National Beer Day (Dark Beers Part 4)

This dark treat is a collaboration between Brouwerij Kees of the Netherlands (website) and Tuletorn (meaning Lighthouse) of Estonia (website), their Marble Cake (10.5%), described by them as a "Baltic Chocolate Marble Cake Pastry Porter." My notes say: "looks good, great chocolate aroma with a hint of liquorice. Taste? Big very dark chocolate flavour, nowhere near as sweet as I expected, with a dry finish, luxurious!" I liked it very much. 😉

From Burnt Mill Brewery of Ipswich (website), their 8.4% Obsidian Flow Imperial Stout. The hops used for these darker beers are not usually shared by brewers, but there seems a suggestion that Wai-iti hops (hopslist) have been used by Burnt Mill to add further complexity to this impressive stout. They suggest roasted coffee, liquorice, dried fruits and cinder toffee (honeycomb, like in a Crunchie Bar) in the taste. I noted "gentle chocolate in the aroma with a hint of liquorice, and darker chocolate with hints of coffee and liquorice in the flavour, with a dry finish. Plenty of body, as expected, initially bitter-sweet, but not really sweet at all!" If that makes sense? Notes are written as I'm drinking and interpreting, and yet another very good stout. 👍

Another strong collaboration, this time between Sinnister Brew of Scotland (website) and Bereta of Romania (website), their Tactical Frivolity, a 12.1% Imperial Pastry Stout brewed with coconut and vanilla! It pretty much does what it says on the label, plenty of flavours, with dark chocolate adding to the vanilla and coconut, I said "luxurious!" Nowt more to add. 😁

Finally, from Siren Craft Brew of Berkshire (website), renowned for their extra-specially tasty stouts (eg Caribbean Chocolate Cake blog), their 13th anniversary Imperial Stout, Shattered Mirror (9.1%). Brewed with "Cacao, Vanilla, Toasted Coconut, Coffee, Deconstructed Rum Barrels (presumably either spirals or chopped stave chips as in the CCC series - blog again), and Lactose." That gives you an idea of how much variety of flavours could effect the taste! 

Indeed, the aroma is BIG, big chocolate particularly, with hints of coffee, coconut, caramel and vanilla, and the taste doesn't disappoint or let it down. Similarly though, and I shall copy my notes directly for this: "Rich, thick and luxurious, with a big dark chocolate flavour from cacao, and hints of rum and vanilla." Well, that was what stood out for me, and very enjoyable too. 😋

So, all in all, 4 excellent stouts, Happy Beer Day! 🍫🍺

Monday 15th June is Beer Day Britain 2026!

Happy Beer Day Britain 2026! (website) June the 15th being the anniversary of the day that Magna Carta was 'signed' in 1215 when King John attached his seal to the document that brought in measures for ale, among other things: "There shall be standard measures of wine, ale, and corn" (National Archives). Celebrate as appropriate folks, and enjoy the day, cheers! 😁

And over 300,000 page views of this blog now, many thanks folks! ✊

And I have been away, so expect something a wee bit different coming up very soon. 😉

 

Dark Beers Part 3

Starting with Indie Rabble Brewing of Windsor (website) Tiny Violence Stout (5.0%), and certainly what I would call a stout if tasting blind. No details of the hops used is available. I didn't get significant chocolate in the taste, so presumably no chocolate malt, but they have used cocoa powder, which adds a hint of chocolate, and it was just a hint for me, despite their website suggesting "decadent chocolate" truffle! An easy drinking stout with roasted malt/barley flavour and hints of coffee. I certainly enjoyed drinking it and noted "Pretty damn good."

From Dundee in Scotland and Holy Goat Brewing (website), their Date Porter (5.9%). This export strength porter is brewed with a blend of double roasted crystal, red rye crystal and amber malts, then conditioned on 150kg of Tunisian Deglet Nour Date syrup. Again, no details of the hops used are provided. And yes, you can tell it is brewed with dates, there's a hint of fruit and liquorice in the aroma, a pleasant rich fruitiness in the taste with a dry finish. Pretty good! 

The Kernel Brewery of South East London (website) Export Stout - Damson (7.5%) is based on a 19th century recipe of Truman Brewery (Brewery History). Hops used "vary from batch to batch" and it's aged on whole English damsons for 6 months! Surprisingly little aroma, but big fruity taste, slightly tart, hint of coffee, and chocolate from the chocolate malt in the mix (plus Maris Otter, Brown, Black and Crystal malts), and a dry bitter finish. Pretty damn good!

Sureshot Brewing of Manchester (website) collaboration with Emperor's Brewery of Leicestershire (website) and their Oggdo Bogdo (12.0%) a Maple Fudge Imperial Stout. Yet again, no details of hops used for this. The name 'Oggdo Bogdo' is a Star Wars gaming character, I had to look it up. 😉 To the beer, certainly chocolate this time and marshmallow in the aroma and a little maple syrup, smooth, and milky even, to drink, and a big chocolate taste for this one with hints of caramel and vanilla and a dry finish. Quite luxurious! 😁

There may well be another Dark Beer blog reasonably soon, and something a bit different coming up too, many thanks for reading folks, I'm happy to share my love of beers, cheers! 👍

June Whiskey of the Month

I'm a wee bit early with June's whiskey review but I have to own up, I've already seriously dipped into this month's bottle! 😉 So, my earlyish whiskey for the month of June is from Donegal based Sliabh Liag Distillers, founded in 2014, and the first new legal distillery in the county for "over 175 years" (website), and their 46.0% The Legendary Dark Silkie Irish Whiskey (website).

I've been a wee bit confused as the colour of the label doesn't match the darker blue in the image on their website, but does match their usual Legendary Silkie! Confused? I certainly am. Anyway. my review is going to be of the whiskey I've been drinking, and this is definitely a blend, of 70% soft grain whiskey aged in Portuguese Moscatel oak casks, 15% double distilled single malt whiskey aged in sherry casks, and 15% of triple distilled peated single malt whiskey aged in bourbon casks. So what do I make of the whiskey that I've been drinking?

I notice a slightly smoky peat aroma, with hints of orchard fruits and caramel. To taste, not that overpowering peat that you get with some Scot's whiskies, much more subtle, but certainly there. Tasting, I get a sweet, but dry, butterscotch flavour mostly, with hints of burnt toffee and the sweet fruitiness of raisins, maybe even a little orange citrus, and warming me up all the way down (46.0% remember 😉). Summing up, it's not bad at all, but I'm not a great lover of peat in whiskey, so shan't be buying another bottle, though if you like peat in your whiskey this may be too subtle for you. 😕 Summing up. it's drinkable for non-peaty smoky whiskey drinkers, but maybe not enough for others, sláinte! 👌

Revisiting 'The Vic' in Derby.

Virtually opposite the main Derby Railway Station exit is The Victoria Inn, 12 Midland Place DE1 2RR, built in 1878, and familiarly called "The Vic" by locals (website). It is a well known music venue that closed down in 2019, but reopened again in July 2022 with its new licensees, John and Emma, following refurbishment. Again acclaimed as a music venue as well as being an excellent public house, selling 6 rotating cask ales that change weekly, and 12 ciders. Opening times are 09.30 to 22.30 Monday to Saturday, and 12.00 to 22.30 on Sundays.

On our last visit we drank ales from Leatherbritches Brewery of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire (website). I started off with, and returned to it later too, their 4.2% 'Single Hopped Session Ale' Citra Pale; more details of the Citra hop, and regular readers will appreciate this is one of my favourite hops, can be seen at hopslist. Lovely citrus and tropical fruit aroma, with similar taste, notably grapefruit, and a nice refreshing dry bitter finish, good stuff! 👍

Secondly, I drank their 4.3% Monster Mash (yes, it was a graveyard smash! 😉), another pale golden ale, brewed with Motueka (hopslist), Amarillo (hopslist), Mosaic (hopslist), and with other hops from the Antipodes I believe, apologies, but I can't discover the other hops used. 😒 A bit more body, and slightly darker, than the Citra Pale, but plenty of citrus and tropical fruit in the taste, even slightly spicy, and with a more bitter aftertaste. Another goodie! 😁

