Thorne Dutch Pale/Saltaire

...Apologies for the lack of activity recently but I'm incredibly busy at the moment, with work and sorting wedding stuff out - but with it being Cask Ale week and all (What? You didn't know?Shame on you...), I've been substituting lunch for Beer and getting some midweek drinking done.

Thorne's Vermuyden Pale Ale (4.7%) has been the pick of the beery bunch. I've sampled Thorne's Best before and found it to be solid enough, with a nice depth of flavour, but I really do like this self-proclaimed Dutch Pale - although what makes it Dutch I'm not quite sure. Straw-coloured, with a fresh, zingy grass-like hop aroma up front, the body is nicely cereal and incorporates a little hint of almond towards the end. It's a good example of a pale with actual depth of flavour.

Thorne are a hard-working community Brewery set up by enthusiasts - if you want to know more about their beers then jump onto their page via the link above. And if you see any of their beers knocking about this week, give them a try.

And finally some news for Saltaire fans - the ever-popular brewery are expanding their bottled range, with Blonde and Siba Gold Award-Winning Triple Chocoholic hitting the shelves soon. Huzzah!

Edit: Anonymous - yep, you're right. Looks like I need to lay off the lunchtime beers! Edited, needless to say.

The Hop, Leeds

I've always liked Ossett Breweries' beers - they do a great line in pales, and their beers always satisfy in a non-complicated, typically Yorkshire way. The Hop is their latest foray into real estate, and I dropped by yesterday evening after work to see how they were doing.

The Hop's a nice space - vaulted ceilings and the (strangely comforting) occasional rumble of trains overhead courtesy of the Dark Arches location. Downstairs boasts a faux-pub decor, whilst the extra seating upstairs is welcome, given that it's practically standing-room only at the bar.

Onto the beer. Ossett's standards are all here, rebadged and all shiny and new. Silver King and its stronger cousin Excelsior are great pales, sherbety in mouthfeel and grapefruity on the nose. Yorkshire Blonde does what it says on the tin, but Big Red impresses. Very red in colour, this ruddy, deep-flavoured ale provides a tastier diversion from pale overload.

Nestled beside the Ossett beers are guests from Roosters (more pale), Great Heck, and Goose Eye's wonderful Over & Stout, and the fridges boast the usual roundup of Belgian, American and German bottled gems.

So, it was a night for Pale fans, without a doubt. And what do I think of The Hop? I like it; a little more variation on the bar would be appreciated, but pale ales, like Roosters, are Ossett's style of choice. The place is bustling, and there's a lot of people in here, all drinking ale. That's a good thing, no mistake. The Hop is a welcome addition to the pubs and bars of Leeds in my book, and it's location serves as a handy pitstop on the way down to the River Aire run. Kudos, too, for using the Dark Arches. We should be making more of this beautiful, unique space - and hopefully others will follow The Hop.

Apologies for my crap photos. It's a very gloomy bar, especially at 18.00 on a friday night. Bring on the sunshine!!

In Praise of Pales

I've been in a distinctly Pale frame of mind since an afternoon on Acorn's Motueka IPA a few weekends ago. What a beer; refreshing, bitter and incredibly well-balanced, its a must-try if you see it. They'll be brewing single-hopped beers throughout 2010, and I personally can't wait for the next one. What with that, the clocks going forward soon and the spate of -dare I say it - sunshine - we've enjoyed in the last ten days or so, it's been pales all the way at TGS Towers.

Hook Norton's Hooky Gold's a decent drop; straw on the nose with an earthy undercurrent, the beer itself is light, bright and packs a decent citrussy wallop. We had a couple of bottles of this with some Paella recently, chilled slightly, and it went down a treat, cutting through the strong, garlicky flavours of the food with ease. Another solid, classy beer from a solid, classy brewery.

Another interesting one (although I'm not sure how widely available it is) is Copper Dragon's Freddie Trueman. A one-off beer brewed to remember the great man, it's not what you expect; almost Koelsch-like, it's a zesty, lively pale with masses of sherberty lemon & lime on the nose. Copper Dragon may have had a rough time of it of late but it's always a pleasure to drink new beer from them - but they don't often branch out into seasonals. A shame - CD certainly have their fans.

