Showing posts with label stringers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stringers. Show all posts

Stringers Dicky Moe

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Stringers Dicky Moe [baron rating 5/5] - 6% cloudy pale gold ale,big orange smell,orange sharp grapefruit taste,dry dusty grapefruit finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Thank you to Jon & Becky (@StringersBeer) from Stringers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Stringers ales from Source Deli, Booths & Holborn Ales

Looking forward to baron rating Stringers Dicky Moe


Stringers, a small brewery up in Ulverston, Cumbria, brewing amazing beers with just Jon and Becky behind the wheel. Brewing great beer, hand delivering casks & bottles, marketing, supplying Booths supermarket, and blogging too! Since my first sip of Stringers IPA I've been a massive fan, if they 'floated' on the stock market I would be a shareholder without a doubt.

Jon dropped off a couple of bottles of something rather interesting this week, a beer that ticks a number of boxes for my beer review buddy Chris, as he's a big fan of the book...

"It's meant to be hazy! Pour - swirl - pour - enjoy!
Stringers Brewery
  • Dicky Moe - 6% white IPA, naturally cloudy (with yeast)
Thank you to Jon (@StringersBeer) from Stringers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Stringers ales from Source Deli, Booths & Holborn Ales

Stringers Outlook Amber Ale

Not bottle conditioned
Stringers Outlook Amber Ale [baron rating 4/5] - 4.9% amber ale,candied sugar smell,spicy earthy leafy caramel taste,thin mild bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Thank you to Jon & Becky (@StringersBeer) from Stringers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Stringers ales from Source Deli, Booths & Holborn Ales

Stringers Outlook Golden Ale

No bottle conditioned
Stringers Outlook Golden Ale [baron rating 3/5] - 3.7% pale gold ale,grassy slight lemon smell,crisp honey mild peppery taste,bitter taste
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Thank you to Jon & Becky (@StringersBeer) from Stringers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Stringers ales from Source Deli, Booths & Holborn Ales

Looking forward to baron rating Stringers gluten-free Outlook ales

Stringers Brewery from Ulverston, Cumbria. One of my favourite breweries who brew one of my top ten beers and possibly my 'desert island discs, take only one beer' beer - Stringers IPA.

Jon and Becky are great people working very hard to brew great beer which is now not only available in small independent places but also in the North West's Booths supermarket chain. They have a solid range of bottled ales and have now come out with two new ones both of which are gluten free:

Lovely looking bottles but why the same name?
Stringers Brewery
  • Outlook - 4.9% Gluten-free amber ale, brewed with pale & crystal malts, Northern Brewer & Cascade hops with flavours of caramel, herbal & spicy
  • Outlook - 3.7% Gluten-free golden ale, brewed with pale & wheat malts, Northern Brewer, Challenger & Mittelfruh hops with flavours of light lemon, herbal & honey
These beers are "Crafted to remove Gluten":

Our brewing process removes Gluten. Proper beer, made with barley malt, but less than 20ppm Gluten.

I really like the look of these new Stringers beers, they have taken a step away from the round style (see brewery logo above) which I still love, but these labels appear fresh and clean with a classy look. What I'm not happy with is the choice of the same name for both beers, is Outlook trying to be a gluten-free brand within the Stringers brand? I can see conversations like this:

"Get me some Stringers Outlook please as it's really nice"
"Yeap, they had some, here you go..."
"Oh no I didn't mean the X ale I meant the Y one!"

Jon, if you've got any comments or reasons for the labeling then please get in touch and I'll update this post with your input, would be useful to see the reasoning from the brewery's eyes.

Thank you to Jon (@StringersBeer) from Stringers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Stringers ales from Source Deli, Booths & Holborn Ales

Stringers Yellow Lorry

Not bottle conditioned
Stringers Yellow Lorry [baron rating 5/5] - 4% gold ale,grapefruit apricot melon smell,spicy bitter sour citrus taste,zingy bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Thank you to Jon & Becky (@StringersBeer) from Stringers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Stringers ales from Source Deli, Booths & Holborn Ales

Looking forward to baron rating Stringers Yellow Lorry

I'm a massive fan of Stringer Brewery, I love their beers, I love their branding, I love the fact that it's just Jon & Becky bashing out top quality beer in Ulverston. They don't know how to brew a bad beer, or maybe they do and that's how come they brew such lovely ones...  Anyway they popped by the other day whilst they were on their way to CAMRA's Liverpool Beer Festival 2014, and very kindly dropped me off Yellow Lorry for review:

Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow...

Stringer Brewery
  • Yellow Lorry - 4% pale ale, brewed with pale, crystal & wheat malts, hopped with Cascade, Summit, Galena & Centennial. Suggested food matches are firm sharp English cheese, burgers, curries & carrot cake(!)
Thank you to Jon & Becky (@StringersBeer) from Stringers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Stringers ales from Source Deli, Booths & Holborn Ales

Stringers Delta V

Not bottle conditioned
Stringers Delta V [baron rating 5/5] - 6.5% copper ale,tropical syrupy caramel smell,zingy bold sweet citrus taste,spicy bittersweet finish
Thank you to George (@BoothsCountry) from Booths for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Stringers ales from Booths

Looking forward to taking part in #BoothsCheers

Booths are an excellent supermarket with stores mainly in Cumbria and their beer selection is second to none. Whenever I see one I have to call in to see what they've got on the shelves, normally spending far to long making my selections whilst the Baroness gets utterly bored.

I was really pleased then when Booths got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I would like to be part of their online tasting session called #BoothsCheers. It's tomorrow night starting at 7pm and we are going to be tasting the following drinks:


#BoothsCheers ales

  • Booths (Hawkshead) Festival Ale - 4% refreshing, pale, hoppy, full-flavoured beer brewed with a blend of modern American and traditional English hops (brewed by Hawkshead to celebrate Booths 2013 Beer and Cider Festival)
  • Stringers Delta V - 6.5% bright gold, fragrant, strong beer. US and European hops give up an enticing aroma, a satisfying, drinkable body and a lasting bitterness
#BoothsCheers ciders

  • Dunkertons Browns -7.5% vivacious and complex Medium Dry cider
  • Orchard Pig Reveller -4.5% medium sparkling cider
Note: I'm not a fan of cider but a friend of mine (Mark) is, so I'll be dropping these round for him to drink and tweet about tomorrow night!

Look out for baron ratings for these Booths beers soon, and a big thank you to George (@BoothsCountry) for sending them through to me!

Buy these drinks from Booths

Stringers West Coast Blond

Not bottle conditioned
Stringers West Coast Blond [baron rating 5/5] - 4.4% gold ale,light floral tangerine smell,citrus spicy bitter taste,pithy citrus finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Thank you to Jon (@StringersBeer) from Stringers for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Stringers ales from Source Deli

Based on what we describe in the audio should Stringers make this part of their line-up? I spoke to Jon after we reviewed this beer and he said that they are not sure whether they should turn this trial beer into a regular bottled beer. He asked "Is there a need for yet another golden beer?".

I'm interested in your opinion if you would be kind enough to share it in the comments below?

Looking forward to baron rating Stringers West Coast Blond

Stringers are one of my favourite breweries, they brew great tasting ale on cask and in bottle - they have a slowly expanding core bottled range (XB, Dry Stout, IPA & Delta V) as well as doing some special bottle-conditioned batches of stuff like Mutiny amongst others. As well as being great brewers Jon and Becky are also two of the nicest people around!

On Jon's recent trip through Ormskirk he popped by to drop off a sample of their new bottled beer, already one of their regular cask beers - West Coast Blond.

The minimal design is most appealing ;)
Stringers Beer
  • West Coast Blond - "4.4% rich gold(?) Light floral hop, dry, crisp, bitter. Goes with snickers bars"
    description via a tweet from Jon the brewer
Look out for a baron rating for this Stringers beer soon, and a big thank you to Jon (@StringersBeer) for handing it over to me!

Buy Stringers ales from Source Deli

Stringers Furness Abbey

Stringers Furness Abbey [baron rating 4/5] - 7% dark amber ale,herby brown sugar smell,sultana sweet vanilla taste,fruit burnt sugar 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 Jon from Stringers Beer for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

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

Stringers Delta

Stringers Delta [baron rating 4/5] - 6.5% gold ale,sweet citrus & tropical fruits smell,pithy tropical citrus taste,big sharp 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 Jon from Stringers Beer for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

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

Looking forward to baron rating Stringers Spice Weasel

Jon from Stringers comes through Ormskirk quite a bit on his way to deliver casks to various lucky Liverpool pubs (no idea why no Ormskirk pub doesn't think to get some Stringers ales in!). He called in on Thursday this week to hand over a Christmas present for the baron, a 750ml bottle of Spice Weasel:


Stringers Beer
  • Spice Weasel - 5.5% spiced, lightly hopped, dry, dark ale. with Cinnamon, Mace, Cardamom, Ginger, and a touch of Chilli
Look out for a baron rating for this Stringers beer soon, and a big thank you to @StringersBeer for handing it over to me!

