Howling Hops Smoked Porter

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Howling Hops Smoked Porter [baron rating 4/5] - 5.2% ruby ale,campfire smell,balanced burnt fruitcake smoky taste,long hoppy burnt finish
Thank you to @villabone for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Howling Hops ales from Cotteridge Wines

Looking forward to baron rating Siren ales thanks to eeBria





eeBria got in touch with me a few weeks back asking if I'd like to try out their service, they are a new player on the online beer scene aiming to "showcase small but brilliant and talented UK alcohol producers". You place your order via their website which lists numerous beer, wine and spirit producers and then they pass the order on so that your booze is sent direct from the producer aiming for it to be as fresh as possible when it comes to your door.

They aim to be different: you are "buying directly" from the brewery, so there are no products sitting around in warehouses and they only sell from "the best breweries" - currently Kernel, Siren, Brew By Numbers, Harbour, Celt Experience, with more to follow.

They offered me a free case of ale and I picked Siren Craft Brew, I'd not heard of them before but after looking on RateBeer decided that they were well worth a try ;) The order did take quite a while to get to me, Siren were expecting their bottles back from the bottler sooner than they did and so they still had them available for order via eeBria which held up my order for a few days. Anyway the beers arrived in perfect condition on Thursday (in a nice sturdy box), here are the details:

Siren Craft Brew
  • Broken Dream - 6.5% breakfast stout. Deep and complex,coffee and chocolate aromas, with the silky unctuousness of oats to create thick, velvety delirium
  • Half Mast QIPA - 2.7% Quarter IPA, golden coloured IPA has a surprising malt base considering it's strength. Low bitterness but a huge hop profile popping with mango and grapefruit
  • Limoncello IPA - 9.1% truely different beer,created as a beery version of of the Italian sipping drink Limoncello, the three brewers of Siren, Mikkeller and Hill Farmstead came together to craft something that doesn't fit a style or category. A malt base of pilsner and wheat,lactose to provide sweetness balanced by tons of lemon zest and juice
  • Liquid Mistress - 5.8% red IPA,biscuit & burnt raisin malt base with peach and grapefruit highlights
  • Soundwave - 5.6% IPA, golden, hoppy and full with a resinous finish
  • Undercurrent - 4.5% oatmeal pale ale,bold bready and nutty malt with a spicy, citrus, floral concoction. The body is silky and creamy
Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Siren Craft Brew ales soon, and a big thank you to eeBria (@eeBriaUK) for sending them through to me!

Buy Siren ales from eeBria (and get 10% off if you use code "BARON" at the checkout)

Mayfields Ducking Stool

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Mayfields Ducking Stool [baron rating 4/5] - 4.4% copper ale,sweetish citrus smell,biscuity sharp zingy citrus taste,tangy fruity finish
Thank you to Adam (@MayfieldsBrewer) from Mayfields Brewery for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Mayfields ales from Holborn Ales

Fordham Copperhead

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Fordham Copperhead [baron rating 3/5] - 5.2% copper ale,earthy caramel smell,balanced spicy peppery caramel taste,spicy juicy finish
Thank you to Gemma (@SlurpBeer) from Slurp for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Fordham ales from Slurp

Elland Amnesia

Not bottle conditioned
Elland Amnesia [baron rating 2/5] - 5.8% copper ale,very mild strawberry citrus smell,medicinal peppery taste,herbal mild strawberry finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Mayfields Auntie Myrtle's

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Mayfields Auntie Myrtle's [baron rating 4/5] - 4.5% amber ale,earthy mild vineous fruit smell,burnt toast toffee taste,fruity earthy finish
Thank you to Adam (@MayfieldsBrewer) from Mayfields Brewery for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Mayfields ales from Holborn Ales

Weird Beard Mariana Trench

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Weird Beard Mariana Trench [baron rating 5/5] - 5.3% gold ale,pine citrus mango smell,balanced creamy bitter taste,long fruity bitter finish
Thank you to @tabamatu from Elusive Brewing for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Weird Beard ales from Ales By Mail

Thornbridge Halcyon

Not bottle conditioned
Thornbridge Halcyon [baron rating 5/5] - 7.4% gold ale,floral resin green hops smell,clean herbal peachy bitter taste,perfumed floral finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Thornbridge ales from Beer Hawk

Valhalla Sjolmet Stout

Not bottle conditioned
Valhalla Sjolmet Stout [baron rating 3/5] - 5% dark ruby stout,choc boiled sweets smell,vineous berries taste,choc berries tobacco finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to Chris for bringing this round for a baron rating! He visited this most northerly brewery this summer on holiday and brought back a selection for us to baron rate, he also got a chance for a quick tour!

Buy Valhalla ales direct

Looking forward to baron rating Beer Hawk's Champion Bottled Beers of Britain

The Great British Beer Festival was held back in August and online beer retailer Beer Hawk were one of the sponsors of the event.Apart from being there for the festival they also produced a 15-bottle finalists mixed case of the finalists of CAMRA's 2013 Champion Bottled Beer of Britain award.

They very kindly sent me a box to review, below are the contents (which arrived last week). All these beers are bottle conditioned as that is CAMRA's stipulation for bottled ales.

  • Beowulf Dragon Smoke - 5.3% stout
  • Conwy Clogwyn Gold - 4% light quaffable golden ale with plenty of hop aroma and a long bitter finish
  • Harveys Imperial Extra Double Stout - 9% Imperial Russian Stout
  • Hopshackle Restoration [baron rating 5/5] - 9.5% Belgian strong ale inspired beer which has been aged for 6 months before bottling
  • Marble Chocolate Marble [baron rating 4/5] - 5.5% beer which covers the middle ground between a stout and a porter. A smooth rich and full bodied beer, with a firm backbone of bitterness. Coffee and liquorice aromas are from the chocolate malt, a hint of sweetness and a long bitter finish
  • Marble Lagonda IPA [baron rating 5/5] - 5% clean, hoppy IPA, the beer delivers citrus, fruit and a long crisp finish owing to the use of 6 different hops
  • Neath Black - 5.5% superb dark malt flavour is balanced by a refreshing hop bitterness and an outragous amount of aroma hops
  • O'Hanlon's Port Stout - 4.8% Our prize-wining stout is blended with a softening measure of rich ruby Port
  • Old Bear Black Mari'a - 4.2% wholesome jet black stout, smooth on the palete, blended with two English hops, producing a strong roast malt flavour with a fruity finish
  • Spire Sgt. Pepper Stout - 5.5% Our nationally award-winning stout laced with ground black pepper
  • St Austell Proper Job [baron rating 5/5] - 5.5% Cornish IPA, a 'proper' IPA, strong golden ale that's powerfully hopped, bursting with citrus and grapefruit flavours
  • Stewart Embra - 5% classic amber beer packed full of flavour. Full in body with a fruit aroma balanced with a full, yet soft bitterness
  • Stewart St Giles -5% dark, malty & smooth. A robust, rich and well balanced beer full of body and flavour
  • Worthington White Shield [baron rating 4/5] -5.6% finest India Pale Ale for true IPA connoisseurs
  • Young's Special London Ale [baron rating 5/5] - 6.4% smooth, rich, malty ale with notes of candied fruit on the palate and a powerful spicy hop finish
Look out for 'baron ratings' of these beers soon, and a big thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending these through to me!

Buy all these beers from Beer Hawk and get 10% off if you use my discount code "BARON" at checkout!

Sharp's Dubbel Coffee Stout

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Sharp's Dubbel Coffee Stout [baron rating 3/5] - 7% black ale,fruity smell,sweet fruity Belgian (not funky) taste,coffee liquor finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to @SharpsBrewery from Sharp's Brewery for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Sharp's ales direct

Williams Bros Impale IPA

Not bottle conditioned
Williams Bros Impale IPA [baron rating 4/5] - 5.5% gold ale,mild buttery vegetal smell,flinty buttery bitter taste,herbal bittersweet finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to Chris (@WilliamsBrewery) from Williams Bros. for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Williams Bros ales direct

Nogne O Imperial Brown Ale

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Nogne O Imperial Brown Ale [baron rating 5/5] - 7.5% dark brown ale,brown bread molasses smell,silky bittersweet treacle taste,creamy finish
Thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Nogne O ales from Beer Hawk

BrewDog #MashTag

Not bottle conditioned
BrewDog #MashTag [baron rating 5/5] - 7.4% dark brown ale,nutty dark sugar smell,smooth rich sweet molasses smoky taste,nutty choc finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy BrewDog ales from Beer Hawk

Howling Hops Pale XX

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Howling Hops Pale XX [baron rating 5/5] - 5% gold ale,lemon mango smell,clean fresh resinous creamy fruity bitter taste,piney clean finish
Thank you to @villabone for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Howling Hops ales from Cotteridge Wines

