Hellall,
the wonderful Vikkie bought me, amongst other delights, a large bottle of beer for my birthday. I was intending to share it with Davefromtshop when he came over on the day itself, and he did say he liked "Brett" beers because they weren't resultantly, if perhaps otherwise, sour, but in the end we didn't try it. I opened it whilst sat in the baking sunshine on Friday, leaving a small amount for Matty to try yesterday, and it was good enough to warrant a post.....
The beer in question was, as the title informs, Brettanarchist, and as the label suggests, it was a Triple IPA dry hopped with Citra, aged in a Foeder and fermented 100% in Brettanomyces. It was a mere 12% and I kept it in the fridge for over a week before opening. It was produced by the Overworks wing of BrewDog, and when I called Vikkie on Thursday to thank her once again for the presents, especially this, she advised that she had encountered different experiences of the Overworks output. As a fan of sour beers she had found one or two of them underwhelming, but I was happy to assure her that this did not disappoint. And myself and Matty had tried a couple of their sours - both Raspberry, earlier in the week, and had found them excellent.
Its worth pointing out that Brettanomyce is a type of yeast, non spore forming, in the family of saccharomycetaceae, also known as Brett and sometimes as Dekkera. I mean, that's what it says on the tinterweb at least.....
I first came across it in references to the previous excellence of a similarly strong London stout called Imperial Russian Stout by Courage. I know they re-brewed it in 2013 or 2014 but am fairly sure they, or indeed anybody else, haven't done since or for many years prior. When I first worked at Archer Road Beer Stop in the 1990s, bottles of the same at 10% or thereabouts were £1.25 each. Apart from buying a bottle of the rerelease, this time by the huge brewery which was Youngs, the last time I bought it was in a pub down a long single track lane in kent which had some fairly old bottles still for sale in the noughties.
The thing I immediately liked about the Brettanarchist was its lack of sweetness despite its rather high strength. And the first taste showed a good amount of wonderful hops in the background, not necessarily the Citra but a mixture holding its own either way. Having only tried one bretted pale previously, possibly by Welbeck Abbey, I didn't think it worked as an additional flavour, but this was not the case. And sat outside in the 28 degrees of sunshine I have to say I found it worryingly easy to drink - and had been on squash for three hours prior so it wasn't thirst....
Interestingly the aroma had a lingering almost sherry or other fruited alcohol to it, which if anything made the strength of the hops a great feature. It smelled of fruity alcohol but tasted of a well balanced hoppiness and some fruit - was this perhaps because of the Foeder? The excellent Saint Mars of the Dessert here in sunny Sheffield have certainly produced beers using a Foeder (and also the excellent Koolships) which I have always found incredibly refreshing and easy drinking. Whichever of the many aspects of the brewing stood out, it made this overall a very pleasurable and easy drinking strong IPA.
Well done to the folk at BrewDog for allowing us to taste a truly fabulous brew - lets hope we see many more beers like this, as well as the excellent output from St Mars and the Funk Dungeon series from Abbeydale, in the very near future.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Showing posts with label BrewDog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BrewDog. Show all posts
Saturday, 27 June 2020
Saturday, 16 March 2019
Bluvver Duck! It's Sheffield Beer Week!
Evenin all,
I have to admit that I do not know how to spell Bluvver Duck. I mean, I know that duck is correct but it could likewise be Bloover....to those that don't know, which many now include me, the phrase, in my experience, was used by my Belper born Mum instead of bloody. It seemed that during her childhood in the fifties that was too rude a word to espouse, and she used said phrase to avoid contempt. I was going to call the post "Fuck me sideways, its Sheffield beer week!" . And that's swearing. As a former manger used to say. There. Am glad we sorted that out....
Five years ago the wonderful Jules Gray assisted by numerous friends and fellow beer enthusiasts including my chum Clare, set up a celebration of all that is beer in Sheffield, and all that is good about it. This has since grown to include the Fem.Ale celebration of women in beer along with Indie Beer Feast, a festival of beers and breweries held in Abbeydale Picture House. This year, and previously, numerous pubs have put on showcases of numerous beers from numerous breweries, so here is a flavour of what I have enjoyed this year.
Monday night I headed to BrewDog to taste some excellent Left Handed Giant beers. I started with a half o their excellent Out of Sight, a four hopped 6.6% IPA. I also tried a third of their own Juicy IPA, as well as a third of their Paradox Islay. Its worryingly easy to sup at 14% and the hit of the peat and smoke comes in the wonderful aftertaste. Am not sure if this was in aid of Sheffield Beer Week but it was a great start to the celebration anyway...
On Tuesday I met my friends Vikkie and Matthew in Shakespeares where they were serving the excellent Amundsen Dessert in a can beers on draught. Given that they are all over 10% I only had two, the Coconut chop chip cookie and the pecan and maple pie imperial stouts, in thirds. I also had a pint of the excellent Vision Quest 7% IPA on cask, and a pint of the four way or more way Hop City Colab IPA. I then popped over the road to Bar Stewards to enjoy a pint of a Verdant beer and a beer whose name has since escaped me. Can't think why....
On Wednesday I popped into Shakespeares once again to enjoy a hugely satisfying pint of Turning Point Vision Quest, before meeting Reason, Gazza, Suethebrew and Dave and Patrick in the Bar Stewards for a pint of Loka Polly Spur, and to grab a final bottle of Yellow Belly. This was mostly part of their excellent South West Tap Takeover, although I understand there was a delivery issue with the Deya which may not be on yet...
