Mine came from here.
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Mine came from here.
Next up another single hop pale ale , Attachment 2588. A rather lively pour but settled down nicely, the hop is Cashmere and is more subtle than the previous Mosaic. The label on the rear of the bottle promises flavours of Lemon and Mango, I'm getting the Lemon, which I quite like in a beer, but little in the way of Mango. I probably should have had this before the earlier Kernel, but still a nice refreshing drink. 7/10
Watching some TV so started with a Magic Rock Saucery (sic) 3.9% a bit of a disappointment really.
Then a Punk IPA, always palatable.
Now I've just started on a Thornbridge Jamestown 5.9%, very pleasant.
Next up will be a McEwan's Champion 7.3% in preparation for putting some music on.
Last week was mainly Reggae (Culture, Steel Pulse, Black Uhuru) and The Smiths.
This week there may be some early Robert Palmer some John Martyn and a bit of Tom Waits along with whatever else I think of...............:cheers:
Although as Ms CAMRA is at her Mothers, Nirvana and the Foos may well make an appearance. :D
Well, here's a bit of an oddity that I picked up at Beer Central two weeks ago and hadn't quite summoned up the courage to drink it until now. Yes, it's a sour beer. Vault City Brewing Sloe Gin Sour 8.6%, to be precise. It comes in a heavyweight 375ml bottle with a big dent in the bottom - so a half-size wine bottle, in effect. Topped with a crown cap, although it looks like it would take a cork. It took a bit of an effort to lever the cap off, and it came with a bit of a hiss but fortunately no rush of foam. Any head in the glass rapidly dissipated, leaving a very strange looking opaque liquid the colour of a bruised strawberry, with a few bubbles continuing to rise to break gently on the surface.
Ingredients include sloes, of course, plus juniper, citrus zest and coriander in addition to the usual barley malt, wheat, hops and yeast. The malt is very well hidden, it's got to be said, and the hops are struggling against all the other stuff going on. This is only a moderately sour beer, tasting mostly of a gin and tonic with about six slices of lemon floating in the glass. There's a background of hedgerow fruit, but would I have identified sloe rather than damson or even blackberry? The blurb on the bottle describes the sloe as a berry, but in fact this is a drupe, the fruit of the blackthorn, which is a member of the Prunus genus, so related to damsons and plums. I suppose this means they didn't make any effort to take the stones out, then.
An interesting experiment, which I'm in no hurry to repeat. Not just because it's quite pricey - at £7.95 it converts to £2.47 per unit of alcohol, and bearing in mind that it's not exactly quaffable, you would do better buying a bottle of gin and liquidising half a kilo of plums if you just wanted to get loaded on a plummy drink. I've now had three sour beers in the last three months, so I think I'm going to have a little rest.
Did have an excellent Vault City sour last autumn, Gooseberry and Elderflower in The Jolly Fisherman, I had more than one but it was competing with possibly even better beer so didn't get a mention in my review.
Police report rise in large Covid lockdown parties in England.
Guilty as charged. :evilgrin:
Sad to see U-Roy, pioneering Jamaican reggae artist, go a couple of days ago...
Sounds like Vault City specialise in sours.I had a very pleasant strawberry sour in here but the take out bottle of their Pineapple & Habernero Sour :eek: just didn't work out with my hot curry takeaway after a crawl around Stratford.
Yes, shame, I only really knew his work with Toots & The Maytals though.
On a slightly different note.
I played Bob Dylan's Jokerman last night which features Mark Knopfler.
What I was surprised to notice is that Sly & Robbie were the rhythm section on it. I didn't know that.
No wonder it sounds reggae ish.
