Greetings one and all, to the somewhat belated December beer bottle blog! Apologies it has taken so long, but having got all the photos sorted, the words written and beers drunk, there has been rather a lot going on between the finalising of the review and actually uploading everything. Wine tastings (which I will tell you all about in due course, once I have had a chance to take stock, write all my notes up and sort through the photographs), Beer Festivals and visits from some good friends have all taken weekends and evenings away from me where I would be able perch in front of my keyboard to tell you about my latest escapades. Regardless of the tardiness, we’re here now and hopefully some of what I tried last month will make you thirsty or show you the route to something enjoyable! Read on and enjoy!
As ever, thankyou for taking the time to read this blog and I hope you found some of it useful – please feel free to leave some feedback below the line or share this on social media! There’ll be another beer bottle blog coming for January’s beers and this time, it will focus on the stock at the Crosby Beer Bottle Shop, which has upped its game in terms of stock over the last six months to get some rather exciting stock in for us all!
Until next time, Pedro.
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It has been a busy and burgeoning year in brewing, beer and imbibing around the United Kingdom during 2015. There are seemingly more breweries than at any point for generations (at least since the pre-war during the 1930s) and for definite a threshold has been hit for the number of beer festivals occurring in the country. The festivals themselves seem to have more thought, more effort and more facets along with a greater sense of involvement and participation from the festival-goer in mind than ever before too. [Data taken from National Archives (1901 Census), Strategy for the Historic Industrial Environment - The Brewing Industry: A report by the Brewery History Society for English Heritage (February 2010), Telegraph Newspaper 2015]. Despite a number of harbinger articles being published during this year, there doesn’t seem to be much sign of the ‘craft beer’ bubble bursting; things still seem pretty healthy, although it still isn’t stopping some from proclaiming that ‘craft is dead’ and that some breweries are now in fact ‘post-craft’. Put simply, there is still an awful lot of noise being created and superfluous nonsense being touted. As long as breweries are still producing their beers, pushing their technical prowess and their kit, business remains viable and people are still passionate about their products and consumables, then there will still be interesting and quality beer available to drink. In another major piece of news that broke as I was doing my final proof read of this article, Camden Brewery sold up to AB Inbev to a lot of backlash and a barrage of blog posts and online articles. You’ll be pleased to hear that I’m staying away from this one, there are plenty of opinion pieces out there for you to form your own picture of how this may pan out. In regard to that last thought, I have decided to (like many other writers it seems) publish my most enjoyed beers of 2015. This distillation is something I have wrangled with for a few weeks, poring over my notes and Untappd application, trying to remember what I have tried and what really stood out. There are some beers I regard as absolutely fine and technical brews – interesting and diverse styled beers which were a pleasure to drink and certainly got me thinking, but this list is about the beers I would return to time and time again for enjoyment, where I wouldn’t have to be in a certain mood to enjoy them or pick a specific food pairing to have them at their best. It’s all very subjective, so feel free to rant or pick your favourites below the line, I enjoy the feedback! Also for this article, you lot are very very lucky, lucky enough to have some extra reading (so much so this might be a two-sitting article for you) in the form of some opinions of other excellent beer blogger, brewers, industry folk and acclaimed writers. I am very privileged to host them here on the ElectroKemist pages. But first, my own top ten; – I’m not that definitive about the choices I’m afraid that this would be my correct order in a few weeks. But based on notes, memories and latest tastings, these are the big boys of 2015:
Aside from the above list, there were a raft of excellent beers from 2015 that didn’t quite make the cut; beauties like MRS Brown from Siren Craft, Double Jakehead from Wylam, Rhubarb and Custard saison from Mad Hatter and Firestone Walker’s Easy Jack IPA were all. So, who do we have to give us their highlights of 2015 and a sneaky peek into what 2016 might hold for us…? Carry on reading…
2. What are your top 3 beers of 2015 and why? High Wire Grapefruit from Magic Rock is a killer little can, so so pleased those guys have got their canning line up and running - they're an awesome brewery and a shining star of the UK scene for me. Nitro Milk Stout from BrewDog - yeah yeah, I'm biased because I work for them, but this truly is one of the best dark beers I've ever had, it's just the right level for a solid sessionable stout, and the nitro kicks ass! An exciting development for team BrewDog and one I hope we experiment more with in the coming year! Fruit Tap 2 Lemonade from Omnipollo - this tasted like R Whites ice lollies, lemon sorbet and sherbet straws. It shows what beer can be if you really fuck with it, and it tasted absolutely astounding. Delicious, lip-smacking, slurptastic and it looked like a slush puppie! Omnipollo are really delivering, and I can't wait to see what they come up with next. 3. Was there anything else notable for you this year on the scene good or bad? The number of breweries selling out to big beer hasn't been great. The day Ballast Point sold to Constellation was a pretty sad day, I'd just come back from visiting them in San Diego and loved the passion, heart and soul that ran through the brewery. I do not believe that that will be sustained long term by this buyout. There was a stage this year when we had a brewery selling each week, and it really felt like something changed, but those who believe that independence is critical to 'craft' beer were vocal about it (online and offline) and it was good to see the commitment from the community shining through. 4. What are you most looking forward to for 2016? THE BEER! Beer is in a brilliant place, albeit overshadowed by some disappointing moves, but ultimately brewing has come a long way and I'm excited to see what new brews will launch in 2016 . I also really really want to go to Colorado. So if that happens, I am looking forward to it... You can get more of Sarah via these channels: https://www.twitter.com/sarahfwarman youtube.com/blackenedblonde
2. What are your top 3 beers of 2015 and why? There are far more than three but the top of mind are Burning Sky Cuvee, Northern Monk Hawthorn & Pear Wit and Salopian Boomerang. 3. Was there anything else notable for you this year on the scene good or bad? There's been a lot more bitchiness creeping in and that can jog on. Hearing new brewers whose beers are appalling then slagging off good ones was a particular low. The high for me was seeing breweries that had huge potential but not quite there yet (for me, anyway), Five Points being a notable one, finally kicking on that extra gear and fulfilling the potential was really, really heart-warming. 4. What are you most looking forward to for 2016? Beer becoming more of a feature on restaurant lists. You can follow Melissa Cole on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/MelissaCole
Its nice when budding brewers come in to Liverpool Craft Beer to chat about their brewing ideas and then six months later you see them just getting on with it and launching a brewery. It’s a privilege to be part of the conversation with any new brewer that is at their first stages of developing their brewery dreams. The scene for craft beer in Liverpool is growing. There are a bunch of bars 100% dedicated to it – Brewdog, 23 Club, BlackLodge and maybe even Dead Crafty Beer Co in 2016 hopefully. There are also so many more independent bars having a great local craft beer offer as standard now. The Craft Beer Expo has played a key part in this – showcasing to local bars and pubs what is available across the UK and locally. Love Lane Pale Ale and Mad Hatter’s Penny Lane Pale, on taps permanently or semi-permanently on a lot more bars throughout Liverpool is confirmation that the beer scene is maturing on both fronts – production and consumer level. People want access to good reliable beer that is made locally and with integrity. There is room for the left field mega craft beers (Mad Hatter knows this more than most!) and the consistent more accessible range from LCB. When we run our bars and I get the chance to come out the brewery cave and talk to people, I always get the vibe that Liverpool people want their money to stay in Liverpool. The rise of the independent sector in Liverpool is testimony to that. Breweries have to answer that call by making good beer that meets lots of different types of drinker – it’s up to us to embrace it or turn people off. I do think Liverpool is getting that balance right and there is so much room for more too. Liverpool is brewery friendly! I do believe the age of just setting up a