Wetherspoon's news of the day

[Aqualung]

More to the point, it says that they are doing Moonraker, one of my all time favourite beers. If I find one selling that it will be time to set up camp.

The "Moonraker" is 6.5% so is not the real deal. Lees ruined their bottled mild (Brewer's Dark) by knocking it down to 2.8%. I'll have to check the bottles of Moonraker next time I'm in Morrisons to see if they have done the same with that.

Here's the link for the tasting notes:-

http://www.jdwrealale.co.uk/static/p...tober-2012.pdf

[Mobyduck]

The "Moonraker" is 6.5% so is not the real deal. Lees ruined their bottled mild (Brewer's Dark) by knocking it down to 2.8%. I'll have to check the bottles of Moonraker next time I'm in Morrisons to see if they have done the same with that.

Here's the link for the tasting notes:-

http://www.jdwrealale.co.uk/static/p...tober-2012.pdf

6.5% is real enough for me.

[Aqualung]

6.5% is real enough for me.

I subsequently checked the Lees Brewery web site and the bottled version is definitely now 6.5% but the draught is still listed as 7.5%. I'm hoping that the Spoons Moonraker is a one-off draught version of the bottled for the festival.

If the draught HAS changed permanently then it's a disgrace as there is no way it could ever be the same beer. I've been drinking Moonraker on the rare occasions I found it, Robinson's Old Tom and Marston's Owd Roger since the seventies and have always regarded them as the Holy Trinity of winter beers. In fact Owd Roger was one of the first real ales I ever tried as when I was at college a fellow student who lived on the far outskirts of Hillingdon took us on a "Jolly" to the Royal Standard of England at Forty Green which in those days did Owd Roger as a permanent fixture. There was a designated driver!!
Sadly Marston's only now do bottled Owd Roger.
All credit to Robinson's for keeping the Old Tom ABV at 8.5% despite last year's Park Bench tax.

[Bucking Fastard]

In fact Owd Roger was one of the first real ales I ever tried as when I was at college a fellow student who lived on the far outskirts of Hillingdon took us on a "Jolly" to the Royal Standard of England at Forty Green which in those days did Owd Roger as a permanent fixture. There was a designated driver!!.

Ahhh, draught Owd Roger that takes me back.....to The Whittington Inn ,Kinver where the landlady would only serve it by the half straight from the cask.So us students just ordered two halves and got quaffing.The designated driver was none too pleased when the projectile vomit while driving around Five Ways roundabout coated the rear window of his A40

Back on topic,I noticed from the 'spoons tasting notes that Moonraker...."had it's strength decreased to a more drinkable,yet still potent,level".

[Mobyduck]

Ahhh, draught Owd Roger that takes me back.....to The Whittington Inn ,Kinver where the landlady would only serve it by the half straight from the cask.So us students just ordered two halves and got quaffing.The designated driver was none too pleased when the projectile vomit while driving around Five Ways roundabout coated the rear window of his A40

Back on topic,I noticed from the 'spoons tasting notes that Moonraker...."had it's strength decreased to a more drinkable,yet still potent,level".

Must be 25 years since I had any Owd Roger, with similar results as B.F. Tend not to go for anything above 6.5% nowdays except for the odd occasion.Darkstar's Critical Mass 7.5% and Imperial Stout 10.5% spring to mind,very nice too.

[oldboots]

Ahhh, draught Owd Roger that takes me back....

Me too, my first taste of the nectar was in The Winsor at Southampton Bus Station on handpump, the pub has long since been demolished but the The White Swan in Winchester used to have a cask on the bar in its Marstons days.

[hondo]

"Noel Ale is, at 5 per cent ABV, a full-bodied beer"
http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/n...hristmas_list/

[Aqualung]

I wonder what the difference will be between this beer and Kingsdown, which if I remember correctly was originally stronger than the current 5% abv. To be honest I find all of these Southern regional brewer's (Arkells, Wadworths, Badger, Harvey's) beers just too sweet.

The Spoons Christmas guest list is usually the most boring one of the year. How can anything that isn't a true Winter beer (Old Tom, Headcracker, Moonraker etc etc etc) possibly be a Xmas beer? Instead we get a boring selection of low ABV beers with daft Xmas names from regional brewers or larger micros.

[london calling]

agree with you. i hate the christmas beers clogging up the handpumps.why cant christmas beers be pale and hoppy.

[Aqualung]

agree with you. i hate the christmas beers clogging up the handpumps.why cant christmas beers be pale and hoppy.

I'm not averse to strong dark ales which is my idea of what a Xmas beer should be. Long gone are the days of Spoons doing Old Tom at 99p a half. The Spoons Xmas lists in the last few years have been total rubbish.