Ilkley Ilkley Black

Ilkley Ilkley Black [baron rating 3/5] - 3.7% dark ruby mild,roasted choc smell,bit thin flat cheap cola taste,slightly burnt choc finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
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Note: Not bottle conditioned

This was part of the autumn pack of the superb '52 week beer club' by myBrewerytap.

Join it now and make sure you say the baron made me do it!

Buy Ilkley ales from myBrewerytap

Shepherd Neame Spooks Ale

Shepherd Neame Spooks Ale [baron rating 4/5] - 4.7% dark amber ale,dried fruits plumy smell,nice sweetness fruity taste,spicy fruity finish


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Buy Shepherd Neame ales direct or from most supermarkets

Marble Old Manchester

Marble Old Manchester [baron rating 5/5] - 7.3% amber ale,sultana candied sweets smell,sweet rich caramel peppery taste,sticky bitter taste

This is the collaboration brew between Marble and Fuller's and it's turned out a real treat!


Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Buy Marble ales from Ales By Mail, myBrewerytap & Source Deli

Tom Wood's Harvest Bitter

Tom Wood's Harvest Bitter [baron rating 3/5] - 4.3% copper ale,nutty caramel smell,mild carmel bit burnt fruity taste,dry mild tangy finish

Note: not bottle conditioned

Prospect One-Twenty

Prospect One-Twenty [baron rating 4/5] - 4% gold ale,earthy smell,floral citrus golden syrup taste,dry citrus finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
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A big thank you to Paul from Source Deli who joined us for the series of Prospect Brewery reviews  


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Prospect Brewery for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Prospect ales from Source Deli

Wooden Hand Cornish Mutiny

Wooden Hand Cornish Mutiny [baron rating 3/5] - 4.8% dark amber ale,caramel raisin smell,biscuity raisin taste.mild fruity bitter finish

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Marble Decadence 2009

Marble Decadence 2009 [baron rating 5/5] - 8.7% black stout,boozy plumy smell,sweet coffee cherries & smoky taste,juicy sweet smoky finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
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A big thank you to Paul from Source Deli who joined us for this review


Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation




Just look at the attention to detail on this, not only did they wax seal the cork & cage, they stamped a little Marble pint pot logo in the top of it!



Buy Marble ales from Ales By Mail, myBrewerytap & Source Deli

Nogne O India Pale Ale

Nogne O India Pale Ale [baron rating 5/5] - 7.5% copper ale,soft fresh tropical smell,sweet fruits soft piney taste,long piney bitter finish

Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Buy Nogne O ales from Ales By Mail

Stringers Mutiny

Stringers Mutiny [baron rating 5/5] - 9.3% black stout,spirity black cherry smell,smoky fruity chocolate taste,smokey gentle fruity finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
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Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Thank you to Jon from Stringers Beer for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Stringers ales from Ales By Mail, myBrewerytap and Source Deli

Cumbrian Legendary Loweswater Gold

Cumbrian Legendary Loweswater Gold [baron rating 4/5] - 4.3% pale gold ale,mild pineapple smell,crisp light fruity taste,biscuity dry finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
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Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Cumbrian Legendary Ales for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Cumbrian Legendary ales from Ales By Mail

Prospect Silver Tally

Prospect Silver Tally [baron rating 4/5] - 3.7% gold ale,earthy mild fruit smell,crisp citrus buttery bitter taste,dry buttery bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes

A big thank you to Paul from Source Deli who joined us for the series of Prospect Brewery reviews 


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Prospect Brewery for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Prospect ales from Source Deli

Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps reviews

Last week I was lucky enough to get handed a mixed box of Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps. They have very stylish packets and the point-of-sale stand is very nice too, but are they any good?

 
Rather than give them baron ratings we though we would just record our thoughts live as we opened the pack and sampled them:

Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps Lancashire Cheese and Onion
Download flash to hear the audio review


Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps Lancashire Sauce
Download flash to hear the audio review


Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps Sea Salt
Download flash to hear the audio review


Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps Sea Salt and Ellsey's Malt Vinegar
Download flash to hear the audio review


These crisps are delicious, nice and crunchy without ripping your mouth apart, flavourful but not overpowering, they are really really good! The Lancashire Sauce flavour is my personal favourite, give me a 150g jumbo bag and a few pints and I'd be a very happy baron!

Thank you to John from Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps for handing them over for review!

