Blog o' Beer

My local Sainsbury's has rotated its 2 for £3 offers again (I must have bee a little late to spot the previous rotation).

My personal highlights this time around:

• Black Sheep Golden Sheep Ale
• Fuller's Bengal Lancer [TN]
• Badger Blandford Fly
• Badger Poacher's Choice [TN]
• Wells Bombardier
• Wells Bombardier Burning Gold [TN]
• Young's Special London Ale

Mind you, I didn't actually pick any of those up this time around. Because my eye leapt instantly to a particularly tempting 3 for £5 on the bottom shelf:

• Brakspear Triple

One of my very favourite strong ales on special offer, y'say? Half a dozen of those? Don't mind if I do. And this time, I really must post some tasting notes, dammit.

I recently heard a rumour, via Pubs of Manchester, that the Co-Operative Group's new Headquarters development in the Angel Meadow / Ancoats / Victoria Station area of Manchester city centre could result in the closure of one or more local pubs.

The first likely victim to be named was the Crown and Cushion. I have to admit that when I heard about this I was annoyed - in a general purpose, anti-pub-closure kinda way - but as I've never been in the place (purely because it's a Holt's pub and Holt's pubs almost never have guest beers on alongside their own, and I've got three or four Holt's pubs within walking distance of my house if I actually fancy a pint of something by Holt's) I wasn't actually upset, per se.

Then I read PoM's follow-up post: two more pubs possibly under threat? One being the Ducie Bridge (and I have to admit, this didn't worry me much as again I've never been in there and don't have any plans to - fronting a hugely busy road junction and largely off the beaten track, it's got to be one of the most uninviting pub locations in the city centre) but when I spotted that The Angel might also be at risk, I started taking a lot more notice. I've had a couple of good meals and some very good pints indeed in that establishment since the new owners took over a year or so back and they're making a real effort to raise their game across the board, so if The Angel was to close, that really would be a shame.

Time for a spot of investigative blogging...

read more...

Brewery: Hornbeam Brewery
Location: Denton, Manchester
Style: Golden Ale
ABV: 3.8%
Version: Draught
Source: The Angel, Manchester

Top Notch Bank Holiday Weekend beer #2 was a delicious pint of Villain from the Hornbeam Brewery in nearby Denton. This one was on tap at The Angel when Jo and I headed up there on Saturday evening and as I was lining up the first of the night I thought I'd give it a go.

I was very glad indeed that I did. A light, golden colour with a creamy white head, Hornbeam Villain was hugely refreshing, with a zingy, slightly floral, hop-fuelled citrus hit up front and a long, long dry finish. Best of all though was the fantastic, silky mouth-feel, which helped it down a treat, and at 3.8% it's a great session strength.Jo was impressed as well, as was a couple from Blackburn a couple of tables away who'd been out on a session since lunchtime and happily declared this the best pint of the day.

Come to think of it, Villain reminded me quite strongly of Boddington's bitter; specifically the cask version of Boddington's that I'd occasionally encounter back when I was a student (so we're going back 18+ years now) and a particularly good batch made it up the road from Strangeways Brewery (dead and gone) to The Griffin (likewise long since demolished) on Lower Broughton Road. Happy memories.

Anyhow, there's no mention of this one on the Hornbeam website yet, so I have no idea if it's a seasonal or a permanent addition to the range, but I'll happily have another one if it's on again next time I'm in The Angel. Or anywhere else.

(Excellent Bank Holiday Beer #3, if anyone is actually keeping count, was firm favourite Howard Town Dark Peak, which I decided to move on to a bit later in the evening, it being a 6.4% dark rum porter and all...)

Brewery: Backyard Brewhouse
Location: Walsall, England
Style: Authentic Old English IPA
ABV: 6.2%
Version: Bottled
Source: MyBreweryTap.com

The first of three rather excellent beers that I enjoyed this Bank Holiday weekend, The Backyard Brewhouse's East India ("Authentic Old English IPA") was also the second-to-last bottle left in the beer cupboard from the MyBreweryTap Spring 2010 Mixed Case that I invested in a couple of months ago.

East India poured a beautifully clear gold with a thick, tight white head. The initial flavour-burst offered deep, rich caramel malt, quickly cut through with a refreshing, sharply-contrasting hop-bite. Over the course of the bottle I also got hints of sweet honey, fiery ginger and zingy citrus, all wrapped up in a long, lingering dry finish. A wonderfully balanced beer. Deeply satisfying, deeply delicious. I'd definitely be happy to stock up on this one if I saw it again, although judging by the Backyard Brewhouse website, it's only an occasional brew, so that could be tricky.

Oh, and I almost had to nick Mark Dredge's FABPOW concept for this post as I supped my bottle of East India whilst tucking into a particularly tasty home-made pork burger (minced pork, grated apple, fresh sage, mint, rosemary, lots of black pepper, oats to bind it all into patties, then grilled to perfection and topped with melted red leicester) but I was just too busy tucking in to take a pic. But you can take my word for it: extremely good combination.

Brewery: Strangford Lough Brewing Co
Location: Killyleagh, Northern Ireland
Style: Session Bitters
ABV: 3.8% / 4.5% / 4.8%
Version: Bottled
Source: Courtesy of Strangford Lough Brewing Company

The folks at Strangford Lough Brewing Company very kindly sent me a four-pack of their beers to sample back in June - apologies to them for my tardiness in posting the Tasting Notes - which contained bottles of St Patrick's Best session bitter and one each of their Barelegs Brew red-golden ale and Legbiter golden ale.

I tried all three varieties in one evening, the better to compare and contrast. Here's what I found:

Strangford Lough St Peter's Best Bitter, 3.8% ABV

Golden-amber coloured with a sweet, malty aroma, although that turned out to be slightly deceptive as the malt didn't quite carry through to the flavour for some reason. Instead there was a pleasantly gentle hop-bite with a tangy, green-apple sourness and apricot tartness lingering in the background. A bit of grassiness as well, which presumably comes through from the shamrocks used in the brewing process. All in all: a pleasant quaffing ale, although after a couple of these I think I would probably fancy something a little sweeter and richer...

Strangford Lough Barelegs Brew, 4.5% ABV

...which is where Barelegs Brew comes in, offering more in the way of biscuity caramel flavours, with just a hint of chocolate - very similar to those Tunnocks caramel wafer bars, in fact - with a drier after-taste. Richer, sweeter and quite warming; a very drinkable brew and probably my favorite of the three...

Strangford Lough Legbiter, 4.8% ABV

...because Legbiter, whilst on paper the most promising, actually turned out to be the least impressive on the night. Slightly maltier than St Patrick's Best, slightly hoppier than Barelegs brew and blending elements of both (including the Shamrock again, I think), Legbiter seemed to firmly occupy the middle-ground between the two, without really asserting its individuality, despite its slightly higher ABV. Which was a bit of a shame; high hopes not fully realised and all that.

To summarise: I enjoyed all three beers - to a greater or lesser degree - and would be happy to drink them again (in fact, I'd already tried a couple of them about a year or so earlier, on a trip to stay with friends who live a couple of miles to the south of Strangford Lough). And maybe the bottle of Legbiter I had just wasn't at its best. Or maybe it's just one of those beers that's best enjoyed on draft. Although I'm not entirely sure it's available on draft; as stated on their website, Strangford Lough Brewing Company is very firmly focused on the ex-pat Irish / US export market, much more so than the local Irish and UK markets, so I think theirs might be a bottle-only operation.

Thank you very much indeed to the good folks at SLBC from sending these over for me to try!

Brewery: Marble
Location: Manchester, England
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 5.0%
Version: Draught
Source: The Marble Arch, Manchester

A new Marble brew on the bar at the Marble Arch? Had to be done. Brew 1734 is (as I understand things) part of an ongoing series of experimental try-outs which have included the rather excellent Marble Brew 1691 strong ruby mild that I enjoyed so much a few months back.

Brew 1734 poured a deep red-brown with ruby highlights and delivered plenty of rich chocolate malt flavours, with hints of red wine & whisky and a slightly sour bitter-orange after-taste. It all started out rather nicely balanced and pleasantly drinkable, but I have to admit that by the end of the pint it had started to get a bit too sticky and cloying for my taste. So whilst I enjoyed most of my first pint of Brew 1734, I didn't rush back for another, switching to a palate-cleansing pint of Marble Pint for my next one.

Maybe this one rolled out of the lab just a few months too soon? Because if they cranked up the ABV to something like 7% and stuck a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg in as well, I reckon Marble would have a cracking Xmas brew on their hands; a proper, spicy winter-warmer that would sit alongside the likes of Gouden Carlous Christmas without being at all abashed. What do you reckon to "Marble Cracker"? Quite a nice ring to it, I reckon.

I seem to have become increasingly interested in US craft beer recently. As per my recent new arrivals post, my last couple of specialist beer shop hauls have been largely US-themed. I've also been slowly but steadily working my way through Andy Crouch's Great American Craft Beer (Book Notes to follow in due course) and I think that's helped opened my eyes to the sheer size of the US craft scene and the vast amount of choice that's on offer... if you can get hold of it.

Which is why when Richard Burhouse of MyBreweryTap (@MyBreweryTap) announced the launch of the US 52 Week Beer Club yesterday, it didn't take me long to decide to sign up.

I did the sums first of course: with the initial delivery charge taking the price to £125.98, it works out at around £2.42 a bottle over the year. Which is slightly more that you would expect to pay for the two or three US imports currently on offer in Tesco, but perhaps slightly less than the independent retailers tend to charge, especially for some of the more interesting brews on their shelves.

