St Austell HSD

St Austell HSD [baron rating 4/5] - 5% amber ale,balanced fruity toffee smell,toffee malty taste, fruity bitter finish Baron Orm

Thank you to StAustellBrew from St Austell for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy St Austell ales here

Atlantic Fistral

Atlantic Fistral [baron rating 1/5] - 5.2% completely flat gold ale,slight fruity spicy aroma,citrus mild tangy taste,dry tangy finish Baron Orm

I've not been overly impressed with the four Atlantic beers that I've 'baron rating' - their bottle-conditioning seems very hit & miss and most of the time results in a cloudy but completely flat ale. If this is 'real ale' then I don't want it!

Thank you to Paul from AlesByMail for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Atlantic ales here

Marble Chocolate Marble

Marble Chocolate Marble [baron rating 4/5] - 5.5% black ale,choc & blackberry smell,rich choc & fruity taste,long dark choc bitter finish Baron Orm

Buy Marble ales here or here

HopZine/PDTNC Stateside Torpedo

HopZine/PDTNC Stateside Torpedo [baron rating 5/5] - 6.9% copper ale,piney sticky sweet smell,balanced bittersweet taste,bittersweet finish Baron Orm

Wold Top Golden Summer

Wold Top Golden Summer [baron rating 4/5] - 4.4% gold ale,fruity slightly sweet smell,balanced fruity slightly floral taste,fruity finish Baron Orm

Thank you to Wold Top for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Wold Top ales here

Looking forward to 'baron rating' Odell ales very soon!

Richard from myBrewerytap  is looking after me again, this time in the form of a mixed selection of Odell Brewing Co. ales:

Odell Brewing Co.

• 5 Barrel Pale Ale - 5.2% fresh, lively flavour & floral aroma

• 90 Shilling - 5.3% medium bodied, smooth & complex

• IPA - 7% bold & flavourful

• Levity Amber Ale - 5.1% full-bodied amber ale

• Isolation Ale - 6.1% traditional winter brew

• Cutthroat Porter - 4.8% smooth & robust

I really love the label design and bottle tops on these bottles - so much thought has gone into the look (and feel) of the bottles.  I hope the beer lives up to the presentation!



Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Odell ales soon, and a big thank you to Richard from myBrewerytap for sending these through to me!

Buy Odell ales here

Grape vs Grain presentation video by Charles Bamforth

Rob from HopZine pointed out an excellent video today on beer, a talk from Charles Bamforth given at Google where he discusses 'Grape vs Grain'.



He's an excellent speaker, doesn't use a single slide and yet captures your attention all the way through this hour-long presentation - a sign of a class presenter!

Het Anker Maneblusser

Het Anker Maneblusser [baron rating 3/5] - 6% gold ale,tart yeasty smell,sweet cloves slightly tart taste,sweet vanilla & cloves 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 Paul from AlesByMail for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Het Anker ales here

Marble Manchester Bitter

Marble Manchester Bitter [baron rating 5/5] - 4.2% gold ale,hoppy caramel smell,smooth caramel & citrus taste,slight fruity bitter finishBaron 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 Richard from myBrewerytap for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

This was also part of the autumn 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 Marble ales here or here

Titanic Captain Smiths

Titanic Captain Smiths [baron rating 4/5] - 5.2% amber ale,slightly nutty smell,balanced tangy juicy malt taste,tangy 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

Thank you to Paul from AlesByMail for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Titanic ales here

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Young's Double Chocolate Stout [baron rating 5/5] - 5.2% black ale,roasted choc smell,smooth rich dark choc taste,choc clean 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

Thank you to Young's for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Crouch Vale Essex Boys

Crouch Vale Essex Boys [baron rating 4/5] - 4% dark amber ale,nutty fruity smell,toasted bittersweet taste,nutty bitter slight burnt 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 Paul from AlesByMail for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Crouch Vale ales here

St Austell Proper Job

St Austell Proper Job [baron rating 5/5] - 5.5% copper ale,spicy citrus orange smell,sweet spicy chewy caramel taste,piney 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: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Thank you to StAustellBrew from St Austell for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy St Austell ales here

Mauldons Suffolk Pride

Mauldons Suffolk Pride [baron rating 3/5] - 4.8% copper ale,floral caramel smell,balanced slightly floral taste,soft slightly sweet finish Baron Orm

Looking forward to 'baron rating' Hook Norton ales very soon!

Hook Norton recently announced that they had released a new beer, a bottle-conditioned IPA called 'Flagship'.  They were kind enough to send a bottle through for a 'baron rating' along with some others in their range that I've not tried before:

Hook Norton Brewery

• A Shining Light - 4.5% pale ale

• Double Stout - 4.8% smooth & full bodied

• Flagship - 5.5% bottle conditioned IPA

• Twelve Days - 5.5% deliciously dark & strong

Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Hook Norton beers soon, and a big thank you to @HookyBrewery from  Hook Norton for sending these through to me!

Buy Hook Norton ales here

Waitrose November ale & beer offers (10th November - 7th December 2010)

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

• Badger Tanglefoot [baron rating 4/5]
  £1.25 instead of £1.57

• Badger Fursty Ferret [baron rating 4/5]
  £1.22 instead of £1.53

• Badger Golden Champion [baron rating 3/5]
  £1.33 instead of £1.67

• Badger Golden Glory [baron rating 2/5]
  £1.20 instead of £1.50

• Badger Blandford Fly [baron rating 1/5]
  £1.55 instead of £1.94

• Badger Poacher's Choice [baron rating coming soon]
  £1.64 instead of £2.05

• Badger First Gold [baron rating 3/5]
  £1.32 instead of £1.65

• Morland Old Crafty Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  £2.01 instead of £2.69

• Greene King Very Special IPA [baron rating coming soon]
  £1.49 instead of £1.99

• Morland Old Speckled Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  9x355ml £8.97 instead of £11.22

• Morland Old Speckled Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  8x440ml cans £8.17 instead of £10.89

• Greene King IPA [baron rating 2/5]
  12x440ml cans £8.39 instead of £10.49

• Wychwood Hobgoblin [baron rating 4/5]
  4x500ml cans £4.79 instead of £5.99

• Wychwood Mixed 4 Pack
  £5.35 instead of £6.69

• Marston's Head Brewers Choice 4 Pack
  £5.08 instead of £6.35

There are quite a few Badger ales within the 'baron bargain' price range (£1.30 or less) and some good discounts on the stronger end of the ales market.