Waening Again

I  hadn't tried any beers from Waen since my very first blog post, some 2 1/4 years ago; so decided to rectify that when some untried beers popped up in stalwart bottle supplier Ales by Mail.

I must say the new branding is much more eye catching and stylish than the previous multicoloured stripes, I wonder how the beer stands up?

Up First is T.W.A. standing for traditional Welsh Ale, though how that differs from pale ales elsewhere is anyone's guess. This is a dark burnished gold with herbal hop aroma, sweet biscuit malt, vegetal notes then some sweet red berry leading to a dry grainy finish. Not my favourite of their beers really, could be from any UK brewer.

Landmark is a hazy dark amber with fluffy off white head. Herbal dry noble hop nose, fairly high carbonation, full bodied, biscuit malt sweetness, slightly vegetal astringent bitterness. Good for quaffing.

 

Chili Plum Porter (6.1%) pours a hazy ruby tinged brown with tan tinged head. Gives little away on the nose some muted cinnamon notes and cardboard. Begins fairly sweet, a dusting of cocoa, stewed plums, a tingle of chili, burnt roast barley notes, some coffee. Finishing fairly dry. A little lacking in chili but plums are certainly there.Its not quite what I had expected but enjoyable nonetheless and certainly doesn't drink its strength. One for cask sampling I'd wager.

So are these beers simply not as good as the first ones I tried or has my palate moved on a bit? A bit of both I'd wager. Try them yourself as I may be wrong.

Waen
@TheWaenBrewery
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I don't think I've drunk enough beer to understand that.

above quote from the Lost Continent
I've been reading Discworld books for at least 12 years, maybe longer, though the series itself is actually 30 this year. Ales by Mail have collaborated with local brewer Brentwood to brew a range of Discworld themed beers.

There are three in the range filling the common bitter/ blonde ale pathway but also an oatmeal stout and a honey beer. I picked these up at various times and here are my thoughts:

The core range of three

I love the labels on all of them, very much in the Discworld style with amusing blurbs. They'd certainly make an attractive gift for any Discworld lover, especially being brown glass the beer has longer staying power (less risk of skunking from light exposure).

Bledlow's Silence, 5.5% ABV. Dark amber with minimal cream head. Slight mango aroma, some pleasing bitterness/ low carbonation again though.

Hix's Darkside Ppours flat as a pancake, faintest of heads, dark ruby brown. Rich dried fruits, sweet sultanas, some solvent, molasses, carbonation could make this drinkable but drainpoor I’m afraid. Too near a dubbel in flavour too; so wouldn't be my favourite kind of beer even with carbonation.

Bugarup blonde, is 4% and pours Burnished gold with little in the way of head. Light apricot on the nose, low carbonation, slight bitterness, mild fruitiness. Ok but hop light.

Honey Ale comes in at 4.6%. This is more like it, a bigger 500ml bottle that pours hazy amber blonde with light fluffy white head. Dry dusty herbal goldings nose. Fairly sweet, medium body, low carbonation, digestive biscuit malt, floral dry honey notes and long finish. Good sessionable drop.

Modo's Midden 4.5% Light amber with fluffy off white head and some yeasty dregs. Pithy nose which unfortunately fails to come through in flavour. Good carbonation, slightly sharp citrus. So so and too similar to the Bugarup really.

I'm a little disappointed with these beers. They could have been so much more but instead they all fell short of expectations, with the exception of the honey ale perhaps which is done rather well.

FABPOW Leek & saffron soup with Camden Hells

I got an Ales By Mail order through the post today and in it were some bonus bottles courtesy of Paul, thanks! I was excited to find three Camden Town beers amongst these, as they of course don't make it to these parts. I have tried them before, but that was after a busy tasting in the Camden Brewdog bar; so this time they'll be given a fair go.

Proud Siblings

The new branding is out in force and looks lovely, clear and with a definite house style to make for easy identification (NB new labels coming soon apparently). Branded bottle lids meant I knew what I was getting as I pulled them out from the box.

To continue with my beer and soup range of posts I had a look at what recipes would work well and settled on leek and saffron. Very simple, just chop four medium leeks and soften in oil/butter for a minute or two, add a pinch of saffron and two tbsps of flour, then mix in two pints of vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, simmer for ten minutes then blend.

Piping hot soup, with homemade* bread  and Camden Hells

The lager is clean with just the right level of carbonation and a refreshing beverage by itself. The fruity and gentle sulphur of the leeks is really allowed to come to the fore and the saffron adds a sweet note. This plays well with the honey notes I can detect in the beer. Served with bread there's even better overlap as the two fermentation products come together, with malt notes to the fore. The crisp lager refreshes the palate between sips. Lager doesn't just have to be an accompaniment for curry...

The pale ale is just as good in bottle as I recall the draught version, first sampled last Autumn in the Sheffield Tap. Orange fruity hops and a bitter finish, but no in your face hopping here. The glass was emptied in no time!

The wheat beer has plenty of banana yeast character on the nose, with a clove spiciness coming out in the flavour. That 5% ABV is hidden, drinks like a session beer but with a sting in the tail, be warned!

They're largely how I remember them, flying in the face of the assumption that too many beers in one sitting can dull the palate.

*Alright, breadmaker