And the first quarter's selection looks pretty darn interesting to me:

• Anchor - Liberty Ale ABV 5.9%
• Brooklyn - East India IPA ABV 6.8%
• Flying Dog - Raging Bitch ABV 8.0%
• Flying Dog - Old Scratch Lager ABV 5.3% [TN]
• Odell - St Lupulin ABV 7.0%
• Odell - Cutthroat Porter ABV 4.8%
• Sierra Nevada - Torpedo IPA ABV 7.2%
• Goose Island - IPA ABV 5.9%
• Goose Island - 312 Urban Wheat ABV 4.2%
• Dogfish Head - 90min IPA ABV 9.0%
• Dogfish Head - India Brown Ale ABV 7.2%
• Victory - Hop Wallop ABV 8.5%
• Victory / Dogfish Head / Stone - Saison Du Buff ABV 6.8%

There's only one on that list I've sampled before, and just the two that I've already got in the Beer Cupboard already. A few candidates for cellaring and maturing, but most of those look like they can be enjoyed young, so I'm definitely looking forward to getting stuck in when that first consignment arrives.

If you want to join the US 52 Week Beer Club you'll have to be quick: MyBreweryTap are limiting the club to 50 subscriptions in order to guarantee supplies of the more interesting and/or limited brews and I know for a fact that there's a maximum of 49 available as of 20 minutes ago...

Our local Sainsbury's has rotated it's standard 2 for £3 offering again.

Highlights of the current selection include:

• Bath Ales Barnstormer [TN]
• Bath Ales Golden Hare
• Marston's Old Empire
• Black Sheep Ale [TN]
• Timothy Taylor's Landlord
• Theakston's XB

I also noticed a few new ales on the shelves last time I was in Tesco, two or three weeks back. They weren't actually on offer, but it's good to see Tesco rotating their range, which they seem to do a bit more often than Sainsbury's.

The new offerings I spotted were:

• Ridley's Old Bob
• Greene King Very Special IPA
• Daleside Old Leg Over
• Robinson's Unicorn
• Tolly Cobbold Phoenix
• Jenning's Sneck Lifter
• Hawkshead Lakeland Gold
• Fuller's ESB

The only one of those I picked up at the time was the Greene King Very Speical IPA. More on that later. The Old Bob and the Phoenix are Greene King beers as well, by the way.

Earlier this week I was delighted to take delivery of a bottle of Sole Bay Celebratory Beer, courtesy of the good folks at Adnams. It's 750ml of 10% ABV Belgian-style ale with good carbonation (by which I'm guessing they mean it's a 'sparkling' ale) which has been brewed to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Brewing by Adnams at Sole Bay.

Handsome devil it is, too, with it's elegant livery and classy presentation tin:

Mind you, now I'm torn. The polite thing to do would be to sample it and post the Tasting Notes, tout-de-suite. But from the sounds of things, this one could be a bit on the sweet side and maybe a few months' cellaring might help tone it down a bit? So maybe I should save it for a suitably celebratory occasion instead?

Only one thing to do, I reckon: sample it as soon as decently possible, then decide whether it's the sort of beer that's good to glug young or would definitely improve with age and (frankly, in either case) grab a couple more bottles from the Adnams webstore before the limited edition bottling runs out. Sounds like a plan to me.

I wasn't able to make it to the first two Twissup sessions - in Sheffield and Burton - for various schedule-related reasons, so imagine my delight when the next one was arranged for Manchester and / or Huddersfield; the former right on my doorstep, the latter within easy travelling distance by train. A fresh opportunity to meet up with a bunch of fellow beer-bloggers, down a few pints and shoot the breeze all day in good company, right on my doorstep? Nothing could stop me this time, surely?

Well, nothing that is except the fact that six months ago Jo and I picked a random weekend in October to go up to the Lake District, in order to use up this year's allocation of holiday club points (it's a semi-timeshare thing we joined ten years ago) and decided to pick the weekend of October 23rd. Which is, of course, now officially designated Manchester / Huddersfield Twissup weekend...

Long story short: can't change the Lake District booking. Can't attend the Manc / Hudd Twissup.

In the immortal words of Edmund Blackadder: I think the phrase rhymes with "clucking bell".

Brewery: Fyne Ales
Location: Cairndow, Scotland
Style: Golden Ale
ABV: 4.5%
Version: Draught
Source: The Guildford Arms, Edinburgh / MyBreweryTap.com

I'd been picking up beerblogosphere-wide hints and rumours about just how good a beer Fyne Avalanche is for quite a while, so when I saw it on draught at the Guildford Arms (during our Edinburgh trip a couple of months ago) I was in there like a shot.

A golden blonde ale (the pump-clip proclaimed that it was named the Best Golden Ale in the World not so long ago) Fyne Avalanche weighs in at a very pleasant session strength 4.5% ABV but still manages to pack a wallop in the flavour-department. There's a tonne of tasty malt in play, neatly cut through with a razor-sharp hoppy after-bite and a very citrusy freshness that makes this one quite delightully delicious, extremely easy to drink and incredibly more-ish. It really is one of those beers you could happily sup all night, without worrying that you'd missed out on something better a little further along the bar.

What's more, I've had the bottled version since (via the MyBreweryTap.com Spring 2010 Mixed Case) and for a change it just about holds up in comparison to its cask-based cousin, managing to pack in more flavour than most bottled ales could ever hope to.

What else can I say? The rumours are true: Fyne Avalanche is a fantastic golden ale. If you see it, try it.

Brewery: Outstanding
Location: Bury, England
Style: Pale Ale
ABV: 5.5%
Version: Draught
Source: The Robert Peel, Bury / The Magnet, Stockport

I've sampled local brewery Outstanding's Standing Out twice in the past few weeks; once at The Robert Peel up in Bury town centre and again on a trip down to The Magnet in Stockport, just last Friday.

Each time I was suitably impressed: a well-kept pint with good body, rich mouth-feel and that deeply satisfying flavour-burst that you get from a really good mid-strength pale ale. Not as dry or astringent as a big IPA, not as sweet or caramel-luxurious as a Belgian Dubbel (or Outstanding's own Pushing Out), but definitely a pint with a lot more to say for itself than your average session pale.

Think: Marble Dobber, Flying Dog Classic, Little Creatures Pale Ale, that sort of ball-park. Well worth trying if you see it on draught.

In my London and York posts I mentioned that I picked up a few choice bottles of ale on my travels. Here's what I brought back from those far-off, exotic, blessed-with-a-specialist-beer-shop places:

Picked these three up at Utobeer in Borough Market. I'm a big fan of Flying Dog, having enjoyed pretty much everything of theirs I've managed to get my hands on to-date, so a chance to grab these three was just too good to miss.

• Flying Dog Double Dog - A Double Pale Ale, "dry hopped with an insane amount of Cascade and Columbus hops".
• Flying Dog Wild Dog - A 355ml version of the barrel-aged Gonzo Imperial Porter release.
• Flying Dog Raging Bitch - their 20th Anniversary brew, an 8.3% Belgian IPA.

Three more from Utobeer and then a bottle of the good stuff as a souvenir of our evening at The Porterhouse:

• Sierra Nevada Bigfoot - the 2010 / 35th anniversary release of Sierra Nevada's famous barleywine style ale.
• Hardknott Infra Red - the third release from Dave's brew house, a big, red, 6.5% IPA.
• Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale - one of a few legendary US brews I've been keeping an eye out for.
• Porterhouse Brain Blasta - a bottle of 7% thrice-hopped ale for the road.

These four all came from The Bottle in York. More big, bad American brews...

• Victory Golden Monkey - I was tempted by the Hop Devil next to it, but couldn't resist the Monkey's Belgian allure.
• Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA - 60 hop-additions over a 60-minute brew for a 6% ABV IPA with 60 IBUs.
• Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre - "A deep, mahogany Belgian-style brown ale brewed with beet sugar, raisins, and Belgian-style yeast." Had to be done.
• Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA - 90 hop-additions over a 90-minute brew for a 9%ABV IPA with 90 IBUs.

Some pretty special bottled ales there, I reckon. With what's in there already, my beer cupboard is nothing less than a treasure trove these days. Mind you, I think I really do have to start drinking some of it though, this hoarding habit of mine is getting a bit ridiculous...

York could very easily stake a solid claim to the title 'beer capital of the North' (if such a thing were ever up for grabs). The whole city centre is pretty much one great big historical tourist trap and 'traditional pub' seems to be one of the most commonly deployed weapons in the York tourist board's arsenal. This, I firmly believe, is a Very Good Thing Indeed.

Jo and I have been to York a few times in the past couple of years but always on a weekend - so the historical sites we've actually wanted to visit have usually been closed to the public due to weddings. To get around this problem we nipped over on the train last Thursday. Arriving round about lunchtime, we headed in search of sustenance at the one York Brewery pub that we hadn't visited on previous occasions: the Three Legged Mare.

I was Jonesing for a pint of light, hoppy Terrier and a baked spud (or something like that), but alas the only food on offer was sandwiches (not much good to us wheat-intolerant types) so plan A fell at the first hurdle. Turning around, I spotted a Marston's pub - the Hole in the Wall - just down the road. Worth a gamble?

As it turned out: yes, it was well worth a visit. Inside it was a case of low ceilings, exposed beams, plaques on the wall proclaiming its historical associations with the nearby Minster and four hand-pumps on the bar. The Hobgoblin must have finished a the precise moment we walked in the door, so we opted for Mansfield Bitter, which turned out to be well-balanced hop/malt combo and an ideal lunchtime pint at a genteel 3.9% ABV. We also ate heartily: a well-portioned plate of pork steaks and black pudding served on a big dollop of creamy mashed spud with apple gravy (recommended!) for me and an equally generous helping of pan-fried white fish in a crayfish sauce with new potatoes. If that's standard Marston's fayre then I might seek them out more often...

