More Dark Beers, I Kid You Not!

3 dark beers from around the country, and all enjoyed in Hastings Jolly Fisherman (blog), first, the 4.2% cask conditioned 'Classic Porter' London Thunder brewed by Roosters in Yorkshire (website). The name coming from the fact that the porter beer 'style' was developed for the porters of Victorian markets in London, I presume. As you can see it is a very deep dark red, the opacity probably enhanced by it being an un-fined 'vegan' ale. I got roasted oats in the aroma, and liquorice too, and liquorice even more noticeable in the taste with a wee bit of chocolate too, although both flavours quite subtle. Apparently brewed with 7 different varieties of malt, and English hops, although the hops used aren't shared with the public. London Thunder is a pleasant, and surprisingly not heavy at all, easy to drink dark porter, not bad at all folks.

From not so far away from Hastings in the South Downs of Sussex, and the first of 2 crafty keg beers, this 7.3% 'Export Stout' Blessed State brewed by Burning Sky (website). This has cacao nibs and a blend of coffee beans added to the brew, and has significantly more body and depth of flavours. Rich, and chocolate dominated for me, with just a hint of coffee. Pretty damn good!

I'll add a link to the blog where I discuss porters and stouts below too.

Finally, from Bavaria in Germany, was the luxurious (you knew one had to come 😉) 14.4% Barrel Aged 'Imperial Stout' Black Rainbow brewed by FrauGruber Brewing (website). There's a mouthful, in more ways than one... A strong dark beer, aged in casks, with dark fruits and roasted hazelnuts, pecan and coconut, noticeable in the aroma and taste, but not as much chocolate to the taste as the previous beer has, and, indeed, luxurious!

The last beer I wrongly called If Only I Had The Time To Understand at first, and which will be written about in a later blog, sorry not my error folks, I thank you.

I discuss my opinion concerning the difference between a porter and a stout in this blog, feel free to read, and comment if you wish, cheers m'dears!

Fun Time in Putney and a wee bit more...

And this wasn't done in one day, honest, but on Thursday and Friday, I'm a wee bit sensible 😉 Anyway, I started off at The Rocket, Putney Wharf, Brewhouse Lane SW15 2JQ (website), which you may have noticed is a 'spoons, and a pretty decent 'spoons too, with a nice view (see further down, my final photograph). Brewhouse Lane is so called because of Martin the Brewer, who is reported to have been brewing here in the 14th century, and it is believed that brewing still continued there into the 18th century (Layers of London).

I had unlimited coffee there and Eggs Benedict with Mushrooms, before drinking an ale, which was from Nottingham brewery Magpie (website), their 5.2% 'British IPA' Jay IPA. As you'd expect, brewed with British hops, but I can't find out which hops, anyway, hints of citrus and a slightly sour taste with a dry bitter finish. I noticed a hint of maltiness and tasted honey too, a bit too sweet for me, but happy to finish my pint, thank you very much.

OK, not directly Putney related, but The Rocket had been the second 'spoons I'd visited in 8 days, the previous week my brother and I had been to The Picture Playhouse, 36-38 Western Road, Bexhill-on-Sea TN40 1DY (website). Here we drank from Yorkshire brewery Roosters (website), who have brewed clear vegan ales for years now, it can be done, their 4.7% Twenty Four Seven 24/7, pale golden and brewed with Amarillo and Simcoe hops from the USA and Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand, providing a big citrus aroma and taste, and drying out to a very nice dry bitter finish, I liked this a lot, and costing just £2.50 a pint with my CAMRA member discount!

Back to Putney, and on Thursday I visited somewhere I've been meaning to enter for some time now, Ghost Whale, 134 Upper Richmond Road SW15 2SP (website), and they have premises in Brixton too. This is a bottle shop that also sells 8 keg 'craft' beers, and where you can imbibe on the premises too, which I did! I spent a while here, enjoying pleasant discourse with staff member Ray (from L.A.), who went to the same university college in Roehampton/Southfields as my brother, although quite a few years in-between their studies.

I began by drinking (and not pints here, I must add, but halves and two-thirds) Hertfordshire brewery Baron (website) Fuzz, a 4.2% Pale beer, brewed with Mosaic and Strata hops. OK, the beers I drank here were not clear, so Fuzz looked a little fuzzy too, but it was very fruity, citrus and forest fruits. Actually a clean refreshing finish, not bad at all.

The beers in the bottles pictured above were delivered whilst I was there, I didn't manage to sample any of them before I left, but I have reviewed Westmalle Tripel before, more than once (eg blog), I also took home 3 beers, see further down. But I did have a beer from East London brewery Howling Hops (website), their 6.6% NEIPA (New England IPA) Cabin Fever, thus brewed with Azacca, Topaz and Centennial hops, and consequently very pronounced citrus and tropical fruit, cloudy, so quite thick, but easily knocked back, not bad at all.

My final drink on the premises was from North London brewery Pressure Drop (website), their 8.5% DIPA (Double IPA, thus more malt for strength and plentiful hops) called Monstrous Unnatural Thing, brewed with Idaho-7 and Mosaic hops. This was very rich and thick, like fruit juice to look at, and with a tropical fruit flavour burst! It had a very decent flavour indeed, I liked it, but I couldn't have drunk a pint. Oh yes, and whilst I was there, Max of Wimbledon Brewery turned up, we chatted and he advised that he was then off to the Bricklayer's Arms where their ales were on tap, and where I was to visit on my second day (below).

On Friday I actually started off north of Putney Bridge, close to Putney Bridge Station, at a 17th century pub, The Eight Bells, 89 Fulham High Street SW6 3JS (facebook), which had 4 cask ales, including one from West London brewer Portobello (website) and two from South West London brewery Sambrook's (website), very local both. I had the 4.2% Sambrook's Pumphouse, brewed with British Admiral and Goldings hops, and late hopped with New Zealand Wakatua hops, to give this traditional English IPA a fruity twist. Pale golden, quite bitter, with a very dry finish, which I liked, pretty good.

I then crossed the bridge, and still close to the Thames on the south side (Surrey side), west of Putney Bridge and Max's parting shot the day before, to The Bricklayer's Arms, 32 Waterman Street SW15 1DD (facebook), which has certainly returned to form under the guidance of the new landlord Chris, not to mention tasteful refurbishment and new loos, great stuff! 12 handpumps, one for cider, and on my visit there was a choice between 9 different cask conditioned ales 👍including two I had a pint of each, from South West London brewery Wimbledon (website).

First, Wimbledon Best Bitter (4.3%), a traditional style best bitter, brewed with English Fuggles and Goldings hops, it does what it says on the label, I noted 'pretty good' and I would happily drink it all day. Then I had a pint of the Wimbledon Quartermaine (5.8%), an 'English IPA' brewed with Fuggles, Goldings, Admiral and Target hops, a bit sweet for me at first taste, but drying out to bitterness at the finish, not bad, but I noted that I should have had a half. 😉

I also drank 2 pints of ale here from one of my favourite brewers, Kentish brewery Kent (website), I'll try something from somewhere different on my next visit, but I had to... They were brewed by Kent after all! First, their 3.7% Session Pale, which again does what it says on the label, it is a light session pale ale, hint of citrus, very refreshing with a dry bitter finish, and very easy to drink, I could drink this all day. 👌 My final drink here was the Kent Kent Golding Bitter (4.1%), brewed with Golding and Fuggles hops, and a traditional 'ordinary' or 'session' bitter indeed, and I'll not get tired of saying it, but you know what you are going to get by reading the label, hint of malt and hint of citrus, but, well it's a very good bitter indeed, cheers! 

So, to the 3 beers I took away with me in a tote bag from Ghost Whale, a bag that my niece was very happy to adopt, two pale ales and a very dark one from Belgium. First, from Beak Brewery of Lewes in Sussex (website) and their 6.0% Parade IPA, brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Idaho-7 hops, so you would expect a big fruity flavour, and you wouldn't be disappointed! A pale golden beer, hazy, and fruity aroma and taste, a bit too thick for me, but not bad.

Then, from Windsor based brewery Two Flints (website) Vista, a 5.5% West Coast Pale Ale, brewed with Simcoe and Talus hops from the USA and British grown Olicana hops, and apparently a small amount of wheat added to the malt... This produced a very tasty pale golden beer, plenty of fruit in the aroma and taste with a lovely dry bitter finish, I did like this! 👍

My final beer, and from Belgium, was from Kasteel Brouwerij Vanhonsebrouck (website) and their Barista Chocolate Quad (11.0%), similar to a porter in style, with chocolate, coffee and a hint of liquorice in the aroma and more chocolate to the taste. A deep dark red, creamy, with plenty of body as you would expect from the strength and style, my niece wasn't impressed, but then she doesn't like beer much, but a good ale to finish a session with, cheers! 😁

Before I go, and this was my view from The Rocket (at the top of this blog), with Putney Bridge clearly in the picture if looking to the west (above), and with the historic St Mary's Church virtually next door to the pub (just out of shot), south of and just to the east of the bridge, to the left of the photograph. St Mary's Church was where the Putney Debates of 1647 were held by Parliamentarians during the English Civil War (Putney Debates) with the goal of deciding what a new 'democratic' commonwealth should look like...

