Four Beers this Week

Four new beers this week, although one is an old favorite with a new strength (the strength did rise quite a while ago but I only just noticed).

First the old favorite Marston's, Pedigree from England Old and New

   

The old one was 4.5%, the new is 5.0%, not much differences in taste, although the new one may be a bit sweeter. the new 5.0%, deep amber colour with a thin head, aroma is malt, taste is malt, liquorice and toffee with a sweet aftertaste of refreshers.

The next on is also one I have had before, on draught in Durham, it was good then so worth trying in bottles.

Marston's, EPA from England

   

3.6% golden colour with a good head, fruity hop aroma, citrus hop taste, it was as good in bottles as it was on draught and at 3.6%, it just goes to prove, beer doesn't have to be strong to be good.

Next, Robinsons, Unicorn from England

  

4.3% amber colour with a thin head, hop and malt aroma, hop and malt aroma taste, quite a good beer.

Lastly, Thomas Hardy, Ushers Founders from England

  

4.7% deep amber colour with a thin head, low in aroma, taste is malt and hop, an ok bitter. It is possibly better than is sounds here but the other beers were all better on the night.

India Pale Ale (IPA)

I have had a quiet couple of weeks since the Christmas and new year holidays and also returning from a trip to York.  My laptop gave up the ghost and recovering all the info not backed up, took a lot of my time and resources. Is this an excuse for not blogging much lately, probably, so I better get on with it.

A friend asked the other day if I had seen an IPA as week as 3.6% (I had) but it started the debate, on whether the lower alcohol beers called IPA actually are IPA.  I discovered that these lower alcohol IPAs, have been brewed in Britain since at least the 1920s, so they must class as IPA by virtue of the historical use of the name.

I will not go into the full history but Classic IPAs are traditionally, strongly hopped pale ales, with a varied alcohol content, the higher alcohol content versions being viewed as the norm by most.

In the USA, IPA or American IPA, has really taken off and IPA is described by ratebeer as

IPA, This style, the modern version of which has largely been formed in the US, has an intense hop flavor which was used to preserve the beer for the long voyage. India Pale Ale has a golden to copper color with a medium maltiness and body. The aroma is moderate to very strong. IPAs work especially well at cutting the heat of chili, vindaloo or Sichuan cuisine. In England, IPA is often just another name for bitter although some micros are doing their own versions of an American IPA as well.

I am not a big fan of beers that are over hopped but many IPAs are very nice and also very refreshing. So now for some examples.

Greene King from England is well known for making IPA but not everyone realises they make more than one version. From the relatively week 3,6% up to the strong 7.5%.

 

IPA, 3.6% amber with a thin head, hop aroma, a nice light hop taste and very easy to drink.

IPA Export, 5.0% darker than your usual IPA, light hop aroma and it had a hint of toffee in the taste, very nice.

Very Special India Pale Ale, 7.5% amber colour with a thin head, citrus hop and malt aroma, strong hop and alcohol taste, maybe a bit to much for my taste.

Other lower alcohol IPAs are

Wells, Eagle IPA and Cains, IPA both from England

   

Eagle IPA, 3.6% amber colour with a poor head, some hops in the aroma, watery IPA taste.

Cains, IPA, 3.5%, amber no with head, very little aroma, watery taste and not much hops at all, very poor. It was like a very cheep 2.0% supermarket own brand beer.

Two stronger IPAs both from Scotland by BrewDog.

   

Punk IPA, 6.0% pale gold with no head, aroma of old pub, some grapefruit very bitter hop taste, did not like, I think this must be what a lot of the USA produced IPA is like.

Tesco Finest American Double IPA, 9.2% deep amber colour with a very thin head, sweet citrus and blackcurrant aroma (dont know what citrus though), taste is hops hops hops, the would USA would love it, I didn't it was overpowering and foul.

Told you I wasn't keen on over hopped beers, and as I also said there are many good IPAs out there and I will be reviewing more soon.

1,000 Beers

Just noticed that my beer photo collection has reached the 1,000 different beers milestone. Its been hard work but someone has to do it.

There have been highs and lows along the way and a not inconsiderable amount of money involved. Thankfully the highs have been much more than the lows and there are not many beers I have had to pour down the drain.

The lowest of the low, has to be Brouwerij Rodenbach, Rodenbach from Belgium, you may have read my rantings about it before but it is foul. Horrible beer very sour and vinegary, it tastes like Cameron's Strongarm when the barrel has gone off (just ask anyone from North East England what that is like). As far as I can tell these beers are made from, presumably good beers, that are deliberately soured, using aged off beer or Lactobacillus (a lactic acid bacteria) to produce a foul tasting product that is still called beer. Anyway Rodenbach is a 5.2% Sour Ale, very sour and vinegary, not nice at all, had it on draught and it was bad then but I was convinced to give it another go, it was the wrong decision. I have been drinking beer for 40 something years and did not know there was such a thing as Sour Ale, it must be an acquired taste but one the majority will never get, the sour, acidic taste made my throat sore but I did finish it.

  

Of the many highs, I have picked another Belgian beer, Van Steenberge, Gulden Draak, I don't want to give the impression that I don't like Belgian beers. Gulden Draak is a 10.5% very dark red in colour beer with a thin head, lot of fruit in the aroma and the taste is very complex, it was like eating a quarter pound of Midget Gems in one go, Lyons Midget Gems that is, not Maynards and it is strong (Midget Gems are a UK thing I think). I is not the strength though that make this a favorite, it is full of flavor and taste,

I could go on but I would have nothing to write about in future blogs, however you can view all of the 1,000 beers here

More Christmas Beers

Some more winter beers and after moaning about some Christmas beers not being very festive, these have made the effort.

Shepherd Neame, Christmas Ale 2008 and 2009 from England

  

2009, 7.0%, deep amber with a thin head, fruity hoppy aroma, the taste which is warming, is sweet, fruity, hoppy and slightly caramel, much the same as last year's, a good Christmas Ale. I was not able to find the brew for 2010 or 2011.

Wychwood, Bah Humbug Christmas Cheer from England



5.0% very deep red with a thin head, festive aroma, sweet taste and the sweets could be Fruit Salads, also hints of Weight Watchers strawberry tart yogurt, a very good Christmas beer.

Meantime, Winter Time from England



5.4% light brown colour with a good head, dark chocolate aroma, chocolate stout taste, a nice warming beer.

Fuller's, Old Winter Ale from England



5.3% deep amber with a thin head, sweet malt aroma, fruity, roasted caramel flavour, a nice winter beer, that I had on one of the hottest days of the year. I would be nice to have one at Christmas time.

Erdinger, Schneeweisse Winterbier from Germany



5.6% nice head, I could not really detect any difference from the classic Erdinger Weissbier but I didn't have one to compare, it was still good though, and anyway, Erdinger is one of my all-time favourites, it is gorgeous.

Two Christmas Beers from Belgium

Now for two that do live up to the expectations, it is just coincidence that they both come from Belgium. I do have two or three good Christmas Beers from the UK and I will review them next. The first of the Belgian beers is possibly the best Christmas Beer I have ever had and the other is from Leffe and if you know me, you will know how much I like Leffe.

John Martin, Gordon Xmas from Belgium



8.8% deep ruby red with a very thin head, roasted malt and port aroma, complex taste of roast malt, toffee, coffee, almost sweet sherry, very festive, like a Christmas party in your mouth. Absolutely loved it, the commercial description says "Created in the thirties, Gordon Xmas initiated the tradition of Christmas brews" I wish they were all this good.

But remember, just because I thought it was fantastic doesn't mean everyone will like it but in my opinion, if you are going to try a Xmas beer it should be different from the norm and taste festive.

Leffe, Bière de Noël from Belgium



6.6% deep red colour with a thin head, the aroma is spicy and very fruity and it has a fruity Christmas taste, exactly what I wanted from a Christmas Beer.

Two More Christmas Beers

As I said in the last blog Christmas Beers, just giving a brew a festive name and label, doesn't mean that it will taste any different from any other everyday beer. Well here are another two that fall into that category.

Shepherd Neame, Tins'Ale from England



4.0% deep amber colour with a good head, fruity caramel aroma, fruity but slightly lacking in body, not the best beer on a cold winters night

Batemans, Rosey Nosey from England



4.7% deep amber colour with a nice head, caramel malt aroma, slightly bitter malty caramel taste, not at all Christmassy.

Christmas Beers

Well I am back after a Christmas break from bogging (and a broken computer), and also a couple of short drinking trips to York.

I am going to do a couple of blogs on Christmas Beers. Seasonal beers were not always readily available in the UK but over the last few years they have been making a comeback. I think it could have something to do with the resurgence of small independent brewers. Of course, I could be wrong but I have never noticed so many seasonal beers before the last few years.

Now the first thing I have to mention is, that just giving a brew a festive name and label, doesn't mean that it will taste any different from any other everyday beer. Some are very ordinary indeed, while others invoke feelings of warmth and memories of the tastes of Christmas past.

I will start with the three seasonal beers I had on our last trip to York.

Northumberland, Hoppy New Year from England



3.8% amber colour with a good head, hop aroma, hop and malt taste, not very festive at all, probably brewed for drinking in large quantities on new years eve but even then I would not have wanted more than one.

Moorhouses, Lap Prancer from England



4.2% deep amber with a good head, fruity caramel aroma. nice fruity caramel taste but also not really a festive beer, although I did have a couple.

Wold Top, 5 Wold Rings from England



5.0% amber colour with a good head, fruity citrus aroma, fruity citrus hop and malt taste, slightly better on the festive front.

I have had better and worse Christmas Beers, more to come in the next blog.