Sheffield Visit Part 1 - Kelham Island

I visited both of these pubs, around the corner from each other in the Kelham Island area (Welcome to Sheffield), twice when I very recently was in Sheffield, on my own, and with friends Jeff and Lindsay the second time, hence 2 different drinks at each. First, the Kelham Island Tavern, or KIT, many of us still use the term KitCat when going to drink at the Fat Cat (below) as well as the KIT. The Kelham Island Tavern, 62 Russell Street S3 8RW (instagram), built in the 1830s, was a derelict building when Trevor and Lewis took it over, they then refurbished and reopened it in 2002. It became the best real ale pub in the country, indeed, they won the National CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2008 and 2009, and have won many other awards since. Although now retired, I believe Trevor still owns the property, but now the licensee is Josh, and still winning awards, including being the current CAMRA Sheffield Pub of the Year, congratulations! 👍

You will notice I drank 2 of the Blue Bee ales (website) there, indeed, Josh also works with another friend of mine, Peter the Brewer, at the brewery, busy lads, the two businesses are closely related, and the KIT is effectively the Blue Bee Brewery Tap. So, first visit I drank their 90th version of the 4.3% American Five Hop (#90), always brewed with Columbus hops (hopslist) as the bittering hop, and for this edition Citra (hopslist), Strata (Indie Hops), Dolcita (Yakima Chief) and Ekuanot (Yakima Chief). Another excellent balance of hop varieties used, pale dry, subtle fruits, with a dry finish, quality again, and at just £4.00 a pint, cheers! 😁

Served on both visits to the KIT by the friendly barkeep Alex, and not to forget that the KIT uses oversized lined glasses, so you always receive a full 20 fluid ounces pint, nice one! The evening before I had been drinking with Peter the Brewer who recommended I try his recently brewed 3.9% Motueka Nectaron Pale, brewed with New Zealand hops Motueka (hopslist) and Nectaron (Charles Faram). Another pale golden wonder, with hints of tropical and citrus flavours, with a dry bitter finish, nice one, cheers for the recommendation Pete! 👍

They sell a dozen ales here, in addition to those 2, also from Blue Bee was their 4.0% Bessemer Blonde and 4.3% Parkwood Porter. Other cask ales available on the day were the 4.3% Abbeydale Moonshine (website) and 3.8% Acorn Brewery Barnsley Bitter (website), both regular ales I believe. Also, 3.4% Left Handed Giant Dark Mild (website), 4.3% Pictish Brewing Alchemists Ale (website), 4.3% Abbeydale Sunsprite Rose (website), 4.5% Verdant Brewing (website) Future You (superbawines), 4.7% Red Willow Idaho 7 The Dank (website) and 5.5% Elusive Brewing Final Boss (Stage 1) Simcoe (website). 

To The Fat Cat (website), 23 Alma Street S3 8SA, and people who know me or have read previous blogs, will know that when I was a post-grad student I worked at the associated Kelham Island Brewery. The pub was an original in Sheffield, and virtually throughout the country, when it was bought as the Alma in 1981 by Dave Wickett and his colleague Bruce to provide an alternative to the big brewers, providing an outlet for independent brewers. After separating their business interests, Dave continued with the pub and set up a microbrewery in a shed behind the pub. A bigger brewery was built in 1990, where I worked 1999/2002, and seen behind and to the right of the pub in the photograph above. Sadly, the brewery is no longer in use, but more recently, a group of lads bought the name and are brewing separately at Thornbridge Brewery (website), and I can confirm their ales have improved significantly recently.

Anyway, what did I drink in the Cat? My solo visit saw me drink, from solar-powered Twisted Oak Brewery in North Somerset (website), their 4.2% Creation, brewed with Mosaic (hopslist) and Simcoe (hopslist) hops. This is a U.S. style pale ale with hints of tropical fruits in the aroma and taste, but with citrus fruits more dominant, and with a refreshing dry bitter finish, very pleasant.

