Yorkshire Ales in 2015

I made a trip up to Yorkshire in January, so my first 3 Yorkshire ales of the year were imbibed in dear old Yorkshire, which I do miss a tad...  

Anyway, 6 of us traveled up, specifically to attend a football match in Burnley (which is very close to the Yorkshire border), first destination Leeds, where we had a couple of drinks at the Wetherspoons in the station, and it is just called "Wetherspoons", not very imaginative... We were also awaiting Tom, who had missed our train at Kings Cross, but was coming up on the next one!  

Whilst in the 'spoons, we started with pints of Leeds Pale, a 3.8% very easy drinking pale session bitter, brewed with Slovenian Bobek hops. It was a nice refreshing way to start our drinking (if you ignore what was consumed on the train up), but our second pint was much better... That is, the Saltaire Cascade Pale Ale, a 4.8% ale, more body and bitterness, with a dry grapefruit finish produced by the Cascade and Centenniel hops used, this was getting better and more flavoursome.   

We got to Haworth thanks to another train, and wine provided by Kieran, and by taxi from Keighley, where we stayed at the Apothecary Tearooms and Guesthouse, run by our mate Teapot Dave and his brother Nick, ta muchly. I'll not mention the trip over the border, we came second, but after we'd eaten, we did a few pubs in Haworth, the only one worth mentioning ale-wise being The Fleece. Although it is a Timothy Taylor house, they had a Saltaire guest ale on, which I noted as "3 Cs", so I'm guessing it was the 4.4% Trio Pale, which uses 3 American hops, and I remember it being very good!   

Back to the Dolphin and Hastings, and this month I have savoured 4 more Yorkshire ales here. First, a completely different style of ale, the Rudgate Ruby Mild, a deep red 4.4% richer beer, almost a meal in itself, and not too easy to drink much more than one pint at a time, but very nice and tasty, and in a RNLI glass, respect.  

They have also had 3 pale hoppy ales, much more to my taste, of course. The first 2 of which were from one of my old favourite brewers, that is, the Roosters Cogburn, a 4.3% pale golden bitter brewed with American hops, very thirst quenching and their ever dependable Yankee, another 4.3% pale bitter, that uses Cascade hops also from the USA. Both very nice, indeed, but my favourite so far this year has to be from my old employer, Kelham Island Brewery, which is awaiting a new website, so cannot provide, sorry! Oh yes, their 4.9% Blondie Beer, pale, hoppy, with a nice dry bitter finish, very good, indeed, cheers!    

American beer, yes, really...

So, why have I, a great exponent of cask-conditioned ales, written a blog on beers from the USA? Well, it started in 1998, when I visited Chicago because I was delivering a paper to a social scientist conference out there, and I went to Goose Island for an afternoon. Goose Island was a brewpub, which I believe is now owned by one of the biggie brewers, but happy to get feedback on this and Goose Island. 

Anyway, I'd had a bit of local info from a mate who was married to a lass from nearby, Illinois or suchlike, and I was very happy with the results. Excellent real ales brewed on the premises, and all types of English styles: IPA, Extra Special Bitter, Porter, Stout, Best Bitter, they had the lot, and very nice they were too. The only error I made there was to order 'chips' with my burger ("How would you like your burger?" was a surprise question too) and being given crisps, oh well, a learning process... I also found out you could get their beers bottle-conditioned, I'm sure one was called 'Honkers' that I had back at the hotel where I was staying, although another learning experience for me, they DO like their beers cold out there, the Honkers was dragged out of a sink full of icy water! Goose Island do still exist, see their website (site).

Secondly, a friend of mine, Anne, who's first wedding, at Wandsworth Town Hall I was a witness at many years ago, now lives in Florida, and she sent Ken Wells' Travels with Barley to me as a present last year. Interesting read, and, although I haven't been able to grab hold of any of the 'extreme' beers mentioned therein, eg Dogfish World Wide Stout, weighing in at a hefty 23.6%, nor the same brewer's 120 Minute IPA, packed with hops, and a meagre 18%, I did manage to find the 4 following weaker beers, available at my local Morrisons.   

You'll notice that these are mostly IPA style, or APAs (American Pale Ales), which was not such a hardship for me, the first of which was the bottle-conditioned, and extremely well known, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (5.6%). I thought that this may not be that good, being as it was a bit 'run of the norm' for American beers, but it was bottle-conditioned, so... Magnum and Perle hops are used in the brewing process, and it is finished with Cascade, so promising, and it definitely had the citrus fruit you would expect, I got grapefruit, and have seen another reviewer say tangerine, whatever, it had very very nice flavour and bitterness too, what a pleasantly surprising start! More at the brewers website, if you want to research further (site).  

