Beers and Birmingham

This post was supposed to follow quickly behind the last one... then work and family life happened. Well plus a trip to Ulster Rugby and then off the Birmingham with the boy! So we'll start off the the beers I didn't get to last time round - no more ticks from "1001 Beers unfortunately.

140. Kernel London Sour 

Style: Berliner Weisse. ABV: 2.8%. From: The Vineyard.

Description: Pale, pale, straw colour, clear, no head. Smells vinegary with lots of yeasty esters. Tart, sour, lots of lemon rind. Very light.

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Thoughts: I've only had Berliner Weisse before with the syrup in... I think I prefer it that way. This was tart and refreshing but not a great sour for me.

Score: 6

141. Thornbride Tzara 

Style: Kolsch. ABV: 4.8%. From: Light House Wines

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Description: Bah, lost my notes for this one... Pale, sweet fruit aroma (a hint of strawberries), sweet start with a slightly bitter finish. Light bodied.

Thoughts:Not sure I really got Kolsch before this beer, this was light and refreshing. Tasty stuff perfect for a warm summers day. Apparently Kolsch's don't travel well - my need to get to Koln to find out!

Score: 6.5

142. Kinnegar Maddyroe 

Style: IPA (Burnt red!). ABV: 5.7%. From: The Vineyard.

Description: Burnt amber colour with an off white head. Great IPA aroma, citrus and grapefruit, something floral too - a little caramel and spice. Starts off all citrus hop, but again that sweet burnt caramel malt and spice comes through on the finish. Mid bodied.

Thoughts: This stuff was great, really nice mesh of smells and flavours that created a tasty, drinkable beer. I know this was supposed to be a one off... really hope they brew more.

Score: 7.5

143. Oakham Citra 

Style: APA. ABV: 4.6%. From: The Vineyard.

Description: A dark straw colour, clear, with a decent white head. Pure citrus hop aroma, fresh grass. A little tropical fruit, decent bitterness that doesn't linger too long. Light but a slightly oily mouthfeel.

Thoughts: Tasty enough without being mind blowing. 

Score: 7

That lot was followed by a trip to Birmingham! The Wellington looked good but I didn't actually get a pint there as they weren't serving food. Brewdog was but couldn't convince the boys to stay here too long - but the Magic Rock Cannonball was worth trying (the Tactical Nuclear Penguin less so...). To much craic to take notes but overall I enjoyed Birmingham as a city more than I though I would. Would go back - but wouldn't rush there.

Next up Cardiff for a stag doo - Tiny Rebel's Urban Tap House will hopefully get a visit... anything else I need to be checking  out?

Cheers

Refilling the beer box

The beer box was starting to look empty, fortunately a credit card cock-up left me in credit on my flexible friend! Well, I know how to make use of spare money... and fruitful trips to The Vineyard and Lighthouse Wines this week have helped build the collection up again! So, more new beers coming to a blog near you soon... but first a run down of a few recent tastings!

New Beers from the Lighthouse

Beer 183 from “1001 Beers...”

• Brugse Zot. Style: Belgian Ale. ABV: 6%. Purchased: The Vineyard

  

  Check out the head on that...

  Description: Light amber and slightly hazy. Might have been my crap pouring but this thing came out with a HUGE white head. I really didn't get too much aroma, some yeast and a bit of spice but nothing too strong. A bit of a tangy taste, some malt, some spice. Really fizzy, light to mid bodied, chalky finish.
  Thoughts: Another that might have been killed by expectations... I found this a wee bit all over the place, nothing very coherent. And nothing worth returning for – one of those beers I'm not sure why it made the list, but we all have different tastes!
  Score: 5.5

Beer 184 from “1001 Beers...”

• Thornbridge Kipling. Style: Pale Ale. ABV: 5.2%. Purchased: The Vineyard

Thornbridge Kipling

Description: Strong hazy yellow appearance, decent white head that lasted well. Lots of tropical fruit smells, pineapple and grapefruit. Lots of tropical hops to taste, but not too sweet or bitter – good balance. Light to mid body – coats your mouth slightly.
Thoughts: This is a great pale ale, really drinkable, well balanced. Another triumph for Thornbridge – one I'll definitely buy again
Score: 8

Beer 104 outside the list

• Gonny no brew that. Style: Golden Ale. ABV: 3.8%. Purchased: The Vineyard

Gonny no buy that again



Description: No head, dark yellow, clear. Very hoppy aroma – grapefruit and lemon rind. Again citrus fruit flavours, a little bitterness. Flat, slightly resin like finish.


