**** Official middle-aged man's Craft Beer thread ****

[Lyndhurst 14]

Tried some Sam Adams Rebel IPA at the weekend - very nice and an impressive addition to the Sam Adams range. I think I like their Latitude 48 best

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Tried the HornBeer 'Funky Monk' in Craft at the weekend. That is a dangerous drink.

It is a Belgian style beer from Denmark, quite light and fruity which, on a warm lunchtime was going down very easily. However, it has a sting in the tail as it is 8.8% ABV.

 

[Trufflehound]

Heading off to Holland this weekend for the Borefts Beer Festival, at the De Molen brewery near Utrecht.

Here's the current beer list, including our own Burning Sky Brewery

http://www.brouwerijdemolen.nl/index.php/en/beerfestival/brewers-and-beers.html

Were you the Albion fan in the Best Western in Woerden?

Great festival, as it is every year.

And not getting back to GOSBTS quite as often as I would like, it was my first taste of Burning Sky. Very, very impressed. I guess that's what 17 years of honing your skills at Dark Star will do for a brewer.

 

[Trufflehound]

that's a fine looking list, faced with that i feel i may drink myself to death.

This morning I pretty much feel as if I did drink myself to death. Especially having carried on at the Borefts After Festival in Rotterdam yesterday...

 

[CheeseRolls]

This should provoke a few comments. http://www.worldbeerawards.com/2014/

Some notable wins for Brewdog, Thornbridge and Harveys, either at global or European level. I did find it strange that Thornbridge won best Kolsh, but maybe I just missed the announcement that they had opened a brewery in Cologne.
Stuffy old traditionalists Harveys apparently have the World's best Russian Imperial Stout and Europe's (excluding Worthing) best bitter over 5%

Obviously my highlights are a little parochial, but there is a vast list of awards, which is well worth flicking through, for some classics, oddities and obscurities.

 

[Springal]

My brother got me a nice little selection of craft beers for my birthday. None especially rare but all new to me which was nice.

Also Wandering Goose have a beer, ale, cider festival on Wednesday-Sunday this weekend with a lot of beers in stock, and a host of local kitchens setting up as a pop up

 

[Trufflehound]

This should provoke a few comments. http://www.worldbeerawards.com/2014/

Some notable wins for Brewdog, Thornbridge and Harveys, either at global or European level. I did find it strange that Thornbridge won best Kolsh, but maybe I just missed the announcement that they had opened a brewery in Cologne.
Stuffy old traditionalists Harveys apparently have the World's best Russian Imperial Stout and Europe's (excluding Worthing) best bitter over 5%

Obviously my highlights are a little parochial, but there is a vast list of awards, which is well worth flicking through, for some classics, oddities and obscurities.

How Haacht's Tongerlo Blond got the nod for 'Best Beer in the World' is beyond me. In fact, I was talking to someone yesterday who was on the judging panel and was actually responsible for judging the 'Belgian Style Blondes' category, and he was gobsmacked by the decision too...

 

[BlockDpete]

Were you the Albion fan in the Best Western in Woerden?

Great festival, as it is every year.

And not getting back to GOSBTS quite as often as I would like, it was my first taste of Burning Sky. Very, very impressed. I guess that's what 17 years of honing your skills at Dark Star will do for a brewer.

Yes, thats was me ,did we speak, I can't remember for some reason

Yes, had a great time over there .Some lovely beers, De Molen being up there at the top. Though I was also impressed by the Italian brewers that were there.

So was the after festival as good? We went back to Amsterdam and had a few excellent beers at the Arendsnest pub in the city. See we might go back via Rotterdam next year.

 

[Trufflehound]

Yes, thats was me ,did we speak, I can't remember for some reason

Yes, had a great time over there .Some lovely beers, De Molen being up there at the top. Though I was also impressed by the Italian brewers that were there.

So was the after festival as good? We went back to Amsterdam and had a few excellent beers at the Arendsnest pub in the city. See we might go back via Rotterdam next year.

Not sure which one was you, but I overheard someone (presumably you) mention Spanish Dave in the breakfast room on Saturday. I resisted the temptation to yell out 'Seagulls!' as my Mrs who was there with me would have twatted me...

Spoke to some of you over breakfast yesterday, and at the festival to your friend "N" the Fulham fan. It was me who suggested you went to the Arendsnest...

Rotterdam was good too. A bit quieter than Borefts, but more great beers, good weather, and the Kaapse brewpub where it was held (which is also owned by Menno Olivier, the owner/brewer at De Molen by the way) has a fantastic dockside location.

Now I need to find where I left my liver...

 

[BlockDpete]

Not sure which one was you, but I overheard someone (presumably you) mention Spanish Dave in the breakfast room on Saturday. I resisted the temptation to yell out 'Seagulls!' as my Mrs who was there with me would have twatted me...

Spoke to some of you over breakfast yesterday, and at the festival to your friend "N" the Fulham fan. It was me who suggested you went to the Arendsnest...

Rotterdam was good too. A bit quieter than Borefts, but more great beers, good weather, and the Kaapse brewpub where it was held (which is also owned by Menno Olivier, the owner/brewer at De Molen by the way) has a fantastic dockside location.

Now I need to find where I left my liver...

Oh yes, I remember now.

Was a little jaded at breakfast yesterday, as checked out the Woerden nightlife, which was pretty good. Meet a few of the local lasses. Better than staying in Brodegraven, as thats on the quiet side.

