Pendle Witches Brew

It's Hallowe'en, more or less, and it has arrived at long last. I've been meaning to give centre-stage to this brew for a few years now, well, at least since it played a role in the Hallowe'en Showdown I did a while back (see that on this link). After that, and it definitely won, I had a few more times and always enjoyed it but always forgot to take a picture, resulting in the sad truth that, for an ale I enjoy so much, Pendle Witches Brew has never appeared properly on this blog. This year I planned to rectify this and give it a proper review all of its very own.

And now I have a picture, shakily taken on my new camera phone in the darkness of the evening as the night has drawn in, the car is on charge and Willow is complaining of the cold. We have company over and they are not an ale fan, more's the pity, but we have been out to the local supermarkets where I have weighed myself down with a fresh haul. Yay!

Wait, where was I? I was here, about to review and ale! 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?

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?

Gold!

Company was over! Huzzah! I had hoped to play a game or two of Settlers of Catan and get the ales in whilst that was ongoing, but instead we were besieged by our children and so the time came to get in food, that Chinese again, and we eschewed gaming in favour of chatting and sharing youtube videos. Anyone would think that I'm set in my ways or something. Anyway, the point is that we did not really get to the ales until after the first two visitors had left. My Sherwood Forest dwelling friend and I then got down to some serious golden ales.

Which, of course, meant that I had Spandau Ballet in my head after the evening rather than a hangover. Alas, such was the lateness of the hour and the tension in the youtube videos, I failed to take pictures on the night and had to take them in the morning. You may recall some of these ales from previous frolics and so they were to be.

Would you like to travel still further?

Beer Review: Premier Bitter

Not the first choice for the beginning of winter, I know, but I thought an interesting one and, you know, the fact that the brewery is in Lancashire will mean that it always holds a place close to my heart. Tonight, I am reviewing the rather straight-forwardly named Premier Bitter from Moorhouse's who were introduced to me by my wife a long time ago around a birthday without me quite realising what they were about and then featured heavily at Hallowe'en (here), because reasons. This is now, in part, rectified.

So, yet another jaunt begins into the world of a man who can wax far too lyrical about ales but who, nevertheless, does not care and does it anyway. When I die, this will no doubt make as good an epitaph as any. In the meantime, dare you follow beyond the link?

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: Pride of Pendle

The last one I had from this brewery was Black Cat (here) long ago and so I'll admit that I was slow to take this up despite finding it very much on offer. But it is that time again when beers are had and then I dissect them in excruciating detail. Tonight we are having the joy of Pride of Pendle for company from Moorhouse's and it looks a little like this:

Would you like to know more?

Beer Review: Black Cat

Willow has taken to drinking cider now and again rather than wine and the other day she'd bought some in and felt a bit bad that I wasn't going to be drinking with her and so bought me some beer too. Very nice of her. And a good brewery too!

She bought me Moorhouse's Black Cat which claimed to be a dark ruby ale with a rich dry chocolate malt taste.

Would you like to know more?