tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91825738413048191632024-02-20T14:45:42.275+00:00The Bottled Beer YearWhere Mark Dexter wanders around like he owns the place.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.comBlogger212120tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-83552101147752045042014-08-15T13:34:00.000+01:002014-08-15T13:34:21.319+01:00Togetherness. One Possible Future.<div class="western">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMs-VHe1SxikFAK-x0pQLwY011txwQBbZ7IIRPetSO-sSlcVa41W95Dd4kmzNEArruP_Uzc14c5DIrEQfNfTgxQ5C9ilWITtVDzJ1blyi4nq4ilIKBgk2zAO6T_ouX1Vrex4tvHXz_bho/s1600/donkey-kong-mario-sharing-b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMs-VHe1SxikFAK-x0pQLwY011txwQBbZ7IIRPetSO-sSlcVa41W95Dd4kmzNEArruP_Uzc14c5DIrEQfNfTgxQ5C9ilWITtVDzJ1blyi4nq4ilIKBgk2zAO6T_ouX1Vrex4tvHXz_bho/s1600/donkey-kong-mario-sharing-b.jpg" height="248" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My last blog post about <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/still-great-but-needs-haircut.html">keg's absence from the Great British Beer Festival</a> triggered some interesting reactions - some
here, but predominantly on Twitter and in 'real life' (where,
mercifully, the concept of good debate still endures in spite of
social media.)</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the comments left on that post hinted, quite
reasonably, that I follow up on my observations with some action. Maybe in the form of an idea. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After all, it's all very well highlighting what's
wrong, but quite something else to find solutions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I've given it some thought, and I'm wondering
if the answer may be more simple than many of us thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Firstly though, let's not beat about the bush. The
problem for CAMRA is a very tough one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How can they possibly embrace keg without
betraying the essence of their core principles?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How can they be seen to undo all those decades of
hard graft?</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How could anyone spend years attaining victory
over their version of the devil – only invite that very same devil
to join their ranks?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It sounds impossible. And yet...</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think all talk of 'giving up principles' or
'betrayal of ideals' is actually a red herring.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't think CAMRA needs to change at all.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not one bit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They can keep a firm grip on their principles and
ideals – whilst giving their blessing to new ideas which just
happen not to involve the same adherence to the honourable CAMRA
code.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is a way CAMRA can remain distant from keg –
whilst simultaneously offering gentle encouragement to any versions
of the old enemy which appear to have mended their evil ways.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Basically, if deemed to have sufficient
beer-loving merit, certain kegged beers could be invited to The Great
British Beer Festival...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...as guests.
</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not fellow exhibitors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Guests</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A stall or area - perhaps named something like
'Guest Zone' or 'Twilight Zone' or 'Friendly Visitors From Space' or
'The Third Way' or 'Our Quirky Cousins' or 'Keg's Last Chance Saloon'
- could be given over to the concept of reborn keg... <i>and CAMRA
could simultaneously remain entirely independent of it</i>. No values
would be betrayed, no code re-written, there'd be no need for
embarrassment, explanation or confusion.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Basically, CAMRA could make it clear that whilst
CAMRA is firmly for Real Ale, the Great British Beer Festival is open
to <i>ALL GOOD BEER</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10 years ago, Real Ale <i>was</i> the only good
beer.
</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Things have been developing rather rapidly since
then, and a gesture like this would quickly abort the need for any
further parting of the ways between what have become two needlessly
isolated camps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let me say at this
point – having a separate CAMRA-backed 'craft beer' festival (one
of which does exist at present) is not the same as offering a place
at the year's major beer-related event. And let us remember that's
exactly how the GBBF identifies itself. As a 'beer' festival. Not a
'cask beer' festival. Surely any event using 'Great British Beer' in its name should not have
a separate craft beer festival happening down the road. Anyone
arriving from Mars wanting to learn what makes British beer so great
would find the two separate competing venues a bit puzzling. “Is
craft beer not great beer, then?”, they might very well ask, in
Martian.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is my firm belief that the ultimate ideal for
everyone (even for CAMRA) is to enjoy beer that is <i>properly good</i>.
Regardless of how it got that way. CAMRA battled to do away with the
one size fits all beer production mentality that was killing
creativity during the 1970's. They need to keep that battle raging –
whilst being careful to recognise a fellow combatant when one
arrives, however strangely dressed they might first appear.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It seems to me that what CAMRA still do not fully
realise is that <b>they
are actually responsible for the very existence of the craft beer
movement.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The concise history of it reads something like
this -</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">CAMRA flexed their muscles and forced beer to
be tasty...</span></i></div>
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</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our American friends went crazy over the
results...</span></i></div>
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</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They were inspired and got super creative...</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The whole world went crazy over <u>those</u> results.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In other words, CAMRA
and Craft Beer are genetically linked. They are parent and child.
The rebirth of keg is something CAMRA should be taking credit for,
not fighting against.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The very involvement of keg in this new movement
is actually more out of accident than design. Keg simply became
involved because America, where all the fevered experimentation
initially kicked off, doesn’t really do cask. Most of the USA is
too hot to keep cask beer in good condition and besides that they've
always preferred their brews chilled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Keg, simply put, comes naturally to Americans. It
is not, nor has it ever been their devil.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ask a US craft beer enthusiast what their enemy is
and they'd almost certainly say 'Big Beer', by which they'd mean
<i>bland corporate beer</i>, or in other words – they have exactly
the same perception of the enemy as CAMRA did when it was first
formed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because boring beer is the true devil. It always
has been.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Good beer has always been the messiah.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cask, keg, bottle or can. Beautifully brewed beer
is what we want, and what we will all continue to strive for,
together or apart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It just seems to me that 'together' makes a huge
amount of sense, and 'apart' makes absolutely none at all.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">CAMRA champions Real Ale, be it from bottle or
cask. They always should. May that never change.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But the Great British Beer Festival should
showcase all good beer, and CAMRA should open the door to some guests
who share so many of their ideals, but also have a few different
ideas too.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Good beer in kegs wasn't around ten years ago.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now we have two entirely different versions of
fantastic British beer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's all join forces and really show off.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's really show the world just how good this
country is at creating beer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">British Cask and proper British keg, side by side,
would surely make one hell of a spectacle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A mouthwatering statement to the globe which we
can all reunite behind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that really would be a 'great' festival.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The greatest beer festival in all human history.
And no other nation could say otherwise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The most important thing is that CAMRA doesn't
need to change in order for this to happen.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not one bit.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The next time it throws its giant annual party, all CAMRA needs to do is add a guest list.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The results could be quite extraordinary.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-35404079584637328302014-08-13T10:17:00.000+01:002014-08-15T13:35:21.822+01:00Still Great, But Needs A Haircut.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5tkTO705rjYyrHEc8mIo3KVIcnLHZgbbV2IO6t8Ha2sLcOlOXn5VoO0mhuHLdGIN5x3kDEHtjf66h6bEDzeHQ123fIUpry9sLy33afOFfC0Z6y0Q0eEKRliYdv1-o2w-lyhNXP60vRgiU/s1600/GBBF+SHOT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5tkTO705rjYyrHEc8mIo3KVIcnLHZgbbV2IO6t8Ha2sLcOlOXn5VoO0mhuHLdGIN5x3kDEHtjf66h6bEDzeHQ123fIUpry9sLy33afOFfC0Z6y0Q0eEKRliYdv1-o2w-lyhNXP60vRgiU/s1600/GBBF+SHOT.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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By the 1970's the Edinburgh International Festival was the the daddy of it's kind. It could rightfully claim to be the greatest arts event in the world at that time.</div>
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So many thought it very mysterious when in 1974 - at the very height of this success - huge numbers of people grouped together to form an <i>alternative</i> arts festival in <i>very same city.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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Why was this? Why would you create a brand new arts festival when the biggest in the world is already on your doorstep?</div>
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More importantly - why did this new alternative festival quickly grow to become <i>even bigger than the Goliath it was meant to challenge?</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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I'm talking, of course, about the <i>Edinburgh Fringe -</i> which has independently become the biggest single arts festival in the entire world.</div>
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The reasons behind its creation were actually quite simple. This evolution happened because those plucky upstarts clearly believed that the original festival - in spite of its enormous size - was not catering to all tastes, and was unfairly marginalising certain groups who felt they needed - and deserved - an equal voice.</div>
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Sound familiar, my beer loving friends?</div>
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Of course it does.</div>
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Look, let me first say this. Yesterday's trade session at The Great British Beer Festival 2014 was indeed 'great'. There was no sense of impending doom which many would have predicted. Lots of 'craft-centric' breweries were present with certain of their brews (served only from casks, naturally) and with forward-looking firms like <i>Oakham </i>and <i>Salopian </i>winning medals nobody could argue that the door is still entirely closed on progress.</div>
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But I'm going to argue it anyway.</div>
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Because I can't help it.</div>
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Because the noisier and more gigantic this giant festival grows over the years, the more I feel the sense that it needs to quiet down and get a haircut.</div>
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It needs a fringe.</div>
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By not allowing the craft beer movement to showcase itself -<i> in the way it would choose to</i> - the GBBF is effectively only presenting a <i>version </i>of what is great about beer. To my eyes, it's the version which is currently<i> less </i>representative of what's exciting about British beer. If anything, The Great British Beer Festival already IS the fringe in that respect, and it's the new mainstream which is being left out in the cold.</div>
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It's kind of ironic. The Campaign For Real Ale, who run this giant sideshow, were once the plucky rebels themselves.</div>
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But if it continues with it's Craft-wary approach, CAMRA will only succeed in emulating its own vision of 'the enemy' - <i>a dominant group which forcibly influences and controls the way in which we all drink our beer.</i> <br />
<br />
In short - CAMRA is in danger of becoming the very same kind of beast which it was created to destroy. <br />
<br />
In the bad old days (which CAMRA fought so hard to change) the industry standard was "bland keg or nothing". But having won that long fight against a lack of choice, CAMRA are now being every bit as restrictive about what should be acceptable to drinkers. Even after 'bland keg' has been lovingly reinvented by consciousness brewers with abundant talent. 'Bland keg' is now 'craft keg', and the latter is often utterly delicious. <br />
<br />
Yet, still it remains "Cask or nothing" and even worse - <br />
<br />
<i>"Cask or it's not proper beer."</i> <br />
<br />
Most people reading this know that such claims are no longer accurate. </div>
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That kind of terminology felt right about ten years ago. It stopped feeling right about five years ago.<br />
<br />
Cask is no longer the only delivery method which 'proper' beer drinkers believe in. Any claim to the contrary is simple myth making. It's spin. It's smoke and mirrors or the Emperors new clothes. Unless CAMRA acknowledge the passing of time, unless they embrace the continuing evolution of beer, all we will have had is a straight swap of demon for demon. <br />
<br />
There is a legacy at stake here. A great legacy, which stands at risk of being forever lost or undermined. <br />
<br />
So - I'm calling out the heroes. <br />
<br />
Those same heroes who saved us all from poor beer in the first place. <br />
<br />
We need them to don their capes and Lycra tights now more than ever before. They need to keep doing what they always have been doing - showing us mortals what to do. Teaching us all which way we should go. We have grown accustomed to looking to them for direction. But right now, they're using an outdated map, and thousands of decent beer loving folk are being given no alternative but to find their own way.<br />
<br />
It doesn't have to be like this. <br />
<br />
I'm sure everyone would be happy to have CAMRA continue to lead the way, they've done so with aplomb for decades. But the reality is that unless that old map is updated, and soon, I fear fewer and fewer people will feel sufficiently confident that theirs remains the lead to follow.</div>
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So, CAMRA, you have two real options...</div>
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1: Stop behaving like your old enemy and allow these new ideas to sing. Take away the need for a rival 'fringe' which would grow independently mighty and threaten the 'Greatness' of your own festival. Get craft keg on the list for 2015 and win back a whole lot of friends and fans. Simple.</div>
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2: Carry on as you are. There are already 'craft beer festivals' gaining in popularity each year, one will inevitably evolve into the main alternative event on a national level. Let the disgruntled card carrying members continue to drift away - when they'd really prefer to stay. Heartbreaking and avoidable. </div>
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That's how I see it - I know I'm one among many.</div>
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I hope common sense can prevail and that all lovers of fine beer can rejoin as one before very long.</div>
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Whilst CAMRA remain dominant, it's up to them to take the lead on this. I love to see them do that.</div>
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We have them to thank for where we are today. The dark past is long past, and CAMRA made it so.</div>
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It's up to them now to decide whether they want to remain as influential in the future.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-69211027885795021382014-07-29T18:06:00.001+01:002014-07-30T09:54:05.297+01:00My Cure For Twitter Jitters.<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSFmU65klph0kVufRshg9vaKswobQK-S7t3nOw0pQ0871pYM5Eb0t8wWRG-VZhGBELpHnHMgIPZQFyTPIxPyi4fdz4vrI1dD7pFjACaVhrrqc4lb59n6hHa2R1_mgKkCMAGF38VcvkIam/s640/blogger-image-1211849948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSFmU65klph0kVufRshg9vaKswobQK-S7t3nOw0pQ0871pYM5Eb0t8wWRG-VZhGBELpHnHMgIPZQFyTPIxPyi4fdz4vrI1dD7pFjACaVhrrqc4lb59n6hHa2R1_mgKkCMAGF38VcvkIam/s320/blogger-image-1211849948.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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I'm writing this blog entry on my phone.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now there's a sentence you wouldn't have read twenty years ago!</span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's perfectly true though, all thanks to an 'app' version of Blogger which (theoretically) makes it 'simple to blog on the go' - for whatever reason you might feel the need to do such a thing.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Those aforementioned twenty years ago, "blogging on the go" might have been little more than a coded expression for using the toilet at a motorway service station. Nowadays it means broadcasting random personal thoughts via telephones. Does that imply progress, I wonder? Both definitions involve letting out crap, I suppose.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, this is just a quick service station toilet visit - partly to test this new technology, but chiefly to announce that my Twitter 'handle' has changed from @BottledBeerYear to <a href="https://twitter.com/RealMarkDexter">@RealMarkDexter</a>. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This change has happened for various reasons, but it's mostly a way to reduce the amount of times I have to explain my username to those who don't know about this website (and the secret love of fine beer which it so willingly betrays!)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It makes absolutely no difference to you lot - the Twitter account is exactly the same in every other way - it's really just like a new address for the same old house, but apparently after making such slight changes it's considered polite to simply let folk know about it.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which you do. Now.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, if I can work out how to actually post something from this new app, I guess I'll go right ahead and do it.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which makes me wonder if 'posting' is now the service station equivalent of 'pulling the chain'?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'll let you be the judge of that.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-53604470401651548462014-05-28T10:47:00.000+01:002014-05-28T10:52:44.480+01:00Let Google Do The School Run.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="western">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The folks at Google get a lot of
things right.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For a start, they don't work for
Facebook – which is possibly the single best idea any
technically-minded humanoid could ever have.
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Other good things they've done
include the inexplicably legal snooping tool <i>'Google Earth</i>', their
search engine is clearly reasonably popular too, and personally I
also prefer their web browser <i>Chrome </i>which, thanks to its
<i>'Incognito'</i> setting, allows me to indulge my passion for Barry
Manilow videos without a single other person in my household ever
having a clue.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But like all successful companies
from this (third) 3D Age, even the mighty Google can make the odd
catastrophic blunder, and the Self Driving Car <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27587558">(further details of which were announced today)</a> is just the latest turkey to jump the
fence of Google's funny farm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As someone who likes to keep the door
ajar for all things sci-fi, you might have thought I would welcome
such futuristic vision, especially when it comes from a company with
a proven track record in technology development. The problem here is that
Google clearly never sent out the memo reminding their staff that
certain 'futuristic visions' are supposed to remain as precisely
that. They are not meant to actually happen. I mean, we're not really
meant to go on holiday with robots, it's just a handy way of making
movies feel edgy and dark. What today's announcement shows is that
some overexcited puppies at Google see the likes of Skynet from the
Terminator franchise as some sort of corporate goal - as opposed to
the nightmarish cautionary tale that the screenwriters intended - and
these same little wag-tailed dogs are actively endeavouring to make sure all that horrible scary stuff <i>really does happen.</i></span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Basically, today's news update from
Google's <i>Attention Seeking Division</i> tells us that (contrary to
earlier news updates) Google are not going to adapt previously built
vehicles, but are to build their own child maimers right from
scratch.
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's be clear. These cars will have
no pedals, no steering wheels, and no other controls whatsoever
except for a single 'Stop/Go' button.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Read that sentence again and then
imagine tomorrow's school run.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, safety is obviously paramount in
the minds of these Google pups, but that shouldn't be a problem
because computers never go wrong. Especially not one's running
software created by Google.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stop laughing and consider this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You get into cars without controls
all the time. You've been doing it throughout your entire life.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's called being a passenger.
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Almost every week of our lives we
entrust our destiny into the hands of ultra-fallable human beings,
many of whom will have crashed a car at least once before you settle
yourself into the seat beside them.
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wouldn't it feel just a little bit
safer to be entrusting your life into the hands of a series of
massively powerful, state-of-the-art microchips, all working in
tandem to achieve what for them is an infinitely simple task – and
each of them doing this whilst simultaneously monitoring each other's
efficiency and performance every inch of the way?</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, if you think that scenario
might appeal more, let me run a quick scenario...</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You are driving along (being driven
along?) in your Self Drive Google Car, which is incapable of error.
Suddenly, up ahead, a human-driven car veers onto your side of the
road – driving the wrong way on a collision course directly toward
you. The driver of the vehicle seems unconscious and is unlikely to
take steps to avoid the collision with your car, which will happen in
seconds.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What does your Google car do?</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Burdened with the extra imperative
'never to make a mistake', does it move to the left and mount the
pavement – on which pedestrians are walking? Does it veer to the
right – into the path of oncoming traffic? Or does it make neither
of these two risky choices and elect instead for the only option
which leaves it blameless at the subsequent enquiry – namely to
make an emergency stop.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By choosing the least 'wrong' option
– the result is that you die, so do your two kids and the driver of
the oncoming car – but the Google car did absolutely nothing wrong
and Google's reputation is safe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A genuine human tragedy, and an
absolute triumph of tech.
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Putting an error proof car onto roads
with cars which make mistakes all the time is simply not going to
work. To me, that's obvious.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The only thing Google can be thinking
is that one day <u>only</u> their cars will be on our roads. This, I
agree, would hugely reduce the number of accidents on those roads –
possibly to zero – but taking a seat in a car without controls is
going to be a giant leap for humankind, way more of a leap than it
took this turkey to fly the fence of Google's funny farm, and can any
of us really picture ourselves letting Google take our kids to school
any time soon?</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I just can't see it happening. And
frankly I don't even mean 'yet'. I mean ever.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ultimately though, amongst all the
horror that lurks beneath the surface of today's announcement from
Google, one aspect above all really got me fighting to keep my
breakfast down.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They are going to give these
non-controllable self-driving cars 'smiley faces' in order to <i>“help
people accept the technology”</i>.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Genius.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Amazing that nobody ever thought to
paint smiles on electric chairs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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</span></div>
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</span></div>
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</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-81513894703740588742014-05-15T14:51:00.001+01:002014-05-15T15:01:57.294+01:00There's More To Life Than Great Beer. (Right?)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<br />
The last time I posted something here was in the late 17th century, during the latter days of the reign of King Charles II.<br />
<br />
Or at least that's how it feels... and lately I've started to wonder why.<br />
<br />
Having enthusiastically churned out around <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/p/beer-year-top-brew-chart-story-so-far.html">160 reviews</a> of beers from across the world, why would I suddenly lose the will?<br />
<br />
It's not as though I've stopped getting excited about beer. After all, it's arguable that things have never been so exciting in the ever-widening world of brewing - as my three most recent acquisitions (pictured above) demonstrate with mouth-watering panache.<br />
<br />
And it's not as though I've grown tired of writing either. During this period of blog silence I've been tinkering away with screenplays, revisiting old novel manuscripts (pretty decent one of them is, too) as well as knocking out the odd beer descriptor for any breweries which ask me to do so.<br />
<br />
So what's my problem?<br />
<br />
Well, after a lot of thought, I suspect I may have found the answer...<br />
<br />
I think there may be more to life than beer.<br />
<br />
I won't blame you for reading that last sentence three or four times, I know it's hard to compute.<br />
<br />
But I have reason to believe it must be true because very often, when I sit down to extrapolate my views on yet another golden beer from the South East of England, I find I'm actually suppressing a more urgent need to talk about something else entirely. This suppressed 'something' comes in many forms, depending on what's going on in the world, it really could be anything, even something which - just imagine - hasn't the merest connection with beer at all.<br />
<br />
So, having had this realisation - I've decided to shake things up and make some changes to this site. I'm going to break free from the shackles of my own design concept and use this quiet corner of the Webosphere to bleat on about whatever the heck happens to be on my mind. Who knows, maybe that other side of my life - that which involves prancing around in front of film cameras - might find a voice here. It seems that my rather odd profession can sometimes be of mild interest to many of you humanoids, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to share some of my 'on-set' experiences.<br />
<br />
Maybe something will make me laugh or get me raging and I'll feel sufficiently compelled to share it. I don't really know how this will go, to be honest.<br />
<br />
Beer will continue to feature, that's a given. Some beers are just too good to ignore. As things stand, the hyper intensity of creative energy, the abundant raw talent, and the sheer hard graft going on within the brewing industry will guarantee that I continue to get vocal from time to time.<br />
<br />
But the unfortunate flipside of these unprecedented levels of brewing endeavour is that there is now way too much beer out there, and a lot of it simply doesn't inspire. So from now on only the brews that genuinely raise my spirits will be given air time here. Expect to find brews from <a href="http://mikkeller.dk/"><i>Mikkeller</i></a>, <a href="http://averybrewing.com/age-verification/?referrer=/"><i>Avery</i></a>,<i> <a href="http://eviltwin.dk/">Evil Twin</a></i>, <a href="http://www.magicrockbrewing.com/"><i>Magic Rock</i></a>, <a href="http://www.thekernelbrewery.com/"><i>Kernel</i></a>, <a href="http://www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk/"><i>Thornbridge</i></a>, <a href="http://www.brewdog.com/"><i>BrewDog</i></a>, <i><a href="http://russianriverbrewing.com/age-check.html?prev=http://russianriverbrewing.com/">Russian Rive</a>r</i>, <a href="http://www.marblebeers.com/"><i>Marble</i></a>, <a href="http://angelcitybrewery.com/"><i>Angel City</i></a>, <a href="http://cigarcitybrewing.com/"><i>Cigar City</i></a>, <a href="http://www.beavertownbrewery.co.uk/"><i>Beavertown</i></a>, <a href="http://www.slyfoxbeer.com/"><i>Sly Fox</i></a>, <a href="http://bearrepublic.com/"><i>Bear Republic</i></a> and plenty more firms that fit comfortably onto this<i> "kind"</i> of list.<br />
<br />
<i>(You know what "kind" I'm talking about. Some like to call it "Craft Beer". Others then demand a more detailed explanation of what "craft" means. Then someone fetches a shotgun because they're so sick and tired of all this aimless, soul-destroying infighting.)</i><br />
<br />
Anyway, there you have it. It's official. <i>The Bottled Beer Year</i> is back in action, replete with fancy new bells and whistles, and henceforth it will be -<i> </i>rather like life itself - about much more than pleasant tasting liquid.<br />
<br />
I hope you'll stay tuned, and maybe you'll even enjoy it.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I'm going back on set.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>(N.B. - The beers pictured are <a href="http://www.beavertownbrewery.co.uk/Gamma-Ray">'Gamma Ray'</a> American Pale Ale from Beavertown, <a href="http://www.slyfoxbeer.com/index.php/front/beer_113">'113 IPA'</a> India Pale Ale from Sly Fox and <a href="http://www.brewdog.com/product/mikkeller-i-beat-you">'I Beat You'</a> Imperial IPA from Mikkeller. Each can now be found on the <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/p/beer-year-top-brew-chart-story-so-far.html">High Score Chart</a>.)</i><br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-87752633190878552722013-04-16T20:13:00.000+01:002013-04-16T20:13:39.673+01:00Day 159, Beer 159 - Salopian's "Vertigo"<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Today's
Beer</b></span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><br />
</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5q1pjSXlwcPJob1CkPko8UVuk7aeujK4bRwxp1dYb_qtKdSuZETu6u7RcNkMdpkxKEzChQCCPb1NriTc3-708hlW35aRExIPTD7Ku8zFrcWArLUz8tbSszX1Oj5fxy27KULXSl8imXco/s1600/HPIM4816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5q1pjSXlwcPJob1CkPko8UVuk7aeujK4bRwxp1dYb_qtKdSuZETu6u7RcNkMdpkxKEzChQCCPb1NriTc3-708hlW35aRExIPTD7Ku8zFrcWArLUz8tbSszX1Oj5fxy27KULXSl8imXco/s320/HPIM4816.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFFMmQNY-5jJGm_B-Unc6aJO998kQemqY5bZjXVNoQ1k10_jwUUpOj8eYWSsIC8eRg0MgZPFipV1XZ4RxGcxRIHo8zrS41tX4ucQQiJJQ_2YZieThD1XnnLyVNmd6gLN8tQTTygGRn_0Q/s1600/HPIM4811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFFMmQNY-5jJGm_B-Unc6aJO998kQemqY5bZjXVNoQ1k10_jwUUpOj8eYWSsIC8eRg0MgZPFipV1XZ4RxGcxRIHo8zrS41tX4ucQQiJJQ_2YZieThD1XnnLyVNmd6gLN8tQTTygGRn_0Q/s320/HPIM4811.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Vertigo</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://www.salopianbrewery.co.uk/">Salopian</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Black IPA</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 7.2% ABV</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
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</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– The very deepest, darkest brown currently known to humankind.
Monumentally appealing. </span>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Sweet, razor sharp citrus. Impossible. Delightful.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Off the scale. Every scale, and in every sense. </span>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;">Salopian</span><span style="color: black;">
sent </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Vertigo</i></span><span style="color: black;">
over to me with a bonus bottle of their <a href="http://therealalestore.com/index.php/browse-by-style/bitter/salopian-darwin-s-origin-4-3.html" style="font-style: italic;">Darwin's Origin</a><i>, </i>one of the more established beers on their roster but one which I'd also never tried before. Needless to say I have tried it now, and it ranks among the greatest bitters I've tried in a very long time. I figured that was worth mentioning.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– <i>Vertigo </i>is hideously rare at this early stage in its existence If you live near
a specialist beer shop you might be in luck – providing you can
dodge the long range missiles launched at you almost constantly by
jealous folk like me who don't live anywhere near a specialist beer
shop. Alternatively, you could avoid harm by going <a href="http://www.salopianbrewery.co.uk/">online</a>.<br /><br />On the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;"><b>9.5/10</b></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've
never sniffed a fluid so much.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There
was a peculiar moment early on in this review session when I wondered
if it might be better if I didn't transfer any of this beer into my
mouth – as the only possible outcome was sure to be a relative
reduction in the amount of pleasure the substance was already
bringing into my sorry little life. After all, handing over
responsibility from one sense organ to the next can so often result
in a joy-sapping anti-climax – especially in these days of ever
more fevered hop-centric experimentation wherein pungent 'whiffs'
can often be followed by oddly lacklustre tastes. <i>(I still don't
really understand how high fragrance and low flavour can so easily
coincide.)</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway,
having eventually reminded myself that beer reviews traditionally
require at least a rudimentary flavour assessment, I took the plunge
and had a sip.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well,
I'm happy to report that the nose-to-mouth progression in Vertigo's
case was not at all anti-climactic. Indeed, by some miraculous means,
what rapidly became one of the best <i>smelling </i>beers I've ever
encountered also turned out to be one of the best <i>tasting</i>.
Who'd have thunk!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As
you can imagine then, what we're dealing with here is a drink of
exemplary all-round quality, but oddly enough that's not the best thing about
it.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's
not just a <i>good </i>beer – it's also a <i>useful</i> one.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
think this could be the perfect beverage to bridge the gap between those
who are keen to remain within the hallowed walls of <i>Traditional
Beersville</i>, and those who have flown that particular nest and feel
determined never to return.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingeniously,
<i>Vertigo</i> sums-up in one delicious glass the last half decade or
so of creativity which has all but transformed the beer industry,
whilst also being a beer imbued with a super clear sense of
tradition. It's unquestionably a 'funky modern', but it's also one of
those ever-familiar fine ales we've all grown to love at some point
in our beer-supping lives. In effect, this is a brew that drinks like
a concise appraisal of beer's entire story, starting right back from
ale's humble beginnings, and zooming right the way through to the
current outer margins of contemporary ingenuity and innovation.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Very
often I find myself thinking how glad I am that I'm a beer drinker at
this particular point in time. Lovers of the brewer's art today have
such a wealth of options available to them, there are almost no
limits to the variety of flavours, textures and aromas,
notwithstanding the boundless range of colours, strengths and even
recommended serving temperatures to constantly leave us with exciting
new territory to explore. And for those not wishing to leap too far
from tradition, there are obviously still an abundance of well known, 'classic style' beers being produced and enjoyed. But just to have the
option of switching back and forth from our old favourites to the new
breed of flavour-forward concoctions <i>makes us a very lucky bunch
in my estimation.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And
what beers like <i>Vertigo</i> give us – is the chance to do both
all at once.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beers
like Vertigo shrink the gap
between old and new beer styles with effortless grace, and they are
pretty much guaranteed to leave members of all <i>three</i> camps
(the <i>trads</i>, the <i>mods</i> and the <i>go-betweens</i>) with
nothing but smiles on their satisfied faces.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When
I say beers 'like' Vertigo, I don't mean Black IPA's, necessarily.
