Blog o’ Beer

Tasting Notes: Herold Bohemian Black Lager

Brewery: Herold
Location: Breznice, Czech Republic
ABV: 5.3%
Version: Bottled
Source: Tesco

I'm not much of a lager drinker, but I'm by no means immune to the charms of a good dark or black lager, so Herold's Bohemian Black seemed like a good bet when I spotted it on the shelves in the Tesco World Beers section. I drank it on Saturday night whilst watching Pirates of the Caribbean III, it being the closest thing in the cupboard to a tipple of dark rum (without actually drinking the bottle of dark rum that's been lurking in the corner for about seven or eight years now...)

According to the website, Herold Bohemian Black is "a classic lager of Schwarzbier style, brewed from 4 malts and lagered for up to 10 weeks". It certainly lives up to its colour-promise, pouring a lovely ebony, although the "dense, creamy head" promised on the neck label must only be available on draught, as here it was more of a muddy brown soap-scum effect, that soon dissipated.

The taste was much more impressive: a rich, chocolatey, liquorice-and-herbs flavour, buoyed along by a pleasantly dense mouthfeel. A hint of molasses sweetness as well, but with a tangy bite that stopped it becoming too syrupy. I had chilled the bottle for 40 minutes or so prior to opening, and once the beer warmed it released more of its smokiness as well, so maybe cellar (or cupboard) temperature would have been better.

Not necessarily one I'd seek out again, but if I saw it on offer then I might be tempted to grab a few bottles to feed to any visiting lager-drinkers too timid to move on to a pale ale. Anything's worth a try, right?

Stocking up on some Scottish Beer

...plus a few others.

There is generally a fairly poor selection of beer available in Northern Ireland from most pubs and off-licences but fortunately I have a couple of reliable independent retailers I can count on to put a fair amount of effort into obtaining stock that would otherwise not be available. The Vineyard on Belfast's Ormeau Road has already been mentioned a few times here so I'll make a quick mention now of Gap Wines, on the Antrim Road in Belfast and also recently, and even more conveniently for me, on the Belfast Road in Carrickfergus. Gap Wines just picked up an award for 2008 Off-licence of the Year in the Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Retail Awards, which they can add to their 2006 UK Community Off-licence of the Year. I suspect the award is more for the wine aspect of their operation but they do have some dedicated shelf space for beer. Just this week they've taken deliver of a new batch from some Scottish Breweries so off I went to stock up; well, the corner of the kitchen my beer is stored in was starting to look a bit empty.

Featured in the photo, from left to right are -

Highland Brewing Company - Orkney Blast
Black Isle Brewery - Yellowhammer IPA, Wheat Beer, Blonde and Red Kite Ale
Broughton Ales - Greenmantle and Scottish Oatmeal Stout
Atlas Brewery - Nimbus and Three Sisters
Isle of Skye Brewing Company - Red Cuillin

While I was there I picked up one of each of the other new ones I spotted on the shelf as well.

Again, featured from left to right, are -

Meantime - Wheat
Southern Brewing Company SA - Kross Pilsner
Dixie Brewing Company - Blackened Voodoo lager
Brothers Brewing Company - Soho Red and Freedom Organic
Les Brasseurs de Gayant - La Goudale
Cerveceria Patagonia Primitiva SA - Patagonia Blonde

No idea when I'll get round to posting tasting notes on all these, but I'm sure I'll have fun doing the research.

Tasting Notes: BrewDog Punk IPA

Brewery: BrewDog
Location: Fraserburgh, Scotland
ABV: 6.0%
Version: Bottled
Source: Tesco

I first heard about BrewDog's Punk IPA over at The Beer Diary and then a few days later spotted a bottle in Tesco, which I duly grabbed. I've said before that IPA isn't really my first-choice when it comes to beer-style, so when I do venture out of my comfort zone, I'm looking for something special. And I'm glad to say that Punk IPA, like the Meantime IPA I tried not so long ago, is pretty damn special indeed.

I didn't chill this "post-modern classic pale ale" before trying it, wanting to make sure that I got the full range of flavours. There was a huge hit of hops, hops and more hops, which is exactly what you want from an IPA, of course, as well as a bone-dryness that was positively Saharan. But there was also a velvety smoothness - great mouthfeel - which helped to keep both the sharpness and the alcohol nicely balanced, making this big IPA a very easy drinker indeed. I think that was the main difference between the Punk and the Stateside that I tried at Wetherspoons the other week: the Stateside (also 6%) seemed to be all about the spiky dryness. All in all, a definite hit with this non-IPA expert. I predict that I'll be drinking this one again someday.

I've been reading on the BrewDog blog that they've been having a spot of bother with the Portman Group - the self-appointed guardians of the UK brewing industry's moral high-ground / a cartel of major brewers determined to stamp out originality and keep the smaller guys from achieving any sort of lasting success [delete as applicable] - and as Joe pointed out they're not the only ones.

Personally, I think any brewery that shows a bit of imagination and creativity in the face of the shelves upon supermarket shelves of mass-market blandness and bog-standardism should be applauded and lauded, not castigated and taken-to-task for the originality of the wording on its labels. As for 'incitement to anti-social behaviour'... WTF? it's cans of cheap, super-strength cooking-lager the yobs round our neck of the woods are knocking back on a Friday night, not 330ml bottles of micro-brewed craft beer, for crying out loud! A little perspective from the Portman Group, please? A little common sense? Too much to ask for?

Anyhow, I've decided to show my support for BrewDog in the best way possible: I've just this minute placed an order for their Stout Special mixed box (6 x Rip Tide, 6 x Paradox and I do hope I get the Caol Ila version...) with a side-order case of 2009 Prototype Special selection: three great-looking beers (including another mega-IPA) that they're testing at the moment.

I'll be letting you know how I get on in due course...

BrewDog - brewing up a beer revolution

Quite possibly inspired by recent events on the far side of the Atlantic, Fraserburgh-based BrewDog have recently announced that they're plotting something of a revolutionary development in the field of micro-brewing in the form of the world's first democratically elected beer.

I'd better let them explain the idea themselves, by nicking a chunk of text from their website:

In a ground-breaking move, BrewDog will be the world's first brewery to ever brew a completely democratically designed beer - by the people for the people! We are giving up complete control of every single decision which will shape the final beer that the Beer Rocks project produces.

We want to take you all on a journey and let you fully determine the destination.

In order to ensure that the eventual winner is properly Obama-like and prevent the process devolving into some sort of horrible Floridian nightmare of re-counts and acrimonious law-suits, they'll be doing their best to educate us - the voting public - on the key facts before we join in, by posting a series of video blog manifestos explaining the key characteristics of the sort of beer they're looking for and arguing the case for their own personal favourites.

The vblog instalments will be posted one-per-week, starting this Saturday (Nov 15th), with voting on the key characteristic in question open for 5 days afterwards. At the end of the 5-week process, the beer style will be decided upon, the BrewDog blokes will go off and brew the beer and the bottled version will be made available via their regular distributors in early 2009.

Sounds a whole lot more fun than Xmas shopping to me. Count me in...

And then they were Four…

We're delighted to welcome a new bloke to our roster of semi-regular beer-bloggers! The new bloke in question is none other than professional (i.e. the jammy bastard manages to do it full-time) horror / dark fantasy author Tim Lebbon,who guest-posted on the subject of the Polperro Beer Festival for us recently.

