Something Something Something Something Dark Side

I have a sweet tooth, I love chocolate, and biscuits. I like things that are full of malts and caramel. I drink far too much coffee. I like deep flavours and intensity. I used to be scared of dark beers. Their blackness intimidated me. That was until I realised that many of my favourite flavours can be packed into a stout. I can't say I prefer them over heavily hopped pale beers, because they aren't really comparable. But I certainly like to end an evening with a dark beer. Venturing into four dark beers in succession is a new experience for me, and an opportunity to compare and contrast some flavours.

166: Barista, Summer Wine Brewery, 4.8%
Not an especially strong abv for a dark beer, an espresso stout. Boy does it do what it says on the tin. Deeply flavoured with heavily roasted coffee, and hints of caramel. Absolutely delicious. I do enjoy when a beer is thicker than this (not sure if this is the right terminology), but I suppose that is down to the 4.8%.

166: Dark Arts, Magic Rock, 6%
Doesn't give off heavy aroma, slight burnt caramel. Tastes of hazlenut and buerre noisette. Ridiculously delicious. Not sure I agree with the tasting notes on the bottle of liquorice, blackberries and figs, but perhaps that is my taste buds.

167: Milk Stout, Left Hand Brewing Company, 6%
My first milk stout. Brewed with lactose I believe. Chocolately smells. Sweeter tasting than the previous two beers, perhaps that is the lactose. Smooth, and not particularly bitter. Would have been nice to eat with icecream I think, the smoothness would have worked well.

168: Saint Petersburg, Thornbridge, 7.7%
A Russian Imperial Stout. Not sure what imperial infers... with IPAs it seems to lead to a stronger more complex beer. Seemingly the same is true for this stout, as has a whole additional dimension. It still is sweetish, with notes of coffee, but also has a slight tang to it, and it richness adds to the intensity. The more you drink, the better it gets.

I think comparisons between light and dark beers should not be drawn because they are two totally different entities. I also think think it is hard to pick a favourite dark beer, when they display such robust flavours, and great variation. Barista was all about the coffee, Dart Arts had totally different predominant flavours. I would buy all of these beers again and again and again.

Beer Drinking Diet Style

So, a brief return to beer with a vengeance. A long walk from our house all the way to The Sparrow justified a couple of beers (well three) and they certainly felt well deserved. As was out with friends, please excuse the brief descriptions!

162: Drink in the Sun, Mikkeller, 3.9%
Pale in colour. Bitter. Very bitter for low strength beer. Smells a bit fruity. Nicely and carbonated. Grapefruit bitterness. Lovely. Much better than yesterday's.

163: High Wire NZ, Magic Rock, 5.5%
Smells slightly floraly sweet. On cask not carbonated. Smooth. Slight bitterness. Can really smell the hops. Ever so slight farmyard hint.

164: Pearl Necklace, Flying Dog, 5.5%
Very dark colour. Slight smokey rich coffee bitterness. Delicious. My perfect kind of beer. Something I've been missing for ages!!


I have missed having beer, which just goes to show how much of a beer geek I've become. At approx 394 calories for three halfs... the walk into Bradford didn't even come close to burning that off, and meant an early morning trip to Bolton Abbey the next day! Am glad I managed to have a few beers, and that I managed to compensate for them so I didn't spoil my hard work... just wish beer was less sinful!

Tasting The Booty... Belgian and French Style

Have continued to be quiet on the beer front over the last few weeks... dieting for wedding dress fittings has taken priority (not done too badly if I might say so myself!). A couple of the bottles, however, have been sampled over the past few weeks.

160: Motuecha, Struise, 5%
Have had this hop before (spelt differently however!) and found it very punchy. This was a single hopped Belgian pale ale. I'm guessing that in this style, the hop was used in a very different way, or in different quantities to other styles I've tried this hop in as it certainly wasn't punchy. Smooth to drink, lightly carbonated. Flavour-wise I found that the hops were hard to distinguish. Mr Ticker suggested this might be due to the yeast flavours. It wasn't what I expected from a single hop beer, but I think I was making assumptions about IPA rather than thinking about Belgian style beers. My verdict, OK, but not awesome, but that is probably my own fault.

161: Faro Lambic, Foudroyante, 4.5%
Smells sours, like I'm not going to enjoy it. Shouldn't prejudge, and trying to sample it with an open mind. Tastes slightly appley, caramelly, cinnamony. Slightly sour taste, tastes ok. Not my favourite, but ok.

Westvleteren

Written by Mr Ticker (@BradfordBeer)

I saw a debate on twitter regarding Westvleteren 12 and whether or not the beer was worth the hype (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/westvleteren-12/4934/). I have tried all three of the brewery's offerings, paying, as many have before, the frankly astronomical price of €12 for the '12 (funny that) €10 for the '10 and €8 for the blond. I paid the price because I was aware of the hype, and wanted to make my own informed decision. A Birmingham pub currently offers the '12 for a whopping £25 so is the beer worth this much money? No.

The quality of the beer is not in question, @Filrd recently undertook an experiment involving the Westy '12 (http://beersay.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/trappists-laid-bare/) and surprised himself with the result! I have some Westvleteren bottles in my garage, not the kind I was talking about above no, mine is much more special. I got mine direct from the Abbey de Sint Sixtus.

My dad had taken pintsizedticker and I on a holiday to France and to thank him for the holiday we arranged a night in Bruges. A week before departure, at the allotted time, I rang Abbey de Sint Sixtus to place an order. I really fancied the '12, however, the beer on offer was the blond, but I still gratefully put the order through. 

We timed the visit to coincide with the journey to Bruges, I was due to pick the beer up at 14:15 which was immediately after the monks lunch, and I did the British thing and waited politely until a queue started to form and dutifully joined it. There was an exciting atmosphere. Being third in a line of twenty or so cars full of beer lovers from lots of different nations all in this tiny hamlet for one thing was amazing. There were the Belgians who were nonchalantly reading papers, presumably this would have been a more regular experience for them, the cars full of young blokes on a boozy trip, the dads dragging families along with them and us, the tourists having lots of pictures taken!

This is where the value for money argument is moot. Direct from the brewery a 24 crate of '12 will set you back €39 plus €9.60 for the crate and €0.10 per bottle a grand total of €51. At today's rate of exchange that's £41.20 divided by 24 = approx £1.70 a bottle (£1.40 for the blond and £1.55 for the '10) Can anyone argue that is not value for money?!

Part of the enjoyment I get from the beer is remembering that special day, I have enjoyed sharing it with fellow beer drinkers. The shops shouldn't sell the beer, then everyone who wants some will have to make the pilgrimage that will make the beer taste even better! The shameful mark up of bottles to £25.00 each is disgraceful. But that is not the fault of the brewery.

Sup Saison

Better late than never!

@leedsbrew kindly hosted a lovely evening for #supsaison, where a variety of home brews and bottles beers were sampled. There were a few sours in the pipeline, which I hadn't chosen, but willing to give it a go again!

154: Saison de Dottignies, Brouwerij De Ranke, 5.5%

It smells bitter, initial taste of hazelnut in the bitterness. Nice, really nice, not what I would think to be saison-y.

155: Fantome Saison, Brasserie Fantome, 8%

Another sour beer, a sour saison, so approached with intrepidation. Smells sweet, sweet like some fruity sweeties I used to get as a kid. Smells like dried apples, but moist, (@leedsbrew says this is acetealdehyde!) and led to more positive feelings about it!  Tastes like bum to be frank. Grows a bit better as drank it, but pretty awful. I was definitely outnumbered, as for others it was one of the highlights of the evening.

156: Avec les Bons Voeux, Brasserie Dupont, 9.5%

Smells sour, very pale for 9.5%, I didn't think it tasted sour and that it held well for 9.5%. Surprisingly nice.

157: Saison Special 2011, Marble, 9%

There was a bit of controversy around this beer, having seen several twitter comments under #supsaison, opinion was divided and some people thought there was a problem with the beer. It was a pricey bottle of beer, so we hoped for good things but were wary of popular thought. Opinion around the table was also divided. I liked it. Not the best beer I've ever had but I enjoyed it. Others actively found it unpleasant.

158: Saison de la Maison, The Willow Shed (Homebrewed by @leedsbrew), 6.1%

We drunk this side by side with Saison Dupont (which I have previously ticked), and it was fantastic. There were some differences, but there were a lot of similarities too. Thanks for sharing your delicious homebrew!

159: Pacific Saison Thyme, The Willow Shed (Homebrewed by @leedsbrew and me!!), 6.3%

Following brewday a few weeks prior, we got to sample the results. A really delicious flavoursome saison. We could really taste the wild Thyme flower honey that was added into the mix, but without it being overpowering. It accented the beer/herbyness. Was really yum, and another favourite of the night. Fantastic to try a beer that I was able to help make!

I think my palate may be lacking in sophistication... but I'm quite happy liking what I like, and will keep trying incase things grow on me.

La France Part 2: Je n'aime pas...

151: Biere Artisanale Triple sur Lie Silviacus, Brassee a Samer, 7.5%
Still got that bananaish tinge but a little less artificial than other ones we have bought of the region. Not my thing, again, but palatable.

152: Biere Artisanale Ambree sur Lie Dilvacus, Brassee a Samer, 7.3%
Mr Ticker and Mr Ticker Snr finished their previous beer before me, and moved onto this beer. Their faces said it all. With intrepidation, I took a sip. It was pretty minging to be honest. And not in a way that is just because it isn't to my tastes, it just tasted wrong, like the sugars hadn't fermented out properly. Just bluergh.

153: Leffe Royale, Abbaye de Leffe, 7.5%
A posh Leffe. Not as posh as might have hoped for, but a nice easy drinking beer. Good with some dins too... a bit of a veg stew, with all veggies from the field just across the way... delish.


Bier de Garde is the beer style of the region and over the course of the holiday I sampled quite a few, although I'm not ticking any more than these as I only had sips here and there. Really not my thing, the over sweet, almost artificially banana flavours. Instead, I opted for the odd glass of vin rouge... something I've missed having since beerticking started, and I really enjoyed! Not very conducive to writing a beer blog though...

La France Part 1

Tea on the first day of family hols, a warm, but not too hot day, filled with a little fraughtness and lots of excitement, ferry rides, sea dips and new village finding.

Tea, pasta, French saussison, tomato sauce and Gouda along with some crusty baguette and that awesome salt crystal butter. A pretty rare treat for the house of dietism, as ours has been latley. With it, the first beer of the trip. A pretty cheap and cheerful supermarket mass produced:


149: "33" export, Mare et Terre, 4.5%,
A light refreshing lager-y small stubby. A perfect refreshing drink.



150: La Goudale, Biere de Garde, Gebrouwen door, 7.2% (€4 approx for 3 75cl bottles) was a farmhouse style beer, and a much more local offering. Not really to my tastes to be perfectly honest. I've found wheat beery/banana-y type beers growing on me, but this one was too sweet I think. Maybe would have been better colder...