We also drank their 3.8% The Bounder, another session pale ale, which had more subtle hints of citrus and tropical fruit flavours in the taste, and slightly spicy too, a wee bit more thin, as you'd expect, but very easy drinking, more good stuff! Apologies for not taking a photograph of the pump clip (it features Terry Thomas, not the reason why I didn't photograph it, I just forgot!), and the hops aren't divulged either, I'm guessing they may change slightly every now and then. 😏

Whatever, well worth a visit folks, cheers! 🍻 

Dark Beers Part 2

Starting off round 2 of 'dark beers' with another belter from Yorkshire, this time from 11 years old North Riding Brewery (website), who I know more for their single hopped pale ales (Citra and Mosaic for example), but this is their 4.5% Butterscotch Porter. The brewery hasn't made much public about this version of their porter, which is usually brewed with 6 different types of malt, very likely chocolate malt one of those used in this case. They typically use Columbus hops in their porters, and I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case for this, certainly similar if not Columbus (hopslist). I wish I'd made more specific notes, but I did note "Does what it says, and chocolate, luxurious, not as sweet as I expected as it has a dry finish" (I now expect a hop influence there), hint of toffee and plenty of chocolate; my notes ended "nice one!"

Next, from Bristol, or 'Brizzle' if said with a West Country accent, 13 years old Wiper and True brewery (website), their 5.6% Milk Shake, which surprised me immensely as it was not quite what I expected from the name of this milk stout. Why? Well, it was much more refreshing to drink than I expected, I got the lactose, but not so much, probably the inclusion of English hops influential in that, Phoenix hops I do believe (hopslist). Cacao and vanilla are additions to the brew, and very noticeable in the aroma and taste, anyway, my notes say "Not as sweet as I was expecting, got the roasted barley taste I associate with stout ales, not overly though, with hints of chocolate and vanilla. Surprisingly refreshing to drink, cheers!" I've just now discovered that I drank a pint of this ale cask conditioned 9 years ago (blog), and I liked it then too! 😁

The third one here is very much a big hitter, from 10 years old Fierce Beer of Aberdeen in Scotland (website), their Very Big Moose (12.0%), from their imperial stout series, which are aged in whisky barrels. Brewed with added cacao and vanilla, and Summit hops (hopslist), providing a hint of dark chocolate and lightly toasted barley in the aroma. Much more subtle chocolate flavour than I expected, I wrote also, quoting notes: "rich roasted malt and a hint of liquorice in the taste. A dry finish, another excellent beer, cheers m'dears! 😁"

My final beer here is from another Brizzle based brewery, 9 years old Left Handed Giant (website). Interesting that these 4 breweries were all set up within 4 years of each other, which suggests much about the development of U.S. style craft breweries in Britain in the last 15 years or so. Anyway, I've had many excellent ales from Left Handed Giant of differing styles indeed, and they've never disappointed me, but this was their 6.9% milk stout Woodland Creatures, with 'Cinder Toffee added hot' and 'Pistachio added cold' to the brew. I can't discover the hops used, as they tend to concentrate more on advertising the malts and adjuncts.

So, to my notes, "a milk stout with pistachio and honeycomb. Hint of marzipan/almond in the aroma. Sweetness, nuts, butterscotch and a hint of chocolate in the taste, surprisingly dry finish (so I'm guessing hops like Columbus, Phoenix or Summit as used by the others). Complex stout from a very good brewery, despite sweetness, a dry, even bitter finish, nice one. 😁"

I may blog about something else before the third Dark Ale blog, cheers m'dears! 👋

May Whisky of the Month

Since 1897, the year Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, and the year their distillery was purpose built there, water has been drawn for their whiskies from the adjacent Granty Burn by Speyburn (website). This May's 'Whisky of the Month' being their Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (40.0%), aged for 10 years in a combination of sherry casks and bourbon oak casks. If you've read my blogs before about whiskeys/whiskies you will realise I prefer smooth non-peaty ones, mostly from Ireland, but also the Speyside whiskies of Scotland.

Speyburn suggest this single malt whisky has "notes of fresh fruit, creamy toffee and citrus." My notes say that there is a very gentle 'whisky' aroma with hints of vanilla, toffee and cinnamon, but predominantly butterscotch. Indeed, for me, butterscotch is the dominant flavour too, but not too sweet, smooth, and warming delightfully as it goes down, very good too, sláinte! 😁