Black Sheep Imperial Russian Stout

I finally managed to get in gear and taste Black Sheep's Imperial Russian Stout, which has been (and probably still is - just) on at Veritas on Great George Street. At 8.5% abv, it's not quite on the massive 'Imperial' side of things, nor is it your average bar-top stout, but I must say I enjoyed it.

On the nose there's hints of cherry and smoke, along with a decent 'oakiness'. That smoke dies somewhat on the taste, but the oak and fruit remains, with with fruit coming more to fore; raisin, almond, and digestive biscuits all battling it out before that drying coffee and black chocolate note comes in at the end to wrap things up.

The alcohol is up front - it does taste 8.5% - but that's only a minor detraction for me. I enjoyed the beer; and as with their Porter , I'm really pleased to see Black Sheep branching out. I hope we see more of this sort of thing from them. Oh, and by the way - the pump clip rocks. Nice artwork, Black Sheep, thumbs up from me!

I wasn't the only one to enjoy the beer - here's Ghostie's take on proceedings. Oh, and by the way - if you choose to eat at Veritas, I can recommend the Duck Liver Pate. It's Awesome.

One To Watch: RedWillow Brewery

OK; full disclosure time. I met Toby McKenzie (Head Honcho at RedWillow) last year, when the brewery was in its infancy, and subsequently ended up helping him out with various tasting notes for his (then large and very much experimental) batch of beers. It's the first time I'd done anything like that and was a fun project to do.

Even more fun, however, was seeing the brewery take shape and grow, see those first beers get refined and then finally brewed up and sent out. Seeing as though RedWillow's beers are now trickling over the Pennines into Yorkshire and beyond, I felt that now was the time to drum up some more support. Ageless Double IPA (7.2abv) is now gracing the bar at Mr Foley's, and I understand The Grove have some, too. I needn't have worried about the end product not being as good as those test brews; it's even better. Thick, lasting head, a lovely burnished-golden colour and a thick mouthfeel that gives way to a blast of Citrus that lies somewhere between Mango and Pineapple; and the finish is long and thirst-quenching. Way more drinkable than the 7.2%abv would suggest, it's a wonderful beer and I strongly suggest you go try it now. Because ultimately, the more people we get to drink it, the better it sells, and the better it sells, the more we will get. Simple.

The blog is called The Good Stuff. No matter in what capacity I've helped out, this is not a case of nepotism and that's why I came clean at the start - Ageless DIPA is a wonderful beer, and knowing the kinds of people who read this blog, I'm sure you'll agree. It would be a crime for me to shy away from ever featuring Toby's work here; especially given the hard work Toby and his family have put in, all in the name of great beer.

If you've not done so already, check out RedWillow's blog. It's one of those rare beasts; updated regularly, honest, and interesting.

Durham Something Blue

Ok, it's a little early for a 'Royal Wedding' beer review, but given that I'm going to be in Liverpool on a stag do all weekend, I may indeed miss the chance. Although I'm not interested at all in 'Royal Wedding Specials', Durham's caught the eye for a number of reasons.

Firstly; a 10%abv Barley Wine is not your average re-badged, pun-titled offering. Neither does it have an awful label (I'm looking at you, Castle Rock). In fact, you wouldn't even know it's a 'Royal Wedding Beer' unless you bought it and read the tiny note on the label. So - What's it like? Well, if I had to boil it down to one word it's this: Powerful. Hopped entirely with Fuggles - which is interesting enough - this is an absolute bruiser. Dark Amber in colour, there's a massive alcohol nose, some faint citrus, and a little spice; more akin to a Christmas cake cinnamon/clove sort of vibe than serious heat. On the sip, it's tongue-coating and sweet; rounded enough but quite heavy. There's more of that cakiness, but the finish has a strong undercurrent of Orange and Tangerine. Finally, that alcohol smacks you in the mouth at the end.

It's not a bad beer at all; but it's big, big, big and one for sipping, for sure. However, I take my hat off to Durham for not cashing in using all the typical hooks, and brewing a beer that would sit alongside their core range to celebrate the nuptuals.

More Bang For Your Buxton: Buxton Brewery Pt2

Ok, ok, enough with the puns. Time to crack on with more Buxton appreciation. Axe Edge (6.8%abv) is now an award winner - it picked up 'Best Strong Ale' in this years Bradford Beer Festival, which goes some in way in boosting the image of tastes of us Northern Folk. To be honest, it would only have been a matter of time before it did scoop a plaudit, simply because it's a great beer. The hop profile tells you all you need to know; it's like a great big tropical fruit juice party in the top of the glass courtesy of loads of Amarillo, Citra and Nelson Sauvin. Lychee, Mango, Strawberry, Grapefruit and sweet Orange dominate the nose, and yet despite it's heft in terms of abv, the sip is deceptively light, with only a slight warming alchohol note coming through late on. It's well balanced and fruity, refreshing and substantial; a great beer simply. The bottle I tried contained some really fresh beer too - the best aroma on a beer I've tried since these.

