Brewskie
The quest for international beery goodness took us to Wales recently. Well actually, Wales was brought to us via a wonderful Christmas present consisting of a selection of beers from The Great Orme Brewery. What a perfect gift. For those of you not in the know, the Great Orme is a big rock in North Wales, with a tram, a dry ski slope and an amazing toboggan track (note; it was amazing when I was 12 and may now be in a horrendous state of disrepair). There’s some nice scenery and views too if you’re in to that sort of thing. It turns out there is also a Brewery, although not on the Great Orme itself it’s pretty close by.
In 5: Bright, Sweet, Rounded, Tasty, Citrus
A big fan of a pale ale this seemed like the most sensible choice for a first taste of the Orme “a refreshing blonde ale bursting with citrus notes” according to the fancy label. We certainly don’t disagree. It pours an amber colour and is bright and sweet from the off. The pale hops give a touch of bitterness and the citrusy high notes are quite something. It has a sweet and fruity flavour which give it a rounded finish and offset the bitterness just enough.
It’s a very pleasant beer and would be perfect to provide that much needed refreshing moisture in a beer garden on a fine summers evening after work.
This article is copyright © 2012
Brewskie
Brewskie is back! Sorry for the gap in between reviews, life has rather taken over the last couple of months and although the drinking hasn’t necessarily stopped, the writing about the wonderful things we’ve been drinking unfortunately has.
In 5: Bitter, Sharp, Lively, Tasty, Satisfying
So now we’re back, we decided to come back with a bang and grabbed a bottle of Lakeland Gold off the beer shelf that we’ve been saving for a good few months for the occasion. We bought this flavoursome little number during our trip to the Lake District back in July. The guys at Hawkshead have done a truly wonderful job of opening up their brewery to the public in 2006. When planning our trip we did some research on Breweries in the Lake District and thought that Hawkshead looked like an excellent place to stop for a bite to eat and a jar to drink, we were proved very right. It has a great selection of home brewed ales as well as a selection of international beers and hand picked wines if you are that way inclined. I’ve posted some photos of the brewery below for you.
The Lakeland Gold is a lovely bitter brew with a very distinctive flavour. It is a little darker than a regular golden beer with more of a bitter bite than you get with the regular summery golden beers. But that’s not to say it doesn’t work, there is enough sweetness running through the flavour to keep it interesting and lively. Every mouthful is different and the more you drink the more you discover about its little nuances and it’s this intrigue that keeps you wanting more.
I bought a decent sized batch of bottles of this beer and although I generally only ever drink one of them in a session it’s one I know can be relied upon to give me that beery fix I need after a long day at work. It’s most certainly full bodied and would be particularly good with a curry, the hotter the better!
This article is copyright © 2012
Brewskie
In 5: Sweet, Full-bodied, Fruity, Tasty, Grand slam
We most certainly aren’t alone in our belief that as a general rule Scotland is pretty pants at sport; unless you count competitive eating as a sport… Or the annual “most ridiculous thing to deep fry and sell in a chippy” competition. But lo and behold if you turn on the Beeb during June and July you will be confronted by an old Scottish man trapped in the injury-prone scruffy body of Andy Murray prancing about with a tennis racket on his epic quest to never win a Grand Slam. Well we recently discovered a beer just a rare as a Scottish wannabe champion, a lager brewed in Glasgow meeting the purity laws of Germany?!
We were equally as intrigued, so here is our tennis themed review of St Mungo (the Patron Saint of Glasgow if you’re interested).
Much like a Glaswegian on a night out who’s had a Drop too much and is giving you a Volley of abuse, this beer Smashes you in the chops from the off.
It has a Baseline full-bodied fruity nose and the explosively sweet-tasting Serve of Andy Roddick with the classy counters of a peppery Roger Federer. You really get a sense of the Germanic about it as like Steffi Graf the taste lingers long after you expect and it just keeps on winning you over. Once you make a start you will want to Turnaround plenty of bottles of St Mungo instead of your usual Deuce of choice.
Don’t put up with the Racket, simply sit back, relax and call Time on your day at work with this beer, best Served cold and, if unfinished, Return to the fridge.
Serving suggestion: With strawberries and cream of course.
This article is copyright © 2012
Brewskie
In 5: Tasty, Full-bodied, Sweet, Refined, Quality
¡Ay, caramba!
We discovered this little beauty on a little Brewskie night out in Liverpool and absolutely loved it. Ever since, we’ve been on a mission, scouring the supermarkets and specialist shops looking for the distinctive yellow label to brighten up our day. It took a few months of hunting but we finally managed to track it down and bring some home for a sampling and by Jove are we glad we did. I think we picked it up in our local supplier, Carringtons in Didsbury along with some Dunham Massey Deer Beer (review to follow soon!).
It’s not often we try a lager and something stands out so much that we think, wow, this is truly great stuff. It’s sweet, fizzy and a real mouthful of joy that would taste as good on a boiling hot day as a cold, dreary winter evening. A lovely foamy head stays throughout and it’s hard to believe that a lager can be so full bodied and bold, but refined and refreshing in equal measures. It oozes quality and it really makes you wonder why it isn’t lining the shelves of the pubs and bars of the UK in place of some of the other tripe.
It certainly brightened our evening and having tried quite a few South American beers recently this is certainly up there amongst the best of them. A fantastic start for the South American beers on Brewskie, hopefully there will be some more great ones coming our way soon!
Hasta pronto, Pacífico Clara!
This article is copyright © 2012
Brewskie
In 5: Refreshing, Crisp, Cheap, Golden, Tasty
“Is it pronounced Sisk or Chisk?” we asked the lovely Maltese waitress, “Sisk, Chisk, however you want to say it” was the helpful reply. Turns out service isn’t high on the list of priorities in Malta, eating and more importantly drinking beer are very high. On a previous trip to Malta we had a seat on the captain’s bridge of the Malta – Gozo ferry, on the way back we sat in the bar and tried to keep up with our Maltese guide drinking cans of Cisk like they were water. His goal was to drink a can for every 10 minutes of the journey. Our struggles just made him smile.
Everywhere you go in Malta you will see signs for Cisk, outside bars and cafés, on billboards and on umbrellas and verandas. There is no doubting it is the Maltese beer of choice for both locals and tourists alike. Generally speaking the beer you have on holiday will often taste nicer on holiday, and when you get home you go back to your regular tipples. This is not true with Cisk, although we’ve never seen it stocked in the UK the little supply we brought back with us taste just as good this side of the Mediterranean, especially as a curry chaser (lamb tikka jalfrezi if you must know)…
It is a lovely refreshing lager with a nice crisp finish that will barely make a dent on your wallet. By the pool, at the bar, with a meal, it seems that Cisk comes out trumps in any scenario and the Maltese are very proud of this.
It is refreshing to visit a country where the local produce costs local prices and the imports cost imported prices. If only the UK would take note and support local beer!
This article is copyright © 2012
Brewskie
In 5: Creamy, Wholesome, Moreish, Balanced, Tasty
After the Batemans Hooker left us with a questionable rash earlier in the week we thought we’d give Batemans another chance with their Combined Harvest. We were sold hook, line and sinker by the bottle’s promise of multigrain goodness to cleanse our body, soul and mind. OK, so it doesn’t promise all of that but surely any beer with all those grains in it has to be ludicrously tasty and maybe a little bit healthy?
It pours with a wonderful burnt golden colour and the head is nice and creamy and hangs around for quite some time, a big contrast to the Hooker with no head, a phrase which sounds unnervingly like a scene from CSI! The taste is a joy to behold as well, creamy and rich yet balanced and ultimately very tasty and moreish. There is nothing lurking beneath either, no bitterness, no anguish; just good honest flavour in a lovely pint. The multi grain is evident as it does actually taste healthy and a bit like a warm bowl of cereals on a cold rainy January morning.
Don’t wait until harvest, go get one (ten) of these now!
This article is copyright © 2012
Brewskie
In 5: Smooth, Drinkable, Refined, Fresh, Tasty
If you’re looking for a hum-dinger of a traditional wheat beer, look no further than this smooth, cloudy and delicious German weissbier. It’s refreshing and equally welcomed on cold wintery evenings as it is on hot summer days. Loved by the lady folk as much as the bloke folk there is a charming sweet taste that stays throughout the pint (or 0.5l if you are lucky enough to be in a brauhaus reading this). A bit like the Black Sheep Riggwelter you’ll be ‘erding these up in your fridge to serve with your bratwurst and sauerkraut. Make sure you get a proper weissbier glass so you can enjoy the big frothy head, but be careful not to spill it all over your lederhosen; no one likes a damp hosenschlange.
This article is copyright © 2012
Brewskie
In 5: Rich, Tasty, Mahogany, Flat, Drinkable
We were under the impression that New Zealand was rubbish for everything other than scenery and rugby, but it turns out that not only can they host epic movies but they can make a half decent beer. No doubt their football team celebrated a magnificent result against the Peroni-swigging Italians with a couple of bottles of Original Ale during the World Cup last year. It’s called pale ale but there’s nothing pale about its taste as it explodes in your mouth with all the vigour of Aragorn scything down some unruly orcs with his trusty sword. It’s rich in taste but not too much and you certainly finish the bottle wanting Mordor.
This article is copyright © 2012
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