Marble Decadence

Good afternoon all. It's certainly been a while since I reviewed a beer on the blog, but fear not as I've been preparing something a bit special for a post in the very near future that has been taking up my usual reviewing time, so look out for that soon. Last night was the first night I had to myself in a while, so I decided on something substantial and quite special- Decadence, a Russian Imperial Stout from Marble. Coming in a sizeable 750ml bottle I offered a glass to my family but they declined, so I opted to have the whole thing to myself. At least I tried, eh? Review after the pic....

Decadence (8.7% ABV) pours a deep black colour with a generous off-white head that retains itself well throughout drinking. The aroma is very rich and malty, with chocolate syrup, coffee, licorice, candy sugar and an initial "black IPA" quality in the form of hoppy citrus fruits. The hop quality hits at first and is very noticeable, but this soon gives way to the characteristic roasted malt aromas. There's also a sweet/sour Asian cuisine aspect, reminiscent of hoisin sauce or a similar sauce, which sometimes comes across as dark fruits like raisins, plums and blackcurrants. Some burnt sugar comes through and there's also a slight awareness of the alcohol amid the sweetness. Certainly very complex indeed! The taste is slightly more subdued than what I was expecting based on the nose, with yeast extract, fruity hops, light chocolate and coffee. The roasted malt hits first with a slightly watery texture, the coffee and chocolate come through in the middle and the finish brings an almost immediate dark chocolate bitterness and a fairly substantial dryness. The boozy character is noticeable but not overpowering, and the aftertaste has a hoppy, chocolatey profile that warrants continued sipping. The mouthfeel is quite thick and the beer is well carbonated, which works well with the richer, darker flavours. Overall, a decent offering from Marble that delivers a lot of aromas but unfortunately brings itself down slightly on the flavour. There's still enough flavour present for the beer to be thoroughly enjoyable, but I was certainly expecting a lot more based on the impressive nose. Definitely worth trying, but I wouldn't get it again in a hurry.

Until next time....

Saltaire Brewery Triple Chocoholic

Good evening all. Hope everyone is having a Happy/Hoppy Easter enjoying time with family and friends and drinking lots of interesting beer. I had this libation last night, but in retrospect I should have saved it for this evening as I opted out of receiving any chocolate this year and can't help but think that might have been a foolish choice. Regardless, this beer is from a brewery that is gradually becoming a firm favourite on the blog, with two of their offerings buried in the archives somewhere, and with every intention for more to be sampled in the future. The brewery is Saltaire Brewery and this is their Triple Chocoholic stout, brewed with chocolate malt and lots of different chocolate additions. Based on their previous offerings I was expecting good things, so let's get straight to the review after the pic....

Triple Chocoholic (4.8% ABV) pours a rich black colour with a thick off-white head that dissipates to a patchy covering over the surface of the beer. It definitely looks the part and suggests a nice thick mouthfeel- which is what I like from a stout- so it's ticking all the boxes so far. The aroma is pretty stunning, with chocolate syrup and some roasted malt in the background, accompanied by a slight fruitiness. The first draw brings along a fair amount of chocolate and not much else, but subsequent sniffs bring out more of the roasted malt and seem to diminish the chocolate quality somewhat. The chocolate aroma seems to come in waves, and when it's absent from the proceedings there isn't much else to excite the olfactories, but considering the lower ABV percentage this can be somewhat expected. The taste is composed of chocolate, some coffee, roasted malt and a lactose sugar quality, with a bitterness to the finish from the chocolate. The finish is also quite dry, which works well with the bitterness and the slight piquancy from the chocolate. The chocolate isn't too overpowering which compliments the malt flavours, and there is a partial grape flavour to the aftertaste which might be some of the hop presence making itself known. The mouthfeel is thick and the beer is well-carbonated, which serves to support the flavours from the malt and the chocolate additions. Definitely renders the beer smooth, rich and velvety without cloying on the palette. Overall, a very flavoursome beer that amplifies the usual chocolatey flavours associated with stouts without being too imposing and masking the subtleties contained within. The bitterness from the chocolate additions compliments the dry finish from the roasted malt, and the mouthfeel is perfect in providing a platform for all of these flavours to intertwine. This beer would be a perfect accompaniment to a dessert, or for moments when you want a sweet treat but would rather have it in liquid form. Definitely recommended, along with any of Saltaire Brewery's magnificent range.

Until next time....

Session #62: What Drives Beer Bloggers?

Good morning all. The sun is shining here in Devon and I've got beer-related plans over the Easter weekend that will cause me to be away from the blog for a couple of days, so I thought I would participate in my first Session. How it works is a particular topic is chosen or a question is posed three weeks in advance of the first Friday of each month, then on the day beer bloggers around the world are invited to post their views on that topic. I've seen various posts over the last year or so but never felt like participating until today, as I feel this month's topic is a very pertinent one in the world of blogging- what drives beer bloggers? I read a couple of interesting and succinct perspectives when I signed in earlier (here and here), which has given me the motivation to comment on this issue. This month's Session is hosted by Alan at Brewpublic. 

