The aim of the new project is to collect, collate and curate news, reviews, events and other bits and bobs of potential interest to the real ale and craft beer lovers of the Greater Manchester area (and beyond). Part beer blog, part news engine, part What’s On guide. That sort of thing.

Feedback would be hugely welcome, and if you felt like following any of the site’s associated social media channels, links are provided on the homepage.

I’ve been blogging here – or, originally, at www.blogobeer.com – since June 2008. In those four and a bit years I’ve learned a heck of a lot about the wonderful world of beer and brewing. I’ve tasted some amazing ales, beers, lagers, stouts, barley wines and IPAs (as well as a few stinkers – but so it goes) that I might never have encountered otherwise. I’ve filled a couple of cupboards with imperial stouts that I’m “maturing” (read: “hoarding”). I’ve made the vague online acquaintance of a number of fine fellow beer bloggers. And for the most part, I’ve enjoyed myself immensely.

But for the past year or so, it’s been pretty clear that my heart just isn’t in it. I made the switch from Blog o’Beer to Folk & Ale in an attempt to revitalise and re-energise my creative input, but it hasn’t worked out that way. Call it blogging fatigue, call it lack of inspiration. Whichever way you look at it, I’m a firm believer in believing in what you do, otherwise, what’s the point? And I clearly lack the belief in this project to keep it going, at least right now. The glass is empty, the cask run dry.

I’ve also been very poor on the two elements that really make blogging – and allied social media activities – worthwhile: namely conversation and participation (I’m a digital marketing manager by trade and do this stuff for a living, so I know how it bloody well ought to be done…) There are a lot of bottled beer reviewers around but beer bloggers who start conversations worth having, discuss issues that actually matter within the world of beer and brewing and generate insightful debate – or who are just wonderfully entertaining – well, they’re a lot rarer, and I’m just not one of them. (Not that I’m knocking my fellow bottled beer reviewers – far from it. I’m just saying that there’s a lot of bottled beer reviews to choose from, so that sort of content is hardly unique). And on the participation front, I don’t get out and about as much as I could or should; to beer festivals, new pubs in new towns, twissups, meet-the-brewer nights, brewery tours, CAMRA branch meetings and coach trips… you name it, they all pass me by.

So, with all that said, I’ve decided to find something else to do with my free time for a while. Maybe my situation will change, or a bolt of pure inspiration will strike and I’ll be back sooner than expected. Maybe with a new direction, or just a renewed commitment to the Folk & Ale mission. But not right now. It’s Time.

Thanks for reading, if a reader you’ve been over the years. And thank you doubly if you’ve left a comment or sent me a tweet as well. Conversation and participation, y’see? That’s what makes this blogging lark worthwhile for everyone.

I’ll leave you with a list of some of the beer bloggers I’ve regularly read and enjoyed over the past four years – a round dozen of my personal favourites, in alphabetical order – in case you happen to stop by while the shutters are down and find yourself looking for somewhere a little livelier:

Beer Lens
Boak & Bailey’s Beer Blog
Eating Isn’t Cheating
Hardknott Dave
Mark Dredge – Pencil and Spoon
Pete Brown
Pubs of Manchester
Reluctant Scooper
Tandleman
The Good Stuff
Zak Avery
Martyn Cornell – Zythophile

 
(Bonus Item: Pump Clip Parade – because crap marketing always deserves to be named and shamed.)

If you could return your glasses to the bar, please, and leave your chairs neatly under the table on your way out, that would be greatly appreciated.

Last summer I was sent – completely out of the blue – a box of beers from Cornish brewery St Austell. I’ve been somewhat lax in writing them up (for values of ‘somewhat lax’ equating to ‘bloody useless’), so I thought it was high time I cleared the decks with one big über-post of the whole lot. And so, with sincere apologies to the folks at St Austell Brewery – who deserve a much less tardy response to their unsolicited generosity – here goes…

The big box that arrived contained ten beers in total, several of which I’d not encountered before (even on our trip to Devon & Cornwall last year, which seemed to take us into Sharp’s territory for the main part). Those ten beers were:

Admiral’s Ale, Proper Job, Proper Black, Tribute, Trelawny, Korev, Cornish Bock, Clouded Yellow, HSD and Smugglers.