Buy Fiddler's direct (if trade) or from Source Deli

Details of myBrewerytap's 52 week beer club (Autumn 2011)

The autumn box of myBrewerytap's excellent "52 week beer club" arrived at the end of last week, here are the details of what's in the box. Watch Chris & I unbox the latest myBrewerytap beers:


  • Ilkley Ilkley Black - 3.7% rich & satisfying dark mild
  • Inveralmond Ossian [baron rating 3/5] - 4.1% smooth & drinkable with distinct nutty tones & fruitiness
  • Meantime London Pale Ale - 4.3% pale ale brewed with Goldings & Cascade hops
  • Saltaire Raspberry Blonde - 4% golden speciality ale with an infusion of raspberries
Thank you to Richard from myBrewerytap for the complementary membership to the club, I really enjoyed being a paying member of it last year and so far it looks like it's going to be even better!

Join it now and make sure you say the baron made me do it!

Windsor & Eton Republika

Windsor & Eton Republika [baron rating 5/5] - 4.8% pale gold lager,vegetal earthy smell,soft crisp citrus bite taste,dry mild herbal finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to @WindsorEtonBrew from Windsor & Eton Brewery for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Windsor & Eton ales direct or from Ales By Mail

Prospect Gold Rush

Prospect Gold Rush [baron rating 4/5] - 4.5% copper ale,savoury mild cloves smell,zingy floral syrupy citrus bittersweet taste,floral finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes

A big thank you to Paul from Source Deli who joined us for the series of Prospect Brewery reviews 



Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Prospect Brewery for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Prospect ales from Source Deli

Looking forward to baron rating some Best of British Beers ales

Best of British Beer are an online ale retailer that I've only just come across, I think @bob_beer commented on something I said and so I followed through to see who they were.

We were talking about Christmas beers and they asked if I'd tried Monty's Brewery's champagne-style Ding Dong. I said that I hadn't and the next thing I knew Will from Best of British Beer arrived on my doorstep with the above mentioned bottle plus a couple of others (with added Christmas decorations!):


Conwy Brewery
  • Hoppy Christmas - 4.3% golden ale with a really fresh hoppy nose. More hops on the finish with herbal/lemony notes
Monty's Brewery
  • Ding Dong - 4.4% Christmas special,champagne-style ale, light, crisp & refreshing with a dry finish
  • Manjana - 3.9% chestnut coloured malty bitter
Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Best of British Beer beers soon, and a big thank you to @bob_beer for handing them over to me!

Magic Rock Human Cannonball

Magic Rock Human Cannonball [baron rating 5/5] - 9.2% amber ale,fresh green hop resin smell,big candied sweets taste,rich sweet resin finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Richard from Magic Rock Brewery for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Magic Rock ales from direct or from myBreweryTap

Prospect Big John

Prospect Big John [baron rating 5/5] - 4.8% dark ruby stout,slight burnt fruit smell,rich fruity coffee choc taste,smooth smoky fruit finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes

A big thank you to Paul from Source Deli who joined us for the series of Prospect Brewery reviews


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Prospect Brewery for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Prospect ales from Source Deli

Looking forward to baron rating Windsor & Eton ales

I've wanted to try Windsor & Eton Brewery's ales for a while now after reading about people on Twitter saying how nice there were. Well my wishes were granted recently when not only did I receive some of their Conqueror via Ales By Mail as part of their Virtual Beer Festival but I also received some samples of the rest of their range direct from Windsor & Eton, here are the details:

Windsor & Eton Brewery

  • Conqueror - 5% black IPA, rich, complex & very distinctive ale, roasted flavours balanced with full fresh pine hop aroma
  • Conqueror 1075 - 7.4% black IPA, rich & complex IPA brewed with Cascade & Pacific Jade whole leaf hops
  • Guardsman - 4.2% oak crafted best bitter, with donations from sales made to the The Irish Guards
  • Knight of the Garter - 3.8% refreshing golden ale,with a mixture of hops including Amarillo with it's distinctive citrus aroma
  • Republika - 4.8% pilsner lager, fermented for 2 weeks with Czech yeast then 'lagered' for a further 6 weeks to create a refreshing, full flavoured craft lager
  • Windsor Knot - 4.5% Royal Windsor Ale,brewed with Sovereign & Nelson Sauvin hops to give a refreshing taste and exotic fruit aroma
Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Windsor & Eton beers soon, and a big thank you to @WindsorEtonBrew from for sending these through to me!

I'd also like to thank Paul Kruzycki from Ales By Mail for sending through some Windsor & Eton beers for me to try.

Buy Windsor & Eton ales direct or from Ales By Mail

Looking forward to baron rating Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps

Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps are a new crisp company based just down the road from Ormskirk in Rufford. They've only been going a few weeks but have already made there way into some of the local shops & pubs.

They are a family-run business based on the long-standing family farm so the crisps are a fresh as can be. John Fiddler very kindly popped by Baron Towers yesterday to drop off some samples for us to try:

Tasteful but bold lettering leaves you in no doubt about what's inside!


Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps

Click on each of the links below to be taken to Fiddler's website where they describe the ingredients and flavours:
The packets look lovely with a nice matt finish to them and the branding and styling is very nicely done, you really have no idea that they have only just started up! The point of sale display is nicely done too, like the box it's bold without being over the top.

The above packets are 40g bags but I've just read on their website they they also do each of the flavours in 150g jumbo bags!

Look out for the 'baron rating' for these Fiddler's Lancashire Crisps soon, and a big thank you to John Fiddler for handing them over to me!

Buy Fiddler's direct (if trade) or from Source Deli

Prospect Nutty Slack

Prospect Nutty Slack [baron rating 4/5] - 3.9% black mild,smoky liquorice smell,balanced liquorice bittersweet taste,burnt caramel finish

Although we gave this a [baron rating 4/5] if you are after a great dark mild then you can't go wrong with this, it's an absolute classic dark mild and tastes superb!

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes

A big thank you to Paul from Source Deli who joined us for the series of Prospect Brewery reviews


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Prospect Brewery for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Prospect ales from Source Deli

Looking forward to baron rating St Austell Smugglers Grand Cru

I was a very happy man on Monday morning when a parcel arrived with a very special bottle of beer in it, the brand new & very nicely presented St Austell Smugglers Grand Cru:


St Austell Brewery
  • Smugglers Grand Cru - 11.5% superior oak aged strong ale, hints of smooth oaky vanilla, toffe & spirit underpinning the notes of sweet & spicy forest fruits.
This looks truly amazing, I love the 750ml champagne bottle, the gold foil wrapped cork & cage and the the rustic slightly worn label. I can't wait to try it!

Look out for the 'baron rating' for this St Austell beer soon, and a big thank you to Laura from Octane PR for sending it through to me!

Buy St Austell beers direct from the brewery

Prospect Pioneer

Prospect Pioneer [baron rating 3/5] - 4% amber ale,earthy mild meaty smell,fruity toffee bittersweet taste,slightly thin fruity finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes

A big thank you to Paul from Source Deli who joined us for the series of Prospect Brewery reviews
 

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Prospect Brewery for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Prospect ales from Source Deli

Prospect Hop Vine Bitter

Prospect Hop Vine Bitter [baron rating 4/5] - 4% gold ale,earthy leafy hops smell,crisp bitter creamy mild honey taste,leafy bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes

A big thank you to Paul from Source Deli who joined us for the series of Prospect Brewery reviews


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Prospect Brewery for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Prospect ales from Source Deli

Ulverston Laughing Gravy

Ulverston Laughing Gravy [baron rating 3/5] - 4% dark amber ale,raisin toffee orange smell,toffee english bitter taste,spicy bitter finish

Taken with my shite camera phone
Note: Not bottle conditioned

Shepherd Neame Early Bird

Shepherd Neame Early Bird [baron rating 2/5] - 4.5% copper ale,grassy floral smell,tart citrus slight caramel taste,metallic bitter finish


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Buy Shepherd Neame ales from Shepherd Neame

Cumbrian Legendary Croglin Vampire

Cumbrian Legendary Croglin Vampire [baron rating 4/5] - 8% red ale,rich candied berry smell,controlled red currant syrup taste,fruity finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Cumbrian Legendary Ales for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Cumbrian Legendary ales from Ales By Mail

Looking forward to baron rating The Oxford Companion to Beer book

Although I absolutely love receiving samples of bottled beer to review, it's always interesting when someone contacts me about something beer-related that I can't drink. The very kind people from Oxford University Press got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would like to review the soon-to-be-released The Oxford Companion to Beer book. It arrived today with a massive thud on my doorstep (well it is 848 pages!):


It's a gorgeous-looking book, beautiful stylish cover and hardback too with a silky paper dust jacket - although as it's a reference/encyclopedic book couldn't it have come with a clear plastic dust jacket for the paper jacket? I can see the cover of mine getting tatty in no time...

It's a big thick book with a good three-finger  head  spine and happily stands proud unsupported. Once it's on the shelf amongst the other books there's no doubting what this one is about!

It's laid out alphabetically like an encyclopedia, two columns per page to ease readability and includes relevant diagrams and photos where suited. It's printed on quality paper meaning that flicking through doesn't leave you licking your fingers every few pages to be able to 'thumb through it'.


I've barely opened it so far but here's a short example of the entries, this one will be of particular interest to my southern UK readers ;-)


I'm going to be giving this book a good read through over the next few weeks so expect a full 'baron rating' soon but if you can't wait until then to know if it's any good or not (and the above description hasn't whetted your appetite enough) then please read the reviews of these people who have already ploughed through it: Pete Brown, Tyson the Beer Hound & Alan McLeod.

Look out for a 'baron rating' for The Oxford Companion to Beer book soon, and a big thank you to Kate from Oxford University Press for sending it through to me!

Buy The Oxford Companion to Beer on Amazon or direct from OUP

Sadler's Worcester Sorcerer

Sadler's Worcester Sorcerer [baron rating 2/5] - 4.3% copper ale,apple toffee smell,harsh green apples bittersweet taste,bitter apple finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to @SainsburysPR for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Sainsbury's ales from Sainsbury's

Looking forward to baron rating Magic Rock Dark Arts & Human Cannonball

Not so long ago the full bottled range of beers arrived from Magic Rock Brewing Company. They've not been resting for long as this week two more beers arrived:


Magic Rock Brewing Company
  • Dark Arts - 6% surreal stout, luxuriously smooth mouthfeel,with spicy hop & full flavours of chocolate, liquorice & figs
  • Human Cannonball - 9.2% double IPA, massive pine & candied orange aromas,with bitter/sweet grapefruit & mango flavours
Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Magic Rock beers soon, and a big thank you to @MagicRockRich from Magic Rock for sending these through to me!

Buy Magic Rock ales from Magic Rock and myBreweryTap

Waen Porter House Blue

Waen Porter House Blue [baron rating 1/5] - 6.1% black porter,spirity fruity smell,lively sweet tart blueberry taste,tart fruity finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Bottle conditioned with lively carbonation

Thank you to Sue from The Waen Brewery for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Waen ales here

Ridgeway Bad King John

Ridgeway Bad King John [baron rating 4/5] - 6% dark ruby ale,burnt treacle smell,spicy controlled sweet treacle taste,burnt fruity finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

This was the winner of Sainsburys Great British Beer Hunt 2011!

Thank you to @SainsburysPR for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Sainsbury's ales here

Ales By Mail Virtual Beer Festival (Oct 2011)

Ales By Mail were very kind to me again this week by sending through the six bottles that make up the lineup for their upcoming Virtual Beer Festival on Friday 14th & Saturday 15th October 2011. Using the twitter hashtag #VBF (or #vbf) fellow drinkers will comment and discuss the beers therefore creating a virtual beer festival where we can all take about the same beer.
The line-up is as follows:


Watch me run through the beers selected for the Virtual Beer Festival:


So there you have it, a fine line-up for an evening's entertainment, so make sure you order these VBF beers from Ales By Mail in their 6, 12, or 24 bottled form and join me on Friday 14th October for some virtual beer tasting!

Thank you to Paul Kruzycki from Ales By Mail for sending these through for a 'baron rating' and enjoying during the Virtual Beer Festival!

Buy all these ales here

Otter Bright

Otter Bright [baron rating 4/5] - 4.3% pale gold ale,biscuity slightly citrus smell,mildly sweet floral honey taste,dry spicy bitter finish


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Green Jack Gone Fishing ESB

Green Jack Gone Fishing ESB [baron rating 5/5] - 5.5% amber ale,caramel orange smell,balanced marmalade spicy taste,soft spicy bitter finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Thank you to @greenjackbrew from Green Jack brewery for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Green Jack ales here

Salopian Oracle

Salopian Oracle [baron rating 5/5] - 4% gold ale,zingy marmalade smell,crisp sweet citrus grapefruit taste,long dry fruity bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes

Note: After talking to @SalopianBrewery, we were wrong in the audio review about the pasteurisation of the beer, it's been filtered but NOT pasteurised, therefore retaining as much of the original character as possible.


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Jake from Salopian Brewery for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Williams Bros Profanity Stout

Williams Bros Profanity Stout [baron rating 5/5] - 7% black ale,fresh roasted smell,smooth pineapple choc roasted taste,smoky bitter finish
We raved on about it that much that we forgot to include the score in the audio!

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Williams Bros. for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Williams Bros ales here and here