Thoughts: Not sure I really got this... too flat for me.
Score: 5

Beer 105 outside the list

• Paulaner Oktoberfest. Style: Oktoberfest. ABV: 5.8%. Purchased: The Vineyard

A late Oktoberfest treat



Description: Straw colour, clear, with a good white head. No head, dark yellow, clear. A little bland smell-wise, some grain, not much else. Malty sweetness to taste, not real hops. Fizzy but light bodied.


Thoughts: Pretty middle of the road oktoberfest beer, drinkable but not very exciting.
Score: 6

Cheers

Extravagantly Hopped

Brewdog

First time I've placed an order through the Brewdog web-shop and overall I was quite impressed. Not cheap but access to their occasional range, and some great guest beers I haven't seen locally, helped make the decision (pic of the purchases below). As did the discount through their Equity for Punks scheme. Order placed on Monday, arrived on Thursday, and good brewed on dates too!

I still prefer to buy locally where I can, as much because I enjoy a good nosey around an offie as anything else (I'm the guy wondering aimlessly around The Vineyard and LightHouse Wines), but it's another option for picking up some of the harder-to-get beers from the list.

Future posts will cover the Brewdog beers, but starting off with a few others...

Beer 170 from “1001 Beers...”

• Green Flash West Cost IPA. Style: IPA, ABV: 7.8%. Purchased: Brewdog
  

  Description: Poured amber with a good head. Big citrus hit on the nose, lots of grapefruit, and some decent hop pines. Caramel and biscuit malts, with plenty of citrus flavour. Piny, grassy notes in the background. Good bitterness, with a light-to-mid body, slightly resin like.
  Thoughts: It claims it is “Extravagantly Hopped” on the bottle, so another for the hop heads. I get the feeling that if fresher it would have more piny and grassy hoppiness, but actually the little big of age may have helped balance it and make it more drinkable. Great IPA.
  Score: 8.

Now A beer from the list i have had before but haven't blogged about - beer 79 from “1001 Beers...

• Thornbridge Jaipur. Style: IPA, ABV: 5.9%. Purchased: The Vineyard

Description: Light blond and clear. Decent white head that stayed. Great hop smells, a little pineapple. Light and fruity, lots of citrus, a little honey sweetness in the finish. Light and fizzy mouth feel.
Thoughts: Lovely example of a light, fruity and citrus IPA. Not much malt going on in this one, making it very drinkable.
Score: 7.5

Beer 82 not from “1001 Beers...”

• Hitachino Nest Amber Ale. Style: Amber Ale, ABV: 5.8%. Purchased: LightHouse Wines

  
  Description: Poured dark brown/red with a tan head. Lots of malt smells, some brown sugar. Good malty taste, quite subtle. Mid mouth feel with light fizz.
  Thoughts: Had a bit of a cold so may be not the best circumstances for a review. Nice beer still, quite subtle, though not as good as their white ale.
  Score: 7

Cheers

Hilden Beer and Music Festival

So last night I headed up to Hilden Beer and Music Festival. It was a great night's crack. Lovely setting, good music, tasty food,and, most importantly, good beer! Even the rainy weather couldn't put a dampener on the event. I even got to tick another beer off the list (forgot my phone so no pics!).

Beer 166 from “1001 Beers...”

• Exmoor Gold. Style: Golden Ale, ABV: 4.5%.
  My drinking buddy (hello abs!) described the beer as smelling “like a piss stained porta-cabin”. Not sure I would agree with this very specific description... Either way it tasted just fine but nothing too exciting
  Score: 5.5

Beer 57 outside the list

• Hilden's Twisted Hop. Style: Golden Ale, ABV: 4%
  Lovely on cask from the brewery. See my review here.
  
