Shepherds Neame Bishops Finger

Shepherds Neame Bishops Finger

Style: Strong Ale

Alcohol Content: 5.4%

From: Faversham, Kent, UK

Purchased from: Tesco, Ashford
http://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/

Shepherd Neame is an English regional brewery founded in 1698 in Faversham, Kent.  It is the oldest brewer in Great Britain and has been family-owned since 1864. The brewery produces a range of cask ales and filtered beers. Production is around 230,000 barrels a year. It owns around 360 pubs, predominantly in Kent, London and South East England. Whilst visiting Kent in January I couldn't help but notice that almost every other pub was own by Shepherds Neame. Now that's the way to dominate the market! The subject of this review is their Bishops Finger, a Kentish Strong ale which holds EU Protected Geographical Indication, recognising its unique provenance. It takes its name from the finger-shaped signposts which pointed pilgrims on their way to the tomb of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. Will the finger of fate fall kindly on this beer? Lets find out. 

Pointing the way?

Colour: Pours a deep chestnut brown combined with a light bubbly head. This drops down to form a light dusting of foam after a few minutes in the glass.

Aroma: Slight notes of burnt toffee and vinous autumn fruits such as plums, cherries and red grape. However, I must stress that all these notes are extremely faint but they are lurking in the background in the shadows of the malt. 

Body: Smooth and easy to drink. There is a slight clogging on the back of your throat due to the resiny hops. Definitely one to sip on a cold winters night.

Taste: A big sip will provide you with notes of your Nan's fruit cake. Hints of Sweet orange peel, currants and sultanas will fill your mouth and the quickly die away. The finish is long and interweaves between dried fruit, rich malt and a deep, dry hop bitterness. These flavours are not overly pronounced and for me, it is a classic example of a mass produced bitter that you can buy from any major supermarket. Great if you just starting out on your real ale journey, but it's not the one for me. Perhaps I have now become a craft beer snob. Gulp! I guess I have.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/brakspear-bitter.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/anchor-brewing-company-liberty-ale.html

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

Tripel Karmeliet

Tripel Karmeliet

Style: Tripel

Alcohol Content: 8.4%

From: East Flanders, Buggenhout, Belguim

Purchased from: Waitrose

Bosteels Brewery is a Belgian brewery in the East Flanders Buggenhout. Bosteels Brewery was founded in 1791 by Everarist Bosteels and has to date been 7 generations in the same family, successively by Everarist founder, Joseph Martin, Leon, Antoine, Antoine Bosteels and Leon. Over the years, brewery Bosteels grown. Tripel Karmeliet is their most successful beer, which was launched in 1996. In recent years, production has been significantly increased, but still can not meet the demand. In 2011, 2012 and 2013 is therefore always an investment of 3 million euros. The total turnover in 2011 was 17.2 million, with a total production of 90,000 hectoliters of beer.

Pow right in the kisser!

Colour: Straw yellow. On the pour, you get a lovely thick white head that will stay with you throughout the drink. In some aspects, it's very similar to Duvel which I reviewed earlier on this blog. It's very heavily carbonated and the bubbles keep on coming and coming. That being said these are very fine bubbles that are most likely to tickle you throat on the way down. One thing I noticed is that this beer actually darkens in colour as it warms up. The yellow darkens quite considerably after 15 minutes.

Aroma: Bananas and a faint hint of minerals on the first sniff. When you go in for a second bite you are bombarded with notes of brown bread or biscuits. There are also notes of cloves.

Body: This drink is actually a lot heavier than it looks. This is due to the high level of alcohol that is in the drink. When you have your first sip, you are almost knocked for six by the power it holds. The drink is also quite creamy and has a certain Weiss beer quality to it. If you every try this beer yourself, I would recommend having a sip and move it around your mouth. This brings out a rich chewy texture that is also like placing a toffee in your mouth.

Taste: If you have ever tried Muller's fantastic banana and custard yogurt, then this is extremely similar. If you start to move this drink around in your mouth, the drink is very chewy and you get a certain bubble gum taste in your mouth. As the drink is quite alcoholic, the drink can feel quite spicy with ginger or cinnamon notes. As the drink warms up slight you will also get the slight taste of pineapple. This is a drink that you need to take your time with and nurse. Drink it to quick and you will be on the floor within seconds.

This will leave you off your feet

Follow me on Twitter for the latest news on reviews @BeefsBrewery

Duvel

 Duvel

Style: Golden Ale

Alcohol content: 8.5%

From: Brussels, Belgium

Purchased from: Tesco

OK so far on this blog i have reviewed ales from the US, UK and Germany. Its time to mix it up a bit and review a brew from Belgium. Now i will be the first to admit, ( and to my shame) that i have not drunk may drinks for the low countries before. However, from reading Melisa Cole's Let Me Tell You About Beer, i realized that i was missing out on a world of aroma's and flavors. So while i was in Tesco's at the weekend, i reached for a bottle of Duvel as i had never tried it before.

Duvel is a forth generation family brewer based in Breendonk, Belgium. Duvel (in its current form) was created  in the aftermath of World War One, when a large number of UK troops were deployed on the front in Belgium. As the troops arrived, they brought with them bottled beer to numb the pain of this terrible conflict. Belgium brewers soon got hold of a few bottles and attempted to re-create the beer. After the war the son of  founder of Duvel; Albert Moortgat visited the UK to meet brewers and some learn new techniques. What he brought back from that visit would lead the family on to create Duvel and from there the rest is history. The word Duvel is Brabantian, Ghent and Antwerp dialect for devil. Lets hope that this Golden ale tastes more saintly than its name.

Colour: As per the style; Golden. Its very clear in the glass but also very gassy. It looks like a golden Kristal Weiss beer. When the bubbles being to settle, the color becomes more straw like and looks more like a traditional Weiss beer. Now Duvel is bottle conditioned, which means that the brewer will add a small bit of yeast to each bottle.This continues the fermentation process and also added to the flavor and body of the beer.

Smell: On the nose you are blasted with a banana and clove aroma. All the signs are screaming at me that this is a Weiss beer.I currently feel that the label on the bottle is a bit miss leading. If this is really a Golden Ale then i will have to eat my hat.

Body: Thick white head which holds all the aromas that i explained above. The drink is very rich and creamy. The bubbles tickle the back of your throat on the way down. A couple of minutes after the pour the bubbles are still going strong. They seem to be never ending. If you drank a lot of this very quickly, I guarantee that you would be burping all night long. After about 15 minutes of conversation and  what can be called erm "dancing" i was pleased to see that the bubbles had stopped. The drink then became much more enjoyable.

Taste: As soon as you have a sip you get the taste of lemon, oranges and banana all washed down with a pint of double cream. You get a mildly acidic/ sour after taste which actually cleans and refreshes your mouth. After my first sip, this after taste was a very pleasant surprise.The more i drank this beer the more i started to enjoy it. Personally i think that the temperature is key to unlocking the full flavor behavior of this brew. This drink is best served at 6 degrees.

Look at the bubbles!

Follow me on Twitter for the latest news on reviews @BeefsBrewery