UK Weekend Beerage

Bought some Yellow Belly from Valhalla's Goat on Saturday to put by for Xmas and bought some Mexicake when I was down in Kelso a few weeks ago to visit the Tempest taphouse.

 

Thought I'd treat myself as it's my birthday in a few days. The wife has surprised me tonight with Buxton/omnipollo rocky road and Texas pecan. They do look good.

 

I saw this came up if any London people are interested http://www.claptoncraft.co.uk/journal/2016/11/15/black-friday-bourbon-county-launch-november-25th

 

Was actually at a meet the brewer with Thornbridge last night in Belfast and asked this question. Basically demand and the ability to get their beers in more places. Apparently, most bars Europe wide are set up more for 330ml than 500ml in terms off fridge space. I have to say I prefer 330ml, as I can try a few more different beers especially if the ABV is higher than session levels and if it is a drain pour IEuam not pour out loads

 

Wee trip to Glasgow today to buy,

Cloudwater - DIPAv9,
Beavertown - Tropigamma Tropical IPA

I was so disappointed to find that they had sold out of both in one day, even though both were limited to one per person. Bought instead...

Williams Bros. - Nollaig Xmas spruce beer,
Buxton - Rain Shadow Impy stout,
Thornbridge - Eldon Bourbon Oak Impy stout,
Tempest - Double Shuck Oyster stout,
Tempest - Marmalade on Rye.

Looking forward to those tonight.

 

Spent a few days in Cardiff for my birthday where we mainly drank at the Brewdog (Hoppy Christmas, Ship Wreck and Flat Pack Fruit Pack from Brewdog and Tropigamma and Deimos from Beavertown) and Tiny Rebel (Stay Puft Nitro, Stupid Sexy Flanders, Dirty Stop Out, Cherry Bomb, FUBAR). Had the Buxton Rocky Road Ice Cream at the hotel along with Lindeman's Oude Gueuze Cuvee Renee. Also checked out the Brains Craft pub, the Cambrian Tap, which was a decent pub. Visited the Bottle Shop also and got some decent bottles.

Stopped off in Newport on the way back so popped into the Tiny Rebel bar there as well and had Stay Puft again on Nitro and from a bottle, I do like that beer!

I'm now home and drinking a Salted Caramel Quadruple from Mad Hatter, nice beer.

 

fair play, cheers for that. i guess its got nothing at all to do with being able to sell 330mls of beer for the same price as 500mls either, living the craft dream! i here what youre saying about higher abv beers but they make quite a few decent lagers and ales at around or sub 5%, surely everyone wants a pint of that stuff? oh and whats a drain pour? you mean actually pouring beer down a drain?

 

They mentioned from market research people bought the 330mls over the 500mls, even though more expensive per ml. Smaller quantity for slightly cheaper. I understand the logic behind the 330ml bottles, the brewery I am part only do 330ml bottles for some of the same reasons, in Northern Ireland though people still see the 500ml as value and choose quantity over quality a lot of the time. But we are concentrating on export so doesn't make sense for us to do 500ml bottles. I do take your point about more sessionable beers, but sure go to the local for a pint and support the pubs
And yes a drain pour means exactly that, a beer so bad you can't finish it and down the sink it goes. Thankfully a rarity but it does happen.

 

Spent the last few days in Bulgaria and had the following:

Weihenstephaner: Korbinian
Blek Pine: Kokonut Porter
White Stork: Pushing The Limets
Ailyak: Mosaic
Staropramen: Dark
Stolichno: Pale Bock
Anderson Valley: Blood Orange Gose
Halbite: Nash'to Pivo

Returned to have a Goldilocks from Old Chimney's Brewery.

 

That Anderson Valley Gose is great, did you have it bottle or draft?

 

From a can. I liked it, but I'm not sure about the freshness. On the other hand, it was very reasonably priced. The Korbinian was on draft, which was a malty treat.

 

Fullers will be bottle conditioning their Porter from february, good news. Was allready a very good beer, hopefully this will improve it further

 

Not been drinking much beer at all recently, mainly crap wine and good whisky. Yes I know I'm a traitor Having some homebrewed saison though at the moment, really rather good too which is nice.

Also about to embark on building an extension to my house which means my beer cellar that currently resides in the access pit in my garage will need to be drunk up Although it's mainly homebrew. But having got the quotes in I will not be picky about what booze I get to drink over the next while

 

Popped into Drygate's new West End venture Crossing the Rubicon before a gig on Sunday for some food and a few beers, had...

Drygate - Orinoco Breakfast Stout 6%, easy drinking stout with strong coffee notes,
Beavertown - Lupuloid IPA 6.7%, grapefruit, hops, bitterness,
Drygate - Disco Forklift Truck 5.1%, mango notes, slight sweetness,
Aegir - Dag Sitrus Pale Ale, 4.7%, slight citrus flavour, thin body.

Food was Scottish style Indian and very nice.

 

Omnipollo/Buxton - Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie - tart and smooth, lovely,
Omnipollo/Buxton - Ice Cream Pale Ale - IPA background with a vanilla aftertaste,
Omnipollo/Buxton - Rocky Road Ice Cream - dark, sweet, hint of Turkish Delight,
Omnipollo/Buxton - Texas Pecan Ice Cream - Easily the best of them all and the closest to Yellow Belly.

Really enjoyed all of these beers for different reasons and liked them in the reverse order I've posted them.

 

Not a particularly good weekend for beer. Started Friday with a office gathering at a rather poor pub. Had a Portobello Westway Pale Ale, which was not very good. Then had a Shipyard Rye Pale Ale, which was not good either. Ended up drinking a Beck's after that...which actually wasn't skunked and was (sadly) the best of the three.
Later in the weekend had a Sharp's Wolf Rock, but wasn't particularly impressed. Also had a Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA, but wasn't impressed with that either.
Depressed, I turned to scotch after that.

 

Had a few beers with my brother who was visiting, he's more of a Heineken and hobgoblin man so I went easy on him

Purity Pure Ubu and Pure Gold, both solid
Sam Smiths nut brown ale, too much diacetyl for me as always but he liked it
Inveralmond Lia Fail - again he liked it, decent if thoroughly unspectacular ale for me
Wild Millionaire, was rubbish imo