Beer Notes: Castle Rock Screech Owl IPA

I was just about to head off for my train home from Nottingham yesterday when someone in the office said the magic words “We thought we might go for a pint..?”

Five minutes later, the four of us were ensconced in the Kean’s Head and my first ever pint of Castle Rock Screech Owl IPA was settling in front of me.

Not as hop-led or as dry on the finish as most of the mid-strength IPAs I’ve tried – Thornbridge Jaipur, or Marble Lagonda for instance), Screech Owl turned out to be a richer, maltier version of the style (closer to Worthington’s White Shield in flavour, perhaps?). Remarkably refreshing, with an excellent mouth-feel and great body, it was very, very drinkable indeed; the one pint I had time for before dashing off to the station went down a treat and it definitely won’t be my last.

(My ale-agnostic colleague Lee had a swig as well and declared it “not bad for a flat lager”. Which, in Lee’s case, counts as progress…)

Session Notes: The Marble Arch, Manchester, 01.01.12

There we were, sitting in the Marble Arch on Christmas Eve, supping our halves of Stouter Port Stout when Jo spotted a posted adversing the MA’s New Year’s Day opening times. Which gave her an idea…

Eight days later we were back again, for dinner (venison loin for Jo, pheasant for me, both delicious) and our first session of 2012, which covered the following bases:

Moor Amoor Porter 4.5% ABV
A rather delicious glassful of mocha sundae & toasted hazelnut flavors with a lingering dry finish. Great mouth-feel, too. Very pleasant indeed.

Marble Trial Lagonda No. 6 (IPA) 6% ABV
I’m guessing the Marble folks are testing out a few alternate hop-combinations for their Lagonda IPA? No.6 is blessed with bountiful big IPA flavors: predominantly a grapefruit dry-sourness, with a hint of honey keeping it all in check. Well-balanced and easy-drinking but with definite bite.

Marble Draft No.9 (golden ale) 3.9% ABV
Another example of the sort of sharp, hoppy session beers that Marble do so well. Pale gold in colour, hop-led, with dry citrus notes throughout. Similar to Pint, but with more of a biscuit malt character.

Marble Stouter Stout 4.7% ABV
A classic on the Marble list and with good reason. Stouter Stout is a classic bone-dry black beer with an almost charcoal-like character, off-set by just a hint of dark chocolate. One of the driest, tastiest stouts around.

Dark Star Festival (bitter) 5.0% ABV
Jo’s a huge fan of Dark Star Original and was happy to re-visit a half of its label-mate Festival: as last time, it was quite savoury and dry, with a spicy-nuttiness leading the flavour-charge. Very tasty, very drinkable indeed.

Marble Pint (golden ale) 3.9% ABV
The aforementioned king of the Marble session beers – indeed, one of the best session beers around, IMHO, right up there with the likes of Fyne Avalanche or Hawkshead Lakeland Gold – Pint was on top form on Sunday: light, refreshing, hoppy-sharp but with a softer, fruitier finish than some of Marble’s other session brews. Lovely stuff.

Marble Chocolate (stout/mild) 5.5% ABV
Marble’s show-stopping stout/mild (they describe it in their beer menu as possessing characteristics of both rather than being a blend of the two) was as tasty and more-ish as ever. Rich, malty, packed with just the selection-box array of flavors that you’d expect from the name. Not too bitter, not too sweet, a well-balanced, full-flavoured dark winter warmer. Rather fabulous.

How’s that for a cracking start to the year? Not to mention the birth of a new annual tradition, with any luck.

A Few More of Those Sainsbury’s Great British Beer Hunt Beers

For the first time in a couple of months, Jo and I didn’t end up spending at least one evening of the weekend just gone in one or more pubs. So whilst we indulged a couple of TV catch-up evenings I took the opportunity of to sample my way through some more of those Sainsbury’s 2011 Great British Beer Hunt Beers.

Wold Top Golden Summer 4.4%ABV
Pours a clear, translucent gold. Slightly effervescent with a bubbly white head and a slightly spicy hop aroma. Flavours are hop-led and quite sharp with a blend of green apples and tropical fruit. A good mouth-feel rounds off a beer that, whilst not one I’d rush back to, is pleasant and drinkable and does exactly what it says on the label.

Oxfordshire Ales Churchill IPA 4.5%
An amber ale with a malty, biscuity aroma. Slightly thin mouth-feel and a slightly sweet, tangy-orange, lightly nutty flavour. Not particularly hoppy, not much dryness on the after-taste. Not a bad best-bitter-grade ale by any means, but definitely not as advertised on the label. Sorry, Oxfordshire Ales, but I’m going to have to call Fake IPA on this one.