Here’s a quick summary of each brew as I found it:

Admiral’s Ale

I’ve sampled this one before and my good opinion of it has only been boosted second-time around: a very fine mid-strength ale with a sweet, nutty, malt-rich flavour thyat’s deeply satisfying. If there was a branch of Morrison’s a little closer to me (and assuming they’re still a regular outlet) then this one would appear in my beer cupboard wih a much greater regularity.

Proper Job

A mid-strength IPA with a distinctly citrus (Citra?) hop profile, I’ve enjoyed this one on draught a couple of times. As you’d probably expect, the bottled version loses a bit in the conditioning department, but still holds its own against similar IPA offerings: Marston’s Old Empire in particular springs to mind.

Proper Black

I’ve said before how much I enjoy the expectation-mashup of a ‘Black IPA’ as well as the combination of roast-malt dryness and hop sharpness. Proper Black is a decent example of the style; not too heavy on the coffee and tannins (which make some other black IPAs I’ve sampled a bit too sharp and acidic) but not too wishy-washy either, with a bit of bite at the back of the throat to let you know it means business. Well worth trying if you get the chance.

Tribute

Mainly malt-led but with a pleasant hop highlight, this one’s the solid session bitter in the range, Tribute is another one of those beers that’s better on draught, but not too shabby in the bottle. I have to admit it’s not the first one I’d reach for on the supermarket shelves but if someone offered me one then I wouldn’t throw it back in their face.

Trelawny

A decent session ale, this one. Light, biscuity malt with a decent hop finish. Not a huge amount else to say about it but I wouldn’t say no if I found this one on draught somewhere. But I’d rather have a Tribute, given a choice of the two.

Korev

‘Korev’ is apparently an old Cornish word for ‘beer’ and it’s the first of two lagers in the St Austell range, but unfortunately isn’t mnuch to write home about. Very pale and not too gassy, it appears to tick all the right boxes, but the flavours are very slight for a beer that weighs in at a decent 4.8% CHECK. Not much of a malt-base and no stand-out hop flavours, it’s a rather disappointingly typical session lager. Of course, this could be the intention all along – something to sell to the legions of “I’ll have a lager, doesn’t matter which” drinkers, which is fair enough and probably a shrewd move. But still, not for me.

Cornish Bock

Now this is much more like it. Cornish Bock is a lovely mid-brown colour and again, not overly-carbonated. Flavour-wise, it starts off with a hazelnut caramel sweetness that gives way to a lingering dry after-taste. There are hints of bakewell tart – almonds and raspberries – that develop as the beer warms up a bit, but still nicely cut-through by that hop-sharpo finish. All round, a much better beer than Korev: more robust flavours, conveyed nicely by the slightly boozier strength (CHECK) and generally just a lot more satisfying. I’ll bet it doesn’t sell half as well…

Clouded Yellow

I have to admit I didn’t drink this one, but only because it’s a wheat beer and I’m semi-allergic to the stuff. But I gave it to a friend, who told me afterwards that it was “very nice”. So there you go.

HSD

A mid-strength (5/0%) ruby ale, this one had plenty of rich malt flavour and a pleasantly full-bodied mouth-feel. Comparable to the likes of Wychwood Hobgoblin or maybe Fuller’s ESB, this is one I’d happily keep around for supping sessions.

Smugglers

Now this one was very good indeed. Described as a blend of ‘dark ale and oak-aged barley wine’, Smugglers packed a powerful flavour-punch, with plenty of rich malt and nutty sweeteness. The one thing that would stop me buying this one on a regular basis – assuming I could find a source up in my neck of the woods – would be the fact that it’s sold in clear glass bottles and so could be prone to becoming light-struck. But I’d love to try this one on draught – hopefully next time we’re down in the south-west.

So there you go: ten from St Austell, hopefully better late than never. Pick of the bunch was probably Cornish Bock, closely followed by Admiral’s Ale and Smugglers but then I’m a sucker for good, mid-strength, malt-led sipping beers. But all in all a very good range that showcases a wide variety of styles (with the notable exception of a stout… do St Austell brew a stout? Can’t find one on their website…) and if you’re ever down Cornwall or Devon way then they’d be well worth seeking out.

The stand-out tracks on Static on the Airwaves were, for me, the ones with the big sing-along choruses, as you’d probably expect: ‘Truth Is’ and ‘Our Forgotten Towns’ showcase the Levellers at their very best: belting out their up-tempo, folk and gypsy rhythms and driving beats to get across a message of social and political conscience; part protest song, part anthem, all energy.

