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This Year’s Christmas Beers

Dec22
2010 Written by admin

This Year’s Christmas Beers

Many breweries around the world produce special beers at specific times of the year and Christmas is no exception.  So it’s surely time now for a look at what the traditional breweries have cooked up for us this year.

In no particular order:

Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale 7% abv

It’s a strong ‘un and the Kent, Uk brewery says it’s a…

“A glowing amber winter ale with a heady fruity nose. Crystallised winter fruits combine with festive spicy hops on a platform of smooth warming alcoholic notes, leaving a refreshing cleansing hop finish.

Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale

Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale

Wells Bombareindeer

Wells Bombareindeer

Wells Bombareindeer 5.2% abv

Bombadier is already a fantastic beer but Wells brewers have added a festive touch.  The taste remains the same and only the name has been changed to protect the innocent.

Jennings Redbreast 4.5% abv

This northern brewery produces a range of stunning beers and this is no exception.  Says the company:

“Brewed with two English whole cone hops and natural coloured malt giving a chestnut red hue to the beer. Redbreast drinks with a full flavour and a warming glow.

Jennings Redbreast

Jennings Redbreast

Anchor Steam Christmas Ale

Anchor Steam Christmas Ale

Anchor Steam Christmas Ale 5.5 abv

Now we’re off to U.S. microbrewery land to check out this famous breweries Christmas offering.  They brew with a new recipe every year and each year it’s always very well received.

Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout 10% abv

Well this one really packs a punch at 10% abv.  The brewery says of this ale:

“Everything but the kitchen sink…Great Western Premium Two Row, Wheat, Carvienne, Caramunich, 95-115, 135-165L Crystal Malts, Chocolate, Roasted and Black Barley and Pale Chocolate. We also add some Brown Sugar and some Dark Belgian Candi Sugar to boost the Original Gravity.”

You can’t go too far wrong with all that.

Santa's Little Helper Imperial Stout

Santa's Little Helper Imperial Stout

Mahr’s Brau Christmas Bock 6% abv

Back to Europe for this offering and this German brewery knows how to produce a quality beer.  This beer has been noted for it’s unusual smell not normally associated with a bock brew.

Liebharts Residenz Bio Wintertraum Festbier 5.8 abv

One more German offering to finish off and the brewery says of this one (apologies for the dodgy translation):

“With the best organic malt, the finest organic hops and brewing qualities of waterfrom the depths of the Teutoburg Forest, ancient recipes inspired us for thisincomparable beer festival. The higher original gravity gives it a dark amber color,malty winter grade and its higher alcohol content by volume of 5.8%., matches this season.”

Posted in Beer Brewing, By Country - Tagged , , ,

The Best American Microbreweries

Dec18
2010 Written by admin

The Best American Microbreweries

It’s easy for Europeans to look down their noses at our transatlantic cousins and pour scorn on the state of the beer industry there.  Giant mass-producing breweries such as Coors and Budweiser produce brews that serious drinkers around the world wouldn’t touch with somebody elses bargepole.

However the United States is a huge, diverse country and it’s not hard to find smaller breweries, collectively termed Microbreweries, who produce a range of lagers and ales to suit anyone’s taste.  There are about 1600 nationwide and we’ll have a look at a few of the best ones.

Firestone Walker Brewing Company

Formed in 1996 by Adam Firestone, a member of the Brooks Firestone clan and his

California Pale Ale

California Pale Ale

brother in law Adam Walker, this California brewery has been a consistent winner of beer quality awards since it perfected it’s processes in 2002.  Their strength is Pale Ales and their original and most popular product is Firestone Pale Ale which, the company states:

“We’ve taken the classic British pale ale and elevated it with a wonderful dose of northwest American hops. A crisp floral hop aroma precedes a medium-bodied clean finishing ale.”

Kettle House Brewing Company

This Montana brewery was opened in 1995 by Tim O’Leary, a state native whose original

Cold Smoke Scotch Ale

Cold Smoke Scotch Ale

idea had been to start a business within which the customer could brew there own beer. This subsequently morphed into a fully fledged microbrewery.  Similar to the Firestone brewery, Kettle House includes a ‘brewpub’, essentially a pub attached to the brewery where patrons can enjoy the product.

Kettle House produces many varieties for a small operation, it’s most well known

probably being Cold Smoke Scotch Ale, described by the company as:

“formulated with Montana grown 2-row barley, northwest Goldings hops, and lotsa love, this hearty ale drinks very smooth.”

Anchor Brewing Company

This just about qualifies as microbrewery, but having been in existence in San Francisco

since 1896 it is as old as many of the newer European breweries.  The brewery has burned down several times and presumably ceased production during prohibition but it bounced back and is still with us now.

It’s most famous beer is probably Anchor Steam Beer, which is brewed, the company says:

“with an exceptional respect for the ancient art of brewing. The deep amber color, thick creamy head, and rich flavor all testify to our traditional brewing methods.”

So before your next trip to the States, check out the microbreweries where you’re going and give them a try.  You won’t be disappointed.

