bottle-o-rama!

A rambling account of an Englishmans encounters with beer

[stormyskiesahead]

Do you even cellar bro? One for the vintage beer enthusiasts out there, I was kindly given these ancient and unopened bottles of Banks's beer from the stalwart Wolverhampton brewery by my boss who dug them out of his father's wine cellar where they've been since they were released. And about that, the Centenary Ale was brewed in 1977, the Wedding Ale in 1981 to celebrate the marriage of Charles and Diana. So here's the thing, what the fuck do I do with them? I can't say I'm looking forward to drinking them and I'm not one to keep beer bottles as ornaments. I s'pose I could sell em if there was any interest but I dunno.

[stormyskiesahead]

Beavertown, Bloody 'Ell blood orange IPA (7.2% abv) My first go at this year's take of this blood orange zest and juice infused IPA from London's beer beavers, and it's every bit as good as I remember. Bittersweet, perfectly carbed, big citrus hop profile, a mere whisper from the malts, and err, yeah. Pretty one dimensional in all honesty but it's so tasty I really don't care. As ever though, I wouldn't have known it was made with blood oranges unless I'd read it. Yeah there's a lingering orange juiciness on the palate after the beer's gone down, but I've had beers just as orangey from skillful hop whispering alone. Still, glad I've got another.

[stormyskiesahead]

Green Flash, Tangerine Soul Style IPA (6.5% abv) Enjoying the amazing weather with the help of this fruity lil San Diego number. Citrus and bright tropical hop notes layered with that zesty tangerine rule, a hint of a whisper of a rumour of a malt base is somewhere nearby apparently. I'll take y'r word for it. Bittersweet and perfectly carbed, it's an enjoyable brew alright but I can't help but feel that those flavours are somewhat restrained, especially compared to the host of fantastic citrus IPA's out there right now. It is however immensely refreshing and absolutely hit the spot as I sweated my nuts off. So s'all good. Cheers!

[stormyskiesahead]

Hey up. Decided to have a lil bit of a break from Tumblr, but fear not, I am back. I’ll get ‘round to posting notes over the next couple of days and in the meantime here’s some random beers I’ve enjoyed. Hope you lovely lot are all fine and dandy, or if not at least pushing through. Cheers!

[stormyskiesahead]

Green Flash Passion Fruit Kicker (5.5% abv)

I adore passion fruit. I could eat the wondrous lil alien frogspawn lookin’ fuckers ‘til they oozed outa my ears, and I make a swift grab for any food or drink made with ‘em. So it seems this San Diego brewed passion fruit wheat ale was always gonna be a winner then, right? ‘Tis a subtly flavoured thing, sweet and lightly tart with the expected passion fruit goodness, some lemon zest, a scattering of wild flower petals, a splash of guava, and mild biscuit and wheat cracker notes. Aye, it’s a good ‘un. Tasty and eminently quaffable, a fine summertime refresher. Cheers!

[stormyskiesahead]

Siren Odyssey 005 (10.5% abv)

Every release I’ve managed to get my hands on from  this Finchampstead craft brewery’s barrel aged and blended Odyssey series has been a beer worth treasuring, and this Wee Heavy brewed in the autumn of 2013 and aged in Banyuls and Armagnac barrels for two years before blending is no exception.

A sweet, rich, complex, and sumptuously malty creation full of molasses stewed dark stone fruits, accompanying raisins and figs, some homemade caramel, vanilla, licorice, mild milk chocolate notes, and a lingering warming tawny portliness to the finish. A gorgeous after dinner dessert of a beer and yet another stunning success for Siren’s barrel programme. I really don’t want it to end.

[stormyskiesahead]

A couple of flawless German style beers crafted with obvious love and respect from Derbyshire’s storied Thornbridge Brewery.  My fondness for Tzara is documented, a glorious union of subtle hops, fruity yeast esters, and soothing malts. Bayern is every bit as fine, a stunning Bavarian style pilsner that's crisp and light yet sigh inducingly creamy in the mouth with those wonderful spicy, earthy, Noble hops and honeyed biscuit malts achieving a flawless balance. Easily the best Kölsch and Pilsner I've ever had from the UK, and right up there with my all time favourites from anywhere. Have a great weekend, y’all!

[stormyskiesahead]

Magic Balls

Last month Yorkshire’s mighty Magic Rock Brewing graced us with the limited annual release of the celebrated double and triple IPA versions of their core range US hopped IPA, Cannonball. And it was all a bit crazy. Their tap and the few bars and bottle shops lucky enough to get their hands on this duo were descended on by all manner of motley creatures eager to sup of the mystical juice bombs. Unable to reach the Magic Rock Tap due to work and stuff I searched for other options, and after defeating all comers (well, a 92 year old with chronic arthritis and an excitable Flat Coated Retriever) in an Armed Police Batrider arcade showdown for PRIZES! I wandered into the light of the day better off by the sum of as many magic balls as I could carry.

Human Cannonball Double IPA (9.2% abv) was up first, and once again the mad-hype was entirely justified. So damn hazy it looks like you could take a bite out of it, it's semi-sweet up front with bold and zesty grapefruit led citrus, overripe mango, pineapple jam, hints of caramelised biscuits, and an eruption of evergreen that leads into a dry and hella bitter finish. The carbonation is medium soft, the body full. A triumphant brew.

Un-Human Cannonball Triple IPA (11% abv) is every bit as big and juicy as you could want and much more. A positive eruption of citrus and tropical fruit juice, all pineapple and gwaaaarva and mango and clementine, there's candied zest, lurking caramel malts, and a nicely bitter sting in the tail. Again it’s full bodied and flawlessly carbonated, a mouth wateringly delicious creation and absurdly drinkable for such a potent brew. Well, 'til you reach for the glass and fall over...

So Magic Rock deliver the goods again, a duo that match the best new fangled craft brewed DIPA’s and TIPA’s I’ve ever had from these Isles. Human Cannonball delivers a wonderful combination of sweet tropical juice and pine flavours with a potent bitter finish, Un-Human Cannonball takes this tropical juiciness to the extreme with an even more complex fruitiness while easing off on the pine and the packing less bitterness. If you were lucky enough to try these then whichever you prefer doesn’t matter in the slightest, they’re both absolutely stonking. If you missed out I feel for ya, and y’d better practice those STG skilz y’hear?

[stormyskiesahead]

A small selection of the recent tsunami of tropical juice laden limited release double IPA’s we’ve been swamped under from UK craft breweries of late. These beauties started out as a serious head to head, by the third one I was mostly just singing and seeing how wide I could open my mouth in the mirror. Y’know? Proper beer blogging stuff. Cheers all!

[stormyskiesahead]

Wild Beer Sleeping Lemons Export (6.0% abv)

The original Sleeping Lemons was this Somerset craft brewery's contribution to “The Great Gose Outbreak of 2015″ (no cure found) and featured lemons preserved in salt and lemon juice over the winter months. I liked it, despite gose being one of my most *pfft* wotevz beer styles. And yeah this export version of that lil rascal is exactly exactly what you'd expect from an amped up Sleeping Lemons.

It's semi-sweet up front with a developing tartness, flavours of lightly salt spiked lemon sherbet, white wine muddled Lemons and lime zest, a dash of shaved melon skin, and a grain and wheat biscuit backbone. Dry, Light-medium bodied, softly carbed, and wonderfully refreshing. As tasty and thoroughly charming as it's lil sibling but with a more robust cheeky side, oh yeah and anyone mewling that the whole point of gose is to be weak, watery, and pathetic needs to chill. Craft beer is as much about experimentation as it is about respecting traditions and this isn’t the first powered-up version I’ve come across so at least like, three people agree. And besides, I like the added depth and complexity here so stick it up y’r wazoo. Cheers :P

[stormyskiesahead]

Cloudwater DIPA v3 (9% abv)

The recent third special edition double IPA from the fawned over Manchester beerists was probably the single most hyped UK beer I’ve ever come across. For the best part of a fortnight the craft beer community over here was a shambles of partially torn off beards and messed-up 50′s style bangs as people clambered over each other to grab what they could, and all for a double IPA from a tiny brewery that didn’t exist two years ago. Remarkable. And yeah I ended up with my fair share, but hey, I’m not above a bit of beard pulling and hair ruffling from time to time.

Anyhoo, the beer. Featuring enhanced Citra pellets and Vermont yeast this one feels substantially different to v1 and v2 whilst still being a riot of fresh, juicy, resinous, tropical hop notes. It’s a wonderful sticky mess of pulped mango, guava, pineapple, tangerine, and grapefruit, with a good dash of pine, undertones of wild garlic, and subtle, lurking, sweet caramel malts. It's fairly sweet up front into a dry finish, almost chewy in the mouth, and with nary a hint of that alcohol. 

