The Ormskirk Baron: ebbc12

Showing posts with label ebbc12. Show all posts

Looking forward to baron rating Sharp's Connisseurs ales

Twitter is a wonderful place for like-minded folk to hang out and talk. A couple of weeks ago Sophie Atherton (first female beer sommelier & freelance journalist) pinged me asking if I'd tried Sharp's Spiced Red ale. I said that I hadn't (you don't really see Sharp's beers up north) and she suggested that maybe Sharp's should send me one to try. Sharp's Brewery promptly got in touch that afternoon and before 9am the next day a box of beer arrived!

Sharp's Brewery

2011 Series

No. 1 Quadrupel Ale - 10% dark ruby ale, aroma of perfumed alcoholic fruit. A full bittersweet fruitiness leads to a warming alcoholic finish
No. 2 Single Brew [baron rating 4/5] - 4.5% mid-golden ale,fresh herbal lemon aroma,light barley sugars give way to perfumed bitterness. The finish is dry, clean and exquisitely appetising.
No. 3 Honey Spice Tripel - 10% ale with an aroma of juicy citrus fruit and candyfloss,the flavour is a journey from rich fruity bitterness through to an appetisingly dry finish

Note: I got to try the 2011 series at last year's Beer Bloggers Conference and even managed to bring a bottle of each home. The Single Brew I rated (see above link), the Honey Spice popped it's top and the Quad is still in my 'strong beers that need rating' box!) Really pleased to be able to sample them again, will make sure it's not a year before I post the reviews this time...

2012 Series

No. 4 Single Brew - 4.5% with attention-grabbing aroma of fresh Citra hops. The promise of a clean and fruity beer in the mouth, leading to a crisp moreish finish
No. 5 Spiced Red - 9% deep-red spiced ale brewed with coriander and a really fruity yeast from Ireland. Dry hopped with Hallertauer Perle hops and spiced with coriander just before bottling.
No. 6 Dubbel Coffee Stout - 7% strong dark ale brewed with coffee beans and the world's fruitiest yeast to create the perfect marriage of an imperial stout and a Belgian dubbel

Look out for a 'baron rating' for these Sharp's Brewery beers soon, and a big thank you to @SharpsBrewery for sending them through to me!

Buy Sharp's ales from direct

Sharp's Single Brew Reserve 2011

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Sharp's Single Brew Reserve 2011 [baron rating 4/5] - 4.5% gold ale,biscuity mild sweet lemon smell,soft fruity taste,floral bitter finish

Thank you to Sharp's for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Sharp's ales direct

Marston's Sovereign

Not bottle conditioned

Marston's Sovereign [baron rating 4/5] - 4% gold ale,grassy slight floral smell,peppery citrus bittersweet taste,long spicy bitter finish

Thank you to Danny from the Marston's stand for handing this over for a baron rating!

Brouwerij 't IJ IPA

Bottle conditioned with lively carbonation

Brouwerij 't IJ IPA [baron rating 5/5] - 7% copper ale,fresh tropical fruit smell,fruity resinous very bitter taste,dry citrus fruit finish

Thank you to the Night of International Beers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Mohawk Extra IPA

Not bottle conditioned

Mohawk Extra IPA [baron rating 4/5] - 7.5% copper ale,sweet fleshy fruits resinous smell,fruity oily piney taste,long resinous bitter finish

Thank you to the Night of International Beers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Marston's Marynka

Not bottle conditioned

Marston's Marynka [baron rating 3/5] - 4% gold ale,herbal sulphurous eggy smell,biscuity oily herbal taste,fresh citrus bitter finish

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

Subscribe in iTunes

Thank you to Danny from the Marston's stand for handing this over for a baron rating!

Vibrant Forest Black Oktober

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Vibrant Forest Black Oktober [baron rating 5/5] - 7.2% black ale,bitter dark choc smell,coffee choc liquorice taste,coffee choc finish

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

Subscribe in iTunes

Thank you to @mrdavidj for handing this over for a baron rating!