Some of these beers can feel distinctly 'edgy' and contemporary
(which is fine by me),whilst others can feel like someone has simply
applied 'new funky jargon' onto the label of a watery stout.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Vertigo
is an excellent drink in its own right, which happens to wear the
Black IPA name (with strong justification), but which takes the
concept of 'style fusion' back to its essential roots. Consequently,
you have a beer which feels fresh, modern and dynamic, but which is
also appropriately aware of the back-story to its own existence.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As
I started writing this, I felt that listing the many flavours at work
within this beer was much less important than stressing just how enjoyable and how downright 'important' I believe this brew
is, as well as how the <i>assembly</i> of Vertigo's flavours is every bit
as key as the <i>nature</i> of them. But as I know that such an
omission would (rightfully) annoy most of you, I'll now pull out just
a few of the major flavour players -</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Tropical
tree fruit, hedgerow berries, rich molasses, dark roast coffee, star
anise, kiwi, gooseberry, burnt toast, licorice, traditional 'fruit
salad' chews, black forest gateaux, wild grass, giant lorry loads
more....</i> are you getting the picture?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let me re-emphasise, though, that this beer is about so much more than taste. It's
an education. A comprehensive lesson in beer's history, starting at
the very beginning, and showing us all just how far we have come.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A
modern beer with a classic soul.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is simply
magnificent.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Find
it, buy it, drink it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Whatever beers you love, you will love this beer.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-13498033309443366472013-03-04T14:14:00.001+00:002013-03-04T14:18:05.258+00:00My 'Top 5' Craft Beers in LA<br />
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<center>
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116725649100722775948/TheBottledBeerYear?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqjmf7WooTungE#5851491046124391282"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02aQJdyTyThpALrZk1BuVBHCZeJimFT9ZmVxv_nD9bC0a4NlVk7TtC_gelMg-7JhhkNBFyFO4cx2yJ3YlFRBOz5i4nXyaRqv-erHihGhfPGuJKi4IGdkO7L8vHZXZHpZpX0ZUmAbLxkCC/s288/10.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /><br />Over the last twelve months I spent a total of six weeks in and around Los Angeles, sampling contemporary American beer whenever I deemed it appropriate to do so. (Nearly always.)<br /><br />A beer-loving statistician might argue that this is not possibly enough time to get a full perspective on the US craft beer scene and I'd usually be among the first to agree, but by the end of my most recent trip over there, I reckon I've been sufficiently exposed (and sufficiently well advised before any exposure) to feel confident enough to list the best five brews I have come across on American soil.<br /><br />As a bottled beer themed website, I wanted to limited the list to those beers which can be bought in bottled form, but some of these are either too new or too 'niche' to have made it onto the bottling line, but assurances were given to me that most of these will be both 'on tap' and 'under cap' within the very near future.<br /><br />And so, in no particular order...<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Avery - '<i><a href="http://averybrewing.com/our-ales/maharaja/" target="_blank">Maharaja</a></i>' (Imperial IPA)</span><br /><br /><br /></span><br />
<center>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116725649100722775948/TheBottledBeerYear?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqjmf7WooTungE#5851491108148258690"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcN3nXnRlCC50-R2F58UEaEy1Xr5Oo_TndFqSJ7DeeOFIcp_JiJEfyEUnX1ASor0f3zHt1dF0XhZ-tyr9u6D8T2ZmC4AySLhzHzDTmRDbgTbqvTKR1eJa2s5X71TSyQlQpKXZL3em4NKUP/s288/11.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="178" /></a></span></center>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /><br />The undisputed talk of the town in Hollywood and its near neighbours, I first tried this at the marvellous <i><a href="http://www.stoutburgersandbeers.com/home" target="_blank">Stout Burgers & Beer</a></i> on Cahuenga Boulevard shortly after seeing a burst of frenetic activity behind the bar which (it turned out) had been triggered by a fresh consignment of this beer finally being hooked up to a tap. Moments before this excitement began I'd ordered something else entirely, but the bartender brought me Maharaja instead because <i>"This is something you just have to try..."</i><br /><br />She was right. With this beer, Avery have probably elevated the IPA to a point beyond which it will simply have to be called something else. Technically an 'Imperial' IPA, which loosely means it's had a multi-stage ramping up of strength, flavour and general awesomeness, and weighing in at a fairly hospitalising 10.4 ABV, this is quite simply the mothership of all other beers wearing those three ubiquitous capital letters. Of all the double, triple, quadruple or bigger <i>India Pale Ale's</i> in the known universe, there is none better than this masterwork of creativity.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Angel City - '<i><a href="http://angelcitybrewery.com/beer/" target="_blank">Angelino IPA</a></i>'</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><center>
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116725649100722775948/TheBottledBeerYear?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqjmf7WooTungE#5851491169447917538"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wDCyBga18O4Zo7fkmIbYlNkAwFhrc47r5468tKy6s8saH6ozAg45MHcyDvcqd_9acG1SUTjG1rgqKrmg22jTC1pKR7VpDTz_UtY5FwZaR-zYIbx1vaDvU_kPuhT6dooRK3aka24XeYQ7/s288/12.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="167" /></a></center>
<br /><br />Just arriving in the bars of Los Angeles, this beer is about as enjoyable a drink as I've tasted in recent times. With shades of Thornbridge's sublime '<i>Kipling</i>' and BrewDog's '<i>Punk IPA</i>' this is an exquisitely crafted highly hopped beer which is impossibly easy drinking and comes imbued with a sense of freshness which is peerless in my experience. Without doubt, Angel City will be a dominant craft brewery in two years time. No question.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Dogfish '<i><a href="http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/90-minute-ipa.htm" target="_blank">90 Minute IPA</a></i>'</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><center>
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116725649100722775948/TheBottledBeerYear?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqjmf7WooTungE#5851491228873007282"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4BEb7F1cnSwAZWhuldx1yJAFHC6CP5zuPGQd2hFt6qbUdBpkmtXDc8ATupO1sqZOEByKu7tFRkDN5dp3lxmMyefqXIlikNKPQL5EveGvOMFK0cN9i4xusIuKKbu_tPJP8Vi76GZ57nzr/s288/13.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="78" /></a></center>
<br /><br />This brew is already a big fish having recently been voted <i>Best Craft Beer In America</i> (I forget who by, but whoever they are I can't really argue with them). It's another of those US IPA's that can only really be enjoyed in small amounts due to the crazy levels of alcohol they come armed with, but the bewildering array of flavours at work here make that small amount truly memorable. It's not a <i>one-trick-(hop)-pony</i> like some modern IPA's can justifiably be accused of being - there are dynamic spices, funky herbs and all kinds of malt-derived deeper flavours that add up to a mind-bending showcase of brewing ingenuity.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">North Coast '<i><a href="http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/beer-rasputin.htm" target="_blank">Old Rasputin</a></i>' (Imperial Stout)</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><center>
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116725649100722775948/TheBottledBeerYear?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqjmf7WooTungE#5851491290525581618"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5-EI-dV6KTyX99Jk8-vdZ6JT0Fi0IKfHKfZD7m8itFN28_zPWvJQQVgV9dmQIsscYy1j9E18O-Ew_W9Pa5ukVpoJ_em_-ON2fAy-SYdLes8RXwjHkdqt8uXGuKI9i2bk87KDiOvFTRIc/s288/14.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="93" /></a></center>
<br /><br />They might not win as many headlines, but it's worth pointing out that the 'dark' beers in the US craft movement are every bit as impressive as the hop bombs. Some of my most pleasant surprises on the Pacific Coast have been in reaction to stouts and porters, many of which could give anything I've ever tried in Dublin or London a decent run for its money. However, I won't try to pretend might that I paid as close attention to the darks on either recent trip - although this is a state of affairs I intend never to repeat! Of the relatively few '<i>roasty toasty</i>' brews I sampled Old Rasputin was a stand out, and it had me nodding my head sagaciously right from the off. Everything you'd want from a stout with a whole load of elements you never dreamed you'd want. A very clever beer.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Bear Republic - '<i><a href="http://www.bearrepublic.com/ourbeers.php" target="_blank">Cafe Racer 15</a></i>' (Double IPA)</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><center>
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116725649100722775948/TheBottledBeerYear?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqjmf7WooTungE#5851491344532751490"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5TN7M_CojlmYtWh3DcQc3KIJo6NXLOpvxrCzcRfrUNPidD1yGv8390BKz99-QYDGcDT9hheNLUeqAMmc0Sw_Vk-R1Vi-3_XjVgnmLwu7IRMLN2JV55CmzGY2teyaejbomZp_MEAD86tk/s288/15.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="400" /></a></center>
<br /><br />Most often found at <i><a href="http://www.bluepalmsbrewhouse.com/pages/home.html" target="_blank">The Blue Palms Brewhouse</a></i> on Hollywood Boulevard, this beer is every bit the challenger for <i>Maharaja's</i> reputation as the best Imperial/Double IPA around. What we have here is essentially the big sister to <i>Racer 5</i> - the much lauded brew which careered around the globe winning the hearts of relentless hop-fiends everywhere. In short, if you enjoyed Racer 5, imagine a beer that's almost exactly three times as good. Nuff said.<br /><br /><br /><b><i>Notable others -</i></b><br /><br /><br />Russian River '<i><a href="http://russianriverbrewing.com/brews/blind-pig-ipa/" target="_blank">Blind Pig</a></i>' (IPA)<br /><br />A lower ABV India Pale Ale which sacrifices little in terms of flavour impact but comes with the advantage of being drinkable in amounts greater than two smallish glasses per evening. (A concept still largely ignored by most US craft breweries, who continue to focus almost entirely on high-alcohol brews!)<br /><br /><br /><br />Stone '<i><a href="http://www.stonebrew.com/ruin/" target="_blank">Ruination</a></i>' (IPA)<br /><br />A beer which emphasises my previous point rather beautifully!<br /><br />Famously powerful, and supposedly every bit as <i>rare</i>. Nonsense! It's available in singles or in four packs in Los Angeles if you take a while to find the right supermarket. </span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-4411827298384056352013-01-16T15:42:00.001+00:002013-01-16T15:42:36.508+00:00Day 158, Beer 158 - Titanic's "Plum Porter"<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Today's
Beer</b></span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Plum Porter</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://www.titanicbrewery.co.uk/">Titanic</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Porter. With plums. Naturally.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 4.9% ABV</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Rosewood tinged translucent black. Alarmingly attractive.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– A certain tree fruit dominates the aromas. You'll never guess
which.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– A novel, but by no means a 'novelty' beer. Rich, fruity,
beautifully engineered and impossible to drink without smiling. <i>(See below.)</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Sinking sea vessels aside, it's taken me far too long to get
around to </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Titanic</i></span><span style="color: black;">.
Appropriately, this Stoke-based brewery has an increasingly 'big'
reputation among ale aficionados (beer geeks), and although it may
not the most ubiquitous brand on a national level, it's certainly
among the fastest growing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– You might not find this particular beer in supermarkets, but many
of Titanic's core beers are popping up more and more frequently these
days. Otherwise, try a specialist retailer to sample some of their
more <i>avant-garde</i> products such as today's. I got this one from
Newark's <a href="http://therealalestore.com/">Real Ale Store</a>. <br /><br />On the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;"><b>8/10</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rarely
has the first sip of a beer produced such a wide and enduring smile.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
should quickly add that around fifty percent of that grin was induced
by a profound sense of <i>relief</i>,
as I'd fully convinced myself there was little or no chance of me
genuinely enjoying this brew.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That
prior fear, based on years of crushing disappointment, is a sensation
I experience whenever I crack the lid on a drink which claims to be
an established beer style (a <i>porter</i>,
in today's case) that has been somehow 'enhanced' with use of an
extra, supposedly 'bonus' ingredient. In these days of evermore
feverish innovation this additional item could be anything from
chocolate or ginger, vanilla, horseradish, caramelised church bench,
or the ground bones of the head-brewer's former boss.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Those
latter two may be fictional <i>at
the time of writing, </i>but
it's surely
now only a matter of months...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Plum</i>,
then, could actually be regarded as a reassuringly conservative
choice, and in many ways its easy to imagine why the rich, deep
roasted character of a stout or porter might benefit from the sweet,
tangy sharpness of any number of dark skinned tree or hedge fruits.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My
problem is that these 'special' beers can all too often wind up
tasting like the kind of tinned confectionery we only ever receive
from that elderly lady across the street at Christmas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Basically,
they have a tendency to taste exactly like what the breweries will
never admit they <i>actually</i>
<i>are</i>.
Public relations tools. Firms feel obligated to churn these
'creations' out every once in a while to remind the world that their
businesses are populated by warm blooded human beings as well as
dispassionate machines, and to remind their rivals that they can be
every bit as innovative (bonkers) as they can. It can often feel like
companies brew
the occasional quirky beer purely to demonstrate that they <i>can</i>,
not because they particularly <i>should</i>.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Personally,
I don't drink beers in order to marvel that they're <i>possible</i>,
I usually just drink them because they're <i>nice</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However,
very occasionally, these brewery muscle-flexing sessions will result
in something which is not only ground breaking, unique and hugely
painstaking to achieve <i>(blah
blah blah)</i>,
but which also happens to be genuinely delicious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mercifully,
<i>Plum
Porter</i>
is very much among these beautiful anomalies.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sumptuous
swirling suggestions of liquorice, smoked bacon, cocoa, fresh picked
herbs and soft spice – all very much in the porter tradition –
combine wonderfully with the guest star of the show, the unmistakable
presence of that ultra-juicy, perfectly ripened plum, which imposes
itself determinedly upon the overall flavour without ever
overstepping that fine line and heading off toward brutal domination.
It does get <i>close</i>
to that line at times, but if anything that adds a welcome 'tension' to
the experience which might otherwise be perfectly pleasant but much
less dynamic. There's also a lovely little cameo performance from
<i>rhubarb</i>
which, in my estimation at least, comes dangerously close to stealing
the show at various stages during a full glass.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
body has substance, but there's also an agreeable lightness to it,
making the instinct to pour an immediate second glass pretty darned
compelling, and the complex aromas have that <i>'please
let me have just one more sniff'</i>
quality which is all but guaranteed to earn you a police caution.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There's
little doubt that this an extremely successful foray into the potentially hazardous realms
of recipe experimentation, and I really needn't have wasted any time at all worrying about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometimes,
'funking' a beer up can prove to be nothing less than a typo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With
this though, Titanic have brewed a very classy porter and given it a distinctive edge with restrained use of creative ingenuity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
truth, I image that's what all breweries are <i>really</i>
aiming for whenever they have a go at a 'special'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Few
ever get it as right as this.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-70070662394521267242012-12-18T16:00:00.000+00:002012-12-18T16:00:59.064+00:00Day 157, Beer 157 - Wye Valley's "Butty Bach"<br />
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Today's
Beer</b></span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><br />
</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIH9SO-Ub7kaVhWlkawg5Ygz6HrNdDcZqL0FPFJclQLTGHSkr0CcnKa90aU1kD3ttSJ_kovfnT2LvweTbNQkjfh3GIE5eyE41WYnZsGGwf0rZR6NoyozrP4KZVl84upeI4j9vfuQd6ewC1/s1600/HPIM4758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIH9SO-Ub7kaVhWlkawg5Ygz6HrNdDcZqL0FPFJclQLTGHSkr0CcnKa90aU1kD3ttSJ_kovfnT2LvweTbNQkjfh3GIE5eyE41WYnZsGGwf0rZR6NoyozrP4KZVl84upeI4j9vfuQd6ewC1/s320/HPIM4758.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnr1pjVdQlx0BxQsZ96XT0VxTgcmTlxqWblmPxCwZCdHDbWyG9JHnA_bWFaiXCV7nngNIz90a1VxYrddNuaJkivPG3P4K9LaUjPoIAhUfW2r5Gyd0ua4CGUH7UeyrLWnnn_ywE8mT_1dC/s1600/HPIM4741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnr1pjVdQlx0BxQsZ96XT0VxTgcmTlxqWblmPxCwZCdHDbWyG9JHnA_bWFaiXCV7nngNIz90a1VxYrddNuaJkivPG3P4K9LaUjPoIAhUfW2r5Gyd0ua4CGUH7UeyrLWnnn_ywE8mT_1dC/s320/HPIM4741.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Butty Bach</span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://www.wyevalleybrewery.co.uk/">Wye Valley</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Premium Ale</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 4.5% ABV</span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Caramelised, honeyed apricot.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– A whole world of malted buttery loveliness.</span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– A proper classic-style bitter. Nutty, fruity, and laced with pleasing hints of British woodland foliage. Sounds great doesn't it, so why am I sobbing in the corner? <i>(Read on...)</i></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;">On
the </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="line-height: 0.56cm;">
– Herefordshire's Wye Valley Brewery have, </span><span style="line-height: 21.149999618530273px;">courtesy</span><span style="line-height: 0.56cm;"> of this beer, brought my entire life to a crucial moment. <i>(Read on...)</i></span></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– This company's reach has been increasing of late, with various supermarkets now getting the message which, obviously, is great for them. If only this could be said
of so many other fabulous British breweries of similar size. I weep. Anyway, contact the <a href="http://www.wyevalleybrewery.co.uk/">brewery direct</a> for sales info.<br /><br />On the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;"><b>8/10</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There
ain't nothing wrong with this beer.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now,
it could be argued that opening lines such as the one you have just
read are deliberately ambiguous. Sometimes, sentences of this kind in beer reviews are significant purely in terms of what they <i>don't</i>
say.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After
all, just because a brew is largely free of faults, it doesn't
necessarily follow that it's overrun with plus points.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Personally,
I'd say I must have imbibed hundreds of 'faultless' beers which I'd completely forgotten about seconds after they've been swallowed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">An
<i>awful</i> beer, on the other hand, will almost never leave you alone,
even if you only took a couple of sips from it over twenty years ago. This is a devastating reality which ruins not only individual evenings,
but can also set back careers, break up families and end worlds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm
exaggerating only very slightly there, as anyone who's ever had to politely sit
through an entire glassful of their mate's rubbish home-brew will know only too well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
the far more widely experienced reality here on Earth comes in the form of that extensive bunch of beers which fall into the rather curious category of <i>'being
perfectly pleasant.'</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In fact, probably the majority of the beers we'll ever taste will fall within that catchment.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now,
given that I'm talking in these terms here today, you would be
forgiven for suspecting I'm going to include <i>Butty Bach</i> in this
pretty enormous group of ales.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well,
for a while, that's exactly what I thought was going to happen, until
I took a moment to put the sampling of this beer into <i>context</i>, and
what happened next was rather profound.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before
this beer, I had reviewed several beers which represent (in stunning
fashion) the very best of what is increasingly referred to as either 'contemporary', 'new wave' or perhaps most
commonly 'craft' beer.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm
talking about beers such as Oakham's <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/day-150-beer-150-oakhams-green-devil-ipa.html">'Green Devil IPA'</a>, Odell's <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/day-156-beer-156-odells-5-barrel-pale.html">'5Barrel Pale Ale'</a>, Moor's <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/day-152-beer-152-moors-revival.html">'Revival'</a> and Thornbridge's <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/day-155-beer-155-thornbridges-chiron.html">'Chiron'</a> – each of
which is quite simply 'big' in its impact upon your body and soul. As
is arguably the defining characteristic of craft beer, <i>'more is
always more' </i>with these
creations, whether it be in terms of flavour, process, or the sheer amount of ingredients.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As
my reviews of these beers make clear, I happen to like these brews a
heck of a lot. I've welcomed all beers of 'this kind' to the party
and I sincerely hope they stay until the very end.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But my response to these beers has triggered an unfortunate side effect.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I subsequently sit back down with a beer like today's – which
faithfully represents the sort of drink which got me interested in 'beer' in the
first place – the closest I can get to a full-on positive reaction
is nearly always the same...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“There's nothing wrong with this.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For someone who has loved beer for so long, this is a pretty grim experience to find yourself having.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'd
really like to hear from anyone else who has faced this situation head on, either now or previously, because I'd very much like to know what can be done about it.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
the meantime, let me just say that <i>Butty Bach</i>, for all I know, is
probably an exceptional example of a beer style I'm a little bit
indifferent to right at this moment. It's got some excellent malt
elements – rich and buttery, nutty, with soft caramel and granary
loaf undertones – it also has a good range of fruit notes, it's
woody and herbal in just the right places, it's bitter but not harsh,
it's sweet but not syrupy... it really sounds like I'm talking about
a very good beer here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And
I probably <i>am</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Maybe <i>Wye Valley</i> could take everything this drink is already doing and simply <i>'ramp it up'</i> a
little, and make it come at me with a bit more <i>conviction</i>, perhaps even with a little
bit of a <i>swagger</i>. But wouldn't that just be inviting the beer to cross over into the
'other' camp, thereby depriving it of the very identity it always intended to have?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
think I'm a bit confused.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
think my allegiance to all my 'old favourite' beers is probably now
officially in question.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
think perhaps 'craft beer' has lot of bloody explaining to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For
now, though, let me end like this...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Butty
Bach</i> is a very good example of a classic style English premium
ale – and the significance of that conclusion is very different
today to what it would have been 157 beer reviews ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And
I honestly don't know how I feel about that...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-74084598304112345672012-12-11T15:52:00.000+00:002012-12-11T16:04:11.287+00:00Day 156, Beer 156 - Odell's "5 Barrel Pale Ale"<br />
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Today's
Beer</b></span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><br />
</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfTMZRLQI8ViWCsKEYysBhXG-20BnQzSJD4sgQ_jYWM-V1I39RV06osxI8KA6WZxOhIZ9-5M19lDTR5SeUrGbFc3JIZrGxTNhyphenhyphenTw1TOft8iKpEDUJqWIUULN15P20V_Yzj_QRN0-JGUWe/s1600/HPIM4732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfTMZRLQI8ViWCsKEYysBhXG-20BnQzSJD4sgQ_jYWM-V1I39RV06osxI8KA6WZxOhIZ9-5M19lDTR5SeUrGbFc3JIZrGxTNhyphenhyphenTw1TOft8iKpEDUJqWIUULN15P20V_Yzj_QRN0-JGUWe/s320/HPIM4732.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFo4aeTeyDC9t5sBEEeoRDFIaip0ple4fULuahA1QGha76id_xnmDZHS7i6ocPe8yhT9HGw_-9KgbfCvowP2wyxIk8ObbSx7-DTmMYcTE6ctlDQMqSWA-VCKuutFXXxhm-cvl0CScyJjZs/s1600/HPIM4723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFo4aeTeyDC9t5sBEEeoRDFIaip0ple4fULuahA1QGha76id_xnmDZHS7i6ocPe8yhT9HGw_-9KgbfCvowP2wyxIk8ObbSx7-DTmMYcTE6ctlDQMqSWA-VCKuutFXXxhm-cvl0CScyJjZs/s320/HPIM4723.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– 5 Barrel Pale Ale</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://odellbrewing.com/">Odell</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Yup, you guessed it, this is a pale ale!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 5.2% ABV</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Lustrous beeswax amber. Utter glory.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Massive orange, massive dark rum-infused malt, massive smiles.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Boundless complexity and dynamism. Tangerine, black treacle, ginger,
wildgrasses, exotic herbs and spices, and a further list of flavours
as long as your arm. </span><span style="color: black;"><i>(Assuming
your arm is around seventy miles in length.)</i></span><span style="color: black;">
</span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Colorado based Odell's have been central players in the US 'craft
beer' movement from the onset having started out long before any such
concept was conceived way back in the mid 1990's. The beers they
produce are among the best examples of what 'craft' really is. If you
haven't yet been introduced to this distinctive new world of beer
creation, I can think of few better places to start.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Tragic UK availability. I'm not kidding, it's </span><span style="color: black;"><i>seriously</i></span><span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: black;"><i>upsetting</i></span><span style="color: black;">.
It's hard enough finding great contemporary </span><span style="color: black;"><i>British</i></span><span style="color: black;">
beers here in Britain, but finding a great </span><span style="color: black;"><i>American</i></span><span style="color: black;">
version is about as easy as discovering </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Atlantis</i></span><span style="color: black;">,
or </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Valhalla</i></span><span style="color: black;">,
or a </span><span style="color: black;"><i>trustworthy
car dealership</i></span><span style="color: black;">.</span><span style="color: black;">
I got this sample from<a href="http://therealalestore.com/"> </a></span><span style="color: black;"><i><a href="http://therealalestore.com/">The Real Ale Store</a></i></span><span style="color: black;">,
and only similar specialist outlets can sell this brew to you at the
present time. To those of you who currently reside in the US, I hereby
transmit relentless waves of jealous rage.<br /><br />On the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;"><b>9.5/10</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some
reviews are harder to write than others.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even
for the most passionate beer aficionados <i>(shameless geeks)</i> it
can be tricky to appear enthusiastic about a beer you found more or
less coma-inducing, when
perhaps the only redeeming feature of the brew was how delicious it
looked in the moments before you tasted it and learned otherwise.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fortunately,
such beers are rare, making the challenge of having to write about
them equally uncommon.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Terrible
beers are <i>easy</i> to write about because they tend to make you
angry, and anger has a canny knack of assisting with writing, as any
sports journalists assigned to <i>Nottingham Forest</i> over recent
years will testify.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Excellent
beers, similarly, tend to stir the soul sufficiently to ensure the
compilation of any subsequent appraisal is a fairly straightforward
task.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However,
in addition to <i>dull</i> beers, <i>awful</i> beers and <i>generally
marvellous</i> beers, there's a certain other kind of brew which
comes along only very infrequently, which can drag your mind and
spirit into unpredictable territory, and transform the task of
sitting down and writing into a particularly daunting task.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm
talking about the beers you <i>love</i>.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes...
<i>those </i>beers.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm
talking about beers which generate primal reactions of such intensity
that they can render otherwise competent brains utterly redundant.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm
talking about beers which leave tongues tied, minds empty,
typing-hands clammy, and which can lead to sentences like this one
being rephrased up to twenty times before being completely deleted,
only to be retyped all over again.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm
talking about the instant favourite beers. Those which steal your
heart in a single moment and never give it back to you.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Specifically,
in today's case, I'm talking about a beer named <i>'5 Barrel Pale Ale.'</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Oh
boy...</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>(Weighty
pause...)</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
experience of drinking this beer is so profoundly enjoyable that –
<i>even if I possessed the necessary talent to do so</i> – I would
not be fully able to share it with you here today without risking arrest
on various charges of gross indecency.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm
not even kidding.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
only reason I didn't weep with joy throughout this tasting was
because my tear-ducts physically removed themselves midway through
and ran off to buy a bottle of their own. These</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> are the unbridled extremes of pleasure that we're dealing with here.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So,
given the (presumed) legal limitations imposed upon me, and given
that I'm actually finding it increasingly hard to see anything due to
my eyeballs being without moisture <i>(my tear-ducts have been gone a
while now)</i>, I'm going to make a brief attempt to outline the key
elements of this modern-day miracle.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ridiculously vivid
tropical/citrus/intergalactic fruits – chiefly mango, apricot,
blood orange, grapefruit – have been perfectly aligned with soft
wildgrasses, exotic spices and fresh herbs, and then let loose upon a
malt base infused with the deep restrained sweetness of honey roasted
nuts, French toast and molasses, which complements all those
hop-derived higher notes every bit as well as wide open sea does to
wide open sky. It really is on that level of <i>'made-to-measure'</i>
perfection that these elements are coexisting. <i>The flavours in
this beer fundamentally belong together –</i> is the overriding
impression throughout. And for <i>this
many</i> flavours to have been so intricately and successfully
assembled, reveals beyond any doubt that there are people with
unusual levels of ingenuity, vision and plain old skill currently at
work in the Odell's brewhouse.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The body has that quintessentially 'US craft' feel to it - with simultaneous firmness and lightness defying the laws of science and vying deliciously for your attention, the aromas are staggering in their unrelenting complexity, and the stuff even manages to <i>look </i>amazing.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This
beer is quite simply vast.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's
a genuine <i>craft beer beacon</i>, illuminating the full extent of
the possibilities here in this super-exciting age of contemporary
beer creation.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Frustratingly
though, I'll never be able to properly convey the true nature of it's impact to you
because, try as I might, I just can't find the words.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That's
what love can do to you.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-9786457091357040052012-12-04T17:11:00.000+00:002012-12-04T18:43:55.723+00:00Day 155, Beer 155 - Thornbridge's "Chiron"<br />
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Today's
Beer</b></span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><br />
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DPmP0vzKYl3Mu1SvMDYtKZXoFk3BcjnZpnQMcBsJ0FGYIF6IVjHGzzBxlcrSSZO106HqA8UV-YDAVcS0tfq2EMTEJTST8gZxbg7Xi8bPQzlm3_IWM0_gFpvd0GXiuZdr2vhKE9wWa-89/s1600/HPIM4697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DPmP0vzKYl3Mu1SvMDYtKZXoFk3BcjnZpnQMcBsJ0FGYIF6IVjHGzzBxlcrSSZO106HqA8UV-YDAVcS0tfq2EMTEJTST8gZxbg7Xi8bPQzlm3_IWM0_gFpvd0GXiuZdr2vhKE9wWa-89/s320/HPIM4697.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47mAZlKD3rdooA0-b54crKbVcHhql45j7oo_c96wVqP4O87h4hTc39ra6yXjv0PdFf58lVc2pb7dv77lue_VugIn3Xm8H69_Cfqeu3AGqY4_K0Xm7E6-ZeNd-X0RJ1lc4KY39Au4KwY5u/s1600/HPIM4693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47mAZlKD3rdooA0-b54crKbVcHhql45j7oo_c96wVqP4O87h4hTc39ra6yXjv0PdFf58lVc2pb7dv77lue_VugIn3Xm8H69_Cfqeu3AGqY4_K0Xm7E6-ZeNd-X0RJ1lc4KY39Au4KwY5u/s320/HPIM4693.JPG" width="233" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Chiron</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk/">Thornbridge</a></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– American Pale Ale</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 5.0% ABV</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;">On
the </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="line-height: 0.56cm;">
– Deep, rich, comic malevolent laughter </span><span style="line-height: 21.149999618530273px;">inducing</span><span style="line-height: 0.56cm;"> orange amber. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– The aromatic equivalent of an earthquake. One whiff will
literally tear your house down. Apples, pears, grapefruit,
nectarines, lime, black pepper, shaking walls, falling masonry...</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– A bewilderingly complex, exuberant, but refreshingly mild
mannered, perhaps even 'gentle' expression of modern brewing capability.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– I think I can safely say <i>Thornbridge </i>is one of the best and most revered
craft breweries in Britain today. Yes, I think I can safely say that. The only
objections to this claim might be about my use of the word 'craft', and demands
might follow about what exactly I </span><span style="color: black;"><i>mean</i></span><span style="color: black;">
by that. I will point those making such complaints in the general
direction of their own backsides.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Well, given their ever enlarging reputation, the reach of
Thornbridge is better than most 'craft' (yes, there it is again, just
deal with it) breweries, but that really serves to illustrate my
point about how poorly represented all the best contemporary UK beers
are in the wider marketplace. Anyway, contact the <a href="http://www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk/">brewery directly</a> for
sales info, or try <a href="http://therealalestore.com/">The Real Ale Store. </a><br /><br />On the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– <b>9/10</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay, there's been a certain amount of specific 'talk' about this beer lately, so let
me just get right to the heart of the matter.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As many of you will know, Thornbridge
brew a beer called <i>Jaipur</i>, which is considered a modern classic by
the majority of idiots like me who enjoy beer so much that they sit
down and write about it.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Comparisons between these two stable-mates<i> </i>have sparked quite a bit of discussion in the murky realms of beer appreciation.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So here's my contribution to the debate...</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I
do not prefer today's beer to Jaipur.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There, I said it.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, upon further inspection, this
declaration is far more nonsensical than it might first appear.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's
rather like saying - <i>“I don't prefer this snowflake to that other
one.”</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Actually,
it's even closer to saying - <i>“The bright star up there on the left
has less appeal to me than its equally twinkly neighbour”.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, it
could be very easily argued that one snowflake is <i>different </i>from
another, but it would take an exceptionally well made argument to
successfully convince a neutral observer than one snowflake is <i>better</i> than the
other.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Likewise,
what evidence could back up a claim that the heavenly body we call
<i>Sirius</i> twinkles more pleasingly than that which we've name <i>Polaris</i>?
Sure, one star might appear <i>bigger</i> to us... but <i>better</i>?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
think you get my gist. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Jaipur </i>and <i>Chiron </i>are both stunning examples
of their kind. Quite simply, Thornbridge have developed a habit of creating individual products that
are all stellar* in their own right.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>(* - Not to be confused with 'Stella', for more reasons than I could list in
one lifetime.)</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Indeed,
in many ways these two beers are pretty similar. The are both highly
hopped, underpinned with delicate savoury malt base, and chiefly characterised by a super-complex matrix of citrus, floral, tree fruit and soft spice flavour themes which drop your jaw and keep
it dropped till it damn well hurts. So numerous are these two beers' similarities, that I reckon someone who's never drunk beer
before might not even spot a difference. <i>(After all, we all still know people who think 'bitter' is just 'brown lager.')</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
the reality is there are a whole bunch of differences, and although I
like a lot of the elements which set <i>Chiron </i>apart from <i>Jaipur</i>, there are few
aspects that just don't hit my own personal <i>'B-spot'</i> in the quite the same way.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's
not the flavours that (microscopically) miss the target. Oh boy no! <i>Chiron
</i>thrills with delectable swathes of elderflower, rosewater, grapes,
watermelon and mango. It's wonderfully vibrant, fresh, uplifting to the taste.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
think, if anything, it's the <i>intensity of the overall experience</i> which
would lead me to opt for one of these beers over the other. Chiron is a subtly <i>gentler </i>giant, providing a slightly more 'laid back' experience throughout. That's all very well and
good, and there will be folk who will instinctively vote in favour of that very quality.
But for me, I just found myself wishing for something infinitesimally 'additional' from this beer. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wanted it to be exactly what it was – but be it a shade <i>more</i>.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At
a considerably less potent 5.0% ABV, I did wonder if this is just the
difference a slightly less robust alcohol content can make to the
character of a beer. And maybe that's what also accounts for the slight sense of comparative thinness in the body which, again, is the kind of thing that suits some people more than others. Personally, with beers of this kind, I've found all
kinds of consistencies can work very well, and I couldn't say that was
a problem for me here.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>(Incidentally,
many beer writers refer to the aspect of a beer's
physical characteristics as 'mouthfeel' – a term I dislike
enormously and avoid using because it always makes me imagine
sexually repressed dentists.)</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>(Don't worry, I'm seeking help...)</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Look, I really am splitting hairs here. The fact is that <i>Chiron </i>is one of the best brews around. It really is that simple. Yes, it walks somewhat in the
shadow of one of the finest beers of our time, and comparisons will always be made - but none of that is any of it's own fault.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's
an exquisitely crafted contemporary high-hopped beer, with a dazzling array of carefully assembled flavours and it's just about as rewarding as pouring liquid into your face can get.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's
another <i>Thornbridge </i>modern great, and you should go out
and buy yourself at least one bottle of it at your very earliest convenience.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the meantime, I'm going to continue wishing on that star just a little over to the right.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I almost convinced it twinkles better.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-32894493134543508792012-12-02T11:44:00.000+00:002012-12-02T12:11:58.984+00:00Day 154, Beer 154 - Williams Brothers "Joker IPA"<br />
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Today's
Beer</b></span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><br />
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzb336M4pl6unXp032PU3c0XU24g_HcPZyVwo9loF5E8tNRulDUjWc_TMMkjluEI8lgflNO4PnFxplaMTwoXfnq8TmFFVdSF1ehHgBrCQ1EJ5t-yrehvnrx6jBo78-7nEhnc3xjGadR1_/s1600/HPIM4632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzb336M4pl6unXp032PU3c0XU24g_HcPZyVwo9loF5E8tNRulDUjWc_TMMkjluEI8lgflNO4PnFxplaMTwoXfnq8TmFFVdSF1ehHgBrCQ1EJ5t-yrehvnrx6jBo78-7nEhnc3xjGadR1_/s320/HPIM4632.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqVqWEm_n96CRmVz5gPo1fZvbf1cDExU_zuf1lkx-IyH_WSCB_4g8PzZhTQZF9a9Bb9__ycquRRHkm7bPiO0H_Q51kipp5esKc0H9GfpobMYjKk-DxoTd2QC7SxFzsjJh3IfV0KRcTWlQ/s1600/HPIM4626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqVqWEm_n96CRmVz5gPo1fZvbf1cDExU_zuf1lkx-IyH_WSCB_4g8PzZhTQZF9a9Bb9__ycquRRHkm7bPiO0H_Q51kipp5esKc0H9GfpobMYjKk-DxoTd2QC7SxFzsjJh3IfV0KRcTWlQ/s320/HPIM4626.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Joker IPA</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://www.williamsbrosbrew.com/">Williams Brothers</a></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– 'Contemporary' India Pale Ale. <i>(It's about time we all started
officially separating the classic style IPA's from these ultra-modern versions, don't ya think? What
with them being about as similar to each other as Laurel and Hardy.)</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 5.0% ABV</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Deep tangerine amber. Or, to state it in more technical terms -
</span><span style="color: black;"><i>'pretty
damn lush.'</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;">On
the </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;">
– </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;"><i>No
less lush. </i>B</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="line-height: 0.56cm;">ut surprisingly malty for a hop heavy beer, with the aromas of rich butterscotch
and farmhouse loaves </span><span style="line-height: 21.149999618530273px;">muscling</span><span style="line-height: 0.56cm;"> out the far more placid scent of tropical fruits.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Well, well, well. What a clever beer this is. An entirely new, and
distinctly 'Scottish' approach to this <i>'</i></span><span style="color: black;"><i>ultra-now'</i></span><span style="color: black;">
beer style.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– The Williams 'Brothers' are exactly that. In the final days of
the last millennium, Scott and Bruce Williams decided to exploit the
combative effects of sibling rivalry by turning their competitive
energies outward into the wider world, and a formidable new brewery was the result.
Their début beer, the astounding </span><span style="color: black;"><i>'Fraoch'
Heather Ale </i></span><span style="color: black;">began
turning heads worldwide in almost no time at all, and all manner of
super-distinctive brews have since followed.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– As far as the aforementioned 'Fraoch' is concerned there are no
availability problems at all, but the rest of the range can take a little
more finding. You could ask <a href="http://www.williamsbrosbrew.com/">the boys themselves</a>, or contact the
benevolent provider of this wee bottle, <a href="http://therealalestore.com/">The Real Ale Store.</a><br /><br />On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;"><b>8/10</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, aside for being manifestly gorgeous, this is actually a <i>fascinating</i>
beer.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Being
the bold, expeditionary, innovative types that they are, <i>Williams
Bros</i> have grabbed the concept of a contemporary, highly-hopped beer
and sprinted all the way to the hills with it.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Significantly, those (metaphorical) hills weren't the mounts of just any old nation. This beer has clearly been given the good old fashioned <i>Scottish </i>treatment.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In very broad terms, the classic ales of Scotland are infused with a
hearty malt-driven robustness, they're enriched with dark berried
fruity themes, underpinned with toffee and roasted nuts, spiced up
with all kinds of heathland wildflowers, and brewed with a general
richness of flavour, body and alcoholic potency which is both unique
and utterly delicious.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By
and large then, they are enormously different beasts to the modern
hop-heavy, super-citrus golden beers which are appearing in ever increasing
numbers these days.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
in many ways, that very issue of 'ever increasing numbers' is
becoming a tricky one for producers of contemporary highly-hopped beer. After all, how can breweries continue to find
ways of making their versions stand out among this ever swelling
crowd of <i>grapefruit greats</i>?
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well,
Scott and Bruce Williams have found a pretty darn clever way. And it's one of those
<i>ultra-simple but eye-rolling</i> ideas which head brewers
everywhere must be wishing they'd thought of first.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With
<i>Joker IPA</i>, this brewery has taken the key elements of what is (all too
often) referred to as a <i>'hop-bomb'</i>, and thrown it together
with carefully selected aspects of classic Scottish ale.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
result is every bit as remarkable as you might expect.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Big,
super-high-pitched grapefruit, blood orange and apricot smack right
into and fully intertwine with rugged dark hedge fruits, damson, well ripened plum, sumptuous suggestions of bracken and
tree bark - there are even impossible traces of toffee and black
treacle in here. It's really is the most beautiful carnage, and no
two mouthfuls are ever the same.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Midway
through, I did spend a moment wondering what the occasion might be in which I'd plump for one of these in place of either a more conventional
modern 'hop-bomb' or a regular Scottish classic, but by the end of the
bottle I was so damn miserable about not having another one to open - I
figured there'll probably be a whole bunch of such occasions in the not too distant future. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is far too enjoyable to drink just once and be happy. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By the time I'd got over the trauma of only having a single sample in my possession, I realised I'd learnt one thing for sure from discovering this beer. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> </i>Williams Brothers</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> are no <i>J</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>okers.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Be in no doubt.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These boys are <i>deadly serious.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-55817442831884125302012-11-30T11:50:00.000+00:002012-11-30T11:50:19.615+00:00Day 153, Beer 153 - Shepherd Neame's "Christmas Ale"<br />
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Today's
Beer</b></span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><br />
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgxNoy_YalWwaB531gu66HlevmTx-PYajk2GNYDYLuwoszuhyphenhyphenwXyqfANGaaAdCGXeUqllu_88UdEXmTbdzOvQJ_xXO2FBrTUkjN_r6sNyVQYqsbW-3W77aiRD27pOj9Sh-aQgIw6by43W/s1600/HPIM4715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgxNoy_YalWwaB531gu66HlevmTx-PYajk2GNYDYLuwoszuhyphenhyphenwXyqfANGaaAdCGXeUqllu_88UdEXmTbdzOvQJ_xXO2FBrTUkjN_r6sNyVQYqsbW-3W77aiRD27pOj9Sh-aQgIw6by43W/s320/HPIM4715.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCcqfKgs-PiHS5vF3eIiSPgQ1_dMUUtM5G6a_e2RhV0ux2LGNu4f9pt2BueSjekrnPjcygwUPJhY9V1SHIO8bJG6Dvsqeq0j-_v-vLJz9Dc8vINvf5ZXSBVuXVZT3TSD-eo6IDJAtXyTH/s1600/HPIM4709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCcqfKgs-PiHS5vF3eIiSPgQ1_dMUUtM5G6a_e2RhV0ux2LGNu4f9pt2BueSjekrnPjcygwUPJhY9V1SHIO8bJG6Dvsqeq0j-_v-vLJz9Dc8vINvf5ZXSBVuXVZT3TSD-eo6IDJAtXyTH/s320/HPIM4709.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Christmas Ale</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/">Shepherd Neame</a></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Strong 'Seasonal' Ale... <i>(Read on for 'clarification')</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 7.0% ABV</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Sumptuous deep chestnut. Unashamedly traditional. </span><span style="color: black;"><i>(But
appearances can deceive...)</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Fruit cake and ginger biscuit. </span><span style="color: black;"><i>(Fragrances
can also be deceptive...)</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– A genuine surprise. Light bodied, vividly hopped, complex, dynamic and really rather
wonderful. </span><span style="color: black;"><i>(Taste
never lies.) </i></span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Well, I think you'd better just read on for this one...</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Considering Shepherd Neame's usual coverage, and considering the
time of year, I'd say just close your eyes, make a wish, and it will
be there.<br /><br />On the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;"><b>8.5/10</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well,
I was steadfastly determined not
to review any 'Christmas' beers whatsoever this year until those
insolent scoundrels at <i>Shepherd Neame</i> forced me into a corner
by sending me a free one.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don't
you just hate it when that happens?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
simple reason why I'd (briefly) intended to avoid so-called <i>festive</i>
beers is because of the quite baffling effect 'Yuletide' seems to
have on the entire brewing industry. By and large, breweries tend to
use this time of year as an opportunity to toss away the tremendous
levels of respect which they've carefully generated throughout the
previous 11 months by handing over responsibility for their Christmas
campaign to the nearest newborn gibbon.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As
an inevitable result of this handover, the end of year market becomes
flooded with all manner of daftly-named, garishly-labelled bottles,
most of which are filled with beers that the head brewers <i>(who have also been temporarily replaced by infant gibbons)</i> know will
hardly be consumed after December 25<sup>th</sup>, so they really
ought not to be the finest ales their company will ever produce.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This,
of course, is a very cynical view and not at all an accurate
representation of what truly goes on.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Much!</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Whatever
the realities, I just tend not to get all that excited about the
beers which show up at this time of year. So it was with an air of
quiet suspicion that I cracked the lid on today's beer.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Very
shortly afterwards, however, my spirits began to rise.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When
I say 'rise', I mean really quite significantly, and I began to
believe that the suspicions I've recently been harbouring about
<i>'Britain's Oldest Brewery' </i>might actually be correct.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
short, I think <i>something's happening </i>at Shepherd Neame.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
think <i>changes</i>, subtle at first but increasingly evident
lately, have been taking place. And if this beer alone is anything to
go by – I'd say those changes are enormously positive ones.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This
brewery's aforementioned claim to be <i>'Britain's Oldest'</i> is one
for the lawyers and historians to quibble over, but there's little
doubt that these guys have been around for a heck of a long time, and
they've been based all along in the very heart of the UK's very own
<i>'Hop Mecca', </i>more commonly known as <i>Kent</i>.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Tradition</i>,
then, is the byword here. And there's little doubt that Shepherd
Neame continue to brew some of the most traditional feeling English
ales around.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
I'll say it again, I reckon something's been <i>happening</i> at this
brewery.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some
of their recent releases have had a markedly different <i>feel</i> to
them. Their <i>'Double Stout'</i> and <i>'India Pale Ale'</i> have a
very nice 'retro chic' look to them, and by all accounts they taste a
lot more 'exciting' and 'interesting' than plenty of recent offerings
from all the other big name firms.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This
is great news this brewery, as I firmly believe the best chance the
big players have of maintaining their dominant market position is to
wake up – and <i>fast</i> – to what's been going on lately
outside their castle walls.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
it's also great news for <i>us</i>, because brews like <i>Christmas
Ale</i> are heralding some significant new levels of innovation and
creativity, whilst also keeping the <i>ghosts of Xmas beers past
</i>firmly very firmly at bay.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
kid you not, today's beer makes for an unspeakably gratifying
experience. It's robust, but it's equally zesty and packed with
vitality. It's bold, but it's equally delicate and playful. It's big,
but it ain't at all overbearing – and where they hiding all 7.0% of
that ABV is anyone's guess.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lightly
toasted nut and granary loaf malts stand firmly but gracefully at the
base, holding aloft a dynamic swirling mass of crisp citrus,
deliciously nuanced herbs, a ton of fruity twangs from the likes of
apricot and pear – and a finely woven tapestry of mild spice which
contains absolutely none of that bullish intensity which can
needlessly ruin <i>(for me at least)</i> so many Christmas themed
brews. These are <i>beers</i>, after all – not <i>curries</i>!
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>'Faversham's
finest'</i> are quite simply rewriting the Yuletide rules, and I couldn't
be happier about it. There's no 'comedy' festive title here, the name
couldn't possibly be less
gimmicky. There's no whacky recipe mindful of its own very short
shelf-life, just delicious well-balanced beer that could be enjoyed
all year round. Perhaps most significantly, this is a beer that will
(very cleverly) appeal to drinkers on both sides of the evolutionary
divide.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
gibbons are back in the zoo.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Shepherd
Neame's usual head brewer is definitely back in the building – with
a head crammed full of fresh and exciting ideas.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Christmas
is most definitely coming.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-59742181117474478002012-11-29T13:39:00.000+00:002012-11-29T15:26:01.914+00:00Day 152, Beer 152 - Moor's "Revival"<br />
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Today's
Beer</b></span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><br />
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqtVOyln5m4fEEHWoL6SKE-OBbWzesJTrABDFN7RSuIhnh5VbaB1FPTgyBEjledcPOYK11mh5Ug8uVWEzHVSdhyphenhyphenXC5TTWcP7yIfzz2wyOOOhN2UVGvLuPVUqJzVT4rY10UL3zkoImkAJE/s1600/HPIM4617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqtVOyln5m4fEEHWoL6SKE-OBbWzesJTrABDFN7RSuIhnh5VbaB1FPTgyBEjledcPOYK11mh5Ug8uVWEzHVSdhyphenhyphenXC5TTWcP7yIfzz2wyOOOhN2UVGvLuPVUqJzVT4rY10UL3zkoImkAJE/s320/HPIM4617.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFSk1hnv6sXijjpbRSx35Alnbj2xDUJ3Lm-UjjKPY8iSSavUA2OdWziU8B1akmjyW4Gz23D3b_KQPvfeDZSMxrAog2J_mRUoE8CzGQMONHzQkKD0dyE3beoNpBjDyZl3cnqhPKp0Z9V8O/s1600/HPIM4615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFSk1hnv6sXijjpbRSx35Alnbj2xDUJ3Lm-UjjKPY8iSSavUA2OdWziU8B1akmjyW4Gz23D3b_KQPvfeDZSMxrAog2J_mRUoE8CzGQMONHzQkKD0dyE3beoNpBjDyZl3cnqhPKp0Z9V8O/s320/HPIM4615.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Revival</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://moorbeer.co.uk/">Moor</a></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Pale Ale</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 4.0% ABV</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Deep tangerine gold. Not remotely unpleasant looking.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Razor sharp metallic hops. Combative tropical fruits. Beaujolais<i> 'extra' </i>Nouveau. Properly lovely.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– An exquisitely refined drink experience. A strong contender for
'most elegant' of all the ultra-hopped contemporary beers. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– The county of Somerset has long been almost exclusively
associated with the production of cider, but thanks to the rapidly
growing reputation of this highly innovative brewery, that's not the
case any Moor. </span><span style="color: black;"><i>(Poor
gags like that wouldn't be making it to publication if my editor
hadn't quit. And my editor might never have quit if only I'd had the
foresight to hire one in the first place. So, so many regrets...) </i></span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– I already had my </span><span style="color: black;"><i>'new
beer availability rant' </i></span><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/day-151-beer-151-salopians-oracle.html">here yesterday</a>, but I'm literally having to beat myself with rusty iron
bars in order not to do so again, because today's beer is yet another
modern classic that's pretty damn hard to come by. Contact the
brewery for <a href="http://moorbeer.co.uk/">sales info</a>, or drive yourself </span><span style="color: black;"><i>halfway
around the world*</i></span><span style="color: black;">
to </span><span style="color: black;"><i><a href="http://therealalestore.com/">The Real Ale Store</a></i></span><span style="color: black;">
just like I ended up having to do. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>(*Roughly
15 miles).</i></span><span style="color: black;"><br /><br />On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;"><b>9/10</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Without
wanting to sound at all disparaging, this is probably the most
'sensible' highly-hopped modern beer I've yet come across.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let
me quickly expand on that before representatives from <i>Moor</i>
(poorly disguised in brewery branded balaclavas) burst into my house
and begin water-boarding me for hours on end with gallon after gallon
of their very latest products.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(I
<i>wish.</i>)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's
be honest, some of the hop-heavy brews pouring with ever increasing
frequency out of breweries these days can have an effect very similar to jumping stark naked into an ice bath. They are quite
deliberately <i>'things that make you go oooooo!'</i> (Or make you emit other, slightly less repeatable expressions to the
same effect.)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They
can often </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21.149999618530273px;">–</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21.149999618530273px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">again, quite </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">deliberately</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21.149999618530273px;">–</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21.149999618530273px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">cast aside such notions
as subtlety, nuance, balance and sometimes even complexity. In my opinion, o</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ne
or two brews go even further by abandoning the very concept of 'taste', in
all forms of that word's definition.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So
it was a real pleasure to crack today's bottle and discover something
that puts each of those elements neatly and firmly back into place,
resulting in a beer of staggering elegance, presence and composure.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Revival,
if anything, is a <i>dignified </i>beer.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It
exudes class and superiority, and does so in a way which is utterly
understated. No braggish swagger is needed here, nor indeed is there
any need for aggressive branding, and this amounts to a lesson in
self-awareness which a few other contemporary breweries would do very
well to learn.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
flavours are beautifully composed. So crystal clear is it in its
intentions, that it leaves no secrets in the mouth, allowing tropical
fruits, wild grasses, floral themes and underlying pale malt savoury
notes plenty of room to have their individual moment in the spotlight. To have achieved all of this at such a relatively low alcoholic strength is highly commendable in itself.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Freshness
is a big factor here, too. The grapefruit, pear, watermelon and lime all
zing with 'just squeezed' immediacy. As do the gentle bread and
walnut notes at the other end of the scale. (<i>Though why anyone
would waste their time 'squeezing' bread is anyone's guess! - adds
The Editor, having finally been hired.)</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All
in all, this pale ale stands as something of a statement among its hop-heavy
contemporaries, reminding them all that no matter what the beer
style, there'll always be room for a genuine touch of class.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Very few are as classy as this.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-36043412920107815562012-11-28T14:50:00.000+00:002012-11-28T14:50:51.468+00:00Day 151, Beer 151 - Salopian's "Oracle"<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.56cm;">Today's
Beer</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW6W1Gnj9SuywQeXJozRTaZroSEBPu0A_BLwUIM38DzumBZC2bbizXmtmki7p_4uiMp5-sMIcNxlGqkB5Q0kmtpCH5mQE6C4HyXbome1eBZri-htM2ceyM8jj7uUODVMvGuZZqzLAVp0d/s1600/HPIM4685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW6W1Gnj9SuywQeXJozRTaZroSEBPu0A_BLwUIM38DzumBZC2bbizXmtmki7p_4uiMp5-sMIcNxlGqkB5Q0kmtpCH5mQE6C4HyXbome1eBZri-htM2ceyM8jj7uUODVMvGuZZqzLAVp0d/s320/HPIM4685.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRT48uqh1JZLGRSF-LXTUcjCUD1F4eWmHfy4XImvm_sIWeXVlFJCoLOmo3PmUlc_yIC-_Ic8kjEfQ3p4SE3zXr2ln1ESLzx8_pBal0lM-n8S_IPQdE8QWOHzoeksAwhfx9CZoyOOiNwyV/s1600/HPIM4671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRT48uqh1JZLGRSF-LXTUcjCUD1F4eWmHfy4XImvm_sIWeXVlFJCoLOmo3PmUlc_yIC-_Ic8kjEfQ3p4SE3zXr2ln1ESLzx8_pBal0lM-n8S_IPQdE8QWOHzoeksAwhfx9CZoyOOiNwyV/s320/HPIM4671.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Oracle</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://www.salopianbrewery.co.uk/">Salopian</a></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Golden Ale</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 4.0% ABV</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Pale, suspiciously hypnotic straw gold. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Generous amounts</span><span style="color: black;">
of citrusy </span>marvellousness<span style="color: black;">.
</span><span style="color: black;"><i>(Sometimes
only made up words will do.) </i></span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– A massive grapefruit-heavy thwack from an implausibly 'light'
beer. Astounding.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Well, there's really too much to neatly sum up here... <i>(Read on.)</i> </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;">On
the </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="line-height: 0.56cm;">
– Oh, how I tire of revealing that a fabulous beer is hard to come by! </span><span style="line-height: 21.149999618530273px;">Shrewsbury</span><span style="line-height: 0.56cm;"> based <i>Salopian</i> work overtime<i> </i>providing their own decent coverage of the western areas of
England but, like so many other superb small breweries, they can
only reach so far. </span></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;"><i>(Will
someone please tell the major supermarkets there's been a beer
revolution going on for a few years now!)</i></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;">
This rare specimen was retrieved by trained specialists at Newark's
</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;"><i><a href="http://therealalestore.com/">Real Ale Store</a></i></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;"><a href="http://therealalestore.com/">.</a><br /><br />On
the </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;">
– </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.56cm;"><b>8.5/10</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why
aren't the majority of the best UK beers available in supermarkets?
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm
obviously not talking about the beers which are <i>'known as'</i> being the
best – those beers which hog the often minuscule areas set aside
for 'proper beer' which come from the likes of Greene King, Badger,
Marston's, Greene King and... well, Greene King. These beers are fine in
themselves, many of them are <i>more </i>than 'fine', but nobody who follows the beer scene still believes any of these brews represent the best of what's
being produced in Britain today.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
fact, most beer aficionados <i>(one of which I hope to be when I grow
up)</i> have spent the last five years or so watching a gargantuan
gulf opening up between those beers which have been sharing the crown
for many decades – and those entirely different beers which really
ought to be wearing it now.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
when I walk into most supermarkets, <i>certainly those I work or live nearby</i>, I find I'm still asking myself the same old question...</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“<i>Where's
all the good stuff?”</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Incredibly,
after a period of such ferocious evolution and creativity within the beer industry, as things
stand the only way of seeing bottles of <i>Thornbridge </i>standing shoulder
to shoulder with concoctions from <i>Kernel</i>, <i>Magic Rock</i>, <i>Brew Dog</i>,
<i>Marble</i>, and any number of other 'well known' contemporary breweries – is at a
specialist retailer or within the dispassionate confines of a
specialist dealer's website.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I find this bizarre. It's also hugely frustrating.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most
of all though, it's plain old <i>unacceptable</i>.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These
massively exciting beers should either be getting some of the
existing 'proper beer' shelf space in big supermarkets, or preferably
they should be getting a section all of their own. After all, what
possible commonalities do <i>Fursty Ferret</i> and <i>Bombardier</i> share with beers such as <i><a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/day-107-beer-107-thornbridges-jaipur.html">Jaipur</a></i>, <i><a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/day-69-beer-69-brew-dog-am-saint.html">5AMSaint</a></i>, or <i><a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/day-133-beer-133-windsor-etons.html">Conqueror 1075</a>?</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beyond
the fact these are all beers – what else is even remotely similar
about them?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So
come on <i>ASDA</i>, come on <i>Tesco</i>, <i>Sainsbury's</i>, and
<i>Morrisson's</i> – aka <i>“The Big Four”</i> – it's time
for you all to help your customers to take part in this new and
exciting consumer experience. Quite apart from the public service
aspect, you're also guaranteed to increase your profits massively, as
an entirely new demographic suddenly adds its ever-growing ranks to
your checkout lines.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I
can but dream...</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until
then, I'll just tell you about another fantastic beer you probably
won't currently find in your local supermarket, another beer which
could be greatly improving your day if only you could get your hands on it.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Oracle</i>
is actually something of a liquid surprise. At 4.0% ABV, you could be
excused for expecting a beer that's light in impact as well as in
alcohol content. This is very much not the case. Many breweries in
the aforementioned <i>'contemporary proper beer'</i> arena take
great delight in demonstrating to us just how much flavour can be
crammed into drinks of relatively low or '<i>sessionable</i>'
strength, but Salopian have clearly gone to extraordinary lengths
here to create what could well be the very best example of this <i>low
booze, high taste</i> concept.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Swathes
of vivid grapefruit, kiwi, lime, pineapple, orange and gooseberry
tumble over each other against a backdrop of subtle savoury biscuit,
granary bread and pine nuts. It's not just the wealth of flavours,
but the sheer <i>potency</i> of them which instantly and continuously
impresses.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Light
bodied, infused with a glorious sense of freshness and a stunning clarity of construction, this
is a perfect summertime beer which is light enough to stick with
until sundown. Here in the gloomiest depths of winter though, I found
the experience every bit as gratifying.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
just wish more of us could share in the delights of beers like this
without having to drive thirty miles <i>(like I did)</i> or searching
around online only to be further restricted into making a bulk
purchase.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Change is already long overdue.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over
to you, <i>“The Big Four”.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-43192525343129114262012-11-24T12:56:00.002+00:002012-11-24T12:56:32.959+00:00Day 150, Beer 150 - Oakham's "Green Devil IPA"<br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.56cm;">Today's
Beer</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoS_4ZZcEfBo3VpiNnsVMU35067FhHbUS_uf64WEbP38oqFjpy2IPq4p-3A1ODdM9sa4lPkeN3QXBhfk83uDMDmYIc5ADUdRFnRhGVjFJXtq_uc67e4DeDVGMB1hz-2ing5vwQ5cq_5yia/s1600/HPIM4596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoS_4ZZcEfBo3VpiNnsVMU35067FhHbUS_uf64WEbP38oqFjpy2IPq4p-3A1ODdM9sa4lPkeN3QXBhfk83uDMDmYIc5ADUdRFnRhGVjFJXtq_uc67e4DeDVGMB1hz-2ing5vwQ5cq_5yia/s320/HPIM4596.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyO7xwMnI9KphVb8bfnouQ1XHZrgqbHdOIJ-q_5lymYAVNGcFjVvXegUwB4lKVOq4hzGGNw169Qwo26J85w6DM0eq5sMWqze5nz16oPCt5R0F9nkUC139-dCy9j3g0UL5IFBHXyDWAYxVW/s1600/HPIM4607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyO7xwMnI9KphVb8bfnouQ1XHZrgqbHdOIJ-q_5lymYAVNGcFjVvXegUwB4lKVOq4hzGGNw169Qwo26J85w6DM0eq5sMWqze5nz16oPCt5R0F9nkUC139-dCy9j3g0UL5IFBHXyDWAYxVW/s320/HPIM4607.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Green Devil IPA </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://www.oakhamales.com/home.html">Oakham Ales</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Please don't make me write 'IPA'. <i>(Dammit!)</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 6.0% ABV</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– A hoax. A deception. A trick. Making you believe it's just an
ordinary light golden beer. Do not believe the lie.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Not just hops, but actual hop </span><span style="color: black;"><i>vines</i></span><span style="color: black;">. Tropical fruits and jungle foliage. All the multifarious aromas of a well stocked greenhouse. Not to
mention the crushed nettles, the wildflowers, the nuclear grade
citrus and the abundant fresh tears from your own eyes brought about
by unbridled joy. Getting the picture?</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Summarise? </span><span style="color: black;">This
stuff?</span><span style="color: black;">
Do me a favour!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Many will consider this beer to be Oakham's 'big' version of
their much celebrated 'Citra' IPA. It may be a lot more complicated
than that in terms of how differently these two brews are created,
but it's otherwise not a bad way of looking at it. If your mere human
imagination can stretch far enough, try to imagine a version of Citra
that is not only 'bigger' but also markedly </span><span style="color: black;"><i>better</i></span><span style="color: black;">.
