When I’m out socialising with companions who are satisfied with just
about any golden, fizzy liquid they can get their hands on, one of the
few real ales they have actually heard of is Timothy Taylor’s Landlord.

In bottle form, the jolly barman on the label is recognisable from
many a cask pump. So does it live up to it’s cousin from the barrel?

The dark amber colour is certainly inviting and the ale produces a
lively head straight away. Freshly poured, the aroma certainly
imitates the warm, malty scent of the cask equivalent.

Once in the mouth, it’s surprising how smooth it feels for a bottled
ale, with only the slightest of carbonising sensations on the tongue.

The first taste reflects the malty aroma with the slightest of toffee
in the mouth, with a strong, burnt aftertaste that lingers for the
remainder of the glass. I have to say, I don’t recall this particular
flavour from the last time I had Landlord in the pub and, at first, I thought
it might detract from the potential to be a good session beer. By the end
of the bottle however, I could certainly have managed another couple -
the sign of a winning ale for me.

Comparing a bottled to a cask version of the same beer is something I
don’t always find easy to do, as each method can produce a very
different pint, some better in the bottle, some in the cask. Landlord
tastes slightly heavier and the aftertaste is certainly more
overpowering in the variety I have tried here, but this doesn’t make
it any less of a drink.

Realistically, I didn’t expect it to meet the high standard set by a
pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord in a traditional pub setting, but I
didn’t anticipate that it would produce such a drinkable bottled beer
in it’s own right.

Timothy Taylor Landlord

Walking into the porterhouse it was immediately obvious that this was a ‘big name’ London pub. From the Nebuchadnezzar of Champagne just inside the door way to the hundreds of bottled drinks displayed around the walls, everything about this pub shouted that it was going to be a real treat for a beer lover.

I was wrong.

As it was only lunchtime and, knowing that I was going to be drinking well into the night, not wanting to be drinking anything too heavy too early, I asked the barman what Pale Ales or Golden Summer offerings they had (bearing in mind that this was a sunny bank holiday weekend). The answer was that they did not currently have any of these on draught, which, given the weather, to my mind seemed crazy. The barman then offered my a pint of porter, I’m not sure how he thought this would be good advice to someone looking for a pale or golden ale but there you go and he would have been doing his employer a better service by offering me bottled alternatives of what I actually wanted. Finally, after an admittedly unsolicited sample, I settled on a pint of the Porterhouse Red.

The beer is 4,4% abv and, while being deep red in colour and distinguishably hoppy in flavour, did not overpower. The beer was well kept and smooth, although the barman could have taken longer over the pouring and topped it up so that I didn’t need my snorkelling gear for the first mouthful.

I just could not get past the fact that they did not have a seasonal draft offering. It was not the light summer ale that I was looking for but I could well imagine it fitting well into the same situation in six month’s time. Perhaps stepping in from a Guy Fawkes celebration to sup in front of an open fire – that is where this beer would fit for me.

My conclusion on the Porterhouse I’m afraid is one of disappointment. To build up a catalogue of bottled beers and sell them to people attempting to show off to friends and colleagues takes no great skill. My own view is that bottled beers, now matter how varied, must be complimented by a full range of draught ales. To source and maintain these seasonal guest ales and keep them to the, admittedly very high, standards of the house beer takes the work of a real landlord This man will be recommended for all seasons, Porterhouse should only be visited when the house beers reflect the occasion.

Website: www.porterhousebrewco.com/index.html

Hook Norton Brewery’s Old Hooky – 4,6%abv

Following on from last night’s review of Hook Norton Brewery I thought it important to get a review of one of their beers up as soon as possible. Old Hooky is the flagship of Hook Norton Brewery around the country being widely available in many supermarkets as well as most good wine/beer merchants. The very bottle I am drinking was sourced in Morley from ASDA and was on their 3 bottles for £4.00 mix and match deal.

As an aside me and the monkey boy, when we first moved to Morley, experimented with buying every bottle of Old Hooky on the shelf in ASDA whenever we went. Within a month we had a range of five different Hook Norton beers available (More than most shops in Oxfordshire) right here in Yorkshire. Unfortunately the levels of consumption required to continue this selection proved unsustainable.

Right – back to the beer. Old Hooky is not the light, paler type of ale that I typically favour but is one of the beers that I drink most often. This is largely because it’s the most widely available offering from my favourite brewery, but also because it’s a bit of an anomaly in that it’s full bodied, darker flavoured and yet not at all heavy.

Hook Norton advertises this as a ‘fruity’ beer and it is, but not in the light citrus way I think of when I hear that phrase. It comes across dark and fruity like my Nan’s Christmas cake, reminding me of treacle rather than golden syrup, yet slips down just as easy as summer or pale ales. I would recommend trying this beer with a nice steak or a beef stew as it has the body to compete with the meat but will not fill you up and leave you embarrassed with half a plateful of leftovers.

I give this beer to a great many friends as a taster from home and it is always well received with many friends asking me to bring other Hooky varieties up for them to try. For this reason, and because of it’s wide availability and low price in ASDA, I have to rate this as one of the best beers available in Britain today.

