Likely Moose

OK, so England are now 2-0 up in the Ashes series. This is good. Unfortunately it’s not going so well for England in the Beer Ashes when in the last test Australia trounced them with their Little Creatures Pale Ale. Can England regain the lost ground with the next category: Golden Ales.

What’s on offer? For England is Ridgeway’s Oxfordshire Blue, and against them Cooper’s Sparkling Ale (Both were £2.09 from Beers of Europe). Similar features of these beers are that they both have a deep golden colour and that they were both bottle conditioned.

The cooper’s was very fizzy. I know I wasn’t to expect a lifeless beer with a name like Sparkling Ale, but this was to a fault. When the beer was first poured the voratious bubbles were almost painful in the mouth. Thankfully it did calm down a bit. The flavour was a there but it wasn’t very well pronounced, a bit thin. To be honest it was what I was first expecting when I ordered these Australian beers. Big fizz – little flavour, but quite refreshing if served freezing cold. As the pint went down a little a few more of the flavours emerged (but I was looking hard). Notes of biscuit and a honey sweetness, some malts and a dry finish. There was little aroma but a buttery smooth mouthfeel.

By contrast the Ridgeways was a thicker, more full bodied affair. I could taste the beers strait away away, which was a plus, which meant it wasn’t so hard to describe. To an Australian I’d say take the idea of the Sparking ale, tone down the bubbles somewhat and add a more malty flavour with a few subtle burnt notes. That’s basically it.

This for me is an easy win for England. I just didn’t get the sparking ale, even on a hot day when, in theory at least, it should have been most refreshing and enjoyable. I much preferred the Oxfordshire Blue. This leaves the current series score at 1-1, not quite as good as the Cricket but were catching up!

With the weather so warm at the moment I need a drink which is really refreshing. Something cold. Something crisp and clean. I want something (I can’t believe I’m saying this) better than a beer. Don’t get me wrong, an ice cold pils would be nice and I wouldn’t kick someone in the eye if they offered one to me, I just need more that that for this thirst. There is, in my mind, only one thing which will fit the bill: a good G&T.

This need is the perfect excuse to crack open a bottle of Adnam’s Gin, which I’ve been holding onto for some time now. Plenty of ice, a good measure of gin, fever tree tonic water and a good portion of lime. Heaven. The gin in question is Adnam’s First Rate Gin (48%) £27.99, not to be confused with their standard copper house Gin, which has 6 different botanicas, this has 13 different botanicals, which are infused into the drink for a wonderful, floral bouquet and a sweet, complex flavour. For me, definitely the best gin I’ve ever had, and with the Fever Tree (widely regarded as one of the better tonics which are easily available (Tesco £1.69) ) probably one of the best G&T’s I’ve ever had.

When it comes to gin I’m no connoisseur, I’ve probably only had about half a dozen different brands but it is hard to see how any other distiller can make anything which can top this. It’s Friday night. It’ the perfect weather. It’s time  for a long drink!

You will probably know about, even if you did not see, the close first test of this year’s Ashes series. Just incase though, it was a very close thing in the end with England just scraping victory. This got me thinking: I wonder what would happen if these two great nations were to fight the Ashes with beer and not cricket? Who would be the winner then? That is why for every test match during the coming Ashes series I am going to try two beers which I have never had before, one Australian and one English. To try and make it fair I have picked beers which are a similar style and are of similar price (where I couldn’t find exactly the same price I gave Australia the price advantage to counterbalance the advantage of the umpire (me) being overbearingly English).

For the first test I had pale ales. Batting for Australia was Little Creature’s Pale Ale and bowling against it was Nottingham breweries Extra Pale Ale (both £2.59 from Beers of Europe). The Little creatures was a great beer, it was hoppy, a real treat with great lemongrass notes to it. A sweetness like jellytots and with only the faintest maltiness which lingered long after. On the other hand the Nottingham  was much more piney and resinous, and way to carbonated for my tastes. At times it almost tasted more akin to a lager than a pale ale. Goes to show you can’t judge a beer by its label.

I must be honest with this, and so I shall be. I am ashamed to say that unlike the real ashes which took place in Nottingham over the weekend, the beer Ashes go one up to Australia. Had these beers gone up to bat the Nottingham would have been lucky to get a run, whereas the Little Creature’s would have knocked it to the boundary for four.