Thing is, there I was thanking Tim profusely for his post and he says he'd be quite interested in taking up this beer blogging lark himself, so I says why go to all the hassle of running a whole new blog, why not join us instead? and he says "great idea, I'd love to!" and then I asks the other two BoB blokes and they both say "great idea!" as well, so there you have it.

Tim is, of course, a Welshman (or a Welsh resident, at least), Joe is a Scot, Ed is Northern Irish and I'm an Englishman. Any appropriate jokes on a post-card, please, to the usual address.

Welcome aboard, Tim!

Tasting Notes: Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale

Brewery: Morrissey Fox (or Morissey Fox, or Morrisey Fox... you choose)
Location: Marton cum Grafton, Yorkshire, England
ABV: 4.2%
Version: Bottled
Source: Tesco

Long Intro...

I'm sure everyone is well aware by now that actor Neil Morrissey and chef Richard Fox are currently starring in a TV micro-series - Neil Morrissey's Risky Business - about the pair's venture into micro-brewing and pub-owning, the first two episodes of which have aired on Channel 4 recently.

I had no idea that the beer was linked to a TV series when I picked it up in Tesco the other week. I bought it because it was just something new to try and maybe, just a little bit, because I once met Neil Morrissey at a bookstore event that I helped to run back in my book-selling days - he and Martin Clunes were promoting one of their Men Behaving Badly spin-offs and came along to do a live in-character interview and Q&A session, which I seem to remember resulted in a damn good night had by all.

I tried Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale last night and then watched the first episode of the series (courtesy of our Sky+ box) this morning. I thought the most interesting parts of the first episode were the segments in which the two intrepid micro-brewers sat down at a London marketing agency Antidote to discuss an advertising campaign that would catapult their product onto the supermarket shelves. Most probably because I work in marketing myself; beer plus marketing, best of both worlds.

Anyhow, the chap they were talking to (I think it was agency owner and M.D. Tim Ashton) was presented as the voice of sanity and reason amidst the wild, laddish enthusiasm of the other two. And the main point he kept coming back to was a rebuttal to Morrissey Fox's mission statement - to present themselves as young, enthusiastic, passionate (and media-friendly) micro-brewers and by doing so convert a whole slew of lager drinkers into real ale quaffers instead - which could be summed up quite nicely with a pithy: "so what?"

As in: so, guys, you've bought a pub and a micro-brewery and made an initial batch of homebrew and tested it by giving freebies away in Harrogate and folks seemed to like it... but so what? What does Morrissey Fox have to offer that will make the venture stand head-and-shoulders above the hundreds of other micro-breweries with much better brewing credentials, above the 5,000 or so beer varieties currently produced in the UK, and above the huge amount of corporate competition for that all-important, coveted supermarket shelf-space?

To be fair the pair were quick to acknowledge that their main asset in their long run has to be the quality of their beer, the success or failure of which will be the main determinant of the overall success or failure of the entire project, long after the media-buzz (which has to have helped get their bottles on the shelves of Tesco, surely?) has died down again and they're left with the serious business of actually running a pub and micro-brewery.

So they key question has to be: how does the beer itself shape up against other micro-brew products of a similar ilk? Is it just a case of a gimmick that plays on Morrissey's celebrity status, or does it have a genuine strength of character that will enable it to stand on its own, without the additional media attention? You know, I'd really like to have been able to voice a resounding "yes!" at this point - if only because the show is very entertaining and I've learned quite a bit about brewing, just by watching the first episode and both Morrissey and Fox seem like good blokes and all. The thing is, though...

Actual Tasting Notes...

Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale is a 4.2% pale ale which, the label claims, lies "somewhere between a lager and an ale" brewed with a blend of "aromatic, fruity" hops and lager malts. And I suppose that, given the previously mentioned mission statement to convert lager drinkers to real ale, this makes a certain amount of sense. But the result is a beer with a bit of an identity-crisis which, given the decent amount of choice generally on offer in most supermarkets, isn't going to help it get past the 'curiosity-satisfying' purchase stage and turn it into a staple cellar-filler. It's pleasant enough. And as the vast majority of the taste-testers who were filmed said, it's "not bad". But then, it's not "great" either. Nobody on the TV show said "wow!" when they tried it, and neither did I...

The first thing I noticed, on sniffing the bottle-neck, is a rather pungent aroma of... well, I wasn't really sure what, but it was something not entirely pleasant. The beer poured a very light golden colour with a frothy white head and luckily the aroma settled down and became more recognisably beer-like in the process. First impression on tasting was of a definite effervescence, a malty, biscuity flavour, a hint of sourness, a hint of hoppiness. After that, things got a little... flat. It was beery, definitely, but lacked the outright mega-hop hit of a good IPA (and I've had a few big IPA's recently, so they're still fresh in my mind) leaving it languishing rather in bland summer ale territory; it reminded me a little of the Theakston's Lightfoot Bitter I tried a while back (which is ironic, seeing as the pair seem to have rather fallen out with Paul Theakston). The hop notes did develop towards the end of the glass after it had been breathing a while, but overall I'm afraid I was left with a sense of... yeah, "not bad". Nice enough, but... so what?

Further Thoughts...

I could hazard a guess (without having seen episodes 2 and 3 yet) that, in an attempt to make their debut brew palatable to those legions of pre-conversion lager-drinkers out there, they could've dumbed it down to make it (literally) easier to swallow. But in that case, I'm rather afraid they've probably dumbed it down to the point of depriving it of a distinct character, something to make it stand out from the rest of the real-ale crowd. Which could either be chalked up as a failure or a success, depending on your point of view. And I rather think that - given the intention to establish this one as a supermarket-regular, commercial brand rather than a characterful (but perhaps, more commercially limited) Real Ale - Mssrs Morrissey and Fox would actually prefer their first beer to be described as a lager-like summer beer that's easy enough to drink but won't leave you feeling like you've tried something too new, or too distinct.

Let's not forget, as well, that this is just their first brew and they've already announced plans to release two new ones in the near future. So perhaps with their next batch, having established themselves as a presence on the shelves of Tesco with their Blonde Ale, they might actually go for something a little more interesting and challenging.

To summarise: I, personally, wasn't hugely impressed with Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale, but then I don't think I, or any of the other Blog o' Beer guys, or anyone who might get around to reading these tasting notes, will be the intended audience. And I'm not going to write these guys off just yet. They might not be doing anything quite as interesting as the likes of Meantime or Brewdog or any one of hundreds of other well-established, small, independent and/or micro-breweries, or at least not just yet. But they are prepared to use Morrissey's celebrity status, Fox's reputation as a chef and the production budget of a Channel 4 documentary show to promote the cause of real ale and real ale drinking... and that alone seems worth supporting.

So I reckon that even if you only buy one bottle of Morrissey Fox, just to give it a go, and then never go back again, you should at least do that. I've had my one, and I probably won't be having another Blonde Ale in a bottle, but if I find myself in Marton cum Grafton in the near future then I'll definitely nip into the Olde Punch Bowl to try a pint of the draught version, and to see what sort of new additions they've made to the range.

Tasting Notes: Jolly Ploughman

Brewery: Tom Woods
Location: Grimsby, England
ABV: 5.0%
Version: Cask
Source: Wetherspoons, Belfast

So I finally found time to visit the Belfast Wetherspoons to see what was on offer in the Beerfest. As this branch is part of the Lloyd's Number 1 branding and usually only has a few taps set aside for guest ales I wasn't expecting much selection and they certainly didn't surprise me. There were four taps purporting to be dedicated to the festival but there was no sign of the brochure mentioned by Darren in his Manchester report so I can't really be sure if they were. No shortage of supply of Tennent's Ice Cold though, they've five pumps dedicated to that one alone. Why I've no idea, surely it would be better just to fill a glass with water and stick some ice in it.

Anyway, on offer was Tom Woods Jolly Ploughman, Badger Toad's Croak and Okells Mac Lir. There was also one for Banks Winter Ale but that had a "Coming Soon" sign on it. Obviously, going by the title of the post I decided to start with the Jolly Ploughmans. And that was it. While this was being poured somebody else ordered a Toad's Croak and it ran out halfway through the pour. The same happened with the Okells a short time later, and this was a not particularly busy Friday lunchtime.

But enough rambling, on with the review. The beer is a lovely rich chestnut/mahogany brown with a slight head. The aroma is very subtle, other than some maltiness I was hard pushed to detect anything else notable. However, the flavour isn't so shy. First up is loads of malt, then some dried fruit hop flavours come through, all ending with a dry yeasty alcohol finish. It's quite moreish but the aftertaste is perhaps just a bit too dry and heavy for a session, better to move onto something else. But of course I couldn't, as they'd run out.

Wetherspoons Real-Ale Festival ‘08 - Manchester

The Wetherspoon's mega-chain is currently running their 2008 Real Ale Festival and so last Friday evening, Jo and I thought we'd nip along and see what they had to offer.

The branch we went along to was the Waterhouse on Princess Street in Manchester City Centre - a former solicitors' office (if I remember correctly) which has retained most of its internal dividing walls, making for a more intimate and secluded venue than its cross-city partner The Moon Under Water. The latter was previously a cinema and is now a cavernous, riotous open space, usually packed to the rafters on a weekend night and extremely noisy.

Of course, the smaller venue has a smaller number of pumps / taps and so the range of festival ales on offer was limited to a rather narrow selection from the 50 in the full festival range. Mind you, I don't think it helped that last Friday was Hallowe'en, because they still had a couple of spooky-themed beers on, along with a couple more that, whilst displayed with Festival clips on the taps, weren't actually part of the Festival... unless they're allowed a couple of local additions to the range? Anyhow, just a case of poor timing on our part, I guess. Next weekend might have been a better bet.

All of which meant that I didn't get the chance to try (or reacquaint myself with) a number of beers from the Festival brochure that I really would have liked to have a go at, such as: Triple FFF Alton's Pride (CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain 2008, no less), Hilden Molly's Stout, Caledonian Smokey Pete, Exmoor Wild Cat, Banks's Winter Ale, St Austell Proper Job, Harviestoun Thistle Do, Woodforde's Norfolk Nog, Baron's Black Wattle Original Ale, Meantime Coffee Porter (enjoyed the bottled version, would have loved to been able to sample the draught), Robinson's Old Tom Chocolate Ale, Titanic Iron Curtain Russian Stout and York Centurion's Ghost (any excuse to drink one of my all-time favourites...)

In the end, Jo and I managed to sample six beers - Festival or otherwise and all in half pint sampler-sizes - between the two of us us and then, having pretty much exhausted the possibilities, we went next door to the City Arms for a couple more, so I suppose I shouldn't grumble. And those beers were:

Yo-Ho Yona Yona - A new beer brewed especially for the Festival by Japanese brewer Toshi Ishii at Banks's brewery in Wolverhampton, Yona Yona Real Ale is a 5% American-style pale ale that poured a dark amber colour with a light head. It was quite hoppy, with a distinct grapefruit flavour that became more and more pronounced as the glass went on. In fact, I'd say it was probably a bit too pronounced for my taste, with the sourness and acidity over-powering the sweeter, maltier notes to the point where I wasn't actually enjoying it all that much by the end. Which was a shame, because it seems as though the rest of the Yo-Ho range is meant to be somewhat legendary, by all accounts...

Moorhouses Black Witch - Part of the Moorhouses seasonal range, Jo decided to try a half and ended up having a couple more. It's a 4.2%, dark, chestnut-brown ale with a nutty, coffee-toned flavour and a chocolately after-taste. Quite sweet, very easy-drinking. Not one of the Festival ales but probably the most enjoyable beer we sampled on the evening. So there you go.

George Wright Skeleton - I think this has to be one of the most aptly-named beers I've encountered to-date, because this 4.1% light ale had almost no body and very little meat on its bones at all. Almost devoid of any sort of flavour or even a notable leaning towards either dryness or sweetness, it was bland and watery throughout. Caveat emptor.

Outlaw Wrangler - I think this is brewed by Knaresborough-based Roosters under their Outlaw Brewing Co label, but it wasn't an official Festival beer and I couldn't get close enough to the cask-clip to double-check (it was a Friday night and two or three deep at that part of the bar...) Anyhow, Wrangler is a very pale ale with a frothy, bubbly head, which I assume has been brewed American-style, seeing as it was very dry with lots of hops. Quite pleasant and refreshing, just not the sort of style I usually make a point of seeking out.

Hydes Mumbo Jumbo - This locally-brewed, 4.9% Hydes seasonal ale is an interesting little number. Pouring a deep, stout-black with just a hint of chestnut, the impression I got on first tasting was a tannin-rich, wine-like character, backed up with coffee and chicory and then raisins, with lots of malt throughout. It was pleasant enough, but let down slightly by its mouth-feel, which just wasn't as rich and thick as the rest of its characteristics would seem to suggest it ought to be.

Stateside IPA - Again, I failed in my research and couldn't get close enough to make out the name of the brewery, but I'm going to assume this was Mikkeller's Stateside IPA that I was drinking [Edit 08.11.08 - maieb tells me it was actually from the Saltaire Brewery and Paul from Saltaire has confirmed that this is indeed the case - see the comments]. At 6% on draught this one delivered a real alcoholic whack to the taste-buds and was backed up with hops upon hops upon hops... very dry, very American, does exactly what it says on the label. Again, not usually my first-choice style so I'm not sure I'd survive full a session on this one, but it was good to try a half.

Thwaite's Nutty BlackBy this point Jo and I had de-camped to the City Arms, where we actually found one of Wetherspoon's Festival beers that Wetherspoon's didn't have. Nutty Black (formerly "dark mild") has been named CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain more than once, and made for a very pleasant counter-point to the previous uber-hopped monster IPA. Mild, slightly sweet, weighing in at a slight 3.3% and, yes, quite nutty, this is the sort of session easy-drinker you could easily keep going on all-night long, which probably would have been a good idea, seeing as I was back on full pints by this point...

Everards Original - ...but instead, I decided to stray and for my last pint of the night I went for the strongest beer on the blackboard (one of those 10.45 p.m. decisions that you pay for with a fuzzy head all the next day). Everard's Original poured a lovely mid-brown colour with a creamy head. I found it quite sweet, with a hint of cinder toffee and a definite almond tang (as Jo suggested: strong hints of bakewell tart) and I think if I'd been drinking it earlier in the night I would have enjoyed it more than I ended up doing... in the end it was just a bit much on top of everything else I'd sampled.

But still, a good night out - Jo and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and if we weren't booked up next Friday and Saturday then we'd probably be back down to the 'Spoons again for another stab at the Festival selection. But I guess those missed beers will just have to be added to the ever-growing wish-list, for now...

