Beer #403 - Anchor Porter

Rather shamefully I only managed two beers whilst on the Latvian leg of my Baltic sojourn and one of them was an Anchor Porter over dinner at the excellent and highly-recommended Stock Pot (which also had a cider from my Herefordshire homeland available). Anchor Porter has a worldwide reputation for being excellent and no doubt a million reviews have been written in its name. It is much lighter in body than I had anticipated, verging on the thin and yet it is very clean (as far as that is possible for a porter) and the flavour is great. Roasted malt gives plenty of coffee notes and it’s bitter without being over-powering. Good stuff.

Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company

Country: USA

ABV: 5.6%

Beer #350 - Sainsbury’s Tap Room IPA

This IPA is produced for Sainsburys by the Genesee Brewing Company in Rochester in the USA. I had pretty high hopes for numerous reasons - the fact that it was brewed in the US (although I didn't know anything about the brewery when I bought it) alongside it's 'Taste the difference' label made me think I'd be in for a treat. The beer didn't quite live up to my expectations - it's not really a true US IPA at all - although it's not terrible. The beer is malt forward with biscuity flavours dominating. There is a hint of piney hops but its lacking in the juicy citrus tang I had anticipated. Drinkable yes, but even on the shelves of Sainsburys you can find far better IPAs.




Brewery: Genesee Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.3%

Beer #303 - Gigantic IPA

Please see my entry on the Great British Beer Festival 2014 for tasting notes and further info.

















Brewery: Gigantic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 7.3%

Beer 247 - Sixpoint The Crisp

Having previously tried the Sixpoint Bengali Tiger and, a couple of weeks ago, Sweet Action, I only needed one more beer to complete the Sixpoint ‘set’ of all three beers currently stocked by Wetherspoons. By a happy coincidence I found myself in The Fox on the Hill in south London last weekend and by happier coincidence, a sign outside the pub announced a special offer on Sixpoint cans which were available for just £1.99 a pop. The Crisp is a pilsener so I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this one anywhere near as much as its hoppy siblings. Now I’m far from being a fan of lager but having said that, I’ve never gone out of my way to try any particularly good lager either. This was unlike any other lager I can remember drinking. The pour was a hazy yellow with plenty of bubbles. Its light on the palate but there is some definite hints of grass and citrus fruits in here rendering it quite bitter (for a lager, at least). I enjoyed it, perfect for the summer when you want something light yet with a bit of flavour and it was refreshing and highly drinkable. Ok so it doesn’t compare favourably to the other two Sixpoint beers available in ‘Spoons, but then they’re both really great.

Brewery: Sixpoint Brewery

Country: USA

ABV: 5.4%

Beer #243 - Banks's / Saint Archer Pale Ale

On my next visit to the bar at Gatwick’s The Red Lion I noticed that they had a US/UK collaboration on cask. I’ve had a couple of these beers before; the idea being that a US brewer comes to the UK to brew a beer for sale in Wetherspoons across the country. I've featured a few of these before and they’re invariably quite good so I ordered a couple of pints of this Pale Ale produced by Kim Lutz of Saint Archer at Banks’s Brewery. Saint Archer is based in San Diego and Kim, the head brewer, was formerly head brewer at Maui Brewing Co. in Hawaii, which suggests to me that she is not only a very good brewer but also incredibly smart in choosing amazing places to live and work. This pale ale pours amber with a white head. It has a nice hoppy aroma and some nice fruity, hoppy flavours balanced out with some characteristically English biscuit malt. It’s a perfectly drinkable and tasty beer although it struggled to stand up to the robustness of the beers I’d previously drunk that evening, being perhaps a touch light in body. Good nonetheless and I’d happily drink it again.

 

Brewery: Banks's Brewery / Saint Archer Brewery collaboration

Country: United Kingdom

ABV: 5.5%

Beer #242 - Sixpoint Sweet Action

Upon reaching Gatwick Airport we discovered that our flight was going to be delayed by over an hour which gave us ample to time to settle our nerves with another beer or 4. Wetherspoons was our friend and we headed to The Red Lion in the north terminal. I took the opportunity to try another of the three Sixpoint beers that the pub chain now stock. Having tried the Bengali Tiger a few months ago and enjoyed it I went for Sweet Action this time. In my previous post I congratulated Wetherspoons for offering these beers at such a reasonable price, but the airport effect meant that in this can set me back £3.99. At the time I was a bit put out by this knowing how much they charge elsewhere but on reflection I realised that a) I wouldn’t baulk at paying that, or more, for a beer in a craft beer pub in central London and, b) it’s now possible to get some really excellent beer at a UK airport. And yes, this is a good beer. It pours an attractive dark amber with a hoppy nose. The flavour is hoppier than I’d anticipated with some lovely floral hops and sweet citrus fruits although up against the Bengali Tiger the flavour is nicely subtle. Very drinkable.

 

Brewery: Sixpoint Brewery

Country: USA

ABV: 5.2%

Beer #233 - Brooklyn East India Pale Ale

Last week I had a job interview that had been causing me a quite absurd amount of stress and worry and after I'd done it, I really fancied a beer (I didn't get the job, but thanks for asking). Unfortunately I had to get through the rest of the day first but in the evening I was able to crack open this East India Pale Ale from Brooklyn Brewery that I picked up from Whole Foods a few weeks ago. I always think Brooklyn beers look so incredibly appealing, with their labels unmistakeably American in design. As for the beer itself, my first sip of this was overwhelmingly bitter but the more I drank, the more I enjoyed it as I started to pick up on the malt character that I didn't initially recognise. My challenges with strong IPAs and bitter US hops have been well documented on this blog and I've had quite a steep learning curve with them. I'm also recognising that their is quite an art to balancing flavours in this type of beer. On the whole I think this EIPA is simply too bitter with little in the way of interesting or variety in the flavour. It was okay but I wouldn't choose it over, say, a Lagunitas IPA, and I sure as hell wouldn't opt for it over a finely crafted IPA from the likes of the Kernel Brewery.

 

Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery

Country: USA

ABV: 6.9%

Beer #221 - Lagunitas India Pale Ale

Lagunitas is another Californian craft brewery that seems to be making some decent headway in England (or at least, London) at the moment and I’ve seen their IPA available on tap in numerous places lately. I picked up this bottle at Whole Foods as I figured it was time to give it a chance and that this was a much cheaper way of doing it than by paying a fiver for a pint! I really enjoyed drinking this which I’m taking as a sign that either a) this is a really good IPA or b) I’m finally starting to get my head around big hoppy flavours. I’m not sure which of these statements is closer to the truth. There is certainly some evidence in favour of b) in some of my recent posts and bold IPAs are definitely becoming more palatable to me. Anyway I digress. Lagunitas IPA has some big citrus hop flavours but there is also a definite maltiness to the beer and I found it very well balanced. It was bitter but not claggy and went down pretty nicely. Would drink again.

 

Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company

Country: USA

ABV: 6.2%

Beer #203 - Sixpoint Bengali Tiger

Sixpoint is a New York brewery that, until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t heard of. Apparently they are something of a big deal, which meant that when Wetherspoons announced that they would be stocking three Sixpointbeers in their pubs, a lot of people were very excited. Sixpoint didn’t previously export their beers so this too, is quite a big deal and it seems quite a clever bit of business by ‘Spoons. Last Saturday I went to Braintree in Essex to watch my beloved Hereford United take on Braintree Town. I arrived in the town and with half an hour or so to kill I came across the Picture Palace and thought it a good opportunity to try one of the Sixpoint brews. I opted for the Bengali Tiger and was given a 330ml can and a pretty impressive glass. The beers are available at two for £5 (or £2.85 each) which is pretty superb value for US craft beer and credit to Spoons for the competitive pricing. The beer itself was an IPA with a nice fresh citrus aroma. The flavour is citrus and pine with a bitter grapefruit finish. I’ll be trying out the other two Sixpoint offerings next time I find myself in a Wetherspoons.

 

Brewery: Sixpoint Brewery

Country: USA

ABV: 6.4%

Beer #152 - Point IPA

Bottle from Morrisons, Hereford



















Brewery: Stevens Point Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5.6%

Beer #117 - Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Finally, a lager that I actually genuinely liked! Samuel Adams doesn't really (or at least shouldn't) need much introduction to beer drinkers. The brewery has been astoundingly successful since it's inception in the 1980s to the extent that founder Jim Koch recently became a billionaire. Boston Lager is the brewery's signature beer and has been fundamental to its success. The beer itself is very good, full of flavour yet light and incredibly refreshing. The best lager I've had by a country mile. Apologies for the picture but my smartphone doesn't really get on well with illuminated taps, it seems.

 

Brewery: Samuel Adams

Country: USA

ABV: 4.8%



Beer #116 - Fordham Copperhead Ale

Last week I went to Jetlag, a sports bar in Fitzrovia which is one of the more bizarre establishments I’d been to and not somewhere I’d hurry back to. The main room of the bar was occupied by a Halloween party so anybody who was there to watch sport was confined to a small bar. There was an odd selection of beers available, all of which was far too expensive. I thought I may as well try something a bit different if I was going to spend a load of money, so I first went for a Fordham Copperhead Ale. Fordham is a craft brewery from Annapolis, Maryland. I’ve never spotted their beer before in the UK so finding it here was quite odd in itself. Anyway my Copperhead Ale was far and away the blandest US beer I’ve ever tasted. Not to say I didn’t enjoy it because I did, it was just very nothingy, but sometimes that’s good, it was a bit malty but not much going on in the way of hops. Try if: you want something light and inoffensive. Do not try if: you want a big hoppy American beer.

Brewery: Fordham Brewing Company

Country: USA
ABV: 4.7%

Beer #111 - Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

 Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale has been leading the charge for American craft beers in the UK for some time now and it's almost ubiquitous in London pubs with its tell-tale green label peering out from fridges across the capital. High time then, that I finally tried it! SNPA is very highly regarded and it's easy to see why - it's a solid beer. It's brewed with cascade hops and therefore isn't exactly to my taste, the nose is floral and the taste citrus and bitter as you would expect. Nothing in it is over-bearing though and it's very drinkable and at 5.6% it's not going to blow your head off. It's not particularly to my taste but I now know what all the fuss is about and recognise why this beer has become so prominent in the UK as well as in its home in northern California.



Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 5.6%

Beer #107 - Flying Dog Doggie Style

I picked up this bottle of Flying Dog Brewery’s Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale a good couple of months ago at Utobeer in Borough Market but for some reason had not got around to drinking it and it had been knocking around for ages. Thankfully it hadn’t suffered overly. It pour amber, as you’d expect from an American Pale Ale there is plenty of hop in here although it isn’t overpoweringly hoppy, which made it pretty enjoyable as far as I was concerned. Not the best beer I’ve ever had but as far as this type of beer goes, particularly one that’s come from the USA, this is one of my favourites.

 

Brewery: Flying Dog Brewery

Country: USA

ABV: 5.5%

Beer #104 - Batemans/Fat Head’s Sunshine Daydream (Wetherspoons Autumn Festival Special!)

Sunshine Daydream was brewed for the festival by Matt Cole of Fat Head’s Brewery of Ohio at Batemans in Lincolnshire. This it’s a nice looking copper beer that goes down very smoothly indeed. The initial taste is slightly sweet and almost tropical in flavour, with a slightly bitter, citrus finish. It’s incredibly smooth and I could happily have had a couple more of these, a good refreshing session beer

Brewery: Batemans / Fat Head's Brewery collaboration

Country: United Kingdom

ABV: 5.0%

Beer #102 - Adnams/Stone Supremely Self Conscious Black Ale (Wetherspoons Autumn Festival Special!)

When browsing the beer list for the festival this one immediately caught my eye. Stone is one of the States’ most highly regarded craft brewers and Adnams is one of my favourite UK breweries. This beer follows the recent trend (and misnomer) of black IPAs, a heavily hopped IPA style beer that is more like a porter in appearance. I recently read an interesting article on the emergence of the black IPA on the Guardian which can be read here. Supremely Self Conscious Black Ale pours a deep black and the smell is absolutely heavenly. As you’d expect with something from Stone there are some big hoppy flavours here but they aren’t too strong nor overpowering. Really enjoyed this.     

