A pub is for life not just for Christmas
Some decent ales this week:
Dark Star Winter Meltdown
Fullers Bengal Lancer, London Pride and London Porter
York Scrum Down
TT Landlord
Tring Phantom Monk
Oakham Bishops Farewell
I thoroughly enjoyed the Bengal Lancer, Landlord and London Porter but BOTW goes to Dark Star Winter Meltdown. At 5% this is so full of flavour, cask conditioned with Chinese stem ginger and warming spices according to Dark Star, that it takes a half to get used to. But having got used to it, this one flies down.
This week most of our beers were at the Wellington Birmingham beer festival where Rat Golden Rat was impressive.
Saturday we did a coach crawl round some Worcestershire pubs, and Brandy Cask in Pershore had their own Brandy Snapper in brilliant condition, so although we also found an excellent Wye Valley HPA in a pub not in the Good Beer Guide, I am putting my BOTW as Brandy Cask Brandy Snapper 4%.
Alcohol doesn't solve problems .... but then again, neither does milk.
A decade ago boating down the southern Grand Union used to be a thankless task when it came to finding decent ale,but thankfully with some careful searching the situation is much better these days.Special mention should go to Redemption Red and Bengal Lancer IPA but BOTW from me was Fullers London Porter,an occasional cask product and at 5.4% a great example of the style.Very well kept,along with other ales,in The Sportsman,Croxley Green.
Ascot Red IPA at the Blagrave Arms in Reading.
I had a great day out visiting pubs in south Leicestershire on saturday with most beers being very nice.
Everards beacon bitter
Everards Tiger bitter
Everards Equinox
Everards Pitch Black
Marstons Pedigree
Banks's bitter
Bass
Church End What the foxes Hat
Northumberland Bucking fastard
I had to have a drink of Northumberland Bucking Fastard as it must be named after one of our boating reviewers
My beer of the week goes to Northumberland Bucking fastard this beer was tried in the Bulls Head in Stoney Stanton.
Decent weekend even if it ended with me drinking Bankss Keg Mild , only £1 60 a pint made up for it
Cotleigh - Golden Seahawk
Ilkley - Stout Mary
Salopian - Shropshire Gold
Thwaites - Crafty Devil
Dark Star - American Pale Ale
Oxfordshire Ales - Game On
Hobsons - Twisted Spire
Rudgate - Surts Special
Theakstons - Infallible
Morton - Scrumage
The Thwaites Crafty Devil is made with cloves and cinnamon so tastes not unpleasantly of curried xmas cake , could only manage one though
BOTW Dark Star - American Pale Ale
Theres a Man with a Mullet going Mad with a Mallet in Millets !
Limited good Ales this week but Caledonian Cossack Imperial Russian Stout & Brakespear Tripple closely followed by The Coach House Whiplash were the best three this week.
So Beer Of the week is Caledonian Cossack Imperial Russian Stout Best Ive found so far at the Spoons fest.
Don't You just hate Pubs that say
( We don't stock any Real Ales as theres Just no call for it.)
A fairly quiet week, but tons better than the week before, when I only managed canned Kr********g! Fortunately, the beers I tried, in Mr Foley's, Leeds, were all in excellent nick and so doubly enjoyable:
Thornbridge - Wild Swan.
WharfeBank - Black Tom.
Summer Wine Brewery - Kahuna.
Summer Wine Brewery - Sedona.
Kirkstall - Black Band Porter.
BOTW goes to Wild Swan, beautiful flavour for 3.6%. Can't tell you how good those first few mouthfuls were.
'And where he supped the past lived still. And where he sipped the glass brimmed full' John Barleycorn, Carol Ann Duffy.