Tasting Notes: Sierra Nevada Stout

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Location: Chico, California, USA
ABV: 5.8%
Version: 12 fl oz bottle

Having recently covered the rather lacklustre Porter from Sierra Nevada I approached their Stout with a bit more trepidation than I would otherwise have done. However, one sip was all that was required to reassure me that I needn't have been concerned.

This stout pours as it should; thick, very dark brown, almost black colour with a substantial frothy head, which soon thins down but retains a presence throughout. The aroma is surprisingly light, mainly laidback malty notes. That light maltiness follows through in the flavour, some bitter chocolate, a touch of coffee, and I'm sure there was a hint of liquorice hiding in the background. Some extra bitterness pushes in as the hop flavour develops but it's all very well controlled and perfectly balanced. Then to round the whole taste experience off, there's a gentle kick from the alcohol and a lovely lingering finish. Wonderful stuff indeed.

Tasting Notes: Badger Pumpkin Ale

Brewery: Badger (Hall & Woodhouse)
Location: Dorset, England
ABV: 4.6%
Version: 500ml bottle

Hallowe'en is coming and the goose is getting....blah, blah, blah. I know I should have saved drinking this one until Friday but then I couldn't have reviewed it in time for you to go out and get some for yourselves, if the notion took you.

Released in a limited batch specifically for this time of year the label states this ale comes with "hints of roast pumpkin, cloves and peat". I'm not exactly a fan of pumpkin itself, tried it once and was thoroughly underwhelmed, but Badger usually get good results with their odd experiments so thought I'd give it a try anyway.

The ale pours a golden amber colour with loads of bubbles running through it initally. The aroma is very much of winter vegetables (did I detect carrot in there somewhere?) with a hint of malt. Didn't pick up much in the way of peat though, or cloves. The taste is very much at the sweet and fruity end of the scale, with a touch of bitterness coming through in those bubbles. I found the carbonation a bit too much to be honest and had to leave the glass to sit for a short while to give the fizz some time to calm down. Overall however, the recipe works better than it should but it's a bit too sweet for an all-nighter. Would I get it again? Probably not, but it was worth sampling.

Doing my bit to stop the slide

The BBC website reported yesterday that UK beer sales are on the way down again - in pubs and off-licenses alike - to the tune of 7.2% year-on-year for July-September, according to figures from the British Beer and Pub Association.

The BBPA (or the BBC interpretation of the BBPA press release) was quick to blame the combined effects of the worsening economy and a 9% hike in duty on beer. I was surprised, though, that they didn't make the rather obvious connection to the generally lousy weather we've had this "summer". Surely that, coupled with the inability of any of the home nations' football teams to qualify for the European Championship, would have had a fairly significant impact as well, no?

Anyhow, economic collapse and footballing ignominy aside, I'm happy to report that I'm still doing my bit, with a trip at the weekend to the (usually lamentably under-stocked) real ale section of the local Tesco which, to my surprise, resulted in the acquisition of no fewer than seven new (to me) interesting-looking bottled beers:

• Brewdog Punk IPA - recently reviewed and highly-rated over at The Beer Diary, so I've been keeping an eye out for this one.
• Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale - I actually had no idea when I picked this one up that it's the subject of the new Channel 4 TV series Neil Morrissey's Risky Business, which starts tonight. I'll be watching that one via Sky+ later in the week.
• Williams Bros Midnight Sun - a rather interesting-looking porter from one of Ed & Joe's favourite breweries (judging by the growing volume of their combined tasting notes to-date...)
• Farmer's Harvest - a benefit ale for the NFU, but I'm not sure which brewery this is from as I couldn't spot it anywhere on the bottle (or the NFU website).
• Jennings Golden Host - A premium ale from Cumbria.
• Orval - Belgian trappist ale; should be a good Autumn warmer.
• Pivovar Herold - Czech dark lager. One for the fridge.

There you go. Can't say I'm not doing the best I can to help reverse that trend, eh?

Bebiendo cerveza en las Islas Canarias

Jo and I are not long back from an extremely enjoyable week in Tenerife (where, as you can probably tell from the title of this post, we didn't spend much time learning Spanish... sorry). In amongst all the sunbathing, swimming, reading (lots of reading) and tapas dinners, I also managed to sneak in a beer or two. Nothing desperately interesting - all pretty much lager-themed, as you'd expect - but I thought I'd do my bit and write them up anyhow...

I mostly drank Dorada, a local brew from Compania Cervecera de Canarias (who are based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and are a subsidiary of SABMiller. The basic version is about 4.7% and is quite quaffable. Hoppier than you might expect, which was pleasant. They also do a stronger (5.5%) version: Dorada Especial, which was a fair bit richer and more flavourful. We found a bar (but not until the second-to last night, of course) which was selling 330ml bottles of the Especial for €1.50 a pop, as opposed to €3.00 for a pint of the regular stuff. No competition there.

I also quaffed a fair amount of Cruzcampo - which is brewed up in mainland Malaga - and discovered that it wasn't a bad drop either, given the warm weather and the chorizo in spicy tomato sauce it accompanied. It had a slightly more citrusy tang to it than the basic Dorada, which again was nice.

I tried a pint (just the one) of Estrella Galicia, another mainland brew and far more 'typical' Spanish cerveza. Nothing much to write home about, I'm afraid: wet, cold, vaguely beer-flavoured, it ticked the essential holiday bevvy boxes but given a choice of any of the other three, you'd be better off picking something with that little bit more flavour, I reckon.

Oh and at one point (third-to-last-night, before spotting the Dorada Especial bottles in the fridge) I was drinking bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale. I kid ye not. It used to be my staple drink of choice right through University, but I hadn't actually touched a drop for about 12 years or so, by my reckoning. And you know what? On a warm evening in Tenerife, with only uber-chilled Dorada on tap (or so I thought) it's not a bad alternative. Sweeter than I remember from way back when and with a definite roast chestnut flavour, it actually went down a treat, although at €4.00 (£3.15) per bottle it was a treat I'm glad I didn't have to drink for the rest of the week.

All in all, not quite the beer wasteland I feared. Good job, seeing as we're probably going back to the same spot next year...

Tasting Notes: Sierra Nevada Porter

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Location: Chico, California, USA
ABV: 5.6%
Version: 12 fl oz bottle

I've had quite a few of the beers from this brewery, and they can usually be depended upon to provide a good example of decent American beer. However, I wouldn't use this Porter to illustrate that point. It certainly looks and smells the part, with its rich dark colour and smooth malty aroma, but when it comes to the taste I found it a huge letdown. The first thing I noticed was too much fizz, more than I like in this type, followed by an overall imbalance in the flavours. The malt was there, but then the bitter quickly pushed in to unpleasantly take over proceedings, spoiling the fun. There could well be more subtle flavourings in there but to be honest I couldn't get passed the disappointing start, and the taste didn't improve as time went on. It does seem very popular though, so obviously appeals to plenty of other people, which just goes to show how subjective this whole tasting lark is.

