We managed to fit in just one more pub during our week in Durham.
Castle Eden Ale (4.2%): Uninspiring yet not unpleasant lightish bitter.
This cosy, friendly pub, which happened to have a traditional music session in progress in the lounge bar on our visit, is apparently very popular with students.
It seemed only right to check out the beers at the pub in the 1913 town within the museum at Beamish as we were wandering round.
Bull Lane Nowtsamatta (4.5%): Caramelly hoppy bitter with a fresh bright taste and golden colour.
Bull Lane Ryhope Tug (3.9%): Bitter tasting beer, a good ‘ordinary’ bitter.
While supermarkets and other new ways of shopping have revolutionised the way we buy most things, the most striking part of the visit to this pub was how similar it was to pubs up and down the country today, almost a century on.
Managed to find the local Weatherspoon’s for a reasonably priced evening meal.
Jarrow Rivet Catcher (4.0%): Fresh hoppy beer but not quite ready.
Wylam Hedonist (3.8%): An unusual thin yet tasty flavour.
This was a large open pub with a friendly atmosphere which looked popular with different groups of people.
A beautiful old pub which was recommended as the place to go in Durham, The Victoria had an impressive array of real ales to try.
Big Lamp Big Lamp Bitter (3.8%): Interesting standard bitter with complex malt flavours.
Durham Definitive (3.9%): Sweet and fruity with citrus tones, particularly grapefruit. Very pale coloured with a good delicate flavour.
Big Lamp Old Durham Dark (4.0%): Gently rounded taste to this Moorish mellow dark beer.
Wylam Gold Tankard (4.0%): A golden beer without a huge amount of flavour and slightly more alcohol than the taste caters for.
Big Lamp Old Arthur (4.2%): Incredibly good hop character, this pale beer tastes like a regular bitter. Brewed in memory of a recently departed pub regular.
This was one of those pubs that when I walked in, I felt immediately at home. Each of the three bars was decorated in a different William Morris wallpaper with many pictures on the walls including several of Queen Victoria herself. With the wood panelling the effect was very cosy Victorian parlor.
I counted 52 whiskies including many interesting single malts at the bar. The only incongruous feature was a topless calendar!
On holiday in Durham and determined to try a few of the local pubs. The people I was with seemed sure that this was the place for us.
Everard's Tiger (4.2%): Pretty strong flavoured with a tangy hop taste, better when it warmed up a bit.
Caledonian 80/- (4.2%): Bitter with a warm malty taste in spite of being served so cold.
Caledonian Deuchars IPA (3.8%): Distinctive complex hoppy taste.
All the beers were served far too cold for my taste which was a shame as they might otherwise have been good.
An interesting old fashioned pub with several small rooms and a very unprepossessing frontage. The staff were great, the pub was lively and the singing was raucous once it got late!
I was determined to return to this pub before the end of the week as it was my favourite by far in the town. Although on my previous visit the beer hadn't been great, the atmosphere and staff made up for this.
Shepherd Neame Canterbury Jack (3.8%): Slightly honey flavoured very weak tasting yet pleasant beer.
An acoustic duo called "Table Nine" were playing Simon and Garfunkel and Beatles covers as well as original material and we stayed for some time at the bar, as all the seats were taken.
The excellent barbeque was going at the front of the pub and we were offered chocolate mice by the bar staff (but declined). We had a good time chatting to the staff and locals, a pleasant change from some of the other pubs in town. And the beer was good.
Another gig, this time outdoors in the pouring rain with the wind gusting in from the sea.
There was no real ale available at the Pavilion Garden bar (pictured) so I got a John Smith's Courage Directors' (4.8%) from the main Pavilion bar upstairs. It was surprisingly pleasant and a welcome change from Shepherd Neame beers.
Another Okee Dokee Band gig, this time there were two beers available, neither of which are ones I would choose to drink if others were available.
John Smith's Courage Best Bitter (4.0%): Just about drinkable bitter. Best avoided.
Greene King IPA (3.6%): Weak and tangy with a hint of hop flavour. Insipid and unpleasant and I was pleased I was trying someone else's.
The gig was good although the pub seemed a bit seedy. When I was served in a "plastic glass", I explained to the person serving that I was unlikely to "glass" someone as I didn't know how, but then a kind local at the bar described it to me in detail!
Again there were just Shepherd Neame beers available at this pub so I opted for the organic Whitstable Bay (4.1%). This was refreshing and pleasant and a good choice for a sunny afternoon.
Came to see the Okee Dokee Band play, and they were great.
Shepherd Neame Master Brew Bitter (3.7%): Unexceptional bitter.
I also had a taste of keg Shepherd Neame Mild but it just tasted cold and fizzy to me as I haven't had a keg beer in years.
This is a lovely pub with really accommodating staff, who appeared to actually enjoy having music on, a seemingly rare treat in a pub which hosts live music.
This time I chose the Shepherd Neame Spitfire Ale (4.5%) as I had the alternative on my last visit. The Spitfire was fairly strong drinkable bitter but without a hop taste.
Maybe the Shepherd Neame beers do really taste of hops and I was spoilt at the Great British Beer Festival with the strong hoppy American IPAs!
On this occasion the bar at the marquee was serving Shepherd Neame Mild (3.5%), which was a very pleasant smooth, easy drinking mild.
The bar did not advertise the strength of the beer and a quick call to the brewery revealed that this was a "one off" brew which is why it does not appear on their website.
As it's one of their best beers I've tasted, that's a great shame. I hope it sold out and they will consider making it as a regular beer in the future.
In this "folky" pub I decided to try the Shepherd Neame Master Brew Bitter (3.7%) as it was weaker than the other beer available. I can only describe it as innocuous bitter, without the hop taste that the Shepherd Neame website suggests.
The pub was very busy and I was offended when I was given my beer in a "plastic glass", especially as others around me were drinking from glass.
There was a great music session in full swing but on this Friday evening the pub was just too busy for me.
My first time at Broadstairs Folk Week started with a visit to a venue called the Concert Marquee where a traditional Cornish band called Bagas Degol were playing.
A bar in a marquee (terrible joke) with this sign outside was serving local Shepherd Neame beers and I tried the Whitstable Bay (4.1%). It's a pleasant and well balanced bitter although tasting similar to other beers from the same brewer.
Found an excuse to pop back to the festival and try a few more beers.
I bumped into a few chatty characters including an interesting man from Hartfield and some "tickers" who have a list of every current beer and tick them off as them drink them. I may just have to find myself a copy of the list and see what percentage of the beers appear on this blog!
British Beers
Hampshire Kings Ransom (4.8%): Very dry and bitter with hints of caramel. 3
Loddon Hoppit (3.5%): Extremely good session bitter. 4
Wood Shropshire Lass (4.2%): Very moorish and drinkable bitter. 4
Rest of the World
Plevna Dark Lager (5.6%): Lovely dark sweet biscuity warming beer but extremely strong! 4
Plevna Severin Extra IPA (5.9%): Gorgeous American style IPA which stands up well to the alcohol content. 4
Both these beers are from Finland.
It seems strange that the UK, which developed the IPA beer style hundreds of years ago, has forgotten how to make it, with national brewers churning out so-called IPA at strengths of less than 4%. One major brand allegedly uses no hops in theirs, just hop oil. It is good to know that other countries are making lovely strong IPAs, presumably with real hops, even if this is now known as "American style IPA".
There seems to be a growing trend for beer festivals to include more and more examples of different beers styles, which is good news, as it means we all get to try porters, milds, stouts, and to a lesser extent, light bitters and barley wines. However there are now so many golden ales that it is becoming harder and harder to find an ordinary bitter, one of the goals of today's visit.
This is in contrast to pubs which continue (with notable exceptions) to stock mainly bitters, with mild making a welcome appearance.
All the below test has been copied from the previous entry. In order to fully link each brewer with a searchable 'label' I have had to create another blog entry, as there is a 200 character limit in the labels field. So for the full version, please go to the previous entry.
