Brewdog 'Russian Doll'

This was a pack of experimental beers from BrewDog. The idea is that the beers share the basics recipe but the abv is ramped up as you go through the range, starting at 4%, going to 6, 8 then finishing on 10% with the barley wine.

From their website: 'The range of flavours and aromas present in Russian Doll come from the same malt bill, the same four hop varieties and identical water and yeast.'

Russian Doll Pale Ale: As you'd expect colour-wise. It had Punk's characteristic 'dusty' note and while the hops came through on the nose I didn't pick up so much on the palate. It was decent and refreshing but perhaps a bit too dry/lacking fruit.

Russian Doll IPA:This was a bit more orange in colour, quite a bit deeper. On the nose it wasn't massively different to the PA, but where the PA fell a bit short on the palate this one delivered, there was a alot more punch. The dryness was off-set with a burst of orange and tropical fruit. Altogether a much more rounded beer.

Russian Doll Double IPA: Similar to the IPA in appearance, much more pronounced on the nose, the hops were more overt and once I had a sip it really hit those grapefruit pithy notes I'd expect from a US-style IPA. I'm not usually a huge DIPA fan but this was great, the dry 'Russian Doll' character that runs through the first three of these beers sits nicely against the juicy mouth-watering fruit.

Russian Doll Barley Wine: This was very different to the first three. It was a lot darker, sweeter and viscous. There were liquorice and burnt toffee notes that I hadn't picked up from the previous three. Barley wine isn't something that I've drunk enough of to say if this is a particularly good example but I quite enjoyed it - although it's one I might have appreciated more in a third of a pint measure rather than a 33cl bottle!

All in all an interesting little experiment. Say what you like about BrewDog they're not afraid to go for the beer geek market (and long may that continue) but even putting that aside these were good beers without being ridiculously priced.

Bought straight from the BrewDog shop, starting at £10 for the pack.

Islay Ales & Bruichladdich

If you're going to go for a whisky and beer pairing what better than beer from the world's most renowned whisky island? Well as far as Islay's most famously distinctive offerings are concerned it doesn't really follow. Much as I love beer and whisky to accompany one another it doesn't necessarily follow that peaty whisky works - I find the peat overpowers beer so I usually enjoy a peaty dram as a stand alone (Bowmore Laimrig is the current peaty tipple of choice). So when I was wondering what to try and match my Islay Ales brace with Bruichladdich was the distillery I turned to; a distillery that offers a range of whiskies across the peating levels scale. I went for the 'Laddie Classic' Scottish Barley unpeated expression - one that I really enjoyed at a Bruichladdich tasting a while back.

First up was the 'Saligo Ale' which unfortunately was, I think, a bit past its best. It was still lively and smelled fine but there was a a sourness in the finish which didn't work on its own let alone with the honeyed sweetness of the whisky. The 'Single Malt' Ale was more like it; it was all about that malt, the yeast and hops taking a back seat to the point where it was almost like crunching malt in your teeth. There was a brief play on some peachy fruit on the palate and a chalky finish but it all came across as background accompaniment to that big maltiness which unfortunately renders it a little one-dimensional. As a pairing with the whisky I think the contrast was almost a bit too much; either the whisky was too sweet or the beer a bit too dry - nothing against either on their own but a bit too much of a clash to be as harmonious as some I've had in the past.

Perhaps not the most successful half and half pairing I've done, but since it seems that barrel-aged beers are popular at the moment I'll hopefully get to have a bit of a play around with more and set the record straight soon!

Both Islay Ales (Saligo at 4.8% & Single Malt Ale at 5%, both 50cl) came from Ales by Mail for £3.05 & £3.14 respectively. A quick google for the Bruichladdich and you can pick it up for less than £42, it's bottled at 50% abv.

Los Muertos Brewing Co. Pair

I'll admit to being drawn in by Los Muertos' packaging here, I think those skulls revived the teenage metal fan a bit. Was I just suckered because of something that shares a thematic link to Entombed? Well, maybe, but if that was the only case then I was certainly more encouraged by seeing the brewery featuring over on Phil's blog than I was from previous excursions into Mexican beer territory.

First up was the 4.8% 'Queen of the Night' Pale Ale, which was actually more orange in colour, almost like a blood orange. It didn't have a lot of aroma, although on the palate it had a good pithyness although I felt it would have benefited from being crisper. Decent enough, but I suspect it lost something in the journey across the Atlantic.