I've been a bit up and down about Cloudwater to date, there's plenty from them I've liked but a fair few that have left me with a somewhat furrowed brow. No worries here though, this is a chuffing glorious creation! Not just my favourite of their DIPA's, but my favourite of the beers I've had from them 'til now. See you in the scrum for the next one.

[stormyskiesahead]

Buxton King Maker (10.5% abv) 

I do so love Derbyshire’s mighty Buxton Brewery. Prolific creators of beery wonder from many a style so they are, but it’s rather predictably their IPA’s and stouts that really send my heart aflutter. This beautifully labelled creation is their first new DIPA since the mind alteringly good Double Axe and my expectations were quite ludicrously high. A thoroughly Shakespearean double IPA, King Maker is a lupulin splattered muddle of whole limes, mixed citrus zest, papaya, wind tussled grass and flower petals, brambles, and earthy evergreen flavours. Semi sweet into hella bitter and with more of a warming booziness than I expected from Mr Stronge and the brew goblins. The body’s full and mouth coatingly oily and there’s a returning sweetness that lingers an age after the beer’s gone down. 

Aye, its certain blend of tropical fruits and spicy, herbaceous hop notes isn’t as suited to my particular sensibilities as other DIPA’s of late but that’s just a personal thing and I’ve always struggled a little with Sorachi Ace. But wotevz, this is a tasty, intense, and somewhat brutal broadsword to y'r face hole and entirely worthy of respect. Lest it splits y'r head in half all ~(*_//*)¬ like.

[stormyskiesahead]

Beavertown No Wiser (4.8% abv) 

A dry hopped pilsner from this irrepressible London craft brewery, and srsly if you're at all familiar with Beavertown's hoppy beers you'll already know what to expect. Bright tropical and evergreen hops rule, there's grapefruit, papaya, lemon zest, grass, and pine, with light bready malts in support. It's crisp with moderate carbonation, light bodied, and dry to finish. Aye, I woulda liked a more creamy mouthfeel and those malts to have played a bigger part, ‘cause as it is it doesn't feel at all pilsner-ey, but hey, whatchagonnado? What it is, is an enjoyable, super-fresh tasting, and effortlessly refreshing brew, but it was always gonna be. It's just so damn Beavertown tasting.

[stormyskiesahead]

Old Chimneys

Started in 1995 by a master brewer, Alan Thomson, Old Chimneys Brewery occupies just a couple of rooms in an old farm building in rural Norfolk. Rarely seen and still unknown to many a beerist, this micro brewery has nevertheless carved itself a dedicated following amongst the informed. Could I be their latest fan? Well, I’ve bought myself a good selection of their beers to get acquainted with, and here’s the first two. 

Parnassus IPA (5.5% abv) is an English IPA created from blending a cask overwintered imperial English IPA (Horn of Plenty, coming up next...) with fresh golden ale. The result blew my tiny lil mind! Okay, it's an English IPA so none those freshly squeezed citrus and tropical fruit hop flavours our transatlantic cousins do so well. Instead it's loaded with vibrant floral, herbaceous, and hedgerow fruit hop notes balanced by a solid malt base. There's a splash of sweet flower petal perfume, a mixed grass salad, pear crumble, a scattering of candied citrus peel, and rich toffee biscuit malts. It's light-medium bodied, nicely carbed, bittersweet, and for my taste buds, fudging glorious!

Horn of Plenty Imperial IPA (9.2% abv) is the unblended stock ale used as a base for Parnassus, an imperial English IPA featuring a substantial malt base, dry hopped with Pilgrim, and laid down for the winter. Big earthy, herbal, musty flavours abound, like licking the wall of a damp cellar that’s been smothered with toffee sauce and then had dried flowers thrown at it. Think an English style barley wine aggressively hopped with English varieties then forgotten about for half a year before you stumble across it again at the back of a dusty old cupboard and y’r there. Aye it’s gonna piss off the man-bun and excessively turned up too-tight blue jean wearing hipsters that only read “Imperial IPA” and expected alcoholic Tropicana but ignore those whinging non-prescription plastic framed glasses wearing patchouli scented dingbats. It does what it does well.

So yeah, Old Chimneys are fine by me. Horn of Plenty was interesting and tasty, but Parnassus, wow. The single most surprising beer I’ve had in a good long while, riotous and righteous, a supreme creation. Cheers, all! 

[stormyskiesahead]

Buxton Extra Porter (7.4% abv) 

Brewed with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and Guatemalan bourbon coffee from the brilliant Has Bean, this silky smooth export strength brew is a beautiful thing indeed. The gorgeous freshly roasted coffee notes rule, dark chocolate, homemade caramel, vanilla, and toasty coconut flavours all offering fantastic support. It's medium bodied, softly carbed, and semi-sweet into a long lasting coffee grounds and cacao nib bitterness. Glorious stuff once again from Buxton and kudos to local coffee heroes Has Bean for their flawless bean selection.

[stormyskiesahead]

Cascade Brewing

Eyes wide and breath sucked in, the sight that greeted UK fans of sour beer but a few weeks back was one to treasure. Portland, Oregon’s, fabled Cascade Brewing were here. Fantastic news! Except that collective intake of breath wasn’t entirely in wonder, it was also partly in horror. At the price. Some of the more exclusive bottles were going for over £50 ($70+) in London bars, and not much less in the bottle shops. I bit my lip, dropped my head, and resigned myself to missing out. *sigh* But then, like an online beery badass, my old Scottish Instagram chum, Blue zulu, was all like “Got some spare Cascade, want some?” This duo appeared on my doorstep a couple o’days later, Neil, y’r a bloody star. 

I’ll start with Cascade Strawberry (7.1% abv), a sour ale aged in oak barrels with strawberries and vanilla beans. Light-medium bodied, sweet and tart to lightly sour with wonderful flavours of pink lemonade, macerated strawberries, strawberry sherbet, crab apples, a splash of white wine vinegar, a touch of funky wild yeast, and subtle biscuity malts. An absurdly easy drinking beer for the abv, and really quite delicious.

Sang Rouge 2013 (8.4% abv) is something I’ve lusted after from afar for a while. A blend of sour red ales aged in oak wine barrels and oak foudres, it's medium sweet, sour, and darkly funky. There's flavours of red wine vinegar, cherries, red and black hedgerow fruits, a smidgen of soy sauce, old leather shoes, and a nice oakiness lurking throughout. Medium bodied, subtlety carbed, and quite stunningly complex, a sour red to match the best.

Aye, Cascade absolutely lived up to my expectations. And beers like Sang Rouge, the Wicked Weed trio I recently tried, and the Anglo-American Firestone Walker/Wild Beer collab, Violet Underground, have done a proper number on me recently. Inspired by yet unbound to Old World traditions, they’re some of the very finest sour ales I’ve had the pleasure of drinking, and I’m ever so looking forward to trying whatever face puckering US craft brewed wonders turn up on our shores next. Cheers!

[stormyskiesahead]

Trendy Bullshit

Ahh, nitro bottles. A pet hate of mine ever since I first had Left Hand’s Milk Stout Nitro. Take one bland beer and add even more blandness. Nope. But look! Left Hand are back and Wake Up Dead Nitro and Hard Wired Nitro have made it over the pond. Maybe these two will deliver the goods where every other nitro beer I’ve had the tragic misfortune to suffer have failed so miserably? Can these really deliver a bottled conditioned experience without the effort of bottle conditioning? Hmm.

Wake Up Dead Nitro (10.2% abv) is up first. I’m a big fan of the standard Wake Up Dead, one of the most liquorice-alicious impy’s I’ve ever had, but on nitro? Ahhh, no. Once again it’s all show and no go. The head’s the star, all smooth and creamy, whilst the body is dead and the flavours are muted to the point that I’m left bewildered that this is an imperial stout at all. Then there’s that weird, unpleasant undertone to what flavour profile there is that you seem to get with nitrogen’d bottles. Nah, not for me. I’ll take the standard brew. If I could get it.

So it’s left to a coffee porter, Hard Wired Nitro (6% abv) to change my mind. Except of course it doesn’t, it’s the same shit as always. Super creamy and long lasting head, flat body, flat flavours. Yeah there’s some coffee, some caramel, some… whatevz I really can’t be bothered.

So yeah, fuck nitro beers. A failed cheap trick of an attempt to replicate the creamy mouthfeel and carbonation level of cask and bottle conditioned beer by those not willing to do it properly. “But the head is so creamy…” I hear some people whimper (I say people, but they’re prob’ly lizard aliens in skin suits tbh), and yeah it is. But everything else is fucked. it’s like someone found a cute lil beer living in the wild, all happy and stuff, brutally murderised it with a rock then put shades and a hat on the horrifically mutilated corpse and tried to convince everyone else it was new, more advanced species. Or something. However, dark as things seem, there is a ray of light shining through this disgusting cloud of shit-gas. Y’see, while the lizard aliens are busy seeking out all the nitro’s they’re leaving the good stuff for real actual not lizard people to drink. 

So there’s that.