Axe Edge's little brother, Moor Top (3.6%abv) is a corker too. Again, the boundaries of 'Pale Ale' lead you to believe you've tried them all, but along comes another one that just knocks you over and makes you appreciate simple, yet tasty beers. Straw pale in colour, the nose is pure Grapefruit, as you'd expect for a Chinook-hopped beer. The body is smooth and light, although it finishes crisp and with a surprisingly high, late, Grapefruit/Lemon bitterness. As with the other pales, Moor Top is a long, long beer and I could happily drink about 6 of them in the sun. Gimme More.

This is my first set of Buxton Ales, and they've really been a pleasure to drink. As a person, I like the juxtapostition of complex flavours, but carried out well so that each element stands out; Buxton certainly tick that box. Easy drinking, light beers with complex noses are the way to go with Pale Ale, and Axe Edge and Moor Top will probably go on to do great things. Buxton's latest Beer, Black Rocks, is garnering interest too (as you can see from the comments in Part 1 below), and the lads are brewing at full capacity, which is always good to see. Keep an eye out.

The Buxton Stops Here: Buxton Brewery

This weekend I've been enjoying beers from Buxton Brewery. Although still a relatively young outfit, they are brewing at capacity and quickly collecting plaudits and awards as they go. Head Brewer James Kemp used to brew for Thornbridge, and he's clearly shown himself as a brewer with one eye on tradition, and the other on progression. What you end up with is a really strong core range of beers, with some gentle twists along the way. That's a quality I really like in brewing.

First up was Kinder Sunset (5.0% abv), named after the Kinder area of the Peaks. Red-Mahogany in colour, there's a complex aroma going on; slight hints of almond-cakiness topped off with a note of Pine. That Pine aspect carries on to the taste - Kinder Sunset has a digestive-biscuit body that suggests sweetness but actually finishes grassy, Piney and with an almost minty, herbal note. There's a tart, sour-cherry notes just running under everything that makes Kinder Sunset a much more complex, refreshing beer than the 'Traditional ale' tag it has on the label. Lovely.

SPA (Special Pale Ale) features hop du jour Citra entirely; and in many ways you know what you're going to get. Perfect for this kind of weather, SPA (4.1%abv) is uber-pale, with a much thinner mouthfeel that the Kinder Sunset. All that Citra gives you sharp, pithy tartness with a strong Lemon and Tangerine aroma and taste. It's surprisingly bitter for it's strength, too - the high bitterness hits the back of the tongue and and makes you want another sip. A long, long pale ale that hit the spot perfectly as we ate in the sun this weekend.

Stay tuned for some more Buxton madness over the next couple of days. If you want to keep up to date, you can follow Buxton on Twitter and Facebook; jump over to their blog for more details.

Ossett Treacle Stout

I love this stuff, I really do. It's got tonnes of latte-like coffee creaminess on the nose, which is followed by a more intense coffee hit. Within the deceptively rounded body there's that sweet milk-chocolate note, which ends up super-sweet, courtesy of the treacle -and a slight hint of liquourice lurking in the background. You really can taste the bonfire-toffee treacle in there, but the red-fruity, slightly dry finish stops it being too cloying. If you're after a fantastic stout - one that packs a lot of flavour into a modest 5.0% abv, this beer is for you. Lovely.

Smutty Saturday

I had a Smutty saturday yesterday. I've been curious about Smuttynose for ages - ever since I saw their label in 'Beer' by Michael Jackson years ago. There's something quintessentially American about that cute little Seal-and-Mountain device that just makes me smile. So, imagine my joy when their wares showed up on these shores. I think the labels are brilliant - simple to the point of absurdity, and almost Lynchian in the way they depict small-town Americana.

The Beer? Oh yeah. The Beer. Well, first up was their famous Old Brown Dog (6.5%abv). It pours a lovely shade of Auburn, and there's a familiar plummy aroma that turns out to be the first thing you taste on the sip. The body is full and rounded, with some cinnamon-cakiness (yes, that's an official term), raisin, and an ever-so-slight touch of smoke hanging around in the background. The hop attack is only gentle and noble at that, which is good because OBD has a light, lovely balance between sweet and dry. It's a lovely, lovely beer and fans of sweeter English browns such as Worthington's Celebration or Theakston's Old Peculiar should give this a go.

South Island Single (5.8%) really hit the spot with the sun streaming down as it did yesterday. Belgian - Pale Hybrids are an idea that I really like, and this one is different to the sweeter ones I've had in the past, but successful. There's distinctly Hefe notes on the nose; coriander seed, lemon zest and an estery note that you'd want to be there. The aroma actually builds the beer up to much more complex than it actually is; what you get on the sip is a refreshing blonde with a dry finish and that lightness that seems to be a Smutty trademark. Good job too; I could probably drink quite a few of these.

The Final beer in this trio is pure and simple IPA (6.9%abv). Light amber in colour, there's lemon and lychee on the nose, finishing with a hit of Pine - as you'd expect from a Simcoe-hopped beer. The body is certainly big and sweet; juicy malt to balance the hops. Again, even a little Pine comes through in the taste, as the bitterness builds up to a fresh, clean, citrus finish. In many ways the IPA is personification of what I perceive the Smutty style to be - big on flavour but surprisingly light and drinkable on the sip. The two guys on the label, chilling on their lawn with some beer, is an apt image to use.

Don't Fear The Smoke

The Fear. We all have it; we all get it - something, often nondescript, that just sets our arm-hairs on edge. Spiders. Fox News. Grant Holt. Yes, they all rank up there, but for me, Smoked Beer was the daddy.

When 2011 came to be, I decided that this was all utter nonsense - some beers I'm capable of just not getting, of course, but there's all the signs were that I should love Smoked Beer. I love smoke; mostly on meat, or cheese - and especially fish - I'll take it, please. There's something about the depth of flavour that smoke adds that has always appealed. So I bit the bullet: bought one of the big daddies -Schlenkerla Rauchbier - and got stuck in.

Ok, I cheated. I bought it to use in a recipe, some Smoked Pulled Pork, but I couldn't let it pass me by. My palate has changed since that ill-fated day circa 2005 when I tried a swig of a friend's pint and declared it 'tasted like bacon.' So I used the beer in the recipe, and drank the other half of it whilst cooking. Guess what? I liked it. Really, I did.

Schlenkerla Rauchbier (5.1%abv) has got a whole lot more going on that that lovely, familiar Gothic label. It pours a lush, deep amber with a majestic Tan-hued head. Obviously the nose is powerful - layers upon layers of woodsmoke; underpinned by a sweet-oak sort of note that gives you a clue as to what the body of the beer will taste like. The beer itself is as sweet a Marzen as you're likely to taste, but flipped round so that heavy smokiness sits under the grain, rather than on top of it. For a 5.1% abv beer it drinks nowhere near, and I have to say I enjoyed it a great deal. I've drunk a couple more since, and I can't beleive I've let it go so long ruled by past prejudices.

Of course, this led me to trying to get my hands on more Smoked Beers. Bierbrouwerij Grand-Café Emelisse Rauchbier is a whole different beast to Schlenkerla. Where Schlenkerla is muscled and powerful, Emelisse Rauch is sinewy and lean. At 6.5%abv it's stronger, yet again hides that abv below loads of flavour. That familiar, sweet smoke is there on the nose, but this time there's a hint of wildness, of almost sour malt. The taste is again unexpectedly light, and with an unusual int of pine on the finish. There's a slight echo of Goudenband in the Flemish, rangy sourness that runs through the beer, but the smokiness really works and you end with an interesting beer.

I really wish I'd not been so slavishly following my previous prejudices all these years. Palates evolve, and if I have one moral to this story it's this; try everything. Again and again and again and again and...

You can see my recipe for Bamberg Pulled Pork over at Beer Reviews, curated as always by Andy Mogg. He may support a godawful football team, but he's one of the good guys and does some great things with food and beer. My recipe didn't win, but the one that did made mine look like Neanderthal fumblings; so it's all good. Please do hop on over there, forthwith.

BrewDog IPA Is Dead

I missed the launch of these little gems a few weeks back, but luckily the lads at BeerRitz swung to the rescue and ensured I had a tasty fourpack hidden away - like they always do, to be honest. So, Saturday's decorating was offset by the fact that I knew I had the beers slightly chillingin the fridge, and let me tell you that it's a comforting thought. So - onwards and upwards. The proof is in the tasting, however, so a pizza was duly ordered, glasses shined and the beers cracked.

First up - Citra. Well, the name says it all really. Citra's making appearances a lot recently, and with Kernel's Citra IPA still remaining the high water mark for me, BrewDog's effort gave a little more Tangerine/Orange edge on the usual Lemon/Lime profile. Simple, yet effective, Citra seems made for IPA's, and I'm sure we haven't seen the last of it.

Nelson Sauvin is probably one of my favourite hops - it's the goodness behind many, many great beers - so again, I sort of knew what to expect. There's the familiar Grapefruit and slight hint of cattiness, rounded off with more Lime pith. You can't go far wrong with it in pale beers, and this one disappeared way quicker than is healthy.

The ace in the pack is Sorachi Ace (pun entirely intended). I'd actually tried this on keg at Foley's during the week, and was left scratching my head. People offered their opinions on what it tasted and smelt of; anywhere between Thai Green Curry to Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum to Green Tea seemed to be the consensus. Having it in front of me at home gave me more time to deal with this arcane hop. I will tie my colours to the mast with this: sticky pine Resin and Mint. Together. With a bit of Strawberry sweetness on top. There's an amazing herbal note that makes the hop massively clean and fresh, but not in a bad way. It's an odd hop, without doubt,and I'd probably need a few more of these before entirely making up my mind about it. I'd say if you pick up one beer from this range, make it this one, just for shits and giggles.

Finally, onto my favourite - Bramling X (or Cross, whatever you like). Some may think it's an odd choice for an IPA but I loved this; a deep, woody Blackberry aroma and full-bodied taste that made it as individual as the Sorachi Ace IPA but in an entirely different way. I could drink this all day, and it's the one I've craved the most since finishing it off. All the beers were obviously sweet enough to balance the hops, but I was quite surprised at how different the Hops made the base beer. The Citra and Nelson Sauvin seemed much drier than the BX or Sorachi - when in reality they probably weren't.

Judging from comments on my previous post, IPAID seemed to have divided people ; or at least generate discussion. One of the biggest themes was lack of originality - Single Hopped beers are actually 'Old Hat' and nothing special. Well, yes, I agree. We know BD are great at marketing, but I don't think wool has been pulled over anyone's eyes at all. These are simply four very good, interesting IPA's with great balance that drink nowhere near their 7.5% abv. That's it. That really is it.

In fact - the main thing I enjoyed about these was the point I alluded at the start of the post - the four pack is a tasting platter in your own home - even if you miss the beers on cask. The cheeky foursome, hanging around menacingly in the fridge like day-glo clad Chavs on a street corner - beg to be shared and compared. I hope they stick around.

For a different slant on tasting this range, check out Ghostie's truly blind tasting. Cracking stuff.

Founder's Red's Rye PA

I'd been hearing a great deal of talk about this beer over Christmas and finally popped my bottle open a while back. I still get excited when I get to try something from a brewery for the first time - given how much beer us bloggers get through, we can sometimes take that for granted. Even better, I'm a big fan of Rye in beer so was curious as to how Michigan-based Founder's take on it stood up.

I needn't have worried; it's a delicious beer. Red's Rye PA (6.6%abv), mahogany in colour, ploughs a similar furrow to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - with rounded, sweet hardcandy and boiled-sweet flavours -but undercut with a little breadiness and spice coming through at the end of the sip, presumably courtesy of the rye. There’s Pine and atouch of Grapefruit on the nose, backed up with a little more pepperiness, but balanced, bitter end is more than balanced out by the sweet body.It’s very easy-drinking for its strength and chills nicely too. All in all; A balanced, tasty beer.

The Kernel: The Pales

...So let's get onto the beer itself. First up, is the simple Nelson Sauvin (4.7% abv) - does what it says on the tin. Amber in colour, it's a refreshing, zesty thirst-quencher with sherbert lemons and gooseberry on the nose, a sweet, honeyed body and then a high, long, grapefruit-led bitterness at the end of the sip. The sweetness in the body levels all the pithy bitterness out, and manages to be both a no-frills example of a single-hopped pale and a wonderfully balanced beer all at once.

A little more complex is the Centennial-Chinook (5.5%abv). It's darker in colour - my notes say 'Marmalade shade' in this respect - with slightly more biscuit flavours in the body, but still manages to achieve the green, clean bitterness that one wants from a hoppy beer. The nose is ever-so-slightly more herbal, and it's more bitter, even more pithy than the Nelson Sauvin. Although billed as a pale, there's more than enough here to satisfy hop-heads.

S.C.A.Ns (7.7%abv) is a wonderful concept; simply lump Simcoe, Cascade, Amarillo and Nelson Sauvin togethet and watch magic happen. The vibrancy I alluded to in the introduction really applied here; slightly less sweet than the previous pales, the aroma is the ace in the pack here. Lychee, Grapefruit, Orange Peel, Lime, Pineapple all jockey for position with an underlying, slightly catty undertone that reminds you it's a hoppy beer, not a tropical fruit salad. With all those high Alpha-acid hops in there you'd think it would be unbalanced, but no - the bitterness is only rising, and refreshing rather than rasping. It drinks nowhere near it's abv, which seems to be another hallmark of Evin O'Riordan's beers. Another version of this is available now with added Columbus hops.