On Thursday I went to see a gig by a "duo" and popped in the Rutland Arms first for a pint of Blackjack and a ridiculously strong and similarly delicious third of De Molen imperial stout, from a frankly amazing range of beers including Siren Maiden 2018.
My last "do" was at Shakespeares yesterday. Having taken the day off to recover and to arrive early I didn't actually get there until about 13.45, to behold and hugely enjoy the North versus the rest of the world Tap takeover. North Brewing had very kindly agreed to put five or six special keg lines into cask and these were competing with a range of keg lines from a variety of international breweries. I started on a half of the Dots and Loops, a super hazy DDH IPA at 6.5% that woke my palate perfectly. I then risked a pint of one of my all time favourite beers, North Transmission, a fabulous 6.9% IPA on cask at £4.20 a pint. This was despatched swiftly, and was frankly wonderful. After this wonderment I then had further, a half of their excellent Ursa Major, an extremely drinkable and joyously hopped DIPA at 8.1%.
One thing that I did like was seeing the stronger cask beers served in more appropriate, usually keg and can beer glasses - especially sine the transfer from Keg to cask was done so well and with such success.
More Transmission followed, now joined by Tony and Laura, before a final Full Fathom 5, a fabulous coffee and a half on keg of the Fierce and Verdant 01 Citra hop series, which went down far too well.
This was also the last shift at Shakespeares by Adam, very much a man of Dronfield, who will soon be moving up the hill on the other side of the road to the Crow Inn. I look forward to seeing you there soon mate!
All in all I have enjoyed every one of the events I have attended at Sheffield Beer Week 2019 and am now looking forward with just as much anticipation to a similar robust roll call of beery delights in the event next year. Well done to Jules and Will and all their many friends and volunteers in the brewing and pubs sectors who helped to once again make this a fantastic Sheffield Beer Week.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
I have to admit that I do not know how to spell Bluvver Duck. I mean, I know that duck is correct but it could likewise be Bloover....to those that don't know, which many now include me, the phrase, in my experience, was used by my Belper born Mum instead of bloody. It seemed that during her childhood in the fifties that was too rude a word to espouse, and she used said phrase to avoid contempt. I was going to call the post "Fuck me sideways, its Sheffield beer week!" . And that's swearing. As a former manger used to say. There. Am glad we sorted that out....
Five years ago the wonderful Jules Gray assisted by numerous friends and fellow beer enthusiasts including my chum Clare, set up a celebration of all that is beer in Sheffield, and all that is good about it. This has since grown to include the Fem.Ale celebration of women in beer along with Indie Beer Feast, a festival of beers and breweries held in Abbeydale Picture House. This year, and previously, numerous pubs have put on showcases of numerous beers from numerous breweries, so here is a flavour of what I have enjoyed this year.
Monday night I headed to BrewDog to taste some excellent Left Handed Giant beers. I started with a half o their excellent Out of Sight, a four hopped 6.6% IPA. I also tried a third of their own Juicy IPA, as well as a third of their Paradox Islay. Its worryingly easy to sup at 14% and the hit of the peat and smoke comes in the wonderful aftertaste. Am not sure if this was in aid of Sheffield Beer Week but it was a great start to the celebration anyway...
On Tuesday I met my friends Vikkie and Matthew in Shakespeares where they were serving the excellent Amundsen Dessert in a can beers on draught. Given that they are all over 10% I only had two, the Coconut chop chip cookie and the pecan and maple pie imperial stouts, in thirds. I also had a pint of the excellent Vision Quest 7% IPA on cask, and a pint of the four way or more way Hop City Colab IPA. I then popped over the road to Bar Stewards to enjoy a pint of a Verdant beer and a beer whose name has since escaped me. Can't think why....
On Wednesday I popped into Shakespeares once again to enjoy a hugely satisfying pint of Turning Point Vision Quest, before meeting Reason, Gazza, Suethebrew and Dave and Patrick in the Bar Stewards for a pint of Loka Polly Spur, and to grab a final bottle of Yellow Belly. This was mostly part of their excellent South West Tap Takeover, although I understand there was a delivery issue with the Deya which may not be on yet...
On Thursday I went to see a gig by a "duo" and popped in the Rutland Arms first for a pint of Blackjack and a ridiculously strong and similarly delicious third of De Molen imperial stout, from a frankly amazing range of beers including Siren Maiden 2018.
My last "do" was at Shakespeares yesterday. Having taken the day off to recover and to arrive early I didn't actually get there until about 13.45, to behold and hugely enjoy the North versus the rest of the world Tap takeover. North Brewing had very kindly agreed to put five or six special keg lines into cask and these were competing with a range of keg lines from a variety of international breweries. I started on a half of the Dots and Loops, a super hazy DDH IPA at 6.5% that woke my palate perfectly. I then risked a pint of one of my all time favourite beers, North Transmission, a fabulous 6.9% IPA on cask at £4.20 a pint. This was despatched swiftly, and was frankly wonderful. After this wonderment I then had further, a half of their excellent Ursa Major, an extremely drinkable and joyously hopped DIPA at 8.1%.
One thing that I did like was seeing the stronger cask beers served in more appropriate, usually keg and can beer glasses - especially sine the transfer from Keg to cask was done so well and with such success.
More Transmission followed, now joined by Tony and Laura, before a final Full Fathom 5, a fabulous coffee and a half on keg of the Fierce and Verdant 01 Citra hop series, which went down far too well.
This was also the last shift at Shakespeares by Adam, very much a man of Dronfield, who will soon be moving up the hill on the other side of the road to the Crow Inn. I look forward to seeing you there soon mate!
