Baildon Beer Festival and Beyond

Spent last night at Baildon Beer Festival at the Cricket Club. Between myself, Mr T and Mr T Sr, we sampled the whole menu. There were a couple that genuinely smelt of pig muck, one that had a hint of cigarette ash. But on the whole they had a selection of really really good beers. Came home and drank some bottles afterwards. Consequently, inebriation ensued and a haze has clouded the night, so what follows is a pictureless concise post.

74: Bitter Californian, Bristol Beer Factory, 4.5%
Not as bitter as expected, but a nice beer, especially to start.

75: Revelation, Dark Star, 5.7%
Possibly best of the festival. Hoppy, light, tasty, delicious.

76: Black Rye, Saltaire Brewery, 4.4%
Never had a rye beer, dark, but without being heavy. Hints of typical dark beer flavours, but also a bit hoppy.

77: 1872 Porter, Elland Brewery, 6.5%
Porters are my favourite. For today. Yum.

78: Stouterspace, Foxfield, 5%
Forgotten... not particularly special.

79: Jaipur, Thornbridge, 5.9%
Expected this to be good, it was. Hoppy, full of flavour. Delicious.

80: High Wire, Magic Rock, 5.5%
Have already had this beer in my ticking challenge, but had it in a bottle not on keg. Bottle may have been better due to this being served without carbonation as beer festival style, but still really good.

Got a taxi home.

81: Bohemia Regent, Regent Brewery, 4.4%
Dark lager, new style for me. Was drinkable. Don't feel passionate about it.

82: Vitesse Noir, Hardknott, 11%
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.........

83: India Pale Ale Citra, The Kernel, 7.3%
Love IPA. Love Citra. Perfect.

84: India Pale Ale Stella, The Kernel, 7.5%
Perfecter.

Bottles from The Kernel were replacement bottles, sent free of charge. Thanks Kernel.

Saltaire Brewery

So, this is the first time since started the ticking challenge that I'm tasting beers on my own. Movie on, snacks on hand, and some beers in the fridge. Watching Body of Lies, just incase anyone was wondering!

The beers of choice for the evening come from Saltaire Brewery. And, unlike my usual deferring to Mr. Ticker to choose, I picked these and I have a list of reasons why.
1. Saltaire is a local brewery, and I like supporting local produce. And Saltaire is pretty (not a really good reason, but that's a small insight into the way my mind works).
2. Whilst I like supporting independent retailers, Saltaire's bottles are available at smaller specialist shops as well as supermarket chains locally. That means they are easy to get hold of, and I'm not so weary of saving for a special occasions (i.e. I won't get into too much trouble with Mr. T. because I can always sneakily replace them without his knowledge... in which case blogging about it probably isn't a good idea.... ).
3. Saltaire beers have always been enjoyable.
4. Saltaire Brewery is the reception venue for our wedding. Which, if that wasn't special enough on it's own, it will also mark the venue for the last day of the challenge.

65: Cascade Pale Ale, Saltaire Brewery, 4.8%

Light bitterness, but still there. Biscuit, says the label, and I have to agree. Lightly carbonated. Subtle/slight Citrus aroma and flavours. A really nice, easy to drink, American style pale ale. Could drink this all night and will certainly be buying this again. Not overtly hoppy, but good nonetheless.

66: Raspberry Blonde, Saltaire Brewery, 4.0%
I've long been a big fan of fruity beer offerings from Liefmans and Lindemans, although haven't had any for a few months. Raspberry blonde is the first fruity one since starting the ticking challenge. It certainly smells raspberry, and sweet. This gave me some initial concerns that now I might find it too sweet or overpowering. I had concerns that now I've become a fan of a greater variety of beers that I would find the ftuirty ones too sweet, or too overpowering. However, whilst it smells sweet, it's doesn't taste overly so. There is still a bitterness there, and malt flavours, and the raspberry is unavoidable, but not too intense. Was very pleased to say I enjoyed it. Must go back and try some of my old favourites and see if my tastebuds have changed...

67: Triple Chocoholic, Saltaire Brewery, 4.8%
Smells mellow, slight sweetness and, of course chocolate. Really warm deep colour. Opaque. Tastes of chocolate, as you would expect, not overpoweringly so. Bitter initially and then disappears. A yum post dinner tipple.

So, ticking alone... a relaxing evening spent with Mr Leonardo DiCaprio and some tasty beers, what more could a girl want?!

The Sparrow's Birthday

When we realised it was The Sparrow's birthday, the ensuing visit was inevitable. Not only to show support and help celebrate their success, but also because they were marking the occasion with two new keg lines and some very special beers indeed.