Ridgeway Ivanhoe 5.2%
A ‘red’ ale that, according to the label, strives for balance, with neither malt or hops dominating. I’d say it achieves that aim, but ends up rather anonymous and non-descript as a result. It’s slightly biscuity, slightly sharp, with a decent mouth-feel. Quite pleasant, quite… nice. Just not particularly remarkable.

Ridgeway Bad King John 6.0%
Looks like a porter, tastes like a porter… but apparently this one is a “Very English Black Ale”. There’s a big hit of smoky coffee-bitterness throughout with enough roast malt sweetness to off-set the lingering dryness. The mouth feel is perhaps a little thin for a porter, but that’s what qualifies it as a black ale instead? Anyhow, it’s flavourful and tasty and definitely the best of this particular batch.

To sum up: four pleasant, tasty beers, but nothing genuinely impressive. And it’s always disappointing to encounter a Fake-IPA. But so it goes… my final four Sainsbury’s Great British Beer Hunt beers to follow tomorrow, with a quick overview and verdict on all fourteen.

Holt’s IPA – Not Bad, but Definitely Not an IPA…

…and does – or should – that matter in the slightest to anyone who isn’t a Beer Geek like me?

On Tuesday night my Dad (who was staying with us during a work trip), Jo and I popped out to the Holt’s pub round the corner for a bite to eat. With my meal, I had a pint of the relatively new Holt’s IPA.

Here’s the description from the Joseph Holt’s website:

ABV 3.8% TRADITIONAL IPA

2011 saw the introduction of our IPA, which has proved to be very popular in both Free Trade and the selected Joseph Holt pubs that stock it.

Our IPA is a very pale, traditional, English ale with relatively high bitterness and a fragrant hop aroma. It is brewed with traditional East Kent Goldings and Slovenian Styrian Goldings.

What it turned out to be: a pale gold coloured, pleasant, suppable session ale with a decent body and an almost entirely malt-led flavour*.

What it most definitely wasn’t: an India Pale Ale. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

The 3.8% ABV was an obvious clue. Most IPA’s are around 50% stronger than that, particularly traditional IPAs.** Also, that “relatively high bitterness” (relative to what, I wonder?) was noticeable mainly by its absence, likewise the “fragrant hop aroma”. I could perhaps have forgiven the ‘India’ appellation if the beer had been bursting with dry, bitter hop flavours, but it wasn’t. If anything, it was slightly sweet and, as I mentioned, distinctly malty. Nothing ‘I’ about this ‘PA’ at all I’m afraid.

So: I call ‘Fake IPA’ on this one. And that’s the end of it.

Except it isn’t. Because I have a real problem with ‘Fake’ anything and I’m going to take some time to explain why. (If you’re not interested in a discussion of marketing technique and theory, or just wanted to find out what the new Holt’s beer was like, we’re done; you can click away now.)

Still with me? Right, here’s the thing: I work in the Marketing (capital-M) department; it’s that function within any business or industry that gets the blame for pretty much anything (from production concepts right through to point-of-sale advertising) that the customer doesn’t like, understand or agree with. On the one hand, as a Marketer that can be quite irritating, especially when you know someone completely unconnected with your department is responsible for the decision that’s resulted in criticism. But on the other hand, it’s also perfectly understandable, because as a Marketer (and I’ve said this before) you know that when you’re in business, everything you decide on and everything you do (from production concepts right through to point-of-sale advertising) that’s connected with your business in any way is part of your marketing: literally, the process of bringing a product or service to the market.

That’s because everything you decide and everything you actually do could potentially influence an existing or potential customer’s decision as to whether or not to buy your product. In business, everything is the process of bringing products or services to the market. Everything is marketing, whether or not the Marketing Department is in charge of that particular decision or action.***

Which is why I say that by conceiving, brewing, packaging and selling a Fake IPA, Holt’s – and this applies equally to any other brewery who does the same thing (and there are a number of them) – are guilty of bad marketing, all down the line.

It could be that the beer they’ve brewed is actually exactly the beer they were aiming for: a golden summer ale that’s easy on the eye and easy to drink. Fair enough. But then, if what Brewery X has produced is actually a golden ale, then why not call it “Brewery X’s Golden Ale”? Or even “Brewery X’s Pale Ale”? Why include the ‘India’ element at all?

