Beer Of The Month - May 2008

I had 59 new beers during May. Most of these were cask ales drank either at The Malt Shovel's Welsh Beer Festival, my trip to Brighton, or the Northamptonshire BF.

The average quality of beers drank during he month was good, but there were few beers which will live long in the memory. I was disappointed with the standard of the Welsh beer. This was no fault of the pub. I found most of the beers to be ordinary or in some cases, a bit wierd. The two stand out beers, though, were Conwy Mulberry Mild, and Jolly Suzanne's Stout.

In Brighton, I mostly drank beers I'd had before including plenty of Dark Star Hophead. The best new beer I had was the excellent Pilgrim Porter, a particularly flavoursome smoky, bready porter. I also enjoyed Rectory IPA a pretty authentic IPA.

I had 21 beers at the Northants Festival between pulling hundreds of pints for other people. Most were good and some very good. I had a few goes at the Festival Special from Great Oakley, which was an excellent fruity beer. Other good beers at the festival were Tring Tea Kettle Stout; Golden Plover and 92 Squadron, both excellent hoppy beers from the superb Buntingford Brewery, and my beer of the festival, Naylors Old Ale. The cask beer of the month by a whisker though was Pilgrim Porter.

I didn't have many bottled beers at all, but of the few I did have, the stand out beer of the month shone like a beacon. Great Divide Hercules Double IPA has been on sale at Utobeer in London and happily for me Angelo from RateBeer picked me up a bottle. I wish I had access to more of this deliciously big and hoppy 9.1% beer from Colorado. I make no excuses for liking big beers. Some say that overhopping masks brewing flaws, but I don't care. I love the big mouthfeel of these extreme beers. This is a worthy winner of overall Beer Of The Month, and would actually win most months.