Boilermaker???

This is an odd one for me, I have seen this term used for beer and a bourbon chaser, admittedly mainly in Byrons I give you... but I recently heard it used in a pub for a pint of bitter and a whisky ( a rather nice Tomasin which I doubt went well with the overly hopped IPA however each to their own).


Does anyone know what the term 'Boilermaker' refers to? The whisky is served in a separate glass alongside just in case people are not sure what I mean.


That said I quite enjoy whisky alongside a beer on the odd occasion, such as a stout with a peaty whisky. Sweeter whiskies go well with bitters but so far I haven't had a whisky that I would think would go well with IPAs.

New Year 2015 and Hopefully Getting Back To Posting...

New Year Folks!


Well, last year was interesting


This year is hopefully going to be a combination of running (and training hard for the VLM in 2016), beer drinking (huzzah!), new experiences, new books to read, and new recipes to cook.


Admittedly I hadn't been posting much recently... ok for over half a year, but I'm hoping to change that, goodness knows I have been drinking enough interesting new beer and visiting some great places to drink said beer. Unsurprisingly I won't be doing dry January, I have issues with such a daft idea which other bloggers have written about and I have never really indulged in drinking to oblivion that the proposer's of the idea seem to think folks do.


Anyway, aims for this year;

• Blog more (this will mean posts of not just beer but places, food, and random)
• Run more (yep, you will be getting race reports as well)

That's all, simple... lets see how it goes.

Rebel Brewing Co's Other Beers

All in all these beers have been stunning, well-done, and a really pleasure to drink.

Cornish Sunset 

4.0% ABV

This was just as refreshing as Surfbum, with a lovely soft caramel note to it. Again would work well with a BBQ or picnic but also just to sit and enjoy the back garden with.

Eighty Shilling

5.0% ABV

Nice lighter style of Scotch Ale, for me this was the weakest of the bunch but given how fantastic these beers are, its still not a bad thing. It could have have done with being stronger for me with more sweetness to balance the heavy liquorice I got on the taste.

Penryn Pale Ale

4.3% ABV

This was my last beer from Rebel and again a lovely pint. 

Hoping to get some more of these in again soon.

Coffee and Beer

Whilst I would happily talk about beer brewed with coffee, many of which being some of the best imperial stouts or beers out there, this time it is a different talk or blog. At the moment the easily found beers out there are the hoppy ones, this trend isn't dying off or disappearing. I did find myself at a pop up bar by the Thames wishing for a bitter instead ofthe very similar hoppy choice I had but this is not my point.

The hoppy trend is kind of written about without the consideration that this happens with other areas, one such is coffee. I was shopping yesterday for beans (I have a new toy...er..coffee grinder so want to use/play with it), but I prefer darker roasts, this sadly cuts Monmouth Coffee out for me at the present as their medium roasts seem more light to me and I'm not alone. London seems to do a lot of light roasts, which in all fairness work well with the milky coffees that are popular, on the odd coffee blog I read this trend for lighter coffees is spreading outside the M25, much to the disgust of northern bloggers and forum commentaters.

I did, thanks to a recommendation online find a shop with a vast selection of coffee, many of the dark or rich roasts available and for a good price. But like finding a good pint of bitter in the hop desert it wasn't easy. In fact I wouldn't have thought about Old Compton Street for coffee without the heads up. So it isn't just beer but I will give you the hop trend is still strong unlike many trends!

Rebel Brewing Co's Surfbum IPA

3.5% ABV

Not convinced it is an IPA as it is too light in both ABV and hops but what it is to me is a refreshing pint. Sunday was stupidly hot, too hot for my usual darker beers so I wanted a hoppy beer but likewise as it was Sunday I didn't want anything too strong. 

The hops are very much at the forefront but this beer is expertly done with enough hops to be morish and refreshing with a tang of bitterness but not too much. This would be great to drink on the beach with a picnic watching the sunset.

Note, not after surfing... there is no chance of me doing that!

I hadn't heard of this brewery before, it was a lucky find at a off licence near a couple of friends house.

Chapel Down's Curious Brew

4.7% ABV

We had the brut from Chapel Down for the toasts at our wedding, so when we saw they did a lager it was a given we wanted to see what it was like. This is where Wetherspoons expandion into 'craft' beers was even more useful than just being able to buy Brooklyn lager at a reasonable price on a hot day.

The lager itself is refreshing with a good dose of hops, enough to make it tangy but not resinous. The mouth feel is light, the champagne yeast providing fine bubbles and a smooth texture to the lager. One that would stand up to bbq food or would go well with fish. There is a mussel recipe involving beer and I'm thinking this may also work well. 

Sweet Action

5.2% ABV

Finally got to try one of the Sixpoint Brewery beers that Wetherspoons are selling in cans. Sweet Action was not going to be my first choice as it is a blend between a pale ale and a wheat beer but on tasting it is very much like Brooklyn lager to me with a strong maltyness to it. 

It was a good beer, I know that some believe that these aren't shifting well and I can see they aren't going to be popular with all but these aren't badly priced and going with the other craft offerings they are doing at reasonable prices I think these will kick off soon enough.

And yes they had a quirk on the can design.