A pub is for life not just for Christmas
Kent:quality, not quantity.
Goachers-Special House Ale 3.8% abv.A Goachers epitome : peppery hops,hedge fruit and that wonderful characteristic earthiness, in tiptop condition.
Cellar Head-India Pale Ale 5%abv.Leafy,resinous.In good nick.
Sometimes you know from the first gulp that a beer is exceptional.So it was with Goachers Special House ale, taken,rather suprisingly,knowing my past reservations at The Three Chimneys
"At that moment I would have given a kingdom, not for champagne or hock and soda, or hot coffee but for a glass of beer" Marquess Curzon of Kedlestone, Viceroy of India.
A quiet week but with a trip to Edinburgh although not as a beer adventure
Harrogate - Vanilla Porter
Roosters - Enter the Dragon
Roosters - Twenty Four Seven
Rudgate - Ruby Mild
Rudgate - Chocolate Sout
Theakston - Best Bitter
Thornbridge - Kipling
Kelburn - Keltic
Strathaven - Old Mortality
Loch Lomond - Bonnie & Blonde
Inveralmond - Fionnar
Spey Valley - David's not so bitter
Stewart - Edinburgh Gold
Orkney - Clootie Dumpling
Belhaven - 1719
Barney's Beer - Red Rye
Belhaven - St Andrews
Crafty Monkey - Reward IPA
Tennents Lager
Taken in the Bow Bar but brewed in Hartlepool (geddit?) BOTW Crafty Monkey - Reward IPA
Bit of variety this week:
Howling Hops House IPA (tank)*
St Austell Proper Job*
North Down He-Bru IPA
Siren Craft Broken Dream*
Siren Craft Caribbean Chocolate Stout (keg)*
Adnams Ghost Ship
Norfolk Brewhouse Tobi's Tipple Fred's Check
Beavertown Neck Oil (keg)
Oakham Bishops Farewell*
Thoroughly enjoyed the dark Siren Craft beers but BOTW goes to Howling Hops House IPA drunk at the taproom. A glorious, gently fruity, 6.9%, New England IPA. Shame there was only time for one.
"Beer is food." Morse, Colin Dexter
Quiet week for me, but with a decent hit rate.
Brew York - Haze of Thunder.*
Bad Seed - Cake Hole.*
Beartown - Creme Bearlee.
Ossett - Nervous Turkey.
North Riding - Mosaic.*
Roosters - Yankee.*
Naylors - Black Gold.
Empire - Rum Porter.*
All the highlighted beers were pretty good and it would be very easy to give the honours to the Mosaic (again). Instead, I'll plump for the Rum Porter, sampled in Harry's Bar.
'And where he supped the past lived still. And where he sipped the glass brimmed full' John Barleycorn, Carol Ann Duffy.
Croydon,Hertford,Hackney Wick and Limehouse.
Thornbridge -- Jaipur IPA (3 PT)
Mc Mullens -- Bootwarmer
Top Rope -- Canadian Destroyer * (keg)
Five Points -- XPA *
Howling Hops -- House IPA * (tank)
St Austell -- Proper Job (3PT)
Northdown -- He-bru IPA
Siren -- Broken Dream Breakfast Stout *
Siren -- Caribbean Chocolate Cake * (keg)
Some very exciting beers and some great dark 'uns with BOTW going to Top Rope Canadian Destroyer in the Crafty Duck.Hints of maple syrup and pecan in this strong stout from a brewer new to me.
Next week less excitement but rounded off by footie.
"Good people drink good beer" Hunter S Thompson
Bad Co Brewing - Off Tempo 02 19. 6.1%. Three pints each with a bag of pork scratchings in my first visit to the Golden Smog this year.
A small but reasonably well formed list.
Disruption Last Walk Thru Eden*
Triple fff Midnight Rambler*
Roosters Napoleon Complex*
Flowerpots Perridge Pale*
Navigation Rebel
Manning Sha Man*
Raw Pina Colada Porter
Nothing really poor, though not sure how the Porter is a Porter, mid-Brown in colour and not tasting Porter-like at all to me.
I'm going with last weeks winner again,the same cask spanning the weeks two days apart . BOTW Disruption Is Brewing - Walk Thru Eden , really quite good in The Alfred.
"Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer."
-W.C.Fields
A quiet week :-
Portobello Hedgerow Pale 4.5%
ELB Nightwatchman 4.5%
Park Brewery Isabella 4.5%
Reunion BeaqrdTongue 4.5%
Wimbledon Phoenix Porter 4.8%
Saltaire Junga 5.0%
Twickenham American Nut Brown 5.0%
Hammertown N7 5.2%
Brewdog Punk IPA (keg) 5.4%
Shepherd Neame Strong Pale Ale 5.5%
Pillars Winter Mazzen (keg) 5.5%
The easy winner is the Hammerton N7 (£4.00) which is something of a hop bomb and was tried in the local Rose & Crown.I suspect they use a blend of hops but it has a more old school bitterness than other beers.
BOTW Hammerton N7