Hook Norton A Shining Light

Hook Norton A Shining Light [baron rating 4/5] - 4.5% copper ale,floral citrus smell,slight spicy biscuit taste,stoned fruit bitter finish Baron Orm

Thank you to Hook Norton for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Hook Norton ales here

Wychwood Bah Humbug

Wychwood Bah Humbug [baron rating 2/5] - 5% dark amber ale,sweet spicy aroma,cinnamon sweet toffee spicy taste,dry grainy 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

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!

Thank you to the Manchester Crowne Plaza

I took the Baroness away for a night in Manchester last weekend as an early Christmas present. She's been mentioning about staying in nice hotels for quite a while now (a number of years...) and I thought it was about time I actually pulled my finger out and booked somewhere.

After asking around on Twitter about where is nice (but not too pricey) to stay I got a response from @CrownePlazaManc asking for their hotel to be considered. After a number of tweets and some review checking on TripAdvisor (#5 out of 129!) I booked a room at a very favourable rate especially as it was for the Saturday before Christmas.

We arrived mid-afternoon on a very snowy Saturday to a nice new looking hotel just a few minutes walk from Manchester Victoria station. Upon check-in I was even more pleased with the deal as we received a complementary room upgrade to one on the 'club floor' - the top floor of the hotel with stunning city views and access to the 'club lounge' (read as free drinks and snacks).

Our room was excellent, very spacious with a very large comfortable bed, two easy chairs positioned by a massive window overlooking the city (you can clearly see The Angel pub in the photo).  The bathroom was very classy with robes and slippers too with both a shower cubical and a bath which is not that common.

By now the Baroness had the biggest smile on her face ever which meant the whole thing was well worth it! We took a wander around the Manchester Christmas markets and when we got too cold we went back to the hotel to get ready for our evening out in town. It was past 6pm so the 'booze fridge' in the club lounge was available so we were able to enjoy a couple of cold beers as we got ready.

The hotel's location couldn't have been better as we had a couple of hours to kill before our meal and the super Marble Arch pub was no more than five minutes walk away. I sampled the Manchester Bitter, Lagonda IPA & Dobber and all were in tip-top form - absolutely divine!

This was then followed by another five minute walk to the Bem Brazil restaurant (the northern quarter one) where we had an excellent Brazillian 'meat-fest' - the waiters just kept bringing more and more tasty spit-roasted meat until you couldn't move! After that we wandered slowly back to the hotel where we collapsed into the massive bed full & happy and had an excellent night's sleep.

I would like to say a very very big 'thank you' to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Manchester for a wonderful weekend, without them the weekend just wouldn't have had the same Christmas sparkle that it did. My hat goes off to you Crowne Plaza - you really did pull out all the stops for the Baron! :)

P.S. If you ever need a room in Manchester get in touch with @CrownePlazaManc and see what they can do for you, oh and don't forget to say the baron made me do it!

Batemans Rosey Nosey

Batemans Rosey Nosey [baron rating 3/5] - 4.9% dark amber ale,sweet plums smell,sweet toffee plum taste,dry clean fruity 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

Hobsons Manor Ale

Hobsons Manor Ale [baron rating 3/5] - 4.2% copper ale,citrus caramel smell,fruity herbal taste,fruity bittersweet finish Baron Orm

Buy Hobsons ales here

Wold Top Merry Christmas

Wold Top Merry Christmas [baron rating 4/5] - 6% dark ruby ale,choc fruity smell,roasted raisins bitter taste,bitter slightly roasted 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 Wold Top for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Wold Top ales here

Looking forward to 'baron rating' Bristol Beer Factory ales very soon!

I commented recently on Rob from Hopzine's tweet about getting some ales from Bristol Beer Factory saying that I had heard their Milk Stout was excellent and was looking forward to his review. Shortly afterwards @BrisBeerFactory got in touch asking if I wanted to try some too!