Maybe the Fake IPA breweries just don’t think it’s all that important. After all, their core market probably won’t be beer geeks like me (with an IPA-chip on their shoulder). Maybe they assume that the majority of regular ale drinkers will be happy enough to give a new beer a go and will hopefully enjoy it, without worrying for a second about what’s on the pump-clip. But that still doesn’t make it right to sell one thing as something else.

Maybe you don’t care either. “So they’ve stuck an ‘I’ on the front of a ‘PA’”, I hear you mutter into your pint. “So what? Why does it matter?”

To my mind: the best-case scenario is that all these breweries have done is recognise and respond to a perceived increase in market demand for IPAs – possibly inspired by International IPA Day earlier this year – by putting an IPA of their own onto the market. But then – for whatever reason – they’re missed the point of what makes an IPA an IPA and as a result, rather than attempt to create a genuinely remarkable mid-to-high strength beer with an impressive hop-profile, they’ve just applied their target buzz-words (“traditional”, “IPA”, “high bitterness”) to a product that meets none of those criteria and in truth is something else instead.

And of course, the worst-case scenario is that these breweries know exactly what they’re doing and have make a deliberate attempt to mislead their customers – beer geeks and regular ale drinkers alike – into buying a product that simply isn’t what it claims to be. In the worst-case scenario, Breweries who put out a Fake IPA are, in effect, passing-off a golden / pale ale as something else entirely. That’s false advertising. That’s mis-selling. And by either hoping or assuming that nobody important will notice or care they’re showing a certain amount of contempt for their own customers as well.

Then again, all that said and seeing as it’s the weekend and all, I’m going to give them all the benefit of the doubt and assume that the former scenario is the more common one. Even so it’s still a particularly dumb form of Bad Marketing, because Bad Marketing via Bad Branding has to be one of the most essential mistakes any business can make.

Marketing as a whole (remember: everything a business does) ought to be about putting a product out into the market that is genuinely, authentically the very best example of its type that it can be (based on the criteria you choose to compete on) and then standing behind that product and proudly saying: “We made this. We believe in it. We want you to enjoy it and talk about it and recommend it to others. This is our product and we’re damned proud of it.” Because let’s face it, in this day and age to do anything else – with so many alternatives to be had and so much more information available quite literally at your fingertips via the mobile Internet – is just a pointless waste of time.

That’s why Branding – sending clear and obvious signals about your product’s quality and desirability to potential consumers – ought to be about so much more than just putting an keyword-stuffed name to a product, in an attempt to catch the wave of current trend or popular opinion. And why starting the branding process off with a deception – even one that only a small (but fanatical and vociferous) segment of your market is even likely to notice, never mind care about – is an inherent flaw that’s always going to be pretty much impossible to overcome. Bad branding is bad marketing writ large for all to see.

So to flip my earlier question: what’s right with calling a Pale Ale a Pale Ale and having done with it?

Firstly, regular punters will most likely be happier because it’s pretty obvious what a Golden Ale is supposed to be and they can choose to try it knowing pretty much what to expect. Secondly, beer geeks and can likewise sample a new Golden Ale knowing that’s exactly what they’re sampling. They won’t have their false-hopes raised so they’ll have nothing to complain about and won’t end up spouting rants on their blogs about an otherwise perfectly pleasant beer that only fails on the grounds that it doesn’t do what it says on the pump-clip / website; because it doesn’t meet up to the weight of expectation created by that use of the seemingly innocuous ‘I’.

One last thought: maybe in the case of Holt’s (and again, any other Fake-IPA brewers likewise) it truly, genuinely doesn’t matter. Maybe they’re just not at all interested in brewing remarkable beers; the sort of beers that beer geeks will rave about online and plead with the likes of the Port Street Beer House or Mr Foley’s or The Euston Tap to stock up on. Maybe these brewers actually know their market pretty well and know for a fact that all their market demands is safe, familiar, unchallenging beers that are a reasonable strength and a reasonable price, whatever the heck the brewery decides to call them and that’s just the end of it, Beer Geeks be damned.

In which case: fair enough. They all can (and no doubt will) ignore every word of the above and just carry on regardless. But I still say that putting a Fake IPA onto the market is a misleading and deceitful act of false advertising. That’s still a Bad Thing in my book and it always will be. And I still say it’s a huge shame when any brewer – any company – chooses the lazy path of Bad Marketing rather than trying to create something impressive, something authentic, something truly remarkable, instead.

Then again, what do I know? I’m just a Beer Geek.

