Oban

A two-hour drive from where we were stayed in Dunoon will take you to Oban. Its a fairly small town but has some decent restaurants, a brewery and a distillery. Arriving at lunchtime we went straight for our pre-booked meal at Ee-usk on North Pier. You couldn't ask for a better location, looking right out over the harbour through its glass frontage. Its a shame the weather wasn't up to much.

We were led to a prime table and ordered the drinks in. Unsurprisingly there's a good range of whiskys, including a few from the nearby distillery. Beer-wise there's nothing from the local Oban Brewery but there's some bottles from Fyne Ales so myself and my dad have a Piper's gold. Its a decent bitter session beer with English hops and goes well with the seafood platter we choose as starter. The Thai fish cakes were wonderfully spiced and delicious and the king prawn wrapped in salmon made an interesting juxtaposition of textures. Myself and Daisy also bravely tried our first oyster, straight out of the local loch. It was okay but nothing exciting, not sure I'd pay for one again.

The mains were all decent sized portions, particularly the whole, stuffed sea-bass and haddock and chips. The food all tasted great too. My scallops were cooked perfectly, but I still don't like those orange valve things. The staff were friendly and helpful and food reasonably priced. The only shock came when I saw the price of the Fyne Ales...£4.95 each! Its only £2.25 at the brewery not 50 miles away...

After lunch the plan was to use our Classic Malts passports for a free tour of the distillery and a few drams. Unfortunately all tours were choc-a-bloc and we had to content ourselves with a perusal of the (fairly bare) shop instead. Not to worry though as we had plenty of distilleries lined up for later in the week....

We didn't make it to the brewery, opting instead for some locally made chocolates and single origin cocoa, much better suited to the Scottish April weather.

Go WEST

In the heart of central Glasgow is a green park area with various monuments and the People's Museum and Winter Gardens. There's also a splendid building that hosts a secret - a German microbrewery and restaurant. WEST (for that is its name, whether it stands for anything I know not).

Gleaming copper

The first thing you notice on entering is a cordoned off area which turns out to be a view to the floor below with gleaming copper brew kettle and mash tun. Its supposedly hi-tech and efficient in a way that German manufacturing is wont to be. Its possible to tour the brewery but this generally has to be booked in advance. Certainly something for a future visit I think.

Templeton beer badge

The bar itself seems like any other until on closer inspection you find four taps with the WEST brand. Available on our visit were the St Mungo Lager, Hefeweizen, Munich Red and Wild West (a kellerbier). Its a shame there's not more available, but I guess they have to go with what's saleable within the shelf life time whilst having the core beers available. Would love to try the dunkels though.

St Mungo Lager and hefeweizen

I ordered a pint for myself and a half for the lady. The pricing system is strange to say the least and almost put a dampener on the proceedings. A pint is £3.50 (about normal for these parts) but a half is £2.50. Meaning Two halves would cost a whole £1.50 more than a pint. This seems stupid to me, even taking into account breakages/pilferage and cleaning of smaller glasses there can't be such a difference. At least the prices were clearly displayed on the wall but I can't help but thinking people would end up drinking less because of it. It would also be a good idea to offer a four thirds tasting tray for say £5. Id certainly have gone for that.

Pricing concerns aside, how were the beers? The St Mungo's was bright as a pin with a crisp flavour, some biscuit malt and very drinkable. The hefeweizen was preferred by my other half. Hazy dark blonde with a yeast ester nose and a touch of citrus. They certainly both looked the part in their branded glasses. We also tried the Munich Red (pint split between two glasses...) which was a sweet toffee apple and malty caramel affair and a taste of the Wild West confirmed it to be a lightly hoppy blonde which didn't particularly interest me at the time.

Spinnach and feta filo

Veggie haggis burger

Being that time of day we chose to stay for lunch. I'd seen mixed food reviews online but decided the proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say. Despite being very busy they soon had found us a table and having had a big breakfast skipped starters and went straight for mains. Daisy chose a spinach and feta filo parcel with pesto and tomatoes and I had a vegetarian haggis burger with added blue cheese and mushrooms. The hand-cut chips were great, well cooked and all food came out in good time and piping hot. Arranged nicely on the plates and in a good sized portion we were impressed. All of the food tasted excellent and I fail to see where the comments had come from in reviews. Certainly no complaints here. There were plenty of German inspired dishes on the menu for those who like their schnitzels and sausage too.

White chocolate tart

Hefe-ice and berry compote

I've tried beer ice-cream before (X-Beer 33 at U Medviku in Prague) but wasn't too keen, it being a fairly bitter beer sorbet. The hefe-ice was much tastier. Really creamy but with the unmistakable influence of spicy wheat and fruity esters, it off-set the tart berry compote perfectly. The white chocolate tart was also tasty and paired well with the Munich red, but perhaps a tad too sweet for me.

Daisy enjoying St Mungo's Lager

In all then a good experience. Good beer, good food, friendly service and fair prices (strangely priced halves aside). I'd certainly return and try other beers and food, but please WEST, rethink your pricing or offer tasting trays!

