Beer of the Week (w/e 12th February 2017)

[ROBCamra]

Mobyduck: Big Smoke Mothership
Bucking Fastard: St Austell Cousin Jack
Wittenden: Rother Valley Wealden Bitter
Aqualung: Portobello Stiff Lip
Thuck Phat: Northern Monk New World IPA
aleandhearty: Five Towns Blackout
oldboots: Tapp'd Rodeo
london calling: Dark Star Hophead Mosiac
Komakino: Dow Bridge Praetorian Porter
Real Ale Ray: Melwood High Time
ROBCamra: Hooded Ram Mosaic

[Mobyduck]

Not much to choose from,
Butcombe Bitter
Wadworth Dirty Rucker
Red Cat Scratch
Purity Pure Gold
Robinsons Dizzy Blonde
Hogs Back Farnham White
Big Smoke Mothership

The clear winner is Big Smoke Mothership

[Bucking Fastard]

A poor week.

Taking part in a pub quiz in a McMullens house meant drinking some Country Bitter and AK ,the only other ale taken and by default BOTW, was St Austell Cousin Jack in OK condition in the Rose& Crown,Longburton

Next week ,more scratching about.

[Wittenden]

Kent:
Goacher's-House Ale 3.8%abv:Peppery rather than earthy.
Rother Valley-Wealden Bitter 3.7%abv:Walnut dark:bitter chocolate.
Gadds'-Dark Conspiracy 4.9%abv: a lovely dark dry porter.
Old Dairy-Snow Top 6%abv: Dark winter fruit.Somewhat overshadowed by the Dark Conspiracy.
Although the Dark Conspiracy was rated higher,I've accorded it BOTW fairly recently. A very close second and BOTW is Wealden Bitter from Rother Valley, a clean tasting spicy and chocolatey session bitter from a long established but unassuming local micro.Taken at Bell & Jorrocks (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/15787/)

[Aqualung]

A few days in Teesside and a visit to deepest Dorset gave this :-

Rudgate Brass Monkeys 3.8%
Saltaire Pride 3.9%
Pennine Ruby Rose 4.0%
North Yorkshire Archbishop Lee’s Ruby 4.0%
Rudgate Charlotte's Web 4.3%
Rooster's Yankee 4.3%
Lancaster Black 4.5%
Bad Seed Azacca Pale 4.5%
Piddle Mad Hare 4.7%
Mordue Radgie Gadgie 4.8%
Titanic Plum Porter 4.9%
Vibrant Forest Black Forest Porter 4.9%
Stonehenge Old Smokey 5.0%
Lytham Bengali 5.0%
Hop Back Summer Lightning 5.0%
Grainstore 1050 5.0%
Piddle Slasher 5.1%
Roundhill Dark Ale 5.2%
Rudgate Stars and Stripes 5.2%
Windsor & Eton Uprising White Riot (keg) 5.3%
Springhead Roaring Meg 5.5%
Big Lamp Embers 5.5%
Portobello Stiff Lip 5.5%
Wild Weather Shepherd's Warning 5.6%
Marston's Old Empire 5.7%
Thornbridge Jaipur IPA 5.9%

The Jaipur tried in Middlesborough and Chingford is an obvious choice but I've nominated it at least once before so it's Portobello Stiff Lip (£2.49) one of the Spoons mini London fest beers and excellent at the E4 King's Ford.

BOTW Portobello Stiff Lip

[Thuck Phat]

Another painfully quiet week.

BOTW Northern Monk New World IPA (can)

[aleandhearty]

Decent week for me, for a change.

Saltaire - Decennium.*
Brew York - Viking DNA.
Dark Star - Partridge.
North Riding - Zweihander.
Brewsters - Hop A DoodleDo.
Foxfield - Short Fall.
Kelham Island - Vincent Black Lightning.
Roosters - Distant Sun.
Mallinsons - Chinook.
Fernandes - Firebrand.
Fernandes - Centaur.
Roosters - High Tea.*
Rudgate - Brew 28.*
North Riding - Aussie Pale.*
Townhouse - Styrian Pale.*
Salopian - Lemon Dream.
Timothy Taylor - Dark Mild.
Five Towns - Blackout.*
Chin Chin - Simcoe City.

Hard to choose between Decennium and Blackout, but the latter, a big, satisfying 8.8% stout, just shades it.

[oldboots]

A bit of a mix and avoiding the obvious dark beer for once it's Tapp'd - Rodeo a much underestimated brewery IMHO. Pun of the week to Rat Brewery once again.

Roosters - Throwback
Leeds - Pale
Blackjack - Double Bluff
Amstel - Lager
Sharps - Atlantic
Gt Yorkshire - ? (labelled as a house beer)
Darkstar - Hophead Mosaic
Kirkstall - Pale Ale
Rat - The Great Ratsby
Heinekin - John Smiths Cask
Sonnet 43 - Seraphim
Red Willow - Stateless
Gt Yorkshire - Chocolate Orange
Tapp'd - Rodeo
Brass Castle - Malton Amber
Dark Wave - Altered State
Elland - 1872 Porter
Theakstons - Best Bitter
Northallerton - Gun Dog Bitter
Theakstons - XB Bitter
Black Sheep - Bitter
Theakstons - Masham Four & Twenty
Black Sheep - Brian
Roosters - All Star

[london calling]

good beers again this week
pig and porter -dance first stout
redemption -Yakima valley
by the horns -hop air balloon
torrside -west of the sun
torrside -test for echo
waen -nutty boys
heavy industry-collaborator
twisted barrel -beast of the midlands mild
easy peasy BOTW
Darkstar-hophead mosiac

[Komakino]

Like some of you, slim pickings last week...

Saltaire South Island Pale (3.5%)
Atomic Strike (3.7%)
London House Skinhead Reggae (3.8%) (a Marston's rebadge)
Purity Mad Goose (4.2%)
Ringwood Boondoggle (4.2%) (bottle)
XT Experiment One (4.2%)*
Potbelly Beijing Black (4.4%)
XT 17 (4.5%)
Animal Kiwi (4.8%)
Dow Bridge Praetorian Porter (5.0%)*
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (5.6%) (bottle)

Little to stand out, despite the fanciful names XT threw at me on my Saturday morning visit to their brewery, the Experimental brew notwithstanding. Yet again, the Bafta winner is a dark beer (so what - sue me) - the Dow Bridge, enjoyed at Rugby's small and cosy Squirrel (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/37236/).

BOTW: Dow Bridge Praetorian Porter

[Real Ale Ray]

Melwood - High Time

[ROBCamra]

Hooded Ram Mosaic a 5% typical mosaic based grapefruity and hoppy ale. Tried at Fleetwood Beer Festival. :cheers: