Coming Soon From Adnams

I'm going to Suffolk for a week towards the end of June, and will be staying very near Southwold, which is, of course Adnams country. Looks like I've timed it well as this new beer should be available.

I do like Nelson Sauvin hops.

Official Beer Of Welsh Football

That rather splendid title is given to Brains 45, a new beer from the Welsh capital's own brewery. It is being advertised big time at The Millenium Stadium at the moment.

Don't ask me what it tastes like as I've not drank it, nor does the description help me. I really don't know what a "continental style Welsh beer with a classic continental taste" is.

Anyone any clues?

Dog Beer In The UK

Apparently if your dog watches you drinking beer (s)he will want to too. I know animals like to copy but I'm not sure they're particularly bothered what they are drinking as long as they've got something to wet their whistle.

In spite of this, the Dutch introduced Kwispelbier last year, which is designed as a beer for dogs. Now though, that very same beer is available in Pets At Home stores in the UK. Imaginatively renamed (or should that be rebadged) as Dog Beer, this dealcoholized beer can be bought for £1.99 for a 330 ml bottle.

I haven't got a dog, but if I did I'd give him real beer if he really wanted it rather than this effort. Actually, I'd be more inclined to try it myself; well it's another tick!

Stone's (I Mean Shepherd Neame's) New Beer Going Down Nicely

I've read three reports now from people who have sampled the beer brewed by Stone brewers at Shepherd Neame. They are all favourable and report that the beer is superbly hoppy.

So this 7% beer which Wetherspoons describe as a double IPA, but Greg Koch himself calls an ordinary IPA is going down a treat, and it seems that being brewed at the Sheps plant which isn't used to seeing so many hops, especially American Centennial and Simcoe, isn't seeing a dumbing down of any flavours at all.

As previously reported, the beer is here for the Wetherspoons festival which officially starts tomorrow and runs until April 14th. I will be going to a Wetherspoons every day until I find this beer. Let's hope it happens soon, or God help me.

Eiken Artois Replaces Artois Bock

I was pretty shocked to be truthful when it was recently announced that Artois Bock was being discontinued. I didn't think much to it, but it seemed to sell pretty well in my local Sainsbury's, and colleagues of mine sung its praises more than once. However, gone it will soon be.

In its place we will find Eiken Artois an oak-aged lager, described as "fruity, hoppy lager with subtle floral notes and hints of vanilla". I'll give it a whirl when I see it; it's got to be better than regular Stella.

One thing intrigues me though. Can anyone translate Steve McAllister's quote?: "It will drive the frequency of purchase by ensuring more occasions can be met by premium lager and will also drive shopper interest and penetration by encouraging more consumers from other categories to buy into it".

WTF?

Acorn And American Hops

Acorn Brewery of Barnsley are releasing a series of single hop beers for 2008.

Each of these beers features an American variety, and if Acorn's success with their single varietal British hop beers is to be replicated then these should be worth seeking out.

I have a lot of time for Acorn; their beers are consistently good tasty brews. I also have a lot of time for American hops, even in the relatively moderate amounts that British brewers use them.

Acorn beers are regular visitors to Leicester pubs where I am fortunate enough to go fairly regularly, so I'll hopefully see a fair few of these beers. If you taste them before I do then let me know how you get on.

Found Today, Bacchus - Liefmans Replacements

I found these two beers in Sainsbury's today. They are not Liefmans Kriek and Frambozen, but Van Honsebrouck Bacchus Kriek and Frambozen. It is however easy to get them mixed up, such is the nature of the packaging.

This is obviously more evidence of the difficulties Liefmans have found themselves in. Reports from Belgium are that they have been declared bankrupt. Clearly Sainsbury's and Van Honsebrouck have moved quickly to produce replacements. It remains to be seen how good they are but I shall obviously give them a whirl.

Help For Heroes Spitfire - A Deception?

