Great British Beer Festival 2014

Great British Beer Festival 2014

So last Friday i took the day of work to visit the UK's biggest beer hodown ,the perennial classic known as the Great British Beer Festival. Normally i get so drunk at this festival i never quite remember what i have had to drink, however this year i decided to make a concerted effort to document my beer intake. So let see what i swallowed down my pie hole shall we?

Arbor Ales Yakima Valley
Loaded with American hops; they used twice as many hops as they put into their imperial IPA, then dry-hopped with another few Kilos.

Beef Says "What a great way to start the GBBF! Citrus and mango notes dominate from the get go. The finish is long and dry to perfectly balance the sweet mango notes. Arbor have blown my mind yet again. Top stuff!" Rating: 8

Adnams Topaz Gold
Medium bodied, hints of apricot and lychee hopped with Australian hops; bitter with a crisp finish.

Beef Says; "Normally, I quite like Adnams beers but this is a real let down. Really thin body with nominal notes of the apricots and lychee. I drank this so quickly as I thought it was a glass of squash" Rating: 3

Stumblefoot La Grassy Monk Belgium IPA
Caramel, biscuit malts superbly balanced with an earthy hop bite and juicy citrus. Grapefruit citrus aroma and flavour.

Beef Says; "The worst beer of the day. I could taste none of the above flavours and all I could taste piss vinegar. It tastes more like a lambic than an IPA. What a let down." Rating: 1

After a series of disappointing drinks I picked up an equally dull/flavourless ostrich burger. I hung my head in shame as I picked up slices of plastic cheese to add a bit of flavour to my burger. After moaning to Emma, I decided to play it safe and visit the Czech/Germany bar. Hopefully the Reinheitsgebot will restore faith in this festival.

Schumacher Alt 1838
Fantastic Alt with a deep malty flavour which carries through to the finish. One is never enough!

Beef Says; "Hallelujah, my day has been saved by my first Alt experience. I have never had anything like this this before. It's like drinking toast, butter and jam. Beautifully malty and perfectly balanced. Hell yeah I'm going back for more!" Rating: 9

Portobello White
Brewed with fresh cherries, this wheat beer has low bitterness and flavours of banana, clove, and just a hint of cherries.

Beef says; "Very smooth and perfectly balanced. The cherries lurk in the background and add a tart sweetness to the finish if this beer. Very enjoyable and went perfectly with some chocolate truffles". Rating: 8

Brains Craft Brewery Goedian Knott
An American style 'West Coast IPA' with big hop flavours and bitterness.

Beef Says; "Normally, I love any beer created by the Brains craft brewery, however, this was a let down. Instead of the big hop flavours I was presented with notes of bread and subtle hints of citrus. Reminded me more of a bitter than a West Coast IPA. Real shame". Rating: 6

Windsor and Eton Conqueror
Intensely flavoured black IPA brewed with dark malt but generous amounts of hops for a lingering, complex bitterness.

Beefs says; "Whilst waiting in the queue for the opening of this years Fuller's vintage, I noticed that one of my favourite beers was on sale on one of this years bar. Without haste I ordered a third to enjoy the upfront citrus notes this beer offers. The follow though of the sweet chocolate notes helps to round the drink of perfectly. Great drink to waste a few minutes with whilst queuing for the main event". Rating: 9

Thornbridge Jaipur
Complex, bitter IPA with a fine blend of citrus and grapefruit flavours with a lingering bitter finish.

Beef say; "You always know what your going to get with Jaipur. I love the perfect blending of juicy grapefruit flavours and a mild bitter hop finish. Very smooth and extremely drinkable, the perfect counterpoint to the incoming glass of Fuller's Vintage. I have read numerous articles suggesting that Jaipur is not the drink it once was. Personally, I still think this drink has a lot to offer and I feel that the current trend to hop beers to death has caused people's palates to change and thus expect more from this beer". Rating: 8

Fuller's Vintage 2014
This year's release of Vintage Ale - we are expecting spicy citrus fruit with malty sweet biscuit but we won't know until the casks are opened.

Beef says: "Finally, it's time for the MAIN EVENT!!! This years Fuller's vintage really hits the spot. This barley wine is full of citrus notes on the nose followed by sweet molasses and toffee on the tongue. Much more enjoyable than last years high octane addition. A real drink to savour and well worth the half an hour wait". Rating: 9.5 (Beer of the Day).

Pelican Silverpoint IPA
Blend of Sterling, Fuggles and Meridian hops, focusing on herbal, floral, spicy and tangerine like characters.

Beef says; "After the disappointment of the stumblefoot, Pelican Silverpoint helped to restore my faith in the US beer on offer at the GBBF. Beautifully hopped to produce aromas of spiced oranges. This also translates to the taste complemented with delicate hints on soft elderflower. I really enjoyed this beer and I wish managed to drink it earlier in the festival (my memory of my day becomes slightly hazy at this point)". Rating: 8

Geeves Captain Gingerbread
Naturally hazy pale wheat beer infused with ginger; spicy refreshing and with a hint of citrus.

Beef says; "The warming ginger is perfectly counter pointed by notes of tart lemon. Spicy on the nose and tongue, this is a perfect winter warmer for people who do not like dark beers or those with a high alcohol content". Rating: 7

So that was my GBBF for 2014 and I must say, this was the best of my three visits so far. The increase amount of seating was a welcomed addition, as was the theming of the event (as a circus). The pricing remains the same as in previous years and the range of beers on offer is superb. However my two gripes would be the food and the lack of London based breweries. Whilst I'm not expecting gourmet cuisine, when I pay over five pounds for a burger, I'm expecting something better than a cheap, smooth "Tesco value" esc. burger. The addition of Meantime, Kernel, Partizan and Brew by Numbers would help to heal the wounds between both the craft beer and real ale communities. Here's hoping for next year!

Good Day, Good Sir!

Nicholson's Spring Beer Festival

Nicholson's Spring Beer Festival 

Whilst at the Beer Academy last tuesday, I meet the director of the Free Beer App, Bradley Channer who kindly invited me to join him at Nicholson's Pubs Beer and Food Matching in association with Brains Brewery. Now I never turn down a free meal (or beer for that matter) so i jumped at the chance. Upon arrival I was pleased to learn that this event was indeed a precursor for Nicholson Spring Beer Festival. Running from March the 24th till April the19th, the festival will showcase some of the finest beers throughout the UK. Brain's brewery will providing four beers for the festival, all of which were matched to the nights food.

The Solution (6.0% ABV) - Award-winning beer writer Peter Brown collaborated with Brains to produce The Solution - An abbey-style Belgian dubbel traditionally brewed by Trappist monks in Belgium. Using Munich and Dark Crystal malts, Saaz and Styrian Golding hops and a traditional Trappist yeast, this dark, full bodied and complex beer is full of rich, fruity plum flavours with sweet raisin aroma and spicy warming finish. This beer was paired with olives in order to cut through the saltiness and refresh your palate.  

Three C'Son (5.0% ABV) - Beer writer Adrian Tierney-Jones collaborated with Brians for the Continental Beer Challenge to produce Three C-Son, a traditional farmhouse Saison with an added twist of three American Hops - Centennial, Columbus, Citra - giving the name Three-C'son. The sweet nose of ripe peach and citrus, a green apple snappiness on the palate and a hint of white pepper combines with an earthy spice from the use of a traditional Saison yeast that is followed by a firm, refreshing finish. This beer was paired with chicken liver pate. The rich pate was excellently balanced against the fruity backdrop of Three C'sons. My favorite beer of the night!

Rye Catcher (5.0% ABV) - Winner of the annual Continental Beer Challenge this American rye beer was brewed in collaboration with Glenn Payne. Using Rye and Rye Crystal malts to provide a spicy malt base and a vibrant copper colour to this beer, it's powerfully hopped with Apollo, Columbus, Amarillo and Citra from the USA, producing an assertive bitterness with robust flavours of citrus and grapefruit. This drink was partnered with a Iberian Black Pig Burger.  For me this did not work that well as a pairing as the saltiness from the burger muted the flavour of the beer. The IPA was however excellent and gave Three C'sons a close run for beer of the night. 

Boilermaker (6.5% ABV) - Crowned the "Ultimate IPA' in Brains inaugural annual collaboration brew challenge, "Thinking Drinkers" Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham worked with the brewery to produce a Welsh IPA, matured with Penderyn whisky infused oak chips from the distillery, resulting in a complex and fruit beer with a warming whiskey buzz. A sweet beer to compliment a sticky toffee pudding. The sweetness from both blended perfectly to create a sticky sensation that stayed with me all night long.

Not to be outdone, Nicholson’s Pubs will launching their new collaboration beer by british journalist, author and presenter Danny Wallace and Truman’s brewery during the Spring Ales Festival. Tom Ditto IPA (5% ABV) has been created to mark the release of Wallace’s new novel 'Who is Tom Ditto?' set for release on the 24th April (my birthday none the less, so perhaps this can be my birthday pint?)

After having a look through the festival list, I am most excited about the following beers; Charles and Wells/Dogfish Head DNA, Great Heck Shankar IPA, World Top Marmalade Porter, Itchen Valley Blackberry Mild, Peerless Down Under and Oakham Citra (which I reviewed at the beginning of the year, here is the review http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/oakham-ales-citra.html). In short, I will certainly be getting a couple of tasting bats over the course of the next month thats for sure! Who's with me?

Here is the full Festival Programme http://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/pdf/nicholsons-festival-programme.pdf

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Glastonbury Ales Thriller Rare Cappuccino Porter

 Glastonbury Ales Thriller Rare Cappuccino Porter

Style: Porter

Alcohol content: 5%

From: Glastonbury (Somerton), Somerset, UK

Purchased from: Brew Shop

Last weekend, I took a trip to visit my Grandparents in Somerset. They live around fifteen minutes away from Glastonbury; the site of the famous music festival. As the big supermarkets now tend to stock more regional ales, it was the perfect excuse to get some new brews. In total i came home with 15 different ales. I think my poor Nan thinks i have a drinking problem (that was was a interesting conversation to have). As part of my trip i really wanted to visit the brewery at Glastonbury ales. Over the past few years, my dad has been bringing back some of there product to try and i have always wanted to meet the team behind the beer.

I got to the brewery on a very wet Saturday morning where i was greeted by owner Paul. I began looking at the range they had on offer when Paul over heard me talking to my Dad about how i was not to keen on one of their beers. Paul asked me why i didn't like it and i told him that one of their amber ales was to bitter for my tastes. I then explained that this could of been due to the temperature i served it at. I learnt the hard way not to drink ales straight from the fridge. For about 20 minutes myself and Paul chewed the fat about the craft brewing industry and i ask what his plans were for 2013. His mission was simple: expand into London. As i live near the city, i offered him some help and advice. In return Paul gave me a bottle of Hedge Monkey to try. (Thanks mate!) I also brought three different beers from Paul; The Mystery Tor, Love Monkey and Thriller. All of which will naturally appear on this blog. (Aren't you luck!)  As i have yet to review a Porter, i though that Thriller would be a good place to start. So onto the review. 

Thriller Night?

Colour: Black as your hat (which is actually the name of one of Glastonbury's other brews). If you hold the glass up to the light, you can not see thought it. In my eyes, that a sign of a good porter. On the pour you get a light brown head which will stay with you throughout the drink. 

Smell: On the nose you get a big hit of Coffee. The coffee smell comes from the roasted malts and ground coffee beans the brewers at Glastonbury add during the brewing process. You can also smell hints of dark chocolate. As i was drinking this with my old man, i asked him his opinion. He described the smell as "nutty". I'm not entirely sure how he got that from this drink but each to their own.

Body: In the glass you can see that this porter is quite thick. It looks very rich and luxurious. Now since i have been drinking craft beers, i have come across only a few drink which have a body similar to Guinness. As a fan of the black stuff, i was thrilled to see that this porter had a similar body. On the palate, the drink is very smooth and creamy due to the low levels of carbonation in the bottle. This is a beer that you can take your time over. Perfect for those cold evenings by the fire. 

Taste: Since i have been writing this blog i have learnt not to take a large first sip. The first sip should be one where you can get to know the character of beer. Explore real flavors so to speak. So when i had my first sip of the Thriller, I was pleased to say i was blown away. It was like drinking a black Americano with a lovely milky latte finish. The beer is so rich and satisfying that you always want to go back for more. However, the drink is surprisingly light compared to Guinness and you will not feel bloated after a session. Quite frankly this beer has entered into my top 5 beers of all time (so far). I just wish that i could get it down here in West London. Pull you finger out craft brew pubs!

Proper Job!

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