The 6.8%  'Dead On Arrival' IPA on the other hand seemed, rather ironically, to have survived a bit better. It was more aromatic, and with all you'd expect form an American style IPA, bags of tropical fruit and grapefruit hoppy bite. Very tasty indeed.

So one beer that really seemed to last the journey and one that didn't so much. Still, always good to see something more innovative happening than persuading idiots connoisseurs to stick fruit in the top of something because otherwise it tastes of nothing 'that's what they do in Mexico'.

They cam, I think, courtesy of Ales by Mail, although I forgot to note down how much I paid for them.

Arbor Ales 'Single Hop Series: Motueka'

I saw this one on Beer Ritz's list last time I did an order and had to go for it. Despite the only other beer I'd had from Arbor to date not being that successful I had heard great things about them and thought they warranted a second chance at least. The other reason was that Motueka (near Nelson on the south island of New Zealand) is a place with good memories for me; it's where I filled an ambition of mine to learn to skydive. I wasn't very good at it (although, clearly, not fatally bad) and skydiving is something I'm sure my wife is pretty glad I got out of my system. Along with the whole 'overdid watching Point Break as a kid' thing the holiday in New Zealand revolved a fair bit around wine and wineries. I'd not long started work at Oddbins and the bright, gooseberry fruit of NZ Sauvignon had grabbed me (and in my wine classes many novices since) and got me realising that there is no mysticism to describing flavours in wine (or beer or anything else) it's far more about practise, and enjoying the process. I started to learn the different flavours that come even within one grape variety, and learned that all NZ Sauvignon Blanc isn't just about super-ripeness and tropical fruit, indeed I preferred some with more restraint, with a citrus tang. So, Motueka the hop. Biased? Most probably, but there's nothing wrong with going into something hopeful of a good experience.

It's light, with an elderflower note on the nose. On the palate I got a touch of flour but lots of grapefruit and lime with a grassy finish. All in all a great quencher, and great to get all those lovely fresh hop flavours out of a beer at properly sessionable strength. Much as I love those moreish American style IPAs at 6%+ I think I could drink more of this without it hating me! It's got that old 'sunshine in a glass' thing that New World wines are so good at (even if in part they are trying to shake it off as an image). More citrussy than tropical; just as I like 'em.

4.0% abv. £2.75 (50cl) from Beer Ritz.

Thornbridge 'Wild Swan'

So there's me getting myself ready for winter; I have seductive visions of viscous imperial stouts and single malts that have the bonfire reek my clothes used to pick up from helping my grandad with fires in his back garden when I was little. Then what happens? Well, the small Waitrose in Nottingham starts to stock, and discount, Thornbridge Jaipur and White Swan - the latter being one I don't remember having tried previously. This served as a timely reminder that there are no rules; good beer can be enjoyed at any time of year, and, well, it had to be done really - so here's to the summer?

It pours very pale. It's described on the bottle as a 'white-gold pale ale' which I'm not about to argue with. The head was fluffy, light and long-lasting. On the nose it's all grassy hops. There's none of the tropical fruit you get in Jaipur or Punk. Using a wine analogy it's a lot more like a Sancerre to Jaipur's Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc; it has a mineral, flinty edge while retaining the clean citrus fruit from the hops. Once past the initial hop-hit the malt comes through with crystal clarity, it took me right back to getting my nose into a handful at the brewery in the summer.

This was a beer I expected I'd be indifferent about but it really does pack an immense amount of flavour into a low-ish alcohol beer. It's well worth picking up if you want something you can enjoy without getting your head into a fog that's perhaps more appropriate for a weekend!

3.5% abv. £2.09 for 50cl in Waitrose. It's also on a four for three deal at the moment.

Purple Moose

Do some beer styles just not 'translate' that well from draught to bottle? Whenever I'm in the pub I almost always have one of the beers that are on tap. Exceptions would be rare, usually imported beers that I know wouldn't be available on draught or from the usual places online where I buy beers to drink at home.

I don't think it's the same thing as I come across in wine classes. Some wines don't show themselves too well in a rather sterile, 'classroom' environment; most quality wines are made to go with food, and actually don't come across that well compared to a modern fruit-driven, 'TV wine' when they're sampled on their own. I might be wrong but, while there are many great food matches for beers, there are fewer of them that are made specifically to go with foods. I think it's maybe a bit more like 'dance' music that might be great in a club when played through a large PA, but somehow falls a bit flat when it's on your home stereo. Or maybe it's like a recording of a gig you really enjoyed when you were there but, when you watch/listen again, you wonder quite how you didn't notice how bad the sound was at the venue?

I don't blame breweries for wanting to get their products out there; selling bottles is a brilliant way of raising the profile of a brewery. I think that coming up with and producing a recipe for a beer that works on draught is the best way to go about it; the beer should be as good as a brewer can make it in the medium it is created for - it's just unfortunate that sometimes it doesn't do itself justice served in a different way. Simon has mentioned a similar thing over at CAMRGB, where, when trying one of these same beers, he concluded his interest was piqued a lot more by stronger bottles beers when drinking at home.

The three Purple Moose beers I had to try were a present from when my parents visited North-West Wales a while back so I don't know any prices. 

Snowdonia Ale: There's a smack of pale malt on the nose, it's a lovely, fresh aroma, with lots of meadow hay and meadowy notes.The palate is light and floral, and it's very drinkable, with a touch of sweetness and umami notes on the finish. 3.6% abv.

Madog's Ale: Pours a lovely red-amber colour. This has a bit more of a spicy, metallic aroma, and is more pithy than the Snowdonia. The sweetness of the Snowdonia is gone, with the hops coming through a bit more, there are hints of orange, and again, marmite in the finish. 3.7% abv.

Glaslyn Ale: Once again the nose is dominated by the malt, the hops on the palate are a bit soapier, and it's more fruity than the other two; showing red apples and honey with a more rounded character. 4.2% abv.

So three beers which, while I think would be perfectly good session beers on draught, at home are decent enough, but don't really exhibit a great deal of character. What I do like is that they share certain elements - it suggests there is a 'Purple Moose' flavour profile - which means they are far from being another homogenised beer. 

Meantime London Pale Ale

I've really been enjoying some understated hop-driven offerings recently; beers like the Great Newsome Pricky Back Otchan and the newest of Gwaun Valley's beers, the Bitter Ale. I don't mean spectacularly, in-your-face hoppy like the Jackhammer I had in BrewDog Nottingham the other night, which was great, but hardly the most sophisticated of beers. These are beers where the flavours are that bit more difficult to pin down, potentially all the better for that if you're enjoying a quiet contemplative bottle at home rather than a pint down the pub, where sometimes you want the flavours to leap up at you so you can get on with your conversation.


The Meantime London Pale Ale definitely fits into this category. I'm not sure if it's a traditonal or a modern beer. It's bitter, but it's not a brown bitter. It's pale ale, in the original sense of 'not dark' but it didn't really have the feel of either an American pale ale, or a more traditional Burton ale. I'm even conflicted as to whether it's a good thing that these beers are popping up in some supermarkets. Maybe I should just concentrate on enjoying it? There's plenty to enjoy after all. Lot of juicy, zesty, citrus fruit to back up that mown-hay bitterness and malty texture. (4.3%. £1.65 for a 33cl bottle in Sainsbury's)


Briefly returning to BrewDog. I also had a schooner of Libertine; the new black IPA that's going in as part of their core range. Despite problems I've heard from various sources about erratic Punk IPA quality and continued problems with their supply chain, BrewDog are still doing something right at least - this really is a superb beer. One cheeky query though. A brewer I know would like to know if it's BrewDog who've bought up all the Simcoe hops? If it's Simcoe that's responsible for the Libertine then can you please share? I for one would like to see more of this sort of thing!

Penlon 'Ewes Frolic' Lager & 'Tipsy Tup' Pale Ale

A gap in the terrible weather today and a great time was had by the family down in Saundersfoot. As a bonus we swung by 'The Quay' for a half of 'Firewater' which, from what I can work out, is just cask Worthington's which has retained an old nickname back from when Firewater was actually one of the beers served at the pub. Since it's served via a jug from firkins tucked away behind the bar you're hardly besieged by branding telling you exactly what it is you're drinking, so I guess it's pretty easy for an old name to stick.

The 'Ewes Frolic'  and 'Tipsy Tup' are two from a selection of Penlon beers I picked up from Ultracomida; a coffee-shop/wine-shop/deli in Narberth. It's not quite as local as the Preseli beers I tried the other night, but they're brewed not too far north of here in Ceredigion. The 'Ewes Frolic' is a bottle-conditioned lager which pours clear up to a point (I shared it, my wife got the clear half). There's enough citrus hop character in there to get your mouth watering and it keeps its lager credentials with its light body and good, clean, smooth finish. It wears its 5.2% abv well. Although I was a little suspicious of the addition of 'a teaspoon of corn syrup' to get the bottle maturation going I enjoyed this one - it certainly didn't end up with the sweet corn taste you can sometimes get in an American adjunct lager.


