An eclectic bunch

One of the most consistently interesting brewers in the UK is Summer Wine. Back in January 2012 I reviewed their core-range. Here are three of their more "out there" offerings.

Dr Paracelsus' list of ingredients reads more like some kind of exotic curry than a beer. The ingredients which include black cardamom, Turkish pepper and licorice root really shoudln't work together with the hops but SWB have managed it. Pours hazy dark amber red with fluffy creamy head that collapses to a lacing in short shrift. Spicy pepper, cardamom and ginger with underlying tart blackberry on the nose, especially on swirling. A touch of pickled egg emerges then disappears again. Gentle carbonation with a peppery hit at the tip of the tongue followed by full mouth warming, then some sweet juicy malt, more spice, meaty notes, tart fruit and long savoury finish. Medium mouth feel, touch of ginger and earthy hops as it warms, with some mouth numbing pepper heat. Its an intriguing beer that would make a great match for a sweetish savoury dish like bbq pork or teriyaki salmon. 

Maelstrom is SWBs Double India Pale Ale (DIPA) is hazy dark amber with fluffy white head. Aroma is lime sherbert and slightly sour citric acid. Medium carbonation, predominantly sour peach and sweet malt with pithy citrus and bitter bite following after. Some melon on swirling. Big body but not at all boozy. I think it needed drinking sooner to get the hops at their fershest, but all in all enjoyable.

Finally we have Calico Jack, named after infamous Bahamas pirate Jack Rackham. pours a dark garner black with a fluffy tan stockings head. Sweet stem ginger battles dry dusty cocoa and rich burnt toast roast barley for nasal supremacy. Underneath that us a meaty umami note that makes this a savoury beer. Medium carbonation plays on the tip of the tongue, chocolate, followed by spicy stem ginger, a touch of lactose sweetness then peppery ginger all over the tongue. A touch of chalk and peppermint and mature cheddar wraps up the finish.Its a truly interesting AND enjoyable imperial stout that is well worth seeking out. Sheriff Mitchell agrees with me.

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.

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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.

Wake up and smell the...

Coffee is probably my favourite non-alcoholic beverage. So when married with my favourite alcoholic beverage a match in heaven is formed (in my view, of course, to some coffee beer is akin to marmite). What's more the combination of beer and caffeine seems to work immediately, rather than a few hours later as with regular coffee.

A slew of brewers have been including coffee in their brews recently...or at least aging it over beans.I've reviewed a couple before...Hardknott Vitesse Noir and Summer Wine Barista.

There's always room for more coffee beers in my mind and with the creme de la creme of craft brewers indulging us I thought I may as well partake.

De Molen Kopi Luewak is dark brown-black with fizzy cola head. Rich and fruity nose with plenty of rich coffee flavour and a long fruity coffee finish. the high ABV (11.2%) is well hidden.

Kernel Coffee IPAs -In a world of stouts with coffee its refreshing to try a pale ale brewed with coffee, the fruity flavours pair well with those found in new world hops. I was lucky enough to try both batches. The first had tangerine and sherbert on the nose and an initial tart gooseberry followed by plenty of roast coffee and a pithy citrus/bitter coffee finish. Good mouthfeel, not to oily. Batch 2: Darker Amber with coffee much more to the fore on the nose. At first tangerine and a bitter sweet malt with long coffee finish. Well balanced this one. Mark Dredge's thoughts on this beer are here and Mark Beer.Birra.Bier here.

De Struise Black Damnation II - Mocha Bomb is another dark coffee beer, with a rich and fruity nose andh rich coffee flavours. Theres a roasted barley astringency to the finish. Some hints of vanilla appear further down the glass.

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (slightly disturbing video there) has a near cult status as it uses coffee reclaimed from the poo of the civet, supposedly the freshest you can get. Rich and viscous black pour with temporary teak head. Subtle smoky coffee on the nose. Coffee fills the mouth and coats every surface with underlying chocolate and a ling roasty and astringent finish. Alcohol tingle but otherwise very well balanced.

As for my favourite? Well at the time of drinking I rated Hardknott Vitesse Noire the highest, with the De Molen Coming in right behind.

So get some ocffee beers in your life if you haven't done so already! With at least one more coffee stout planned in the near future (Summer Wine KopiKat) 2012 looks set to be as caffeine fueled as 2011.

Last of the Summer Wine

No need to worry, this is a post about beer, not an ancient TV programme!

Summer Wine was a brewery that had been on my radar for a while, but not being able to ship to Northern Ireland stymied my prospects of getting to try it somewhat. That was until Diabolo and Barrista were available at Belfast Beer Fest (I wonder who sugegsted them from the Flying Firkin list...) I loved both so knew it was time to shell out on a mixed case for Christmas, a bottle of each going to my dad for his present (he loves hoppy beers too; so will hopefully enjoy) and half a present to myself.

I love the simple but recognisable label designs with a bold name
and a simple short description of what to expect from the beer

I decided to kick things off with Hermes, the pale ale. A lovely clear golden number with fluffy white head. Lemon and biscuit on the nose Smooth drinking with subtle lemon that grows down the glass with a very bitter finish. A refreshing beer, yes but not quite to my tastes.

Barista is a beer I've enjoyed before, specifically on draught at Belfast Beer Festival as a breakfast beer. I love coffee in beers and am looking forward to the KopiKat imperial stout released later this year. Pours a reddish black with thin tan head. Its an alcoholic iced coffee with a good bitter finish and one I could drink plenty of.

I love porters and this is one I'd been looking forward to trying for a while. It made an ideal pairing for Boxing Day lunch of cheese and piotato pie and quiche. I enjoyed it so much I forgot to make any notes! Dark brown beer with subtle chocolate nose but its all going on in the body. Chocolate, roast barley, coffee, very full mouthfeel and very moreish.

Covenant was a wedding beer brewed by/for Nick Beer Prole and his lovely lady wife at the back end of summer. I've had it on keg at Twissup and its just as enjoyable in bottle. My fellow traveller also enjoyed this beer on our train ride to York. Hazy amber with plenty of tropical fruits on the nose, mango, lychee and lemon. In the mouth similarly fruity with balanced bitterness and mal. Its very easy going and subsequently the glass is empty pretty sharpish! Going for a "beer and book pairing" I chose my new copy of Martyn Cornell's Amber, Black and Gold, which I have learned a lot from and I'm but two chapters in so far!

Diablo is another deceptively easy drinker and one of my favourite UK IPAs. Hazy amber with a big fresh grapefruit nose, citrus zing and sprightly carbonation.I wish I'd ordered more of it.

I finished the bunch with the cohort. Its a black IPA with rye, a grain I've not tasted much of in beers but it seems to have been the "in thing" with British brewers this year. Pours a dark brown with fizzy tan head that collapses to a thin lacing. The rye imparts a spicy nose, big bitter and full mouthfeel. One I'd like to revisit soon.

All in all a tasty bunch of beers, which has confirmed my suspicions that summer wine are one of the breweries at the forefront of the UK brewing scene at the moment and I hope to try more of their beers in 2012.

Summer Wine have a good website and blog. You can find the brewer James and MD Andy on Twitter, where they're great at replying to any questions you may ask of them.