Hellall,
in a very lucky turn of events I was given the opportunity to help someone with some BSc research - ironically, it was regarding poverty in full time work. As someone choosing to pay off all my debts in three years, although therefore self induced, that is an area I have some experience of. Two pints and £10.00 cash later, I was in a position to use the last of my funds and to attend the above event the next day.
Whats more, given that this was an exclusively "cask" beer festival, the prices were a little lower, so my meagre crumbs of finance stretched that little bit further. Mind you, I had to drink cask. Oooh, Evil cask, Evil cask. Get you with yer evil cask. Why doesn't that cost £5.00 a half then yer cheapskate? With yer filthy clear beer with hideous natural features such as yeast, hop debris and fish guts. Pfft. Spending a more reasonable sum of money on fun. What next?
You see? This type of nonsense is just that, whichever angle you come from......
Back to matters festular and Adam had once again used his knowledge and influence to persuade brewers to brew previously keg and can only beers on cask. And they were absolutely fantastic. I started with a half of the Howling Hops All about the mosaic. In a moment of insensibility I had thought the beer featured 50kg of dry hopped mosaic! Since that is more than half my weight am guessing it would make a rather thick beer. Instead, the Howling Hops brew was very easy to drink and packed with a massive, although more reasonable 500g, of mosaic dry hops. Mosaic is a firm lupuloid favourite of mine and this beer started the night off perfectly.
I was sat with Steve and Sonya, who was on the Beer Ink Berry superstitious mixed berry sour, which was a vibrant pink red in colour and incredibly well balanced. Steve meanwhile was on the Rad Beets, a Lost Industry and Shakespeares staff colab featuring horseradish and beetroot in a 6.4% porter. It was very interesting, but I didn't try a half myself (so am hoping its still on Monday when I get paid...)
My next beer was the best of the night by a country mile. I had previously tried and enjoyed North Brew Co Transmission, a 6.9% pale ale in can and on keg. In cask it was frankly exceptional. Obviously with all that hop it looked like soup but it was super fresh and incredibly well balanced. At £4.50 a pint I could have had three pints and gone home, but other beers required trying and enjoying. Although I did get a second half....
Next up the double dry hopped Almasty IPA at 6% came straight from the cellar. It was wonderfully juicy, and lovely and fresh straight from the cask. I joined S.O.J and his friends Pete and the man with a head and I managed to have a half of the Steel City and Hopjacker High IBU dry hopped New Zealand New England IPA at 6.5%. This did not disappoint, and the New England style fitted the peppery spice of the New Zealand hops perfectly.
My penultimate beer was a pint of the excellent Transmission, soaring away as perhaps the best cask beer of the year, and I also got to try some of Steve's Steel City The Blood, the wine, the roses, a sumptuously tasty red wine barrel aged stout. As the conversation in the school room became more involved I was able to secure a final pint, of the Transmission once again, which I finished off with S.O.J and his friends with my hair down, a sure sign I was a trifle refreshed.
Assuming there is still some beer left the festival runs until Sunday, and in total there are thirty festival beers plus others that have been available to try.
A big well done to Adam, Chris and the rest of the staff at Shakespeares for another wonderful selection of stellar local and national beers during which jamboree of choice I was not once tempted to choose a beer on keg. Although that will all change on Monday....one must drink Evil to be good, after all....
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Showing posts with label Hopjacker Brewery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hopjacker Brewery. Show all posts
Saturday, 28 April 2018
Friday, 25 August 2017
Dronfield
Hulloo,
this post, in keeping with ongoing issues of procrastination, is fairly late. I went to Dronfield at the beginning of the month, but hey, the facts are still there. Those that I can remember at least. Not the ones I have conflated with other events at random points in the past. Not them. Um.....
So, I had been to Beer Central once again for my monthly catch up - where am introduced, in what is becoming a veritable smorgasboard of equal delights and surprise, to beers I may have said I would buy whilst online in the preceding week. s. As always there were some shocks, not in terms of prices, more in terms of my not remembering ordering some of them. There was also a lot of Cloudwater. Hooray for me!
