English beers from my UK trip

So as I said in an earlier blog I was going on a trip to England.
I took this opportunity to bring back a few respected English brews over for some of my US friends to try.
I was especially pleased that I managed to get hold of a bottle of Old Tom. It has been voted the best beer in the world. I can't wait to try it.

From left to right::-

• Sharps Doombar Bronze in the International Beer Challenge, 2011
• St Austell Brewery Tribute Ale  made with Maris Otter and Cornish Gold Malts and Fuggles, Styrian and Willamette Hops. Voted a supreme Ale by CAMRA
• Sharps Special World's Best Pale Ale (Bitter) - World Beer Awards, 2011, International Beer Challege, 2010 (Silver)
• Robinsons Old Tom named by CAMRA as Supreme Champion Winter Beer of Britain no less than three times at the National Winter Ales Festival. Winner of the worlds best ale.
• Skinners Ginger Tosser A lovely hoppy golden ale, fused with Cornish honey, gives this session beer a superb round finish with a hint of ginger. First brewed for red headed pancake tossers!
• Coniston Bluebird Maris Otter pale malt and crystal malt and Challenger hops.  Supreme Champion Beer of Britain 1998 at the Great British Beer Festival

The Old Tom is the small bottle in the middle So its not going to go far :-)

The label on the back states:-
Old Tom is almost as old as the Brewey itself. It was entered in to the hand written head brewers note book in 1899. Charmingly illustrated with the cats face it is a dark and warming superior strong ale with aromas of dark fruit and a palate booming with ripe malt and hops followed by a deep port wine finish. Over the years Old Tom has one some of the most prestigious brewing awards, and is not recognised as one of the most famous strong ales brewed in England.

I will update the blog with the tasting notes later.

Just a few beers with a few mates.

Hi,

I had a couple of  people round the other day.  @Stuart_Arnold , @NChomebrewing ( NChomebrewing.com) and MrMoBeer to name a few.

So I and had a trip to Triangle wines trianglewinecompany to stock up on a few beers. I actually spent more than I should have but got some quality beers. I was going to put this on the blog a couple of days ago but I have been a bit busy so forgive me.

Below you can see the line up of beers we went through that night. It was only supposed to be a few casual beers but turned out to be a bit slightly more than that.Some of them were quite strong so I did have a small headache the next day.

 

I was actually really looking forward to trying this Imperial Stout below from epicbrewing. 

Its description left my mouth watering and the cost of the bottle just made me think that this was going to be a great drink.

It says on the label if you can't read it.

Stout with Cocoa nibs and coffee added and aged in whiskey barrels

Actually I was slightly disappointed. Don't get me wrong it was a good stout and definitely had the whiskey coming through but was it worth $18. Probably not.

Just goes to show and expensive beer is not necessarily a good one.

 

 But having said all that I have yet to try the beer below. Its a Lambic Ale and I don't usually like them but again with a price tag of $25 for the bottle you'd expect it to be good. I'm not going to drink all of it myself. I will share it out. In fact knowing me I'll probably spit it out and give it to someone else. You never know though I might be converted.

 I'll keep you posted when I try it. How exciting :-)

Expensive session

I was invited round the other day to Mo's House @MrMoBeer
He lives within walking distance of me. and its a good job too, however I hitched a ride with @Stuart_Arnold
Mo very kindly got out a selection of beers form his vast collection.

Here is a rundown
Consecration by Russian River
Olde Hickory Bardstown Brand
Baltic Porter by Foothills brewing
Imperial Stout by Founders Brewing
Maduco Oatmeal Brown ale
Vuja De American Wild Ale
Founders Double Trouble
Life and Limb Dogfish and Sierra Navada
Supplication by Russian River
Black Butte Porter
Guava Grove Saison Cigar City Brewery
Damnation by Russian river
Cantillon Classic Gueuse
Barrel Aged Bolita Brown by Cigar City Brewery
Temptation by Russian River
Duck rabbit Amber ale

I think I have missed one.

Some of the beers were very expensive and get some fantastic reviews on http://beeradvocate.com

I must admit I am not a lover of some of the Sour beers but they all had unique qualities and the whole experience broadened my mind  on beers. there are just so many varieties and tastes to try. This is going to be a fun ride.

Many thanks @MrMoBeer for you generosity and lovely Hams and sausage too.
thanks to @Loganwat for the Coffee Chease to and to @VncentLIFE

Dave

Trip to England

Right folks, I am off to England at the end of the month.
I am coming back (hopefully) with a hoard of beer.
Here is Just a sample of some of the stuff I am bringing back.

When I come back a few good friends of mine are going to have a little tasting session with me.
I will report back afterwards.

Need to get me some of this.

I was the designated driver today but happened to call in at the Rockfish Grill at Southpoint with a couple of mates of mine @Stuart_Arnold and @MrMoBeer
I had a taster of a Bourbon Barrel Aged Siberian Night by http://thirstydog.com.  The small sample I tasted was great. It had a fantastic nose and a great taste.
Many thanks to @Michael_Hayek for providing the samples and chatting to us.
I want to get some more.
Gotta get me some more.

Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout

www.duckrabbitbrewery.com
This Brewery is located in North Carolina and specializes in Dark beers



This beer has a nice caramel coloured head but its a little bit "foamy" is the best word I could come up with. It s not a thick dense head like some Stouts. The head lingers all around the glass to the bottom.  The beer itself is black in colour and has a strong lingering taste of coffee (with sugar). It goes down very well and is easy to drink.
I had my last drink about 5 minutes ago and i can still taste the coffee with sugar. Very nice after taste.

This beer is called a Milk Stout because it is brewed with Lactose (mostly found in milk) Lactose is not turned in to alcohol by the yeast and so it remains in the beer after fermentation giving it a sweet taste.
Here is a good link of Wikipedia Milk_stout

ABV 5.7%
look: 4.0  Light frothy caramel head Black in colour
Aroma: 4.0 Heavily malted sweetness
Taste: 4.0 Taste the dark roasted malts and sweetness of the Lactose. Lovely Coffee aftertaste that lingers
Body: 4 Quite thin for a stout and mildly carbonated.

Overall this is a really good stout I enjoyed drinking it very much.

Dave rating of 4.0,

Congrats to Stuart Arnold

@Stuart_Arnold has just passed his Cicerone Certified Beer Serving exam. http://www.cicerone.org/
Well done and move on to the next level now.:-)