Yes, that makes perfect sense.
Spot on (again)!
A=1 Magic Rock Clairvoyance DDH IPA 7.2% citra, vic secret
B=2 Rooster's Baby Faced Assassin IPA 6.1% citra
C=3 Northern Monk Newer World NE IPA 7.4% mosaic, citra, centennial, chinook
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Yes, that makes perfect sense.
Spot on (again)!
A=1 Magic Rock Clairvoyance DDH IPA 7.2% citra, vic secret
B=2 Rooster's Baby Faced Assassin IPA 6.1% citra
C=3 Northern Monk Newer World NE IPA 7.4% mosaic, citra, centennial, chinook
I hope you have a good many cans - everything counts in large amounts!
Sheffield market has now reopened, so I called in today for some essential supplies from Beer Central, a shop that is so small that only one person is allowed in at any one time. It's a little expensive, but fortunately their beers from local breweries like Peak Ales and Ashover are around the £2.95 mark, so I usually balance one or two of those with something excessive like Mad Dog 48th Chapter Imperial Porter 10% 33cl £4.95. Four bottles and two cans set me back £23.10. I've managed to squeeze them onto my beer storage shelves in my cupboard-under-the-stairs.
Speaking of which, having ordered a delivery yesterday from both Williams Bros of Alloa and Allendale Brewery (of Allendale), I may have to install another shelf soon.
If you've been following my "blind tastings" you may recall that two Allendale IPAs won my first(#257) and second(#356) tastings, so I've ordered some of those and a few others to keep them company - free delivery! Williams Bros charge £8 for delivery, but the beers are pretty cheap and in my opinion very good.
I'm finally making a start on my stash from Beautiful Beers, which arrived on 8 June. I've had four of them cooling their heels in the fridge for a week or more, and will go for at least three of them this evening in ascending order of abv percent. (The fourth is a 10% Grimbergen, which I may also do tonight - I'll see whether I want any more after the 7%, 7.5% and 9% have done what they do - or maybe keep it back for another time.)
My order was seven beers, two of each for a total of £47.70. (IIRC delivery is free if the order is over £45.) Prices ranged from a Fruh Kolsch 4.8% 50cl for £2.95 to Grimbergen Brune Optimo 10% 33cl £4.45.
First up tonight is La Trappe Bockbier 7.0% 33cl. Described on the label as a "unique seasonal product - the world's only trappist bock ale", it pours with a big creamy head, which has lasted very well. There's a big aroma escaping from the glass as I pour, mostly malt and yeast, I reckon. The flavour is complex, with treacle, tobacco and rusty nails competing for attention. There's a moderate carbonation which doesn't impede the flavour at all and the mouth feel is silky. I've been very restrained, because of the alcohol content (as I type, it's 40 minutes since I poured!), but this beer is actually very easy drinking, with a nice bitter finish. I'm looking forward to drinking the second bottle of this one, and if I order again from BB I'll definitely get some of this, if it's still available.
An after work chill out beer, North Brewing Co Lost Cosmonauts, a cracking beer from a cracking brewer.
Attachment 2421
I'm now onto my second Belgian beer from my Beautiful Beers stash: Averbode Abbey Triple 7.5%. This one is completely different from the La Trappe Bockbier. I poured it into my Orval glass, but it's a bit yellower than Orval. And very bubbly. Any head very quickly dispersed, and for about 10 minutes loads of very big bubbles kept on coming to the surface. The aroma reminded me of salami - I've been vegetarian for nearly 40 years, but I remember that smell: garlicky, meaty, herby, fatty. After all that, the flavour was a bit indistinct - probably due to the bubbles. It's quite fizzy on the tongue, though the bubbles have now (about 20 minutes after pouring) diminished to moderate. As the temperature rises and the bubbles become smaller, there's a grassy, garlicky flavour coming through, reminiscent of the "salami" but not so strong. There's a bit of a dry aftertaste, but nothing to get me excited about drinking the second bottle of this one.
Haven't seen it in my local Tesco, but there are larger ones a cycle ride away. Not sure I can justify another shopping trip, especially when I've just placed an order with Stori, a bottle shop in north Wales. And as mentioned previously, my cupboard-under-the-stairs is not getting any emptier.
A solution proposes itself: drink more.
