Artnoo yall,
this year I was lucky enough once again to be able to return to the Indy Beer Feast at the Picture House Social in Abbeydale, sunniest Sheffield. And indeed it was sunny - despite my recent neshness I was so warm when I walked down the road that I even rolled up my sleeves - and I was only wearing three layers. Unfortunately this "hot" weather at 11 degrees also warranted an unpleasant appearance enroute by what I described as the recalcitrant unwashed. I know we have far fewer belting hot summers but I think my recently added non use of public transport may warrant an extension if we ever get hot weather....
Once inside, and having introduced myself to a lovely lass who wanted to meet me based on my name on the list (this one, obvs) I walked into the festival and immediately started assessing the beers on offer. Many stood out but alas, having foolishly paid all my bills this month including Stepchange, I was down to just £9.00 for bowze. To start a trend of thirds, having spoken to folks from Lost Industry, I started at Black Iris.
One of the issues of having had about three phones since 2012, along with a potential movement of staff, is that its difficult to keep in touch with folk. On my third phone ago I used to have the numbers of two people, one of whom I may still be friends with on Faceache, who both worked with Black Iris brewery. Alas despite often tasting and enjoying their beers at the Broadfield, and then much further afield including a beer festival at the Flower Pot in Derby, am not sure I ever met them - and am equally unsure that I kept their numbers. Introducing myself to the chap serving he didn't know who I was - and fearing looking a trifle foolish I quickly ordered my third of Lavender Grisette at 4.3% and made my way to seating. The beer was lovely by the way, as are all their beers.
After a quick look at the rather excellent range on offer at Turning Point who are almost entirely likely to be based in or from Kirbymoorside near York, I spotted my friends at St Mars of the Desert. I wandered over for a gawp at their ales and a chat and started on a third of their 6.9% Fieldmouse's Farewell, described as a golden and an extremely well rounded sup. After a lengthy chat, including my making both Martha and Dann chuckle by stating that I had never seen his equipment on full display - you had to be there.... I sat down for a while before having a chat with a guy called Brett at Cloudwater's bar. Alas I could not take the opportunity to try anything because it was cash only and I only had 80 pence in my account but it was good to chat to him about their output and also to finish my beer, before moving onto the Abbeydale Brewery bar.
Having bumped into Dave Pickersgill once again and tried a mouthful of his super strong tasting BA 1868 at 11.7%! I went lower next with a third of their 4.3% Not just a phase, a citrussy well hopped pale brewed especially for beerweek. Having thoroughly enjoyed this, as well as taken a few stickers and badges as well as welcoming Christy with another excellent cask, I turned back up the hall and went to visit Torrside.
Torrisde, as any fuel kno, are based in New Mills in Derbyshire. And am certain their brewery tap will be open again soon - they do shut it in February and January as its too cold to heat with its ludicrously high ceillings. I enjoyed my catch up with two men who had human names, as well as trying a third of their Valour, a whopping 7.7% 1917 recipe imperial stout. Whilst there I also tried a taste of their Dogs of War bottled Eldeberry Barley Wine at 10%, before heading up to see the folk at Lost Industry.
By now I was starting to get quite cold - my sleeves had been rolled down by now I should point out - so I asked for a taster of their recent Wild honey Braggot. Am unable to remember it's strength, so no change there then, but I did thoroughly enjoy it and my catch up with those that I chatted to. Next I moved onto both the Double Barrelled and Orbit beer stands. At Double Barrelled, whom I suspect may be from Reading,, I tried some of their excellent Parka, a 4.5% Citra Dry Hopped Pale, and at Orbit I purchased a delicious third of their Nico Kolsch lager. As well as a couple of their beers on draught they also sold large strong bottled versions for a tenner each - and the Kolsch was excellent. I also found time to have a quick chat with the lass behind the Anarchy Brew Co stand, and to point out that the last time I had tried one of the beers she had on was up in Berwick, which is at least nearby their brewery...
My last stop was once again at St Mars of the Desert and I finished on a third of their Long Way Round - a truly excellent Citra NEIPA at 5.4% brewed with Young Master, which is either an ingredient, a person, or a copy of an early Jackie Chan film.....
I said my goodbyes to Martha and went and sat up at the top with a man from Doncaster who I have seen since but cannot quite remember the name of - really interesting to meet a man of his slightly older age who was more than happy to try keg beers in what was after all, an almost entirely keg only festival (there may have been hand pumps on the Thornbridge Bar but am not sure....).
Thank you once again to organiser Jules who provided me with a trade ticket, and to all the amazing brewery staff and their equally excellent products which managed to provide an excellently wide ranging selection of delicious potations for everyone to try. And, as with last time there wasn't a bad beer on and all the brews were reasonably priced.
Really looking forward to returning in March 2021 for the next Sheffield Beer Week Indy Beer Feast!
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Showing posts with label Lost Industry Brewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost Industry Brewing. Show all posts
Monday, 16 March 2020
Sunday, 29 July 2018
Bar Stewards turns one year old
Hullabaloo,
although Al and Charlie have been open to the public for longer, its was a year ago yesterday that they got their full license at Bar Stewards on Gibraltar Street, opposite Shakespeares. To celebrate, a marvelous line up of ales on cask and keg and in bottle and can were amassed, live music was performed, three seasons of weather took place and crowds of thirsty wellwishers drank in the pub and beer garden.
The lads had been busy brewing a couple of special beers, including Solo - a geek story, a 6.6% pale brewed at Blue Bee, and a hazy 6.9% IPA brewed at Lost Industry called Ingenious Bar Stewards. Am not sure I tried that, but arriving at 14.30 I started on the Solo on cask as soon as I arrived. It was a wonderfully hoppy ale, and ticked all the boxes for what I wanted and expected.
Given the mad rain and thunder in the Friday morning the air was cooler and more rain was forecast, so I had to wear a short over my Tee Shirt. In fact, it was already starting to rain when I arrived, and some of the flags in the front window blew down early on, giving some notice of the weird weather that awaited us. Initially I sat inside but once joined by Vikkie and Matt we went outside where the strong sunshine had dried the seating and the number of visitors increased quickly. Although, four older gents came across the road from Shakespeares earlier and were horrified to discover that the weakest of the three casks was 5%. They left. I know they may have been on an all dayer but they could have had halves, silly old fuffers.....
I had half a Deya next, another cloudy golden swig of hops from Cheltenham's finest, before I persuaded Vikkie to buy me a pint of Verdant Even planets twinkle, or similar, a fabulous murky DIPA at 8.5%. It was, unsurprisingly, wonderful. Although I didn't dare look at how much it cost.....
A couple of cans followed, one of which was a Loka Polly DIPA featuring some of my favourite but thus far unremembered hops, and I had another half of the Verdant, and possibly shared a can of Verdant Neal gets things done. Or possibly not. I think the mini beer tasting I had Friday night and three consecutive nights drinking prior to that may have muddled my brain a little, resulting in a modicum of misrememberance....
A couple of heavy showers fizzed over us, sending some scarpering inside as if made of sugar, but we simply stayed put and got wet, and as the crowds got ever bigger Stumbling Andy played blues guitar, whilst we and others petted his dog. Rich and Kath turned up, as did clan Seaton and Unpro, and there were numerous other well known members of the scene including Pete, and Andy Morton. It seemed as if everyone wanted to wish the Stewards the very best, and Vikkie and Matt even got them a birthday card featuring some of Matt's finger on window handiwork!
According to texts I sent to Tash I was home by half 8 so probably left bout 19.50 after just over five hours supping. Since the Solo at 6.6% was probably the weakest beer I drank all day its hardly surprising that I neither remember getting home, nor cooking and eating my tea. I did though, so there.
New micropubs continue to open in Sheffield with a number since Bar Stewards started out in early 2017. It seems the demand for small independent places to drink free of tie remains unabated, with proposed new venues in Hillsborough and Crookes on the cards. Through dedication, hard work and a genuine love of beer the Bar Stewards have built their reputation and created a reputable and reliable place to drink, meet and chat with similar minded folks.
Heres wishing them many more years of growth and excellence ahead.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
although Al and Charlie have been open to the public for longer, its was a year ago yesterday that they got their full license at Bar Stewards on Gibraltar Street, opposite Shakespeares. To celebrate, a marvelous line up of ales on cask and keg and in bottle and can were amassed, live music was performed, three seasons of weather took place and crowds of thirsty wellwishers drank in the pub and beer garden.
The lads had been busy brewing a couple of special beers, including Solo - a geek story, a 6.6% pale brewed at Blue Bee, and a hazy 6.9% IPA brewed at Lost Industry called Ingenious Bar Stewards. Am not sure I tried that, but arriving at 14.30 I started on the Solo on cask as soon as I arrived. It was a wonderfully hoppy ale, and ticked all the boxes for what I wanted and expected.
Given the mad rain and thunder in the Friday morning the air was cooler and more rain was forecast, so I had to wear a short over my Tee Shirt. In fact, it was already starting to rain when I arrived, and some of the flags in the front window blew down early on, giving some notice of the weird weather that awaited us. Initially I sat inside but once joined by Vikkie and Matt we went outside where the strong sunshine had dried the seating and the number of visitors increased quickly. Although, four older gents came across the road from Shakespeares earlier and were horrified to discover that the weakest of the three casks was 5%. They left. I know they may have been on an all dayer but they could have had halves, silly old fuffers.....
I had half a Deya next, another cloudy golden swig of hops from Cheltenham's finest, before I persuaded Vikkie to buy me a pint of Verdant Even planets twinkle, or similar, a fabulous murky DIPA at 8.5%. It was, unsurprisingly, wonderful. Although I didn't dare look at how much it cost.....
A couple of cans followed, one of which was a Loka Polly DIPA featuring some of my favourite but thus far unremembered hops, and I had another half of the Verdant, and possibly shared a can of Verdant Neal gets things done. Or possibly not. I think the mini beer tasting I had Friday night and three consecutive nights drinking prior to that may have muddled my brain a little, resulting in a modicum of misrememberance....
A couple of heavy showers fizzed over us, sending some scarpering inside as if made of sugar, but we simply stayed put and got wet, and as the crowds got ever bigger Stumbling Andy played blues guitar, whilst we and others petted his dog. Rich and Kath turned up, as did clan Seaton and Unpro, and there were numerous other well known members of the scene including Pete, and Andy Morton. It seemed as if everyone wanted to wish the Stewards the very best, and Vikkie and Matt even got them a birthday card featuring some of Matt's finger on window handiwork!
According to texts I sent to Tash I was home by half 8 so probably left bout 19.50 after just over five hours supping. Since the Solo at 6.6% was probably the weakest beer I drank all day its hardly surprising that I neither remember getting home, nor cooking and eating my tea. I did though, so there.
New micropubs continue to open in Sheffield with a number since Bar Stewards started out in early 2017. It seems the demand for small independent places to drink free of tie remains unabated, with proposed new venues in Hillsborough and Crookes on the cards. Through dedication, hard work and a genuine love of beer the Bar Stewards have built their reputation and created a reputable and reliable place to drink, meet and chat with similar minded folks.
Heres wishing them many more years of growth and excellence ahead.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 3 June 2017
Time and Tide Tap takeover at Tshakespeares
Hulloo,
I had rather forgotten about this event, what with trying not to take notice of any beery happenstances whilst still on meds. Now am back at work and on my last box of biotics I am starting to relax a little. Dave Unpro said we talked about the event on Thursday night in that self same pub. I have no reason to doubt him, I just lack the functionality to remember if what he is saying is true....
On arrival I noticed a low strength IPA on my keg line (you know, the one I own with Kernel) and so was somewhat disappointed but Adam passed me the night's reading material and I noticed that there were in fact a number of Time and Tide brewing's beers on. I started on a pint of their excellent All in Jim APA with Sorachi Ace which had a wonderful lemongrassy kick to it with very well balanced bitterness. and went awandering to find a seat. Bumped into the Dans, Howard and Rob, man from nowhere, as well as Charlie and Al Steward, and later Unpro and Mr E who very kindly joined me in the clock room.
Before I finished the Sorachi, which was a very refreshing pale ale, I bought a half of their Domino, an imperial white stout made with tonka beans and coffee at an impressive 8.6%. This is the stoutiest white stout I have ever tasted and the tonka beans gave it a very heavy but rewardingly tasty feel. I actually spent a good 3 hours supping this in small sips, not because I disliked it but because it was such a sensational flavour bomb of a beer.
I had been intending to meet the Nodvogs and Mr G but none turned up which I was a bit miffed about but in the end the beer and those I sat with more than made up for their absence and I was able to offload a few woes onto Mr E whilst supping yet more of the offerings from Time and Tide. Who are Time and Tide brewery I hear you ask? I don't know. Hope that helps. Their brewer has facial hair, so is easy to spot.*
My next beer was Bucky, a 5.4% hogweed and sea buckthorne pale ale with both flavours present. The brewer, who had a name, was explaining when I was at the bar that hogweed is a pale almost see through set of bubbled membranes which tastes vile if you eat it - this is possibly why I only ordered a third. He did however assure us that it tasted fine in a beer and myself and Mr E agreed. Its very difficult to describe this ale since both of its feature ingredients have very unusual flavours. So there.
I finished on a pint of the Brynhilder, a 4.4% session IPA as recommended by almost everyone, and a half an Echo, which was a dry hopped bretted saison. I can't say I really liked the echo - the idea was worrying, and am not a fan of dry hopped saisons and the bretting was a bit too intense. A beer where I disliked the idea, and the product, which was a shame.
The Brynhilder on the other had was perfect. A wonderfully refreshing well rounded hoppy session ale. I like my IPA's plus 6% as you know but I could have drunk this all night. It was a perfect slaker which provided all of the hoppy quality of a strong IPA with much less of the alcohol.
At some point I saw the man from Lost Industry. You know, the one with the head. He asked me if I wanted to try something interesting and gave me a bottle full of their Banana and raspberry sour sundae ale in a glass. It was superb. I know Lost Industry like to experiment with sours (and indeed were planning on doing one with other brewers later) but I didn't expect this to taste the way it did. The man with a head also invited me to join the man with facial hair, Unpro and others to try a Time and Tide bottle of burnt honey Braggert at 11%. Just a trial brew am guessing based on its label written in pen but a really interesting flavoured beer. Twice the strength (almost) of the one I tried at the Blue Anchor in Cornwall.
I finished on a free sample of their imperial white stout before the brewer had to leave and I had to catch my last bus. This final taster rounded the night off perfectly. I got to meet new people, friends of old and a brewer or three and got to try the wares of an excellent brewery all in the same night.
Thanks to Shakespeares for organising the event, to Time and Tide for attending, and to Lost Industry for their kind free sample. Lets hope we see more Time and Tide Brewing beers in Sheffield soon.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
*there's actually a link here to their website should you want any facts......
I had rather forgotten about this event, what with trying not to take notice of any beery happenstances whilst still on meds. Now am back at work and on my last box of biotics I am starting to relax a little. Dave Unpro said we talked about the event on Thursday night in that self same pub. I have no reason to doubt him, I just lack the functionality to remember if what he is saying is true....
On arrival I noticed a low strength IPA on my keg line (you know, the one I own with Kernel) and so was somewhat disappointed but Adam passed me the night's reading material and I noticed that there were in fact a number of Time and Tide brewing's beers on. I started on a pint of their excellent All in Jim APA with Sorachi Ace which had a wonderful lemongrassy kick to it with very well balanced bitterness. and went awandering to find a seat. Bumped into the Dans, Howard and Rob, man from nowhere, as well as Charlie and Al Steward, and later Unpro and Mr E who very kindly joined me in the clock room.
Before I finished the Sorachi, which was a very refreshing pale ale, I bought a half of their Domino, an imperial white stout made with tonka beans and coffee at an impressive 8.6%. This is the stoutiest white stout I have ever tasted and the tonka beans gave it a very heavy but rewardingly tasty feel. I actually spent a good 3 hours supping this in small sips, not because I disliked it but because it was such a sensational flavour bomb of a beer.
I had been intending to meet the Nodvogs and Mr G but none turned up which I was a bit miffed about but in the end the beer and those I sat with more than made up for their absence and I was able to offload a few woes onto Mr E whilst supping yet more of the offerings from Time and Tide. Who are Time and Tide brewery I hear you ask? I don't know. Hope that helps. Their brewer has facial hair, so is easy to spot.*
My next beer was Bucky, a 5.4% hogweed and sea buckthorne pale ale with both flavours present. The brewer, who had a name, was explaining when I was at the bar that hogweed is a pale almost see through set of bubbled membranes which tastes vile if you eat it - this is possibly why I only ordered a third. He did however assure us that it tasted fine in a beer and myself and Mr E agreed. Its very difficult to describe this ale since both of its feature ingredients have very unusual flavours. So there.
I finished on a pint of the Brynhilder, a 4.4% session IPA as recommended by almost everyone, and a half an Echo, which was a dry hopped bretted saison. I can't say I really liked the echo - the idea was worrying, and am not a fan of dry hopped saisons and the bretting was a bit too intense. A beer where I disliked the idea, and the product, which was a shame.
The Brynhilder on the other had was perfect. A wonderfully refreshing well rounded hoppy session ale. I like my IPA's plus 6% as you know but I could have drunk this all night. It was a perfect slaker which provided all of the hoppy quality of a strong IPA with much less of the alcohol.
At some point I saw the man from Lost Industry. You know, the one with the head. He asked me if I wanted to try something interesting and gave me a bottle full of their Banana and raspberry sour sundae ale in a glass. It was superb. I know Lost Industry like to experiment with sours (and indeed were planning on doing one with other brewers later) but I didn't expect this to taste the way it did. The man with a head also invited me to join the man with facial hair, Unpro and others to try a Time and Tide bottle of burnt honey Braggert at 11%. Just a trial brew am guessing based on its label written in pen but a really interesting flavoured beer. Twice the strength (almost) of the one I tried at the Blue Anchor in Cornwall.
I finished on a free sample of their imperial white stout before the brewer had to leave and I had to catch my last bus. This final taster rounded the night off perfectly. I got to meet new people, friends of old and a brewer or three and got to try the wares of an excellent brewery all in the same night.
Thanks to Shakespeares for organising the event, to Time and Tide for attending, and to Lost Industry for their kind free sample. Lets hope we see more Time and Tide Brewing beers in Sheffield soon.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
*there's actually a link here to their website should you want any facts......
Sunday, 30 October 2016
The 42d Steel city beer festival 2016
Hullabaloo,
am sorry I am late posting this, have been without funds and caring for Tash, and making meals from limited ingredients in this last lousy week so haven't had the heart, energy or desire to post. Noting has changed, except I may forget what I did at the beer fest soon. So here is what I can remember....
This year I went three times, Wednesday, Friday (ye gads!) and Saturday. On Wednesday Mr Christopher Bamfordshire kindly arranged for myself and Meathouse to attend a tasting session. Its free on a Wednesday, but you still have to pay for a glass and some tokens. Once inside we followed the aroma of serious imbibing and found Chris and tables of very serious folks sniffing, peering, tasting and scoring. I enjoy the tasting sessions but am surprised how guarded and often outright arsey fellow tasters can be - its not espionage! Myself and Matty joined two tables, one with a big lad from the Closed Shop who may have been called Chris and a guy I met last year, and another with a couple from California.
They now lived in Scotland. so having asked them if they preferred cold and rain they explained that they were studying. "Luckily" for them I followed them round for the rest of the night, and even took them to Shakespeares. The bloke's name began with R and his lass was called Sam. Lovely couple.
Beers wise the range of blondes we tasted was a little underwhelming. However, since there were something like 250 beers to choose from its hardly surprising that there was so diverse a range of flavours. Some were dry, some bitter, some burntish, 2 were eggy, but this wasn't a reflection of the quality I encountered when choosing my own.
I started with a half of the NZ Pale from Electric Bear in Bath, a sumptuously hoppy starter that woke up my taste buds perfectly. This was followed by a half of Jarl by Fyne Ales and a half of the strong Nothing but the blood orange IPA from Emmanuales.
Better than all this was the keg. Thats right. A keg bar (see "evil keg" in CAMRA parlance) at a CAMRA festival is a shock, but about bloody time. Bottles, wine and cider have never been real ale but are almost always available, so why not keg? I suspect there are numerous reasons (my favourite being that they worry it may be more popular, but nobody has actually said that to me) but that matters not - it was there. And it was ace. A half of Kernel pale at 5.1% with possibly Motueka hops was purchased, along with a mighty Double IPA from Brew by Numbers. An astonishingly tasty beer! Some of the keg was more expensive than I would expect but nothing was outlandish, and the main thing was there was keg available. Looking forward to seeing more of the same in the future.
Friday was difficult to get in - Wee Keefy arrived just after 19.00 to find a long queue and a one in one out system. Figuring he could wait an hour or more, he met me and Tash in the Kelham Island Tavern. Like he said, nobody loses - the festival is full and therefore making money, and there are 50 or more excellent beers within a mile of the venue. We were on the Buxton Peach and Lemon IPA by the way - it appeared to be about £8.00 a pint, which is s surprising, since its only £5.30 at Shakespeares.....anyone know how much it was at the KIT?
Beers on Friday were limited to more Kernel keg, this time their excellent IPA, and Buxton Axe Edge (or maybe that was Saturday...). I also had Lizzie Ward from Lost Industry on cask along with Hopcraft we come in peace and a whole pint of cider. One thing to mention about the cider is there was no truly dry ciders on - you know, stuff that dissolves your jaw and leaves you gasping for breath afterwards. The driest cider one was a medium at best, although it was very tasty.
My final visit was on Saturday - I had an interesting experience getting in, and will say thanks, but am not sure why! I Had a pint of the excellent North Riding Mosaic on cask and then started on kegs, including Buxton Axe Edge and Kernel IPA again and then a Brewsmith or Horbury beer (no pen) before moving onto half a Buxton Tsar. Not a weak drop at 9.5% this was incredibly easy to drink, which is one reason, apart from the price, that I only had a half.
I also had a bottle of De Molen from Matty who was working his first beer festival. Well done to him, for working hard and showing a very good manner with customers. To be fair, he and all the staff worked really hard at the festival. Well done to all.
I would never criticise a person who volunteers to work a festival bar but I did laugh when I was trying to find the Sentinel sour beer. Having heard I liked a sour beer, and that said Rhubarb and rosehip gose had run out, he said "if you want sour, try the Stancil Barnsley Bitter - its got almost mp hops in it". I nearly laughed out loud, gawd blezzim.
Finally - food. A decent selection this year, mainly because there was a tent provided by the Beer Engine. After talking to them on Wednesday and Friday on Saturday I got me and Matty a portion of patatas bravas and a whole chorizo to share. Needless to say, and as expected, this was delicious snap, and well priced. Another new feature which I hope is repeated.
So, overall this was a fantastic festival. Love the venue, love the keg bar, love the beer range and the food. Ace.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
am sorry I am late posting this, have been without funds and caring for Tash, and making meals from limited ingredients in this last lousy week so haven't had the heart, energy or desire to post. Noting has changed, except I may forget what I did at the beer fest soon. So here is what I can remember....
This year I went three times, Wednesday, Friday (ye gads!) and Saturday. On Wednesday Mr Christopher Bamfordshire kindly arranged for myself and Meathouse to attend a tasting session. Its free on a Wednesday, but you still have to pay for a glass and some tokens. Once inside we followed the aroma of serious imbibing and found Chris and tables of very serious folks sniffing, peering, tasting and scoring. I enjoy the tasting sessions but am surprised how guarded and often outright arsey fellow tasters can be - its not espionage! Myself and Matty joined two tables, one with a big lad from the Closed Shop who may have been called Chris and a guy I met last year, and another with a couple from California.
They now lived in Scotland. so having asked them if they preferred cold and rain they explained that they were studying. "Luckily" for them I followed them round for the rest of the night, and even took them to Shakespeares. The bloke's name began with R and his lass was called Sam. Lovely couple.
Beers wise the range of blondes we tasted was a little underwhelming. However, since there were something like 250 beers to choose from its hardly surprising that there was so diverse a range of flavours. Some were dry, some bitter, some burntish, 2 were eggy, but this wasn't a reflection of the quality I encountered when choosing my own.
I started with a half of the NZ Pale from Electric Bear in Bath, a sumptuously hoppy starter that woke up my taste buds perfectly. This was followed by a half of Jarl by Fyne Ales and a half of the strong Nothing but the blood orange IPA from Emmanuales.
Better than all this was the keg. Thats right. A keg bar (see "evil keg" in CAMRA parlance) at a CAMRA festival is a shock, but about bloody time. Bottles, wine and cider have never been real ale but are almost always available, so why not keg? I suspect there are numerous reasons (my favourite being that they worry it may be more popular, but nobody has actually said that to me) but that matters not - it was there. And it was ace. A half of Kernel pale at 5.1% with possibly Motueka hops was purchased, along with a mighty Double IPA from Brew by Numbers. An astonishingly tasty beer! Some of the keg was more expensive than I would expect but nothing was outlandish, and the main thing was there was keg available. Looking forward to seeing more of the same in the future.
Friday was difficult to get in - Wee Keefy arrived just after 19.00 to find a long queue and a one in one out system. Figuring he could wait an hour or more, he met me and Tash in the Kelham Island Tavern. Like he said, nobody loses - the festival is full and therefore making money, and there are 50 or more excellent beers within a mile of the venue. We were on the Buxton Peach and Lemon IPA by the way - it appeared to be about £8.00 a pint, which is s surprising, since its only £5.30 at Shakespeares.....anyone know how much it was at the KIT?
Beers on Friday were limited to more Kernel keg, this time their excellent IPA, and Buxton Axe Edge (or maybe that was Saturday...). I also had Lizzie Ward from Lost Industry on cask along with Hopcraft we come in peace and a whole pint of cider. One thing to mention about the cider is there was no truly dry ciders on - you know, stuff that dissolves your jaw and leaves you gasping for breath afterwards. The driest cider one was a medium at best, although it was very tasty.