7 Distilleries, 7 Days

www.islayinfo.com/islay_whisky_distilleries

Well it was actually 8 distilleries in four days, but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it. I've just returned from a wonderful week spent on the west coast of Scotland including a visit to the islands of Islay and Jura.

To be honest I never used to be a fan of any Islay whiskys (or so I thought) because to my palate they were all phenolic peat-bombs with not much other flavour. However through trying whisky-cask aged beers such as Brewdog's Paradox range and Black Isle's Black Islay I came to appreciate that perhaps I had been unfair to them. Indeed not all Islay whiskys are peated and Bruichladdich is now among my favourite malts.

This post is more of a summary of where I went to, a brief overview if you will and I plan to write more in depth pieces on those distilleries I toured.

On Easter Sunday my whisky week began in Oban. Unfortunately they were fully booked for tours. A disappointing start to the week exacerbated by the rain outside,

The order of the day on Tuesday was an early start and two ferries to get from the mainland to Jura. As a long time favourite tipple I was very much looking forward to this distillery and wasn't disappointed.

A ferry back to Islay brought us into Port Askaig, home of Caol Ila - unfortunately closed for rennovation until a week after-bad timing! Bunnahabhain further up the coast were on holiday too, so no visit there either I'm afraid.

Wednesday morning I awoke to find myself in Bowmore (planned) with the eponymous distillery but a stone's throw from our door. That afternoon also saw a tour of Bruichladdich and Kilchoman on the west of the island.

Thursday meant visits to the the south coast "peat monster" distilleries, Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg. Being within a few miles of each other it makes for a great walk, and the sea air certainly clears out the cobwebs!

Not a bad haul!

It wasn't just about the drinking however, I also learnt a lot more about the whisky making process, got to try wash (beer) and new make spirit and chat to like-minded people. I also returned acertain beer to its spiritual home and shared it around with anyone interested. Further postings to come!

All in all a very whisky week, but beer didn't escape completely un-noticed with beverages supped from Ayr, Islay, Oban Bay, Isle of Mull and Fyne Ales. More on these and the whiskys later. I'd definitely recommend a visit to this area of Scotland because not only is it beautiful, so are the drinks.

Punk in Belfast

An unassuming backstreet location

It seems that the Brewer's House was not the only new pub to open in the province at the end of 2011. As recommended by Ciaran, landlord of the aforementioned, a friend and myself went to investigate Hudson's Bar (@hudsonbar) in Smithfields, Belfast.

Unable to recall the name we gave Ciaran a bell and he confirmed the name. Not one that had previously appeared on our radar.

"Whisky, Ales & Disco"

Its not exactly the busy end of Belfast, dominated by "adult" shops and bric-a-brac. The bar itself is on the site of a former gay club on first site Hudson's seems like many other Northern Irish bars. Gleaming fixtures and fittings, large frontage and door staff. The similarities end there however as once you get over the threshold you sense something different afoot.

Free music

Maybe the fact that its packed full of people and the night is yet young. Or perhaps its the acoustic guitar playing something other than Irish folk-songs. Or perhaps its the Brewdog beer on draught. Yes, you heard correctly, Keg Brewdog beer in Belfast! Punk IPA and 5AM saint to be precise. A chat with the landlord reveals he is a Brewdog shareholder and wanted to be able to drink it on draught in his native country.

Fresh Brewdog

Okay; so its not the cheapest of pints (£4.20 each) but compared to the £3.90 asking price in the Crown and the John Hewitt for Belfast Ale it is worth more. There's a range of bottled beers and Williams Bros Fraoch, also on keg, plus the regular macrobrands and a big whiskey selection.

The food menu seems reasonably priced with big portions, though having already eaten the sampling of the edible delights will have to await a future trip. There's a further two floors that play host to DJ sessions and live bands at various times, but the ground floor bar is the main attraction. Its great to see a healthy mix of young and old, male and female, singles and couples.

I like the fact that they're trying something different and it certainly seems to be working. The Hudson isn't going to remain hidden for long.

In other news I finally visited the Garrick as recommended by a number of bloggers, turns out it was right next to Boojum (my usual burrito destination) all along. D'oh!

Session #62: Why I Blog

The session this month is hosted by Alan at Brewpublic. He wants to know what drives us as bloggers, what made us want to blog. I don't really have any more to say than what's in my introductory post. to summarise:

*I like talking about beer.
*I like being involved in the blogging community.
*I like being able to support Northern Ireland Brewers/ other businesses

That's pretty much it.

April CABPOM: Ballyblue and Great Divide Belgian Yeti

Ten months in and I'm still enjoying writing this feature, regardless of how many people find it interesting. I have a summary page in the works for the anniversary.

Ballyblue and Ballyoak

I've noticed that I'm yet to feature any cheese from Northern Ireland; so this month rectifies that. Fivemiletown is a  dairy that takes milk from a local collective of farmers and produces a variety of cow and goats milk cheeses. I picked up a couple of these this week and in perusing their website discovered some tasty sounding recipes which I decided to make and pair a beer with.

