Day 156, Beer 156 - Odell's "5 Barrel Pale Ale"

Today's Beer

Name – 5 Barrel Pale Ale

Brewer – Odell

Classification – Yup, you guessed it, this is a pale ale!

Strength – 5.2% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Lustrous beeswax amber. Utter glory.

On the nose – Massive orange, massive dark rum-infused malt, massive smiles.

On the tongue – Boundless complexity and dynamism. Tangerine, black treacle, ginger, wildgrasses, exotic herbs and spices, and a further list of flavours as long as your arm. (Assuming your arm is around seventy miles in length.)

On the subject – 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.

On the market – Tragic UK availability. I'm not kidding, it's seriously upsetting. It's hard enough finding great contemporary British beers here in Britain, but finding a great American version is about as easy as discovering Atlantis, or Valhalla, or a trustworthy car dealership. I got this sample from The Real Ale Store, 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.

On the whole – 9.5/10

Full Review

Some reviews are harder to write than others.

Even for the most passionate beer aficionados (shameless geeks) 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.

Fortunately, such beers are rare, making the challenge of having to write about them equally uncommon.

Terrible beers are easy 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 Nottingham Forest over recent years will testify.

Excellent beers, similarly, tend to stir the soul sufficiently to ensure the compilation of any subsequent appraisal is a fairly straightforward task.

However, in addition to dull beers, awful beers and generally marvellous 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.

I'm talking about the beers you love.

Yes... those beers.

I'm talking about beers which generate primal reactions of such intensity that they can render otherwise competent brains utterly redundant.

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.

I'm talking about the instant favourite beers. Those which steal your heart in a single moment and never give it back to you.

Specifically, in today's case, I'm talking about a beer named '5 Barrel Pale Ale.'

Oh boy...

(Weighty pause...)

The experience of drinking this beer is so profoundly enjoyable that – even if I possessed the necessary talent to do so – I would not be fully able to share it with you here today without risking arrest on various charges of gross indecency.

I'm not even kidding.

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 are the unbridled extremes of pleasure that we're dealing with here.

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 (my tear-ducts have been gone a while now), I'm going to make a brief attempt to outline the key elements of this modern-day miracle.

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 'made-to-measure' perfection that these elements are coexisting. The flavours in this beer fundamentally belong together – is the overriding impression throughout. And for this many 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.

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 look amazing.

This beer is quite simply vast.

It's a genuine craft beer beacon, illuminating the full extent of the possibilities here in this super-exciting age of contemporary beer creation.

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.

That's what love can do to you.

Day 155, Beer 155 - Thornbridge's "Chiron"

Today's Beer

Name – Chiron

Brewer – Thornbridge

Classification – American Pale Ale

Strength – 5.0% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Deep, rich, comic malevolent laughter inducing orange amber. 

On the nose – 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...

On the tongue – A bewilderingly complex, exuberant, but refreshingly mild mannered, perhaps even 'gentle' expression of modern brewing capability.

On the subject – I think I can safely say Thornbridge 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 mean by that. I will point those making such complaints in the general direction of their own backsides.

On the market – 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 brewery directly for sales info, or try The Real Ale Store.

On the whole – 9/10

Full Review

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.

As many of you will know, Thornbridge brew a beer called Jaipur, 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.

Comparisons between these two stable-mates have sparked quite a bit of discussion in the murky realms of beer appreciation.

So here's my contribution to the debate...

I do not prefer today's beer to Jaipur.

There, I said it.

However, upon further inspection, this declaration is far more nonsensical than it might first appear.

It's rather like saying - “I don't prefer this snowflake to that other one.”

Actually, it's even closer to saying - “The bright star up there on the left has less appeal to me than its equally twinkly neighbour”.

Now, it could be very easily argued that one snowflake is different from another, but it would take an exceptionally well made argument to successfully convince a neutral observer than one snowflake is better than the other.

Likewise, what evidence could back up a claim that the heavenly body we call Sirius twinkles more pleasingly than that which we've name Polaris? Sure, one star might appear bigger to us... but better?

I think you get my gist. 

Jaipur and Chiron 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.

(* - Not to be confused with 'Stella', for more reasons than I could list in one lifetime.)

