This is the fourth from that rather nice stable of Great British Brewing Co that serves as an imprint of Aldi with many different brewers contributing, like Hog's Back Brewery last time. Tonight's is actually from Brains which is probably less fitting for the end of November and more the sort of thing that is associated with Hallowe'en, if you see what I mean. A zombie brew, surely? Ahem, sorry, I'll stop trying so hard with my puns. As a porter and thus a dark ale I thought it fitting to the darker nights, shorter days and harder work. I'd have preferred a stout but I am rather clinging to my meagre supply of them - the trouble with having lots of nice and special stouts is that once you've drunk them they tend to be, well, drunk. I shall save them a little longer yet.
All of which serves as a pre-amble for tonight's Advent review of Spill the Beans, a coffee porter, that I am rather looking forward to. I had it back at the beginning of October and promptly went back to get more in because it was so nice. Would you like to know more?
Around Christmas I received a gift from my family's favourite Belgian (see here) and a challenge, which I think was part of the gift, and it's had me thinking ever since. If this goes well I suspect I shan't be long in trying a second bash at this sort of thing as it was an interesting exercise and, to my knowledge, it's not been done by anyone I have contact with before. What is this? Well, I was sent the album Sonic Highways by the Foo Fighters - this album is a concept album in which they take eight US cities and using their experiences there they created a song to match that inspiration.
The challenge was to listen to the album and then find an ale that was inspired by the music. That is, each of the tracks would be linked to an ale that would match their style and their rhythm and beat. Now, it goes without saying (I hope) that drinking an ale to each track (them being between four and seven minutes long) would result in rapid loss of use of one's body and is not to be recommended.
Would you like to see what this challenge has called forth from the dark recesses of my mind? You would? Excellent, click on the finely hand-crafted 'read more' link below!
This has waited a long time, as it was part of the gift from when I was last in Leeds (link) and something of the powerfully hopped variety. So, on this rather bright day, I decided to actually have it with some food. It was poorly chosen food (that frozen chicken and mushrooms thing I did ages back) but food nevertheless. I refer, of course, to the ale that is referenced in the title up there: Barry Island IPA from Brains who, I suspect, are different to S. A. Brains as I can find no reference to the initials. However, by the same token, one assumes that there is some link. And I have been watching some Monty Python involving long rants so that may be affecting my writing style.
No pubbing again this week due to the fact that it is close to Christmas and so we've been oop North to see people and have only just got home. As I was driving it seemed a bad idea to drink round other people's houses and so I've fallen back on this lovely little number to make good the shortfall.
Without further ado, not adieu, I shall therefore continue on with my beer review what it is mine and this is what it is. A beer review, one of many on this site, what are mine, and this is one of them.