Onto my third abbey beer from Belgium via Beautiful Beers: Bornem Tripel 9%, which pours with a big frothy head above a slightly hazy pale liquid. The haze is explained on the label: "Bornem tripel is een abdijbier met nagisting." How's your Flemish? Or French: "...fermentation secondaire"? So much easier if it says "Camra says this is real ale in a bottle."
The aroma is that familiar cat's pee smell that is noticeable in quite a few beers from Belgium and France, and not unpleasant once you're used to it. As the froth dies down it's replaced by a suggestion of bubblegum; though there's no mention of wheat in the list of ingredients, just barley malt, sugar and rice. Sugar? Rice? WTF.
In the mouth there are plenty of bubbles, but plenty of flavour too. But is it my sort of flavour? No, obviously (why would I be asking otherwise?): it's a bit sweet, no bitter finish, leaving a malty/bubble-gummy coating on the tongue. Actually, it's not all that bad, but it needs drinking quickly rather than savouring. Not such a good idea when the abv is 9%....
I hope no one was taking bets on whether I would go for the fourth Belgian abbey beer. Here's a tip: drinking a fourth beer is a lot easier than stopping drinking and cooking dinner.
I think Grimbergen is probably the least respected of the breweries that describe themselves as Abbey. A bit like Marstons compared with Harveys, in terms of English family/regional breweries. I don't know what the comparative volumes are, but certainly Grimbergen blonde is seen in every supermarket in France. When I'm there, I always pick up one or two (per supermarket, not per holiday, you understand) because they always go down well; never come across Optimo Bruno 10% before though.
The label is very strong on the authenticity of the abbey brewery - "een authentiek abdijbier met een uitgesproken karakter" or "au caractère prononcé" - I love "uitgesproken". It's looks or sounds like the beer is outspoken, but it just means pronounced, like the French prononcé does. (UI in Dutch or Flemish is OW in English: like Zuider Zee= South Sea. The UI=OW sound is usually mispronounced by the BBC and hence by everyone else, so in the UK we call the greatest ever footballers Johan Croiff and Kevin de Broiner instead of Johan Crowff and Kevin de Browner.)
This beer pours with a thick, creamy head which is slow to clear, but I don't get much in the way of aroma apart from a little beery yeastiness. The mouthfeel is not as silky as tonight's first beer, the Bock, but it's certainly not gassy. (This is probably why I prefer dark bottled beers, for the most part: either the malt "hides" the gas, or the beer is naturally less gassy...who knows.) The flavour is fairly subtle. Alternatively, my taste buds are shot after tonight's alcoholic blast. I'm reminded a little of Pelforth Brune, which is another that I go for in France, though that is "only" 6.5% and a lot sweeter than this too. I expect a 10% dark beer to have more complexity than this, so I must admit to being a little disappointed. There's another one in the cupboard-under-the-stairs, so maybe I'll give that a go when it's first on the menu, rather than last.
Wouldn't mind something with a bitter finish to cleanse my palate. Now, what have I got in that cupboard-under-the-stairs...
Not to spoil the joke, well actually yes, Abbey and Trappist mean two different things, Trappist beer is brewed in the monastery possibly by the monks, possibly by a civilian brewer, Abbey beers are brewed under license from the religious order.
If, rather than pants like Tynt Meadow, you're after the genuine Belgian article either Trappist or Abbey, quite a few are available in the UK from the specialist beer shops, Chimay (Red White or Blue) is very well known and should be easily available. My favourite is St Bernardus Prior 8%, but it's also available as Pater 6% and Abt 12%, Westmalle is the commercial version of what some people consider to be the best beer in the world, Westvleteren 12. You may consider the Beer Hawk Belgian Abbey & Trappist pack, be warned it includes Tynt Meadow brewed in the UK, three from La Trappe which I consider mediocre, and Orval which is an acquired taste being a bit Bretty, on the plus side you do get a chalice and a Rochfort beer. Other suppliers seem to be www.masterofmalt.com and my mate John. Do remember your wallet of course, most are over the 7.5% watershed.
Yes, I did try Tynt Meadow a year or so ago, and saw no reason to trouble them again. I can usually get Chimay and Westmalle at the Dram Shop, a short walk up the road, but I'll certainly look into the others you mention.
I did look into the availability of Westvleteren 12 a few weeks ago. You can order it online and give your car registration number and go and collect it. Local beer for local people, it seems. But I've heard of people getting hold of it, so there must be a way through the red tape.