You learn something new every day. :cheers:
Currently drinking Attachment 2590 going splendidly well with my Cajun Chicken, only a kiddie can, I now wish I'd got a couple more . (Pun intended). 7.5/10
And now, Attachment 2591, 330 ml bottle, pours jet black with little or no head, but a small head forms 20 seconds or so later. There is some roast coffee and chocolate base flavour but not overly strong and then there is a pleasant (to me) piney citrus hop flavour, enough to notice but not in your face. Apparently the ABV and hops change per batch, I don't know what the hops here are but the ABV on this one is 6.1% and its so very,very good. 9.5/10
Whilst in Dundee in the summer I met 2 brewers from 71 brewery who shared the brewery with Vault.One produced a bottle from his bag and offered me it.It was a Vault sour which I polititly declined as I had had one of there beers at a Brewdog pub. Once bitten twice shy.
North Riding Brewery Toffee Porter 4.5%. This 50cl bottle cost £3.45 from Beer Central. It poured with a big fluffy head and the smell of bonfire toffee. Initial flavour was dominated by chocolate but the subtle toffee soon came through. I didn't see the words "Bottle Conditioned" in very small letters on the label until long after I had finished pouring, but the beer seemed to thrive on this rather slap-dash approach, and I didn't notice any sediment. Described by the brewery as follows: "Big robust porter using a double mash technique and demerara sugar, using six malts and English hops. Full bodied with a toffee aftertaste." A very good beer, one of the best I've had in recent weeks.
Coniston Old Man Ale 4.8%. Described as a "classic ale", whatever that means - is it a premium bitter? Another one with "Bottle Conditioned" in very small letters on the label, but something seemed to have gone wrong with the secondary fermentation, as there was not much in the way of head retention and the beer was a bit too gassy. The label also helpfully advises "Best served at 58°F in a straight pint glass at the Black Bull Inn, Coniston, Cumbria". I've had this beer a few times in that and similar circumstances, but this bottled version was nothing like. It wasn't off, or cloudy, but the flavour was hidden by the carbon dioxide as far as I was concerned. Maybe it was a little warm, though in my opinion 58°F (just below 15°C) is maybe a little warm anyway. This one cost me £1.75 from Booths supermarket in Settle last time I was in the Yorkshire Dales. (The label identifies the bottling plant as being Beer Counter Ltd in Oxfordshire, and it should have been imported to the USA by Shelton Brothers, Belchertown, MA. Best before date was April 2022.)
Third beer last night was Fullers ESB 5.9%. I've long been a fan of Fullers 1845, which I don't think I've ever seen on a hand pump; the bottled version is excellent. But this was ESB, which is not bottle conditioned, though it might have been better if it had been. I'll sometimes drink ESB when in a Fullers pub, but I can't remember having it previously in bottled form. On hand pump it's 5.5%, and the last time I had one in the Parcel Yard at Kings Cross Station it cost over £5 for a pint; the bottled version is 5.9% and cost £1.50 from Waitrose (in a "buy five mixed beers for £7.50" deal before Christmas). Unfortunately it tasted like it was cheap and substandard. The blurb gives me to understand that the "unique blend of Northdown, Challenger, Target and Goldings hops balances the rich, malty notes for a smooth, full bodied beer bursting with marmalade fruitiness throughout". Hops? Marmalade? I was only getting a slightly sweet cardboardy flavour, dominated by the fizziness of the CO2. Maybe I've got Covid-19.
Re the ESB , try nos 7 on this list.
This one?
Oxidation occurs when oxygen negatively reacts with the molecules in the wort or beer. It can be difficult to avoid because aeration of wort before pitching yeast is necessary. It is almost always a result of unnecessary splashing of fermented beer (i.e. transferring beer from one vessel to the next). Too much headspace in bottles can also lead to oxidation.
Yes, I'd rather believe that than that my sense of taste has vanished due to coronavirus. (Which of course it hasn't - I was just being melodramatic.)
Thanks for this list. I've not experienced most of the flavours here though 'musty' is common, but No. 13 may explain why I had a beer tasting like Stilton and No. 14 could be the cause for beers I've experienced which taste like washing-up liquid, which I also encounter too often and seems to be linked to poor line hygiene.
