Alternative Arthurs and Starting Oktoberfest

So I had a few beers at the weekend to celebrate the start of Oktoberfest, and there are a few alternatives here for a different sort of Arthur's day. Lets start off with another beer being ticked off from “1001 Beers...” and its a good one.

Beer 175 from “1001 Beers...”

• Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale. Style: Amber Ale. ABV: 5.2%. Purchased: LightHouse Wines

  
  Description: Pure amber in colour (I almost expected to find a mosquito in there with dinosaur DNA in it...), clear, with a good beige head and plenty of lacing. Subtle smell of caramel, toasted malt, and a little breadiness. Good lightly toasted malt flavour profile, sweet, but nicely balanced. Light to mid body, coats your mouth a bit, with a dry tart finish.
  Thoughts: I think we've found (and when I say “we” I really mean the folks from Lighthouse Wines) another good American craft brewer. This is lovely and autumnal. Not quite as good as their Hop Ottin IPA, but still a good wee beer.
  Score: 7.5

The observant among you (hands up, who noticed...) will realise I went from beer 173 in the last post – to beer 175 in this one. Well a quick flick through the book by chance showed me that one of the beers I have had, which I thought was outside the list, – Kozel – was actually there under a slightly different name. A free tick, it doesn't get much better than that!

I had a few from outside the list too...

Beer 91 outside the list

• Sam Adams Oktoberfest. Style: Marzen/Oktoberfest. ABV: 5.3%. Purchased: LightHouse Wines

Description: Amber and clear, with a small white head. Not too much going on smell wise, some malts, and some hoppy citrus. Caramel malt flavours, a little buttery/nutty sweetness, and some grains. Light to mid bodied, decent carbonisation.
Thoughts: I know I really should be drinking the German originals but picked this up to fill the gap and finish off the last of the Sam Adams seasonals we get here. Nothing amazing but a good solid drinkable autumn beer.
Score: 7




Beer 92 outside the list


• Brewdog #mashtag. Style: Brown Ale. ABV: 7.5%. Purchased: Brewdog
  
  Description: Brown with a good white head. Smells of caramel and malts. Some marzipan nutty flavours, caramel malts, a little hop light fruit in the background. Mid body with medium fizz.
  Thoughts: A bit of background to the interesting development of this democratic beer here. Given this process I wasn't sure what I was going to make of it, there was a real chance this could have been a confused mess, but this was good. Again I think that overall Brewdog's darker beers are better than their lighter ones.
  Score: 7.5
  
  
  
  
  Beer 93 outside the list
• Brewdog Liberty Black Ale. Style: Black IPA. ABV: 7%. Purchased: Brewdog
  
  Description: Black but transparent. White Head. Aromas of toasted malt and tropical fruit from the hops. Dark, chocolate malts balanced against some tropical fruits (grapefruit mainly) and a little funk. Slightly oil mouth feel, medium bodied, dry finish.
  Thoughts: Black IPA always interest me, this was good, but not as good as Thornbridge's Wild Raven.
  Score: 7

Beer 94 outside the list
• Theakstons XB. Style: Bitter. ABV: 4.5%. Purchased: The Vineyard
  Description: Dark brown and white head. Woody/smoky aroma (tobacco and ash?), a little citrus, and some OK toasted malt. Not a huge amount going on flavour wise, a little caramel malt, slightly sweet with a light bitter finish. Light to Mid body.
  Thoughts: A beer I bought because I thought it was on the list but it isn't... And anyone who has read a few of these posts will know I’m not a fan of bitters. This one didn't have much going on, but wasn't... bad just a little dull. Probably quite session-able though not sure I’ll be buying again.
  Score: 6

Cheers

One helles of a beer

Beer and Footy

Bank holiday weekends are great. The Hilden Beer fest on Friday night was followed by lots of footy on Saturday and Sunday. It's great to have the football back. This summer has been a real pain in the ass, with transfer deals that challenge the ending of “Return of the King” as the most drawn out sage of all time. As a Liverpool fan, the brilliant Tomkins Times website has been keeping sane (well maybe not sane... saner?). Despite a good result on Saturday, and ultimately on Tuesday, watching Liverpool often drives me to drink, and with the deep defending in the second half – and the injuries – I certainly needed something to settle my nerves! At least the fridge is full of interesting beers these days...

Beer 167 from “1001 Beers...”

• Edelstoff. Style: Helles, ABV: 5.6%. Purchased: The Vineyard
  

  
  
  Description: Poured very light yellow/straw coloured. Decent white head. Actually not much aroma (though that might be the slight cold I have). A little sweetness but refreshing and tasty. Light bodied with decent fizz.
  Thoughts: I almost didn't find this in the book – so a big thanks to Abs other wise this one would have slipped by. Not generally a fan of pale lagers but not sure I've knowingly had a Helles before. This was good. A perfect light, yet tasty, lager for watching the football, with a little sweetness and a decent fizz. Must try more Helles.
  Score: 7.5

Beer 72 outside the list

• Partizan Saison Grisette Sage. Style: Flavoured Saison?, ABV: 5.6%. Purchased: The Vineyard

  Description: Poured hazy light yellow. Unfiltered. Smells of lemongrass, with a hint of sage. Next to no head. Lemon and sage flavours, no real beeryness (pretty sure that’s not a word but what the hell) about it.
  Thoughts: There's no doubt I enjoy a weird beer or two, but this just wasn't for me. It rates quite well on some sites, so may be its a marmite sort of thing. It'll not put me off this brewery as I loved their stout, maybe just a case of picking the wrong one this time! And if you've had it and liked it let me know, but I wouldn't buy again (though I did finish it, which probably says more about me than the beer...).
  Score: 4

Beer 73 outside the list

• Anderson Valley Hop Ottin IPA. Style: IPA, ABV: 7%. Purchased: LightHouse Wines

  Description: Caramel colour with a small white head. Strong grassy/piney hop aromas, with maybe a little honeysuckle/foral hint. Good strong hop bitterness. Some caramel and honey malts on the palette. Slightly oily/resiny finish. Medium body with decent carbonisation.
  Thoughts: One for the Hop Heads – and that’s a group which definitely includes me. Much more a strong bitter IPA, with decent caramel malts, rather than something lighter (see Founders All Day IPA). Very drinkable, but a sipper rather than a gulper. I’m not sure you could have more than one in a session (the 7% ABV gives it a kick too!). Very, very nice - would love to try more in the range.
  Score: 8 (revised upwards)

With the footy back there may be a few posts that are put up following supping a beer or two. This may make them more incoherent, rambling, and typo filled than usual! (“They can get worse...” I hear you cry).

Anyway, more reviews - including the very interesting Hitachino White Ale - to come soon!

Cheers