Beer tasting at the Bath Hotel and a Buxton Tap Takeover

Now then,

          this time last week I still hadn't sobered up from two nights of lovely ales and socialising - two nights which were part of Sheffield Beer Week 2016. I realise am a bit late posting this but have been otherwise engaged ever since. Here are some fragmented memories of both events.

Thursday 17th March is a well known date in Ireland. Its also a night when people in the UK drink Guinness in tents and realise they cannot handle their alcohol, whilst wearing outsize hats. Dear God. What a travesty. The Twat in the Hat night is one of my least favourite of the year but luckily this was when the Bath Hotel had their beer tasting of Thornbridge Hall bottles.

The night started well - I saw Jules in the back and told her I wasn't "here for the First pour, I don't want to try yet another disappointing Thornbridge beer". I was then telling her this was ironic, since I was here to sample their bottled fare, when she told me the other people on the table were the Thornbridge brewing team and owners. I told her I would not be changing my opinion.

Meeting with Matty and Mr Grant we sat down in a corner with a guy from Finland called Arnaut. Or similar. We were joined by Jules, and sampled a range of excellent aged bottled beers. We started with the Double Scotch Ale, at 8.5% and whisky barrel aged, which I didn't remember. This was an excellent Scottish style beer, and we followed this with the small bottled Russian Imperial Stout. This I do remember, and it was still in excellent condition. We also tried the Sour Brown, a soured American Brown Ale at 7% which in 2013 was a little before I started to appreciate sour beers - I now can, and enjoyed it.

 We continued next with a collaboration with St Eriks Brewery, a 10% Imperial Raspberry Stout which wasn't really to my liking, before finishing on the Bracia, bottled at 10% but now potentially a lot stronger. A wonderfully rounded, heavy, but tasty beer to finish on.

Friday was hazy but luckily I was off. I meet Tash and Mumrah in town for coffee and then headed to Shakespeares for a warm up to their Buxton Tap Takeover later. I had a half of the Buxton Bomba Generation bretted stout at 10% on keg, and a pint of Axe Edge on cask. In fact, I probably only had a third of the bomba, an intensely bretted, but wonderfully rich imperial stout.

After a quick pop to the newly opened West Street Ale House, and for some food, I bumped into Nate from Lost Industry Brewery and joined him and his friends back at Shakespeares at 17.15. The event started at 17.00. I queued to get in.

I started on another pint of Axe Edge and a half of Yellow Belly Imperial Stout on cask, based on claims it was about to run out - Chris tells me it sold in 52 minutes. This is a mighty 11% peanut butter biscuit stout (which is claimed to feature none of the above) and is the only time it has ever been sold on cask. I had a half to be on the safe side. Suffice to say, the beer was amazing!

I got sat down with Laura and Richard and Kirsty and talked and supped beer before spotting Buxton Brewer Chris who told us the other brewers would be coming to sit with us shortly. Colin and a man possibly called Rory came and sat with us, I talked to the man PCR for a while, as did my fellow drinkers. What a friendly, knowledgeable bunch they were.

Other beers tried on this night of exemplary Buxton brews were the matured Far Skyline Berliner Weiss which now tasted of white wine, the Wild boar and High Tor India Red on cask and the Belgian IPA on keg. By this time I had also bumped into Stef, Jules, Tony, Matt C and Nate again, and continued trying beers including another pint of High Tor on cask and a pint and a half of the Cloudberry Ice Cream IPA on keg, which was a far tastier and more beery beer than it sounds.

Alas I soon had to go catch the last First bus so left just as Katie and Lee turned up, but this was a fantastic penultimate event at Sheffield Beer Week for me.

I can't wait to start the ball rolling again next year.


Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Wednesday - Tiny Rebel and Great Heck, Sheffield Beer Week

Hullo,

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

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

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

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

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

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

Details tomorrow of Thursday and Friday;s beery adventures.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Its Sheffield Beer Week!

Now then,

        I'm a day late, mainly due to having the plague and vomiting through my eyes for two days. Well, not really. But sort of. So thus far Sheffield Beer Week has yet to begin for me. For the rest of yous, it began yesterday on Monday. For more info about its reason for existence, its collaborators and event details, do please follow this link . I myself will, assuming am back at work tomorrow, be attending two events for certain.

The first is on Thursday at the Bath Hotel a pub I have visited before. They are having a ticketed (£5.00 each) bottled beer tasting using some of the gems in the Bath cellar. In case you aged beer fanatics get the wrong impression, they haven't knocked down a wall and found some sixty or seventy year old strong ales. They have however amassed a quantity of strong and now "older" bottled Thornbridge Hall beers such as stouts and a sour brown, which will be opened and tasted.

I usually don't like being in town on the Twat in the Hat night as  sadly St Patrick's has become, but don't mind making the trip out to an old favourite to try some strong ales.

The other event I am attending is at Shakespeares, a pub I have also visited previously. On Friday they are hoping to have twelve (or maybe more) beers on cask and keg from the Buxton Brewery. The event is a meet the brewer and a showcase of their ales, and is free to get in - just turn up at the pub and buy them.

I am led to believe that I should look out for numerous strong stouts, Bomba Generation and a cloudberry ice cream IPA, a collaboration with Omnipollo brewery. The brewers will be there from the start at 17.00, to discuss.

Assuming I race through my Buxton samples I could always also go on that same night to Hop Hideout for a meet the brewer and beer tasting with Founders Ales. Its £10.00 a pop per person but Jules knows her stuff and it promises to be an interesting event - maybe worth contacting them first though, to find out of there are tickets left, since the HH is a small venue.

One final thing to mention is the fact that Sentinel Brewing Co on Shoreham Street are hosting two events (maybe more). Here is a link to their Facebook page for more details. I think they only got their alcohol license on 24 February so suspect this may be the first time they are open to the public as a venue.

Whichever events you attend enjoy yourself. Sheffield is a brilliant place to drink, brew, taste and discuss beer. Lets make Sheffield beer week a reflection of that.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy