Tzatziki sour......

 Evening everyone!

Whilst I realise that many of you are currently rolfing into your rice crispies, before continuing I would like to provide some background......

Whilst am not a member of any club, or Clurrubp" as Vic Reeves may have espoused,nsider myself one of the beer loving community, albeit meaning different things to so very many, and an enthusiast of drinking and trying beers, old and new, in a number, slightly less so at the moment admittedly, of locations. I would be the first to admit that I realise that I perhaps overly favour DIPAs and IPAs - although, of course, it would be nonsense to suggest I drink too much....but given current trends and developments, I often feel I am letting the same said groupings down by trying less sour beers.

As you may recall, my thus far favourite was Llamass Harvest goosbery sour by that Welsh brewery, that had a name - warned as I was that it may melt my face off, I nonetheless ordered a pint of it for me and Tash each. We loved it.

I have, perhaps unsurprisingly, only ever tried 3 Tzatziki sours - the first was in Shakespeares back in 2017, by the sadly long closed Mad Hatters brewery in Liverpool - as expected, the name alone caused a manner of mortification, whereas I had and enjoyed two whole pints. Perhaps this is because I like tzatziki.....

The next was not named as such but was a wild garlic IPA by Lost Industry here in Sheffield. Once again horror accompanied it, not just the name but in some circumstance the taste. Probably lacking cucumber, I have to admit that despite not actually being tzatziki flavoured I quite liked it, but a wild foraged tzatziki IPA would have perhaps suited better.

Last year or before, Maltgarden Browari came along. I had already tried a few of their excellent stouts, along with stumbling through opening their ridiculous wax capped can, and then bought a can of Tzatziki pastry sour with Pink Guava, Mango and cucumber. On Saturday I had quite a few beers - and this was the absolute best!

I drank the whole can in about ten minutes. It was ludicrously easy drinking - but also featured a distinctive but perhaps created tzatziki flavour along with the excellence of the pastry elements. It tasted very strongly of the cucumber and as I admit, the tzatziki I imagined but impressively the other flavours blended in so well together! I used it as a palate cleanser, but as soon as I had finished it I wanted some more.....

As I have admitted I do love tzatziki - I even make my own, possibly twice each year. And I also love trying it when I visit Crete. This particular brew was carried out by a collab of Maltgarden and Seven Island Brewing in Corfu or similar and it was called Corfu Food Advisor. I would love to try another soon.

Am not convinced that this settles all of my anxieties about how the young uns in the beer world (without mentioning the dire craaaft) continue to perceive my consumption of their wares, but I have to say that this was a gem!

If you do, or even if you don't, like tzatziki, I would highly recommend a try.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Goose Willis

Good evening, readers.....

      this is a bit of a different post for me- because this is about neither an IPA, DIPA, TIPA or even a standard pale ale. No, this is a post about a sour beer. And in case some of you think it's 1983 again ( I did drink some Banks' Amber the other day as am low on boohar....) I am happy to point out that it is meant to be sour. And the beer is in date. Beer fear is therefore not appropriate in this respect.......

First brewed in 2017 as a collab with the local Brewdog, this was first brewed and released by Brew York in what I think was possibly 2018 (their website list of beers does not confirm alas, and I only know for certain that they first brewed it in 2017 as  a collab). I did try and recall the last time I tried a beer with gooseberry in it - and struggled, although I did think that gooseberries are also called goosegogs oop north so am guessing that was perhaps it? That would have been a while a go, but the beer in question would have been Grozet - and if memory serves it was frankly very nice indeed.

The first thing I did upon opening the can was to smell it - and that wasn't difficult. Because there are a decent amount of hops (and it is dry hopped as well) in the nose as well as some fruit which as a person who does not often consume the same am certain may well have been the Gooseberry. The first taste was amazing - a big hit of fruitiness and finishing with a good amount of the hops which are Nelson Sauvin.  One surprise - although perhaps a benefit of the excellent skills in its brewing, was the lack of...sourness? I admit that there was sourness in the aftertaste but being one of the first canned beers I have had proclaiming it's use of Lactobacillus I was perhaps expecting a bit more. This also may be one reason that it was in fact a perfect beer to enjoy in the now warm sunshine in my back garden - because the entire 440ml was gone in ten joyous minutes.

It was 5.3% so not babbeh milk but the strength was not a theme as I supped it down. Because as well as perfectly showcasing both the gooseberry used as well as the dry hopped Nelson Sauvin, the overall taste and mouth feel was wonderfully refreshing. It was a maximum of  22 degrees today and sitting in the bright and strong sunshine I was very happy to quaff this down - an act which would have been completed far quicker if it wasn't for the fact that I only have one more can of beer left (a favourite of mine as well....) and I won't get paid for three days - a situation managed by a pop up to the shops on Friday....