Nicely refuelled by our dinner-sized lunch we then headed off to do some tourist-stuff - namely have a shufty around Barley Hall, a medieval residence just off Stonegate - and then Jo very kindly let me wander back around the corner to The Bottle, a specialist beer retailer that just had to be done. After perusing the US imports section (once again: more on the results of that in a future New Arrivals post) we chatted to the owner, who mentioned that he'd opened a bar upstairs earlier in the year. We reckoned it was probably about time for a pit-stop and frankly it would have been rude not to, so Jo and I climbed the stairs to The House of Trembling Madness, a former tea-room that also happens to be the oldest medieval hall in York and looks a little like this:

We opted for draught Anchor Steam Beer, which was served well-chilled but was still very flavourful, with a big malty base and a pleasantly sharp, hoppy after-bite. The rest of HoTM's draught beer selection was interesting - Kwak, La Trappe Dubbel and Timmermans Kriek - and the fridge was stocked with a good selection of bottles from downstairs. About the only thing missing was a session bitter, but then there are plenty of other session-bitter filled public houses in town after all. A bit of a hidden gem that's worth seeking out, the House of Trembling Madness has a lot to offer if you're feeling slightly more adventurous.

Time was ticking on and we'd missed the chance to spend a decent amount of it looking round the Merchant Venturer's Hall (which sounded very much like a good excuse for another trip to York at a later date) so we set off to stroll around the city walls and enjoy the sunshine for a while instead. That done, we then wandered back through the city centre and headed south of the river towards The Old Siam; a rather good Thai restaurant on Mickelgate that we've eaten at three or four times in the past. And as we were a little early even for early-doors, we stopped off at The Ackhorne on the way.

The Ackhorne is a proper drinking pub. Situated a couple of hundred yards up narrow, cobbled St Martin's Lane, it's far enough off the main Mickelgate drag to be out of sight to passing gangs of revellers, which means you've got a decent chance of enjoying a quiet pint. Mind you, The Ackhorne really does seem to specialise in session bitter - the selection last Thursday comprised London Pride, Greene King IPA, Marston's Pedigree and Deuchars IPA, with a tempting-looking Rooster's Yankee tucked in between them. Good choice: a 4.3% golden ale with a a big hit of malt and tangy, caramelised orange flavours, it was very drinkable indeed.

After a very tasty Thai meal Jo and I decided we had time (and room) for one more pint before heading back to the station, so we nipped three doors down to one of our favourite York pubs, Brigantes. It's part of the Market Town Taverns mini-chain of 10 pubs (all in Yorkshire) but manages to maintain a Free House feel with a range of eight to ten real ales on tap, a couple of real ciders and a good bottled beer list.

The friendly barlass explained that the three Kelham Island pumps were left over from the 'meet the brewer' event they'd hosted the night before. Jo and I thought we'd help them reduce their surplus stock; I fancied something big and flavourful to end the evening on so I went for a pint of Pale Rider. This 5.2% pale ale was rich and hoppy and, because it was poured via sparkler, I do have to say much better presented, with a much better mouthfeel than the sparkler-free pint of the same that I'd had at The Gunmakers earlier in the week (memo to self: remember to ask them to stick a sparkler on the pump next time you're in The Gunmakers, I'm sure they wouldn't mind).

Jo opted for a pint of American Stars and Bars, a 4.5% US-inspired pale ale brewed using a trio of American hops. Once again, it was light, fresh, hoppy and very tasty.

We'd ideally have liked to stay for a couple more before staggering off to a guest house, possibly via the York Brewery Tap around the corner (can you believe it - a whole day in York and not a single York Brewery ale passed my lips, never mind a Rudgate brew or two... something of a missed opportunity there, surely?) but the timetable suggested we should make our way to the station if we were to be home at a decent hour. Passing through both Dewsbury and Huddersfield on the way back to Manchester meant that we were forced to resist further temptation as well. Maybe next time we should factor in an overnight stay and a couple of stopovers on the way back, eh? Now there's a thought.

Jo and I spent the weekend just gone on a tourist jaunt to London. Which went something like this:

Saturday

Morning: Virgin Pendolino from Manchester Piccadilly, tube across town to base-camp: Fuller's Mad Hatter, Blackfriars.

Afternoon: Quick stroll down to Borough Market. Alas, The Rake was hammered, hadn't read Mark Dredge's review of Brew Wharf yet, so passed that one by. Dodged a rain shower by nipping into The Wheatsheaf, situated in the cellars of the old Hop Exchange. Perfectly pleasant pint of Phoenix Arizona (I know, all the way to London to drink beer from up the road in Rochdale, eh? You can take us Northerners out of the North...)

Also wandered into Utobeer, brilliant little place (about the same size as Beer Ritz), cracking selection of fantastic beers (more on that in next New Arrivals post). They should open a branch in Manchester, definitely.

Evening: Train out to Bromley, visiting good friends Sam and Chris. Takeaway from Tamasha - ordered something that turned out to be rabbit in creamy, lightly-spiced sauce - accompanied by a couple of bottles of Westerham's Little Scotney Pale Ale - red-brown, deliciously malty - then a more-than generous measure of Laphroig Quarter Cask (cheers, Chris!) Got back about midnight, extremely full and happy but too late for the hotel bar. Never mind.

Sunday

Morning / Afternoon: Weekend Tourist Destination #1: Hampton Court Palace. Good few hours mooching through medieval / baroque palaces; peering into display cases, suitably impressed by the architecture, generally soaking up the culture. Almost tempted by King's Table Ale at lunch' but £3.50 for 4% bottled session bitter helped decide against (bit early in the day and hot weather to boot). Had ice-cream instead. Two scoops. Also almost temped by leather tankard; which smelled great, looked pretty nifty. Flipped the thing over, saw £40.00 price tag (£5 cheaper online, apparently). Sanity quickly restored.

(Also, I spotted this fella in the courtyard, perched on top of so-called "wine fountain"... but I reckon I know a happy ale-drinker when I see one:)

Evening: Train back to town, quick tube ride up to Covent Garden. Dropped in on The Porterhouse for steak dinner (served with mountain of straw chips and rather pleasant bernaise sauce). Few pints of probably the best stouts to be found in London (well, outside of Greenwich, that being Meantime territory, obviously). Jo went for Plain Porter, I sampled Oyster Stout, switched to the Wrasslers XXXX for number two, stuck with that for the duration. Thought about Brain Blasta (strong ale, 7% ABV or so), decided to remain coherent instead.

(Incidentally, the Porterhouse has the best interior decor in the world. If you've been there, you'll know exactly what I mean: floor-to-ceiling cabinets filled with the most fascinating selection of bottled beers you're likely to see in your life. Here's a quick snapshot, which I hope I've been able to capture okay, given the suitable atmospheric conditions:

Love the place. Absolutely love it. They should also open a branch in Manchester, most definitely.)

Back to Mad Hatter for quick night-cap. Choice of several Fuller's ales, went for London Pride (I fancied something with more bite than Seafarer's Ale looked like it might deliver and I'd been disappointed by Chiswick bitter on a couple of occasions. The Pride was okay, but nothing special - honestly it really could've done with a sparkler to liven it up a bit, it was flat as the proverbial witch's what-not - but perhaps I should have gone for the ESB. I'll know better next time.)

Monday

Morning / Afternoon: Dropped suddenly-rather-heavy bags (again: next New Arrivals piece...) at Euston Left Luggage. Wandered round to Euston Square, jumped back on tube, headed down to Weekend Tourist Destination #2: Tower of London. Before joining heaving throng of tourists, headed across London bridge to Butler's Wharf in search of food. Passed site of Anchor Brewhouse; original Courage brewery, converted to apartment block (inevitably). (There was a plaque on the wall, which I duly snapped; click for a larger, more readable version:)

Next: The Tower. Apparently 2,400,000 visitors a year. Most seemed to turned up on same day as us. Can't blame them, weather was lovely, but queue for Crown Jewels ("royal bling" as Yeoman Warder Tour Guide put it) was quite ridiculous, likewise queue for 'Torture in the Tower' exhibition. Skipped those; did the medieval bits, checked out display of Royal Arms and Armour (well worth a look if you're a bit of a medieval military buff, although the £17.00 Tower entry ticket might be understandably off-putting), stuck our heads around gift shop door, checked out tourist tat. Once again, King's Table Ale and leather tankard both called. Once again, their allure was easily resisted.

Evening: En-route back to Euston, Jo suggested stopping at that Gunmaker's place that I keep going on about (I was only too happy to oblige). Wandered in, eyes drawn magnetically to chalk-board menu. Curses! Food plans foiled: kitchen not open until 18.30 (apparently they allow their chef time to rest, the mad, compassionate fools). Have to get back to Euston for 20.00 train (reserved single tickets, no choice). Too close to risk it.

Consolatory pint of Woodforde's Wherry - pleasant enough golden session beer with light, hoppy profile - then, half-way through pint of Kelham Island Pale Rider - stronger, slightly darker, much more pronounced hop-bite - legendary landlord Jeff appears from upper rooms, proceeds to win uber-Landlord Award. (He did this by catching sight of us out of the corner of his eye, stopping in mid-stride with an impressive double-take and then proceeding to remember not only the last time he spoke to me - which was just over a year ago - but also my name - which, to a bear of very little brain and even less useful memory like me, is pretty darn impressive, I can tell you. I introduced Jo, we chatted for a bit and then Jeff headed off to entertain his regulars, leaving us feeling thoroughly welcome and absolutely determined to head on back there the next time we're in town. We'll make damn sure we're there when the kitchen is open, too.)

