Day 149, Beer 149 - Blue Monkey's "Black Howler"

Today's Beer

Name – Black Howler

Brewer – Blue Monkey

Classification – Black IPA

Strength – 5.9% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Satan's blood. In a good way.

On the nose – Citrus infused licorice, Tabasco-heavy Bloody Mary, and raw fear.

On the tongue – A toasty, spicy, juicy instant classic.

On the subject – Just like me, Blue Monkey Brewery was born in Nottingham in 2008. (Yes, I am in fact a four year old, as my ex-wife will be more than happy to confirm.) 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...

On the market – 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 TheReal Ale Store.

On the whole – 8.5/10

Full Review

I love Black IPA's.

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.

It's a kind of supersonic evolution we're witnessing, with new interpretations on the essential 'theme' of this style (rich complex dark beer meets ultra-hopped light-bodied beer) hitting the shelves like dark matter bullets shot from some extra-dimensional realm.

To be clear about it – within the world that might be called 'cutting edge craft beer' Black IPA's have gone from non-existence to near domination 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.

And this brings us neatly to Blue Monkey Brewery. Already a certain contender for Kings of Cool with their standard range alone, these guys have made their claim even stronger by releasing a smaller selection of more experimental 'rare and one-off' brews under a totally separate label which they've named 'Endangered Species'. Black Howler is one of these.

So damn cool 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 serious bloody cool.

But of course none of this necessarily means that today's beer will actually be any good. 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 enforced cool and use it as a handy warning. 'Contains Toxic Self Awareness. Avoid Contact With Lips.'

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 serious attempt 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 Brew Dog, a company whose genuinely excellent beers now have to enjoyed in secret by most serious minded drinkers.

So are Blue Monkey about to join Brew Dog in that murky territory where exemplary brewing talent inexplicably gives way to unrestrained vanity?

Well, not on this evidence, and that's not because Black Howler isn't a good enough beer in the first place – because believe me it is – 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 (they simply don't brew enough of these to be secretly fleecing us) and secondly because this great beer has been brewed and brought to market entirely without my knowledge. Brew Dog would never – ever – allow that to happen!

Black Howler is then – in marketing terms at least – a quiet 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.

And it tastes pretty cool too. Lots of subtle spices, dark berried fruit, powerful licorice, toasted granary bread, glorious high reaching citrus (the key 'trick' of any good Black), roast chestnuts, char-grilled Cobra venom (I'd put money on it!) – this thing is just packed with all kinds of light-bodied zings, twangs and thwacks that keep you guessing (hence the Cobra venom), smiling, and of course sipping in equal amounts.

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 with it, but that's me getting very picky considering the wealth of delicious positives.

This brew makes it clear to me that Blue Monkey 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.

To my mind, that's exactly what contemporary brewing is all about.

When companies create products as unique and enjoyable as this one, those products need no further assistance to become cool.

When its brewed as expertly as this – beer is born cool. 

Newark's 'Real Ale Store' Is Online!

For those of you who are fortunate enough to live in the Nottinghamshire area, but who have not yet discovered the many delights of Newarks's boutique craft beer shop, here's a look at what you're missing.

Nice, eh?

But what's even nicer is that those of you are not sufficiently blessed to be living nearby can now dry your eyes because the shop has a very nifty online version of itself which will happily deliver these splendid goodies to your door. You will find The Real Ale Store website here.

In the meantime - here's another snap to click on and generally salivate over.

The stock is wide ranging and properly international, with the emphasis on high quality UK ale, cider and perry.

I recommend this outfit most highly.

Go seek it out either in person or on the net as soon as you can - it's a real gem.

.

Day 45, Beer 45 - Nottingham Brewery's "Extra Pale Ale"

Today's Beer

Name – Extra Pale Ale

Brewer – Nottingham Brewery

Classification – Pale Ale (Extra!)

Strength – 4.2% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – I'm not feeling sufficiently inclined to argue with the label. So, its appearance is extra pale.

On the nose – Surprisingly creamy. Well rounded. Very enticing.

On the tongue – Relentlessly top heavy – in the most marvellous way.

On the subject – Originally the Bramcote Brewery, Philip Darby and Niven Balfour were kicked out of their first premises by the local council. The Nottingham Brewery was born. Town planning departments do make the most delicious errors every now and again...

On the market – Local presence is pretty good. Online stores are a good bet. This was slipped my way by The Real Ale Store.

On the whole – 7.5/10

Full Review

Grapes and grapefruit.

These are the first things to hit you when you drink this brew – square in the jaw with maximum force, as it happens – and this barrage is swiftly followed by the sharpest hop-fuelled bitterness I've sampled for a good old while.

Now, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this level of flavour-based violence would be somewhat off-putting to an imbiber of ale. You might think it would leave a drinker inclined to swap his glass for one filled with something a little less determined to rip him to shreds.

All I can say to that is – think again!

It could well be that (without ever realising it) I'm actually something of a Sadist, who secretly fancies getting a bit of a beating every now and again, but the fact is that my hand kept reaching out for more of this stuff with ever increasing regularity until it finally became impossible to continue trying to write about it.

Its intensely sharp, its fiendishly bitter, and that bold citrus element only adds further aggression to the generally high-end flavour model.

But if this is punishment – let it long continue to be dished out!

In effect, this beer will refresh you and impress you whether you like it or not, and any resistance is futile.

If it were any better balanced (with a sweeter malt, or softer citrus) it could very quickly lose its deliciously combative character, and that would be a great shame.

