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.

Its not just about the beer

It seems I have been unfair to wine. My belief that I disliked wine was driven by the fact that the majority of wines tried to date weren't very nice. But when on honeymoon on New Zealand we found a few wines that changed that.

The first (and a wine synonymous with New Zealand) was Sauvignon Blanc. I love New Zealand hops and one of the best is Nelson Sauvin, named for its ability to produce similar flavours as the aforementioned grape. Cracking open a fresh bottle of wine in New Zealand and this comparison is immediately apparent with sherberty lime and passion fruit notes at the fore with gooseberry grapey flavours.

We enjoyed the Lawsons Dry Hills interpretation of Sauvignon Blanc so much that we came away with a bottle of it (you can buyit from Majestic in the UK)! This could easily be substituted for a pale ale or IPA with less of the associated bitterness and a higher alcohol to make you drink it more slowly (and thus not be filled up by drinking too much liquid!). I also very much enjoyed the Riesling whilst daisy favoured their award-winning herbal Gewürztraminer.

Another we enjoyed was the Syrah from Topknot Hill on Waiheke island. This a red wine unlike any we had tried before. Intensely fruity with well rounded body and long blackberry finish. More of a sipper this would substitute well for a malt-led imperial stout or old ale as an after dinner drink or with robust red meat like beef or venison. They're worth a visit as they also have a microbrewery and restaurant on site.

We also visited a vineyard in Kaikoura, and whilst we were gave warm welcome by our host, we weren't as taken by any of the wines on offer. They're a fairly young operation though, so the wines will only improve with time.

It seems I will have to give wine a chance more often...but not so often that it becomes a costly habit!

Book Review: The London Cheese & Wine Guide

I saw a review of this book elsewhere on the internet and thought it would fit this blog well and requested a review copy.(yes I know this is primarily a beer blog, but as its my blog I choose what goes).   I was kindly obliged and it arrived today. If I didn't like it then I would say so! As I mentioned to the writers, I probably would have ended up buying one anyway, but this way its more timely given that its just been released in time for the Christmas market I have no doubt.

Its a stylish looking volume, paperback with glossy card cover and full colour throughout. Handily arranged into sections by business type, with cheese given the respect it deserves and coming first*. We're taken through the top specialist shops, delicatessens and even more impressively the cheese stalls at borough market. There's a top 5 given for each section to aid you in your cheesy quest should the choice become overwhelming. I particularly like the full market guide, showing all the London markets and which cheese vendors attend each and when, very useful! This would come in handy for an out of town tourist like myself in deciding which particular market would be best to visit.

I also learnt that I'm a turophile. No that doesn't mean I have an affinity with a certain Cornish town but it means I'm a lover of cheese. Stay tuned for a post on the symptomns of turophilia...

On the wine side of things we're given a selection of wine merchants and wine bars. There's also a selection on retailers which provide both cheese and wine (for all your one-stop cheese and wine party organising needs) and restaurants that have particularly impressive wine lists and cheese boards. Stuffed full of information alongside the essentials such as nearest tube station and contact details we get the owners names and typical pricing, by glass of wine or type of cheese (with brie de meaux, cheddar, parmigano-reggiano and stilton taken as benchmarks).

As is always the case I find there's a pile of cheeses I've not even heard of, let alone tasted but now I know where to find them and roughly what I'll be paying for the privilege too! I found myself adding venues to visit to Google maps as I was flicking through, a sure sign the guide is doing its job. I think a handy addition would have been a basic map of London showing the approximate location of each venue; so those short of time or staying in a particular area can see what's nearby. 

Some useful symbols to find the information you need.

Although the bulk of the book is taken up by the aforementioned listings there are also guides on buying, storing and tasting cheeses and wines and a handy wine styles aroma chart (which if you're a complete wine newbie like myself comes in handy for working out what I might like). There are also a few recipes from featured establishments (with the Deli Downstairs' Pork, Thyme and Tallegio pizza sounding particularly tasty)  and a cheese and wine pairings table with some suggested matches. I'm a little disappointed to find that beer and cider have only been suggested as matches for manchego and cheddar, especially given their favourite pairings include London Porter with Gruyère and cider with a blue cheese! I suppose I should be grateful they even get a mention in what is essentially a monobooze book.