Impossible concept?... Apparently not. </span>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Hardly. Specialist outlets and the <a href="http://www.oakhamales.com/">brewery itself</a> are your only
real options. This one came courtesy of </span><span style="color: black;"><i><a href="http://therealalestore.com/">The Real Ale Store.</a></i></span><span style="color: black;"><br /><br />On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;"><b>9.5/10</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Possibly
the best contemporary, ultra-hopped beer currently on the market.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There
was very little point opening this review in any other way.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now,
before any of you start slamming your pints down and protesting about
how all 'contemporary ultra-hopped beers' are just one
trick ponies with very little to offer beyond making peoples
eyes widen in semi-acute shock – let me just say that I've slammed
many a pint down in protest about that too. I 'get' that argument,
and there was a time when I had more than my share of sympathy for
it.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
my view has shifted considerably since then, prompted mostly by my
drinking a fair old selection of these new beers, and as a result I'd
say that anyone who could drink a full bottle of today's beer without
coming away grinning uncontrollably – probably just hasn't wrestled with enough
of these beasts yet. That's not meant in any kind of disparaging way, it's really
just a recognition of the fact that many people need to <i>acclimatise</i>
to this style of beer, one which is pretty darned extreme in a whole
bunch of very deliberate ways. Ultra-hopped beers need no time
whatsoever to make an <i>impact</i>, but they can require more time
than many other brews to properly get to <i>know</i>.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Obviously,
there will always be those drinkers who get their kicks by disliking
stuff, and they'll never listen even if you get your frail old granny
to ask them nicely. I reckon a fair portion of the people claiming to
dislike this beer will be those who just enjoy the sensation of
swimming against the popular tide.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
I fear there's also a whole bunch of people who sit much further in
from the extremes who don't feel able to properly familiarise
themselves with these kinds of beers due to the unfortunate fact
that, over recent years, things have been getting increasingly tribal
and territorial in the world of 'proper' beer. The community is even
arguing these days about what to call the very stuff that they are
drinking. Is it <i>'real ale'</i>, or is it <i>'craft beer'</i>, and
can anyone even remember why it matters?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This
'them and us' dynamic might be a source of amusing (and, sadly,
sometimes overly heated) debate on social media outlets, but it's my increasingly strong belief
that it will be bad for beer in the longer term.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What
I see happening is that beers like <i>Green Devil</i> have, in some
quarters, found themselves the victims of an often intolerant
campaign against the entire notion of change<i>.</i>
It's not so much the contemporary beers themselves which invite
hostility, it's the <i>perception of difference</i>
which the beers <i>represent</i>.<i>
</i>Such has been the hype
surrounding the recent developments in beer experimentation, and so
wide-ranging have the effects been on the type of beers now being
brewed, that these new beers can be sometimes be seen as <i>threats</i>,
whether to traditional ales themselves, or to the atmosphere which
surrounds the appreciation of beer in general.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It
can appear to some that the new world of faux-punk, self-reverential
swagger and dubious designer-stubble has simply stormed in and
usurped the old world of honest straight talk, fireside sing songs
and dubious <i>non</i>-designer-stubble.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
reality, the two apparently opposing camps aren't actually all that
different from each other, but they've both successfully convinced
themselves they are – so opposing attitudes are upheld regardless.
In amongst all of this pointless posturing, the saddest consequence
is that both sides routinely 'pooh-pooh' and actively<i>
avoid</i> each others preferred beer styles, when the truth of the
matter is that without this perceived conflict of ideologies everyone
would be sat together enjoying what is only ever just beautifully
engineered beer in all manner of interesting and delicious varieties.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway,
in hope that it might make a difference, let me invite you to set
aside any preconceptions for a few moments whilst I tell you exactly
why I found <i>Green Devil</i> to be such a monumentally rewarding
experience.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As
with many of these stealth-weapon beers, the first thing you notice
about it is that it looks utterly unremarkable. Once in the glass,
you can't help but look back at the demonic face on the label and
wonder what its connection could possibly be to this unassuming,
almost placid looking light golden beverage.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
only real clues as to the hugely dynamic and potent complexity which lurks within come from the aromas. Putting an <i>'s' </i>on the end
of the word <i>'aroma'</i> has never made more sense, because there
are precisely eleven billion separately identifiable themes present
in the fragrance of this beer. And don't go doubting my accuracy
because I <i>counted</i>
them.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most
delicious and unique among the myriad whiffs is the smell of the
<i>vines</i> from which the hops were plucked. That's a pretty darned
incredible characteristic to find. The hops <i>themselves</i> also
have a tremendous presence, as you might expect, but to get that
additional sense of the very plants upon which the hops were grown
sets a new benchmark in terms of aromatic freshness in beer. Not
since maniacally sniffing the rims of 'just cracked' bottles from
<i><a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Liverpool%20Organic">Liverpool Organic</a></i> have I been so concious of the word 'fresh'
when first discovering a new drink.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
such matters of appearance and fragrance pale into near
insignificance when this stuff finally reaches your mouth.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh
boy.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Instantaneously,
the concepts of <i>refreshment</i> and <i>invigoration</i> begin
scrambling for new and more emphatic ways of defining themselves, as
a liquid rock-slide of zesty, sumptuous bitterness collides
deliciously with every region of your tongue. It's not brutal, and
I've been dismissive of the term 'hop bomb' <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/day-147-beer-147-thwaites-triple-c.html">only very recently</a> –
but the dynamism, intensity and all round clarity of the taste is
wonderfully bewildering and cannot fail to raise the heart-rate of
any human who is alive at the point of contact.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
usual citrus and 'high-note' fruit suspects are all present (passion-fruit, gooseberry, razor sharp pineapple among many more) but the dominant battle here is
between grapefruit and blood orange, with each of these two performing ever
more stylish moves on its rival only to be outclassed by an
effective countermeasure every time. It's thrilling to just sit back
and let them tear each other to delicious shreds.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
could try to focus on the malts, and the sense of overall balance between
high notes and low, but there's obviously not a lot of that going on
here – and this is what can upset many lovers of established
classic ales.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
we should all just accept that these beers were never <i>meant</i> to
do any of that. That's really the point of it all. It's a different kind of
experience, for a different kind of mood, presented in a different
kind of way.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ultra-hopped beers are not here to <i>replace</i> our old favourites – they've simply
arrived to <i>widen our options</i>. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Standing right at the forefront of this fresh set of options is a <i>hugely fearsome and devilish creature</i>, whom every last one of us should be learning to love.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-39134297731132371952012-11-21T14:23:00.000+00:002012-11-21T14:23:17.849+00:00Day 149, Beer 149 - Blue Monkey's "Black Howler"<br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.56cm;">Today's
Beer</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGMRCG2l5Br95JkNHZm_alyJUKrCiE6ovL4L-UhZ68rz-UQl8FnzSozcOvjn9w2IpTN5IDELt4j8agsv3XJNtBxf7fDZsdn4u2Infrt6xAwMqmnH0KrkDNXeCXdh0VQJCQB8OdnWse1hh/s1600/HPIM4576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGMRCG2l5Br95JkNHZm_alyJUKrCiE6ovL4L-UhZ68rz-UQl8FnzSozcOvjn9w2IpTN5IDELt4j8agsv3XJNtBxf7fDZsdn4u2Infrt6xAwMqmnH0KrkDNXeCXdh0VQJCQB8OdnWse1hh/s320/HPIM4576.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Black Howler</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://www.bluemonkeybrewery.com/">Blue Monkey</a></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Black IPA</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 5.9% ABV</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Satan's blood. In a good way.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Citrus infused licorice, Tabasco-heavy Bloody Mary, and raw fear.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– A toasty, spicy, juicy instant classic.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Just like me, </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Blue
Monkey Brewery</i></span><span style="color: black;">
was born in Nottingham in 2008. </span><span style="color: black;"><i>(Yes,
I am in fact a four year old, as my ex-wife will be more than happy
to confirm.) </i></span><span style="color: black;">This
'local connection' filled me a certain amount of trepidation as I was
very keen not to have to find fault with a company of such
extraordinarily noble birth. Turns out I needn't have worried... </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Considering the number of awards this company have collected over
recent years, I expect national coverage to rise rapidly, but some
searching may be needed for now. This one came from </span><span style="color: black;"><i><a href="http://therealalestore.com/">TheReal Ale Store.</a></i></span><span style="color: black;"><br /><br />On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;"><b>8.5/10</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full
Review</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
love Black IPA's.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now,
obviously, there's every chance that such a dangerously generalised
claim will come back to haunt me some day soon, perhaps when some of
the less gifted breweries start 'having a go' at them and failing
catastrophically – but the happy fact is that every company that's
produced a Black IPA thus far has done so with tremendous success,
and the delicious result of all this fevered experimentation is that
the benchmark definition of this young beer style is transforming all
the time.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's
a kind of supersonic evolution we're witnessing, with new
interpretations on the essential 'theme' of this style <i>(rich
complex dark beer meets ultra-hopped light-bodied beer)</i> hitting
the shelves like dark matter bullets shot from some extra-dimensional
realm.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To
be clear about it – within the world that might be called 'cutting
edge craft beer'<i> </i>Black IPA's have gone from
<i>non-existence</i> to <i>near domination</i> in little over a year,
and no serious contender for the (dubious) prize of 'coolest brewery'
can afford to be without at least one of these beers in their
portfolio.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And
this brings us neatly to <i>Blue Monkey Brewery</i>. Already a
certain contender for <i>Kings of Cool</i> with their standard range
alone, these guys have made their claim even stronger by releasing a
smaller selection of more experimental <i>'rare and one-off'</i>
brews under a totally separate label which they've named <i>'Endangered
Species'</i>. Black Howler is one of these.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>So
damn cool</i> are these beers – that you won't even find them on
the brewery's official website! Not even a mention. When a company
starts denying the very existence of one of its own products, you
just know you are stepping into the higher realms of <i>serious
bloody cool</i>.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But
of course none of this necessarily
means that today's beer will actually be <i>any good</i>. As many of
us who follow 'beer' learn more and more each day – any company's
insistence on 'being cool' tells us nothing whatsoever about the
quality of the products which lie behind the branding. In fact these
days, a well trained beer-buying eye can detect the tell-tale signs
of <i>enforced cool</i> and use it as a handy warning. <i>'Contains
Toxic Self Awareness. Avoid Contact With Lips.'</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's
face it, brewery's can fail embarrassingly badly when they try to
combine serious attempts at brewing beer with serious attempts at
looking cool. Anyone can tell you that any <i>serious attempt</i> at
looking cool is self defeating because the whole point of cool is
that it's achieved without effort. There's obviously no better
example of the self-defeating effects of coolness overkill than that
of <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/day-69-beer-69-brew-dog-am-saint.html">Brew Dog</a>, a company whose genuinely excellent beers now have to
enjoyed in secret by most serious minded drinkers.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So
are <i>Blue Monkey</i> about to join <i>Brew Dog</i> in that murky
territory where exemplary brewing talent inexplicably gives way to
unrestrained vanity?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well,
not on this evidence, and that's not because <i>Black Howler</i>
isn't a good enough beer in the first place – because believe me <i>it
is – </i>it's simply because there are very clear signs that any
vanity is being kept firmly at bay here. Firstly, the marketing of
this range seems to be based on a genuine curiosity about the
'possibilities' of beer creation <i>(they simply don't brew enough of
these to be secretly fleecing us)</i> and secondly because this great
beer has been brewed and brought to market entirely
without my knowledge. Brew Dog would
never – <i>ever</i> –
allow that to happen!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Black
Howler</i> is then – in marketing terms at least – a <i>quiet</i>
beer. It's part of this brewery's exploration of the further
reaches of beer experience, which people can chose to explore too if
they so happen to come across it. In other words – it's actually
pretty cool.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And
it <i>tastes</i> pretty cool too. Lots of subtle spices, dark berried
fruit, powerful licorice, toasted granary bread, glorious high
reaching citrus <i>(the key 'trick' of any good Black)</i>, roast
chestnuts, char-grilled Cobra venom <i>(I'd put money on it!) –
</i>this thing is just packed with all kinds of light-bodied zings,
twangs and thwacks that keep you guessing <i>(hence the Cobra venom)</i>,
smiling, and of course sipping in equal amounts.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There's
a fabulously ruthless bitterness in the finish which, to my taste at
least, eventually leads to the licorice element lingering too long
all by itself when I'd have liked some of the other complementary
flavour themes to have stuck around longer <i>with</i> it, but that's
me getting very picky considering the wealth of delicious positives.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This
brew makes it clear to me that <i>Blue Monkey</i> are a force
to be reckoned with. They are striding with impressive confidence
across the new world of beer creativity, and finding some seriously
impressive recipes along the way.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To
my mind, that's exactly what contemporary brewing is all about.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When
companies create products as unique and enjoyable as this one, those
products need no further assistance to become cool.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When
its brewed as expertly as this – beer is <i>born</i> cool. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-58303470651253524452012-11-19T17:42:00.000+00:002012-11-19T21:56:03.152+00:00Day 148, Beer 148 - Windsor & Eton's "Canberra"<br />
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Today's Beer</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj289T1_Lvjy7QEFOoeGPc9lpqhU1mD03VyHsU1-ZFM4u06loNZL0J9JRYL4e_9uI8JcTj5bLvvpDotDYZ3aZnQRaJ1cqWoHjRL2zllhJqvwlfuffet3_vqFsxx8LJ5vxo3st8XjkauETN8/s1600/HPIM4551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj289T1_Lvjy7QEFOoeGPc9lpqhU1mD03VyHsU1-ZFM4u06loNZL0J9JRYL4e_9uI8JcTj5bLvvpDotDYZ3aZnQRaJ1cqWoHjRL2zllhJqvwlfuffet3_vqFsxx8LJ5vxo3st8XjkauETN8/s320/HPIM4551.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGD3zNEl-7BmFrFf_9RCdD1-hP0Cb4AZOW36L8K8Pg9wK8_BSttl4j5G765SzAFePLZGO6RPlTI2VBoFlMrag_t2Qy9yNbtiVrcTQkzkCS1HazJmatLtSOIiil7qP9TVd-6rkjp72W_RjR/s1600/HPIM4572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGD3zNEl-7BmFrFf_9RCdD1-hP0Cb4AZOW36L8K8Pg9wK8_BSttl4j5G765SzAFePLZGO6RPlTI2VBoFlMrag_t2Qy9yNbtiVrcTQkzkCS1HazJmatLtSOIiil7qP9TVd-6rkjp72W_RjR/s320/HPIM4572.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name – Canberra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer – <a href="http://www.webrew.co.uk/">Windsor & Eton</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Commonwealth Ale <i>(Confused? Read on...)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength – 4.0%
ABV<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict - At
A Glance</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the <i>eye</i>
– Deep, lustrous chestnut. Like some gloriously implausible rum and molasses
cocktail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the <i>nose</i>
– Good God! Big hops with equal treacle (which should be a band name)
underscored with delicious smoky liquorice (which definitely should <i>not </i>be a band name).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the <i>tongue</i>
– Rich, rewarding and complex with fabulously zesty hops, all kinds of
complimentary sub-flavours and an overall punch far greater than its strength
ought to allow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;">On the </span><i style="line-height: 15.9pt;">subject</i><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;">
– This is the final beer of three brewed by Windsor & Eton to commemorate ‘Jubilee
2012’, and it’s arguable </span><span style="line-height: 21.200000762939453px;">they've</span><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;"> saved the very best for last. <i>(See one of them reviewed <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/day-146-beer-146-windsor-etons-kohinoor.html">here</a>, and trust me that the other was totally ace.)</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the <i>market</i>
– Another ‘grab it while you can’ beer arrives on <i>The Bottled Beer Year</i>, with the safest bet of doing so being to purchase from the <a href="http://www.webrew.co.uk/shop.html">brewery direct</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the <i>whole</i> – <b>9/10</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Full Review</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As the inevitable 'end of
year reviews' begin to clog up every last media outlet over the coming weeks,
much will be said about what has been (in any UK-linked territory at least) the
50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s time spent having to shake
hands with unwell, poorly paid taxpayers – otherwise known as <i>The Diamond Jubilee.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What might not be mentioned during
all this dewy-eyed hullabaloo – not nearly as much as it <i>should</i> be, at least – is the relatively small contribution made to
these festivities by a certain UK brewery, in the form of three enormously
