Beer of the Week (w/e 5th October 2014)

[ROBCamra]

Wittenden: Hop Fuzz The English
Mobyduck: Roosters Fresh Hop
Bucking Fastard: Thwaites Wainwright
Aqualung: XT XPA American Pale Ale
london calling: Wiper and True Citra Rye
hondo: Lagunitas IPA
oldboot: Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfestbier
Thuck Phat: Abbeydale Moonshine
aleandhearty: Oldershaw Grantham Stout
Real Ale Ray: Spitting Feathers Thirstquencher
ROBCamra: Elland Ellium

[Wittenden]

Sole pub visit this week, hoping for better next week, including my appetite for beer.
Hop Fuzz-(The) English-4%abv. An innovative Kent brewery's take on a brown bitter. Slightly indefinable undertaste.Earthy,iron in the soul.Not sure if the definite article is still part of the name. My BOTW.

[Mobyduck]

Some nice beers this week, even the one boring brown beer was half decent,
Darkstar Hophead
Darkstar American Pale Ale
Roosters Fresh Hop
Black Jack Jabberwocky
Jennings Cumberland (BBB)
Becks Vier (Apparently some sort of lager)!
Wadsworth Horizon
Purity Pure Gold
B&T Edwin Taylors Extra Stout
Terrapin Rye Pale Ale
Nottingham Brewery Extra Pale Ale
Tillingbourne The Source

My last beer of the week just over an hour ago after a crappy day at work hit the spot and despite being only 3.3% packs a real flavour punch.Even the Banks and Taylors Stout was excellent. But the Honours go to the First beer of the week enjoyed in the very good Antelope (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/53206/). Roosters Fresh Hop A green hopped beer, with Phoenix hops being added to the mix within 6 hours of picking.

[Bucking Fastard]

Just the one beer for me :o ,so by default BOTW was Thwaites Wainwright in decent condition in The Vic, (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/14650/)Hitchin.

Next week heading east on the T&M visiting Rugeley and Burton upon Trent so consumption should rise and result in a wider range of contenders.

[Aqualung]

Not a bad selection this week :-

Haresfoot Lock Keepers Ale 3.9%
Phipps Midsummer Meadow 3.9%
Tring Ridgeway Bitter 4.0%
Elephant School Aussie Blond 4.0%
Tring Moongazing 4.2%*
Hopstuff Pale Ale 4.5%*
Shepherd Neame Bishop's Finger 5.0%
Red Squirrel London Porter 5.0%*
Nottingham Supreme Bitter 5.2%*
Mauldon's Blackadder 5.3%*
Everard's Terrapin Rye 5.5%
Wadworth's Mermaid's Red 5.7%*
XT XPA American Pale Ale 5.9%*

One beer that I thought had improved considerably since I last tried it was the Hopstuff Pale and is it me or is Blackadder a lot less sweet and cloying and generally better tasting than it was ten or twenty years ago?

The winner is the XT XPA as tried in the Berkhampstead Rising Sun at £3.40. i must go back there to try the cider!

BOTW XT XPA American Pale Ale

[london calling]

Another quiet week
Cornish crown -1 hop 1grain
rother valley-ebulem
brighton beir -fall guy
alchemy -starlaw
black jack -the pokies
redwell -india pale lager
waen -pottery pig
london fields -eastside saison
redwilow -directionless
alecraft -bartholemews porter
alecraft -high five
park -dark hill
laines esb
laines-random pale ale
big smoke -porter
and BOTW
Wiper and True-citra rye (bottle) a brewery I hope to try again when we meet up in Bristol.

[hondo]

Lagunitas - Ipa

[oldboots]

I don't usually list or nominate bottled beers but this is nice,

Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfestbier

[Wittenden]

Another quiet week
Cornish crown -1 hop 1grain
rother valley-ebulem
brighton beir -fall guy
alchemy -starlaw
black jack -the pokies
redwell -india pale lager
waen -pottery pig
london fields -eastside saison
redwilow -directionless
alecraft -bartholemews porter
alecraft -high five
park -dark hill
laines esb
laines-random pale ale
big smoke -porter
and BOTW
Wiper and True-citra rye (bottle) a brewery I hope to try again when we meet up in Bristol.

Quiet-bloody hell!

[Thuck Phat]

Quality rather than quantity this week:

Oakham Bishops Farewell*
Abbeydale Moonshine*
Vale Gravitas*

All excellent and I'd forgotten quite how good BOTW Abbeydale Moonshine can be.

[aleandhearty]

Another quiet week for me.

Marstons - Pedigree New World Pale.
Ossett - Nelson Sauvin.
Nelson - Pressgang.
Oldershaw - Grantham Stout.*
Fernandes - Malt Shovel Mild.*

The Stout was the easy winner this week. Unfortunately, the New World Pale was on very average form compared to when I nominated it for BOTW a couple of weeks ago.

[Real Ale Ray]

Spitting Feathers - Thirstquencher

[ROBCamra]

Elland Ellium tried in the Regal Moon. A strong, but light & hoppy ale. :cheers: