Renshaw Street is rather polarised these days; there have been a raft of small independents opening on one side, to accompany The Dispensary and assorted curry houses (which are potentially going to be bordered by a large student development to their rear should some proposed plans be realised). The other side has rather more glitzy and polished establishments, such as letting agents, a karaoke bar and barbers. One of the relatively new establishments on the more earthy side of the road is Damas, a Lebanese style restaurant which has a budget friendly menu and a reasonable amount of charm. Whilst it has to some degree been overshadowed by other more visible establishments on Bold Street, it is only a stone’s throw away to this café. Liverpool is no stranger to the type of cuisine on offer, with the likes of Kimos being almost an institution and with Maray, Casbah and Bakchich amongst others lining the next road over. The restaurant itself is furnished as would be expected from a café; a kitchen visible from the main area of the café and an abundance of light wooden tables and chairs, menus on the table with small table top chalk boards for specials. That said, nothing feels too cluttered in the premises and the large windows facing out onto Renshaw Street are pretty much perfect for people-watching. So how’s the menu? With Damas being of middle-eastern persuasion, there is no alcohol on offer here, only canned soft drinks, juices and teas. The food menu has plenty to offer, from meze plates, salads, main dishes and wraps for those looking for a quicker lunchtime experience. We opt for some Arabic flatbread and Baba Ghanouj (sic) to start with, the prospect of order kibbeh and falafels on top of the other components seems just a little too daunting, although it really wouldn’t have left the wallet tapping for submission if we proceeded down the greedy route. Light scatterings of spice, a puddle of oil and a few pinches of fresh parsley adorn the silky Baba Ghanouj which is sweet, satisfying and gone within a matter of minutes. The main dishes of chicken shawarma and Kharouf Mehshi (lamb shanks with spiced rice and almonds) follow the moment the baba ghanouj has been swept away, and the portions are really something – unless you have hollow legs for feeling particularly greedy, you are unlikely to wish to go beyond to the temptation of baklava. The shawarma is presented on a dreadnought of a plate; salad, chicken, spiced rice with flecks of what appear to be a wholewheat noodle and more flatbread all neatly laid out for the diner. The chicken is succulent and has flavour (a great start), the salad fresh and the flatbread still warm but alas a flat note is the rather dull rice, which whilst claimed promisingly coloured is a little drying in the presence of the other components, aside from some yoghurt and tahini sauce at the side. The lamb shanks is a scary and initially not aesthetically inviting prospect; sitting atop a mountain of spiced rice scattered with powdered spices and blistered, sweet almonds. Again the dish suffered a little from being in danger on the dry side, but the cucumber and yoghurt sauce provided with the dish gave some much needed glue to bring the dish together. The main player of the dish was the lamb shank; whilst it was studded with nuggets of soft and quite unctuous meat and a couple of pieces of bone (with delicious marrow left in), the fatty matrix provided a rather distracting and unwelcome task to try and surgically remove the lamb. One more comment on the lamb is the finishing of the meat; whilst it was delicious, some additional colour would have been welcome, perhaps a flash on the grill to tease a bit more flavour out. As it was, there was too much work to do to in retrieving edible morsels.
There is some value for money with Damas, though the menu does cover a lot of bases and whilst not generating volumes of excitement, it’s a viable option for lunch or an evening meal on the hop. Just be wary that some of the menu is very hit and miss. Pedro. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Damas 79 Renshaw Street Liverpool L1 2SJ Telephone: 0151 345 3240 Web: http://damasliverpool.weebly.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/damasliverpool
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As far as opposites go in brewery murmurings, the last MTB blog featuring Anspach and Hobday could not have been further from this. Many people would have heard of the Bermondsey based brewery, but admittedly, in Liverpool and possibly further south, not many people would have laid claim to have heard of Wylam and their wares, despite a sizeable brewery and significant output in the north-east. The brewery is named after the area in which they are based and nothing more; this no nonsense approach comes through with a lot of their branding and beers. For this evening Dave Stone and one of the brewing team, Ben, are in Liverpool to give some insight into a brewery many have not heard of before but will certainly have following the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo, Indy Man Beer Convention and their flagship Jakehead IPA being crowned hottest beer in a recent ‘100 hottest beers’ list. Wylam Brewery was formed in 2000 by friends John Boyle (whose son is now a partner in the brewery) and Robin Leighton, in order to try and produce some beer that was different from ‘the big six’. Some of the earlier beers produced were products of the latter’s vivid brewing imagination, giving rise to some unusual stock before the scraft scene was even a twinkle in anyone’s eye. Nowadays, a Barley wine IPA hybrid is fair game, but pre-2010 it wasn’t really a ‘thing’. These days, they are renowned for the Golden Tankard ale (in cask and mostly in the North-east) along with one of their first session style ales in Landlord’s Choice, but none moreso in 2015 than the mighty Jakehead IPA which in some quarters has taken up the mantle usually reserved for beers such as Jaipur – an ubiquitous benchmark for others to follow. So what of their beers? Some were present at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo (and even made it into my top ten of the festival), but I don’t mind running down the numbers for the newcomers… Cascade This 4.2% pale-golden coloured light and punchy hopped ale was this time served from cask rather than keg. Ben informed us that each gyle of this ale has experienced tweaks, in the search for a perfect iteration, although they do feel that they are coming pretty close now. Using single malt variety in Golden Promise (also used in many Roosters and Magic Rock brews for the trainspotters amongst us) and 3 hops (cascade, Chinook and centennial) all of which go in for aroma rather than bittering. This comes out at around 45-50 IBUs and is apparently a rare beer for them to do on cask, usually served from keg. The tropical fruit aromas and light pine carry through into the flavours and leave a dry and crisp finish with a touch of florality, tidy, but less impressive than the kegged version which benefits from a fresher, more acidic punch. Remain In Light No brewery’s beer roster is complete (usually) without an obligatory reference to some music that the brewer or someone working at the brewery, loves. This is one such beer (it’s a Talking Heads reference), brewed based on a collaboration with Siren Craft’s former head Ryan Witter-Merrithew (sadly now returned back the US apparently) was based on a recipe swap and brewed to 5%. The collaboration was ‘The Lights are on’, this is the offspring and is served from cask used a combination of golden promise and small amounts of double roasted crystal malt, giving a toffee character to the beer. The hops are a combination of Simcoe, Chinook, Citra and Centennial (again for aroma rather than bittering), although there is a strong best bitter character to this ale. Remain in Light is very rounded and has a very lasting finish. Les Saisonnier Another of the top ten beers at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo for this blog, Les Saisonnier is a stunningly good, fresh, gently citric and dry finished saison flavoured with loads of rosemary and lemon balm. A variety of malts in the form of Concerto, Munich and some Vienna malt are used as the base for this beer, fermented with a Belgian strain of yeast and lots of oranges and lemons pulped along with spices to bring out the best of the flavours. Deeply refreshing, floral and carrying a stunning herbal character, the second gyle of this excellent beer didn’t disappoint. Jakehead IPA For those wondering where the name comes from, you’d be best reading this and seeking out a piece of music that Dave was thoroughly wrapped up in for a few minutes during the MTB. Go and listen to some blues in the form of Lightin’ Hopkins’ Jakehead Boogie [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9krYTZEhVyo], probably have a draft of the Jakehead IPA too? During the days in the USA when healthcare wasn’t quite so developed, especially in the deep south, medicine men used to wander towns with their tonics and tinctures looking for a quick sale to anyone who had any kind of ailment. One such medicine man was Dr. Jake, who wandering the countryside with horse and cart sold a potent tonic said to cure any illness. Sadly the claims were pretty spurious and the tonic actually had an effect of destroying certain proteins in a person’s spinal column (for those anatomically naïve, basically the main transit route for all the brain’s messages down to controlling mobility and feeling) and as such, some people experienced an issue with their walking – these people were noted to be colloquially, Jakeheads. Thankfully Wylam’s IPA doesn’t quite have such a debilitating effect, but it is delicious and potent. It was named the hottest beer out of many in the UK this year and has won many fans recently due to a very skilfully delivered brew. Think loads of fruit, pine, caramel and a balanced marriage of mouthfeel, acidity and finish. Superb stuff. Häxan The Witches Brew from Wylam, Häxan is a black wheat beer with a deeply sherbety character and an almost analogous push towards an alcoholic dandelion and burdock. Touches of cinnamon around the edges, spice and liquorice give this a very interesting feel. It does have a slightly medicinal feel to it, with some of the florality invoking ideas of throat lozenges, but there is a wonderful complexity to this black wheat offering from Wylam. Häxan started just as a Christmas beer, but gradually worked its magic to become one of Wylam’s main stable. Brewed using chocolate malt, black malts and spices such as cloves, cassia and fresh lime along with 10 months of maturation, this black wheat beer is perfect for a winter’s evening. Flannel Hammer This is supposedly the last time that Wylam are brewing Flannel Hammer, which is a very saddening thought, considering some readers might never get to try this excellent Imperial Stout. Brewed to 7.5%, the name is used to show off the fact that the strength is very much hidden beneath a complex but overtly soft animal. The original beer used to be around 11.4 to 11.5%, but along with some softening, this drinkable black velvet beast of a beer uses 18 months of maturation. The beer uses a combination of fuggle hops, black and coffee malts along with some toriffied wheat and marris otter to produce something that will be very much missed. That’s almost your lot everyone! Thanks for reading and hopefully you’ll get to try some of the Wylam beers before too long, since they have been on recently at 23 Club/Clove Hitch and at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo although, I fully expect their beers to be infiltrating across the UK’s bars following the recent accolades. David, Ben and the gang may even be coming to a bar near you for more MTB fun! Pedro. ----------------------------------------------------- Wylam Brewery South Houghton Farm, Heddon on the Wall, Northumberland NE15 0EZ Tel: 01661 853 377 Web: http://www.wylambrewery.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/wylambrewery Email: [email protected] 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 In the shadow of the former St Helens Rugby league stadium of Knowsley Road and nestling next to a curry house is a veritable trove of beers, including some kegged beer ready to be freshly bottled and taken away for the evening, courtesy of the George Wright Brewing Company. For this month’s beer bottle blog we also discuss the wares and wherewith alls of the Beer Emporium on Cambridge Road. As with the previous (and indeed future) bottle shops under discussion, this one has a superb selection and some unique stock – ranging from some US craft beers like flying dog and anchor across to Brewers and Union UG in Germany alongside the more recognisable German Helles, Pilsners, Weisses and Dunkels. There is also a reasonable selection of Belgian ales, again, across a few different styles. The selection of British craft beers and real ales is stunning, with Williams Brothers, Tempest, Wilson Potter, Arbor, Thornbridge, Wild Beer Co, Ilkley, Saltaire, Durham, Rocky Head and Siren Craft all making an appearance amongst others. Such a selection is actually crammed into a deceptively small space, but it is still easy to lose quite a significant chunk of time poring over where to go next with your purchases. The staff at George Wright’s Emporium are knowledgeable, enthusiastic and easy going; the price structure is also very reasonable, with some very pleasant surprises on limited edition prices! So on with the bottle round up...
Hope you enjoyed the read this month guys, see you again soon; there’ll be another bottle shop and bottle review coming for October, so keep your eyes peeled! Pedro. --------------------------------------------------------------------- George Wright Beer Emporium 54 Cambridge Road St Helens Merseyside WA10 4HF Tel: 01744 737578 Twitter: https://twitter.com/gwrightsbrewing Web: http://www.georgewrightbrewing.co.uk/BreweryShop.html Following some relatively shocking news from within the industry in November 2014, Scottish Whisky has gone a little on the offensive in recent months, possibly due to a wake up call it received when for the first time, there was not a single Scottish whisky in the top five of the best in world for the 2015 World Whisky Bible awarded by Jim Murray. Two American whiskies were pipped to the post by the Japanese Yamazaki Single-malt sherry cask 2013 at number one (around £100 a bottle if you have the wallet, luck and curiosity – there were only around 16,000 bottles produced). Somewhat rubbing a bit of salt into the wounds, the top European whisky went to the English Whisky Company’s Chapter 14 unpeated. This shock to the system may possibly be why we are seeing a number of brands rallying and holding a variety of events across the UK recently. Though I do enjoy partaking in the odd spirit, it is not a regular occurrence, usually something after a meal when I am not feeling greedy enough for a dessert or just need something to round off an evening with a flavoursome short. For this event, Old Pulteney (who’s distillery is based up in Wick) put on their whisky and were represented by Glaswegian Andy Gemmell, who was ably supported by his crew on the evening. Andy was giving a class in