Beer of the Week (w/e 16th February 2014)

[ROBCamra]

hondo: Oakham Jester's Ferret
london calling: Siren Limoncella
Real Ale Ray: George Wright Mild
Wittenden: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter
Mobyduck: Oakham Inferno
Aqualung: Brentwood Marvellous Maple Mild
Bucking Fastard: Tring Old Wisent
oldboots: Redemption Hotspur
aleandhearty: Tigertops Hop Rain
Thuck Phat: Titanic Plum Porter
ROBCamra: Marston's Revisionist Dark IPA

[hondo]

Oakham ales - jester's ferret

[london calling]

Had some good cask beer last night
hopcraft-simcoe plus
hopcraft -crux shadow
brodies-baby mild
Cromarty -red rocker
but the kegs were in a different league
siren -calypso
stringers -furness abbey
Gloucester -black simcoe
and the incredible
siren -limoncella at the Queens Head at Highate.

[Real Ale Ray]

George Wright - Mild :notworthy:

[Wittenden]

Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter:unimpeacheable. On it's day the type specimen of beers.

[Mobyduck]

A much more sedate week,
Darkstar American Pale Ale
Darkstar Hophead
Wychwood Hobgoblin
Morehouse Pride of Pendle
XT 4
Oakham Inferno

inferno takes it.

[Aqualung]

A long list this week with lots of contenders (marked with a star):-

Brentwood Marvellous Maple Mild 3.7%*
Butcombe Matthew Pale Ale 3.8%*
Hopcraft Golden Pixie 3.8%*
Harvey's Best 4.0%
Moorhouse's Pride Of Pendle 4.1%
Loddon Hullabaloo 4.2%
Ilkley Fireside Porter 4.2%*
Turner's Golden George 4.3%
Hopstuff Fusilier 4.3%*
Titanic Full Steam Ahead 4.4%
Exmoor Gold 4.5%
Long Man Sussex Pride 4.5%
King's Old Ale 4.5%
Truman's Attaboy 4.6%
Summerskill's Bolt Head 4.7%
Banks's California Session IPA 4.8%*
Brodie's American Brown 4.8%*
Brodie's Old Street Pale 5.0%*
Twickenham Black Eel 5.0%*
Clarence & Frederick's Oatmilk Stout 5.0%*
Hopcraft Simcoe Plus 5.4%*
Hopcraft Whisky Aged Monky Business 5.4%
Caledonian / Tyler King Oatmeal Stout 5.5%
Theakston's Old Peculier 5.6%
London Fields Shoreditch Triangle 6.0%*
Mikkeller Monk's Elixir (Keykeg) 10.0%*
Mikkeller Black 18 (Keykeg) 18.0%*


I'm going for a low ABV one the Brentwood Mild (£1.99 in the Chingford King's Ford), a proper dark mild although I didn't get any Maple taste.
There were two more fine pale beers from the Hopcraft brewery but their attempt at a Belgian beer became even more odd with the whisky flavour.


BOTW Brentwood Marvellous Maple Mild

[Bucking Fastard]

Pretty poor week.


Nethergate -- Pub Boar
Tring --Old Wisent
B&T -- Shefford Old Dark (SOD)


BOTW went to Tring Old Wisent .A brewery I dont normally rate,but their seasonal single hop brew featured Polish Marynka hops ,giving an earthy deep bitterness.In the less than salubrious Standard Bearer,Stevenage town centre 'spoons.


Next week boating down to Leighton Buzzard after a tip off of a pub conversion to a real ale oasis,much needed in that town.Heading north now,desperately seeking top ale.

[oldboots]

Ilkley - Mary Jane
Bridestones - Silver Fern
Off Beat - Out There IPA
Redemption - Hotspur
Tiny Rebel - Old Stock Ale
Peak Ales - Chatsworth Gold
York - Terrier
York - Nordic Fury
York - Minster Ale
Great Heck - Blonde
Treboom - Tambourine Man
Butcombe - Old Vic
Leeds - Midnight Bell
Oakham - Inferno
Red Willow - Heartless


Not a bad beer amongst this week's and so a very hard choice but if I'm pushed it would be Redemption - Hotspur

[aleandhearty]

Decent week for me, managing three sessions, which is very rare these days.

Roosters - Londinium.
Elland - Beat A.
Slightly Foxed - Foxglove.
Five Towns - Monster Mash.
Wychwood - Toasty Oasty.
Copper Dragon - Golden Pippin.
Clarks - Classic Blonde.
Slaters - Top Totty.
Lincoln Green - Hood.
Great Orme - Red Dragon.
Roosters - Cogburn.
Leeds - Midnight Bell.
Tigertops - Hop Rain.
Tigertops - Hop Fury.
Five Towns - HB.
Otley - 01 Original.
Elland - Maximum Darkness.
Inveralmond - Independence.
Titanic - Chocolate & Vanilla Stout.
Moorhouses - Pride of Pendle.
Bobs - White Lion.

Some lovely dark beers in the list, but BOTW goes to an intriguing blonde beer. The Hop Rain had a great lingering bitterness, but I suspect from European hop varieties, rather than New World. Can't find any info on it anywhere.

[Thuck Phat]

A very quiet week with only Oakham Bishops Farewell tried on cask.
Amongst a number of good bottles though, I thoroughly enjoyed BOTW Titanic Plum Porter, ideal for winter.

[ROBCamra]

I'm not a great fan of Dark IPA's, but as Marston's monthly Single Hop beers were on the whole very good last year I decided to try the first of this years seasonals.

They're brewing one beer every 2 months under the Revisionist name which is available on cask and craft keg.

Marston's Revisionist Dark IPA was excellent, it was on cask of course and in The Baum (of course).

One pint turned into two and would have been three, but it went off. :(

At 4.9% not the strongest IPA in the world, but strong enough for me.:cheers: