Delirium

I picked this one up sometime in March,I think, because I was so keen to get hold of one and it was the first time I'd really seen one in the wild. Well, at least at a time I could get my grubby mitts on it. Then circumstances and me being busy at work meant that I really didn't have the time to get round to drinking it. So it was stored in the dark of the understairs cupboard for a while then moved into the pantry in expectation of actually drinking it and there it stayed through the heatwave before being returned to the cupboard. Then we had a few moments, my Boy and I got back from the park and I had the time and inclination to have a beer in my garden.

I refer, of course, to that mighty ale from Belgium, in advance of having our favourite Belgian over to stay, from Huyghe that comes in the form of Delirium with all the elephants on it. Alas, not a stoneware bottle but a glass one painted to look the same. Not being stoneware may well have led to the experience, but that may just be me. Would you like to know more?

vALEntine's Day

It's that time of year again when people feel a mandatory urge to proclaim their relationship status to the world and the corporate world is happy to help us do so by charging us for the privilege of buying our saccharine sweet affectional gifts. Because gifts is a thing. I am happy to report that here in the household we avoided most of the awful extremes and stuck to having an evening, ish. I plumbed for having ales that I had been collecting for a while.

Basically, I bought in some Thornbridge ales with the idea that there ought to be a floral scented IPA, a strawberry flavour thing and then some chocolate to enjoy afterwards because what is Valentine's Day without something chocolate-y to enjoy and indulge in? I would wager it is nothing. To that end I purchased and stored three likely looking ales.

My intention is to have them all and review them briefly as I go to see if I can create the perfect date night, so I'm told, in a single set of beer reviews. I am nothing if not up for pointless challenges that I set for myself involving the reviewing of ale and so I accepted my own challenge. Would you like to know more?

Burns Nicht

It isn't actually Burns Nicht yet, of course, (it's 25th January) but I thought that if I were to review ales to be having (which is something of a grey area as it's supposed to be whiskey) with your neeps and tatties and haggis then I ought to really review them in enough time for people to make a decision and get them in. Well, assuming anyone buys beer based on the reviews of a beer blogger that is. I have some in for the night itself too. In the meantime, time to settle in for a cultural exchange (there have been too few of these lately) and have me some ales.

Also, it's the time of year to be trying some stuff that is brewed in Scotland where the winter is deeper and longer and colder. I am nevertheless surprised that the ales on offer are mainly light and airy rather than deep and dark. Must be a desire to see the winter end. I'm not going to argue. Would ye like tae ken muir?

Marshall

I'm not very good at rock and roll. I'm sorry, but it's true. I'm much more a fan of the electronic bleeps and programming that could be described (and once was by a wise man known as Scroobius Pip) as generic repetitive music - in that case I know that I am something of a charlatan in beer-drinking circles. And so it came to pass that the arch-idiot of musical taste came to try Marshall by Rock'n'Roll Craft Beer. I can't complain, it's been a while since I had a blonde.

This has been stockpiled since the end of last summer, when I saw it in Morrison's on offer and I wanted to buy more Elvis Juice (see this link) without looking completely stupid. Yes, it's been hanging around for a while. Would you like to know more?

Beer Review: White Witch

Next ale on the list from the local supermarket! I almost think I ought to be creating a tag for these but I'm not sure anyone actually uses my tags other than me. In which case, let's not, let's just enjoy the moment and bask in the evening, being rather warm and heavy, indoors and with Willow researching stuff for her own articles and books. My children have watched Flight of the Navigator and found it worthwhile and I have managed to finally get round to opening a bottle of ale. Tonight's delicacy is White Witch by Moorhouse's who are the creators of much that I enjoy and pimp to others. Of course they continue the witchy theme with this offering.

Been a while since I had a blonde, come to think of it, would you like to know more?

Beer Review: Boon Doggle

Oooh, what's that? Why, it is the sun and the air is relatively still! Bees are in the garden and the daffodils are in bloom. I have a small child bouncing on the trampoline with the excitement and enthusiasm that it seems only small children can muster and maintain. I am, of course, avoiding work and all work-related stress by sitting and having an ale, is there really any other way to do this? If my colleagues are reading this then please do not worry, I am sure I'll be back to being stressed and working too damn' hard soon enough. In the meantime, I am going to sit awhile and enjoy the tender mercies of Boon Doggle by Ringwood Brewery. I am surprised to find that this is actually the first time I've had this, I was a fan of their Old Thumper back in the day.

Enough, I'm no poet and I think I am trying too hard, to the ale!

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Beer Review: Golden Pippin

I have spent the day in work, preparing for the new term. It has been sunnier and slightly warmer than the last couple of days and, mercifully, there was no rain. Our garden has taken a little bit of a pounding however - we have some radish planted 'neath a cloche and some buffoon has jumped on it two nights running. From what I can gather they're using our garden as a rat-run sometime after midnight and before 6am, there's evidence they climb up and out on the picnic table at the other side of the garden in a hurry. Anyway, it seemed like a good point to continue to deny the end of summer.

To that end, I turn to the ale bought for me by my daughter back in July that I was assured that I would enjoy. And I don't think that assurance was far wrong. I speak, of course, of Copper Dragon Golden Pippin. I'll confess that I have long seen this in supermarkets and declined its allure simply because I could never work out which part was the brewery and which was the ale name. I am a little strange.

So, to arms! Let us see what this ale can offer and whether my slightly odd way of judging the bottle is in anyway justified (hint: it isn't). Would you like to know more?

Naval Standard

Some friends were over for the weekend with their littlest and it seemed prudent to visit a steam railway and offer some ale. The main companion of this particular beer journey was not a fan of the ale but his wife had brought along some specialist stuff she had discovered, which was eventually not tried over the weekend, but it is coming: consider yourself warned! A trip to the supermarket to pick up a chocolate gateau also garnered a return visit to the Muirhouse Brewery Taps, and a much welcome return it was, and so there was even some actual cask ale imbibed. It was a very nice weekend, the weather has been lovely, and the trains were much appreciated by all the small people. I believe that counts as a success!

Join me, won't you, for a sojourn along the wild flower side of the path, pausing only to sniff of the scent and sneeze because of the hayfever induced by city living and the slow inexorable drift to the ultimate heat-death of Universe. Would you like to know more?

Works' Do!

This is a first for the new epoch that this blog represents. This was the weekend of a works' do, a night foraging through multitudinous drinking establishments along a pre-arranged route with colleagues from the current place of work in search of some nice ales and some decent conversation. Naturally, I spoke much but the search continued - I think there's a lesson lurking there somewhere about the efficacy of my conversation but I'll be blown down by a feather if I can work it out.

Basically, there was a barcrawl around a locale with some lovely cask ale, real ale and people on its route through the afternoon, the fields and into the late evening. It was capped off by a decent clutch of pizzas and Drop Dead Fred, though not a complete viewing due to the lateness of the hour - we are all, still, at heart consummate professionals.

It was a good evening, and I, being me, did aim to take a snapshot of each of the ales sampled and a quick review. Would you like to know more?

Beer Review: Tri-Ball Tribrute

Another day and another ale. I have found and procured more of the lovely Batemans Mocha (here) for 79p a pop, which has made me immodestly happy, and I have decided to celebrate by trying another of the Christmas ales from my mother - the Sulwath gift box set. Third of these offerings then is a nice little blonde number that goes by the name of Tri-Ball Tribute, a reference to raquet sports in Scotland apparently, and with the thistle and St. Andrew's Cross very visible on the bottle.

It was that sort of day you see, when you think that the weather is very much like what you'd expect in Scotland. Having lived as close as I did to the country for as long as I did and as young as I did I suspect that this may just be a me sort of thing to think. In the meantime it's late evening, I've had a lovely (if ad hoc) meal of home-cooked spring rolls, pork pie and grapes and I fancy me a decent bottle of ale - hence the decision to go for this.

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Beer Review: Speciaalbier

Tonight I am sharing a beer given as a gift from our friendly Belgian with Willow. The last time I had something like this was on a staff do in the old days and I enjoyed it, but couldn't shake the fact that it was pricey and a bit out of my normal range. It was described to me then as a blonde ale, but it's a Belgian golden ale. So... blonde then. For those keeping track, no, this was written before Willow got ill. She is feeling better but not quite up to sharing a decent ale.

It is, of course, Speciaalbier by Duvel. And I have been rather looking forward to it.

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Hallowe'en Showdown!

It's All Hallow's Eve and there are plenty of themed offerings about. I realise that the actual day/evening isn't until tomorrow and that there are plenty of other names for this particular thing (Samhain springs to mind, but was lunar, so not on the same date every year) but I digress. Themed brews means a good excuse to crack open some beer and have a review, doncha think? Also, if I review tonight you may just have time to pick some of this up for yourselves should you so wish.

For reasons that aren't entirely clear to me, this all means that I am pitting Moorhouse's and Wychwood against one another in a kind of battle royale. But, you know, without the Japanese schoolchildren trying to kill each other with a variety of weapons. Oh, and Hunger Games which is the sanitised and slightly badly plotted western film version (no, I haven't read the books).

Now that I have alienated some of my audience of three, would you like to know more?

Beer Review: Hip Hop

I'm down with it, I know my rap artists and my RnB and my softcore. And, of course, tonight I am reviewing the delights of Hip Hop by the Langham Brewery supplied to me by Willow's parents. I am guessing that this is pretty freely available down in Surrey as it boasts being traditional Sussex ale but I can say that I haven't seen it about up here, so, onward!

I apologise for the poor quality image taken with my phone. I really do look like the porn version of a beer blog at this point, all low quality blurred images and some panting commentary. Maybe I ought to shave the beard and only have a big bushy moustasche. What's that you say? Your beer is behaving strangely? You must come down to see me in my pantry and have a closer look at my barrel, no? I show you some mmm good beers, yes? Okay, I'm done now, you may proceed safely from here.

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Major Oaks

It's a cultural exchange... sort of. I visited a friend of mine who lives close to the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest and took along some of what I considered to be the best the local breweries could offer and some cheap offer beer from a local supermarket. We watched Doctor Who, YouTube videos, Commando and went walking in the woods. Not in remotely that order. By dint of having halves we demolished quite an ensemble of ale. I should point out that my companion for the evening, having served at numerous beer festivals, now tends to make pronouncements like "that's good beer" when pressed for opinions and not a lot else. He likes to frustrate reviewers and pedants. I fall under both categories.

So, journey with me now into the evening of men lost to fate. We left mainstream politics and entered the Sherwood Zone. Ahem, I mean, yes, click to read further of the evening!

Beer Review: Wychcraft

It's been rather a long time since I tried anything from the Wychwood stable. My bruising experience with Forest Fruits (here) probably had something to do with that. However, on a trip to a less than local Co-Op whilst out at a large Hall with the family I picked up a selection of ales that I hadn't seen anywhere else.

Yes, along with a lovely chilli-con-carne (well, more chilli-con-funghi, it was Quorn mince) made by the lovely Willow, I am having some Wychcraft. It is thrice hopped too, much like the Hopping Hare (here), but makes less of that fact than its rival. Mind you, the gold foil on the bottle is similarly slightly green. maybe there's something in this odd colour choice...

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A Challenger Appears

A visit from an old friend from University days who lives locally was designed to give a chance to review some local draught ales. This is something that needs to be done, where we are now has many actual pubs within walking distance that would provide some lovely chances to compare bottled and draught ales. More to the point, there's an opportunity that has so far been missed due to the fact that those draught ales that have been tried have not been reviewed here. So it is that this blog lacks Pedigree, Champion and Black Sheep that could have been compared to their bottled versions. Alas, sportsing meant that I had a buggered foot and so I had to stay in. Luckily, my friend has served at beer festivals and knows his stuff, so I was able to rely on him to provide the night's beverages.

Despite his rather good selection, we ended up having full pints of everything, which did rather slow down proceedings and meant that we only managed to get three tastings. No matter, they were all new to me and local to him and so nothing was lost.

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Beer Review: Jorvik Blonde

Another of the ales gifted me by my students, this one was done because "you like Vikings". Basically a colleague and I had created, well, he created and I just filled in some details, a double lesson of awesome-ness about Vikings as raiders and traders. It was a fantastic day, I don't mind saying myself, and a supreme act of imagination by my colleague. So, the students were part right. I am fascinated with most things historical and Norsemen catch my fancy (one need only trace the influences in the poetry in this blog) but it was my colleague rather than I that deserved the beer for it.

Nevertheless, tonight it is the turn of Rudgate's Jorvik Blonde that describes itself as 'flaxen blonde ale' and thus straight away gains bonus points!

I was hasty and so forgot to wash up the all important glass and so I cannot comment on the colour. Aroma wise it was dry and strong, which is good in my book, with a good mouthful of hops to bring the bitter and citrus tones that I enjoy in my beers. At 4.8% ABV it is a pretty meaty ale for my latest adventures and showed this quickly in the first mouthful. A good opening of fizz allowing a mellowness and maltiness to peek through and then straight to the bitterness of the hops and ending with a taste not unlike Black Sheep. After taste is a lingerer but this is not a bad thing and brings you up short enough that you want a second taste, so not really a sipping beer as it is a serial sipping beer.

I am impressed by it, despite the weight it didn't have me dizzy or anything like that and sometimes these beers around 4.8% can do that, and it means that I got through the entire bottle relatively quickly. Having it with fish and chips rather than my usual spicy pizza helped and meant that I was able to kick back and relax a little whilst drinking. Alas, it means that I have not got much detail on it. I liked it, I liked it so much that I kind of forgot I was reviewing it at the same time.

Enjoy in the depths of a dark night, wrapped in a fur cloak, whilst reciting tales of Erik the Red in the old Norse language, the crackling flames from your fire making shadows dance off the walls of your round house. Drink through the fronds of a long beard, carefully braided for battle, and use it to ease the legal discussions that inevitably follow any raid as you debate whether there was sufficient permission to take slaves and kill or maim your foes.

Beer Review: Cultural Exchange

It was my grandfather's 80th birthday bash and so my brother and I decided to tool up and have a DVD night. It didn't quite go according to plan but we did bring along some ales that were local to us (well, my grandfather misunderstood and brought some Tetley's in cans). Again, I shan't do full reviews on each of the beers but the guests were, in order of being drunk, Cascade Pale Ale from Saltaire Brewery, Manchester Brown Ale from Joseph Holt, Ilkley Black from Ilkley Brewery and Maple Moon (Joseph Holt again). We had Leeds Best (Leeds Brewery) and Champion 1849 (Joseph Holt again) on hand but these were consumed after the fact and in isolation.

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Beer Review: Dizzy Blonde

I saw this, Willow had been talking of going blonde again, and so I had to buy a brace of them to enjoy as a couple. It didn't quite work out as I had intended, Willow had her's a few days earlier than I, but we were able to compare a few notes in the drinking.

Tonight, of course, I am reviewing Dizzy Blonde by Robinson's because it has such a good name. It reminds me, in humour, of the much missed Trashy Blonde by Brew Dog that I enjoyed before I started reviewing ales.

I was surprised by the longevity of the head of this ale, it arrived quite quickly and then seemed to hang around past its welcome. There was a the dryness that one associates with blondes and a thin sort of feel to the ale as a whole. At 3.8% it was very much a drinking ale, on that would stand repetition without giving you a massive headache, but there was also something about it that made me feel as though it would be a one off. Certainly it had a nice taste, which is the best I can do I'm afraid, no long descriptions this time! It worked well with the slightly hot version of the Toscana pizza I had to accompany it and that's about all that I can say for it. It was not over-powered by the pizza but nor was it completely able to hold its own so that I had a hard time placing the taste other than 'nice'.

A mite too fizzy at the beginning but flattened as I left it alone and so improved over time out of the bottle. It had waited almost a week in the bottle and this didn't seem to have done any harm. I had also taken the odd step of chilling it, or rather Willow had stored it in the fridge, so maybe that had an effect. After the Cobra episode I think it's something that I appreciate the point of more, however it did no favours this time and I suspect this would have been better at room temperature.

Drink this for a laugh at the name and maybe as part of a cultural exchange. I am asking much for this to carry its own review and do so with any great fanfare. It is passable and weak enough that you can probably have a bevvy of them and avoid ill-effects. It is a background drink, have in large crowds with loud music and discuss whatever the heck you want in shouted comments, a beer that will support rather than dominate and will leave a nice memory of something fuzzy and ephemeral.

Beer Review: Saltaire Blonde

It seems as though I have a genuine liking for Pale Ale. In that vein I shall be drinking Saltaire Blonde by the makers of Chocoholic, Saltaire breweries. Because, when I bought the beers they were in an offer so I got two from the same people. No other reason.

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