Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
Style: Doppelbock

Alcohol Content: 6.7%

From: Aying, Germany

Purchased From: Noble Green Wines, Hampton Hill, United Kingdom

http://en.ayinger-bier.de

Recently, feeling in the festive spirit, Kevin and I decided to re-home a stray cat that had crossed our paths. Due to his ragged appearance, we decided to re name him Scrappy. After an emotional couple of weeks of caring and feeding the little chap, it was time for him to be rehomed in leafy Bury St.Edmunds. Feeling sad about his departure, we both decided we deserved a little treat, so we popped down to Hampton Hill Noble Green Wines (quickly becoming our favourite bottle shop) and picked up our Christmas beers. Whilst browsing the shelves, I came across a beer which was aptly named Celebrator. After buying a few bottles, we soon made for home to celebrate Scrappy's successful rehoming.

Personally, I'm very excited about this beer. So as I sat down with some delicious festive nibbles (Brie and Cranberry parcels from Marks and Spencers in particular), I began researching to help 'prep my palate'. Ratebeer.com suggests that; "Celebrator has a creamy head of tight bubbles contrasting beautifully with its profound dark robe.". A dark robe I ask you; perhaps this is an academic master in disguise?

Intrigued, i decided to perform a little more research on the Brewery. Ayinger is a is a medium-sized German brewery located in Aying, Bavaria, about 25 km outside of Munich. Founded in 1876 by Johann Liebhard, the brewery struggled during the Great Depression and almost closed it door due to the hyperinflation and falling property prices. However, as the economy stabilized, the brewery was also able to restructure its debts and slowly develop into the brewery we know today. 

Colour: Pours a deep, mocha brown, with a foamy  tan head that later clings to the edge of the glass. When I hold this bock up to the light, hardly any light penetrates through this dark, mysterious liquid.

Aroma: Surprisely, this beer smells like a blend of alpine apple strudel, Christmas cake and sweet custard. Once warmed, the drink slowly develops subtle hint of smokiness, cocoa nibs and dry fruit.

Body: A beautifully fully body, complete with a delicate carbonation that coats your mouth on every sip. Now I'm beginning to understand the what the "Dark Robe" is all about, it's just so silky in the mouth. Personally I am surprised how full bodied it actually felt. Despite having a relatively low alcohol content, the sweet caramel sweetness adds a thick denseness that i would normally associated with my beloved Barley Wines. Amazing stuff.

Taste: Very, very fruity. This beer is bursting bold flavours of rich, spiced fruit cake. The use of caramel malts help to deposit notes of sweet, sticky molasses and hints of chocolate and coffee. Yum! Yum! This is a drink that you could easily ruin if you try and coif too soon, so its worth sipping slowly and really savouring that fruit cake taste. This beer really is a pudding in a glass. P.s. Each bottle comes with a collectible goat trinket. Since we brought quite a few of these beers, I'm beginning to build quite a collection!

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/paulaner-salvator.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/brooklyn-brewery-summer-ale.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery or like me on Facebook at Beefsbrewery

Pressure Drop Strictly Roots

Pressure Drop Strictly Roots
Style: Flavoured Porter

Alcohol Content: 6.5%

From: Hackney, London, United Kingdom 

Purchased From: Corbetts Real Ale Shop, Dorking, Surrey

http://pressuredropbrewing.co.uk/

Firstly happy new year to you all and all the best for 2015. Something tells me that this is going to be a vintage year. 

Like most people at this time of year, I have decided to make a few New Years resolutions. Whilst the majority of these will be familiar to most (lose weight, save more etc.), I have also decided on three beer related resolutions.

1. Attend more beer festivals and tastings, starting with Craft Beer Rising in February. 
2. Attend a craft brewing experience day at London Field brewery, (hopefully this should give me the confidence to try making beer at home.)
3. Read more about the beer style, the brewing process and breweries in general. (I'm already making headway on this by reading an excellent book by Joshua M. Bernstein called The Complete Beer Course).

So the question is, can I stick to these over the next twelve months? I bloody well hope so.

Pressure drop was founded in 2012, in Hackney, London. Similar to both the Kernel and Partizan breweries, Pressure Drop have chosen to set up shop under some disused railway arches (guess it's a London thing). The subject of this review is their limited release Strictly Roots Dandelion and Burdock Porter, which is brewed in collaboration with the legendary wild man of the Hackney marshes; John the Poacher. John has made a living out of poaching wild rabbits on the marshes, so one can only assume that he foraged the dandelion and burdock roots himself (lets hope no rabbits "accidentally" dropped into the brew kettle).

Colour: Pours a deep black topped with a on finger high tan coloured head. This head lingers for the duration of your drinking experience and laces the glass perfectly on every single sip.If you hold this beer up to the light, you can see just how thick this drink really is. Not one ray of light passes through this oil like liquid. 

Aroma: The roasted malt produce notes of chocolate and coffee, whilst the addition of Dandelion and Burdock produce a subtle sweetness to take the edge off the bitter notes. All of these aromas work in perfect harmony to produce a welcoming nose that needs to be savoured.  

Body: This beer drinks like a classic porter. Once in the mouth this you will notice that it feels just as thick as it looks. The mild carbonation tickles your throat, whilst the oily texture covers tongue. Once swallowed, this oily sensation lingers for a few seconds before fading away.   

Taste: Yummy, there are a lot of individual elements to this beer. As you would expect from a porter, big, bold notes of coffee and dark chocolate are present from the get go. Once you grow more accustomed to these bitter flavours, a layer of sweetness will begin to appear. These notes come from the addition of Dandelion and Burdock roots during the brewing process which imparts a flavour very similar to that of Sarsaparilla, sweet with hints of licorice. Although these flavours are not overly pronounced, these additional ingredients help to compliment the coffee and chocolate perfectly. The aftertaste follows in the same vein and is incredibly smooth.   

Can You Handle The Pressure 

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/meantime-coffee-porter.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/the-celt-brewing-experience-seven.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery or like me on Facebook at Beefsbrewery