This lovely selection of ales arrived this week:

Bristol Beer Factory

• Bristletoe - 4.3% full-flavoured Christmas ale

• Bristol Hefe - 4.8% German-style wheat beer

• Gold - 5% premium golden ale

• Milk Stout - 4.5% creamy, full bodied stout

• No 7 - 4.5% traditional English best bitter

• Southville Hop - 6.5% American inspired IPA

• Ultimate Stout - 7.7% ultimate stout

I've just read Rob's excellent review of Southville Hop so I can't wait to get stuck in!

Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Bristol Beer Factory beers soon, and a big thank you to @BrisBeerFactory for sending these through to me!

Buy Bristol Beer Factory ales here

Hook Norton Twelve Days

Hook Norton Twelve Days [baron rating 5/5] - 5.5% dark ruby ale,choc mild boozy smell,rich smooth burnt fruit taste,bitter burnt choc 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 Hook Norton for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Hook Norton ales here

Ringwood Best Bitter

Ringwood Best Bitter [baron rating 3/5] - 4% dark amber ale,malty fruity buttery smell,toffee malt bitter taste,fruity bitter finish Baron Orm

Buy Ringwood ales here

Brains SA Gold

Brains SA Gold [baron rating 4/5] - 4.7% gold ale,slight citrus & biscuit malt smell,clean slightly spicy citrus taste,mild hoppy finish Baron Orm

Buy Brains ale here

Young's Light Ale

Young's Light Ale [baron rating 3/5] - 3.2% copper ale,caramel smell,fizzy slight caramel light bitter taste,gentle bitter finish Baron Orm

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

Humpty Dumpty Christmas Crack

Humpty Dumpty Christmas Crack [baron rating 5/5] - 7% dark ruby ale,smoky roasted smell,sweet roasted & piney bitter taste,burnt choc 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 Lesley from Humpty Dumpty for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Humpty Dumpty ales here

Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale

Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale [baron rating 5/5] - 7% amber ale,spicy smell,light treacle spicy balanced taste,lasting slightly sweet 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 Rachel from Shepherd Neame for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Shepherd Neame ales here

Wold Top 5 Wold Rings

Wold Top 5 Wold Rings [baron rating 5/5] - 5% gold ale,crisp citrus aroma,balanced bitter citrus taste,clean dry bitter mild metallic 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 Wold Top for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Wold Top 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

Jennings Golden Host

Jennings Golden Host [baron rating 3/5] - 4.2% gold ale,floral buttery smell,sweet juicy toffee taste,sweet slightly drying finish Baron Orm

Buy Jennings ales here

Moorhouse's Pendle Witches Brew

Moorhouse's Pendle Witches Brew [baron rating 4/5] - 5.1% gold ale,caramel apple smell,honey spicy bitter taste,cloying bittersweet finish Baron Orm

Leek Dark Peak Ale

Leek Dark Peak Ale [baron rating 3/5] - 9% black ale,dark roasted chocolate smell,roasted bitter dark choc sour taste,dry sour bitter finish Baron Orm

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

Buy Leek ales here

Odell IPA

Odell IPA [baron rating 5/5] - 7% copper ale,sweet tropical fruit smell,fruity sweet piney taste,lasting fruity bittersweet finish Baron Orm

Thank you to Richard from myBrewerytap for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Odell ales here

My Open It! beer - Adnams Tally-Ho 2009

I've been sat on a stash of Adnams Tally-Ho 2009 for a while now, with the idea that I'll drink two a year, one on Christmas Day and one on New Year's Eve.

As I had 12 of them that meant six years worth - far too many in my mind, so I decided to lift this restriction this weekend when Mark & Andy created Open It! - a great idea to get us beer lovers to open those bottles that we were saving for a 'special occasion' which never quite arrives...

With some chunks of fine vintage cheddar & a roaring fire lit I sat back and enjoyed my room-temperature bottle of Adnams Tally-Ho [baron rating 5/5] - a fine way to relax on this bitterly cold evening.

Wold Top Veteran Ale

Wold Top Veteran Ale [baron rating 3/5] - 4.2% dark amber ale,yeasty toffee smell,sweet malt toffee bitter taste,lasting bittersweet 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 Wold Top for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Wold Top ales here

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

There is nothing the baron likes more than someone pinging him via Twitter asking if he would like to try their beer. That's exactly what Stringers did a week ago and this morning (I know - I didn't think Royal Mail delivered on the Sunday!) two bottles of their finely crafted beer showed up:

Stringers Beer

• Dry Stout - 4.5% bottled version of their Champion Stout of Cumbria

• IPA - 5.5% bottled version of their Victoria IPA

I really like the label design on these, simple, bold and striking, you won't miss these on the shelf! I also like the little description of what a microbrewery is on the back of the bottle:



Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Stringers beers soon, and a big thank you to @StringersBeer for sending these through to me!

Buy Stringers ales here

Great Orme Orme

Great Orme Orme [baron rating 3/5] - 4.2% dark amber ale,fruity malty caramel smell,fruity caramel bitter taste,dry slightly bitter finish Baron Orm

Bavik Petrus Blond

Bavik Petrus Blond [baron rating 4/5] - 6.6% gold ale,herbal yeasty smell,sweet creamy vanilla taste,lasting sweet 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 Bavik ales here

Flying Dog Raging Bitch

Flying Dog Raging Bitch [baron rating 5/5] - 8.3% amber ale,tropical fruit smell,sweet fruity spicy yeasty taste,lasting bittersweet 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 handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Flying dog ales here

Looking forward to 'baron rating' Courage Directors & Wells Bombardier very soon!

@YoungsBeers got in touch with me recently saying that as I enjoyed 'baron rating' their Young's ales would I like to try bottles of Courage Directors & Wells Bombardier as well.  As you know, the baron doesn't like to say "no", so very promptly some beers turned up:

Wells & Young's Brewing Company

• Courage Directors - 4.8% traditionally brewed superior ale

• Wells Bombardier - 5.2% traditional burnished copper ale

Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Young's beers soon, and a big thank you to Joanna from @YoungsBeers for sending these through to me!

For more information follow @Bombardier_beer on Twitter and check out couragebeer on Facebook.

Felinfoel Double Dragon

Felinfoel Double Dragon [baron rating 3/5] - 4.2% dark amber ale,candied apple smell,balanced standard bitter taste,metallic zingy 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

This was from 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 Felinfoel ales here

Looking forward to 'baron rating' Humpty Dumpty Christmas Crack very soon!

The final Christmas-themed ale showed up yesterday from those kind people at the Humpty Dumpty Brewery, a bottle of Christmas Crack:

Humpty Dumpty Brewery

• Christmas Crack - 7% strong brown ale with an American hop profile

Look out for the 'baron rating' for this Humpty Dumpty beer soon, and a big thank you to Lesley from @hdbrewery for sending this through to me!

Buy Humpty Dumpty ales here

St Austell Tribute

St Austell Tribute [baron rating 4/5] - 4.2% amber ale,orange zest smell,caramel sweet orange strong bitter taste,short bitter citrus 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 @StAustellBrew from St Austell for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy St Austell ales here

Morrisons December ale & beer offers (29th November 2010 - 2nd January 2011)

It's December's new beer & ale offers time in Morrisons so I popped into the local Ormskirk branch today to check them out.

Here are the details:

• Morland Old Crafty Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  £2 instead of £2.59

• Morland Old Speckled Hen [baron rating 4/5]
  £1.35 instead of £1.65

• Greene King Abbot Reserve [baron rating 3/5]
  £1.53 instead of £2.03

• Greene King Suffolk Springer
  £1.53 instead of £2.03

• Jennings Cumberland Ale [baron rating 3/5]
  £1.29 instead of £1.69

• Jennings Snecklifter [baron rating 3/5]
  £1.23 instead of £1.58

• Wychwood King Goblin [baron rating 2/5]
  £1.89 instead of £2.19

Looks like Morrisons have picked some of the stronger richer more wintery ales to be on offer this time round. I'm a fan of a pint of Old Speckled Hen with chicken or turkey roast dinners I find the spiciness of the beer goes well with the white meat.

As the Suffolk Springer is the only one I've not 'baron rated' I would have bought one, but it was all gone (or rather they'd had no stock of it for around a month already...)