All in all I have enjoyed every one of the events I have attended at Sheffield Beer Week 2019 and am now looking forward with just as much anticipation to a similar robust roll call of beery delights in the event next year. Well done to Jules and Will and all their many friends and volunteers in the brewing and pubs sectors who helped to once again make this a fantastic Sheffield Beer Week.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 24 March 2018
Sheffield Beer Week 2018
Well,
late as always, here are my thoughts on the fourth explosion at a Sheffield beer factory that is Sheffield Beer Week. I did my usual number of events, and enjoyed every one immensely. Here are details of those events, and highlights.
Following a chance discussion in Hop Hideout I was able to get a couple of ticket to the Indie Beer Feast on the opening Saturday March the 10th. It started early and I managed to get in before 12.00 with my friend Mr P. It was held in the picture house part of Abbeydale Picture House, which I have never been in before. Mr P meanwhile had, when he was 8, to watch Sink the Bismark with his parents.
There were loads of people there I recognised, and many breweries serving a good range of ales, and. crucially for me these days, plenty of seating! Myself and Mr P sat in the oldest looking chairs towards the back of the auditorium and soon spotted Malc and Ally and others from the extended social hug of the Sheffield beer scene.
I think I started with a North Brewing Co beer - in one of a few nods to Indie Man Beer Con there was no beer list, but I had already seen it on the Internet, in a process so cool it made my beard grow longer. I know my second beer was a wonderful DIPA from Mad Hatter brewery,. whom I had a quick chat with, and the third a third of the super dry hopped ale from Sierra Nevada.
I also had beers from Runaway (possibly), Torrside, Abbeydale, Black Iris, another from North and Mad Hatter and thoroughly enjoyed them all - I got to take the glass home as well which I have used for almost all my home tastings ever since. I finished off in Hop Hideout with a wonderfully soupy sour and a Magic Rock beer. A fab fest!
On Monday I was in my second home of Shakespeares trying a few of the barrel aged beers on offer. Being cautious I only allowed myself twp thirds - one of the excellent Harviestoun Ola Dubh, and the other a 15% Juel Maelke, which Chris told me meant Christmas milk, which I misunderstood as Chris's milk, a wholly less appettising undertaking....
I returned to Shakespeares and Bar Stewards on Tuesday, not for any events but just to drink excellent beer, including a can of the Cloudwater small Citra Ekuanot at the Stewards.
Wednesday I met up with Brotaar and we sort of attended the Atom brewery meet the brewer event at Kerbedge at West One. Arriving late I only got to chat to them for a few minutes but got to try a sour, a pale and a 7% dark ale which WK loved. We caught up with them again in BrewDog where amongst other things I tried the Lost Industry coconut cream ale and the Steel City Rogue one.
Thursday I was keeping up to date by once more visiting Shakespeares and Bar Stewards, before Friday night was the fantastic Northern Monk Tap Takeover at the latter. I started on halves of their Striding Edge 3% Light IPA and New World IPA at 6%. Very similar levels of juicy hop in both was a testament to the quality of the Striding edge. Having caught up with the sword of Justice and his mates I went to the outside bar and met up with Michael Sallot, who have probably not seen since my stroke. It was great to catch up, and also to try a Loka Polly beer on keg.
I went on to try three IPAs, Underworld, Helvellyn and the pick of the bunch Slam Dank, and got chatting to the brewer and marketing sales guy who I had a good long chat with before meeting Vikkie and Matt for moe Loka Polly and a great catch up, before a wobble back to the bus stop. A cracking night!
The final event I attended was the Cloudwater Howling Hops takeover at Shakespeares on Saturday afternoon. Although I really enjoyed the DIPA the two double dry hopped pale ales tried were also of note, and Adam recommended the Pale XXX from Howling Hops on "cask" which was a wonderfully easy drinking pale ale. I spent most of the time with the Lycetts, and then Rich and Kath, getting a trifle refreshed on my meagre funds, and courtesy of to the kindness of the team Lycett.
Every year so far the Beer Week event has grown in stature and improved in quality as well. There were many many more events that I wish I could have gone to but as previously I still had a wonderful week.
Thanks and well done to Jules and all those involved in organising this wonderful event, showcasing the best of Sheffield, local, national and international beers and Sheffield's fabulous boozers!
Wee Beefy
late as always, here are my thoughts on the fourth explosion at a Sheffield beer factory that is Sheffield Beer Week. I did my usual number of events, and enjoyed every one immensely. Here are details of those events, and highlights.
Following a chance discussion in Hop Hideout I was able to get a couple of ticket to the Indie Beer Feast on the opening Saturday March the 10th. It started early and I managed to get in before 12.00 with my friend Mr P. It was held in the picture house part of Abbeydale Picture House, which I have never been in before. Mr P meanwhile had, when he was 8, to watch Sink the Bismark with his parents.
There were loads of people there I recognised, and many breweries serving a good range of ales, and. crucially for me these days, plenty of seating! Myself and Mr P sat in the oldest looking chairs towards the back of the auditorium and soon spotted Malc and Ally and others from the extended social hug of the Sheffield beer scene.
I think I started with a North Brewing Co beer - in one of a few nods to Indie Man Beer Con there was no beer list, but I had already seen it on the Internet, in a process so cool it made my beard grow longer. I know my second beer was a wonderful DIPA from Mad Hatter brewery,. whom I had a quick chat with, and the third a third of the super dry hopped ale from Sierra Nevada.