Cheers
My orders from Williams Bros and Allendale Brewery arrived to day - luckily they both use the same courier service!
From the Williamses I've replenished my stocks of Caesar Augustus, Joker IPA, Seven Giraffes and Profanity Stout. I've also gone for Paradigm Shift and what they call a "Tallboy Selection" - some half dozen of their beers in the more adventurous modern style in 50cl cans.
Kicked off this evening with a Caesar Augustus, the very refreshing Lager/IPA crossover that I first came across in the Barrels in Berwick on Tweed in 2013. Hits the spot after a bit of carpentry.
Then, having taken the precaution of putting a Wagtail in the fridge (it's been pretty warm in Sheffield today; probably not just Sheffield, I guess), it was time for a pint of bitter. Or half a litre. Very good. Well balanced, with biscuity malt and English hops (target, fuggles and goldings). Not too gassy, and an hour in the fridge had got it to just about the right temperature. Best beer of the week so far for me.
To follow up I'll have the two Allendale IPAs that I mentioned yesterday: Wanderlust and Dirty Deeds.
Don't know enough about Abbey beers although I have drank a few .Strange that people hate Carslberg/Heineken /big brother breweries but quite happy to drink Belgian beers that are brewed by them under false names. No offence intended. Good beer is good beer whoever brews it.
Walked down to the Express tonight but had intended going to the Sussex in Twickenham.Met a couple of interesting guys so stayed at the Express. Had two pints of Siren -breakfast stout(cask) £4.50 a pint or two for £5.Then two of Big Smoke -Distant Lands (cask) £5 for two and a rather nice pint of keg at £5.20. Cant remember what it was but probably from Deviant and Dandy.No Harveys or Bass on and as I suspected the recent cask from these two brewers was old stock
My third beer delivery of the week arrived at 2pm, from Stori Beers in Bala, Gwynedd. This on top of my deliveries from Allendale and Williams Bros left me with a storage crisis, so I spent the afternoon putting together a couple more shelves for my cupboard-under-the-stairs. And now I'm reaping the reward for my labour, as I'm drinking the best bottled bitter I've had in ages. I know I was keen on the Allendale Wagtail 3.8% yesterday, my beer of the week so far. Stand by for a new beer of the week. This one is Cader Idris Bitter 4.0% from Cader Ales of Dolgellau. Described as a Welsh best bitter, the label makes no mention of which malts and which hops go towards this beautifully balanced bitter. The beer is lightly carbonated, and the malt is immediately apparent on first sip. But it's followed immediately by a hit of hops, followed by a lovely bitter finish. My only problem is that I only bought two of each beer, so I'm going to have to see if I can get some more.
"This one is Cader Idris Bitter 4.0% from Cader Ales of Dolgellau"
Any Grapefruit hit?:whistle:
I've tried both Master of Malt and Drinkswell (your mate John). The former were competitively priced but lots of items were sold out. I've placed an order for nine bottles (five different beers) for just short of £30 (inc. £5 delivery charge).
Your mate John has a better selection, with only a few "unavailable", but slightly pricier. I've ordered seven Trappist beers from him, then did a little browse in the English beers section, and picked up two from Richmond brewery (Drummer Boy & Stump Cross Ale), which is a new one for me, one each from Treboom (Kettle Drum) and Wensleydale (Black Dub), doubled up to two of each @ £2.95 and my total order came to £55 (inc. £8 delivery charge).
Gawd knows where I'm going to put them. Let's see, that's 22 bottles on order, so if I drink an average of three or four per day I can make enough room in my cupboard-under-the-stairs if they don't arrive before Tuesday.
Thanks again for the suggested suppliers.
Let's have a look at the blurb on the back of the label. "Chwerw traddiodiadol yw Idris sy'n defnyddio...", oh hang about, that's in Welsh. I'll just put it through Google translate. Here we go: "Idris is a traditional bitter brewed using the pure waters of the mountains and hills around Dolgellau, blended with freshly picked local grapefruit. A blend of malted barley and carefully selected late hops give soft caramel and spicy notes." :evilgrin:
Second beer from my Stori Beers delivery is Bragdy Mona Eilian Pale 4.5% (Mona is the name of Anglesey in Welsh - or should I have said Anglesey is the name of Mona in English?)
