Lovibonds Dark Porter

Lovibonds Dark
Style: Porter
Alcohol content: 4.8%
From: Henley Upon Thames, England, UK
Purchased from: Waitrose, Windsor
http://www.lovibonds.co.uk/

The brewing bug bit Jeff Rosenmeier in 1994 after tasting a friend's home made stout. Jeff couldn't believe the result and bought brewing equipment, soon discovering a hidden passion. Jeff moved to Henley-on-Thames in 1996 and fell in love with the beauty of the area. He continued to develop his brewing skills while taking a keen interest in the town's rich brewing tradition and the up and coming craft brewing movement.

In June 2005, Jeff decided to make his passion his day job, leaving behind a successful career in software engineering. He set up a small brew plant on his property and began piloting his flagship beers on a small scale. Jeff said, "I started delivering beer in small quantities to a few free houses in Henley and Reading and I was really encouraged by the response of our first customers".

The inspiration for the Lovibonds name came when Jeff was viewing a site in Henley for the brewery, which had previously been home to John Lovibond and Sons, Brewers and Merchants. Jeff said, "We were discussing the uses of the building through its history and the existing tenant handed me a lovely antique Lovibonds bottle. I loved the name and was impressed by the respect that the brand had locally, and so Lovibonds Brewery was formed."

Colour: Dark as the night sky with a thick white or slightly tanned head on the pour. Like all good porters, this head stays with you thought out the life time of this beer.

Aroma: On the nose you are all most over whelmed by notes of rich Arabica coffee mixed with rich hints of dark chocolate. If you really get your nose in the glass you can pick out very faint hints of liquorice. Personally I really dislike liquorice as it reminds me of the black jack sweets I used to get given at school. Oh those painful memories! Hopefully the beer won't taste lie them otherwise its going straight down the sink.

Body: As with most porters, this drink is quite heavy and thick. It certainly is a very slow sipper. Rather oddly, this beer leaves no stickiness as on the that after its drunk.

Taste: Due to the heavy use of dark malts in the making of this beer, rich smoky coffee flavours are abundant. It is almost like some one has lit a fire and the smoke has permeated into the drink itself. This has produced a very robust taste which may put off someone who is new to this style of drink. There are also faint hints of dark chocolate with a slight acidic or mineral aftertaste. This mineral quality comes from the hard water that can be found in the area around Henley upon Thames. This beer would be the perfect accompaniment to a rich creamy British Stilton. Lordy my mouth is watering already.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/left-hand-brewery-black-jack-porter.html
Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/brewdog-dead-pony-club.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery

Dark Star Espresso Beer

Dark Star Brewery Espresso Beer

Style: Stout

Alcohol Content: 4.2%

From: Ansty, West Sussex, England, UK

Purchased From: Waitrose
http://darkstarbrewing.co.uk/

The Dark Star Brewery Company started, in 1994, as a small plant squeezed into a corner of the cellar of The Evening Star Pub, in Brighton. The company was founded by entrepreneur Peter Halliday, publican Peter Skinner, and brewer Rob Jones. At that time it was known as Skinner's brewery, but there was another Skinner's brewery in Cornwall, so the name was changed to Dark Star, after Jones's successful recipe for porter.(The resemblance between the names "Dark Star" and "Evening Star" is coincidental). It soon became apparent before long that the brewery could not keep up with the growing demand from the Evening Star’s drinkers, let alone the demand for its beers from other pubs.

In 2001 the brewery relocated to a new purpose-built brewery in Ansty, near Haywards Heath, from where it supplied the Evening Star with a selection of its beers, along with its sister pubs: The Stand Up Inn, Lindfield and The Duke of Wellington, Shoreham-by-Sea. A free trade to other pubs in Sussex and the rest of the UK developed at this time. Upon moving to Ansty, Mark Tranter became Head Brewer before leaving the business in March 2013.

A new 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m2) site in Partridge Green was opened by Roger Protz in early 2010. This led to a fourfold increase in production, and Dark Star becoming the second largest brewery in Sussex. In 2011 the brewery acquired the The Partridge public house in Partridge Green as a brewery tap.

You wanna get a cuppa coffee?