Cheers folks! 🍻 

Favourite Ales of the Crisis, so far!

By now regular readers will be aware that my favourite ales are very much like me, pale, dry and very bitter, but in other years I would include some darker ales in a blog such as this, because I do enjoy a good porter or stout. Since March 2020, it hasn't been so easy, first, months without ales as many pubs were shut for much of the year, and when open, limited, often by supply, plus my regular local was selling Harvey's Old Ale under Tier 2, which I find too sweet for my taste, sorry. So this blog is about wonderful pale 'APA' style bitters mostly, many from Kent Brewery (website), as close by where I live, and regularly sold at my local, when open, including...

Two of my favourite ales from Kent, their Tropic Ale (4.9%) and Prohibition (4.8%) were particularly enjoyed, and if I could only ever have 1 ale if marooned on a desert island, I would be happy with either but, if given a choice, I would say the Prohibition edges it, just. And at the end of the first 'lockdown' in July, this was the first ale I drank in a pub and, as I said in the relevant blog, it was GORGEOUS! A variety of hops from the USA make this very much an American Pale Ale (APA) and gives it a big citrus fruity nose and taste, particularly grapefruit flavour, but such a pleasant refreshing pale bitter with a dry and bitter finish, quality.

Their Tropic Ale is also a dry bitter ale, but with a difference, whereas the Prohibition has a predominantly citrus flavour, the Tropic Ale also has tropical fruit flavours to add to the citrus, making it a wee bit more complex. Tropic Ale has a very nice dry bitter finish too, also refreshing, and gives Prohibition a run for its money. Both are very easy to drink, and because of their strength alcohol-wise, easy to get merry by, if only one of them had been available to me over Christmas... 😉 Further down I will discuss quite a few other excellent Kent ales too.

Also from Kent, Angels & Demons (website), who I'm guessing aren't brewing, for now anyway, as their facebook page is unavailable. Anyway, I had a newer ale from them, another great brewer that likes to use plenty of hops, their Evil Thieves (5.1%). Billed as an IPA, really another APA, although you never know these days, American hops are now being cultivated in Britain too, but I'm guessing hops from the USA were used for this ale. A big citrus aroma, and tropical and citrus fruit in the flavour, a pale golden bitter, very nice indeed. I just hope they get brewing again when the COVID-19 Crisis is under control, fingers crossed. I would miss their wonderful I Spy Dragon Fly and A.D.H.ME, and particularly miss Goldilocks is Dead... 😢 

Also from close to me down here in East Sussex, Gun Brewery (website) who brew mostly 'vegan' beers, and many gluten-free beers too, and I did enjoy their rather tasty strong-ish Zamzama (6.5%) back in July during my second pub visit post-lockdown (blog). A 'Vegan IPA'  although more like an APA again, I'm pretty sure hops from the USA used, a big fruity aroma, plenty of body and flavour, with citrus and tropical fruits, very drinkable, very nice!

The only pub I visited away from home in a year now was in August (blog), so you can see my predicament trying to write about different ales from around the country. On that visit to London I very much was brought back to life by drinking a couple of lovely, refreshing, if expensive, pints of St Austell Proper Job (4.5%) after walking for an hour in 37 degrees! Pale golden colour, citrus fruit, dry, bitter and very refreshing, just what the resus doctor ordered, phew... 😷 

St Austell Brewery has been much remembered over the past year, not just for being the only local brewery surviving from when I lived in Cornwall back in the early 1990s, but particularly because of the sad death of the brewer who rejuvenated the brewery after I moved away, Roger Ryman (blog), and the appointment of Georgina Young as his replacement (blog). Also, the lockdowns have meant that their local representative to us has not been able to visit in December, when she was bringing a very nice Proper Job polo shirt for me, missing you Linda!

From further afield, from way up int' North, in Huddersfield, I had 3 excellent ales brewed by Mallinsons Brewing Company (website), though imbibed down here in Hastings. Tropical Blonde (4.3%) does what it says on the label, it really tastes like 'sunshine in a glass' - well, sort of 😉 Brewed with Calypso, Citra and Nelson Sauvin hops that produce citrus and tropical fruit flavours, and with mango and pineapple in a big fruity aroma. A very easy drinking, pale dry bitter, I did like this, but then, Mallinsons is another excellent brewery.

