I’ve also had a couple of bottles of their Christmas Ale 2009 (7.0%) which we picked up in Lidl.  I’m usually a bit wary of these Christmas ales – they are almost always very strong, and are often very sweet or flavoured with a variety of spices that are somehow associated with Christmas.  This one is not like that – it is certainly strong at 7%, but it doesn’t taste that strong (very dangerous, as it is very drinkable) – and although there is some spiciness from the hops, it is not overpowering.  It’s a very good, tasty easy-drinking beer, but treat it with respect!  I think I’ll go and see if Lidl have got any left to help to ease in the new year.

The bottle also warns “expect another couple of equally individual beers soon”.  I can’t wait (imagine Jack Dee delivering that line).

The three beers I had been sent were a lager, a pale ale and a porter.   I decided that I would sample all 3 in a single session, and in the best tradition of beer tasting I would go from weakest to strongest, which would also be lightest to darkest (or so I thought).  The first was Brooklyn Lager (5.2%) from Brooklyn Brewery.  Darker than most lagers I’m used to, even the premium lagers that we can get in this country.  It had a nice head, and a biscuity malty smell more reminiscent of a bitter than a lager, a full-bodied malty taste and was quite bitter – but still had that clean crispness that I associate with lagers.  To be honest, if I hadn’t known it was a lager, I probably wouldn’t have thought it was one.  The label declares it to be “the pre-prohibition beer” and “a revival of Brooklyn’s pre-prohibition all-malt beers”.  The history of Prohibition in America is something I know only a little about, but I believe that when it ended the tendency was for weaker, lighter beers.  If this is a glimpse of what beer was like before prohibition, I think it is a welcome return for a very characterful beer.  Available from Oddbins.

Next up was Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale (5.5%).  A spicy, very citrussy smell – overwhelming aroma of grapefruit – to the extent that I had to check the label to make sure that there wasn’t any grapefruit in the recipe (I take some medication that for some reason prohibits me from eating grapefruit or drinking the juice).  There was also a strong hint of grapefruit coming through the malty taste and the hoppy bitter tang.  I’m really not doing it justice here, as when I drank it I thought that it was one of the best (if not the best) beer I have tasted this year.  This definitely goes on the shopping list (available from Tesco).

Lastly, Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter - 8.7% according to the bottle label, but 7.8% according to the website – sort yourselves out, guys!  This is a beast of a beer!  If you’re going to try it, make sure you’re prepared.  It pours like a stout with a lovely creamy head, and is black, black, black.  I was surprised that it smells of little other than malt – I was expecting coffee, chocolate, toast, etc. – but those tastes definitely come through when you drink it.  A creamy texture with the taste of stewed coffee, licorice, cigarette butts, bitter chocolate, burnt toast.  This is definitely a pudding beer – it could take on the christmas pudding and beat it into submission with no problem.  A real rival to the Classic Pale Ale for my best beer award.  Also available from Tesco.

These were 3 beers that were entirely new to me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to sample them (for free – which is even better).  The craft brewing movement in this country doesn’t seem to have the same impetus or sense of adventure as it does in America.  There are lots of small breweries starting up in this country, which is absolutely brilliant, and they produce some excellent beers – but mostly they are “me too” brews that conform to the more common styles – maybe they are simply giving the market what it wants – after all, they are businesses that need to turn a profit.  There are a few exceptions to this – Brewdog is one that springs to mind – who are prepared to experiment a little with their beers.  And it’s up to people like me (and you) to experiment a little in what we drink as well, in order to encourage them.

 Brakspears Oxford Gold Organic (4.0%) – one of my favourite beers from one of my favourite brewers (OK, it’s now brewed by Wychwood, which is part of the Marston’s empire, but it still tastes like Brakspears, and that’s good enough for me).

Thwaites Wainwright (4.1%) – named after Alfred Wainwright, author of the famous walkers’ guides to the Lake District.  I can’t remember whether I’ve written about this beer before – if not, I probably should have, because I’ve had it several times, and it’s a nice drop.  When I was a student at Lancaster University in the early 1970s I used to drink a lot of Thwaites Bitter (it’s brewed in Blackburn), and it’s a name I keep an eye out for.

Greene King St. Edmunds (4.2%) – I first tried this at the Great British Beer Festival (see Spoilt for choice) – the cask version – and got hold of some of the bottled version not long afterwards, and since then it has become something of a regular in the beer cupboard.

Joseph Holt 1849 (4.5%) – another occasional visitor to the beer cupboard (I’m sure I have some notes on this waiting to be written up – must drink less and write more – no hang on, that doesn’t sound right).

Sarah had finished off a bottle of Thwaites Liberation (4.5%) which she had used some of in a beef and ale stew (very tasty) and we then shared a bottle of Batemans Victory Ale (6.0%).  A bit on the sweet side for me, but Sarah enjoyed it.  We were certainly making up for a couple of weeks of drinking lager!

On Sunday we decided to go to The Jekyll And Hyde at Turgis Green for something to eat – it’s a Hall & Woodhouse pub, and I love Badger beers.  I thought they might have the autumn/winter seasonal Pickled Partridge (4.6%), but in fact they were still selling the summer seasonal Lemony Cricket (4.4%).  A couple of pints of that went down very well with the very good bangers and mash, and lubricated the pub quiz very nicely (all I can say is that we didn’t come last!).  Shame it’s only available through the summer, as it’s a very drinkable beer.  I was intrigued by the name – reminded me of “Lemony Snicket” a character in children’s books – apparently the name was chosen by members of the Badger Sett Ale Club (of which I’m a member, but I don’t remember being asked!) – and reflects the fact that lemon grass is used in the brewing process – it doesn’t taste particularly lemony, but it is very refreshing.

When I lived in South Yorkshire we used to go to a number of pubs that sold Sam Smiths beers, and as I recall, it was always quite drinkable, though in those days (before University) I probably didn’t care what beer I was drinking as long as it had the desired effect!  I lived in Dallas, Texas for a year back in the 1980′s, and one evening I was in one of our favourite bars (The Vineyard on Greenville Avenue for anyone who knows Dallas) and I mentioned to the barman that I was really missing British beer – he said that he thought he might have some that he had bought in ages ago, but hadn’t managed to sell it because the locals didn’t like it.  He disappeared and returned with a bottle of Sam Smith’s Pale Ale – the trouble was it had been sitting at the back of a fridge for yonks and was ice cold – I had to wait for it to warm up before I could appreciate it properly.  Unfortunately he only had a couple of bottles, and he wasn’t prepared to order another batch just for me.

Anyway, over the past couple of months I have tried a few bottles of Sam Smiths beers – and liked them all:

Sam Smith’s Old Brewery Pale Ale (5%).  Darker than I would have expected for a Pale Ale.  Slightly sweet, fruity smell, toffee taste with a bitter tang and a nice bitter finish.  The bottle notes say that they use organic seaweed finings, which I thought was appropriate since I drank this with a fish pie – although I think the beer had too powerful a taste for that, and overpowered the fish a bit.  I was also interested to see Carbon Dioxide on the list of ingredients.  I’m sure that lots of brewers add CO2 to non-bottle-conditioned beers, but I don’t recall seeing it in an ingredients list before.

Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout (5%).  One of my favourite beer styles, and this is a very good example of the style.  Black, with a creamy head.  A malty smell, but not burnt like some stouts are.  Smooth creamy taste – bitter, but with quite a bit of underlying sweetness and a roasted malt flavour – maybe a hint of coffee in there as well.  Very nice indeed.

Sam Smith’s Taddy Porter (5%).  Another favourite style, and I enjoyed this one as well.  Very dark, full bodied with a creamy head.  Roasted malt smell, very intense taste – manages to be both dry and sweet at the same time – tangy, toasty, creamy – a little sweet, but nice all the same.

Sam Smith’s India Ale (5%).  Pale amber -”the colour of a golden sunset” according to the bottle notes.  A strong hoppy smell – claims to use British hops.  A strong, bitter taste, very hoppy, and again with quite a bit of sweetness underlying the bitterness – and a long bitter-sweet finish.  The bottle notes suggest drinking this beer with spicy food, and I think it would go well, although I drank it without food.

For any Sam Smith’s fans who live in London, have a look at this website that I came across that has a Google map of Sam Smith’s pubs.  Neat.

They have 3 cask ales – IPA, Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen.  I went for the IPA, which was very tasty – well kept, light and refreshing – and washed down our starter of loaded potato skins very nicely.  Main course – well, when there’s a steak and ale pie on the menu I just can’t resist – this one was huge, with loads of steak and smashing gravy – with another pint of IPA to help it down.  And for pudding?  While Sarah tucked into the hot fudge cake with chocolate sauce, my pudding was a pint of Old Speckled Hen – one of my favourite beers both in bottles and on draught.  A bit more body than the IPA, and a nutty, caramel taste.  We were stuffed after all that – a very satisfying meal and a nice drop of beer.

The bottle (and web site) also claim that the beer is “traditionally brewed for a contemporary real ale experience”.  I’m still trying to work out what a “contemporary real ale experience” is – sounds like a brewery theme park!

Hare Raiser is a new seasonal beer brewed specially for cask ale week at the start of April, and only available until the end of April – a pity it was off last night – must have sold well over the weekend!  Olde Trip is a Hardy & Hanson’s brand (now part of Greene King I believe, like so many other small breweries) and is named after the famous Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem pub in Nottingham, which claims to be the oldest pub in England.

I decided to try a pint of the Jekyll’s Gold (4.3%).  It’s a very pale golden colour, dry and refreshing without being particularly bitter.  At first I thought it tasted a bit “thin”, but it grew on me as I progressed down the pint.  Meanwhile, Sarah was trying the Olde Trip (4.3%) (probably a sentimental choice as she was born and spent her early years in Nottingham).  An exchange of slurps showed that we both preferred the Olde Trip, so I decided to have a pint of it.  Certainly more body than the Jekyll’s Gold, darker, more bitter, and a bit more flavour.  I enjoyed the Jekyll’s Gold, but I think I preferred the Olde Trip.  Sarah went for the Greene King IPA, and enjoyed it.

From there, home to a couple of bottles of Fuller’s London Pride and a pizza.  Thinking of going back up to The Sportsman this evening to see what they’ve got left – not least because they have an offer that if you buy 5 drinks from the festival beers you get a 6th one free, and I’ve got 4 stamps on my card!