Posted in Beer Brewing, Breweries, By Country - Tagged , ,

Notable Asian Beers

Dec13
2010 Written by admin

The Best Asian Beers

One does not normally associate Asia with a memorable beer drinking experience. Most afficionados, especially Europeans, will point to high strength German or Belgian blonde beers, traditional British ales or high quality French lagers. However in these days of easy global travel it’s not difficult to sample and appreciate beers from every brewing country on the planet.

So let’s have a look at a few of the best Asian beers. It’s not scientific and all those on the list we have sampled over the years.

Beer Lao is arguably Lao’s greatest export. Brewed from 1973 onwards it has wonmany regional and global awards. It’s made from locally sourced and internationally sourced malt and the brewery say this is what gives it a unique taste.

Cost: around $1.00 for 640ml.

Strength: 5%

San Miguel Premium, from the Phillipines, is one of that country’s newest beers. UnlikeSan Miguel it’s watery cousin, San Miguel Light, it is not yet seen regularly outside the Phillipines but for our testers it’s fuller taste marks it out as a winner. It recently won the Gold medal at the Belgian Monde beer awards.

Cost: around $1.20 for 330ml.

Strength: 5%

Tsingtao Beer from China is certainly the most widely recognised outside China and it’sTsingtao also the best selling inside China. The brewery producing it dates back to 1903, affording it more than a century of brewing expertise. For a taste without leaving your home town, just head down to your local Chinese restaurant.

Cost: less than $1.00 for 640ml.

Strength: 4.75%

Indonesian Bintang Beer is another recognisable brand outside it’s home country. The brewery has a historical connection with Heineken and tourists often say Bintang reminds them of Heineken. It has a fairly strong malty flavour but an ABV of about 5%, average in this region.

Cost: about $1.50 for 330ml.

Strength: 5%

Lastly lets have a look at Beer Chang from Thailand, a notorious brew and one that’sChang Beer never going to win any quality awards. Rumour has it the brewing process is so unreliable that the strength is never constant. Your sampler can attest to the fact the six bottles one night can have the same effect as one beer the next. Should at least be tried once by everyone heading to Thailand.

Cost: from about $1.50 for 330ml.

Strength: 6.4% to “god knows”

Posted in By Country - Tagged , , , , ,

The World’s Oldest Pubs

Dec07
2010 Written by admin

The World’s Oldest Pubs

It’s a somewhat difficult task to pin down exactly which of the claimants is indeed the planet’s oldest. What most people agree on though is that it is somewhere in the UK or The Republic of Ireland. The first inns seem to date from around a thousand years ago but an exact date is hard to measure. One may have good circumstantial evidence it existed hundreds of years before any hard proof.

We’ll have a look at a few of the claimants and you can make your own decision, and maybe even visit them.

Sean’s Bar – Athlone, County Westmeath, ROI

Sean’s Bar seems to the one with the most compelling evidence – in fact they have a framed certificate from The Guinness Book of Records which dates the bar to 900 AD. The proprietors say archaeological dating of the walls proves that drinking has been taking place there for that many years.

Sean's Bar, Athlone

Sean's Bar, Athlone

The Trip to Jerusalem – Nottingham, UK

Ask anyone in Nottingham and this is the answer you’ll receive, evidence notwithstanding. It is certainly England’s oldest pub and can be reliably dated to 1189 AD. It’s built partly into sandstone cliffs which add to it’s character as the interior is a warren of small rooms carved out of the mountainside. It also comes with a full complement of ghost stories.

Trip to Jerusalem, Nottingham

Trip to Jerusalem, Nottingham

The Brazen Head – Dublin, ROI

The Brazen Head still continues to claim to be Ireland’s oldest pub, dating from1198, despite the owners of the Brazen Head admitting on national radio that according to archaeological evidence Sean’s Bar was indeed older. But hey, it’s still old.

Brazen Head, Dublin

Brazen Head, Dublin

That’s the main contenders but there are a few worth mentioning that have, for example, been mentioned in records older than Sean’s Bar but have then been demolished and rebuilt hundreds of years later. So please step forward:

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks – St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK – definitely 11th century, possibly 795 AD

The Bingley Arms – Leeds, Yorkshire, UK – definitely 1780, possibly 905 AD

Old Ferryboat – Holywell, Cambridgeshire, UK – definitely 1100 AD, possibly 560 AD

The Eagle & Child – Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire – definitely 14th century, possibly 514 AD

Now go and have a beer……..

Posted in By Country - Tagged , ,

The World’s Strongest Beers (updated)

Dec07
2010 Written by admin

Following the previous post, we are happy to announce that Dutch Brewery ‘t Koelschip has produced an incredible 60% ABV beer called Start The Future. Start the Future

It’s strength comes from it’s production method whereby it is brewed in three parts then combined.

It sells for £29.00 per 330 ml bottle and should, say the manufacturers, be drunk in very small quantities.

Posted in Beer Brewing, By Country - Tagged , ,
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