This beer is a pleasure to be thwacked by.

I recommend that you let it forcibly assault you a soon as possible.

Day 43, Beer 43 - Milestone Brewery's "Loxley Ale"

Today's Beer

Name – Loxley Ale

Brewer – Milestone

Classification – Golden Ale ("...with a hint of honey")

Strength – 4.2% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Rich, warm walnut. Like the dashboard of an old Jag.

On the nose – Aggressive, potent malts. Darkly sweet.

On the tongue – Mixed nuts and mixed fruits fighting it out with Errol Flynn-style panache.

On the subject – Newark, in Nottinghamshire is really on the march in terms of the beer trade. Milestone Brewery in the capable hands of Ken Munro, and The Real Ale Store in the equally capable fists of the mighty Richard Banks are both in play here in this article.

On the market – The brewery have an on-line service, or try the aforementioned Mr Banks.

On the whole – 7/10

Full Review

Being originally from Nottingham myself, I was quietly hoping for good things from this 'Robin Hood' themed brew.

Having just recently finished off the bottle, I must say that I spent a while afterwards kind of gazing at the empty glass, trying as hard as I could to work out the identity of what quickly became known as 'that' flavour.

Somewhere just above the nicely nutty principle flavour theme, and just below the steamed Bramley apple which flourishes abundantly in the upper end of the flavour scale, there lies lurking some characteristic that I just could not identify.

At least, not for a while.

Whilst I was racking my brain, I began to wonder whether it really was a flavour that I was looking for, and that my puzzlement might instead be connected to the body of the beer, which in itself has a slightly unusual feel, a bit like heavy water (of the non-nuclear variety) which feels like it might benefit from a touch more oxygenation to excite and enliven it - if only by a small degree.

But then, it occurred to me.

It was a flavour, after all. And this flavour had been hiding there, challenging me from the very first sip to solve the riddle of its identity.

As soon as I had identified it, it was happy to burst suddenly into the open and proceed to thrill me with it's subtle but undeniable appeal.

It was gooseberry, incidentally, if you're wondering. 

Not raw gooseberry (though I'd love to taste that in a beer) but rather the sort you would find in a crumble or a pie. 

But it's right there in the mix, no question about it. It's much more evident than the 'honey' mentioned on the label, and it brings to this ale a quite unique personality.

Did this beer offer forth those 'good things' that I was hoping for...?

Well, I reckon it might just have done exactly that.

But I also suspect that I'd need to try one or two more of these to be absolutely sure.

Day Five, Beer Five - Castle Rock's "Elsie Mo"

Today's Beer

Name – Elsie Mo

Brewer – Castle Rock

Classification – Premium Pale Ale

Strength – 5.0% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – About as golden as a beer can get before it starts getting worn as jewellery.

On the nose – A nice fruitiness to the malt base. Hints of freshly chopped carrot.

On the tongue – Sharp, citrus zest, balanced with faint buttery sponge cake. Morish!

On the subject – Nottingham brewers Castle Rock have just walked away with the CAMRA award for Champion Beer Of Britain. Need I say more?

On the market – Wide availability and widening further due to aforementioned success. (Awarded for their 'Harvest Pale')

On the whole – 7/10

Full Review

The great 'bottle-conditioned' debate is thrown a curve ball by a rather delightful brew straight out of Robin Hood country.

Castle Rock market their Elsie Mo with a claim that it is indeed bottle-conditioned. Those of you who have read my previous posts stating my various misgivings about this 'process' will understand the sense of dread which those two words can so easily fill me with. However, in this particular case – I really needn't have worried. To shorten a long story, this review was nearly postponed after the accident prone bottle tripped and fell on it's face shortly before I was due to open it. (I swear it wasn't my fault..!) All but in tears, I held the stricken bottle toward the nearest light source to survey the damage, and to my surprise, its liquid content was still as clear as it could possibly be. Not a lump, nor even a trace of yeast could be detected.

On the one hand, I was delighted that the schedule had not been rocked, but it wasn't long before the very obvious question began forming in my ever-curious mind.

If there ain't no yeast, how can this beer be bottle-conditioned?

Well, let me just me stop that train of thought before it gathers any speed. Because the truth of the matter is - I don't care. As I've said before, many of my most rewarding experiences of drinking bottled beer have involved brews which are not bottled-conditioned, and many more times have I had a drink spoiled by having amounts of horridness floating around in 'my precious'. Either that, or I've had to throw half an inch of the good stuff away in order to prevent such a calamity from occurring in the first place.

The happy medium, I now realise, is a beer which claims to be bottle-conditioned (thereby satisfying the beer snob in me) but which is actually nothing of the sort (thereby giving me a drinking experience which is free of lumps of horrid slime, or at least free of the fear of such lumps!)

Elsie Mo is that drink. And, boy, did I consequently reap the considerable rewards of this harvest pale ale! The zest of lemon and lime, the faint undercurrent of buttery sponge cake, all of this holds undeniable appeal. It drinks a little like a continental beer. It's a Hoegaarden without the cloudiness, or it's a Leffe Blonde that's just spent six months on the Atkins diet.

I liked it a lot and – despite the obvious allure of the young lady who appears on the label – there's something just a little bit macho about this beer. It is not without some level of aggression that it introduces itself to your taste buds. That's not a bad thing, it's just a little less 'leggy blonde' than the marketing might suggest.

Castle Rock's CAMRA award winning brewery is going places, and a bottle of Elsie Mo provides a (mysteriously) clear indication of precisely why.