We'll tidy up the artwork but for now you get the idea of what it looks like for when you're in ASDA

Hook Norton Brewery: A Short Introduction

I grew up in rural North Oxfordshire and as a child was fortunate enough to have spent a great many happy hours in the gardens of Hook Norton pubs. As an older teenager I played pool on the teams of Hook Norton Brewery owned pubs and, as a young professional living away from home, my first port of call when I go to see my parents is always the local with my old man.

It is therefore with great pleasure (and more than a little nostalgia) that I bring you Real Ale Reviews’ first ‘brewery profile’. I have to admit that I hold Hook Norton Brewery in a highly elevated position amongst UK breweries and in all honesty this is in no small part due to the fact that I grew up in ‘Hooky Country’. However, like the lucky sod who lives at number seven when a beautiful, intelligent girl lives at number five, I have found the quality of what I started with has led it to being the best I’m yet to find.

Hook Norton Brewery’s History

In 1849 a chap called John Harris began what was to become Hook Norton Brewery in his farmhouse. Over 150 years later the now well established business is still in the hands of Harris’s family, currently run by his great great grandson. In the modern age it is testament to the ethos of the business that they have resisted the temptation to sellout in order to turn a quick profit. Equally demonstrative of the traditional principles which run deep in the veins of Hook Norton is that fact that the brewery remains steam-powered, with power being provided by steam engines installed way back in 1899.

While cynics may point at the current trend towards popularity for the traditional and claim that Hook Norton are cashing in, I personally see no merit in this argument. Admittedly the traditional aspects are currently a major pull for a small brewery trying to compete in the modern world. I would even concede that the re-introduction of local deliveries by Dray and Shire Horse in 1985, 35 years after their initial cessation, does appear to be something of a gimmick. But are they not also an important part of helping people to understand the history of what the brewery is about and what it is trying to achieve?

The steam engines that power Hook Norton Brewery are thought to be the only engines in the UK currently put to daily use for their originally intended purpose. For me this is where history stops and innovation begins. It must have been difficult to resist change in times when tradition was not lauded and things could be done more efficiently with new technology. The brewers at Hook Norton chose to do just that and carry on making fine ales in the best way they knew how.

Hook Norton Brewery Today

Reaping the rewards of a rich history is all well and good but one gets the definite feeling from Hook Norton that the management intends on building a solid future on the foundations laid by the brewery’s past. In 2009 they are producing a seasonal beer for each month of the year, meaning that I will be trying some for the first time. The brewery also runs a visitor centre, alongside it’s well stocked shop, giving guided tours of the brewery which include opportunities to sample the beers brewed within.

Please visit their website for more information at www.hooknortonbrewery.co.uk

Last night was the Eurovision Song Contest so a few of us gathered in homage to Euro-pop ready to sing, dance and generally make merry. The plan for the night was simple – everyone had been assigned a country and was instructed to bring traditional food and drink from their adopted nation. Lucky enough to draw Sweden as my new domicile, I headed eagerly to Ikea to see what I could find…

Spendrups Old Gold Pale Pilsner – 5,0%abv – A crisp, sharp pilsner costing only £1,05 a bottle. Well worth a look to refresh you when you’re next trying to put together a flat packed wardrobe. |Be careful though, the 5% abv is subtle and not at all gassy meaning it slips down all too easily – too many bottles will probably have you putting the doors on that wardrobe upside down.

Reindeer Salami ‘Ren’ – This Salami was a very nice Swedish gimmick to stick on the table. Not really sure how to review it except to say that it made a nice little sandwich with the Swedish cheese that I picked up at the same time.

Kopparberg Premium Pear Cider – 4,5% abv – Couldn’t leave this one off the review although I’m pretty sure everyone has come into contact with it at one point or another. This cider is absolutely delicious. It’s so light and sweet you don’t actually even notice that it’s alcohol which isn’t really what I look for in a drink but I know some people will like that.

Something this sweet can’t all be good news though and I’m quite sure that too much of this would leave you with rotten teeth, feeling very sick and possibly suffering from diabetes.

Norrlands Guld Export – 4,5%abv – First and foremost this lager came out of a can and it had the tinny flavour that comes along with that. To quote our host for the evening, Sarah Frost, it seems like ‘a bit of a nothing lager’. You could equally be drinking any number of other canned lagers in terms of taste although I would say that, like the Old Gold above, it is flatter (in a good way) than the likes of Fosters or Carlsberg meaning that it is not bloating.

Billar – little car shaped sweets that are frankly odd. They seem to have the Marmite effect as I, and about half of the people at the party, loved them and everyone else thought they were rubbish.

Mini Elk & Venison Salamis – these were really good nibbles. A bit like mini Pepperamis but slightly chewier.

That my friends, is Sweden in a nutshell.

Selection of my 'Sweden in a Box' experiment

Acorn Brewery Summer Pale

I’ll be honest, despite being mid-May, there is very little summertime feel in the Leeds air. This may have been the overarching appeal of ’summer pale’ as it shone amongst the pumps at the excellent Victoria Commercial Hotel.

