Tramway Mild

A fair while ago now, possibly even last summer, we went to visit the Tramway Museum at Crich and I was on the lookout for some different ales. One of the bottles I picked up on finding out that they did some ales that were local in bottles, was the Black Ram Stout (click here) that was really rather nice and a welcome return to stouts for me after something of a long absence. However, also from Wentwell, I picked up the mild that had been brewed specifically for the museum, as that is also one of my things (see the Brooklands Goldstar as evidence by clicking here, though I haven't been to that museum). So it is that, tonight, I am having the rather nice and plain looking Tramway Mild from Wentwell.

I shall resist the pun this time however, even if I do take a photo of our tidier but still rather messy kitchen in the background.

I have a thing for milds and I never really see them about, or else I am somewhat blind, either way, this is a rare style for me to try and I'm really quite looking forward to it. Would you like to know more?

Eldon

I have been warned about this by other beer drinkers and reviewers. Which was a shame as I was ageing it at first and looking forward to having it. Still, here we are at the end of a long winter in a new year that has delivered the promise (if that is the right word) of that which has preceded it. In short, I am in a mood to contemplate ale and disappointment. So, bring it on! It's time for another speciality Sunday and tonight I am reviewing the much-reviled Eldon from Thornbridge because I can and because I would like to.

The warnings are that this is saccharine sweet and a bit too fizzy, not befitting an Imperial Stout, but let's test that assumption. Would you like to be delving deeper?

Fubar

I picked this up because the Boy told me that he liked the bear on the front and it was that or some Beat Box. I'll likely pick that up another time. In the meantime, I am sampling the delights of Tiny Rebel's Fubar because there's a grenade on it and some small soldiers. Also, and I'll be honest, I regretted not having it back in 2016 at my first beer festival and despaired of ever seeing it bottled. So, here it is, bottled and ready for my eager tastebuds to attack it.

It's a pale ale, so clearly in-keeping with my current rhythm, and it's Tiny Rebel. What's not to like? Also, another attempt at animated photo that is either long overdue or a sad reminder of a crap set of past efforts. I'm not clear yet. Would you like to know more?

Weekend Ales

Wait, what is this? I'm posting about ale not on a Sunday or Thursday, which is odd enough, but also the post is entitled weekend ales and I'm not drinking. What is going on? Well, actually, it's simple, I had some visitors up a few weekends back and we had some seriously nice ale that I am itching to review but I already had two ales that I wanted to review and so it fell by the wayside. Then I was busy for ages and now I get round to writing up my experiences of some quite nice ales that I had on a weekend. Problem solved.

Contained herein are reviews of three rather lovely stouts, because I really like stouts and I need to share how much with people who may be able to get hold of these stouts. They were all on tap rather than in bottles so I can't vouch for their availability but they're all worth seeking out. Would you like to know more?

Wrench

Sadly, this is not a speciality Sunday because the stout that I'm plumbing for tonight is the core range stout from the rather lovely Shiny brewery that I picked up from my friendly bottle shop. It's the sort of thing that seems like it will fit neatly into a dark evening with the car fully charged and the meals long behind me, for it is late to be having an ale. We shall see.

Also, it's a stout and it's been on the beer shelf for long enough now for me to be having it. Yes, I am that sad about my ale. I hope it isn't ruined by the fact that the Billionaire (click here) exists and continues to be a fantastic ale that just appreciates with age - I may have bought a few more of those. Anyway, this review. Would you like to know more?

Wild Goose Chase

Last night I dreamt of San- no, I mean, last night Willow and a visiting friend went out for a curry and ordered too much food. Luckily, they know that I not only have an iron constitution, I also have hollow legs and a desire to eat all of the things. So they brought back a doggy bag of all the things they could not eat. This means that, with this ale, I was able to have chicken tikka biryani, chicken satay and some aloo Gobi. Basically, I've had a proper curry in a huge melange for lunch and then chased it with... well, it had to be something pale and light and preferably zingy to combat the high spice taste from the lunch. This means the job fell to the Wild Beer Co. Wild Goose Chase. This is a Gose with a bit of sediment and sounds lovely.

I even took a picture in the kitchen, so that's how special it is! Oh, and had at a lunch time in case I hadn't made that obvious. Would you like to know more?

Millionaire

I may be having these the wrong way round. I have decided that the Billionaire (click here) has pretty much ruined beers for me because it was so good that it is hard now to have another stout that can even get close. It even made me wait a while before daring to chance tonight's guest to be reviewed, that being the rather respected and sought after Millionaire. This is also by Wild Beer and is the sort of poorer cousin, one would assume from the names.

Anyway, it is a stout after a busy week of hard graft and little sleep. Mainly because I am lazy. Yeah, like a fox! Would you like to know more?

Butty Bach

I felt like something a bit Welsh again, because they have been rather good to me in the past, and so I had this lurking in the pantry. I'd picked it up in the summer as part of a batch to make buying the Elvis Juice a little less desperate and more economically viable. Because buying more ales is always good. Being a pale this couldn't be stored too long and so it just had to be drunk, didn't it? It's Butty Bach from Wye Valley Brewery and I rather like the simplicity of the label. And, yes, pales seem to be my tipple after the stouts on a Sunday so...

This should be a decent look at a decent pale, would you like to know more?

Chocolate Porter

Another speciality Sunday that is supported by my patronage of the Crafty One Bottle Shop in my locale of Ilson. I can't claim that it is supported in any way beyond the fact that I popped in and got me some chocolate ales and heavy stouts and porters for this dark part of the year. The window resounds with rain, the night with cold. It's a night for some porter and some chocolate to make me feel a bit better. Tonight it's the return of the rather maligned Meantime who sold out and I first encountered back last summer on holiday at Center Parcs. It's their Chocolate Porter because I didn't telegraph that at all!

I do rather like the shape of their bottles, if truth be known, and if I ever get a bottle capper I suspect I I shall hoard these for to use with my own brewing. Would you like to know more?

Three Hop

This is instead of a pale and has been sat around a while, being out of date by two months at this point, and so I thought I ought to be trying it. I have no idea what happens to a lager when it is past the Best Before date and now is a good time to be finding out I suppose. Maybe it shall spontaneously combust or perhaps it will turn into a chicken upon pouring. It is Three Hop and bills itself as Craft Lager from the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh.

I know, I know, it's another lager and I should be on the qualitative pales and IPAs. But, it promises mint and lemon! Would you like to know more?