The Hoppy Beerble

Here you’ll find a great bunch of beer lovers from newbies to experts posting about the awesome age-old beverage that has brought friends and families together for years.

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Have Fun Storming the Castle

The other day it occurred to me that I've lived in Nottingham for about six years now and those six years have conveniently been the six years I've been legally able to drink. As you would imagine that 18 - 24 period has seen it's fair share of alcohol consumption and when it comes to drinking beer in Nottingham there's always one brewery in particular that comes to mind - Castle Rock.

The Castle Rock Brewery has become a household name in Nottingham, so much so that these days you're just as likely to find folks in Nottingham town who have had a Harvest Pale as those who have heard of Robin Hood. While Castle Rock started off as a joint venture between Bramcote Brewery and Tynemill Brewery, Castle Rock soon made a name for itself in its own right, so much so that Tynemill bought out Bramcote’s share of the biz and changed its trading name to Castle Rock.

Such actions may sound like a ballsy move to some, but in actual fact there was such customer confidence regarding Castle Rock’s beers that the move made perfect sense. It wasn’t just the customers who liked to Rock, the brewery itself were also excited about the beers Castle Rock was crafting and quite rightly they should've been. Their Harvest Pale won Supreme Champion Beer of Britain in 2010 at the Great British Beer Festival, Screech Owl won Bronze in the Strong Bitters category at The Great British Beer Festival in 2013 and Castle Rock has bagged Pub Group of the Year in 2002, 2006 and 2008.

So what’s with the history lesson I hear you ask? Well when I thought about my years in Nottingham, I couldn’t help but think about how many Castle Rock beers I must’ve had and then I realised that I’ve never actually had their Elsie Mo beer. Now I'm not sure whether she's a Mrs or a Miss, but Elsie Mo is known at Castle Rock for being 'full bodied and irresistible'. Her name hails from the Low Colour Maris Otter malt used in the beer, which gives it it's vibrant golden glow. A lot like the Elsie Mo on the bottle, the beer inside is sweet and oh so smooth. The choice of hops blend well to give off a sassy citrus, floral aroma, no doubt the floral tones coming down to the use of those cheerful Challenger hops. All in all Elsie Mo is a crisp, refreshing brew with just as much beauty and cheekiness in the bottle as on the label.

What breweries and beers is your hometown known for? @HoppyBeerble @TheBigAH

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The Black Sheep of the Family

Craft beer buffs are often quick to quash a lot of real ales, especially the likes of which you can pick up on a cheeky deal in your local supermarket. Such ales are the reason I got into enjoying beer in the first place and I often find these beers are unfairly seen as the black sheeps of the beer family, which is why I chose to raise a toast to these beers and in particular Black Sheep’s All Creatures for this artcle.

Black Sheep Brewery will always hold a special place in my hoppy heart because their Black Sheep Ale always reminds me of my Dad. I will always remember how during a meal out in Solihull my Dad had his first pint of Black Sheep Ale, loved it, went up for a second one only to find it had ran out. I’ve never seen such a look of defeat on a grown mans face and that memory stayed with me forever. Sadly this depletion of the good stuff meant I’d also have to wait for another time to get my hands on a pint, and when I did the multi-award winning beer didn’t disappoint. The bittersweet Golding hops married with the rich roast coffee well and the fruity aroma really gave the whole drink a unique flavour. To this day I’m always game for a pint of Black Sheep Ale.

Okay, so I didn’t set out to review Black Sheep Ale, but I wanted to give you guys some context as to why I’m checking out their All Creatures. Black Sheep’s beers are available everywhere in most supermarkets and pubs, but I always remember seeing just their trademark Black Sheep Ale on sale and when I noticed they had All Creatures on the shelf, I felt that pride you feel when your favourite band starts making new albums that sees them playing bigger venues and getting noticed by more and more people. As a brewery I discovered when I knew little about beer I always enjoyed watching the Yorkshire brewery’s beers become commonplace, so when I stood eyeing up the beer aisle in ASDA after an exhaustive shop and All Creatures caught my eye I instantly decided it was going to be entered into the pages of The Hoppy Beerble.

I wondered how the Yorkshire Pale Ale would go down in the height of a British summer and it's label description of being 'Bright & Beautiful' gave me hope that it was the right beer to chuck in my trolley. Typically a cask beer, All Creatures has only recently been introduced to Black Sheep's bottled range and while I can't compare the two options, I feel safe in saying it's a great addition to their bottled collection. The combo of Bramling Cross, Goldings and Fuggles hops provides a balanced punch to the ale's refreshing qualities. As a beer (and a brewery) that's proud to be from Yorkshire, it's always good to see the use of English hops in a beer and the Maris Otter malt is another nice addition, keeping the beer grounded and providing a malty undertone. All Creatures is certainly a YPA (see what I did there?) that lends itself to being enjoyed in the summer sun and with it’s sharp finish and 4% ABV it’s a definitely a good shout the next time you're thinking of firing up the BBQ.

What beer do you think is perfect for a summers day? @HoppyBeerble @TheBigAH

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Getting Stuck In

Where do you kick off a beer blog? Do you start with reviewing the world’s greatest beers? Or do you begin like any beer lover no doubt did, by simply going to a random pub, grabbing a beer and getting stuck in? Getting stuck in it is!

In all honesty kicking off The Hoppy Beerble wasn’t easy, how do you give a blog it’s first beer? It turns out the way to do it, is to not plan on doing it at all. I knew I needed to start this blog off at some point, but I didn’t put much thought into when. So this piece finally came about when I went into Nottingham city centre on the August Bank Holiday with the only plan being, in the words of the hardcore legend Mick Foley, having a nice day.

You’ll be pleased to know I did Foley proud and after picking up PUP’s self-titled LP from The Music Exchange this article came to life. Heading down the road I noticed that Broadway Cinema had a beer festival on and the giant banner outside was the literal sign I needed to get stuck into my first real piece for The Hoppy Beerble.

Broadway is a great little place to catch movies in an intimate surrounding and also to grab a sweet ale or two. Being a fan of the venue I had a feeling the festival might be a bit busy, but at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on a Sunday I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the upstairs bar where the festival was taking place was nice and quiet. Fittingly it was a lot like that feeling you get when you’re the first one in the cinema with every seat to choose from and the potential to roll down the aisles without being chucked out.

Thankfully I managed to refrain from rolling around the floor, but with over 20 beers to choose from, making up my mind on what to have was pretty impossible. There were brews freshly kegged from Jarrow, Brown Ales, Titanic, Wentworth, Great Oakley, Double Tap, Naked Brewer, Magpole, Magpie, Full Mash and many more. I decided that the soothing Sunday sun called for a beer with a similar feeling and after much deliberation I settled on Mallard Brewery’s Golden Duck, a deliciously refreshing golden ale. Coming in at a leisurely 3.9% with a finely tuned mix of pale and wheat malts, the duck had done good.

With places to go and people to see my time at the festival was only 568.261485 millilitres long, but while my visit was short, it was certainly sweet and the Golden Duck has certainly been a real highlight ale for me in recent months. If you get a moment to check out craft brewers Mallard I would highly recommend it.

As I finished off my pint looking at all the kegs stacked up in the corner of the room, I realised that in this one room alone there are far too many beers for one man to tackle alone, which made me realise how important having a beer community is. From the good chaps at CAMRA to apps like Untappd, bringing beers from all over the world, including quacking ales from the small town of Maythorne is now so easy to do and well worth doing. So I do hope you’ll join in the conversation, send us over your recommendations and let us know what beers you have been loving at this year’s beer festivals.

Join the conversation: @HoppyBeerble @TheBigAH

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Cheers!

Welcome to The Hoppy Beerabe, the place for beer lovers. Whether you became passionate about beer over an ale last night or have been geeking your heart out over craft beer for decades, this is the place to raise your glass and give a mighty cheers to the world’s beers.

On our blog you’ll find all sorts of articles from beer reviews, brewery showcases and homebrewing tips to beer-based recipes, beer history and everything in-between. Our pieces will be written by a variety of brewing folks from beer novices to beer experts as well as a bunch of great guest writers.

The Hoppy Beerable will serve as your digital local, filled to the brim with suds you’ll love to share with your buds, so grab a cold one and join us on our quest to share the beers of the world with you.

Cheers!

@HoppyBeerble @TheBigAH