Beavertown, Heavy Water BA Longmorn '92

Smells like wine when sniffed off the bottleneck, but those vinous fruit aromas weren't repeated elsewhere in the drink. In the glass: soily mushrooms and marmite. There was a sweet element in the taste - milk chocolate rather than a bitter 70%+ cocoa. Only the barest carbonation, but adequate. Strangely, the body wasn't as heavy as expected, but the oiliness of it compensated somehow. There hardly seems to be any whisky, at least not how I might understand it. Possibly there was an overarching sweet and woody presence throughout the whole thing, but because it was so mellow, sometimes it got lost behind other flavours, i.e. the vanilla that crept in as it warmed (nose too). There was only a tiny bit of booze noticeable really.

As I swilled the glass after the starting the last quarter of the drink, there was this weird, slightly cheesy smell and a slight cheese (cheddar?) taste going on. It kind of faded as soon as it came, but it definitely stood out. The bitterness was great, a medium strength, but really long lasting. Nicely burned malt/cereal/biscuit. Quite a dry finish at times (possibly the whisky influence?). I watched the first episode of the Beeb's Sherlock Holmes whilst drinking this. I'd avoided up to this point, but quite fancied seeing how they did Moriarty, so thought I'd better start the series. It was alright actually. Thanks again to Manish for this bottle.

Beavertown, Lord Smog Almighty

Quite a bit of hype that surrounded this release! First there were the Draft House tasting sessions, then the online campaign, the bottle numbering (heavy water only), the delayed release, the distribution hold-ups....then there was the small matter of the price (varying from £12 through to £20). Compared to £6 for a BA Kernel (Glen Spey or Glen Garioch at 10.3%ish), Bristol Beer Factory BA at £5ish or the Magic Rock Bearded Lady at £11.50 for a 660ml bottle. It'd better be amazing I thought.

Served at cold room temperature (10ºC ish?). Soy and baked beans (with berries creeping in on the edge) on the snout, minimal carbonation - about right. Whisky (sweet, slightly solvent) crept in on the nose after the first few sips, then the whisky started to dominate the aftertaste (Braes of Glenlivet are not to be confused with Glenlivet apparently. Some good background on the distillery and tasting notes on some of their vintages can be found here).

The main body of this beer taste was sweet: a little liquorice and a tiny amount of vanilla. Not much coffee, which surprised. Warming booze. Burnt bitterness lasted a medium length after each sip, mingling to a greater or lesser extent with the whisky each time. The best element for me was the tar parenthesis™ that seemed to provide the background for all the other elements - the signature Smog Rocket t-gel flavour, but ramped up for the Imperial. Gentle gum sting and the coal smoke smell, which had been missing thus far, finally made an appearance at the end. A multi-dimensional beer I suppose, each sip was more or less different, which kept things interesting. Fortunately the sweet segments didn't dominate and the smoggy bits I was particularly looking for were there.

Definitely a beer worthy of anyone's time, but not really a £12.50 beer to my mind. (Thanks Manish for keeping the price down on this one - you were one of the more competitively priced sellers of this beer out there.)

Nøgne Ø, IPA

IPA from Finnish brewers Nøgne Ø. Hops over malt, slight burning bitterness in the aftertaste. Umm, that's about it on this one. A decent enough drink, ticks all the boxes, but not much else to say about it really. Probably wouldn't go to it again unfortunately. Picked this one up from the friendly and helpful chaps at the Greenwich Union.

Buxton, Axe Edge

Synchronicitously, I actually blogged my last Buxton IPA this time last year (I drank this bottle in April last year). This is the old branding, before they ditched the 500ml bottles. Buxton are ace - top collaborators (Wyoming Sheep Ranch and Carnage were big beers) and purveyors of silly, modern ale types. I made a yeast soup out of this Axe Edge, but it remains a solid US style IPA. Picked this one up from Mr Lawrence blooming ages ago.

