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    Tuesday 6 May 2008

    Beer Of The Month - April 2008


    Sixty six new beers for me in April. Around half of these were at two festivals whilst most of the others were in various pubs. I drank very little at home during the month for some reason.

    To be honest, quality wise it was a below average month. Only two beers from the bottle are worthy of particular mention. I had an unseasonal bottle of Corsendonk Christmas at the beginning of the month. This is one of those rare beers that actually deserves to have the word 'Christmas' in it, being nicely spiced. Good brown fruits also. This was bettered by the bottle of Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper which Phil smuggled into Coventry Beer Festival. Phil stated this was a couple of years old, and that bit of age and maturity could be tasted. This is a 10% beer from Denmark brewed in the Belgian style, and has some very rewarding malty and yeasty flavours. It is a deserving winner of bottle beer of the month.

    From the cask, I enjoyed Oakham Quint whilst on a stroll around Leicester. Oakham never fail to impress, and later in the month I enjoyed No Bully Dozer also. Both beers are hoppy as expected. Coventry BF provided the four other really nice cask beers of the month. Two porters in Fullers London Porter, and Bazens Knoll Street Porter; a hoppy Alehouse Sauvin So Good, and Dark Star Over The Moon Mild, all vie for top spot, but it's the Fullers which gets it.

    As stated it's the first time I've tried it in years, and it's almost as good as I remember. A complex fruity, roasty, smoky porter with some chocolate and caramel edges. It just goes to show that Fullers can brew some great stuff when they put their mind to it. This wins not only cask beer of the month, but the overall prize too.

    6 comments:

    Ron Pattinson said...

    Fuller's Porter is a great beer. It tastes like it really is based on an old recipe. They obviously use brown malt, which is the defining characteristic of a London porter.

    Anonymous said...

    On average two new beers a day. I salute you

    Boak said...

    One of my all time favourites. If I had to pick a top ten, it would be in there easily.

    Kieran Haslett-Moore said...

    Did the Alehouse Sauvin use NZ Nelson Sauvin hops?

    I wish we could get Fullers Porter out here.
    I have been enjoying 1845 recently , and the odd pint of keg E.S.B.

    Mark Edwards said...

    Kieran - Yes it does. It's becoming quite a popular hop over here at the moment. Nice grapefruit and lemon notes I get from it, and that grapey aroma.

    Unknown said...

    The Nelson Sauvin is the lifeblood of Thornbridge Kipling, perhaps the finest beer I get to drink on a regular basis.

    Alehouse Sauvin gets my beer of the month award.