I also had beers from Runaway (possibly), Torrside, Abbeydale, Black Iris, another from North and Mad Hatter and thoroughly enjoyed them all - I got to take the glass home as well which I have used for almost all my home tastings ever since. I finished off in Hop Hideout with a wonderfully soupy sour and a Magic Rock beer. A fab fest!
On Monday I was in my second home of Shakespeares trying a few of the barrel aged beers on offer. Being cautious I only allowed myself twp thirds - one of the excellent Harviestoun Ola Dubh, and the other a 15% Juel Maelke, which Chris told me meant Christmas milk, which I misunderstood as Chris's milk, a wholly less appettising undertaking....
I returned to Shakespeares and Bar Stewards on Tuesday, not for any events but just to drink excellent beer, including a can of the Cloudwater small Citra Ekuanot at the Stewards.
Wednesday I met up with Brotaar and we sort of attended the Atom brewery meet the brewer event at Kerbedge at West One. Arriving late I only got to chat to them for a few minutes but got to try a sour, a pale and a 7% dark ale which WK loved. We caught up with them again in BrewDog where amongst other things I tried the Lost Industry coconut cream ale and the Steel City Rogue one.
Thursday I was keeping up to date by once more visiting Shakespeares and Bar Stewards, before Friday night was the fantastic Northern Monk Tap Takeover at the latter. I started on halves of their Striding Edge 3% Light IPA and New World IPA at 6%. Very similar levels of juicy hop in both was a testament to the quality of the Striding edge. Having caught up with the sword of Justice and his mates I went to the outside bar and met up with Michael Sallot, who have probably not seen since my stroke. It was great to catch up, and also to try a Loka Polly beer on keg.
I went on to try three IPAs, Underworld, Helvellyn and the pick of the bunch Slam Dank, and got chatting to the brewer and marketing sales guy who I had a good long chat with before meeting Vikkie and Matt for moe Loka Polly and a great catch up, before a wobble back to the bus stop. A cracking night!
The final event I attended was the Cloudwater Howling Hops takeover at Shakespeares on Saturday afternoon. Although I really enjoyed the DIPA the two double dry hopped pale ales tried were also of note, and Adam recommended the Pale XXX from Howling Hops on "cask" which was a wonderfully easy drinking pale ale. I spent most of the time with the Lycetts, and then Rich and Kath, getting a trifle refreshed on my meagre funds, and courtesy of to the kindness of the team Lycett.
Every year so far the Beer Week event has grown in stature and improved in quality as well. There were many many more events that I wish I could have gone to but as previously I still had a wonderful week.
Thanks and well done to Jules and all those involved in organising this wonderful event, showcasing the best of Sheffield, local, national and international beers and Sheffield's fabulous boozers!
Wee Beefy
Monday, 12 February 2018
Pints from the few.....
Hulloo,
the title is continued by the words "pubs I have been to this month". As a direct result of financial and physical (more financial) constraints, am going out much less these days, and thus have less to report. Despite the above, here are some fragmented "memories" (guesswork) of pubs visited and ales consumed, since payday.
On payday I met up with Tash to see Matty off, and to go for a wander and buy some food items. This turned out to be thirsty work and so we ended up in "an boozer" for refreshments. That was the Sheffield Tap, where Tash had a coffee and I a pint of Alechemy pale ale, which had a name and everything. Suitably refreshed we headed for the Moor and then for coffee before I headed for the Devonshire Cat. They were having their Lines brewery tap takeover, and I was interested to try their beers.
There were five of their beers on keg and I started on a pint of the hop flux, a New England IPA at 5.1% "on oats". I didn't get to speak to the brewers so had no chance to ask for more details of what was on the different other ingredients. Am willing to accept there were oats in the beer....
I Also had a half of their DIPA which had Nelson Sauvin Citra and Mosaic in it, but it was a victory for expectation over delivery, with the hop flavour too subtle for my liking. Myself and Mr P who had joined me also tried the Lignes de Brux on Ekuanot which was a 6.1% hoppy wild yeast ale collab with Trois Dames brewery. Mr P also had a half of the Brux Trois collab with Track brewing. All were very interesting beers, but not ones I would necessarily choose over more recognised favourites given the choice.
Up next to the Bath Hotel for a pint of something which has since escaped me, in a virtually empty pub, before heading to BrewDog for a half of something hoppy and of Tiny Rebel Imperial Puft imperial marshmallow stout.B oth were excellent.
On the 1st I popped in the Tap and Tankard for the very last time (not knowingly since had planned to go Saturday) and had two pints of Don Valley Brewery Hitch Cock pale ale. Bumped into Kev and Bill who told me the pub was not going to be demolished as John Lewis has not agreed to move so the road wasn't going to be built. Research eh! After an emergency stop for a pint of Little Critters in the Huntsman I finished in the Old Queens Head for a bowl of garlic soup and a pint of Little Critters King Crow Imperial Espresso stout. Delicious!
I also recently popped in the Three Tuns where I had a half of the Titanic Plum Porter, mainly because, alas, the Blue Bee had run out. Afterwards I headed to Shakespeares to await the arrival of Tash. I had a couple of pints of the Kernel Mandarina, Bavaria, Citra and Centennial IPA at 7% which was on wonderful form, along with a half of the Cloudwater DDH pale NZ Chinook and a third of the 2015 Buxton Tsar. All excellent potations to warm the soul.
Later I headed to the Bankers with Tash for a pint of the Little Critters Golden Pale, then to the Cavendish for two halves of Brooklyn East India Pale, and finished in the Bath Hotel with a half of the Electric Bear NZ pale.
My final jaunt was last Friday when Mr G very kindly invited me out for a few pints, knowing I had insufficient funds to buy my own. We started in Shakespeares where I had three pints of the excellent Kernel above, before some annoying people with loud voices and chips came into the Clock room, after an hour of which we decided to move on.
Bar Stewards was our destination and in here Mr G kindly bought me two pints of the excellent Verdant Bloom IPA at a price which alas was nearly £2.00 more than that of the Kernel which was stronger, across the road. As I reassured him, the beer would be beautiful - and it didn't disappoint. I also got to see Steve and Cicely or similarly/spelled named persons who I used to know years ago in Walkley. A fab night of excellent company and beers throughout.
Now begins the lengthy wait for next pay day, although I do have four cans of hoppy goodness in stock to tide me over until the money trickles back....
Your very good health!
Wee Beefy
the title is continued by the words "pubs I have been to this month". As a direct result of financial and physical (more financial) constraints, am going out much less these days, and thus have less to report. Despite the above, here are some fragmented "memories" (guesswork) of pubs visited and ales consumed, since payday.
On payday I met up with Tash to see Matty off, and to go for a wander and buy some food items. This turned out to be thirsty work and so we ended up in "an boozer" for refreshments. That was the Sheffield Tap, where Tash had a coffee and I a pint of Alechemy pale ale, which had a name and everything. Suitably refreshed we headed for the Moor and then for coffee before I headed for the Devonshire Cat. They were having their Lines brewery tap takeover, and I was interested to try their beers.
There were five of their beers on keg and I started on a pint of the hop flux, a New England IPA at 5.1% "on oats". I didn't get to speak to the brewers so had no chance to ask for more details of what was on the different other ingredients. Am willing to accept there were oats in the beer....
I Also had a half of their DIPA which had Nelson Sauvin Citra and Mosaic in it, but it was a victory for expectation over delivery, with the hop flavour too subtle for my liking. Myself and Mr P who had joined me also tried the Lignes de Brux on Ekuanot which was a 6.1% hoppy wild yeast ale collab with Trois Dames brewery. Mr P also had a half of the Brux Trois collab with Track brewing. All were very interesting beers, but not ones I would necessarily choose over more recognised favourites given the choice.
Up next to the Bath Hotel for a pint of something which has since escaped me, in a virtually empty pub, before heading to BrewDog for a half of something hoppy and of Tiny Rebel Imperial Puft imperial marshmallow stout.B oth were excellent.
On the 1st I popped in the Tap and Tankard for the very last time (not knowingly since had planned to go Saturday) and had two pints of Don Valley Brewery Hitch Cock pale ale. Bumped into Kev and Bill who told me the pub was not going to be demolished as John Lewis has not agreed to move so the road wasn't going to be built. Research eh! After an emergency stop for a pint of Little Critters in the Huntsman I finished in the Old Queens Head for a bowl of garlic soup and a pint of Little Critters King Crow Imperial Espresso stout. Delicious!
I also recently popped in the Three Tuns where I had a half of the Titanic Plum Porter, mainly because, alas, the Blue Bee had run out. Afterwards I headed to Shakespeares to await the arrival of Tash. I had a couple of pints of the Kernel Mandarina, Bavaria, Citra and Centennial IPA at 7% which was on wonderful form, along with a half of the Cloudwater DDH pale NZ Chinook and a third of the 2015 Buxton Tsar. All excellent potations to warm the soul.
Later I headed to the Bankers with Tash for a pint of the Little Critters Golden Pale, then to the Cavendish for two halves of Brooklyn East India Pale, and finished in the Bath Hotel with a half of the Electric Bear NZ pale.
My final jaunt was last Friday when Mr G very kindly invited me out for a few pints, knowing I had insufficient funds to buy my own. We started in Shakespeares where I had three pints of the excellent Kernel above, before some annoying people with loud voices and chips came into the Clock room, after an hour of which we decided to move on.
Bar Stewards was our destination and in here Mr G kindly bought me two pints of the excellent Verdant Bloom IPA at a price which alas was nearly £2.00 more than that of the Kernel which was stronger, across the road. As I reassured him, the beer would be beautiful - and it didn't disappoint. I also got to see Steve and Cicely or similarly/spelled named persons who I used to know years ago in Walkley. A fab night of excellent company and beers throughout.
Now begins the lengthy wait for next pay day, although I do have four cans of hoppy goodness in stock to tide me over until the money trickles back....
Your very good health!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Four days several pubs - AKA the bank holiday
Greetings!
have been quite refreshed recently so have posted slightly less than usual. Well, slightly less than in 2012 and 2013.... Anyhoo, here are some details of a "never tried the same pub twice" four days pub crawl which I did over the bank holiday weekend, I'm told.
Friday started in the Harlequin with folks from work. I was on a couple of pints of the Exit 33 Mosaic pale ale, which is ace, not least because it has mosaic hops in it. I also tried it on keg (note, this is £3.70 a pint on keg. I.e. its a pound dearer, and that is all...). To be honest, whilst it should be better on keg, it was in fact better on cask. #science
Over to Shakespeares next to see Saara and Adele and others and to be joined by Tash and Matty. I definitely had a Blackjack beer, possibly 50 Dollar Chip, and maybe some of the Track and Squawk mango and marmalade gose. Which I made up. We finished the night in the Dove and Rainbow where, despite my age, and in celebration of Rachael's birthday, I moshed for about 3 hours. My neck and shoulders hurt for the next 3 days. Despite that, I enjoyed the do, and the company, and the Hambleton nightmare beer.
