Sharp's Pilsner

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Sharp's Pilsner [baron rating 3/5] - 5.2% pale gold beer,grassy lemongrass smell,buttery cereal slight toffee taste,very smooth finish Baron Orm

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

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

Looking forward to trying these #BeerNow17 ales

I was at the beer bloggers conference last weekend, which was rebadged the Beer Now conference. I had a great time meeting brewers, beer bloggers and tweeters as well as trying a load of new beers. As always I went collecting samples for review, here are the bottles that will be receiving the 'baron rating' treatment over the coming weeks:

• Abbeydale Heathen - 4.1% pale ale, wonderfully refreshing American-style pale ale showcasing the marvellous Mosaic hop. Light and sessionable, bursting with tropical fruit flavours and a pleasant citrus bitterness
• Hardknott Long Drop - 4.8% exhilarating session IPA, great flavours, mouthfeel and huge satisfaction
• Hardknott Rheged Fjall - 4.5% pale ale
• Ilkley Alpha Beta - 4.5% rye session IPA, distinctive American hop character. Body and depth from the rye. A little beer that's big and bold
• Lost Industry Black Licorice Gose - 3.9%
• Lost Industry Serie Saison Le Pays Noir - 7.3% dry-hopped black saison

• Sharp's Cornish Pilsner - 5.2% bottle conditioned pilsner, fermented with Czech yeast then lagered on a bed of Saaz hops to create stunning, zesty herbal notes and a delicious clean, citrus flavour
• Twisted Barrel I was made for lovin' - 8% imperial stout
• Twisted Barrel It's Aliiive!! - 6.3% hazy IPA
• Twisted Barrel Soup Dragon - 5.8% lime and chipotle saison

Look out for 'baron ratings' of these beers soon, and a big thank you to all the breweries for handing them over to me!

Sharp's Wolf Rock

Not bottle conditioned

Sharp's Wolf Rock [baron rating 3/5] - 4.8% dark amber ale,mild fruity caramel smell,caramel red berries taste,soft bitter finish Baron Orm

Sharp's Single Brew Reserve 2012

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Sharp's Single Brew Reserve 2012 [baron rating 2/5] - 4.5% gold ale,sweet orange smell,unsweetened sherbet bitter taste,watery odd finish Baron Orm

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

Subscribe in iTunes

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

Buy Sharp's ales direct

Sharp's Quadrupel Ale

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Sharp's Quadrupel Ale [baron rating 5/5] - 10% ruby ale,fruity cola smell,balanced sweet choc fruity taste,dry smoky fruitcake finish Baron Orm

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

Subscribe in iTunes

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

Buy Sharp's ales direct

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 Baron Orm

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

Subscribe in iTunes

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

Buy Sharp's 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 Baron Orm

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

Subscribe in iTunes

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

Buy Sharp's ales from direct

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 Baron Orm

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

Buy Sharp's ales direct

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!

Sharp's Chalky's Bark

Sharp's Chalky's Bark [baron rating 3/5] - 4.5% gold ale,zesty lemon smell,zingy lemon ginger taste,fiery zingy ginger finish Baron Orm

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 @SharpsBrewery from Sharp's for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Sharp's ales here

Sharp's Eden Pure Ale

Sharp's Eden Pure Ale [baron rating 3/5] - 4.5% dark copper/amber ale,mild honey smell,caramel taste,light watery bitter finish Baron Orm

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 @SharpsBrewery from Sharp's for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Sharp's ales here

Sharp's Atlantic IPA

Sharp's Atlantic IPA [baron rating 2/5] - 4.8% gold ale,floral sweet mild sulphur smell,floral sweet fruity taste,sweet slightly dry finish Baron Orm

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

Buy Sharp's ales here

Sharp's Chalky's Bite

Sharp's Chalky's Bite [baron rating 3/5] - 6.8% gold ale,tangerine smell,grassy sweet floral slightly yeasty smell,fresh clean floral finish Baron Orm

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 @SharpsBrewery from Sharp's for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Sharp's ales here

Looking forward to 'baron rating' Sharp's ales very soon!

There was a discussion on twitter a couple of weeks ago about Sharp's Chalky's Bark & Bite and I mentioned that I'd not tried it. @SharpsBrewery promptly got in touch and asked if I would like to try some. Well it would have been rude to refuse such a polite and generous offer and so four bottles of finely crafted Sharp's Brewery ales arrived yesterday:

Sharp's Brewery

• Atlantic IPA - 4.8% crisp light golden beer with a superb dry finish
• Chalky's Bark - 4.5% classic aged beer naturally flavoured with fresh ginger
• Chalky's Bite - 6.8% classic aged beer naturally flavoured with wild Cornish fennel
• Eden Pure Ale- 4.5% "nice amber body, great natural taste" via RateBeer

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

Buy Sharp's ales here

Waitrose September ale & beer offers (25th August - 21st September 2010)

It's September's new beer & ale offers time in Waitrose, their PR staff had informed me ahead of time what this month's ale offers are:

• Bath Gem
£1.59 instead of £1.99

• Black Sheep Ale [baron rating 4/5]
£1.48 instead of £1.85

• St. Peter's Organic Best Bitter
£1.48 instead of £1.85

• Sharp's Doom Bar [baron rating 4/5]
£1.35 instead of £1.74

• Brains SA Gold
£1.41 instead of £1.89

• Duchy Originals 1905 Ruby Ale
£1.49 instead of £1.99

Sharp's Doom Bar is my winner this month, a very good price (£1,35) for an excellent beer!

Sharp's Doom Bar

Sharp's Doom Bar [baron rating 4/5] - 4.3% amber ale,fruity buttery smell,sweet caramel malt & spicy juicy hop taste & juicy bitter finishBaron Orm

Buy Sharp's ales here