Nethergate IPA (3.5%): Stunning hop flavour and it tastes stronger than it is. 4
Nethergate Suffolk County Best Bitter (4.0%): Good rounded tasty bitter. 4
Nethergate Umbel Magna (5.0%): Made with coriander, it smells of herbs and tastes of light, delicate porter, an achievement in such a strong beer. 4
Oakleaf Hole Hearted (4.7%): Zesty, hoppy and spicy. 3
Olde Swan Original (3.5%): Smooth and fruity light coloured beer. 3
Potton Village Bike (4.3%): Decent bitter (shame about the silly name) but with a particular hop flavour that’s not my thing. 3
Rebellion Shaken Not Stirred (4.2%): From one of my favourite brewers, but first taste of this is ordinary. However it mellows into a lovely rounded aftertaste. Wonderful. 4
Rebellion Blonde (4.3%): Nasty insipid lagery tasting pale coloured beer. Not my thing. 2
Robinson’s Oldham Bitter (3.8%): Tangy, sharp and fruity. 3
Sharp’s Doom Bar Bitter (4.0%): Ordinary bitter. Usually one of my favourites but served too cold. 3
Sharp’s Eden Ale (4.3%): Dry, bitter and hoppy. Again served too cold. 3
Teme Valley This (3.7%): Straw hoppy taste to this golden ale. 3
Triple fff Summer Is Icumen (6.0%): Light and strong but not backed by hop or malt flavour. 3
Vale VPA (4.2%): A dark golden ale with zesty hop character. 3
Winter’s Golden (4.1%): Mild in flavour with a sharp finish. 3
Wolf Golden Jackal (3.7%): Tasting more like a darker beer this has an excellent balanced hop taste. 4
USA and Rest of the World
Cambridge Brewing Co Bitchin’ Bitter (4.2%): Slightly woolly tasting malty bitter. 3
Cambridge Brewing Co Tall Tale Pale Ale (5.8%): Smooth honey hop flavour but a little too strong to support the taste. 3
Dogfish Head 60 Miniute IPA (6.0%): Citrus yet mellow IPA. Doesn’t taste this strong. 3
Gardner Ale House Facelift IPA (6.3%): Very bitter to start with and served grim and cloudy. Although too strong for me, mellows into a tasty refreshing drink. 4
Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer (4.4%): Very pale coloured wheaty beer served chilled and tasting more like lager. 3
YoHo Brewing Co Yona Yona Ale (5.5%): Tasty malty beer similar to a best bitter. Very pleasant and I don’t think you’d guess it was all the way from Japan.
All the above were draft, and, with the exception of the YoHo beer, from the USA.
What a joy, over 450 beers to try under one roof. So the programme said, although as this was the first day not all were available.
Beer reviews at the end of the entry as there are so many. The pic was taken just as the doors opened so it looks a bit empty; it soon filled up!
My beer of the festival was McMullens Cask Ale at 3.8%, a very tasty bitter.
Highlights of the festival included tasting cask conditioned bitter from Japan, YoHo Yona Yona Ale (5.5%), which tasted very similar to a British bitter, and winning a Young's ram (a soft toy not a real one) due to my newly discovered talents at shuffleboard. And of course hearing that Hobsons Mild (3.2%) has won this year's Champion Beer of Britain award.
It was great to sample some draft real ale from abroad (see below). It seems that while American style IPAs happen to be one of my favourite beer styles, beers from the US are not very subtle. I was grateful to Simon, the landlord of the White Horse, Maplehurst (see many entries including 4th August and 24th July) who I happened to meet during the day, for pointing me in the direction of the "Bieres sans frontieres" bar where I discovered these delights.
A great day out - the festival is on until Saturday 11th August so do go along and try some for yourself.
