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| Not bottle conditioned |
Bavaria 0.0% Wit [baron rating /5] - 0% cloudy gold beer,mild clove banana smell,crisp orange squash taste,slightly cloying citrus finish
Affligem Tripel
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| Not bottle conditioned |
Affligem Tripel [baron rating /5] - 9% gold ale,bready funky pear yeasty smell,frothy yeasty brown sugar syrupy appley taste,sweet finish
Buy Affligem ales from Source Deli
Anchor Christmas Ale 2012
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| Not bottle conditioned |
Anchor Christmas Ale 2012 [baron rating /5] - 5.5% dark brown ale,cinnamon nutmeg smell,treacle ground spice taste,fruity mild spice finish
Steen Brugge Wit Blanche
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| Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation |
Steen Brugge Wit Blanche [baron rating /5] - 5% pale gold ale,clove lemon smell, refreshing light citrus taste,clean fresh finish
Buy Steen Brugge ales from Booths
Coniston Oliver's Light Ale
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| Not bottle conditioned |
Coniston Oliver's Light Ale [baron rating /5] - 3.4% gold ale,mild sugary citrus smell,zingy citrus mild bitter taste,light citrus finish
Thank you to Ian Bradley (@ConistonBrewCo) from Coniston Brewery for sending this through for a baron rating!
Buy Coniston ales from Holborn Ales
Buy Coniston ales from Holborn Ales
Harveys Blue Label
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| Not bottle conditioned |
Harveys Blue Label [baron rating /5] - 3.6% amber ale,caramel mild peach apricot smell,fruity spicy bitter taste,mild citrus spicy finish
Buy Harveys ales from Quaff
Brüpond Ain'cho Mum's Porter
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| Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation |
Brüpond Ain'cho Mum's Porter [baron rating /5] - 4.2% black ale,chilli skin smell,silky bitter choc chilli heat taste,earthy vegetal finish
Note: So what does 'chilli skin smell' mean? You know when you are chopping green chillies and you get that kind of earthy unsweetened vegetal-type smell? It's very distinctive to chillies (in my mind) - I don't like it very much but I do love the taste & 'experience' of chillies
Thank you to Paul Kruzycki from Ales By Mail for sending this through for a baron rating!
Buy Brüpond ales from Ales By Mail
Buy Brüpond ales from Ales By Mail
London Fields Unfiltered Lager
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| Not bottle conditioned |
London Fields Unfiltered Lager [baron rating /5] - 4.3% gold beer,herbal savoury smell,honey grassy herbal taste,astringent bitter finish
Thank you to Paul Kruzycki from Ales By Mail for sending this through for a baron rating!
Buy London Fields ales from Ales By Mail
Buy London Fields ales from Ales By Mail
Old Dominion Hop Mountain
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| Not bottle conditioned |
Old Dominion Hop Mountain [baron rating /5] - 6.6% amber ale,floral savoury smell,sweet caramel oily tropical taste,dry fruity finish
Note: It's not a hop mountain by any stretch of the imagination, a perfect fine pale ale but not even a hop hill...
Thank you to Gemma (@SlurpBeer) from Slurp for sending this through for a baron rating!
Buy Old Dominion ales from Slurp
Buy Old Dominion ales from Slurp
Rocky Head Pale Ale
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| Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation |
Rocky Head Pale Ale [baron rating /5] - 6.5% copper ale,sugary orange tropical smell,syrupy big fruity taste,resinous soft bitter finish
Note: This is one of the most drinkable 6.5% beers I've ever tried, it's utterly delicious and hides the ABV very well. It's full of flavour and I demolished it in a matter of minutes. This is a beer to be drunk by the case - awesome job Rocky Head!
Thank you to Paul Kruzycki from Ales By Mail for sending this through for a baron rating!
Buy Rocky Head ales from Ales By Mail
Buy Rocky Head ales from Ales By Mail
St Peter's English Lager
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| Not bottle conditioned |
St Peter's English Lager [baron rating /5] - 5.2% gold beer,earthy caramel smell,cloying sweet earthy taste,mild herbal biscuity finish
Coniston Original India Pale Ale
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| Not bottle conditioned |
Coniston Original India Pale Ale [baron rating /5] - 6% copper ale,floral peachy smell,balanced fruity bitter taste,fading tropical finish
Thank you to Ian Bradley (@ConistonBrewCo) from Coniston Brewery for sending this through for a baron rating!
Buy Coniston ales from Holborn Ales
Buy Coniston ales from Holborn Ales
Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout
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| Not bottle conditioned |
Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout [baron rating /5] - 6.1% black ale,smoky espresso smell,slight berry mild roasted taste,oaky vanilla finish
Thank you to Gemma (@SlurpBeer) from Slurp for sending this through for a baron rating!