Overall I can happily recommend the book for those looking to seek out some cheesy and wine delights in London's capital, there's certainly enough of them!

The London Cheese & Wine Guide  by Lucy Gregory and Jeffrey Young is available direct from the publishers, Allegra for £11.95+P&P, or as usual on Amazon for a little less. The website also has some good supporting information and offers a subscription service of £5 pa to access the book listings, additional updates and recipes. Follow them on twitter @LCandWG.

Big thanks to Hana Gajdosova for the review copy and the Allegra team for writing such a useful guide.

*I suspect this has more to do with the order in the title, but I'll pretend to please myself.

CABPOM November: Bristol Beer Factory Hefe & Fresh Goat's Cheese

As I mentioned earlier in the week, this month's cheese and beer pairing takes the form of a wine vs beer "smackdown" which was held at Cheese School on October 30th. I've never been a fan of wine; so knew it would be interesting to see whether I immediately picked the beer as the best match in each case. It is worth mentioning that all beers were from a single brewery (Bristol Beer Factory) whereas the wines were from all over the shop. 

Andrew Cooper matched and was arguing for the beers, whereas Matthew Eggens of Averys Wine Merchants fought the corner for wine. There was some good banter between the two proponents and I tried to do my bit with helpful (annoying?) tasting notes and style descriptions of the beers for the drinkers on my table.

The pairings were as follows:

Fresh Ragstone goats cheese with Bristol Hefe (4.8%) vs Reisling

Old Demdike Washed-curd Ewes Cheese with Acer (3.8%) vs 2008 Zephyr Chardonay (13%)

Montogomery's Cheddar with Bristol Vintage 2011 (6.6%) vs Urbina Rioja 1999 Seleccion (13%)

Stichelton with Milk Stout (4.8%) vs Herdade do Esporão Vinho Licoroso (18.5%)

First up was the goasts cheese. This was a wonderfully fresh and creamy little number with a hint of lemon. The Hefe's bubblegum and banana yeast flavours helped to draw out this freshness and cleanse the palate of the sticky cheese. Riesling on the other hand, whilst a tasty drop on its own was too acidic, clashing terribly with the cheese. The beer won this one easily for me

The  vote showed the audience was largely in favour of the beer. 1-0 to beer

The sheep's cheese threw a spanner in the works for all concerned. A very tricky number to pair with and both went for a wild card choice. Acer from Bristol Beer Factory uses Sorachi Ace as its sole hop and is a lemon and bubblegum affair with a hint of hay meadow. The cheese somehow picked up on this hay (milk protein is ultimately from grass perhaps?), drowning out the fruity flavours of the beer and leaving the mouth rather dry. There was also an unpleasant bitter spike at the end. The wine, on the other hand pointed at the sweetness in the cheese and complemented the earthy flavours of the wine with a fruity freshness. Surprisingly I had found a wine I enjoyed and it had beaten the beer.

The vote in the room (read: tent) was overwhelmingly for the wine with only a few beers. 1-1.

The dead heat, beer just wins it!
Picture from Fiona's blog on the event

The next match saw the beer pull ahead again as the majority found Bristol Vintage to be the better match for the cheddar, though many people thought that both drinks overpowered the cheese. Bristol vintages fruity nose and caramel malt bill was less overpowering than the juicy raspberry of the wine. Perhaps a slightly more tangy cheddar could have stood up better. A number of people voted for both wine and beer in this round, with beer just pipping wine to the post. 1-2 to beer.

The final round saw Todd Schneider's blue cheese masterpiece Stitchelton. Unfortunately everyone tried the wine first (really a port) which didn't give the lowly 4.8% ABV milk stout much of a chance. As feared, people couldn't taste the stout after the wine and voted accordingly. I chose to abstain. Final score 2-2.

