Great American Beers Have Arrived

Not long after I started this blog, and in comments I left on others, I lamented the lack of decent American beers available in this country. Sure we had a few, and some of them are very good such as Brooklyn Lager and Anchor Porter, but the beers available were mostly from the larger breweries.

Since then though the range has improved dramatically. We have seen beers from Great Divide, Flying Dog, Rogue, Goose Island, Left Hand and an increased range from Sierra Nevada. I dare say I've missed one or two as well.

In the last couple of weeks though we've seen more great, and in many cases, pretty rare, beers imported into the country.

Beers Of Europe's American range now includes twelve different beers from California's Stone Brewery, whilst the Port and Lost Abbey beers I mentioned previously, have now arrived and can be found here and here.

None of these beers are cheap - what do you expect with the cost of importation and the standard of them - but should be well worth the outlay. It may be too late for Christmas, but New Year's Eve may be a cause for celebration.

The Jug & Bottle, Bubwith

After you've packed a toothbrush and a couple of pairs of spare pants, there's nothing you really need for a holiday than a few decent bottles of beer. Choosing to leave my stash at home, I searched t'internets for a decent offie en route to our destination and really hit the jackpot with The Jug & Bottle in Bubwith.

Not just a beer shop, this is a superb and essential visit for any body interested in the finer aspects of food and drink. As mentioned on their beer page, they stock a good range of beers which are not usually found on your average high street. They also stock a few beers on draught for that essential take out. It would have been easy to but boxes full of beer, but in all seriousness I only had room in the car for a few beers so purchased a bottle conditioned mild from Brown Cow, a couple of bottles I'd not seen before from Timothy Taylor, an unseasonal Christmas beer from Otley, and old favourite Traquair Jacobite.

We also bought some very good cheeses, olives and sun dried tomatoes for our evening grub. The proprietor was all too happy to let us sample the cheeses before purchasing, which is always a nice touch.

As well as these, there's a great selection of wines as well, all of which would make it very easy for me to spend a ton of money on a regular basis if I lived nearer.

Bubwith village is less than 15 miles from York. It's well worth a detour for anyone travelling to that beautiful city.

Bells Brewery's New Shop

Back in September I wrote about visiting the Bells brewery off licence at Ullesthorpe Garden Centre. Well now it's moved, and I'm not really sure why.

They've moved just a few miles away to the sprawling village of Broughton Astley which is still quite near to Junction 20 but not as close as Ullesthorpe. Whereas the previous shop doubled up as a farm shop and mini delicatessen, this one sells booze and homebrew stuff only.

The previous shop would have attracted tons of drop in trade from people visiting the garden centre and had ample parking. This shop is in the middle of a narrow main street with little parking. It really seems to be a strange choice of location. I seriously worry about the viability but hope my worries are unfounded.

As for the beer, I bought a few bottles including Parish Baz's Bonce Blower which should be fun. By the way, the shop is now called Quench which is very modern!!

Dobbies - A Taste Of Scottish Beer

I am indebted to Hughie from RateBeer for a heads up about Dobbies Garden Centre on the outskirts of Milton Keynes.

Garden Centres are not your normal haunt for decent beers although the one within a mile from my house has a small range including Cusqueña Malta from Peru, but Dobbies has a more than respectable choice of bottled beer.

Being a Scottish company the beer is all from north of the border, with examples from Arran, Atlas, Belhaven, Black Isle, Bridge Of Allan, Broughton, Cairngorm, Caledonian, Fyne, Hebridean, Inveralmond, Islay, Isle Of Skye, Orkney, Traquair, Valhalla and Williams Bros. Sadly there is no BrewDog, but hopefully in time there may be. I have not seen such a vast range of Scottish beers under one roof before and added to the fact that the food hall has some great produce including local free range meat,a visit is well worth while.

Although mostly in Scotland there are a fair few branches in England so hopefully you will be able to show support to a store new you.

