August Whiskey of the Month.

"About time!" I hear from some. 😉 I had even surprised myself when I realised I have not reviewed this mainstay of Irish whiskeys! Oh well, it's here now as my August Whiskey of the Month, Jameson whiskey (website) which used to be distilled at their Jameson Distillery, Bow Street, Dublin 7. However, since 1976, when they merged with Powers and Cork Distillers to form Irish Distillers (website), like many other well known Irish whiskey brands, now it is distilled at their Midleton Distillery near Cork (website).

Jameson is a 40.0% triple distilled whiskey, of course, a deep amber coloured blend of grain and single pot still whiskeys, and aged in oak casks for at least 4 years before bottling. It has a slightly oak woody, honey and citrus aroma, and you notice the alcohol very much too, and noticed straight away in the taste. Indeed, it has a warming effect all through the drinking experience from nose, to mouth to stomach, although very smooth! I, as I seem to, noticed butterscotch in the taste predominantly, with hints of vanilla, nuts and cinnamon too, I like it, sláinte! 😉

IPA Day Ale, cheers!

My IPA Day ale of choice yesterday evening (blog) was enjoyed at the Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock a Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW (website), and was brewed by Yorkshire brewery Rooster's Brewing Co (website), whose excellent ales I have been drinking since the late 1990s. The ale, from this very reliable brewery, who brew 'vegan friendly' ales that always turn out totally clear, was their 4.3% Old Faithful Pale Ale. Brewed with 3 hops: Bramling Cross from England (hopslist); Cluster from the USA (hopslist); and Pacific Gem from New Zealand (hopslist). Consequently producing a pale clear ale with citrus, lemon and grapefruit, and just a hint of darker fruits in the taste, and with a lovely dry bitter finish, nice one! 

Happy International IPA Day, plus one, cheers! 😁

International IPA Day 2025

Today is IPA Day 2025 (daysoftheyear), when we celebrate India Pale Ales, indeed, celebrated on the first Thursday of August every year now, and how IPAs have been influenced by craft brewers, and hops, from the USA. IPAs were originally brewed to be transported by boat on the long trip to India from Britain in the 18th century, thus had plenty of strength and plenty of hops as a preservative, to help survive the long journey. The idea of IPA Day has its origins in 2011, the brain child of American beer enthusiast and author, Ashley Routson*, who I send my thanks to for making me also take advantage of this day every year in Britain too, cheers!

With thanks to Pints and Panels (website) for the image above, the evolution of the IPA, from a slightly darker English hoppy beer transported to India, to the later U.S. craft brewery influenced paler versions, or, as I prefer to call them, APAs. I know where I'm going to imbibe later on, so may just report back on my IPA Day ales sometime very soon, cheers m'dears! 🍺

*Ashley Routson, The Beer Wench's Guide to Beer: An Unpretentious Guide to Craft Beer.

Pink Grapefruit Ale from Kent Brewery!

I have written about Kent Brewery (website) ales many times before, indeed, they are one of my favourite dependable breweries for the quality of their ales, paler ales especially for me. But a recent visit to the Rye Waterworks (blog) saw me drink the slightly hazy 4.9% Kent Pamplemousse, brewed with pink grapefruit and citrusy hops, although I can't discover which hops were used, apologies, but I would be surprised if they were not from the USA. And if you're wondering about the name, 'pamplemousse' equals 'grapefruit' in French. 😁

It may look 'flat' in the photograph above, but it wasn't, indeed, it was just a full pint served to me, and ales are gravity fed at the Waterworks, so only a little head, although it did keep lacing all the way down the glass. OK, Pamplemousse is more orange than pink, but pink grapefruits produce a red juice, so I would describe this as an extra fruity, citrusy American Pale Ale style (APA), and I doubt if I'm wrong about the hops, but what do I know. 😉 So, pale and hoppy, very fruity, with a nice dry bitter finish and refreshing, another nice one Kent Brewery, cheers! 👍

Apologies - International Beer Day 2025 Yesterday!

Sorry I missed this, I had the wrong date marked in my diary. 😕 But Happy International Beer Day for yesterday! 🍺 Which should have been, and probably was elsewhere, a day of global celebration of beer (website). Indeed, the first Friday in August has been International Beer Day since 2013, a celebratory day created by Jesse Avshalomov at his local bar in Santa Cruz in California in 2007 (used to be August the 5th previously), you have to love those drinkers across the North Atlantic who suggest I celebrate drinking beer so regularly! 