And the colour of the ale certainly shines; a nice clear blonde is probably one of the palest of beers I’ve ever seen, and would certainly appeal as a summer evening beverage.

A fairly sweet aroma complements the name again, and once in the mouth, a light carbonisation tickles the tongue.

The body of the beer remains light throughout, although the aftertaste is something of a bitter surprise, leaving the back of the throat feeling warm and content, much like the evening sun on an august evening.

Breweries often pride themselves on finding a fitting name to give an expectation of their ales. The folk at Barnsley’s excellent Acorn Brewery have done it again, with this terrific seasonal brew that knows it’s place on the calendar and achieves it’s purpose well.

Acorn Summer Pale

Leeds Brewery – Leeds Pale Ale

I am sitting in The Grove Inn, Holbeck, following Leeds’ exit from the play-offs. The amount of pale Leeds fans around me makes this the opportune time to review Leeds Pale Ale.

The football team lacked intensity for much of the night and I suspect that most die hard pale ale fans would argue that this beer has the same problem. From my point of view what this beer does have is the smoothness of an in touch Arsenal team. With a reasonably subtle but lingering flavour this beer goes down really well which is just the ticket for getting your depressed Leeds supporting housemate shedded.

We’re off for a major sess and, if you fancy one on the IPA, this could be just the ticket.

A treasure of a traditional pub located right underneath Bridgewater Place

3.8% abv

Brewery: Leeds Brewery

Every time I have Black Sheep I expect it to be darker, heavier and harder to drink than it really is – my perception really does do it a disservice.

Whether it’s the overly dark bottle or the simple yet foreboding label, I find myself pleasantly surprised at Black Sheep’s drinkability each time I drink it.

My misperception stems from having spent a couple of comedy nights necking bottles of this at Hifi in Leeds, a situation that quickly leads to bloating and an early retirement; to be sure this isn’t a beer for a long session or a night on the town.

However, out of the bottle and enjoyed at a gentler pace, Black Sheep is a deep, amber coloured ale, rich in both colour and  flavour, it’s body bittersweet as the label describes. It takes a few sips to accustom too, beyond which it can be sunk with an ease that creeps up on you. Within minutes it seemed my glass was dry, as was the bottle!

It’s difficult to describe the flavours of Black Sheep, so I might just say what it isn’t. It isn’t overpoweringly hoppy or malty, it doesn’t have a fruity edge or a tangy twist. It has an interesting aftertaste that can’t quite work out if it’s going to be sweet enough to send your taste buds into raptures or bitter enough to make you gasp for another sip immediately. At the same time this feeling isn’t harsh but gently crisp and completely satisfying. In the end you take another sip and another gulp without even realising, enthralled in it’s balanced body and lingering, malty finale.

Black Sheep is one of those beers that really is a “real ale”.It’s strength isn’t in outrageous ingredients nor pretentious marketing statements. Black Sheep is British ale as good as real ale gets – deep, mysterious and glorious in its simple yet rich aromas. There isn’t one overriding ingredient or flavour that defines Black Sheep, it is pure, balanced class, expertly crafted and a beer that Masham, Yorkshire, and the whole UK can truly be proud of.

Black Sheep Ale

Adnams East Green Carbon Neutral Beer from the Coast

Adnams have pulled off quite a coup with this ale, as far as I know the first (widely available) beer (marketed as) carbon neutral. And, not just that, this ale fits its category just perfectly – light, golden, crisp; some might say in tune with its natural environment.

Ok, so citrus fruit isn’t native to the Suffolk Coast, but this Carbon Trust accredited number from Adnams ticks a major eco-box with it’s carbon neutral status. Plus, it’s blooming good beer.

My first reaction was to the hoppy bitterness – not at all a bad or overpowering feature – followed by a light citrus tang; in my glass this was gloriously golden amber throughout, wonderfully balanced in colour and taste.

I don’t say this lightly, but this beer is genuinely light and, unless you require a drink fizzier than a Panda Pop on a bouncy castle, surprisingly refreshing.

It certainly washed my ham & leek pasta down better than many ales would and made a very easy-to-drink accompaniment to the night’s Champions League football. I daresay this beer is perfect for long summer nights, especially with its citrus bite and crisp finish.

If I had to score this out of ten I would be looking at a 7 or 8, and maybe a little extra for its green credentials and minimum carbon impact. As a newcomer on the scene this is a fine ale and one that deserves your attention this summer.

I think that this is the first Scottish IPA that I’ve tried and I have to admit that if I’d seen this bottle in the club there’s no way I’d have been dancing. The gaudy purple label screamed ‘I have no class’ and I was more than a little bit worried that this beer was going to attack the senses like a deep fried mars bar.

But I forgot that Scotland is also the land of Irn-Bru and, while this beer is nowhere near to the genius on the orange nectar, this is a decent ale.

This is a golden ale, light in appearance but with the genuine hoppy IPA flavour. Not as full bodied as many stronger IPAs and not heavy or gassy I would recommend this as a session ale.

Probably not one for the IPA purists but certainly a great starting step on the IPA ladder or a good choice for a heavy night.

5,3% ABV

Belhaven Twisted Thistle