― Pete (Pete), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 14:13 (eighteen years ago) link
Would any other ILXors care to come too?
― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 14:16 (eighteen years ago) link
oops x-post: Saturday... maybe! Will have to check what's what with her what knows.
― NickB (NickB), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 14:18 (eighteen years ago) link
It's also my birthday next weekend (7th August) so I may be spening a good proportion of my time in The Evening Star, amongst other things (such as Pride)
― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 14:33 (eighteen years ago) link
― suzy (suzy), Monday, 1 August 2005 15:01 (eighteen years ago) link
― ken c (ken c), Monday, 1 August 2005 15:06 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Monday, 1 August 2005 15:11 (eighteen years ago) link
― sunny successor (he hates my guts, we had a fight) (katharine), Monday, 1 August 2005 15:14 (eighteen years ago) link
did you get to drink loads? were there spitoons? etc?
― toby (tsg20), Monday, 1 August 2005 15:18 (eighteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 1 August 2005 15:43 (eighteen years ago) link
― ken c (ken c), Monday, 1 August 2005 15:46 (eighteen years ago) link
The form was that we were tasting bottle conditioned beers rather than bottled beers. there were two panels of five people tasting 6 beers scoring them out of Appearance, Aroma, Taste and After-taste; with weighting given to the taste score of course. The first panels consisted of two guardian readers and 3 CAMRA volunteers each. My team had three dark beers of differing types, mild, porter and darker styles, 1 classic red bitter and 2 lighter style beers. About a 3rd of a pint of each. Held up to the light for appearance, swirled and sniffed for aroma and then tasted. Beer was brought out in unlabled jugs. 1 beer of the first round stood out as a beer I would like to drink a good deal more of and one stood out as dark, interesting, and chocolatey but too sweet for my liking, probably a malt stout.
We tasted and filled in our forms discussing each beer in turn but keeping our scores private.
After the first round they needed a 4th guardian reader for the final panel, I was picked after a little typical British 'no you' session. The final panel of 1 CAMRA type, Roger Protz and 4 guardian readers, although of these 4, 1 was a chemist/brewer who formerly worked for Badger and apparently the man who came up with the idea of putting elderflower in beer to make golden champion. Again tasting 6 beers with the favourite from our first round coming through as the eventual winner.
I learnt some new things, including scientific grounding for Hopkin's no drinking outside rule. Apparently a true real ale drinker will not expose his beer to sunlight as 'lightstrike' can ruin a beer in 20 seconds.
As for the competition; I was suitably impressed with the winner, however the competition wasn't as strong as i had hoped. There seems to be a slight problem with bottled conditioned beer (as opposed to bottled beer) in britain, it doesn't seem to be an art that has been honed to perfection. The beers fell into three categories: 1) Beers that are sold as cask beer and have been bottled conditioned as an afterthought; 2) Beer of types that are too weird to be generally sold in cask quantities; 3) Beers brewed for the bottle because the brewery is too small to get a wide distribution of it's products in casks.
Across all types there seems to be an over egging of the bottle conditioning process with over gassiness, presumably in search of a head, being a common trait although in the better cases this eased off if the beer was left to stand a little. Flavours were good but in a lot of cases you couldn't help wondering if the draught beer would have been better. All in all British bottle conditioned beer seems to lag behind Belgian bottle conditioned beer.
The winner is a lovely beer none the less, a lovely sparkling ruby bitter from the north east, hoppy with a nice lingering bitterness and just the right amount of malty body. It did need to stand a little to let the gas off.
I'll let you know what it is tomorrow.
― Ed (dali), Monday, 1 August 2005 16:52 (eighteen years ago) link
this "lightstrike" warrants further investigation, i think.
― toby (tsg20), Monday, 1 August 2005 21:12 (eighteen years ago) link
― Masonic Boom (kate), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:11 (eighteen years ago) link
― Tim (Tim), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:20 (eighteen years ago) link
― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:27 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:31 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 14:42 (eighteen years ago) link
It did need to stand a little to let the gas off
Like the CAMRades at GBBF, no doubt.
In Pinefoxian stylee:
Blandford fly was...not as good as I'd hoped. I had a load of St Peter's Lemon and Ginger Bitter at the Jerusalem last week, so was expecting good things but it's not a patch on St Peter's stuff.
Golden Glory is on tap in Holborn. Can't remember the pub; either the Enterprise or the Old Nick (I think). Not a patch on Golden Champion, which I have now staretd ordering crates of.
Tomorrow, I will get hold of some Westvleteren which will be grebt.
― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 15:31 (eighteen years ago) link
― toby (tsg20), Friday, 5 August 2005 13:18 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Friday, 5 August 2005 13:20 (eighteen years ago) link
― Archel (Archel), Friday, 5 August 2005 13:24 (eighteen years ago) link
― EmVee, Friday, 5 August 2005 13:39 (eighteen years ago) link
― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 5 August 2005 13:42 (eighteen years ago) link
― josche, Friday, 5 August 2005 14:04 (eighteen years ago) link
Good, interesting Belgians are anything by De Dolle and Phantom. Also Panil Barrique, which is an Italian but in the style of a Flemish sour brown ale.
― mjfan, Friday, 5 August 2005 14:25 (eighteen years ago) link
― NickB (NickB), Friday, 5 August 2005 14:29 (eighteen years ago) link
― Porkpie (porkpie), Friday, 5 August 2005 15:13 (eighteen years ago) link
― Malt Lixx0r, Saturday, 6 August 2005 12:54 (eighteen years ago) link
― dog latin (dog latin), Saturday, 6 August 2005 13:31 (eighteen years ago) link
― Stew (stew s), Saturday, 6 August 2005 16:14 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Saturday, 6 August 2005 16:16 (eighteen years ago) link
― Stew (stew s), Saturday, 6 August 2005 17:12 (eighteen years ago) link
― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Saturday, 6 August 2005 17:41 (eighteen years ago) link
http://www.synapticblur.com/pics/beer06alecoq.jpg
(it's the only pic I can find online)
― Markelby (Mark C), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:23 (eighteen years ago) link
I like poncey beers. Leffe (particularly) and Hoegaaaaaarden and things that taste similar but I've forgotten what they're called. Erdinger is also nice.
Also, I tried a very nice cherry beer last time I came to London. It was my first time. It smelt rather odd, but I put it in my mouth anyway. Nice, once you're used to it.
― hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:27 (eighteen years ago) link
― Markelby (Mark C), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:39 (eighteen years ago) link
― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:40 (eighteen years ago) link
― F.R.I.E.N.D. (nordicskilla), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:41 (eighteen years ago) link
― terry lennox. (gareth), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:44 (eighteen years ago) link
― F.R.I.E.N.D. (nordicskilla), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:46 (eighteen years ago) link
― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:48 (eighteen years ago) link
― F.R.I.E.N.D. (nordicskilla), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:53 (eighteen years ago) link
http://www.interpunk.com/itemimages2/15150.gif
― F.R.I.E.N.D. (nordicskilla), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:54 (eighteen years ago) link
but no, it will be the usual selection:(
― terry lennox. (gareth), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:55 (eighteen years ago) link
― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Friday, 28 October 2005 15:58 (eighteen years ago) link
― o. nate (onate), Friday, 28 October 2005 16:01 (eighteen years ago) link
― terry lennox. (gareth), Friday, 28 October 2005 16:04 (eighteen years ago) link
― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Friday, 28 October 2005 16:10 (eighteen years ago) link
http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=27+Dude+Place,+Weed,+CA?
― F.R.I.E.N.D. (nordicskilla), Friday, 28 October 2005 16:15 (eighteen years ago) link