The beer that rounds everything off was the Citra IPA (6.2%abv). Smooth. Really smooth; sweet, but not cloying, you can guess what a hop called 'Citra' is going to be like before smelling it; lemon/limey, with emphasis on the lemon, but slightly cleaner and purer almost than other other high AA hops. That cattiness is there again, with a hint of Lychee too. The bitterness is light and manageable, and you get another highly drinkable, incredibly tasty beer.

Citra IPA was probably the beer that caused the most stir at the back end of 2010. It appeared in many 'best of' lists and undoubtedly made Citra the hop du jour, a breath of fresh air for hop-heads all over.

To give this beer its due, it's worth bearing in mind that this runs against the style of the year being 'Black IPA's' - or whatever you want to call them. In the face of a worldwide trend, The Kernel's Citra IPA - a simple, single hopped, well made, well balanced India Pale Ale - reclaimed the IPA as the domain of the pale.

Next up: The Darks.

Roosters 2XS IPA

...Next up is the 2XS, the bigger, badder brother of the APA. Again, a fresh and zingy pint indeed, albeit with a slightly darker amber colouring this time. Nelson Sauvin, Cascade (remember Cascade? Seems like the first beer I've seen in ages apart from my homebrew that uses them!), Chinook, Citra, Simcoe and Citra all jostle for position in the nose. Looking at that hop-list, you know what neighbourhood you're in, and I'm pleased to say 2XS delivers that grassy, grapefruity, slightly catty, green-hop aroma perfectly. If anything, the nose is more tart, and less sweet, than the APA.

There's a good, thick mouthfeel and hints of digestive biscuit in the body; the sip is long and very refreshing. Again, it drinks nowhere near its 7.1% abv. If anything, the hop finish is restrained, despite the 'hop-head' claims on the label - but that's not to say it fails; far from it. What you've got is a slightly amped-up APA and a worthy addition to any modern IPA fiend's vault.

Rooster's XS American Pale Ale

I've kicked off the New Year by picking up some of these limited-run beers by Rooster's. Two Pales and a Black IPA, so nothing in the same ballpark of experimentation as Pumpkin Ale or Jasmine IPA but as we've said numerous times before, Rooster's don't bottle often so it's worth picking these up. Plus, Christmas and the New Year deserves special beers, eh?

So - XS American Pale up first. Deep amber in colour, those extra darker malts in the grain bill give a lovely, sweet backbone for the hops to sit on top of. Chinook, Simcoe, Crystal, Riwaka and hop du jour Citra have all been flung into this brew, so as you can imagine, the aroma is incredible. Gooseberry, Pineapple, Lychee, and (if I can get a bit Oz Clarke for a second) cut grass all vie for attention. Lovely. On the sip, it's smooth (I suspect from the toch of wheat that's present), fresh, and juicy - not dry at all - and weighing in at 5.5%abv makes XS APA quite simply an excellent, quaffable Pale Ale. It is sweet, don't get me wrong, but it's balanced perfectly and in excellent condition too - lively and vibrant.

I'll let you know what I thought of the others as the week unwinds.

Edit - It's not just me that rates it - here's what Hopzine thought....

The Good Stuff 2010 Review

Ok, here’s my roundup of what floated my boat in 2010. Personally, I’ve had a pretty cool year. I got married, which was great fun and I can recommend to anyone thinking of popping the question, and I also decided to come out from behind the laptop and meet some of you. I’m glad I did; what a cracking bunch of chaps and chapesses you all turned out to be. You know who you are. Thanks for some great beers and banter.

Ok, here we go -
Overall Beer of the Year – a bottled one this year – BDB/DFH’s’s My Antonia. 2010 was the year I finally got to taste some Italian Craft Beers, and this was one hell of a jumping-off point. Aroma spilling out of the glass, thick with herbals and citrus, this Imperial Pilsner left some mark on my consciousness. Still, and I suspect will be for some time, my favourite BDB beer – albeit a collaboration.

Beers of The Year - Brewdog Edge/5Am Saint. I’ll whisper it; I’d fallen out of love a little with Brewdog in 2010. Too much high-abv, freeze-distilled antics for me; just personal taste. Then just when I’d wrote them off – BANG – Edge appears, being quite possibly tastiest pint for it’s abv I’d had. Masses of red fruit, plummy, malty, refreshing – but all with an abv of 3.8%. Then, my lazy ass picks up 5AM Saint, which must be one of the best aromas I’ve experienced for quite some time – strawberry and lychee all the way, sitting on top a very respectable, sweet Amber ale. Welcome back, BrewDog - I’ve missed ya.