Leeds CAMRA Beer Festival 2010

...Well, that's it. Over for another year. Leeds's beer festival seems to get more popular year on year, and that's got to be a good thing. The beer list for this year's fest really did impress me - there some great beers coming in from all over the UK, and although we love local beer, for me, the main point of a beer fest is to try something you've never tried before. And we had lots of opportunity to do that this weekend - so many thanks to the hard-working folk of Leeds CAMRA. Stars, the lot of you.

Anyway, onto the beer - and I'll try to keep it to stand-out beers only. Mordue's Workie Ticket is an award-winner for a reason - it's a great pint and stood head and shoulders above quite lot of what was sampled over the weekend - if you look up 'Great, solid english bitter' in the dictionary, this should pop up. Slight raisin in the body but predominantly toffee-led, with a nutty, rich finish, a pint of a good beer like this makes you appreciate 'brown beer' again. Really, it does.

....But it wasn't beer of the festival. For me, this was Nottingham's Rock Mild - another bitter, although on the milder scale of things. Lusciously dark, with a full, red fruit-led body, the aroma of blackcurrant with a hint of smoke coming off this beer was amazing. Of all the beers tried, this left the biggest impression, and yet I probably expected the least from it. And therein lies your first beer lesson: try everything. You may be surprised.

Onwards and upwards. I can't say no to a Purple Moose, so the ever-excellent Dark Side of The Moose was followed by another Welsh beer, Tomos Watkins's OSB, which was another flavourful bitter, full of biscuit and nuttiness, and massively satisfying.

Back to Yorkshire. Wharfebank's Slinger's Gold went by way too fast - super-easy drinking pale ale with a pleasing grassiness/straw on the nose. I'll be keeping an eye on this new brewery from Otley. Keeping things in the pale ball-park (and urgently resisting temptation to get involved with the keg of Summer Lightning), I opted for Spire's Good as Gold, which again hit all the right spots in a sherbety, pale, slightly lemony pale ale that refreshed the palate. Again, I don't get to try Spire's ales up north all that much, but I always enjoy it, and at 3.8%abv I could have drunk a lot more of it. The same goes for Goose Eye's Hop Pot, which although drew giggles at the name, turned out to be a real find, with a great grapefruit/fresh cut grass aroma and a super-pale body that only reinforced my view that the Keighley-based Brewery are one of the unsung heroes of Yorkshire brewing.

Green Jack's Orange Wheat proved to be a disappointment - neither orangey or wheat-y, but Liverpool Organic's Bier Head was another pleasant surprise, a clean koelsch-type beer that would chill down wonderfully. This was my last beer of the festival and refreshed a weekend-jaded palate perfectly.

Bring on 2011.

Irish Beer Fest @ Foley's

...Foley's Irish Beer fest is well underway, and we jostled our way through the craic-seeking crowds last night to sample some new (to us) beers from the Emerald Isle.

First up, Fransiscan Well's Friar Weisse - and our favourite of the night. Not much of a head, but a gorgeous hazy yellow colour, sweet in the body yet clean, and with plenty of almond and banana notes. A seriously easy pint to drink, this refreshing version of a favourite style of mine hit the spot.

An IPA next - and by that I mean White Gypsy's Emerald Pale Ale. It does what it says on the tin, really - a bitter, straw-coloured pale with a smooth body and a decent floral-hop aroma. Again, very good indeed, and a beer whose smoothness belies a 5%abv hit.

Hilden's Scullion Irish Ale brought way more to the table in terms of malt bill - this amber packs a lot of flavour in. Toffee and a little smoke on the nose, but with an intensely fruity taste that dries out quite quickly. Powerful, and even a little warming, but thoroughly enjoyable. Hilden's offshoot College Green Brewery's Belfast Blonde returned us to a paler land, and this was another highlight of the night. Ultra-pale, ultra clean, but with a grassy hop aroma, this is another beer I'd like to drink a lot more of. Wonderful.

It wouldn't have been right to not try a stout, so College Green's Molly's Chocolate Stout got a look in. Although a decent stout - smoky, with about the right balance of roastiness to soft bitterness, I couldn't really discern much chocolate in the body. Still, with all this good beer in front of me, I was more than content.

