For this month (apologies again for the delay – these monthly review have backed up a little due to many commitments including involvement in the Liverpool Beer Collective Tap Takeover event that took place in early September at The Dead Crafty Beer Company and at the Ship and Mitre on Liverpool’s Dale Street. Finding time to sneak a few bottles in at home when there’s much investigation to do in the city’s (and beyond) bars and pubs is no mean feat at the moment. We’ve had a few new bars opening (the last article published – scroll down for a peep at it, go on… it’s safe) and a few beer festivals on, there’s also Indy Man on the horizon for some of us and for a few others, craft beer calling. It’s a busy beery time. I might try to do a restaurant review to take on some food to soften the blow from all this beer! Anyway, hopefully I’ll get back on track with the writing on a more steady frequency for everyone now, there are a few things lined up that should make for good reading coming up (the Tap Takeover, September’s Beer Review, a review on Filipino craft beers from Bagiuo to name but a few) for you all to get your teeth into. For now, here’s a few beers that I managed to give a whirl in the late summer…
That's your lot for this month... but stay tuned, there will be some more articles along before you know it!
Cheers! Pedro.
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A healthy scene needs variety and when smaller, interesting and well stocked places keep opening up, that can only be a positive barometer for how things are faring. Over this summer, not only have we had 5 new breweries rear their heads around Liverpool and Wirral, we have these two new bars opening their doors to the public. Beer Station is located over in Freshfield opposite the train station on the Northern Line and is well placed to provide a stop between the station and the Freshfield Hotel, which has won numerous awards for its provision of a large range of cask (and more recently keg). This will hopefully pass on some additional business to Beer Station, because the remit and the beer stocked are both admirable and competent. Step forward father and son team, Ian and Keir Walsh, the former who was a member of Formby brewery, Red Star up until the decision to push forward with his own micropub venture. The micropub itself is a former newsagents on Victoria Road, it has been kitted out with reclaimed furniture in the form of church pews, school chairs and tables and is clean and neat. The beers that are stocked are predominantly local in origin, with mainstays of Neptune Brewery, Red Star, Parker, Liverpool Organic and 3 lines of Freedom Brewery kegged beers (including the Kolsch and recently the Prototype [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/freedom-brewery-prototype-review]). The bottle range in the fridges has a few interesting offerings including 3 Potts beers from Southport, some continental styles and some not seen before in those parts including an excellent IPA which sadly, I've forgotten the brewer (though it is in a green-labelled bottle). The second of he bars under discussion is the characterful Hard Times and Misery, opened by couple Jen and Greig on Maryland Street. The location they have chosen has been ill fated for previous tenants, seeing a Spanish delicatessen and more recently, a beauty salon, come and go. The pair have put a lot of thought into their bar and stock and no shortage of hard work into the premises. Indeed, the tales of painting repeatedly over walls stained with fake tan reminded me of the episode in 'The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13 3/4' and the farce of trying to hide his outgrown Noddy wallpaper ("Went over hat bells with black felt-tip pen, did sixty-nine tonight, only a hundred and twenty-four to go" to "Finished last bell at 11.25 PM. Know just how Rembrandt must have felt after painting the Sistine Chapel in Venice."). Again, the bar is furnished with some new stools, seemingly reclaimed furniture, plenty of wood and a tip to the current fashion of exposed brickwork and wood, lit with Edison bulbs. It's a warm, familiar and a relaxed friendly environment. The bar stocks a range of artisan gin, which the couple have obviously spent a great deal of time studying, there are some excellent spirits on offer and I even had a dab at creating my own (though I doubt it has made the menu yet, you can try and ask for a 'Ossa Nauta'). The garnishes for the gin and tonic are also well thought through, with dried fruit, herbs, fresh citrus and spices all regularly replenished, you won't want for much. The beers stocked are predominantly local, with up to six cask lines being gravity dispensed from a stillage behind the bar, but kept in good condition and regularly rotated. Rock the Boat, Connoisseur, Red Star, Neptune, Liverpool Craft, Mad Hatter and Ad Hop all making an appearance in cask or bottle. The bar itself is on two levels and small, but well formed, pretty much perfect for a pit stop of two, maybe three or four drinks post work. Go forth, support your local and smaller outfits, they'll appreciate your custom and you'll keep the rich vein of form around the area going.
Cheers, Pedro. ------------------------------------------ Beer Station Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeerStation1782 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beerstationformby Tel: 01704 807450 Hard Times and Misery Twitter: https://twitter.com/hard_misery Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hardtimesandmisery Tel: 0151 345 6841 I love getting beers through the post, it’s a good little testament to the hours put in writing about the different events, review and tastings I attend. It’s also a good opportunity to have some direct dialogue with a brewery about something they are trying out or looking to launch into an ever increasingly competitive market place. On this occasion, I have received another package from Staffordshire based Freedom Brewery, who usually brew British iterations of continental style lagers. I’ve already covered their range, thanks to a package sent across to me in a previous blog [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/freedom-brewery]. On this occasion, the brewery are looking to brew a pale ale as something to bolster their core range and judging not only from the paraphernalia that was sent out with the bottles to me, but the point of sale push at a variety of bars, they really do mean it. Step forward, ‘Prototype’ (which is only a working title as I understand it), their first ever pale ale which will possibly be tweaked over the course of the summer based on the feedback received by the brewery from drinkers. Prototype has been hopped with four big southern hemisphere and new world hop varieties, namely; Chinook, Cascade, Motueka and Rakau and uses a malt base of cara, lager and some rye to bring out some dry and bitter qualities to the ale. The initial release of the Prototype was in July, but the official launch (presumably following any recipe or brewing adjustments) will take place at some point in September 2016. So, I am sure many of you have already partaken in Prototype and probably have your own views on the brew, but I am genuinely intrigued as to how the brew will develop following this publicity exercise. A formal tasting held as part of the Beer O’Clock Show’s podcasting (the tasting took place on 13th July in the evening as I understand it), along with, no doubt countless comment cards and individual pieces of feedback will presumably form a platform for which the beer could change. This leads me to the question of ‘should it change?’. In my opinion, absolutely.
Whilst the Prototype promises much in the way of hop character (especially with those four big boys present in the brew), there seems to be a driving force of honeyed malt in the beer. It is undoubtedly very drinkable and smooth, well carbonated and balanced, but for a pale ale using chinook and motueka for example, the expectation is much higher in terms of fruitiness, residual qualities and bittering. The aroma and structure were a bit 'out of synch' in the Prototype; whilst there were some pleasant notes in the aroma profile, the flavour (which was more of a malty honey and rich tea driven flavour) didn't carry enough fruit considering the hops used, whilst it was pleasant to drink, the body felt a bit thin and the bitterness didn't have anything punchy or a zingy fresh acidity to bring the whole beer into focus. I provided input to the brewers to perhaps hold some of the Chinook and especially Motueka (maybe some of the Rakau too?) back for aroma only. Throw them in for the last 5-10 mins of the boil, or even steep them for any additional 10mins upon flame off? I heard it suggested from a colleague that they thought the malt profile might need a second look to try and introduce a bit more body to the pale ale. You’re never going to please everyone with a single beer, but this is bold attempt to engage drinkers and bring some interaction forward for Freedom, whose longevity in the market hasn’t quite translated into a presence that would be as expected. Especially given the respect they are held in from my experience. My fingers are crossed that this Prototype was a baseline to be built on and that a more generous hop quota would push the beer up to the level required to truly get drinkers on board. Have you tried Prototype yet? Did you have any strong views in terms of how the beer should taste and how the brewery could accomplish the amendments? Pedro. |
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