The Seventh Blackhurst Beer Festival (Part Two)

Beer Number Six - Arrow Brewing Co, Tobin's Ale

The Arrow Brewing Company (launched in December 2008 by five ‘craft beer enthusiasts) was as good a reason to return to Arrowtown as any. The brewery is approximately 1.3km from door to door which is particularly handy. This is a traditional English style ale with strong hop characters. I like it and have drunk a lot of it already to make my point.

Comments:

Big taste; malty; oven roasted
Time and micro-organisms were involved
Single malt
Strong hop-flavoured bitter
Bitter with lots of anti-bacterial hops – eeuuw
Aha, proper beer – pleasing maltiness; very drinkable
Amber nectar
A well-rounded little number with a beautiful amber glow
Lightly flavoured; will keep well
Bile vile; extremely bitter with malt undertones

I like this beer a lot so was personally disappointed that it only came 7th with 34 points. Oh well, I can't force people to like the beer that I do...

Beer number seven - Green Man Best Bitter (4.5%)

The Green Man Brewery in Dunedin is named after the Green Man, oddly enough; an old folk-fertility symbol, said to represent the essence of nature itself. Hedonistic and ritualistic, the pagan figure dies each year in November and is reborn on 1st May. The brewery website claims, ‘He is found in the spirit of the trees, and his presence can be felt around you, in the bush… He is in orgies on the hillside, riots in the street, the celebrations of plenty, and the privations of crop failure. He is in inebriation, orgasm, trance and possession. His eyes typically do not focus, and his image is part comforting and part worrying, like the force he represents.’ Sounds like a drunken old hippy to me – hurrah!

Brewed to strictly organic standards (with no additives, sugar or isinglass – a fish product often used to clear beer), the Best Bitter is even suitable for vegans! It is crafted after an authentic English style of ale with deep copper colour, intense hop character and lingering bitterness. The brewers boast that “Green Man Best Bitter is the taste of Olde England.” Start waving those hankies and shaking those bells!

Comments:
Celtic – aaaaargh!
Would go nice with beer
Dark mutterings
Aftershave
You Northern monkey!
Harrington’s malty something?
Malty moderate texture
Something darkish, a bit bitter and a tad malty; Speight’s Distinction?
Sweet and malty with hops
Classic beer; fresh on the front palate with a brave aftertaste

A reasonable score for this beer on the night - 43 points put it in fourth place.

Beer number eight - Tuatara India Pale Ale (5%)

The mission statement of this brewery is to “reclaim beer values”. In all their beer they insist on using traditional methods and authentic malts. They believe that craft beer is endangered and, as such, the tuatara is a fitting motif: “We relate to the little guy; he’s gone along doing things in his own deliberate patient way – and has so far outlasted all his bigger relations by quite a few million years.” Tuatara brewery has a long way to go, with only eight years of brewing, but is already building up an impressive reputation.

In 2008 Tuatara won Best Brewery at the Brew NZ Awards. They also won best IPA. The brewery is located just north of Wellington and their beers are always on tap at The Malthouse (which was our local when we lived there – can you detect a theme?). When I last saw the head brewer he had just singed off his eyebrows by experimenting with too many hops for his kiln. They must be the only brewery in the modern world not to have a website. They do their marketing by word of mouth. I like them.

Comments:
I’m at a loss for w...
Like my last wife; works well, slightly rubbery, or is that my lips?
Hoppy and a little bitter
Hopsy strong aftertaste
Bitter with lots of anti-bacterial hops – am I repeating myself?
This is the nicest one so far
A lot hoppier on the nose, handier in the hand and kind to the mind
Guess – pure guess; Celtic – wrong?

This was our silver medal beer, coming 2nd with 48 points.

The sky continued to glow as the beer continued to flow.

Beer number nine - Dux Brewing Company Nor'wester (6.5%)

I’ve forgotten many a Christchurch afternoon on this stuff. It’s a traditional strong ale that is aptly named after the strong warm winds that turns all Cantabrians just a little more mad than they already were.

It’s strong with lashings of malt, hops and fruitiness. Glengarry (the magazine of the wine and beer retailer) describes it as ‘the Michelin Man of ales’ as in ‘balanced, fully flavoured and artfully constructed.’ Not as in made of tyres and tasting of rubber, then.

Comments:
Speight’s Porter?
They are getting better
You malty wee thing
Sweet and malty
Full flavour and smooth aftertaste
This one smells nice – sweet and malty
If it were a dog it would be a spaniel
Malty stuff; almost barley wine-ish
A beautiful bitter with a well-rounded flavour and spicy aftertaste

With 56 points, this beer was a clear winner and topped our voting table. I have incidentally noticed that this happens a lot with this kind of beer - is it that it is stronger, slightly sweet, or just served near the end of the night?

Beer number ten - Renaissance Craftsman Chocolate Oatmeal Stout (4.9%)

Renaissance Brewery Co sits in the heart of Marlborough’s wine growing region (Blenheim) so it must make damn fine stuff if it’s going to compete, and it does. It’s got that fancy label thing going on as well.

