Meer For Beer

Happy Valentines Folks

2012-02-14T02:23:00.001-08:00

It is that time of year when I am grateful not to be young teenager anymore, hoping that the red enveloped card would come though the letterflap from that spotty boy who fancied. It never did, thankfully as I saw one of teenager crushes recently and *shudder* ewww.

Nowadays having a husband helps to guarantee I get a card, at least I will if he realises the mistake that early morning twitter comment is! But it was his comment that possibly a tweet would make up for no card made me think....

No it wouldn't but any one of these beers would:

Southern Tier Mokah Imperial Stout
Southern Tier Java Imperial Stout
Rogue Choclate Stout
Brewdog Tokyo
Brewdog Lost Dog
Chris from Stones Stout
Goose Island Bourbon County (original or the coffee)
Goose Island Nightstalker
Daleside Morocco Ale
Moor Old Freddy
Moorhouses Black Cat
Any gorgeously dark beer

Just as a subtle hint;

Look it! Empty! Please Fill With Gorgeous Beer!!!

Ridgeway's Bad King John

2012-02-12T06:03:00.000-08:00

6% Abv

This was the winner of the Sainsbury's beer hunt last year, for a little while they sold in almost all their stores a cracking range of more unusual beers. The winner was to be kept on after the hunt had been voted on. Sadly despite the sales being quite vigorous it didn't persuade the supermarkets to provide more choice in their ranges.

I enjoyed the beer, it has a lovely bitter fruity taste but it's let down by the weakness of the flavour, compared with Fuller's London Porter the taste just didn't last long. It also has a remarkable water like mouth feel for a beer of its strength, it just didn't really grab me. Those are the downsides to it, but the taste is pleasant just not particularly powerful.

Its well worth a shot, if you fancy something a bit darker to drink. It's more a mild to my mind than an ale though.

Marks And Spencer's London Porter

2012-02-11T05:54:00.000-08:00

5.5% Abv

As those who follow my very very rare tweets, some may know that finally my local Marks & Sparks now stocks some of the more unusual beers they get brewed by various breweries up and down the country. I love stouts and porters so I really wanted to try some of these beers, so I picked up a few bottles one lunchtime, taking advantage of the 6 for 5 offer that is currently running.

I really enjoyed this beer, actually I found it better than Meantime's usual porter. Each sip yielded a different hint to the porterly chocolate and malty main taste. From marmite hint, to Cadburys flake, though to caramel and then to truffle (by which I mean the type pigs hunt for), it was a real joy of a bottle to drink. The smokyness definately comes though in spades on its last patter across your tongue.

This is one of those beers which with each sip, you look at it and think "that's a cracking beer" or more often in my case "wow".

Only downside is that Meantime have also brewed for M&S is Greenwich Hospital Porter, which isn't being sold at my local M&S. :(

Brewdog Camden

2012-01-30T04:55:00.000-08:00

One lazy conversation on a Sunday morning on how we always say if we have a spare weekend we will go to x place but never do meant, that instead of heading straight home, we headed out to Camden to try the only Brewdog bar in London.

My husband in his youth was a goth and thus spent many a weekend in Camden and it's shops and markets, this in mind he spent a good twenty minutes bemoaning the amount of standard chain shops and lack of atmosphere it now has. I can see his point, I last came here three years ago and to my eyes it is becoming rather bland.

Thankfully the Brewdog bar wasn't bland, many bloggers have mentioned the industrial feel..etc.. to the bar so I need not do so myself. We arrived just as the bar staff were re-writing the beer lists on the wall, nice to see a changing beer list from the previous evening's tweet to the next day's beers.

First beers were Blitz, a hoppy bitter which was only 2.8% and more flavoursome than some 5%ers we have tried, only critism from me would be if they can brew such a great lower abv beer then what was the excuse with Nanny State other than to brew an undrinkable beer? The other was Riptide 8% which was highly enjoyable stout but not as good as my second beer which was Chris from Stone's Stout 10.2% and blooming gorgeous!

We sampled our way though a fair number of the beers on offer, all of which were brilliant in their own rights, some we preferred to others and so on. Food at the bar is good but the pizzas and cheese & meat platters are better than the burgers. Sorry guys, but chips or wedges would be a welcome addition for us too especially for sharing amongst friends.

Brewdog have got a brilliant bar on their hands here, pricing just couldn't be faulted either. We got to try some beers that we had our eyes on without taking out a mortage with their pricing measures working on price per size. The staff are certainly some of the most friendly folks I have met behind a bar in a long time. Their suggestions for other beers were spot on, I got to try Lost Dog (fantastic suggestion by the barman) for £4.50 and the Stone's Stout was £2.50 both for a 1/3 pint. Getting to try the beers first before buying without needing to ask was lovely too.

Can't wait to head up there again.

McMullen Brewery's Firefly

2012-01-07T04:11:00.001-08:00

4% ABV

First post of the new year, currently sitting in my favourite local with a couple of pints of the new seasonal from the local brewery. Like pretty much all of McMullens beers this comes as a very attractive pint with a full fluffy white head.

It is a lovely light golden brown bitter, quite fruity flowery tang on the first sip. It remains a lovely looking pint to the last drop as well. Looks do count in my world whether it is a oily stout which has just a thin lace around the glass to the last or a bitter with a fluffy head, these details count towards my enjoyment of a beer.

Firefly for me is a refreshing bitter, light and thirst quenching with a pleasantly fruity favour which doesn't overwhelm the beer. However it does have a weird smell, fruity sour which is no reflection on the taste of the beer, the same brewery did Beerberry last year as a seasonal which was an awful fruit beer and that had this smell too. A minor bad point for a lovely light session beer.

It is very easy drinking and when I was on my first pint without knowledge of it's ABV and I would probably put this at 3.2, and I was proven wrong at 4%.

Ah well I need to improve my beer-fu this year.

The Draft House - Northcote

2011-12-14T03:23:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the new shiny pub guide book I was given we decided to try out this one which neither myself or my partner actually knew about. Usually when we are in the area we head to the Falcon near Clapham Junction station for a drink, fantastic pub with well kept and regularly changing beers. But the temptation of a different bottle range of beers plus American & Belgium beers on tap proved quite a draw for us to wander further up Northcote Road than we would normally.

According to the blurb in the book The Draft House opened back in 2009, it is one of a small chain of three bars. It is a small place, if you know the Harp in Charing Cross then think along those lines but without the upstairs part. Luckily we arrived early enough on Saturday evening to bag a table in the window and after adjusting the curtain so cut out the cold December wind when the door opened it was a snug warm seat.

The staff are friendly and knowledgeable on their beer range and also will point out prices to you so you don’t get a surprise when you come to pay. The bottle range is good although small; it doesn’t have anything particularly unusual or rare. Well, not if you are used to hunting out the weird and unusual from the Rake or Cask. I tried Left Hand’s Milk Stout which was a lovely sweet beer whilst my partner tried a Ginger Tom which was good although I couldn’t tell the difference between it and Fentiman’s Ginger Beer which is one of the ingredients to this beer. The milk stout was a new style for me and I enjoyed it, Left Hand beers are really worth trying if you see them.

The beers on cask and keg do tend towards the pale, IPA and lagerly beers with a couple of porters. All are very well kept; indeed the selection seemed to sell very well as the place soon became packed with lots of people after varying beers. Sadly the only dark beers on the bar were Porterhouse’s Plain Porter, which I found to be bland; by bland I mean it was exactly like Guinness and Meantime’s London which is ok, better than the other but still not one I would willingly go for. But given at least they had two dark beers on its better than what a lot of other pubs do.

We didn’t eat here but the food from the kitchen did smell gorgeous, this is definitely a place I would come back to for a drink with friends or with my husband for a quiet drink and chat.

The pub guide did us proud for this trip and I have talked (badgered) the husband to trying a few trips out to other parts of London in search of the others held within this book. It’s a doable task to tick off all the pubs held in this book I am sure!

The Draft House
94 Northcote Road
Clapham
SW11 6QW

London's Best Pubs

2011-12-11T22:32:00.000-08:00

By Peter Haydon &Tim Hampson

As a surprise pressie I received a copy of this book from my husband this weekend. Strangely despite my drinking habits and enjoyment of pubs I don't buy beer or pub guides although I do have a copy of the Good Beer Guide on my iPad but again that was the other half loading it on before giving me the thing. However it is a very very good book to get a bit of history of the pub you are currently sitting in or thinking of getting to. The maps that head each section are clear and useful, which should make the process of finding some of them easier.

For each pub there are a couple of pictures, a brief mention of typical beers served and it's history. No critical remarks on beer quality though, one of the pubs mentioned I know from trying it a couple of times that it serves beer in appalling state knowing that people head to it because it is a historic pub not for a drink. Local office workers drink wine rather than beers so why bother keeping the beer in a good state is the attitude. Oh well.

If you are beer drinker and you know London you may differ in opinion to the writers on the best pubs in each area, I was surprised that the Falcon near Clapham Junction wasn't there for example but we all have our own favourites in places. Good book, not pocket sized but definitely handbag sized.

Only ONE To Say.....

2011-11-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

Alan Moore and I'm at the London talk........

Squeek!

Cask's Norwegian Fest

2011-11-06T06:26:00.000-08:00

In my first ( maybe last ) live blogging attempt we have headed to the Cask Pub & Kitchen for their Norwegian beer festival. Before now I haven' t really tried that many foreign beers, there was the Japanese sweepstake beers and mainly American beers but not many from elsewhere, so the Cask provides an excellent opportunity to correct this glaring missed phase in my beer drinking.

First up is Aegir's Sumbel Porter, and this almost wants to make me weep. A light full flavoured dark beer that whilst lively when pours drinks like a dream and I know that I have almost no chance of seeing this again on a bar in this country. Unlike most porters in this country there are no red flashes glistening in the glass when lifted to the light but chocolate ones instead. The flavours of chocolate are similar to Saltaire's chocolatic beer but follow though with a light sherry note instead. Served cold from keg it is delightful but even better when the beer warms slightly and the Christmassy boozy taste comes though in spades. Beautiful beer and one I will remember with great fondness.

So far the Norwegians are proving to be as good as UK brewers.

Second round and now I have my partner in on the game so he has one of these beers too allowing more beer trying. Hubby opts for Rallar Amber ale it is a very pleasant bitter with a sour mashed banana note to it for me although he says "I'm getting fruity notes with a tart chocolate undertone" channelling his inner food and drink critic. I actually opt for a lager namely the Brime Red wish more lagers were like this. Malty carmelly goodness in a glass! These two conclude our delve in Aegir's beers as I don't fancy the IPA but still have Haand beers to try. :)

We decide to only go for two mainly due to percentage and also because I have to get up at 5am tomorrow for a run. Hubby's tipple is the Menno &Jens which is a wheat beer. Judging from excited squeaks it is a good wheat beer for me I dislike it as I do all wheat beers. Mine is the sublime Bestefar a dark barley wine affair of a beer, again another beer I will think of with a fond tear in my eye. Smooth, sweet with an alcoholic kick of a mule yet dangerously drinkable.

I'm glad we headed here today for these beers, truly not something to miss. The prices for these beers are not cheap but given this is a rare chance to try such unusual beers in this country it is a price well worth paying. Also it is worth noting that these beers wouldn't be much cheaper in their own country. Money aside these beers have influenced my taste buds to look for the qualities I tasted in here in beers from both this country and others. Excellent stuff.

Typical Happenings in My World

2011-11-06T02:58:00.000-08:00

My husband took great glee in yesterday, he had in my all his loveliness brought me an iPad after numerous hints from me on how much I wanted one. I was presented with my new toy with lots of laughter on how I could do live beer blogging with it due to it's lightweight nature and being able to fit into my handbag.

Of course I promptly went out without it as I didn't want to damage it and stumbled onto a beer festival at the Falcon in Clapham Junction. Oh how he laughed.

Typical.

Tap East At Westfields Stratford

2011-10-18T10:48:00.001-07:00

Sunday shopping, what other thing could cause fear and dread to leap into my heart? Well, Christmas shopping but that's changing the subject. The husband wanted to have a look at the Apple store so we also got the chance to go to the new Tap East as my treat for actually walking though the shopping centre doors.

It is in the markety bit of the centre so it feels calmer than the main drag of Westfields which is full of people taking their offspring around GAP and Boots. The neighbours of the Tap are some rather nice eateries, Lebanese cuisine instead of McDonalds, Indian instead of Pizza Hut so all good. The Tap itself is rather nicely designed open format bar, with a clear wall section to allow you to see the microbrewery set-up.

For those of us who have been to the Rake in Borough Market, imagine that but bigger and you have it. It is a good well run bar with lots of staff for when it gets busy and also importantly knowledgeable staff that aren't afraid to say 'I don't know but bare with me whilst I ask for you'. Thumbs up for these guys. The beer is well kept and the prices are very reasonable for this part of London.

We enjoyed a couple of good pints before and after shopping, Thornbridge's Seaforth being very quaffable indeed and so was Windsor & Eton's Conqueror. Whilst I still dislike shopping at least the husband has a place he can leave me when shopping in this neck of the woods.

According to the upcoming events the tapping of the first Tap East Microbrewery beer will be on the 9Th November at 4pm for those in the area. :)

Badger Brewery's First Gold

2011-10-14T06:02:00.000-07:00

This was the beer that I got as part of my goody bag from the Half Marathon on Sunday. I do rather like the new labels for the Badger beers although I'm sure that the Blandford Flyer was just Blandford Fly before.

The beer itself is a nice light bitter with a smooth citrus finish, at 4% it would make a nice session bitter. It pours quite lively with a fluffy white head which does last until the end, very attractive drink indeed. This would have been a nice bottle to open on that hot Sunday after the race had I not been so knocked about. Maybe next year.

For more information: http://www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk

Surrey Badger Half Marathon Report

2011-10-13T01:22:00.000-07:00

The beer review will be up tomorrow, wasn't able to taste the beer before now due to being sensible after my fall. I do sit here with the glow of achievement and the colour of my various bruises however.

This Half Marathon is one of the best regarded according to the Runners World reports and it is a lovely route of the scenic countryside that is in the Mole valley in Surrey. Dorking main station is only ten minutes by foot but I was lucky enough to get a lift from a friend so could save my legs for the race.

Once I had booked in and got my chip and number (with the usual attempt to pin the number onto skin rather than clothing) I was ready for the off albeit at the back of the track I hate starting near the front as I get overtaken by most folks! There was a really great atmosphere and I could also see the crates of beer being readied for our return!

The route out of Denbies Estate leads onto the A24 which provides a fast track and I did the three miles to Sawmill Hill in 10.30 minute miles which I thought was rather good and so was feeling great until I looked to my left and saw the mountain..er..hill that the faster runners were heading up. Seriously the information when I joined did say hilly, so I did practise hills such as they are around my neck of the woods but nothing prepared me for the Hill of Doom.

I managed to run halfway before realising my walking pace was faster so I ascended the dizzy heights (without oxygen I may add) by walking and then there was a brief dip so I cheerfully headed on my way, not quite as fast as this was now trail with tree roots and leaves. Now into the Surrey countryside I could see why people call it a scenic route, the smell of leaves on the ground and the sounds of woodland life around me made the next 3 mile stretch of the route a pleasure despite the sharp upwards bits. The course photographer managed to snap some shots of me running, in which I look...mmmm...least said.

Now I have to admit I am not built for hills nor speed but I hit mile 6 at 1 hour and 9 miles so I was still feeling good and I saw two buzzards starting a slow climb in the air which was magical to see. I knew I wasn’t going to hit the magical 2hours 15 for the whole thing but I knew that when I saw the Hill of Doom but I was still on for a good time. The next mile and a bit was fine but before mile 8 there was what I can only describe as a tree root ladder, I scrambled up this with about as much dignity as a womble chasing a crisp packet in the wind but I did make it and started my way back on the return journey.

At mile 9, saw the cheering party with the tiny spaniel puppy and entered the trail to the Hill of Doom but luckily I would be going down rather than up this time. This Half Marathon has the best support around the route I have ever had, friendly folk who do make you feel like you are flying along rather than plodding despite what the course photographs try and tell you.

However, disaster! A discarded gel packet in amongst the leafy trail sent me flying, after breaking my fall with my hands I rolled to one side. Luckily my head hit last so was more a knock than a full bang. After checking I was ok, I tried on unfortunately in tears but I still carried on. Warned the marshall at the top of the hill about the gel packets being discarded but as I was in the last lot of runners no-one else took the same trip thankfully.

The last three and bit miles were done in a combo of run and walking, due to pain and I suspect a little bit of ‘I want to go home wahh’ however as I entered the Denbies Estate the runners who finished way before me and were heading to their cars were really encouraging with cheers of you are nearly there and clapping I made it to the end in a time of 2hours 46 minutes, 31 minutes slower than I wanted but I did do it even with falls and mountains involved. And I got my lovely t-shirt and a bottle of Badger Beer!

But I will be back next year though, I will get that time I wanted… You hear me Hill I will beat you!

Any Ideas?

2011-10-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, twitter had no suggestions on what beer to have after my first half marathon to celebrate so I'm throwing it open to you good folks. Review will be posted up with a long winded prose on my running. :)

Of course I do have a wish for Goose Island's Night Stalker or Bourbon County but since I can't find any where that seems to stock them to buy I'm on the market for a tasty (preferably dark) beer.

What beer would you pick for me to celebrate a great achievement?

Happy 3rd Birthday Sambrooks!

2011-10-02T02:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the birthday bash for one of London's newer breweries. It was a great day for it, sun was shining and all was right with the world. We got there early for the 12pm opening thanks to a winning combination of the cream of London bus rally drivers association otherwise known as Nigel the number 44 driver and a lack of traffic.

As one of the first 20 though the door we got a free t-shirt which even better included a woman's fit option. Rather nice touch, I have numberous t-shirts in trible xl that I can't wear other than as a dress, this one I can wear! :) The whole organisation of the day was smooth, tables with water jugs, friendly staff and live music. It was one of the best laid back events I have gone too.

It was on this day that Sambrooks introduced their membership scheme as seen by the photo of the extra special Pink Floyd edition postcard on this post. There are details on their website and it is a nice way of supporting a local brewery. The husband excitedly went and got his Silver membership, Gold was considered but we just can't guarentee being able to make two events in one year to go for it with our busy diary.

A new beer from Sambrooks was on offer, the Pale Ale (4.2% abv) is a cracking beer, one that went well with the hot temperatures and was indeed very thirst quenching. Another nice touch was the beer playing card size tasting notes that were on each table with the usual food suggestions and cyclops notes. My favourite beer is still the Powerhouse Porter (4.9% abv) and whilst I did try the others it was this one I returned to regularly.

Fantastic day, just hope they hold another event that we can get to again.

For more details on the beers, brewery or the membership scheme: http://www.sambrooksbrewery.co.uk/

Do You Know What Your 'Child' Is Up To?

2011-09-30T03:05:00.000-07:00

Those who read this and are parents... well do you?

This is meant in an aggressive manner. I run and having a half marathon next week means I needed to get in a 10 mile run last night. What is a hard run for me was made harder by the feral brats that live on my estate in Essex.

Name calling I can ignore, you think I haven't hear taunts about my glasses or size before? Maybe I would prefer the comments to be more witty but as their favourite pastimes seem to be abusing others I guess education is at the bottom of their list.

However shoving and attempting to trip a runner... seriously where do they get off? I note their bravery in doing this to a SINGLE FEMALE runner was not so tough when it came to two men running. Combined with name calling this is called bullying, something that if it happened to them their parents who be first to yell and scream about.

The fact is my run ended at 9pm last night and children as young as 4 years old were still out and being encouraged by the morons from earlier to yell out abuse including c***, and yet no parent came out to get their children in or to challenge this behaviour just tells me that if they can't hear their child over the TV then it doesn't matter what the heck they are up to in my town in Essex.

Thanks to these little bullies I had to run a weird route in an dim lit industrial estate instead, not something any woman would do especially after dark but somehow that was safer than running in a well-lit housing estate.

Windsor 8K & The Bricklayers Arms Beer Festival

2011-09-26T04:23:00.000-07:00

Firstly I achieved a fairly respectable 54 minute time for my 8K (or 5 miles), despite the blistering heat of the midday sun on the day. My shoulders were pink come the afternoon which didn't go well with the blue ESB running vest but you can't have anything. Nor was I put off by the hilly course which included a few very nasty inclines to go up and now I am a proud owner of my first 8K medal. :)

The course was hilly as said but well organised race apart from the starting time and water stations, only one on this race at 3K when another at 6K would have been good due to the temperature. Personally I do prefer races that start earlier in the day so you can have lunch and still have your afternoon to yourself and more important miss the hottest part of the day if it is sunny.

After the race we all hotfooted it back so we could shower and change (it's not nice sitting on a train realising the rank smell is you) and head back out to Putney and the Derbyshire Beer fesitval. After the race you need carbs and beer contains them plus we felt the beer had been earnt. We arrived missing the morris men dancing although we still got to hear the 'merry' singing from them inside the pub.

If you fancy is good well run beer festival that is busy but not stupidly so then I really recommend you head to the Bricklayers when they do these. Food on the evening was hot pasties and they were superb to match the beer too. Sadly a few of the more interesting titled beers had already gone but with both morris men and Camra members around this was not a surprise.

Falstaff brewery was the winner for us with all of their beers being judged fantastic by our group. Lockwood and Assassin being personal favourites of mine. It was a nice end to a good day sitting munching pasties and drinking good beer after a long race.

Running On Empty

2011-09-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of beer at the moment sadly.......

Time it grows short to my first (maybe only) ever half marathon. Due to injury, holiday and general fannying about on my part I am running up to the wire on my training this week is my first long run of 9-10 miles then I have only one more long run of 12 before I start tapering for the big day.

It's not all doom and gloom though whilst my run will be days away I get to experience 'carb loading' which is pretty much the runners excuse for nomming on jaffa cakes all day. However I have been informed that beer doesn't count despite the carbs it contains, shame really the idea of sitting watching a film whilst partaking of jaffas and beer was a rather nice one.

The only bad news is I don't get a medal for my half marathon but I do get a t-shirt and a bottle of beer so it's not all bad. :)

Great Northern Beer Festival

2011-09-03T01:57:00.001-07:00

Every year I have been a blogger, I see posts about this beer festival and how great it is. One day I will head further north than York* and go to this festival, probably next year as this year's meagre holiday allowance has been booked up with trips with the other half.

This makes two beer festivals up the other end of the country I want to get to, this means I must steel my girders to face the most trying of experience known to bloggers....... The national rail system..... Oh gods.

Note: I was emailed to ask if I wouldn't mind posting the poster on my blog, I have no problems with this, as said I have never seen a bad review of this festival so it must be good. Just jealous that it's up north and I can't make it this year. :(

* Just been told York is further north than Manchester, I have no directional sense apart from being able to find a open pub anywhere.

New Brewery Launch

2011-08-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

London Fields Brewery are holding their launch for the whole of this coming Bank Holiday weekend which will include 3 new beers and a lager, so if you around and are looking for something different then head along to Hackey.

I should be heading along on Sunday, personally I can't wait to try 'Love not War' which was apparently brewed when they were locked in against the riots.

For more details: http://www.londonfieldsbrewery.co.uk/

Brighton Rocks!

2011-08-24T02:49:00.001-07:00

Not sure what happened at this pub to get this sign;

But I wasn't going to ask..... :)

I have always loved Brighton, always a new surprise each time we head down to the coast. Shops are the biggest indicator with some steady regulars but the rest changing with each visit, individual independent shops that provoke window shopping and unusual purchases. This time around I found more places taking up the beer flag and running with it from a cocktail bar (called the Black Dove) which now has an impressive bottled beer list to the old haunts that sell more variety to tempt drinkers to stay a bit longer.

When we arrived we headed straight for the Evening Star despite numerous visits to Brighton we have never managed to get in a visit to this pub, and we didn’t on the Friday either as it was shut until Saturday for a refurb. Oh bottoms! Still we did get to have a couple of drinks in there on the Sunday before we got the train home. It is very close to the train station but just on the other side of the island heading down to the shops, I think we have mainly missed it because usually on heading out of the station we head left to go straight to the Lanes, won’t be doing that from now on though.

Darkstar have a charming pub on their hands in Brighton, plain but designed well so I should imagine even when it is busy that you aren’t going to have too much trouble getting to the bar. Both pints I had were top notch and well worth the wait for the pub to open, as we were early and spend twenty minutes sitting on one of the tables out the front chatting. They do takeout which I would loved to do for the Original I was drinking but unfortunately with the heavy bags I had with me the best I could carry was the two bottles of Imperial Stout which I also love and have difficulty finding.

We stayed in Kemptown in a lovely B&B which is near the always brilliant Hand in Hand pub and brewery whilst the Sussex drinker mentions that they are still brewing we haven’t seen their own beers in the pub for the last couple of visits. We really do hope they are still going but unfortunately haven’t had a chance to try their beers in a long time. However I did enjoy a half of Young Tom on the Friday after we booked in and dumped the bags, as usually we ended up standing outside as the pub was packed out when we got there!

Whilst the pub didn’t have any of their own beers on, they did have a bigger selection of different beers from around the country and Belgium both on cask and keg plus a good bottled selection which has been expanded nicely, this could be down to other local (can’t remember the name as it changes each time we are down there) now serving real beer. Provided they both keep good standards then this is a good thing for locals and visitors alike!

We had a terrific time in Brighton, the Saturday was spent chatting to friends old and new at a conference and the evening in the Marlborough putting the world to rights over a few drinks. As always with Brighton we can’t wait to go back and should that lottery win happen…..

Eye of the Beholder

2011-08-22T05:27:00.001-07:00

No, not a post about Dungeons and Dragons but on photography. I often borrow or nab my partner's iphone for the purposes of taking a photograph of the beer I'm about to drink but the pictures never seem to make the blog.

Yet they are one of the things I enjoy looking at on other people's blogs, so I'm going to attempt to remember to actually download my efforts and put them up on the blog... starting here!

Beer & Gender

2011-08-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

Again, I know I posted on this before but as it still is going around.

Yet again marketing research from big companies assume that we need female beers or ales to get us to drink the stuff. Why?

Seriously, why on earth would you do that?

I cannot understand about marketing departments is this need to give a drink that can (and is) enjoyed by both sexes a defined gender for a brand of it. Let's face it, partly the reason for women not drinking beer is down to gender stereotyping, beer is seen as a man's drink. This can be enforced by advertising or social rules, so why not make all your products from the stables appealing to both women and men? You know be edgy and break the mould rather than steel girdering it?

Some wines used have these labels. Yes, most men have tried and do enjoy drinking certain wines which due some advertising were seen as feminine. Because a lot of wine advertising now alternates between the sexes instead of focusing on one of them. This has made wine come back into a drink for everyone to enjoy in that wind-down after work drink. Beer markerting could do this and yet often doesn't.

A drink which is lower in alcohol for us ladies, again why? We drink spirits and wines which are at the lowest end are often 9% and go easily upto 40% depending on what it is you are drinking. I just hope these female beer products actually taste of something rather than an unexciting bubbly mehness of bland.

All you are doing by having female 'friendly' drinks is building up a wall that doesn't need to be there, make your marketing and product appeal to everyone.

Athough a pretty bottle... and you have me on that one, I love a good bottle label and if it has a matching glass I'm there.

1648 Brewing Co

2011-08-15T07:05:00.000-07:00

At the end of July we ended up in Eastbourne for the Lammas Festival which is held yearly, nice weekend out with gorgeous weather on the coast so far so good. Even better was the beer tent which was next to the stage, mainly serving 1648's beers with a couple of other breweries such as Darkstar. :)

Very nice brewery with a good selection of styles of beer, Bee-Head (4.6%) was a lovely soft tasting beer with a hint of honey coming though on the end. I liked this style of honey beer as it never tended to the beewax taste that so many do such as Waggledance.

Other great beers were Ginger No1 (4.2%), warming but light. Rather like a gentle Crabbies Ginger Beer, more refreshing in my eyes. However it was Warrant (4.8%) the porter which really caught my tastebuds to be honest. It packed a nice punch with it's intense nutty coffee flavour, despite the heat of the day it didn't overwhelm the tastebuds but just matured nicely.

Of course we could sample these without trying their Lammas Ale (4.2%) which is brewed for this festival, fantastic and I just wish we got their beers up here in London/Essex! We had a great time sitting listening to music and drinking good beer over the sunny Saturday and Sunday just a shame the weekend had to end so quickly.

Pirates of Penzance

2011-07-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

On the first Sunday we were in Penzance they held a World Record beating attempt to get the most pirates in one place, so in a way I'm a record beater (Woohoo!). They did beat Hastings, the old holder of the title as they managed to get over 8000 folks dressed as pirates along the seafront. It was brilliant, the effort some folks went to was very impressive in the extreme. There are some photographs online of this attempt and luckily I avoided those photographers.

The best pirate I saw was a bloke dressed pretty much as Captain Jack, bottle of wine in hand who walked along the seafront trying to buy various items from other tourists for 5 gold pieces. Maybe it was the booze but he had the swagger and right accent for the part and was extremely good natured.

Spingo, a local brewery had a beer tent on the harbour side which showcased nearly all of their beers. All of which were lovely, just a shame I doubt I'm going to see them up here as most Cornish pubs didn't stock them either. Ben's Stout at 4.8% was superb, thirst quenching and very morish as was their 'Special' although that one was 6.6% and Easter Special was higher at 7.6%ish mark. Fantastic beers to end the evening on, smooth and rich.

Apart from Skinners, St Austell and Otter breweries, the only different brewery was Spingo. All of them do very good beers and we didn't see one London Pride pump clip!

For more information on Spingo beers: http://www.spingoales.com/Brewery.html

Ahhhh Cornwall

2011-07-05T05:17:00.000-07:00

It was a lovely holiday and like all good holidays it had to come to an end. Not nice to think this time last week I was wandering around the Eden Project without a care in the world and today I'm stuck at my desk dealing with accounts difference and cursing salesmen. If it wasn't for the 6 and half hour train journey I would head back Cornwall..... although I doubt I would be paid, so back to accounts after lunch it is.

We arrived on Mazey Day which is a big festival in Penzance held each year (for the last 11 years) to celebrate Midsummer. The town was busy especially so when you ended towards the harboury bit, welding a wheely suitcase in desperate need for a drink my husband had no choice but to follow me to the first pub I saw that we had half a hope in getting to the bar to order a drink. Dolphin Pub and Dock Inn were packed out but the Yacht Inn around the corner was better and that first drink was lovely.

Normally I don't tend to drink Tribute, the other half likes it but I usually go for something else. However this time it was a lovely pint, better kept than I have had in London and very refreshing. Lovely way to start to unwind from a journey which started at 8.30am from Clapham Junction and ended up with the child from Hell kicking the back of my seat each time he wanted to get up.

As well as having some gorgeous St Austell beers this week, we also discovered Spingo beers thanks to a beer tent with nearly all their beers. Which I will write more about dreakly* this week. Strangely I found after a few days of drinking Tribute or Spingo's Middle that Proper Job was just too hoppy for me, normally I would say that it was gently hopped so maybe my tastebuds do need more of a change more often.

* New favourite word, means 'soon' in a Cornish way.

Oooo! Grrr!

2011-06-21T00:41:00.000-07:00

And general gnashing of teeth... Blogger is playing up and whilst I can post an entry, I can't reply to people's comments. I have reported the error and I'm not ignoring people's very valid points, I just can't reply.

Correction, I can reply but only as a Name/URL posting. Grrr.

Nowhere To Hide

2011-06-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

A lot has been said on the smoking ban and how it has affected pubs, and now we are having a similar situation with the economic downturn affecting them. One thing though I have found after two local pub closures is that these things have reduced the hiding place for crap pubs.

One of them had a brilliant sitting area with large windows to capture the light and warmth but the staff were always rude and the beer and wine were often 'off'so more often you would be drinking bottled products the staff couldn't wreak. For some reason you could overlook the crap bits for the nice place to sit and chat to your mates but when you couldn't enjoy that area because your mates smoked so you were more often than not in the awful garden complete with household waste the owners couldn't be bothered to chuck in the bins then all of a sudden those higher prices and crap service began to annoy.

The other one was always rough but with the ill behaviour spreading to the street instead of being contained indoors with a fug that would make a pea-souper look like a bit of mist, the pub really let it's true nature to be known. After the landlords tried to establish a 11am 'Happy Hour' for their regulars, people actually noticed and got together to get the pub closed. Before the smoking ban people would say it was awful and something should be done but as it didn't directly affect them nothing was done. As soon as the regulars of that pub were now lolling on the public benchs outside, fag and drink in hand and swearing loudly in the high street, it was shut quickly. For this reason I think the ban has done drinkers a favor in that the hiding places for these types of places is disappearing.

I know that there have been good pubs that have been forced to shut and there are bad pubs still going but hopefully one good side to some of the problems we have had is that the weak and poorly run ones may finally disappear. Whilst I don't agree on the ban and would have preferred pubs to have smoking and non-smoking bars again, it isn't going to be changed so this is one way of looking on the bright side.

It's All in the Name!

2011-06-14T05:26:00.000-07:00

Think you can do better than some of the breweries in naming a beer? Well here is your chance, McMullen’s are running a competition to name their August seasonal. All you have to do is buy a pint of their beer and fill in the entry form, this offer seems to be pretty much everywhere in their pubs. I spotted the posters for it in my local on Sunday.

There are tasting notes on the form so you know what the beer will be like for your naming process and this makes for a fun game with a group of friends. Easy enough to come up with a name you may think but we sat there for a long time thinking and then checking the names we came up with weren’t already being used by another brewery. Guess that is the problem with being a beer drinker, still we came up with a couple of ideas. So whilst any reader who does do this I wish them all the best but I’m sure my name is the winner. ;)

The winner gets a cash prize and other goodies but the competition ends on the 24th of June so not long to go. Get your skates on and you may very well have a beer out there with your choice of name on the pumpclip!

Power of Blogging

2011-06-01T00:40:00.000-07:00

I have been reading some (not all) of the whole CAMRA vs the bloggers thing, which just seems slightly bizarre although I can see where both sides are coming from.

However what I'm thinking is that some folks don't realise just how important blogging or bloggers opinions are worth. I'm going to say that the beauty industry also is only just now figuring out that women actually take more notice of another women's opinion from her blog about an product than what an article in a magazine. I read both perfume and beauty blogs, I know that blogger's general likes and dislikes and so if they review a product I'm interested in, their opinion can (and usually does) influence whether I buy something or not. For years beauty bloggers were sidelined until a few newer companies suddenly realised the reason for their growth was the bloggers yelling about brillant products they have found. Now companies do launch to independent bloggers knowing this is a good way of getting word out there.

Same with beer bloggers, if I see a blog I know and enjoy reading mentioning an event or beer as really good then I will be influenced by that. The point is I know from reading that blog that we roughly like similar things so the chances are I will also enjoy the event/beer. So confident I will be that I have regularly brought six bottles of beer I haven't tried before thanks to someone's post, so far this tactic works well. I have had interesting beer I may not have tried and been to pubs/events that I have thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Blogging is a powerful and free tool, yes some do get freebies but good bloggers will say that they got it free in their review. No hidden agenda as if you read something regularly you spot those quickly and can judge your reaction to their posts accordingly. Blogs by companies and their links are good to follow for news and offers but an individual's view freely given is a godsend to many new companies or services.

What are you thoughts on the power of blogs? Do you see them as powerful or not?

Recommendations Folks!

2011-05-31T11:24:00.001-07:00

At the end of June me and the other half are heading to Cornwall for a holiday and wonder if anyone has any must haves for pubs down the Penzance way?

Star Inn is already one of the pubs we will end up in after seeing it on Boak and Bailey's blog, but any others?

Super Injunctions

2011-05-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

and how long before someone uses one as part of an advertising campaign.

Let's face it for free publicity it is an amazing resource and many do believe the no publicity is bad publicity nonsense. The Twitter, Facebook and so forth posts that would spring up could be worth it.

Just a thought....

Getting Caught Out

2011-05-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

Trouble with having a blog, twitter account and FB is the fact your nearest and dearest know what you are up to without the helpful shield of PR. Not that I'm ever up to anything bad but being allowed to put forward my own version of events is better than someone adding 2 and 2 together and unfortunately coming up with 15.

Thanks to twitter my partner now knows about me trying of arranging a brewery tour for him and our friends to celebrate his birthday. (I drove him to drink you see) He also knows I am designing special invitations for said event, the artful question of 'Are the invites you mentioned on Twitter for your birthday party/drinks?' should have been met with 'No Darling, you techically arrange that one or are you admitting I do all the work?' instead of the sheepish 'No, your one' that I bleeted whilst kicking myself.

Thankfully my Mum doesn't use a computer and can't understand why we have the internet so at least I have that.

Darkside of Guest Beers

2011-05-17T02:26:00.001-07:00

Normally I am a big fan of guest beers especially in my local area but there is always a dark side to the coin and that is namely when you are away on holiday. The amount of times we have arrived at our destination, unpacked, had a cup of tea and shower then headed out to find a pub for a snack and a pint only to find that they only have guest beers on. The cheerful barperson who exclaims we are lucky they have four guests on this week, and you will easily guess which ones;

London Pride
Youngs Bitter/Winter Warmer (depending on season)
Tribute
And last but not least Broadside

All lovely beers but not usually local to where we are, but in the interest of fairness I guess regulars in that pub/area don’t normally drink them and they are going to keep the pub afloat not us on holiday. LocAle hasn’t spread to other parts of the UK yet it seems, I just wish that with the guests that there would be one pump on with a local brewery’s beer.

Even more ironic was a mini beer festival we happened on, with all London beers in Oxford. Oh well, had to partake otherwise it would be rude!

Free W(h)ine

2011-05-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

I really don't understand breweries or pub chains that only do the 'free wine' with a dinner offer. Youngs do it and now I see Nicholsons are doing it too, ironically I saw the Nicholson's offer in the London Drinker of all places.

Surely they would be better off to do the offer as either a pint of beer or glass of wine, unless of course the main aim is to get you buy more wine after the freebie and I'm guessing there may be more mark-up on the wine. However when it is a brewery pub that runs these offers I can't see that. Surely you want to promote your wares not a vineyard?

Come on Guys, if I go to a pub there is a good chance I will be drinking beer rather than wine. So why limit your audience for the deal?

Old Favourites

2011-05-12T04:32:00.000-07:00

As much as I like discovering new breweries and beers I do love going back to my old favourites. Maybe not the most ‘fashionable’ of beers but ones I know that when I see them at the bar I will enjoy sitting back with and drinking. They don’t necessarily challenge my taste buds but they always leave a wonderful taste memory after they are gone.

My favourites (in no real order) are;

Fuller’s London Porter – I was grimly waiting for the taste of other black pint which I tried this at a pub the first time and was knocked over by how different it was. This beer did also inspire me to try other stouts and porters but it remains a firm favourite whenever I see it.

McMullen’s Cask – My local brewery and this is probably the beer I drink the most of. Lovely subtle pint which can be warming on a cold day or refreshing on a hot one. Perfect in nearly any occasion.

Timothy Taylor’s Ram Tam – Yes, I know this is Landlord with caramel but it is a gorgeous pint.

Fuller’s ESB – Remains my favourite bitter despite numerous other attempts to the title by others. Gorgeous marmalade flavours mingling with the bitter depths.

Those are mine, so what are yours?

The Week Drags ON!

2011-05-11T05:32:00.001-07:00

It's doesn't take long for you to get used to short working weeks does it?

This week looked like a long one at the start of the week but now seems even longer this Wednesday lunchtime, we have another 2.5 days to go until the weekend. To think on Sunday I was sitting in a warm pub garden overlooking the Thames with a half in my hand and watching the world pass by, just makes me want to weep now I'm stuck at this desk.

Nothing is better in my mind than sitting in a nice pub either on my own with a book or with my partner or friends. Last weekend's visit to Kingston upon Thames was great, we went to Boaters for lunch, which was the pub on the river. Lovely food and beer was consumed, fat chips with a massive lump of fish and freshly made tartre sauce all washed down with some good beers from the Dorking Brewery and Twickenham Brewery.

One thing I enjoy from pubs is the people watching you can do, and if you are anything like me that will involve making up background stories for them. Perhaps I should have gone into script writing rather than accounts? However the weekend is a short fleeting thing and now I'm at work again. Not only I'm at work but at work for five days rather than the lovely four I was too quickly getting used to!

Still, at least I can look forward to my holiday in June and the lovely things I will be doing, none of which involve accounts or spreadsheets or annoying colleagues.

More a Cask than a Bottle

2011-05-04T00:45:00.000-07:00

At the moment anyways.

A bit tongue in cheek really, I was thinking about all the folks that run in costumes for various marathons. Many friends who watched the Virgin London Marathon commented that it was amusing to see the Fuller's bottle sprint ahead of the Lucozade bottle. Unfortunately my googling skills have deserted me this morning so I still don't know what times either of them got.

It was nice to go out running in the Dorset countryside last week knowing as I sat down to a delish pub lunch that I had burnt off most of it by running. Other pluses included running with wonderful scenery rather than the views I currently have locally which are groups of feral children smoking in the local park nor was I treated to people who think it funny to blow smoke into my face as I run past. Folks in Dorset seem more adult about running and just let you past without comment. The smell of the countryside some mornings was a bit much but who can control a herd of cows who wish to trumpet in the dawn?

I only managed a couple of runs though due to a achy knee but it's getting better now for next week when the running resumes, not before time either, the smell of Deep Heat is getting to me.

Thinking ahead though I did manage to enter the ballot for a place in next years VLM, but I won't know if I am successful until October. Sadly even though I am losing weight I don't think a bottle costume would work, if any brewer has a cask costume then I could currently be more suitable for that. Obviously the aim is to be in a dinky 330ml can of beer costume by the end of the year.

Brodie's Bunny Basher Festival

2011-05-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

I meant to write about this yesterday but due to dodgy internet connection (damn you BT) I am posting today instead. We went on the Saturday, for me this meant just a couple of buses but my other half who was staying in South West London had a longer journey so I waited for him in the pub with a pint of Mild (3.6% ABV). It was a good way to sit back and enjoy my first moments of the festival as I arrived as they were opening and I could watch the first few beer tickers at the bar, good natured toshing about the lack of new beers on and buying a new beer magazine to read whilst I waited.

The beers turned over fast on the day, as soon as one beer was gone another was quickly brought on. I realised halfway though that the good natured beer tickers had disappeared early on and came back in the late afternoon to try the newer beers. Sneaky! :)

From my notes here are a few of the highlights for me of this brilliant festival;

Mild 3.6% ABV, lovely flavoursome mild with a smoky aftetaste.
Cherry popper 4.0% ABV, interesting take on fruit beer almost a cherry lager in taste than a cherry beer.
Old Ardour 5.0% ABV, iron-tanged bitter, very smooth.
Romanov 12.1% ABV, I have had this in bottle form and on cask it is just as gorgeous, I love stouts like this.
Triple 13.3% ABV, strawberry tasting belgium style beer, surprisingly I really liked it as it is not my normal style of beer.
Elizabethan 22.0% ABV, this is gorgeous, smells of sherry and coffee which follow though on the mouth as you drink it. This is rather special indeed.
Summer Berry 3.5% ABV, one of my partner's favourites from this festival, soft berry flavour with a nice tang to it at the end to lift the sweetness.

The festival was very busy and also a very friendly festival too, I would use this festival to introduce newer drinkers to beer. The food was good too, didn't have the bunny burgers but we did try the other options which were rather good indeed. We had a lovely day and we can't wait to go back again.

Badger Brewery's Firkin Fox

2011-04-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

4.3% ABV

We have been in Dorset for the last week, it has been a lovely break. Not much to do apart from seeing places, long walks and gorgeous pub lunches.

The Fox is the newest seasonal beer from Hall & Woodhouse, a foxy auburn beer with a fluffy foamy head which lasts to the bottom of the glass. Well named, as it does remind me of Mr Tod from Beatrix Potter books in beer form although it would have been more perfect if the pub had been serving bunny pie as well.

It is has a biscuityness to balance the bitter flavour and goes well with food. Lovely smooth drinking pint and I hope to see more of it should it make it to London.

London Marathon

2011-04-14T04:24:00.000-07:00

It's nearly here, this Sunday is the Virgin London Marathon.

Hopefully it will be nice weather but not the boiling temperatures that last Sunday's Brighton Marathon had. It is a great race to cheer folks on and watch the bizarre and unusual costumes that some mad people are running in.

Like last year Fullers' London Pride is supporting the VLM and will have places along the route for folks to try a sample of this stunning beer. Click here for details:

http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=151

If you are running then Good Luck and I hope you have a great experience on the day, all your training will now pay off especially when you pass the finish line and get that prized finishers medal.

In a related note you can buy the London Pride running vests from Foska.com or in my case I have brought the ESB one for my running. I'm going to imagine in my head that one day I will be running this great race!

Royal Wedding Beers

2011-04-08T05:40:00.001-07:00

Brewer’s love a wedding as much as the rest of us and so with the upcoming nuptials they have been busy bees in the brewery. Surprisingly given some of the weird and dodgy names that brewers come up with so far the ones I have found advertised on the internet have been quite tasteful and refined, so far so good! Here are a the few I have found;

Windsor & Eton Brewery’s Windsor Knot 4%
Adnam’s Royal Wedding Ale 4.1%
McMullen Brewery’s Royal Celebration Ale 4%
Wadworth Brewery’s Better Half 4%
Castle Rock Brewery’s Kiss Me Kate 5%
Wold Top Brewery’s I Will 4.8%
Same name as Chiltern Brewery’s I Will 3.6% although Chiltern’s beer will be in numbered bottles.

I hope to see if I can try a couple of these although I will be travelling that day so I doubt I will see the wedding it’s self unless the train happens to develop TVs and license.

Some folks have mocked the breweries for producing these beers saying that people won’t want to celebrate with beer, personally I would rather have a beer at a outdoor celebration than wine which is normally served too warm and it’s too much. Whereas beer is more easily drinkable.

Any others people would like to mention or any thoughts on have wedding beers in this day and age?

Grrr

2011-04-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

For some reason Blogger won't let me put in paragraphs and lumps them together. My last post is a tad difficult to read because of this. Sorry.

Beer & Running Folks

2011-04-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly I have kept on running since last year and it has been a great way to get to know the youth in my area, if by know we mean having abuse yelled at you and the highly amusing 'Run Fatty' which they seem to enjoy yelling to any female out for a run. Still it is easy to ignore the buggers especially as any attempt for them to run means they are bend double hacking a lung out after two minutes. I have no excuse not to run as I have paid my hard earned money for a place in a half marathon, I will be up to the running of 13.1 miles by October by hook or crook!

One thing I have realised is by and large runners are a friendly bunch who are more than happy to smile or give a thumbs up as you pass on the pavement but like the world of beer you get ones who don't. Mainly as I shockingly discovered overhearing a conversation between two blokes at the bus stop because they view those who don't spend their weeks clocking up miles you would expect a rep in a car then you aren't a runner. If you walk for a couple of minutes in a long run then some get get snotty about you labelling yourself a runner as well. You get folks like this at beer festivals as well, if you don't go miles for a pint of the rare beer or etc. You get my point, there are folks who have funny ideas about almost anything.

For me running has allowed me to so far get beyond thirty minutes of running without collapsing on the floor screaming and to enjoy the first sip of a pint after a race with a smug glow of achievement. Not bad for someone who as a child would find any excuse to avoid PE at school!

Wandsworth Common Beer Festival Spring 2011

2011-03-26T01:35:00.000-07:00

On the spur of the moment we decided last night to head out to this beer festival, it was busy and got busier as the night got on but hardly any beers were off on this friday night so perhaps we have cracked the way to success for this lovely festival. Sadly I don't get many days holiday (just the legal minimum *sniff*) so taking a day off just to go to a beer festival isn't going to happen but turning up at 7pm on a friday works well.

Again the lovely Royal Victoria Patriotic Building was the setting, it truely is a beautiful building and on a warm night it is nice to stand in the garden with a drink. Seats were in short supply but that didn't bother folks at all, this festival is popular with all age groups from 18 to 80-odd and has the same mix of the sexes that you get in any pub around here.

We decided to pretty much stick to breweries we hadn't tried before or beers we just hadn't had luck in trying before. Andwell Brewing Company is a new one for both of us and both the beers we tried were top notch, King John 4.6% is a rich fruity beer with very hoppy overtones and the Ruddy Darter 4.6% was a lot like Sarah Hughes Mild but more abv friendly, we will be looking out for their beers in future. From Ascots Ales we tried the Ascot Cob 4.5% which worked although I wasn't initally sure of the idea, it was a soft hazelnutlyness to porter flavours and it worked really well. I tried their Anastasia's Sloe Stout 5.0% which smelt strongly of sloes but taste wise was very subtle, not bitter at all which as anyone who tried made sloe gin will know what I mean by that.

My partner couldn't resist Dark Side of the Moose 4.6% mainly because of the name I suspect, I loved the fact this brewery's barrels were a purple colour. Neither of us had heard of the Purple Moose Brewery in Wales but the beer was nice and again we will look out for them in future, in my case because I would be interested in seeing what their pumpclips are like! Redemption Brewery's Fellowship Porter 5.1% was the best of the porters I tried last night, gorgeous coffee fruitiness that slipped down easily.

The only duff notes of the night for me were that Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild wasn't in good condition, cloudy and a bit socky (end of the barrel maybe, it looked like they had been rocking it) and the Brodies' Romanov Empress Stout had run out but these are minor duff notes and happens at any event.

The beers we had and the atmosphere last night was fantastic so if anyone is free today and is looking for a friendly beer festival, get yourself here.

Hare Raiser – McMullen

2011-03-17T04:02:00.001-07:00

ABV 4.0%

This is the latest in seasonals for the McMullen brewery, it is a lovely golden bitter which slips down nicely on a warm spring day. This would be a great pint for a balmy summer’s evening too come to think of it. It’s made according to the McMullen website with one hundred per cent Styrian Golding hops which are the reason for its citrus notes but it is citrusly without being astringent unlike a lot of the lighter beers I have had before in spring.

These lighter beers are not normally my taste at all and usually I just end up avoiding them but so far all the ones I have tried this year have been lighter and less in your face than last year’s versions. While I don’t mind being challenged there is a point where enough is enough, I drink beer generally in a relaxed atmosphere with either a book or with friends. I enjoy the flavour and taste of beer and it doesn’t need to slap me in the face to get my attention. So this type of beer with it’s soft easy going charm is wonderful.

It is a cracker of a beer which I heartily recommend folks try whilst it’s around before like the crème eggs it disappears for the year.

Victoria Tavern – Loughton

2011-03-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

This is the best pub as far as I am aware of in Loughton, just nearly bordering Epping Forest. I remember vaguely going to this pub with my parents when years ago we lived around here; it was no children allowed in the bar back then too.

The Victoria Tavern is lovely old fashioned looking pub with a small bar in the middle of a long narrow room. There are five hand pumps offering a selection of beers, on this occasion it was Adnams’ Bitter, Green King IPA, Doombar, Taylor’s Landlord and Black Sheep. The beers we tried were well kept and enjoyable after our long walk in the forest to find Loughton Camp an Iron Age fort. The Black Sheep was especially gorgeous here. They don’t accept cards here which is unusual now but as Loughton High Street with its numerous banks is only a short walk away it’s not a problem. It surprised us how peaceful the pub is despite being very busy and only a five minute walk from the very busy high street.

Food at the Victoria Tavern is outstanding, all the food we saw coming out of the kitchen looked amazing. The hubby had bangers and mash whilst I went for the steak and ale pie with mash however we both saw other dishes we would like to come back here to try. The meals were large enough for our heightened appetite after the 4 mile walk though the forest yet not to large that you would feel intimidated by the portion size.

Good food and beer by the forest, what more could you want on a sunny spring day?

You do have to put up with some daft folks in Loughton and for a very good description there is a great review here on the 20th Feb 2011:
http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/58/5854/Victoria_Tavern/Loughton

Victoria Tavern
165 Smarts Lane
Loughton
IG10 4BP

Why I Like Pubs

2011-03-09T08:21:00.001-08:00

By Meer for Beer aged 30-odd years old

Just thought I would write about the good things about pubs instead of reading about pubs closing or going downhill. Pubs are great places when the balance is right, with good management from the landlord who is backed up by a good brewery or just a good landlord in his own freehold.

I like the way that they all have their own personality stamps, well all the nice ones do. Yes, some breweries are ‘upgrading’ their pubs into wine bar type affairs but the ones which are busy day in and day out I have seen are ones that have that independent feel to them. For example The Harp or the Cask Pub & Kitchen in London both have a unique and independent vibe despite being totally different pubs. The Crown in Waltham Abbey is brewery owned but is a more relaxed pub which is different to the other same brewery pubs in the area.

Pubs I go to on a regular basis have good staff and rarely have a duff moment, I like the smile hello you get when you come in the door even if you aren’t a regular and the fact that I can if I want have a coffee in peace without someone’s child under my feet unlike the local cafes. I love being able to sit with a pint and a good book and be left in my own world.

Beer is always served in good condition without any input from me other than asking and paying for it, no storing bottles carefully because of sediment and pouring carefully, just a foaming pint of beer in my hand ready to drink. Brilliant.

Just a few reasons why I like pubs.

Don't Just Think25 but Think!

2011-03-07T05:34:00.001-08:00

Flattering as it was on Friday night to be asked for ID to prove I was at least 25 (I'm a good 6 years older than that), it highlights some major problems for the system if you don't carry the correct ID with your date of birth on it.

It is difficult out there for businesses with councils and police using very deceptive traps to catch places serving to underage folks. I understand this but... seriously I don't get asked for ID normally and as such I don't carry my passport around nor a driving licence. The passport is safely hidden away at home for when I need for a holiday and my driving licence is also at home because I only have a learners one which is kept with my folder for lessons.

I was paying with a credit card, it is not a form of ID but to have credit card at still proves I'm old enough to legally drink in this country. If it's not my credit card then there are more serious problems here than underage drinking.

All I ask is that a bit of common sense is applied to the Think25 campaign, which I do consider a good idea in general but it has been reduced to two forms of ID for most places. It appears others have had serious problems with Sainsburys, folks with national ID cards (italian and portguese cards) with photos and date of birth are not accepted, if you don't have a passport or driving licence it's tough.

Last of all, I was the only person stopped with my single bottle of wine. Everyone else was buying multipacks of lager/cider I note none of them were asked on the other tills. I feel sorry for the cashier who had to ask but Friday night is felt like I was a tick box to make sure that she asked someone for ID that night.

On the other hand it did give my partner a bloody good laugh when I told him. He laughed for a solid five minutes.......

A Break Does You Good

2011-02-07T05:24:00.001-08:00

After a mammoth session one Saturday I decided to go dry for a couple of weeks, it's been a nice break and it's kick started my running to more serious level.

Breaking my 'fast' was a lovely pint of McMullen's IPA, just the treat after a heavy morning's shopping. We have a new second hand bookshop near where I live and after spending time trawling though the new arrivals our throats were dry and dusty. No good secondhand book shop is well dusted after all.

Lovely to sip and chat about the type of things couples do in a warm pub.

Thank You

2011-01-16T02:26:00.000-08:00

The wonderful staff and customers at The Harp in Covent Garden who found my partner's annual rail ticket and didn't even accept a reward.

Thank you, it's nice to know there are honest people out there.

Longer Hours?

2011-01-13T00:49:00.000-08:00

After the calls of binge drinking britain hitting the newspapers and the governments thoughts on how they are going to deal with it, again the government has done a u-turn and are considering letting opening hours to be increased to 1am for the Friday of the royal wedding and the Saturday afterwards.

Upside is the fact there will be a nice party atmosphere in the pubs I go to, possiblity of food being put on and happy customers make a pub to be a perfect place to watch something like this on a TV. The chance of celebration beers from the breweries to go with the wedding as you watch it would be nice too.

Downside is the folks who will use this as a chance to get wreaked for longer, no doubt it will be this lot that get on the covers of the newspapers. Sad but this sells more news than shots of folks enjoying themselves without getting drunk and stupid.

Whining Won't Work

2011-01-11T12:37:00.000-08:00

It didn't work with your parents when you were young and it won't work with the government now you're bigger.

Pubs will raise their prices as the brewery does, raises in tax/duty on fuel to transport the beer will be much a part of the price increase as the increase in duty. It is time to face facts, the government will put up duty and taxes on beer because it does bring in the money, hopefully to pay off the debt the country is in and not for duck houses but we shall see.

Of course we all could step out our houses and hold a revolution, in the words of V 'People shouldn't be afraid of their government, the government should be afraid of their people.' But lets face it, unlikely.

January’s Jolly Offerings

2011-01-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

I sit here smugly knowing I didn’t gain any weight over the festive period, mainly thanks to going to work for three days of it. Whilst people pitied me for having to go in I knew better, I was always from the cheese board and biscuits and thus weight gain though stilton mountains was not going to occur.

However as per many a person I do want to continue to lose weight this year so running shoes are firmly on in the evenings and many a cutback of cheese delight has happened this month already. As we all know everything in moderation is fine so…this leads us onto more seasonal beers;

Allgates Brewery’s Mad Monk 7.1%
Rebellion Brewery’s Overdraft 4.3%
Loddon Brewery’s Firsty The Snowman 4.2%
Oakleaf Brewing Co’s Stokers Stout 5.0%
Ossett Brewery’s South Pacific IPA 5.0%
Sharps Brewery’s Winter Cornish Stout 4.3%
Darkstar Brewery’s Hophead Amarillo 3.8%

Cheese and beer matching won’t happen here though.

Great British Beer

2011-01-04T12:30:00.000-08:00

Well it is great, but it's not the actual liquid I'm thinking about here but a rather nifty little booklet I found on Sunday in the Bricklayers Arms in Putney.

It is a Camra publication and I wish I had this when I first started drinking beer, it's clear and easy to read. One of the first of it's kind I have read that advertises beer without slagging of other alcoholic beverages. It explains about handpumps and real beer as per Camra guidelines with a light section on beer ingredients which is informative but not boring and then the bulk of the booklet is about the different beer styles. Brilliant piece of work.

And even better, it is free where pubs have them on display so you have something to read when you are sitting there with your drink. Thumbs up!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T03:22:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a brilliant time and heads are not too sore this morning.

McMullen’s Stronghart

2010-12-30T03:55:00.000-08:00

7% ABV

This has been my Christmas tipple of choice this year, quite a lovely strong warming bitter for the season. Currently it is only available in bottles, which my local landlord liked as he could keep selling it whilst keeping the full range of their other beers on the pumps. Something I agree with too as it happens, this way other beer I fancy isn’t punted off the pumps, always a winner.

It pours quite lively with a tan coloured head and rich dark golden brown appearance. On the nose it smells of sweetness and spices which after the first alcohol hit in the taste comes though in buckets. Highly enjoyable in its bottle form but I would love to try it on cask just taste the difference although I could see why bottle would be better as your pubs can order smaller or larger quantities depending on their customers taste.

It is also a lovely pint when topped up with a bottle of McMullen’s very own Pale Ale, bitter and pale ale who would have thought it. :) Certainly a winter warmer even if a bit lethal, it was this combining which meant I slowly drank in the pub but it was worth it. I like being able to have a pint or half of something stronger within a session on a cold winters evening and this is a great drink for it.

Possibly another beer for the aging process I feel, if it lasts that long. In either case it’s a case of Stronghart in the online shopping basket, shame they don’t sell their Pale Ale online too.

For more information: http://www.mcmullens.co.uk/ourbeers.php

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T00:37:00.000-08:00

As it is Christmas Eve I write this from my work desk awaiting the time when we down tools (aka calculator and keyboard) and head out for the festive session in the pub.

Stronghart, the McMullen seasonal bottle beer is calling to me from my local and as soon as the boss gets fed up with us all and boots us out the door I'll be heading to my local. Hopefully my lovely partner will be there already with one poured for me.

So this is the last post before the big day.

This is Meer For Beer signing off with hugs and beer with Best Wishes for Christmas!

Have a lovely day folks.

Samuel Smiths

2010-12-22T05:20:00.000-08:00

I love the time when a group of people come into one of these pubs and say “I’ll have a pint of Ste…..” which trails off as they realise no, they can’t. The only goods sold in these pubs are the Samuel Smiths brands, even the spirits, crisps and soft drinks are all branded to this brewery. I believe the only brewery to do so in England, in America I see Goose Island have an own range of soft drinks but I bet they haven’t got this far in the branding.

Not everyone’s pint of beer but I rarely find a bad one of their pubs, just recently London pubs have been having a bit of tart up and a new lick of paint. Unlike many other breweries when this company do up a pub there is no danger of it becoming a wine bar affair rather than a pub. The Crown near Tottenham Court Road has fairly recently been done and it now a very nice place to wander into for a drink, many have commented on the work done to the Princess Louise in Holborn which is frankly stunning.

The brewery pubs do have a soft place in the hearts of those who go to them, each pub in unique and many with unusual and beautiful features that the Brewery takes care not to lose. The London pubs have been the focus of many a pub challenge, this one http://www.samsmithschallenge.co.uk/ is one of the best detailed maps for finding their pubs. Good Beer guide is useless for these as brewery’s beers are not considered real beer under CAMRAs guidelines sadly.

Pricewise they only usually put up their prices when duty goes up and when by the same amount which is unusually fair in this day and age. Bottle beers are more expensive than pump but not to a ridiculous point, the range is good too. Taddy Porter and the Oatmeal Stout being personally favourites and they are especially lovely on a cold winter’s day in front of a warm fire in a pub accompanied by a book and my mobile switched off so I can’t disturbed by the Husband who has probably realised I haven’t gone shopping but will be in a pub somewhere. Bliss.

Brewery Webpage: http://www.samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk/
And yes, it is a webpage not website; they may have joined the 21st century but only just.

Attention Those Who Run on Beer!

2010-12-12T05:13:00.000-08:00

I would be very surprised if you haven't noticed the charity appeal banner on this blog just recently but there is another side to the charity coin...the London Marathon.

It's the biggest and bestest one in the world and held in London, have your chance to beat the London Pride Bottle's time!

Or alternatively run with the bottle and try and blag a couple of pints at the finishing line! :)

Now for the Serious bit;

Run the Virgin London Marathon 2011 for Whizz-Kidz!

Whizz-Kidz, disabled children’s charity, has places available in the world’s best marathon – the London Marathon 2011.

To run for Whizz-Kidz, you need to fundraise a minimum of £1600. Please contact Jess on j.leigh@whizz-kidz.org.uk (or call 0207 233 9696) for more information.

Closing date: January 2011.

Web: http://www.whizz-kidz.org.uk/getinvolved/events/floralondonmarathon/

Anchor Brewing Company – Old Foghorn

2010-12-08T05:32:00.000-08:00

8.2% ABV

I enjoy Barleywine beers, for me they are THE winter choice but they are becoming awkward to find. This was the only one I could find in otherwise well packed beer shop and it’s not even a British barleywine. I miss the days of Old Nick from Youngs, that was a great beer that was so wonderful for sipping on a winters evening.

However this was the only one I could find on Friday so what’s it like? The beer itself pours well, a rich cherryique colour with a fluffy off white head that lasts well but will go into a fine lacing towards the bottom of the drink. Dry and sweet like sherry. Unlike British versions which are golden syrupy and coats the mouth with a sweet alcoholic kick. This American version is drier on the end which totally neutralises the sweet first notes from the beer. Not sure I really like that in a Barleywine, I enjoy the lingering sweetness of the British versions.

I will say I am not convinced the bottles I had were kept brilliantly as the tasting notes from American reviewers mention that it is dry but not the level of dryness I had so maybe the batch these were from didn’t travel well or weren’t kept in the best conditions in the shop. So with this in mind I am going to be open-ended in my review, the first notes were gorgeous honey tasting barley maltness that was morish and gorgeous, the slight dryness was appealing but the overwhelming dry almost mustiness is so jarring I will take as a sign of the beer on it’s way out.

All in all I do recommend you try this beer, it is not the same as our versions of this style but it is a lovely version from across the sea.

For More Information: http://www.anchorbrewing.com

December's Delights

2010-12-02T05:21:00.001-08:00

After last year’s slightly disappointing Christmas beer apart from Loddon’s Razzle Dazzle which was stunning, I have been planning my festive beer drinking. I will have bottles after this weekend hiding around the house and my order of stronger beers will be done to beat the government’s stupid plans for higher tax on some beers.

I think on the whole it is the high percentage beers that cost a lot of money that have attracted the government eye, rather like high earners who have to pay 50% tax do. Makes me glad I am a lowly paid minion, the only reason I am but anyway…..

To get back on track..seasonal beers, here is a sneak ticking list I want to try and get around;

Harvey’s Christmas Ale 8.1%
Wayland’s Marley’s Ghost 5.2%
Fuller’s Old Winter Ale 4.8%
St Austell’s Raisins To Be Cheerful 5.5%
Sharps’ Abbey Christmas 4.6%
Otter Brewery’s Otter Claus 5.0%
Cotleigh’s Red Nose Reinbeer 4.5%
Titanic Brewery’s Deck The Halls 4.2%
Crouch Vale’s Happy Santa 4.3% and also Santa’s Revenge 5.0%

I like Crouch Vale’s duel beers concept. This month should be better than last year, can’t wait.

And remember it can’t be Christmas unless there are puns in some of the beers names

Sambrooks - Powerhouse Porter

2010-11-29T04:01:00.000-08:00

4.9% ABV

It was rather cold with a stiff breeze on Sunday so my partner and I headed to the Harp in Covent Garden to warm up before going off seasonal shopping. Didn’t see the Thornstar beer on pump which we were there but there was a rather nice mild from Crouch Vale and the newest of the Sambrook beers.

Just the ticket to warm you up on a cold winter’s day, strangely it was only a few months ago that we were discussing Sambrooks and were in agreement they needed a darker beer to complete a triad of good beers. It was great to see they had brewed a rather attractive looking and tasting porter.

This was an enjoyable pint, admittedly my husband’s pint but in marriage you share everything. Tang-wise I can usually always pinpoint certain breweries by some part of their taste, for me Sambrooks has a metallic tang. I assume this must be something to do with the water they use or something in the brewing style as Fullers always has a marmalade tang and McMullen’s a dried herby taste. All enjoyable but sound slightly weird when describing.

Looking forward to what they brew next now.

Darkstar Green Hop IPA

2010-11-18T06:07:00.000-08:00

6.5% ABV

Didn’t think I was going to enjoy this one but I was wrong on so many levels of assumption. It is like many hoppy beers, a light honey golden pint with a fluffy head which disappears apart from a fine lacing around the top of the pint Attractive but usually the only part I find attractive. A lot of the hoppy beers I have tried are unbalanced, nothing to 'stop the hop' from overwhelming everything else. This time the beer was light in mouth, sweet but bitter and really amazing.

Light citrus taste, grapefruit in syrup is the thing that springs to my mind. This is a really gorgeous balanced beer; despite its strength it is really smooth in the mouth. The sweetness is more a honeyed syrupiness which counters the earthy hops leaving a lovely bitter hint of taste in the mouth. Highly quaffable is my other thought, so much so I had drunken half a pint before remembering the strength.

Darkstar once again you have gotten me to change my assumptions and suspicions, well done for such an excellent beer!

Time For Another?

2010-11-17T05:53:00.000-08:00

It doesn’t matter if you are sitting down at home with a beer and a book or whether you are in the pub with your mates for your Saturday meet-up, having a beer is your time.

For me, beer isn’t just a beverage to knock back as fast as you can just so you can go onto the next one, its role is varied. It’s the drink I enjoy whilst curled up with a good book, it is part of the enjoyable experience of having those couple of hours of peace. Times spent with friends either passing various glasses around so we can all taste the various pints brought or individual pints drunk during a good afternoon of talking and laughing.

Perhaps this isn’t the right subject matter for what sparked this post off but when I think of time and beer it’s memories rather than good aged beers I remember. A group of friends chatting around a bottle of wine is one of the most used advertisements for wine there is and I think it’s one that beer adverts don’t use enough. Memories of great evening can be brought back by the mere sight of the pump clip on the bar and those thoughts tend to influence you on your choice too.

Time for another? The phrase we often hear used with an empty glass being shook gently by a mate as they head to the bar. Beer is a sociable drink and it’s amazing how much time can be made for just one more pint with a mate and how much we look forward to it. National institution in a way, not alcohol marred by drunken idiots on cheap vodka shots that make the cover of the Daily Mail but beer enjoyed in a social environment with friends. Happy but not drunk, that stage where time seems to linger and you make it home in time for a good night’s sleep before getting up still feeling good in the morning.

Time has a lot to do with beer, the whole process it takes to make it, age it at home if you like but the most important time to me is when it is time to drink it.

Movember

2010-11-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

OK Chaps pay attention, I know how much you all enjoy the lady wife’s missives but I feel the need to interject.

For those of you who are unaware we currently 10 days into Movember , what’s Movember? I hear you cry.

Well Movember is when we chaps spend the month attempting to look like Cooking Lager’s profile picture while raising money for the fight against prostate cancer, all with the support of the good lady of course.

Further details on this splendid event can be found here http://uk.movember.com/?home

Wonderful stuff but you are of course here to read about beer and so I won’t disappoint you; the splendid chaps at The Warwickshire Beer Co. (http://www.warwickshirebeer.co.uk//) are supporting Movember with a special edition pump clip designed to raise awareness of Movember in pubs across the country. A contribution from every pint sold is going to support Movember so look out for it.

Should you wish to support this correspondent’s effort his MoSpace page can be found here http://uk.movember.com/mospace/1090132

We now return you to your regular programming.

Is It Real Or Not?

2010-11-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

So if it's not real ale then is it just a shadow on the pub wall?

Of course not.

Camra define real ale as:
"Real ale is a natural product brewed using traditional ingredients and left to mature in the cask (container) from which it is served in the pub through a process called secondary fermentation. It is this process which makes real ale unique amongst beers and develops the wonderful tastes and aromas which processed beers can never provide."
Taken from here: http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=100330

If it doesn't work according to this then it's not real ale/beer, however surely this should be rethought on a regular basis? For me dogma is a useful tool, if everyone agrees to the basic points then everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet and can march forward as one. Where dogma goes bad is when it becomes so embeded in stone that it becomes a millstone around the neck of the movement, causing it to fall out of sync with the world which is moving ahead unencumbered.

The first paragraph on the Camra page for me is more important, it was defined as a way of showing the customer the difference between traditional beers/ales and mass produced beer by creating a brand image of their own for the product. And lets be honest they did the industry and the customers a fantastic service by doing this, beer in this country really improved with their work educating the customer on the differences between products.

However the emphasis they place on cask now still has a point but keg and non-bottle conditioned beers have improved by leaps and bounds. There is a big difference in my opinion between good keg beer and mass produced beer such as Guinness, and this should be celebrated as cask beer was back in the first days of Camra.

I don't believe cask will stop being made with good keg beers being recognised, I think it would be another string to the bow of any brewer. Inform the customer on the differences between cask and keg by all means but also inform the customer on the differences between good keg and bad keg.

These are just my first thoughts on this from reading Pete Brown's blog here on the subject:
http://petebrown.blogspot.com/2010/11/real-ale-preference-or-dogma.html

Brewdog American Double IPA

2010-11-04T06:50:00.001-07:00

9.2% ABV

As stated before I don’t really go for overly hoppy beers but this was at a price that was reasonable for a try. I do wonder though if this is Hardcore IPA under another name, as the style of IPA and the alcohol percentage is exactly the same. However Hardcore is £2.39 and not available around here, so I can’t do a comparison. Not that I wouldn’t pay £2.39 for a beer before anyone says anything, I just prefer one more balanced than a hopped for hell one.

It pours into quite an attractive drink, deep golden liquid with a fluffy light golden head which stays until the last sip. It smells of syrupy hops to me with a citrus edge, I didn’t get candied orange peel as was suggested on the bottle but a fresh citrus scent. First gulp wise I got a big whack of hops and alcohol tempered by the syrupiness that I could smell, however as I drank the sweetness disappears totally and it gradually just gets more and more bitter. This is quite a challenge to drink and if I’m honest its one that I couldn’t say was necessarily a worthy one.

The alcohol taste is harsh, which I do wonder if after a year’s or so aging would improve and soften out. It is to this end the other two bottles I brought are safely tucked away, hidden from cat paws and thirsty beer drinkers alike.

If this is Hardcore IPA under a different branding then I can’t see the reasoning behind doing this, it isn’t an easy drink and I doubt it would win many fans without the ‘Brewdog’ brand to temper its taste. Guess we will find out if the Finest labelled version ends up on special!

November’s Novelties

2010-11-02T02:26:00.001-07:00

My cold is clearing up and I hope by the weekend I will once again be able to drink beer and taste it. My local Tescos has the new-ish Brewdog beer in their Finest collection and I have three bottles at home to try although I may age one or two of them. From what I can see on the label it is a hoppy hop hop beer which is not normally to my taste as a style but I like to try these things every so often. Trashy Blonde, which I didn’t think I was going to enjoy was a nice beer on pump so I’m not about to write this one off without trying it, especially as the price is more than reasonable. Currently on three for £4 pounds at most branches.

Fullers have Bengel Lancer back for their November seasonal which is a fine beer and I will be back to have that again at a pub soon. But lets have a brief look at what else is available this month;

Darkstar Brewery: Green Hopped IPA 6.5%
Little Valley Brewery: Gustibus 5.2%
Loddon Brewery: Oarsome 4.4%
Sharps Brewery: Abbey Christmas 4.6%
Tom Wood’s Brewery: Jolly Ploughman 5.0%
Ossett Brewery: Winters T’Ale 5.0%

I confess I have already tried the Tom Wood’s seasonal which is a nice pint but does remind me of the chutney that goes with a good ploughman’s lunch so I will probably try this again with one as a food and drink comparing.

Wandsworth Halloween Beer Festival 2010

2010-11-01T04:28:00.001-07:00

Despite having the reminder of a cold, I headed up to this festival with some friends for a good afternoon of beer drinking, comparing and chattering. The beer was reduced by the Saturday but not as much as the March festival where I am sure they were caught out by how successful the beer festival had become by word of mouth.

This is a great venue for a festival although I wish they would clear the restaurant area and allow folks up there earlier rather than confining folks to the bar and garden. However this is only a small niggle, as the festival is always friendly and charming with great people working behind the bar.

Ascots’ Anastasia Stout was a real highlight for me, probably my beer of the festival. Thick syrupy style of stout that coated the mouth in it’s gloriousness of taste. So good we ended up getting it again later on in the afternoon. Ascots’ Double Trouble was a good example of a Belgium style beer but it was too flat, it needed the fizzy bubbles of a Belgium beer to lift it in my opinion. However the Penguin Porter was termed as a hug in a glass by our table, warm and comforting. It would be perfect for a cold winter’s day to curl up beside the fireplace with.

Blindmans Brewery did extremely well at our table; their beers were all consistently good. Eclipse being my favourite with its Green & Black’s chocolate style top notes, Icarus was a good second and Siberia coming last even though we all enjoyed the beer it just wasn’t as good as its stable mates.

Moorhouse had a very good showing at the festival too; Black Cat is still the best mild in the world for me despite good competition from Sarah Hughes. I know that definitely one of our group will not agree with me on that one but that’s the great thing about beer you can disagree but still enjoy the beer.

All in all we had a great time at the festival, lots of new beers tried and enjoyed. A few beers we couldn’t get, but are available as bottles for us to track down, an idea was mooted for our own beer festival which if it happens could be an interesting time. I just wish my cold hadn’t removed a vast amount of my sense of smell which impaired my sense of taste for the festival. We were going to head to Putney the following day for the Cider Festival at the Bricklayers but the Saturday night was a bad one with the revenge of the recurring cold so we had to give it a miss but maybe next time.

The glass was a nice addition to my growing collection, although one question: Is it a ‘northern’ style glass? As the gap between the one pint line and top of the glass is over half an inch which I feel, would allow for a larger fluffier head than I’m used to in a pub.

Advertising or the lack of.......

2010-10-28T00:47:00.000-07:00

As a member of the Fullers' Real Ale Club I did get the email telling me all about their new TV campaign but it was only last night I actually saw one of the adverts. I'll be honest as well as being a beer drinker, I read a lot and listen to music rather than watch TV. In my opinion there is barely anything on TV worth the license fee and I'm not yet old enough to be a grumpy old sod or whatever the female equal is.

As adverts go, it wasn't loud, annoying or irritating but it showed the product and was mildly amusing. So I was impressed and it got me thinking that part of the reason why beer has a old bloke's image is that fact that there are very few breweries who advertise in popular media forms. When I look at Beer in the Evening website, no adverts for beer pop up, instead the pop ups are all for either travel or laser eye surgery. Hardly the type of advertising one is interested in when looking for a pub to go to that weekend or evening is it?

Papers do have beer adverts on the odd occasion but magazines don't. Small hint if you want women to look at beer, how about a good quality advert campaign in magazines? The wine industry do it after all, Cosmo and similar have full page wine adverts.

I know partly the lack of advertising is down to money, campaigns do cost a lot. But advertising in my experience is like a ball, takes effort to start it rolling but once it's going the costs do become cheaper so the product is better known.

And yes before someone comments, I do happen to like James May.

Fullers’ Trafalgar Ale

2010-10-25T05:20:00.001-07:00

5.0% ABV

Fullers’ late October seasonal ale which I was lucky to find on pump at a otherwise rather dull birthday drinks on Saturday. According to the Fullers website this ale is brewed with molasses for sweetness and it certainly very syrupy feeling pint. It coats the mouth in a lovely lingering way with the sweetness giving way to the marmalade bitter.

This ale does remind me a lot of ESB, which as one of my favourite beers is a winner for me. It is a sweeter pint than most but not cloying as some molasses brewed beers can be. It doesn’t really keep it’s head at all but it is such an attractive colour the appearance doesn’t suffer from this.

I would recommend this seasonal to everyone whilst it is around and I certainly will be enjoying it myself.

Hook Norton’s Double Stout

2010-10-17T01:57:00.000-07:00

4.8% ABV

I always find the wording on Hook Norton’s bottles weird, mainly because they all state progress there is measured in pints, yet the bottles themselves are 500ml so the bottling line can't really progress as fast as the rest of the brewery?

Anyway… I really needed this beer; I called into work yesterday to help with a stocktake which meant I spent the day in a garage counting sundry car parts. Not what I call a good way to spend a whole Saturday.

Thankfully I had one of these beers waiting for me at home, it’s been sitting there for a week so the sentiment had settled. The tasting notes on the back of the bottle state the colour as Black!, and they are spot on. It pours a totally opaque black into the glass with a lovely coffee foam colour head. The smell of chocolatey toasty-ness was gorgeous and the taste does follow up the rich scent of this beer.

This beer held it’s own against a combination of stilton and biscuits with the chocolate notes complimenting the cheese really well. Not my usual choice of beverage to go with stilton but it works well. It was a great end to a very meh day.

For more information: http://www.hooknortonbrewery.co.uk/index.html

Eat, Drink & Take Responsibility

2010-10-12T05:48:00.000-07:00

Apparently according to our hard working researchers, real ale is better than red wine for you. With it not affecting levels of homocysteine (a chemical linked to heart disease) whilst red wine raising the levels by 8%. And for us ladies half a pint of real ale contains a quarter of our daily intake of silicon which could help prevent osteoporosis.

Great news for now, but with all research be it dieticians doing it or scientists this is only current for the moment. Like the good news over red wine or certain vegetable benefits it won’t be long before another study (possibly funded by a wine company or by a government misery group) will put the downers on these possible health benefits.

Personally I take these studies with a big pinch of salt, figures can mean anything you want them too. I should know working in the accounting field myself this small fact of life.

Health benefits are great but like many health benefits doing them to excess doesn’t mean they do you any better usually the opposite. Too much exercise can be worse than no exercise sometimes and this is the same with food and drink benefits. Eat and drink what you want but always take responsibility for your own actions and decisions.

October’s Outstandings

2010-10-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know terrible title for a post but not much goes with October…..

I didn’t do a brief round up of beers to attempt to try for September as far as I can see, probably due to the wedding preparations but here a short one for this month;

Loddon’s Boozy Floozy 4.5%
Darkstar’s Oktoberfest 5.2%
Allgates’ Shimla IPA 5.5%
Blindmans Brewery’s Merlin Magic 4.2%
Fuller’s Trafalgar Ale 5.0%

I use these round-ups as a small possible list of beers to try and now I am in a position to spend a small fortune on other things I can try and get a few more in. However my liver and salary don’t allow me to get that many so these lists will remain quite small to maximise my chances.

Cask Pub & Kitchen - Pimlico

2010-10-01T05:42:00.000-07:00

Now last Saturday we had a second wedding ceremony and as such we wanted to take out the twenty folks at the event for a meal and drinks. Unfortunately our first choice of eating venue couldn’t do the time we wanted so instead I had been looking at the Riverside at Vauxhall but they are crap at answering emails asking if we could reserve an area. Admittedly we have bowled up before and managed to secure areas before without booking but even so an email or phone call from them would have been nice.

It was with luck that we happened upon the Cask as we wandered from the local Tesco. We’ve heard about it for quite awhile but never managed to go there but this time we managed to track it down and enjoy a nice meal which included properly done blue steak! Yay! And of course we tried various beers including the Bourbon County Stout that I saw on Boak & Bailey’s blog, which I would say is definitely worth £16 a bottle. Gorgeous with the steak and afterwards instead of coffee.

At this point we had a quick discussion and then asked the bar manager if he could fit us in on the Saturday for food and drinks. Like his staff he was friendly and helpful and couldn’t help us more unlike the Riverside. So table booked!

We duly arrived in two groups on the Saturday and our table was ready, everyone enjoyed the food and the drink. People enjoyed trying various types of beer including folks who normally would only drink wine. I’m pretty sure some of the sneaky guests paid for their own drinks even though I had set up a tab for everyone as my bill for the night was below £400. Nice thing about this sort of social gathering is you get offers from friends to try their beers and vice versa which is a good way of selecting your next drink although a few of us picked drinks by what glasses we could see on show.

One thing I didn’t understand and still don’t is the reviews on Beer in the Evening and others which state the place is in a dodgy council estate and the pub itself is a horrible building. I happen to live in Essex and where I live even the staffs go around in packs of five and this area is nothing like the estates near me. The building itself is apparently a grade listed property and is pleasant with a good use of space inside. Not a traditional pub certainly but not horrible by any stretch, I quite liked the under seat heating and it is needed with such large windows.

I think this a great place for folks wanting a casual but superb afternoon or evening drinks with friends and for great food to go with great beers.

More information: http://www.caskpubandkitchen.com/

York Beer & Cider Festival 2010

2010-09-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

Meant to post about this last week but with one thing and another it didn’t happen. If you think when you get married that ends all the time consuming stuff of marriage, forget it. It doesn’t.

Anyway when we were in York on our mini-moon we had the luck to see a local Camra magazine in one of the pubs which was advertising this lovely event. Normally we only get to go to beer festivals on the weekend when a lot of the more unusual beers have gone but this time we were able to attend the first day which was great. Even better as we weren’t Camra members we were first of the first in, as for this event they split the queue into members and non-members, at opening time we were one couple of four in that line and the Camra queue was a lot longer.

The event has encouraged me and Mr Meer to be joining Camra, it was quite possibly the best event I have ever been too. Well run and organised with lots of friendly staff behind the bar. In a way a lot of the choosing had been decided for the both of us as we concentrated on breweries that we don’t see in London with only a couple of exceptions. Breweries such as Bird Brain, Brown Cow, Old Mill and Hambleton are all based various parts of Yorkshire but all new to me.

Old Mill’s Yorkshire Porter was a lovely example of a dessert beer, sweet and dry perfect to go with a cheese board. Brown Cow’s Thriller in Vanilla was a good working vanilla stout, unlike Artisen’s ibeer which we tried in Battersea. The chocolatey Thriller stout was brought out by the sweet vanilla which makes it an enjoyable half, not sure I would drink a full pint but as a half very nice. Hambleton Brewery’s Nightmare was also a delight, dry hoppy first taste but tempered by the coffee roasted flavour that comes though. All in all we tried some fantastic beers which don’t make it down here that often. We didn’t have any of the Yorkshire Breweries beers at the festival but then we were drinking them all week in pubs.

Of course the good thing about festivals is the fact you can try beers for a very reasonable third pint that are normally quite expensive and with this in mind the strongest beer I had was Brewdog’s Paradox Smokehead at 10%. Normally I just don’t get their beers, buy a bottle try it and usually half goes down the sink but this was a beer I really enjoyed. Oily thick texture with an intense whisky stout taste, beautiful. However my partner did buy me a bottle of this as a present at the end of the mini-moon which I found wasn’t as nice as the cask. Perhaps it’s the bottling that affects the taste, I don’t know. It means I will just have to keep a look out for it in a pub or another festival for another try.

They even had entertainment in the form of Balloon Platoon, (http://www.balloonwiz.co.uk/) this guy was brilliant. Many a glass ended up with a balloon bug attached to it much to the amusement of the bar staff and I ended up with a balloon wand which was very swish and proving I probably do have a child’s mental age sometimes. But what a great way to provide off the cuff entertainment! Fantastic.

The plastic glasses due to licensing laws in York was good for us too as we had to transport the glasses back to London later that week.

Great festival, great people. If you find yourself in York when this is on again I would go, it will be a great day.

Wedding Reception For A Beer Bride

2010-09-22T05:04:00.000-07:00

It seems strange being back at work after the mini-moon and of course this is not helped by my desk being ‘re-organised’ in my absence. However it was a great wedding and reception on the 11th September and we both enjoyed all of it, despite the last minute no shows from some guests.

The reception was held at a Fuller’s pub in Fleet Street, The Old Bank of England. If you haven’t been there I suggest you do, fantastic building and staff who bend over backwards to be helpful. The decision to hold the reception there was mainly due to my desire for a pub with good beer and food coupled with a relaxed atmosphere.

Many weddings I have been to tend to be formal affairs and I personally prefer to be able to relax and chat to guests than being restricted by a sitting plan. Which we did away, with knowing people can organise themselves into seats and tables. The buffet was brilliant with the Fuller’s mini pie platters and lots of various finger foods meant that everyone was well fed including all fussy eaters we had with us on the day. To be honest I don’t think I sat down more than once, most of the time I was wandering around chatting to folks with a glass of ESB in hand. A lovely way to spend your wedding reception I thought and I was presented with a lot of opportune moments to enjoy the atmosphere with my new husband.

We did have a live jazz band playing called Quartz who were excellent and also a silhouette artist wandering around cutting out folks silhouettes as part of the wedding favors. (http://www.alison-russell.co.uk/) I highly recommend her work, she cuts out each one in less than a couple of minutes and they cut out any family arguments as everyone was too busy commenting how good they are or comparing each others to argue… brilliant and unusual!

Can’t imagine a more perfect day than the one we had which I think is the best way to remember such a day.

Absence Note

2010-09-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts but on Saturday I got married and myself and Mr Meer are on a mini-moon in York. Beer festival to attend tomorrow and lots of kisses from "him indoors" is stopping me from posting too much. :)

Normal service will resume next week.

Friday In A Nutshell

2010-09-08T02:26:00.000-07:00

I know a few other bloggers have mentioned a new brewery in Druids Street, London but it wasn’t until last Friday I got to try any of the Kernel Brewery beers. The Antelope in Tooting which is a great place to go for a good meal and pint have expanded their range of bottled beers as I only found out that Friday when I arranged to meet my other half for a meal.

The first one I tried with the London Porter, which was lovely if a tad on the thin side in the mouth. I have to admit I much prefer Fuller’s London Porter in comparison as it feels nicer. But taste-wise it is an easy going style of porter, which worked well with the steak I had ordered for dinner. The other two Kernel beers I tried were more my style but as they weighed in at over 7% they weren’t going to be as easy going. The Kernel Brewery’s dark beers all have a marmite taste rather than an liquorice one which I really liked as a change. The Baltic Porter is especially good with a chocolate marmite taste which I really found enjoyable and I have to admit I am looking forward to having another one of those at some stage.

I hope that the Antelope can get their other ales in soon so I can have a try of those and I know my partner prefers lighter beers, so I know he would interested in trying them too. Whilst I was enjoying the Kernel beers he partook of a Passion Fruit beer which was peardrop tasting and so sweet you could feel your teeth enamel melting but he enjoyed it.

Friday’s are always enjoyable in a good pub with great food (including a rare steak nom) and interesting unusual bottled beers alongside a good line-up of beers on pump. Proving that pubs can survive without gimmicks or stupid promotions on drinks.

Did It!

2010-09-06T01:05:00.000-07:00

Completed my first 5k race with a not bad time of 40 minutes.

Needless to say my body hates me this morning, still not bad and I know I can beat that time next race. :)

Brooklyn Brewery – Black Chocolate Stout

2010-08-24T05:39:00.000-07:00

ABV 10%
Winter 09-10 bottle

Came across this in Nelsons Off License in South Wimbledon, didn’t realise though until I looked at the Brooklyn website that I have had one of their beers before. Tescos for Halloween last year had their pumpkin beer which as I recall was a lot better than the English versions, fruity but interesting beer.

One of the reasons I was drawn to this beer was the chocolate, ever since Youngs changed their chocolate beer I have been trying various chocolate beers (I’m still awaiting a Saltaire) and many of them have been stupidly sweet, which for me is a no. However my luck changed with this one, it is an attractive drink. Dark toffee coloured head on top of a totally opaque brown/black liquid and a smell of dark chocolate.

It is a thick beer which coats the mouth at first with intense bitter dark chocolate and then the smoky tobacco cherries come out. The taste lingers very pleasantly in the mouth for ages after finishing it. There is a slight fizziness tending towards champagne-like bubbly feeling on the tongue which I thought was odd at the beginning but it seems to lighten the heaviness of the beer. Really nice beer.

According to various sites it is possible to age this beer which I am planning to do once I create a cat free area to store them, unless my cats develop ninja cupboard burglaring skills which is possible.....

For more information: http://www.brooklynbrewery.com/

Recipes of Yesterday

2010-08-18T05:41:00.000-07:00

The one thing that is nice about older recipe books both food and drink-wise is the recipes you haven’t heard of before such as Cock Ale and the things you learn because of them. Now, I always had assumed that this was misnamed ale like Milk Stout which is not named because it contains milk but because it contains lactose which is the sugar found in milk. However it does actually contain the remains of a cock which has been parboiled, flayed and stamped so the bones are broken, I do notice that the brewer from Sharp’s was as part of his 52 brews making an offal beer and from this recipe I can see now it is not as original or disgusting as I thought (1).

The book Home Brewed Beers & Stouts by CJJ Berry has a few suggestions in this tight economic time such as my favourite Nettle Beers although that has always proven…….. rather ‘lively’ shall we say (2) and a recipe for Parsnip Stout but no Peapod Lager one. But I now have recipes for Oatmeal Stout one of my favourites from the Sam Smith’s Brewery and I am seriously considering this as my second batch of beer once I succeed in using a beer kit first. I seriously doubt my brew will be a patch on the Samuel Smith's version but it will be an interesting recipe to do.

There is advice in the book for getting your own yeast from a shop brought bottle; purchase a bottle of bottle conditioned beer/stout and let it rest for 48 hours, then pour out the beer/stout making sure to leave the sediment in the last one and half inches in the bottom of bottle. Make up a solution of ¼ pint of hot water, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of malt extract and a pea sized lump of citric acid, when it is cool pour into the bottle, plug with cotton wool and stand in a warm place such as an airing cupboard. ‘The next day it will be “going like a bomb,” fermenting well, and ready for use’ according to the book. I have to admit this strikes me as a good idea or at least it is a cheap idea for using the sedimenty remains for a purpose.

(1) Actually, I still find it fairly disgusting..sorry
(2) More like volatile and likely to explode if you so much as think about looking at it.

Home Brewing & Thoughts On Taking The Plunge

2010-08-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

........maybe.

Currently I don't have the space to try homebrewing but over the years I have gathered many a home brewing recipe book. Many of these are the old Pengiun guides that used to sell in old money that were either gained via my late Dad or from the odd rampage though a secondhand bookshop. Contained within them are barley wine beer, porters and carrot scaping beer recipes have for sometime been a source of thought but where to start brewing? Do I head straight into the stouts and porters which are my favourites or do I start with a bitter which seems to be the 'easier' of the recipes I have a post-it note by?

Of course I have attempted various small brewing recipes such as Elderflower Champagne and once Nettle Beer both of which exploded in the shed. This did not make me popular with my parents but at least I wasn't out wreaking their car.

The Queen's Head Inn - Old Harlow

2010-08-09T06:18:00.000-07:00

After a wait of twenty minutes only to be served two pints which were left on the table after one sip we used the Good Beer Guide app to find an alternative pub to the William Aylmer in Harlow, as luck would have it there was one within a short bus journey from the town centre. The Good Beer Guide I have found is a bit of a mixed bag, the William was in there but judging from the sticky tables, awful ale and tragic understaffing (one member serving on a busy bar and one member delivering food to tables during a Saturday lunch time is not good) I’m guessing things have really changed since the reviewers of the guide went there.

However the Queen’s Head is a lovely little pub in a picturesque part of Old Harlow, which more than restored my faith in the Good Beer Guide! The walk from the bus stop didn’t take long and we were soon sipping good pints and reading the menu trying to decide what to have. They have four pumps with two Adnams beers on as well as Brewer’s Gold and Wonderful Wallop, from Beer in the Evening I guess this is their standard range although judging from the pump clips they probably have a few guests throughout the year. All were very well kept and cellar cool rather than frozen unlike the William’s beers we left back in Harlow Town Centre.

The food was as good as the pints, both of us deciding to have desserts as well, typically we managed to order one dessert which they had run out of but they did promptly come up to us and offer different alternatives including two which weren’t on the menu yet which was nice. For a small pub the food range is very big and all the food we had and what we saw others having was great quality, it does seem to get very busy during the lunch hour so be warned if you are intending on heading down for lunch getting there earlier rather than later is a good idea.

The pub itself is a lovely building which once was two cottages which have now been merged into one. Comfortable and charming surroundings with great staff will always be a winner, a fact a lot of places miss but they haven’t there. Certainly if we are back in Harlow this would be the place I would head to for a good lunch or quiet drink.

Queen's Head Inn

26 Churchgate Street

Harlow

CM17 0JT

August’s Astounding Refreshments

2010-08-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

Being as the weather continues to be summery what is needed for that long evening is a suitable beverage and as usual our brave brewers continue to bring out specials for this last summer month;

Rebellion Brewery’s Deflation 4.2% (Complete with very dodgy pumpclip)
Darkstar Brewery Dark Star Triple 8.5%
Loddon Brewery’s Check Mate 5%
Harveys Brewery’s Armada Ale 4.5%

There are others but to be honest rather than a serious list (or my do to list as my partner calls it) this is more to knock the squirrel down the page. A slight bit of pessimism in this post I guess, I can’t make it to the Great British Beer Festival due to wedding plans having taking all my leave for this year. Hopefully next year I will get to go to my first GBBF, as so far I have been to small festivals which have been great but I have wanted to do this one for a long time just never managed it.

To finish on a more positive note, I really like the symbol for the festival especially the lion’s face.

Even A Squirrel Is Better Dressed

2010-07-25T02:53:00.000-07:00

At least Brewdog has given us the chance to point out that even a dead beer bottled stuffed squirrel is better dressed than Nick Griffin.

I could post the list of errors that Mr Griffin has made with his morning dress which my partner pointed out but hey, the squirrel does it better than any words.

Is it Art?

2010-07-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

Or just pretentious?

http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article.php?id=341

I guessed this would happen after the Bismark beer but Brewdog have managed to brew a 55% abv beer. In a very limited run with bottles encased in squirrel or stout bodies, The End of History is the result.

Really not sure what to make of it but it reminds me of my days at college art classes were presentation could be worth more than content.

Seven Stars - Chancery Lane

2010-07-20T01:03:00.000-07:00

This is a weird little pub around the back of The Old Bailey. Even on a Saturday it had one or two lawyers in it enjoying lunch and pint. Now, we had read the somewhat mixed reviews of this place but lured by the promise of Darkstar beers and lunch after a hard morning of socialising we found ourselves settled in the bar with a pint each. The beer is well kept and includes two beers of session strengths (3.5 – 3.8 abv) which is unusual as most beers seem to be around the five mark these days.

True the barmaid is somewhat abrupt but the service is fast and efficient, tables are clear of empty plates or glasses and they are all clean. We only saw the cook/landlady twice once when she checked on the pumps and wandered off to replace an off barrel and just after we got our food so I can’t in all honesty say whether or not she is as abrupt as her staff. However I am jealous of folks who can carry off bright coloured hair as she can, always wanted to dye my hair bright purple but a combination of the serious bosses and sheer cowardice on my part means I have never done it. Unfortunately we didn’t see the cat, shame I like pub cats and I liked the nice touch of the cat’s water being on the bar.

The food menu is just a blackboard on the wall, eclectic mix of dishes all roughly about ten pounds each but from what the other customers were having each was well made and generous in portion. If I hadn’t been with my partner I would have gone for the potato soup to start and then the oysters, but as it was we both had the ‘English Plate’ which was a brillaint version of a ploughmans. Couldn’t fault the food nor the beer, both were lovely and large. I forgot to ask whether the chutney was homemade or not. If not I really wouldn't mind knowing what brand so I could get some.

I understand from the various reviews that the Landlady isn’t too keen on the reviews which have lead folks to track down the pub for pub ticking and I can understand that. Having folks tramp in and have a loud conversation on the pub compared to the review must be really irritating and I know I can be touchy but I was annoyed by the folks we saw in there doing exactly that.

As I mentioned reviews I must give this link to my favourite pub review of the Seven Stars done in the type of Alex from the Clockwork Orange; http://www.fallingdownthepub.co.uk/review303_seven-stars-chancery-lane.html

This is a gorgeous little pub which I can see myself curled up with a nice meal, good beer and book sometime again soon.

Seven Stars
53 Carey Street
London
WC2A 2JB

Running On Beer

2010-07-14T03:12:00.000-07:00

This isn’t really a beer post as per say more a “what beer bloggers also do in their free time” post.

As mentioned in previous posts I am currently training to run the Adidas Women’s Challenge 5k in September. For someone who before this really didn’t do running I think I am going well, only able to run for straight twenty minutes in one go which works out according to the map as two miles (yay). It is a vast improvement from the beginning where one minute of running was a real challenge. The ipod application Couch to 5k plan was probably the best money spent on apps, well apart from Angry Birds but I digress.

My plan if all goes well is to run the 5k in under thirty minutes which I should be able to do by my calculations if I keep up the early morning runs three times a week. Five o'clock in the morning is a beautifully quiet time, sun rising with a hint of bird song (well, bird versions of various mobile ring tones) and most importantly during this fragile training stage hardly anyone about apart from fellow runners who look upon red faced huffing newbie’s with encouraging thumbs up and smiles.

Best thing is the weight loss and toning though, all without giving up beer or the occasional meal out. Can’t think why I didn’t take this up before, no gym and having to wait for equipment nor the self-comparisons to other folks just pounding the pavement with a clear mind focused on your goal. Of course come winter and ice I may have a different view but until then I shall enjoy the pleasant summer mornings out on a run and the evenings in the pub.

RCH's Old Slug Porter

2010-07-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

4.5% ABV

Sadly I missed this at the last Wandsworth Beer Festival however Nicholsons have come up trumps by having it as one of their Summer Ales range. There is a good selection this summer from them and I look forward to trying most of them as and when I get the chance.

As I would expect this is a very dark pint with dark red flashes when lifted to the light with a thin but foamy white head which disappears about half way though leaving a thin ring around the edge. It is nicely full bodied with a real hit of chocolate cherries in the first taste which rounds off with a slight bitter smokiness. The cherries come though in the mouth after you finish the pint drawing you back to the bar for another but that could just be me.

This is a nicely refreshing pint which whilst it comes as a surprise to be in a summer range for a pub does work rather well indeed. I think the food suggestion/match for warm chocolate brownies would be a bit much personally. Such a chocolately beer matched with chocolate really seems to be over egging the pudding to me.

July's Summer Warmers

2010-07-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

Looking out onto a grey high street I think we need some sun in the form of a lovely seasonal beer. There are some lovely refreshing and tasty beers out there for this brief summer month. I even managed to celebrate the first weekend in July with one of them. Hook Norton’s Haymaker, this was a lovely surprise to see on the bar at The Falcon. It is a very fruity beer with a fresh clean finish so it isn’t cloying as some fruity beers can be. As I started off my seasonal hunt in a nice way here are some other’s to try and find;

Hook Norton’s Haymaker 5.0%
Loddon Brewery’s Flight of Fancy 4.2%
Little Valley’s Two Lads 3.5%
Leeds Brewery’s Yorker 4.0%
Harveys Brewery’s Tom Paine Ale 5.5%
Wychwood Brewery’s Regal Lager 4.0%
Darkstar Brewery’s Paradise Weiss 5.0%

Not sure about Wychwood’s lager, it could be interesting or may be a disappointment but until you try it, you can’t have an opinion in my book.

World Cup Beer Sweepstake: Japan

2010-06-24T05:36:00.000-07:00

Not a country I immediately associate with beer but as I found a couple of weekend’s back that Japanese whiskey is rather good it’s worth trying the beers on the off chance (the off chance of free beer is also appealing too I admit!). Beer review only mentions one beer which is the one most of us are familiar with: Asahi.

A bottle opens
Cold liquid clouds glass
Refreshment instant

However once you start looking there seems to be a few more although how you get them outside Japan is another story, the micro-brewery industry is strong with a rough estimate of three hundred of them and according to the Japan Visitor website many of them have been seeking help/advice from German microbreweries so they have taken the Japanese strategy for whiskey making and turned it to beer…. This sounds very promising. Luckily due to a trip to Nelsons Wine & Beer shop in South Wimbledon and a side trip the next day to Brewers Street and the Japanese supermarket there meant I ended up with five different beers/lagers to try. Not a bad haul for reviewing.

Reviewer waits keen
Poised to give approval
Beer awaits

First one out of the fridge (all of them suggest they should be served chilled on the bottle/can) is Sapporo (4.7% abv). Pours rather lively out of the bottle but settles quickly into a deep golden almost mead coloured pint with a large foamy head. This lager claims to be Japan’s oldest brand since 1876, not sure about that but it is a very nice lager. More hoppy than your usual lagers with a slight malt on the end but has a clean finish. Not powerful tasting lager by any means but it does go very well with the vegetable sushi I have in front of me. Because of it’s very clean finish after the malt I suspect the ‘brewed under license in the EU’ may mean Italy as this reminds me of Peroni but has it’s own character

Next up are the two Asahi, one is the standard version we normally see in the supermarket but it is the canned version from the Japanese supermarket and the other is an imported ‘black’ version from Nelsons. The imported Black Asahi (5% abv) first, I have never seen this one before and I was assuming before opening the bottle this will be a Japanese version of a stout or more likely Guinness despite the lager label. Looks wise it is stout like, deep black with ruby flashes when the gless is held up to the light. Thick creamy coloured head to it as well. The taste however is the important part, in no way does this remind me of Guinness (it has flavour and taste despite it being chilled for one!) nor does it remind me of Black Chalice, a black lager from the Wetherspoons recent beer festival. This strongly reminds me of the Darkstar Imperial Stout I tried a couple of weeks back. Lighter but still has those flavours I enjoy so much, although the liquorice flavours get stronger in this than the Darkstar because the treacly note fades fast before the finish. Gorgeous.

Sadly I am not so keen on the standard Asahi, it has a very citrus lime taste on the first taste so it almost tastes like lager and lime. The lager itself is still better than most of the commercial UK lagers on the market with what settles into a citrusly light fizz, drinkable but not remarkable compared to the first two. However it is a darn sight better than my next one, which was Kirin Beer (5% abv). This pours into a slightly hazy gold lemon pint with a fuzzy foam that soon disappears and also manages to taste a lot like Wells & Youngs London Gold but a lot gassier. This lager is actually brewed under license by Wells & Youngs Brewing Co but as it just succeeds in tasting like the brewery’s own stuff, not good. I wouldn’t write this one off fully though until I try the lager produced in Japan.

A new glass later and I have my last beer, Yebisu, this one I was keen to try but also concerned. The can boasts it is an ‘All Malt’ beer so I was concerned it may end up tasting like Supermalt which it didn’t. There isn’t too much other information I can give you from the can as it pretty much is all in Japanese, apart from it is a Sapporo Brewery product and there is a 5% on the label which I assume is the abv. It poured into a deep golden pint which wasn’t very gassy compared to the Sapporo lager I tried first, more a gentle fizz. Taste wise it is actually very hoppy but the malt takes off the bitter note leaving it a very powerful drink but highly drinkable. Unfortunately I had run out of sushi but I reckon this could take on wasabi which I find kills most drinks dead. This made a lovely drink to sit in the garden relaxing last night so much so I think alongside the Asahi Black I will get a few of these to enjoy with my next bbq.

Drunk on beauty
My review nearly ends
But for history

According to wikipedia (which as we all know is a source to be taken carefully), beer is the most popular choice of drink in Japan, its sales overtaking Sake sales. Like whiskey, beer has been taken to Japan ’s heart and therefore given the same artistic treatment. They produce seasonal beers like us but unlike us the cans or bottles are decorated according to that season so autumn beers have falling leaves and so on and forth. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any of those ones but it is small details like that make me want to seek out new beers from this country. But of course the best thing about a lot of these beers is that on the whole the brewing here is very good, the Asahi Black wins out of all of them for me. I hope I can find more of these especially the not so generally available ones as these have the better taste than the more commercial lagers/beers.

Daleside Brewery – Morrocco Ale

2010-06-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

ABV 5.5%

Nicholson’s pubs on the whole do have some unusual gems in their seasonal beer list and this is certainly one of them. This is a beer where it is easy to drink too much of it, soft spicy cinnamon taste coupled with a soft mild flavour means it feels more like a session percentage beer which it is certainly not. According to Daleside Brewery website is made according to a secret recipe from Levens Hall somewhere in Westmoreland and the recipe itself is over three hundred years old. This in itself is a reason to try it but the fact it is also an outstanding beer is the best reason.

Apparently also available in bottles but I have only tried it by pump being as it still easily available that way. It arrives a dark brown pint with a very fluffy white head which is does seem to retain to the last, the first smell and tastes are ginger with a tint of cinnamon which are softened by the toffee finish. I would call this a mild but for the spicy kick to the palate, certainly can hold it’s own against spicy foods but I feel it comes out best with Chinese dishes rather than curries.

This was a lovely pint to start the weekend with, especially coupled with the company on a slightly rainy friday evening in central London. Over a couple of pints the toffee finish increases which only serves to create the nice mellow spicy flavour to the beer which lasts nicely and makes it incrediously morish.

I would head down to your nearest Nicholsons and try it whilst it is still available, their beer menu must be ready to change over soon.

For more information: http://www.dalesidebrewery.com/morrocco.htm

A Touch Bitter?..........

2010-06-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

According to the latest London Drinker, the brewer from the Pitstop Brewery in Stove has brewed the world's most bitter beer although this is subject to verification from the Records people. The beer called 'The Hop' has 323 international bittering units (IBUs - always wondered what that stood for and now I know) which is more than the old holder of the record 'Devil Dance Triple IPA' that has 200.

Now I can understand to a point why this was brewed possibly as a technical exercise to see it could be done (the article mentions it was a result as a challenge from the brewer's pal) but surely no-one really enjoys drinking things this bitter? To me it comes across a beer which even if it gets on a 'Must Try before You Die' list will only be drunk as conversational piece or rather that is to say so that the drinker can boast they have drunk it. I can't imagine it being recommended on taste to prospective drinkers or may be that's just me?

I also have a question that does it count if the hop extract Isolone is used as it is bitter, surely the bitterness should come from the hops used not an extract. I know this probably does show my ignorance about brewing but to question is how you learn. Meanwhile I will hit the books and see if I get the answer that way.

June's Jolly Brews

2010-06-02T00:53:00.001-07:00

Time has come again for a brief round-up of gorgeous beers that are only available for June;

Kelham Brewery’s Parklife 4%
Loddon Brewery’s Summer Snowflake 4.1%
Rebellion Brewery’s Green Shoots 4.4%
Matthew Brewing Company’s Midsomer Pale 4.5%
Tom Wood’s Brewery’s Fathers Pride 4.5%
Hook Norton Brewery’s Cotswold Lion 4.2%
Fullers’ Mr Harry 4.8%
Darkstar Brewery’s Summer Solstice 4.2%

Rebellion I see also do a beer called Zebedee, same name as one of my cats…Must see if they do this as a bottle for cat & beer photo op! Plus the little drinker will no doubt try and stick his nose into the glass. Ah the fun of the Spring/Summer months where glasses are at the right height for your pet to nab some.

Cats aside, I note my beer and running diet is coming along rather well. Just need to find a stockist for the dress I want.

Bank Holiday Weekend

2010-05-31T00:23:00.000-07:00

It has been a lovely weekend for both good company and good beer so far.

Firstly I have now tried Darkstar's Victorian Ruby Mild which I was hoping to find, lovely delicate flavour, not quite Sarah Hughes' Ruby Mild but very good in it's own right and well worth hunting down. However the star of the day was their Imperial Stout which I spotted on the shelf at the Traf in South Wimbledon. Wonderfully morish treacly texture and taste with a dangerous untasteable abv of 10.5

It pours beautifully with a fine creamy head with tapers off to a fine lacing half way though the pint. The treacly liquorice flavour comes though on the nose too, making it a highly satifying drink. I won't say pint as it available in dinky bottles not pints but that is for good reasons.

Sunday was spend in Putney mainly at the Bricklayer's Arms enjoying the good selection of Timothy Taylor beers and the guest beers which included Skinner's Betty Sloggs, FFF Brewery's Pressed Rat & Warthog and Alton's Pride and there was the Sambrook's Wandle.

Ram Tam was in great form as was the Dark Mild both lovely pints for a Warm Spring day. Golden Best was enjoyable but I think it would be nicer on a Summer's evening as a refreshing pint, but this one is rarely seen outside Tim Taylor's own pubs. Landlord is one of finest beers (and a favour of mine) but I do find it a shame that it is the only one you see about especially when they do other really cracking beers.

Even though I personally don't like the Sambrook's beers I have to admit they are doing really well at expanding. My partner enjoys a pint of their beers and for him it is nice to see them widely available in more pubs rather than the select one or two. Which reminds me I will have to book a brewery tour at some stage for him.

Due South

2010-05-15T01:50:00.000-07:00

Paul Heaton from the Beautiful South is doing a three week 1,000-mile bicycle tour for the Pedals & Beer Pumps Tour 2010. This tour was created partly for Heaton's love of cycling and to highlight the decline of the pub.

The full article from the Times is here:http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article7125344.ece

Interestingly this also may show the difficulties involved in paying in pubs nowadays thanks to certain rules as I am sure during this tour he will meet other musicians and landlords who will discuss the problems of being able to have live music in their pub.

The article does show that far from a publicity stunt this guy does know what he is talking about, I admit I wasn't keen on the Beautiful South nor it's singer but he doesn't seem the idiot I thought he was.

Quote:
If the Pedals & Beer Pumps Tour 2010 achieves anything, it will be “just to get a spark going. How are we gonna outwit Tesco’s or Sainsbury’s? Well, they can’t have a band playing in there. But the Three Horseshoes in Radnage can have me.”

Pubs do not have to be a cheap supermarket to attract customers back from cheap deals but places that are relaxing and interesting for people to go too. I enjoy a quiet pint but I also enjoy sitting in a pub with a pint watching/listening to a band or singer, variety is the key here.

What the Heck have I done?

2010-05-06T05:21:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine has been running for some time and I admire this, especially the get and go required for early morning runs in rain, sleet and snow. So on her suggestion about about running I thought I would have a go.

Well 5am is a very peaceful time, just you and the odd cat and fox are around, plus side to this is that foxes and cats don't tend to point and laughter at a very unfit runner heaving herself around the estate. Downside.... well it is 5am in the morning.

Emboldened by the relative success of my run (ie I managed to run half a mile) I promptly signed up for the Adidas Women's Challenge in September. So I have to get from half a mile coughing and spluttering to running just over three miles in what I hope will be a smooth effortless style by then.

Oh dear.

May's Marvels

2010-05-04T04:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to CAMRA this month is Mild May, where hopefully more pubs will have at least one mild available for folks to try. I do like milds so I am looking forward to trying some new ones. However they do vary in ABV so be warned, for example Darkstar’s one which is noted below and Sarah Hugh’s Ruby Mild are 6%-ers. So remember to check the pump clip!

This is my usual small round up of some of the monthly offerings that are available this month;

Little Valley Brewery’s Queen Bee 4.5%
Harvey’s Knots of May 3.0%
Brakspears’ Pavilion Ale 4.0%
Loddon Brewery’s Wilfred’s Mild 3.6%
Darkstar’s Victorian Ruby Mild 6.0%
Cotleigh Brewery’s Nutcracker 3.4%

Hopefully Mild May will encourage the brewing of different beers with varying abv's rather than everything sticking at the 5% mark.