BrewDog Hello My Name Is Mette Marit

Not bottle conditioned
BrewDog Hello My Name Is Mette Marit [baron rating 3/5] - 8.2% gold ale,herbal resin smell,astringent red fruit taste,sour berries finish
Note: Although I wasn't a fan of this beer, mainly due to the sour berry aspect, Chris was a massive fan and gave it a 5/5.
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to brewer Scott Murray from BrewDog for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy BrewDog ales direct

Sharp's Spiced Red

bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Sharp's Spiced Red [baron rating 4/5] - 9% dark amber ale,fruity ground spice smell,berries & cherries taste,peppery black cherry finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to @SharpsBrewery from Sharp's Brewery for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Sharp's ales from direct

What Sam Adams Octoberfest means to me

It was the Autumn of 2001 and the baroness & I were living in Boston, Massachusetts. I was a bitter drinker when we left the UK in the Spring that year, naively drinking smoothflow bitters or Tetley cask (there wasn't much else available in Ormskirk back then to be fair).

There was a liqour store (Harvard Wine Company) at the end of our road which had a good selection of bottled ales with a large dominance of Sam Adams beers. I knew they were brewed in Boston and so I thought "why not!" and bought a case of the now ubiquitous Boston Lager.

I fell in love with it, I loved the fact that it had that familar bitter taste but also like the 'bite' that it had at the end (otherwise know as a hoppy finish but I knew nothing about hops then). Sam Adams were the masters of churning out 'seasonal' brews, it seemed that nearly every time I went in a liquor store there was a new Sam Adams ale to try.

I was fond of picking up a mixed 12-pack, three bottles of each type, two which were 'dark beers' (which I now know to be porter and stout) and a couple of lighter ones (which I preferred). Friends and family liked to visit us out there (who wouldn't want to stay five minutes walk from Harvard Square?) and I'd always make sure I'd get some Sam Adams in for their visit.

This brings me to the particular seasonal that has inspired me to write this blog post. My parents chose to come out 'in the fall' knowing that it was a beautiful time of year to visit New England, still warm enough for shorts and tshirts but cool enough for the trees to start turning every shade of colour from green to brown. I picked up the regular Sam Adams mixed case and also a 12-pack of their seasonal 'Octoberfest'. My dad and I promptly started with the regular Boston Lager working our way through the standard pack and then moved onto the Octoberfest.

Oh boy! It was just so drinkable! You know that knowing nod that drinkers give each other when they try the same beer for the first time? We were nodding like Churchill dogs! Bottle after bottle was drunk, the slightly spicy aroma was perfect for Autumn, the balanced malt-led ground spice bitter taste slipped down easily and the hoppy finish cleaned up the palette perfectly ready for the next mouthful. We ploughed through that pack that night and for the rest of the week of their stay that was all we drank when home in our apartment! I have no idea how many 12-packs we got through but it's about the only beer that has very vivid fond memories for me, and knowing that I shared it with my father made it even more special.

We moved back to the UK in the Autumn 2002 narrowly missing it's release so I only got to drink it that one 'season' and it was sorely missed once I was home. I found out I could by Sam Adams Boston Lager in Ormskirk's Safeway (now Morrisons) but never any of the seasonals. Now back then I wasn't 'into craft ale', didn't know what an IPA was or any other beer style, I was just drinking with my taste buds.

Once I became the baron in 2009 I was a lot more aware of the great ales available in this country and found out that ales were commonly imported from the states but I'd never seen this beer available in any online beer store. My wife surprised me last Christmas, a hand picked selection of beers from Beer of Europe including Sam Adams Octoberfest! She placed the order with them because they had that beer, she knew as well as me that this was a beer of memories - I was so pleased that she got me a bottle!

This then brings the story back to the present when John Humphreys of Shepherd Neame tweeted last week that he was supping Octoberfest, I mentioned that it was a memorable beer for me and he very kindly sent through one of his bottles which arrived yesterday.

I'm drinking it now as I type this post, thank you so much John for allowing me a little trip down memory lane!

Howling Hops Wallflower

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Howling Hops Wallflower [baron rating 3/5] - 5.7% gold ale,sharp orange coriander smell,refreshing zesty balanced sharpish taste,dry finish
Thank you to @villabone for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Howling Hops ales from Cotteridge Wines

Mallinsons Indulgence

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Mallinsons Indulgence [baron rating 5/5] - 3.8% pale gold ale,apricot citrus smell,soft citrus squash grapefruit taste,fruity peppery finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Buy Mallinsons ales from BeerRitzmyBrewerytap & Source Deli