So we finally get to lay 2016 to rest, the round up article done, the final month of the year now written up. I'm being extra nice (and tardy, appreciably, due to writing up a lot of other articles and being inordinately busy) this month, as my December had, as with anyone who enjoyed a tipple over the Christmas period, a larger than normal quota. This means you lot have twelve rather than eight beers to pore over for this article! Don't say I'm not generous. As ever, the beers are sourced from across Merseyside's bottle shops, but also there are a few from Edinburgh's excellent Bottle Baron (if you're around Clerk Street, pop in and have a gander at their very tidy and discerning selection). I was fortunate enough to be up there towards the end of 2016 and had to pay them a visit, given they rather nicely held onto a bottle of the Omnipollo Anagram for me - see later in this article, it was worth it!
And that, is that for 2016... we can finally move on to 2017's wares in the next beer blog, taking in some of the best bottled brews picked up and drunk in January. Until then, stay frosty! Pedro.
0 Comments
Maray has been open for around two and a half years now on Bold Street and I am fairly ashamed to admit that I have never actually darkened its doorway... (waits for the gasps of horror to cease). In my defence, there has been rather a lot going on and it's been one of those things that has been filed under 'get round to it soon' for probably well over 18 months. Fret no more anyway, as I managed to drop by the recently opened sister to the Bold Street eatery on Allerton Road to check out what all the fuss was about. The fuss was very palpable for a while with the Bold Street premises, numerous friends and acquaintances had eaten there and were generally flowing in their praise; even The Guardian's food write Jay Raynor, one of the hardest of critics, was also remarkably generous in his review. He stated that in lesser hands it could have been a car crash but was very competent in its mission to bring together many Mediterranean and French influences along with some Scandinavian and American influence thrown in with good measure. So, the burning question is whether the Allerton Road establishment backs up the big talk? Maray on Allerton Road is a strange beast, the bright interior décor and large glass windows appear on the face of it a rather stark dining environment, but being seated upstairs, the use of exposed and fatigued brickwork actually brought a comfortable contrast and overall, we did feel quite relaxed. The approach and demeanour of the staff helped with this no end too, service was brisk, competent and timely from start to finish. The menu on first glance appears fairly scattershot, with some clear north African and middle eastern influence, but there are other elements which have clear French bistro or Asian heritage to them. Nonetheless, Jay Rayner was correct in his assertion that all this did come together quite well, nothing felt clumsy about the food that we ordered and was put in front of us. From the sourdough loaf with chilli butter to the excellent, tender smoked duck with raisins and aubergine there was a lovely array of textures and flavours to get involved with. The lamb koftas retained plenty of moisture and a huge amount of flavour and nearly ran the meal off the rails due to their strength, but using the softer elements of the superb whipped goats cheese and honey with crisp flatbread and the gentle saltiness of the larger than expected whitebait, there was some come back. Overall, the food was brilliant aside from one or two dishes suffering from a bit of heavy-handed seasoning; not usually a gripe - it seems most complaints in the industry are about underseasoned food, but then it might just be a personal preference to take the salt content of some food down a notch or two? Sadly there was no room for dessert, but the selection did look incredibly tempting, notably espresso kulfi and hazelnuts for me. In terms of drinks menu, there is a heavy, heavy slant towards cocktails and from what I can gather a little something for everyone. The wine selection is short, but looks to have been very well thought out, with the top end selections in both white and red coming from some surprising regions instead of the usual Italian or French safe bets. The beer selection was (for admittedly, someone who is primarily a beer writer these days) pretty disappointing. A couple of lagers, a Vienna-style lager and Icelandic brewed Einstok pale do not give the range which could best work with this menu.
