More wood aging

Bristol Beer Factory have plenty of successful forays into barrel ageing under their belts with the 12 stouts of Christmas releases, but these two beers are the first of the core (pale and hoppy) beers to receive the wood treatment. I picked these two up at the excellent Barley Mow in Bristol last month.

West Coast Red was aged in Glenlivet barrels. Medium carbonation, plenty of fruity kiwi, touch of cardboard, tannins, spot of phenol but not much whisky...I’m guessing a lot of fresh blended in for balance, warming booze in finish. Dry, woody notes and some marzipan vanillin appear long after hops have faded. It doesn't have the same urgency as the original but enjoyable all the same.

Was at my dad's new flat
- no beer glasses

Southville Hop was allowed to get familiar with a white wine barrel.

Pours hazy dark amber with lacing of off white head. Vibrant mango and kiwi hops on the nose. Fairly high carbonation, pithy citrus, very dry finish, slight grape must. Bitter but fruity slightly oxidized. The edges on the usually zingy Southville Hop have been dulled, butthere is an extra layer of complexity underneath makingthisbeer for contemplation rather than quaffing. A partial success.

As blogged a month or so ago, Harviestoun are expanding their fantastic Ola Dubh range to dated releases and Ewan was kind enough to send me a bottle (plus a selection of other beers) to try. It looks very attractive in the bottle and would make a good present for the beer lover in your life. Its not just on the outside that it excels however, with the beer inside shining too. In fact its my favourite of the Ola Dubh's to date, and I've tried a few.

It pours dark brown-black and (unlike some barrel aged beers) is able to retain a handsome thick tan head. Fairly sweet nose of caramel, sherry, lactose, camp coffee, and on swirling some meaty umami and iodine thatcan onlyhave come from the whisky. 

Thick, mouth filling with gentle carbonation and sweet red berries up front followed by a cornucopia of flavour. Dry toasty malt, astringent wood, meaty booze sweet vanilla, coconut appears on nose, dark cocoa, latte, both sweet and savoury, iodine whisky, dry woody notes, rich caramel. The booze very well hidden but creeps up on you with a knock-out blow. Long rich dry finish.

Cuvee Delphine is a member of Struise breweries black Albert range. Aged in Four Roses Bourbon barrels it comes in ata hefty 13% Alcohol by Volume! I picked this one up at Bottleshop, Canterbury (mail order).

Pours dark brown with fluffy dark coffee tan head that starts off at a few inches then collapses to a more manageable few mm (yes mixed measurement systems...deal with it)
Slightly sour, tart red fruits, milk chocolate and coffee. extremely full bodied, sultanas, maltloaf, rich coffee, slight sourness, astringent coffee roast barley, gentle caress of whisky with more coffee building in the finish. Finishing quite dry with some balsamic fruit notes. Lovely and hides its strength magnificently.

Four very different beers, again highlighting that when done well and to enhance the beer rather than hide defects, barrel ageing can produce some fantastic results.

The Improved Barley Mow

From @Barleymowbris Twitter feed

On my previous visit to Bristol I managed a swift pint in Bristol Beer Factory pub the Barley Mow. It turned out to be my pint of the year, scoring a perfect 5 on ratebeer. However I was lucky to have a got a pint as it was at closing time and the pub was empty

Fast Forward a few months and on a Friday evening and the pub is rammed. Its recent refurbishment has given it more than just a lick of paint but 10 keg and 8cask lines too as well as a tasty food menu.

There's plenty of seating for diners and drinkers alike, with friendly staff and plenty of beers to choose from.

This time around I had a half of Bristol Beer Factory's Acer but the sampling was all about the guest beers. Rich and sweet Summer Wine Mokko Milk Stout went down a treat and made a great latte Stout when mixed with Roosters' coffee creation Londinium. This went well with the sharer platter as a starter (curry scotch egg!)

Magic Rock Dancing Bear was a fantastic pils style beer, but with an antipodean feel due to the tropical flavours that appeared (despite using noble hop varieties Strisselspalt, Herrsbrucker and Hallertau). A lovely beer that Daisy enjoyed too.

From @Barleymowbris Twitter feed

I picked up a number of interesting bottles, (some of which are now safely cached in my dads flat). What caught my eye were the barrel aged variants of Southville Hop and West Coast Red. This is barrel ageing done well, with nothing too aggressive transferred, though I can't help but feeling some of the vibrancy from each of the beers was lost in the process.

I managed to have a chat to manager Emily too, though I didn't realise it at the time!

I couldn't pass up the chance to have Buxton Imperial Black Rocks on keg either, which was even better than the previous batches I've had in bottle... Another 5/5

The Barley Mow comes highly recommended and is a welcome (re-) addition to the already thriving Bristol pubs scene. It makes an ideal starting/ finishing point for a Bristol pub crawl within 5 minutes stroll of Temple Meads' grade I listed splendour.

