Visit the a swift one site

On Monday a visit to the Sportsman revealed a whole bar devoted to Yorkshire beers. Whether intentionally or accidentally I cannot say, but it gave the opportunity to try beers from the region that often are not seen together.

Apart from Taylors 'Dark Mild' which is a staple on the bar, along with 'Landlord' all the others were guests of varying strength but all bar one, were light and hoppy, and my style of beer.


Anglo Dutch 'Special' came in at 4%, and was a refreshing starter, and did not have the background taste that often makes me shy away from their beers. They also provided my last beer, their 6% 'Tabitha' which I consider a classic, and which is dangerously drinkable for its strength. Incidentally, this seems to be more of a regular brew than previously and is not too difficult to find at present.


Brass Monkey also provided two beers, and in my opinion, were two of the better beers they brew. (I have never really been a fan of their beer but they seem to have become more consistent lately, and these two are worth trying if you come across them - I have read the former will not be brewed again until later in the year because of the lack of the necessary hops however). First came the 3.6% 'Son of Silverback', which is full of citrus hop flavours and very light in colour, and this was followed by 'Cheeky Monkey' at 4.2% which again is crammed with hops and very moreish but marginally darker.


These rubbed shoulders on the bar with Black Sheep 'Ale' which I think is a far superior product to the rest of their range but is less easy to find. It seems to be Black Sheep's attempt to break into the golden ale market, and although it does not have the pronounced hop flavours of the other beers mentioned, it is quite acceptable.


To round off the locale beers came the Elland 'Nocturne' which is a dark, almost black beer but crammed with flavour and again far too drinkable for its 5% strength.


All in all, a good showcase for what beers Yorkshire can provide and with most of them brewed within a short distance of Huddersfield, it showed how privileged we are to have such easily accessible, good beer on our door step.



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