 

Brewery: Adnams/Stone Brewing Co. Collaboration

Country: United Kingdom

ABV: 5.0%

Beer #101 - Thwaites / Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA (Wetherspoons Autumn Festival Special!)

Another of the ten collab brews and another brewer from America's Pacific Northwest. Avatar Jasmine IPA has been brewed for the festival by Dick Cantwell of Elysian Brewing Company at Thwaites in Lancashire. Much like the Ninkasi cream ale in my last post there initially doesn't seem to be a lot going on here. It's a perfectly drinkable, medium-bodied ale. Nt too strong on the hops as you might expect for an American-influenced IPA. There is the feintest floral Jasmine hint in the beer, I found it barely noticeable though and in fact the harder i tried to pick it out the more elusive it seemed! Again it's a perfectly good ale in it's own right but I was quite excited to try this one and it didn't quite deliver in the way I'd anticipated. Good, but not great.

 

Brewery: Thwaites Brewery / Elysian Brewing Company Collaboration
Country: United Kingdom
ABV: 6.3%

Beer #100 - Caledonian / Ninkasi Cream Ale (Wetherspoons Autumn Festival Special!)

Beer number 100! I didn't quite expect to get to 100 beers so quickly when I started the blog but here we are, I'm not sure whether I should be concerned about the amount of beer I'm drinking or not..! This cream ale was brewed by Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi Brewing Company, Eugene, Oregon at the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh. The brewery was set up in 2006 amid Oregons incredible brewing scene. This is a light beer that's very drinkable. At first taste it doesn't seem much to write home about but it has a very interesting creamy finish that is quite hard to describe. Very drinkable but not quite in the same league as the other festival beers I've tried so far.

Brewery: Ninkasi Brewing Company/Caledonian Brewery Collaboration
Country: United Kingdom
ABV: 4.5%

Beer #97 Everards / Cambridge Brewing Sgt. Pepper (Wetherspoons Autumn Festival Special!)

Wednesday marked the start Wetherspoons Autumn Beer Festival. The pub chain is hosting 50 cask ales as part of the festival including 10 special collaborations between US and UK breweries. These collaborations saw top American brewers bringing some special recipes to the UK and brewing them at breweries around the country. Sgt. Pepper is the first one I tried, brewed at Everards in Leicestershire by Will Meyers of Cambridge Brewing Co., Massachusetts. This is a saison style beer with the addition of four spicy peppercorns according to the blurb. I really enjoyed this, it poured slightly hazy and the initial taste was quite herbal with a strong pepper flavour which carries through to the finish and really catches the back of your throat. Very interesting and very enjoyable.

 

Brewery: Everards / Cambridge Brewing Co. collaboration

Country: United Kingdom
ABV: 4.2%

Beer #67 - DNA New World IPA

A bit out of sync here, but preceding the meal mentioned in my last post I visited on of my very favourite London pubs and my former local, The Salisbury; a beautiful, grade II listed pub that was restored to its former glory about a decade ago. DNA immediately caught my eye immediately. The beer is a collaboration between Charles Wells (Wells & Young’s) of Bedfordshire and Dogfish Head, an American craft beer brewery in Delaware. The beer is based on Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA and brewed using Wells’ brewing process. The result is a beautiful clean, deep copper ale. It’s a nice medium bitter with a bit of a twist. Whilst the American origin of the beer is apparent, anybody expecting an American-style IPA would be disappointed. It’s a really nice session ale but it’s far, far closer in flavour to a British ale than it is a big, hoppy IPA. I certainly anticipate seeing a lot more of these collaborations between UK and US brewers popping up as a result of the growing popularity of the US craft beer scene. Wetherspoons have already cottoned on to it and their Autumn beer festival next month will feature beers brewed by US brewers at UK breweries. Whilst these beers may not break any moulds, they should offer some interesting twists on cask ale.

Brewery: Wells & Young’s/Dogfish Head Collaboration

Country: United Kingdom

ABV: 4.5%