lovely (and even more enormously <i>diverse</i>)
commemorative beers.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Long before this year-long national
party had started, the magicians at <i>Windsor
& Eton</i> had been quietly impressing me and thousands of other<i> </i>ale fundamentalists with an ever
growing roster of <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Windsor%20And%20Eton">astonishing beers</a>, each of which manages to combine cutting
edge characteristics and flavour themes with an equally immediate sense of tradition
– an elusive little trick which few other breweries ever quite manage to pull
off. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Uniquely, <i>Canberra</i> is called a <i>‘Commonwealth Ale’</i>, and whilst that’s
probably just the brewery entering into the spirit of their own idea and having
a bit of fun with the royal theme, it’s also perfectly fitting that they should
essentially invent an entirely new beer style for this brew because in my experience
there just <i>ain’t nothing like it currently
available on the open market.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From the moment of contact
with the lips this stuff begins racing around the full flavour spectrum like
the proverbial bat out of Berkshire, and before you can properly identify any
specific notes – it’s already begun firing barrages of new tastes at you as
though it genuinely intends to kill you. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And this pleasantly aggressive
characteristic is one of the things that most impresses about <i>Canberra</i>. After you remind yourself of the
relatively benign alcohol content (4.0% ABV), you
realise it beggars belief how they've managed to empower this drink with such a
wealth of robust flavours as well as its almost menacing sense of inner might.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Specifically, the flavours at
play here are spiced orange citrus, ginger cake, green figs, fennel, restrained
cocoa, delicate traces of maple syrup – and the malts underpin all of this with
a super-unique roasted nut, char-grilled tree sap kind of a twang which,
frankly, leaves you wanting to sit the hell down and contemplate the inside
of your own mouth for a good old while.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This really is a genuinely
dynamic and hugely rewarding concoction.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All in all, this three beer
salute to the British monarch has been imbued with a majesty every bit as grand
as the one it was intended to reflect. The only difference being that this Windsor
brewery has taken just a few short years to generate the same glorious heritage which
a certain other local resident needed half a century to acquire.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">An exaggeration?</span></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sip it and see.</span></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-7084667933207184202012-11-14T16:04:00.000+00:002012-11-14T16:05:53.690+00:00Day 147, Beer 147 - Thwaites 'Triple C' <br />
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Today's
Beer</b></span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><br />
</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVvylTImZXiOBZmRvJUS0z3IMG6G76nWMB292ilKRmBl6cO1LsP6JoIi4-KP-BNghrHlWtMFy9nzYC8ILE4Fy6wOMstX1knhw-6ahQSfSELRpM3d40Zq4A_Z5I5gRUDC0rsMEbRnnaaU7/s1600/HPIM4509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVvylTImZXiOBZmRvJUS0z3IMG6G76nWMB292ilKRmBl6cO1LsP6JoIi4-KP-BNghrHlWtMFy9nzYC8ILE4Fy6wOMstX1knhw-6ahQSfSELRpM3d40Zq4A_Z5I5gRUDC0rsMEbRnnaaU7/s320/HPIM4509.JPG" width="241" /></span></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKHJZQ5n8GfIXrifb-wdhfNbRfRZZh53ci-GZ7o93K7RA1OM2_RpGS_kJDaLwBRJbh2YWEgR4p0jlmdrdgkaA0d-RpH70qA1uv1qI6rfwdispSnK_9RUTN4rGnMYkFroA2Q-dI0Bsb4BO/s1600/HPIM4515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKHJZQ5n8GfIXrifb-wdhfNbRfRZZh53ci-GZ7o93K7RA1OM2_RpGS_kJDaLwBRJbh2YWEgR4p0jlmdrdgkaA0d-RpH70qA1uv1qI6rfwdispSnK_9RUTN4rGnMYkFroA2Q-dI0Bsb4BO/s320/HPIM4515.JPG" width="214" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Name
– Triple C</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brewer
– <a href="http://www.thwaites.co.uk/">Thwaites</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Classification
– Blonde Ale</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength
– 4.4% ABV</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Verdict
- At A Glance</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>eye</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Brooding orange amber. Eye-catching carbonation makes for the
only (microscopic) blot on this beer's copybook.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>nose</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Understated citrus hops. You might even say <i>'stealth'</i> hops, given the true scale of what lies beneath...</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>tongue</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Traffic-stopping, jaw-dropping citrus, yet not without some sense of restraint. Vivid, dynamic, and
utterly delicious.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>subject</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– <i>Thwaites </i>have been an established part of the cosy beer landscape
in Britain for a good old while now, so this ultra-modern brew came
to me as the most welcome shock. The reality is that an 'internal
revolution' has been underway at the brewery for quite a while now,
making for a portfolio of beers which hints at something of a split
personality. Half their range is proudly traditional, whilst the
other half swaggers around like it couldn't give a monkey's about such
tedious things as 'heritage'. This beer is from the latter half of
that spilt personality, and I can reveal that the substance behind
that 'swagger' is nothing less than diamond hard.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>market</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– Fairly strong national presence, with the likes of <a href="http://www.morrisons.co.uk/Food-and-Drink/Drink/Beer/A-world-of-beer/">Morrison's</a> stocking this and plenty more from Thwaites' borderline-schizophrenic
output. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><br />On
the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>whole</i></span><span style="color: black;">
– </span><span style="color: black;"><b>9.5/10</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.56cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.56cm;">Full
Review</b></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Does
the following statement apply to you?</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"Since
discovering the new wave of massively hopped beers, I find all my old
favourites boring."</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">If
your answer is </span><span style="color: black;"><i>'Yes'
</i></span><span style="color: black;">you
are by no means alone, as this sort of sentiment represents a growing
phenomenon in the beer loving world which, left unacknowledged, could
eventually pose a significant problem for the beer industry. </span>
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: auto; page-break-before: auto; page-break-inside: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">That
'problem' is essentially described as follows. Those of us who are brazen enough to consider </span>ourselves
'clued up' about the contemporary beer scene will inevitably have sampled a number of the so-called
'hop bomb' beers which dominate the output of the modern 'craft beer' market – <i>but many of us have subsequently found that going back to our established favourites after discovering these new beers can be an alarmingly unrewarding experience.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a fairly straightforward,
one-way-street type of a scenario. Once you've experienced a bottle
of <i>Thornbridge's '<a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/day-107-beer-107-thornbridges-jaipur.html">Jaipur</a>'</i>,
going back to buying bottles of <i>Badger's 'Golden Champion'</i>
seems a fairly pointless endeavour.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Similarly, a glass of <i>BrewDog's '<a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/day-69-beer-69-brew-dog-am-saint.html">5AMSaint</a>'</i> served straight from your own fridge reduces the enjoyment
of shop bought <i>Marston's 'Pedigree'</i> by around 73.6%. Roughly
speaking.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course I'm being ridiculously
unscientific here, but although my point may be crudely put – I'm
absolutely certain that the essential core of this argument is
dangerously near the knuckle. And it's an argument more and more
people are having to grudgingly admit.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The best 'contemporary craft' beers
make the best 'old classics' taste dull.</span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And that statement comes from a guy who
once said he'd happily die before saying anything remotely like it.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The truth which I've since had to
accept is now crystal clear to me. Once you've seen the world through the prism of cutting edge craft brewed beer, it's difficult to
imagine how you could ever look at it in any other way.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The comforting news, perhaps, is that
the beer world is so vast, complex and enduring that any permanent
shift is never going to be quite as straightforward as I'm making it
seem. It's very likely that those old favourites of ours will win
back a lot of the ground they might initially appear to have lost
forever. Like with many aspects of life, it's really just a matter of
letting new and exciting things have their moment, before they too
take their place in our established experience base and thereby become every bit as boring as every other thing we've grown used to.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But for those of you still caught in
the delicious glare of those <i>'new wave beer'</i> headlights,
today's brew is likely to become a mainstay in your fridge for a good
old while.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In short, <i>Triple C</i> is everything
a <i>'hop head'</i> could wish for.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tellingly, the widely lauded <i>Cascade</i>
hop variety has been added at every stage of the brewing process
(which happens to be three times, giving us the <i>'Triple' </i>and the<i> 'C'</i>). The result being that this beer engulfs you with repeated
swathes of vivid grapefruit, gooseberry, lime, orange peel and
Bramley apple, each of which is pitched just at that mesmerising
point at one extreme of the taste spectrum where any fruit sweetness inherent in the
citrus begins to cross the impossible line into an almost salty bitterness, leaving
your taste buds in a frenzied state of delicious bewilderment,
grasping desperately at explanations as to what might be causing this
glorious feeling to occur to them.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a massively rewarding first few
sips, and it only gets better.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I want to make something absolutely
clear though. This may be a hop-heavy brew, but it's certainly no
'bomb.'
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>'Hop bomb'</i> is a widely used
expression for beers such as this, and it's a phrase I dislike
because it tends to imply that little of what happens to the drinker
was a <i>specifically targeted experience</i> brought about by those
who created the drink in the first place. Bombs,
after all, are among the messiest weapons humans ever conceived of
and their outcomes, once triggered, are fairly arbitrary. <i>'Bomb'</i>
really says very little about the enormous levels of skill found in
most brewhouses these days.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If we absolutely must
use <i>multiple-casualty-devices</i> to describe the
experience of drinking a beer (snore) then <i>Triple C</i> has to be
far closer to a <i>'guided-missile' </i>than
a mere explosive<i>.</i> It knows exactly where it's going,
and it hits that target with devastating accuracy each and every time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, having established that there is a distinctly modern, hop-lead feel to this beer, I should add that <i>Triple C</i>
has very little of that aforementioned new beer 'swagger'. <i>Thwaites</i>
have been careful to keep this brew's <i>'traditionalist'</i> feet
sufficiently on the ground to appeal to that other (ever shrinking)
section of the beer loving community whose inhabitants steadfastly
refuse to be dazzled by the twinkly lights of <i>'so-called
progress.' </i>The sense of balance hasn't been entirely flung out of the equation as can
happen with more aggressive beers of this kind – and just enough
savoury biscuit malt has been left in play to keep the old guard from
reaching for their torches and pitchforks.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On reflection, perhaps that's actually the best
thing about this monumentally likeable drink. It has been so
brilliantly conceived, so expertly brewed and so carefully brought to
market in these deceptively unassuming bottles – that I don't think
anyone who claims to like beer could possibly find any aspect of it
not to like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In fact, I'm now feeling so emboldened by my own super-confident rhetoric, I hereby urge everyone of legal
age to go out immediately and buy one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Trust me, there's no tastier way to work on your swagger.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182573841304819163.post-9994913645321810972012-06-05T12:14:00.000+01:002012-06-05T12:38:06.888+01:00Day 146, Beer 146 - Windsor & Eton's "Kohinoor"<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Today's Beer</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-5BxDyU09JemMa3YkvFkFuW8p-cXi0ZfJTJUc-U7KOXGURXHy_c-j-O51NEU10hpsM2iSDoCImHImUQM3fdCkeH3BYkfV0ix2msK1XKRijVQWGAm-jfihAR6BFfhOYr78jn4eh6jqQhS/s1600/HPIM4487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-5BxDyU09JemMa3YkvFkFuW8p-cXi0ZfJTJUc-U7KOXGURXHy_c-j-O51NEU10hpsM2iSDoCImHImUQM3fdCkeH3BYkfV0ix2msK1XKRijVQWGAm-jfihAR6BFfhOYr78jn4eh6jqQhS/s320/HPIM4487.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3hlcbuKAwWza233qLDSZRDnQZqB-rTn71q5XG3GB-UP2zkQ9tZ1yQ4Cb91R7v-Xl1PTVojVMpCyIAap6m7UAt3wk9Ef-14HjatPC2MOWFsjVRAg5mr_kpFMhCt759xju2wY9iF-yVFVV/s1600/HPIM4475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3hlcbuKAwWza233qLDSZRDnQZqB-rTn71q5XG3GB-UP2zkQ9tZ1yQ4Cb91R7v-Xl1PTVojVMpCyIAap6m7UAt3wk9Ef-14HjatPC2MOWFsjVRAg5mr_kpFMhCt759xju2wY9iF-yVFVV/s320/HPIM4475.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Name – Kohinoor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Brewer – <a href="http://www.webrew.co.uk/index.html">Windsor & Eton</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;">Classification
– Commonwealth IPA </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">(And, children, that stands for <i>Commonwealth 'Indies' Pale Ale</i> as opposed to <i>Commonwealth 'India' Pale Ale</i>, m'kay!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Strength – 5.0%
ABV<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Verdict - At
A Glance</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;">On the </span><i style="line-height: 15.9pt;">eye</i><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;">
– Deep, rich, almost aristocratic amber. One might even offer forth a daft </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">nonsensical</span><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;"> word like</span><i style="line-height: 15.9pt;"> 'amberstocratic' </i><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;">if one were a spineless, bottom-feeding cretin. </span><i style="line-height: 15.9pt;">(Doh!)</i><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;">On the </span><i style="line-height: 15.9pt;">nose</i><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;">
– C</span><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;">itrus Kong, high on steroids, tearing up an Asian herb garden. A deadly fragrance, but a beautiful one.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.9pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the <i>tongue</i>
– Punchy bitterness, surprisingly full bodied, and with an array of delicate herbal
and spiced notes which put the ‘India’ right back into ‘IPA’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the <i>subject</i>
– One of three beers brewed to commemorate the Queen’s <i>Diamond Jubilee </i>by one of the most exciting breweries in all of Britain,
the Commonwealth, and the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the <i>market</i>
– All of the usual <i>W&E </i>stockists as listed on their website <a href="http://www.webrew.co.uk/wheretotaste.html">here</a>. But wherever
you find it, <i>buy it quickly</i>. This won’t be around forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the <i>whole</i> – <b>8.5/10</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Full Review</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is
not my favourite <i>Windsor & Eton</i> beer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I laughed
to myself when I wrote that opening line, because it’s rather like some wealthy
aristocratic lady declaring <i>“sapphires aren’t
my favourite blue jewels.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The
reality is that this brewery are responsible for some of my very <a href="http://thebottledbeeryear.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Windsor%20And%20Eton">favourite bottled beers</a>, so when one of their creations isn’t quite as jaw dropping as one of
their others – chances are it’s still probably far better than the vast
majority of ales in the universe. So, on reflection, maybe that’s actually a
more accurate way to begin this review...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">‘This
beer is far better than most other beers in the universe.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes, that’s
much better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">As I’ve already hinted above, one of the most instantly impressive characteristics of this beer (arguably its defining trait) is the playful way in which it introduces flavours and aromas from the Indian subcontinent. I say ‘playful’ because one can’t help but assume this is a nostalgic nod to the former British Empire and the “days of the Raj” – the very days that this beer variety was first created. But in all my years of enjoying IPA’s in all there multifarious forms, I’ve never before tasted one that evokes such a sense of India itself, and the results are both delicious and amusing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But the
fact is that these guys have such finely honed skills alongside their famously good instincts
for recipe building, that they can literally <i>chose </i>to be playful as well as merely brilliant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The
levels of nuance are just bewildering. Some of the herbal<i> </i>and dried fruit 'twangs' (to name just two of many more) are almost there as flavours which you can ‘select’ to
experience at your leisure, tuning your taste buds into them as and when you
please, or switching certain tastes off in favour of others when the mood takes
you. This, then, is rather like <i>‘interactive ale’</i>, which the ‘user’ can engage with at any
level that he/she desires. <i>User defined beer</i> is not simple to brew. These guys
have the vast amounts of talent required.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The
potency of the overall flavour theme and the perceived alcohol ‘thwack’ are
both far bolder than the 5.0% ABV should really allow, which again shows us that these Berkshire magicians know how to
maximise results from every ingredient in every part of the process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s got
a nicely robust salty bitterness, but there’s also a welcome sub-flavour of
Jamaican Ginger Cake which brings with it enough of a subtle syrupy quality to
counteract the saltiness and keep everything evenly balanced.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Overall,
<i>Kohinoor</i> has enough <i>‘quirkiness’</i> to
justify its classification as a <i>‘special edition’</i>, and in many ways it is a very unique beer.
But there’s also enough sheer class at play here to ensure that if this IPA
decides to stick around long after the national party is over – I for one will
not be complaining.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17852488639948144328noreply@blogger.com0