Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 24th

Today is the final beer advent. Wah! :'(

I've been sharing my polypin today, it smells really nice when you open the tap! £16 for 5 litres is pretty good economy, £1.80 a pint. It is a tasty beverage.

I'd forgotten what beer I had left in the calendar, it's a pretty good one.

 Weird Beard - 5 o'clock Shadow 

I've recovered a little of my sense of taste today, my final beer is quite similar in style to Jackhammer - though doesn't rate quite as highly on the IBU scale. Similar strength too.

This is a good IPA, strong citrus flavours and a good malty flavour.  It's quite refreshing, and not as bitter as Jackhammer.  Good bottle.

36/42

Damn it. It's over again.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 23rd

I think the cold I mentioned in the tiny text on the previous blog has taken offense that I only wrote about it in tiny text.  Now it's trying to steal my tastebuds.

Fine.
You win, cold.
Now fuck off.

Today's beer was supposed to be one of the more interesting in the calendar, but it's ruined by my cold.

 Brewdog - Jackhammer 

Jackhammer was meant to be devastatingly bitter.  So bitter that human taste buds couldn't detect all of the bitterness.  My walking-wounded taste buds made Jackhammer taste like Punk IPA, and I've been abusing them with menthol all day.  It must be seriously bitter.
It's very dry and the only discernible flavour was grapefruit.

I'm not scoring it properly.  Because that would be unfair.

Brewdog - Jackhammer gets...

Pirate/Crumpet

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 22nd

 Hobsons - Postmans Knock 
Another nice looking bottle today - and another porter.  Suitable I think, the weather has become overwhelmingly wintry, so have the beers.  Only this would be more of a summer porter...

This is quite a light porter, extremely light body, almost too watery but saved by firm flavours.  Easily detectable sweet chocolate taste and some mild malt.  Very refreshing and very un-porter-like.

32/42

I have a cold.  Not now.  Come on.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 21st

I went to the Plough and Harrow for lunch today.  It was filling.  Also went for a nice long drive in my new wheels - seeing how high I could get the average MPG.  I managed 45.6 MPG for the trip in the end.  I think I need to get a service done.

Anyway.

 Cheddar Ales - Totty Pot 
Iabn picked my beer today, as my usual selector has returned to her homeland.  Thanks Iabn...

This is a nice porter, not too special though.  Good carbonation and as you can see the head was huge! (insert your mum joke here) There's a load of sediment in the bottom of my glass.
Strong roasted flavour, chocolates, bitter finish - a little coffee.

32/42

Opened my 5 litre polypin of Old Speckled Hen today - looking forward to enjoying that over Christmas Day.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 20th

No time to ramble this evening.  I'm al go!

 Arbor - Why kick a moo cow 

Beer name of the year award goes to...this is a take on a NZ town called Waikikamukau.

Why kick a moo cow is a New Zealand pale ale, which means...ummm. The hops are from NZ.  It's bottle fermented so it's as cloudy as the sky right now.  Nice pale ale.  Loads of fruit in the flavour with a nice yeasty taste (as the yeast was in the bottle).  Huge fruity hoppy finish.  Which is my favourite kind of finish.

38/42

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 19th

I went shopping today, in Cardiff.  Walked around for a bit - saw things I could buy for people and then purchased them online.  It just seems wrong.

 Harviestoun - Ola Dubh 
I've been looking forward to this beer more than any other I recall purchasing for the calendar.  Scotch matured ales are one of my favourite types of beer.

Most of the serious scotch aged ales I've had are from Brewdog, the Paradox beers.  Usually they're over 10% ABV and are pretty strong - sometimes too strong - drink-ability is not their forte.
Ola Dubh is only 8%, has all the good features of a Paradox with none of the negatives.  It's been aged in 12 year Highland Park casks for (up to) 6 months.
It smells of whisky (obvs!), prunes, chocolate and rich malts - tastes sweet, with a terrific peaty note, bitter finish.

I was really doing my best not to give anything full marks this year, but I can't really find fault with this one.  It's an ideal scotch aged ale.

42/42

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 18th

Today I was told it was Christmas in exactly 1 week.  Balls.  You know as soon as it's Christmas day, it's pretty much over...and then all I've got to look forwards to is clearing off Christmas debt, working off Christmas podge and saving money.  T'riffic.

 Wooden Hand Brewery - Cornish Mutiny 

Well.  It was bound to happen eventually.  I was going to get a beer that wasn't very good.

I'd heard some negative things about Wooden Hand from a friend, so wasn't expecting this beer to be very good.

The bottle is nice enough, I should have noticed that they put apostrophes around the words 'hoppy' and 'biscuity flavour' in the beer description.  I always assumed that meant they were using the phrases ironically, or trying to be funny.

