Classic Vintage

Last month I reviewed the larger Goose Island vintage bottles and this month I'm back again with the four smaller brethren to the sistren*. These are a more disparate group of beers with a dark and light saison, a Belgian Abbey style and a pale ale.

Goose Island's Vintage Collection

Goose Island thinks they pair well with cheese; so I'll take them up on the challenge. Everyone knows I'm a cheese fiend so don't need an excuse really!  I headed to M&S and picked up a couple of Irish cheeses and a French brie.

Sofie is a Belgian-style saison that works well with brie. Brewed with orange peel and aged in white wine barrels with wild yeast its supposed to be a substitute for champagne. It pours hazy pale blonde with a fluffy white foam. On the nose its quite lactic with acidic pineapple and a touch of Brett. Its a light touch in the mouth, reminding me of the hibiscus flavours from Goose Island Fleur with a touch of white pepper in the finish. Sparkling carbonation as fine as champagne.
The brie is pungent, with mushroomy rind, uniform, slightly squishy paste but the right side of ammoniac-al. The flavour is delicate and not so pungent as an unpasteurised brie but works well enough. When sampled together the two cancel each other out somewhat, but the earthy mushroom rind is enhanced by the spicy note and of course that carbonation does its thing in cleansing the palate. An alright but not outstanding match.

Matilda is a Belgian style pale ale, suggested to go with washed rind cheeses and Camembert. It pours mid-amber with sweet peach and perfumed violet nose. Sweet candy sugar with a slight burnt caramel in the finish. Little in the way of carbonation.
I chose aardharan for this, a grainy, salty rind with soft and tacky paste, very buttery with strong rind. This time the beer acquires some fruity and peppery spice notes with the cheese.

Pere Jacques is a Belgian abbey-style dubbel which pairs to aged Gouda or Stilton. It pours mid-ruby brown with a strong nose of apple orchards, so much so that with your eyes closed it could be a cider. Its quite sweet with plenty of higher alcohols and a burnt sugar/ solvent finish. I'm not too keen.
Chose to pair it with cashel blue, another Irish cheese. Its salty and funky with a rich creamy finish. The cheese is perhaps a little strong for the beer, the beer losing what little character it did have and leaving a residual sweetness. The full flavour of the cheese is still apparent

Last but not least is Pepe Nero, the black saison. No cheese suggestion here, but I'd go for a crumbly Lancashire or Cheshire. Pours dark brown with fizzy tan head that doesn't hang around. On the nose its black pepper spice and toffee malt. Sweet up front with chocolate malt and a hint of vegetal horseradish. A long sweet and spicy finish.


With the exception of Sofie I'm not sure that these beers better any of the Belgian greats and the cheese pairing suggestions aren't particularly good, with the exception of washed rind & Matilda. So CABPOM for may would be Ardharan and Goose Island Matilda, another win for the washed rind cheeses. I'd suggest they're all still worth trying, but probably not at the expense of the Belgian brewed classics.

*yes I'm aware that's not a word in much use these days but its real - look it up!

Ardbeg

The final Kildalton distillery is Ardbeg. Again, no tour for us on this visit but instead a tasty lunch in the old kiln cafe. As with most Islay distilleries they've stopped producing their own malt and instead get hold of it from Port Ellen maltings.

There's a selection of fresh cooked home-made dishes and a well-stocked shop. The tour ends in the tasting room, which has a large variety on offer. Certainly somewhere I'll have to return to!

They've created a few experimental malts, not least alligator (see right), named for the charring technique used on the casks which causes them to resemble alligator hide. As you might expect its very smoky, charcoal, ash alongside a touch of peat from the base spirit, not for everyone but I enjoyed my dram. The Blasda (left) is a different kettle of fish altogether. Distilled with a lower ppm specification on the peat in the malt its much more gentle with a sweet honey note in the mouth.

I was pleased to capture this reflection shot outside of the distillery. As you can see Ardbeg uses different types of cask to achieve different finishes on the spirit.

Wood Aging

I started writing this post ages ago, and since then there have been a number of posts on wood-aging.

A trend that has been noticed recently is barrel ageing of beers. Usually stouts though any beer which has high enough alcohol content for ageing has probably been stuck in a barrel at some point. 

Some beers are aged in "virgin" casks; i.e., they've not been used previously whereas others may come from the whisk(e)y/rum/brandy/(insert spirit here) industries.

I seem to have built up a sizeable stash of these so thought I'd put my thoughts down here. Unlike some people I enjoy barrel aged beers. It can be overdone resulting in an alcoholic mess or oaky soup, but when done well it can enhance and complement the base beer's characteristics.

There are probably two well-known barrel agers in the UK and both based in Scotland. Their methodology couldn't be more different. Whilst Innis and Gunn was originally a waste product from the beer conditioning of new oak casks it gained a small following and the company was formed around it. Since then they've also released spirits barrel aged editions including the Irish Whisky stout reviewed below.

Brewdog on the other hand, have a large stash of whisky barrels from all over Scotland and showcased how their different characteristics come through in a standard (though by no means mundane) base stout. This is their Paradox range. They've also barrel aged a large number of their limited release products*. I have three of these coming up next month.

So on to the reviews. First up is a biggy: Great Divide's 17th anniversary Wood Aged DIPA. Pours dark amber, with fluffy beige head and aroma redolent of marmalade on toast with underlying vanilla pod sweetness. Well balanced wood, malt and hop notes flavour wise, alcohol hidden expertly. This is an example of how to wood age well and flys in the face of the assumption that it has to be a stout to be barrel aged.

The aforementioned Innis and Gunn pours dark ruby with vanilla and toffee apple on the nose. Quite highly carbonated with more toffee apple, sweet caramel, chocolate. Lingering sweet finish. Pretty well done.

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.

Its becoming a more widespread practice within the UK too, with brewers such as Hardknott (with their Æther Blæc in four iterations this year), Summer Wine, Black Isle, Harviestoun^ and St Peters experimenting. Even the Mighty Fullers is involved with their Brewer's Reserve beers now approaching its fourth year.

*I recently reviewed Brewdog Bitch Please, another barrel aged beer
^With their excellent Ola Dubh range

Laphroaig

Another Kildalton distillery, Laphroaig this time, long revered as being a particularly phenolic dram. I didn't have enough time to go on the tour but had a good look around the exhibition and strolled around outside. Its a great look back at the people that have made Laphroaig over the years alongside some of the awards that they have received.

I peeked into the warehouse below the distillery offices and was met with the enticing sight of casks and old coppering tools. I'd love to spend some time just wondering around soaking up the fumes.

You can even sign up to become a friend of the distillery and mark your plot on the field. The field is marked with flags of various nations and some people have even brought their own custom flags. I picked up a miniature whilst I was there which I've reviewed below.

An amber-honey tone which forms long alcohol streaks on  the side of the glass. Laphroaig cask strength has a nose with immediate iodine and wood-smoke nose. Underneath this is a hint of golden syrup and damp soil. Its fairly sweet at first and then those phenolic notes Laphroaig is so famous for creep in along with some charcoal and ash. The heat comes in the swallow, leaving a long medicinal finish.

My palate has certainly become more tolerant as previously I couldn't even stand a single sip of the stuff! Who else out there finds Islay malts hard work?

#TheSession #63: Time for Beer

After being unable to meet his hosting commitment in November, Pete's taking up the session mantle this month and a right corker of a topic it is too: the beer moment. When is the right time for beer?

I'd posit that there isn't a right or wrong time for beer. The beer moment comes whenever the need arises.

As much as it may be romantic to evoke notion of solidarity with fellow drinkers, the beer moment doesn't have to be shared. Or it can be shared after the fact.

Its not just about the beer, though that can often be a contributing or causative factor.

Its not just about the location, though that can serve to enhance or downgrade the experience.

Nor is it about the weather, method of dispense, glassware used, background sounds or any number of tangible or identifiable features.

It's about the satisfaction of a primal urge.

Beer is what brought about civilisation but our first taste of it came as heathens.

In the beer moment we are transported back to that time, a time before any of the cares of the modern world and allow ourselves to relax.

The beer moment is that fleeting connection to nature with every first gulp.

A Fyne state of affairs

Whilst staying on the West Coast of Scotland we were within 40 minutes drive of one of Scotland's fynest breweries, winner of Champion Beer of Scotland last year with their Jarl pale ale, I am of course talking about Fyne ales. Of course I had to visit (well it would have been rude not to!), have a nose about and purchase some tasty beers for home supping.

On arrival we were greeted by a deserted car-park, but some one discerning was obviously at work as Against Me's "I Still Love You Julie" was blaring out.  It turns out that everyone was hard at work brewing or building the new bar on the back of their shop, which has been temporarily re-homed in an adjacent barn. Its good to see that other local producer's wares are available to buy alongside the beers.