The purpose of the day is to gather with others and enjoy a few beers and to celebrate the variety of beers available, and to celebrate those who brew, manage, and serve beer to us, not forgetting the wonderful pubs and bars where we drink. As Simon Difford suggests, let's raise a glass "to Beer, a drink that brings the world together." (diffordsguide) 🍻

But I did have a pint of ale yesterday, from a brewery I had never heard of, at my local 'local' The Prince Albert in central Hastings (blog). The ale, pump clip first image above, was from West Sussex brewery North Garden (website), Peaks (4.5%), an English Pale Ale, so brewed with English hops, which I presume are the same as for its stronger sibling Peaks Extra Pale Ale (4.8%); that is, Olicana (British Hop Association) and Harlequin (British Hop Association).

Or maybe not, on looking at the few reviews I could find, which suggest a paler beer than I drank (likely reviews of the Extra Pale Ale), although English Pale Ales are usually darker than the APAs that have been dominating the IPA name in recent times. The Peaks I drank was quite a deep copper colour, very much like a traditional IPA should be, and was, indeed, a bitter ale, like a traditional IPA would have been at the outset. Also, I didn't get the tropical fruit flavours you would expect with hops used like Olicana and Harlequin, so very likely more traditional English hops were used. However, the brewery's website doesn't help me at all, I can only go by what I was served, which was a bitter traditional English ale. Happy Beer Day Plus One, cheers! 😁

Sheffield: Congratulations to Brian at the Bath Hotel!

I've thought about using the image above for many years now, which is of my pal Rick the Dentist, on the left, with Brian Johnson the Landlord, in the Bath Hotel, 66-68 Victoria St, Sheffield S3 7QL (website). Rick sent this photograph to me soon after I moved away from Sheffield, just to make me jealous, no doubt. 😉 This is one of my favourite pubs in Sheffield, where I have had many good times over the years, and it's great that Brian is back running the pub again after a number of years during which he had leased it to Thornbridge Brewery, because his warm welcome always makes you feel at home (eg visiting last year - blog).

So why the 'congratulations' to Brian then? Well, call me a late messenger, but he won the local CAMRA Central Sheffield Pub of the Year 2024 last year, and more recently I saw in Sheffield CAMRA's Beer Matters July 2025, this year too (Sheffield CAMRA). Nice one Brian! 👍

This has reminded me that I need to visit again very soon, looking forward to seeing you again Brian, and whoever else I bump into, cheers! 🍺

Also, you'll likely have worked out I've been to Sheffield recently, blog soon. 😁

Belgian Beers Making Up For Monday!

To make up for Monday's falling back on weaker, brewed for abroad, 6.0% Leffe for Belgian National Day (blog), I dropped into The Jolly Fisherman (blog) the next day, and had 2 more impressive Belgian beers. First the Trappistes Rochefort 10 (website), with records written that brewing starting at the now nearly 800 years old monastery by 1595, the monks previously working on farming and mining only. During the revolutionary period from 1789, the monks fled from French troops, not returning until 1889. Looting and destruction of their original church meant they built a new church and brewery and, as farming failed to meet the monastery's financial needs, they supplemented their income by selling their beers. By 1952 professional brewing became their main source of income, and a new brewery was built in 1960.

Since 2020 brewing has been at a brand new 'state of the art' brewhouse, from whence came the Rochefort 10 I drank on Tuesday, a Quadrupel, a mere 11.3% in strength 😉 with the '10' coming from an older Belgian measurement of wort density. A deep reddish brown in colour, a bottle conditioned beer, with a spicy, fruity and slightly smoky, aroma. It's pretty much full of dark spicy fruits in the taste, a little chocolate too, my notes on the day say "Black Forest Gateau in a glass" and quite right too, plenty of body, rich and luxurious, gorgeous! 😁

Second, from Brouwerij St Bernadus (website), the St Bernadus ABT 12 (10.0%), situated in Watou in Flanders, with a complicated more modern history. You could be forgiven for thinking this is a Trappist beer, but you would be wrong! They started brewing Trappist ales, under different ownership, for the Trappist monks at Westvleteren in 1946, but in 1992 the International Trappist Association (website) set up with rules agreed, including that to be authenticated, Trappist ales had to be brewed in a Trappist monastery and either brewed by, or brewing supervised by, monks. For 6 years they had trouble keeping the brewery going...

Then, in 1998 Hans Depypere bought the business, and it has flourished since, with a new brewing hall added in 2014 (history). The St Bernadus ABT 12 is a very deep dark coloured red Quadrupel, brewed with Hallertau Magnum hops (hopslist) for bitterness, and Goldings for aroma (hopslist); all hops used are grown in their own hop field. With a slightly malty/fruity aroma, it's a bit sweet, but has a dry slightly bitter finish. Tasting of dark plum and damson fruits, a Christmas Pudding of a beer as many Quadrupels tend to be, very rich and tasty!

Cheers m'dears! 🍺