Craft Beer Rising 2015

Craft Beer Rising 2015

After two years of failing to attend Craft Beer Rising, I made it my mission to attend the 2015 event. So last Saturday both Emma and I rose early from our bed to make the fateful trip across London. As Brick lane is located in East London, we decided to purchase day event tickets which ran from 11am to 5pm. After a long train journey, we arrived just as the doors opened. After being handed our beautiful glassware, we firstly walked around the venue in order to get our bearings. After a quick scout to locate our favorite breweries, we settled down on one of the picnic benches in the main hall. We both decided that we would open the festival with a beer from one of London's finest breweries; Beavertown. 

Kevin: Beavertown Moose Fang Imperial Brown. Rating 8/10.

Emma: Beavertown Appleton Bramley Apple Saison. Rating 7/10.

After such a strong start to the day (both of Beavertown's beers where over 7 per cent ABV), we decided (rather foolishly) to continue in the same vein. Since we are going to States in April, we decided to visit some of favourite US breweries; Lagunitas and Founders respectively. 

Kevin: Lagunitas Brown Shugga. Rating 9/10.

Emma: Founders Backwoods Bastard Scotch Ale. Rating 9/10.

After such a high ABV start to the festival, I know we needed to stop for a bite to eat. Fancying a lighter bite, we both plumped for a couple of sausage rolls. Now, I don't normally eat sausage rolls, but oh my god, these were absolutely delicious!  The only thing stopping me buying any more was the sky high price of £4 a roll. That's more than most of the pints of beer on offer at the festival! Daylight robbery I say!!

Shifting gears, I fancied a fruit IPA whilst Emma liked the taste of my last beer so much, she treated herself to some.

Kevin: Bear Hug Hibernation White IPA. Rating 5/10.
Emma: Lagunitas Brown Shugga. Rating 8/10.

It was here that I realised that Emma was starting to get very sqiffy. She had just consumed three halfs of very strong beer in under an hour, so we agree to stop for lunch. Emma plumped for beef brisket sandwich whilst I stuck to one of my festival staples; Bratwurst. Wanting to try a new brewery, I popped over to the Kiwi craft collective stand to try a Earl Grey IPA, whilst Emma (obviously wanting pudding) tried a sticky toffee flavoured beer from Young's.

Kevin: Yeastie Boys Gunnamatta Earl Grey IPA. Rating 9/10 (Beer of the Day).
Emma: Youngs Sticky Toffee Pudding. Rating 7/10

It was at this point that Emma began feeling the effects of the alcohol churning through her system so she decided to skip the next couple of rounds.

Kevin: Glastonbury Ales Equinox Black IPA. Rating 7/10

Kevin: Hop Stuff Amarillo Mild. Rating 6/10. (Emma loved the fact that this brewery used a Arsenal style cannon in thier logo).

Finding a Second wind (or possibly fueled by more sausage rolls and beer sticks), Emma decided she was ready to try a few more brews. She plumbed for a Christmas Ale from Williams brothers, whilst I decided to try Vedett's new IPA.

Kevin: Vedett IPA. Rating 7/10.
Emma: Williams Brothers Sprue Nollaig. Rating 8/10.

Kevin: Saltaire South Pacific Pale. Rating 5/10.
Emma: The Wild Beer Co. Millionaire. Rating 7/10.

It was at this point I realised that Emma had had a little too much to drink and we decided to make for home. Needless to say, the journey home was very eventful and my shoes will never be the same again!

In summary, I really enjoyed Craft Beer Rising. The range of beers on offer was excellent and everyone attending the event was in excellent spirits. I do have a couple of niggling gripes however. Firstly, when we arrived we were told that we could pay in cash for beer rather than use the tokens. Whilst this held true to a few stands, some would only accept tokens. This would often lead to you leaving your pint at the bar and walking to the token booth. Secondly, at most stands you could buy bottles or cans to take away. Wanting to cash in on this opportunity, I asked a few of the bar tenders to sell me an unopened bottle. Some where more than happy to oblige, whilst others flatly told me no. All we ask for is a little bit of consistency guys. Who knows, we may even review the beers we take home......     

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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