I’d just like to tell the world about a book I’ve just finished reading. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, however, for anyone interested in the subject of cider I feel this is a must read.

Golden Fire by Ted Bruning is basicly a comprehensive history of cider from its possible beginnings millennia ago, to recent business mergers of the major cider industries in recent years. The first few chapters I found were a bit dry and did remind me somewhat of an old history text book from when I was at school. Saying this, when the subject matter moves on to slightly more modern times (when there is more hard evidence and less supposition to be made) the book is easy to read, informative and full of little bits of information which will one day keep the reader in good stead during the ‘history of cider’ round of a pub quiz.

I’m in two minds about the final conclusions of the book, in which Ted asks whether enough is being done to promote high quality “smooth” ciders, which are much more akin to wine than what most of us know as “traditional” or “rough” or “scrumpy”, and that not is being done across the cider industry to educate cider makers and consumers. I’m not sure if cider, being a smaller industry than beer would ever get the investment that he is calling for but at the same time I can’t argue with the fact that if the investment were made then more high quality ciders would be available.

Either way, agree or disagree with the final conclusions of the book, it is a great read and one which i thoroughly recommend to anyone who is interested in cider.

Available to buy at amazon and all good retailers. 

Flicking through the pages of What’s Brewing the other day, I came across an article about two new new industry campaigns, both of which are being backed by CAMRA. The first, http://www.itsbetterdownthepub.com, is a website which asks people to go online and tell the world why it is better drinking in the pub, and specifically their local. I’m not so sure about this, surely the point is that this website should be telling the world why they should be going to the pub, not the other way around?

The other campaign is Let There Be Beer. This is currently on Facebook and Twitter, with their own website expected next month. This is basicly just a big advertising campaign for beer in general. As well as online media there is also a TV advert. I’m guessing that this has been timed so that it can come up against the swaithes of summertime cider adverts which plague the television this time of year.  As well as CAMRA this campaign is being backed by AB-inbev, Carlsberg, Heineken, Miller Brands and Molson-coors. I like the idea of all of the big boys in brewing coming together and just saying “look. Let’s just have a beer”

Last year I couldn’t make it to Cambridge, I was otherwise engaged. I wasn’t too happy about that because I really like Cambridge. They make the effort to make it just that little bit more than a place to sit about with a beard and talk about different malts. For those who haven’t been to Cambridge beer festival before, it takes place in a marquee, set up on Jesus Green and has many outdoor burger vans and doughnut  stands and the like, plus a raft of posh toilets (not something most people think about but really welcome).

Inside the marquee are tombola’s and t-shirt stands, somewhere to buy books and pewter engraving. All of this plus the main attraction: the beer. The beer selection is vast. With literally hundreds (200+ according to the posters) of British real ales to choose from, plus a foreign beer bar, plus a cider and perry bar, plus a a selection of meads plus a selection of country wines. You really couldn’t go to Cambridge and not find something new to try.

I personally was only sable to attend for a few hours and as such only had a few drinks, they were:

• Felstar’s Peckin’ order – 5%. A very refreshing drink, perfect for starting the event with. Lightly carbonated and with a real flavoursome hit.
• Growler’s Mary’s Ruby Mild – 4.5%. Contrasting well with the Peckin’ Order. A dark, thicker more fruity tasting beer. Much more robust and a fine ale.
• Otley’s O1 – 4% – A golden ale, not bad but completely forgettable.
• Lord Conrad’s Sticky Hot Cross Bun – 3.8%. The name suits this beer perfectly. I don’t know whether they were shooting for a beer that tastes like an Easter time treat buy by god did they end up with exactly that. Right down to the butter and raisins. It tastes truly like its namesake. Mind you – it does also look like they boiled up a bun and left it in some hot water overnight as well. Not a looker this one. It was a treat to try but after a half I was finished with it. Becoming more and more sickly with each mouthful. Nice to try but definitely one to buy more than once.

Although the weather hasn’t  been good this week, and apparently earlier on in the week the site was a quagmire, by the time I arrived on the Saturday afternoon, the grass had dried out and everyone was basking in the sunshine with a beer in their hands. You couldn’t have asked for a better end for what was, as ever, a great beer festival.