Meantime, Cali Belgian IPA

The first (I think) of the special editions to come out of Meantime. This was a good beer! Sweaty nose, then a big fizzy gob which tasted not wholly unlike a slightly milder version of a houblon chouffe. Certainly not as strong as that one though and there was a little bit of the signature Meantime wateryness that crept in, but to my mind, this actually benefited this drink, making it light (as opposed to 'weak bodied'), refreshing and quite morish. (Good job I got to drink the whole 750ml to myself whilst watching a couple of episodes of Bron/Broen eh?) I suppose I ought to mention the Tony Naylor Guardian article: I paid £10 for this, no postage (picked it up from the Meantime stall at the South Bank market). To give a price context: at 750ml, I figure that makes somewhere between £4.50 and £5 for a 330ml equivalent. I paid around £4.40 for the Stone Ruination, £3.40 for a 330ml Houblon Chouffe, Kernel IPAs are between £2.80 and £3.25 (depending on where you buy them of course) and Bevertowns and Partizans (London beers) are more or less equivalent. So I suppose the Meantime is 'overpriced' but not by too much. Charging more for a ltd edition is fair tactic I suppose, but by how much makes the difference between it being justified or a piss take. To my mind, the price on the Beavertown barrel aged bottles (£20 in the Draft House) leans towards the latter, the Meantime the former.

Dark Star, 6 Hop

6 hop from Dark Star: dewy grass nose, wet leaves, mulch and a fleeting caramel tinge - almost brandy? Taste is instantly bitter - mulchy, dank hops (probably pine - not overly citrusy). Minor booze around the gums when you purse your lips. Great stuff. Bottle drank in August 2013.

Dark Star, Revelation

I've had this american style (sort of) pale ale from Dark Star on a few occasions: cask at the Grape and Grain, keg at the Westow and this bottle (c/o Utobeer). Keg stood out the most for me (I drank the pint on cask ages ago though and can barely remember how it tasted). An unhelpful description might be that this is a bit like a hoppier version of ESB. Good balance, nothing too crazy.

Fuller's, Imperial Stout

This imperial stout from Fuller's was the last beer I had over my birthday weekend last year. 500ml of 10.7% abv is quite a drink - it lasted me more of less the whole of Behind The Candelabra. A very solid impy with all the signifiers of a prime example of the genre: thickness, unctuosity, reigning back of the sweet notes, a deference to the centennial hops to ensure a pleasing bitterness. My only very minor reservation was the lack of tar flavoured elements and possibly it could've done with a touch more burnt malt bitterness, but those are purely personal preferences. Unfortunately, when I think of this drink now I almost immediately associate it with Douglas' contorted face getting pushed over the side of the mattress. Shudder.

Five Points Brewing Company, Trial Brew - Pale Ale

Sensational session pale ale from Five Points. Poured nice and hazy, a deep orange. Fresh, finely balanced, but with a pleasing emphasis on the new world citrusy hops. Had the pleasure of drinking this on cask, could've drunk it for days. I think this is now called their 'Pale Ale'. Picked this 'trial brew' version up from Manish at Good Taste bloody ages ago.

Brodie's Fabulous Beers, Kiwi IPA

It's slightly telling (and possibly a bit sad) that I can easily recall every instance where I've had a Brodie's beer. The Westow once had Dalston Black and the London Fields Pale on tap (keg and cask respectively), both were incredible. (Occasionally, I'll see the Dalston Black in Ales By Mail, but by the time I get round to making my order, they're all sold out.) The pipes at the Cross Keys weren't too clean (I'm guessing) when I visited, so my London Fields there wasn't too great, and I was only able to have the Mofo Stout in Copenhagen. Pint of Citra (at 5%+) in Brewdog Shoreditch. Apart from the Kernel collab (had in a couple of different incarnations) this bottle (1 of 2 purchased) of Kiwi IPA is the only bottle of theirs I've tried. Beyond intense hoppage to inhale and chew on in this; the pungent and viscous pine sap flavours were in ascendency over citrus for me (contrary to other Brodie's I've had surprisingly). Super full body and savagely, savagely bitter.

I think these beers are only brewed out the back of a pub? Hence there being so few of them available. A shame, I try to snaffle these up whenever I can and I always order them on tap over anything else when I see them. Their collborating with the big boys Kernel and Mikkeller is no surprise: James Brodie's beers are world class. Hope I can one day go to a Bunny Basher, failing that, just a trip up to Leyton would suffice.

