Some of the BeerViking’s had the pleasure in being part of the first social media British Beer community Beer Swap (#beerswap on Twitter).  Doc D has already filed his report on his beers and this is mine.

I was matched to receive beers from Sam Lanes from Real Ale Reviews.  Being Leeds-based, he chose to send through the following choice Yorkshire beers:

• Copper Dragon Orange Pippin
• Leeds Brewery Pale
• Leeds Brewery Best
• Saltaire Brewery Cascade Pale

Copper Dragon Golden Pippin

What they say:

A light refreshing blonde ale brewed using a specially selected hop to create a citrus fruit flavour.  This golden coloured favourite is equally appealing to real ale and lager drinkers alike – ABV 4.2%

My Review:

White head, that goes but leaves some lacing.  Old gold colour, looks quite effervescent.  Nothing particular on the nose, some slight greeness of hops and with that floral but nothing too much.  Thin mouthfeel.  Quite sweet, with some bitterness coming through.  A brewrank of 12.

Leeds Pale Session Bitter

What they say:

An easy drinking pale ale. Light and hoppy with delicate floral notes and a well balanced finish.  ABV 3.8%

My review:

Slight head, yellow gold colour.  Slight bitterness on the nose, with perhaps some perceived (wished for) yeast smell from the Yorkshire yeast.  Nice mouthfeel, a decent amount of hops to bring some citrus through, with some faint fudge chewiness.  Would definitely have again.  A brewrank of 13.

Leeds Best

What they say:

A classic Yorkshire Bitter. Finest English hops blend perfectly with our unique Yorkshire yeast to create a full flavoured beer with a superb hoppy finish.  ABV 4.3%

My review:

Good head, again quite bubbly to look at. Russetmuscat colour.  Not getting a particular nose.  Fresh mouthfeel. A taint of bitterness, an easy drinker…I would almost say lagerish.  Might have again and a brewrank of 12.

Saltaire Brewery Cascade Pale

What they say:

American style pale ale with the floral aromas and strong bitterness of Cascade and Centennial hops.  4.8% ABV.

My review:

Nice tight head that lasts, very bubbly. Maybe as dark as burnished.  A resinous, nutty nose.  A creamy mouthfeel, with a nice warmth from the malt gives way to a joyous astringency of the hops with a great length (as in I’m hungry but don’t want that taste to go away soon).  A brewrank of 14

Overall

I thoroughly enjoyed my #beerswap experience.  The thought into what beers to send Darren from Blog ‘o Beer, Harvey’s Imperial, Dark Star Imperial, Dark Star Sunburst (collect+ blew this one out) and Ascot Alligator, was perhaps as much fun as getting them (but being obvious as no comparison to drinking them.)

It was a great idea from the guys (Mark and Andy) and I’m sure has helped pull the beer community together a little more and I’m sure that real world friendships will be formed a beer festivals around the countryside soon.

My only question is, when’s the next one!

In honour of American Independence Day and the sad fact I wasn’t able to join the raid on the White Horse American Beer Festival I had to pull the trigger on this matchup that I’ve been waiting patiently for.

In the red corner it’s the Mikeller Stateside IPA and in the blue corner is the Victory Hop Wallop.  It might not be a fair fight, we’ll see but the Victory is a current fav of readily (as such) available American IPAs.

Mikeller Stateside IPA

They say:

A love of American microbrews is the inspiration behind this IPA, brewed with generous amounts of aromatic, American hops, which provide the significant freshness and bitterness with lots of citrus notes. The taste sensations are nicely balanced by the sweetness from the caramel malt.

Ingredients :
Water, malt (pilsner, munich and caramunich), flaked oats, hops (chinook, cascade and amarillo) and ale yeast.

Victory Hop Wallop

They say:

We celebrate the pioneering spirit of old Horace ‘Hop’ Wallop and those who dare mighty adventurous things in this vivid, robust ale. As our annual homage to the hop harvest, expect loads of aromatic splendor and bitter beauty.

COMPOSITION
Malts: Imported German malts
Hops: American whole flowers
Alcohol by volume: 8.5%

Tasting Notes

Mikeller Stateside IPA

No head, quite a dark amber colour. Grassy, fresh nose. Great mouthful and a lovely, moreish astringent, citrus fruit taste.

Victory Hop Wallop

No head, golden colour. Dare I say a soft, resinous nose.  Bubbly mouthful.  The taste, isn’t as hoppy as I remember but wonderful

The Decision

It was a close one, very close but the nod had to be given to the Danish hommage to American craft hoppy Pales Ales.

In a desire to pick things up a bit in the hunt, I decided to pit two very excellent beers against each other.

Thornbridge Kipling is one of my current go to beers. I really enjoy the understated use of the Nelson Sauvin hop from New Zealand that is quite fresh and delicate but still satisfies my hop cravings.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is an undoubted classic that is often most people first taste into the joyful land of hoppy brews.

The tasting was at the homestead, so obviously both were bottles.

The Kipling was first and I struggled to leave any for the head to head.  Don’t go to this beer expecting blow your head off bitterness. It’s quite gentle, fresh. A little grassy perhaps.  At first I was thinking the length was a little short near the end that perception was changed.

Even on the first sip, the Sierra Nevada tasted a bit heavy, maybe dirty even.  I obviously still enjoyed the beer and I liked the heavy hop notes more.

So, on the head to head. Like everything it’s all about mood, and perhaps as it was a nice sunny afternoon in Sussex I have to say that initial funk on the Sierra Nevada made me give the thumbs up to the Kipling here.  Well done to the boys up in Derbyshire, they really are making some of the most exciting beer I am tasting at the moment.

I’d love to hear opinions of anyone else who’s pitted these two excellent brews against each other.

Had the pleasure of tasting one of these brews last nigh. A nut brown very hoppy ale. 4 starts.

From the website:

Born as “Christoffel Bier” this was the first beer brewed by Christoffel. After the introduction of Christoffel Robertus, this beer was named Blond refering to the colour of the beer.
Blond is a low-fermenting beer with 6% alc.vol.

Blond has a full body, a very balanced taste and a beautiful bitterness due to a generous addition of fresh hop during the brewing-process. The aroma is fruity and Blond has a fresh taste with a pleasant, hoppy finish.

The Beer Viking crew managed to get away from the sea long enough to attend the Great British Beer Festival in London back the summer – it was held 5-9 Aug 2008. However, during the long journey back home aboard our viking longship we lost the tasting list and our brew review notes. These historical papers have now been recovered for posterity and with here with provide a summary of what beers we did try.

In no particular order of tasting, but alphabetic by brewery first British and then US:

1. Cains – IPA. 3.5% ABV. “A light full-flavoured session beer with subtle hop aroma.” Served by a hot chick. 2 stars **.
2. Cains – 2008 Culture Beer. 5%. “Pale coloured btiter with a citrus hop character…” Only 1 star *.
3. Castle Rock – Harvest Pale. 3.8%. “Blonde straw coloured bitter with assertive citrus hop bitterness with some sweetness and a refreshing zesty finish.” 2nd beer of the day. 4 stars ****.
4. Kelham Island – Pale Rider. 5.2% “Full-bodied, straw coloured pale ale, with a fruity aroma and a strong fruit and hop taste finishing with well toned bitterness and some sweetness.” 4 stars ****.
5. Palmers – Copper Ale. 3.7%. “Copper coloured, fruity, hoppy with a refreshing zestiness.” 3 stars ***.
6. Salopian – Golden Thread. 5.0%. “A bright golden ale, using wheat and lager malt and first gold hops. 3 stars ***.
7. Weatheroak – Keystone Hops. 5%. 3 stars ***.
8. Whim – Flower Power. 5.3%. “A pale golden beer with fresh floral and fruity aroma, a bitter fruity flav and deep bitter finish.” 4.5 stars ****+. This was the beer of the festival ’08 for this crew! This also looks like it might have been a one off brew? Whim doesn’t seem to have a website but some more info on the brewery is here.
9. Chelsea (USA) – Henry Hudson IPA. 3 stars ***.
10. Smuttynose (USA) – IPA. 3 stars ***.

Overall the GBBP was a solid success and is one of the greatest beer festivals on the planet. Maybe even the universe. Next year look for the Beer Viking hospitality tent as we will be camping out for a multi-day raid next time.

One of the beers on my must have list was the Phillips Amnesiac Double IPA, which at 8.5% I expected to be at heavier end of the scale like the Barleywines…but actually it seems that Matt Phillips has spent some time learning from the Belgians…meaning that yes, this is a big beer and not for the feint of heart but it’s got a delicious, grapefruit hoppiness you would expect, matched with a nice dark caramel colour and poured with a solid white head that stays with the beer as it get’s drained.

One thing, it’s not bottle fermented and I don’t recall seeing that yet in any of the beers…probably some legal brewhaha that stops the brewers from doing so.

I would recommend it and drink it again.