As I get more and more settled into the new Laboratory premises (indulge me…!) I’ll get back to a more regular frequency of writing and getting these beer blogs up in time for the end of the month, as it is… there is still a bit of a backlog and no shortage of beer in the cupboards and fridges for me to get my chops around. I have started the June blog already, there is just so much else going on around the place at the minute, some priorities have to be made for making things relevant… bear with me, I hope you’ve enjoyed the last few blogs, which are a departure from my usual templates anyway. As ever, there is no real pattern to what is being drunk aside from drinking what needs to be written about and what was bought or sent to me first, this month has some very notable beers and has a couple of sour bombs to cogitate over.
Until next time…. Stay thirsty everyone!
Pedro.
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The room appears a bit more Spartan than usual for an MTB night on this occasion in The Clove Hitch, but the change is welcome because as the popularity grew, elbowroom and audibility were the first to suffer. Phil and Aaron from Brass Castle survey the audience before Phil launches into an enthusiastic and certain run-through of how the brewery came to being; from a British Navy helicopter pilot, to an ambassadorial role at the UN and on to a single barrel brew kit. The unabridged version took in a boozy chat with an American colleague at the UN whose enthusiasm for beer and brewing was shared by Phil and before too long, there was an opportunity to have a go at making beer on a kit over in Princeton. Upon returning home, Phil set up the nanobrewery and gradually grew as his beers shifted from doing one brew per week on two vessels (usually the brewing process needs four), eventually up to the current 12 barrel brewery producing mainly cask beers with a few kegged numbers based in Malton, Yorkshire. The brewery has a lot of its own character, with having their own yeast culture kept to make all their beers, save the lager they make. The beers are not fined, making them suitable for vegetarians and vegans, with Phil going into some length during his presentation about the loss of a number of flavour compounds from the brew, in favour of clarity, which in itself can be misleading as to the quality of the beer one drinks. Some of the styles of beer Phil talked about were incredibly informative and well structured, leaving quite a lot of the audience feeling much more learned about the world of beer. You could tell he has had some experience with this presentation lark, oh and the Brass Castle logo that they use – it works upside down. UPSIDE DOWN. Brass Lager A very malty and raisin tanged aroma 5.3% brassy-coloured lager, this lager carries a thin white head and carries the aromas right through into the flavours. A Viennese-style lager which has hints of caramel and very light smoke, Brass Lager is deemed to be the brewery’s ‘cross-over’ beer for those stubbornly against drinking bitter. Brass Lager was pleasant enough, but possibly one of the less impressive on the roster for this event. Mosaic A 4.3% Pale Ale which is named for the distinctive US ’super’ hop variety that it uses for aroma and flavour, Mosaic has a whole host of grass meadow and floral aromas along with a slightly plasticene tinge. Mosaic is golden in colour and a very light head, the flavour carries the floral theme on well into a light maltiness, tropical fruits (including some grapefruit) and slightly acidic-edge, overall it is well balanced. The hopping of this beer is carried out very late in the boil (~5 minutes from the end and no bittering hops) and uses Marris Otter malts. Excellent beer for a hot day, chilled down to be refreshing, flavoursome and not too challenging. Sunshine A Kegged IPA coming in at 5.7%, Sunshine is very ‘farmyardy’ hazy and dark amber ale. The abundance of hops and a balanced malt profile give plenty of red berry fruit up front on the nose and carrying through into the flavour. Being an IPA, there is also some pine and plenty of resinous body to this beer, giving way to a fairly acidic but dry and pretty balanced finish that lingers quite briefly. Sunshine uses a number of US hops such as magnum, citra, simcoe, summit, perhaps some mosaic and cascade too – punching in at 100 IBU, this is quite bitter (go and do an internet search for International Bittering Units – IBUs and you’ll see where on the spectrum this actually is) but a residual sweetness from the malts leaves plenty in the balance. Hazelnut Mild A lighter effort at 4.2% and a traditional UK brewing style, there has been some resurgence of late for mild beers (so called ‘mild’, due to the low hop content and not necessarily due to the alcoholic strength – every day is a learning day!) so this is where this nut brown ale comes in to deliver something a little more wholesome to proceedings. There is a slight savoury character to this mild, with tinges of coffee, thick body and clever use of rye to provide dryness to the beer’s finish. Having had this a week earlier at a beer festival, it