This 440ml can has very little information on the label, but on the brewery website you can read all about it: https://www.bragdymona.co.uk/eilian; oops, sorry: https://www.bragdymona.co.uk/eilian?lang=en. Actually, there's very little information about the beer, it's mostly about the legend that gives the beer its name. Here's the relevant section: "Fresh, crisp and citrusy 4.5% ABV brewed with fine American hops." Actually, that's a pretty fair description, but I was hoping for some facts too. Anyway, the beer pours crisply clear, an attractive orange hue, and is not overly carbonated. There's a strong citrus smell which is immediately also apparent on the tongue (on sipping, naturally). There's a good malty background, but this is very much a "hop-forward" beer in the modern style. It looks like there must have been a failure in the local grapefruit crop, because this one is oranges all the way. Or maybe tangerines. Whatever, there's a good bitter finish which I enjoyed. I think I've got another one of these, but the filing system in my cupboard-under-the-stairs leaves a lot to be desired.
Third beer from Stiro Beers is Tomos & Lilford Annwyl 5%, brewed with added rose petals to "celebrate the ladies of Llantwit Major, who once lured marauding pirate invaders to their demise, saving our town." I was a little doubtful about buying this one, but it's proved to be interesting. Though as sometimes seems to happen with brews made with unusual ingredients, it pours a reluctant head which disappears within seconds. There's a perfumy aroma, and I thought I detected a touch of yeast bite too. I remember this from occasional disasters when I used to do a bit of home brewing, and this one has it very subtly both on the nose and in the mouth. It would be quite easy to miss it if you hadn't experienced it before, and it's mostly drowned out by the sweetish flavour of rose petals. But at least the historic town of Llantwit Major is safe from marauding pirates. Thank the lord for all those rose-strewing women. Or ladies. (Here are some hints for the possible meaning of the name of this beer: Annwyl.)
Next one of yesterday's (or was it Tuesday's - days just blend into each other) delivery from Williams Bros: Paradigm Shift 6.2%. Have I mentioned this is one of my favourite breweries? And yet this is the first time I've tasted this beer. It's a Red IPA, and if I hadn't poured it myself from bottle to glass, I'd have thought it was cask conditioned. (Except I'm not in a pub, etc.) Very smooth and malty, with subtly balanced hoppiness. Or should that be happiness?
Very impressive. I must get some more of their beers. Oh, wait a minute, I already have. There's forethought.
I don't know how anyone could not rate their beers. I think it's more that most people never come across them. I remember drinking their Ebulum 6.5% (elderberry ale) in the Southampton Arms in Gospel Oak/Kentish Town about 10 years ago, and March of the Penguins in Remedy in Stockport in 2017. Apart from that, I can't remmeber seeing their beers on the bar except in Scotland or Berwick on Tweed.
When I mentioned Williams Bros to the owner of one of my local micropubs, he just gave me a blank look. Strangely, the only beer of theirs I don't think much of is Fraoch, the heather beer that got them started in 1988. (Too sweet for me, I guess.)
Did you know Aldi flog quite a few William Brothers beers? Admittedly, I'm a bit out of the loop as I haven't shopped in-store since lockdown began, so I'm not sure what's currently available, but those I tried ( Klute and Hacienda, to name but two) I rather enjoyed. More info here:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/specia...aving-21672419
Thanks for that. Interestingly, the Daily Record journalist refers to the company as William Bros throughout - possibly influenced by the 33cl cans, where the logo obscures the S in Williams. Of the six beers shown in the advert, three are from their regular range and the other three (Hacienda, Golden Torch and Studio 54, are brewed for Aldi. I don't usually get beer from Aldi, but I might have a look.
A lovely drop tonight.
Attachment 2441
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).
That's the same beer that you had on 9 June, but in a different glass. Is that a new glass? That slogan "It's your world, pay attention" should be on everyone's lips these days. Instead there are millions of people buying SUVs that do about 100 yards to the gallon, Arctic sea ice is melting and polar bears will soon be extinct, Brazilian rainforests are being cut down to grow crops to feed to beef cattle, some of my neighbours seem to think it's OK to put their general rubbish in our shared paper & card recycling because they've used a F*CKING PAPER BAG TO PUT THEIR CRAP IN and, as if that's not enough, hornets are decapitating honey bees.
Sorry for hijacking your post, Mick. I feel better now.
Blame Hunter S Thompson. (Does he look like anyone in the news at all? Barnard Castle, perhaps?)
[Glad you enjoyed your beer.]