Dark Star – Please bottle more in your lovely new brewery

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1. 3.8% Sweeney – Bank Top
2. 3.9% Black Country Bitter – Holdens
3. 3.9% Pinnacle Bitter – Naylors
4. 4.1% 1823 Bitter – Tirril
5. 4.1% Remus – Wolf
6. 4.3% Pitchfork- RCH
7. 4.5% Junction – Sambrooks
8. 5.2% Captain Smith – Titanic
9. 6.0% Dark Ruby Mild – Sarah Hughes
10. 6.0% Wassail -Ballards (not in programme but available at Festival)

Download now or preview on posterous

THE_LANDLORDS_BeerLadder.pdf (98 KB)

Posted via email from beerviking’s posterous

Posted via email from beerviking’s posterous

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!

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

Earlier, I was able to pick up my beers for the Beer Swap.  I was very excited to find that Sam Lanes, from Real Ale Reviews, had sent through the following choice selection of beers from parts of Yorkshire.   Can’t wait to start the tasting.

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

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.