Beer of the Week (w/e 7 Mar 2010)

[oldboots]

Christ 'ob', have you a fever? Are you hallucinating man? Surely an oxymoron.

Honest I'm not joking or mad (although more than slightly pissed when I wrote it ), it was a good pint of beer. Rumour has it that it's not being brewed in Tadcaster at present (again), lack of racking facilities is supposedly the reason. It was at, I think, Holts in Manchester for a time and other decent breweries have been mentioned. On the other hand a different rumour says increased capacity at Taddy means they are brewing there again.

I have had a few decent pints of JS cask but very very rarely a drinkable Tetleys Cask to which the review is much more applicable IMHO. Good word, mephitic, just about sums up my bowels this morning.

[HTM69]

An incomplete list of the beers and spirits consumed last week...

Guinness x 4
Brian Turner Amber Ale x 1
Adnams Bitter x 1
Brains SA x 1
Whitstable Brewery, East India Pale Ale x1
Larkins Brewery, Best Bitter x 1
Fortitude. Wantsome(?) x 1
Batemans, Miss Canada x 1
Spitfire x 1
Spitfire (In a bloody Carling glass!) x 1
Becks (Bottled) x 2
Double Vodka and Red Rooster x 4

[aleandhearty]

Whitstable Brewery, East India Pale Ale x1
Larkins Brewery, Best Bitter x 1

Bit of a long shot this, but I don't suppose you visited The Rose and Crown, Halstead (Kent) last week? I had both these beers on my visit there last summer. I was very impressed with both, but thought the Larkins was particularly tasty for its strength.

[hopwas]

Late Late BOTW for me..

E.S.B (Fuller's?) at 5.5% at Tamworth FC. Superb moreish and earthy bitter.

Same about the price (see price rise thread)

[HTM69]

Bit of a long shot this, but I don't suppose you visited The Rose and Crown, Halstead (Kent) last week? I had both these beers on my visit there last summer. I was very impressed with both, but thought the Larkins was particularly tasty for its strength.

Nope, this was in The Man of Kent Ale House, Rochester.

They usually have around 8 ales on and all are locally sourced. The Whitstable Brewery ales are very good, usually. The Larkins Best Bitter was excellent

[Pubsignman]

My BOTW is Brains Dark. I'd never really rated their beers before, but I had a couple of top quality pints of this in The Goat Major, Cardiff this weekend.

My judgement may have been swayed somewhat by the fact that I was on lager for most of the weekend, as we trawled around Cardiff's binge-drinking hot-spots for my mate's stag weekend.

Kudos also for Rhymney Bevan's Bitter.

[hopwas]

My BOTW is Brains Dark.

Truly great beer and I had them in Llandudno, North Wales couple of years back.

[ETA]

I did mention Sheps's Late Red....

[ROBCamra]

Well having voted for Blue Monkey 99 Red Baboons last week, this week got off to a good start with more monkeys.

The Baum had Brass Monkey Silverback on the bar which was OK but when that went, on came Golden Monkey from the same brewery which was excellent.

I also had a pint of Copper Dragon Freddie Truman which was also pretty good.

So Golden Monkey so far for me, who knows it might even win as we've no beer festivals etc planned for this weekend!

Well after quite a few more beers I'm still going to award my BOTW to Golden Monkey from Brass Monkey brewery in Sowerby Bridge.

[ROBCamra]

Having found 7th March instead of 7th FEBRUARY ;

A bit of a thin week after the late excess of last week however I had a very fine pint of John Smiths Cask this week although not beer of the week there's no reason why it couldn't be. I also had a yet another loverly beer from Rudgate, a splendid brewer that keeps raising its game - Odins Raven, only 3.8 but balanced and so not a hop monster, refreshing and playful, moreish and tasty but not my BOTW. This week Pheonix, a wonderful Manchester brewery, takes the honours with their "Massacre", deceptively "brown and boring" but with a hoppy aroma, malty body, fruity undertones and a bitter finish. (appologies for the Rate Beer style bullsh..tish comments).....nice

Tony at Phoenix usually only brews Massacre for Valentines Day so it obviously keeps well