Then there are a couple of highly entertaining story-telling tracks: ‘The Raft of the Medusa’ (presumably inspired by the Théodore Géricault painting; famously bastardised by The Pogues for their Rum, Sodomy & The Lash album cover) has the sort of weight and traditional construction that makes you think it has to be an old, old folk song that’s been given a high-energy coat of rock gloss (although, according to allmusic.com at least, it appears not…) And then there’s ‘Mutiny’, another trad-sounding tale, this time about the Etaples Mutiny of September 1917, that’s told to a back-drop of soaring fiddle riffs and a thumping bass-beat, true Levellers-style.

There’s real strength in depth here as well though, with the album’s slower, more cerebral tracks playing their part strongly: ‘We Are All Gunmen’ has a slower tempo but is no less memorable when you hit the chorus. And the likes of ‘No Barriers’ and ‘Alone in the Darkness’ might not be as catchy, but are well worth a closer listen. The only tracks that just missed the memorability mark for me were ‘Traveller’ and ‘Second Life’, both of which are perhaps a little slow, a little rambling, maybe a little opaque. Easy background listening, but not something to get hugely excited about.

And then there’s the last track on the album, which to my mind is worth the admission price alone: ‘The Recruiting Sergeant’ takes a classic folk trope and gives it a twenty-first century spin: updating the traditional Napoleonic wars setting to send its hapless hero “over the mountains | and over the sea | on a Hercules transporter | to fight the Afghanee”, in just the same way that The Imagined Village updated ‘My Son John’ on Empire and Love. It’s another rabble-rousing, chorus-driven, sing-along-a-special that brings the album to a close on a definite high-note.

The Levellers are back, and they’ve brought out their big guns. Fans who remember their 1990s heyday certainly won’t be disappointed and there’s a string of festival audiences who are in for a treat this summer. Speaking of, check out their upcoming live dates – there’s a full album tour kicking off in the Autumn and I for one can’t wait.

Hobgoblin’s bigger brother turned out to be a deeper brown in colour, richer in mouth-feel and quite a bit sweeter then it’s scrawnier sibling: plenty of toffee in this one. Actually, perhaps it’s just a shade too much on the sweet side? It could have maybe done with just a bit more hop-sharpness to temper the sugars, although there was a pleasantly peppery after-taste that helped a bit.

But it reminded me of Brakspear Triple, which is one of my favourite stronger ales (and is also brewed by Wychwood, or their parent company Marston’s, or something like that) and that’s no bad thing.

One I’d happily sup again, if I was in the mood for something strong and sweet.

I was gutted for the band when a fire at their recording studios destroyed a lot of their equipment last year. And then when I heard that their tour equipment had been stolen from, their locked and secured tour van, earlier this week… well, what can I say? The thought that some bastard out there would do that – with deliberation and malice aforethought – to one of the hardest working, most genuine and consistently excellent bands of musicians I can think of, it just sickens me.

In the interests of raising awareness in the vital week or so post-crime – and in the hope that someone out there will either be offered some of the equipment for sale and report it as stolen, or will somehow discover who took it and where they’ve stashed it and likewise turn the thieves in to the authorities – details of the stolen gear can be found below.

(posted by Joolz Denby to Facebook)

NEW MODEL ARMY’S STOLEN EQUIPMENT (totalling around 15 grand) If you see or hear of this stuff let the band know ASAP:

Gibson Les Paul Custom – red (serial number 2051429)
Gibson Les Paul Standard – black (serial number 90362428)
Epiphone Riviera – red with tremelo arm (serial number R97C0572)
Lowden 025 acoustic guitar with pick-up (serial number 5131)
Lowden 025 acoustic guitar with pick-up (serial number 12288)
Gibson SG – black (serial number 8176566)
Fender Precision bass – black

All these items were in new or nearly new Hiscox guitar cases

Evolution Keyboard (serial number MK361C – 222941)
Ampeg SVT 3 amplifier head
Fender Blues Master guitar combo (serial number B-181446) USA model 110volts.
Custom built pedalboard containing three way control unit for Blackstar combo amplifier, 2 x Boss digital delays, tremelo and tuner pedals and a Cry-baby wah pedal
Boss pedalboard containing Boss digital delay, bass overdrive, chorus, compression, and tuner pedals
Gator 2U case containing AKG guitar radio receiver (serial number AK3254-001272)

All these items were in new or nearly new cases

Heavy multi-guitar rack
Flight case containing tools for guitar repairs
Bag containing microphone stands/drum loom
Bag containing guitar cables, looms, power supplies, plectrums, capos, two guitar radio transmitters

If you have any information please call the Police Station (crime number 20WS/91324T/12 – Walsall Police Station 0345 1135000) or email us at info@newmodelarmy.org

It’s very dark, very deep and very, very strong in a number of respects. It’s strong by ABV, at 17.1%. Its flavours are strong, bold and robust. And quality-wise, it’s definitely one of the strongest beers in the Abstrakt range to-date.