I cut down past the Lord Nelson and wandered up to the Rutland to get a couple of drinks before I headed off. Continuing the Cloudwater theme I had a half of their London Ale DIPA at 9%. Its come to something when you have to express surprise at a beer being on at less than £7.00 a pint, but that's what it was, and that is what I paid for. I also got a frankly sublime half of Lervig Passion Tang, a passion fruit sour at 7.0%. Having never disliked a Lervig brew this did not disappoint. Both beers were on keg and in excellent condition. This was a good start to my trip.
Once at the station I didn't have too long to wait for the unfeasibly small Nottingham train to trundle into view and was quickly in Dronfield and heading for the Dronfield Arms. In the days before I had tried a number of pints of Hopjacker Stargoon on cask at Shakespeares - one of the best cask beers I have had this year. Alas there was none on cask at the Arms, and also no Edd, but still lots of excellent beers to choose from.
I started with a pint of Hopjacker beginning with M - it was about 3.8% and having lost some of my memory I have searched Google to find a suggestion of "mock draft". Is this even one of your beers Edd? If not, the one I tried still began with M. The beer was easy drinking, and accompanied some delicious olives which may or may not have been stuffed.
Next up I discovered that Stargoon was available, on keg. So I had to have a pint of that, along with a cheese and pickle pork pie. The pub was starting to get busier, and it was good to see plenty of customers with dogs. The Stargoon on keg was actually not quite as good as the cask at Shakespeares. Its a weird one, but that remains even now after other tries, the best I have ever tasted it. A cracking beer from a fab brewery.
Off next to find the Dronfield Beer Stop, which, it turns out, is about 3 minutes walk away. Spotting the lane the shop was on I then noticed the shop itself, and so headed in. The guy was friendly and chatty and didn't mind serving me a beer on keg, which I had promised to drink quickly, despite him soon being closed. The beer was from a brewery based not in the UK. For reasons of crapulence, I cannot recall it or the beer's name. We had a good chat about what was good and available and I bought a can of Verdant Some Fifty Summers, a 4.8 or similar percent dry hopped pale. I made it clear that I liked Verdant, as did the man, who had an identifying sound, AKA a name. Names eh......
My penultimate stop was at the Coach and Horses down the road - passing at least two former pubs, one closed down and one now a restaurant (although that may not have been a pub.....). The Coach was busy when I got in and I initially sat outside with my pint of beer, which was definitely pale, and also owned one of those defining noises which one makes when identifying or remembering it. Neither of which I can. Alas it soon started to rain so I nipped back inside and finished my enjoyable but alas unmemorable beer.
I finished the day's supping back at the Dronfield Arms having another pork pie (plain this time) and at least one more pint of the Hopjacker Stargoon, a fabulously cloudy, hoppy, fruity American style and hopped (probably) IPA. I tried a pint of this last time I was in Shakespeares and it remains a truly wonderful beer.
All too soon alas I had to return to the station and get the train, and once back in Sheffield I ignored the draw of the Tap and went home to indulge in one of my cans of Cloudwater, which was a 4.5% double hopped pale if memory serves. It does, but alas it double faulted.
I am well aware that there are other venues to tempt me to Dronfield but in fairness this was something of a whistlestop tour so apart from my first visit to the Beer Stop I stuck with what I know. Luckily, when beer is as good as it is at the Dronfield Arms, there seems little point going anywhere else.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
this post, in keeping with ongoing issues of procrastination, is fairly late. I went to Dronfield at the beginning of the month, but hey, the facts are still there. Those that I can remember at least. Not the ones I have conflated with other events at random points in the past. Not them. Um.....
So, I had been to Beer Central once again for my monthly catch up - where am introduced, in what is becoming a veritable smorgasboard of equal delights and surprise, to beers I may have said I would buy whilst online in the preceding week. s. As always there were some shocks, not in terms of prices, more in terms of my not remembering ordering some of them. There was also a lot of Cloudwater. Hooray for me!
I cut down past the Lord Nelson and wandered up to the Rutland to get a couple of drinks before I headed off. Continuing the Cloudwater theme I had a half of their London Ale DIPA at 9%. Its come to something when you have to express surprise at a beer being on at less than £7.00 a pint, but that's what it was, and that is what I paid for. I also got a frankly sublime half of Lervig Passion Tang, a passion fruit sour at 7.0%. Having never disliked a Lervig brew this did not disappoint. Both beers were on keg and in excellent condition. This was a good start to my trip.