Head brewer Will kindly found time to chat to me and give me an impromptu tour, whilst tending to the second "brew" of the day, a caustic deep-clean done weekly. There's certainly no slacking here with 10 brews each 10bbl a week. As you would expect, the majority of these are given over to flagship beers Jarl and Avalanche, with 4 20bbl filled with the golden stuff on my visit. There was plenty of other stuff on the go though, and I was treated to the new Davaar blonde IPA. Pours a hazy amber with rich citrus fruit and resin nose. Quite a citric bitterness in the mouth with good malt bill to balance. This is one of a pair, the other being black (both reviewed here by The Beercast). Will hopes to showcase how colour can lead to false conceptions of how a beer may taste.The next pair in the series will be golden and red session strength beers. Will came up with the idea after being asked to arrange a tour for a blindness charity and hit upon comparative tastings as a great way to show off what a brewery can do.

Prior to Fyne, Will worked at Oakham, but he's been up here for 6 years now. The brewery is fairly isolated and most of the staff live on the estate. "I live in the village, so at least there's a pub!" Its pretty quiet from November until Easter, which allows for catching up on bottle stocks and experimental brews. If fermenter space allows Will wants to produce a double IPA later this year and also plans to bottle his Sublime stout in a swing-top 750ml bottle (it would have been brewed that week but there were no oats available!) All bottling is done using the krausening process, a small amount of active beer (replete with yeast)  is used to give good condition in the bottle. Certainly one to watch for!

The brewery holds an annual festival of beer and music, which will be held from the 1st to 4th June this year. It sounds like a great event with a good line-up of beers planned. Thank you will for taking the time to show me around, I'd certainly hope to return in the not too distant future and try out the new bar!

So; on to the beers. I got five in total, each at a very reasonable £2.25.

DRINK ME

Lowest ABV up first and one I am familiar with. Lime and mango nose. Pale blonde. Quite grapefruity up front, mango in behind. Brief sweet finish.

Maverick is Vanilla and chocolate yoghurt on the nose of this brown bitter. Fluffywhite head with flavours of red berries and toffee in the finish but very sweet.

Hurricane Jack is a stronger Jarl. Similar pale blonde as Jarl with dry citrus aroma. Maltier than Jarl with orangey hops, a sharper finish and gentle carbonation.

Vital Spark is a 4.4% version of Maverick Dark. Ruby with fluffy whitehead, sweet caramel, apples and rasins on the nose. Tastes of a caramel flavoured lattewith a gentle bitterness to finish.

My final beer was Holly Daze, 5% ABV and released for Christmas. Pours amber with a fluffy white head, gentle sweet nose and fruity malt flavours. Warming finish with a hint of spicy hops.

Hope to get a chance to try some of the others over the next year.

Lagavulin

View from the main road

Lagavulin is the second Kidalton distillery you come across, regardless of which way you travel. As member's of the classic malt society me and mine get a free tour and whisky sampling, but the tour is worth what they were asking in any case.

There's a big difference in photography rules here compared to Bruichladdich and no indoor pictures were allowed. We were ably guided around the distillery by Ruth, who gave us plenty of information on the specifics of the operation here and atsister distillery Caol Ila.

Old kiln furnaces

The majority of Lagavulin is aged on the island, here, at Port Ellen in the old distillery warehouses and up at Caol Ila and is largely sold as single malt. Conversely most of Caol Ila whisky is tankered off of theisland and destined to be used in blended whisky to addcharacter to cheaper grain whiskys.

Shiny mill.

Lagavulin is fairly modernised by Islay standards with metal mash tun and all malt now supplied by  Port Ellen maltings. We do get to see into the old kiln furnaces though.

In the wash house I experience another whisky distillery first (for me) we're given the chance to try the wash (fermented beer). Its full of smoke. quite malty and pretty thin. Not much sign of those phenolics yet, they must come through on distillation as they're certainly there in the final product! It reminded me of a rauchbier if all of the speciality malts had been stripped out.

On into the still house and the new make is positively gushing out. There's a fair amount of copper sulphate washed through. This comes from the reaction of sulphur with the copper stills and pipework, eliminating potential unpleasant offtastes from the whisky. This is a large fator in why distilleries use copper instead of stainless steel, despite the massive price difference!

We're led to the tasting room, poured a dram each then left to "supervise" the bottles as the Scandinavian occupants of the room from the preceding tour had clearly been fairly liberal with their measures!

We were able to try the regular 16 y/o expression of lagavulin plus unpeated caol ila as well as a variety of special edition releases. As a bonus, we're all given a glass to take home with us. No miniatures on sale; so no whisky for home for me this time around!