SummerWine Brewery – Project 6 IPA Series. If there’s one think I love in anything – be it writing, comics, music or indeed beer – it’s one-off’s. Exciting little diversions from core ranges, beers to actively seek out and savour. SWB’s P6 IPA’s have been pretty much the beer of my summer; waiting until the next one comes out, and trying hard to pick out the combo of hops in this particular edition. Simply excellent, fragrant, British IPA’s with a sense of adventure. I’d say check them out – but they’ve gone now; and therein lies my point.



Other memorable pints –
Highland’s Orkney Blast – Strong Pale Ale par excellence – woody, earthy but sweet and aggressive English-hopped Strong Pale Ale.
Abbeydale Last Rites – A late entry, Last Rites slipped under the radar a little with its release this month. Super-easy drinking for its 11% abv, this richly golden Barleywine was smoother than Swiss Tony and satisfyingly rich, all without being cloying. Can we have some bottles of this, Abbeydale?
Wharfebank’s CamFell Flame – It’s not all about strong beers, and WB’s Camfell Flame is rightly the most lauded of their range. No-nonsense, it’s a rich, malty, warming pint with a lovely cinder-toffee profile.
Baladin Open – Wow. The stand-out beer of my honeymoon in Italy, and even the better for the fact that my bottle was given to me as a gift from a beer-loving barman in Garda. Again, aroma is what sets Open apart, loaded with Strawberry, Pineapple and Lychee.
Williams Bros Joker IPA – Williams continue to innovate and pleasantly surprise with a clean, refreshing, super-balanced IPA; restrained in hopping and yet all the better for it.
Marble Dobber – A great beer with that grapefruit led nose that I’ve come to expect from Pale Marble beers. This is one more about context; it was the first beer of the day on the Twissup and over it I finally met the likes of Baron Orm, the Hardknotts, Rakebar Glyn, Andy Mogg etc etc...
Ola Dubh 30 – on Cask at The Angel, Manchester, was not only one of the most pleasant surprises of the day (Twissup) but perfectly fit the mood of collaboration; a beer to be savoured and even shared – mouth-coatingly rich, loaded with chocolate and a whisper of whiskey heating everything up. Wow.
Thornbridge 2009 Halcyon. Green. Fresh. Refreshing. Moreish. Wonderful. Thanks, Stefano and the lads.
Crown Brooklyn Heights - IT constantly amazes me how much milage the Pale Ale style has, especially when this strong, sweet and floral Pale Ale hit my lips. Wonderfully hoppy, well-brewed, Pale Ale. Simple as that.

..And as ever with lists, there were so many more – but these are my ones, these are the pumpclips I want to see in my 2010 pub. Speaking of pubs, my pub of the year goes to The Grove in Huddersfield this year. I’d never actually been until 2010 and I rue that fact dearly. Pleasant, informative barstaff, great beer (and lots of it) all in a nice space. The Grove is one of the few pubs I would get on a train specifically for, so Thanks, Brian. Those that know me know I spend a lot of time hanging out with Dean in Foley’s – so I don’t want to over-egg the point for fear of being acused of nepotism – but Dean and crew at Foley’s deserve my thanks for really improving their beer range. In the past few months drinkers in Leeds have been spoiled with offerings from Summer Wine, Crown, Hardknott and Dark Star to name a few, as well as championing newer faces such as Revolutions. So I guess, a ‘Much Improved’ sort of award!



Finally, I just want to mention a couple of blogs. HopZine I love; clean, clever design and - more importantly – ratings I trust. That’s the key. Rob and Matt know their beer and bring the more esoteric beers to my attention, so for that, HopZine go as my blog of the year. They are both bloody nice blokes, too, which helps! I’d also like to throw some kudos out to Beer.Birra.Beer. Mark’s style appeals to me, it's knowledgeable and, more importantly, balanced. Again, another blogger I trust. Keep up the good work, Lads.

Moor JJJ IPA

The dilemma I often have when buying beer online - in fact, buying beer full stop, is how much of something to buy. I often have to go online or drive up to Beer-Ritz to buy beers that particularly come from the south, and this means it's usually quantity over quality, so to speak.

There's always one beer I wish I'd bought more of. Moor JJJ IPA (9.5%abv) is one of those beers. Jesus, this is a good beer. Burnt amber in colour, there's a nice, heavy mouthfeel that totally befits a beer of this gravity; a real tongue-coating sweetness that lays a rock-solid foundation for the bitterness that occurs towards the end of the sip. Pine, Lemon Sherbet and Orange Peel leave the finishing hop attack very much leaning towards the familiar fresh citrus, despite the nose giving away a little biscuity malt and a more herbal, black-pepper-like feel.