Without trawling through every page on the Internet, I can find no proof that Help For Heroes Spitfire is a new beer. It is however described as such in various places.

The beer appears just to be the regualr Spitfire but sold in 250 ml bottles. There is no doubt that Help For Heroes is a worthy cause but there does appear to be some deception here.

Shepherd Neame are such a huge brewery that they could and should do better than this. If anybody can show me that I am incorrect, and that this is indeed a new beer then I would be glad to be proven wrong.

A Beer For Women? Probably Not.

Today's Observer carries a story about a new real ale designed specifically for women.

19 year old Harriet Easton has spent 18 months and £35000 reserching a beer which she appears to believe will be perfect for women. Working together with Hanby brewery she has come up with a pale 4.2% ABV beer with orange extract.

Confusingly she has named it Harry's Beer rather than the more feminine Harriet's Beer which her name may have led her towards.

I fail to see this as being anything other than an expensive publicity stunt. Firstly I'm not sure women will go for this. If they like real ale they like it for what it is, and I am sure are not searching for a girly version. They will probably try it but will probably not agree it's a woman's beer. And if they don't like real ale I doubt they will try it anyway.

Being brewed by Hanby there's little chance of it getting national pub coverage either so it's all set up to fail.

I would be interested what female readers think. I'm sure you all have sufficiently discerning taste to agree that there is no need for a woman's beer. After all: good beer is for everyone.

Czech This Quadruppelbock Out

A Czech brewery is launching a 21% beer. Not surprisingly, at this strength, it is dark and as it is a Czech beer, it's bottom fermented. It is described as a doppel doppel bock. So that'll be a quadruppelbock then?!

It will hardly come as a shock that they are looking to export it to USA who get all the good beers in both senses of the word.

This doesn't seem like the type of beer which would be too popular in its homeland but will appear to beer geeks the World over. I doubt very much though that we will see it in the UK sadly.

Duke Of Bronte - NOT The Strongest Bottled Beer In UK

Old Bear Brewery in Keighley, England has bottled its 12.5% beer Duke Of Bronte. This beer has been seen cask conditioned, but has now been bottled "for the beer connoisseurs ".

It's good to see brewers being proud of their products, and challenging the 'wine is better than beer' snobbery, and for that I commend Ian Cowling.

Having a love of strong beers as I do, it's certainly the type of beer I will keep an eye out for. However (there's usually a however!) I am concerned at their misconception that this is the "strongest bottled ale in the country". They clearly have never heard of Shoes Farriers Beer.

Duvel Triple Hop - Bugger The Expense

Before today, the most money I'd ever spent on a bottle of beer was £8.99 for a 2003 release of Dogfish Head World Wide Stout. It was well worth it even though the bottle was only 355ml worth of liquid. But that liquid was 23% ABV wonderful Imperial Stout, and when I drank it on July 4th 2004, I loved it to bits, and of course immediately regretted that it was the only bottle I had.

Today though I spent £12.95 on Duvel Triple Hop. This is a 750 ml bottle, and the beer is 9.5% ABV, so arguably it is better value for money than the DFH, but of course, until I taste it I won't know that for sure. Triple Hop has three different hops: Saaz, Styrian Goldings, and Amarillo, which are used at different times of the mash which impart a much hoppier flavour than the regular Duvel. It is reckoned to age well and could possibly still be improving in 20 years time.

Just 1500 bottles have been produced, and, it is said, there will be no more, although this might hopefully change if it is proven to be a massive success.

I have no idea when I will get round to drinking my bottle and doubt very much I will buy any more, so it may well be saved for a special occasion many years from now. If anyone else does try it in the meantime I would be interested to hear what you think.

It is a lot of money to pay for a beer but it's a beer I would hate to miss out on, and it is nearly Christmas!

Innis & Gunn - Have I Given Them A Rum Deal?

I seem to kicked open a can of worms over at Beer Pages with my comments that Innis and Gunn are a fake brewery. I stand by that assessment, not because I see contract brewers as the Devil, but that I am deeply suspicious of contract breers not divulging the plant where their stuff comes from.

It seems a common understanding that I&G's beers are brewed at Belhaven although I am not sure I have ever seen that actually quoted from the source. Certainly there is no confirmation of this on their website, and Roger Protz has questioned whether the Greene King takeover of Belhaven may have changed that. One is for certain: the bottles say brewed in Scotland, so if it transpires that that is not the case then there is a serious amount of misleading going on.

Having said all this, their stuff is actually pretty decent. In line with other Scottish brewers BrewDog and Williams Bros they are producing innovative interesting beers. Their website states "Using oak to age beer is unheard of. But, the flavours imparted by the oak barrels (previously used to mature bourbon) lend an incredible depth of
taste. Think vanilla, toffee and orange aromas, with a malty,
lightly oaked palate; soothing and warm in the finish.".

Of course oak aged beers is not a new thing across the Atlantic Ocean, but it is pretty rare in the UK. The barrel character comes through very strongly in all of their beers with real whiskey notes together with an oaky vanilla. The beers can withstand this character as well as they all have a decent kick of strength.

This year's new product though is a little different. Rum Cask Finish Oak Aged Beer is first matured in oak barrels for thirty days before then spending a further 30 days in selected navy rum barrels. I cannot claim to be a rum fan and am certainly not an afficianado, but what I do know is this beer is bloody lovely. The rum is stronger in the aroma than taste, but what does get into the taste is unbeliveably mellow and smooth. It's a truly silky beer and at 7.4% ABV has just the right amount of alcohol kick. I would have to say that this is a quality product and comfortably my favourite I&G beer.

So, to reiterate, these are good beers. They are great recipes and the maturation is spot on, but just be honest guys and reveal where it comes from. I hope that's not too much to ask.

New UK Fairtrade Beer

Freeminer Brewery of Gloucestershire are producing a new beer exclusively for the Co-Op chain of supermarkets. They already produce a couple of beers for them, one of which is fairtrade. This one is both fairtrade and organic.

I seek out new beers regardless of how ethical they may be, but I do like to shop fairtrade if at all possible.

Fairtrade beer in the UK usually means honey, and UK honey beers just don't float my boat. I can't even say I'm that struck by Belgian beers using honey. I drank a bottle of fairtrade Wychwood BeeWyched immediately after my bottle of Ruddles Rhubarb and I actually preferred the Rhubarb nonsense. The other Freeminer fairtrade beer Bumble Bee is also disappointing.

The difference here though, is that the fairtrade product is Demerera Sugar. Now obviously I am expecting another sweet beer, but at least it won't be bloody honeyfied. Hopefully after this, brewers can consider using other fairtrade products more often. I look forward to trying it and filing my report.

Magners Light - I Can Hardly Wait

Those wonderful people from Bulmers in Ireland are really spoiling us now. They are about to release a lower calorie version of their over ice cider Magners in the UK. It will be the same 4.5% alcohol by volume, but will have approximately 91 les calories per 330ml bottle. Allegedly it is already selling well in Ireland.

Regular readers will recall that I didn't think much to the ordinary version and I am quite sure that this 'light' version will be equally poor if not considerably worse.

We are promised that it will be available in Asda from October 1st. I will probably be setting up a sleeping bag outside the night before in anticipation.

Actually, thinking about it, isn't there another way of making Magners lower in calories? Just use extra ice!

Two New Beers From Badger

It appears that Badger brewery has let the cat out of the bag with their latest product. Poacher's Choice is described as a liquorice and damson-flavoured 5.7% ABV dark ale and is said to be a winner of the Tesco Drinks Award.

Interestingly the winners are not supposed to be announced until October 8th, so Tescos may not be pleased that this information is already out there, but hey I like it when Tescos get annoyed.

