Christmas Beers 2014

Didn't have many new Christmas Beers this year but did manage a few, so here they all are, unless there are some on the other camera, which I should have back soon.

Jennings, Red Breast from England

 

4.5% red in colour with a thin head, not much aroma, not a bad taste but not for Christmas.

St Austell (Nicholson's), Saint Nich's from England

4.5% looks like Strongarm, dark amber with a good white head, it had a Christmassy smell and a bitter dry Christmassy taste.

Hardys & Hansons, Rocking Rudolph from England

 

4.2% deep amber in colour but with a poor head, a malty aroma and a little bit of a Christmas taste, ok but that's it.

Direct Beers, Yule Log from England

 

5.0% dark brown colour with a nice head, fruity aroma and a nice Christmas taste, not bad for the last one, even if the label is a bit dodgy.

Tesco Revisionist Beers, well Marston's Revisionist Beers

Well its been a month since my last post on here but that doesn't mean I haven't been drinking. I have but I haven't had many new beers or time to post them on here for that matter. I am still a little bit slow after my stroke, witch was just over a year ago but anyway I am going to have a go now.

Well my camera with most of my photos on not here, I have left it at my mothers, so for now it will have to be what I have with my phone or other camera. I know, I will cover the newer Tesco beers, well the ones I have had, though I had done these.

Marston's (Tesco), Revisionist Craft Lager from England

 

5.0% golden lager colour with a thin head, aroma and taste pretty much like a lager should be, well what the British call a lager anyway.

Marston's (Tesco), Revisionist Hefeweizen Wheat Beer from England

 

4.8% slightly cloudy yellow with a nice head, slightly bitter but not a bad wheat beer, particularly as it is made in England.

Marston's (Tesco), Revisionist Belgian Saison Beer from England

 

5.0% cloudy yellow in colour with a good head, a veggie aroma with a sort of fruity taste, not quite as bad as it sounds.

Marston's (Tesco), Revisionist California Common Steam Beer from England

 

4.7% brown in colour with a nice head, malty aroma, malt and hop taste not too bad.

Marston's (Tesco), Revisionist Rye Pale Ale from England

 

4.3% amber colour with a thin head, fruity aroma and fruity hop taste, another on not too bad.

Marston's (Tesco), Revisionist Dark India Pale Ale from England

 

4.8% deep red to back in colour with a good head, sweet aroma, rather bitter taste.

There are other beers from Marston's in this line of beers but that is it for now, although the next one from Shepherd Neame seems to fit in with the ones above.

Shepherd Neame (Tesco), Single Hop Kentish Ale from England

 

4.5% amber colour with a thin head, sweet hop aroma with a dry slightly fizzy hoppy lemon (well citrus) taste.

Weekends Beers Two, Sunday

Well following on from Saturday here are Sundays new beers.

Camerons, Castle Eden Ale from England

4.2% pale amber with a good head, some fruitiness in the aroma, an average bitter beer but not bad. Also it is one that I thought I had done but apparently not, this is one of the first beers I used to drink, when the Castle Eden brewery still existed.

Black Hill, Bottom Busty from England

3.9% black in colour with a good head, it had the aroma and taste of a nice stout although it is a Ruby Ale. Better than the one below.

Allendale, Black Grouse from England

4.0% black in colour with a good head, sweet aroma with a bitter taste.  Not as good as the one above.

Weekends Beers One, Saterday

Well I didn't get out on Friday but I did have a drink Saturday and Sunday. So I will start with Saturdays beers, Sunday will follow on the next blog.

Sharp's, Atlantic from England

 

4.5% gold colour with a thin head, fruity aroma and a very fruity grapefruit taste.

Jennings, Red Breast from England

 

4.5% red in colour with a thin head, not much aroma, not a bad taste but not Christmas.

Marstons, Golden Ginger Beer from England

 

4.0% gold colour with no head, ginger aroma, sweet spicy ginger taste.

Okell's, 1907 from The Isle Of Man

 

6.1% amber colour with a thin head, sweet toffee aroma with a nice hoppy taste.
1907 was the date of the first Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, a motorbike bike race, the best known motorbike bike races in the world. I know because I have been twenty times, from the 70s to the 90s, unfortunately I can no longer afford to get back there.

Beer I had in Stratford

It is called beer I had in Stratford but I didn't have a lot, in fact I only had three new beers in all. Saying that I did drink plenty, its just that the campsite bar only had Boddingtons (not to sure about that but I think it was Boddingtons, sorry to the site it it wasn't).

Oakham, Great Gustav from England

4.8% deep gold colour with a nice head, hop aroma and a very hoppy taste, far to hoppy for me. I come from the days when hops was used for a reason and not to give too much hop taste.

Black and Tan, Colonel's Whiskers from England

4.3% black with a thin head, liquorish aroma and a bitter liquorish taste. Not too bad and a lot better that the previous one.

Hook Norton, Lion from England

 

4.4% pale amber colour with a thin head, malty and hoppy aroma, with a very similar hoppy taste. Not quite as bad as the first one but it was hoppy.

Three of the First Beers

Well looking back at the beginning of the photo quest, back in 2007, it seems to have taken me a few weeks before I did my first British beer tasting. Anyway here are three of the earliest beers I took photos of. Of course just in case you didn't know, these are my first beer photos not my first beers. Saying that, it is only a few years longer than this, that I have been trying new beers in earnest, before this I just drank whatever there was on offer and that was usually northern beers.

Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu, Weizen Hefe Dunkel from Gemany



5.2% dark colour with a very good head, malty and hoppy aroma, malty yeast taste. Drank in Bad Liebenzell in the Black Forest of Germany. Looks like a good pint of draught Camerons Strongarm and although it was slightly watery than the Strongarm, it was quite good.

Grimbergen, Blond from Belgium



6.7%, golden colour with a thin head, sweet aroma and fruity malty taste, a really nice abbey beer. This beer is now one of my favourites and I buy it whenever I see it at a descent price, as are some of the other beers from Grimbergen. See here

InBev, Stella Artois, Belgium



5.2% golden colour with a thin head, slight malt aroma and taste, slightly over carbonated for my taste but refreshing. A present from my brother Mick, I am a beer man through and through but I think Stella Artois has been getting a lot of bad comments lately. For what the English call a lager, its not one of the of the worst, in fact it is one of the better ones, speaking as a beer drinker anyway.

Three from last week

Still slow at this but here are the three new beers I had last weekend.

Wellpark (C&C Group), Tennent's Beer Aged with Whisky Oak from Scotland

 

6.0% gold colour with no head, malt and whisky aroma, tastes strong with a slightly sweet after taste, not as good as I thought it would be. The Innis & Gunn, Original also from Scotland is far superior.

Ilkley, Mary Jane from England

 

3.5% gold colour with a thin head, hop aroma, citrus hop taste, very average, by that I mean it was as average as every other 3.5% bitter in England, although it was more hoppy than usual.

Altenmünster, Brauer Bier Urig Würzig from Germany

 

4.9% pale yellow with a thin head, smells and tastes like a good lager and that was it, just an ordinary lager.