Flying Dog Raging Bitch

Terrible beer, great name.

Flying Dog Raging Bitch - orange in colour; orange in taste

Of course not, it’s the other way round. Disclaimer starts here: I love this beer.

I first sampled The Bitch at the Flying Dog UK tasting in Leeds. This 20th anniversary beer jumped out of its take-home tetra pak like a bat out of hell. Its nose blasted my clean out of my seat and before the night was out it was on its way to being a beer phenomenon.

Raging Bitch’s Belgian influence is the first thing that strikes me: it’s fruity esters and yeasty sweetness that only Belgian beers can pull off. Until now.

Massive grapefruit pith and outrageous sour fruit intertwine with a sweet malt finish and a bitter attack from an armada of late hops. The nose is huge thanks to a dry hopping assault by Amarillo hops. You pluck out the names of most of Sainsbury’s exotic fruit aisle if you close your eyes; for me the grapefruit ebbs and flows against tangerine and apricot. Read the rest of this entry »

Highland Brewing Scarpa Special Pale Ale

Beer by Highland, glass by Purity - a pale ale double whammy

One of my favourite meals at the moment is grilled chicken, roasted vegetables and cous cous (interchangeable with rice, fried potatoes or other carbs to please your taste buds). Yes, the roasted veg is usually pre-chopped from ASDA – we’d never use a full courgette if we bought one – and the cous cous is Ainsley Harriot’s finest, but it’s a simple and hassle-free evening meal that’s healthy whilst ensuring we eat at a reasonable time.

It’s a meal that doesn’t want a big fancy beer. It needs something refreshing and palette cleansing, a light golden ale with qualities that mean the meal slips down easily and the night is mine to relax afterwards.

Step up Highland Brewing Company and Scapa Special. It’s a ‘world class pale ale’ and it fits the bill presented by its description: ‘golden and sparkling’, ‘light hop notes’ and a ‘balanced malt/hop middle’. Read the rest of this entry »

A Harvey’s Night In

After a hectic day out on Saturday in the bustling streets of York complete with Christmas Market, I needed to relax with good food and beer when I got home. I’d been eyeing up three Harvey’s beers in my cupboard for a week or so and had been planning to drink them all together. Saturday night seemed perfect, with the promise of a hot curry and Christmassy afters.

Harvey’s Blue label

Harvey's Blue Labvel - I love the simple branding and label design

The first of three Harvey’s beers, I was hoping this would nicely wash down a Thai green chicken curry. It’s a coppery pale ale and poured with next to no head. I was expecting something lively from this diminutive bottle, but it was generally flat and a bit watery. Having heard lots about Harvey’s beers my first impressions were a little underwhelming.

It had a really nice, subtle aroma of lemons and limes, and there was a limey tang in the taste. It was super drinkable being soft on the palate with a smooth mouth feel. It wasn’t very bitter (the bottle says a ‘delicate bitterness’ which is an understatement) as you might expect from a beer weighing in at just 3.6% ABV. There was a sweet maltiness in the finish. I believe this beer is dry hopped which may explain some of its character

This did actually live up the bill, kind of accidentally, as it did wash down the green curry well in taste and texture, but I’m not sure this could become a favourite, and I’m not sure I’ve had the best bottle of it. One to give another go… Read the rest of this entry »

St Lupulin Extra Pale Ale

A beautiful aroma wells up from this beer. It is  resiny, citrusy and sweet, with a strong hoppy start and a deep malty flavour that takes over.

St. Lupulin clearly blessed this beer with an amazing hop and malt character

This beer – brewed by Odell Brewing Company is one of the most balanced pale ales – even just ales – that I’ve had for a long time.

And it comes with a little story behind the name too, a title which more than hints at it’s wonderful character (you’ll also notice the hint in the Latin name for the hop plant, Humulus lupulus).

Lupulin glands are the bits of hop leaves that contain the oils that impact hop flavour or hop aroma, and those glands are certainly put to masterful use in this beer.

And it tastes absolutely fantastic!

Despite being hoppy this isn’t overpowering, and it has a character that most beers can only pine for, with much more flavour than the summer ales that have been around in abundance over last few months. It tastes a little earthy, very fresh and sweet at times.

Already straight into my list of top beers (a list as changeable as a British summertime), a beer with instant class and a lingering impact.

Halcyon IPA by Thornbridge

Halcyon IPA

This is an IPA that I’d been eyeing up in my cupboard for a few weeks before I sat down with, and boy, did it not disappoint!