Do try and get yourself over to Foley's to partake - although I don't know how much will be left by the weekend! And if anyone can recommend any Irish Craft Brewers I need to seek out, please do. I've been fairly impressed so far.

Guest Blogging @ The Guardian

I've done a little guest blogging for The Guardian this week - a run down of my personal favourite pubs in Leeds City Centre. The Guardian have set up city-based blogs for a few places now, and are a decent read. You can check it out here, as well as contributions from other Leodensian Bloggers such as the always-on -the money Leeds Grub and My Life In Leeds.

Foley's Irish Beer Fest

If you fancy an alternative to the usual stout-related antics this St Patrick's day, head to Foleys for thier Irish Beer festival. Beers from Hilden, Franciscan Well and White Gypsy on offer plus more. Needless to say I'll be about, and reporting as such soon after the event. Check it out here.

Sierra Nevada Wet Hop 2008 (Yes, 2008!)

I'm a ditherer when it comes to 'special beers' - whether it be limited editions or certain vintages. To prove exactly how much, It took a friend of mine to point out that I could escape this choice by buying two of each beer, but I was so caught up in personal turmoil that only Dante could dream of that this obvious answer could not present itself.

And it's with this in mind, and this exchange over on The Beer Nut ringing in my ears, that I finally got round to cracking open 2008's Harvest Wet Hop.

Well, despite my fears and advice, it didn't taste too bad. Mahogany in colour, it had that usual SN taste of boiled sweets and marmalade, although ramped up somewhat. I can certainly echo TBN's assertion that these Harvests are big beers, made even more so by a thick mouthfeel.

There was a definite pronounced hoppiness on the nose, which was a relief as I thought that would be the first to disappear. Peppery at first, but then mellowing out to a pungent citrussiness, my notes proclaim the aroma to me pretty similar to what I get in my kitchen when I'm chucking hops into my homebrewed beers. There's a certain green-ness that does set this out, aroma -wise, from a regular SN beer. The beer is bitter, obviously, but in much shorter terms than I'm used to.

Overall - an interesting beer that I think hasn't suffered too much from it's time in hibernation. I enjoyed it, anyway, so one could argue it served it's purpose. Saying that, I would have loved to have tasted it fresh and compared the two. Oh well - lesson learned. Buy two next time.

The Week in Beer

It's been an uber-busy week at work, and although I've not found much time to post, I've certainly found time to enjoy a few quiet pints whilst on the road.

First up was a leisurely lunch at Porterhouse in Covent Garden, where I found Porterhouse Red to be a decent accompaniment for my lunch, full of body and a sweet/smoky nose. I love Irish Reds, probably because I don't get to taste a lot of them in Leeds, so this is always a treat. Despite the brickwork and brass bringing back memories of a Hersbrucker Pils-fuelled hangover(a vicious one at that), I always try and visit PH when I can. At least I know one place to get a decent pint in London.

Curiosity got the better of me when it came to dropping in at The Betjeman Arms in St Pancras. I was expecting a brick-hewn, cosy pub - instead I walked in a gastro-palace of labyrinthine proportions, full of iners and a much-depleted range of beers. Likewise, Sharp's Betjeman Ale (what else?) turned out to be a thin, crisp, refreshing pint with more than a hint of spice on the nose, rather than the standard 'brown' beer I was expecting. Although pleasant enough, I walked away from the Betjeman feeling slightly unfulfilled, both in environs and beer quality/range.

Luckily, Crouch Vale's excellent Brewer's Gold came to the rescue when further north. A gorgeous pale-yellow in colour, it bursts forth with citrus and grass-led hop aroma, which follow through to the taste. A great session beer, and one that I could drink all night, especially when the nights get balmier.



Further north we had the chance to sample Mallinson's Volga Porter - which, despite being a little thinner in body than I like my porters - turned out to be a smooth, chocolate-led pint that warmed and satisfied in equal measure. Mallinsons may turn out brews at a stunning rate, but I'm yet to taste a bad beer from them. Consistency is key, guys, consistency is key.

An Outstanding Stout

....Or, to be more precise, Outstanding Brewing Co's Stout (5.5%abv). These Lancashire lads have been making beer for a couple of years now but this is the first of their wares that I've tasted - and I was impressed.