My final visit was on Saturday - I had an interesting experience getting in, and will say thanks, but am not sure why! I Had a pint of the excellent North Riding Mosaic on cask and then started on kegs, including Buxton Axe Edge and Kernel IPA again and then a Brewsmith or Horbury beer (no pen) before moving onto half a Buxton Tsar. Not a weak drop at 9.5% this was incredibly easy to drink, which is one reason, apart from the price, that I only had a half.
I also had a bottle of De Molen from Matty who was working his first beer festival. Well done to him, for working hard and showing a very good manner with customers. To be fair, he and all the staff worked really hard at the festival. Well done to all.
I would never criticise a person who volunteers to work a festival bar but I did laugh when I was trying to find the Sentinel sour beer. Having heard I liked a sour beer, and that said Rhubarb and rosehip gose had run out, he said "if you want sour, try the Stancil Barnsley Bitter - its got almost mp hops in it". I nearly laughed out loud, gawd blezzim.
Finally - food. A decent selection this year, mainly because there was a tent provided by the Beer Engine. After talking to them on Wednesday and Friday on Saturday I got me and Matty a portion of patatas bravas and a whole chorizo to share. Needless to say, and as expected, this was delicious snap, and well priced. Another new feature which I hope is repeated.
So, overall this was a fantastic festival. Love the venue, love the keg bar, love the beer range and the food. Ace.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
On the Edge nine pin 4 and nearby boozers
Hello folks,
myself and Matty went to the event in the title on Friday, in some ways as preparation for spending most of Saturday moving furniture. On the Edge Nine Pin 4 once again took place in the Old Junior School Nether Edge and this was Matty's first visit. We started on halves of the IPA which began with A, (which I now know is called Atlanta) and the saisons IPA. Both were in excellent nick, the saisons an interesting mix which was tasty but not predominantly either style of beer. The IPA was hoppy and well rounded and an excellent, if nearly the strongest, beer to start on.
Next up were halves of the Cry Havoc steam beer and a half of the Strawberry wheat for Matty. He did not really enjoy it, but the steam beer was interesting. I followed this with another half of the strong IPA Atlanta and a half of the Davenport wheat which was a lovely refreshing wheat beer, along with the strong Abbey IPA made with Belgian Yeast. We finished on the two Black IPA's, Cascadian Black and a weaker one. The Cascadian Black is, in my opinion, a regular On the Edge brew, and tasted very good indeed. Alas we could not hang around longer, as we had other pubs to visit. Best of luck to Tom and Luisa with their next event in September.
Just down the road is the Beer Engine so this seemed like a good place to go. For info, we had started the evening at the Harlequin to try the Silly brewery Pink Grapefruit wheat beer called Pink Killer. I have to admit we were a little underwhelmed, mainly because it was too sweet - the yeast and malts used nullified the bite that you get from Pink Grapefruit. Shame.
At the Beer engine there was a fantastic Wiper and True Red IPA on keg and the Wild Ninkasi saison style wild yeast ale, along with Lost Industry Chilli Sorachi pale on cask. I had a half of that and a half of Wiper and True and Matty a half of the latter and of the Ninkasi. We sat in the beer garden in the fading sunshine thoroughly enjoying the beers on offer. The chilli beer was thankfully not too hot so worked well with the Sorachi, and the Ninkasi is a fantastic saison style beer (its difficult to say that its a saison only...so here is a link to their website!) . The Wiper and True was, unsurprisingly, the pick of the bunch.
Down the road a little we came to the Sentinel Brew Co. I warned Matty about the prices but we once again enjoyed the beers, mainly the EU IPA. We also had another of their range, the identity of which seems to have escaped me. The venue seems to be getting busier and is a good place to bump into persons from the world of Sheffield beer.
We finished the night in the Rutland Arms. The Rutland eh...whats it all about? We will never know. We had a pint of something tasty on keg and I tried a pint of Reet Pale but alas it tasted of paracetamol! It was swapped straight away for something else which was Amarillo from Crouch Vale. Or another beer. It was good to stay for a couple and listen to some excellent tunes on the jukebox before heading back to Chestnut Towers, on the last bus. When we got in I put on some tunes and poured us some beer and Matty fell asleep - bless him.
The above is one of a few crawls I have done so far this thirsty month of May, am hoping to provide some details of the others in the next week.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
myself and Matty went to the event in the title on Friday, in some ways as preparation for spending most of Saturday moving furniture. On the Edge Nine Pin 4 once again took place in the Old Junior School Nether Edge and this was Matty's first visit. We started on halves of the IPA which began with A, (which I now know is called Atlanta) and the saisons IPA. Both were in excellent nick, the saisons an interesting mix which was tasty but not predominantly either style of beer. The IPA was hoppy and well rounded and an excellent, if nearly the strongest, beer to start on.
Next up were halves of the Cry Havoc steam beer and a half of the Strawberry wheat for Matty. He did not really enjoy it, but the steam beer was interesting. I followed this with another half of the strong IPA Atlanta and a half of the Davenport wheat which was a lovely refreshing wheat beer, along with the strong Abbey IPA made with Belgian Yeast. We finished on the two Black IPA's, Cascadian Black and a weaker one. The Cascadian Black is, in my opinion, a regular On the Edge brew, and tasted very good indeed. Alas we could not hang around longer, as we had other pubs to visit. Best of luck to Tom and Luisa with their next event in September.
