The Week In Beer

The increased amount of football action in the telly this week has meant one thing: an increased amount of times in pubs, drinking good beers with good mates and doing quite a lot of chuntering. The League Playoffs and Europa League final have been excellent this year, and Mr Capello's final unveiling of England's provisional World Cup Squad have provided a splendid backdrop to a torrent of beer-tinged analysis. Nerdy, I know, but that's how I roll, as they say. But this is a beer blog, so here's the beers that have really stood out for me this week.

Firstly, kudos to The Victoria for getting some Breconshire Red Dragon (4.7% abv) in. When you find Welsh beer in Leeds it tends to be the various permutations of Brains - so let's have some more. Red Dragon impressed me in the bottle and on draught it's slightly more restrained. However, those malty, slightly fruit-cakey flavours are there in spades and it remains a filling, moreish beer. Five Town's Callum's Best (4.6%abv) - another dark mild, but on the fruitier side, body-wise - is light and seriously quaffable. No nonsense, quality beer indeed.

More complex was Goff's Tradition (4.0%abv). My drinking buddies declared it '...Quite like TT Landlord' and I nodded in agreement - copper in colour, but with a sticky-toffee body and a distinctly floral nose that I think the Landlord comparison was borne of. This was my first Goff's beer, and If you like TTL (and who doesn't?) then , yeah, give this a whirl.

Another solid pale (and another brewery I hadn't tried before) was Bowland's Hen Harrier (4.0% abv). Paler still, with a dry, lemony finish, this brought a cheeky smile to my face. It was balanced pretty well and for a robust, straightahead Pale Ale was very flavourful indeed, yet remained drinkable to the end.

One oddity stuck out though - Caledonian's Flying Dutchman (4.3%abv). Advertised as a Wit, it's actually nothing of the sort if you're expecting a traditional Wit. Amber in colour, with a thick, juicy, biscuity/wheaty mouthfeel, it's a tough one to nail down. There's tonnes of biscuit in the body, but a distinctly gingery nose and dry, bitter finish. I couldn't decide whether I liked it or not, but I guess the fact that I'm writing about it means it stuck in my mind....one to try again, I think.

A Warm Salad of Mushroom and Parma Ham with Savoury Toasts

...Right, so onto what we did with those ingredients we picked up at the Bingley Food Festival. We had been inspired by TV (doesn't happen often) the night before - Thomasina Mier's show on Spain was decent watching for those into Iberian Cuisine, and her Iberico Ham and awesome-looking mushroom dish gave us inspiration. So, given what we had available, we went along the same lines...


This is a 'Yorkshire Tapas' sort of dish - but where Tapas conjures images of heat, lightness and simple but punchy flavours, this is an altogether earthier affair. The Mushrooms and ham combine perfectly, and the simple cheese toasties bring smoke and bite. The 'Morcilla' tapas is a Spanish classic and an excellent showcase for good-quality blood sausage. We bought our Parma Ham from the ever-excellent Salvo's Salumeria in Headingley, Leeds.

Savoury Toasts
You will need:
Two Cheeses - we used Smoked Goats' Cheese and Manchego. These are interchangeable according to taste, but I really recommend one smoked cheese in there.
Good Olive Oil
Ciabatta
Black Pudding, sliced.
Red Onion Chutney - available in most stores, but you could make your own sticky onions if you prefer.

1. Preheat your oven to about 150.
2. Heat a griddle pan, and lightly wipe with olive oil and season the surface with black pepper.
3. Slice your cheeses into chunks, and slice your ciabatta into mini-crostini chunks.
4. In another pan, lightly fry your black pudding slices until crisped on each side.
5. Lightly toast the toasts on the griddle pan.
6. On a baking tray, arrange the lightly toasted toasts and drizzle with olive oil. Arrange cheese on some, and a teaspoon of chutney and a slice of black pudding on others.
7. Place the assembled toasts on a low heat in the oven - this is only to keep them warm and to melt the cheeses.

While they are holding, make your Salad:

You will need;
Three Garlic Cloves
Fresh Parsley, chopped/torn
Two Large Mushrooms, sliced
Some Sliced Parma Ham, shredded
Half a small bag of Spinach Leaves, washed & drained

1. In a pestle & mortar, pound the garlic and then add the chopped parsley and some cracked black pepper. Cover in Olive Oil. This will become your dressing.
2. Heat a large pan. Drop in a little olive oil, and add your sliced mushrooms.
3. When they have soaked up the oil, add the ham. Don't be tempted to turn the heat up too much; you want the ham to release a little fat, but not to overcook it and destroy the flavour.
4. Add half the dressing; the mushrooms will soak that up too.
5. Toss in the spinach, wilt, then serve onto warmed plates.
6. Finish the dish with the rest of the dressing.

Serve with the toasts!


It may seem like a lot of work but it's not - just have the oven heated and you can hold the toasts while you make the salad. The smoky cheese brings loads of depth to the toasts, and the sweet/savoury taste of the black pudding toasts complements the ham and mushroom salad in an amazing way. Don't add salt, by the way - the ham's got enough to round!





In terms of beer, I paired this with Breconshire Breweries' Red Dragon. Despite the slightly Dungeons & Dragons label, this bottle-conditioned gem is a serious beer - a complex, malt body, with a lively, unashamedly bitter aftertaste, it complements the autumnal flavours of the meal with ease.