Beer of the Week (w/e 17th February 2013)

hondo: Williams Bros. Brewing Co. Draught Lager
Real Ale Ray: Woodfordes Mardler's Mild
Bucking Fastard: Dark Star Porter
Mobyduck: Binghams Vanilla Stout
Oggwyn Trench: Abbeydale Prophecy
london calling: Hardknott Azimuth IPA(key keg) :eek:;)
Aqualung: Cronx Entire
Wittenden: Goody Ales Bleangate Brewery Genesis
oldboots: Liverpool Organic Liverpool Stout
trainman: Oakham Bishops Farewell
aleandhearty: Titanic Plum Porter
Thuck Phat: Oakham Bishops Farewell
Pubsignman: Osset Elizabeth Rose
Spinko: Elland Eden
ROBCamra: ISCA Golden Ale

Williams Bros. Brewing Co. - draught lager

Woodfordes Mardler's Mild

Dark Star Porter was a fully deserved BOTW ,inevitably sourced from The George,Croydon.At 5.6% a premium porter with lots of chocolate and coffee on the nose but little resistance as the pint went down,dangerously drinkable.Another winner from DS.

Trip down Leather Lane next week to Craft Beer Co. should produce a BOTW ,unless there's something surprising in Leighton Buzzard .

A week of boring brown beer (several rugby themed) improving over the weekend, the only two real contenders though were,
Binghams Vanilla Stout and
Ascot Ales Emperor Penguin Porter
both drunk in the Nags Head in Reading saturday afternoon with the stout the easy winner of the two.

A varied week for me including my first fizzy craft keykeg pint :confused:

Penpont - Cornish Arvor
Allgates - Admiral
Abbeydale - Prophecy
Pictish - Claymore
Roosters - Wild Mule
Titanic - Iron Curtain
Salopian - Hop Twister
Wye Valley - HPA
Hobsons - Town Crier
Ironbridge - Kiwi Bitter 48 Special
Buxton - SPA (Fizzy craft keykeg)

BOTW Abbeydale - Prophecy

Not sure about the Buxton SPA , i like the cask version , the keykeg version starts like a cheap bottled lager , far too fizzy , sharp and not muh flavour then you get a great big hop explosion at the back of your throat .

Not many good beers this week but the
hardknott-azimuth ipa(key keg) at the Magpie and Crown Brentford was good £4.80 a pint though.

A few this week mostly from the Spoons mini London fest which was in East London this week.

Clarence & Frederick's Best Bitter 4.0%
Twickenham Vanguard 4.1%
London Fields Hackney Hopster 4.2%
East London Brewing Co Nightwatchman 4.5%
Redemption Hopspur 4.5%
Brentwood Winter Warmer 4.7%
By The Horns Diamond Geezer 4.9%
Cronx Entire 5.2%
Nethergate Essex Beast 6.6%
Brodie's Dalston Black 7.0%
Brodie's Simcoe For Breakfast (keykeg) 10.1%


The award goes to Cronx Entire at £2.09 in the George at Wanstead. I thought this was going to be a stout, but it was actually dark red in colour, but my first impression was that it tasted like a stout!
Whatever, it was a very fine pint.

Honourable mention to Nightwatchman and Twickenham Vanguard which was a really tasty pale/golden ale.

BOTW Cronx Entire

LocALE in a pub in the North Downs

Kent Brewery-Session Pale Ale:fairly agressively hopped, pale and fruity.
Kent Brewery-KGB: perhaps unusually for this brewery, using Kent hops. Funnily enough, this is the first KB beer that I've really enjoyed. Bitter and farmyardy.
Goody Ales-Bleangate Brewery-Genesis:3.5%ABV but plenty of flavour.Dark ruby bitter,down to earth. Not as sweet as other beers from Goody.
Goacher's Imperial Crown Stout. A classic.
My BOTW-Goody Ales-Bleangate Brewery-Genesis.

Not as good as it looks due to the quality lottery,

Roosters - Leghorn
Knaresborough - Choco-mint Stout
Kirkstall - Generous George
Knaresborough - American Style Milk Stout
Hop Studio - Blonde
Sarah Hughes - Ruby Mild
Black Sheep - Bitter
Timothy Taylor - Boltmaker
Rudgate - Magicale
Ridgeside - Cascade PA
Timothy Taylor - Landlord
Box Steam - Chuffin Ale
Brains - SA
Wychwood - Dirty Tackle
Kirkstall - Dissolution IPA
Liverpool Organic - Liverpool Stout

oddly enough it isn't the Sarah Hughes, it's Liverpool Organic - Liverpool Stout

It was tough trying to watch us progress against leeds yesterday, Green Dragon - no match, Spreadeagle - no sound, Claret - almost no sound and a dodgy half of GroundHog; thanks goodness for the George & the always fabulous Oakham Bishops Farewell, nicely offest by an accompanying half of Black Hole Porter.

A better week, as regards different beers tried, but like 'oldboots' a bit of a quality lottery, over all. This week's offerings:

Titanic - Lifeboat.
Nottingham - EPA.
Titanic - Plum Porter.
Oates - Golden Oates.
Great Heck - Dr Rudi.
Tring - Side Pocket For A Toad.
Tigertops - Tom-Tom MILD.
Concrete Cow - Bit O Bully.
Oakham - Citra.
Roosters - Buckeye.
Fernandes - Nelson IPA.
Bobs - Chardonnayle.

A rather subdued Citra, otherwise I'm sure it would have been in the running. Instead, BOTW goes to the very moreish Plum Porter.

I'm with Trainman. BOTW Oakham Bishops Farewell.

It's been a week of decidedly average beer, but I'm going to give BOTW to Osset Elizabeth Rose for two reasons.
Firstly, because it was the first pint I had after suffering a day of 'Personal Safety Training' which my sadistic employer sent me on and involved spending more time in a gym in one day than I had set aside for the rest of my lifetime. Suffice to say the pint slipped down very well.
Secondly, because it has the distinction of being the first guest ale I've ever seen in a Shepherd Neame house - a most unexpected surprise.

Elland - Eden

ISCA Golden Ale tried at the presentation afternoon at The Baum, just before it got overrun by f**king tourists.

It was overrun by f**king tourists all Friday and Saturday as well, luckily we were in Derby. :cheers: