Horse-racing and garden gigging

Quick post today. Its been a busy weekend. Friday night we were off to the races at Downroyal. Stopped in at Gowdy's first for a pint and was pleased to find they had bottles of Hilden's Twisted Hop, Barney's Brew, and Headless Dog. They also had Whitewater's HoppelHammer (which as you can see I like a lot!) and Belfast Lager. Options nowhere near as good in at race course and I ended up with a couple of bottles of Heineken. A couple of winners kept the day interesting but I'm sill back to work on Monday...

Saturday took us to the “Gig in the Garden” at Minnowburn. Another great day out, and best of all the Hilden teepee was running the beer tent so I got another tasty pint of Twisted Hop on draft. Great to have a child friendly event, that has good food, drink and music in Belfast – if it's on again next year we'll be back!

All this activity meant only one beer got ticked off the list but I was a good one.

From “1001 Beers...”

Number 159

• De Koninck Amber. Style: Amber, ABV: 5%.
  
  
  
  Description: Poured amber, almost brown into my Leffe challis. Nice amber head, but his went very quickly. Biscuity malt sweet smells and that refreshing aroma from Belgian yeast. Malt tastes, a little sweetness, and a slightly sour finish.
  Conclusion: Really refreshing beer, that really nice taste and small that goes with Belgian beer – presumably for the yeast and malt. Well worth a try and I would have again.
  Score: 7.5

Others

• Twisted Hop. Style: IPA, ABV: 4.7%.
  
  
  
  Description: A nice floral, citrus hop hit. Nice fizz.
  Conclusion: This Hilden beer recently won best beer at the Dublin Craft Beer Cup. I can see why. Really nice on a summer's day. Refreshing.
  Score: 7

Cheers

Born in the USA

Really, if I were in anyway organised, this blog would have been completed and posted on the 4^th July. But I'm not, and it wasn't - may be being posted after the Boss's concert can make up for it? Either way, no time like the present I suppose, and I'm a big fan of the American craft beer scene. Unfortunately, I don't get to tick off another beer from “1001 Beers...” in this post but I though it was still worth sharing.

Others

• All Day IPA. Style: IPA, ABV: 4.9%.
  
  
  
  Description: Poured from the bottle with little head and not much lacing. Amber/orange colour. Smells like cross between Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Goose Island IPA, my wife thought its had grapefruit aromas. A real hop floral taste – with just a little bitterness in the after-taste.
  Conclusion: This was a lovely little beer. Really nice hop taste, with a bit of grapefruit in the background. Not too much bitterness, and the reasonable ABV, means this is very drinkable beer that you could have a few of and enjoy. I found it refreshing and would definitely advise anyone to give it a try.
  Score: 7.5

• Summer Ale. Style: Golden Ale. ABV 5.0%
  
  
  
  Description: A Brooklyn beer that poured with a good head. Light Blond but bread/yeast aroma from the malt and, erm, yeast. Hops not very noticeable in taste or smell. Malt and bitter taste.
  Conclusion: I'm a big fan of Brooklyn Brewery – especially their Black Chocolate Stout. A change from some of the other summer beers out there, this is actually more malt based and toasted grain tastes. A nice enough beer.
  Score: 6.5
  
  
• Pennant Ale. Style: Amber Ale. ABV 5.0%
  Description: Again bready and yeasty. Bit of spice (not unlike Anchor Steam actually) Decent head. Dark amber. Good fizz that lasted.
  Conclusion: More like an old English pale ale. A little more malt that I expected, slight biscuit/toffee flavour. Maybe better for autumn than summer. Not bad though.
  Score: 6
  
  
• Underdog Atlantic Lager. Style: Lager. ABV 5.0%
  
  
  
  Description: Lager from Flying Dog Brewery (again I'm a fan!). Light golden in colour. Fruit aromas with a slight sugar sweetness. Really fizzy, and the carbonisation lasted throughout. Not much head. Fruity/citrus taste with a little bit of grassyness .
  Conclusion: I've stated before that I’m not a huge lager fan. More accurately, I'm not a fan of mass produced lager with lots of adjuncts. This was really pleasant – quite fizzy and sweet, perfect for a BBQ! Going to buy a few more bottles of this, perfect for this hot weather.
  Score: 7.
  
  
• Pyramid Hefeweizen. Style: Wheat. ABV 5.2%
  
  
  
  Description: Cloudy (unfiltered), blond wheat beer. Very little head. Slightly chalky aroma. Mid textured mouth-feel. Light and refreshing with a little bit of orange spice on the finish
  Conclusion: Another nice refreshing beer for a summer evening. Enjoyable.
  Score: 6.5.

Researching the Pyramid Hefeweizen, I discovered a little bit of discussion as Pyramid (due to their ownership structure) are no longer considered a “craft brewer”. I'll be honest, for me the book, and this blog, is about finding and drinking good beer. I'm not too fussed if its real ale or not, craft beer or home brew, micro brewed or multi national produced - as long as the beer is good I’ll praise it. However, I do think the smaller guys are trying more interesting things, and I'm also keen to promote local producers. If its not good, well its one not to buy again - no matter who made it.

Right, a bit of research and shopping needs to be done now if I’m to get a few beers ticked off “1001 Beers...” in my next post. Anyone bought beers online? Checking out a few websites that carry a range of beers but any tips would be gratefully received.

Cheers

A Great Belgian Tripel

Thanks to Twitter (and @belfastbeerblog) I've come across a new outlet to purchase good beers. The lighthouse Bar and Wine Shop in Whiteabbey is within easy reach of Belfast and has a nice selection of English Ales, local Whitewater and Hilden Brews, and a very nice range of American Craftbeers. Seriously worth checking out, from taking to the staff they're keen to get in some new stuff (I'm hoping for some Stone Brewing Beers) and they're also looking to set up and beer/ale tasting club. I'll be going back again and if your in the area please support a local company trying to broaden our horizons. Picture of some of my purchases below!

The good weather has made nearly every evening a beer evening, so a few of the recent samples are set out below:

From “1001 Beers...”

Beer number 158

• Tripel Karmeliet. Style: Belgian Triple. ABV 8.4%
  
  
  Description: Poured from the bottle light golden and slightly cloudy. Went into my Leffe Challis, leaving a large white head which quickly left. Good carbonisation, with lots of fizzy bubble to start – though it calmed down a bit as we went along. Strong fruit and herbal aromas, and then really strong Belgian golden ale smell. Mid mouth-feel – bubbly to start though slightly thicker as it calmed down. Citrus fruit flavours – with a nice sourness (slightly cherry like) on the finish – occasional hoppy bitter hits also keep the beer interesting.
  
  Conclusion: This a a great beer – well balanced, fruit flavours but a sourness that means it doesn't become overwhelming. 8.4% gives a really nice alcohol warming kick – it doesn't taste as strong as it should but you know the alcohol is there. Very refreshing after a long day in a warm office! Big fan of the style and of this beer in particular. I'll be buying this again!
  Score: 8.5.

Others

• Wild Hop. Style: IPA, ABV: 5.2%.
  
  
  
  Description: Amber IPA from Harviestoun with a nice bitter finish.
  Conclusion: A really solid IPA with good hop bitterness combined with a decent malt flavour. Nice UK IPA, but not as bitter as some of the US versions. Very Drinkable though
  Score: 6.5
  
  
• Joker IPA. Style: IPA, ABV: 5%.
  Description: Blond IPA from Williams Brothers, quite light and refreshing with a more floral and citrus flavour.
  Conclusion: This beer was covered recently by the Belfast Beer Blog where it received a very impressive score. I'd tried it before but this review made me want to try it again (in fairness they had it on draft which probably improved the tasting and score!). It was better then I remembered. Another nice UK IPA, a little too sweet for me, and a bit more malts would have balanced the overall flavour better. As a Hophead, I prefer something with a bit more bang for my buck – but this might be a good beer to introduce a lager drinker to IPA. Would buy again.
• Score: 6.5

• Brilliant Ale. Style: Golden Ale, ABV: 5.6%.
  
  
  
  Description: Light blond English ale, with little carbonisation, but kept a good head. A little lager like in taste (may be more bitter than an English lager). Overall quite a light beer.
  Conclusion: This was mentioned by Beers I've Known in their coverage of the the recent Beer Bloggers Conference (another source worth following for beer information). Quite refreshing on a warm summers night, but didn't really impress after the beers that preceded it. Worth a try but not something I’d turn too that often (though it might taste much better from cask).
• Score: 6

So that’s a further 51 Beers from outside “1001 Beers...” tasted and scored! Making progress slowly but surely.

The next post will cover the (mostly American) beers purchased at the Lighthouse.

Cheers

Limavegas

As the glorious weather continues we headed north to meet friends for a night of fun in good ol' Limavady. It was really great to catch up with people we hadn't seen for awhile. And a good excuse for a beer or two. There was another budding beer geek there (Hello Marty!) so I brought up a bottle of the raunchbier covered in a previous post to share (second tasting backed up my initial opinion, its a really fun beer – seriously go buy some). I also took some inspiration from the Belfast Beer Blog (http://belfastbeer.wordpress.com/).

From “1001 Beers...”

Beer number 157
• Red MacGregor. Style: Scottish/Amber Ale. ABV 4%
  

  

  
  
  Description: Poured from the bottle ruby red with a nice contrasting white head that lasted to the end. Good lacing too. Fruit and Caramel aromas. Nicely balanced hop/malt taste, with fruit (mostly black cherry) flavours in the background.
  Conclusion: I have been surprised by the number of Scottish beers out there I really like. Obviously there is Brewdog, but William's Brothers, Harviestoun and Orkney have all have beers in the book. This one is worthy of its place. Really nicely balanced – plenty of hops and toasted malts but nothing dominating and taking the taste too far. The big flavour that means you would never know this was only 4% ABV. I could see this being a really nice session beer I’ll come back to again and again.
  Score: 7 (On a good day this could maybe push to a 7.5).

Others

• Kuppers Kolsch. Style: Kolsch, ABV: 4.9%.
  Description: Light blond in colour, poured with a decent head that disappeared quickly with little lacing. Quite fizzy. Slight fruit flavours and a lightly creamy mouthfeel.
  Conclusion: My second Kolsch, and may be its not a beer style I'm going to be a fan of. This one was slight fruitier and creamier than the Fruh, but not really any better. Not a bad “lager” for a summers night, but overall I think the style is too weak and light for my taste.
  Score: 5.5
  
  
• Sam Adams Summer Ale. Style: Wheat, ABV: 5.5%.
  Description: Pours light golden, a little bit cloudy, with citrus flavours. Thin mouth-feel.
  Conclusion: This one was inspired by Belfast Beer Blog post on it. I'm a big fan of Sam Adams, but to me this is probably the weakest beer of theirs I've had. A little too light, and the fruit flavours are a little too subtle. But really I think its the thin mouth-feel that not quite right. It may be that I've killed by palette with too many “big beers” over the years (and this might not have been helped by having a hoppelhammer first). Don't get me wrong, this is a drinkable beer – especially on a warm evening - I just don't think its as good as the rest of the Sam Adams range.
  Score: 5.5

By the way, of the Sam Adams seasonals that seem to be widely available in NI, I've had the Spring, Summer and Winter beers (the winter one has been my favourite so far). Was there a Autumn version? Was it any good? Will have to keep my eyes open in the coming months!

Cheers

Beer Weather

It really is beer weather out there

A late lunch in Horatio Todd's on the Newtownards road also was a nice surprise. I knew they covered a few beers but there was more choice here than I anticipated. Good to see another pub option in Belfast where you can at least try a few different beers (they also had Belfast Ale on draft, and the food was good!). During the visit I managed:

From the List

• Anchor Steam Beer. Style: Steam Beer/California Common. ABV 4.9%
  Description: An amber and sweet malty “lager”. Light carbonisation. Nice head with some lacing.
  Conclusion: As a said in “the beginning”, Anchor Steam was one of the brews that got me into beer. Lager like but dark and with sweet malts (technically its a hybrid - warm fermented with lager yeast). At the time it was like nothing I’d had before. Much better on draft in San Francisco, the bottles still travel well, and just popping off the cap and taking a sniff bring me back to a great holiday and memories.
  Score: 7
  
  
• Sam Adams. Style: Lager. ABV 4.9%
  Description: Another amber lager with lots more maltyness than we get locally. A head that lasts with some lacing. Biscuit and sweet malt taste.
  Conclusion: A bit of a surprise that Horatio Todd's had this on draft. Another fine lager, a bit like Anchor Steam but a little bit more traditional. Again this is one of the beers that showed me what was available out there. Always happy to grab a bottle or a pint – just a sip takes me back to the Warren Tavern in Boston!
  Score: 7

Others

• Headless Dog. Style: Amber Ale, ABV: 4.3%.
  Description: Poured from a bottle. Amber ale with a hoppy taste, some fruit and malt to finish.
  Conclusion: Solid beer, and a nice one to use to introduce non-hopheads to different beers. A little too mild to my taste but a perfectly fine ale.
  Score: 6.5

The Long weekend in Northern Ireland and, with this weather, a perfect time to sample some (cold, cold, cold) beers at home.

Not on the list:

• Snake Dog IPA. Style: IPA. ABV 7.1%
  Description: Bright gold in colour, poured with a little white head that disappeared pretty quickly. Fruit aromas, but a pretty bitter piney type hope finish.
  Conclusion: Big fan of most flying dog beers, and this one was as good as the rest. Quite a bitter hoppy finish that might be a bit much for some. Maybe too bitter for a summer night but a fine beer.
  Score: 7
  
  
• East India Pale Ale. Style: IPA. ABV 6.9%
  Description: Golden Amber colour with a fair amount of bubbles. Bitter fruit aromas and another with a pine hop finish.
  Conclusion: Again I'm a big fan of Brooklyn beers. This is another good one. Very similar to the Snake Dog, but maybe not quite as bitter a finish. Went down well!
  Score: 7

Cheers

The Vineyard for the win

Its a little thing called style...

So, the London trip didn't give me a chance to tick off any beers from the list. To console myself I headed to the vineyard to see if they had anything new in. Looks like I timed it perfectly, not only where there a great selection of beers – there was also a number of beer styles I had yet to try. I love try new beers styles so I was in beer heaven!

Beers from the List:

• Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier. Style: Rauchbier, ABV: 5.2%.
  
  
  
  
  
  Description: German smoked beer, lovely woody/malty smell. Tastes a bit like smoked bacon. Nice head that stuck around, in diminished form, through-out the pint.
  Conclusion: This is one of the beers I spotted skimming though “1001 beers...” that I really wanted to try. I'd never heard of rauchbier, but how could you resist a description that includes “tastes like smoked ham” and “probably the lowest ABV extreme beer in the world”. I really enjoyed it. May not best to have it these warm nights but I’ll certainly have more (and another bottle is in the fridge!)
  Score: 7.5
  
  
• Saison Dupont. Style: Saison, ABV: 6.5%
  Description: Pale straw colour, fruit aromas, with a slightly sour finish.
  Conclusion: Another new style of beer for me. I am a big fan of pale ales and golden ales, and this comes across as a bit of a hybrid between the two. Very refreshing. The sour note at the end of the tasting (like many Belgian sour beers) really helped making sure it wasn't too light. Very interested in the style and the beer – I’ll be looking out for more Saisons and will buy this one again when I see it.
  Score: 7.5
  
  
• Frau Kolsch. Style: Kolsch, ABV: 4.9%
  Description: Very light golden lager/pilsner in look. Poured with a nice head and plenty of carbonisation. More hoppy and less bitter than most German lagers.
  Conclusion: Had this on a warm summers night and it was light and refreshing. I'd never had Kolsch before so I wasn't quite expecting it to be as lagerary (I think I just invented a new word) as it was, but it was tasty. Not a huge fan of the style but I’d have it over a watery “pint” any day. Interested in trying different versions to see if there is much difference between brewers.
  Score: 6.5

Off the List:

