Summer Wine Covenant

Summer Wine Covenant [baron rating 5/5] - 5.2% amber/red ale,resinous candied fruits smell,bittersweet resinous taste,long resinous finish Baron Orm

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Buy Summer Wine ales direct or from Source Deli

Summer Wine Barista

Summer Wine Barista [baron rating 5/5] - 4.8% black ale,sweet ground coffee smell,smooth bitter black coffee taste,long dry espresso finish Baron Orm

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Buy Summer Wine ales direct or from Source Deli

Robinsons Unicorn

Robinsons Unicorn [baron rating 3/5] - 4.3% copper ale,buttery caramel smell,sultana biscuity bittersweet taste,juicy bready finish Baron Orm

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Adnams American Style IPA

Adnams American Style IPA [baron rating 4/5] - 6.8% copper ale,buttery floral smell,floral citrusy bittersweet taste,long dry bitter finish Baron Orm

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Buy Adnams ales direct

Durham Temptation

Durham Temptation [baron rating 5/5] - 10% black stout,red wine liquorice smell,liquorice berries rich port-like taste,sweet syrupy finish Baron Orm

There was an audio review for this amazing beer where Chris, Paul (Source Deli)  and I talked at length about it's complexity and depth but also it's drinkability even though it's 10%. But when I came to edit the audio I found it so full of corruptions that there was nothing worth salvaging to publish. 

Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Thank you to Elly Bell (@Durhambreweryel) from Durham Brewery for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Durham ales direct

Mallinsons Danger:Hops!

Mallinsons Danger:Hops! [baron rating 5/5] - 5.1% gold ale,soft tropical smell,tropical fruits strong bitter taste,long dry bitter finish Baron Orm

Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Buy Mallinsons ales from Source Deli & myBrewerytap

BrewDog Alice Porter

BrewDog Alice Porter [baron rating 5/5] - 6.2% black ale,choc hazelnut smell,silky sweet choc & black cherry taste,roasted dark fruit finish Baron Orm

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Buy BrewDog ale direct

D&G Dragon Stout

D&G Dragon Stout [baron rating 1/5] - 7.5% black stout,dark treacle smell,very sweet treacle taste,oily sweet finish Baron Orm

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Mallinsons Bramling Cross

Mallinsons Bramling Cross [baron rating 4/5] - 3.8% gold ale,earthy blackcurrant smell,mild fruity big bitter taste,long chalky 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 Tara (@Mallinsons) from Mallinsons for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Mallinsons ales from Source Deli & myBrewerytap

Stonehouse Cambrian Gold

Stonehouse Cambrian Gold [baron rating 2/5] - 4.2% lively copper ale,earthy nutty smell,mild citrus toffee bitter taste,watery weak finish Baron Orm

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
I've blanked the original score out in the audio review as on reflection we were too generous, the weak finish on this one really lets it down plus the bottle conditioning was way off.

Download flash to hear the audio review

Subscribe in iTunes

Note: Bottle conditioned with explosive carbonation

Thank you to @StonehouseBeer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Baron on Tour: Waterloo Beer Festival 2012

Last night I headed to the station to attend the Waterloo Beer Festival arranged by Liverpool Organic Brewery. Forty-five minutes later I was walking towards Old Christ Church on Waterloo Road following a number of other likely candidates for a beer fest (you can always spot them - guys walking in pairs, one of which is holding a piece of paper). Due to Google maps looking like it was a bit of a trek I was there 10 minutes early but wasn't the first to be hovering around the door like a bar fly.

A quick nod and mention that I was the Baron meant that I was in through the door with a half-pint glass in hand. The beers were all £1.25 regardless of strength and all the beers on the list were available (and it's an impressive list).

I headed straight for Dark Star Hophead (3.8%) knowing that it would be the perfect starter beer and give me a chance to look over the beer list in the free programme. It was lovely: bright, fresh, zingy hoppy beer and so drinkable, an amazing session beer with so much taste.