I couldn’t make it as far as Sheffield. Both financial and logistical blockades put the mockers on that. I will have to wait  until next year before I can see what it’s like at Beer-x. I could make it as far as St. Neots though. Which is a stroke of good luck because it was the same weekend as the St Neots beer and cider festival, known as Booze on the Ouse (the Ouse being the name of the river which flows through St. Neots).

I had already asked all the usual suspects about going to a beer festival, and all of them had politely declined. Either work, otherwise engaged or no money were the main excuses. Undeterred I went by myself, I packed a book to read, thinking I’d be myself.

I arrived in town before the festival had opened and I was ravishingly hungry. The obvious thing to do then was to find the Wetherspoons… which I did. I ordered breakfast and while I waited had my first pint of the day, Salopian Brewery‘s Oracle 4%. This was OK, but nothing to write home about. Breakfast arrived and was quickly demolished. It was then followed by a pint of Hambleton Ale’s Nightmare 5%, a really enjoyable porter.

By this time the festival had opened. The festival takes place in the Priory Centre, just off the main road through the town centre. It’s not the worlds biggest venue, but it just about copes with the number of visitors which arrive. Having got there early enough I was able to grab one of the last seats. I sat down with a half of Elland 1872 6.5%, a rich ported which I was fortunate to try while I was in Manchester at the beginning of the year. I knew how good it was and decided to start with that to make sure I got a sample before it inevitably run out, it being the Champion beer of the National Winter Ales Festival, I’m sure it would go quick.

So, there I was, enjoying my book when I hear “Hi Looke, how are you?” I look up to see Matt, a friend of a friend who I haven’t seen for ages. He explains he is here to meet some friends from his course. Naturally he joined me until his friends arrived and when they did they sat down too. Soon after our newly formed group got talking to a a couple of chaps at the other end of the table we were all at, who’s names I’m at a loss to remember (sorry if your reading this).

The younger of the two really knew his stuff when it came to beer, especially the things from the bottled bar, which I usually don’t care much for. By the end of the day we had many different bottled beers which I usually wouldn’t even entertain, including lambic and gueuze beers. I can see why people say they are an acquired taste in beer, but you know what? I really liked them!

As the afternoon drew on people started to leave, the last train home and things like that were calling. Matt, the chap with all the bottled beer knowledge and myself had one more in The Pig n Falcon, a pub in St Neots, well known for its real ale selection. We then went our separate ways, Matt and myself ending up back at home, where we had a few more at the Flitwick club, before closing time.

All in all, a good day out.

It was my Dad’s birthday a few days ago. He has always liked Adnam’s Broadside and he has always been partial to a whisky. So for his birthday I decided to get him a bottle of Spirit of Broadside, a 43% bottle of distilled Broadside. Anyway, while that was on order I decided I’d make the most of the postage costs and buy myself some beer while I was at it. I looked through the whole Adnam’s website and a few things caught my eye, however there was only one thing out of them that you could buy as a single bottle (I’m not going to get an entire 12 pack of a beer that I don’t even know that I’d like!).

As you could probably tell from the title the beer that I did end up getting was Sole Bay. A beer which was first brewed to celebrate 350 years of brewing. It turns up in it’s own tin which is all snazzy and what-not. The whole thing is a very stylish affair with dates on a timeline printed on the tin and on the bottle, which is both corked and caged (obviously I’m not suggesting it might be a crown cap and caged, that would be silly).

OK, what you actually want to know: It pours a mid amber sort of colour with a decent amount of carbonation and an off white head. I can’t say that I got a huge amount off the nose, a slight biscuit-y note, nothing huge. The taste was very sweet, a little banana but mostly a malty sweetness. In the shpeal on the website it said about adding lavender into the end of the fermentation, not all that noticeable either. There was something else in the mix which I couldn’t quite put my finger on which reminded me of ginger beer, and don’t think ginger, it wasn’t that.

I have to say, although there was nothing wrong with per se, I was hoping for something a bit more bold from this beer. Very enjoyable, although I don’t know if it quite justifies the price for me.

Overall Rating: 7 / 10 

Available at www.adnams.co.uk