  

Beer 68 outside the list

• Thornbridge Lord Marples. Style: Bitter, ABV: 4%
  I'm a fan of Thornbridge. Despite this being the first pour out of the cask, it wasn't bad at all. Bitters don't do that much for me but this was quite drinkable.
  Score: 6
  
  Beer 69 outside the list
• BG Sips (Blue Monkey). Style: Golden Ale, ABV: 4%
  Hoppy and fruity. Really enjoyed this.
  Score: 7
  
  
  Beer 70 outside the list
• Barney's Beer Red Rye. Style: Rye Beer, ABV: 4.8%
  The use of rye made this a bit of a change for the taste buds. Started well but not a great finish.
  Score: 5.5
  
  
  Beer 71 outside the list
• Hilden's Barney's Brew. Style: Wheat, ABV: 5%
  Description here. Light, peppery and spicy. A great way to finish my tasting at the festival.
  Score: 7

Things got busy as the night when on, a few more taps (may be a few more choices) would have eased the queues. But service was quick and friendly and the atmosphere great. Still two days to go. If you've no plans get yourself up to Hilden for a great day's crack. If you have plans, change them and support a local brewer!

Cheers

The Vineyard for the win

Its a little thing called style...

So, the London trip didn't give me a chance to tick off any beers from the list. To console myself I headed to the vineyard to see if they had anything new in. Looks like I timed it perfectly, not only where there a great selection of beers – there was also a number of beer styles I had yet to try. I love try new beers styles so I was in beer heaven!

Beers from the List:

• Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier. Style: Rauchbier, ABV: 5.2%.
  
  
  
  
  
  Description: German smoked beer, lovely woody/malty smell. Tastes a bit like smoked bacon. Nice head that stuck around, in diminished form, through-out the pint.
  Conclusion: This is one of the beers I spotted skimming though “1001 beers...” that I really wanted to try. I'd never heard of rauchbier, but how could you resist a description that includes “tastes like smoked ham” and “probably the lowest ABV extreme beer in the world”. I really enjoyed it. May not best to have it these warm nights but I’ll certainly have more (and another bottle is in the fridge!)
  Score: 7.5
  
  
• Saison Dupont. Style: Saison, ABV: 6.5%
  Description: Pale straw colour, fruit aromas, with a slightly sour finish.
  Conclusion: Another new style of beer for me. I am a big fan of pale ales and golden ales, and this comes across as a bit of a hybrid between the two. Very refreshing. The sour note at the end of the tasting (like many Belgian sour beers) really helped making sure it wasn't too light. Very interested in the style and the beer – I’ll be looking out for more Saisons and will buy this one again when I see it.
  Score: 7.5
  
  
• Frau Kolsch. Style: Kolsch, ABV: 4.9%
  Description: Very light golden lager/pilsner in look. Poured with a nice head and plenty of carbonisation. More hoppy and less bitter than most German lagers.
  Conclusion: Had this on a warm summers night and it was light and refreshing. I'd never had Kolsch before so I wasn't quite expecting it to be as lagerary (I think I just invented a new word) as it was, but it was tasty. Not a huge fan of the style but I’d have it over a watery “pint” any day. Interested in trying different versions to see if there is much difference between brewers.
  Score: 6.5

Off the List:

• Wild Raven. Style: Black IPA, ABV: 6.6%.
  Description: Jet Black, with a thin head that disappears quickly. Fruity and citrus aromas, including pineapple. Really nice hoppy hit to taste and a slightly thicker mouthfeel than most IPAs.
  Conclusion: I love IPAs. I love porters, stouts and Schwarzbier. Could this hybrid be better than the sum of its parts. For me it works really well, nicely balanced hoppiness and bitterness. But there is a slight disconnect between how the beer looks and its mouthfeel – it looks like it should taste thicker and that is slightly disconcerting. However, overall it a really good effort and one i'd try again. Are there more/beer black IPAs outthere I should be trying?
  Score: 7.5
  
  
• Leffe Radiuese. Style: Strong Ale, ABV: 8.2%
  Description: A malty, thick, boozey Belgain string ale.
  Conclusion: I'll be honest – I just bought a lovely Leffe Challis glass and I wanted a strong Belgian ale to christen it. This did the job. But there are better versions outthere to my taste.
  Score: 7
  
  

That puts me up to 156 beers tried from the list (and a further 44 scored and rated) - just 845 to go!

A quick disclaimer. This blog is about better beer, not more beer. Quality over quantity if you will. There are many reasons why you shouldn't overdo alcohol, therefore responsibility (and sensible drinking) is the key. But if you do drink, then you should drink good beer! These posts may also cover more than one “session” but have been put together to stop me posting incessantly.

Cheers