Saturday me and Tash headed for the Bath Hotel. If memory serves me right (rarely!) there were only 4 cask beers on and although the Blackjack tasted OK, the keg beers were once again the star offerings. Cloudwater had their English lager on, made with lager malts and seasonal English hops to give a refreshing, crisp and none too bitter pale lager ale. Th real star of the show however was the amazing Wiper and True Ella. A red copper colour almost, the fabulous flavours of the Ella hops and potentially red malt were stunning. Despite these being expensive beers, we both had two pints each along with some Karkli to eat. Its a shame in some ways to not find much worth drinking on cask but am sure this is a temporary blip. Either way, the Ella was amazing.
We finished the bight in BrewDog. I started on a half of Hardcore IPA, which seems a little less rounded and hoppy than the amazing version I had on cask at the Coach and Horses years ago, and Tash had 2/3rds of a Mad Hatter beer, the name of which escapes me fore a change. We finished on another of the same for Tash (!) and a mango Gose and Pineapple Berliner Weiss for me. Am not usually a fan of fruit beers but both were amazing - refreshing and sour and not too fruity. An excellent end to the night.
Sunday saw us in town shopping, before we headed for the Devonshire Cat for a change. We had pints of Abbeydale Alchemy (it had an |A in it...) which was a lower strength ale that tasted of grapefruit, an excellent and refreshing beer. I also tried a Monty's stout on keg which was perfect, along with some breadcrumb coated fried brie wedges.
We walked down next to the Beer Engine. We were just in time to catch Tom but he was soon away and we sat outside in the sun and the rain supping a range of Bad Seed Brewery cask and keg beers. I particularly liked trying their Cascade pale on both types of dispense - I think there was little difference in quality, but they tasted very different. The Espresso stout was also lovely, as was their saison. As usual, a stellar range of beers was available.
We finished the night in the Albion across the road, having a half of Camden Ink on keg and a pint of Sheffield brew Co Five Rivers on cask. An interesting mix of beers in three very different pubs on Sunday.
Bank Holiday Monday arrived, as did the rain. Luckily, when it rains, it keeps the large majority of pricks out of Bakewell. So we were able to go and have 4 hours of prickless entertainment in a refreshingly quiet Bakewell. We started in the Red Lion, and I had a pint of Chatsworth Gold and Tash, gawd luvver, a cup of tea. It came to a fiver, which is still expensive, but not for Bakerwell based on certain nearby establishments.
We went for a walk down the river and poppped in a couple of shops before retiring to the Manners for several pints of the Robinsons Hop beer - which the staff claimed wasn't as hoppy as the Blonde. Alas, I really don't get on with Robbies blonde so stuck to the Hop ale for three pints, whilst Tash had one and another of the Wizard Amber. Cracking beer and pork scratchings made this an enjoyable visit.
We finished our visit in the Castle. A depressing range of Greedy King beers awaited us (although I think they had a guest comping on) and we had halves of the Greedy King extra IPA at 5.6% or similar. The pub is probably quite old but loses a lot of its character to its food service and lack of original features. The beer was actually OK though....
We finished the quartet of quaffing in the Sheffield Tap where we had beer. I'm not even going to try and remember what I had, it was beer and it was very tasty thank you. Alas we had to leave about 22.30 for me to get the bus home and Tash to get back to hers but this had once again been a good day of travel and drinking.
So, overall, we visited 12 pubs in 4 days and had numerous delicious and completely varied types of ale in wonderful surroundings. Another, potentially not required, reminder of the merits of boozing in the Steel City and nearby.
With Cheers
Wee Beefy
have been quite refreshed recently so have posted slightly less than usual. Well, slightly less than in 2012 and 2013.... Anyhoo, here are some details of a "never tried the same pub twice" four days pub crawl which I did over the bank holiday weekend, I'm told.
Friday started in the Harlequin with folks from work. I was on a couple of pints of the Exit 33 Mosaic pale ale, which is ace, not least because it has mosaic hops in it. I also tried it on keg (note, this is £3.70 a pint on keg. I.e. its a pound dearer, and that is all...). To be honest, whilst it should be better on keg, it was in fact better on cask. #science
Over to Shakespeares next to see Saara and Adele and others and to be joined by Tash and Matty. I definitely had a Blackjack beer, possibly 50 Dollar Chip, and maybe some of the Track and Squawk mango and marmalade gose. Which I made up. We finished the night in the Dove and Rainbow where, despite my age, and in celebration of Rachael's birthday, I moshed for about 3 hours. My neck and shoulders hurt for the next 3 days. Despite that, I enjoyed the do, and the company, and the Hambleton nightmare beer.
Saturday me and Tash headed for the Bath Hotel. If memory serves me right (rarely!) there were only 4 cask beers on and although the Blackjack tasted OK, the keg beers were once again the star offerings. Cloudwater had their English lager on, made with lager malts and seasonal English hops to give a refreshing, crisp and none too bitter pale lager ale. Th real star of the show however was the amazing Wiper and True Ella. A red copper colour almost, the fabulous flavours of the Ella hops and potentially red malt were stunning. Despite these being expensive beers, we both had two pints each along with some Karkli to eat. Its a shame in some ways to not find much worth drinking on cask but am sure this is a temporary blip. Either way, the Ella was amazing.
We finished the bight in BrewDog. I started on a half of Hardcore IPA, which seems a little less rounded and hoppy than the amazing version I had on cask at the Coach and Horses years ago, and Tash had 2/3rds of a Mad Hatter beer, the name of which escapes me fore a change. We finished on another of the same for Tash (!) and a mango Gose and Pineapple Berliner Weiss for me. Am not usually a fan of fruit beers but both were amazing - refreshing and sour and not too fruity. An excellent end to the night.
Sunday saw us in town shopping, before we headed for the Devonshire Cat for a change. We had pints of Abbeydale Alchemy (it had an |A in it...) which was a lower strength ale that tasted of grapefruit, an excellent and refreshing beer. I also tried a Monty's stout on keg which was perfect, along with some breadcrumb coated fried brie wedges.
We walked down next to the Beer Engine. We were just in time to catch Tom but he was soon away and we sat outside in the sun and the rain supping a range of Bad Seed Brewery cask and keg beers. I particularly liked trying their Cascade pale on both types of dispense - I think there was little difference in quality, but they tasted very different. The Espresso stout was also lovely, as was their saison. As usual, a stellar range of beers was available.
We finished the night in the Albion across the road, having a half of Camden Ink on keg and a pint of Sheffield brew Co Five Rivers on cask. An interesting mix of beers in three very different pubs on Sunday.
Bank Holiday Monday arrived, as did the rain. Luckily, when it rains, it keeps the large majority of pricks out of Bakewell. So we were able to go and have 4 hours of prickless entertainment in a refreshingly quiet Bakewell. We started in the Red Lion, and I had a pint of Chatsworth Gold and Tash, gawd luvver, a cup of tea. It came to a fiver, which is still expensive, but not for Bakerwell based on certain nearby establishments.
We went for a walk down the river and poppped in a couple of shops before retiring to the Manners for several pints of the Robinsons Hop beer - which the staff claimed wasn't as hoppy as the Blonde. Alas, I really don't get on with Robbies blonde so stuck to the Hop ale for three pints, whilst Tash had one and another of the Wizard Amber. Cracking beer and pork scratchings made this an enjoyable visit.
We finished our visit in the Castle. A depressing range of Greedy King beers awaited us (although I think they had a guest comping on) and we had halves of the Greedy King extra IPA at 5.6% or similar. The pub is probably quite old but loses a lot of its character to its food service and lack of original features. The beer was actually OK though....
We finished the quartet of quaffing in the Sheffield Tap where we had beer. I'm not even going to try and remember what I had, it was beer and it was very tasty thank you. Alas we had to leave about 22.30 for me to get the bus home and Tash to get back to hers but this had once again been a good day of travel and drinking.
So, overall, we visited 12 pubs in 4 days and had numerous delicious and completely varied types of ale in wonderful surroundings. Another, potentially not required, reminder of the merits of boozing in the Steel City and nearby.
With Cheers
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Wee Beefy's beer bites - bars and pubs and front rooms round up
Good afternoon,
Burns o beer
on Wednesday 25th January I went up to celebrate Burns Night with Wee Fatha, as is customary.
He usually manages to get an all Scottish beer selection but even combining the beer choice of Sainsbury's and Morrison's there were few to be found. That said, I was very much impressed with the ones that he did get from Sainsbury's, a few details of which are below.
Wolf Brewery Battle of Britain ale 3.9% (RAFA) RAFA bottled beer
Williams Brothers Caesar Augustus Lager/IPA hybrid, 4.1%
Ridgeway Bad King John Black Ale, 6.0% BCA Ridgeway brewery info courtesy of Quaffale.org
Innis and Gunn ale, 6.0%
Brewdog Hardcore IPA 9.2%
I would have put a link on for the Williams Bros beer but they seem reticent to say much about it, and reviewers were almost exclusively supportive yet underwhelmed. I did find one review from another beer blog which is here : Folk & Ale review Sainsburys beer challenge beers. I liked it though, it was a nice beer to have with the meal (haggis, neeps and tatties, what else?) but my one gripe was that the cold filtering or lagering process succeeded in creating a lager flavour and texture but the hops added at the end failed to make it anything like an IPA - 5.6% and twice as many hops would have worked better perhaps.
The Innis and Gunn was quite warm as we'd had it out in the room for a while and this suits the creamy honeyed flavour perfectly.
The Wolf was a very average beer am afraid, admittedly I can't think of any charity beer that's been really nice - remember those ale by numbers Tolly Cobbold offerings from the nineties? I suspect the beer is marketed with almost anyone in mind, so the taste is wilfully safe and inoffensive in order to be mildly enjoyed by anyone purchasing it.
The Ridgeway was a real strong dark ale, very malty but with such a giant flavour it didn't really matter that there was little trace of hoppiness.
The Brewdog Hardcore IPA, was, well, as you'd expect, an awesome orangey explosion of dry biting bitterness and warm citrus that demanded you drink it slowly.
Overall WF pulled off a great Burns evening and the beers were the perfect compliment throughout. It appears that the lager/IPA was one of the Sainsbury's beer challenge winners so they may be selling it for a while yet, but the range is very good, so it may be worth taking a look for your self.
Note - Morrison's did have a Scottish beer - McEwans/Youngers Champion Ale. Its OK for what it is but its been around so long and is so widely available that I'm glad WF went with the other options instead.
Sportsman Crosspool
I was in the above on Thursday for a meal with family, and selected a few of the ales on offer. I had pints of Thornbridge Pica Pica oatmeal stout, and Top of the Hops, which despite no information to support this, am sure is a Cropton beer. Both were well kept and really enjoyable ales. Wee Keefy went for the Wooden Hand Pirates Gold from Cornwall, which was as sweet and malty and uninspiring as I remember it in bottle, but its good to see it so far from home.