brewery and working things out as you go has passed, The market is too sophisticated, too connected and too critical to learn as you go now. You have to have a state of high readiness from the get go. Launching a brewery now, needs recipes spot on, a clear marketing and branding strategy and really decent kit. On one side I think this is a rise in standards for small scale brewing, but also means it’s impossible or incredibly tough for the underfunded scrappy upstarts. I think Liverpool has room for more small brewing but you have to be imaginative, think about your business model and not just default to a wholesale business model. I speak to so many people who think making good beer is enough – it isn’t. Understanding and getting to your market is vital. Hopefully this creates a dynamic and imaginative sub sector within brewing. People with passion but not lots of money may be forming a new type of brewery sector that includes retail, cuckoo brewing or whatever – I’m hoping Liverpool experiences these things in the coming year. 2. What are your top 3 beers of 2015 and why? I’m terrible at remembering beers and I don’t do untappd (as I think its weird brewers scoring each others beers… no issue with untappd, mostly)! So here goes and apologies to brewers if I don’t get the names right! Cloudwater Summer Range Lager 5.5% I do believe pain and suffering has to be in your journey for it to be ‘craft’, but just because you seem to be well funded, doesn’t mean your commitment is any less, or your risk is less or anything really. I don’t know any of the guys at Cloudwater (too many kids, never go out, terrible networker) but I really respect their journey in beers. Cloudwater have developed some really thoughtful and considered beers in their first year. I’m a big fan of British Lagers and respect the cost and commitment it takes to make them. A British lager from completely British ingredients, like their summer release, that tastes this good is a real wake up call for our homegrown ingredients and talent. Madhatter Brewery Tzatziki Sour 4.5% What a stupid idea this beer was, ‘Greek Yoghurt’ beer. Let’s all go running to the pub for this... Then I had it at The Indy Man and I think I hugged the brewer; it’s an absolute stroke of genius. My compliments were gushing, slurred and in copious amounts. It’s an Incredibly refreshing but unusual sour, so much going on with it, aroma all over the place, so many different layers and length of taste. I had several – it’s great; a sign of imagination, skill and risk taking when Madhatter puts out a beer like this. Well done to them – I loved it, and I love that they’re in Liverpool. Wylam Jakehead IPA 6.2% Two guys came came up to me at the LCB bar at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo and told me they were brewers. They were asking about our Love Lane Pale Ale, they were very nice and polite and listened to my whole spiel about how breweries need to think bigger and focus on at least one beer in their portfolio. My lecture went on for about 5-7 minutes (which is an age at a bar in a busy festival). I eventually asked who they brewed for. “Wihay man we’re from Wylam, been going for about 20 years now and doin alreet with Jakehead like.’ I said well done, quickly realized my lesser place in this conversation and followed them to their bar and had a Jakehead IPA. It’s a top IPA made by a bunch of great people whom I have had the pleasure of getting a more than a bit tipsy with. If they’re reading this they owe me an expensive coffee as I got the last round for just about everyone at Leeds Brewers Market. I’ll settle for a case of Jakehead… 3. Was there anything else notable for you this year on the scene good or bad? I hate seeing small-scale brewers being competitive with each other – if you sell 100% of your product then what’s the problem? Liverpool needs a few more players to mix it up for customers and raise the standard because that’s what healthy competition does. The Liverpool area has a nice brewing scene now and this will hopefully go from strength to strength. I can’t abide overly competitive behaviour between small brewers local to each other, and hope Liverpool steers clear of this, there is enough room for everyone and then some. A high tide keeps all the ships afloat – meaning if we make good beer, act responsibly and sell it fairly we all do well. When breweries gossip about each other behind each other’s backs – they put a good scene at risk. We don’t have to be working together logistically, but we shouldn’t be working against each other. 