The cap-crack releases a sweet-coffee aroma and there’s a fair bit of effervescence as it’s poured. A thin, tan-coloured head doesn’t last long, leaving a dense, pitch-black body that pops and fizzes gently. More coffee and treacle on the nose, then those big, big flavours: charcoal smoke and a cough mixture herbal tang, that gives way to a flood of liquorice, more coffee and high-cocoa chocolate, cut through with a mellow tangy-sweetness that gradually develops as the beer is left to warm and settle a little. The raspberries and honey aren’t particularly distinct in their own right, blending in with the general melange of powerful flavours.

Abstrakt:09 is already a very, very good imperial stout indeed. Hopefully in time it will mature and deepen even more. If so, then in a year or three it ought to be amazing.

At the time of tapping this post out, there’s no sign of AB:09 being available on general release yet, (although I assume my fellow subscribers have had their bottles already as well), but as soon as this one appears, you’re going to want to grab yourself a three-pack. One to drink young and a couple of mature. Definitely worth the investment.

Jo and I were out celebrating last Saturday: it was the 20th anniversary of our first date (it was a Salford University student union band night at The Pav – I have absolutely no idea who the bands in question were, but in my defence, I was deeply preoccupied). As luck would have it, one of the very best folk duos in the country, Spiers & Boden were playing up at our favourite folk venue, The Met in Bury. So we grabbed our good friends Steve and Helen and went to see the show.

Messrs Spiers and Boden were fabulous, as they have been each time we’ve seen them (I think it’s four to-date plus a few more with Bellowhead and one Jon Boden ‘Songs From the Floodplain‘ gig with the Remnant Kings). The two of them – Boden on fiddle and guitar, Spiers on an assortment of melodeons and accordions – launched straight in with one of our favourite folk songs, ‘The Prickle-Eye Bush’ and proceeded to take us all on a tour of the highlights of their four-album back catalogue, including one of my favourite very sets of dance tunes: ‘The Sloe-Gin Set’. They finished with the hugely sing-along-able ‘Captain Ward’ before encoring with a stripped down, but seemingly no less wonderfully raucous version of the song that Bellowhead have absolutely made their own: ‘New York Girls’. Wonderful stuff.

For me, these two gentlemen absolutely encapsulate the spirit of modern folk music: lively, energetic, full of vim and verve, yet technically brilliant as well, with not a note mis-placed (even a broken top-E string couldn’t keep Jon B from belting out a solo number at one point). I urge you to go see them play live at any and every opportunity you get.

Ale-wise, the evening wasn’t too shabby either. The ale selection from the downstairs Malt Bar has gone through a few rough patches, but the last time we’ve been to The Met we’ve had no complaints. on Saturday Jo went for her usual: the house ale Silver Fox from the very local Outstanding Beers, which is a lovely combination of dry-sharp hops and biscuity malt, whilst I decided to try the Wells and Youngs Courage Directors. Not something I’d have normally opted for, but I thought I’d give it a go and I was very glad I did. Very malt-led, fairly sweet but not too sugary and in damn fine condition, it went down very nicely and no doubt helped my singing immeasurably.

A great night, and a great way to mark twenty terrific years with the love of my life. Here’s to the next twenty, and many, many more after those.

What we found was Dark Star Victorian Ruby Mild. Thick & luscious with a dense, creamy head and weighing in at a satisfying 6% ABV, this was dessert and liquid digestif rolled into one. Packed with slightly sour-sharp damson jam fruit flavours and a long, dry, port-wine finish that rounded everything off quite nicely. Very, very good indeed.

I absolutely love a really good, strong, ruby-dark mild – the legendary Marble Brew 1691 and Bewdley’s William Mucklow’s Dark Mild being my two favourite examples to-date. This is right up there with those two and I’ll be keeping an eye out for this one in future, most definitely.