Have an excellent year with plenty of ale, cheers!
Thursday 31 December 2015
Sunday 27 December 2015
Christmas Drinking...
Well, I did my drinking at the Dolphin, Rock-a-Nore, Hastings this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and on the 24th, the Dolphin had 5 of its 6 ales from Sussex. There was the ever-present regular Dark Star Hophead (3.8%), my usual drink at the Dolphin, and what I drank on Christmas Eve too, and one of the local guests was Franklins Explorer (4.7%), with a deep amber colour, fruity, a bit sweet at first taste, then drying out...
Of course, there was the regular Sussex Best from Harveys (4%), and the third regular, Youngs Special (4.5%) from north of the Thames; no need to comment on them!
The other two guest ales were 1648 Gold Angel (5%), a golden bitter, as you'd expect, with a citrus aroma and flavour, and from the excellent newish Sussex brewery, Downlands, their 5% porter Devils Dyke; a reminder of one school trip in my youth, though I didn't drink porter then, we just visited the Devils Dyke....
The Devils Dyke and Gold Angel ran out that day, and were replaced by 2 excellent pale hoppy ales I was spoilt with for my Christmas Day lunchtime session, ie the always excellent Oakham Citra (4.2%), pale, hoppy, citrus, just what the Citra hop does for the ale, and I have to admit, all the Oakham ales I have drunk have never disappointed me, quality always!
Finally, from a Swansea brewery I had never sampled an ale from before, the rather superb Waen Mousse Warning! They describe it as "hellish good beer", and it has Citra, Cascade and Centennial hops, so, like a much more fuller bodied Citra, but with a deeper intensity in the flavour, a bit more dry and bitter too, gorgeous!
Anyway, if I don't write again before, Happy New Year, cheers!
Labels:
1648,
Christmas,
Citra,
Dark Star Hophead,
Devils Dyke,
Dolphin Inn,
Downlands,
Explorer,
Franklins,
Gold Angel,
Harveys Sussex Best,
Hastings,
Mousse Warning,
Oakham,
Waen,
Youngs Special
Thursday 24 December 2015
Merry Winter Ales!
The FILO Our Auld Ale, a whopping 6.5% and secondary fermenting, I'd imagine, is on for the third year at their 'brewery tap', the First In Last Out, High Street, Hastings. What can I say that I haven't said in previous years? It's mighty damn good!
Also, at the Dolphin Inn, Hastings, I recently drank the Kent brewery, Old Dairy, Snow Top, a mere 6%, another excellent winter ale, tasting like a full bodied heavy old ale, as it should. I have drunk other winter/old ales recently, but these two stand out...
Anyway, have a merry festive season, cheers!
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