I’d definitely like to hear what you think, whether you’re a fellow beer geek, a regular pub punter, a brewer, a marketer, or none of the above. Hit me up via the Comments below, if you feel so inclined…

* It reminded me most of cask Boddington’s Bitter as it used to taste, back in my Salford student days in the early ’90s, and that’s not a bad comparison to arrive at.
** Martyn Cornell’s rather excellent Amber, Gold and Black tells us that: “The strengths, at least, of early Burton IPAs seem to be much the same as later C19th versions at around 1065 – 1075 OG.” [p.112] which in my rough-and-ready-reckoning is around 6.5% – 7.5% ABV? And most modern US and UK IPAs weigh in at around 5.6% (e.g. Worthington’s White Shield) to 9.2% (e.g. BrewDog Hardcore) or even higher.
*** This isn’t my idea or riff by any means, it’s one I’ve been following and reading up on for years in the work of writers and bloggers like Seth Godin, Hugh MacLeod, Guy Kawasaki, Chris Anderson and others.

Marble Arch and Port Street Beer House, Manchester, 17.09.11

Last Saturday night, Jo and I had plans to meet up with our good friends Lucy and Murray in Manchester city centre. 5.00 p.m. outside Sinclairs / The Old Wellington was the usual nightmare of noisy teatime crowds, so despite there being a couple of interesting-looking IPAs (one of which was Adnams American IPA, the other I can’t quite recall) on offer at the Welly, we elected to de-camp and move on up to the Marble Arch instead.

Good decision. We got there just before the early evening lull, so it didn’t take us too long (with a little bit of strategic loitering, pouncing and relocating on the part of Jo and Lucy whilst Murray and I were umming and ahhing at the bar) to bag ourselves a table-for-four and settle in to a pint or two before we ordered food.*

I started off with Hawkshead Cumbrian Five Hop and it was absolutely marvellous. An explosion of huge citrus-hop flavours (the beer is a.k.a. ‘Citrillo’ so I’m guessing there’s Citrus and Amarillo in there for a start) with plenty of grapefruit, burnt orange and candied lemon peel on a solid malt base. The dry-sharp finish lingered for ages and the mouth-feel was rather excellent as well. At 5% ABV it wasn’t o.t.t. and I could happily have supped this one all evening, but dammit we were in the Marble Arch and there were new Marble beers to try!

So, next up: Marble Utility IPA No.5, the latest in the Marble Brewery’s ongoing Utility IPA series which, if I understand it right, changes slightly each time on account of their using whatever blend of hops they have to hand at the time. Something like that. Anyhow, No. 5 was a winning combination, whatever was in there. Another big, hop-heavy, mouth-feel-rich beer; this time with a more pink grapefruit citrus flavour and, whilst still bitter and dry, a slightly softer edge. Again, a lingering dryness and again, at 5% ABV both palatable and reasonably sessionable. This was the first of the Utility IPAs that I’d encountered, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for them in future.

After that, fortified by a starter round of mackerel paté and a main course of lamb rump with some truly tasty trimmings (including boulanger potato, which must be the dish that all potatoes aspire to from the moment they’re pulled from the ground) I decided it was time to try the Marble Rye, a.k.a. The Last Stronge Beer. I assumed this was Brewer Colin Stronge’s farewell brew and if so, then it was a hell of a going away present for the Marble’s punters. A 5.7% strong ruby mild (I think?) reminiscent of the legendary (to my mind, at least) Marble Brew 1691 Mild, packed full of spicy fruit cake flavours; rich and just sweet enough, with a slightly peppery edge and a tang of port wine, this one really was terrifically tasty, easy-drinking and very more-ish indeed.

Although for some reason, when I got back to the bar next, I decided to have a Marble Dobber instead. I guess sometimes you just can’t resist the lure of an old favourite,eh? As usual, Dobber didn’t disappoint: big hops all the way; fantastic.

After that we decided to move on in the general direction of Piccadilly station, with an almost inevitable stop-off at the Port Street Beer House. There I cast my eye over the selection of “Jocktoberfest” Scottish ales on offer and, eschewing the temptations of Fyne Jarl, opted for a half (just a half, mind) of BrewDog Abstrakt:06, which I’d spotted on my last PSBH visit the previous Tuesday, but not tried then for strategic, mid-week session restraint reasons.

I’ve tried the bottled version of this one and thoroughly enjoyed it (but not blogged about it quite yet), so I couldn’t really pass up the chance to sample the keg version. And it was lovely. A “triple-hopped Imperial Black IPA”, it was full of herbal cough-drop, liquorice and coffee flavours with the rolling, fruity profile of a slightly sweet, fortified wine. I sat and sipped that one for a happy half hour before we called it a night, rolled out the door and headed for home.

