Author Archives: mrdavidj

Bourbon the Fourth of July Part 2

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A few weeks ago, as part of The Friday Pint’s “Year Without Buying Beer”, I visited The Rockstone, in the Beovis Valley area of Southampton and started working through the range of bourbons listed on the collection card. There are 20 in total, and I have decided to work through them in five sessions of four.

Today’s session begins with Eagle Rare. It’s nicely mellow, and doesn’t burn much on the aftertaste. Saying that though, it does seem a bit too easy to drink, and doesn’t really have any characteristics that would make me want to buy myself a bottle

Next on the list is Cabin Still, it’s slightly darker, and somewhat harsher, yet seemingly better for it. The aromas and flavours, whilst similar, seem somewhat stronger.

Bourbon number three for today, and seven in total, is Pikesville. It smells sweeter than the others, with a hint of orange in amongst the vanilla that has been present in the others. In terms of taste, it seems the harshest so far, though the aftertaste doesn’t linger as long as the initial taste would suggest.

Lastly for this group of bourbons is Rittenhouse Rye. It seemingly has little to no aroma. I can detect slight hints of vanilla, but nothing as strong as any of the seven that have preceded this. Tastewise there doesn’t seem much to it either.

Overall, my favourite of these four is the Cabin Still. It had a good bit of flavour to it, and wasn’t too harsh. (65)

The Friday Pint 2 #19 – Breaking The Rules

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At the start of this year, I set myself some rules. I allowed myself 10 passes from these rules, of which I have so far used three. I may have broken those rules a couple of times, and joked about rewriting them to include an exception for all new Dancing Man Brewery beers.

Pole Axed isn’t a new beer, but it was one of my favourite beers of last year, and I did say that I would use one of my passes to drink it again. The problem is, do I really want to? I’ll be using a pass in a few weeks time for the Southampton Beer Festival, and then there’s several events over the summer that will require passes. What I don’t want is to reach the second half of the year without the ability of having a beery weekend.

Okay, so I could rewrite the rules, or break them, but that seems to miss the point of the experiment. I’ve already drunk more cider this year than I did last year, and I’ve also enjoyed a few whiskys and bourbons too. On the other hand, I’ve also stayed Rat home more, rather than go out to pubs, which wasn’t my intention.

Pole Axed though, is a beer worth breaking the rules for, and as I said to my Dad whilst sharing a pint with him, it would have been the best beer of The Friday Pint last year, if I’d actually had a pint on a Friday. DNA, which was also on tonight, was on the best form it’s been since I first tried it last year.

I may have broken the rules to drink the pint and a half of Pole Axed I drank tonight. I’ll also break them to possibly buy a bottle of Vibrant Forest’s Red Righteous tomorrow. Somehow, it doesn’t seem that bad when it comes to supporting the local breweries. (89)

AG#7 Brewday – A kind of live blog

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As I currently write, water is boiling for the Brewday of AG#7. A highly hopped Columbus IPA (or IIPA if things go well).

My friend Chris shall be arriving in about an hour, when we will be mashing in, and enjoying the first of many beers today. I’ll be “live blogging” the events of today, but I won’t be posting them until tonight, so by the time you read this, everything will be in the past, and nothing will make sense.

I may also irritate some English students…

The grain bill for today’s brew consists of 5kg of Maris Otter, 1.5kg of crystal malt, and 1kg of caramalt. Into this, will be going around 200g of columbus hops, in around a 20 litre batch. I’m aiming for around 8.5%. On past experience, I’ll get a slightly lower OG than needed.

So the mash is on the go, and we’ve drunk our first two beers. Rudi Can’t Fail (AG#7), and Dogfish Head’s Positive Contact. The latter we both agreed tasted like a Saison, and is very enjoyable indeed. Soon we’ll be starting the boil, and drinking Rogue’s Voodoo Doughnut Beer.

The beer is a strange one. Chris says it definitely has a burnt smokey after taste to it. The maple is there too, as is the bacon. It’s one that does perhaps need to be tried to fully know how strange it is. Saying that though, I quite like it. We seem to be getting different orders of flavours, but we are both agreed it’s a strange beer.

We’re now waiting, drinking that Rogue beer, and occasionally putting Columbus hope in. The scales aren’t working, do we’re doing this on sheer guesswork. Regardless of when the hops go in, there’ll be 200g worth in total going into this beer.

At this point in the boil we find ourselves listening to Call Me Maybe, which is a great song, and if you think otherwise, you’re wrong. It’s almost over, just one final addition of hops to go.

So, the boil concluded, we run the wort off into the fermentation vessel and head to the local supermarket to get food, and ice to help the wort cool to fermentation temperature. After sticking the FV in an ice bath and cooking and eating our food, we open the bottle of Sierra Nevada/Russian River’s Brux.

I told my friend he may not like it, though it’s less sour than we were expecting, and as it so happens, he does like it. It probably serves as a good introduction to wild yeast beers. A check of the tempeerature of the wort shows that we have some wait yet, which means time for more beer.

Since I last updated, I have had more Rudi Can’t Fail, and shared a bottle of Mikkeller Black Hole White Wine Barrel Aged Edition with Chris. Chris has also left, and the wort is now down to around 35C. The FA Cup final is in full swing, and the evening meal is being planned. All is well, beer is flowing, and the only thing that remains to do is pitch the yeast. The OG ended up at 1.072, which would give a alcohol volume of 7.9% if the yeast converted 100% of the sugar to alcohol.

It won’t, but I’m happy with what I’ve achieved. (83)

The Friday Pint 2 #18 – Insert Title Here

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Since last Friday, I’ve been working, mostly.

There was one day, Tuesday, that I was off, and on that day only one beer passed my lips, a bottle of my latest Homebrew, Rudi Can’t Fail. I also had a couple of ciders. This is the extent of my drinking for this week.

It’s probably the least drinking I’ve done for quite some time, and one of the benefits of having to travel into and out of work from Southampton. For the past week, I haven generally been leaving the house around 7:30 each morning, and not returning until 2am. There has been no time for me to drink, except for that Tuesday.

Of course, tomorrow will probably remove any good those dry days have done. I’ve invited my friend round to help with the next brew (AG#7, for those counting) and also drink some of the bottles that are taking up space.

Among those being lined up (which may or may not be opened) are Dogfish Head’s Positive Contact, Sierra Nevada/Russian River’s Brux, and Rogue’s Voodoo Donut Maple Bacon Ale. There’s also a mini keg of Rudi Can’t Fail as well.

I’m going to try and do a brew report for this one, along with reactions to what we drink along the way. Hopefully it’ll be fun, in between the cleaning. (55)

The Friday Pint #17 – Bourbon The Fourth of July Part 1

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When I started this year of The Friday Pint, there was one place I knew I’d probably end up at quite regularly.

The Rockstone in Southampton has developed a reputation, both locally and nationally, for it’s rather generous menu. Imagine the tallest burger you can, The Rockstone Burger is probably taller, and it tastes great too. It’s just one of a selection of around 30 on the menu, and then there’s the steaks, and the fish, and the veggie options, all made from locally sourced ingredients.

Usually, it would be the food that is the reason for my visit. Today though, I’m visiting to make my first dent into the Bourbon The Fourth of July card. 20 Bourbons are on the list, and I’ve decided to go through in order, doing four each session (that’s five sessions, Math fans!)

First up is one called Rebel Reserve, which is going down rather nicely. There’s two on the card that I’ve had before, Gentlemen Jack and Evan Williams. The rest though, are complete strangers.

After drinking the Rebel Reserve possibly a bit too fast, I’ve ordered a Four Roses. It’s darker than the Rebel Reserve, and also has a bit of bite to it. It seems sweeter too. There’s a burning aftertaste to it, which isn’t quite as unpleasant as some. Such is the Awesomeness of The Rockstone, I’ve also been given a glass of Four Roses Single Barrel to compare (it’s not for sale). There’s a slight difference. It seems slightly smoother, and not as sweet, though the after bite is still there.

Third up is Evan Williams. It’s actually the single barrel, and not the standard stuff that I bought a bottle of after enjoying it at the Midland’s Whisky Fest a few weeks ago. As I determined then, I prefer the regular Evan Williams to this, which is why I bought a bottle of that, and not this. It’s still nicer than Jack Daniels though.

Lastly for this session is the Elijah Craig, which I believe is the darkest of the four (it’s somewhat hard to determine without having the previous three to line up against it. Rebel Reserve was certainly the lightest of the four). There’s a definite burn to this one, though underneath it, there seems to be hints of orange and chocolate.

Of the four bourbons tried this time, the Rebel Reserve is the one I have enjoyed the most. I’ll be continuing to complete the card on the next four Fridays I’m off. On the basis of today, it’s going to be fun, and an education. As for now, I’m popping down to The Platform Tavern. You should join me… (165)

The Others: The Hop Merchant

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The Others is a monthly series looking at the people who aren’t brewers that help to produce beer and get it onto your tastebuds. This month, the hop merchant…

In the last edition of The Others, we took a look at the work of the Hop Farmer. Once the Hop Farmer has grown and harvested the hops, they pass them onto the Hop Merchant.