Just down the road is the Beer Engine so this seemed like a good place to go. For info, we had started the evening at the Harlequin to try the Silly brewery Pink Grapefruit wheat beer called Pink Killer. I have to admit we were a little underwhelmed, mainly because it was too sweet - the yeast and malts used nullified the bite that you get from Pink Grapefruit. Shame.
At the Beer engine there was a fantastic Wiper and True Red IPA on keg and the Wild Ninkasi saison style wild yeast ale, along with Lost Industry Chilli Sorachi pale on cask. I had a half of that and a half of Wiper and True and Matty a half of the latter and of the Ninkasi. We sat in the beer garden in the fading sunshine thoroughly enjoying the beers on offer. The chilli beer was thankfully not too hot so worked well with the Sorachi, and the Ninkasi is a fantastic saison style beer (its difficult to say that its a saison only...so here is a link to their website!) . The Wiper and True was, unsurprisingly, the pick of the bunch.
Down the road a little we came to the Sentinel Brew Co. I warned Matty about the prices but we once again enjoyed the beers, mainly the EU IPA. We also had another of their range, the identity of which seems to have escaped me. The venue seems to be getting busier and is a good place to bump into persons from the world of Sheffield beer.
We finished the night in the Rutland Arms. The Rutland eh...whats it all about? We will never know. We had a pint of something tasty on keg and I tried a pint of Reet Pale but alas it tasted of paracetamol! It was swapped straight away for something else which was Amarillo from Crouch Vale. Or another beer. It was good to stay for a couple and listen to some excellent tunes on the jukebox before heading back to Chestnut Towers, on the last bus. When we got in I put on some tunes and poured us some beer and Matty fell asleep - bless him.
The above is one of a few crawls I have done so far this thirsty month of May, am hoping to provide some details of the others in the next week.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 5 March 2016
Lost Industry. Found Ingenuity
Hello,
in October Shakespeares beer festival featured a beer from a new Sheffield Brewery, qwich was called Lost Industry. Oyl int rord (that is how I would pronounce it anyway...) was an oatmeal stout. It was in the upstairs bar and tasted good. I later found out that people thought the brewery was behind the Sainsburys at Wadsley Bridge. And I never saw their beers again.
Until, having a chat with a man in the same pub, I found out they were launching a new beer - a pineapple yoghurt sour. Tony told me he had talked to them and said that if as claimed they liked the same beer styles as him they should brew something a bit different. I can't give Tony credit for the beer, but I can Lost Industry . And I can for the other beers of theirs which I sampled at the Devonshire Cat on Thursday.
It wasn't especially well publicised, but there was a fair sized crowd of drinkers in the Dev when we arrived. There were 5 beers on, including the sour, all on keg - which I am told is the dispense method of Satan. Only its not. The other beers on offer were Biscosity, a Biscotti coffee Baltic Porter, Pacific Wheat, a 4.3% wheat beer, Chinook, a 5.7% American Pale, and Hyperion an 8.6% Double IPA.
I started on a pint of the sour - its difficult to explain how, but it really did feature a slight pineapple flavour, with something akin to yoghurt in the background, overladen with sourness. It was far far better tasting than I have described.
I spotted Jules from Hop Hideout and John from Shakespeares and chatted to them both, and Jules pointed out brewers Nate and Jim. One of them is a chef. I did not find out which. I did however talk to them for a while outside in the cold. I told them that in comparison to the Oyl int rord this new batch of beers was far better. More exciting. More innovative. More ingenious. And it was time I had another...
I bought a pint of the Chinook, and it was amazing. A wow beer. A huge hit of Chinook hops but with balance in the overall flavour, even though the hops were biting. It was a decent strength for a US Pale ale and I think carried off the style well.
Next I had a pint of the Biscosity. This was everything I expected of a Baltic coffee porter - thick, roasty, warming, with a wonderful coffee aroma. I seem to remember this beer was about 7.8% - although I had yet to try the wheat I was thus far moving up in strength order. The wheat would have to wait. The Hyperion was next on my menu.
I have mentioned before about the cost of keg beer in the Dev Cat. Its very high. When you sell Beavertown Gamma Ray (I think) at nearly a pound more than BrewDog nearby there is clearly an issue, and the Hyperion at 8.6% was virtually a pound a percent. Only the whopping Bearded Lady at 10.5% at the Sheffield Tap, Sheffield's most expensive pub, cost me more than I paid at the Dev for the Hyperion. It was a very enjoyable, tasty pint. And it was about £2.00 more than it should have cost.
Pricing issues aside, I can safely say the Hyperion was beautiful. It was however also an interesting Double IPA not least because of its type of hoppiness. It was hoppy, yes, in a well rounded way, but which didn't seem to stay throughout the drink. It was enjoyable, but not what I expected.
My last drink was the Wheat and this was exactly what I hoped for - a cold refreshing wheat beer. Just right for cleansing the palate after the might of the Biscosity and Hyperion before it.