This is the second interesting new Badger beer at the moment. Their 4.6% Pumpkin Ale is also new and is brewed with cloves and peat as well as the halloween vegetable. I'm not a huge fan of Badger beers but it's excellent to see them experimenting in this way with different ingredients.

Pumpkin ales are very popular in the USA; at least 100 have been produced, but to my knowledge this is the first such in the UK. I look forward to trying it, and reviewing it here.

A Beer And A Fag Rolled Into One

I suppose it had to happen. The Old Bear Brewery of Keighley in West Yorkshire has brewed a tobacco beer. It has the original name of Puffing Billy! So now people can have their fix of nicotine without going outside .

What I personally find surprising that it's such a small microbrewery which has produced this beer. I shall certainly give it a go if I see it, inspite of my disliking of smoking.

I am not aware of their being another tobacco beer. Maybe you know different?

A Gift From Mexico

Wooh. Lucky old us. A new Mexican beer is to be launched in the UK. Mexicali is described as "a highly drinkable and distinctive lager" which will appeal to customers who are "becoming more adventurous in their beer selections and are looking for authentic Latin beers".

I am not sure such a person exists. Apart from people like me who will try anything once for a rating, the type of person who will drink Mexicali are those who think a segment of lime in their Sol or Corona is the height of chic. Looking at others opinions on RateBeer it's not a beer to get exited about. If any of you are lucky enough to have tried it, then let us all know. When I find it I'll give it a review here.

(Bet you can't wait for that)

New U.S. Beers In The UK

Just as a heads up for my British readers, I am advised that James Clay have just started importing the following US beers into the UK.

Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale
Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber
Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA
Great Divide Titan IPA
Left Hand JuJu Ginger
Goose Island Summertime

Apparently beers will follow later in the year from Terrapin and Victory Breweries.

This is excellent news for all of us whether we seek new
beers or not as these are all interesting highly rated beers. I hope to be able to get my hands on bottles of all of them.

Ruddles Rhubarb - Blah, Blah, Blah

If you Google Ruddles Rhubarb you will find the first hit is its page on RateBeer, and the second hit is a forum post on the same website. Indeed there is no reference to it at all on Greene King's website. Yet this is the beer which has just won the Te--o Beer Challenge. (sorry I cannot bring myself to type that word) It beat 63 other beers to win that accolade, unless of course you believe the same conspiracy theorists who say GK paid for the silver gong IPA earned in the Champion Beer Of Britain Competition a couple of years ago, and would therefore believe some sort of underhand tactics are going on.

I don't normally go out of my way to taste GK beers but after my friend harrisoni on Ratebeer called it "truly truly disgusting, one of the worst beers in the world." and said: "Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please.... I beg of you, do not buy this beer. It is truly, truly horrible. I threw mine away after about 1/3 of the bottle. It is disgusting. Do not what ever you do be tempted to buy it." I just had to try it.

I need to say that I am pretty disgusted that GK choose to use the name Ruddles for this beer. The traditional brewery in England's smallest county would never have produced such a beer before the sequence of events which saw them now being part of the GK family. Of course the brewery in Langham is no more. Why didn't they just call it Greene King Rhubarb?

So to the beer. It ain't good, but it certainly isn't the worst beer I've ever tasted. It has a nice reddy amber colour which does look nice in the glass. The aroma is just like rhubarb and custard sweets and the taste is also pretty heavy on the rhubarb, but I don't think rhubarb is such a ridiculous ingredient. There is a little bit of tartness which you would like from a decent fruit beer (even though Rhubarb is a vegetable). I think it works better than blackberries which to my mind always lead to a super sweet beer which tastes too much like pop. It does have cloying tendencies, it's certainly not a beer you'd have a session on, and the pasteurization is very obvious. I scored it a 2.2 on the RateBeer scale, and that's not too bad. I'm glad I didn't pay for the beer as I don't like T--cos or GK getting my money, and I now never have to drink the beer again.