Bath Barnstormer [baron rating /5] - 4.5% dark brown ale has a chocolate smell,a medium fruity roasted malt taste & tangy finish
Buy Bath Ales here
Williams Bros Alba
Williams Bros Alba [baron rating /5] - 7.5% amber ale,spicy earthy aroma,caramel sweet malt & slight bitter taste,earthy jelly baby finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
Download flash to hear the audio review
Thank you to Williams Bros. for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Buy Williams Bros. ales here
Coach House Cheshire Gold
Coach House Cheshire Gold [baron rating /5] - 4.1% amber ale,toffee & herbal hop smell, hoppy bitter taste, slight bitter finish
Cheddar Potholer
Cheddar Potholer [baron rating /5] - 4.5% copper ale, spicy citrus aroma, spicy citrus hops & biscuit malt taste, slightly sweet dry finish
Buy Cheddar ales here
Strangford Lough Legbiter
Strangford Lough Legbiter [baron rating /5] - 4.8% copper ale,apple & toffee aroma,sweet tangy bitter taste,metallic bittersweet finish
Thank you to Grace from Strangford Lough for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Williams Bros Kelpie
Williams Bros Kelpie [baron rating /5] - 4.4% black ale,rock pools smell,refreshing balanced bitter taste,sweet chocolate roasted finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
Download flash to hear the audio review
Thank you to Williams Bros. for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Buy Williams Bros ales here
Hook Norton Haymaker
Hook Norton Haymaker [baron rating /5] - 4.2% copper ale,herbal dark chocolate smell,sweet malt taste & sweet spicy bitter finish
St. Peter's IPA
St. Peter's IPA [baron rating /5] - 5.5% amber ale,malt & herbal hops smell,slight fruit malt & lemon hops taste & too strong bitter finish
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:
Sharp's Doom Bar is my winner this month, a very good price (£1,35) for an excellent beer!
- 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!
Harviestoun Number Of The Beast
Harviestoun Number Of The Beast [baron rating /5] - 6.66% gold ale,spiced slight yeasty smell,spicy sweet taste,lasting tart bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
Download flash to hear the audio review
Buy Harviestoun ales here
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil [baron rating /5] - 6% black porter,roasted fruit smell,smooth sweet roasted taste,lasting roasted bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
Download flash to hear the audio review
Thank you to Chris from Harviestoun for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Buy Harviestoun ales here
A big thank you to Alex at ALL BEER
Last week I broke my 'baron rating' tasting glass and I was pretty gutted to say the least. Luckily Alex from ALL BEER (the guy who gave the glass to me in the first place) got in touch and after a few emails I placed an order for six ALL BEER tasting glasses.
This all sounds quite dull really until I say that I had the email conversation with him on Monday afternoon and the glasses arrived by Tuesday lunchtime!
Thanks again Alex, my 'baron ratings' can now resume...
This all sounds quite dull really until I say that I had the email conversation with him on Monday afternoon and the glasses arrived by Tuesday lunchtime!
Thanks again Alex, my 'baron ratings' can now resume...
Looking forward to 'baron rating' Adnams Solebay very soon!
Back in April I was lucky enough to receive a swing-top bottle of a rather special beer. It was a 10% Adnams beer, drawn straight from the open conditioning tanks (so lacked any carbonation) and sent to see what I thought of it.
Since then Fergus & the Adnams team have been busy turning this mystery ale into their special beer to celebrate 350 years of brewing at the Sole Bay brewery. On Monday I received a bottle of the finished product and I must say it looks rather good:
It's a 750ml champagne-style bottle, corked, caged & foil-wrapped in a special tin which includes the important historic dates of the Adnams brewery.
I'm really looking forward to 'baron rating' this beer, thanks to Fergus and the Adnams team for sending this through!
Since then Fergus & the Adnams team have been busy turning this mystery ale into their special beer to celebrate 350 years of brewing at the Sole Bay brewery. On Monday I received a bottle of the finished product and I must say it looks rather good:
It's a 750ml champagne-style bottle, corked, caged & foil-wrapped in a special tin which includes the important historic dates of the Adnams brewery.
I'm really looking forward to 'baron rating' this beer, thanks to Fergus and the Adnams team for sending this through!
