Honeydew is the Moneydew

So this lot arrived (pictured below), should keep we going for awhile and another good few ticks from the list to come too!

It’s also almost time for the Hilden Beer and Music Festival 2014, line up looks good and I really enjoyed it last year – despite the weather. I hope to get up on the Friday night but might have to see how it goes. Anyone else heading up to Lisburn?

Right on to the beers…

228. Fuller’s Honeydew

Style: Golden Ale. ABV: 5%. From: Drinkstore.ie (though my local Tesco has it as well at the minute).

Description: Poured a vibrant yellow and perfectly clear, there was a thin white head for about 2 seconds until it faded off into history, no real lacing either. Pretty looking pint when the head was on it. Not much aroma, vaguely grainy and beery (I know that’s not a really helpful description but hey – it smells like beer!) with a hint of sweetness and golden syrup. Again I get a hint of grain in the taste, almost slightly lager like, a light bitterness, not too much in the way of hops here. It then finishes on a sweeter note (again to me more syrup than honey) and some very light spices. Light bodied and slightly sticky.

Thoughts: This did a perfectly acceptable 5pm on a Friday job, refreshing and easy drinking. I wouldn’t rush back, slightly on the sweet side for me, but would drink again if options were limited.

Score: 5

I also managed a couple of beers not from “1001 Beers…”. First up was Sierra Nevada Summerfest 2014 (Style: Pilsner. ABV: 5%. From: The Vineyard) – straw coloured and clear with a small white head. Again not much aroma – a faint grassy graininess. Flavour follows that, this is clean and crisp with that grain and light grass again. A decent little bitterness on the finish. This is another light easy drinking summer beer – prefect for after mowing the lawn. Score: 6. Finally we have Beavertown Gamma Ray(Style: Pale Ale. ABV: 5.4%. From: Drinkstore.ie), amber and hazy, this poured with a huge fluffy white head – a really gusher. Aroma is fantastic, lilt like tropical aromas: pineapple, grapefruit, and a touch of bubblegum. Taste is tropical too, mango is added to the lilt, as is a resinous caramel malt backbone. Though I found this quite bitter and astringent. While this was grand, the taste just didn’t live up to the smell and I found the bitterness just a bit too much, over balancing the beer. Score: 6.

Right, hope to see you at Hilden.

Cheers

Post Christmas Catch-up

I've been a bit slack with notes and blogging the last while. Moving house, internet issues and domestic circumstances have taken over. But I thought I'd do a quick catch-up post to get me back up to speed, and hopefully put me back on track!

First up another beer from "1001 Beers..."

191. Fullers London Porter

Style: Porter. ABV: 5.4%. From: Grange Wines
Description: Dark Brown, almost black, with a small tan head. Lots of roast malt and dark chocolate aromas. Some coffee and toasted malt to taste, a little sweetness and a touch of bitterness. Mid bodied.
Thoughts: Some how I'd never actually tried this so was glad to pick it up in a Holywood. Good example of the style, though maybe a little too light in body for my taste. Good stuff though.
Score: 7

Now the round-up beers outside the list:

• 114. Slyfox Saison Vos (Lighthouse Wines) - good but not great saison. Score: 7
• 115. Nøgne Ø Imperial Brown Ale (Lighthouse Wines) - a brown ale on steroids, really tasty. Score: 7.5
• 116. Nøgne Ø IPA (Lighthouse Wines) - plenty of grapefruit and pine, solid. Score: 7
• 117. Lindmans Gueuze Cuvée René (Lighthouse Wines) - LEMON! Nice tart gueze, but pretty well balanced - not everyone's taste though. Score: 7.5
• 118. Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout  (Lighthouse Wines) - Really enjoyed this, though it had been a long day and that may have made for a higher score. Score: 8
• 119. Shipyard Bluefin Stout (The Vineyard) - followed the Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout and paled in comparison. Score: 5.5
• 120. Brewdog Hoppy Christmas (Gap Wines) - lots of citrus, really nice change from the heavy christmas beers. Score: 7
• 121. Brewdog Santa Paws (The Vineyard) - really enjoyed this, dark, smooth, and just the right amount of sweetness. Score: 7.5

Right, I'm off out tomorrow for a boys day out in Belfast, hope to hit the Garrick and may be the Hudson!

Happy New Year

Cheers

Beer and Buble

London Bound

A mid-week break and a trip by me and the better half to London gave me the chance to try out a few more ales. I'll be honest up front, we went to see Michael Buble. Admittedly this is more the wife's thing than it is mine, but I have to say he put on a great show, his voice was quality live, and I’d recommend anyone to go see him. I was also impressed by how well organised the O2 was both pre and post concert!

Believe it or not we actually stayed in a pub in Waterloo. Cheap, but clean and very well located. Even better, cask ales just down stairs. I think we'd both be happy to stay in it again (I thought it might not pass my wife's quality check...).