Next was Black Iris Krasney Red IPA (5.3%) which was a nice dark amber colour with a candied and fruity taste and a slightly burnt big bitter finish - a great red ale.

I've been drinking a lot of RedWillow ales recently in bottled form bought from Source Deli so I thought I'd best try one of theirs, Headless was on, a 3.9% pale ale which had a nice bite and a bitter finish, again similar to Hophead as a really tasty session ale - brilliant beer.

Next was Hackney Hopster from London Fields Brewery, a citrusy slightly pithy 4.7% ale with a long bitter finish, a really cracker and I can't wait to try this in bottled form.

By now I was starting to get a bit hungry and the pie stand run by Peninsula Luxury Pies seemed the perfect option, they had an excellent array of pies and pasties, I opted for the pork & Branston pie and it was excellent. £3.50 got you a huge pie, I only managed 1/2 in the fest, the rest was consumed on the way home ;)


It was starting to fill up by this point, and a nice hum of chatter was happening in the room, I'd also met up with The Liverpool Craft Beer Co. and so was having a good chat to him & his brother. They are doubling the brewery's output very soon and have moved into the unit next door as well to help with the expansion. I've been promised that bottled versions of their ales will be 'available soon'...

Shortly after I noticed that Karl from Liverpool Organic Brewery had arrived, so I headed over to say thanks for putting me on the guest list and to chat about setting up for the festival. He mentioned that they had brewed a beer especially for the festival called Special 247 so that was my next ale. It was a rich hoppy beer and drank well over it's weight of 5%. Karl mentioned that it was particularly heavy on the malt for this beer hence the overall impression. Karl then had to get to work behind the bar so I opted for one of my favourites of theirs ShipWreck IPA - this 6.5% pale IPA is awesome, packed with citrus flavours and a good bitter punch in the finish.

I then found The Liverpool Craft Beer Co. again and proceeded to talk beer stuff and try a load of ales for the remainder of the festival, here are the other beers that I tried, all of them were absolutely spot on and in perfect condition:

• Brodies London Fields Pale Ale - 4% crisp with a big lemon bite
• Ironbridge Citra Noir - 4.7% black IPA, smooth with a roasted taste and a bitter citrus finish, reminded me of Windsor & Eton's Conqueror
• Liverpool Craft American Red Ale - 5% amber ale with a slight lemony edge and some candied sweetness, big bitter finish
• Redemption Bigchief - 5.5% IPA big full flavoured ale with a sweet fruity flavour
• Saltaire Rye Pale Ale - 4.4% really tasted red ale, spot on!
• RedWillow Ageless - 7.2% double IPA, sweet, rich, absolutely amazing (and was the finisher of the night)

 I had a great night thanks to Karl from Liverpool Organic Brewery for inviting me, and was so good making new friends with The Liverpool Craft Beer Co. and his beer-loving brother - thanks guys you made my evening!

Durham St Cuthbert

Durham St Cuthbert [baron rating 5/5] - 6.5% copper ale,spicy peachy floral smell,rich bright floral spicy taste,juicy fruity 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 Elly Bell (@Durhambreweryel) from Durham Brewery for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Durham ales direct

Looking forward to baron rating Best of British Beer ales

Best of British Beer have sent through a few ales which either feature in their Award Winners mixed case or are new breweries that they might be stocking soon:

Best of British Beer

• Driftwood Spars Alfie's Revenge - 6.5% beer named after a stuffed squirrel. Formed from a blend of pale, crystal, brown & chocolate malts with northdown hops
• London Fields Hackney Hopster - 4.9% ale, their first beer hopped with new world Nelson Sauvin & Motueka for a great tropical fruity flavour
• Titanic Stout - 4.5% dark combination of malt & roast with true hop character. Strongly flavoured and well balanced,real old fashioned stout.

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

Buy these ales from Best of British Beer

Looking forward to baron rating Mallinsons Sorachi Ace

Mallinsons are one of those brewers who never stand still, every time I pop into Source Deli in Ormskirk there are different Mallinsons ales on the shelves and pretty much all of the ones that I've baron rated so far have been very very good if not excellent.