The Barley Mow

39 Barton Road
St Philips
Bristol, BS2 0LF

Facebook

@BarleyMowBris

#12Stouts: Year number the second

Its December again; so that means its time for Bristol Beer Factory's 12 Stouts of Christmas. I really enjoyed last year's efforts; so had to pick them up again. There's 8 new ones this year, including a recipe change on the year-rounder Bristol Stout. I've reviewed the newbies below:

Bristol Stout has been revamped this year and gained 1% ABV in the process. Dark brown with fine bubbles and light tan head. Fruity dark beer with smooth body and lightly smoky blackcurrant. Slight roast barley and coffee in finish. More caramel notes as it warms. Quaffable enough but much better in the modified forms.

Port Stout is a variant of Bristol Stout with an ABV of 5.5% Dark black with fluffy white tan head. Minimal nose on opening, touch of toffee perhaps. Medium carbonation, some warming sugars and higher alcohols. Touch of astringent plum skin and bitter coffee grounds in finish. 

Another variation on the Bristol Stout is smoked chili chipotle Dark brown with pink tinged brown head with red flecks, could that be remaining chili? Rich chocolate enrobed black cherry, smoke, sweet tomato. Initial tongue tingling gives way to milk chocolate followed by a fruity chili hit which warms the tongue and throat on the swallow and a dry ashen roast barley finish with a fiery tingle. This could cope with a higher ABV and would be a great food beer. 

Blackcurrants and Licorice is also a Bristol Stout variation. Grey-brown with fluffy pale tan and subtle earthy spicy blackcurrants and dusty yeast. Medium carbonation, tart blackcurrant, a touch of spearmint perhaps. A spike of anise like licorice before the dry roast barley kicks in for the long finish. It’s subtle but flavourful.

Creme Brulee is an Imperial version of milk stout brewed in collaboration with Melissa Cole (she gets around a bit!) aged in rum casks for two months. Spicy rummy (think rum & rasin) nose on this ruby tinged dark mahogany beer. Lively crema head which soon collapses. Smooth body, gentle carbonation, sweet notes, big burny boozy up front becoming a burnt toast, molasses and tart red fruit melee. Long milky custard finish.

The bourbon cask Imperial Stout (10.5%) is dark tar brown with fluffy tan head that soon collapses. Rich vanilla and coconut nose with an underlying hint of marmite. Gentle carbonation with cola first then tonnes of woody vanilla with some meaty yeast and soft cream cheese notes. Long sticky warming finish.That alcohol is pretty well hidden.

And finally Speyside whisky @10.5% has some peatsmoke and iodine plus plenty of whisky booze. Dark brown with cola head that soon disappears to nothing. That peaty malt is unexpected for a speyside whisky, perhaps an Ardmore. Fair amount if residual malt sweetness and long dry earthy finish. 

Pick of the bunch for me though was the mocha. At only 4.5% (base beer milk stout) its gloriously drinkable and one of the best coffee beers I've had the pleasure of drinking and I've had a lot. Dark brown with fluffy tan head. The coffee is the star here singing out from the aroma as roast beans, red berries and rich barley notes. First flavours out are the sweet lactose milk notes followed by dark chocolate and a long roast coffee finish. With caramel, red berry and vanilla finish. A fantastic improvement on last year's latte.

So are they worth buying? In my opinion they are, I'd happily drink a case of the mocha alone. There may still be some available but I expect you'll struggle to get them delivered in time for christmas. Get them here!

Follow Bristol Beer Factory on Twitter @BrisBeerFactory and Head Brewer Chris Kay @BeerFactoryCK9.

Factory beer?

Hard to miss!

Not by a long shot, no. Bristol Beer Factory is very un-factory-like and that is certainly a good thing. BBF has long been a favourite southern brewery of mine I was pleased to be invited along for a few beers and a snoop around by head brewer, Chris.

New 20BBL conical awaiting
comissioning.

The brewery can be found just a stone's throw from arty venue the Tobacco Factory and next door to a decent bakery in part of an old brewery closed by the George's brewery. Inside is currently a 10BBL plant, but this is being pushed to the limit, with two brews a day scheduled all the way up to Christmas. A couple of new 20BBL fermenters have arrived that take two brews to fill, the first has been commissioned and the second lies awaiting its beery cargo. This should tide them over capacity-wise until next summer when a 30BBL is due to be installed along with what seems to be a must-have for brewery expansions; a mezzanine floor! It takes a bit of tweaking and a change of yeast from top-cropping to bottom-cropping but in the end the conicals should give better yield than open fermenters.

