Fyne Mills & Hills

Not bottle conditioned

Fyne Mills & Hills [baron rating 5/5] - 9.5% black ale,coffee vineous smell,oily choc coffee dark fruit taste,clean tart milky coffee finish Baron Orm

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

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Fyne Ragnarok

Not bottle conditioned

Fyne Ragnarok [baron rating 5/5] - 7.4% gold ale,sweet peachy smell,sugary peach spicy taste,cleansing metallic mild spicy finish Baron Orm

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

Subscribe in iTunes

Thank you to @bob_beer from Best of British Beer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Fyne ales from Best Of British Beer

Looking forward to all these Best of British Beers!

I was fortunate to be picked as a beer judge at the recent SIBA Wales & West Region competition down in Ludlow, and bumped into Will and Gill from Best of British Beer. They have been a supporter of the Baron some time ago and it was great to catch up with them both and to find out that they are doing very well. They sold a load of beer in minutes via QVC, sell hand-picked beer selections as well as providing gift packs of ales, wines and spirits.  They said that they would send through some samples from their 'curated packs' and a couple of days later a box arrived in perfect condition:

These six beers were selected as part of their "craft" selection:

• 360 Degrees Project Gemini v2.0 - 4.3% twin hopped session pale ale
• Animal Oink! - 4.6% Yakima red rye ale
• Crate Pale - 4.5% fresh & aromatic, bursting with tropical aromas
• Electric Bear Livewire - 5.4% IPA, citrus & floral herb notes with perfectly balanced bitterness. It gives a punchy crisp finish
• Fyne Ragnarok - 7.4% double IPA - imperial Jarl, sweet hoppy aromas followed by citrus and toffee to finish
• Uprising Treason - 6% West Coast IPA, burning bronze in colour with a big hop aroma that gives way to a lingering spicy bitterness

These six beers are part of their "sub four" selection, all low ABV, but high on flavour:

• Allendale Pennine Pale - 4% golden ale, brewed with an outstanding trio of bold American hops for a full fruity aroma and flavour, with a refreshing citrus finish
• Brighton Bier Bier- 4% 'all-rounder' pale, progressive yet balanced, moreish and refreshing
• Bude Porthbud - 4% pale ale
• Exeter Avocet - 3.9% pale straw colour with a light citrus taste
• Peerless Triple Blond - 4% zesty blonde ale, a blonde ale using three malts and three hops. Brewing with a higher than normal percentage of wheat gives this zesty beer its unique flavour
• Shropshire Brewer The Golden Arrow - 3.9% pale ale, a moderate strength pale gold session ale with an abundance of hop character provided by a blend of New Zealand and British hop varieties

Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Best of British Beer beers soon, and a big thank you to Will & Gill (@bob_beer) for sending them through to me!

Buy these ales from Best of British Beer

Looking forward to baron rating these EBBC13 ales

A couple of weeks ago I attended the European beer bloggers conference this year hosted in Edinburgh. I had a fantastic weekend of all things beer plus made loads of new friends and caught up with old ones - I had an absolute hoot!

One aspect that I love is the bottle swap/grab/giveaway that occurs, here are the beers that I'm looking forward to baron rating with Chris over the next few tasting sessions:

• Badger The Roaming Roy Dog - 7.5% 2013 limited edition ale, a dark porter with a complex malt character derived from a combination of aromatic, crystal & chocolate malt. Bramling Cross and Galaxy hops add a subtle blackcurrant and mango aroma - cheers Anna from Badger
• Fyne Sanda Black - 5.5% black IPA, a forward thinking, distintive black IPA packed with New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops. Bold flavours with aromas of passion fruit and gooseberry burst onto your taste buds before being balanced by roasted chocolate smoothness
• Fyne Zombier - 6.9% deep black porter with a caramel tan head. Big aromas and flavours of treacle, toffee and liquorice with hints of chocolate and coffee. A lingering roasted malt bitterness returns from the dead with bite - thank you Fyne Ales for handing these over

• Harviestoun 30th Anniversary Ola Dubh - 11.3% We make Ola Dubh 30 by taking our Old Engine Oil (amped up to 10.5%) and aging it for up to 6 months in casks that previously held Highland Park’s phenomenal 30 Year Old single malt whisky - thank you Harviestoun
• Tempest Old Parochial - 10% barrel aged imperial scotch ale - massive thank you to @stravale for this)
• BrewDog Hello My Name Is Mette Marit Censored - 8.2% lingonberry double IPA - thanks to the BrewDog brewer for this very special pre-release bottle of this beer

• Weird Beard Mariana Trench - 5.3% transpacific pale ale, Pacific Northwest meets Pacific Southwest as the best of American and NZ hops meld together with just enough malt backbone to allow them to sing. A riot of mango and passion fruit on the nose but balanced enough to drink by the bucketful. Dive in and grab another bottle but don't get the bends
• Weird Beard/Elusive Brewing Nelson Saison - 6.9% The second in their single hop series, showcasing the Nelson Sauvin hop so expect elderflower and gooseberries blended with Saison yeast character - thanks to @tabamatu for handing over his colab beer (as well as the other Weird Beard one)
• Williams Bros Impale IPA - 5.5% impishly hoppy golden ale - "a fantastic beer created by one of Heriot Watt University's students - Ed Young" - thanks to Chris from Williams Brothers for handing over this ale

Look out for a 'baron rating' for all these beers soon!

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:

• Acorn Conquest [baron rating 5/5] - 5.7% well-hopped traditional IPA,hoppy aroma, good citrus flavour & lasting bitter finish
• BrewDog 5am Saint - 5% iconoclastic amber ale
• Buxton Buxton Gold - 5.2% refreshing golden ale with a wonderful aroma & flavour from Amarillo, Liberty & Nelson Sauvin hops
• Fyne Hurricane Jack [baron rating 5/5] - 4.4% blonde & fruitily hopped ale
• Hopdeamon Skrimshander IPA [baron rating 5/5] - 4.5% deliciously fruity with spicy citrus aromas, clean fresh taste & dry hoppy finish

• 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

• Stringers Dry Stout [baron rating 5/5] - 4.5% bottled version of their Champion Stout of Cumbria
• White's Garter Star 1344 - 4.9% ???
• Williams Bros Profanity Stout [baron rating 5/5] - 7% rich, dark & dry hopped, blend of rich coffee & intensely fruity aromas with a velvety malty mouthfeel
• Wold Top Mars Magic [baron rating 3/5] - 4.6% dark aromatic beer, warm red glow & a smooth malty flavour

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!

Fyne Maverick

Fyne Maverick [baron rating 4/5] - 4.2% dark amber ale,malty blackcurrants smell,roasted fruits with bit bitter taste,burnt resinous 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 Elaine from Fyne Ales for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Fyne Ales here or here

Fyne Piper's Gold

Fyne Piper's Gold [baron rating 4/5] - 3.8% pale gold ale,light zesty citrus smell,light sharp bitter lemons taste,grapefruit lemony 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 Elaine from Fyne Ales for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Fyne Ales here

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

• Stringers IPA [baron rating 5/5] - 5.5% with spicy tropical fruit notes,bitter marmalade & definite bitter finish
• Stroud Budding [baron rating 5/5] - 4.5% pale ale with luscious floral aromas
• Three Castles Longbarrow - 4.5% copper coloured with a spicy & nutty flavour & hoppy aftertaste
• Tring Side Pocket for a Toad - 4.5% unmistakable citrus notes balanced with floral aroma & crispy dry finish
• York Centurion's Ghost Ale [baron rating 4/5] - 5.4% dark, smooth & mellow

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!

Fyne Hurricane Jack

Fyne Hurricane Jack [baron rating 5/5] - 4.4% pale gold ale,citrus smell,bitter pithy lemon & grapefruit taste,citrus dry 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 Elaine from Fyne Ales for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Fyne Ales here and here

Fyne Jarl

Fyne Jarl [baron rating 5/5] - 3.8% pale gold ale,bright citrus pith smell,bittersweet lemon sherbet taste,lemony citrus sharpness to 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

Thank you to Elaine from Fyne Ales for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Fyne Ales here and here

Looking forward to 'baron rating' Fyne Hurricane Jack & Jarl very soon!

Received a fantastic parcel today completely out of the blue - a mixed case from Fyne Ales including their two brand new bottled beers: Hurricane Jack & Jarl:

Fyne Ales brew consistently excellent beers and have received great baron ratings so far. A lot of people have mentioned how good cask Jarl is, so I'm really looking forward to trying the bottled version.

Fyne Ales

• Hurricane Jack - 4.4% blonde & fruitily hopped ale
• Jarl - 3.8% hoppy blond session ale

Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Fyne Ales beers soon, and a big thank you to Elaine from @FyneAles for sending these through to me!

Buy Fyne Ales here

Fyne Vital Spark

Fyne Vital Spark [baron rating 5/5] - 4.4% ruby ale,blackcurrant roasted smell,tart blackcurrant bitter burnt taste,very dry smoky 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

Thank you to Elaine from Fyne Ales for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Fyne Ales here

Fyne Highlander

Fyne Highlander [baron rating 4/5] - 4.8% amber ale,citrus tangerine aroma,balanced caramel bitter taste,bitter lacking sweetness 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

Thank you to Elaine from Fyne Ales for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

This was also part of the winter 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 Fyne Ales here

myBrewerytap's winter selection of the '52 week beer club'

myBrewerytap's winter 52 week beer club box arrived this week delayed somewhat by all the snow but still arrived in perfect condition (as always). There's a good selection of darker winter ales this time, here are the details:

• Acorn Gorlovka - 6% imperial stout
• BrewDog Zeitgeist - 4.9% black lager
• Butcombe Bitter - 4.5% original bitter
• Dark Star Espresso - 4.2% rich coffee beer
• Freedom Organic Dark Lager - 4.7% smooth toffee taste
• Fyne Highlander - 4.8% fine strong traditional ale
• Hawkshead Brodie's Prime - 4.9% dark rich complex beer

• Oakham JHB - 4.2% Jeffrey Hudson Bitter
• Three Castles Holly Berry - 4.4% deep ruby ale
• Wensleydale Black Dub - 4.4% oat stout
• Williams Bros 80/- - 4.2% Scottish ale
• Wooden Hand Black Pearl - 4.5% tasty dark stout
• York Stocking Filler - 4.8% dark rich full-bodied ale

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!

Fyne Holly Daze

Fyne Holly Daze [baron rating 4/5] - 5% dark amber ale,piney citrus smell,slightly sweet bitter lemons taste,tart bitter finish Baron Orm

To see how it stood up to xmas food matching, watch the Christmas Special video.

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

Download flash to hear the audio review

Subscribe in iTunes

Thank you to Elaine from Fyne Ales for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Fyne Ales here

Christmas Beers with The Ormskirk Baron

We did our Christmas Special last night, a taste-off of eight different Christmas-themed ales with a range of Christmas food - turkey, vintage cheddar cheese & mince pies.

We tried:

• Batemans Rosey Nosey [baron rating 3/5]
• Fyne Holly Daze [baron rating 4/5]
• Hook Norton Twelve Days [baron rating 5/5]
• Humpty Dumpty Christmas Crack [baron rating 5/5]
• Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale [baron rating 5/5]
• Wold Top 5 Wold Rings [baron rating 5/5]
• Wold Top Merry Christmas [baron rating 4/5]
• Wychwood Bah Humbug [baron rating 2/5]

Find out which Christmas ale we think you should be drinking with your Christmas dinner...

Part 1



Part 2




...Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale - perfect on it's own of with food

We hope you enjoyed watching it, we had a blast filming it!

Thank you to all the breweries who sent beers through for inclusion in this Christmas Special:

• Fyne Ales
• Hook Norton
• Humpty Dumpty
• Shepherd Neame
• Wold Top

Looking forward to 'baron rating' Fyne Ales very soon!

I put a call out recently for some Christmas-themed ales (including this video) and Fyne Ales responded with not only a sample or two of their Holly Daze but also a load more bottles of their excellent looking range:

I love the design of the Fyne Ales range, each beer has it's own colour theme, clear information about ABV, simple but useful description and nice gold leaf detail to make them stand out on the shelf.

Fyne Ales Brewery

• Highlander - 4.8% fine strong traditional ale

• Holly Daze - 5% dark amber ale

• Maverick - 4.2% dark robust bitter ale

• Piper's Gold - 3.8% bitter golden pale ale

• Vital Spark - 4.4% very dark rich ale

Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Fyne Ales beers soon, and a big thank you to Elaine from @FyneAles for sending these through to me!

Buy Fyne Ales here

Christmas Beers with The Ormskirk Baron (teaser)

We are going to do a 'Christmas Beers' audio special at the beginning of December, running though a range of xmas-themed ales giving them 'baron ratings'.

As a warm-up we thought we would do a little video detailing some of the beers in the line-up, please let us know what you thought of the video, we had a lot of fun doing it!

First half of the latest myBrewerytap "52 week beer club" pack

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first pack from myBrewerytap, Chris & I were eagerly awaiting the next quarter's arrival, knowing that it contained quite a few 'beauties'.  Here are our reviews for the beers that we sample this Wednesday:

• Box Steam Cog [baron rating 4/5]

• Crown Unpronounceable IPA [baron rating 5/5]

• Fyne Avalanche [baron rating 5/5]

• Green Roon Icon [baron rating 1/5]

• Thornbridge Jaipur [baron rating 5/5]

• White Heart of Rother [baron rating 3/5]

• Williams Bros Ginger [baron rating coming soon from my ginger ale advisor]

It was a wonderful selection, and as you can see, most of the ales were of great quality! If you are not already a member of the "52 week beer club" I would suggest you sign up!

Fyne Avalanche

Fyne Avalanche [baron rating 5/5] - 4.5% pale gold ale,grapefruit smell,slight sweet hoppy grapefruit taste & dry lasting hop bitter finishBaron Orm

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

Download flash to hear the audio review

Part of the superb '52 week beer club' by myBrewerytap
join it now and make sure you say "the baron made me do it"!

Buy Fyne ales here