Definitely needed food before two-hour train journey home. Aforementioned regular helpfully suggested The Bree Louise. Bloody good idea. Back on the tube, off again at Euston Square, round corner to Bree Louise. Ordered 2x New Yorker chicken (fried breast fillet covered in bacon and cheese, pile of chips, just the ticket) washed down with utterly underwhelming pint of gravity-dispensed Nethergate Umbel Magna (I've had both gravity beers at the Bree Louise and Umbel Magna elsewhere and they've both been much better, but so it goes...) followed by pint of Rebellion Mild - smooth, nutty, dark, quite pleasant - for the road.

Train. Taxi. Home. Bed. Pretty much exhausted, but extremely happy.

(We're already planning our next London jaunt: Brew Wharf, The Rake, Utobeer again, definitely The Gunmaker's, definitely The Porterhouse, maybe a trip over to Greenwich... oh, and perhaps some more tourist stuff as well. But no leather tankards for me. Not at £40 bloody quid a pop...)

Brewery: Clanconnel
Location: Waringstown, Northern Ireland
ABV: 4.3%
Source: The Vineyard, Belfast

Northern Ireland has a new bottled beer on the shelves, and it’s the second offering from Clanconnel. I covered their first one back in January 2009 so they’re not exactly flooding the market with new releases. Back then, while I wasn’t totally won over by Weaver’s Gold I did reckon the brewery showed promise so I was certainly keen to try this new one.

McGrath’s Irish Red is named after champion greyhound Master McGrath, of whom you can read a bit more here. Colour is a dark amber, with a reddish glow when held up to the light. The aroma is very pleasant, malty toffee underpinned with some dark fruit notes. On to the drinking and the first taste I got was of smooth caramel and biscuit, then a touch of fruity bitterness coming through and lingering to a slightly dry nutty finish. Personally I felt the two aspects didn’t quite gel, the bitterness on the finish being a bit at odds with the caramel smoothness. Holding back slightly on one or the other would improve the overall taste for me, but it’s still a decent enough beer and I’ll look forward to the next offering from the brewery. Hopefully it won’t be another 18 months until that one.

Elsewhere: the Beer Nut gives it the thumbs up

Brewery: Brasserie Lefebvre
Location: Quenast, Belgium
Style: Belgian Abbey Beer
ABV: 6.5%
Version: Bottled
Source: BeerMerchants.com

I love it when random chance turns up something a bit special. I placed an order with BeerMerchants.com a few weeks ago, mainly to get hold of a few Moor beers, along with the first couple from Kernel and a couple of Viven brews. By the time I'd added all of those I ended up £1.80 short of making the order a round £50.00 (with p&p). Floreffe Blonde was priced at £1.80... had to be done.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my online chess buddies and I were chatting about Belgian beer, so I thought I'd crack this one open and give it a go. I was very glad I did.

Floreffe Blonde poured a clear gold, with a big, bubbly Belgian head. There was a doughy, bread-ish aroma that carries over into the initial flavour and although it quickly gives way to a smooth, honeyed sweetness, there's still a hint of baked goods hanging on in the background right the way through. It's extremely tasty, very drinkable and dangerously more-ish. Lovely stuff. Enjoyed this one immensely.

Lurking next to the Orcs Black Ale, I found this bottle of CAMRA 25th Anniversary Ale.

Brewed back in 1996 by George Gale & Co (who were acquired by Fuller's back in 2005), this 7.1% ale was brewed with Maris Otter barley and Fuggles, Goldings and Challenger hops.

I'm guessing it's an IPA-style golden ale? Hard to tell through the brown glass, of course. I can't find any information on the CAMRA website and Google isn't turning up anything either.

I'm pretty sure this came into my possession by accident a few years back. I think it was courtesy of Jo's Nan, who had decided to clear out her own drinks cabinet and had found this bottle lurking behind the sweet sherry, Bells whisky and Canada Dry. I said "thank you very much" and brought it home, at which point it disappeared into our drinks cabinet and was forgotten about until a few weeks ago.

The best-before date is given as April 2000, but with its 7.1% ABV and - from the sounds of the label - plenty in the way of hop-content, I suppose there's a chance it might still be drinkable..?

What do the beer congnoscenti among you reckon? Best keep the cap firmly on? Possibly rank, but worth risking? Entirely safe to drink and most likely delicious? Or even, worth saving for CAMRA's 50th anniversary in 2021? I'd love to know what the experts out there think.

Here's a close-up of the label. Click for a larger version if you'd like to see it in a bit more detail:

I found this bottle lurking in the back of the overflow Beer Cupboard (formerly known as the Wine Cupboard and still housing the Single Malt Annexe) when I had a clear out a few weeks back.