Halcyon IPA by Thornbridge has a hugely hoppy aroma – a grassy rather than floral scent that tingles your tongue on the first sip. It’s initial taste is full of spices and contrasting flavours, and that’s only the beginning! Texture and colour wise it looks uniformly opaque (although I poured it pretty quickly),  but even this doesn’t reflect it’s deep and multifarious taste.

Halcyon - the best IPA in the UK?

This is a glorious IPA, remaining refreshing whilst being charismatically strong. It’s strength lingers throughout, becoming more complex with each gulp.

Let’s use Goose Island IPA as a benchmark of floral, tasty, downright excellent IPAs. Put simply, Halcyon is stronger, deeper and brings more to the table. Let’s not downgrade Goose Island, it’s in my Top Ten Beers Of All Time, but I can have a few Goose Island on a night out (my last night out in Leeds passing through Reform Bar proves that) but I might struggle to drink more than one Halcyon in a bar.

For a hoppy night in however, I don’t think you could do any better than this, another hop affair from Thornbridge. I actually took a break from drinking Halcyon to sample a Sam Smith’s Strawberry beer that Sarah was drinking (fruity beers so far are all she can stomach!) and coming back to Halcyon after it was an absolute joy. The explosion of taste in my mouth seemed twice as powerful and twice as enjoyable as before.

To sum it up, Halcyon is bloomin’ brilliant, and, like Radiohead this weekend at Leeds, I’m glad it’s something I had to wait a few years for despite the glowing and unrelenting reviews that tempted me so often.

I can honestly say this is a beer that isn’t caught up in hyperbole nor ballyhoo (yes I used a thesaurus for that one!)…it really is a very, very, very good beer.

Farmers Pale Ale

Bradfield Brewery’s Farmers Pale Ale, 5.0% abv

As the rural representative of the  Real Ale Reviews team I felt a certain degree of responsibilty when I saw this ale on the shelf. Brewed on a working farm in the Peak District, this beer has come from a relatively youthful brewery and, after coming home to view the website, I was excited to try it because the Gill family seem to be striving to innovate and create a quality brand of beer.

Bradfield Brewery Website

I was immediately hit by the floral tones in this beer which faded away to a dry aftertaste. This was something of a surprise because, from the appearance of the bottle, for some reason I had been expecting a hoppy, citrus affair. I have not tasted a beer with floral tones this strong for some time and it is a welcome change. The overall effect is also a lot lighter than the 5.0% abv would suggest. If summer ever materialises I’ll certainly be grabbing a few more bottles of this.

I’m not really sure how to verbalise this properly but I have to say that this beer doesn’t have the polished ‘finish’ of products from more established breweries. This is certainly part of the rustic appeal of the ale and, while it would probably stop me from having a major sess on it, it doesn’t detract from the overall effect of the ale.

I  will certainly be looking to try the other ales from Bradfield and will hopefully get the chance to stop in sometime.

London Pale Ale

Meantime Brewery – London Pale Ale, 4.3% abv, on tap from The Greenwich Union

This is quite a clear pale ale and immedately I could tell that it was well kept which was no surprise given that there was at least one pint on every table. I would imagine that thry fire through hundreds of pints of this a day.

To be honest I was quite worried about getting back on the ale today given that last night was a bit of a blockbuster but, as I sat in the pub garden taking my furst si, this was certainly no chore. The beer was quite flat, I think more so than the bottled version that I have had before, which give it a smoothness that meant it went down really well.

In terms of flavour this beer is tangy, with a citrus bitterness that is far from overpowering. This modest flavour, coupled with the smooth texture, make this what I would call a real session ale.

Landlord....get me another......

Acorn Brewery Summer Pale

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 Pale Ale

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

Meantime London Pale Ale

Real Ale Reviews Score: Beer of the Month, April 2009

Being a huge IPA/pale ale fan along the lines of East Coast US pale ales, I often find myself disappointed with our own competition here in the UK.

Meantime have certainly bucked the trend with their London Pale Ale, a fantastic ale that matches any American pale ale for depth of character, whilst being distinctively British on the palette.

I can inadequately describe this as a best of both worlds (a phrase that doesn’t by any means do this beer justice) for those who love both modern IPAs and also more traditional British ales. And for those who, like me, rarely stray from the extravagant US pale bottles, Meantime’s London Pale Ale has enough character to tempt your tastebuds back across the Atlantic.

Cynics might call this ‘middle of the road’ but that couldn’t be further from the truth. This is a pale ale that doesn’t shirk from the challenge that younger, modern breweries are posing to the beer world, but rather embraces both the needs of a 21st century marketplace and the tradition of long established brewing techniques.

Served cold this is a thoroughly enjoyable beer with the heart of pale ale and the soul of British brewing.

Meantime London Pale Ale