July: and Bitter May!

I'll start by saying, sorry this is so late, but I really wanted to celebrate CAMRA's annual Mild May Month, or whatever it's called, but saw not a drop of Mild! So, I thought I'd mention what I consider were the better bitters I quaffed during May...

The first is a wonderful golden amber bitter from Franklins Brewing Company of East Sussex (website), their 5.5% North Shore IPA. Regular readers will be aware I love my dry hoppy, citrus and fruit flavoured bitters, and the drier and more bitter the better, and this hasn't let me down whenever I've tasted it, great stuff! It is a single hopped ale, with the New Zealand hop, Rakau, and a more in-depth citrus fruit flavour, with hints of peach and apricot, and a great dry aftertaste, excellent.

The second ale to be considered, from Raw Brewing Company of Derbyshire (website), their 4.5% Nid Welsh, a collaboration with The Pigeon Fishers, also of Derbyshire (website), and The Waen Brewery (website) and Hopcraft Brewing (website), both of Wales. Called a "Red IPA" in the literature, but more of a bronze colour, with a strong fruity aroma, and mango in the flavour, dries out with plenty of bitterness, the dry hopping doesn't hurt, I'd imagine. I noted "very good" in my tasting notes, which means what it says!

Next, from Navigation Brewery of Nottingham (website), their 5.5% Apus American IPA, named after the 'Bird of Paradise'. Lager malts and American hops are used, providing for an extremely refreshing lovely citrus hoppy bitter, very nice indeed.

And, what can I say?!? 2 more excellent ales sitting side by side, and from 2 of my favourite breweries... From the Scottish Fyne Ales (website), their consistently excellent 4.5% Avalanche, brewed from Maris Otter Pale and Wheat malts, and with Cascade and Liberty hops, a great combination. A pale straw colour, and this has citrus running up your nose as soon as you reach for the glass, dries out into a lovely bitterness, you couldn't ask for better, but...

Along comes this tribute to Joe Strummer and the Clash, from my old employer in Sheffield, Kelham Island Brewery (website), a 5.3% delight of an ale, London Calling... A deep amber colour, and a very dry bitter, and I mean very dry, using 4 English hops, Phoenix, Bramling Cross, East Kent Goldings, and a regularly used hop by the brewery in my time there, First Gold. I loved this, cheers!

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!