I drank outside in their garden, this was the view from my seat, and the original Kelham Island Brewery used to be in the small shed you can just see part of to my left, how did the brewers cope in it?!? 😓 I stayed in the shade and enjoyed the Creation, ambience and butterflies. 🌺

When I returned with the lads, I drank, from West Yorkshire brewery Tigertops (website), their 4.5% Godiva, a 'Fresh Hop IPA' (an alternative name for Green Hop, so I'm guessing this was brewed quite a while ago) and brewed, well I never, with Godiva hops, a variety developed in England (Charles Faram). A more subtle mixture of tropical and citrus flavours in the aroma and taste, pale, dry and bitter, and not bad at all, cheers! 🍻

More Sheffield pubs and ales coming very soon in Part 2. 😁

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! 🍻 

Iron Pier Brewery

I've reviewed these beers before, but again given 2 cans of beers from Iron Pier Brewery in Kent (website) to review. I didn't take photographs individually in a glass, but just now took this photograph of the empty cans before they go into the recycling bag. The Cast Iron Stout (4.7%), is based on a Victorian recipe, brewed with 7 different malts, and Admiral (hopslist) and First Gold (hopslist) hops. The roasted malts produce hints of coffee and chocolate, and citrus fruits in the taste, slightly sweet to start with but with a dry bittering finish. The colour is very dark and to me this is what a stout should be like, plenty of body, smooth and warm, and very easy to drink; if you haven't already read it, see this blog explaining my thoughts on stouts and porters.👌

Their 4.2% Session IPA, is now brewed with a slightly different hop combination since my last taste (2 fewer types included), indeed, but still with Sultana aka Denali (Charles Faram), and Citra (hopslist) and Columbus (hopslist), and yes, still producing what I expected... A big fruity aroma with citrus, forest and stoned fruits in the flavour, another American style IPA, an APA, with a dry fruity finish too, and absolutely gorgeous, cheers m'dears! 😁

And A Couple More...

That is, a couple more cans 😉beginning with one from Brewdog (website), and their 4.3% Wingman, "The Eagle has Landed" Session IPA, brewed with Ahtanum (hopslist), Chinook (hopslist), Citra (hopslist), Mosaic (hopslist), Simcoe (hopslist), and HBC 692 (Yakima Chief) hops. With those hops you would expect plenty of flavour, and you would be right. 👍 Pale golden, with a big fruity aroma, notably pineapple and grapefruit, and tasting of tropical and citrus fruits, in particular peach and grapefruit, light and dry, with a bitter finish, not bad at all. 😁

AND, another AF beer in a tin, this one from Beavertown (website), their 0.3% Lazer Crush Alcohol Free IPA, brewed with Amarillo (hopslist), Azacca (hopslist), and Citra (hopslist) hops. Similarly, you would expect plenty of flavour with those hops, despite the lack of strength, and potentially lack of body, but I was quite surprised! It comes out of the can slightly cloudy, is very pale, and has a big fruity aroma, and grapefruit/lemon citrus taste, with a dry refreshing crisp finish. I wrote "not bad actually" and the best alcohol free IPA/APA I've had, cheers folks! 👍

Black Thaw - Another Black IPA

On my older blog, lost to me to edit anymore, thank you Google/Gmail (😒), I had written about Black IPAs before, and it's still available to view, it appears (blog). Anyway, similarly, I shall not waffle about oxymorons, but will paraphrase what I said then about how Black IPAs are brewed, as explained to me by Brett, who used to work at Hastings Brewery (which no longer exists). The way he brewed Black IPAs, he used malt that had been de-husked, allowing some colour, but not to have the roasted malt flavour, then he chucked in a significant amount of hops, for example, Cascade, Columbus and Galaxy, to ensure an APA style flavour.

Well, the hops used for Burnt Mill's (website) Black IPA, their Black Thaw (6.0%) are Centennial (hopslist), Citra (hopslist) and Erebus (hopsteiner). The end result, I felt, was a bit like a cross between a Black IPA and a Porter, there was a hint of liquorice and dark fruits, body more like a Porter (well it is 6.0%!), and a mixture of citrus and dark fruits in the finish, which is a wee bit dry and bitter, not too sweet, not bad at all, cheers! 😁

If you haven't already read it, this blog is my opinion about stouts/porters.

Beer in Cans: Reviews for Friends, Honest!

I've been asked my opinion of these 2 beers, the first, presumably, for possible addition to the crafty keg beers they sell, the other an alcohol-free/very low alcohol alternative, maybe Wingman too. 😏 Wingman, a 'Session IPA' (4.3%), is brewed by the near legendary Scottish brewery Brewdog (website). This is a pale golden ale, it was pretty clear, but I did pour carefully, and I think there was maybe wee remnants in the bottom of the can when I rinsed it for recycling!

Wingman is pretty much an APA style IPA, that is bursting with pine and tropical and citrus fruit aromas, unsurprising as the hops used from the USA are Simcoe (hopslist), Ahtanum (hopslist), Chinook (hopslist), Citra (hopslist), Mosaic (hopslist), and HBC692 (Yakima Chief)! Big body and flavour too, hint of pine, with plenty of grapefruit, peach and mango, and a nice dry bitter finish. Pretty damn good, oh yes, as hinted at, you can get it low alcohol too (0.5%).

The specifically 'alcohol free' beer is from the North London brewer of the ubiquitous Neck Oil, Beavertown (website), and their 0.3% Lazer Crush. However, Lazer Crush is not brewed in London, but is brewed for them in Belgium by De Proefbrouwerij (website), who apparently brew many alcohol free beers for a number of other breweries too! 

As you can see, Lazer Crush is paler than the Wingman, slightly hazier, but similar in aromas and taste, just, unsurprisingly, a bit thin, lacking body. More citrus than forest fruits in the aroma, but plenty of grapefruit, some orange, and hints of melon and mango in the taste, thanks to the use of Azacca (hopslist), Amarillo (hopslist) and Citra hops (hopslist). So a bit more citrus flavours than the Wingman, but I did notice less body, despite the big hoppy additions, though it was very crisp and refreshing, not bad at all, cheers! 👍

Aah... Memories of when you could get Brewdog ales in cask...

Iron Pier Beer in Cans; A Chore to Sample!

OK, not really a chore, more like a 'calling' 😉 but I had these 3 cans of beers from Iron Pier Brewery in Kent (website) to report back on. Silly me, I forgot to take photographs with them in a glass or three, but sensible enough to keep the empty cans (photograph above).😏

Even though I have no images of these beers in a glass to share, I do have fond memories of drinking a couple of dark 'barrel aged' ales from Iron Pier Brewery in the past, up at The Tower pub above St Leonards in Bohemia, for example this 9.0% Speyside Whisky barrel aged Imperial Stout (blog), which was absolutely gorgeous, cheers Louisa!😁

But back to the cans, and a wee bit less luxurious stout, their Cast Iron Stout (4.7%), based on a Victorian recipe, and brewed with 7 different malts. The roasted malts producing chocolate and hints of coffee in the taste, slightly sweet to start with, but with a dry finish. The colour is very dark and the beer opaque, but to me this was what a stout should be like, plenty of body, smooth and warm, with roasted malt taste, very nice; see this blog explaining my thoughts on stout.👌

Second, their Rosherville Red (4.8%), a "hoppy red rye" ale brewed with Citra, Ekuanot, Bullion and Mosaic hops, and malted barley, wheat and rye. This is like a 'souped up' red APA, but with a more packed fruitiness including, not just grapefruit and citrus, but forest fruits and dark red fruits too, no doubt heavily influenced by the Bullion hops! A big fruity aroma and taste, with the red fruits dominating at the end, indeed, not bad at all.👍

And, knowing my preferences in taste, I was looking forward to the pale hoppy one, their 4.2% Session IPA, brewed with Citra, Denali (Sultana), Columbus and Amarillo hops, producing what you would expect... An abundance of citrus and forest fruits in the aroma and taste, an American style IPA, indeed, an APA, with a dry fruity finish too, again, not bad at all, cheers! 👍

For more information about hops, see the hopslist website.

Cask Ale Week 19-29 September 2024

How I missed he beginning of this 'festival' I do not know, but know I do now 😉 Cask Ale Week 2024 has begun, and runs for another week until next Sunday the 29th of September (website). This is a week organised to celebrate cask ale, so is essentially British, cask ale being lauded as "Britain's national drink." Although I only found out yesterday, I did partake in a few pints...

We started off at The Crown & Sceptre, 57 Melina Road, London W12 9HY (website), where an ale from the Welsh brewery Tiny Rebel (website) was imbibed by us both, but only by me continuously, it being a Fullers pub... 😏 Anyway, Tiny Rebel Park Life is a crystal clear 4.2% pale golden session bitter, brewed with Cascade (hopslist), Citra (hopslist) and Ekuanot (Yakima Valley Hops) hops, regular readers will appreciate these hops aroused my interest! My notes say 'very easy to drink' which it was, the subtle citrus and pine proved they hadn't gone over the top with the hops, and with a gentle bitter finish, I could have drunk this all day! 👍

On our way back to the South Coast we had a brief period in-between trains at Clapham Junction, so took the break to drop into The Falcon, a Nicholson's pub (website) at 2 St John's Hill, London SW11 1RU. The Falcon is on the corner at Clapham Junction of Falcon Road and, at the bottom of St John's Hill, with Lavender Hill going up the other way, pretty much a landmark. The building is Grade II listed, and was built in 1887, although a pub had been on the site for at least another 150 years. It used to have the longest continuous bar in the country, a claim supported by the Guinness Book of Records previously. But they've done some weird thing around the back where customers can stand behind what was the bar?!? For the sake of a few more standing customers I don't see the point! Now they can no longer make the claim. 😕

