Beer?

[threebikesmcginty]

How boringly predictable of me...

So to liven things up here's a photo of the label on the back of our washing machine.

 

[User169]

Are you sure it was just the one?

Got a bit overexcited! It was like a topic bar, but made with bitter chocolate. Yum!
O

 

[srw]

Red squirrel brewery Long Nights. It's a "black session ale" (a porter that's light in alcohol). And it went down extremely well after juggling no fewer than 11 books and bits of music on the organ bench during the afternoon's service.

I've got these two for later (which might not mean later tonight)

Pope's Yard is apparently a brewery in Watford, and the more I think about it the more confused I get by the Paisleyite "Never Surrender" (he never touched anything stronger than tea) coming from a Papish brewery. Perhaps the reference is to Churchill - but either way I thought an extremely malty, low-hops barley wine was worth a try.

 

[subaqua]

TMN, please.

Ah that's not a TMN . It's confirming your observations . It's science . One more confirmation and the experiment has viable results ......

 

[marinyork]

Ah that's not a TMN . It's confirming your observations . It's science . One more confirmation and the experiment has viable results ......

Didn't know TMN had her own microbrewery.

 

[subaqua]

Didn't know TMN had her own microbrewery.

I think it's the yeast .
Rather than the hops or the malted barley ......

 

[User169]

"Never Surrender" (he never touched anything stronger than tea) coming from a Papish brewery. Perhaps the reference is to Churchill - but either way I thought an extremely malty, low-hops barley wine was worth a try.

I like that they call it an old ale rather than the more fashionable barley wine, but 6.8% is just too underpowered. The challenge with a barleywine is getting it up to 10-12% without the yeast quitting and leaving you with an overly sweet mess.

And there's no reason to use 6 malts - some MO, 5% crystal and maybe a touch of black malt for some colour and that's all you need. A nice long 4 hour boil will give you all the nice melanoidan complexity you need

I'm just building up a starter culture to make a barley wine. Shooting for around 11% - should be ready for Christmas.

 

[srw]

I like that they call it an old ale rather than the more fashionable barley wine, but 6.8% is just too underpowered. The challenge with a barleywine is getting it up to 10-12% without the yeast quitting and leaving you with an overly sweet mess.

That's inflation for you. When I started drinking, bitter was 3% or 3.5%, strong bitter was 4.5% or 5% and anything more was a recipe for disaster. I'm sure I used to risk a barley wine at 7% occasionally. And in looking up "barley wine" on wikipedia I was delighted to discover that there are references in Hippocrates, Aristotle and Polybius - and a learned article from Canada with more notes than text, on the subject of whether the Greeks drank beer which reads like someone who's made his mind up that it was a nasty barbarian affectation and is looking for evidence to support his case. I want someone to pay me to write papers like that.

Anyway. The "Club Hammer" Chocolatey London Stout was rather delicious.

(and edit: http://www.mostlyaboutbeer.co.uk/popes-yard-brewery/ talks about a Brett sour with spruce, just to prove that they've got impressive beardage.)

 

[srw]

And "Never Surrender", after I get over the surprise of an un-bitter beer is delicious and suprisingly complex.

 

[stephec]

That's inflation for you. When I started drinking, bitter was 3% or 3.5%, strong bitter was 4.5% or 5% and anything more was a recipe for disaster. I'm sure I used to risk a barley wine at 7% occasionally. And in looking up "barley wine" on wikipedia I was delighted to discover that there are references in Hippocrates, Aristotle and Polybius - and a learned article from Canada with more notes than text, on the subject of whether the Greeks drank beer which reads like someone who's made his mind up that it was a nasty barbarian affectation and is looking for evidence to support his case. I want someone to pay me to write papers like that.

Anyway. The "Club Hammer" Chocolatey London Stout was rather delicious.

(and edit: http://www.mostlyaboutbeer.co.uk/popes-yard-brewery/ talks about a Brett sour with spruce, just to prove that they've got impressive beardage.)

Barley wine, I used to like Gold Label many years ago when it was 9%.

When I was at college I used to work in a pub, on a Friday night we'd finish serving at about 23:05 and then have a twenty minute break, I always had two pints of Guinness in my break until I discovered that three bottles of Gold Label would fit into a pint pot.

 

[User169]

Barley wine, I used to like Gold Label many years ago when it was 9%.

When I was at college I used to work in a pub, on a Friday night we'd finish serving at about 23:05 and then have a twenty minute break, I always had two pints of Guinness in my break until I discovered that three bottles of Gold Label would fit into a pint pot.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I've still got a bottle of Gold Label in the stores. Saving it for something...

 

[Chromatic]

How boringly predictable of me...

View attachment 335445

That's what I had after the xeRRex debacle

 

[Maverick Goose]

Oh dear. My wagon is staying in the garage this year

I'm sticking with the crazy train.....symps to @nickyboy though.

 

[Spartak]

Refreshing light Pilsner from Aldi !