benefited hugely from being served in cask through a sparkler to give it some life. Black Forest A 6% game ender here, although not Brass Castle’s most famous brew, Black Forest does exactly what it says with its name and its deep, dark appearance. Chocolate, cherries and a creamy thick body give a German dessert of a beer and if you’re a fan of the flavours, this will not disappoint you. Served on this occasion from keg, it gave a different dimension to the beer, bringing forth a much more ‘grown up’ acidity from the cherries and a interesting mouthfeel without detriment to the smoothness. Brewed using cherry extract and cocoa powder, it seems absurdly simple, but the end product leaves that all forgotten. The finish is balanced but slightly dry and acidic. Great beer. Bad Kitty The last beer of the night was another dark monster by the name of Bad Kitty, so named after an aspect of Naval drinking exploits (so called a pussycat, which was basically a shot of everything from the top shelf, or for those of us without a seafaring nature; a mix from your Mum and Dad’s liquor cabinet). A 5.7% Porter ale, this gives tonnes of chocolate and vanilla on the nose and in flavour, being velvety smooth and a slightly chalky and drying mouthfeel, Bad Kitty was the second beer ever brewed by Brass Castle. Milk Chocolate in a glass stemming from misbehaving cats during the homebrewing days for Phil. Bad Kitty is another great beer. This was another really good outing in the Clove Hitch and although there have been some detractors of late in terms of having to pay for events such as this, it’s not a huge burden to hand over subs for a brilliant 3 course meal with 6+ excellent beers – you’re highly unlikely to get this along with an evenings’ entertainment for free anywhere. Presentations such as this, with knowledgeable speakers and a quality product are worth much more and as such, worthy of our support. In total honesty, this seemed like it was going to be one of the less exciting MTBs of recent times, but in the end, the whole experience proved to be one of the best Clove Hitch have hosted to date thanks to kitchen and especially to Brass Castle. Once again, that is your lot for this MTB… but stay tuned for the next instalment and some more food and drink articles coming up. Hope you enjoyed the read as ever (give us a share or Retweet or whatever eh?) and until next time…. Salud! Pedro. X ------------------------------------------------------------------ Twenty Three Club / Clove Hitch 23 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 Brass Castle Brewery 10A Yorkersgate, Malton, YO17 7AB Web: http://brasscastle.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrassCastleBeer Email: [email protected] Tel: 01653 698 683 Having sat empty for well over a decade, last year saw the Old Blind School on Hardman Street played host to the Liverpool Biennial and its numerous art installations and displays throughout a building evidently in need of much love, attention and paint – lots of paint. The ‘Liverpool School for the Blind’ was founded in 1791 on London Road, but was transferred 60 years on to the current site, apparently stone for stone. The building has undergone some other transformations throughout the years and the school moved on to its current location on Church Road in Wavertree by the ‘Mystery’. The next tenants of the building were Merseyside Police until the early 1980s when the Trade Union, Community and Unemployed Resource Centre took over. The centre closed in 2004, although admittedly, I personally thought the building had remained unused from a date much earlier than this. A good, albeit slightly out of date piece on the building was written by Gerry Cordon in October 2014: [https://gerryco23.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/the-scandalous-decay-of-a-brilliant-representation-of-liverpools-radical-past/]. Eleven years on from the closure of the Trade Union and following the departure of the Biennial, works were underway to kit the building out and bring a 200-cover dining experience to Liverpool. Step forward Dave Mooney, Paul Newman and the New Moon Pub Company, who have had recent successes with the Old Sessions House in Knutsford, Beef and Pudding in Manchester (soon to have a second iteration in Liverpool), the Montgomery in Eastham and the Mockingbird Taproom in Chester. Though much of the fanfare has heralded the arrival of a ‘Gastro-pub’, I am reticent to give it this disservice. Not that there is anything wrong with a Gastro-pub of course; it’s just that it feels like so much more that is on offer. The building was never a pub and although the menu reads much like a steak, burger and country-pub fayre template the ambience, décor and service suggest a more ambitious remit. The downstairs performs as a bar area, with currently, 3 cask lines, reasonable wine cellar and a healthy cocktail menu; it is light, airy and has touches of the new and original features working together, but the real business is up the impressive flight of stairs. The stairs at The Old Blind School have been retained and refurbished from the original