Some nicebeers on Sat
roosters -go bicker Vermont session ale 3.8 usually avoid session beers as the lack taste but this was good 7.75
new Bristol -summa crush 4.0 great stuff 8..25
Bristol -what time is love 6.0 a tropical love bomb. I agree 8.5
brew York - s more tonkoko 4.3 a superb marshmallow,coconut,cocao,Tonka bean,and vanilla milk stout.9/10 if only they had added peanut butter it could have been a 10
Prefer crunchy.I sometimes put it in my porridge.I also have crunchy almond butter and smooth pistachio cream which work well with porridge but you need honey to sweeten it and cream to finish it off.As this is what in have for breakfast you might understand why the explosion in a food factory type beer is down my street.
Vibrant Forest -- Altitudes. Azacca/Simcoe IPA
Attachment 2594
London murky but two citrus hops and very smooth without any great bitterness.Perfectly acceptable but there are a lot of brews in this space,an easy 6.4% drinker. 7/10
Vibrant Forest -- Precipice of Light
Attachment 2595
Deep London murk but a far more challenging brew,a Chinook IPA. Deep bitterness,grapefruit and thankfully balanced by a selection of malts I enjoyed this 7% animal . 8/10
A big finish.
Vibrant Forest -- Darkened Ardour
Attachment 2599
Too busy quaffing to photograph the glass,this Imperial Tonka and Coffee Stout had a rich hew and a head almost light purple. The nose was extraordinary ,liquorice dominant followed by rich coffee and some spice .Aged in bourbon barrels this is a very complex drink but the multiple tastes (coffee ,vanilla,coconut )were fantastic and the 10% well hidden.Oh Yes ! 10/10
Attempt 2 after my previous cock up - simplified.
Beers tonight....
1. Attachment 2602
The Blurb...
"Brewed in collaboration with our friends at Deya, this beer forms one half of a duo; a two-part study of the interactions between Deya’s house yeast and approach to hopping, combined with our own mixed fermentation techniques.
This version uses the strain known colloquially as ‘Brett D’, selected by our brewers for its reputation of introducing a fruity cocktail of pineapple and red apple aromas. Over time as the beer ages (if you manage to save it), expect to see additional complexity emerge, introducing an assertive kick of that characteristic Brettanomyces funk."
Definitely Fruit Cocktail with apple peel and a nice lingering bitterness. 7.5/10.
2. Attachment 2601
What they say.....
"A special collaboration with our neighbours and friends at Elusive Brewing. As Andy has been campaigning so successfully for #BIPACOMEBACK, it was an easy decision to work on a Black IPA together. A carefully considered selection of malts balances perfectly with complementary hops, leaving this beer buzzing in vibrant orange, pine and berry aromas."
And they're right , a fantastic , oddly alluring beer. 8/10
3. Attachment 2600, a coffee porter, here's the spiel...
"This classic, rich porter has a complex base of Dark, Rye and Aromatic malts which have been treated to a cold steep coffee addition with beans sourced from our pals at Hasbean, creating sumptuous and intense flavours of coffee, fruit and berries supported by the smooth, dark, roasty body."
All I'm getting is the roasty body, none of the other stuff, possibly over chilled when I started but after allowing to warm a bit there's little change. 5.5/10.
if you liked that you might like
Attachment 2603
10% ABV but at £5.30 for a 440ml can I'd have to think about it.
Some nice beers again.
siren -the missing link a California pale ale 7.5/10
siren -scene stealer a Californian ipa 8/10 lovely balance of hops to this one
new Bristol -chocolate macaroon stout 8.25 /10 superb brewery
new Bristol -we are all stardust 8.25 hopalisious
sam smith -apricot fruit beer8/10 old favourite of mine
sam smith brew some lovely beers .Shame they don't do more cask beers .
there was a beer in the shop I was in from Piglove brewery.New brewery tick for me but as it was a sour passed it up.Piglove stupid but distinctive name I suppose.