Tasting Notes: Aleberry Damson Beer

Brewery: Craigmill Brewery
Origin: Strathaven, Scotland, ML10 6PB
ABV: 5.2%
Version: draught

Having enjoyed the Clydesdale IPA and Old Mortality I'd picked up I thought next time we were in the area it would be a good idea to seek out the Craigmill Brewery, home to Strathaven Ales, to pick up some more of the beers this small, independent Scottish brewer has to offer. And what a lovely day for a brewery visit - its in a scenic, rural location in an old mill building by the River Avon, close by a pair of arched stone bridges spanning the flowing water and golden hued autumn trees around the old stone buildings. An hour before it had been horrible showers, now it cleared magically to bathe the scene in soft, golden sunlight and beautiful blue skies; perfect.

When we arrived there were several folks in the brewery shop who turned out to be from CAMRA, up for both a visit and to bestow the certificate of award to the brewery - their Duchess Anne light ale (which I’ll review later) had won at a beer festival (stupidly I didn’t make a note of which festival). After picking up several bottles of some of their ales I hadn’t tried yet, and being given a bite of some beer-flavoured fudge (yes, really!) the staff invited us to go downstairs where they have a small bar. We could see they had the CAMRA folks on a visit and didn’t want to intrude, but they insisted and the CAMRA folks did too, so down we went and very glad I am that we did.

The lower floor still has some of the mighty metal cogs and wheels and shafts which would have operated machinery driven by the water wheel (although next to that now is an enclosed trout farm hatchery, so obviously it doesn’t turn now), in a stone walled space with a small bar at one end with a few taps. I was delighted to accept an offer of a pint of Aleberry Damson Beer, a brand new beer, which hasn’t even made it to the local pubs yet, so only a few folks have had the pleasure. In fact it wasn’t quite as clear as they hoped for yet and they told me they were planning to do a little more to take care of that.

(pic taken by me at the brewery, the larger version can be seen on the Woolamaloo Flickr stream)

But on the actual drinking side there was no problem at all - as you can see from the pic I snapped it’s a lovely colour, like the old horse brasses in a country pub catching the firelight. There’s a lovely fruity aroma, but it is restrained and light, not as overpowering as some continental fruit beers can be. Similarly the actual taste delivers a touch of the Damson (locally grown a stone’s throw from the brewery), but not too much, its pretty well balanced, imparting some lovely flavouring without insisting on itself or overpowering the beer. The ale itself is lovely and smooth, going down very easily - perhaps too easily given it’s a 5.2% beer, you could happily sip away several pints before realising oops, may have overdone it!

There’s a very pleasing mix of bitterness from the ale mixed with a gentle sweetness from the Damson, although again it is fairly restrained, which I appreciated. After swallowing the Damson was a little more noticeable, as the bitterness of the beer faded to a nice, gentle sweetness. This would make a nice, refreshing beer on a late summer afternoon or early evening, but equally I could imagine sitting with a pint of Aleberry by the fireside in the pub on a cold winter’s night too. They guys tell me that once they are happier with the clarity they will see about getting it into kegs for the pubs (I was happy to find out they regularly deal with pubs in Edinburgh where I live, including well known real ale pubs like the Guildford Arms, the Abbotsford and the wee Halfway House) and probably bottling for general sale at some point too. At which point I think I will want to get hold of some more… Oh and on a related note of interest it turns out that the Craigmill Brewery was previously home to another Scottish indy brewer of interesting ales, the Williams Brothers who Ed and I have been enjoying recently.

Tasting Notes: Late Red

Brewery: Shepherd Neame
Location: Faversham, England
ABV: 4.5%
Version: 500ml bottle
Source: Sainsburys

Since autumn is now upon us it seems appropriate to review an autumn ale. Shepherd Neame only release Late Red between September and November, so still a few weeks left to pick up a bottle.

The beer is a rich coppery reddish brown, and gives off a nicely balanced malty, hoppy aroma, with some dark woody notes. Flavour is a pleasant mix of fruity hop bitterness with a bit of malt and a hint of herbs, ending in a slightly dry finish. No idea how they manage it but if ever a beer encapsulated a season, this is it; autumn all the way.

Skull Splitter threatened?

The Orcadian ale Skull Splitter is facing a possible threat from the Uber Nannies who enjoy telling adults what they can enjoy doing. Alcohol watchdog the Portman Group created an unfavourable report saying that the high strenght of the beer (it is an 8.5% ale) could have an 'impact' on the drinker. Well yes, and so can strong coffee. They went on to say that the name Skull Splitter also implied violence, despite the fact the acclaimed Orkney brewery pointed out to them that the beer is named after a seventh century Viking earl of Orkney and not an encouragement to actually commit physical violence. And, as they point out, its not sold in supermarkets so its not like underage kids can stand around on street corners sipping bottles of it under their hoods and neither is the real ale drinker the normal profile of the binge drinker who gets tanked up on super-strength rotgut then go and start a fight.

Despite this the report appears to be rather negative and threatening to the twenty year old brew. Quite how threatening an acclaimed small local brewery of quality ales is meant to help alleviate Britain's binge drinking culture when 15 year olds can snag sweet tasting alcopops (which they'd rather drink, real ale, especially the heavy stuff, is an accquired taste for the mature palate) is beyond me... What next for the shagwits at the Portman Group? Will Bishop's Finger get the finger because it might encourage disrespectful gestures to members of the clergy (except in the church of Scotland where we don't have bishops)? No more Ramsbottom in case it encourages drunken bestiality? Old Peculiar banned because it might offend elderly eccentrics? Meantime on an almost daily basis I can pass chavs, neds and down and outs sitting not five minutes from the world famous Royal Mile in Edinburgh downing Buckfast and super-strength Carlsberg, but these eejits are fixated on Skull Splitter?!?!? (source: the BBC)

Tasting Notes: Old Mortality

Brewery: Craigmill Brewery
Origin: Strathaven, Scotland, ML10 6PB
ABV: 4.2%
Version: 500ml bottle

This is a companion to  Craigmill’s Clydesdale IPA, which I reviewed recently; the literary minded among you will already be aware that the name derives from the famed novel by Sir Walter Scott, inspired by the 18th century character Robert Paterson, a stonemason who travelled Scotland maintaining the headstones of martyred Covenanters, earning him the sobriquet Old Mortality (see, we don‘t just destroy livers and build our beer guts here, we‘re also cultured and educational, all part of the BoB service!).

The taste is pleasantly sharp and slightly spicier than I’d normally expect for an 80 Shilling (which the brewery attributes to a mix of two different types of hops), which I found left a warm aftertaste and an attractive, slightly flowery aroma. The colour is a deep, dark, warmly attractive chestnut brown. My gold standard for judging all 80 Shilling ales by is the Caledonian Brewery’s well-nigh perfect beer and against that high standard I’ve got to say the Old Mortality stood head held high (beer, head, geddit? Oh suit yourselves…). While Caley 80 will remain my personal favourite I’d be very happy to down several pints of this lovely, warm, spicy ale. Sadly I haven’t seen it in the supermarkets or off license, only in a gift shop in the Clyde Valley.  But next time I'm back through that way I'd quite like to visit the brewery and pick up some more, as well as some samples of the other beers they brew which I haven't had a chance to try yet.

Tim Lebbon: Beheaded at the Polperro Beer Festival

[DT:] Ladies and gents, it gives me very great pleasure indeed to present BlogoBeer.com's very first Guest Post. The author of the following piece is none other than Mr Tim Lebbon, one of the UK's best-loved and most prolific modern horror and dark fantasy writers. He's the author of recent novels including Dusk, Dawn, The Everlasting, Fallen, Mind the Gap (with Christopher Golden) - and many, many more besides, see his website at www.timlebbon.net for details - as well as the winner of multiple awards for his fiction and a thoroughly good bloke to boot.

Tim and I were e-chatting a couple of weeks ago and he happened to mention a forthcoming trip to Cornwall, during which he was planning to make a point of sampling a few local beers. I asked if he'd be interested in writing a guest post for us, Tim said he was up for it (I said "Huzzah!") and so, without any further ado, here we go:

Beheaded at the Polperro Beer Festival, by Tim Lebbon

Sometimes, I don't think my wife believes me. Let's face it, we booked that weekend in Cornwall at the beginning of the year, and it was only a week before we were due to leave that a friend told me that the Polperro Beer Festival was on at the same time (3rd – 5th October). Once we arrived at our caravan site and her suspicions faded away, we popped along with the two kids for a couple of hours trying out some of Devon's and Cornwall's finest (I was doing the trying, not the kids). It would have been rude not to.

The Old Mill House in Polperro is a proper pub. The atmosphere is very friendly, locals sit at the bar with their lazy dogs, the staff are welcoming and very cheery, old pub games hang on the walls or sit around on little tables, and there's a cat sleeping on the bar. "It's a real one!" my 5 year old son merrily confided in me as he poked it in the head. It was indeed.

The theme of the festival this year was 'Beer Less Travelled' - in an admirable effort to reduce the carbon footprint of the event, all the beers were from local breweries. There were twenty-nine ales on offer, ranging from light session beers to several stouts and porters. My kids didn't fancy a pint, and my wife isn't a fan (I know ... I know ...), so I ordered food for the hooligans and a prawn curry for Tracey, and went about trying a few for myself.

I headed straight in with a pint of Black Prince from St Austell Brewery. I'm a big fan of dark ales - Hobgoblin and Theakston's Old Peculier are two particular faves - so Black Prince was an absolute delight. Deep and dark when it was poured, a rich nutty nose, and it went down a treat, leaving a surprisingly full-bodied fruity taste afterwards. A gentle 4.0% volume, it tasted stronger, very rich in body and feel. I'd have happily had a couple more ... if there weren't twenty-eight other ales on offer.

So next I plumped for Organic Brewhouse's Serpentine. Not as heavy as the Black Prince, this was a deep ruby colour, quite tangy (a bit too tangy for me, I think), and though it was 4.5%, there was something lacking. Perhaps going for a lighter pint after Black Prince was a mistake, but this one didn't quite do it for me.

The kids were almost finished with their meals now, and Tracey's prawn korma was reduced to a single sad bugger swimming around in what was left of the sauce. Startled, I took a closer look, but the ripples were merely caused by my son kicking the table. "I'm bored!" he said, so I offered him a swig of Serpentine. Bless him, he quite enjoyed it. Fighting the temptation to ensure a good night's sleep for us all, I finished the drink myself, and then went up to peruse the menu of ales.

The pub has a perfect set-up for an ale festival, with the barrels stacked nicely in a marquee that connects through a set of French doors into the rear of the pub. So those not indulging in the festival ales (and it's a very reasonable £3.00 entry, which includes a commemorative glass and a programme) can sit at the bar and enjoy the still-impressive selection of beers available as standard. But I didn't want that - oh no - not with twenty-seven other brews to choose from.

I guessed this would be my last pint. Sadly, with a tear in my eye and a flutter of excitement - or was that trepidation? - I ordered a glass of the festival's winning ale, Beheaded, from Keltek Brewery. I say trepidation, because this was noted as a 7.6% ale ... and I have to say, every hint of that was there in the taste. Gorgeous. A beautiful deep golden colour, and sweet to the taste, though not cloyingly so. Its power was obvious, but the brewers were patently not simply out to produce an ale of almost apocalyptic strength - they have taken great care to ensure that taste is still present. The name is apt, as I'm sure that after three pints of this you'd feel as if you'd been beheaded and shown your own backside.

I waved a fond farewell to the Old Mill House and all those lovely ales, and promptly went and spent £40 on a leather fedora-like hat. My kids think it makes me look like Indiana Jones (but without the diamond stud earring and bank balance, eh Harrison?), and though I purchased it whilst in the cosy fuzz of real ale squiffyness, at last nearing the age of 40 I believe I've found a hat that suits me. "Since when have you been a cowboy?" some kid in my village asked recently. I asked him when was the last time he'd played baseball.

And it's all thanks to the Polperro Beer Festival.

There are already plans afoot to attend next year as well, but this time for a full weekend, not just a flying visit (live music in the evenings, too, which is also a big draw). I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for a fabulous place to stay. Polperro is one of our favourite places in the world, and that love has just been boosted ten-fold. It has many comfortable hotels and bed and breakfasts (including the Old Mill House itself ... sleeping above a real ale festival ... there is a Heaven after all), and some excellent places to eat.

Also, pasties. Need I say more?

On our long weekend away I also tried several more local brews in bottle form ... but that's a story for another time, and another hat.

Tasting Notes: Meantime India Pale Ale

Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company
Location: Greenwich, London
ABV: 7.5%
Version: 750ml bottle
Source: Sainsburys

And so we come to the end of a week (or so) of Meantime coverage and we rather fitting end with what is has to be the pinnacle of the Meantime range, in terms of both strength and quality: Meantime India Pale Ale.

Weighing in at 7.5% abv and dished out in another generous, lip-smacking, liver-worrying 750ml serving, Meantime's take on the classic IPA has an awful lot to live up to, both in terms of the weight of its heritage (once again, the brewery has set up a micro-site packed with history and information on this classic brew-style - at www.india-pale-ale.com - which tells you every thing you need to know in order to become a proper IPA-snob) and the strength of it's recommendation to-date (uber pro beer-scribes Michael Jackson and Roger Protz have both rated this one very highly indeed).

Well, suffice to say, this strictly amateur beer-scribe was extremely impressed with what has to be one of the tastiest beers I've had in a long time. Meantime's brews all seem to be characterised by an incredibly strident, potent flavour, one that really whacks you in the taste-buds and doesn't stop until the bottle is empty. And their IPA is surely the undisputed champion of them all.

The beer pours a wonderful golden amber colour with a thick, frothy white head. A rich, almost gloopy mouth-feel carries that big, big flavour with it: a huge, alcoholic hit of syrupy, honey-shortbread with a citrus tang and a hint of almond. Quite delicious and dangerously drinkable, this is one I could happily sit through a session on, as long as I was comfortably parked at home for the evening and didn't have to remember how to walk at any point before bedtime.

Lovely, lovely stuff. And available at a Sainsbury's near you, if you're lucky...

Tasting Notes: Meantime London Porter

Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company
Location: Greenwich, London
ABV: 6.5%
Version: 750ml bottle
Source: Sainsburys

I have to admit to still being a little in the dark with regard to the precise dividing-line between 'porter' and 'stout' (although I'm working on it... as often as I can). Meantime have thoughtfully provided a micro-site at www.london-porter.com, which includes a selection of rather fascinating articles on the origins and history of the porter style, but still nothing definitive on where that dividing-line lies. More research needed on my part, clearly...

Meantime London Porter (not to be confused with either Meantime London Stout or Meantime Coffee Porter) is the brewery's flagship dark beer and they supply it in exceedingly generous 750ml wine-bottle portions. Now then, I'm a big fan of the 750ml approach, if only because it gives you longer to appreciate a particularly fine beer such as this one. You can pour yourself a full pint and leave a decent half in the bottle for an ongoing top-up, or let it breathe for a while and try it again as a stand-alone second helping.

Meantime London Porter is a beer that definitely warrants that second helping: it pours a rather lovely dark ruby red, with a thick, bubbly head and gives off enticing scents of liquorice and treacle. Strong coffee notes come to the fore, alongside more treacle and molasses, with that ever-present liquorice providing the lingering after-taste. The second measure has an even more richly complex flavour, one that demands to be savoured.

All in all, it's a big bottle, full of a very big drink indeed. If a pint of Guinness is meant to be a meal in a glass then this one is something of a six-course banquet, complete with liqueurs and brandy to finish. But to come back to the original point: except for the higher alcohol content (and the larger bottle) I'm not entirely sure what the essential, key difference is between the London Porter and the Coffee Porter, or even the London Porter and the London Stout. I reckon I'll just have to drop Meantime a line and ask the experts. I'll let you know what they let me know in due course.

Tasting Notes: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Location: New York, USA
ABV: 10.6%
Version: 12 fl.oz. bottle

Most of our coverage so far has been confined to UK beers, with a couple of excursions over to continental Europe, so it's about time we moved a bit further afield. So over the Atlantic to the USA we go. American beer gets a bit of a disservice over here, with the big brand lagers stacked high in off-licences all over the country. But like most countries it does have a lot more to offer the more discerning beer drinker, you just tend to need to put a bit more effort into tracking them down (provided the stockists are prepared to put the same effort into getting them on the shelves).

Thus this, our first American beer review and it also happens to be our highest ABV so far. Yes, you read that right - 10.6%. I'll let the Brooklyn Brewery themselves describe this offering -

"This is the famous Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, our award-winning rendition of the Imperial Stout style once made exclusively for Catherine the Great. We use three mashes to brew each batch of this beer, achieving a luscious deep dark chocolate flavor through a blend of specialty roasted malts. We brew it every year for the winter season. It is delicious when newly bottled, but also ages beautifully for years."

The bottle for this tasting was from the Winter 07/08 batch; a quick check on their website lists the ABV as 10.1% so maybe the alcohol content has been reduced for the new release. Considering the name it's no surprise that the beer pours very black, with a full-on malt and chocolate aroma with hints of coffee. This is all very stout indeed, it could quite possibly stand up on it's own.

Initial tasting though is disappointing. That high alcohol content muscles in, and combined with the up front maltiness tends to dominate to the detriment of other flavours. The best description I can come up with is to liken it to drinking thin treacle. However, this is not a beer to be rushed and giving it some time after opening to breathe, say half an hour, improves the taste greatly with some hoppy bitterness adding to the by now well developed dark chocolate dominance. One to savour during these rapidly approaching long winter nights.  

Tasting Notes: Meantime Chocolate

Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company
Location: Greenwich, London
ABV: 6.5%
Version: 330ml bottle
Source: The Vineyard, Belfast

Another dinky-sized bottle from The Vineyard, and another very fine beer indeed from Meantime. A dark ale this time, rather than a stout or porter, although my initial impression was that it was quite similar to the Coffee Porter that I'd sampled not long before.

The beer poured a rich, dark black-brown with a thin head and a faint effervescence. It seemed quite sour on first taste (although in an entirely enjoyable, green-apple way, I hasten to add) but then it followed up with a huge hit of sweetness that was almost cloying in its intensity. Judging by the blurb on the Meantime website they're selling this one as a "dessert beer", although I think it might actually go better with cheese and biscuits, to help take the edge off some of those sugars.

The chocolate elements seemed to be more distinct in the aroma than the flavour, although there was a definite mocha characteristic. Definitely much more Green & Black's 80% cocoa than Cadbury's Dairy Milk though, which is entirely right and proper if you ask me. I'm not sure that Meantime Chocolate is one I'd go for on a regular basis, especially given the rest of the Meantime range to choose from, but I'm very glad I tried it.

Tasting Notes: Meantime Coffee Porter

Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company
Location: Greenwich, London
ABV: 6.0%
Version: 330ml bottle
Source: The Vineyard, Belfast

I picked up the Meantime Coffee Porter in a batch from Belfast's premier beer merchant, The Vineyard. On the advice of our very own Ed Ashby, I made a point of stopping off there for supplies when Jo and I were visiting friends in Northern Ireland in August. Weighing in at a dinky 330ml, in a mini-wine-bottle format, I consider this to be more of a taster than a full-length drink experience, but it still did enough to convince me that I'd be more than happy to re-visit a larger measure if I ever encountered one.

On the face of things, Meantime Coffee Porter does exactly what it says on the label, but there's a deeper complexity to this strong, flavourful porter that makes it really quite special. It starts off with a big, big coffee nose, sure enough, but on the first sip I was tasting much more rich caramel and bonfire toffee. The coffee notes developed as the drink went on though, and by the end of the bottle (too soon!) they really were dominating the others and the after-taste was definitely espresso.

Overall, it's a beer of huge, intense flavours and powerful character; one I thoroughly enjoyed. I might even be able to get away with a session on Coffee Porter, if I was feeling brave or foolhardy enough, but I rather suspect it would be better savoured as a bill-topper after a few pints of lighter London Stout.

Tasting Notes: Meantime Winter Time

Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company
Location: Greenwich, London
ABV: 5.4%
Version: 500ml bottle
Source: Sainsbury's

Very briefly on this one: I tried Meantime Winter Time back in January (I'm plumbing the depths of the notebook here) and at the time I noted a strong, rich, sweetness ("molten treacle", apparently) that I vaguely remember was actually a bit over-powering. The reviews at ratebeer.com seem to unanimously agree that there's a very definite coffee-taste to it, which I seem to have missed. I also jotted down "not very more-ish" (my tasting notes really weren't up to scratch back then, were they?) by which I probably meant that it was an interesting one to try but not something I'd want to attempt a session on.

Anyhow, I think this was last year's seasonal porter, but there's no information about it on the Meantime website - something that I've been encountering with slightly irritating regularity this week - so if I find it again, I'll be sure to grab a bottle or two and re-sample.

Tasting Notes: Meantime London Stout

Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company
Location: Greenwich, London
ABV: 4.5%
Version: 500ml bottle
Source: Sainsbury's

The second of Meantime's "London" beers that I've tried recently, their London Stout is - according to the back label - a reversion to "the original malt-only recipe"; one that recaptures the character of the sort of stout that was once brewed throughout the nation's capital, in the days before "Pale Ales displaced Porters" and the focus of stout brewing "lived on in Ireland in its own distinct form".

Quite obviously a reference there to the likes of Guinness, Murphy's, Beamish and co., which - with the possible exception of bottled Guinness original, Guinness export et al - in this modern age tend to be industrially-produced, nitro-fuelled and served so chilled as to be rendered almost tasteless; at least by way of comparison to this little beauty.

Meantime London Stout is about the same strength as Guinness original, but I think it offers a lot more in terms of flavour and mouth-feel. It pours a very definite, opaque black, with barely a hint of ruby-red to it. The flavour - whilst certainly not over-powering - is a distinct mocha mix of black coffee and dark chocolate and the mouth-feel is wonderfully rich and silky.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it's probably the tastiest, smoothest, easy-drinking (as opposed to strong) stout I've tried to date. So tasty and easy-drinking, in fact, that I nearly lost it to my Guinness-original-loving missus, who was sipping a can of draft-flow (or whatever they call it) at the time and was distinctly unimpressed with the latter as a result (which, of course, is what The Beer Nut has been telling us for years). I tried a sip of her Guinness-in-a-tin (purely in the interests of comparative research) and yes, it really did taste incredibly thin and watery by comparison.

So, back to the Meantime London Stout and to conclude: a very nice drop indeed and a great session beer as well, I'm sure. If you're a regular stout-drinker then this is definitely one to buy in bulk and sup at will. I read on the Meantime website that they're planning to launch an Imperial Stout at some point. I'll be keeping a keen eye out for that one, I can promise you.

Tasting Notes: Meantime London Pale Ale

Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company
Location: Greenwich, London
ABV: 4.3%
Version: 500ml bottle
Source: Sainsbury's

I've had the great pleasure of sampling no fewer than seven six beers from the Meantime Brewing Company in Greenwich over the past two or three months (plus an extra one back in January) and I'm hoping to post Tasting Notes for most of them over the course of this week.

Just for the sake of introducing some sort of order into the process, I'm going to be posting in ascending abv order. So that means that I'm starting with Meantime's London Pale Ale at 4.3%, which, the label proudly boasts, made it into the International Beer Challenge 2007's selection of the World's Best 50 Beers.

Popping the cap on the bottle releases an apple-fresh, hoppy aroma and the beers pours a rather attractive dark golden colour, with a big, frothy head. The flavour is smooth and slightly sweet - hints of honey and biscuit - but with a sharp, bitter bite that cuts through quite nicely. The flavour and the bitterness both intensify as the drink goes on, resulting in a very satisfying beer indeed. Quite delicious and very drinkable, it's one that I'd imagine would make for a great session beer if you could find it on draft.

Tasting Notes: Wainwright

Brewery: Thwaites
Location: Blackburn, England
ABV: 4.1%
Version: 500ml bottle

Named after Alfred Wainwright, the author of several guide books on the English Lake District, I would expect this to be an ideal way to unwind and relax after a long day hiking round such a location.

What we get first is a straw coloured ale with a light fruity aroma. There's more of that restrained fruit in the flavour, with a hint of bitter hops and a dash of sweetness from the malt, ending in a slightly dry, crisp, bitter finish. It's quite pleasant and would certainly do it's end of hike job, and while fairly average overall it's still an enjoyable drop.

Tasting notes: Fraoch Heather Ale

Brewery: Williams Bros Brewing Company
Location: Heather Ale Ltd, Alloa, Scotland, FK10 1NT
ABV: 5.0%

The colour of Fraoch when poured from the bottle with its elaborately decorated label is a very beautiful, golden honey-amber. The back label blurb declares that it has a “flowery aroma” which is actually true, there is a very light, flowery scent from the ale, which shouldn’t be a surprise since it is “infused in heather flowers before being fermented in coppers tuns.” The blurb also goes on to say how this is one of the oldest Scottish forms of ale brewing, with native heather infusions in ale going back to before the time of the Picts (on a side note the label decoration draws on the elaborate Pictish art forms which gives it a nice semi-historical, semi-fantasy look - maybe serve it up with Hobgoblin at your next D&D RPG night!) and is apparently brewed to a Scots-Gaelic 16th century recipe (Scots, Gaelic and Picts - ticks all the boxes for Scottishness, couldn‘t claim to be more Caledonian if it had Haggis smoothies added in), part of a range of historic Scots ale recipes the brewer has resurrected.

Okay, I do find the whole Pict-Scots-Gaelic-heather-ancient-recipe a little bit overdone, although I can see why they’d do it for marketing reasons, especially for overseas markets. And the blurb doesn’t affect the taste, which is very smooth and warm; the ale itself has a lightness, slightly sweet (especially the aftertaste), although not too sweet, just right. One odd observation for an ale though - I noticed a very small but persistent stream of bubbles in my glass for quite a while after pouring, which is unusual in an ale, although it isn’t a large amount like you’d expect in a fizzy lager. I have had Fraoch on draught a couple of times (in Edinburgh’s Guildford Arms, an extremely highly recommended real ale emporium) and I’m trying to remember if too had more bubbles than usual. Again it didn’t affect the refreshing, light, aromatic taste, so it doesn’t matter too much other than as a little quirky detail. A nice, different beer to slide into your mix now and again.

Tasting Notes: Farson’s Hopleaf pale ale

Brewery: Farson's
Location: Mriehel, Malta
ABV: 3.8%
Version: 500ml bottle
Source: St Julian's, Malta

One very fond memory (among many) I have of our two holidays in Malta to-date is that of enjoying an early evening bottle (or two) of Hopleaf (the original, not the new, 'smooth and creamy', gassed-up variant) before venturing out in search of food and an evening's entertainment.

Hopleaf is one of those perfect holiday beers: best drunk cold, it has a crisp, hoppy bite (much more so than it's stable-mate, Cisk lager) and a lightly effervescent finish, and it goes down a treat as the sun sinks slowly over the holiday horizon and you remind yourself that you're currently about 1,800 miles away from home and everything you'll have to get the hell on with once you get back there...

At the end of our latest Malta holiday (which was round about this time last year, near enough), I brought home the last of a dozen bottles that I'd put in the hotel room fridge at the start of the week. Upon returning to Manchester, I placed said bottle in the fridge whilst making a solemn vow to save it for the sunniest day I could find. This year's summer turning out to be as crappy as it did meant that that solitary bottle lurked in our fridge until one (in fact, the one) glorious Sunday in mid-August, when Jo and I finally got the chance to light up the new brick barbecue, char-cook a few bangers and veggie skewers and sit outside on the new garden furniture (which we made use of exactly once this "summer" as well).

Cracking open the Hopleaf, I savoured the tantalisingly light aroma, before pouring the light, frothy-topped, golden nectar into a tall pint glass. A couple of gulps, eyes closed and - yes - we really could be back on a Malta, with nothing to do the next day other than ride a Maltese bus of doom* down to Valletta, there to sit outside a café in the main square, eating huge plates of salad and reading Tim Willocks' The Religion (the perfect place to read that rather fine novel, let me tell you) until it was time to wonder idly on to somewhere else...

I heaved a pretty big sigh once I'd finished that one, I can tell you. I've never seen Hopleaf on the shelves in the UK, although Farson's does have an export operation, so it's technically feasible that I might, one day. Although to be honest, I rather suspect it's one of those beers - like the Dorada that I usually drink when we're out in the Canary Islands - that probably tastes much better on its home territory. So maybe I'll leave it for our hat-trick visit to Malta, whenever that might turn out to be.

Tasting Notes: Kwak

Brewery: Bosteels
Location: Buggenhout, Belgium
ABV: 8.4%
Version: 330ml bottle
Source: Tesco

I usually drink bitter, IPA, mild, porter or stout for preference, but I'm certainly not immune to the charms of the occasional lager, if it looks interesting enough. Bosteel's Kwak certainly fit the bill [except for it not actually being a lager: see comments - DT] when I spotted it lurking on the shelves of my local Tesco a few weeks back: A challenging 8.4% abv, brewed from a recipe first dreamt up by a chap called Pauwel Kwak in 1791 and with a back label that promised "an uncomparable Belgian top fermentation beer with a unique tas