A simple beer that simply ticks all the boxes: a thick, tan head that lasts until the end of the pint, and masses of liquorice on the nose - along with a hint of cola. The body of the beer isn't too thick, with a long, dry taste - roasted malt up front, with a hint of sweetness at the end, and then drying out to a tongue-tingling bitterness. The slight carbonation that this bottle-conditioned beer shows actually benefits, I think; OB's Stout is a big, big tasting beer, yet remains light. Very nice indeed. Must search out some more.

Hunter S Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005)

It's been five long years, baby.

Fish And Derks

Ok - not something I do often - but this is pretty much non-beer related post. This story in The Sun yesterday really brought a smile to my face, however, so I thought I would share. Plus, I know that all of you who read and comment on TGS are foodies as well as...well, beeries. People of taste, basically...

Anyway, the gist of it is that some boffins have surmised that the humble dish of Fish and Chips is keeping regional language dialects alive. Mundane? No, I don't think so, and neither do the boffins at Leeds University and The British Library, who are all in hand-wringing agreement.

I know there's a lot of regional differences in how we all dispatch an order of Fish and Chips, but I didn't know there was this many. I've had plenty of arguments with mates (non-Yorkshire-born mates, I might add) who argue that 'Scraps are weird' or that a Breadcake is, in fact, a Barm (or possibly even a Stottie). This article is pure pub banter, as we argue over whose term is best - or even who does the best. Again; mundane? Well, that's what passionate people do.

Anyway, Fish and Chips does link in with beer. Although personally I prefer a cup of tea with mine when at home, Fish and Chips is usually the first on any self-respecting Gastropubs' menu - the epitome of hearty fare, sitting alongside such chalkboard staples as Pie or Sausages and Mash - although usually encased in a beer batter, of course. It's comfort food - and not a dish to be taken lightly, as I found out when I managed to bend the ear of Peter Scott of Bretts in Headingley.

Not only did the man make us some of the finest Fish and Derks (see what I did there) I'd tasted in a while, he took me round the kitchen and explained his secrets - from what fish to use and where from, to the exact temperature of the fat used to fry the fish. This lively man was happy to talk fish and chips all night, and a great night it was.

Oh - and before you ask - I do refer to Fish and Chips as 'Fish and Derks' - although not when ordering. I've never called them 'Nerks' . It's just a bit of eye contact and a firm exclamation of 'Once' or 'Twice' to be heard over the din of the fryers. Mushy Peas? Optional, for me. I do, however, find it hard to believe that only 27% of 'Londoners' have tried a chip butty. Really? I think some 'Londoners' are keeping up appearances there - surely?

In Praise of Context

If there's one theme that I keep returning to when it comes to beer (and food) it's context. The simple can be elevated to the divine, if the context is right.

Like many of us, I have a pretty stressful job. I manage people, and have to keep a number of balls in the air at any one time. On one hand, I like my job; I'm in a good position, with a good rep and with prospects in front of me. On the other hand - i'm not really passionate about it. What I am passionate about - writing and beer - gets an airing here.


Last week I had a rare day off. I took a little lunchtime walk to a pub in Bramley, where I live, called The Old Unicorn. It's a Taylor's pub, and very much a 'local' atmosphere going on. Depending on the day, it can be dead or busy - on this day, there was a fair old crowd in there. I picked up a paper, ordered a sandwich and a pint of Landlord, and sat down.
Taylor's Landlord. A beer risen to near mythical heights outside of Yorkshire, and normally a beacon of quality no matter where you drink it. Living in Leeds, I've spent many a night in Bradford, Keighley and Haworth supping this archetypal ubiquitous pale bitter. Despite the legend, it can be ordinary (very ordinary) when served in bad condition.

But this pint wasn't. It was bang on. Fresh, floral, malty, sweet, with a tight, everlasting head, it brightened my mood so much that it vanished in four gulps and another was ordered. I wasn't in glamorous surroundings, nor supping some imported US gem - this was plain old Yorkshire in a glass, with the sports pages open in front of me (dissecting our loss against Carlisle the night before) and a Club Sandwich to fill my stomach. This was heaven. This was four days ago, and I can still taste that pint now.