4. What are you most looking forward to for 2016? Being part of the launch for Black Lodge Brewing was an amazing (if stressful!) experience. For me personally it shows what you can do in only six months if you really commit to something, have the right people and the right idea. We had major problems getting it ready and a very tight budget, but you just have to work the problems until you get there – it’s that logic that separates the doers from the talkers and it’s hard work. This is a tough market that is over legislated for our size, and has a developing and critical consumer – nothing comes easy! Black Lodge Brewing is a small accessible brewery that has ‘local’ at its core. I can’t wait to see how it develops as it brews with more and more people. I’m particularly looking forward to training new brewers on the small ½ barrel kit - which is just a dream to brew on. Young brewers and brewsters are cutting their teeth at Black Lodge and I’m really excited about seeing their reactions to their first beers. All the Black Lodge staff already are or in the process of becoming brewers; if you come to the Lodge, you speak to someone who is creating something – food, beer whatever. On a less local note I’m actually looking forward to the challenges of brewing for 2016. The 2015 Hop Report was terrible and the Barley report may have a few problems too! It highlights to me the connected spirit of brewing, socially, agriculturally and financially. Farmers in the US and Germany and our own country (amongst others) have been working tirelessly to bring in hop and barley crops to a high spec in enough volume under challenging conditions. It’s been incredibly difficult due to weather and other factors. As 2016 goes on there will be creative and technical challenges for brewers to overcome. And finally end customers may have to adjust their palates to new hop varieties or uses of limited stocks of familiar hops. Change is good! On top of that, there has been an unusual barley crop that may not last in storage for as long as we expect, or have the necessary enzymes we need as brewers to feed the yeast! Whilst it’s disappointing what’s happened it does remind us that brewing relies on farmers and farmers rely on weather. We’re not immune to nature. What we have been given this year we should be grateful for to the farmers, hop merchants and maltsters. It takes a long chain of dedicated people to get that pint in our glass - brewing is just a part of it. So rather than feel sorry for ourselves about poor crops or feel hard done by, this will make us work harder to create new brews, up our technical game and learn about new hops. It’s frightening but really refreshing on many levels; 2016 – a challenging year that will create a new brewery on a lot of fronts.
2. What are your top 3 beers of 2015 and why? Each year I try and produce my own top 10 list; here's an excerpt of my top 3 from this years blog: Mikkeller – Nelson Sauvin (Bottle) Mikkeller have had quite a good year. Their ‘sponten’ range has really been thought provoking, especially the single Hop beers, but it's a big sharing beer that clinched my third place, the behemoth that is Nelson Sauvin (Brut). Brewed at the Proef Brewery in Belgium, they really managed to get the most out of this expensive and delicious hop to produce a beer I simply wanted more of & embarrassingly, I may have even licked the bottle dry! Buxton – Yellow Belly (Cask) Second place in my 2015 goes to an established brewer who produced two outstanding beers this year, Buxton. What came between them was simply the method of dispense. Sometimes you have to try a beer poured the right way to decide and for me Yellow Belly served on Cask edged out Yellow Belly Sundae. The slightly warmer dispense and lack of slightly sharp carbonation really highlighted the nutty, biscuity flavours and left the beer with a super smooth finish. Stone – Enjoy By IPA 14/02/2015 (Bottle) A short description could never really do it justice, so let me leave it with “This is simply the most complete hop experience I have ever tried all tied together with a deceptively delicate but refreshing body which leaves your mouth in total harmony and your body wanting more”. Not only my favourite of this year, but probably my favourite pale beer ever made. 3. Was there anything else notable for you this year on the scene good or bad? The North West has attracted a lot of interest due to the fantastic beer being produced by its craft brewers and this attraction has been both positive and negative. While the larger, established brewers have been much slower to respond, a plethora of new microbreweries have opened to fill local demand. Breweries such as 3 Pots, Black Lodge, Deva, Neptune, Red Star and Rock the Boat are all producing beer which is not only worth trying, but is now helping further the interest in our local beer. Things haven't all been