 

[CheeseRolls]

How Haacht's Tongerlo Blond got the nod for 'Best Beer in the World' is beyond me. In fact, I was talking to someone yesterday who was on the judging panel and was actually responsible for judging the 'Belgian Style Blondes' category, and he was gobsmacked by the decision too...

Not one I would normally even bother trying to be honest, a Belgian Blond doesn't exactly inspire. Same goes for Black IPA, what and why definitely come before, can I have one of those please.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

This should provoke a few comments. http://www.worldbeerawards.com/2014/

Some notable wins for Brewdog, Thornbridge and Harveys, either at global or European level. I did find it strange that Thornbridge won best Kolsh, but maybe I just missed the announcement that they had opened a brewery in Cologne.
Stuffy old traditionalists Harveys apparently have the World's best Russian Imperial Stout and Europe's (excluding Worthing) best bitter over 5%

Obviously my highlights are a little parochial, but there is a vast list of awards, which is well worth flicking through, for some classics, oddities and obscurities.

Have to agree about the Thornbridge Kolsh - it seems to be a regular beer in Craft but I didn't think it was anything special.

Also noticeable how many Samuel Adams beers are on that list. Given how many brewers there are in the world I can't believe they are all that great.

 

[Questions]

How Haacht's Tongerlo Blond got the nod for 'Best Beer in the World' is beyond me. In fact, I was talking to someone yesterday who was on the judging panel and was actually responsible for judging the 'Belgian Style Blondes' category, and he was gobsmacked by the decision too...

Am drinking a Tongerlo triple at the moment Mr Hound and that is very nice. Not had the blonde though.

 

[Questions]

Have to agree about the Thornbridge Kolsh - it seems to be a regular beer in Craft but I didn't think it was anything special..

I think it is more to do with the style than anything else. My wife always drinks it in Craft but often finds it lacking and that is often to do with it's lower carbonation than most other German styles. (So they informed me)

 

[CheeseRolls]

I think it is more to do with the style than anything else. My wife always drinks it in Craft but often finds it lacking and that is often to do with it's lower carbonation than most other German styles. (So they informed me)

For me it is something that just gets lost in translation. A glass of Kolsh from the barrel in PJ Fruh, is something quite special, the same beer in a bottle, seems to lack any defining character. A quick scan of google images will show that this style does not necessarily lack carbonation. I guess I am caught in two minds here. I want to see traditional style beers recognised and celebrated, but at the same time new emerging styles that challenge drinkers, are also a good thing. Some of the beer styles as categorised in North America, seem to be based on someone's vague recollection of what the beer used to taste like, before they emigrated to the USA and to a certain extant we are seeing this happen here too now.

 

[Trufflehound]

Am drinking a Tongerlo triple at the moment Mr Hound and that is very nice. Not had the blonde though.

I wouldn't put the blonde very high up on your 'must-try' list. It's a typical midweight Belgian blond ale. i.e. inoffensive and drinkable, but a bit characterless and air-headed.

Best beer in the world? As John Lennon would have said, it's not even the best beer in The Beatles.

 

[Trufflehound]

Also noticeable how many Samuel Adams beers are on that list. Given how many brewers there are in the world I can't believe they are all that great.

It's a lot to do with how the WBA is organised. It isn't a recognition of the best beer on the market, based on everything being made. The brewers have to enter the beers themselves and the winning selection is based only on that small sample. I haven't seen the complete list of entries, but for various reasons (time, money, can't be arsed...) only a small fraction of breweries go for it (here in the Netherlands for example, it's only 2 or 3 out of 240 breweries), and they often only enter 2 or 3 brews frim the range.

As a result, the winners come from the same narrow range of entrants and some brewers end up with more than one award, deserved or not.

It's all great marketing and publicity for the brewers who win, and many enter for that reason alone, but it's not a true reflection of the global scene as a whole.

 

[Questions]

I wouldn't put the blonde very high up on your 'must-try' list. It's a typical midweight Belgian blond ale. i.e. inoffensive and drinkable, but a bit characterless and air-headed.

Best beer in the world? As John Lennon would have said, it's not even the best beer in The Beatles.

Tongerlo Ringo would work as a name though.

 

[Questions]

The Wandering Goose in Worthing have their first beer fest this weekend and the apart from about 20 odd casks they have some interesting 'Crafts'


Featuring Craft Beers, Real Ales & Ciders from...........

DarkStar, Magic Rock, Camden Town Brewery, Tiny Rebel, Pressure Drop, Thistly Cross, Siren, Kernel, London's Five Points, BrewDog, Brew By Numbers, The Celt Experience, Red Hook, Bristol Beer Factory, Otley, RedChurch, Fallen Brewing Co, Partizan, Beavertown, Thornbridge, Marble, Burning Sky, Weird Beard, Late Knights, Orchard Pig, Arbor, Rogue, Odell's, Flying Dog, The Off Beat Brewery, Mikkeller, BlackJack, Anarchy, Wild Beer, Portobello, Sierra Nevada, Liverpool Craft Co, Cornish Orchards, London Fields Brewery, First Chop Brewing Arm, Naked Beer..... The list goes on !!

In addition we have Live Music, DJ's and Pop Up Kitchens throughout the weekend + Much more TBA.

*Note: This is a Free Event and is not Ticketed.

We look forward to celebrating with everyone that has joined us over the past year.

 

[spring hall convert]

This thread rather died a death. Everyone doing stoptober?

I'm making my first visit to The Euston Tap on Friday in transit from Brighton to Manchester - http://www.eustontap.com/

Looking forward to it immensely.