Back on the trail and the brilliant beer 180

Illness, work, and family meant taking a wee bit of time off the beer quest. But I was back on it with a bang this weekend, and what a beer to get back on the wagon with.

Beer 180 from “1001 Beers...”

• Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. Style: Barrel Aged Stout. ABV: 15%. Purchased: LightHouse Wines

  
  Description: Poured a deep black tar like colour with a chocolate head that soon disappeared. Wow - lots going on aroma wise, big boozy bourbon hit, dark chocolate, some vanilla, and some woody notes. The flavours back that up, dark chocolate, burnt malts, a little lightness from some vanilla and ripe fruits – but the main flavour is oak and bourbon booze. As it warmed up it got more complex flavour wise, with the booze moving slightly more into the background (just slightly though!). Big mouth feel, full bodie, sticky but weirdly still smooth at the same time. Long boozy finish.
  Thoughts: Delighted the guys at the Lighthouse got this in; its one of those beers geeks like me just want to get their hands on. Worth every penny, this is a lovely complex beer. I had the 2012 vintage, and it was still very boozy – I have another bottle I'm going to keep for awhile and really believe this beer will improve with age. Can't wait to try the aged bottle!
  Score: 9

Beer 98 outside the list

• Paulaner Munich Hell. Style: Helles. ABV: 4.9%. Purchased: The Vineyard

Description: Straw yellow and clear. Good white head. Lager aroma, with a wee bit of fruit. Light, fizzy, some hops, and some bitterness on the finish.
Thoughts: This was grand, not as good as the other Helles I've had recently but drinkable, if unremarkable, German fare.
Score: 6

Beer 99 outside the list

• Schneider Weisse Mein Gruner (Tap4). Style: Hefeweizen. ABV: 6.2%. Purchased: The Vineyard

Description: Light yellow and hazy, big white head, and plenty of visible bubbles. That great wheat beer smell, lots of banana, spice, and little hop background. Again lots of banana in the taste, a little spice, wheat and something a little floral in the background. Light and fizzy.
Thoughts: I enjoyed this, a real banana bomb of a wheat beer, not as good as their Mein Hopfeweisse, but very drinkable.
Score: 7

Hoping to get a trip out into Belfast this weekend and a tour of a few new bars. Also hoping to make it to Beer Club Belfast on the 17^th October, you should try and get there too if you can make it!

Cheers

Born in Belgium

Generic heading with a beer pun or possibly a double entendre

I'm still new to this blogging lark, and I'm wary of my reviews sounding a bit too... pretentious. I mean at the end of the day, beer, is beer, is beer. It tends to smell like beer and taste like beer. But there are subtle differences that I’m keen to highlight without verging into total wine snob territory – i.e. “it smells of Christmas and bouncy balls” when actually it smells of wine (and in some case vinegar). I know at times I probably do head down that road (and please feel free to pull me up on it). It's a bad habit and one I'm fighting, as beer shouldn't be elitist. The best thing about beer is that everyone can find, buy, and enjoy good beer without spending a fortune or talking too much bollocks about it.

And now more pretentious beer bollocks from me...

Going though “1001 Beers...” has really made me see how brilliant many Belgian beers are. No one does it quite like the Belgian's, well almost no-one...

Beer 91

• Goose Island Matilda. Style: Belgian Strong Ale, ABV: 7%.
  
  
  
  Description: Amber with a small white head that disappeared quickly. Lovely sour aroma from the brett yeast. Great sweet/sour taste with some spice and fruit banana like fruits – more fruit came though as it warmed up. Mid mouth feel, with a little fizz.
  Thoughts: I had this one ages ago (thus number 91) in the states, but thought it was worth revisiting. This is the yanks showing they can do a Belgian ale, and it's brilliant. Complex, yet refreshing and drinkable. Available at Light House Wines – go get some!
  Score: 8.5 (Apparently it ages well, though who could keep it in their fridge long enough to find out?)

An actual Belgian this time and Beer 67 not from “1001 Beers...”

• Staffe Hendrik Quad. Style: Belgian Quad, ABV: 11%.
  
  Description: Pours dark brown with a small tan head. Smells like rocket fuel and I'm pretty sure it is. Very syrupy with a slightly sour finish. A little dark fruit, sort of fig roll like (man, I haven't had a fig roll in years...). A little fizz.
  Thoughts: This beer rates very highly on a number of tasting websites. I kinda see why. It's big, it's complex, and it's got an ABV that could fuel your car. However, while most Belgian beers tend to disguise their ABV, I can taste every bit of this. For me, its just a wee bit too much and I didn't actually finish it as I didn’t want to be blocked for the next week...
  Score: 6.5

Now a move to England and beer 66 not from “1001 Beers”

• Partizan Brewing Foreign Export Stout. Style: Stout/Foreign Stout, ABV: 8.7%.
  
  Description: Jet black with a decent tan head. Toasted malt and chocolate aromas. Lots of coffee, dark chocolate, and almost burnt malt flavours. Thick with a little fizz.
  Thoughts: Jesus, you couldn't accuse this beer of being bland, weak or tasteless. A really nice stout. You can taste the ABV but it makes it a warming experience. First I’ve had to challenge Brooklyn's Chocolate Stout and Ola Dubh – its not quite that good but it gives it a real go. Looking forward to trying more Partizan Brewing beers
  Score: 8.

I also had a Menabrea Biere. I'm not a fan of Pale lagers generally, and this did nothing further to convince me. Not a bad pale lager if you’re into them, finishes with some hops and a wee bit of bitterness, but overall its just meh. Score: 5

Hilden Beer Festival

Just one more thing, the 2013 Hilden Beer and Music Festival takes place this coming weekend from 23^rd to 25^th August. I've never been before (to my shame), but I heard great things and I really hope to get up there this weekend. Come support a local brewer!

Cheers