Beetroot beer

Just a quick post tonight, to say that I tried Beet Red Beer, a beetroot beer from a little brewery in Falkirk called Barneys.

A vivid red in colour, it smelled and tasted of beetroot, which is mildly unfortunate as I can't stand beetroot.

I suspect that if I did like beetroot, I probably would have enjoyed this, but alas, I didn't.

On a side note, this was posted using the Blogger app on my wondrous Android smartphone. Technology. Its fab.

English beer, for a change

For a wee change, tonights beers come from south of the Border.

Quite a way south in fact, down by Birmingham, in a town called Cleobury Mortimer. 

Hobsons Brewery has been brewing since 1993, and is dedicated to sustainable brewing and using as many local ingredients as possible. They've won a number of awards, including CAMRA's Champion Beer of Britain in 2007 with their Mild. Tonight's beers are Old Henry, and Manor Ale.

Old Henry

A deep chestnut coloured ale, Old Henry has won a few awards over the past few years, including CAMRA's West Midlands Strong Bitter in 2009.

Slightly fruity aroma, with a hint of spice, it pours well, with a slight head which dissipates quickly.

Taste-wise, it has a rich, deep malty character, but is well balanced by the hops. All in all, a very drinkable beer.

Manor Ale

A golden bitter, this pours much like the Old Henry, with a very fresh citrus smell.

On the tongue, its a crisp, clean bitter, with the citrus coming through. 

Would be an excellent session beer.

More beer!

Well, time for another beer.

Williams Brothers Brewery - Kelpie

Sticking with the Williams Brothers for the time being (someone bought me a gift pack), Kelpie is another one of their traditional ales. This time, they've added fresh seaweed into the mash tun, although very little of the seaweed comes through to the finished dark ruby beer.

On the nose, the malt is predominant, with just a hint of molasses.

The malt continues on the tongue, with a dry, coffee-like bitterness towards the end, making this a pleasant enough beer, but nothing special.

First post, and a couple of beers

Evening all.

This is going to be a new venture for me, in which I write about whatever nonsense is rattling around inside my skull at any given moment, although you should expect beer, technology and books to feature on a regular basis.

Part of the inspiration for this is simply because this gives me somewhere to write reviews on the various beers I've managed to sample. This also means that I then have a list I can go back to, so I can remember what beers I've actually tried (useful when I'm at a beer festival)

So, to start off this endeavour, I have two beers to share: Innis & Gunn's Winter Beer, and Ebulum from the Williams Brothers Brewery. There are many others which I've already tried, but this simply gives me an excuse to go back and revisit them :-)

Innis & Gunn's Winter Beer
Innis & Gunn have been producing fine oak-aged beer since 2003, and this is a relatively new beer, from the Winter of 2010.
Pouring, its a deep amber colour, and produces a good head, more so than their original beer, which fades relatively quickly. The nose is almost woody, with hints of vanilla and toffee, although a butter-rich toffee.
Taste-wise, it has a deep, almost fruity flavour. The malt sweetness comes through, with the toffee and vanilla hinted at before coming through strongly. Its a pleasantly warming beer, and I would not have an issue drinking a few of these on a cold winter's evening.

Williams Brothers Brewery's Ebulum
Williams Brothers are based in Alloa, and produce several different beers. They have a range of historical beers, produced from seaweed, heather and other traditional ingredients. Ebulum uses elerberries, on a black ale base.

Pouring, it truly is black - it looks more like a stout, and keeps a small, almost creamy head while drinking.

On the nose, it's very malty. Hardly any of the fruit come through, although there is a hint of sweetness.

At first when you drink, you get a fruity sweetness, although this is cut through almost instantly by the malt, leaving a pleasantly bitter flavour.

Not something I could drink a lot of, or on a regular basis, but rather nice as something different.