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. (After all, we all still know people who think 'bitter' is just 'brown lager.')

But the reality is there are a whole bunch of differences, and although I like a lot of the elements which set Chiron apart from Jaipur, there are few aspects that just don't hit my own personal 'B-spot' in the quite the same way.

It's not the flavours that (microscopically) miss the target. Oh boy no! Chiron thrills with delectable swathes of elderflower, rosewater, grapes, watermelon and mango. It's wonderfully vibrant, fresh, uplifting to the taste.

I think, if anything, it's the intensity of the overall experience which would lead me to opt for one of these beers over the other. Chiron is a subtly gentler 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. 

I wanted it to be exactly what it was – but be it a shade more.

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.

(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.)

(Don't worry, I'm seeking help...)

Look, I really am splitting hairs here. The fact is that Chiron 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.

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.

It's another Thornbridge modern great, and you should go out and buy yourself at least one bottle of it at your very earliest convenience.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue wishing on that star just a little over to the right.

I almost convinced it twinkles better.

Day 152, Beer 152 - Moor's "Revival"

Today's Beer

Name – Revival

Brewer – Moor

Classification – Pale Ale

Strength – 4.0% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Deep tangerine gold. Not remotely unpleasant looking.

On the nose – Razor sharp metallic hops. Combative tropical fruits. Beaujolais 'extra' Nouveau. Properly lovely.

On the tongue – An exquisitely refined drink experience. A strong contender for 'most elegant' of all the ultra-hopped contemporary beers.

On the subject – 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. (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...)

On the market – I already had my 'new beer availability rant' here yesterday, 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 sales info, or drive yourself halfway around the world* to The Real Ale Store just like I ended up having to do.

(*Roughly 15 miles).

On the whole – 9/10

Full Review

Without wanting to sound at all disparaging, this is probably the most 'sensible' highly-hopped modern beer I've yet come across.

Let me quickly expand on that before representatives from Moor (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.

(I wish.)

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 'things that make you go oooooo!' (Or make you emit other, slightly less repeatable expressions to the same effect.)

They can often – again, quite deliberately – cast aside such notions as subtlety, nuance, balance and sometimes even complexity. In my opinion, one or two brews go even further by abandoning the very concept of 'taste', in all forms of that word's definition.

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.

Revival, if anything, is a dignified beer.

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.

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.

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. (Though why anyone would waste their time 'squeezing' bread is anyone's guess! - adds The Editor, having finally been hired.)

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.

Very few are as classy as this.

Day 144, Beer 144 - Einstöck's "Icelandic Pale Ale"

Today's Beer

Name – Icelandic Pale Ale

Brewer – Einstöck

Classification – Pale ale

Strength – 5.6% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Deep, rich orange amber. Not even remotely bad looking.

On the nose – Sharp fruits. Tree bark. Honey roasted blind rage.

On the tongue – Robust, punchy, vividly flavoured. A weapon of Norse destruction.

On the subject – There's one almighty, jaw dropping fact to mention here. It's a fact of too great a scale to reduce into a quick soundbite. You're going to have to read on...

On the market – In terms of the UK, the lucky so-and-so's at Harvey Nichols have exclusive sales rights for the time being. I call upon war-axe wielding warriors everywhere to rise up in revolt against this travesty! Failing that, I suggest they speak to their local MP.

On the whole – 8/10

Full Review

It seems hard to believe, but my sources tell me that beer was effectively outlawed in Iceland for 74 years up until 1989.

Just writing that sentence has given me the shakes.

In fact, hold on a second, I need to take a few breaths...

Maybe just lie down here for a while...

(Several hours pass)

I feel a little better now.

The feeling in my legs has returned and I'm seeing far fewer stars.

I guess I can press ahead again...

So...

One of the ways in which these poor Icelandic citizens try to compensate for that hideous mass of stolen years is by having a national 'Beer Day' on the first day of March each year, which is arguably a concept every bit as sublime as that previous concept is shocking.

Perhaps due in part to this extended period of state organised torture, I can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that today's beer is the first Icelandic ale I've ever tasted.

And for a country who missed out on decades worth of practice, they appear not to have suffered in the slightest – because this is a very decent beer indeed.

The reality is that 'craft' beer, as such, isn't exactly massive in Iceland. It's there, but it can take some finding. A fair amount of 'big' beer brands exist, but Einstöck – the newest kids on the ice block – are almost entirely unique among their peers, having decided to be the first in the country to attempt to mix 'big' with 'craft'.

And on this evidence, this approach is working.

The Viking imagery on the brewery logo is matched here by unbridled bullish strength – both in terms of taste and sheer alcoholic punch – but there is also a notable sense of refinement at work here, not least in the slick smoothness of body and the delicate use of certain fruit and herbal flavours.

I suspect the thing I like most about this beer is the thing that others might classify as its drawback. There is a directness or even a brutishness to this beer, and to achieve this kind of an impact it stands to reason that a certain level of nuance and complexity is reduced. But that's the point of such beers, and I think we need beers like this. We need Vikings among the Romans and the Greeks, otherwise we'd all be taking long baths, sculpting and engaging in endless philosophical debates without ever getting anything done.

But don't misunderstand. This ale is no thug. What this beer does is done with great enthusiasm – but also with great skill. The weapon it attacks you with has been well crafted. The recipe, whilst not being overly intricate, is delicious. It's fruity, bitter, carefully malted, and it's just impossible to drink without having it forcefully grab your attention.

It's one of those beers that gets the job done first and negotiates later.

And I like a bit of that every now and again.

I certainly liked it this time.

Day 127, Beer 127 - Samuel Smith's "Old Brewery Pale Ale"

Today's Beer

Name – Old Brewery Pale Ale

Brewer – Samuel Smith

Classification – Pale ale

Strength –5% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Sumptuous deep amber. Truly archetypal.

On the nose – The closest aroma to a draft ale that I've yet discovered in a bottle.

On the tongue – Dry, sharp, nutty, spicy, satisfying, and pretty near perfect.

On the subject – Like a great many other humanoids, Samuel Smith is one of my all-time favourite breweries, but it seems there's been something very strange and unsettling hanging in the atmosphere around this British institution during recent times. A fair number of the staff either run or support an unofficial website which has been known to display the company initials 'SS' in a highly provocative way, which pretty much yells 'Help!' and 'Steer Clear!' at equal volumes. I've been glad to see this website mellowing slightly of late, and I hope this signals some positive internal change. The beer's still mighty good, but one wonders how long that could continue in what have clearly been some very fraught corporate circumstances.

On the market – Suspiciously hard to come by at present. There's no online brewery shop, which you may find odd for a company of such global repute, and a portion of the staff would seem to agree with you on that score. Try Only Fine Beer.

On the whole – 9.5/10

Full Review

If you were to tell me that this beer alone was responsible for the recent explosion of the craft beer scene over in the USA – my face would register no surprise.

That's probably because my face has already had to deal with such claims way, way too many times.

My face is over it.

This beer, along with a handful of other British ales like Marston's Pedigree, Fuller's London Pride, Bateman's XXXB and Draught Bass – often get slipped the credit for inspiring the rise of the 'new wave', a wave which (as irony would have it) has caused these very same beers to be seen now as totally 'old school', and as representatives of everything that is wrong with the beer scene.

How amusing great beers like this must find the passing of time.

How tickled they must be by fashion, and it's forever ebbing tides.

Anyway, for those of you wondering how such an outmoded old brew could ever be indirectly responsible for the creation of the instant modern masterpieces which we all fawn over today (and I fawn as much as anyone) - let me try to explain.

Quite simply, this beer is an inspiration because it is monumentally good.

I think that explanation covers everything.

This being said, though, I was actually a little bit jittery when it came to opening this bottle.

I've been on quite a journey since The Bottled Beer Year began, and I've noticed huge shifts in my own relationship with beer, and in what I recognise as being excellent or utterly indifferent drinks. All these trendy new 'yellows' and 'blacks' have impressed me immeasurably, leaving me miles away from where I stood only a few months ago in terms of personal preference. I've also revisited some 'old favourites' recently and found them to be just a bit tired, 'lacking' in various ways, or generally underwhelming. Coming back to these cherished ales was becoming an increasingly disillusioning experience.

But not today.

Oh boy, not today.

This is just too much of an all-round beer experience. It's the genuine article. The real deal. Regardless of when it was first brewed. All of the elements are too well placed for time to make the slightest difference.

What was good about it years ago - is every bit as good about it today.

And so, so much is good about it.

It's dry, bitter, replete with nutty malt substance, and hopped sharper than nails.

It is as vital, as immediate, and as abundantly flavoured as any newcomer. The taste may be familiar, but make no mistake, that familiarity is not a fault – you are merely drinking from the original source of flavours much copied throughout the years since.

This is not just another tired old taste.

It's a liquid legacy.

On your knees, mortal. Show some respect!

But now that I've unburdened myself of all this enthusiasm and goodwill, I'm going to toss a grenade at the dance-floor by adding that this bottled version is a bit gassy. In the grand scheme of  things, it's really nothing more than a thorn in the little toe of a god, but it would be nice to see this product bottle-conditioned. In fact, so nice would that be, that it's something I'd like to formally suggest to the brewery right here and now.

But given the apparent problems within the 'SS' at present, I don't expect that suggestion to bear any fruit any time soon.

That's a pity, because I think with a bit of bottle-conditioning (done properly, as I'm sure this company could accomplish with ease) this beer might have been the only drink on my chart to have scored a perfect 10.

As things stand, a joint highest score will just have to do.

Day 103, Beer 103 - Vale Brewery's "V.P.A"

Today's Beer

Name – VPA (Vale Pale Ale)

Brewer – Vale

Classification – Golden ale (Call it a 'pale ale' instead if you feel you must!)

Strength – 4.2% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Warm, rich gold. Strikingly low carbonation.

On the nose – All hop guns blazing. Intense citrus. Zesty, tangy and sharp.

On the tongue – An utterly remorseless hop-fuelled tongue-bashing. In a good way.

On the subject – After a growth enforced move a few years back, Vale Brewery is now based in a part of England said to have inspired Tolkien when writing The Lord Of The Rings, which is pretty apt, as this outfit have done nothing but become more epic since their humble beginnings in 1995. Now fairly large by micro-brewery standards, their ales retain a strong 'hand-crafted' sense.

On the market – As with so many great beers, I have to say that availability ought to be greater. However, as with so many great problems, I can happily say that the internet is an easy solution. So just click here.

On the whole – 8/10

Full Review

This beer has only one thing in mind.

It means to thrill your tongue to death.

I can almost picture the scene on that fateful morning on which those masterminds over at Vale Brewery gathered together in their secret underground laboratory to painstakingly concoct a beer so intensely hopped that it would endanger the lives of taste buds across the globe.

Little did they know then what delight their dastardly scheme would eventually trigger.

Very much in keeping with the current clamour for hop dominant ales, this is a citrus packed, ultra sharp marvel of a beer. Those who cheer on this ever more extreme drive toward total hop supremacy (and thereby also cheer on the demise of malt's contribution to the flavour of an ale) will need look no further than 'VPA' for a guaranteed fix of the kind of high they crave.

I have to admit that beers like this one are actually beginning to convince even stubborn old mules like me that hopping the hell out of a brew truly is the way forward – and that's something I thought I'd never find myself writing. After all, I'm only 38 and that's hardly 'old' at all.

One thing that is not subject to personal preference is that this is a very well assembled drink. Those aforementioned masterminds at Vale clearly do know how to put a beer together. The gorgeous principle top notes – grapefruit, gooseberry and Bramley apple – are each vibrant and dynamic when focussed on individually, but when experienced as a whole there really is no other word for it than delicious.

But best of all is the most deftly pitched savoury undercurrent – which essentially hides itself for extended periods until you reach the point when those high end themes become almost too much – at which point it emerges from nowhere to transform the relentless citrus blast into something closer to a fruit pie, by introducing gentle swathes of buttery pastry and biscuit.

It's a pretty magical effect.

Whether they really do have a secret laboratory, and whether that secret laboratory really is underground, I think there's little doubt that there really are masterminds at work over at Vale, and I'm glad I selected this beer to be my first taste of their range.

I'm pretty confident that it won't be my last.

.