good however as other contract breweries such as Oceanic (Oceanic Steam Navigation Company Liverpool) have been quick to exploit this popularity and despite multiple opportunities to join the local beer scene, still remain non-transparent and aloof. A further negative has to be the reduction of brewing at Wapping Brewery. While they are continuing to brew their popular Summer Ale on site, sadly they will no longer be brewing the dark beers that provided my main draw. 4. What are you most looking forward to for 2016? Besides the Independence Day sequel? Well, now I've finished my Wirral Pub Challenge where I visited all Real Ale pubs within the Wirral CAMRA branch catchment area this year, I'm hoping to relax and enjoy plenty of great beer in some great pubs. I'd like to try my hand at home brewing, but have no aspirations of opening up a brewery (yet), I just hope to learn a little more about beer. I'm slightly worried about the forecasted hop shortage but after trying the fantastic adjunct beers available this year I am cautiously “hoptimistic” that things will be better than ever. Rob’s own top-ten for the year is published on his own site here: [http://wirralerob.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/2015-top-10-beers.html], though after that final pun, I was so tempted to edit him out…
4. What are you most looking forward to for 2016? What am I most looking forward to in 2016? I suppose first and foremost it is having more ladies attend our sessions and joining LTB. Then this will enable us in expanding on what we do, not only holding social evenings, but also days out locally and others further afield. Finally, we are looking to hold more events such as bottle shares and food/beer pairings and engage with local brewers in making some collaboration brews, so watch this space! Tom Stapley, founder and head-honcho of #Craftbeerhour on Twitter and beyond: 1. What has been the biggest positive for the brewing/beer scene in 2015 for you? I think cans were a great introduction in 2015 (particularly here in the UK). I don’t think the scene needed a lift (it was already buzzing) but I do think that cans have been a great addition on lots of different levels. 2. What are your top 3 beers of 2015 and why? This is a cruel question as inevitably many amazing beers get left out, but I do love an IPA and in 2015 I think we were utterly spoilt. Scoring big points for me were Vocation Life & Death, BrewDog Jack Hammer, Five Points IPA and Moor Hoppiness. But if I had to call out an absolute favourite, it would be Wild Beer Co – Madness IPA. Great colour, fantastic aroma, and beautiful fruity flavours. It’s just so moorish. I'm a big fan! In 2015 on Craft Beer Hour we had the pleasure of 35 fantastic breweries independently hosting the hour for us. It has become a great way to discover new beers every week. Although I can recall the buzz and general theme surrounding every hour, there’s one particular beer which I think took everyone by surprise, and that was Electric Bear Cherry Blackout. Generally I’m not even a fan of cherry, but if it’s a velvety, smooth, chocolatey stout that you like, this is a must-buy. There are other beers that I bought far more often than this one, but for innovation and creativity / the weird and wonderful, Mad Hatter always shout originality. And so the Mad Hatter A Night Out has been one of my favourite beers of 2015. I love introducing people to it too because while it's so unusual, it's also brilliantly palatable. The papaya peach and coconut are both really recognisable – as is the chilli! 3. Was there anything else notable for you this year on the scene good or bad? I think the rise in tap rooms at breweries (both dedicated ones and others where breweries open their doors on a given weekend) has been brilliant for the scene. Also, a special mention has to go to amazing street food vendors that have become an integral part of the scene in my opinion. I joked about it on my blog recently, but 2015 was definitely the year of the brioche bun for me! I had many. 4. What are you most looking forward to for 2016? I'm genuinely looking forward to more of the same. Plus, there is a lot to look forward to on Craft Beer Hour this year... so watch this space! You can find out more about Tom and Craftbeerhour here: Website: www.craftbeerhour.com Twitter: @CraftBeerHour
2. What are your top 3 beers of 2015 and why? My Top three beers (in no given order) are: Hippy Berliner by 8 Wired Brew Co. A Berliner Weisse which is straw coloured, fruity mainly tropical aroma with good level of sourness with just enough tartness. I really have been getting into my sour beers this last year and did not realise what I have been missing. Wheat by Black Kite Brewery A classic hefeweizen beer lead by their German brewmaster. Orange in colour with aroma of straw, yeast and wheat. The perfect wheat beer to have during this hot HK summer. Cha Chaan Teng Gose by Young Master Ales Brewery Light gold colour, with a salted lime. Refreshing taste, tartness and hint of salt. Next too sour beers, Gose is a new favourite beer style. The Young Master Brewery has put out a lot of great beers from Limited edition Rey Ø, Tai Sui, Ashes of Time and Yellow Mare Black Stallion. So it was a hard call to put this as the pick of the bunch. 3. Was there anything else notable for you this year on the scene good or bad? The other most notable thing in HK scene is the increase in peoples interest in home brewing. 2015 Home Brewing Competition had well over 60 entries (much more than previous year), this included myself with only my second ever homebrewed beer. This and the media coverage has increased the possibility that next year will have a lot of new first time brewers and for me I hope to have multiple beers to enter with a years experience. 4. What are you most looking forward to for 2016? Looking forward to 2016 is really exciting, the opening of the Hitachino Nest Brewery in HK, the Brewdog Bar (only second in Asia) and my visit back to Liverpool to try Neptune Brewery and the latest from the great set of breweries in the area. Anyway, that about wraps it up for 2015.... I hope you enjoyed reading, please share on social media if you did and here's to more adventures during the rest of 2016! Cheers, Pedro. x Mike from Chorlton Brewery has done some travelling in his quest to develop his own brewing repertoire, initially based in London, he moved across to Berlin with the intention of doing some brewing, but the scene proved almost impenetrable. Mike also spent some time in Leipzig, learning about Gose, the salted beer which is another German style only coming into the limelight recently. In a market dominated by Helles, Dunkels and many other traditional lagered and Kolsch beers, his experience in Germany proved to leave little room for anything else. Most pertinently to his current brewing, whilst in Germany he happened across the Berliner Weisse style, although a beer which has been brewed since the 16th Century, it is something which has only really come into the British beer scene relatively recently. Berliner Weisse is a naturally cloudy, sour and often white beer of a relatively low strength at 3% abv. It is a regional variation on many of the white beer styles from Germany, with its origins dating back to at least the 1500s. It can be made from combinations of barley and wheat malt, with the stipulation that the malts are kilned at very low temperatures to minimise colour formation, although I may corrected on this, it must have some wheat content to be considered a true Berliner Weisse (and brewed in the region). The fermentation takes place with a mixture of yeast and lactic acid bacteria, a prerequisite that creates the lactic acid and sour taste, which is the distinguishing feature in Berlin Weisse. By the late 1800s, Berliner Weisse was apparently the most popular alcoholic drink in the German capital, and maybe around fifty (and some texts actually say up to an amazing 700) breweries were producing it, which shows the market was remarkably buoyant for something now regarded as particularly niche. By the late 20th century, there were only two breweries left in Berlin producing the beer, Berliner Kindl and Schultheiss (both now owned by Dr Oetker who make those ‘authentic’ pizzas). The style has been given Protected Geographical Indication within the EU, where it may only be applied to beers brewed in Berlin. In its native environment, Berliner weisse is often seen a drink for females due to its refreshing nature and is frequently served with syrups to flavour the beer, syrups such as woodruff (waldmeister) and raspberry. A bit archaic really, if you ask me. The beers made at Chorlton Brewery are all soured beers, using lactobacillus in the fermentation of the beer. The bacteria come from the husks of the grain used in a similar process used to produce a sourdough starter for baking bread. During the fermentation, in order to produce a favourable environment for the bacteria and keep other bacteria from contaminating the brew, Carbon Dioxide is bubbled into the fermentation vessels, to produce an anaerobic environment. Care has to be taken to avoid the production of butyric acid (or buytrate) which smells of rancid cheese (and is what gives vomit its ever so lovely aroma), though when Brettanomyces gets hold of butryic acid, it produces an ethyl butyrate, which has more of a tropical fruit aroma and flavour. A full article