Last night at Sheffield Hatter's Inn
With the late cancellation of an arranged pub visit last night, I decided to have a look instead at some of the beers that have been hiding away in my cupboard-under-the-stairs. These three caught my eye:
Bragdy Lleu Gwydion, a 4.7% malty Welsh beer that I bought online from Stori Beers in Bala around 25 June, was actually past its best before date, having September 2020 stamped on the shoulder of the bottle. From the same order, Mad Dog Brewing K9 Triplephenia American/Belgian IPA 7% was dated November, but both beers were in excellent condition, the first one straight from my beer store, the other given an hour in the fridge. The contrasting styles would have made an interesting pairing, as I tend to do in pubs when faced with a couple of unknown beers and have a half of each, taking alternate sips, but I felt that the Mad Dog would benefit from being a little colder.
The Welsh beer was a pleasant drink, not at all over-carbonated. Not much in the way of hops in evidence, but this brewer seems to know how to get the best out of the malts. (Their website is not at all specific about the malts and hops used in their beers, unfortunately.) I've got another one of these, I think, but despite the expiry of the best before date I am in no hurry to drink it, not because I didn't like it but because I want to have one to look forward to.
The American/Belgian IPA didn't have much of the Belgian about it as far as I could see. It was quite lively, but soon settled down in the glass and just had a fairly pleasant bubbliness on the tongue. Quite a decent flavour, with the hops (mandarina bavaria, mosaic and summit) not being too forward for my taste, while still being recognisably in the American style.
I rounded the evening off with La Trappe Quadrupel, a 10% Abbey beer (with a best before date still two years in the future) that was very much like an English barley wine except for the distinctive Belgian finish in the swallow, and the slightly lively bubbles in the glass and on the tongue. I got this one at about the same time as the other two, from Drinkswell in Ripon on the recommendation of oldboots, so thanks for that. (I've still got quite a few Belgian/Trappist beers to get through, as their arrival pretty much coincided with pubs reopening.) This is probably my favourite of the Abbey beers that I've had so far, so I might get some more in preparation for any future closure of the pubs.
Three very different but in their own way very enjoyable beers.