I started this blog in July last year with the intention of posting about various interests and hobbies that preoccupied my time. I had been introduced to the joys of "real ale" during my second year of uni after spending my formative drinking years necking pints of mass-produced adjunct lager, but I still wasn't so enamored with the stuff that I would happily devote hours to seeking out different beers, attending "meet the brewer" events and determining what made each beer so interesting. Fast forward to late June last year and my first visit to London solely for beer. I had devised a nice route taking in all the pubs that would soon become firm favourites (Cask, Craft Beer Co, Euston Tap, The Draft House Tower Bridge, The Dean Swift, The Rake, not in that order though for obvious geographical reasons), and once I had returned from that weekend, I knew I would never look at beer in the same way again. It sounds incredibly clichéd, but after I found out there was that much flavour and variety on offer I realised I had found a new pastime. Since then a relatively short amount of time has passed, but my passion for beer has never waned. I actively seek out new offerings from my favourite breweries and rising hopefuls, I enjoy reading about brewing processes and I always seem to find an excuse to talk about beer, regardless of whether or not people actually want to listen! I used to use social networking sites like Facebook to keep people updated on beers that I was trying, but it wasn't until December that I decided to take the plunge and start reviewing them. I used the format of the advent calendar to discuss a new beer each day in the run up to Christmas and enjoyed the experience so much that I decided to continue the reviews.

I have no delusions about my blog- it's my own personal account of beers that I'm fortunate enough to try and it gives me the opportunity to share my thoughts and opinions with others in a friendly and honest worldwide forum. I know there are thousands of people out there doing what I'm doing (and doing it much better), but that's more exciting than daunting as it shows just how many people are willing to go against the grain and defy the blanket adverting of large breweries trying to convince you their product is in some way superior. Breweries like Mikkeller, BrewDog, Magic Rock, The Kernel and countless others don't need billboards to attract people, they know the beers will be enough to bring dedicated drinkers to the pubs. If you brew it, they will come, so to speak. I'm not trying to be the next Pete Brown or Mark Dredge, I just enjoy beer with a genuine and unending passion, and that's why I continue to blog about beer. What continues to drive me to blog is how much I learn from each beer, and how much I can learn from communicating with others about their own experiences and perspectives. Tasting is such a subjective process despite each style having characteristic flavours and aromas, so hearing what other people get from a beer and trying to find that yourself is part of what makes it so rewarding. I'd also like to do more posts related to the brewing industry or the business side of brewing as it's an area I'm not particularly well-versed in, but at the moment I'm simply too busy to get into it fully.

Apologies for the long post, I didn't realise I would have so much to say on this matter! I'll definitely try and do more of these Sessions in the future though as they help to clarify my obsession and might help others to understand why I'm so crazy about beer. Thanks for reading!

Until next time....

De Struise Brouwers Black Albert

Good evening all. Last night I carried out my nocturnal ritual of perusing my cellar for a brief moment, questioning which libation I felt like contemplating that evening. I say for a moment, because in the end the choice was fairly obvious- Black Albert, an Imperial Stout from De Struise Brouwers in Belgium. I had this beer on draft at the Cask Pub & Kitchen a couple of weeks ago and loved it, so I felt like comparing my memories of that beer to the bottled offering. I was having a very good day when I visited the Cask, so I was also hoping it wasn't simply due to circumstance that I liked the beer so much. Review after the pic....

Black Albert (13.0% ABV) pours a deep black colour with a thick off-white head that retains itself on the surface of the beer throughout drinking. The aroma is more subdued than what I was expecting, with blackcurrants, raisins, candy sugar, chocolate, coffee, licorice and a sweetness similar to lactose sugar. The coffee and chocolate hit the olfactories first, with the dark fruits becoming apparent soon after. The taste is  quite boozy/alcoholic and is composed of chocolate, coffee, blackcurrants, cream and roasted malt, with a piquancy during drinking that leads to a dark chocolate bitterness in the finish. The aftertaste is quite sweet, reminiscent of candy floss. The mouthfeel is thick and the beer is well carbonated. Overall, a very good imperial stout with plenty of roasted malt character, an underlying fruitiness and a smooth, slightly bitter finish. On draft the sweetness came across a lot more, so either a bit of time behind it seems to take this aspect down to allow the fruity flavours and aromas to become more detectable, or the extra carbonation amplifies the sweetness more. Who knows, but in the end both are just as good as each other, just slightly different beasts. Highly recommended in either format.

Until next time....

Augustiner Bräu Lagerbier Hell

Good evening all. Today I received an order from Beers of Europe (http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/), which prompted me to shake things up a bit and do a video review. I was never intending to do any video reviews on this blog, but the reason for that initial view was not out of lack of confidence in front of the camera but was actually due to a problem I've been wrestling with for the last 10 years or so. For those who don't know me, I have a moderate stammer that manifests itself as speech blocks and frequent moments of speech disfluency during speaking, which has lead to be feeling more comfortable describing things using text as opposed to through the spoken word. I've tried a couple of video reviews over the last months and was generally dissatisfied with my performance in them, but today I decided to give it a proper go and put up the results regardless. Based on this I apologise in advance for the potential lack of coherency, it is completely unintentional and genuinely cannot be helped. Also, the sign off was interrupted by my dog excitedly greeting a visitor, so I'll have to pick my moments more carefully next time! As for the lighting, I'll pick a better room or close the blind as the beer colour wasn't as apparent in retrospect. I hope you all enjoy the review and hopefully as I get more comfortable with this format the problem won't be as noticeable. The beer in question was Augustiner Bräu Lagerbier Hell, a Helles Lager from Augustiner-Bräu Wagner KG. Review in the video below....

Until next time....

BrewDog/Three Floyds Bitch Please Islay Cask

Good afternoon all. Being back at home for various holidays is always great fun, as it allows me to catch up with old friends, reminisce about the halcyon days and drink a lot of good beer. Naturally there's the underlying theme of completing coursework and revising for exams, but right now I'm in the first week of the Easter break so that's not really phasing me. Onto the beer now, and last night I decided to have a special release from a brewery whose sole intention seems to be to bankrupt me over the course of this month with all of the new beers they're bringing out. That's right, it's the scamps at BrewDog with Bitch Please Islay Cask, a barley wine made in collaboration with Three Floyds that's spent the last 18 months residing patiently in Laphroaig casks. Unfortunately I don't have a bottle of the original Bitch Please, that spent 8 months in Jura casks, to compare to this new offering, but I was able to try it last year and it was very interesting indeed. One can only hope that this will take the experience to another level, so let's see what it was like. Review after the pic....

Bitch Please Islay Cask (13.5% ABV) pours a dark red colour with an off-white head that retains itself well throughout drinking. The aroma is pretty incredible, with peated malt, smoke, candy sugar, tobacco and a hoppy fruitiness in the background. If anyone reading is a pipe smoker, it smells exactly like Cornell & Diehl's "Epiphany" with the plum notes and underlying sweetness. The taste is slightly medicinal- just like Laphroaig- with peat, candy sugar, hoppy citrus fruits, blackcurrants and some sweetness. The finish is warming and lingers long after drinking, and there's a slight alcoholic burn that cuts through the other flavours without being too imposing. The mouthfeel is thick and the beer is well carbonated despite the high ABV percentage. Overall, another great offering/collaboration from BrewDog- the sweet, fruity and hoppy barley wine base works very well with the generous helping of peaty, medicinal Islay whisky, offering an interesting dichotomy. The mouthfeel elevates the flavours and the finish is velvety smooth with a decent amount of intensity. Highly recommended, get it whilst you can!

Until next time....

#IMPOFF Reviews

Good evening all. Yesterday was #IMPOFF, a blogging/Twitter event in recognition of the imperial stout beer style. I won't go into the specifics of the event (they can be found here: http://beersay.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/clash-of-the-titans-impoff/) but I managed to pick two choices that weren't even featured in the recommended list of stouts, despite having one of them in the cellar. I ended up having two imperial stouts, and have chosen to review them both in one post. The first was Hel & Verdoemenis Wild Turkey B.A., an Imperial Stout barrel-aged in Wild Turkey bourbon barrels from Brouwerij De Molen. Review after the pic....

Hel & Verdoemenis Wild Turkey B.A. (13.0% ABV) pours a dark black colour with no head formed during or after pouring. There's an alcoholic "halo" around the inside of the glass from the bourbon, good looking stuff! The aroma is fairly boozy, with sweet dark fruits (raisins), candy sugar and licorice. The bourbon is very noticeable but it's not too hard to delve beyond the initial burst of alcohol to reveal the stout aromas. The flavour is composed of yeast extract, bourbon, dark fruits, a hint of coffee, some chocolate and  a candy sugar sweetness, with a creamy aftertaste to the finish but no discernible bitterness. The mouthfeel is surprisingly thin- the bourbon seems to vaporise during drinking which diminishes the mouthfeel- and there is virtually no carbonation present. Overall, a very impressive imperial stout that packs a lot of dark fruit and roasted malt flavours, with the barrel-ageing providing a good alcoholic kick without being too imposing. I'd definitely get this again, despite the slightly high price for such a small serving. 

The next stout was Jahva from Southern Tier Brewing Company, an Imperial Stout brewed with coffee. Based on my last experience with a Southern Tier stout (Creme Brulee) I was expecting good things. Review after the pic....

Jahva (10.6% ABV) pours a dark black colour with an off-white head that settles to a thin halo around the inside of the glass. The aroma is incredibly subtle, with roasted malt, coffee, blackcurrants, a hint of tobacco and a light sweetness. If I had a blindfold on, I could probably mistake this for a milk stout, it's that subdued. The taste is composed of yeast extract, lactose sugar, dark fruits, chocolate and some piquancy from the coffee, with a light bitterness in the finish and a candy floss sweetness to the aftertaste. Most of the flavour comes out in the finish or the aftertaste as opposed to during drinking, which is nice to some extent but somehow unfulfilling. The mouthfeel is slightly thick with moderate carbonation. Overall, a decent imperial stout that is very drinkable but not as impressive or assertive as I was hoping. The flavours and aromas are very subdued, which left me quite disappointed. I might get this beer again to see if I was just unlucky, or if what I experienced is indicative of this particular offering. 

Until next time....