British Beers
Anglo Dutch Brewery Ghost on the Rim (4.5%): Inoffensive, bland, but not unpleasant. 3
Arkell’s Kingsdown Ale (5.0%): Rounded, caramelly warm bitter. Unusual taste. 3
Atlas Latitude (3.6%): Unpleasant bland light beer with no redeeming features. 2
Bank Top Dark Mild (4.0%): Too delicate for me. 2
Bowland Hunters Moon (3.7%): Pleasant mellow dark beer. 3
Box Steam Rev Awdry Ale (3.8%): Decent light bitter without a strong flavour. 3
Bushy Pure Gold (4.0%): Tangy and light with a good hop flavour. 3
Butcombe Bitter (4.0%): Well rounded bitter with a distinct malt taste. Smooth and very drinkable. 4
Cairngorm Trade Winds (4.3%): Fruity and solid tasting beer with a very hoppy character. 4
Dark Star Hophead Extra (5.8%): Sweet, fruity and strong. 4
Durham Magus (3.8%): Tangy and sweet golden bitter with a strong hop aftertaste. 3
Durham Black Velvet (4.0%): Seriously malty with a burnt roasted taste. 3
Facers Landslide (4.9%): Enough taste to support the alcohol content but not with a distinct flavour. 3
Evan-Evans Cwrw (4.2%): Unexciting slightly fruity beer. 3
Felstar Crix Forest (4.0%): Smells like black fruit pastilles but has a dishwatery taste. 2
Fyne Pipers Gold (3.8%): Nicely mellow well balanced golden ale. 3
Glastonbury Mystery Tor (3.8%): Flowery hop taste to this interesting lightish bitter. 3
Great Orme Great Orme IPA (3.8%): Wouldn’t call this IPA myself, more like tasty malty bitter. 3
Keltek Golden Lance (3.8%): Pleasant but not outstanding golden beer. 3
McMullen Cask Ale (3.8%): Stonking hoppy and drinkable bitter. 5
Moorhouse’s Blond Witch (4.5%): Sweet, light and incredibly fruity. 4
Nethergate IPA (3.5%): Stunning hop flavour and it tastes stronger than it is. 4
Nethergate Suffolk County Best Bitter (4.0%): Good rounded tasty bitter. 4
Nethergate Umbel Magna (5.0%): Made with coriander, it smells of herbs and tastes of light, delicate porter, an achievement in such a strong beer. 4
Oakleaf Hole Hearted (4.7%): Zesty, hoppy and spicy. 3
Olde Swan Original (3.5%): Smooth and fruity light coloured beer. 3
Potton Village Bike (4.3%): Decent bitter (shame about the silly name) but with a particular hop flavour that’s not my thing. 3
Rebellion Shaken Not Stirred (4.2%): From one of my favourite brewers, but first taste of this is ordinary. However it mellows into a lovely rounded aftertaste. Wonderful. 4
Rebellion Blonde (4.3%): Nasty insipid lagery tasting pale coloured beer. Not my thing. 2
Robinson’s Oldham Bitter (3.8%): Tangy, sharp and fruity. 3
Sharp’s Doom Bar Bitter (4.0%): Ordinary bitter. Usually one of my favourites but served too cold. 3
Sharp’s Eden Ale (4.3%): Dry, bitter and hoppy. Again served too cold. 3
Teme Valley This (3.7%): Straw hoppy taste to this golden ale. 3
Triple fff Summer Is Icumen (6.0%): Light and strong but not backed by hop or malt flavour. 3
Vale VPA (4.2%): A dark golden ale with zesty hop character. 3
Winter’s Golden (4.1%): Mild in flavour with a sharp finish. 3
Wolf Golden Jackal (3.7%): Tasting more like a darker beer this has an excellent balanced hop taste. 4
USA and Rest of the World
Cambridge Brewing Co Bitchin’ Bitter (4.2%): Slightly woolly tasting malty bitter. 3
Cambridge Brewing Co Tall Tale Pale Ale (5.8%): Smooth honey hop flavour but a little too strong to support the taste. 3
Dogfish Head 60 Miniute IPA (6.0%): Citrus yet mellow IPA. Doesn’t taste this strong. 3
Gardner Ale House Facelift IPA (6.3%): Very bitter to start with and served grim and cloudy. Although too strong for me, mellows into a tasty refreshing drink. 4
Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer (4.4%): Very pale coloured wheaty beer served chilled and tasting more like lager. 3
YoHo Brewing Co Yona Yona Ale (5.5%): Tasty malty beer similar to a best bitter. Very pleasant and I don’t think you’d guess it was all the way from Japan.
All the above were draft, and, with the exception of the YoHo beer, from the USA.
Having only been here a few days ago I wasn't expecting two new fine beers to try.
Dark Star American Pale Ale (4.7%): Seriously hoppy bitter light coloured beer. Wonderful and just as an IPA should taste.
Hepworth's Summer Ale (3.4%): Rounded yet hoppy caramelly golden bitter.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): Great as always.
This is a damn fine pub with a lovely beer garden.
Went back to this old haunt in Streatham with some friends.
Greene King LBW (4.4%): Bland with a hoppy taste. Not special but a better choice than the Abbot or IPA.
Good to see this pub is still popular but a great shame that the management of it means that it now only sells Greene King beers. A sad loss for Streatham with little other good real ale nearby.