Colour: A very dark brown or an almost black beer. On the pour you will be rewarded with a luscious white head that is almost as thick and creamy as what you can find on a Guinness. Unfortunately this does not last and the head dissipates down to a light brown foam after five minutes.

Aroma: Well the clue is in the name of this beer. Strong coffee and vanilla notes will fill your nostrils with every sip that you take. The coffee is so potent that it is extremely hard to pick out any other aromas from this beer.

Body: This beer is very sticky on both the lips and in the mouth. The coffee beans make this quite heavy to drink. Have you ever had a large black coffee from Starbucks and found it difficult to finish it all? If so, you may also find this with this beer. In fact this beer took me over an hour to finish.

Taste: When I first tasted this beer, it reminded me of the first time that I tried coffee in the USA. My face grimmest as I was totally not expecting this beer to taste so much like a cup of coffee. Since I started writing about craft beer, I have often been let down by beers that claim to be enriched with coffee beans, so I was pleasantly surprised by this brew. It's fairly bitter and it really tastes like an espresso. This is due to the freshly ground Arabica beans that are added during the fermentation process. What is most interesting about this beer is that the flavour mellows over time.

Something Similar: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/glastonbury-ales-thriller-rare.html
Something Different: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/thornbridge-wild-swan.html

For the latest reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery

Kozel Dark Lager

Kozel Dark Lager

Style: Dark Lager

Alcohol Content: 3.8%

From: Velké Popovice near Prague, Czech Republic

Purchased From: Prague Airport

Velkopopovický Kozel is a Czech lager produced since 1874.In that year, Franz Ringhoffer founded a brewery in Velké Popovice near Prague. Their symbol is a goat (Kozel is "goat" in Czech).

The first historical mention of the brewery dates back to the 14th century. The brewery in Velvet Popovice, as we know it today, has its origins in the 19th century. After years of disagreements and the gradual decline of the brewery, it was bought by a rich industrial tycoon, Frantisek Ringhoffer, who was the Mayor of Smíchov and one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Czechoslovak history.

The brewery was built in 1875, and the first batch of Kozel beer was brewed in the same year. The brewery, thanks to its owner, introduced new technologies, giving rise to its modern history. At the turn of the 19th to 20th century the brewery passed through its second major reconstruction and its production capacity was increased to 90,000 hectoliters per year from the original 18,000 in the beginning.

After thirty years of socialism the brewery achieved independence in 1991 and in 1992 became a public limited company. In 2002, Kozel merged with the brewery Radegast and the Pilsner Urquell brewery conglomerate SAB Miller.

This beer was the first I tried when I arrived in Prague back in November 2012. I was so impressed with this beer, that I would go back time and time again. So please enjoy this review and try some of this beer if you get your hands on it.

Colour: On the pour, you are greeted with a luxurious dark ruby brown beer. If you hold this beer up to the light, you will notice a reddish Vimto like coloration. One of the most interesting features of this beer is the light brown foamy head. The head is also made up of quite large bubbles and it will stay with you throughout this drink. It's not very often that you find a beer that has a head like this, so enjoy it while you can.

Aroma: On your first sniff you are greeted with beautiful toasted malts and chestnut notes. The dark malts used in this brew give this drink a slight Guinness like quality. Sniffing deeper the drink smells like dark chocolate digestives which have been crushed up to form a cheesecake base.

Body: Normally with dark beers you would expect this brew to feel quite heavy in the mouth. However, this beer performs like a black IPA. A good comparison would be Windsor and Eton's conqueror that I reviewed earlier. Light but also quite rich (if such a thing exists). The body is very similar to an IPA, but after the first sip you realize your drinking something a bit heavier.

Taste: Well, where do i start wit this beer. There are a lot of flavors fluxing though this beer. The first thing you will notice is the rich nutty chocolate quality. If you have ever eaten a Cadbury's whole nut chocolate bar then this is what you get in this lager. The beer is sweet, but it is not overwhelming. You can also pick up the lightest of coffee notes but as this beer is only slightly hopped this is not heavily defined. This beer would go very well with rich gamey meat such as venison. It's so versatile that it would also go will with a stemmed ginger pudding.

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