Nicholson's get ales brewed for them, and this one was brewed by the 'organic' Stroud Brewery in Gloucestershire (website) in celebration of Organic September (Soil Association). Gaia is named after the Greek Goddess of the Earth, Gaia/Gaea (Britannica), and is a 4.2% 'organic pale ale' that we chose from the 5 ales on offer (they used to have 10 available from handpumps not so long ago). Apologies, but I cannot discover which specific hops were used, but I did find out that Gaia is brewed with 'old and new world hops.' A bit darker and with more body than the Park Life, slightly spicy with citrus and tropical flavours and aroma, with a dry bitter finish, not bad at all, cheers! 🍻

For further information about this collaboration I suggest a good read at the Stroud Times.

Heralding Easter with Eostre!

Yes, Kent Brewery (website) have once again brewed a 'seasonal' Eostre (4.2%), essentially, as they say, brewed "with a full-on dose of Citra hops" (hopslist). Indeed, it is refreshing, pale, citrusy and bitter with a dry finish. Another excellent version of a Citra ale, and only what I expect from the brewery, notably grapefruit in the taste, but a hint of forest fruits too. Nice one! 👍

But why the name Eostre? I've done a wee bit of research, and it's a bit complicated. Depending on where you read, Eostre was a Germanic, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, even Celtic, goddess of the dawn, spring and fertility, whose name was previously associated with the month of April, when a festival in honour of her occurred. Whatever, her name was adopted by the Christians for the Easter festival, another example of Christianity taken over pre-existing festivals. An interesting read and analysis about Eostre can be seen at the History Cooperative website.

Happy Easter folks, cheers! 

2 Excellent Pale Ales, Spoilt for Choice!

Indeed, yesterday I was in The Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW (website), and was spoilt for choice, not just the 3 regular ales, Dark Star Hophead, Harvey's Sussex Best and 360 Degrees Bluebell Sussex Best, but Harvey's Old as one of their regular winter guest ales, and 2 spectacular pale hoppy guest ales! And regular readers will be well aware of my love of pale dry bitters, and first I shall  refer to the ale in the photograph above.

From Derby based Shiny Brewery (website), whose goal is to create excellent hoppy beers, but also to make people happy (REM + Kate Pierson of the B52s - YouTube), their 4.6% Affinity. This is a vegan friendly and gluten free golden ale, consequently slightly hazy, although dropped out more for today, so much clearer on the third day after placing on stillage. A big fruity aroma hits you as soon as it's poured, and it stays there in your nose, plenty of body, and apparently with Citra hops used (Hopslist), thus explaining the citrus, particularly grapefruit, and forest fruits in the taste and aroma, and finished with a refreshing dryness, excellent!

For comparative research purposes, obviously, I also drank the more local, from Kent Brewery (website), and a similar strength at 4.5% Pilgrim, #37 in their single-hopped series, and very different from Affinity. Pilgrim hops (hopslist) were developed in England and released for sale in the year 2000, and produce a much more subtle fruitiness than the US developed Citra, but still with grapefruit and pear taste and a hint of berries. This dries out much more than the Affinity to a dry bitterness, I'd advise, if you were to try both, start first with the paler golden Pilgrim, yet another excellent ale from Kent Brewery, and a tad more refreshing than Affinity, nice one!

What can I say in comparison, I'd be happy to drink either in any session, cheers!

Hastings 'Tap Takeover' Day 1

On the first day of the Hastings Tap Takeover 2023 (website), which was part of the opening weekend of Hastings Week 2023 (blog), I visited the Prince Albert, 28 Cornwallis Street TN34 1SS. However, the 'festival' was held in 16 different venues in Hastings & St Leonards, with a different brewery featured at each venue, subsequently, on the final day, I visited the Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street TN34 3AR. I was elsewhere in-between, so did not make all venues, just the two, but I know people who did go to all; I prefer one at a time for thorough research. 😉 Consequently, my next blog will be about my visit to the Jolly Fisherman.

Indeed, at the Prince Albert they featured ales and lagers from Edinburgh brewery Newbarns (website), with 3 cask conditioned ales (above), 2 of which they had keg versions of, and another 8 keg beers too, taking up all their taps! I started with their cask ales, with the friendly and knowledgeable Imogen pouring a pint of Newbarns Sparkling Ale for me, a 3.8% pale ale, doing what it says on the label, though not actually sparkling. A refreshing, easy to drink, session pale, slightly sweet to start off with, but drying out at the finish.

I then moved up to the 4.8% Pale Ale, which was more complex and had much more body, and a big fruity aroma and taste, which I believe comes from the use of Citra, El Dorado and Cashmere hops. No wonder there was a predominantly tropical fruit flavour overlaying the citrus fruits, before the ale drying out with bitterness...

My third cask ale was the 5.5% Kynoch IPA, named after the brewer's grandfather, and brewed using Citra and Cashmere hops too. As you would expect, even more body, but not the same fruit 'punch' as the Pale. Surprisingly, despite it being a very pale beer, I detected a hint of toast in the taste, certainly a much more complex ale.

Before moving on to the lager beers I drank, yes, I do drink lager sometimes, notably at beer festivals like this one, I shall mention their Stout Beer, a 5.0% very dark 'dry stout' with plenty of body. Rich, full-bodied, hints of toast (as I expect in a stout), caramel and chocolate, and strangely it was quite light for such a full bodied beer! Oh yes, and for the keg beers I was now drinking two-thirds of a pint, in case you were concerned. 😉

Lagers then, of which I drank 3, first their 4.8% Haná, a German styled Helles lager (craftbeer), brewed with a Czech malt variety grown in Norwich. A pale lager, slightly sweet to taste, quite light with little hop character, easy drinking.

Then I drank their 5.0% 12 Plato Pils, similar to the previous beer, with the Czech malt variety used, indeed, apparently inspired by a trip to Bohemia, and a Czech style pilsner. However, the additional use of plenty of Tettnang and Saaz hops providing a much more complicated beer, which I found very pleasant. A light and refreshing lager that I did enjoy drinking!

The third lager I drank was their 5.7% Oktoberfest lager, Festival Bier, brewed using a blend of 10 different malted barleys, and a German style golden lager ensues. My notes say "interesting" and I found it slightly bitter and easy to drink for its strength.

I met Ben and Della here for the first time, amongst many other people that I already knew, cheers to you all! 🍻

A Few Pubs Between Marble Arch & Shepherds Bush...

This was a recent mini 'pub crawl' as there are quite a few pubs along the way, but these are my 3 favourite pubs in West London along the Bayswater Road/Holland Park Avenue (actually all just off this old pre-Roman Road, which was upgraded by the Romans Ladbroke Association).

First, around the corner from Lancaster Gate Tube Station, north of the main road and not too far west of Marble Arch, is The Victoria, 10a Strathearn Place, W2 2NH (website). This is a fine old Grade II listed Fuller's pub (Fuller's website) built in the 1830s, and named after Queen Victoria as, apparently, it was opened on the same day as her accession to the throne, and, she visited the pub after the opening of the rebuilt nearby Paddington Railway Station in 1854.

Anyway, a fine early Victorian public house, and I do like Fuller's ales, but I chose a guest ale from one of my historically favourite breweries, in Newport, Wales, Tiny Rebel (website). Sadly, a wee bit disappointed with their Under the Sun as this is a 'vegan' friendly beer, consequently cloudy for the brewers who can't be arsed to provide a clear ale, although trendy Yuccies seem to go for them, but not what I was expecting from a 4.3% 'pale ale' brewed with Cascade and Citra hops... Plenty of flavour, which you expect with those hops, but, well, regular readers will be aware I'm not overly impressed with beers that are like thick fruity drinks in my mouth, I much prefer subtlety of taste from these hops in a clear refreshing pale dry bitter...

I cannot fault the service at The Victoria though, notably the friendly young Bulgarian who served me, also friendly other staff, and the manager/landlord seemed a decent chap too, though I've never met him before, but he rushed off to a football match before I could engage him in much discussion. I'll be drinking a Fuller's ale next time I visit, as I usually do here. 😉

And not too far away, again north of the main road, and a wee bit further west, I visited The Leinster Arms, 17 Leinster Terrace, W2 3EU (pubanddining). Another Grade II listed Victorian pub that was originally established as The Scotch Stores in1856, changing its name to The Leinster Arms in 1881. Up to 5 cask ales available, but for my last visit I went for the...

Yes, I went for their House Ale called Lennie (4.3%), brewed by nearby West London brewer Portobello (website). A decent enough pale amber bitter, a wee bit sweet to taste at first, for me anyway, and I'm guessing that if it's not Portobello's 4.3% Star British Bitter, then it's a variation on the theme with English hops used. But I'm only guessing, however I'm always ready to try something different... Then further westwards and on to another Fuller's pub...

The Churchill Arms, 119 Kensington Church Street, W8 7LN (website), this time a wee bit south of the main road from Notting Hill Gate. Built in 1750, and previously known as the Bedford Arms or the Church-on-the Hill depending on your source, maybe both (?), this great flower bedecked pub became named The Churchill Arms after WW2, it would seem for obvious reasons, and it certainly is very Winnie themed! However, it was not him, but his grandparents, John and Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, who frequented this pub in the 19th century, indeed, there is no evidence that Winnie ever visited, contrary to rumours! 

There are over 100 flower pots, 48 window boxes, and 42 hanging baskets outside The Churchill Arms! And for Christmas every year there are many many lit Christmas Trees adorning the pub. It has a great interior, and claims to have the first ever Thai restaurant installed in a London pub, and I've eaten there before, and the food is exceptional.

Despite being a Fuller's house, I didn't drink Fuller's ale here either, but, from Cornish brewer Verdant (website), their 3.8% Penpol. I believe this is brewed using Citra hops, and the flavour supported this, very pale and light, refreshing, with that grapefruit/citrus taste and aroma, very easy to drink, and I liked it a lot, indeed, my favourite ale of the day. 👍

On my way home, I caught the train from Shepherds Bush to Clapham Junction, where I had 40 minutes to spare before catching my final train home, so I decided to go into the Nicholson's (website) pub, The Falcon, 2 St John's Hill, SW11 1RU (website). The Falcon is actually on the corner at Clapham Junction with Falcon Road and, at the bottom of St John's Hill, with Lavender Hill going up the other way, pretty much a landmark. The building is Grade II listed, and was built in 1887, although a pub had been on the site for a further 150 years, maybe longer. It has the longest continuous bar in the country, a claim supported by the Guinness Book of Records, and looks good still, following its refurbishment (blog).

So, before my final train journey home I drank a pint of Blonde Brummie, a 4.4% ale brewed by Birmingham Brewing Company (website). As you would guess from the name and strength a session pale ale, quite light and refreshing, not the best ale I've ever drunk, but nowhere near the worst. 😉 A vegan friendly and gluten free beer, and nice and clear, as we all know that vegan friendly beers can be presented. British hops used, but I couldn't discover which, though I wouldn't be surprised to see that Goldings was one. I'd be very happy to drink this in any pub that looks after their ales, like here, and it was a nice start to the journey, cheers! 👌

A few beers in London...

I visited The Bricklayer's Arms, 32 Waterman Street SW15 1DD (facebook) a couple of months ago when I was in Putney (blog), and again last week, and confirm that it has certainly returned to form under the guidance of the new landlord Chris, nice one! 12 handpumps, one for cider, and on our latest visit there was a choice between 11 different cask conditioned ales.

We started with the 'East London Brewed' Five Points (website) XPA (4.0%), brewed with Citra and Galaxy hops. I wrote about the Citra hop just yesterday (blog), a hop from the USA with a complex lineage, including Hallertau Mittelfruh, Tettnanger, Brewers Gold and East Kent Golding, and providing 'citrus, grapefruit, lime, and tropical fruits' flavours (hopslist). The Galaxy hop is from Australia, descended from the German hop Perle, producing 'citrus, peach and passionfruit' in the aroma and taste (hopslist). This is a very pale bitter, I since noticed that wheat malt is used in addition to extra pale malt, hints of citrus indeed, but very subtle fruit flavours, a very refreshing and easy to drink session ale, with a nice dry bitter finish.

My brother stayed on the XPA, having just a half (he assured me there were a couple of bottles of Westmalle Tripel at home to enjoy in his garden later!), but I had another pint before we left the pub, this time of the Five Points Best (4.1%), which pretty much does what it says on the label. Brewed with Fuggles hops, a very traditional hop from Kent, named after a Mr Richard Fuggle in 1875, and a very English hop indeed (hopslist), although has been grown around the world, and is also in the lineage of many hops from the USA, eg a parent to Cascade and Willamette. An amber colour, and I also noticed later that wheat malt is used for this as well as darker malts, obviously a favourite of the Five Points brewers. A traditional best bitter with hints of biscuit and the required bitter finish, I've nothing to add, 'tis a nice best bitter. 👌

The next day we visited The Market Porter, 9 Stoney Street SE1 9AA (website), by Borough Market, near London Bridge, which opens between 06.00 and 09.00 weekdays (market licence), before closing for 2 hours and then reopening 11.00 to 23.00; opens at 12.00 at the weekend... We were there on Thursday, but didn't get there until after noon. 😁 Mostly, because we were going to see a matinee performance of The Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare's Globe theatre (website). More of in my alter ego's blog, but to the ale...

