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 

Celebrate Beer Day Britain 2023.

Yes, today is Beer Day Britain, Thursday June the 15th 2023 (website), and I suppose I had better have a few ales today, just because, although I shan't be raising a glass at 19.00 hours, I'll raise a glass at lunchtime instead, cheers! 🍻

2 Pale Beers + 3 Very Different!

The 2 very decent pale ales I have drunk recently are, unsurprisingly, both from Kent Brewery (website). Their single-hopped Centennial (4.5%) is described as 'citrusy, lemon and floral' although I noted grapefruit rather than lemon. The Centennial hop was developed in the 1970s from Brewer's Gold, Fuggle, East Kent Golding and Bavarian hops (hopslist), and described as "earthy and floral with an element of citrus." It's a lovely pale golden colour, and I got grapefruit rather than lemon, but hey, they're both citrus! Oh yes, and a lovely dry bitter finish.

By the way, I had both of the Kent beers at The Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW (website). The second one was Kent Maia (5.0%), basically an APA as well, labelled a 'springtime IPA' and packed with hops, but I haven't been able to discover which hops yet, although certainly from the USA. Anyway, it's seasonal and named after Maia (pronounced the same as Maya), one of the Pleiades, and the mother of Hermes in Greek mythology, and you can easily guess Zeus was the other parent, as he certainly was the Johnson of his day. 😉 Indeed, it is believed that the month of May was named after Maia. Again, pale golden colour, I noticed citrus, and with a dry bitter finish, just as I like, excellent ale indeed!

Where I had the 'very different' drinks yesterday was at The Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR (website). I'll first mention my final drink of the visit, and cheers to Oliver, the landlord, for this delight from a collaboration between Sussex based breweries Burning Sky (website) and Abyss (website). Dark to the Core is a 9.5% Imperial Stout and comes from dark chocolate malts and Munich, Marris Otter and Cara malts, and with Chinook hops in the boil. Chinook is a cross between Petham Golding and a USDA male, and features pine spicy aroma and grapefruit flavour, and is regularly used for porters and stouts (hopslist). Does what it says on the tin, delightful!

Then the 2 extra-different drinks, first, another collaboration, this time from Sheffield based Steel City Brewing (facebook) and Lost Industry Brewing (facebook), and Sofia based Alchemik, although James was originally from Manchester (website). Imperial Yellowcake is a 8.5% Sour, with lemon zest and vanilla in the brew to produce a lemon meringue cheesecake 'sour' and certainly not too sweet and not too sour for me, strangely delightful too, cheers to Dave Unpronounceable and his collaborators! 👍

Finally, not a beer, but a mead from Belgium, De Meaderie (website), Experimead #15, 15.0% whisky barrel aged for 17 months, with maple syrup, I told you it was different! Look at it above, crystal clear and pale, which surprised me, and nowhere near as sweet as I thought it would be, in fact, incredibly light and easy to drink considering. If you see it anywhere, drink it, well worth it, believe me, and cheers to Oliver as well for providing beers you don't see very often!

 

Pale Rider Update.

I  wrote about Pale Rider (5.2%) being available again in a blog late last year, because I have a great fondness for the brewery, as I used to work at Kelham Island Brewery (new company's website) when I was a postgrad student studying and living in Sheffield in the late 1990s and into this millennium. I have brewed, delivered and drunk quite a few pints of Pale Rider, and other Kelham Island ales, overall I lived in Sheffield for 16 years and still return regularly, at least once or twice a year! So it is a big thing to me, and for many others no doubt, that Pale Rider (5.2%) returned to life under the stewardship of its new custodians. 👍

One of the reasons I am writing this update is that they replied to a question I added to a tweet they had posted on twitter, and advised me the hops they now use for this award winning ale. When I worked at the brewery I only remember using one variety of hop for Pale Rider, that was Willamette from the USA, although when I chatted to the brewer a little over a year ago (blog) he told me hops used over the years had changed on a number of occasions. Anyway, Willamette hops are used again in Pale Rider's production, Willamette being developed from English Fuggle hops way back in the 1960s and "feature complex spiciness characterised by herbal, floral and fruity notes" (hopslist).

