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Tonight at Sheffield Hatters Inn
Well, to begin with last night, when I had yet another traditional English bitter: this one was by Northern Monk, in collaboration with Other Half, an American brewery. Yes, Northern Monk and English bitter in the same sentence. The beer is (most unimaginatively) called Best Bitter 4.3% and is made with Ernest and EKG hops. Ernest is a British hop with "clear 'New World' characteristics producing a complex flavour with predominantly fruity notes, especially apricot, citrus and spice." I bought a can from Sheffield market's bottle shop, Beer Central. It pours clear(-ish), frothy and with the startling orange colour that I recall from the first time I drank Shepherd Neame bitter in about 1979/80 - long before they started giving their beers names like Bishops Finger and Spitfire. Tastes nothing like what I can recall of that beer; it's what I would expect of a beer describing itself as a best bitter but made with a hop of "clear 'New World' characteristics". I read a review here which says"How have northern monk managed to make a beer that tastes like supping beer out of a well used ash tray not what I expected from the northern powerhouse". This person has clearly never (as I and countless others like me have done) accidently taken a drink from a can in which some bloody smoker has doused his tab end. Believe me, this beer does not taste anything like an ash tray. Apricots, quite possibly; ashtray, not really.
Prior to this I had another bottle of Allendale Wagtail 3.8%, which impressed me on its first appearance on Wednesday; I had it straight from my beer store, rather than chilling it slightly, and it was different in subtle ways but just as good if not better. Subsequently I went for a couple of 33cl cans of Harveys Black Stout 4.8%, which I bought in late May at a discounted price of just £25 for 24 cans as it was within a week of its Best Before date. It still tastes just as good now as it did then, and I've still got 10 more to drink.
So, on to tonight and I start off with probably the murkiest beer I have ever drunk. This is one of the delivery I received from Stori Beers in Bala the other day: Wild Horse Tramcar IPA 6.5%. This is version #5 of this beer, brewed in Llandudno using galaxy and citra hops, which apparently have "clear 'New World' characteristics" too! Bloody expensive hops they must be, because this 440ml can was £4. For a 6.5% beer it's certainly quaffable, with an initial kick of what most people describe as resinous pine needles and I usually refer to as WD40, the grapefruit just about restrained enough for my ashtray-damaged palate, and the tropical fruit not so overpowering that I'm regretting buying two cans of this beer. So, quite a success for the boys from North Wales.
More later (unless the "Please stop it!" petition gets enough signatures in the meantime).