Once at the station I didn't have too long to wait for the unfeasibly small Nottingham train to trundle into view and was quickly in Dronfield and heading for the Dronfield Arms. In the days before I had tried a number of pints of Hopjacker Stargoon on cask at Shakespeares - one of the best cask beers I have had this year. Alas there was none on cask at the Arms, and also no Edd, but still lots of excellent beers to choose from.
I started with a pint of Hopjacker beginning with M - it was about 3.8% and having lost some of my memory I have searched Google to find a suggestion of "mock draft". Is this even one of your beers Edd? If not, the one I tried still began with M. The beer was easy drinking, and accompanied some delicious olives which may or may not have been stuffed.
Next up I discovered that Stargoon was available, on keg. So I had to have a pint of that, along with a cheese and pickle pork pie. The pub was starting to get busier, and it was good to see plenty of customers with dogs. The Stargoon on keg was actually not quite as good as the cask at Shakespeares. Its a weird one, but that remains even now after other tries, the best I have ever tasted it. A cracking beer from a fab brewery.
Off next to find the Dronfield Beer Stop, which, it turns out, is about 3 minutes walk away. Spotting the lane the shop was on I then noticed the shop itself, and so headed in. The guy was friendly and chatty and didn't mind serving me a beer on keg, which I had promised to drink quickly, despite him soon being closed. The beer was from a brewery based not in the UK. For reasons of crapulence, I cannot recall it or the beer's name. We had a good chat about what was good and available and I bought a can of Verdant Some Fifty Summers, a 4.8 or similar percent dry hopped pale. I made it clear that I liked Verdant, as did the man, who had an identifying sound, AKA a name. Names eh......
My penultimate stop was at the Coach and Horses down the road - passing at least two former pubs, one closed down and one now a restaurant (although that may not have been a pub.....). The Coach was busy when I got in and I initially sat outside with my pint of beer, which was definitely pale, and also owned one of those defining noises which one makes when identifying or remembering it. Neither of which I can. Alas it soon started to rain so I nipped back inside and finished my enjoyable but alas unmemorable beer.
I finished the day's supping back at the Dronfield Arms having another pork pie (plain this time) and at least one more pint of the Hopjacker Stargoon, a fabulously cloudy, hoppy, fruity American style and hopped (probably) IPA. I tried a pint of this last time I was in Shakespeares and it remains a truly wonderful beer.
All too soon alas I had to return to the station and get the train, and once back in Sheffield I ignored the draw of the Tap and went home to indulge in one of my cans of Cloudwater, which was a 4.5% double hopped pale if memory serves. It does, but alas it double faulted.
I am well aware that there are other venues to tempt me to Dronfield but in fairness this was something of a whistlestop tour so apart from my first visit to the Beer Stop I stuck with what I know. Luckily, when beer is as good as it is at the Dronfield Arms, there seems little point going anywhere else.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 4 March 2017
Crackers
Hello,
not ones that go crunch or pop, nor a oft used term for mental illness light, instead a description of three beers I have had in fine sunny Sheffield this last week. As you may have noted from previous posts, I am rather a fan of drinking excellent ales in Sheffield pubs - as are my bank and credit card firms. Whilst I negotiate repaying that slab of debt (and am nearly there by the way) I have recklessly used the last of my savings, funds, credit, and payments in kind, to secure excellent, or rather cracking, ales.
On Sunday I ended up in Shakespeares, in a radical departure from my established drinking patterns. The last three Sundays (I think, they are just numbers after all) I have been in after work and they have had a stunning Kernel Pale ale on. Its no exaggeration to say I have very much warmed to Kernel since early disappointments with their Table beer and a lingering distrust of filthy keg. Their 4 hop IPA at 6.7% was one of my beers of last year (it was Citra Centennial Mosaic and something else if memory fails). This one was Mosaic and Vic Secret. Given that Mosaic remains one of my favourite hops it was not going to disappoint. It did not. A sumptuous, refreshing, opaque masterpiece of hoppy goodness. I may have had quite a few pints. It was bloody fab.
Neepsend Brewery have been knocking out some rather fantastic ales of late. I blogged at a point in the past about their Century IPA which was a fantastic hoppy cask ale - probably more impressive in terms of the citrus, tropical hoppy bite given that it wasn't served on keg, which is usually the better way of serving such beers.
At the Three Tuns last week, as well as having the excellent company of the Director of Andrew Inns, I also had the wonderful choice of drinking the Neepsend and Hopjacker Breakfast IPA 3 - coffee black IPA.
I realise that those long in the tooth or indeed short in the patience with novelty beers may think the above described pottage is just that, but in fact its not a novelty at all - instead its a desperately clever brew. The coffee element in a black IPA is brilliant - giving it a roasted, smooth and hoppy flavour - which is surely what a black IPA should be (comments on what a Black IPA should be, as well as, the definition of "craft", are permanently closed). I had several pints including the last one with, as the barman honestly, if a little too so, put it "all the crud in the bottom". As I explained, I am not averse to crud. Not that kind anyway.
The final sharpshooter is from Blue Bee, another renowned and favourite Sheffield brewery. Arriving once again at the Three Tuns I noticed a new Blue Bee beer called the Land of the Long White Cloud. It featured Motueka, Rakau and Waimea hops and it sounded lovely but to my horror I noticed it was only 3.5%. Gah! Nearly half my starting strength! However, a man with facial hair and limbs and MC Miker G behind the bar both recommended it over the Intrepid Pale (which being that I had already discounted) and so I had a pint.
As the entry on the Blue Bee section on the Sheffield CAMRA website states "although low on alcohol this beer won't be short in flavour". Never a truer word spoken. A monumental wall of citrussy and, having been prompted, piney flavours hits you and lingers long in the mouth. There's plenty of bitterness but the resiny notes balance the brew perfectly. You could easily have this beer to follow a hoppy IPA as it holds its strength of flavour so well. I had two and a half pints last night and savoured every mouthful - I strongly recommend you go to the Tuns today and do the same.
Full marks as always to both pubs, and all four breweries for consistently producing, keeping and serving excellent and crucially. well balanced beers in cask and keg in Sheffield.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
not ones that go crunch or pop, nor a oft used term for mental illness light, instead a description of three beers I have had in fine sunny Sheffield this last week. As you may have noted from previous posts, I am rather a fan of drinking excellent ales in Sheffield pubs - as are my bank and credit card firms. Whilst I negotiate repaying that slab of debt (and am nearly there by the way) I have recklessly used the last of my savings, funds, credit, and payments in kind, to secure excellent, or rather cracking, ales.
On Sunday I ended up in Shakespeares, in a radical departure from my established drinking patterns. The last three Sundays (I think, they are just numbers after all) I have been in after work and they have had a stunning Kernel Pale ale on. Its no exaggeration to say I have very much warmed to Kernel since early disappointments with their Table beer and a lingering distrust of filthy keg. Their 4 hop IPA at 6.7% was one of my beers of last year (it was Citra Centennial Mosaic and something else if memory fails). This one was Mosaic and Vic Secret. Given that Mosaic remains one of my favourite hops it was not going to disappoint. It did not. A sumptuous, refreshing, opaque masterpiece of hoppy goodness. I may have had quite a few pints. It was bloody fab.
Neepsend Brewery have been knocking out some rather fantastic ales of late. I blogged at a point in the past about their Century IPA which was a fantastic hoppy cask ale - probably more impressive in terms of the citrus, tropical hoppy bite given that it wasn't served on keg, which is usually the better way of serving such beers.
At the Three Tuns last week, as well as having the excellent company of the Director of Andrew Inns, I also had the wonderful choice of drinking the Neepsend and Hopjacker Breakfast IPA 3 - coffee black IPA.
I realise that those long in the tooth or indeed short in the patience with novelty beers may think the above described pottage is just that, but in fact its not a novelty at all - instead its a desperately clever brew. The coffee element in a black IPA is brilliant - giving it a roasted, smooth and hoppy flavour - which is surely what a black IPA should be (comments on what a Black IPA should be, as well as, the definition of "craft", are permanently closed). I had several pints including the last one with, as the barman honestly, if a little too so, put it "all the crud in the bottom". As I explained, I am not averse to crud. Not that kind anyway.
The final sharpshooter is from Blue Bee, another renowned and favourite Sheffield brewery. Arriving once again at the Three Tuns I noticed a new Blue Bee beer called the Land of the Long White Cloud. It featured Motueka, Rakau and Waimea hops and it sounded lovely but to my horror I noticed it was only 3.5%. Gah! Nearly half my starting strength! However, a man with facial hair and limbs and MC Miker G behind the bar both recommended it over the Intrepid Pale (which being that I had already discounted) and so I had a pint.
As the entry on the Blue Bee section on the Sheffield CAMRA website states "although low on alcohol this beer won't be short in flavour". Never a truer word spoken. A monumental wall of citrussy and, having been prompted, piney flavours hits you and lingers long in the mouth. There's plenty of bitterness but the resiny notes balance the brew perfectly. You could easily have this beer to follow a hoppy IPA as it holds its strength of flavour so well. I had two and a half pints last night and savoured every mouthful - I strongly recommend you go to the Tuns today and do the same.
Full marks as always to both pubs, and all four breweries for consistently producing, keeping and serving excellent and crucially. well balanced beers in cask and keg in Sheffield.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Thursday, 10 December 2015
Supterday
Hello,
on Saturday I popped in the pub after overtime. I had earned some extra cash and decided to spend it about 7 weeks in advance. In the end, due to events far North in Cumbria, Tash was quite late joining me. Very quite late. Luckily, in the meantime, I decided to sup in the pub. And virtually remained sober. Here are the details of those twelve hours....
I got to Shakespeares at 14.15 and had a pint of the excellent, biting hopped Arbor Triple Hop at 4.0%. I supped this very slowly as it turned out, joined briefly by Paul and his family, before I spotted T_i_B from the internet. Having got his attention (he does not answer to Tib) I chatted with him for a good hour or two. He started on the super strong Brodies Simcoe for Breakfast whilst I moved onto a 7.2% Red IPA from Buxton - just a half of course. Tom (for it is he) then moved down to the Arbor and I joined him for a last couple of halves of the same, before heading for food nearby.
The Three Tuns was busy, as it often is thankfully, and I managed to get a seat at the right near the bow end of the pub. I had a half of Blue Bee Motueka and ordered a chip butty with blue cheese and bacon. The menu is reduced since this time last year and this was actually quite a small butty, but it still did the trick. I spoke to Tash and she was still trying to find out details of the flooding in Cumbria so I quickly got myself another half of Motueka and sat back down.
I walked very slowly (deliberately) around 19.00 up to the Bath Hotel - this was also rammed, and initially I had to stand at one end of the bar. I bumped into Nick out with some mates and supped a pint of the excellent Hopjacker Kansas City Shuffle, a 5.5% pale ale brewed at the Dronfield Arms. This was an excellent pint, and I eventually got sat down and ordered a half a pork pie and a glass of water. The pub was emptying a little now, around 20.00 and I moved on to a half of Jaipur on keg. Heading to the bar for more water, I was spotted by Clare and Gav.
They were in enjoying drinks having been out walking their dog Jezza and I was allowed by the same to join them. They were also on keg Jaipur (which I think is a good price at £3.90, or rather about 50p only, more expensive than the cask) and I stopped on my dwindling supplies until Tash turned up about 22.00. She was really stressed about the flooding since her Mum and Brother live in Carlisle - by Sunday morning they had been evacuated. In an attempt to distract her I bought her and myself a pint of Hopjacker each and we chatted to Clare and Gav.
About 23.00 we were joined by Emma, Matty's friend. She arrived quite late but just in time for a glass of wine and persuaded Matty to get out of bed to join us. I bought me and Tash another pint each of the excellent Hopjacker and Matty turned up just after last orders.
From here we secured funds and caught a taxi to Shakespeares. In all honesty I can only say for definite what I had for the last rather than the first round. I know Matty had a pint of Abbeydale Marshmallow Meltdown, a 7.0% stout brewed with Hop Hideout, and am guessing I sensibly went for a pint of the Triple Hop. We were joined by Katie and Lee and sat in both the clock room and outside in the yard catching up and putting the world to rights. I finished on a half of the Simcoe for breakfast, the 10.2% Brodies breakfast stout before we caught a taxi about 02.40.
Notwithstanding the ride home, when Tash was treated terribly by the taxi driver for reasons that I on't share on here, this was a great day of (mostly) restrained drinking of excellent real ales and keg beers in three different fabulous pubs. I may have had nine or ten pints in all but I wasn't that drunk and crucially I really enjoyed every one of them. Even if I forgot one of them....
With thanks to Tom, Gav, Clare, Emma Katie and Lee and of course Matty and Tash for their company on a wonderful long short pub crawl.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
on Saturday I popped in the pub after overtime. I had earned some extra cash and decided to spend it about 7 weeks in advance. In the end, due to events far North in Cumbria, Tash was quite late joining me. Very quite late. Luckily, in the meantime, I decided to sup in the pub. And virtually remained sober. Here are the details of those twelve hours....
I got to Shakespeares at 14.15 and had a pint of the excellent, biting hopped Arbor Triple Hop at 4.0%. I supped this very slowly as it turned out, joined briefly by Paul and his family, before I spotted T_i_B from the internet. Having got his attention (he does not answer to Tib) I chatted with him for a good hour or two. He started on the super strong Brodies Simcoe for Breakfast whilst I moved onto a 7.2% Red IPA from Buxton - just a half of course. Tom (for it is he) then moved down to the Arbor and I joined him for a last couple of halves of the same, before heading for food nearby.
The Three Tuns was busy, as it often is thankfully, and I managed to get a seat at the right near the bow end of the pub. I had a half of Blue Bee Motueka and ordered a chip butty with blue cheese and bacon. The menu is reduced since this time last year and this was actually quite a small butty, but it still did the trick. I spoke to Tash and she was still trying to find out details of the flooding in Cumbria so I quickly got myself another half of Motueka and sat back down.
I walked very slowly (deliberately) around 19.00 up to the Bath Hotel - this was also rammed, and initially I had to stand at one end of the bar. I bumped into Nick out with some mates and supped a pint of the excellent Hopjacker Kansas City Shuffle, a 5.5% pale ale brewed at the Dronfield Arms. This was an excellent pint, and I eventually got sat down and ordered a half a pork pie and a glass of water. The pub was emptying a little now, around 20.00 and I moved on to a half of Jaipur on keg. Heading to the bar for more water, I was spotted by Clare and Gav.
They were in enjoying drinks having been out walking their dog Jezza and I was allowed by the same to join them. They were also on keg Jaipur (which I think is a good price at £3.90, or rather about 50p only, more expensive than the cask) and I stopped on my dwindling supplies until Tash turned up about 22.00. She was really stressed about the flooding since her Mum and Brother live in Carlisle - by Sunday morning they had been evacuated. In an attempt to distract her I bought her and myself a pint of Hopjacker each and we chatted to Clare and Gav.
About 23.00 we were joined by Emma, Matty's friend. She arrived quite late but just in time for a glass of wine and persuaded Matty to get out of bed to join us. I bought me and Tash another pint each of the excellent Hopjacker and Matty turned up just after last orders.
From here we secured funds and caught a taxi to Shakespeares. In all honesty I can only say for definite what I had for the last rather than the first round. I know Matty had a pint of Abbeydale Marshmallow Meltdown, a 7.0% stout brewed with Hop Hideout, and am guessing I sensibly went for a pint of the Triple Hop. We were joined by Katie and Lee and sat in both the clock room and outside in the yard catching up and putting the world to rights. I finished on a half of the Simcoe for breakfast, the 10.2% Brodies breakfast stout before we caught a taxi about 02.40.
Notwithstanding the ride home, when Tash was treated terribly by the taxi driver for reasons that I on't share on here, this was a great day of (mostly) restrained drinking of excellent real ales and keg beers in three different fabulous pubs. I may have had nine or ten pints in all but I wasn't that drunk and crucially I really enjoyed every one of them. Even if I forgot one of them....
With thanks to Tom, Gav, Clare, Emma Katie and Lee and of course Matty and Tash for their company on a wonderful long short pub crawl.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
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