Summing things up, it's worth your time. The food is well sourced (they are fairly open about their suppliers online) and put together for enjoyment in a competent and reasonably attractive fashion. Things are continuing to be on the up in Liverpool, they are also thankfully filtering out quite nicely into the suburbs, with this latest addition to the Allerton Road scene, there is now some additional substance. Pedro ------------------------------------------------------------------ Maray 57 Allerton Road, Liverpool, L18 2DA Tel: 0151 709 5820 Email: [email protected] Web: https://www.maray.co.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarayLiverpool Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marayliverpool/ 2016 has been another year of building in a beer scene that really isn’t showing much sign of fatigue. Though there are still many local pub closures, our city centres are very much enjoying a proliferation of more bars stocking wider and grander styles of beer than ever before and quite possibly, the UK brewing scene is in one of its purplest ever patches. As stated last year, the number of breweries is only one indicator of health and things are still far behind what was present a century ago (though up another 8% on last year according to a few sources – up to around 1,700), but (being parochial for a moment) even across the Merseyside region there are now upwards of 32 breweries present. We have also just entered 2017 riding a fresh wave of controversy, with the announcement that Manchester’s Cloudwater Brewing Company have decided to cease their production of beer served from cask. Now there are a multitude of articles written on this subject and as with last years serving of the Camden sale to big business, I am going to abstain on the matter. Should you wish to read more, then I would point in the direction of a few articles I have enjoyed reading on the matter and they have distilled quite a lot of the pertinent information and opinions already: https://www.totalales.co.uk/blog/2017/1/2/cloudbursting-unpacking-cloudwaters-decision-to-drop-cask-beer http://zythophile.co.uk/2017/01/04/cloudwater-quality-and-camra-dinosaurs/; and https://beersmanchester.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/the-beerage-from-rags-to-riches-part-ii-or-to-cask-or-not-to-cask-that-is-the-question/ Crashing on, I have tried a few excellent beers this year too and in tradition with last year’s round up, I am going to narrow my list down to ten of the best I have managed to sample over the last twelve months. This was, yet again a very tough task and there have been a few beers that I really wanted in the list that have had to take a back seat, but I am sure many of you also struggled to consolidate a list such as this in your own heads! I also have been lucky enough to have some movers and shakers of the UK beer scene provide me with some of their own comments on how things have gone this year and also how they think 2017 might shape up. Onwards… ElectroKemistry Top ten Beers for 2016 10. Northern Monk – Neapolitan Pale A frighteningly good collaboration brew from Leeds based Northern Monk and Little Leeds Beer House; this hazy orange to red pale ale was the stand out beer from them for this year when I was lucky enough to attend a meet the brewer event and try this on keg. The aromas come through with various notes, as would be suggested by the name of all flavours of the Neapolitan ice cream combination. The body is a balanced medium level and works brilliantly with the combinations of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla along with touches of fruit acidity and a residual sweetness, which does not detract at all from the brew. Clever stuff! 09. Founders Brewing Company – Mosaic Promise An incredibly simple brew using a combination of golden promise malt and mosaic hops to produce something very, very satisfying, clean and accomplished. A brilliantly smooth mouthfeel along with carbonation that works with the fruit and cereal in the beer makes for a very drinkable package. The presence of lime, tropical fruits and gooseberries in tune with a balanced acidity means sometimes, simple is best.