We drank the York based Brew York (website) Make It Columbus (4.6%), a single hopped APA style bitter. The Columbus hop (USA) was 'originally bred by Chuck Zimmerman as part of a USDA* breeding programme' in the 1970s, with a herby citrus aroma and flavour (hopslist). Brew York appear to love using the Columbus hop, and so we came to drink this ale of theirs. Very pale golden, certainly a hint of citrus in the flavour, dry and bitter, and very decent! 👍

Cheers m'dears! 

 * United States Department of Agriculture

I Celebrated Beer Day Britain, Cheers!

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So, I had to celebrate Beer Day Britain yesterday (blog), obviously, and partook of my ales at my local, The Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW (website). I mostly drank, from Sheffield based Blue Bee Brewery (website), their 5.0% Citra Azacca, and quite a big ale too. Golden, with the 2 types of hops used, obviously, Citra and Azacca. The Citra hop (USA) has a complex lineage, including Hallertau Mittelfruh, Tettnanger, Brewers Gold and East Kent Golding, and provides 'citrus, grapefruit, lime, and tropical fruits' flavours (hopslist).

The Azacca hop (USA) lineage includes Toyomidori, Summit and Northern Brewer, and produces citrus and tropical fruits aroma, and 'mango, pineapple, tangerine and pine' flavours (hopslist). This is an APA style beer, a fair amount of body, big fruity aroma and drying bitter finish. I noted mango with the forest fruit aroma and flavour, and very much citrus in aroma and flavour. Nice brew Peter (Blue Bee), cheers mate! 👍

The Dolphin has 6 cask ales available from handpumps, 3 regulars, Harvey's Sussex Best, Young's Special and Dark Star Hophead, and 3 guests, which yesterday included the Blue Bee Citra Azacca, Marston's Pedigree, and from Kent Brewery (website), their 4.5% single-hopped Hallertau Blanc. The Hallertau Blanc hop (Germany) lineage is Cascade, and was established in the Hallertau region of Germany early this century, with 'cassis, elderflower, grapes, grapefruit and lemongrass' in the aroma, and white wine and gooseberry in the taste (hopslist). I'm not a great aficionado when it comes to tasting, but 'hit the nail on the head' this time as my notes suggest similar to a dry white wine, and it is pale and dry, with a bitter finish, not the enormous fruit aroma and flavours of the Citra Azacca, but much more subtle, as hopslist suggests, and the pumpclip, wine-like qualities 'similar to Sauvignon Blanc.' Another very nice one, cheers! 😁

#BeerDayBritain 

Happy Ēostre!

 

Happy Ēostre, or Easter, well, nearly there, and schoolchildren are on Easter holiday, but my first Easter ale of 2023, maybe my only one? Ēostre was the Pagan/Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring and Renewal, the festival celebrating her was 'Christianised' following Pope Gregory setting forth a mission in the late 6th century to convert Pagans to Christians, later superimposing Christian festivals onto Pagan festivals (thefield). 

Anyway, onto the ale itself, Kent (website) Ēostre (4.2%), an uber Citra ale really, hops that you like or don't, I do like them indeed! Citra is a hop from the USA, but with a complicated heritage, used by many brewers nowadays, but brought into Britain first by Oakham Brewery, and sometimes very difficult to get hold of because of its popularity. The hop's heritage includes Hallertau Mittelfruh, Tettnanger, Brewers Gold and East Kent Goldings (Hopslist). 

The ale certainly has a very fruity aroma and taste, primarily citrus, but with a hint of forest fruits too, very pale golden colour and clear, with a refreshing crisp dry bitter finish, I love it!

Cheers and Happy Easter! 

 

Belgian Bonus Ale!

As I suggested in my last blog there may be a bonus Belgian ale review coming, and here it is, another one from Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat (website), their 9.5% Duvel Tripel Hop Citra Belgian IPA. Since 2007, the brewers at Duvel have been creating a unique Tripel Hop each Spring, with a different third hop added to the regular Saaz-Saaz and Styrian Golding hops, this time, you'll realise, one of my favourite hops from the Wakima Valley in the USA, that is Citra. In addition, the beer is dry-hopped, and this year, of course, with those magical Citra hops!

So, is it any good? Of course it is, indeed, it is quite a refreshing golden ale and, despite the strength, quite easy to drink too. There is a fruity aroma to invite you in, and, a hint of sweetness at first taste, but with much grapefruit, citrus and tropical tastes washing round your mouth, ending with a dry slightly bitter finish. I wrote "pretty good!" in my notes and gave this version of Duvel 8.5 out of 10 in my Belgian 'Festival' system of marking, yes, it is that good, cheers!

Congratulations to the Brickmaker's in Bexhill on Sea!

I can't believe I haven't written about this excellent micropub for over 2 years (blog), that is the Brickmaker's Alehouse, 27 Sea Road, Bexhill, East Sussex TN40 1EE (Tel: 01424 602778 - website)! But I have been back quite a few times since the first lockdown ended, and very recently I revisited again to congratulate the owners, Martin and Robin (although Robin wasn't present on the day), as the Brickmakers Alehouse has been chosen by the CAMRA South East Sussex branch as their Pub of the Year 2022, congratulations!

I include the Cider Board (image below), although, in this instance I didn't drink a cider, but I did drink a few of the ales (above), including one that I'm amazed I haven't had before, which is the one I started off with. That is, the Kent Brewery (website) Kent Golding Bitter (4.1%), a traditional style best bitter brewed with Golding (unsurprisingly) and Fuggles hops. It did what it said on the label, was an amber/copper colour, and smelt and tasted like a best bitter, my notes say "very good" but now I was not 'amazed' as Kent Brewery is one of my favourite brewers!

The second pint was of Sussex brewery Burning Sky (website) Plateau, always full of flavour and at just 3.5%! Of course, this is the brainchild of Mark Tranter, legendary fine tuner of Dark Star Hophead when he worked there, so is like a Hophead, a little weaker in alcohol, but with more flavour with thanks to hops, Mark suggests "hopped at different stages of the brew with a mix bag of US and NZ hops..." and his finesse. A very pale golden bitter, very easy to drink, with grapefruit noticeable in the aroma and taste, a wee bit hazy, and I'm not sure if Mark is brewing it that way on purpose now (as vegan friendly), but still very decent indeed.

The final ale I devoured was one of my favourite ales from another favourite brewery, Oakham Ales of Peterborough (website), who I have written quite a bit about recently, notably following the sad news of the death of their head brewer, Alex Kean, just before Christmas (blog), and after my most recent visit to Peterborough in February (blog). Anyway, I couldn't miss knocking back a pint of their Citra (4.2%), an ale brewed with the excellent Citra hop, pale golden with grapefruit in the taste and a very dry bitter finish, thankfully I see this in my local quite often, 'tis excellent!

So, to summarise, I drank ales from my 2 favourite breweries, Kent and Oakham, and another from another excellent brewer at Burning Sky, to celebrate the Brickmaker's success, cheers!

New Year Ales!

I have had some excellent pale, dry and bitter ales over the past week, notably the excellent 4.8% Oakham Frozen Fresh Hop Citra, a delight, and a variation on a green-hopped ale, where fresh hops, usually used on the day they are picked, are used in the brew. In this instance, the U.S. Citra hops used were 'flash frozen' within a few hours of being picked and arrived at the brewery in the middle of November, when they were thawed out and used a day later for this brew. I can only repeat what I wrote in my notes: very pale with a BIG fruity citrus aroma, bl**dy good with a clean dry bitter finish, and I added 3 ticks, which I don't often go that far, exceptional!

Since that 'Citra' ran out, I have been drinking the more regular 4.2% 'Session IPA' Oakham Citra which they describe as 'feisty, hoppy, citrus' and, in this instance, they are very correct, it does what it says on the label. More easily available dried Citra hops are used, but they still produce a big citrus aroma and flavour, also pale dry and bitter, and very good indeed!

You may take it from this blog I have been drinking plenty of Oakham Ales (website) beers recently, one of my favourite brewers, including their superb 4.6% Bishops Farwell. I have also been drinking other excellent pale dry bitter ales from another of my favourite brewers, Kent Brewery (website), just sneaking into the photograph immediately above is their 5% Brewers Reserve, but also other quality pale bitters, including their own 4.5% Citra (there's a lot of it about 😉), the 4.2% The Quiet American, with a more subtle use of hops from the U.S.A., the 4.9% Tropic Ale, and the excellent 4.8% Prohibition, quality, and with its own 'fan club' of drinkers who follow the beer around Kent and East Sussex to grab a few pints of Prohibition!

I have also sampled some other fine paler ales from nearby and further afield, and for my next blog I will write about some darker ales I have enjoyed, cheers and a Happy New Year!