I have always liked Brew York's output, indeed it was one of their beers that I first tried in the Oxbow micropub in Woodhouse back at the beginning of March.

On the basis of this and other products of theirs (and their popularity when a selection arrived at Sean's beer central last month) am absolutely certain that I will be trying their products again in the near future, and, with the greatest of hope, heading up to York to sample their wares at their fabulous Taproom.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

SunFest 2019

Hello,

             I have been going to Sun Fest for over ten years now - certainly for all the years that Abbeydale have been based at the excellent Rising Sun in Nethergreen in Sheffield, and certainly since their "First annual beer festival" in 2007, according to the glass I have collecting dust on my bedroom window sill. Am even sure that some of the staff volunteering at this years festival may have worked at the long ago Moon Fest, or fests, when Abbeydale briefly owned the pub before and now again called the Office, in Upperthorpe. This year, momentary madness and a recent return to work have rendered me a trifle funds free, but I still got up on Thursday last for the first public session.

Having walked into work I was a little tired when Malc asked me if I was attending. I advised him that my lack of funds was a good indication that I wouldn't be, however a kind friend lent me a few and after a couple of post work starters in the hot sunshine I set off about half past four to walk through Sheffield and up to the Rising Sun, which took me about one hour and fifteen minutes . I sat with Richard S, Bex and Richard H, and started on a third of Abbeydale Cyro Huxter, a fab soupy IPA brewed with Peddler market, and an ideal starter at 6.0%. During my sup I went to see Malc and Ally, although as I know she prefers dark beers I didn't offer her a taste. Bumping into Dan and Robin from the brewery and a number of folks from Shakespeares and the Crow, it was obvious there was much interest in the beer list, and later attendees can confirm that my starter did not last that long.

The next boozes tried from the list were Black Iris chasing the Sun, a fab 6.5% murky, Juicy IPA, later followed by rain showers, along with Crosspool Ale Makers society Delph House, a similarly strong IPA but with more traditional flavours, and the absolutely excellent Turning Point Brew Co 6.2% Off the grid IPA, like the first two significantly vegan friendly, and made with excellent Simcoe, Cascade and Chinook. I also tried some of my fellow guests Unbeliever 8.1 Mango and Lychee kettle sour, along with Box Social Blood Eagle at 4.2%, an excellent hazy dry hopped pale, and the absurdly strong Methusula Rum barrel aged imperial stout which was incredible.

Dan and other Abbeydale folk came round with free tasters of their 4.5% keg lager, which I understand is being sold to a number of local restaurants, and I tried some Brew York Tonkoko which was a strong flavoured 4.3% coconut milk stout. I soon moved onto the "evil keg" section, as nobody rational called it, and enjoyed the excellent St Mars of the dessert Endless Toil  brewed with Hop Hideout, along with an equally marvelous Arbour Ales Space Hardware IPA at a lovely 6.6%. I also tried a third of the Abbeydale and Thornbridge Black IPA  RITA at 6.0%, which was very enjoyable. I may have finished on either a third of the 9% out of sight strong pale ale with a wonderful selection of hops, frim Manchester's Track Brewing, and possibly a Wilde Child wheel of fortune at 4.7%, a heavily hopped pale packed with Summit, Eureka and Simcoe hops. This mesmerising intake of resin was, throughout the festival, perfectly supported by marvelously tasty snacks from a wonderful person who had brought some to keep us sober during our libations. I left about 21.30 to catch a bus back to town and home, filled to the brim with wonderful tastes and memories.

Interestingly I overheard a discussion in a venue yesterday from a Sunday or Saturday attendee , claiming that there was too much Abbeydale produce. This is an interesting suggestion, given that the pub is owned, and the festival run and organiseded by, the very same. Someone had apparently said it was "all Abbeydale", but in a moment of geeky knowledge searching  I can confirm that even if you dismissed the statement I made above, of a total of 103 listed beers, only 27 were Abbeydale, which if perhaps high, is also admittedly less than a quarter. And, also, why not? A beer festival is a great way to try out new beer styles, and their percentage of involvement I think justifies their provision of a higgh number of, lets face it, numerously different styles (they also did some very low gravity, almost alcohol free brews) of boohar, in an excellent location.  

Well done once again to all involved in this excellent celebration of beers and sunshine at yet another excellent Sun Fest at the Rising Sun.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy