[A Few More Than] Six Links to 03.08.11

In which I usually post a half-dozen links to items of interest I’ve spotted around the Beerblogosphere since my last Six Beer Links post. But seeing as I’ve been on holiday for a couple of weeks since my last proper read-through my RSS feeds and tuned back in to find 717 unread items waiting for me, I’ll be posting stuff in longer-than-usual batches until I’ve caught up…

1. Here’s a video chat with three members of Bellowhead, back-stage at this year’s V Festival on the subject of touring, brewing and diverse other things [via ‘Local Beer Champion’ accreditation scheme for pubs who do their bit to support breweries in their region. More info at www.siba.co.uk/sibalocals.

2. This year’s 2011 CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain – Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde – looks like one I’d definitely like to try. And I’ve enjoyed many a pint of the always excellent runner-up (Marble Chocolate) and a one or two of the third-placed (Salopian Shropshire Gold) before now. Congrats to all three breweries!

3. The People’s Pint y’say? Good idea, having a lower-strength option on the bar for extended sessions. Bloody stupid name though. Would you be tempted to try a beer that sounds like a government initiative?

4. Via www.siba.co.uk, news that Molson Coors has announced plans to invest £175m in its UK breweries, including the recently-acquired Sharps. Which is a Good Thing in anyone’s book, surely?

5. Gotta love those Ralph Steadman labels from Flying Dog. Here’s news of a new one, courtesy of beernews.org.

6. Will Hawkes has profiled Sussex brewer Dark Star for The Independent Online [via Is Saison the New Citra?, decided it isn’t and then explained his flavour-profile-based conclusion.

7. Mark Dredge got a few things off his chest with a piece on beer branding and I have to say I find myself nodding in agreement with just about everything he says there.

8. …his piece also prompted Boak and Bailey to follow up with a few simple but rather excellent Branding Tips for Small Breweries.

9. …and on the same topic, Jeff Pickthall’s PumpClip Parade blog was featured in a Guardian Online article on Real Ale’s Image Problem.

10. Over at Eating Isn’t Cheating, Neil has been looking into the world of Foreign Export Stouts and mentions a couple I haven’t tried yet.

11. Via Brew Wales, news that Brains Original Stout may soon be appearing in a larger Tesco near you. Any new bottled stout on the supermarket shelves is a cause for celebration (and worth a try or two) if you ask me.

12. Pete Brown encountered brilliant bar service at BrewDog Edinburgh, based around the principle of friendly, good-looking young people handing out hundreds of free samples of beer (he’s got a point there, what’s not to like?)

13. Martyn Cornell got a bit hot under the collar about Roger Protz and Otley Brewery’s new Burton Ale, which due to an accident of 1970s brand reinvention, apparently isn’t a Burton Ale.

14. BrewDog have announced the winner of their 2011 Photo Competition. I voted for the swimming dog myself, but there you go :)

Travelogue Ireland, July 2011 – Days Three and Four: Good Times with Good Friends

Or… Part Three: “We think you two will like Balloo House…”

Newgrange and Knowth – two Neolithic burial / temple complexes in the Boyne valley that are accessed via the same visitor centre – are interesting enough for a visit, but probably not more than once, unless you’re an archaeologist with special privileges. Our advice: get their early. Access to the sites is by tour-guide only, the tours fill up fast and are strictly limited. And don’t expect a spiritually enlightening experience; not unless being crammed into a small stone-walled chamber with another 23 people for all of five minutes, with the highlight being the guide turning off the main lights and flicking on a 40-watt bulb to simulate the midwinter solstice sunrise, is your idea of enlightenment.*

After our dose of historical heritage, we carried on towards our next destination: the tiny village of Ballyhornan on the east coast of County Down in Northern Ireland, home to our very good friends Paul and Marie. On arrival we were greeted with hearty bear-hugs and then plied with a platter snacks and some beery refreshments; starting off with a bottle of Shepherd Neame Spitfire, which hit the spot quite nicely.

After that we settled in to a weekend of chat, cheer and general catching up, suitably lubricated, of course. Paul had made an astonishingly good lamb rogan josh for Friday night’s supper and I’d brought along a few bottles in anticipation. We started with a Sharp’s Monsieur Rock, which was just perfect with the curry. Paul’s reaction on sampling it was something along the lines of “Sweet Jesus Christ, that’s good…” and Marie was suitably impressed as well: so much so that she went and nicked the second half of Paul’s bottle.

After that we worked our way through a few more bottles that I’d brought over for the occasion: mainly Hook Norton Hooky Gold and Thornbridge Jaipur, as well as a couple of Smithwick’s Red (courtesy of Paul) and then I offered Paul a go-halves on the bottle of Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA as a post-prandial digestif, but he demurred (the mad fool had been on the Magners as well and was starting to feel the affects) so I supped it myself. Selfish of me, I know, but I did insist he had a nip to sample the stuff and he seemed suitably impressed.

The next day dawned bright and early (earlier for some than for others), with the sun making a brief appearance and turning a broad swathe of the coast to burnished gold. Which was nice. Once we’d all come round we headed on out to the Mount Pleasant country estate for a drizzly but still-pleasant wander around the gardens.

After our meander we travelled around the top end of Strangford Lough and down to Balloo House at Balloo for a truly memorable meal. The place looks like it was originally a large country inn that’s been further expanded and extended; a Michelin-mentioned restaurant upstairs offers evening meals for the discerning gastronomes (or just the better-off who don’t want to mingle with the hoi-polloi) whilst the Bistro on the ground floor – where we ate – does a range of high-quality pub grub at what I reckon were pretty reasonable prices.

You’ll have to excuse me if I start drooling on the keyboard as I recall the food we had: I started with a little something from the specials board: queen scallops on summer veg risotto with crispy leeks, which was quite delightful. I followed that with loin of pork stuffed with black pudding on buttered cabbage (no, that was the Porterhouse a couple of nights later, cheers Jo!) roast belly pork with boulangerie potatoes on roasted veg (I think) with caramelised apple, which was likewise delicious.

Unfortunately I can’t quite say the same for the beer I’d selected for us all to have with the meal: the Whitewater Copperhead is described on the brewery website as having a “very intense flavour”, but to my mind it was maybe just a shade too sour, perhaps only just the right side of drinkable.** I soldiered on and got through the pint (as did everyone else, very politely humouring the beer geek) but then switched to Smithwick’s Draught for my second pint, which was… beery. Not bad, just not hugely distinctive or particularly impressive. The bottled version the night before was more flavourful and had a less gassy mouth-feel, so I definitely preferred that one.

Then, dessert: and I had a chocolate tort that was quite genuinely to die for. Honestly, it was so dense, so rich and so quite obviously calorie-potent I thought my arteries were going to shut down in protest as soon as I put the first spoonful in my mouth. I ate the lot though and got a way with just a titanic sugar rush and a few mild heart palpitations. Absolutely excellent stuff and I can thoroughly recommend the place.

After that huuuge lunch we headed back to Paul and Marie’s for a bit of a sit down, before wiling away a pleasant evening with one or two more of the above beers, plus a few nibbles. Jo and I had a great time, we always love catching up with these particular friends of ours and we’re already looking forward to the next time we can bring them over to Manchester. Paul and Marie have been over here before now and have experienced The Marble Arch, but they’ve not yet eaten at The Angel or visited the Port Street Beer House, so they’ve still got all that to look forward to. Lucky them.

Previously on Travelogue Ireland, July 2011: Day One: North Wales and Day Two: Drogheda.
Next up: Days Four and Five: Dublin.

* Sorry, that probably sounded more cynical than it was intended to be. Don’t get me wrong, they’re both interesting, significant sites and worth seeing, but unless you enter and win the solstice lottery (or are happy to put your name down on the booking list then wait the 9 or 10 years for a regular slot to become available) then you’re just going to be one more tourist among many being driven like sheep im and out of the chamber within the allotted time-slot.
** I thought about sending it back, but a combination of my lack of familiarity with the brew (red ale is meant to be slightly sour, right?) and not wanting to be the Fecking English Eejit Who’s Just Taking the Piss made me stick with it.

Six Beer Links to 10.07.11

In which I post a half-dozen links to items of interest I’ve spotted around the Beerblogosphere since my last Six Beer Links post.

1. Our local CAMRA branch has announced its Pub of the Year and the honour goes to the Hare and Hounds in Holcombe Brook. Reckon that’s do-able by bus from Bury town centre, if we picked the right one. And by Jove, they have an Alecam on their website so you can see what they’re serving before you set out. Fantastic idea!

2. Keeping it local: as a fully paid-up and positively evangelistic member of the pro-sparkler brigade, I thoroughly enjoyed Tyson’s paean of praise to the humble yet wonderful sparkler. “Never has something so small given so much pleasure to so many.”* Hear, hear and well said indeed!

3. Fantastic idea number two: these rather fantastic animated images look like an excellent idea. I don’t know how much the US agency that came up with the process would charge for putting them together, but if I was working for a brewery, I’d be straight on the phone to see what it would take to get them on our website. That last one in particular – doesn’t looking at that just make you incredibly thirsty? [via International IPA Day. “Attention all craft beer evangelists, brewers, bloggers, and suds-savvy citizens! On Thursday, August 4th 2011, you are cordially invited to participate in the largest international craft beer celebration and virtual conversation the world has ever seen.” It looks like there might be an event on at The Port Street Beer House. I’ll be needing to book a day’s holiday for August 5th, then…

4. This thought-provoking post from the blog of online beer retailer Beermerchants.com had me nodding in agreement throughout. It’s perfectly true, when you stop and think about it for even a minute, it really is an amazing time to be a fan of excellent beer.

5. Equally thought-provoking: Sharp’s Head Brewer Stuart Howe talks about the value of feedback; good when it comes in the form of up-front, constructive criticism and not so good when it involves somebody slyly taking the piss. “Spare a thought for brewers like me when you are sampling beer but most of all be honest and constructive with them. Some of the most important improvements I have made to my techniques have been wrought from criticism. The most profound betrayal of a brewer is to slag his beers off behind his back.” Sounds like a bit of a no-brainer, but maybe it’s something that we beer reviewers and beer bloggers could do with keeping in mind from time to time, eh?

*I was going to insert a gag about the rampant rabbit, but someone beat me to it in the comments on Tyson’s post ;)

Six Beer Links to 25.06.11

In which I post a half-dozen links to items of interest I’ve spotted around the Beerblogosphere since my last Six Beer Links post.

1. I really like the sound of Summer Wine Brewery‘s ‘The Benz‘: SWB brewer James says: “‘The Benz’ is going to be different to say the least, it’s a pitch black mild come stout at 5.2%, a soft roast bitterness, low hop bitterness profile finished with an insane amount of dry hopping just to mess with your head.” I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for that one.

2. Likewise Black Harry from Thornbridge, named after a local highwayman. “Thornbridge’s Black Harry use Pale Ale, Crystal, Black and Oat Malt. The Hop is Hallertau Northern Brewer. The beer at 3.9% is dark, refreshing and very drinkable. It has a fruity aroma with notes reminiscent of raspberry, a light creamy body and a long nutty finish.” Sounds delicious. Here’s hoping it ends up at the Port Street Beer House before too long.

3. Stuart Howe continues to innovate and create as well. The Sharp’s head brewer has posted details of his latest fascinating-sounding brew: “an amber beer fermented very warm in an open tank with abbey yeast … then racked into casks with a blend of wild yeast strains only one of which survived to do anything. The beer has been rounding off for the last 3 years in the cellars and tasted very good when sampled yesterday.” Blimey, I’ll bet it did. “Wild Amber Massive” will be available at the Stratford-Upon-Avon Beer Festival, if you’re heading down that way.

4. Still more unbridled creativity, this time from Tim Anderson – 2011 Masterchef Champion and former manager of premier London Beerhouse The Euston Tap – who has been brewing and cooking up at BrewDog. He’s designed and brewed “a 7.5% Miso, Toasted Walnut & Sorachi Ace dark lager” which will be called ‘Mr Squirrel’ and “Tim will be returning to Aberdeen in around 8 weeks time to launch the beer he brewed and also to put together some more treats in a Japanese inspired Musa beer dinner.” Not for the first time (and, I suspect, not for the last) I really, really wish I lived a lot closer to Aberdeen…

5. Still with BrewDog, they’ve announced that the 2011 BrewDog Photo Competition is now open for entries. Prizes include beer vouchers, dinner chez Brewdog, etc. “All you have to do is capture a moment when BrewDog is present and send it on over to us. The only rule for the photo is that it must contain something BrewDog.” Closing date July 13th.

6. And sticking with photography, Rob from one of my favourite beer blogs, Beer Lens, tweeted a couple of weeks ago that he was planning a trip to Manchester and could anyone recommend a few pubs to try. I @replied and suggested The Angel, The Port Street Beer House, and a few other places. Rob has since featured two Marble pubs on the blog: The Marble Arch and 57 Thomas Street . I reckon he’s done them proud there.

Brewery: Sharp’s [Sharp’s Mail Order

Sharp’s head brewer Stuart Howe‘s collaboration with Jean-Marie Rock of Belgian Trappist brewery Orval has been the talk of the beertwittersphere for quite a while now and the buzz shows no sign of abating. Caught up in this whirlwind of enthusiasm a couple of weeks ago, I placed an order for a case of 12 bottles direct from Sharp’s in the interests of seeing for myself just what all the fuss is all about.

Monsieur Rock is a lager that was created to showcase the flavours of the saaz hop, a noble variety from the Bohemia region of the Czech Republic that’s widely used in pilsener-style beers (and if any of that’s wrong, please correct it on Wikipedia). There’s plenty of detail on Stuart Howe’s blog about the brewing of Monsieur Rock (some of it way over my head I have to admit) as well as a five-part recounting of the visits to the Orval brewery that were the catalyst for the collaboration.

This wealth of background information has definitely helped to fuel the general levels of enthusiasm for the beer, especially among beer bloggers; I think a large part of what makes us blogging-types so vociferously enthusiastic about certain favourite brews is when a great-tasting beer is accompanied by a great back-story. Seldom has a beer’s back-story been told in such detail as has Monsieur Rock’s, but what of the first part of that enthusiasm-generating equation? Is Monsieur Rock also a great-tasting beer?

I’ve sampled three bottles of Monsieur Rock in the past couple of weeks. Following a spot of Twitter-borne advice from Mark Dredge I chilled the first one in the fridge for a couple of days. It poured a pale, golden-amber colour with a big, frothy white Belgian-lager head and released an aroma blast of tropical citrus: fresh-cut mango and clementine orange. The first thing I tasted was a light, biscuity-malt, followed by an almost gingery spice tang with that Belgian yeast note lurking in the background and a long, lingering, bitter after-taste. It was incredibly refreshing, sharp and dry without being too harsh, although possibly this one had been chilled for a tad too long – it needed to come back up from tooth-numbingly, gum-shockingly cold before I could really settle in to enjoy the back-of-the-throat sweet-spot lager-bite properly. And it was a bit too gassy when it was really cold as well. Lesson learned.

I had bottle number two straight after the first and, for comparison purposes, I opted for one that was still at beer-cupboard temperature. I really can’t recommend that approach to be honest, as the sharpness was distinctly dulled and the crispness had definitely lost its crunch. There was still a fair bit of fresh flavour in there, but it just didn’t seem to gel properly; something about it wasn’t quite right. Another one chalked up to experience: follow the brewer’s instructions when considering chilling; they ought to know best after all.

So bottle number three, which was sampled about a week after those first two, was chilled for just an hour or so. I think that one was just about right: enough of a chill to hit all the right aaaahhhh-receptors – but not so much that my molars were screaming for mercy – and all those saaz-led flavours balancing out quite nicely. Could maybe stand another hour in the fridge, but any more than that and I think it’s probably overkill.

And the final verdict? Monsieur Rock is a very, very good lager indeed; very drinkable, very flavourful and hugely refreshing. I’d definitely recommend grabbing a bottle or three if you see it on sale anywhere or, indeed, ordering a case of 12 direct from Sharp’s, as it looks like they still have stock. But I’m stopping short of using words like amazing, awesome or fantastic… so far. Mainly because whilst I can appreciate a good lager and have tried a few in recent months that I’ve enjoyed, it’s just not my favourite style; I’m much more at home on the malty ale through to imperial porter arc of the flavour wheel. Also, because I have six bottles of my twelve-case left (counting out the three I’ve promised to take over to Ed next time I’m in Belfast) and I’m planning on saving them for much warmer weather. Let’s face it, a dank, drizzly February evening can’t be the right time to showcase Monsieur Rock to it’s best advantage, surely? A scorching summer’s day (should we ever see one of those again) has to be a better environment for a beer like this one?

Plus I think it will be really interesting to see whether, after five or six months additional bottle conditioning, the beer maintains the same flavour profile or perhaps sharpens even more? I’ll report back when I find out.

Thanks to the timely spotting of a tweet by young Mr Dredge last Friday and following the handing over of £29 (inc p&p, no less) to the good folks at Sharps Brewery I am now the happy possessor of a dozen bottles of the much feted and widely hyped, nay near-legendary brew that is Monsieur Rock.

Voila:

C’est bon, n’est ce pas? Oui. C’est tres bon.*

I look forward to giving a bottle or two of Monsieur Rock a go this weekend, once it’s settled a bit, along with the bottle of Sharps DW that I also decided to indulge in (it’s been brewed and sold for charity, so that makes it an entirely worthwhile indulgence in my book).

[Bonus item: my consignment was expertly packed into a huge box filled with pre-shredded cardboard... perfect for the compost bin. Result!]

* Apologies to any actual French speakers if I’ve gotten any of that wrong. It’s been a loooong time since my GCSEs…

Jo and I were up in Bury on Saturday lunchtime, so we nipped into the Robert Peel for a microwaved ready-meal (I know, I know, but the liver & mash wasn’t too bad…) and to give their Festival pumps the once-over. They had a reasonable showing of five Festival beers on offer, although one of them was stickered up ‘available soon’. Brains Dark was there again, alongside John Smith’s Heritage Ale, which didn’t grab my attention. But I did try the two others on offer.

Not being a big fruit beer fan at all, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Sharp’s Red Sloe Ale but what I got was a fresh, bitter, dark-amber ale that wasn’t at all fruity in the usual sense. The sloe (a small, astringent, plum-like fruit of the blackthorn, in case you were wondering) adds tartness rather than sweetness to an already hoppy brew, so the overall effect is closer to a citrus tang than a strawberry or raspberry sugariness. In conclusion: a quite palatable easy-drinker (at 4.0% abv) and one that I was happy to have tried it after all.

The second beer was – at last – one of the overseas guest ales: Wild Blue Yonder Oregon Amber Ale. This beer was brewed especially for the Wetherspoon’s festival by Bend Brewing Company‘s Head Brewmaster Tonya Cornett. There’s an interview with Tonya in the festival booklet which, once you get past all the completely unnecessary “that’s right, she’s a woman, get used to it fellas” schtick, makes Bend Brewing – and particularly their Imperial IPAs – sound rather interesting indeed.

Wild Blue Yonder itself is extremely tasty: a light, fresh, hoppy ale with a smooth mouth-feel and a nutty, caramel finish. At 4.8% it’s a definite easy-drinking indeed and it was certainly good enough to send me back to the bar for another on (and at £1.49 for a Festival pint up in Bury, why the hell not?) Again, I’m very glad I tried this one.

All in all then, my two visits to Wetherspoon’s for this particular Festival didn’t amount to a scooper’s triumph. I only got to try half a dozen of the 50 beers that were in the booklet, although to be fair, three of them were well worth the effort: Wild Blue Yonder and the previously mentioned Wooden Hand Cornish Mutiny and Thwaite’s Double Century. But generally speaking, it sounds like I need to get out more at Festival time…

Brewery: Sharp’s
Origin: Rock, Cornwall, England
ABV: 6.0%
Version: 330ml

Following up on Darren’s earlier review of Sharp’s Chalky’s Bite, it falls on me to cover their catchily named Honey Spice Wheat Beer. A quick browse of their website shows no sign of any reference to it, and I’ve already left the recycling box out and can’t be bothered going to retrieve the bottle, hence no photograph at this stage to illustrate.

So basically, they’ve taken the hops and wheat and barley malts, added some honey, stuffed the spices in and then left it all for 6 months to mature. The final bottle-conditioned product pours an unsurprising cloudy, light honey colour, initially very frothy but quickly settling to a much thinner head. The aroma is very much of fruit, hints of orange in there. The flavour starts off slightly malty, quickly followed with some well controlled honey sweetness and a hint of bitter sneaking in. No idea what spices have been used as they appear so well integrated into the flavour I had difficulty detecting them. The same could be said of any expected wheat characteristics; only for the label I wouldn’t have known this was a wheat beer. All in all quite an enjoyable drop and certainly worth checking out but I’m not sure I’ll be rushing out to repeat the experience.

Brewery: Sharp’s
Origin: Rock, Cornwall, England
ABV: 6.8%
Version: 330ml bottle
Source: Sainsbury’s

The neck-label carries celeb-chef Rick Stein’s autograph and the story, according to the back label, is that Rick Stein challenged Sharp’s head brewer Stuart Howe to come up with “an English beer with the character, individuality and quality to stand alongside the Belgian greats”. Mr Howe came up with a strong beer that features “wild Cornish fennel” as the not-so secret ingredient and then named it after Mr Stein’s pet terrier.

And a very nice brew indeed it is, too. It’s a big, bold-tasting beer, with a rich, creamy texture. It’s not at all treacly or sweet – as a lot of the stronger beers I’ve tried have tended to be – and although it’s pretty potent stuff, it is remarkably drinkable. Worryingly drinkable, in fact, so it’s probably a good job they’re selling it in 330ml miser’s portions.

The fennel element might be a little off-putting for some, as the raw vegetable has a strong aniseed flavour which doesn’t always agree with everyone. But in beer form the aniseed seems to have been restricted to the aroma, whereas any lingering flavours are more vanilla-esque in essence.

I’d definitely like to try this one on draft, if it’s available, and as Sharp’s also brew the generally very highly-recommended Doombar, I think the idea of a short holiday in Cornwall has just taken on a whole new level of attractiveness.

This Saturday’s Independent Magazine carried an advert / feature placed by CAMRA, suggesting a selection of bottled ales and bitters that can be “served refreshingly cool… the perfect tipple to accompany summer barbecues at home or the pub.” 10 to 14 degrees celsius, ideally…

And the seven cool-ones of choice are:

• Wychwood Hobgoblin
• Fuller’s London Pride
• Caledonian Deuchars IPA
• Brakspear Brakspear Bitter
• Brains SA
• Sharp’s Doom Bar
• Greene King Greene King IPA

I can vouch for Hobgoblin, Deuchars IPA and Greene King IPA – all very nice indeed at cellar temperatures – although I wasn’t all that impressed when I tried a draught pint of Brakspear Bitter a couple of weeks ago (mind you, it was mid-session when I was on something much stronger and heavier, so maybe that wasn’t the best time to try it).

The last three are now on my ‘to try’ list. We’ve just had a brick barbecue built in the back garden (which could explain the recent spate of crap weather) so hopefully I’ll be able to get a few in for the first time we fire it up…