Another selection of great beers from two of the very best (and two of my three personal favourite) Manchester pubs. Another great session in great company. Cheers, Lucy and Murray, very good indeed to see you. Let’s do it again soon!

* From the Marble Arch’s new Autumn menu, which I have to say is pretty fantastic-sounding throughout. They really have excelled themselves this time around, with a selection of (apart from the puddings, as you’d expect) mostly gluten-free dishes (whether that was intentional or not, we’re certainly very happy that’s how it turned out) and I fully expect that we’ll be back to try the rest of it before too long.

A Few of Those Sainsbury’s Great British Beer Hunt 2011 Beers

I’ve started sampling my way through that selection of Great British Beer Festival 2011 beers that I picked up from Sainsbury’s last week. Here’s what I’ve checked out so far…

Williams Bros Profanity Stout 7%
A big blast of smoky coffee and liquorice flavours and plenty of dry bitterness on the after-taste, but delivered by a slightly thin mouth-feel, which was a tad disappointing. I like stronger stouts a lot, and I was expecting a lot from this one, so maybe it was a victim of over-inflated expectation, but I just thought that at 7% ABV it ought to have a bit more going for it in terms of body. It’s no BrewDog RipTide, put it that way…

Williams Bros Caesar Augustus 4.1%
I thought this second beer from Williams Bros was (perhaps oddly) much more impressive. A lager / IPA hybrid (judging by the the back-label, in this case an ale brewed with lager yeast, then cold-stored before being dry-hopped with ‘IPA hops’, if I read it right) it’s actually one of those rare beasts: a bottled session beer that tastes really rather good indeed. Pale gold in colour, malty in flavour with a hop-burst after-taste that builds and builds, it benefits from not being over-gassy or watery on the mouth-feel. Very nice indeed. A definite candidate for my favourite bottled session beers list.

Harviestoun Wild Hop IPA 5.1%
Pale almost to the point of crystal clarity with a big, big citrusy hop profile: there’s a mix of Fuggles, Goldings and assorted American hops in this one, apparently, and they really shine through. There’s just enough malt sweetness to keep everything check and the beer has a very pleasant mouth-feel as well. All in all a rather excellent drop of ale all round. One I’d definitely be happy to try again, in bottle or draught form alike.

Robinson’s Frederic’s Great British Alcoholic Ginger Beer 3.8%
Definite ginger aroma from this dark copper-coloured beer. Strong malty character with a hint of lemon and a good wallop of Ginger. Jo (who drank this one and has provided the tasting notes) reckons it could be Robinson’s Young Tom with added Fentiman’s ginger beer (in the same way that Ginger Tom is Old Tom + Fentiman’s). Not too sweet; definitely a proper ale-with-ginger rather than an alcopop-masquerading-as-ginger-ale. Very pleasant.

Sadler’s Worcester Sorceror 4.2%
A copper-coloured bitter with a slightly spicy, peppery edge to a mainly malt-led, cough-drop sweet base. Good mouth-feel (not too thin). Easy-drinking and very flavourful indeed. Another good session beer, from what’s turning out to be a very good selection all round.

Hunter’s Full Bore 8.0%
Slightly cloudy (but maybe because I didn’t realise quite how much sediment there was in the bottle) golden amber coloured strong ale, packed with marzipan and toffee flavours, it doesn’t taste quite as alcoholic as its 8% ABV might suggest. Smooth, sweet and distinctly drinkable, a highly enjoyable strong ale, I might have to get a couple more of these in while the stock is still available.

So far, so good. I know these beers were selected by means of a public / expert tasting / voting session (I got an invite myself, but I couldn’t schlepp on down to the Midlands mid-week to take part) and it seems as though the pre-selection process has resulted in some very good choices indeed. More to follow on the other six (and I might have to go back for three of the four I missed – the wheat beer among them excluded for intolerance reasons) when I’ve had a chance to drink them.

From Waterhouse to Bank to Beer House, Friday 02.09.11

Last Friday Jo and I decided to stay out in town and hit a few pubs. I was heading back into Manchester city centre from the Trafford Centre and met up with Jo (who’d spent a pleasant latter part of the afternoon in the City Arms with a book and a couple of halves of bitter) at the Wetherspoons’ Waterhouse branch. The plan was to go for food right away, but after a couple of hours’ worth of talking I was absolutely gasping, so I decided to grab a half before we moved on.

I was glad I did: the Waterhouse had Acorn IPA on offer. Very smooth, with a solid malt base and good, strong hop flavours on top, but not too dry or harsh. A damn fine example of the English IPA and at 5% it was reasonably quaffable. Good job, too: I really was gasping, and the half lasted all of nine or ten seconds… not my usual drinking speed by any means, but the stuff was very drinkable indeed.

After that little refresher, we nipped round the corner to Tampopo for a beer-soak Nasi Goreng and then thought about the best pub to head for a bit of a celebration (more about that at a later date). No competition, really; it had to the Port Street Beer House. But on the way, we decided to nip into The Bank on Moseley Street, just on the off-chance they had something interesting on. They did, too: Hopdaemon Incubus was on the bar. I’m a big Hopdaemon fan, so a half of that one really was a no-brainer. Bloody good stuff it turned out to be as well: sweet malt flavours and a sharp hop-bite on the finish, packed with a pleasantly surprising amount of flavour for a 4% session beer, and one I’d definitely have again.

For my second half, well, Nicholson’s had been having an IPA week, the tail-end of which was still available, so I went for a drop of Marston’s Old Empire. I’ve enjoyed this one in bottles before now, but alas this particular half wasn’t quite up to scratch. Maybe the barrel was getting on a bit or had been sat there all week or something, but I’m pretty sure the oddly sweet, barley-sugar notes and muted hop profile aren’t what this one was supposed to deliver.

Suitably pit-stopped, we moved onwards and upwards to Port Street. The place was jumping, as is the norm on a Friday night, and they had Thornbridge Evenlode on the bar, as part of their Breweters’ Week selection of beers. I was in a tasting and sampling kinda mood and Evenlode is 6.2%, so I only went for a half. But I ended up wishing I’d opted for the full pint: it was gorgeous stuff. A wonderfully smooth, rich, double-cream mouth-feel delivered a wash of lush cafe-creme and milk chocolate flavours. One of those deliciously, dangerously drinkable stouts I could happily sup all evening.

Alas, that was not to be, as by the time I nipped back to the bar, the barrel had run out. Which annoyed Jo no end, as she’d been after a half of that herself, to follow on from the Dark Star Over the Moon that she’d enjoyed for her first half. I had a sip of that as well: a sharp-sweet, dark bitter with lively hop notes bouncing on a solid malt base and a tangy, sultana-fruitcake after-taste. Very nice indeed.

Anyhow, for my next one I decided to re-visit a beer I’d sampled on my last Tuesday Stagger with my very good mate Andy: BrewDog Hello, My Name is Ingrid. At 8% this one is definitely a slow-sipper, although again, it’s a dangerously drinkable beer. Its a blend of sweet, fruity cloudberries, wrestling and scrapping with the sharp bitterness of an Imperial IPA hop-profile. The fruit definitely has the upper-hand to start with but then the hops come back fighting strong and it’s a contest that’s a real delight to experience. I read on the BrewDog blog that Ingrid had been brewed for the Swedish market, in which case I’m very glad indeed that PSBH managed to divert a barrel from Stockholm to Manchester. Lovely, lovely stuff; a prime example of BrewDog at their innovative best.

And for the final act of the evening, a beer that I’d had my eye on since I first perused the bar: Magic Rock Human Cannonball. With this one being a 9.2% double-IPA, I wasn’t sure whether to expect a detonation of ascerbic hop acids or a more subtle, structured, malt-backed salvo of rich, rounded flavours. So I was very pleased when the latter proved to be the case: Human Cannonball is a very well-balanced blend of highly complimentary marmalade hops and sweet toffee caramel malts. Smooth and very easy-drinking, quite reminiscent of BrewDog Hardcore in top condition. Altogether sublime and very highly recommended indeed; an excellent beer with which to finish a rather excellent day.

Picture Credit: Very cool Thornbridge Evenlode pumpclip pic borrowed from The Good Stuff, used with Leigh’s very kind permission. Everything else nicked from brewery websites.

At Home with a BrewDog on International #IPADay

Unless you’ve been completely ignoring the beerblogosphere for the past few weeks, you’ll surely know that Thursday just gone was declared International IPA Day and a number of the UK’s top pubs, bars and beer houses put on events to celebrate the revitalisation, expansion and massive innovation that’s taken the style to a host of interesting, strange and sometimes astonishing places over the past few years. (And if you’re wondering what the heck an IPA is and why the big fuss, check out John Clarke’s rather excellent piece on the subject over at the Port Street Beer House blog).

For a variety of reasons I couldn’t make it to the Port Street Beer House event, but I was determined to mark the occasion in my own small way, so I rootled aroud in the back of the Special Cupboard (where I keep the Imperial Stouts and Barley Wine’s I’m trying my damnedest not to drink for at least a few years) and came out with a bottle each of BrewDog Chaos Theory and BrewDog Hardcore (the original 9% version, as opposed to the current 9.2% incarnation).

I was torn, but decided the time had come to open my last bottle of Chaos Theory, it being, along with its stablemate Punk IPA, one of my earliest introductions to the big-hopped, mid-strength sector of the IPA spectrum, back at the end of 2008.

This bottle was best before sometime in October 2010, so I figured it was probably nicely mature by now. Cracking the cap released a fantastic waft of rich, fruit-cake malt aromas. The pour was perfect – no yeast explosion – and a frothy head meant it definitely hadn’t gone flat. As for the taste… just sensational. Intense, incredibly rich caramel up front, packed with dried fruit and with a slight hint of sherry or maybe Marsala wine, with a gradually strengthening bitterness as the mellowed hops slowly worked their way to the forefront. If I didn’t know better I’d have said this one was a barley-wine rather than a strong IPA (the two must be related, or separated by maturation time, surely?) and I enjoyed every last drop.

I’ve mused before that although I enjoy the occasional tonsil-searing hop-blast, I’m a much bigger fan of an aged IPA that’s had enough time to round out and calm down a bit. One that’s matured enough to stop shouting and really start singing, and this one was definitely Pavarotti standard. A great example of the style, a sadly-missed (by me, at least) weapon in Brewdog’s arsenal and definitely a fitting glass to raise on International IPA Day in salute of one of the most interesting, intriguing and downright tasty beer styles in the world.

Once Around the Northern Quarter, Manchester 25.06.11

Saturday night, time to hit the town. First up: a visit to the new Korean place on Shude Hill to take on solid sustenance. Baekdu has a slightly stark look, but the chairs are comfortable, the clientèle mostly Korean students (always a good sign when a restaurant is frequented by a lot of people who really know the cuisine in question, I reckon) and the food is very good indeed. Well, actually, the salmon salad I had as a starter was a bit of a let-down; I was expecting something Korean and interesting, but instead I got mostly iceberg lettuce and a few lumps of salmon sushi, garnished with… salad cream. But Jo’s chicken skewers were very tasty and the main courses – beef bibimbab for Jo and spicy, stir-fried, thin-sliced pork for me – were excellent. Food done, it was time for a beer or four.

First stop, the Marble Arch. One of my three very favourite Manchester pubs and a regular session-starting location. We timed it just right, hitting the early evening lull, and managed to get a seat. Up to the bar, and there was no question whatsoever what we were both going to have: Marble Ginger Stout. I was moved to tweet at the time that it was **bloody gorgeous** and I stand by that. A deep, rich mouth-feel, with semi-sweet, dark chocolate & vanilla-cream flavours to begin with; then a lingering, dry-sharp root ginger finish. The bastard offspring of a dark chocolate brownie and a ginger nut biscuit, in a glass. Also the best draught stout I’ve had in quite a while, bar none. One slight snag: I thought the pump-clip said 4.2% but on closer examination that turned out to be 6.7%. So, not a session-swigger. But still, I could happily have supped a few more of those over the course of the evening… before sliding slowly under the table with a stupid grin plastered all over my face.

Instead, we erred on the side of caution and upped-sticks to The Angel, favourite Manchester pub #2. Marble Ginger Stout was always going to be a tough act to follow, but to be fair the Bowland Black Dragon Porter had a good go. An ebony body with ruby highlights and a tight white head was promising. Dry, biscuity malt flavours with a raisin and chocolate finish was a result. Very drinkable, quite sessionable at 4.5%. Jo went for a Pictish Ginger (I think that’s what it was called). She’s very particular about her ginger beers is Jo. She’s sampled many, disliking the ones that are basically fermented ginger pop (too sweet) or anything with too strong a clove flavour (sorry, Marble Ginger and Big Ginger as well) and she declared this one a good ‘un. Again, we could’ve stayed for a couple more at The Angel (there was an IPA that looked interesting), but we had a stagger-plan, so onward we went…

…to The Castle Hotel, on Oldham Road. This place has a decent rep as a bit of a node on the Manchester real-ale scene, but for some reason we’d never been in for a pint; maybe because the last couple of times we’ve been past on a weekend night it had been hammered. Saturday wasn’t so bad; we managed to find a seat and then I sidled up to the bar to peruse the range of mainly Robinson’s beers on offer. I got Jo a Hatter’s Dark Mild (pleasant enough, if not exactly amazing) and I was going to have a half of Old Tom, but instead I opted for a pint of the Robinson’s Crusoe. A seasonal beer, apparently it’s a “double-hopped” golden ale, but it I’m afraid it wasn’t particularly hoppy, or particularly malty, or for that matter particularly good. I ended up wishing I’d stuck to my original plan, but there you go. You live and learn. The pub itself was nice enough, although far too warm. We’ll probably come back and give it a fresh go another time, maybe on a Friday afternoon or some other quieter time.

Onwards again, and this time to favourite Manchester pub #3 (the order changes, by the way, depending on which one I’m sitting in and what’s in the glass in front of me) – The Port Street Beer House. The usual bewildering array of cask and keg ales and draught beers to choose from. Jo went in search of seats and I got her a Dark Star Festival; a deep chestnut coloured ale that was very pleasant indeed. I took a little longer choosing my own and, after consultation with the bar-fella, eschewed the cask Thornbridge Jaipur (which took some willpower) and eventually decided on a half each of Odell IPA and Hardknott Queboid.

The former was very nice indeed, even better than the bottled version that I sampled a while back, with a big, orange-citrus hop aroma and a smooth, clementine hop-blast leading the flavour-charge. It was cool and refreshing, just the right drop for an increasingly-muggy Saturday night. Alas, I think the Queboid had turned. When I sampled it on Tuesday it was beautifully fresh but by Saturday it was a very different beast; sour on the tongue and with a faint whiff of Stilton about it (and not in a good way). I reluctantly took it back to the bar and the bar-fella graciously swapped it for a half of cask Jaipur* with nary a quibble. The Jaipur was as Jaipur pretty much always is: a hoppy blast of liquid sunshine and a pure joy to end the evening on.

* It occurred to me afterwards that they actually had keg Jaipur as well as cask, so I could’ve done one of those taste-comparison thingies. But to be honest, I couldn’t be bothered. It was the end of the night, and I only had room for a half after all of the above (Korean food is surprisingly filling, especially when you’ve finished off your wife’s bibimbab for her). Maybe next time, eh?

Magic Rock Launch Night @ The Grove, Huddersfield 21.06.11

Last Tuesday night, I dragged my mate Andy over to Huddersfield for the Magic Rock Brewing launch at The Grove [warning: their website is decidedly Not Safe For Eyes at the moment]. It was just a half hour on the train from Manchester Piccadilly (with a tinnie of Punk IPA for company) then a short stroll through Huddersfield town centre to the pub.

We got there about five past seven; the place was already hammered and stayed that way until we left about 8 o’clock. In the meantime we chatted to South Manchester CAMRA’s John Clarke and sampled three of Magic Rock’s beers between us: Rapture (a dry, hoppy, 4.6% red ale), High Wire (a dry, hoppy, 5.5% pale ale) and Cannonball (a full-on 7.4% IPA that was sweet and not insanely over-hopped). Plenty to like in all three; definitely worth trying them all if you see them, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for their Dark Arts “surreal stout” in future.

We also spotted cask Thornbridge Jaipur down the end of the bar, so that just had to be done. But after an hour of rising heat and with the bar not getting any less busy we left The Grove – great pub by the way, about a dozen hand-pumps plus keg taps and bottle-fridges, we’ll definitely be back another time – we headed back to the station and called in at The Head of Steam for a refresher or two; Black Sheep Bitter for Andy and a mild from Phoenix for me (can’t actually remember the name of it – Black Magic, something like that? It was tasty, though.)

Suitably refreshed, we hopped on the 9.27 train and my plan was then to head home and get some kip, but Andy had another idea: the Port Street Beer House. I tired hard to stick to my guns, but he played the ‘it’s my 40th birthday at the weekend, we’re celebrating’ card and I was left powerless to resist. I’m quietly glad I did, because they had Hardknott Queboid on tap and it was lovely. A US-style double IPA weighing in at 8% ABV (I only had a half…) it was packed with rich, full, sweet-herbal flavours, but not too heavy on the hop-burn. I’ll definitely be trying that one again if I get the chance.

See the Magic Rock blog for an official report on the launch, as well as a detailed write-up from Neil at Eating Isn’t Cheating.