02. Stone Brewing Company – Mocha IPA Quite simply one of the best double IPAs that I have tried. This manages to balance out coffee and chocolate with the deep citrus and tropical notes of a DIPA, which is no mean feat in itself. To present a remarkably complex, enjoyable and aromatic brew like this and hide the 9% alcohol is a superb bit of brewing and shows once again why Stone are held in such high regard. Light in body considering the strength and character. Wow. 01. Hoppin’ Frog and Lervig – Sippin’ into Darkness A ridiculous premise for a beer… a chocolate martini imperial stout… Or is it? At 12% it’s quite the beast, although there is absolutely no indication of the strength in the aroma or structure of this imperial stout. The use of caramel and chocolate malts along with cocoa, vanilla and other spices, gives a very complex array of flavours and aromas in this beer. The rich chocolately depths were plumbed courtesy of this year’s Indy Beer Man Convention, although I had to be satisfied with a take away can due to illness, this still blew my socks off and provided one of the best beers I have tried this year. I was also lucky enough to coax a few words out of one of the guys responsible for brewing Sippin’ into Darkness, Lervig’s Mike Murphy: “Fred from Hoppin’ Frog, another stout brewer extraordinaire and I put our heads together for this one. We decided those gimmicky big flavour sweet and desserty beers are what’s cool these days... so we decided to make a sweet stout, but an Imperial sweet stout with tons of chocolate. Nothing fake here, we spent hours toasting our cocoa nibs on one of the few nice summer days here in Norway. We think we hit our goal of making a sweet chocolate cocktail of a beer, our inspiration was a Kahlua/coffee choco martini thing.... We won’t be rebrewing with the Hoppin’ frog logo (due to Hoppin’ Frog policy) so we will probably change the label soon!” What made this all the more brutal (compared to last year’s top ten – which seemed to be much easier to compile in retrospect), was the number of outstanding brews which I had to cull from my list, including the excellent Omnipollo Noa Maple Pecan Mud Pie stout, Founders Azacca Promise, Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion 004 (which I nearly sneaked into the top ten – although I had already written everything out by the time I tried it!) and Tempest Mexicake. Anyway, enough of the agonising about those that missed out, as alluded to, next up we have some contributions from the great and the good from the UK beer scene with some opinions on what made the grade for their best beers, what stood out in 2016 and what was less welcome, along with a quick glimpse into what they think will make 2017 another good year for beer and brewing…
What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? For me, it has been the good relations with fellow beer writers throughout the world -- an amazing coterie. What was less than welcome about 2016? Worst news is arrival of one global giant AB InBev controlling 30% of beer production and snapping up small independent brewers. What are you most looking forward to for 2017? I think we all need to redouble efforts to save British pubs, encourage bigger brewers not to be frightened of putting flavour into their beers. Use hops and use them to their full potential! (You can follow Roger here: https://twitter.com/RogerProtzBeer)
What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? 2016 will be forever engraved in our hearts as this was the year our dream came into fruition and we opened our bar. The thing I enjoyed most, and still do, is seeing everyone’s face when they walk in as they check out our huge selection of beers. They look like kids in a candy shop! What was less than welcome about 2016? 2016 has been a tough year in general with celebrity deaths, unexpected political outcomes and an uncertain economic outlook, but throughout all that we’ve had a constant source of great beer to help us through. What are you most looking forward to for 2017? Now that would be telling ;-) (You can follow Vicky here: https://twitter.com/vicky_morgan and DCBC: https://twitter.com/DeadCraftyBeer) Rogue, 4 Hop IPA (4.44%). This came all the way from the north west of the USA but smelled and taste amazingly fresh and blew me away. The aroma was so strong my husband remarked on it when he walked into the room where I was drinking it. Bursting with passionfruit, lemon grass, lemon zest, grapefruit, mango and mandarin flavours but also perfectly balanced with a biscuity malt backbone. Goddards Brewery, Inspiration (5%). I had a pint of this cask ale at a small, brilliant pub called The Volunteer Inn, Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. It put me in mind of a Belgian blond as it was boozy, perfumed and a little too easy to drink! I had it early in 2016 but the memory of it has stayed with me. Saltaire Brewery (Saltaire XS range), Imperial Stout (8.9%). A silky stout with a huge flavour of chocolate truffles, a touch of liquorice and a smidgen of coffee leading to a roasty bitter finish with a hint of blackcurrant. An accomplished, drinkable impy stout. What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? I moved house this year and between that and writing the Cask Report I didn't get out to as many beery events as I'd have liked. That said I had two great trips to the Isle of Wight and Norfolk respectively and thoroughly enjoyed drinking some very tasty but also fairly traditional beers from Goddards Brewery and Woodforde's Brewery. Then there was a fantastic beer matched dinner hosted by the US Brewers Association which was all vegetarian and even though I am an omnivore it was utterly delicious. In October I went to West Kent CAMRA's beer fest at Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells and that was brilliant - good organisation, great choice of well kept beers and even a craft keg bar hosted by the local Fuggles Beer Cafe. Three quite different highlights, which to me show the power of beer-diversity - which I think is vital for beer. Lots of different styles, places to drink and different ways of doing things. What was less welcome? I'm not overjoyed at huge multinational brewing corporations merging to make even bigger ones, nor the buyout of small craft brewers, but this is the beer industry, not just a sub cultural movement for beer lovers so these things are to be expected. Infighting and finger pointing around such things don't help beer's reputation though. Those who love beer would do better to pull together to face down the likes of the new age temperance movements, periodically trying to get us to give up drink, and things that threaten existence of the pub instead. What are you looking forward to in 2017? Hooking up with Tunbridge Wells based Pig & Porter Brewery (http://www.pigandporter.co.uk). We've been talking about doing something together for ages now so hopefully we will manage it this year. Sean and Robin of P&P are passionate about food and beer and never do anything boring so I have high hopes! Anything involving the US Brewers Association. The return of The Epicurean (http://www.epicurean.online), a craft drinks and food sampling event I was beer ambassador for in 2016. It was such a nice set up, included some amazing brews and seemed to attract a new audience to the wonders of beer. (You can follow Sophie here: https://twitter.com/SophWrites)
2. American Barleywine 2015 - Torrside Brewing (bottled) The best beer that I've ever drunk from a bottle. In qualification, I do - by nature - generally restrict my intake to beers from Northern England, but I have drunk more widely previously. And this beer quite literally rocked my head back with the first mouthful. Yes, there is a sweetness that you would expect from a Barley Wine, but this was overmatched by the punch of peppery hop spice, dancing on the silky raisin and other juicy stone fruit flavours Altered my perception of barley wines. 3. Damage Plan (keg & bottle) - Marble Beers In a year which saw a plethora of big hopped IPAs and DIPAs, none for me could match the clean crisp refreshing punch of Damage Plan. Big and bold citrus flavours, clean and unfussy. Easy drinking to the point of being ruinous. A beer that tastes like a beer and not a vodka laden fruit cocktail. Marble hit some heights this year. What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? Whilst I really enjoyed The Independent Salford Beer Festival this year (truly for the first time), I can't say that - even if I thought that it was. But this must go to Manchester Beer Week. From the moment that myself and Andy (Tryanuary) Heggs meet Connor Murphy in the Knott Bar in September 2015 and he started to sketch out some of his thoughts, I knew we were in for an event. For a first effort, it was a triumph. The range of events of both general beer and technical nature were fabulous. From five-course beer matched menu at Marble Beers’ 57 Thomas Street, to The “Power of Yeast” at BrewDog there was something for beer lovers of all persuasions. Connor has tweaks and improvements in mind - of that I am certain - but for the sheer scale of ambition and the execution, it took some beating. What was less welcome? The continuing ridicule heaped upon CAMRA. Disclaimer: I am a member - although inactive. I may be wrong, but there seems to be an increasing body of opinion that CAMRA is irrelevant in the age of “craft”. To my eyes, “craft” beer in the UK is a little like liberal politics. Prevalent in metropolitan areas, but almost unknown outside of those “beer bubbles”. CAMRA is, however, recognised - rightly or otherwise - as some kind of pointer towards good beer nationwide. I myself sometimes read the letters pages in the CAMRA magazines and shiver at the anti-keg prejudice of the membership proletariat, but on the whole, the organisation IS a force for good. As I said “I may be wrong…. “ What are you looking forward to in 2017? And it won't happen. I would dearly love next year to be the year that people just let beer be what it is. Beer. Cut the idea that if it ain't Craft….. Cut the idea that if it ain't brewed in either a Bermondsey or Mancunian railway arch that it ain't worth shit. Cut the idea that Keg is superior to Cask. And vice versa. Some beers work well in one format. Some in the other. Get with that please. Er….. Enough for now. (You can follow Jim here: https://twitter.com/BeersManchester)
3) Dugges/Omnipollo - Anagram. This was just ridiculous in every way, how did they even do it? Two of my favourite breweries coming toghether to create a Blueberry Cheesecake Stout is a literal dream come true. Outstanding both in bottle and keg, I'll always have fond memories of opening crates of it and getting a distinct cheese waft from the box. Beautiful. What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? The first thing that comes to mind is the amount of collaborative brews that have hit the craft scene this year. It's a wonderful thing to see so many well established and up and coming breweries coming together to share their knowledge and create something out of camaraderie. What was less than welcome about 2016? Buy Outs. As an Independent Bottle Shop Owner, seeing breweries wiping their hands of everything (or half of what) they've built is always disappointing. I can't name one brewery that has done this that has kept their philosophies, let alone kept the quality and integrity of their beer to the standard they originally set out to. As an enthusiast, I see a brewery sell out and automatically assume their beer won't be anywhere near what it used to be. Presumptuous perhaps, but this is from personal experience. Remember kids, money is great and all but no one wants to see you succeed more than yourself, so if you have a vision and a goal, see it to the end. What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Expansion of the Craft Scene. 2016 was a brilliant year for growth, both for breweries and Independent shops/pubs. Word is getting out that you can actually drink a beer and it not taste like watered down piss, which I absolutely love. My favourite customers are the ones that come in having a completely blank slate when it comes to craft beer. It's easy to open people's eyes to the world of flavour when you have 400+ beers around you at all times but you know you've done something right when they come back for more. While I am looking forward to seeing what certain breweries are planning for the new year, I'm more excited about getting said breweries' beer into the hands of the people that keep this industry going, the consumers. Being the middle-man has its perks and I'm fortunate enough to know what's going on from both sides, which has only furthered my knowledge of beer, how it's made and who drinks it. I can't wait to see what 2017 has in store for us and everyone involved in this glorious Industry. Hoppy New Beer and all the best for 2017! (You can follow Robyn here: https://twitter.com/Bottle_Baroness and on Instagram as @lovebeerlookhere)
Finally, Double Penny Lane from Mad Hatter served on keg at Craft Beer Calling scaling this recipe up for the 500th brew at Mad Hatter was a personal highlight for me, it's not simply a doubling of all the ingredient. I was really happy with how the mosaic mango magic came through. What did you really enjoy about 2016 from a beer perspective? From a beer perspective I really enjoyed going to more different festivals than usual, Craft Beer Calling & Leeds International really stood out. The setting at Wylam for CBC is ridiculously beautiful & the beer/atmosphere/food at Leeds was excellent. Can't recommend them highly enough. What Was Less Than Welcome? I became more aware of beer snobbery this year than I had been before. On occasion it's seemed like it's not the flavour/aroma/texture of the beer that matters it's the rarity/exclusivity/brand. I'm all for a bit of fuss where it's due but there's some great breweries making great beer under the radar that deserve more exposure! What are you looking forward to in 2017? In 2017 I'm most looking forward to brewing on our 20Bbl kit at the new massive site on Lightbody Street. That's going to be a fun gear change from 3.5 Bbl to 20! Oh and also Barcelona Beer Festival, really looking forward to that. (You can follow Lally here: https://twitter.com/AngusBrews) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And that is that for 2016…. I hope you’ve enjoyed the articles throughout the year and will continue to follow me through next year with all the beer, food and other adventures that I get to writing about. Thanks to the guys above that made contributions to the article and continue to enrich the scene with their output and presence! I hope you’ve had a very merry Christmas and that you all have a great 2017!! Pedro x -------------------------------------- A number of images used in this blog belong to the Author, whilst others have been kindly supplied and are being used under agreement with the original owners: All profile pictures above are property of the contributors. The Founders Mosaic Promise image, Fourpure Planet Simcoe, Stone Brewing Mocha IPA and Lervig/Hoppin' Frog Sippin' into Darkness images are property of each of the brewers. Permissions must be sought to use these images and no unlicensed reproduction is allowed. |
Archives
April 2022
Archives
April 2022
Click ^ the RSS Feed to follow me
Categories
All
|