JW Lees John Willie's
JW Lees John Willie's [baron rating /5] - 4.5% amber ale has a malty green hops smell,subtle caramel malt taste & malty bitter finish
Buy JW Lees ales here
Goose Island Honker's Ale
Goose Island Honker's Ale [baron rating /5] - 4.3% copper ale,fruit & caramel smell,frothy juicy citrus bitter taste,dry bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
Download flash to hear the audio review
Thank you to Richard from myBrewerytap for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Buy Goose Island ales here
Acorn Barnsley Gold
Acorn Barnsley Gold [baron rating /5] - 4.3% gold ale,faint citrus aroma,earthy nutty very bitter taste & very bitter hop finish
Buy Acorn ales here
Summer Wine Apache
Summer Wine Apache [baron rating /5] - 5.4% gold ale,grassy pithy pine smell,frothy pithy grapefruit hops taste,dry pithy zesty finish
Thank you to James from Summer Wine for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Williams Bros Summer Sun
Williams Bros Summer Sun [baron rating /5] - 4% copper ale,earthy floral hop smell,crisp hoppy bittersweet taste,clean dry herbal finish
Thank you to Williams Bros. for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Buy Williams Bros ales here
Hardknott Infra Red
Hardknott Infra Red [baron rating /5] - 6.5% red ale,citrus roasted smell,sweet citrus spicy big bitter taste,dry astringent roasted finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
Download flash to hear the audio review
Thank you to Richard from myBrewerytap for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Buy Hardknott ales here
Dark Star Sunburst
Dark Star Sunburst [baron rating /5] - 4.8% gold ale,pithy citrus aroma,crisp orange & grapefruit hoppy taste,bittersweet finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
Download flash to hear the audio review
Thank you to James from Dark Star for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Buy Dark Star ales here
Looking forward to 'baron rating' Summer Wine ales very soon!
I received some Summer Wine Brewery ales in my winners pack from AleTalk back in June. I found one of them a little harsh and one was excellent and the stout you will just have to wait and see.
Shortly after posting about them I was contacted by James at Summer Wine Brewery telling me that the ales were from their old range. They now have a new and improved line-up having learnt from their previous ones and asked if I would like to try them...
Yesterday I was very happy to see a Summer Wine-branded van pull up outside and a smartly dressed man personally delivering a box of ale!
Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Summer Wine beers soon, and a big thank you to James & Andy from Summer Wine for sending these through to me!
Buy Summer Wine ales where? (if you know please add a comment!)
Shortly after posting about them I was contacted by James at Summer Wine Brewery telling me that the ales were from their old range. They now have a new and improved line-up having learnt from their previous ones and asked if I would like to try them...
Yesterday I was very happy to see a Summer Wine-branded van pull up outside and a smartly dressed man personally delivering a box of ale!
- Apache - 5.2% American pale ale
- Elbow Grease - 3.8% golden ale
- Houblon - 4.2% India pale ale
- Invictus - 4.5% copper ale
- Teleporter - 5% 10 grain porter
- Tiberius - 4.2% pale ale
- Treason - 4.8% treacle stout
Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Summer Wine beers soon, and a big thank you to James & Andy from Summer Wine for sending these through to me!
Buy Summer Wine ales where? (if you know please add a comment!)
Crouch Vale Amarillo
Crouch Vale Amarillo [baron rating /5] - 5% pale gold ale,citrus & pine smell,pithy grapefruit bittersweet taste,long dry astringent finish
Buy Crouch Vale ales here
St Peter's Best Bitter
St Peter's Best Bitter [baron rating /5] - 3.7% dark amber ale,sweet caramel playdoh smell,harsh sharp bitter taste,dry quite bitter finish
Budget Flying Dog ales in Tesco
Tesco has some massive discounts on Flying Dog ales at the moment, Classic Pale Ale for 88p & Gonzo Porter for £1.29 whilst stocks last!
Little Creatures Pale Ale
Little Creatures Pale Ale [baron rating /5] - 5.2% golden ale,tropical spicy smell,fresh slight caramel & citrus taste,citrus bitter finish
Buy Little Creatures ales here
I'm going to be judging this year's SIBA North National Beer Competition!
I read recently via Tandleman's blog that the SIBA North National Beer Competition (and beer festival) was going to be held in Manchester this year at the end of October. Manchester is a short(ish) train ride from Ormskirk so I wondered if they were looking for any extra judges. After a few good words were put in for me via various folk on twitter I received an invite from SIBA asking if I would like to be a judge!
A big thank you to Lisa Hoffin (SIBA) & Alex Brodie (Hawkshead & SIBA North) for inviting me to judge! Also thanks to all the kind folk on twitter who put a good word in for me.
If you are going to be there then please leave a comment below, would be great to meet up with you face to face!
A big thank you to Lisa Hoffin (SIBA) & Alex Brodie (Hawkshead & SIBA North) for inviting me to judge! Also thanks to all the kind folk on twitter who put a good word in for me.
If you are going to be there then please leave a comment below, would be great to meet up with you face to face!
Summer Wine Ale Caesar
Summer Wine Ale Caesar [baron rating /5] - 4.6% pale gold ale,floral grapefruit smell,grapefruit citrus hops taste, dry pithy bitter finish
Williams Bros Grozet
Williams Bros Grozet [baron rating /5] - 5% pale gold ale,fruity wheat savoury smell,crisp bitter sour fruit taste,sweet & sour finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
Download flash to hear the audio review
Available in both 330ml 'historic' bottles and 500ml 'contemporary' bottles.
Thank you to Williams Bros. for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Buy Williams Bros ales here
Morrisons August ale & beer offers (9th August - 5th September 2010)
It's August's new beer & ale offers time in Morrisons so I popped into the local Ormskirk branch on Tuesday to check them out.
Here are the details:
The winner this month is Worthington's White Shield, it's a quality bottle conditioned ale with a superb mouthfeel, so light & frothy and very balanced as well.
Here are the details:
- Black Sheep Yorkshire Square Ale [baron rating 3/5] £1.43 instead of £1.63
- Holts Humdinger £1.19 instead of £1.69
- Marston's Strong Pale Ale [baron rating 3/5] £1.55 instead of £1.75
- Marston's Pedigree VSOP [baron rating coming soon] £1.95 instead of £2.25
- Ringwood Old Thumper [baron rating 2/5] £1.56 instead of £1.76
- Wothington's White Shield [baron rating 4/5] £1.59 instead of £1.89
- Wychwood King Goblin [baron rating 2/5] £1.89 instead of £2.19
The winner this month is Worthington's White Shield, it's a quality bottle conditioned ale with a superb mouthfeel, so light & frothy and very balanced as well.
Hook Norton Old Hooky for 99p a bottle in B&M Bargains
B&M Bargains in Ormskirk has 500ml bottles of Hook Norton Old Hooky [baron rating 4/5] for 99p (best before end of March 2011)
Strangford Lough St. Patrick's Best
Strangford Lough St. Patrick's Best [baron rating /5] - 3.8% copper ale,caramel aroma,spicy hops & caramel taste,tart metallic tangy finish
Thank you to Grace from Strangford Lough for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!
Looking forward to 'baron rating' Hardknott ales very soon!
There's been a lot of talk of Hardknott Dave's beers recently, including this very current video review of Infra Red from beer guru Zak Avery. I've met Dave and he's a great bloke & I've been very interested to see if his beers are as good.
Luckily for me Richard from myBrewerytap is my guardian beer angel and contacted me over the weekend to ask if I wanted to try some of Dave's beers. Well who would say no?!?
Hardknott Brewery
Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Hardknott beers soon, and a big thank you to Richard from myBrewerytap for sending these through to me!
Buy Hardknott ales here
Luckily for me Richard from myBrewerytap is my guardian beer angel and contacted me over the weekend to ask if I wanted to try some of Dave's beers. Well who would say no?!?
- Aether Blaec 2009
8% whisky cask aged stout - Granite 2009
10.4% barley wine beer - Infra Red
6.5% ruby red American style IPA
Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Hardknott beers soon, and a big thank you to Richard from myBrewerytap for sending these through to me!
Buy Hardknott ales here
Looking forward to 'baron rating' Harviestoun's Number of the Beast very soon!
I found out about this Sweden-only export beer from reading Harviestoun's newsletter and was very intrigued to see what it tasted like.This beer has been brewed for a Swedish rock festival this summer and so the beer has an excellent heavy metal theme. The beer is called "Number of the Beast", it's ABV is 6.66% and it has a label around the neck with the words "metal edition" - oh and the Harviestoun mouse has a leather jacket and a guitar as well!
It's a "light coloured but strong tasting beer, intense blend of hops from around the world".
Look out for 'baron ratings' of this Harviestoun beerssoon, and a big thank you to Chris from Harviestoun for sending it through to me!
Buy Harviestoun ales here
Sharp's Doom Bar
Sharp's Doom Bar [baron rating /5] - 4.3% amber ale,fruity buttery smell,sweet caramel malt & spicy juicy hop taste & juicy bitter finish
Buy Sharp's ales here