building, with some ornate tiling and much tenderness if slightly odd choice of paint colour. Impressive, if slightly unusual plaster murals with three dimensional casts of hands and shoes await the back wall of the mezzanines, before one enters the upper bar and dining area through double doors. The upper level replicates the feel of the ground floor bar, high ceilings, peculiar anthropomorphic canine portraits, typewriters and Edison-style filament bulbs adorn the room which still gives healthy and knowing nods to its past. The seating arrangements are sufficient (when considering it is a 200-cover, there is some suspicion it may be a little cramped – not so) and although the music was perhaps a little out of place (too much, too loud) to be in keeping with such surroundings, the atmosphere was relaxed and warm but brisk. The private dining area looks the part; slightly Arthurian, secluded, peaceful and an easy environment to suddenly lose 3 hours to eating from TOBS’s kitchen and sinking one too many beers, brandies or cocktails. Service was good; it was especially pleasing to speak with our server and hear that some care had been given to matching wines and beers with the food, so often this is overlooked in many restaurants, with staff not getting an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the menu and which drinks will offer the best pairing. The level of attentiveness and friendliness was perfect, plus although it was the dry-run of the first week, the staff seemed to be enjoying what they were doing. Although this is not set out to be a review, the food is certainly worth a mention; a special nod to the quality of the starters must be made; excellently earthy, sweet and with a slight piquancy, the black pudding provided more than a few agreeable murmurs around the table and eyes widened at the sight of large deep fried prawns, sweet, crisp and oil-free. The Gordal olives even made converts of those who usually shun the nibbles at the start of a meal, fat, juicy and waiting to burst. Those manning the steaks and other mains may need a little more calibration, but after two days you can’t ask for total perfection, the cuts of T-bone and skirt bavette were generally good, although the latter was much more variable with some immaculately succulent cuts cooked exactly, whilst another was a bit on the sinewy side and underdone. The idea of sharing planks may be one to raise eyebrows amongst the ‘we want plates’ crowd, but nothing was really out of place on the one ordered; a miniature feast of seafood scattered across a wooden board; though maybe some scallops wouldn’t go amiss? The beers available range from casks from Tatton Brewery (currently) to bottles of Founders All Day IPA with not much in between; the usual Becks, Stella Artois and Corona (plus some other uninspiring bottled offerings) do thankfully have Freedom Brewery nestled in between – both the pils and the Pioneer lager. The cocktail list is broken into four sections, established, established with a twist, new iterations and champagne based; I have it on good authority from a companion that the espresso martinis were executed very well, plus the menu seems to cater to a broad palatal preference. The wine list seems to have been given the most thought, with three broad categories apiece for red and white, a rose and fizz category. The stand out note from these wine menus aside from the interesting choices for inclusion (the Tasmanian Pinot Noir was excellent by-the-by) is the reasonable pricing and although this is alluded to in a head note on the wine menu, it does ring true. A pleasing dimension to the TOBS dining. There’s a renaissance fermenting in Liverpool at the moment, with plenty of new establishments opening their doors and providing as much choice as the city has seen for some time. The Old Blind School definitely provides something a little different in terms of the grandeur and scale it provides. The menu is a well-travelled path, but competently executed on first impressions. A return visit is in the offing; reasonable pricing, startling surroundings and good cooking – a recipe for success that everyone is able to see. Pedro. ----------------------------------------- The Old Blind School 24 Hardman Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 9AX. Tel: 0151 709 8002 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.oldblindschool.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/blindschooll1 Another month, another beer blog for you very lucky people! On this occasion, I have managed to sink 9 beers (and the rest *cough*) and make some scribbles on each. I was kindly donated one of the beers from a launch of Redwell’s (based in Norwich) Califonia Common style Steam Lager in return for some opinion. If you keep reading below, you’ll see it, along with the usual obligatory tasting notes and the occasional food match for the beers I have tried throughout April. Hopefully, you’ll pick up one or two of the beers below from your local bottle shop and enjoy them enough to either concur or even disagree with me below the line, either way, I hope you enjoy the read as ever!