Also, I had their single hopped Amarillo (4.2%), yes, brewed with Amarillo hops from the USA, unsurprisingly, but surprisingly with a bitter orange in the flavour! A very dry bitter finish, and I definitely liked this, but it is a hop I do enjoy. And Shift (4.3%), what can I say? Brewed with Ekuanot and Centennial hops that produce peach, citrus and tropical fruit flavours, and Mandarina Bavaria hops, a reasonably new variant bred in Germany, released in 2012, and a 'daughter' of the Cascade hop, and which adds a tangerine flavour to the mix! Refreshing and very easy to drink, with a nice dry bitter finish, as I said, another excellent brewery.

Anyway, Mallinsons hasn't been the only Yorkshire brewery whose ales I have enjoyed since the first lockdown, for example, Ilkley Brewery (website) and their 4.2% Pale or All Day Pale. This is a nice refreshing pale bitter, as you'd expect, brewed using Nelson Sauvin, Chinook, Centennial and Hallertau Blanc hops, including dry hopping, and which provide plenty of fruity aroma and flavours, and a lovely dry bitter finish... I liked it! 

Sadly, no Kelham Island of Sheffield ales in 2020, hopefully that will change in 2021, but other excellent Yorkshire ales did get down here, including two 4.3% lovelies from the always reliable Rooster's Brewing Company (website), Cogburn and Union Gap. The Cogburn is an ale I've drunk many times over the years, regularly when I was living in Yorkshire, and the name is a homage to the character played by the actor John Wayne in a couple of films. It is pale and dry, with a subtle citrus fruity aroma and flavour, nice one. 

The Union Gap I recorded as even better! Presumably named after the 1960s band that brought out a single that would be very questionable nowadays, labeled a 'West Coast Pale Ale' and appropriately brewed with Chinook, Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe hops. With these hops you unsurprisingly get a mixture of citrus flavours and aroma, tangerine and lemon particularly. Refreshing, pale dry and bitter, yes it hit the spot, thank you very much!

Coming further down the country, we reach Peterborough and I shall mention 3 of the ales from one of my very favourite brewers, the excellent Oakham Ales (website), including their single-hopped 4.2% 'Session IPA' Citra. Their Citra is, as you would expect from that hop, zesty and with a hint of citrus in the aroma and taste, very pale, and a great dry bitter finish. Another ale I love and could include in my luxury ale on my desert island, along with a cooling system. 😉

The other 2 Oakham ales I particularly enjoyed were the Citra on steroids Green Devil IPA (6.0%), plenty of body, pale, dry and bitter. Also a single-hopped ale with Citra hops, but less subtle, packing a punch with grapefruit and tropical fruit flavours, which could replace the Citra Session IPA on my desert island, and I wouldn't need as much of it! Oh yes, and Bishops Farewell (4.6%), a smoother golden ale brewed with Cascade and Challenger hops, plenty of body and subtle citrus and tropical fruitiness, dry and bitter, also excellent, as are all the wonderful ales in the Oakham range, and I've never had a bad seasonal beer from them either!

I managed to get in this excellent 'green-hopped' ale before Tiers 3 and 4 kicked in, just, not to mention Lockdown Mark 3! This one, Dark Star (website) Green Hopped IPA, a very decent annual arrival for my hopmonster palate, and with a full bodied experience, as you would expect from this 6.5% pale bitter. If you aren't aware, green-hopped ales are brewed using fresh hops, ideally picked on the day and thus seasonal, and this brew used Warrior, Simcoe and Ernest hops. The end result was an amber, subtle fruity bitter with a dry finish, and very good indeed!

I've already mentioned the excellent Kent Brewery above (website), a brewery that competes very well with Oakham Ales and their pale bitter beers, honest, I never thought I'd be that lucky to have another reasonably local brewer so good, and we have some other very fine brewers down here in Kent and East Sussex to compete with them too! But, comparable with their Prohibition and Tropic Ale described above, I'll specifically mention the Brewers Reserve (5.0%). This has a big fruity citrus aroma and taste, with a dry bitter finish, quality!

Quite frankly, I could sing my praises of many of their ales, but will just mention here a few more that I have specifically enjoyed during these upsetting 10 months, and I could add even more, but want to publish this blog today! So, other Kent Brewery ales that helped me cope with the COVID-19 crisis include Mayflower 400 (4.2%, and brewed to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the departure of the Mayflower to the New World), the two 4.5% single hopped ales Citra and Mandarina, and the 4.2% 'session APA' The Quiet American, after recent antics in the USA, surely an oxymoron, but a very easy drinking beer indeed... 😉

Well, I hope this was a reasonably fun read, and here's to the reopening of public houses this year, hopefully sooner rather than later, cheers m'dears! 🍻