explaining the techniques and wherewithal of making a sour beer will be available to read in the next issue of Hop and Barley magazine, I have been reliably informed, so if you want further reading… go forth and search this out! So what of the range of beers that Mike makes at his premises? We were treated to a few of the range of soured beers... Woodruff Berliner This herbal, cloudy 3.8% Berliner-weisse style beer carries gentle fruity aromas and is very rounded. The body is pretty thick intially, but feels gradually thinner in the mouth with each mouthful and gives way to a lovely palate cleansing quality. Other flavours that come through are of strudel, nutmeg, Christmas pudding, green apples and cinnamon, with a slight medicinal quality and some 'wintergreen' around the edges of the aromas and flavour base. The pH on this beer is around 3.2, which is quite acidic, for those of a non-chemistry background. Amarillo Sour This sour beer is pretty close to fruit juice, massively cloudy and a deep hazy orange colour. The aromas are earthy and citrussy and there is loads of bitter orange on the nose and in the flavour. This doesn't qualify as a Berliner-Weisse style sour, as it doesn't use any wheat, it also has been dry hopped using amarillo (very orangey hops). The malts are all pale, using a combination of golden promise and flaggon, additional hop character comes from the use of glacier hops, bramling cross and a little ahtanum. Overall, this is a jolly rancher of a sour beer with hints of watermelon could easily pass for a breakfast juice. Scarily drinkable. Waimea Sour A mouthwatering 5.3% cloudy golden sour with a white light cobbwebby head. On the nose there's plenty of aromatics in the form of celery and fresh citrus, the body is much more evident this time compared to the previous two beers on the list and the finish is much longer with a slightly savoury edge to it. The hopping is done using New Zealand Waimea, though it carries a little roughness around the edges, the addition of a little amarillo keeps things quite fruity. Victoria Sour A fruit blast in at 5.6%, this Victoria's Secret dry hopped sour also uses glacier in the boil, steeped with bramling cross and ultimately the outcome is tropical - Um Bongo. Lighter in flavour than it is on the nose, there is still an abundance of fruit and a superbly rounded beer with no edges to it at all. The mouthfeel is thick and very juicy, with a lovely acidity to keep things mouthwatering. The flavours of oranges and blackcurrant with touches of vimto. At this point the discussion heads into talk of miracle fruit, which I suggest looking up as it can drastically alter the way taste is perceived thanks to binding of certain compounds from the fruit onto the tastebuds. Calamus Berliner A sour beer which has much more character in common with a cider than any beer, almost coming through with a farmyard scrumpy type body and flavour. Flavoured using sweetflag herbs, this very fruity, light and slightly tangerine flavoured 4% sour uses Brettanomyces and other yeast strains which were obtained from a 1980s bottle of Vilner bottled sour beer. Interesting, but after the Victoria Sour, somewhat off key. Dark Matter The dark sour of the night, Dark Matter is the strongest beer of the night at 6.8% and has quite an intricate set of aromas and flavours. The aromas are coffee, chocolate and touches of sour cola. The light body carries a beige head, which is poorly retained but does give way to lots of dark fruit. The acidity is almost like a sorbet in its cleansing quality and has a touch of malt in the finish and some light roasted coffee. There are a number of other beers in the range produced by Chorlton Brewery, but this is definitely an eye opener into the world of a beer style that has been growing in popularity and in reputation. Other breweries have been dipping into the style, but none have embraced it with quite as much gusto as Chorlton Brewery.
That’s your lot everyone! Thanks for reading and hopefully you’ll get to try some of the Chorlton beers before too long, since they have been on recently at 23 Club/Clove Hitch on keg and in bottle! Pedro. ----------------------------------------------------- Chorlton Brewery North Western Street Manchester Web: http://chorltonbrewingcompany.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChorltonBrew Email: [email protected] Twenty Three Club / Clove Hitch23 Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BQ Web: http://www.theclovehitch.com/# Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwentyThreeClub or https://twitter.com/theclovehitch Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Tel: 0151 709 6574 |
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