OK, I was getting into this now, I do love research, and moved onto my second choice, Steven Point (site) being the brewer, and their IPA this time, which is actally brewed for the UK market, that's how popular some of these beers are becoming! This is also 5.6%, and uses Magnum and Perle hops too, and dry hopped with Cascade, so I'm guessing they're competing directly with the Sierra Nevada... Indeed, I had already made a note of cascade hops used before checking, so that hop's flavour definitely came through, a wee bit apple in the flavour, hint of sweetness, and a bitterness coming from the grapefruit flavour provided by the cascade hops. Not bad at all, I wrote "goodish" in my notes, but not as much to my liking as the Sierra Nevada...   

My penultimate beer was another IPA, this time brewed by Shipyard Brewing Company (site) and 5.8%. The Shipyard version is a single hop variety, and even has a subtitle Fuggles IPA, and yes, you've guessed, fuggles are the hops of choice for this ale. I've seen quite a few reviews of this beer saying "traditional English style", oh dear, what a shame, though I didn't catch the grapefruit taste others did. Maybe I know the fuggles hop a bit too well, but I did pick up a fruitiness, apple and plum though for me! Another not too bad beer, but my IPA, or APA, of choice in this tiny sample has to be the Sierra Nevada, I thank you...  

I finished off my American beer venture with the Shipyard Blue Fin Stout, amazingly, being sold off cheaply at Morrisons for just £1 a bottle, many thanks to Morrisons as I bought a bottle on 3 or 4 separate visits! So, a very different style of beer, and, the fact I went back for more says a lot about it, and not just the price. The Blue Fin Stout is described as a "classic Irish Stout" and has an array of hops used in the brewing process, Warrior, Cascade, Tettnang and Goldings, though, excepting 'Black IPAs", as discussed in a recent blog, I have trouble spotting the hops in darker beers. This was very enjoyable, though, with a subtle malt and caramel flavour, and a nice dry roasted barley finish, 'twas a bit like a traditional stout, indeed. 

So, I say "thank you" to the Yanks and their growing influence in the world of brewing, particularly to their willingness to chuck in loadsa hops, cheers m'dears!    

PS. Michael Jackson, the "Beer Hunter", was a better known exponent of different styles of beer, and he did like his American travels too. I was given a free bottle of the 'Extra Special' Fullers ESB he brewed for the American market, and it was pretty good, but he did like his favourite ale, the merely 3.5% Chiswick Bitter brewed at Fullers in nearby Chiswick. His last evening on earth was spent drinking Chiswick Bitter at his local pub, the Andover Arms in Hammersmith, whilst I was relief manager there... R.I.P. Michael Jackson (1942-2007). 

Wandering Part II

Part II of my research saw me visit the Jenny Lind, High Street, Hastings, and The Stag, All Saints Street, Hastings.  My first stop was at the Jenny Lind, which I hadn't visited since the new ownership, and was suitably impressed.  I received a warm welcome from Sarah behind the bar, who even admitted to reading my blog, nice to be appreciated, many thanks!

So, apart from a lovely barmaid interested in the ales, always a good sign, there were 6 real ales (all having 1p off a pint since the budget, this is a first!) and a real local cider, Laughing Jester (5.5%). The real ales included 2 from Hastings Brewery, Blonde (3.9% and £3.19 a pint) and Pale Ale (4.7%); 2 from Theakstons, Best Bitter (3.8%) and Old Peculiar (5.6%); Courage Directors (£3.49 a pint); and my ale for this visit... 

The 'guest ale' was Wadworth's Bishop's Tipple, 5% and a typical tasting ale from that brewer, pale 'amber' coloured, a bit sweet at first, but actually quite bitter with a nutty aftertaste, a very nice beer that I seemed to remember from my last drinking this many years ago, cheers Sarah.  A friend, Tony, also came in whilst I was drinking there, and I was next going to visit his own pub of choice (a burden of course). 

The Stag is another Shepherd Neame pub in Hastings, this and the Hastings Arms are the best 2 of many, in my opinion.  Of course, they sell their own brewery brands, and there was a 'guest' from Okell's, a nice 3.7% bitter called Bitter, a good choice of name, if unoriginal, which I drank (£3.50 a pint). Their own ales were Kents Best (4.1%), and 2 'seasonal' ales, that I have recently reported on, the pale golden 4.3% Early Bird and the very good Double Stout (4%). I had a good chat with the landlord, Alan, and with another customer (who knew too many people from Sheffield that I do for comfort!), and Tony came in towards the end of my visit.

So, in Hastings 'old' town, the FILO is the leader for the best value ales...

Cheers all!

London 6th - 8th March 2013

I arrived at Clapham Junction on the 6th, and departed from Clapham Junction on the 8th, as you can see, a bit wet then, so a trip to The Northcote, Northcote Road, now it's a nice safe pub to visit, and not just for me, but a very woman friendly environment, together with a wide range of customers, young and old, as well as my age, in the middle a bit, haha, and, of course, male and female.  I was served a pint of the ale shown below by the delightful Ruby, who has been present on a previous visit too, and she asked me to mention their having a young Brazilian lad working behind the bar too, presumably, for my female readership?