The original open fermenters

There are also a number of conditioning tanks, some of which have followed Chris from his previous employ at York Brewery. Perhaps the most exciting section of the brewery is the barrel store. Tucked up in here are a couple of stouts for this year's "12 Stouts of Christmas" (details under tight wraps I'm afraid!) and their collaboration (with Dark Star) NZ IPA Southern Conspiracy ageing in white wine casks with gooseberries. There are some empty rum casks to be filled with an Adrian Tierney-Jones brew and some other barrels into which Melissa Cole's brew next week will be filled.

The barrel store!

Speaking of Southern Conspiracy, I popped into one of BBF's venues in Bristol, The Barley Mow, and was pleased to find this on tap. I'd neglected to check the closing time and arrived at last orders but thankfully managed to grab a pint and I'm so glad I did. I think I may have found my best beer ever, certainly if how the Ratebeer score came out is anything to go by. The influence of Mark Tranter at Dark Star certainly makes itself known, the beer reminds me a lot of Hophead. I'm very much looking forward to the white wine version then!

All that remains of current cask stocks.

There's also a new saison in the works, with a different recipe to last years successful effort. That, alongside newer beers Independence and West Coast Red sees a solid range of new beer styles alongside No.7, which is still their biggest seller at around 40% of output. Its a struggle to fit the Christmas stouts into the brewing schedule, Chris admits, but there are a few spare days at the end of next month.

Bottled beers.

Whilst there I got to try this year's home-brew competition winner Bete Noire. Its certainly different to last years winner, also a black IPA- Indian Ink. Pours transparent Brown-black like a schwarzbier with plenty of condition. Citrusy simcoe? nose with plenty of dry fruit bitterness of kiwi hops. Touch of burnt toast astringency in the finish is all that there is to remind you this is a black and not regular IPA.
A bottle of Glenlivet Imperial stout has mellowed somewhat and in my opinion is the better for it. The whisky punch has died back somewhat and the flavours have married somewhat, creating a dangerously drinkable stout, which compares favourably to the bottle of Brewdog Paradox I brought along to share.

Even @1000 bottles/hr it still takes
two people a day to bottle a fermenter's wort

There's also talk of being able to hold tastings in a new coffee shop being built as part of the bakery next-door, current tastings being held in the brewery with perhaps 2 private tours a week at the moment. Couple this with the double-brew schedule and Chris and team are set to be very busy indeed.

Chris is on Twitter: @BeerFactoryCK9 and the brewery is here: @BrisBeerFactory. If you've not yet come across BBF beers than I urge you to seek them out and keep your eyes peeled for this year's 12-Stouts of Christmas as they are bound to fly out! See Bierebelle's review here for a dfifferent perspective.

A Veritable Brewfest

The weekend just passed was the inaugural Edinburgh Independents Beer Festival. The premise? An 8 pub beer festival with each pub featuring a different brewer/ brewers. A simple concept but one that no doubt took a lot of work from its organisers Craft Centric (aka the guys between the new Hanging at Beer Bar). That it went without any major hiccups is amazing enough, but coupled with perhaps the best selection of  up and coming UK brewers' beers available at any one time (yes, that includes London) its an astounding feat. The fact that I almost didn't find out about it means I appreciated it all the more. 

My original plan was to get to a couple of the pubs; as an afternoon's drinking wasn't really on the cards. Somehow we ended up visiting all 8 pubs in the space of about 5 hours: no mean feat when it involved about 7 miles walking between them! What follows (after the map) is a short run-down of the pubs and beers enjoyed.

View Larger Map

Travelling south from Waverley the first pub encountered is the Holyrood 9A. This is decidedly a food pub, with all tables set for dining but you're more than welcome to take a seat and just get drinks. 10 keg beers and 4 cask beers on offer and a fantastic range. Camden were the beers in residence Thankfully they offer thirds so its possible to try a few. An opportunity to try both wheat beer styles was not to be sniffed at and the wheat and Gent;eman's Wit were both enjoyed, if a little yeastier than usual. The lemon and bergamot made a real change to the usual orange and corriander and if they were to bottle this I'd get a 12pack.

After that we headed down to studentville and to the Southern a pub with another decent menu and hosts of Magic Rock beers for the weekend. We grabbed a half of the new hopped imperial wit Clown Juice, every bit as refreshing as I'd hoped and no way I'd have pegged it at 7%. That's another excellent special release from Rich, Stu et al.



A brisk stroll across the meadows sees you in Cloisters, a pub I've enjoyed on numerous occasions. Unfortunately for me no new beers to try as its Bristol Beer Factory in residence here but thankfully that means I get to try the fantastic ultimate stout on cask. A gorgeous Foreign Extra stout with rich creamy mouthfeel, sweetness and lots of roast in the finish. Thumbs up from Daisy too.

The plan next was to go to dinner but due to some(un)fortunate navigational errors we ended up at the Caley. When in Rome...
I tried the fantastic new USPA, a northern Hemisphere variation on the superlative NZPA. I think the original just pipped this but I'm a sucker for those antipodean hops.

After dinner in Haymarket's Chop Chop we sauntered over to Stockbridge to the eponymous Stockbridge Tap where a beast of a beer was on. In fact two beasts Moor's JJJ IPA and Magic Rock's Bourbon Barrel bearded lady, a half of each was in order. The JJJ is a definite contender for beer of the weekend, roch Tropical hops and lip-smacking bitterness, it was a treat to find it as its largely export only since the evils of HSBD.

Up a fecker of a hill and a couple of excitable squirrels and we find ourselves at the Cambridge, home of Macclesfield's Red Willow for the weekend. We arrive as the new Soulless is launched on cask and keg. Its a Black IPA and another good one from Toby. Smokeless on cask "dry-hopped" with chipotle is also fantastic.

Feeling a bit beered out but with just two pubs remianing we push on to newcomer Red Squirrel on Lothian Road. Its heaving with a Friday night crowd but there's some bench space left. Alechemy Black IPA is a little disappointing, lower ABV than usual for a BIPA and lacking the body its consequently a little watery. Lovibonds 69 IPA more than makes up for the disappointment however and a great introduction to the brewery.

On the home stretch now and its along Grassmarket and up West Bow to the Bow Bar. This is a fantastic old boozer filled with railerphanelia and largely standing-room only. We finish off the day with a bang, Summer-Wine's Half Wit, Kernel IPA Summit and Hawkshead Brodies Prime (beefed up Brodies reserve in a Bladnoch cask).

We headed back to Holyrood 9A for the Sunday finishing party. Enjoyable thirds of 12 beers from the majority of the breweries from the weekend and some tasty snacks from the menu. We'll certainly be returning for a meal one day when the pub is less rammed. Unfortunately very few brewers made it to the final event but it was good to meet Chris and Bruce, the guys behind the weekend and James, brewer at Summer Wine.

A fantastic array of beers and a lot of hard work. Thanks guys! All of the pubs are fantastic too, each with their own individual feels but all sharing the theme of great beer. I'm already looking forward to how the guys will best the event next year. Look out for the announcement sometime in the next couple of months for the date.








More write ups at The Beer Cast, Hippo Beers & This masterpiece from Craig.

*The ever-handy weekly What's on Guide from Edinburgh Stalwarts The Beer Cast put me right.

A Bristol Beer Crawl

Bristol is home to some fantastic pubs and breweries. I spent this weekend investigating a chunk of them. If I remember correctly (no mean feat with the number visited) there were 17 in all*, with a couple visited twice. Rather than bore you with a mammoth post about all the pubs I'll let the pictures do (most of) the talking. They do say a picture is worth 1000 words after all...

The Old Fish Market

Fantastic Red Brick Fuller's pub

New American-hopped seasonal Wild River

Georges Bristol Brewery

Bristol is full of Brewing Heritage, and the new breweries look
to reach the same heights of success

The Seven Stars

Fantastic back-street local's pub

Avoid the Hopping Mad!

The King's Head

Fantastic Historic Interior pub

Ancient beer selection (display!)

 The Cornubia

Real Ale Oasis the Cornubia is hidden up a back road

  The Three Tuns

Arbor Ales Bristol Tap

Just a few of Arbor's output

 The Grain Barge

A bar...on a boat!

And Bristol Beer Factory beers available, excellent!

  Bag O'Nails

Another free house on the way home

That'll be a Moor please!

The Robin Hood

Respite whilst climbing St Michael's Hill

The Highbury Vaults

Olde Young's Pub

Ancient Hand pumps in Front Bar

 Beerd

From one of the Oldest to the Newest
Beerd is Bath Ales' new craft beer & pizza bar

Eclectic interior and a good range of beer

Tiny Rebel Cwtch in Beerd

Aubergine, Goats cheese and Basil - nom!

Two Dawkins Pubs:


The Green Man

The Green Man

Arbor Single Hop in a cute 1/2 pint tankard

The Hillgrove Porter Stores

Hillgrove Porter Stores

Whilst okay on bottle its stupendous on cask.

 



These were all pubs I'd happily return to, unusual to get such a high success rate! There's a number of other pubs left to visit in Bristol, but they'll be for another time! 

I also love that I can get Butcombe Bitter, my benchmark on cask in the airport whilst waiting for my plane home. Rare Breed is now also available. Both of these plus others in the range are available in the Colston Yard, their flagship bar at the bottom of St Michael's Hill.

*I didn't quite manage to capture all of them, for the curious amongst you my journeys took me to the following:

Beerd, The Green Man, The Hillgrove Porter Stores, The Croft, The Old Fish Market, The Seven Stars, The King's Head, Cornubia, The Bridge Inn, The Three Tuns, The Grain Barge, The Bag O'Nails, The Hope and Anchor, Zero Degrees, The Colston Yard, The Robin Hood & The Highbury Vaults.