Such a good beer I think. Smooth aromas of coffee, and roasted malt, Roasty and coffee taste. Great malt backbone with just enough bittering hops. Could session this easily, very drinkable.
The actual winners were:
1st - The Leveller
2nd - Heaven and Heck
3rd - Dark Peak Stout
Monday 27 February 2012
Sunday 26 February 2012
Was meant to go to BrewDog Nottingham...
Decided against it for a few reasons, for some reason Nottingham is a pain to get to despite only being an hour away by car. Instead went to York.
Had a Dark Star Espresso at the Tap, a favourite of mine, the coffeeage is supreme, and goes well with rediscovered month old Oreos. After a taxi trip with a pervy taxi driver pointing out all short skirts within 100m of the taxi we set off for Trembling Madness. Everywhere was insanely busy (Totally forgot it was Saturday, my ipod even said it was Wednesday!). No chance at all of getting a seat upstair, bit gutting I wanted their pie. So bought a haul of beer instead. Got a Durham White Stout (looking for that one too), Sam Smiths India Ale, Titan IPA, Brooklyn Monster Ale, Oakham Hawse Buckler, Kernel Columbus Summit IPA and a Hollows Ginger beer for mummy.
We then set off to find a pub, stayed on the same street though. Yorkshire Terrier was packed, so we went to Ye Olde Star Inne, only outside seats available, luckily it wasn't cold but they didn't do food outside so we just had a beer. It was a good pub meant to be the oldest in York, dating to 1644(?) looked old with beams and what have you, would have liked it to be a Free House but I have a feeling it was a GK. We had a GK Tolly English Ale, one of the new 2.8% beers, it was alright had a nice fruitiness to it and the biscuity flavours but was rather watery, and more expensive than I would want a 2.8% beer, £2.85, the Dark Star at the Tap was 5p more.
It was then back to the Tap for pork pies and beer, Malt Shovel Mild, very nice a lot of roastiness, Cuthroat Porter, a very flavoursome porter, Jaipur, some bog standard Bitter and then home time. Nice trip!
Had a Dark Star Espresso at the Tap, a favourite of mine, the coffeeage is supreme, and goes well with rediscovered month old Oreos. After a taxi trip with a pervy taxi driver pointing out all short skirts within 100m of the taxi we set off for Trembling Madness. Everywhere was insanely busy (Totally forgot it was Saturday, my ipod even said it was Wednesday!). No chance at all of getting a seat upstair, bit gutting I wanted their pie. So bought a haul of beer instead. Got a Durham White Stout (looking for that one too), Sam Smiths India Ale, Titan IPA, Brooklyn Monster Ale, Oakham Hawse Buckler, Kernel Columbus Summit IPA and a Hollows Ginger beer for mummy.
We then set off to find a pub, stayed on the same street though. Yorkshire Terrier was packed, so we went to Ye Olde Star Inne, only outside seats available, luckily it wasn't cold but they didn't do food outside so we just had a beer. It was a good pub meant to be the oldest in York, dating to 1644(?) looked old with beams and what have you, would have liked it to be a Free House but I have a feeling it was a GK. We had a GK Tolly English Ale, one of the new 2.8% beers, it was alright had a nice fruitiness to it and the biscuity flavours but was rather watery, and more expensive than I would want a 2.8% beer, £2.85, the Dark Star at the Tap was 5p more.
It was then back to the Tap for pork pies and beer, Malt Shovel Mild, very nice a lot of roastiness, Cuthroat Porter, a very flavoursome porter, Jaipur, some bog standard Bitter and then home time. Nice trip!
Friday 24 February 2012
In Second Place - Springhead the Leveller
This is a very nice beer from Springhead, deep dark brown with almost no head. Bring your nose to the glass and you get a barrage of coffee, coffee and a bit of nuttiness and toasty malt. This is my type of beer.
Thursday 23 February 2012
In Third Place - Great Heck Heck's Angel
Was at a Battle of the Brewers in Cask last night, the breweries were Raw, Great Heck and Springhead, chaps from the brewery popped round also. They had 2 beers each, I had them all and this post is the beer I felt came 3rd .
Looking on a few beer websites, this beer doesn't have good reviews, I disagree with every point (apart from the smell!). I may disagree because apparently they now use Cascade hops. Anyway, it is very pale with a nice fluffy head. Major citrus and fruit smell, lovely just how you want a summer beer to be (still alright on a dreary Febuary night in Doncaster). The flavour is very pleasant fruity hint sand hoppy flavour and a rather robust bitterness that I like but maybe not to everyones liking. Great session beer.
I shall post 2nd and 1st soon!