It's a big, big, beer and to be honest, I like to think of it more as a hopped barleywine than an IPA - simply due to that massive body. However, when all is said and done, JJJ's balance and complete harmony won me over. Big, but tasteful. Brash, yet subtle. I do wish I'd bought some more.

Do jump over to Moor's website, it's a great-looking site and I, for one, love Moor's design. It's pretty safe to say that Moor's wares will feature heavily on TGS during 2011!

Leeds Gyle 479

Leeds Brewery have created a one-off beer for the seasonal period, Gyle 479. It's an itteresting point in itself that Leeds have created a special like this; despite being incredibly popular in Leeds (thier popular, rapidly-expanding Pub portfolio serving as a case in point), they do normally keep things simple and straighahead - a strong core portfolio of beers with now-regular seasonals.

So, is this foray into experimentation any good? In short, yes. For some reason I assumed it would be a stout-esque beer, but it's not; Venkatesh (Head Brewer) described it more as a 'Vintage Ale', and he's spot on. The base beer was brewed in the summer, and then matured in Bruichladdich Whisky Casks until now.

Sitting in the brewery, all neatly in a row, the Casks certainly impose. Cask-ageing of beer is the perfect flavour profile for this time of year, and I'm at a loss to even begin to explain the variances of taste that every single cask can add to a uniform base beer. The beer itself pours a rich mahogany colour; when held to the light there's a lovely plummy red hue shining through. There's some estery fruity-yeastiness going on in the nose, alongside a subtle vanilla note that you'd expect from a cask-aged beer, and a slightly smoky, treacle-like sweetness underpinning the whole thing.

Gyle 479 is smooth; and very easy to drink. Rounded sweetness, full of cherry and sultana, turns slightly spicier as the sip finishes, and that finish is unexpectedly dry - which makes it surprisingly moreish.

Very seasonal, Gyle 479 is a lovely beer, and I'm happy to see Leeds experimenting a little more like this. Venkatesh certainly seems very proud of his creation - and so he should be. It would seem that Leeds don't plan to let the casks sit idle, so I'll be keeping an eye out in the future. If you're thinking about cracking one open to eat with lunch over the yuletide period, I could'nt help but think that a nice slab of rare beef with horseradish would be a match made in heaven for it; in fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that that's exactly what I'm going to do. It's available from The Brewery, Beer-Ritz (Headingley), or Latitude Wines in Leeds.

Thanks again to Venkatesh, Sam and Michael to taking time out of thier busy day to speak to me yesterday. Hopefully next time I come over it'll be warmer out, and my feet won't be frozen!

Open It! JW Lees Harvest Ale 2007

Here's my entry for the Open It! weekend being hosted by good buddies Mark and Andy. The concept is simple; find a bottle you've been hoarding, and Open It. Then tell everyone about it. I love it. Plus, we all know beer geeks are hoarders at heart.

JW Lees's 2007 Harvest Ale is my choice. I know that in the grand scheme of things, 2007 is hardly a great vintage - only three years - but in many ways, the beer represents a watershed for me. 2007 was the year that I took the plunge with all this 'Real Ale' that I'd been sniffing around, and finally gave up the Chrome font for the Pumpclip. Not only that, but I wanted to tell people what I'd found; how good these beers were, and why I think they should stop pissing around with Carlsberg and put their money elsewhere. A rabid technophobe, I discovered Blogger, and the rest is history.

Buying beer then meant going up to BeerRitz, and stocking up. If I had never seen it before, it went in the basket. Although leaning heavily towards US brews in the early days, this bottle caught my eye. It had a nice-looking Autumnal label. It looked a little...hand-crafted. Plus, it had a date on it; I knew then this meant it was special. So in the basket it went, and before long it was sitting in the Beer store, ready to be enjoyed. Or not. Thousands of beers have shared JW's living space since then. Compatriots from all over the world; in, out, in, out...JW must have been either really pissed off, or breathing a sigh of relief at being spared one more time. In truth, I couldn't open him -he was from one of those nascent, cherished trips to the BeerRitz where I knew nothing. Fast forward to Manchester, earlier this year. Having a chinwag with Mark over Marble's wares in The Marble Arch, and discovering he had an even older Harvest Ale. I decided pretty much there that it was time to Open It.

So - a snowday yesterday and a free evening to relax and enjoy the beer. Was it worth the wait? Yeah, of course it was. Truly seasonal; the 2007 Harvest Ale poured toffee-amber, without much of a head. As some of the yeast settled, I took a whiff and got a noseful of alcohol warmth and residual sweetness; toffee, raisin, biscuit, vanilla - in fact, at one point I convinced myself it smelled of Bakewell Tart.

On the sip it's much smoother than expected; a thick mouthfeel was offset by a faint prickle of carbonation which lifted the beer away from being too cloying. Like I said, the taste is filled with masses of Dundee Cake and Brown Sugar, with hints of smoke, a touch of cherry and a faint hit of chocolate - or is that the vanilla again? Despite its' strength, it remained balanced and easy to sip and with the snow falling outside this made an excellent companion to the evening.

Williams Bros Joker IPA - A Seriously Good Beer

...And it is. I've always had a soft spot for Williams Bros's beers - from my first taste of Red to personal favourite 7 Giraffes. Well, personal favourite until Joker came along.

What a beer. Despite IPA's popularity these days, I still count it as a tricky style to get right. Many IPA's simply don't live up to promise, and as a style, there are fans on both sides of the spectrum. Some people want massive hopping for a real puckering bitterness. Some favour aroma over that, and some (and I have to say I'm firmly in this camp) want a little of everything - balance, I guess. It doesn't have to be a hop bomb to be a good IPA.

Joker (5%abv) hits the mark - Gold in colour, a creamy, slightly biscuity body, and that wonderful, pithy juicyness running throughout. There's lemon, lime, grapefruit and pine on the nose, and there's enough carbonation to ensure a lively, prickly sip. Eye-opening, refreshing, bitter and sweet with a wonderful aroma, this is almost my perfect IPA. Wonderful.

Prawn & Spinach Orecchiette with Saltaire Blonde

One theme that I always seem to come back to on here is certain beers becoming so ubiquitous that you forget how good they are and start to take them for granted. A similar epiphany occurred in Italy last month; although this was about Pasta.

Pasta. The fall-back, go-to meal. Everyone loves it, everyone eats it. Yet it had been a long time since I'd enjoyed any truly outstanding pasta. That is, until I ate pasta in Italy. Firstly, the practise of eating is as a first course (Primi Piatti) makes total sense. The portion is slightly smaller, but I found these (seemingly never-ending succession of) pastas so packed with flavour and so light, that I was blown away. I would look forward to dinner every night, just to see what dainty, flavourful morsel as coming my way. Sauces are minimal, and that's the difference. A little sauce, a lot of flavour.

The only thing that let the experience down was my own high expectations. Sure, the wine was great, but I came away each night missing a truly great beer to accompany the dishes. So I put the old thinking cap on, and have spent the last fortnight or so making pasta purely to enjoy with some beers. The first one is Prawn and Spinach Orecchiette with Saltaire Blonde.

Orecchiette is a great little pasta - and you should be able to pick some up in larger supermarkets or good delis (ie Salt's, if in Leeds). Thier little dimples pick up sauce really well, and they just look great too. I normally make pasta, but in this case, I used some dried - making Orecchiette would just be a bit too fiddly for me, personally. I want to eat.

On we go: Get your pasta on the boil and drain when done. In the meantime, in a large pan, drop a large glug of Olive Oil, and warm it gently. Get about 10 cherry tomatoes, and slice them in half. Put these in the pan, and let them cook out slightly. Season with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar and a handful of fresh Sage, chopped. At this point, add two cloves of Garlic, chopped. Add your prawns, (about 150g) and let them cook. If they are frozen, they'll release a little water, just let this cook out. Finally, add some washed and torn spinach leaves and let them wilt. When the pasta's done, tip it into the pan and coat it in the sauce. Add a little more Olive oil, and serve. If you don't eat seafood - use Chicken or Turkey instead.

Saltaire's Blonde is an ideal beer for a light Pasta like this, being so light itself. It's got a decent lemony freshness at the end of the sip, and the touch of wheat in the grain bill smooths it out a little. It chills really well, too, so although the sun may be gone for 2010 now, you can still have some use for those Summer thirst-quenchers!!

I'll be putting up some other recipes in the next few weeks.

BrewDog Edge

Although BD first brewed this a while back, Edge remained one of the few from their stable that I hadn't yet tried - until this afternoon. I was looking for a pleasant, lunchtime sesssioner, and found it in spades. At 3.2% abv, present-day Edge is a little stronger than when it first appeared (which I understand was around 2.7%abv!) but it remains a wonderful, wonderful beer, and a joy to drink on draught. A thick, tan head gives way to a black-pepper and coffee-led body, with a wonderfully refreshing fruitiness underpinning the whole thing. Despite being packed with flavour, the whole package is stupidly easy to drink. Given the current trend for 'Cascadian Dark Ale' (or whatever they're called this month), this makes a whole lot of sense. The weather is pulling us toward the season for dark milds, stouts and porters, and my lunchtime pint was supremely enjoyable. Nice to see that BD can still pull it out of the bag for lower-strength beers.

I enjoyed Edge in The Victoria, Leeds - should still be on now if you want to try it.