Buy Old Dominion ales from Slurp
Buy Old Dominion ales from Slurp
Salopian Shropshire Gold
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| Not bottle conditioned |
Salopian Shropshire Gold [baron rating /5] - 3.8% gold ale,earthy mild citrus smell,thin satsuma peppery taste,green leafy bitter finish
Thank you to Jake (@SalopianBrewery) from Salopian Brewery for sending this through for a baron rating!
Buy Salopian ales from Holborn Ales
Buy Salopian ales from Holborn Ales
Beavertown Black Betty
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| Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation |
Beavertown Black Betty [baron rating /5] - 7.2% black ale,fresh green hops smell,velvety dark choc mousse taste,long bitter espresso finish
Thank you to Paul Kruzycki from Ales By Mail for sending this through for a baron rating!
Buy Beavertown ales from Ales By Mail
Buy Beavertown ales from Ales By Mail
Ormskirk's great new bar: The Hop Inn Bier Shoppe
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Ormskirk finally has somewhere good to enjoy a few beers, the brand new Hop Inn Bier Shoppe on Burscough Street right in the middle of the town centre. Owned by the same people who run the very popular The Hop Vine pub in Burscough and who also run the Burscough Brewing Company, it's been open just two weeks and has proven very popular with the local people.
I've visited it twice so far, once on it's opening night where it was absolutely rammed, and also the Thursday just before Easter where it was also extremely busy - a great sign for a bar trying to do something a little different than be 'just another pub'. They have seating down one side of the bar and a standing area on the other, the seated side also houses the display cabinets of the different bottled beers available.
They have three cask handpulls serving local ales, including their own Burscough ales, along with George Wright on the opening night, and Wilson Potter last Thursday. They also have a 6-way keg font serving Hop Inn German Lager, Warsteiner Lager, Paulaner wheat beer, Chimay tripel, Flensburger & Küppers Kölsch. They also have well over 50 different Belgium bottled beers as well as wine and spirits.
The bottled beers are highlighted in a well-produced beer menu, with tasting notes, ABV and general details about the beers. This along with well-informed staff means that there were always plenty of empty bottles of Belgium beer on the tables, something I was quite astounded to see in Ormskirk!
The appropriate glassware is also present which is a quality touch, the last thing you want is to be drinking a strong Belgian beer from a half-pint nonic glass. Prices are very reasonable with the cask ales around the £2.50-£3 a pint mark, some of the imported strong large bottles can be quite expensive, but there is a whole range of choices in between.
It's an excellent bar and a very welcome change from the rather tired pubs in the town centre. Now there's a place for the beer drinker who's looking for something a bit different than standard lager or 4% brown beer.
I wish Will & his staff the best of luck, it's the only place in Ormskirk that I plan from now on to be drinking in!
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| Looks great from the outside, even better on the inside! |
I've visited it twice so far, once on it's opening night where it was absolutely rammed, and also the Thursday just before Easter where it was also extremely busy - a great sign for a bar trying to do something a little different than be 'just another pub'. They have seating down one side of the bar and a standing area on the other, the seated side also houses the display cabinets of the different bottled beers available.
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| Bottled beers on display & comfy seating |
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| The bar, 3 cask, 6 keg & loads of Belgium bottles |
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| Baron & Source Deli Paul browsing the beer menu |
They have three cask handpulls serving local ales, including their own Burscough ales, along with George Wright on the opening night, and Wilson Potter last Thursday. They also have a 6-way keg font serving Hop Inn German Lager, Warsteiner Lager, Paulaner wheat beer, Chimay tripel, Flensburger & Küppers Kölsch. They also have well over 50 different Belgium bottled beers as well as wine and spirits.
The bottled beers are highlighted in a well-produced beer menu, with tasting notes, ABV and general details about the beers. This along with well-informed staff means that there were always plenty of empty bottles of Belgium beer on the tables, something I was quite astounded to see in Ormskirk!
 |
| Fancy beer in Ormskirk? Are you sure? |
The appropriate glassware is also present which is a quality touch, the last thing you want is to be drinking a strong Belgian beer from a half-pint nonic glass. Prices are very reasonable with the cask ales around the £2.50-£3 a pint mark, some of the imported strong large bottles can be quite expensive, but there is a whole range of choices in between.
It's an excellent bar and a very welcome change from the rather tired pubs in the town centre. Now there's a place for the beer drinker who's looking for something a bit different than standard lager or 4% brown beer.
I wish Will & his staff the best of luck, it's the only place in Ormskirk that I plan from now on to be drinking in!
 |
| Will McCombe (landlord, Hop Inn Bier Shoppe), Mike McCombe (landlord, The Hop Vine) & Andy Brocken (Burscough Brewery) |
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