39: Endless, Redwillow, 3.8%
Thought I would start the evening off with a not too strong pale ale. So far, the pale ales that I've sampled since beginning this blog have, at best, fallen into the category of "nice". None of them have been outstanding. Rather, beers that would work well as a session ale, or an accompaniment to food. Endless, however, broke the mould. Lots of hoppy fruity aromas, hints of peach and papaya (just my kind of thing), a touch of bitter, but not too much. A lovely lovely beer, and made even more so by my surprise that a beer with less strength and bitterness could make such an impact. For me, it has seriously raised the bar on pale ales.

40: Hell's Lager, Camden Town, 4.6%
A very crisp and refreshing lager. A good lager. Struggled to pick out flavours in this, but this is probably due to the style. Definitely would be good on a hot summer day.

41: Two Captains, Nøgne Ø, 8.5%
A double IPA, a type of beer I seem to be developing a bit of a penchant for. Not brash and in your face, but still packed with floral fruity flavours.

42: Imperial India Pale Ale, Struise/ Mikkeller Elliot Brew, 9.0%
Very different IPA, biscuity, darker malt. Again, fruit smells and flavours, but more berries, darker fruits. The side of the bottle had a lot of gumpf, in what presumably is Flemish. After some feeble attempts using google's interpreter, and some stab in the dark guessing, we concluded that as the brewers developed this beer, they increased the IBU (bitterness) levels from 130 to 216. This seemed to make sense. It was very bitter, appropriately so, the flavours stood up well to it. The bitterness slowly worked in waves down your tongue, starting at the tip and spreading down into your throat. Intense and interesting.

43: Nelson Sauvin Single Hop IPA, Mikkeller, 6.9%
Another single hop IPA. Definitely think IPAs are becoming a favourite, but especially the single hop varieties. IPAs like Elliot Brew's offering have so many flavours and sensations going on when you drink them, and whilst this is wonderful, my preference for now is the more manageable chunks of single hops, easier to get your head around. And this one was lovely, all cherry and peach. A new hop for me I think.

44: Citra Single Hop IPA, Mikkeller, 6.9%
Following a trip to Hawkshead Brewery last week, and discovering that Windermere Pale is made with Citra hops, and having the opportunity to smell some raw (if raw is the word...) Citra, seeing Citra Single Hop IPA on the bottle menu was a no brainer. It is bizarre how familiar it was, despite never having had this beer before. I'm not saying it didn't have unique qualities, I'm sure that drinking it directly next to Windermere Pale or other beers containing Citra would have highlighted how different brewers use the same ingredient to different effects. One particular type of hop adding such a specific flavour, was very interesting. Again, a lovely IPA

Struggled to pick my favourite today, as tried such a variety of beers and all of them were a bit special. I missed out on Dunnock, one of two collaboration beers that The Sparrow brewed with Saltaire Brewery, although Mr T had some and recommended it. In the end, I have settled with the first. Endless, from Red Willow. Having such a distinctive beer, bursting with flavour, but suitable for a session and with a lower abv.... Surprised me and made me think twice about pale ales.

Thanks Sparrow for another lovely evening, and Happy Birthday! Here's to another year!

St George's Day

I was planning on having a few days off the beer, since I've got ahead of myself in the challenge. Unfortunately (or fortunately, whichever way you look at it), around lunchtime, someone pointed out that today is St George's Day. So, after work, I decided to find a good cliche of a pub to go for a quick drink. I headed for The George, in Idle. It was closed. Oh well, luckily just around the corner in Apperley Bridge is The George and Dragon, even more of a cliche! I was pleased to find two English cask beers suitable for the occasion.

6: IPA, Greene King, 3.6%
My fifth IPA of the challenge, but markedly different, with much less flavour and not very bitter. Presumably due to different or fewer hops. A bit of internet research divulged that it contains Challenger hops as well as others. Despite this, it was very different to BrewDog's Challenger, which I recently ticked, and has left me confused as to why Greene King IPA was much more bland.

7: Blonde, Saltaire Brewery, 4%
A very light coloured beer, one I've had before and enjoyed. More bitterness than Greene King IPA, and much more interesting. The flavours not as complex as the hoppy IPAs from BrewDog, but a beer that is drinkable all night long. It's a good job I like it since my wedding reception is being held at Saltaire Brewery (much to Mr T's delight) but my tasting was impartial, honest!

328 beers.
333 days.

Wish me luck!