3 other hop varieties from the USA are also used for Pale Rider now, Cascade, Chinook and Crystal. I believe this fine pale ale is now brewed at the Thornbridge Brewery site (website), but by a completely separate business; although I also remember that my old boss at Kelham Island Brewery, Dave Wickett (R.I.P.) had provided some advice when Thornbridge was first set up nearly 20 years ago. Cascade was "developed through open pollination" of English Fuggle and Russian Serebrianka hops in the 1950s at Oregan State University, and "when brewed exudes a spicy citrus aroma with hints of grapefruit" (hopslist).

The Chinook hop was released in 1985 and is a "cross between Petham Golding and a USDA male, and features a pine-like, spicy bouquet with robust grapefruit flavour" (hopslist). Crystal is another hop bred in the early 1980s and has a lineage "extending back to Hallertau, Cascade, Brewer's Gold and Early Green" hops. "It's woodsy, green, floral and fruity, with herb and spice notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper" (hopslist).

From all the above, you can bet that Pale Rider has a great combination of flavours, and I'm looking forward to my next visit to Sheffield, cheers!

Images reproduced, with thanks, from Kelham Island Brewery's twitter account and Thornbridge Brewery's website.

Knoydart Brewery, a very remote brewery!

I had never heard of Knoydart Brewery, Inverie (website), before my brother told me he had visited it last week, and reading on you will understand why it had been way off my radar. To begin with, it is reckoned to be the most remote brewery in Britain, indeed, it cannot be reached by road, but you can catch a ferry to Inverie, on the Knoydart Peninsular and overlooking Loch Nevis, from the port of Mallaig on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands (website), or you could hike nearly 20 miles to get there! The brewery is situated in a converted chapel built in 1886 (above), and many thanks to Dan (my bro) for the photographs used here.

Before I go on, I was in the Jolly Fisherman in Hastings on Saturday, and one of the regulars, Goose, had already been planning to visit Knoydart before I even mentioned it, a coincidence, but knowing Goose I shouldn't have been surprised. Anyway, the brewery is run by Samantha and Matthew Humphrey, and was set up in 2018 and has a 5 Brewers Beer Barrel kit (nearly 1500 pints a brew). They use local pure mountain water from the Millburn as their supply liquor, and all their bottled beers are unfined, unfiltered and unpasteurised, thus vegan friendly.

They brew 2 cask ales, The Seven Men (4.5%) which is a 'best bitter' and The Old Forge Revival (4.2%), a pale ale celebrating the local community-owned pub (currently being refurbished - website). They have 6 regular bottled beers, including a light lager, the 4.1% Nevis Lager and a porter, also 4.1%, Dubh Lochain Porter, with 'hints of chocolate and coffee.'

The first beer they brewed was The Seven Men (4.5%), which is also available in bottles, a pale bitter brewed with Magnum and Chinook hops, thus providing fruit and spice to the aroma and taste, as you would expect. There is also a weaker session beer available, the 3.7% Millburn Pale Ale, 'refreshing and thirst quenching.'

The final 2 bottled beers available are the 5.1% Heavenly Blonde, a golden ale with hints of citrus' and my brother's favourite, the 4.5% IPA (Inverie Pale Ale), inspired by American East Coast IPAs, presumably meaning plenty of hops from the USA are used. 'Pine and citrus notes and tropical fruit flavours' are just what you would expect...

They also brew 'specials' and I have no idea if Dan has brought me back a bottle, but I'm seeing him in a couple of weeks time, so fingers crossed, cheers!

Oh yes, and Knoydart beers are only available locally, for details of which stockists go to their website, although I have seen hints that ordering may be available online in the future, but not right now, so maybe book yourselves a wee holiday, it looks like a beautiful place. 😉 

Griffin IPA, a Proper English IPA!

Brewed in Chiswick, West London, by Fuller's (website), and I shan't waffle about ownership (blog), but I recently drank their very English-style India Pale Ale, Griffin IPA (4.9%). Presumably named after the name of the brewery building, the Griffin Brewery, and brewed with British malt and hops, specifically Goldings and Fuggles hops, indeed, this is not an APA! A deep golden/amber colour, with a hint of orange in the aroma, slightly fruity and spicy, with a nice dry bitter finish, it's pretty darn good, and does what it says on the label, cheers!