Looking on a few beer websites, this beer doesn't have good reviews, I disagree with every point (apart from the smell!). I may disagree because apparently they now use Cascade hops. Anyway, it is very pale with a nice fluffy head. Major citrus and fruit smell, lovely just how you want a summer beer to be (still alright on a dreary Febuary night in Doncaster). The flavour is very pleasant fruity hint sand hoppy flavour and a rather robust bitterness that I like but maybe not to everyones liking. Great session beer.
I shall post 2nd and 1st soon!
Tuesday 21 February 2012
Government, why you tax my beer?!
Reading this article on the Beeb, yet another piece on binge drinking. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16466646
There is a good bit in there about encouraging drinking in pubs rather than letting people get rat arsed at home. However something that I don't get, is our tax on beer is 12 times higher on average than in Europe, yet to tackle our 'binge drinking culture' (apparently a binge is 3 pints in a day... oops!) they want to either increase tax AGAIN or judging from the comments on the article demonise drinking.
Aye the amount of binge (actual binge 7+ pints in my opinion) drinking is too high. But it is still a tiny minority who forget how their body works on a Friday night. Why should the rest of us have to pay for this? Why are these taxes blanketted across all beer, every brand, be it real, nitrowee or of wife beater ilk. Surely the problem lies with the big brands and cheap spirits in clubs and special brew, etc. No one really gets gazeboed on real ale or craft beer, drunk aye but not A&E worthy. Personally I feel full as if I've eaten a huge meal after 5 or 6 pints of ale on a night out to a nice pub and stop, my friends agree. So why not target tax? No one is binging on Chimay Blue yet that will be about £7 a bottle in a bar if new plans go through, and this is in the North, Lord knows what it'd be in the South. I was watching the Beer Hunter on youtube and Michael was at a Bateman's pub and a pint was 95p for good honest beer, I go to Cask (reasonably priced) and pay £2.30 after a 15% CAMRA discount, and for my lager drinking friends, will have a proper German Helles for £3.50 a pint. If the tax goes up, the young drinker who is constantly demonised no matter how responsible they are will have to save uo what little money we have to go out to a nice pub and enjoy eachother's company. This is not very English is it?
Furthermore, increasing the drinking age to 21 because it seems to have worked in the States.... Please be brief. Everytime I go to the States there is a constant sense of utter prohibition for under 21's, this never really works and can have bad consequences. For example there was a trend when I last went over there where teenagers at house parties got a big bowl filled it with booze and percription medicine and near enough killed themselves. They never get a taste or education so then just go mad. While in Europe where the drinking ages are generally 16, or even none existant or lower for alcohol strengths lower than wine. And the drink problem there isn't anywhere near as much as here, infact the people who cause a lot of their drink related issues are drunken Brits!
When we compare cultures, in Europe children are introduced to alcohol at a younger age with watered down wine or weak beer at meals. Here, we do that, but at Christmas or birthdays, and maybe on holiday and a cheeky swig of Dad's beer at the pub. In the States, it's nothing until you are 21, in Walmart they had a challenge under 40 thing going on and people are at a risk of just going mad. However due to our increased Americanization (in the ivory towers at least) we seem to be moving more towards utter prohibition and lack of education, when we should be going back to the way our drinking culture used to be, not getting demonised, I'm 19 but remember going to the pub for a meal and having a shandy, no chance now is there! So bugger off Nanny State and let me have my good British product, not the eurourine which causes the supposed problem.
Needed a rant, apologies.
There is a good bit in there about encouraging drinking in pubs rather than letting people get rat arsed at home. However something that I don't get, is our tax on beer is 12 times higher on average than in Europe, yet to tackle our 'binge drinking culture' (apparently a binge is 3 pints in a day... oops!) they want to either increase tax AGAIN or judging from the comments on the article demonise drinking.
Aye the amount of binge (actual binge 7+ pints in my opinion) drinking is too high. But it is still a tiny minority who forget how their body works on a Friday night. Why should the rest of us have to pay for this? Why are these taxes blanketted across all beer, every brand, be it real, nitrowee or of wife beater ilk. Surely the problem lies with the big brands and cheap spirits in clubs and special brew, etc. No one really gets gazeboed on real ale or craft beer, drunk aye but not A&E worthy. Personally I feel full as if I've eaten a huge meal after 5 or 6 pints of ale on a night out to a nice pub and stop, my friends agree. So why not target tax? No one is binging on Chimay Blue yet that will be about £7 a bottle in a bar if new plans go through, and this is in the North, Lord knows what it'd be in the South. I was watching the Beer Hunter on youtube and Michael was at a Bateman's pub and a pint was 95p for good honest beer, I go to Cask (reasonably priced) and pay £2.30 after a 15% CAMRA discount, and for my lager drinking friends, will have a proper German Helles for £3.50 a pint. If the tax goes up, the young drinker who is constantly demonised no matter how responsible they are will have to save uo what little money we have to go out to a nice pub and enjoy eachother's company. This is not very English is it?