Harrisons 1854
As usual I had an inevitable stop off at the 1854 where my tipple of choice was Deception again. It was a bit lively so I had it served without the sparkler - its always interesting to see how a beer changes its character without a foam topping and I was ccertainly able to detect more of the floral and citrus hop notes which I think are intended to be prominent, but are sadly, often lacking in this beer. A pleasant change.
Dada
I also found time to prop up the da-bar in da-da (etc). Pub Scrawl was on good form and I also got chance to sample a Raven IPA and Kill Your Darlings on keykeg, which made a nice change. I was quite smitten with the Darlings, but its notable that the Raven was less of a nice drop. Interestingly, I preferred the Raven in cask - the colder and more carbonated keykeg version lacked some of the balance of the cask version and was a little harder to drink. Barkeep Jamie suggested that some beers are better suited to keykeg dispense, a view shared by a few of the newer micro brewers for instance Camden Town.
Personally, I enjoy the chance to try the more lager and Belgian style beers on keykeg, and also to compare the contrasting versions. This means I will have to try a half of Jaipur on keykeg, which I have to say is not something I am hopeful of enjoying, having had some that was stood in Dave's cellar for 6 weeks before now, and some when it first came out and was regularly cloudy, both of which still remain the best versions I ever tasted.
More beer news later kids!
Wee Beefy
Burns o beer
on Wednesday 25th January I went up to celebrate Burns Night with Wee Fatha, as is customary.
He usually manages to get an all Scottish beer selection but even combining the beer choice of Sainsbury's and Morrison's there were few to be found. That said, I was very much impressed with the ones that he did get from Sainsbury's, a few details of which are below.
Wolf Brewery Battle of Britain ale 3.9% (RAFA) RAFA bottled beer
Williams Brothers Caesar Augustus Lager/IPA hybrid, 4.1%
Ridgeway Bad King John Black Ale, 6.0% BCA Ridgeway brewery info courtesy of Quaffale.org
Innis and Gunn ale, 6.0%
Brewdog Hardcore IPA 9.2%
I would have put a link on for the Williams Bros beer but they seem reticent to say much about it, and reviewers were almost exclusively supportive yet underwhelmed. I did find one review from another beer blog which is here : Folk & Ale review Sainsburys beer challenge beers. I liked it though, it was a nice beer to have with the meal (haggis, neeps and tatties, what else?) but my one gripe was that the cold filtering or lagering process succeeded in creating a lager flavour and texture but the hops added at the end failed to make it anything like an IPA - 5.6% and twice as many hops would have worked better perhaps.
The Innis and Gunn was quite warm as we'd had it out in the room for a while and this suits the creamy honeyed flavour perfectly.
The Wolf was a very average beer am afraid, admittedly I can't think of any charity beer that's been really nice - remember those ale by numbers Tolly Cobbold offerings from the nineties? I suspect the beer is marketed with almost anyone in mind, so the taste is wilfully safe and inoffensive in order to be mildly enjoyed by anyone purchasing it.
The Ridgeway was a real strong dark ale, very malty but with such a giant flavour it didn't really matter that there was little trace of hoppiness.
The Brewdog Hardcore IPA, was, well, as you'd expect, an awesome orangey explosion of dry biting bitterness and warm citrus that demanded you drink it slowly.
Overall WF pulled off a great Burns evening and the beers were the perfect compliment throughout. It appears that the lager/IPA was one of the Sainsbury's beer challenge winners so they may be selling it for a while yet, but the range is very good, so it may be worth taking a look for your self.
Note - Morrison's did have a Scottish beer - McEwans/Youngers Champion Ale. Its OK for what it is but its been around so long and is so widely available that I'm glad WF went with the other options instead.
Sportsman Crosspool
I was in the above on Thursday for a meal with family, and selected a few of the ales on offer. I had pints of Thornbridge Pica Pica oatmeal stout, and Top of the Hops, which despite no information to support this, am sure is a Cropton beer. Both were well kept and really enjoyable ales. Wee Keefy went for the Wooden Hand Pirates Gold from Cornwall, which was as sweet and malty and uninspiring as I remember it in bottle, but its good to see it so far from home.
Harrisons 1854
As usual I had an inevitable stop off at the 1854 where my tipple of choice was Deception again. It was a bit lively so I had it served without the sparkler - its always interesting to see how a beer changes its character without a foam topping and I was ccertainly able to detect more of the floral and citrus hop notes which I think are intended to be prominent, but are sadly, often lacking in this beer. A pleasant change.
Dada
I also found time to prop up the da-bar in da-da (etc). Pub Scrawl was on good form and I also got chance to sample a Raven IPA and Kill Your Darlings on keykeg, which made a nice change. I was quite smitten with the Darlings, but its notable that the Raven was less of a nice drop. Interestingly, I preferred the Raven in cask - the colder and more carbonated keykeg version lacked some of the balance of the cask version and was a little harder to drink. Barkeep Jamie suggested that some beers are better suited to keykeg dispense, a view shared by a few of the newer micro brewers for instance Camden Town.
Personally, I enjoy the chance to try the more lager and Belgian style beers on keykeg, and also to compare the contrasting versions. This means I will have to try a half of Jaipur on keykeg, which I have to say is not something I am hopeful of enjoying, having had some that was stood in Dave's cellar for 6 weeks before now, and some when it first came out and was regularly cloudy, both of which still remain the best versions I ever tasted.
More beer news later kids!
Wee Beefy
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