Mohawk Summer IPA

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Mohawk Summer IPA [baron rating 4/5] - 6.8% copper ale,sweet tropical resinous smell,syurpy tropical big bitter taste,harsh resinous finish

Thank you to the Night of International Beers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Hardknott Rhetoric

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Hardknott Rhetoric [baron rating 5/5] - 12.5% amber ale,boozy orange oil smell,sweet syrupy fruity dessert wine taste,long sweet finish

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

Subscribe in iTunes

Thank you to @HardknottAlex for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Hardknott ales from Source Deli

BridgePort Hop Czar

Not bottle conditioned

BridgePort Hop Czar [baron rating 5/5] - 7.5% copper ale,peach perfume smell,very bitter juicy fresh hops taste,dusty intense bitter finish

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

Subscribe in iTunes

Thank you to @Tandleman for handing this over for a baron rating!

Broadford Damn Nation

Bottle conditioned with lively carbonation

Broadford Damn Nation [baron rating 5/5] - 8.3% golden ale,yeasty banana lemon smell,balanced sweet vanilla spicy taste,sweet honey finish

Thank you to @BroadfordBrewer for handing this over for a baron rating!

Artisan American IPA


Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Artisan American IPA [baron rating 4/5] - 5.6% dark amber ale,fruity honey smell,plums cherry mild bittersweet taste,mild fruity finish

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

Subscribe in iTunes

Thank you to Simon (@RealAleToday) from Real Ale Guide for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Artisan ales direct

Williams Bros Double Joker IPA

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Williams Bros Double Joker IPA [baron rating 5/5] - 8% copper ale,tropical fruit smell,zingy rich fruity resin taste,tropical bitter finish

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

Subscribe in iTunes

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

Buy Williams Bros ales direct and from Ales By Mail

Looking forward to baron rating #EBBC12 ales

Last weekend I attended the European Beer Bloggers Conference 2012 (which I've blogged about quite a bit already) and quite a few of us had mentioned to each other to bring a bottle of something interesting to open there or swap, here are the absolute delights that I came home with:

Artisan American IPA - 5.6% American-style IPA, thanks to Simon aka @RealAleToday
Bridgeport Hop Czar - 7.5% imperial IPA, thanks to @Tandleman
Broadford Damn Nation - 8.3% Belgian golden strong ale, thanks to @BroadfordBrewer
Brouwerij 't IJ IPA - 7% IPA, thanks to the Night of International Beers

Hardknott Rhetoric - 12.5% (approx) controversial ale, thanks to by @HardknottAlex
Marston's Marynka - 4% single hopped ale, thanks to Danny on the Marston's stand
Marston's Sovereign - 4% single hopped ale, thanks to Danny on the Marston's stand
Mohawk Extra IPA - 7.5% IPA,thanks to the Night of International Beers
Mohawk Summer IPA - 6.8% IPA,thanks to the Night of International Beers

Off Beat Far Out Stout - 7.4% whisky stout, thanks to @Filrd
Vibrant Forest Black Oktober - 7.2% Imperial Russian Stout, thanks to @mrdavidj
Williams Bros Double Joker IPA - 8% double IPA, thanks to Chris from @WilliamsBrewery

Sharp's new Connoisseurs Choice range

Sharp's Connoisseurs Choice Range

No. 1 Quadrupel Ale - 10% dark ruby ale, aroma of perfumed alcoholic fruit. A full bittersweet fruitiness leads to a warming alcoholic finish
No. 2 Single Brew - 4.5% mid-golden ale,fresh herbal lemon aroma,light barley sugars give way to perfumed bitterness. The finish is dry, clean and exquisitely appetising.
No. 3 Honey Spice Tripel - 10% ale with an aroma of juicy citrus fruit and candyfloss,the flavour is a journey from rich fruity bitterness through to an appetisingly dry finish

I'm really looking forward to baron rating all of these, I have no idea how I managed to get them all home on the train, my arms were killing me by the time I got back! Thank you to everyone who handed something over and I hope you enjoyed the ones that I handed out too!