So, apart from the obvious, other ales included Youngs Bitter (3.7% and called 'Ordinary' by us older Youngs drinkers, or someone like me who worked in a Youngs' pub in my yoof, when their ales were still brewed in Wandsworth) and Sharps Doom Bar (4%). I'm sure I must have drunk this before, anyway, I tried a pint of the Adnams Ghost Ship, a 4.5% reasonably pale coloured bitter, though not quite the "ghostly pale ale" the brewery describes it as, but a decent bitter nonetheless; and, of course, a pint of the local Sambrook's Junction, a 4.5% medium coloured bitter, what I always think of as a typical London bitter colour, I'm sure you know what I mean, and it tastes like a typical London bitter, very nice too, cheers! 

Previously, my brother, The Routemeister, had met me in The Candlemaker, Battersea High Street, on the 6th, where Kathryn appeared shortly after our arrival (I think that's how to spell her name, sorry if I'm wrong, K) and we were served by a very friendly Antipodean, Holly, who also has family links to South East Sussex. We each had a pint of the Sambrook's Pale Ale, a nice pale and hoppy 4.2% bitter from the local brewer.  They also had available the same brewery's Wandle, a 3.8% session bitter, Kings IPA (5.2%), which I'd have loved to try, but a bit strong for the middle of the day, and their own brewery, Laine's Best Bitter (4.1% and reported on before).  

Finally, we had a drink at The Bricklayer's Arms in Putney, where there were still many ales on from their 'Yorkshire Beer Festival', too many to mention now, but have a look at their website (site) for more information. We had a pint each of Great Heck Brewing Dispensible, a 4.5% pale beer, we were a little disappointed with, as, frankly, it needed more hops. Also, I was a wee bit upset I'd missed the Kelham Island Pale Rider, though I was to drink their Easy Rider at my local, the Dolphin, in Hastings, less than a week later (both ales I have brewed when I worked for Kelham Island). 

 

Cheers!

Thursday 8th November - Hastings

Visited by the 'Larkmeister', a Mackem today, so, we had a few pints over the course of the day, first at the First In Last Out (FILO) in Hastings Old Town, (High Street).

 

Mike, the landlord, was at the bar when we arrived, but was not staying for a drink, however, as usual, he's great company, and always a good conversation, although only brief today. However, the lovely new Latvian barmaid, Elina, was there for when Mike had left, not so bad company either to be honest, and a good pint puller to boot, thanks for the ales Elina! 

 

Four of their own beers were on sale, and Harveys Hadlow Bitter (3.5%). The 4 FILO ales were Crofters Best Bitter, their 3.8% session ale, Old Town Tom (4.5%), if you haven't visited for a while this is a renamed ale due to another brewery's threat of prosecution over its old name, Cardinal Sussex Porter (4.6%), and Gold, a 4.8% Premium Bitter, which I rather enjoyed, nice and pale, quite bitter, with a good body. 

From the FILO, we wandered over The Bourne (now a road, not a river anymore) and walked down All Saints Street, enjoying the medieval buildings; I make a reasonable tour guide, I hope.  Anyway, we wandered down to the seafront and westwards to the White Rock Hotel, near the pier, which has a reasonably priced bar with 4 real ales, always sourced locally, not so bad for a bar very close to the centre of Hastings.

 

The 4 ales were Hastings Best (4.1%) and Pale Ale (4.7% and using American hops), Harveys Sussex Old Ale (4.3%, not bad, but not a patch on their 4.5% Old Ale, more of which another day), and the 4.1% V S Old Ale from 1648 Brewery. I had to try the 1648, as new to me, the ale, that is, not the brewery, and it's a very decent seasonal ale with a hint of licquorice, like many of these darker ales.

Now we were a wee bit hungry, so wandered back to the Old Town and visited what many locals regard as the best Fish & Chip shop/restaurant in Hastings, the Life Boat Restaurant, where we enjoyed our meals, and the Larkmeister even 'supersizing' his meal up to a large piece of cod for just 20p extra, and it was a huge piece of fish too, he even ended up leaving some food! Anyway, I stuck to a normal sized piece of fish, which was fairly large in itself, and we were served by an enchanting young woman, originally from Eastbourne, I believe her name was Jess, but regret, for once, not making a note of her name, sorry if I'm wrong, Tess/whoever, I'll buy you a drink...

Our final port of call was the Dolphin, for the Thursday night quiz, which was a great laugh as ever! I shall update details of the Dolphin's ales very soon, in another blog, as I was there a few times in the following days.

 

Cheers!