M1 Motorway - Junction 20

Most of us just speed up and down the nation's motorways, not giving a thought to getting off and investigating what lies within a small radius. Junction 20 of the M1 is in Leicestershire. If travelling from the North it is signed "Lutterworth and Rugby" whereas from the South it is signed "Lutterworth and Market Harborough".

When exiting you can find a gem of a place in either direction.

The Black Horse at Walcote is about a mile and a half from the motorway in the direction of Market Harborough. The old pub was demolished and a new one built in its place in 2006. From the outside it looks like a newly built house, all red brick and tiled roof. However inside it's unmistakably a pub! There are three separate areas. The bar area has a row of seven or eight tables; a room at the back has comfy sofas, a pool table and a plasma screen, and then there is a conservatory area for diners. There are nine handpumps respledent with their real ales, and a temperature controlled stillage area with room for up to eight further beers or ciders. All the beers I tried were in tip top condition, served by a landlord who is very proud of his beer and proud of the fact that he is currently Leicester CAMRA Pub Of The Month. The food is very good also, and its evening Thai menu is renowned for miles around with Take Away also offered. It is all in all an excellent all round pub.

Heading six miles or so in the other direction beyond Lutterworth is the village of Ullesthorpe and Bells Brewery and deli. The shop sells an excellent range of British bottled beers and a smaller range of foreign beers. Of particular interest to me is the fact that they are selling the American beers being imported by James Clay. Prices are very reasonable and the beer buying experience can be enhanced by buying fresh veg, olives, cheese and plenty of other typical deli produce. Beer festivals are held from time to time also, with the next one in a couple of week's time.

So, next time you are heading up or down the M1 give yourself an extra couple of hours and visit these two great beer havens.

Hogs Back Visit

My latest trip out was to Hogs Back Brewery Shop. The brewery can be found in the village of Tongham, just off the A31 Farnham to Guildford road. The road is called the Hogs Back!

The brewery was born on August 4th 1992, and has grown pretty rapidly since then and has met with pretty decent success culminating in its 9% barley wine: A over T, winning CAMRA's Champion Winter Beer of Britain in 2006. I have followed Hogs Back's success from the start as the brewery is situated just a few miles from my place of birth.

They have built up a huge reputation in their neighbourhood with their beers guesting all over the Surrey/Hampshire borders area, and, of course, beyond. But what has put them particularly in the public's eye is their shop, situated within their premises. The shop sells all their available draught beers in quantities as little as 4 pints, as well as draught ciders from local producer Mr Whiteheads. The off licence always seems to be busy with people buying carry outs for home consumption, whether it be a night in front of the tele, or a party or function.

What is of particular interest to me though is the bottled beers they sell. They stock in excess of 150 different beers, mostly from the UK, but with a small range from Europe and further afield. The foreign beers are well chosen and I have found Westvleteren there in the past, albeit three or four years ago. I would certainly recommend going there if in the vicinity, and if you live local, to support them by buying their draught ales. For me it's an extra excuse to go visit my family who still live nearby

Visit To Beers Of Europe

I have made five online orders from Beers Of Europe, but earlier this week I made my first visit in person.

Even though the address makes it sound like it's in deepest darkest Norfolk, it's actually just off the A10 main road from Kings Lynn to the South, and is signposted from the main road when you arrive at Setchey village.

For me the selection available online is better than any other off licence in the UK, and the postage charges of £7.95 next day delivery regardless of the number of beers ordered is superb. It means it's not really necessary to visit them unless in the neighbourhood what with petrol prices the way they are.

Anyway, I was in the area so paid them a visit. I hoped that the selection would be even better than online, but it's not. Beers were available which the website suggests are sold out, but there aren't any additional beers. Therefore it's pretty obvious that the website is more accurate than most.

The shop is huge. They stock over 500 different beers easily. It would be pretty daunting for the uninitiated, but as a seasoned beer shopper I enjoyed strolling round. Their prices are excellent; none of the beers I bought were more than £2 with most of them being German 500ml beers.

In conclusion go visit if nearby but ordering online is definitely more cost effective. Companies like this need our support and hopefully if we do support them, they will feel confident enough to import more quality brews in times to come.