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

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
Subscribe in iTunes


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

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!

Stringers XB

Stringers XB [baron rating 5/5] - 4.2% dark amber ale,dried fruit smell,balanced classic English Best Bitter taste,burnt fruit 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: Not bottle conditioned

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

Buy Stringers ales here and here

Looking forward to baron rating Stringers ales

I've been a big fan of Stringers beers since I first tried them and so I was thrilled when Jon from Stringers suggested dropping off some samples of their new 'limited run' range of beers as well as the new member of their permanent bottled range:
Stringers Beer
  • Delta - 6.5% strong pale ale
  • Furness Abbey - 7% Belgium-style ale
  • Mutiny - 9.3% double stout
  • XB - 4.2% best bitter, copper-coloured with a sweet soft aroma & solid bitter finish
Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Stringers beers soon, and a big thank you to @StringersBeer for handing them over to me! Buy Stringers ales here and here

Baron on Tour: AlesByMail craft beer & food tasting




I was lucky enough to be asked by Ales By Mail if I would like to attend their first craft beer & food tasting night held at the Mustard Bar & Bistro a couple of weeks ago. It was a six-course meal with each food item paired with a specific beer, here is the menu:



  • Sambrooks Wandle ale with homemade scotch egg & pork scratching
    I'm not a massive fan of Wandle on it's own but with the food it was the perfect match
  • Pitfield Ginger beer with ham hock terrine & pineapple chutney
    The ginger ale lacked anything exciting about it but was saved by the lovely taste of the terrine
  • Calvors premium lager with smoked bacon, brie & cranberry pie
    A perfect match - such a lovely lager and amazing pie - yum!

  • Green Jack Canary Pale Ale with fresh mussels cooked in the same ale
    I'm not a seafood fan at all but the Canary is an amazingly delicious beer and worked nicely with it
  • Meantime Chocolate beer with braised rib of beef,pototo puree, parsley & lemon
    Although the beef was extremely tasty, I felt the beer stomped all over it and was too brutal for the savoury course
  • Stringers Dry Stout with chocolate truffles & peanut brittle
    The stout was not a good match for the truffles but worked amazingly well with the nutty peanut brittle
It was an excellent evening, both Richard of Mustard & Paul from Ales By Mail did a great job talking us through the courses and the food & drink was lovely! A massive thank you to Paul for hosting the event & looking after me, I'd certainly recommend this type of evening if you are in the area. Also thanks to Brentwood Brewing Company for being such lovely people - I was sat with them and they had to put up with me! :D

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

The Spring box of myBrewerytap's excellent "52 week beer club" arrived this week, here are the details of what's in the box as well as an unboxing video:

Here's the Hollywood trailer of the Baron Unboxing video:


Special thanks to Chris for taking the time to produce this awesome hollywood-style trailer!

  • Bays Gold - 4.3% light golden ale with lemon citrus overtones
  • Breconshire Rescue Brew - 4% amber bitter with a hoppy aroma & lingering bitterness
  • Brentwood Brentwood Gold - 4.3% rich golden beer fruity hops with a great finish
  • Fyne Jarl [baron rating 5/5] - 3.8% hoppy blond session ale with strong citrus flavours
  • Inveralmond Lia Fail - 4.7% Scottish dark beer,rich & spicy aroma,full bodied taste
  • McMullen AK XXX - 4.1% rich brown ale with balanced maltiness & subtle bitterness
  • Oakham Citra - 4.6% light refreshing beer, pungent grapefruit,lychees & gooseberry aromas & dry bitter finish
  • Saffron Saffron IPA - 3.6% light copper ale with hints of toffee & malty flavours
Watch Chris & I unbox the latest myBrewerytap beers:


Video recorded on Chris's excellent new camera, the Panasonic LX5

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!