Furthermore, increasing the drinking age to 21 because it seems to have worked in the States.... Please be brief. Everytime I go to the States there is a constant sense of utter prohibition for under 21's, this never really works and can have bad consequences. For example there was a trend when I last went over there where teenagers at house parties got a big bowl filled it with booze and percription medicine and near enough killed themselves. They never get a taste or education so then just go mad. While in Europe where the drinking ages are generally 16, or even none existant or lower for alcohol strengths lower than wine. And the drink problem there isn't anywhere near as much as here, infact the people who cause a lot of their drink related issues are drunken Brits!
When we compare cultures, in Europe children are introduced to alcohol at a younger age with watered down wine or weak beer at meals. Here, we do that, but at Christmas or birthdays, and maybe on holiday and a cheeky swig of Dad's beer at the pub. In the States, it's nothing until you are 21, in Walmart they had a challenge under 40 thing going on and people are at a risk of just going mad. However due to our increased Americanization (in the ivory towers at least) we seem to be moving more towards utter prohibition and lack of education, when we should be going back to the way our drinking culture used to be, not getting demonised, I'm 19 but remember going to the pub for a meal and having a shandy, no chance now is there! So bugger off Nanny State and let me have my good British product, not the eurourine which causes the supposed problem.
Needed a rant, apologies.
Saturday 18 February 2012
BrewDog 77 Lager
I don't usually drink lagers. they tend not to be flavourful enough for me (well macro brands anyway), but I saw BrewDog's 77 Lager on sale on their online shop, £15 for 24 cans so I bought a box, came in two days too!
It's a bit darker than your regular lager with a big rocky head that lasts a fair while. There was something in the smell that one rarely gets in a regular lager, hops! Actual hoppy smell, citrussy, from Moetoka and Amarillo hops, then a nice malty backbone from the pale malt, caramalt and Munich malts that are used in this beer. Not too fizzy either which is something that puts me off lager too. Really nice if you didn't know it was a lager you'd think it was an oddly crisp pale ale. It is also pretty easy drinking, not watery but the 4.7% ABV makes it a nice, easy to drink beer. Also, goes great with pepperoni pizza.
Staying on the BrewDog topic, BrewDog Nottingham opening on the 25th, can't wait!
It's a bit darker than your regular lager with a big rocky head that lasts a fair while. There was something in the smell that one rarely gets in a regular lager, hops! Actual hoppy smell, citrussy, from Moetoka and Amarillo hops, then a nice malty backbone from the pale malt, caramalt and Munich malts that are used in this beer. Not too fizzy either which is something that puts me off lager too. Really nice if you didn't know it was a lager you'd think it was an oddly crisp pale ale. It is also pretty easy drinking, not watery but the 4.7% ABV makes it a nice, easy to drink beer. Also, goes great with pepperoni pizza.
Staying on the BrewDog topic, BrewDog Nottingham opening on the 25th, can't wait!
Wednesday 15 February 2012
Delerium le Guilotine
Got this along with the Kernel as a gift. Dark Amber hazy with loads of bubbles rising up with a ridiculous head which lasted ages. Smells very sweet, almost like sweet bread that you can get in America with the obligatory candyness from the Belgian yeast. This beer is 9% and I couldn't really notice the alcohol in the taste or smell.
As for the taste, mega sweet beer probably not to everyone's taste as with many Belgian beers the smellnis a fair indication of the taste. The malt comes through as the sweet bread you can smell, much fizz also. (once you get past the head anyway). I liked it but if you don't do sweet beer.... Probably not for you.
2 beers left, think I need a beer trip, BrewDog have an offer on their lager at the moment, £15 for 24 330ml cans. So of course 24 cans are on their way!
As for the taste, mega sweet beer probably not to everyone's taste as with many Belgian beers the smellnis a fair indication of the taste. The malt comes through as the sweet bread you can smell, much fizz also. (once you get past the head anyway). I liked it but if you don't do sweet beer.... Probably not for you.
2 beers left, think I need a beer trip, BrewDog have an offer on their lager at the moment, £15 for 24 330ml cans. So of course 24 cans are on their way!
Saturday 11 February 2012
Oktoberfest
Thinking about going to Oktoberfest this year, oddly enough it is in September, and all together cheaper than the GBBF... They do beer by the litre, I very much hope there is Dunkel, not as fizzy.
Friday 10 February 2012
Boerken
Wow, Belgian yeasty beer if I have ever had one. The bottle neck is so long it's like a handle for a small mace. Dark browny red, big head that lasts a fair while. Smells caramelly and Belgian. Tastes rather sweet with caramel and the Belgian Yeast sweet chewy taste. Can't really taste the 9% alcohol. Not quite as good as other Belgian beers but if you are in a rough bar, the bottle doubles as a weapon. Lovely beer.
Thursday 9 February 2012
No head on London Pride?
I do like London Pride, but I noticed that when you pour the bottle, even quite aggresively, there is almost no head, and what head there is, swiftly dies. Hmmm, I like a good head on my beer.
Wednesday 8 February 2012
Hmmm low on Belgian
Don't have many of the Bruges trip beers left, have a Tempelier, Waterloo 8, Boerken and The Baby. Very hard to decide which to have next! Well, I can't finish the DeGarre baby sized bottle myself, well I could but it is probably not a wise thing to do.
Monday 6 February 2012
Kernel Nelson Sauvin IPA
A big beer from a great new brewery. Bottle was a present bought from Trembling Madness.
As soon as the cap if off the tropical fruit smell is evident from the hops. A dark amberish cloudy beer which just smells great, if anyone wants to make Nelson Sauvin aftershave, I shall buy. A fair old head which lasts a while.
Tastes rather fabulous, the fruitiness is there along with a hoppy bitterness, sort of marmaladey. There was some sweetness which I think was malt but there was no real malty taste though, such is the character of single hop IPAs with new world hops. The alcohol was not a factor in the taste at all, despite being 7.2%. Top notch brew will need to find more Kernel beers, seem to be rather good.
Afternote: I want a Fuggle single hop IPA.
As soon as the cap if off the tropical fruit smell is evident from the hops. A dark amberish cloudy beer which just smells great, if anyone wants to make Nelson Sauvin aftershave, I shall buy. A fair old head which lasts a while.
Tastes rather fabulous, the fruitiness is there along with a hoppy bitterness, sort of marmaladey. There was some sweetness which I think was malt but there was no real malty taste though, such is the character of single hop IPAs with new world hops. The alcohol was not a factor in the taste at all, despite being 7.2%. Top notch brew will need to find more Kernel beers, seem to be rather good.
Afternote: I want a Fuggle single hop IPA.
Sunday 5 February 2012
Great Heck Vanilla Porter
I went to Cask last night for catch ups and belated birthdays with the chaps. It was meant to be the chaps but the snow last night reduced the number to me and the chap that went to Bruges with me. There was a band on, surprisingly good blues band. He had got me a bottle of Kernal Nelson Sauvin IPA and a Delerium Le Guilletine. A fair bit of mind reading must have occured as I was somewhat curious about Kernel Brewery.
There was a great beer that I had never seen before, Great Heck Vanilla Porter. Was 4.5%, dark almost black with the odd hint of light coming through. Almost no head, and what head was there soon left. The aroma was VANILLA. With a hint of the dark chocolatey coffee-ey malt, but mostly vanilla. This pretty much covers the taste too. It was like a vanilla yoghurt, but beer. A great beer, unexpected because a lot of the time the vanillage is pretty light and delicate, this stuck and could taste it to till the end of the pint. Great stuff!
There was a great beer that I had never seen before, Great Heck Vanilla Porter. Was 4.5%, dark almost black with the odd hint of light coming through. Almost no head, and what head was there soon left. The aroma was VANILLA. With a hint of the dark chocolatey coffee-ey malt, but mostly vanilla. This pretty much covers the taste too. It was like a vanilla yoghurt, but beer. A great beer, unexpected because a lot of the time the vanillage is pretty light and delicate, this stuck and could taste it to till the end of the pint. Great stuff!
Saturday 4 February 2012
Bar Bar Brune
This one is a little Belgian number. First had this at a campsite in France, drinking 3 or 4, wondering why I could no longer play pool, realising it is an 8% beer.
Pours a clear dark reddy brown with a huge head, it is a honey beer so the aroma is sweet with a hint of the sweet honey, not smelling that much like honey from a jar but I suppose not everyone likes a strong honey smell. It was sweet malt and sweet honey, no hops are evident. It tastes sweet with the smooth honey sweetness dominating with the malt.
It is a lovely treat of a beer, be cautious if you value dental health, it's very sweet for beer. Not what I'd usually have but really nice none the less.
Pours a clear dark reddy brown with a huge head, it is a honey beer so the aroma is sweet with a hint of the sweet honey, not smelling that much like honey from a jar but I suppose not everyone likes a strong honey smell. It was sweet malt and sweet honey, no hops are evident. It tastes sweet with the smooth honey sweetness dominating with the malt.
It is a lovely treat of a beer, be cautious if you value dental health, it's very sweet for beer. Not what I'd usually have but really nice none the less.
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