I picked this up back in 1998 at the first of the British Fantasy Society's annual Fantasycon events that Jo and I had both gone along to. One of the Fantasycon traditions is to hold a banquet (or, as it's come to be known by attendees in recent years, the "rip-off chicken dinner") before the announcing of the British Fantasy Awards.

The banquet that year was sponsored by Millennium Books (who are no longer around as they later merged with Gollancz). Millennium had just published the first book in Stan Nicholls' Orcs series - a fantasy saga about a squad of Orc warriors - so everything at the table was Orc-themed. Instead of going for the more obvious "elf-blood wine" they put complimentary bottles of "Orcs Black Ale" out on the tables and, being a compulsive souvenir-collector, I grabbed one to take home with me. I stuck it away at the back of the drinks cabinet (at the time all we had was a much smaller, much less beer-oriented storage compartment) and it's been there ever since.

I think it's pretty obvious from the bottle-neck which factory-produced, widely exported Irish "black ale" they re-labelled for the occasion. That, plus the lack of best-by date means that there's a racing certainty that this one will remain unopened and unsampled for a great many years to come...

Looks like Tesco might be a good place to head for to find some decent bottled beer bargains at the moment. I've just come back from a weekly shop with a bag full of bottles, and while I was there I scribbled down a few of the more interesting offers, which included:

• 3 for £4 on various beers including Grimbergen Blonde, Grimbergen Dubbel and Innis & Gunn Original Oak Aged Ale [TN].
• 4 for £5 on BrewDog Punk IPA [TN] and a whole raft of Badger ales (England's Gold, Golden Champion, three or four others), plus a few more from other breweries.
• 20% or so off Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter [TN] (£2.58 down to £2.06) and Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale [TN] (£1.76 down to £1.40)
• Leffe Brun 750ml (wine-bottle sized) for £2.00

They were also loading up the shelf with Young's Special London Ale at 94p a bottle. Baron, you want to get yourself on the motorway down to Tesco in Prestwich, mate... :)

Edit from Ed - The two Flying Dog offerings have been further reduced to half price, so I just emptied the shelf of my local of the Classic Pale Ale. At 88p each it would have been just wrong to leave them there.

Brewery: Daas Daas
Location: Hainaut, Belgium
Style: Belgian amber abbey-style ale
ABV: 6.5%
Version: Bottled
Source: Courtesy of Daas

A Parcelforce delivery driver turned up out on my doorstep a few weeks ago, bearing a package that turned out to contain a complimentary bottle of Daas Ambré. This was a nice surprise and made a pleasant change from people trying to sell me gas and electricity (gas and electricity salespeople take note: try handing out free beer instead, you'll win many more friends that way).

I'd already sampled Daas Witte and Dass Blonde last October and enjoyed them both (Blonde more more than Witte) so I was happy to give the Ambré a go. And happily this one turned out to be the best of the three.

Pouring a rich amber-red-brown with a thin head, Daas Ambré delivers a warming, malty flavour with a noticeable alcohol hit, although nothing too over-powering. Orangey citrus flavours abound, along with a dollop of caramel and just a hint of whisky. Smooth, richly-flavoured, gently carbonated, all in all a very satisfying and drinkable Belgian with just enough oomph to be interesting. It's also certified organic; this is generally considered a Good Thing and I concur. Okay, I'm not convinced it makes a massive difference to the overall beer drinking experience, but it's reassuring to know I'm not imbibing too many unnecessary chemicals as part of the process.

This one was sent courtesy of Steve at Daas. Or possibly Steve at UK importer Fabulously Green. Anyway, he's the fella who replied to the 'thank you' email I sent, so: cheers Steve! The Witte and Blonde were complimentary bottles as well, which means I haven't actually bought a Daas beer yet. I'll be rectifying that as soon as I see Daas Ambré on sale.

Daas Ambre around the Beerblogosphere:

• Zak Avery was suitably impressed: thebeerboy.blogspot.com
• Andy Mogg likewise: www.beerreviews.co.uk

This order actually came in about a month ago, but I'm only just getting round to sampling some of the contents. In a weird bit of mathematical synchronicity the whole lot (including p&p) came to £50.00 exactly.*

First up:

• Kernel Porter and Pale Ale
• Viven Porter and Ale

The Kernel beers were one of the main reasons for putting the order in, and I'd heard good buzz about the Vivens as well.

Next:

• Moor Old Freddie Walker, JJJ IPA, Peat Porter and Fusion

The other main reason for ordering... heard nothing but great things about these beers, looking forward to trying them.

And finally, to make up the 12-case, a few miscellaneous Belgians:

• Het Anker Gouden Carolus
• De Dolle Special Extra Export Stout
• Van Steenbergen Gulden Draak
• Brasserie Lefebvre Floreffe Blonde

Tasting notes to follow on all of the above in due course!

*Okay, okay, I confess. I hunted around for a bottle priced at £1.80 to make up the round number. Mild numerical OCD strikes again.