showing how whisky can be paired with an array of food based on the age of the whisky. The perfect setting would be some kind of whisky den for this kind of event, and in the dimly lit speak-easy styled Jenny’s Bar of Liverpool, that was about as close as you can get. The kicker for this event was that the food element was presided over by none other than Liverpool native Aiden Byrne of Manchester House and owner The Church Green in Cheshire. Although expectation was fairly high based on the reputation of the chef, judging by the response to each of the pairings on the night, this was surpassed quite readily and indeed stole the limelight from the main hosts somewhat. The evening kicked off with one of the oldest cocktail recipes on record in a superbly mixed old fashioned, the recipe of which Andy Gemmell informed us, dated back to around 1806. This provided a subtle easing into the event and it did seem like Byrne needed one to find his way into proceedings, as he did somewhat admit he was alien to whisky in itself, let alone develop any kind of pairings with his food. This is a pretty salient point, as many people do regard single malt whisky in the same way they consider wine or certain types of beer; it is simply too daunting and to break the shell of the language, understanding the history and picking out flavours would single a novice out for ridicule; this is simply not so. As with other types of drink, this event made things very accessible and those in the industry would only be too accommodating to show people around and help them find something to enjoy regardless of their level of experience. Byrne built on this situation and by the by has developed a number of canapés to be enjoyed with a few of Old Pulteney’s whiskies. The first whisky was the Navigator, a young and lively dram that gives off coconut, salty vanilla notes and some gentle honeycomb. The flavours are impressively diverse, carrying the aromas through along with spicier flavours of cardamom, ginger, mulled spices and some palm sugar and custard like sweetness. The Navigator was paired with Aiden Byrne’s Pigeon ballotine with caramelised palm sugar, sea salt and place atop gingerbread. The theme with all of the canapés prepared at the evening seemed to be about bringing a sweet and savoury element together to allow the food and whisky to tune itself into the range. Then we were invited to try the 12 year old, a much more complex whisky, which on reflection was the pick for much of the company kept for the evening; balancing the vibrancy of the young malts and some mellowing from barrel-age. The 12 year old carried aromas and flavours of red orchard fruit such as cherries and raisins with touches of salted caramel around the edge. This was a much sweeter whisky than the navigator also coming through with a slight spiced orange character. The food paired with the 12 year old was a cured (in orange blossom water and dried rose) snapper resting on a rice cracker flavoured with nori (seaweed) and bejewelled at the edges with salmon roe. Excellent to look at, even better in flavour and there was some clumsy description of this from my accomplice for the evening in that it was the ‘best prawn cracker I’ve ever had’. Aiden looked bemused, to say the least. Following the 12 year old was the 17, which on balance was my pick of the night. The spice from the aroma was incredible, throngs of cumin and dark fruit buzzed out of the glass thanks to a double (or split) aging in former amoroso and bourbon casks. Flavours of burnt cream, all spice and vanilla are all prominent in this whisky. The food was also excellent, layers of flavour come through from a canapé with real length; a plum and chicken liver parfait with tobacco and chocolate was absolutely stunning, using aerated chocolate to provide some real texture in the mouthful too. This, in my opinion was easily the cleverest and most enjoyable food and whisky pairing of the evening. Finally we were treated to some serious age with a 21 year old, amazingly seemingly lighter in parts thanks to a toffee apple character that then upon exposure of the length of the whisky imparted fig pudding, sweet Caribbean peppers, cloves and caramel – reminiscent of Christmas cake or pudding. The pairing came in the form of lobster, smoked apple puree and rosemary in a small cannelloni. The use of veal to bring some deeper texture and flavour was excellent and this balance of flavours; smoked savoury versus sweet, acidity and rich meatiness, cedar wood and vanilla all give rise to something very special. There was much to enjoy on the night as can be gleaned from what is probably a small injustice to the event above but there was some impeccable cocktail making, good articulate presentation and a range of pleasant drinking whisky with a breadth of age alongside some stunning food from the talented Mr Byrne.
Some serious consideration of whisky and food is due some deep thought. Pedro. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Many thanks to Old Pulteney for the invite to their event and to Jenny’s Bar for their hosting; on this occasion there was no fee to attend the event, but the article above still reflects the opinion formed by the writer. Jenny’s Bar The Old Ropery, Fenwick Street, Liverpool Tel: 07557 506660 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennys_bar Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JennysBar Old Pulteney Whisky Huddart Street Wick Caithness KW1 5BA Tel: 01955 602371 Twitter: https://twitter.com/OldPulteneyMalt Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oldpulteney Web: http://www.oldpulteney.com/ You can also follow Aiden Byrne on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/aidenbyrne |
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