First up then, the Ballyblue which is very similar to cambazola (a blue-veined brie). I chose a Great Divide Belgian Style Yeti to pair with. Now not everyone will have this bottle lying about, but a good substitute would be Guinness Foreign Extra Stout or Bristol Beer Factory Ultimate Stout, both strong rich variations on regular stout. The beer pours deep black with a chocolate tinged tan head. It has a fruity milk chocolate nose, with hints of roast barley and plenty of vanilla. There’s a fruity sweetness to the beer (no doubt from the Belgian yeast) and a gentler mouth-feel than those others in the yeti family. Warming but not boozy with a long gentle roast barley and chocolate finish. A lovely beer in its own right, but how doe sit pair with food?

Monster beer for a monster dish of food.

I chose the Ballyblue and wilted spinach pasta to pair this with. I think I probably used only half the amount of pasta suggested so ended up  with a sauce that was very rich indeed. This was no problem for the stout which was able to cut right through the fat and refresh the palate for the next bite (carbonation is key!). The roast barley was able to extract the earthy spinach from within that cream and cheese and the touch of lemon zest interacted with those yeast esters adding some extra "zing". Chocolate and cheese is now an accepted pairing and those chocolatey notes in the beer bring out some of those ripe fruit notes in the cheese.

Next up is the Ballyoak, which is similar to those tubes of Austrian smoked cheese but with a better texture. Omelette is the order of the day for this dish.I'm lucky enough to have a selection of fresh herbs so chose sage, lemon thyme. curly parsley and coriander for the omelette. The cheese is tricky to grate so do it in advance, rather than when the omelette's waiting for it (like I did!) I would pair this with a Trappist Tripel but have none to hand, so a regular Abbey style will have to do instead. I've a bottle of both Tripel Karmeliet (reviewed here by Pete drinks) and Mikkeller's Belgian Tripel in the fridge; so will try both out.

 Two very different looking beers here but how do they compare? The Karmeliet pours effervescent hazy blonde with fluffy white head that collapses to a lacing. Spicy wheat and banana toffo yeast esters on the nose. High carbonation, honey malt, spicy wheat and smooth oats combine with a warming esteric finish.The Mikkeller beer is one-dimensional in comparison. It pours dark amber with thin off-white head. Aroma of bread, caramel and burnt sugar. Very sweet with strong boozy note and a hint of lemon. Sweet and alcoholic finish.

Omelette and two Tripels.

 So how well do they pair with the omelette? The boozy Belgian tripel stomps all over it hiding the flavours whereas the tripel karmeliet complements the dish well. Those spicy esters and wheat bring out the herbs, the sweetness pulls out the smoky cheese, the oats and yeast really highlight the asparagus in ways I can't quite describe and our old friend carbonation cleans the palate between mouthfuls. A lovely pairing again, showing complementary flavours are just as valid as contrasting.


However for me the ballyblue and Belgian Yeti pips it to the post, just; so that becomes this month's CABPOM.

#IMPOFF

I had been planning to clear some of my Impy stout stock, so what better time to do so than a mass twitter drinking session? The four bottles I dug out were a range of ABVs and different takes on the style, with two being barrel aged and two straight up Impys. 2 English, 1 Irish and an American effort.

Beers lined up to meet their destiny

First up was Black Sheep. This was brewed for the Great Baltic Adventure in 2010. I've had this on cask before; so was looking forward to seeing what it was like in a 2y/o bottle. It looked the part with a big open fluffy head and a dark brown in colour. At first it was disappointing with some higher alcohols and yeast esters hiding all the malt and hops had to offer. Thankfully after some breathing time it opened up to reveal rich hedgerow fruits and a roust malt backbone. Not nearly as complex as the aged cask but likeable nonetheless.

Another beer I'd had before next then, this time a 2010 bottle of Dark Star. I drank a five year old bottle of this last March and wasn't particularly impressed: It obviously had reached a low point in its maturation cycle as this one showed none of those off-notes.Really unctuous (yes, oil like) this one, evil black beer with fluffy tan head. Aromas of blackcurrant and molasses. Tobacco features heavily in taste, alongside roast barley and warming booze. Long finish with a touch of Marmite. Nice.

Switching it up a bit I cracked open my bottle of Porterhouse barrel aged celebration stout, one I knew I had to try after both the Beer Nut and Reuben posted reviews. Thankfully it was in stock at Drinkstore and now was the time to open it. Dark brown with coffee and whisky on the nose. In the mouth its milk chocolate and whisky with a long oaky vanilla finish. This showed off what a barrel can add to a beer. I agree with Ghosty that barrel ageing can bring a lot to the table and although not every beer is done well or can be OTT those excellent examples make the search worthwhile.

The piece de resistance had to wait another night because I was all stouted out. That meant that I could bask in the glory of this beer for much longer. That beer is of course Goose Island Bourbon County. Pours black as night with a lacing of beige and a continual eruption of small bubbles that burst on surfacing. Vanilla custard and caramel liqueur on the nose. Thick and rich and warming with chocolate, robust barley, through coffee, chicory and a long warming vanilla finish. Coffee comes in afterwards and rumbles on alongside oaky influences and a final whisky kiss. This is a fantastic beer and I urge you all to seek it out if you haven't done so already!