My SWEEEET set of beers came to me from The Beer Bear in Wales – thanks, mate. Here's the photo of my fine four pack:

The story so far … Is I have drunk 3 of them and will save the 4th, the Otley O8 at 8% for a little celebration or commiseration later this week. IMHO Otley are one of the best (top 10 maybe even top 5) craft brewers in the UK today. I've had O1 and O2 but never the O8 – so looking forward to it.

I am not one for long beer reviews, hence why I spend my time drinking in the field and tweeting… But here's my summary and ratings anyway:

1. Untapped Sundown Golden Ale rated 14/20, would drink this anytime. Solid session brew.
2. Pen-lon Gimmer's Mischief, had to give it a 12/20. Not my style a bit to smokey for me – but for some folks this would probably rate higher.
3. Frosy Ffin Gwill Warmer rated 15/20 in the end. At 6.7% it hides its strength. Aroma was slight carmel and apple. Color a rich dark amber. Taste a great balance of smooth malt and lite hop with more hints of apple.

The bottle of Otley O8 well that may top the list in the end. Cheers!

Posted via email from beerviking’s posterous

Posted via email from beerviking’s posterous

Having enjoyed the train crawl in Oz and May Drink for England,  I was pretty chuffed when I was given an Adur Velocity and Hepworth Pullman, as well as having train names, they are Best Bitters.

Adur Velocity, Sussex, 4.4%.  Golden brown, quite a nose, bubbly. A fun ride along the length. Gentle bitter.  Here’s what Adur have to say:

Velocity (alc. 4.4% vol) is a traditional English bitter with a fresh flavour at the lower end of the bitterness scale. We add a handful of the ruinously expensive German Hallertauer hops just before the beer is fermented and the result has excellent aroma and just a hint of an old fashioned marmalade.

Hepworth Pullman, Sussex, 4.2%. Golden brown A nice straightforward bitter.

Pullman @ 4.2% abv is a First Class bitter with a crisp bite balanced with a silky finish.  Brewed with Admiral & Golding hops,   Pullman is a luxurious ale to be enjoyed on its own or with fine food. 

It’s not really much of a contest tonight, sadly as the Adur takes it quite easily.  I believe it’s probably the use of the the German hops that does it.

With Episode 8 of Oz & James Drink to Britain wrapping up the show, by visiting my backyard of Sussex and Kent I was really looking forward to finding out what drink there were going to choose.  With the obvious expectation it was going to be beer and then maybe they’d pop for Brewdog or Thornbridge.

Still, it was pretty exciting to see the guys go to some of the new wave of British vineyards in the area and stop in on Westerham Brewery.

As for my point about the ending with a whimper, the guys decided that tea was the drink for Britain. On one hand, totally understand, nothing beats a good cuppa.  On the other hand, it’s a total whimp out and against the whole grain of the show.

11th-13th February are the dates for the Battersea Beer Festival.

They have published an advance beer list of the beers that will be available for tasting.

Here’s a wishlist that will grow, please add to the list or suggestions:

Downton IPA 6.8% ABV

Elland 1872 Porter 6.5% ABV

Saltaire Cascade Pale Ale 4.8% ABV

Moor Old Freddy Walker 7.3% ABV (though would be a dream if they can get the the JJJ Triple IPA)

Abbeydale Matins 3.6% ABV

Triple FFF Alton’s Pride 3.8% ABV
Triple FFF Pressed Rat & Warthog Mild 3.8% ABV

Wickwar Mr Perretts Traditional Stout 5.9% ABV
Wickwar Station Porter 6.1% ABV

Purity Pure Gold 3.8% ABV

Otley O1 4.0% ABV
Otley CO2 4.2% ABV
Otley OBB 4.5% ABV

And of course, don’t forget that Dark Star will be there.

So, the focus was British and American craft brews with a sweet Mexican thrown into the mix. To be honset we had way mucho french champagne as well!

Still have 2 mixed cases of brew left and a Fullers Vintage Ale for New Years!

Happy Holiday and Merry New Year from the doc… I need a beer checklist system. How many different beers in 2008? My guess is about 100. But I will try to add them up.