It's got quite a zesty flavour with some strong carbonation - there's an unpleasant chemical undertone though. It's a bit musty.  Seems to have some OK reviews around t'interwebs, not for me!

14/42

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 17th

 Brewdog - Hello, my name is Mette Marit 
Every day one of my flatmates pulls the advent beer at random for 2 advent calendars.  Today, they managed to pull 2 bottles of this beer.  The odds of which are about 1.5% (No Ian, not 50/50). Nice!

This beer is on the strong side (8.2%) but doesn't taste or smell that strong. On pulling the cap off I gave it a whiff and it smelt of a familiar Brewdog smell.  I wasn't expecting much from it after that.  I was wrong.
It's quite dry with a little carbonation - but it tastes brilliant.  It's got plenty of hops, a nice fruity body and a little spice.  Supremely (dangerously) drinkable.

40/42

Today my faithful Ford Ka was taken away by a man with a large lorry.  I got paid £92.08 for it and a half expired tax disc.
I always feel a sense of guilt when getting rid of a car.  I don't personify them as such, but their reliability and dependability never ceases to make me wonder.
Often I find myself wondering about all the things happening at any given moment - the explosions in the cylinders, pistons pumping, gasses being expelled, and the transfer of energy from the head of the engine down a drive shaft to the wheels.
This thought is more prevalent on a motorcycle when travelling at 60mph and wondering about all the tension and power being passed down a simple chain, 1 inch thick.
It's fascinating how it's taken for granted.  And it seems a terrible waste that a perfectly OK (rusting from the inside out, leaking water from somewhere under the bonnet, needed new rear tires) car is just taken away for scrap.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 16th

 Mikkeller - It's Alight! 

Mikkeller are an odd brewer, I've mostly just had collab beers between them and Brewdog before - they're usually aggressive or strange.
It's in keeping with my previous samplings that this beer is strange too.  Smells mild and fruity but tastes a little sour at first, but then lingers a little sweetly. There's nothing sharp going on, I've never had a beer with this flavour palette that tasted so mild.  It's remarkable.
After I had my first swig I wasn't expecting to enjoy this beer - but it's won me over.

34/42

Ooo it damn well hurts
Certainly it hurts
What's the trick then?
The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 15th

Holiday Inn suck.

 Thornbridge Hall - Evenlode Brown Porter 

This is one of the special beers in the calendar this year.  Bottled in September 2011, this beer was matured on blackberries.

There's lots of rich fruit flavours in this beer - the good kind.  The smell is a very deep roasted malt and the flavour is a dance between raisins, malts and a little of the blackberries.  There's a great bitterness in the aftertaste and the blackberries make a suitable return.

Very tasty beer, really good quality.  Perfect for the winter.

36/42

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 14th

Afternoon.

It's party night tonight, so I've had to get today's beer out of the way before I go.  Free bar (though I very much doubt the pedigree of the drinks that will be available)!  I'm sure I'll manage.

I burnt my tongue a little on some hot pasta & sauce before having this beer.  I wish my mouth was more aspestos.

 Fullers - Black Cab 
I was very pleased to see this bottle come out of the bag.  I really like the design on the bottle, all black, white, dark grey and gold.  If I were designing a bottle for a traditional stout - that would be my palette.

The beer inside the bottle is not as luxurious as the colours on the outside.  It's got a very light body, it's practically a mild.  No head or lacing either.
It's not a bad drink.  It's actually an ideal 'quiet pint' for the winter (like Brains Dark), it's not too strong in flavour or ABV (4.5%) and as I mentioned, it's light in body.
Not very remarkable then, but still nice.

25/42

Today I got the average MPG from my new car above 40 this afternoon.  Score!

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 13th

Today is a sad day, things are changing in work and I will no longer be with my original team.  So long guys, and thanks for all the fish.

I was very much looking forward to today's beer, by about 3pm I just wanted to sit in the lounge, in relative silence, and sip on a brew.  And now I am.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 Weird Beard - Camden Beard 

First Weird Beard beer for me, after popping the cap on the bottle I took a big whiff and it was good. Thankfully it doesn't taste as hoppy as it smells, because it was quite strong - this is a wheat beer and is  really smooth.
This is a collaboration brew between Brewdog and Weird Beard, and it's a good one.  It's nice and earthy with a smooth sweetness - bitter finish.
This is a nice beer, but it's missing something.

33/42

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 12th

First of several beers today, only this is the one I'll be writing about!

 Willams Bros Brewing Co - Kelpie 
I picked this beer up at the shop because it says it's a seaweed ale.  And that sounds like a good idea for a beer.

This came out of the bottle a lot darker than I expected.  I gave it a whiff before pouring and thought it was quite light smelling.  Sadly it's not got any seaweed flavours, and it's not even slightly briney!
That doesn't actually bother me that much, it's a little disappointing - but this beer is really nice to drink.  I suspect that it might taste briney if the other flavours weren't so strong (and good).
According to the brewers website, in the mid 19th century Scottish coastal brewers used seaweed to fertilise their malts, which rubbed off on the taste of the barley.  These days they put seaweed in the mash tun.  I don't imagine the effect is the same.
Tasty beverage!

