Beer of the Week (w/e 4th January 2015)

[ROBCamra]

Real Ale Ray: Connoisseur Lucem
Mobyduck: Magic Rock Punchline Porter
Aqualung: Thornbridge Jaipur IPA
Bucking Fastard: Brodies Ginger
Wittenden: Larkins Porter
hondo: Alechemy Bad Day At The Office
Thuck Phat: Phoenix Christmas Kiss
aleandhearty: Tigertops See the Hops

[Real Ale Ray]

Connoisseur - Lucem

[Mobyduck]

Reasonable week,
Darkstar Hophead 3.8%
Darkstar American Pale Ale 4.7%
Darkstar Creme Brulee 5.4%*
Stonehenge Pigswill 4.0%
Celt Experience Coco Orange Paganism 7.1%
Magic Rock Punchline Porter 5.4%*
Windsor and Eton Mandarin 4.5%
Liverpool Organic Cascade 3.8%
Weird Beard Hit The Lights 5.9%*
Clarkshaws Strange Brewing No 1 4.0%
Brodies Kiwi 3.8%*
Copper Dragon Golden Pippin 3.9%
Timothy Taylors Landlord 4.3%
Firebrand Big Hop Little Beer 3.6%
Marble Stouter Stout 4.7%*
Anarchy Smokebomb 3.9%*
Hopback Cropcircle 4.2%*

Hard choice this week between 4 or 5 contenders, the Creme Brulee was very good but a little too sweet for me,I am torn between the Anarchy Smokebomb ,served a little on the cold side but halfway down and once achieving room temperature was excellent, but I am going for Magic Rock Punchline Porter,BOTW ,the first beer Iv'e had with chili involved that works, a good afterburn but with each new mouthful you are able to taste and appreciate the dark chocolate bitterness, needless to say within the group of four on the day, two loved it and two didn't.

[Aqualung]

Not much of a week for me as I haven't ventured outside the Spoons bubble.

Adnam's Sixpoint Importer 4.2%
King Winterland 4.2%
Oakham Bishop's Farewell 4.6%
Dark Star American Pale Ale 4.7%
Clarence & Frederick's Smoked Red 5.0%
Caledonian Minagof IPA 5.0%
Brentwood Jolly Decent Wallop 5.2%
Thornbridge Jaipur IPA 5.9%
Westerham Audit Ale 6.0%
Adnam's Sixpoint Xporter 6.0%


I'll go for the Jaipur which was £2.95 at the Moon on the Hill in Sutton.

BOTW Thornbridge Jaipur IPA

[Bucking Fastard]

A reasonable start to the year.

Adnams -- Broadside
Brodies -- Ginger * >3PT
Brodies -- Bethnal Green Bitter
Dark Star -- American Pale Ale *
Marston's -- Pride of Fenny (a house brew,probably rebadged Burton Bitter)
Wychwood -- Hobgoblin
Hook Norton -- Hooky


BOTW was Brodies Ginger in great form in the Cross Keys,Endell Street.It flew down ,a great session beer but at 4.8% dangerous.I am hard pressed to think of a better Ginger,Marble excepted,and it was deeply hopped making my next pint of Dark Star APA taste unusually sweet.

[Wittenden]

Good start in West Kent;
Goachers- House Ale-3.8%abv:Wonderfully earthy:as good as I've had this in ages.
Larkins-Porter-5.2%ry,roasty,raspberries.A classic.Drinkability belies its strength.Both taken at The Rock, Chiddingstone Hoath.
Larkins-Traditional-3.4%-Earthily toffeeish.Taken at The Castle,Chiddingstone. Bob, the onlie begetter of this wonderful beer was holding court.
My BOTW-Larkins Porter.

[hondo]

Alechemy - Bad Day At The Office

[Thuck Phat]

Pheonix - Christmas Kiss

Unfortunately, I was only served a pint when asking an attractive barmaid for this one.

[aleandhearty]

Another quiet week, only managing a quick early session on New Year's Eve.

Tigertops - See the Hops.*
Five Towns - Niamh's Nemesis.*
Great Newsome - Jem's Stout.
Red Squirrel - American IPA.
Ossett - Treacle Stout.*

Easy winner was the Tigertops, another superb beer from the Cinderella of Wakefield's micros. Having been lucky enough to meet Malcom Bastow, the brewer/owner of Five Towns, earlier in the year, I couldn't believe it when Barry 'Axeman' Smith, the Tigertops brewer, was propping up the bar in Harry's Bar, on NYE. I'm afraid I fawned like some schoolgirl meeting their pop idol!

[ROBCamra]

Not a particularly good week beer wise.

Most of the beers I tried were OK, but none really knocked my socks off.

Winner is Empire Bowline a 3.9% mid coloured session beer. It wouldn't have won in any other week.