Beer Viking » Craft Beer

Unboxing Ales By Mail

thetank — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:54:19 +0000

BeerViking No1 rips into a tasty case of beer from Ales By Mail (alesbymail.com). 15 bottles of super British craft beer (aka – real ale). backing track by Chuck D with Fine Arts Militia / No Meaning No – (used via Creative Commons license see http://creativecommons.org/wired

The 2010 Battersea Beer Festival – a short review

Doc D — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:09:26 +0000

The 2010 edition of the Battersea Beer Festival in London (Feb ) was another solid event. A great selection of UK craft beer and reasonable International stand of mainly Belgian and German beers. However, I didn't find a single American beer on site – buy maybe I missed something.

I was down on the landlord and brewer day which was cool as I ran into Downton's head brewer and the landlord of La Gothique (home of the Wandsworth Common Beer Festival held at the end of March – you can pre-book tickets HERE!).

Here's what I sampled on the day:

Westerham Grasshopper Bitter 3.8% – 15/20, solid session bitter nice hop aroma, smooth (btw – one of favourite brewers in the UK!)
Kelda Gole 4% – 14/20, nice goledn dry bitter
Bazens Pacific Biiter – 13/14, drinkable
Bowman Quiver 4.5% – 14/20 really nice earthy bite and hoppy finish
Downton IPA 6.8% – only 12/20 needs work, other beer from this brewer much better
Also, got a few tasty beer from the international stand to take home (pls see photo)

My overall view is that the Battersea rates a 7 out of 10 for beer festivals. For my taste its a bit 'old school' and cramped in terms of space. Not a criticism but just my impression. There's also a lack of woman and the food is mediocre at best. At leasts its easy to get to being only a 10 minute walk from Clapham Junction. I will most likely go back next year…

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Introducing BeerViking TV – Epic Pale Ale vs. Thornbridge Kipling South Pacific Pale Ale

Doc D — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:35:06 +0000

The plan
It was simple enough – take two interesting beers to the beach, taste them, compare them, BrewRank the beers and video it. Oh yeah, we also needed to pick a winner.

The setting
We had post card perfect day and beach side location. Brighton beach (in Sussex, UK) on a sunny, clear and very warm day (temperature was around 25C/78F)… If it weren’t for the pier and the shingles (should really call them rocks) on the beach we could have even been in the actual South Pacific. It was a Monday or maybe a Tuesday. The beach was pretty empty. Although there was a guy paddling his surf board and a few tasty bikinis around, but that’s not important. What matters is the beer.

We had chosen well. It was the Epic Pale Ale vs. the Kipling South Pacific Pale Ale. This seemed to a fitting pairing. Two unique beers. One brewed in New Zealand with lots of hops (Cascade? – I am sure we could find out on the excellent Epic website but we’re lazy) and the other brewed in the UK using Kiwi Hops and by a Kiwi-Italian brewing duo… Crazy. Had to be good.

Tasting Notes (abridged)
Ummm, need to re-watch the original video… [UPDATE to follow]

The Video (Beastie Boys mix): Filmed on Brighton beach in Sussex. This is the 1st in a possible series of beer taste-offs planned. Two great craft beers with lots of hops and unique tast – one from the UK and one from New Zealand but with crossed paths in the global world of craft beer. Backing track is Beastie Boys / Now Get Busy from the Wired CD (Creative Commons license). Enjoy!

The Winner
Epic won by just a tad. More bold. Epic scored 16 and Kipling scored 15.5 (out of 20). Both BeerVikings agreed on scoring and the winner (this time).

Verdict on the Flip Mino?
Well, the Flip is easy to use. Not sure about the camera work and the sound. Need to skill up on doing videos and editing software. Fun. Easy. This is just the beginning of Beer Viking TV.