Mallinsons have also been very good to the Baron, sending through a number of different batches of their bottled ales for review and this week I received another bottle from their single hopped range, this time it was Sorachi Ace:

 
Mallinsons Brewery

• Sorachi Ace - 3.9% single hopped ale, pale blonde with fresh lemongrass aroma,bitter lemon hop with a bitter dry lemony finish

Look out for the 'baron rating' for this Mallinsons beer soon, and a big thank you to Tara (@Mallinsons) from Mallinsons Brewery for sending this through to me!

Buy Mallinsons ales from Source Deli & myBrewerytap

Looking forward to baron rating Wold Top Headland Red & Scarborough Fair IPA

It's been a very long time since we last baron rated some Wold Top ales, so it came as a lovely surprise when they offered to send me some of their brand new Scarborough Fair IPA. They were also kind enough to include samples of their Headland Red ale which I've also not tried.

Most of the Wold Top bottled beers fall into the 3.5%-5% mark so it's was great to see their new IPA weighing in at 6%. I also noticed that it mentions that it's certified gluten-free - does this make it the first gluten-free IPA?

Wold Top Brewery

• Headland Red - 4.3% red beer,mellow malty flavour hopped with Progress hops
• Scarborough Fair IPA - 6% strong and well hopped IPA,Wold-grown malt base, triple hop blend and maize for head retention - certified gluten-free

Look out for 'baron ratings' for these Wold Top beers soon, and a big thank you to @WoldTopBrewery from Wold Top Brewery for sending these through to me!

Buy Wold Top ales direct

Canterbury Foundry Red Rye

Canterbury Foundry Red Rye [baron rating 5/5] - 5.6% dark amber ale,citrus sweet bread smell,sherbet rich candied taste,bitter pithy 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 Richard (@SlurpBeer) from Slurp Beer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Canterbury ales from Slurp Beer

Celt Bleddyn 1075

Not bottle conditioned

Celt Bleddyn 1075 [baron rating 4/5] - 5.6% copper ale,spicy fruity biscuity smell,rich peppery sweet tropical taste,lingering sticky 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 The Celt Experience ales from Best of British Beer

Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55

Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55 [baron rating 3/5] - 5% amber ale,mild sweet stewed fruits,slightly tart apple plum taste,nutty 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 Richard (@SlurpBeer) from Slurp Beer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Brooklyn ales from Slurp Beer

Silly Saison

Silly Saison [baron rating 3/5] - 5% dark amber ale,funky slightly tart apple smell,lemon apple raisin taste,dry mild syrupy finish Baron Orm

Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Thank you to Richard (@SlurpBeer) from Slurp Beer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Silly ales from Slurp Beer

Stonehouse Off The Rails

Stonehouse Off The Rails [baron rating 5/5] - 4.8% dark amber ale,earthy toffee smell,sultana toffee taste,mild nutty bitter finish Baron Orm

Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Thank you to @StonehouseBeer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Stone Pale Ale

Stone Pale Ale [baron rating 5/5] - 5.4% dark amber ale,sweet biscuity smell,juicy dried fruits & toffee bittersweet taste,big 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 Richard (@SlurpBeer) from Slurp Beer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Stone ales from Slurp Beer

Loddon Hocus Pocus Old Ale

Loddon Hocus Pocus Old Ale [baron rating 4/5] - 5% dark ruby ale,plummy smell,rounded burnt fruits nutty bitter taste,tangy 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

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to @LoddonBrewery from Loddon Brewery for sending these through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Loddon ales direct

Loddon Russet

Loddon Russet [baron rating 4/5] - 4.7% amber ale,vegetal mild caramel smell,spicy bittersweet nutty taste,nutty bittersweet caramel finish Baron Orm

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to @LoddonBrewery from Loddon Brewery for sending these through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Loddon ales direct

Mallinsons Brewers Gold

Mallinsons Brewers Gold [baron rating 4/5] - 3.8% copper ale,slight berry smell,fresh spicy juicy bitter taste,long dry spicy bitter finish Baron Orm

Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Thank you to Tara (@Mallinsons) from Mallinsons for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Mallinsons ales from Source Deli & myBrewerytap

Badger Hopping Hare

Badger Hopping Hare [baron rating 3/5] - 4.4% copper ale,mild citrus floral smell,slightly sweet floral citrus taste,mild bittersweet finish Baron Orm

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thwaites Tavern Porter

Thwaites Tavern Porter [baron rating 4/5] - 4.7% black ale,mild coffee dark choc smell,smooth roasted mildly sweet taste,smooth choc finish Baron Orm

Note: Bottled conditioned with perfect carbonation

Batemans XB

Batemans XB [baron rating 3/5] - 4.1% amber ale,toffee smell,mild toffee raisin English bitter taste,dry bitter finish Baron Orm

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Holts Sixex

Holts Sixex [baron rating 4/5] - 6% dark ruby ale,choc & dried fruit smell,caramel coffee choc dried fruit taste,dry choc finish Baron Orm

Note: Not bottle conditioned

TweeShirt! TweeShirt! Get your TweeShirt here!

I've attended a few beer-related events now where I've enjoyed meeting the people face-to-face that I often have discussions with on Twitter. One problem though is that although you may chat to them on a daily basis, you have no idea what they look like and walking up to a complete stranger in a bar and asking "Are you Baron Orm?" can sometimes feel a little bit too awkward.

To solve this issue I've created "TweeShirts" - custom printed t-shirts with the your Twitter image blown up on the front and your Twitter name on the back:

These are mine, you can't have them!

I've managed to find a local Ormskirk-based firm who do custom printing onto all sorts of items and together we've managed to design a great looking TweeShirt, the front Twitter logo is 15cm square and is that lovely slightly-rubbery finish giving a solid clean image and the Twitter handle on the back is around 30cm wide and is printed with flock to give a nice velvety-feeling embossed look.

The TweeShirts are available in a range of colours and sizes and are printed on 100% cotton Fruit of the Loom super premium t-shirts.

Each shirt is just £10 (which is excellent value for a custom printed quality t-shirt) and UK postage is £2 for up to two tweeshirts (free collection is available and if you want international delivery or plan on ordering more than two or want a bunch of different ones sending to the same address then get in touch and we'll sort something out!)

Men's

Available sizes: (click here for a size chart)

• Small
• Medium
• Large
• X-Large
• XX-Large

Available t-shirt colours:

•      - red
•      - black
•      - white
•      - khaki
•      - zinc
•      - orange
•      - light graphite
•      - heather grey
•      - bottle green
•      - royal blue
•      - chocolate
•      - classic olive
•      - sunflower

Women's

Available sizes: (click here for a size chart)

• Small
• Medium
• Large
• X-Large
• XX-Large

Available t-shirt colours:

•      - red
•      - black
•      - white
•      - orange
•      - royal blue
•      - sunflower
•      - deep navy
•      - azure blue
•      - fuchsia

How do I order a TweeShirt?

Follow me @baron_orm and tweet me your t-shirt size (whether men's or ladies fit) and colour and include the hashtag #tweeshirts, I'll then follow and DM you instructions on how to continue the order process (including quantities & taking payment via PayPal).

Your Twitter image will be taken directly from your Twitter profile page (the 128px × 128px version) and then scaled up to fit on the shirt, pixelation will occur (see the images above) but it just adds to the overall design of the shirt.

Your Twitter name will also be taken from your profile page and will including any uppercase or lowercase letters that you have there, such as @baron_orm or @Christopher_R.

The printers will pick either black or white letters to best contrast with the tshirt colour that you pick so don't worry about that minor detail.

Want one of these tweeshirts? Simply follow the instructions above!

A big thank you must go out to Mark & Ian from YourDesign.co.uk for helping me make these TweeShirts a reality. If you need any custom printing done then I'm sure they can sort something out for you and why not follow @yourdesigntweet whilst your at it?