Return to Beer, Belgian style!

Last night was a reintroduction to beer, after a few weeks off as explained in a short post yesterday. And also an intense introduction to Belgian beer, in preparation for a visit to Bruges in a few days.

Started the evening off away from Belgium, with a new beer from BrewDog. Thought it would be good to refamiliarise myself with:


145: Dead Pony Club, BrewDog, 3.8%
Strong hoppy, lemony smells. A slightly amber colour. Tastes gorgeous. Been a while since having a beer, but what a cracker to come back on. Full of hoppy flavour. A light bitterness. Not strong. Really nice reintroduction. Tastes hoppy lemon, grassy and with malty flavours coming through too.

Next up, start of the Belgian lesson.

146: Blue (2012), Chimay, 9%
Smells herby and spicy. Dark amber colour.  Apparently you can age this beer. Tastes a bit rum-y, and there is a slightly sweet caramel taste. Not especially bitter nor hoppy. Raisiny boozy. Because we served it chilled from the fridge, Mr Ticker advised me to drink it slow and let it warm up. As it did I felt that the spice mellowed and the raisiny flavours became more prominent. A really nice start, a new sort of beer for me but with lots of familiar overtones. Looking forward to more!

147: Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio (2011), Cantillon, 5%
Clear, flat looking. Smells cider like and slightly vinegary. Not looking forward to this. I had been prewarned that this was a sour beer, and took the first sip with a feeling of uncertain trepidation. Tastes sour. Vile, to be perfectly honest. I'm not a fan of sour anyway. Grapefruits and tangy sweets, well, I can perfectly happily swanny through life avoiding these. With the Gueuze, I just couldn't get past the sour to begin thinking about flavours. Just made my face crinkle into a small puckered wrinklefest.

So, should I try other lambics and not let myself be put off or just accept that it is not a style for me and save my pennies for beers I'm going to enjoy? Simon James @Gueuzel via twitter has given some advice to lambic/gueuze newbies, and I think that I will have to have another go, persist, and maybe, just maybe, I might come around to the idea.

A short beery evening for a change, but an enjoyable one at that. Looking forward to delving deeper into Belgium over the next few weeks.

North Bar Turns 15

Yesterday saw an impromptu visit to North Bar, Leeds, during their 15th Birthday Celebrations. I don't visit Leeds city centre as much as I'd like, living in suburbia in Bradford, for two of us to get to Leeds, it is £17.50 on public transport. Makes for an expensive night out. However, couldn't let the opportunity to try a huge array of fantastic beers, many of which would be hard to come across again. Despite sharing thirds with my lovely other half, I enjoyed myself a little too much. The day was like a beer festival on overdrive. Each of the beers a treat, even those that weren't for me, I was glad to try.

Had 14 of 16 beers (had tried Flying Dog Kujo before, and another appears to have passed me by). Tasting notes are somewhat lacking, and probably quite inaccurate. Needless to say, I got 14 ticks last night, for more details see North Bar's website.

94: S.C.C.A.N.S IIPA, The Kernel, 10.1%
Tropical fruit, as per many of Kernel's offerings. Incredibly bitter. A big treat to have this on draft.

95: Everything in Its Right Place, BrewDog, 6.5%

96: Beer Camp Solar Storm, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., 5.8%

97: North Pale Ale, Rooster's, 4%

98: Pilsner, Lindeboom, 5%

99: General Sherman, Thornbridge/North Bar, 8.3%

100: Wildeman Farmhouse IPA, Flying Dog Brewery, 7.5%

Similar to Saison Dupont, but more punchy and vibrant. Banana, refreshing, sparkling, delicious.

101: Little Jim (aged), Marble, 6.9%

My first beer from Marble, a lovely smooth, toffee, really tasty yummy beer.

102: Bourbon Barrel Bearded Lady, Magic Rock, 10.5%
Really really yum.

103: Milk Stout, Odell, abv unknown

104: Beer Geek Breakfast, Mikkeller, 7.5%

105: Kolsch, Gaffel, 4.8%

A couple still for me to mull over:

106: Oak Aged Sunturnbrew, Nøgne Ø, 11%

An incredibly dark beer. Too intense for me. To my taste, it reminded me of burnt rubber, which I think was the oak. Definitely a thinker!

107: Gueuze, Cantillon, 5%

The sourest beer I've ever had. I'm not a big fan of sour, be it in drinks or sweets. Interesting to experience, but not for me.

All in all, a success, and as ever a treat to visit North. Certainly a learning curve for a newbie! Happy Birthday North Bar! When you turn 20, I might have to spread the joy over 2 days...