Caldera Ashland Amber

OK, here's a first for 2010 - my first craft beer in a can. Caldera's range seems to be can-friendly, like fellow compatriots Buckbean, but I have to admit that when I get the can of Ashland Amber out of the cellar, it's all a little rinky-dink for me. I stifle a little grin; it just looks like pop, is all.

The beer itself - which, packaging aside, is the main event - isn't bad at all. Amber Ale seems to have been taken to by our American Cousins, and in many ways I can see why. Ashland is smooth, sweet, dark amber in colour and with enough hops on the nose to suggest something 'craft', and a tight, tan head. It's just a touch lacking in body, but for a regular drinker it's not bad at all.

There's just something in the can that I can't quite get my head around. It's still so alien over here that to me, it does detract slightly from the product inside it. I know that only purists will argue about taste - to me, this beer had no different taste to a bottled beer - but that initial visual counts for a lot. I appreciate that we can get canned beer, but will that stigma of being 'the cheaper option' rather than 'The Good Stuff' ever disappear? Across the pond, more breweries are looking to canning as an option - Avery recently announced that they were dipping their toes in, alongside big hitters like Oskar Blues. Maybe in 12 month's time, we'll have to take notice of this quiet revolution.

The Leeds-Dortmund Connection

As a young scamp, meeting your mates in ‘town’ in the eighties and early nineties meant only one place – ‘The Fat Man with The Barrel’. We didn’t care who he was, with his mercurial grin and smiling eyes poking out from under his cap, and we cared even less. He was just ‘the’ place to meet and tower over us as we plotted how to get our underage selves into The Odeon cinema to watch Tim Burton’s Batman.

Given that I see the rotund fella most days as I travel to work, I started thinking only recently about his connection with Leeds – and how that connection is Beer.

Leeds was twinned with Dortmund in in 1969, and to celebrate ten years of partnership, we were presented with the bronze Dortmund Drayman, which was sculpted by a chap named Arthur Shulze-Engles.
In my mind, the beer connection hits home straight away. Whereas Leeds has beer, with Tetley’s in particular propping up its history, Dortmund has its Pale ale. Dortmunder Union were, as the name suggests, a cabal of smaller, local brewhouses who joined forces to brew a new, pale, pilsner-style thirst quencher for the factory workers, and became the largest exponents of the style in the process. The beer became known simply as “Dortmunder Union” and the rest is beery history. This refreshing, crisp pale ale was so popular that Dortmunder Union became Germany's largest brewery for a while. Although dwarfed by Pils sales these days in the homeland, the style has its fans and remains somewhat cultish over here.

I’ve sipped Dortmunder Union many a time at North Bar – in fact, it was a bit of a staple when I was younger and didn’t know enough to make an informed decision when faced with North’s kaleidoscopic beer list (They have DAB on tap nowadays). To me and my buddies, ‘Union’ was a clean, crisp lager sophisticate, and it certainly helped those long hot summers (that we don’t get anymore, it would seem) go by a lot faster. Purists would argue that DU is a style in itself, something that I personally don’t agree with, but I’m glad we are twinned with a city with something of interest to me- and I hope that others agree with my notion that ‘The Fat Man with the Barrel’ should stand proudly (but thirstily) side by side with our glowering Black Prince in terms of sights to see in Leeds.

Meantime's Winter Warmer

Yesterday's fresh flurry of snow reminded me that, despite a few gloriously bright days over the weekend, we are still in the grip of a rough, northern winter. Not that I need much of an excuse for something with a bit more body in the glass - and Meantime's Winter Warmer (5.4%abv), very much leftover from my christmas stash, fit the bill to a T.

I love Meantime's beers, I really. I'm yet to find one I haven't thought was excellent. We don't get them a great deal up here, especially on draught. Winter Warmer doesn't disappoint either - a real bottle-conditioned beauty. The body is smooth for a stout, with a rich, vinous undercurrent of vanilla, which only adds to the overall silkiness of it. There's bitter chocolate in the nose and on the tongue, smoothing out to a creamy coffee note, but not harsh at all. Think latte, rather than espresso. More smoke on the nose, but again in restrained amounts. All this richness amounts to another seriously refined beer from Alistair Hook and his cohorts. I really do need to get to London and seek this out on tap this Christmas.

Meantime are currently working on thier new visitors centre, which promises to be very modern and very swishy indeed. Something tells me that, like thier beers, it will be an effortlessly classy affair.