37/42

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 11th

I may have bought too many beers of a reasonable strength for beer advent...

 St Peter's - Christmas Ale 

This is what I wanted Sam Smiths Winter Welcome Ale to be like.  And how I wish all seasonal Christmas beers were.
It's Christmas coloured (deep red), and smells like Christmas, rich and fruity, a little spicy.  It's got a great warm kick.  If I was to make a Christmas cake, I'd feed it this beer.

38/42

I got a new (used) car today. It's swish, my favourite feature is that the interior is red. It's a bit bigger than my Ka was...I need to start thinking about that when driving it around.

Also my belly-button smells.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 10th

This years birthday beer is a right gem.

 Brouwerij Huyghe - Delirium Nocturnum 
I have had some Delirium in the calendar before, but this is the original one I was first recommended to try by Iabn.

This is a bit strong (8.5%) for me this evening - I'm a bit bloated and haven't really had a good consistent day's food since Friday.  With the exception of some turnip, sweet potato and chicken yesterday...it's been all party food, booze, take-away and pizza!

This beer is very tasty, it's dark (as you can see) and usually when something is this dark and this strong it's usually going to be swinging big with the rich flavours.
Lovely mild dried fruits, with a little sweet taste to follow - then it moves onto being a little yeasty and bitter.

Best beer so far, but due to it's strength - not getting top marks!

40/42

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 9th

I just drank some tepid tea quite quickly. It made me feel queasy...

 Blue Monkey - BG Sips 
The main reason I picked this beer up was just because it has a monkey on the front of it - and he just looks so happy.  It also claims to be hoppy.

It's not bad actually, it's quite mild and really refreshing to have in your mouth (insert your mum joke here).  Nice balance of citrus and bitterness.  It's a bit bland otherwise.  No head or lacing to speak of.
A beginners pale ale, or perhaps good for a session.  Meh.

25/42

Beer is not death, beer is not life.  It just tastes good, especially tonight.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 8th

I'm not entirely sure if I should be drinking anything alcoholic today.  Yesterday was my pre-birthday birthday celebrations.  I did drink too much and had an unfortunate incident involving some food orally escaping my person.

I had a look what was in the bag today and decided to go ahead and drink it.  It's not too strong or likely to upset me.

 Bristol Beer Factory - Southville Hop 

I think this is the first Bristol Beer Factory beer I've had.
If this were a little lower on the ABV it would be a little better received.  It is an American style IPA so it's big on the hops and around 6.5% - but it's really very smooth.  The head stays with the beer which makes it a nice creamy sip.  It's got no real carbonation to speak of either.

Nice.

36/42

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 7th

 Tiny Rebel - Belgian Urban IPA 

No time for chit chat, there's shenanigans afoot.
Today's beer is a mash up of Tiny Rebel - Urban IPA.  It's much the same, but with the unique taste of some Belgian yeast.  So it's as good as Urban IPA, with a different lingering taste.
Very nice beer.

40/42

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 6th

No time for chit-chat today, I've got guests.  Though I'd like to share that I bought a 5 litre mini-keg of Old Speckled Hen.

 Black Sheep - Golden Sheep 

Black Sheep are a good British brewer, I really like their Riggwelter and Black Sheep Ale.  They remind me a little of Sam Smiths.
Golden Sheep (as I'm sure you can figure out) is a golden ale - and it's a good example of that.  It smells a little grassy, it's a little hoppy and a little sweet.  Nothing to really shout about though.

26/42

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 5th

Probably couldn't have had 3 more different beers this evening.  Nice.

 Pressure Drop - Wu Gang Chops The Tree 

Great name, great label.  Beer is almost great.
This is really the sort of beer you need to pair with something to get the most out of it.  According to the Pressure Drop website it was conceived to perfectly match a roast chicken - and I can completely see the intention.  It doesn't taste like stuffing (obviously), but the mouth-feel would go perfectly with a nice piece of chicken with some sage stuffing.  It's light and crisp - it's odd having something that tastes like 'erbs being refreshing.

Anyway.  This beer is getting bonus points for design.

37/42

South Park the movie is on now. Score.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 4th

I've let advent beer #3 sit for a spell - on to #4.

 Siren (Craft Brew) - Liquid Mistress 

Now here's a tasty beverage. Liquid Mistress is a red IPA.  So red, it's brown.  Deep brown.  A good sign.
There's a big hoppy caramel flavour to this beer.  It's spot on.  If you were in the mood for an IPA and a porter, but didn't quite have the room in your stomach for 2 drinks - then this is the drink for you!
It's hoppy, fruity, rich and sweet.

38/42

Nothing new to add here...I'm watching The Transporter 3...

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 3rd

Evening all.

I'm going to be very restrained in this blog post and try and not to go on a lot about how I got up at 05:45 (in Edinburgh) to catch a flight to Bristol at 08:05 which never arrived at my departure location (it was too windy and so landed in Newcastle) - so I got a coach to Newcastle only to be told that the plane was in fact struck by lightning during landing and that it wasn't going anywhere.
Then I got re-booked onto a later flight to Bristol (after arguing with some woman in the queue) which was also slightly delayed (by ice on the wings) only to be follow up by a delayed train back to Cardiff.

Splendid day all round.

I'm now going to attempt to drink Tuesday's, Wednesday's and Thursday's advent beers whilst exhausted and on a fairly empty stomach whilst remaining coherent and...awake.

 Odell Brewery - 5 Barrel Pale Ale 

The Odell website and the bottle talk this beer up a lot - apparently it's hoppy.  Made with hops.  Then added hops. HOPS.
It's OK.  It's very smooth, nice and drinkable - nicely balanced body. It's not really setting off any party poppers in my mouth though.  It's a good solid IPA.  Does smell terrific.
Nothing too special - I suspect it disappeared too quickly because of the circumstances in which I find myself.

29/42

I'm not wearing any underwear right now.  I'm in ma jammies. 
I spend the last 2 days in Edinburgh - I must say it is a fantastic city.  I found it very quickly seeped into my mind, the architecture and the way the city is set out stuck in my thoughts as I tried to sleep at night.  It's certainly remarkable, and worth a visit - you can have haggis, walk down strange off-streets and marvel at how foreign it can feel.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 2nd

I'm off to Edinburgh later, so it's entirely correct for this beer to be sampled mid-afternoon whilst almost everyone else I know is in work.

 Beavertown - Black Betty (Whoah Black Betty, bam-a-lam! What a riff...)

I'm fairly new to Beavertown, they are a British brewer but they brew American inspired beers.  Black Betty is a black IPA.  I can't really be bothered to elaborate on what a black IPA is, put simply - it's like an American IPA with the characteristics of dark beers (stouts/porters etc).  Still quite sharp and hoppy, with rich and dark malt flavours - I should add that they're still really light feeling, no treacle here.  They're usually quite strong - Black Betty is 7.4%.
Black Betty reminds me a lot of Brewdog's Libertine Black Ale, which is a good place to start.  It's a bit sweeter and goes down too easily (insert "your mum" joke here).  I'm a huge fan of dark beers, and a huge fan of IPAs so this beer has a lot going for it.  It's also quite sweet which suits my palette.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.  Scoring quite high today.

39/42

Woooooooooooo! I'm going to Edinburgh. I've not been to Scotland before.  Sadly it means that on Thursday I'm going to have to play catch up and have Tuesday's and Wendesday's beers.  Then Thursday's! Oh no! :-D
You should also know that I did listen to Black Betty whilst writing this. And that my underwear is white.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 - December 1st

Huzzah!

It's beer advent calendar 2013!  This year I have splashed out a bit - after discovering a new shop with the most insane beer collection (I'm not kidding, it's incredible) I have created the most expensive beer advent calendar yet.  Escalation is only natural...
They also sell lots of Belgian beers with their associated glasses, including the fantastic Kwak glass. One day!

I've tried to avoid getting too many of one beer type, but I may have got actual beer goggles on at one point and just grabbed fantastic looking beers.  We'll see.

This year I was sorely tempted to splash out on a whisky advent calendar to accompany the beer one, but running it at £150 it was a bit much.  Perhaps I shall spend this year attempting to locate 24 good miniatures and do my own whisky calendar next year.

I'm going to attempt to do without the smells/looks/tastes review style - not sure how long I'll last but I'm a bit tired of saying the same things.

 Harviestoun - Wild Hop IPA 

Harviestoun was the brewer to end BAC2012 and it's nice to have them back to start 2013.

They state on their website that Wild Hop IPA is an american inspired IPA, which they've tried to refine a little and make more palatable for people more accustomed to British style IPA.  It does just that, I can't think how many times I've had an "American style IPA" from a pump and been sorely disappointed.
This is lovely. It's crisp, sweet, fruity and bitter.  It's got a very moreish sharp zesty finish.
I wish that whenever I ordered a British IPA in a pub that it came out tasting like this.

Oh, and I forgot to score.  Abstract scoring method this year (marks out of 42).

36


Last year at the end of my blog I wrote what I was listening to and a little bit about that.  I can't be bothered this year.  I'll just ramble a bit.
I'm sat on the couch, watching something called The last mimzy.  It's bonkers. It's like E.T crossed with Batteries not included crossed with...some narcotics.
Oh, and my underwear today is black.