Williams Bros Good Times

Williams Bros Good Times [baron rating 5/5] - 5% gold ale,floral citrus smell,sweet elderflower citrus bitter taste,dry sweet floral finishBaron Orm

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

Download flash to hear the audio review

Subscribe in iTunes

The labels on most of the Williams Bros. ales are really funky, with good use of typography & foil to create eye-catching bottles, click the image for a close-up of the Good Times label



This was from 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 Williams Bros ales here

Looking forward to 'baron rating' Shepherd Neame ales very soon!

Beer god Zak Avery tweeted recently about trying Shepherd Neame's Christmas Ale and saying that it was really good. As I'm doing a Christmas-themed ales 'baron rating' special I thought it best to get in touch with Sheperd Neame and see if they wanted to send a sample bottle though. Well they excelled themselves as not only was there a bottle of the Christmas Ale in the box, there were five other bottles from their range:

Shepherd Neame Brewery

• 1698 - 6.5% thrice-hopped generously malty ale

• Bishops Finger - 5.4% Kentish strong ale

• Christmas Ale - 7% winter fruits, festive spicy hops

• Master Brew - 4% amber-russet ale, pungent Kentish hops & crystal malts

• Spitfire - 4.5% The Bottle of Britain

• Whitstable Bay - 4.5% clean refreshing organic ale

Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Shepherd Neame beers soon, and a big thank you to Rachel from Shepherd Neame for sending these through to me!

Buy Shepherd Neame ales here 

The Ormskirk Baron presents Marble Beers

Come down for an evening of beer at Source Deli on Saturday 29th January. Join The Ormskirk Baron and @Christopher_R for a beer-tasting night of one of our favourite UK breweries - Manchester's Marble Brewery

Come and try Marble's regular bottled line-up (half a bottle of each):

• Dobber 
• Chocolate Marble
• Lagonda IPA
• Ginger 6%
• Manchester Bitter

Photo by Pete Favelle

You'll get to try a sample of their 'Special (2009)' - a 10.7% barley wine, plus once you've tried all five pick a bottle of your favourite to enjoy in store or alternatively to take home.  Bar snacks 'Source Deli style' will be provided by Paul & Matt of Source Deli.

£17.50 per person - get your tickets from Source Deli

Doors open at 8pm on Saturday 29th January

There are only 25 0 places available so if you are interested please get yourself down to Source Deli ASAP!

Update 24/01: I may have a spare ticket for sale if anyone is desperate,please email/tweet or leave a comment below...

Hook Norton Flagship

Hook Norton Flagship [baron rating 5/5] - 5.5% amber ale,spicy smell,full-bodied tangy spicy marmalade taste, lasting sugary spicy 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 Hook Norton for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Hook Norton ales here

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

Wold Top Mars Magic

Wold Top Mars Magic [baron rating 3/5] - 4.6% dark amber ale,caramel chocolate roasted smell,caramel & berries taste,slight burnt finish Baron Orm

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

Buy Wold Top ales here

Hardknott Dark Energy

Hardknott Dark Energy [baron rating 4/5] - 4.9% black ale,dark berries & roasted smell,smooth fruity toasted malt taste,juicy fruity 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 Dave and Ann from Hardknott for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Hardknott ales here and here

Mallinsons Station

Mallinsons Station [baron rating 5/5] - 4.2% pale gold ale,citrus grapefruit smell,balanced sweet grapefruit taste,dry bittersweet 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

This was from 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 Mallinsons 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!

Wold Top Summer Holiday

Wold Top Summer Holiday [baron rating 3/5] - 5.5% dark amber ale,light roasted malt smell,sweet fruity slight choc taste,malty fruity finish Baron Orm

I don't 'get' the name on this one, to me it's more of an Autumn ale, not one I would be drink on my summer holiday! Wold Top care to explain?

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

Buy Wold Top ales here

Keely Chey Crazy Eyes

Keely Chey Crazy Eyes [baron rating 3/5] - 4.5% copper ale,yeasty tangy citrus smell,caramel bittersweet taste, peardrop bitter finish Baron Orm