So an interesting experiment which shows that beer can hold its own against wine and in many cases better it in the cheese matching stakes. I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy all four of the wines in their own right, but think had beers been available from a few suppliers beer would have won every round (but then again, I'm biased!) A recent beer vs wine meal at Thatchers Arms was also declared a draw.

And this months cheese and beer pairing suggestion is different to any of my previous with a pale beer and a pale cheese, proving its not only dark beer and blue that pairs well!

MMMMMMMM CHEESE

I've just got back from a cheese-packed day at Cheese School in The Ethicurean and Barley Wood Walled Garden near Bristol. It was put together by Fiona Beckett and Jess Trethowan and comprised a number of cheese themed sessions.Upon arriving we made our way through the spacious gardens to the cider barn field, where 30 places had been laid out in a vintage tent. After a lovely fresh cup of coffee it was on to introductions, then it was a time to try some cheese, after all that's why we were all there!

The vintage mess tent decorated by Toast, lovely colours.

 

 

 

 

The first session gave us a chance to hear from a selection of cheese makers about their history and their craft and, perhaps most importantly, getting a chance to try some of them. First up was Todd Trethowan and his brother Maugan who tell us the three main tenets of good cheese are unpasteurised milk, animal rennet and being handmade.

Carephilly, GWR, Old Demdike and Stichelton

 We're given a chance to try Gorwydd Caerphilly first. A crumbly creamy centre with thin mushroomy breakdown and a composty rind. They also experiment with a salt-brine washed rind cheese, Gorwydd Washed Rind (GWR) a pungent and gooey masterpiece that has recently won an award in the British Cheese Awards.

Old Demdike, a washed curd sheeps cheese is up next and we meet Tim Homewood, the cheese-maker. It has a similar scent to a gouda but much sweeter due to the use of sheep's milk. Closer to human milk its apparently easier to digest.

Joe Schnieder is up last but certainly not least with the wonderful stitchelton an unpasteurised Stilton style cheese (he's not allowed to call it stilton however as its PDO specifies pasteurised milk!) A salty and sweet fruity and creamy blue cheese, less acidic than some stilton and very quickly consumed. I made copious notes but all you need to know that if you haven't yet tried this cheese you should seek it out.

The next session is on designing a cheeseboard. We get a talk on how to put cheeses together, storage tips and  some ideas for novel cheese boards and plates. Fiona got all artistic with some sycamore leaves and we try a selection of breads from Tom Herbet from Hobbs House Bakery as well as hearing about his recipe for the ultimate cheese toasty, which leaves everyone salivating for more cheese. I don't very often host dinner parties but I certainly have plenty of ideas for cheese courses now!

Just before lunch is one of the sessions I was most looking forward to the wine vs beer "smack-down" which I will blog about later in the week as it serves a post of its own.

Piping hot Beetroot Soup

 Lunch is next, prepared fresh for everyone by the Ethicurean. We get a vivid red beetroot soup with goats curd and fresh bread. Mains is a fresh salad straight from the garden with Old Demdike, fresh pear and honey roasted walnut. Later in the afternoon with have a succulent toffee apple cheesecake made with apples grown in the Ethicurean's own orchard.

After lunch we were presented with a selection of English and French cheeses for a comparison of how technique can give completely different cheeses for a similar recipe. French cheeses are warmed to a greater extent when setting and thus are a bit more rubbery and fruity in texture than their English equivalents. My favourite of the bunch is Tunworth, a Hampshire Camembert-style cheese with earthy mushroom flavours

The we headed out into the cider barn, still fresh with the smell of ripe apples, for a demonstration of cheese making from Tim and Angela. We see two methods, both with rennet set and lactic set. Its surprisingly easy and hope to get hold of some cheese cloth to have a go myself some day soon. To finish the day we get to try some local ciders and some of the apples fresh from the orchard. We also get a good sized piece of stinking bishop, a Dorset cheese washed with perry.

Unfortunately my taxi turns up before I can try the single-varietal ciders. It'd been a cheese-filled day and I would have liked to have stayed for more but I got plenty packed in and feel I know more about cheese now, which should help me to write my monthly pairing blogs with a bit more knowledge.