One issue for me was, apart from the prices, the lack of CAMRA involvement in the event. Don't get me wrong, I understand that the beer was all keg, but Lost Industry as far as I know, sell in cask, keg and bottle. They are also a small independent Sheffield Brewery. Don't get me wrong, some of the attendees could have been CAMRA members, including Rob (from Hoptimism beer shop - hello again!) but there was no visible CAMRA support.
This is a disappointing message to give two new young brewers. Especially since am certain many CAMRA members actually drink keykeg beers. They may even enjoy them. The excuse that ts not cask or real and they are the Campaign for Real Ale seems to be wearing thin now, with so many breweries of exceptional beer (like Burning Sky, Magic Rock and Buxton) brewing both cask and keg.
Anyway, that aside, this was a great event featuring an aspiring Sheffield brewery and a range of interesting unusual and high quality ales for the folk of Sheffield to try. I don't know if it was a joke but the brewery said they wanted to experiment brewing a Vass - an Eastern European bread beer, and are well underway with a chocolate biscuit stout. Well done to Liz and her team for hosting the event and to Nate and Jim for producing the beers. Here is a link to their Twitter page. They are also on Facebook.
Am hoping and looking forward to seeing their beers again soon.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
in October Shakespeares beer festival featured a beer from a new Sheffield Brewery, qwich was called Lost Industry. Oyl int rord (that is how I would pronounce it anyway...) was an oatmeal stout. It was in the upstairs bar and tasted good. I later found out that people thought the brewery was behind the Sainsburys at Wadsley Bridge. And I never saw their beers again.
Until, having a chat with a man in the same pub, I found out they were launching a new beer - a pineapple yoghurt sour. Tony told me he had talked to them and said that if as claimed they liked the same beer styles as him they should brew something a bit different. I can't give Tony credit for the beer, but I can Lost Industry . And I can for the other beers of theirs which I sampled at the Devonshire Cat on Thursday.
It wasn't especially well publicised, but there was a fair sized crowd of drinkers in the Dev when we arrived. There were 5 beers on, including the sour, all on keg - which I am told is the dispense method of Satan. Only its not. The other beers on offer were Biscosity, a Biscotti coffee Baltic Porter, Pacific Wheat, a 4.3% wheat beer, Chinook, a 5.7% American Pale, and Hyperion an 8.6% Double IPA.
I started on a pint of the sour - its difficult to explain how, but it really did feature a slight pineapple flavour, with something akin to yoghurt in the background, overladen with sourness. It was far far better tasting than I have described.
I spotted Jules from Hop Hideout and John from Shakespeares and chatted to them both, and Jules pointed out brewers Nate and Jim. One of them is a chef. I did not find out which. I did however talk to them for a while outside in the cold. I told them that in comparison to the Oyl int rord this new batch of beers was far better. More exciting. More innovative. More ingenious. And it was time I had another...
I bought a pint of the Chinook, and it was amazing. A wow beer. A huge hit of Chinook hops but with balance in the overall flavour, even though the hops were biting. It was a decent strength for a US Pale ale and I think carried off the style well.
Next I had a pint of the Biscosity. This was everything I expected of a Baltic coffee porter - thick, roasty, warming, with a wonderful coffee aroma. I seem to remember this beer was about 7.8% - although I had yet to try the wheat I was thus far moving up in strength order. The wheat would have to wait. The Hyperion was next on my menu.
I have mentioned before about the cost of keg beer in the Dev Cat. Its very high. When you sell Beavertown Gamma Ray (I think) at nearly a pound more than BrewDog nearby there is clearly an issue, and the Hyperion at 8.6% was virtually a pound a percent. Only the whopping Bearded Lady at 10.5% at the Sheffield Tap, Sheffield's most expensive pub, cost me more than I paid at the Dev for the Hyperion. It was a very enjoyable, tasty pint. And it was about £2.00 more than it should have cost.
Pricing issues aside, I can safely say the Hyperion was beautiful. It was however also an interesting Double IPA not least because of its type of hoppiness. It was hoppy, yes, in a well rounded way, but which didn't seem to stay throughout the drink. It was enjoyable, but not what I expected.
My last drink was the Wheat and this was exactly what I hoped for - a cold refreshing wheat beer. Just right for cleansing the palate after the might of the Biscosity and Hyperion before it.
One issue for me was, apart from the prices, the lack of CAMRA involvement in the event. Don't get me wrong, I understand that the beer was all keg, but Lost Industry as far as I know, sell in cask, keg and bottle. They are also a small independent Sheffield Brewery. Don't get me wrong, some of the attendees could have been CAMRA members, including Rob (from Hoptimism beer shop - hello again!) but there was no visible CAMRA support.
This is a disappointing message to give two new young brewers. Especially since am certain many CAMRA members actually drink keykeg beers. They may even enjoy them. The excuse that ts not cask or real and they are the Campaign for Real Ale seems to be wearing thin now, with so many breweries of exceptional beer (like Burning Sky, Magic Rock and Buxton) brewing both cask and keg.
Anyway, that aside, this was a great event featuring an aspiring Sheffield brewery and a range of interesting unusual and high quality ales for the folk of Sheffield to try. I don't know if it was a joke but the brewery said they wanted to experiment brewing a Vass - an Eastern European bread beer, and are well underway with a chocolate biscuit stout. Well done to Liz and her team for hosting the event and to Nate and Jim for producing the beers. Here is a link to their Twitter page. They are also on Facebook.
Am hoping and looking forward to seeing their beers again soon.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
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