Until next time….
Pedro. Japanese culture is one that is quite far removed from our own, so translating nuances from it to fit into a distilled dining experience is quite the task. My own attempts at bonsai maintenance were short-lived; maybe I watered and trimmed it too much? I would have most certainly disappointed my sensei regardless. One of Liverpool’s newest eating establishments held its opening night on Thursday 28th May to much fanfare and much hustle and bustle. Miyagi’s appearance has been anticipated for a few months now and finally we were treated to a taster of what to expect from it; two very different dining environments over two floors of the former Yum’s Korean restaurant premises which had undergone significant renovation. We were ushered to the upper floor for our experience, so only had a brief glance at the slightly more gentile and dimly lit lower deck, this was in stark contrast to the sensory feast of the upper level. Think Tokyo of the 1980’s – Godzilla trampling over buildings, whilst robots, graffiti and neon all clash for your attention. The layout is much more of an informal dining style, similar to Wagamama with rows of benches and pots with chopsticks ready laid for a quick turnaround dining experience. It’s very bright on the upper level, almost too bright; with strip lights reminiscent of neon light sabres is a variety of colours bursting from the walls. Samuel L. Jackson’s preferred purple hue is eschewed, but it still raises amusement when twinned with the classic Godzilla motifs and plethora of anime strips on the walls and ceilings. It works, where really it should be too much – so many references to Japanese influences (wax on, wax off) in one place, but maintaining balance on the visual tightrope. Whilst this isn’t a review of the food (as this would be rather unfair on this occasion), there was some brought out as part of the invitation to the event – and I will comment. The sushi was almost immaculate, although some additional integrity on a couple of the pieces would have been welcome; the addition of soy brought about meltdown. Flavour-wise, there can be no complaint, if this is a portent of what is to come from Miyagi’s kitchen then it will be given a return visit. Deep fried chicken (that actually tastes, shock horror, of chicken) coated in a katsu and panko crumb was immensely satisfying and a larger plate would have been excellent, alas I had to share. The beer and spirits selection is good, there is a much wider focus on cocktails on the upper level from what it seemed; as such a dining experience on the lower level would be needed to fully establish menu competencies. The beers consisted of Asahi on draft (standard, but a very good clean pilsner that always works well with the different facets of Japanese food), in cans (not as pleasing, with the metallic tang being quite prevalent when tasted alongside the keg dispensed variant) and more interestingly some bottles of Coedo Japanese craft beer. Whilst they do not stock the full range, there were three available in the fridges; Shiru (white labelled hefe-weiss style), Runi (blue labelled pilsner) and Shikoku (black labelled black lager/schwarzbier). Whilst they are good beers; the hefe is a very light bodied and balanced effort and the pils is clean and slightly more refined than Asahi, the price at £5+ per bottle might prove a bit disconcerting for some diners.
It will be worth keeping an eye on Miyagi’s progress in the next few months, but under the stewardship of Lucha Libre’s Alex Hannah and Dave Roach, the ship will remain pretty steady. Now I’m off to catch some flies with chopsticks. Pedro. |
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