Sunday, on Friday I got to try a bottle of aged Thomas Hardy Ale which was a fantastic privilege and a great experience. However, you don't just wander aimlessly into a plus 12% matured beer, there needs to be a bibulous pre amble. And so it was; Davefromtshop had carefully selected a few bottles, as had I, to try before and after the main event, the details of which are below.

We started low, as is always the best plan, with a beer I had lovingly carted back from Crete, Craft Black lager. I knew what to expect as I'd had a few bottles in On the Rocks but it was a first for Dave. The beer is, as you would expect, black, with a nice head of neat white bubbles and an incredibly intense sweetness that takes you back a bit at first. However, whilst its not subtle, and initially you could be forgiven for worrying that it would be too sweet, the flavours mellow out as you drink and it turns out to be an interesting, enjoyable, if unsophisticated drop.

Up next was Belfast Blues, from Birrificio Indipendente Elav. This is described as a bitter, which seems strange coming from Italy. I recognise, of course, that there is much new in the Italian beer scene so am not going to suggest that I expected a lager, but what we got was something really surprising and interesting. The beer is bottle conditioned (I think it certainly retains a yeast sediment) and was difficult to pour clear. Its also lively, although it would have probably benefited from being a little chilled on both flavour and carbonation fronts.

It was bitter, yes, but in a dry hoppy way, more pale ale rather than trad bitter, with a a wonderful herby aftertaste. Adding the yeast makes the beer easier to quaff and balances the bitterness better leaving a fantastic beer. A great introduction to the brewery's beer.

Next up was the Chiltern 30th anniversary ale. We tried it last time and were fairly underwhelmed, this time it was nearer its best before date and so had longer to mature. On opening it, despite my having taken it all the way from home on the bus, it didn't explode, although there was a fair champagne sounding pop, and it immediately smelt incredibly rich and strong in alcohol.

The aroma reminded me of a strong stout in some ways, but maybe a Fullers Vintage. Either way it was confusing, because the copper brown beer in fact had no such taste. Interestingly though, this older bottle had a very subtle edge to it that the younger one didn't, a kind of pleasant cherry flavour which worked really well with the dry bitterness and warming mouthfeel. Quite a puzzle of a beer, but much nearer to the excellence we had anticipated in the bottle we tried earlier in the year.
  

The Birrificio Indipendente Elav Indie Ale was up next, an "independent beer" which also carried a sediment but which we had no problem leaving in the bottle. Initial tastes were harsh - incredibly dry bitterness, not matched by much other flavours, almost metallic, and quite thin. So we added the yeast. It only heightened the ascorbic taste! It was strange, and not obvious what was being aimed for, the bitterness was impressive but it was neither an IPA or a indeed any other identifiable style, and its independent taste didn't help it to shine. A hop too far I think.

A totally different beer next, the last that I brought from home, Thornbridge Evenlode Brown Porter. This is a beer I remember trying on draught at the Hallamshire House and enjoying. It was a while ago, and to be honest I was quite surprised to read on the label that it was matured on blackberries, but it was too long ago to say for definite that I hadn't picked up on that from the cask.

I needn't have worried though.  The blackberry taste came through well, not too strong or overpowering, and melded with and complemented the brown malty porter brilliantly. Its certainly an unusual taste, but incredibly well balanced, a really subtle blend of flavours that gives an interesting new angle to the porter style - especially with an interest developing in sour stouts. After a few bum offerings from Thornbridge on cask of late this as a reminder of what they do well.

On the night our next beer was the coveted Thomas hardy Ale, after which we needed something at the exact opposite end of the flavour spectrum to compete with its strong tasting signature. Dave had been given a very large bottle of Hop-Ruiter, described as a blonde hoppy beer, and brewed in Belgium by Dutch brewers Scheldebrouwerij, so we shared that. It was suggested that they brewed the beer in Belgium because it would attract more praise as Belgium is well regarded as a brewing country. I'm not sure I could attach too much reliability either to the claim that this formed part of their thinking, or the insinuation that Dutch beer isn't well regarded, but either way, maybe one of those factors has influenced the unevenness of this rather puzzling ensemble.

Hop-Ruiter uses Belgian yeast and that is noticeable in the aroma and taste, its not particularly blonde, but Jesus wept its hoppy. Here though is s similar problem to the Indie Ale - its so dry and ascorbic you can't really get the benefit of the Belgian yeast or indeed any of the other flavours, such as the fruity notes that such yeast helps to showcase. Its just a big dry hoppy bitter beer, with little that stands out apart from the nagging questions it begs about what they may have intended.

That said, its quite hard following an even slightly past its best Thomas Hardy Ale, so maybe I need to try this one again. We both agreed that the fact it was a much larger bottle than is normally on sale also didn't help, so I reserve judgement on this one.

The last beer of the night was selected to stand up to any previous flavours and aromas and indeed, expectations we might have encountered.  Birrificio Indipendente Elav Techno double hopped IPA was exactly as we had expected, but perhaps in a better way than with their Indie Ale. Yes there was massive "assertive" hops, as label writers seem to like to say, but there were some subtleties in the overall flavour that brought out the best parts of the bite in the hops used.

It was a really satisfying, perhaps slightly challenging hop monster, but if I had a complaint it was that it maybe didn't have staying power - the initial thrill of tingly zesty hop was amazing but it didn't lead anywhere. Even the addition of yeast failed to make much impact.

Overall this was a night of great beers, some really interesting ones from new (or at least new to us) breweries and some rather incredible ones from those well established. Given that the Hardy's suffered from a minor but forgivable yeast malfunction, I think I would say that the joint best beers were the Belfast Blues and the Evenlode Porter on the night.

All I need to do now is start planning my festive treats by cracking a few examples from my collection. I'm very much looking forward to the return trip beer tasting at Chez Beefy in January 2013....

Wee Beefy