• Wild Raven. Style: Black IPA, ABV: 6.6%.
  Description: Jet Black, with a thin head that disappears quickly. Fruity and citrus aromas, including pineapple. Really nice hoppy hit to taste and a slightly thicker mouthfeel than most IPAs.
  Conclusion: I love IPAs. I love porters, stouts and Schwarzbier. Could this hybrid be better than the sum of its parts. For me it works really well, nicely balanced hoppiness and bitterness. But there is a slight disconnect between how the beer looks and its mouthfeel – it looks like it should taste thicker and that is slightly disconcerting. However, overall it a really good effort and one i'd try again. Are there more/beer black IPAs outthere I should be trying?
  Score: 7.5
  
  
• Leffe Radiuese. Style: Strong Ale, ABV: 8.2%
  Description: A malty, thick, boozey Belgain string ale.
  Conclusion: I'll be honest – I just bought a lovely Leffe Challis glass and I wanted a strong Belgian ale to christen it. This did the job. But there are better versions outthere to my taste.
  Score: 7
  
  

That puts me up to 156 beers tried from the list (and a further 44 scored and rated) - just 845 to go!

A quick disclaimer. This blog is about better beer, not more beer. Quality over quantity if you will. There are many reasons why you shouldn't overdo alcohol, therefore responsibility (and sensible drinking) is the key. But if you do drink, then you should drink good beer! These posts may also cover more than one “session” but have been put together to stop me posting incessantly.

Cheers

Beer and Buble

London Bound

A mid-week break and a trip by me and the better half to London gave me the chance to try out a few more ales. I'll be honest up front, we went to see Michael Buble. Admittedly this is more the wife's thing than it is mine, but I have to say he put on a great show, his voice was quality live, and I’d recommend anyone to go see him. I was also impressed by how well organised the O2 was both pre and post concert!

Believe it or not we actually stayed in a pub in Waterloo. Cheap, but clean and very well located. Even better, cask ales just down stairs. I think we'd both be happy to stay in it again (I thought it might not pass my wife's quality check...).

I didn't get a chance to knock any more beers off the list but I did get to sample a few things worth mentioning here:

• Fuller's Summer Ale. Style: IPA, ABV: 3.9%.
  Description: Light and crisp English Pale Ale with a lowish alcohol content.
  Conclusion: It was warm and we had just battled through the underground. We couldn't check in yet so a perfect chance to have a beer and a bite to eat. The Summer Ale was light and refreshing. Not very hoppy (and more floral than bitter). It did the job perfectly. I tend to have a thing for “Big Beers” but the lowish ABV means that this was a perfect lunch time pint.
  Score: 6
• Dark Star Original. Style: IPA, ABV: 5%
  Description: Another light IPA in a nice pub on Whitehall.
  Conclusion: I'm slight confused but having just googled Dark Star Original I’m told its a malty old ale. That's not what I had – so I’m not sure if there is another version of this beer, the pub gave me the wrong thing, or what. Anyway, what I had was a light and slightly bitter IPA that quenched my thirst after a walk through sunny Trafalgar Square.
  Score: 6.5
• Kozel. Style: Lager, ABV: 5%
  Description: Czech Lager, light with a bit of bite.
  Conclusion: So we met up with a friend who kindly took us to Tattershall Castle (which is actually a boat the the Thames) for a drink. Choices were limited so I thought I'd go for a Czech Lager. It was fine (though the lovely location and company may have helped to improve the beer!). There are better Czech lagers out there but I could manage a pint again if no other options are forthcoming.
  Score: 6

Off we headed to the O2 for the gig. Running a bit late we headed straight in and grabbed a bit to eat. Then came the dilemma – is bad plastic “glassed” lager worse than no beer at all? The beer won – only just. I won't say what lager it was (though it was something I wouldn't normally drink) or what I though about because not much can win in those circumstances. The fact I only had 1 also says quite a bit!

I had hoped to tick a few off the list during the trip but it didn't quite happen. So I came back and headed to the Vineyard to see if they had anything new in... I came back with a bagful of treats that should lead to a very interesting next post!

Cheers