Butternuts Porkslap Pale Ale

Is this the greatest-named beer i'm ever going to see? What's a porkslapper? Is it any good? So many questions....

...And The Winners Are:

Belatedly, here are the CAMRA Winter Ales Festival/Champion Winter Beer of Britain award winners:






Old Ales and Strong Milds -

Gold- Breconshire, Ramblers Ruin (Brecon, Powys)
Silver- Leeds, Midnight Bell (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
Bronze- Beartown, Black Bear (Congleton, Cheshire)

Porters -
Gold- Elland, 1872 Porter (Elland, West Yorkshire)
Silver- Sulwath, Black Galloway (Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway)
Bronze- RCH, Old Slug Porter (Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset)

Stouts -
Gold - Acorn, Gorlovka Imperial Stout (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)
Silver- Beowulf, Dragon Smoke Stout (Brownhills, Staffordshire)
Bronze- Wapping, Stout (Liverpool, Merseyside)

Barley Wines
Gold- Robinsons, Old Tom (Stockport, Cheshire)
Silver- Kinver, Over the Edge (Kinver, Staffordshire)
Bronze- Otley, O8 (Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan)

OVERALL -Gold- Elland, 1872 Porter (Elland, West Yorkshire)
Silver- Breconshire, Ramblers Ruin (Brecon, Powys)
Bronze- Acorn, Gorlovka Imperial Stout (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)

A big well done to Elland for thier silky porter. Deserved, I think. Nice to see (blatant nepotism aside) Leeds' Midnight Bell getting kudos. I've maintained since day one that although Pale probably is more popular, Midnight Bell is Leeds' best beer by far. And, for personal taste, I would have rated Otley's masterful 08 a little higher. But that's just me.

National Winter Ales Festival 2010

...Well, a good day was had by all yesterday at the National Winter Ales Fest in Manchester. Before getting into the beers, I'd just like to thank the Venue and the Organisers for such a good festival - it doesn't sound like much to organise the basics such as friendly, knowledgeable staff, a great, spacious venue, and a cracking beer list, but if you go to enough of these events you'll know it is - and CAMRA did really well here. The boys, so to speak, have done good.

Anyway - onto the beer. Despite my initial despair at missing Robinson's Chocolate Tom (but that's what you get for going on the last day - damn having to work!!), my pint of, well, Marble's Pint more than made up for it. I've had this a few times before but I really need to start lobbying pubs in Leeds to get it - such grapefruit on the nose, a burst of tropical fruit on the tongue and a surprisingly restrained bitterness for such a fruity beer. It's wonderful stuff, put a smile on my face, and set the tone for rest of the day.

Despite what you might personally think about Cain's, I am a stickler for their Fine Raisin Beer - so to try it on draught was a real must for me. Dark amber in colour, with an exceedingly malt-cereal body, it's a great beer. The juicy, slightly candied raisin note comes in right and the end, and stops the beer being cloying. A treat.

Other beers to impress me throughout the day were Hawkshead's Organic Stout, which managed to be wonderfully smokey and roasty without being heavy, Bernard's Pilsner, which provided a great, cold zing and cleansed the palate after lunch, and Otley's wonderful 08 - pale, really smooth and refreshing, but then finishing with a big hit of warming alcohol. Perfect for weather like this, and proof that a well-brewed strong golden ale can still be found in the UK.

Odell St Lupulin EPA

...After reading a glowing review of this beer on, amongst many others, Thornbridge's blog, I thought it sounded right up my street and got some ordered. And I'm glad I did.

Not only does the beer look great on the eye - Odell's artwork is wonderful and completley in tune with the breweries' ethos - it backs it up with taste.

St Lupulin (6.5%abv) is an Extra Pale Ale - which to me sits somewhere inbetween and IPA and a full-bodied Pale. Orangey-amber in colour, the aroma is a very sugary, very sweet citrus - I got mostly oranges from the nose. This carries through onto the taste, where you get a lovely hit of marmalade and boiled sweets before the bitterness comes in; lemony and fresh at first but finishing grassy. Despite it's somewhat thick mouthfeel, this is a complex and well-balanced beer, and one that I wish I'd order more of.

Check out Odell's excellent website here.