The 'Tipsy Tup' is a pale ale, and again it's bottle conditioned. It pours a not dissimilar colour to the lager, with a good thick head to it. It has a touch of soapiness on the nose, but not enough to make it unpleasant, in fact it provides a good counterpoint to the gentle pithy bite of the hops. I thought this was at least as good as the lager, it would make a really good session beer - in fact it'd be great if the Cresselly Arms would get this in cask as the new Firewater! 3.8% abv.

Just as an aside if you do have these beers in bottle they do have quite a heavy sediment, if you don't like yeast in your glass let it settle for a good while and pour very carefully. They do actually recommend decanting into a jug then into your glass, presumably so you can see the sediment better while you pour as well as get a good head on your beer.

I'm not sure on the individual prices since the receipt isn't entirely clear but I got a selection of four Penlon beers for £10 from Ultracomida.

All of the Penlon beers I got are vegan friendly.

Iechyd da!

Fyne Ales 'Avalanche'

Well my first beer of the weekend, during my third game of rugby of the day, ended up being one to toast the only home nations victors of the week. On the weekend of the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival, I would have loved it to have been the Purple Moose beer I've had sitting around for a while in anticipation of an historic Wales win. It wasn't to be, and once again it was Scottish beer, and Scotland were the only winners of the week. Fair play to them. Although I'm sure it'll be dismissed because of the conditions, both teams had to play in them, and Scotland coped better. Roll on the Melbourne test, and in the mean time apparently there's some football on.

Back to the beer, since this isn't a sport blog. It pours a lovely pale straw-yellow with a slight haze. Initial aromas are all hops; fresh lemon and gentle pine. This continues through on to the palate, backed up with a some rich-tea biscuit flavour which helps give it a bit of body. Overall this beer's all about that freshness though; the finish has even more citrus, grapefruit, bitterness, and it rounds off a perfect summer session beer. Fine Ale indeed.

4.5% abv. £2.76 (50cl) from Beer Ritz.


A bit of a diversion from the beer 'in hand' as it were. Wednesday's Thornbridge trip was pretty inspirational. Mark commented on the post that he'd like to go on more brewery trips, and I think I'd share that sentiment. Even if you are not necessarily that excited about or inspired by the beer itself, talking to people involved in making something that they have pride in and a passion for is motivating in itself.

The fact of the matter is that there is a lot of beer out there that, on its own, isn't really going to motivate you to get the keyboard out and write - as Nick points out over on his blog there is an awful lot of uninspiring beer about. I tend to default to hand-pulled beer if I do get out (which isn't that often) if only because it's something I can't get at home, but sometimes I find myself wondering why I bothered. This can of course all change if you bump into the right person, or you are out and about and find a new pub that just lifts your spirits; an escape from the mundane, or maybe just a timely roof to protect you from the equally wearisome British summer. In the right moment, a beer you might otherwise overlook can provide something that the most flavour-packed 8% hop-monster you've been looking forward to for ages might not.

Thornbridge Brewery Tour

A few of us went for a tour of the Thornbridge brewery yesterday, along with  a stop at the Monsal Head Hotel, or at least the Stable Bar bit, somewhere I first visited for a bit of refuelling on my way to my stag/beer and walking weekend in the Hope Valley. If you've never been up there then you're missing out. You might be be prepared to accept indifferent beer because of the view, but you don't have to, the Buxton Moor Top was amazing; session beer for hop-heads, with a great supporting cast courtesy of the Wincle brewery. Frankly, even if the pub was horrible it'd probably still get a good review from me by virtue of a couple of Michael Jackson books being scattered around as reading matter.

I won't go into details of how the beer is brewed - there are people far better qualified than me talking about brewing on many a blog, so I'll just put a few photos below so those of you who want to have a bit of a look at the shiny stuff can do so. It's certainly an impressive site, wearing its modernity and its craft beer credentials with all the pride, if not all of the volume, of one of its ex-employees.

As for the beer, well we got to try the Lord Marple there and then, and all of their regular lines are available bottled form the brewery shop. I also bagged myself a few Thornbridge Hall beers, which is the brand they are labelling their experimental brews under - reviews of those to follow anon. They're brewed at the older, original brewery site. After finishing the tour we headed over to the Sheffield Tap to make sure we got the whole Thornbridge experience - we're nothing if not dedicated - Jaipur and the superlative Kipling on hand-pull rounding off the afternoon's tasting experience nicely.

Thanks very much to Thornbridge for a fun and informative tour and some excellent beer - I'm looking forward to the Thornbridge Hall beers and a return trip to the Tap. Cheers!

More Michael. Style!

Tasty bits.

Shiny stuff! (Mash tun)

Mmmmm, hops...

Brew lab.

Sam. Getting thirsty.

More shiny things.

Bottling line, for about 30% of the beer.

More tasty bits!

More shiny stuff. They've got something like 300 awards!

Some fizzy keg rubbish...

...we found hiding in the cold store.

Kelham Island 'Pale Rider'

I've had to put my oak exploration beers on hold for a few days. I'm full of cold and I wanted to do it properly - if you can't use your nose you can't taste anything, it is after all 'the most acute human tasting instrument.' *

I do have a beer to write up though, while I'm waiting for my olfactory receptor cells to recover and reading about Nobel prize winners.  I had a bottle of an old favourite of mine, Kelham Island Pale Rider, last week. A mate of mine used to run the New Barrack Tavern in Sheffield, and this is a beer I fell in love with on returning from a year of fizzy lager (with some rare but very notable exceptions) in Australia. Going back to beers you have a nostalgic fondness for is always dangerous, but I didn't have the expectation levels I would if I'd seen it on draught (which would probably lead to pant-wetting levels of excitement), and so I thought I was pretty safe.

In the end I suppose I was right, it's simply not the beer I remember it being on tap. However it's got a decent hoppy bite that grabs the side of the tongue, a good fruity complexity, showing lemon sherbet and a touch of soapiness in the mid-palate, all polished off with a moreish bitter finish.

It's still a good beer, one I'd be only too happy to drink again, and aside from the shift from draught to bottle, I can't help wonder how much my perception of it has shifted in the interim years while I've been refining my taste buds. (I know that sound horribly pretentious but I have sat an awful lot of wine exams since I used to drink in the NBT - and I'll concede it could be I've just been getting older and more picky!)

* The Oxford Companion to Wine

Oldershaw 'Caskade'

Yes, I can spell, and so can they. It's a pun, see?

Anyway, a single hop beer I got from a local farm shop that comes from just up the road in Grantham. I kind of fell out with Grantham having been stranded there after the mickey-mouse outfit that is East Coast Trains managed to make me miss my connection the other week, thus turning a long day of wine tasting into a long, freezing, evening on a platform. This could well be redemption in a glass.

Unsurprisingly this is a good demonstration of what cascade hops can bring to a beer. Light (natural) carbonation, and a zesty liveliness that I think is often missing in bottle conditioned ales of this style. Lots of floral and grapefruit character and a little spice. I sure die hard hop-heads wouldn't find it that exciting, but, like the Thwaites IPA I had last week, I think there is a place for tasty, lower strength brews that go down a treat in the summer. The problem for me is that so many breweries have jumped on the band-wagon without making a beer that actually tastes of much, so fair play to Oldershaw for not falling into that trap.

It's Camra credited too - although I'm still interested to find out how this comes about. See discussion on 'a certain symbol' on the CAMRGB website.



4.2% abv, I can't remember how much I paid for it. A quick google and it turned up on The Real Ale Store for £2.90, which seems a bit steep, but I think it's limited/seasonal so I'm guessing there's not a lot about. (50cl)

Black Iris Brewery, Derby

I had the chance to have a look round the new Black Iris brewery in Derby last night. It is at the back of the Flower Pot pub, a proper, independent (the owner has two pubs) boozer/live music venue not far from the city centre.

Black Iris' beer is a work in progress project, but they have released three - a pale ale, a bitter and a stout. Bearing in mind these are the first releases from guys who are learning on the job they have done really well - I'm glad to see that they intend to learn the basics, ie. get these styles of beer right, before leaping into more experimental projects. Each of the beer recipes only uses a couple of different hop varieties - again so that they can get an idea of how the hops effect the end product.

Here's the artwork for the first run of beers as designed by a local tattoo artist.

Nick, a proud Dad, and a small but perfectly formed brewery:

   

Note: This is actually a post from my old blog which kept going wrong, but I thought I'd add a bit and move it over (19/11) as it's something that not many people would have seen.

More backstory from This is Derbyshire here. You can also get more news from Black Iris on Facebook. Their Intergalactic IPA was a highlight of Nottingham Beer Festival for me.