The Hop Merchant is essentially the middle man between the hop farmer and the brewer. Charles Faram has been providing hops to customers since 1865, and current managing director Paul Corbett has been with the company since 1989, when he joined as a “market manager”.

In the years since, the number of people employed by Charles Faram has increased to 16. In total, across the UK, Paul estimates that there is around 900-1000 people working in the hop industry in the UK. It is at a critical point, and at risk of losing the people with the relevant skills, and also being unable to sustain itself.

If I was to write everything that Paul Corbett told me on the afternoon I spent up in Worcestershire last year, it would take several pages. Indeed, I wish I had a recorder to record everything, rather than having to rely on written notes. Paul is definitely a man who knows hops, and is worth listening to if you ever get the chance.
Part of the warehouse at Charles Faram

The hop merchant gets the hops in bales that are then split down into smaller quantities for distribution to the brewers. Due to the limited storage space of many breweries, much of the hops ordered will be stored at the hop merchant until they are required. Certainly at Faram’s, there was a number of sections in the warehouse assigned to various breweries.

One problem the hop merchant does encounter is the difficulty in predicting demand, and also weather, both of which can limit what is available. At Faram’s, there are some contracts running up to 2017, ensuring those brewers will be able to brew their beers.

Next on The Others, I shall be looking at the backbone of beer, malt. (108)

The Friday Pint 2 #16 – Maltings, Maltings and More

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The more observant of you may have noticed that last week, I failed to post an edition of The Friday Pint.

I did write one, as I was sat in the tent outside Tuckers Maltings, drinking the two beers I had at that point (I took two glasses with me to save on trips to the bar, and also to spend more time sat down). Alas, with no access to any sort of internet I was unable to post it.

“Ah, but David, why did you not post it when you returned home on Monday?” you may be asking. It’s a very good question, and considering it wouldn’t have taken me long to take my iPad out and hit send, I probably should have sent it.

The answer to that question may be that I have been rather busy in the last couple of weeks, leading up to moving out of where I currently am and back home to Southampton for a few months.

It didn’t help me that this came at at time when I had the Maltings Festival to go to, and a trip down to Warminster Maltings booked. I wasn’t going to sacrifice these just to move out quicker though, and I’m glad I didn’t.

On the first point, the Maltings Festival. I traveled down on the Thursday and attended the evening session. I decided to work through the ranges of breweries, rather than hop around semi-randomly as I often do at festivals. That night saw me drink the beers from Arbor and Art Brew, including the wonderfully delicious Yakima Valley IPA, and Orange IPA.

As well as being in a wonderful setting, the festival also had the best conditioned beer I’ve had at a festival in a very long time. Depending on which way you come into Newton Abbot, it also has a very nice train ride, along the coast for part of it, which I highly recommend doing at some point.

somebeer

I was also there for the Friday afternoon session, and the Saturday session, at which I was joined by my Dad. It was at this session that I decided to start drinking some of the favourites from the past two days. Of the beers I drank on the Saturday, it’s Bristol Beer Factory’s Southville Hop that I ended up drinking most of, and it’s a beer that I’d drink a lot of again if I ever see it.

So, that was Tucker’s Maltings. Tuesday saw me travel down to Warminster to be shown around Warminster Maltings, and talk to Chris Garratt for a future edition of The Others (The next edition, featuring The Hop Merchant, will be up soon).

It was a wonderful building to walk round, and I left with a lot of notes and information. I expect that the malt section of the others may be split as well. Whilst at Warminster, I realised that The Others is about more than the people, it’s about the number of people.

At Warminster Maltings, there are around 20 people contributing to the running of the business, from the obtaining of the grain, to the distribution of the malt to the brewers. Behind this, there are around 50 farms supplying grain to be malted.

That’s at least a potential 70 people who could have had an input to your pint, before the people who look after the yeast, farm the hops, sell the hops, maintain the water supply, build the casks/kegs/bottles/brewing equipment. The list goes on, and with it in mind, it seems difficult to drink a pint and not think of all the hard work that has gone on for it to reach that glass.

  (99)

The Friday Pint 2 #15 – Midlands Whisky Festival

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So, last time I said I’d be holding back this week’s post until after the Whisky Festival, which I attended on Saturday. I think it’s fair to say I drank a good amount over the afternoon, and I left with a few of the bottles that stood out.

Highlights of the festival for me were many, not least the chance to try a whisky that would have cost me £750 for a bottle had I bought one on the day. I worked my way through a number of ranges, and dipped in and out of a couple of others, notably Ardbeg, Tomatin, and Glenglassaugh, who’s Evolution Ex-Tennessee cask was one of my favourite drams of the day.

As well as bottles from each of these distilleries, I also left with a bottle of Evan William’s Bourbon, (which I found a lot easier to drink than I’ve ever found Jack Daniels, and even Jim Beam), and a bottle from the Carn Mor Collection.

There’s another festival scheduled for September, I think I’ll be sitting this one out, but I’d like to go again. I’ve had a good time and learned a lot the two times I’ve been.

This weekend though, it’s back to the beer, where I’ll be spending three days at Tuckers Maltings in Newton Abbot, and most likely taking a bit of time out to drink some cider in Ye OIde Cider Bar. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find a way to upload the next edition of The Friday Pint a bit closer to schedule, until then, I’ll most likely be tweeting or checking in what I’m drinking on untappd. (178)

Birmingham Beer Bash – Tickets on sale now!

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What do you get when you combine several like-minded people, beer, and a social network?

The answer to that could be many things, but in the case of around 10 people from around Birmingham, and one from Southampton who was in the area on the weekend of the Twissup* that they attended, the answer is the Birmingham Beer Bash.

It hasn’t always been called the “Birmingham Beer Bash”, nor was it conceived at that Twissup back in April of 2012. Perhaps fellow blogger Dan Brown put it well when he said in his review of that Twissup: “when a gathering happens in the name of something, then perhaps it means err something.”

Discussions of organizing a festival, independent of any influence from campaigning groups or associations, began one night in May. Soon, with all the twitter names that were in on the tweets, it became impossible to discuss, and the forum was set up. There, the committee was able to pitch ideas and desires much more easily, with much more than 140 characters.

Fast forward almost a year later, and after much discussion, many meetings, and a lot of hard work by the team (not least David Shipman, who you should all buy a pint if you go), we finally have tickets up for sale.

Over the weekend, there will be four sessions, each with a limited number of tickets. A number of breweries have already been named, including festival sponsors Purity, Thornbridge and Freedom.

Also named at the time of writing: Beer Geek, Weird Beard, Redwillow, Tiny Rebel, Compass, Blackjack, and Durham. There’s a stream of updates coming from the @birminghamcubed twitter account, so if you want to know who’ll be at the Beer Bash first, go and follow them.

EDIT: This afternoon alone, Partizan and Harbour have also been added to the list of those who will be bringing their beer. Many more names will be added, and much more exciting news will be revealed.

It’s certainly a very nervous and exciting time behind the scenes. We’ve come a long way since the idea was first formed, and yet we’ve also got a lot left to do. Of course, all of the hard work being done to bring this festival to Birmingham will be worth nothing if people don’t turn up. The Birmingham Beer Bash is promising to be something special. There’s a lot being lined up that will be announced between now and July. In the meantime though, you may wish to secure your tickets before they sell out.

The Birmingham Beer Bash takes place at The Bond Co in Digbeth on the 26th and 27th of July.

 

* A Twissup is a gathering of people organised through Twitter to drink beer, essentially derived from “Twitter Piss-up”. (294)

Black and Tan Experiements #20 – Vibrant Forest

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For this impromptu edition of Black and Tan Experiments I’m deviating from the usual pale ale/IPA and Stout mix, and instead going for a Saison and Stout mix.

The Saison in question is Vibrant Forest’s recently released Farmhouse Ale (available to buy from Bitter Virtue in Southampton, and other local stockists). I opened it earlier this evening, not intending to use it in a blend. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the aroma, a wonderful mix of spices that draws you in and makes you want to taste the beer. The spices also come through in the taste, along with a slight hint of bananas.

Whilst drinking the Farmhouse Ale, I began to think that it could make a good blend with Vibrant Forest’s imperial stout, Black Oktober, a thick, luxurious imperial stout that has had a number of good reviews.

I suspect that I maybe right, though the blend needs more Farmhouse Ale than I used one this occasion. The flavour of saison works well with the imperial stout, perhaps more so than any of the pale ales and IPAs I’ve used in previous experiements, however with the amounts I used (around 4:1), the effects of the saison were far too subtle.

Both beers are certainly amongst the best that Vibrant Forest currently brew, and I think I’ll be trying this again, more methodically, to see exactly what the best blend is. (168)