I didn't get a chance to knock any more beers off the list but I did get to sample a few things worth mentioning here:

• Fuller's Summer Ale. Style: IPA, ABV: 3.9%.
  Description: Light and crisp English Pale Ale with a lowish alcohol content.
  Conclusion: It was warm and we had just battled through the underground. We couldn't check in yet so a perfect chance to have a beer and a bite to eat. The Summer Ale was light and refreshing. Not very hoppy (and more floral than bitter). It did the job perfectly. I tend to have a thing for “Big Beers” but the lowish ABV means that this was a perfect lunch time pint.
  Score: 6
• Dark Star Original. Style: IPA, ABV: 5%
  Description: Another light IPA in a nice pub on Whitehall.
  Conclusion: I'm slight confused but having just googled Dark Star Original I’m told its a malty old ale. That's not what I had – so I’m not sure if there is another version of this beer, the pub gave me the wrong thing, or what. Anyway, what I had was a light and slightly bitter IPA that quenched my thirst after a walk through sunny Trafalgar Square.
  Score: 6.5
• Kozel. Style: Lager, ABV: 5%
  Description: Czech Lager, light with a bit of bite.
  Conclusion: So we met up with a friend who kindly took us to Tattershall Castle (which is actually a boat the the Thames) for a drink. Choices were limited so I thought I'd go for a Czech Lager. It was fine (though the lovely location and company may have helped to improve the beer!). There are better Czech lagers out there but I could manage a pint again if no other options are forthcoming.
  Score: 6

Off we headed to the O2 for the gig. Running a bit late we headed straight in and grabbed a bit to eat. Then came the dilemma – is bad plastic “glassed” lager worse than no beer at all? The beer won – only just. I won't say what lager it was (though it was something I wouldn't normally drink) or what I though about because not much can win in those circumstances. The fact I only had 1 also says quite a bit!

I had hoped to tick a few off the list during the trip but it didn't quite happen. So I came back and headed to the Vineyard to see if they had anything new in... I came back with a bagful of treats that should lead to a very interesting next post!

Cheers

Strawberries, Cream and English Ale (and Glasto too)

The Weekend's here!

With a weekend of sport (well done Laura Robson – Unlucky Lions) and good music ahead, I decided to head up to Sainsbury's to stock up on a range of English Ale to see me through.

There's a quite a lot of English Ales in "1001 Beers to Try Before You Die" that I'm yet to sample, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to tick a few off the list. As always this was easier said than done.

I REALLY need to start taking the book with me on buying trips. I managed to buy a couple of beers I have already ticked off the list (d'oh – but at least they are good beers!), and a few more I thought where on the list but aren't. This happens me all the time... I reckon if I ever make it through all 1001 beers I'll have sampled at least twice that (actually now I've thought that through maybe its a good thing after all...)

Anyway, here's what I sampled:

From 1001 beers

• Fuller's ESB. Style: Bitter, ABV: 5.9%.
  
  
  
  Description: Poured with a big, amber head that dissipated quickly. Clear, mid-amber in colour with a decent amount of bubbles that stayed well throughout. A malty bitter, only mildly hopped. The maltyness means that it feels bigger than expected given the colour and clarity.
  Conclusion: I’m not the biggest fan of bitters generally, but I can see that this one is a good example of the style. I definitely buy it again, but I'd guess there would mostly be better, more exciting or new beers to try instead!
  Score: 6.5
  
  
• Theakstons Old Peculiar. Style: Porter, ABV: 5.6%
  
  
  
  Description: Nice head, that lingered for awhile. Toasted malts to taste. Quite thin mouth-feel considering its a porter.
  Conclusion: After IPAs, Porters are probably my favourite style of beers. This one's grand, but a wee bit too thin and light for my taste.
  Score: 6
  
  
• Abbot Ale. Style: Bitter, ABV: 5%
  Description: Quite a light bitter with a carmel taste. Poured with a nice head that hung around till there was no beer left!
  Conclusion: I thought that I wouldn't like this (clear bottles tend to be a bad sign), but actually it was fine. Though I doubt I’ll ever buy it again.
  Score: 5.5

• Old Empire. Style: IPA, ABV: 5.7%
  Description: Another clear bottle... Poured clear and light amber. Lightly hopped and not much IPA bitterness
  Conclusion: I like my IPAs big and bold (see Hoppelhammer in my last post). Not bad but again there better out there so not one I’d go back to.
  Score: 6

Not on the list

• Southwold Bitter. Style: Bitter, ABV: 4.1%
  Conclusion: It might have been the few that preceded it but this came across quite well. Really solid bitter.
  Score: 6
  
  
• Old Thumper. Style: Bitter, ABV: 5.6%
  Conclusion: Strange after-taste to start, almost tempted not to finish it. It improved as it was drunk. Perhaps I served it too cold.
  Score: 5
  
  
• Green's Golden Ale. Style: Golden Ale, ABV: 4.1%
  Conclusion: Apparently brewed in Belgium for Greens in England. Wheat and gluten free. Smells like Duvel, but tastes nothing like it. To thin too light, and is actually more amber than blond. Refreshing but no backbone.
  Score: 5

Right I’m off to enjoy the Stones at Glasto.

Cheers