Great interview with James Brodie talking about his his beer ethos on the (now defunct) London Beer Blog here.

Sam Smith's, Imperial Stout

Says on the Sam Smith's website that you ought to drink this impy stout at 15ºC. I definitely drank it too cold then, but nevermind. Roasty nose: burnt malts and meat. Big coffee taste, impressive thick body. Inexpensive, which is nice.

Guinness, Nigerian Foreign Extra

Nothing like the original Guinness. Took me ages to find one of these, then all of a sudden, south London was flooded with them. I reckon this one is sufficiently different to the regular export version (readily available in Sainsbury's) to be a different drink. It still has a light body when compared to export stouts from the likes of Kernel and Partizan, but that's ok (particularly when you've got 660ml of it). Weak coffee plus a winey, berry nose. Taste is quite sweet (particularly as it warms up), perhaps more sweet than the regular export version. A bit more boozy than that one too. This drink will forever remind me of many good times in my younger days at FWD (when it was in Plastic People). Sigh.

Oskar Blues Brewery, Dale's Pale Ale

Internationally known Dale's from Oskar Blues. Fresh APA goodness with nano-keg tech. No nose to speak of (did have a cold mind you) but a fantastic fresh aftertaste (where all the signature Colorado flavour is it seems) with the longest bitterness I've experienced in a while. No sediment, so I gleefully poured every last drop into my glass - look how much of it I filled...hooray! This drink was not cheap.

Stone Brewing Company, Ruination IPA

Vicky and I shared this bottle after a long drive back from visiting my extended family for Wigilia. Previously, we'd both sampled this (double?) IPA from Stone on keg at the Westow where it was quite impressive: hazy, thick, obviously obscenely hoppy and brilliant (and possibly a lower abv?). I'm afraid to say that this bottle didn't quite measure up. Hoppy yes, piney bitterness yes, but not thick, not hazy and unfortunately not my cuppa to be honest. I was expecting something akin to Racer 5 - bottle conditioned with a good amount of the relevant body to it, but more so for a DIPA at 8%+¹. This was, dare I say it, actually a bit thin? For me, the Danes and O'Riordan do DIPAs better. This bottle set me back £4.60(ish) from Utobeer.

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1 Of course I've been griping about the yeast in BC beers in recent posts, but it certainly seems that BC'd IPAs produce my favourite type, i.e: Hoppiness, nearly all Kernels and Rechurch Great Eastern.

Bear Republic, Black Racer IPA

Fabulous tropical fruit nose this one from Bear Republic, the taste was a more gentle hop flavour followed by a much heavier malt attack. Very joyful bitter aftertaste! Great stuff. My burps tasted of Rio Riva.

Bear Republic, Big Bear Stout

Almost a salty nose off the bottle on this one, meaty and smoky. An ephemeral hop aroma and taste here, very much my bag for stouts. Some berries at the back of the throat on the occasional sip. I possibly drank this a bit too cold, so I suppose I'll be forced to try this again at some point.... I drank this whilst watching that new Star Trek film with Cumberbatch in it. It was alright I suppose, if you like that sort of thing. Spock doing the 'Kaaaahhhnnnn' thing was pretty lame Milhouse though.

Bear Republic, Racer 5

Fantastic tropical nose on this classic bottle conditioned US IPA from Bear Republic. Seamless flow from fruitiness into bitter pine sap, followed by a tongue chewing bitterness for ages afterwards. I can't believe it's taken me so long to get around to blogging this beer, I used to drink it ages ago. Pretty cool that you can get this served in a frosted glass from Byron.

Leffe Brune

This Leffe bought for me by a mate after leaving the Brixton Craft Beer Co somewhat ignominiously (insert pithy rant about jobsworth barstaff here): cheers Mike! Banana and gentle coffee nose. I drank this after tasting Saison Dupont for the first time. It was a little less punchily flavoursome than that, but of course, sometimes less is more (i.e. quads). I enjoyed the maltiness of this as a change to my usual penchant for pale beers.

Partizan, Quad

I didn't really know what a Quad was before I drank this. I mean, I knew that it was one 'level' above a tripel, I knew it was Belgian, but taste-wise and manufacture process-wise, I was more or less totally ignorant. So, looking back over my notes, they seem a little harsh and I'm guessing that was totally due to my ignorance of this style of beer. I've since read about quads (and very possibly most Belgian beers) that they aren't an exercise in blowing one's mind, rather they are about pure drinkability, balance and harmony. I had my first Rochefort 10 the other day and it more or less fit this particular billing. I'd quite I'd like to go back to the Partizan quad and give it another go.

Partizan, Columbus IPA

Typically solid singly hopped IPA from Partizan. Fizzy mouth feel comme la bière belge (my notes say bottled on date of June 2013 and I drank this 1st September). Fruity like lemon/lime, not penny sweets. Tom Baker and a Cyberman having a swift half on the label.

Partizan, Orange IPA

I had in mind to write some sort of invective against modern, bottle conditioned beers, being upset as I was with the fact that unless you love yeast, there is rarely 330ml of drinkable liquid in a 330ml bottle of bottle conditioned beer. I mean, look at that photo! Carefully pouring this orange IPA from Partizan gave me just under half a pint (marked on the glass) of non-yeasty beer. That's 280ml (ish). My maths isn't great (B at GCSE which was a bloody miracle) but a quick sum seems to make that just over 16% of the bottle remaining unpoured. If I pay £2.50 from Mr Lawrence for the bottle, which I did (a decent price for a 7.4% abv IPA to be fair), then that's 40p of non drinkable liquid in the bottle. (Approx.) Times that by the number of bottle conditioned ales I'll drink in a year and it might come to a fair few quid....

I like good beer though. So, in light of the recent, controversial Fool's Gold article (possibly aimed at ltd ed. beers only), I think I'll prefer to leave the indignation to others and get on with the yeast as best I can.

This was a lovely IPA from Partizan, brewed with some bit fruity new world hops which gave it a wonderful and huge fresh orange kick off the nose and a wallop of Fanta in the gob, with a lovely, long and satisfying bitter finish. Bit thin perhaps, but that's the style to be appreciated rather than a nit to be picked. But there was a huge amount of sediment! I thought for a moment that it might have contained orange bits, like a Tropicana, the flakes were that large. I bought a fair few bottles of this at the time (6 I think, a few as gifts) and on one of my less careful pours, I simply couldn't avoid including some yeast which really tainted the taste for me.

I understand this beer was brewed as part of the Rainbow Project, an initiative asking 7 big UK breweries to contribute a rainbow coloured beer. I would've loved to try this Partizan out of a keg - no yeast issues would've made all the difference for me I think.

Partizan, Christmas Stout

My one and only Christmas beer this one from Partizan, a barrel aged strong stout with brettanomyces. My wittily succinct untappd description was "mulled wine and marmite", to which I can't add too much more I'm afraid: burgundy pour, ribena nose (with a marmite edge), taste was spicy mulled wine with a pretty sour edge to it. Minor contribution from the stout only (minimal burnt malts and tar). I kind of knew what I was getting into with this one but nonetheless couldn't really enjoy it for what it was. To make matters worse, I'd caught a particularly nasty bug at some point during the day (visit to The Unicorn for a kid's production probably did it) and I saw the contents of the bottle once more at about 5am, so my memories of this drink are almost certainly tainted somewhat. Think I'll drink my bretts in their more traditional beer-homes in the future.

Victory Brewing Co, Storm King

A supercharged BIPA? An imperial india stout? Whatever. Billed as an imperial stout, this drink from US brewery Victory really hit the spot for me. Having been privileged to sample a relatively broad spectrum of stouts recently, I'm understanding my palate preference for this type of beer a lot more clearly now: less the sweet/liquorice, definitely more the bitter burnt malts + varying degrees of hop profiles à la US IPAs. A tar and smoke edge to this drink (yum) and the hops didn't seem to be separate from the coffee, rather they combined in the mouth seamlessly into a new, individual and unique taste.