Beer Review: Sovereign

Tonight's beer was Sovereign and was a random pick up from my local supermarket.

The design of the label says it was supposed to be connected to the whole Jubilee thing but, mercifully, that's as far as it went. At 4% ABV it was more my usual (though you wouldn't think it to check out the reviews so far posted on the blog) and it smelled like a beer should. My beard grew when I first tasted it and declared this blonde British made ale to be of my usual taste and standard. On checking the label I was informed that the single hop that had been used to brew the beer was a British one designed to replace the Fuggles. Bloody things.

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Beer Review: San Miguel

Beer is the answer, even if I have no idea what the question is.

I picked up a bottle of San Miguel this evening because I have never had it, it was very cheap, and I was in the mood to experiment.

I don't know what I was ex- no, actually, that's a lie, I know exactly what I was expecting. It looked like lager, it looked European, my old boss used to drink it. I was expecting something like, overly fizzy and generally a bit pap. I was expecting to not like it - it's why I only got a small bottle.

I was pleasantly surprised. The aroma was wet, like leaves after rain or mown grass I suppose, and strangely alluring. No citrus overtones or anything like that. Also, the fizz was moderate rather than overpowering. Enough to remind you it was a lager rather than a beer, ceratinly, but not as bad as some of the beers I've had. Also, the taste was richer than I wsas expecting from a lager. It put me in mind of the heavier beers that I've had, stuff like Black Sheep and Lancaster Bomber, sort of syrupy without being thick and woody without the raw warmth that I get from hops. It was nice, it was rich and it was a pleasant accompaniment to an odd pizza take away (Chicken Tikka Masala on a pizza, nice enough but not likely to be repeated). Indeed it was like the two were old friends.

I enjoyed it, it was easy enough to drink, didn't fizz up a huge amount whilst I sipped and was forgiving enough on the longer slugs that you could probably take longer drinks if that's your thing. There wasn't much in the bottle, 275ml, but it is quite strong at 5% ABV and so you probably don't want to overdo it. The taste is exactly in keeping with the strength too, so it won't sneak up on you too much. I enjoyed it. May have it again but likely when I'm out on tap, so from a pint glass, rather than at home - it's not a home beer. Well, it's not even a beer, it's a lager.

Enjoy this in a small bar, with some mates, play some pool or darts or skittles and laugh about the football. Talk too loudly, laugh too loudly, and clap each other on the back a lot. This is a fun little lager that is drunk by sporting men what do crisps and chips on an evening. Discuss the offside rule, make predictions about the Euros and be slightly misogynistic. It's on the cusp of that culture, methinks, but you can just as easily go continental and do all of the above but substitute discussion of the Eurozone for the misogyny. I'd be more continental, but just as clueless on the football.

Beer Review: Cultural Exchange

This was a multiple beer night, so I can't do full reviews of any of them.  It was a 'cultural exchange' in that the three people involved in tasting the beers brought beers that were local to them.  I think it was a great success and look forward to doing it again and posting the results here.  On a Thursday, of course, as has become (kinda) a tradition.

The guests were, in the order of being drunk: Colley's Dog from Tring Brewery; Old Leg Over from Daleside in Yorkshire; Iceberg from Titanic breweries and Side Pocket on a Toad from Tring again.

The first of these, Colley's Dog was a ruby beer that claimed to have a nutty walnut flavour to the aftertaste and also that it was "not overstrong".  I found it to be a heavier drink than my usual tipple but too dissimilar from Riggwelter for me to make the link.  Certainly there was a fruity aroma to it and the fizz was surprisingly delicate after seeing the bubbles and the amount of head that was produced.  I detected some liquorice in the flavour and it had a tendency to stick around in the mouth, almost as though it were viscous.  Alas, I didn't think to take notes so I haven't got the ABV.  I enjoyed it, but it would not really have been something I'd have had outside the exchange.  I think it needs to be drunk with a meal that involves meat and is much more suited to the wintertide than the warm evening that it was drunk on.

Old Leg Over was essentially a standard bitter with a silly name.  It had nothing special in the aroma, apart from a definite tang of yeast that was clear after Colley's Dog.  However, thankfully, the yeast was not overpowering and there was a definite taste of hop.  Lord knows what hop but there was some, that fiery spicey sort of feeling one gets from having a good beer.  My company, far better versed in this game than I, suggested Goldings in a mock deprecation, and I suspect he may have been correct.  Certainly it was not fuggles or Crystal.  It was a warm beer and, strangely, I think would go well with a strongly spiced meal such as a curry or Mexican dish.  Actually, better the latter, a dry heat to a meal would suit the slightly 'wet' aftertaste and the extra heat would compliment the smoother feel to the beer.  Again, no ABV this time.

Iceberg was the offering from the locality and by far the best of the bunch.  A lovely smell with citrus tangs about it and a lovely golden colour.  It put me in mind of summer ales and honey beers, though this didn't have the same sweetness or heavy flavour of a proper honeyed ale.  It had a fizz to it and may even have been good chilled, though I confess to enjoying it warm.  There was a good blend of hop and yeast to this one so that the two combined well to create a fuller and more satisfying flavour.  There was another claim of nuttiness but I didn't detect it, I got the extra barley though and there was a much more wheaty texture to it, if that is the right word.  This one stood well on its own and would do well before a meal.  Indeed, the warm evening and the pressure of the coming thunderstorm meant that this ale was best suited to the environment.  Well chosen and easily drinkable.

Finally there was Side Pocket on a Toad.  I think this suffered a great deal by being the last one to be tried and so I shall fall short of describing it fully, it deserves another chance all on its own.

The Tales of the Dimwald: the children

Whilst reflecting on identity and fatherhood in company, my interlocutor was expressing angst at his function that would also serve as his identity, when function was not available: that is: when he had been unable to get a permanent job as a teacher he had been unable to juxtapose this with his internal identity as a teacher.

Musings follow, would you like to know more?

Beer Review: Thoroughbred Gold

It's beer o'clock in my household.

Tonight's choice was Thoroughbread Gold, because it was on offer.



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Beer Review: Banks's Bitter

Time for a beer.

Tonight's offering is Bank's Bitter.

First of all, I love the bottle for this one, it's dark and brooding and the label is nice and understated, background if you will. It doesn't shout itself to the world and, instead, lurks in the forgotten corners of the discount beers in Morrison's. This is why I have bought it, it was cheap, and I am glad that I did.

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Beer Review: Leffe Blonde

Since mid-2011 I've been trying to have a beer a week - an endeavour I have failed to fulfil, but I have tried a lot of good beer and real ale (did I mention I had a beard?) so therefore I figure one way of posting on here, and maintaining it this time, is to review those beers.

Tonight's offering is Leffe Blonde. Belgian, blonde and stronger than it looks or tastes. It actually beats my favourite, Riggwelter from Black Sheep breweries, for strength at 6.6% ABV. It has a smooth feel, the fizz is not too strident, and the liquid is not fiery but slinky. There's a yeasty aroma, to be sure, but it's not a horrid sweaty yeast, rather it is a warm and happy smell of yeast - reminding me of when our children were young.

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