Made with real cocoa beans and organic rolled oats (plus malts and other stuff that goes into beer) this stout is one way to get your oats (and your chocolate). It was the brewery’s decadent spring release and Regional Wines and Spirits (my spiritual home) voted it among their top six beers of 2009. Beer writer Kieran Haslett-Moore writes, “Craftsman is the ultimate beer for any chocolate lover packed full of spicy dark chocolate and espresso flavours and aromas with a nutty rich moderately bitter finish. Try it with red meats or a dark berry based desert.” May I recommend pie and peas anyone?

Comments:
Like being pistol whipped by a belligerent troll but worse (incidentally, the person who described it thus rated it as their second favourite beer of the night - yes, I've got some odd friends...)
Speight’s Old Dark
Old Dark, Harrington’s or Monteith’s, and slightly bitter
Long dark number
Malt and full on
Chocolate and coffee
Eeeeeeeeuuuuw! Marmite
Molasses overtones with a chocolaty finish
Match with pudding

The chocolate beer was quite a popular wee number and was voted third overall with 46 points.

So there we have it; a fine night was had by all, much beer was consumed and much nonsense was talked, which is afterall, the true purpose of such functions. The Blackhurst Beer Festival has successfully completed it's seventh year, and we are looking forward to the next one already!

Beervana 2009: Tasting Notes (Part Two)

I am able to try an IPA from Nøgne Ø, of which we have never heard before. I find it has notes of varnish and isn’t overly drinkable – I can just taste alcohol rather than beer. Him Outdoors claims it’s ‘flowery’ – maybe jonquils then, as their fragrance gives me a violent headache. He has got an Imperial Stout so we swap – this is very, very nice; black with dark brown froth.

The boys turn up with a none-too-fresh-looking chilli in a beer glass. It’s a gimmick lager which bites your tongue from Mussel Inn. Why would you do that to a beer? It’s just silly. To be fair, when the Weevil arrives (two hours late) and wants to catch up, she aims immediately for something she knows she likes, the Monkey Puzzle Extra Strong Ale from the same place, which she announces is ‘a good starter’.

There are talks throughout the evening on such topics as ‘beer and cheese matching’, ‘brewing organically’, ‘the right glass for your beer’ and ‘women and beer mythbusters’. An announcement over the public address system keeps reminding us that these talks are on, but although I would like to listen to Neil Miller and Martin Bosley talk about food and beer, I don’t feel that now is the right time to do so when I am too busy sampling the delights myself – I’ll get a curry later; that will do for food and beer matching tonight.

I am bought a random beer which turns out to be an IPA from the Twisted Hop. My notes at this point read ‘Lovely. I like it. More of this sort of thing’. I am finding it increasingly difficult to balance my pen, programme and camera, and also to write coherent notes evidently.

As Him Outdoors talks to strangers he finds a long-haired ale-lover from Stockport. He actually lives in Auckland and has come down this weekend especially for the beer festival. He is in raptures over the Great End ESB at the Peak Brewery. We try it and I can see why. It is cask conditioned and served via a hand-pull it tastes like something I would expect to find in Coniston. It claims to be ‘extra strong and extra bitter’; my notes read ‘very strong, very fruity and a little bit extra.’ The Weevil reckons it tastes like a Scottish Cal 80, Bellhaven; she’s all for her comparisons.

When we try the Old House ESB from the Townshend Brewery, she decides it is like a Tetley's Mild from Haddon Hall. Just in case I don’t realise how high praise this is, she adds, ‘This is the best beer I’ve had in New Zealand’. The brewing chaps are a little concerned when she asks for ‘more of your finest flattest beer please’ until she bats her big brown eyes and tells them she loves it. I’m impressed too (by the beer rather than the eyes – I’ve seen them all my life) and although it smells slightly of cabbage, it is flat and fulsome and English-tasting.

We head back up to the Arrow Brewing Company for Some Wee Heavy Scotch Ale which is pleasant and sweet and, well...heavy. The chaps provide tasting notes which claim it contains flavours of toffee and orange brandy’. At this stage I think we should probably take their word for it. The Weevil notes, ‘Another flat one – but more fruity Kiwi style’. Him Outdoors has finished noting things. In fact, I think he has misplaced his programme but he has appointed himself chief photographer, hence lots of blurred shots of drinkers’ feet.

We save the best until (nearly) last and savour a drop of Pot Kettle Black from Yeastie Boys. It is still the best beer in show, and they have pretty smart t-shirts too. It’s like a Terry’s Chocolate Orange with hops and alcohol: very tasty indeed!

The adjacent stall is the Green Man Brewery apparently trying to save the world one beer at a time. We join them by starting with an IPA, which is reminiscent of bananas and cloves in a totally nice and tasty, and finishing shortly afterwards with the Strong, which is strong and tasty. I must admit to trying this last time round and not remembering a whole lot afterwards. After a couple of sips of this blend of Dopplebock matured on whisky barrel wood and blended with Best Bitter, a similar thing seems to happen. Is this déjà bu?

So in summation, my top 5 in no particular order are:
Tobin’s Cask Ale – Arrow Brewing Company; Tricerahops Double IPA – Ninkasi; Old House ESB – Townshend Brewery; Great End ESB – Peak Brewery; Yeastie Boys – Pot Kettle Black

The Blackhurst Beer Festival (continued)

Continuing on with the Blackhurst Beer Festival. The conversation and the beer was flowing by the time we got to,

Beer Number Six - Green Man Dark Mild, 3.5%, New Zealand

Green by name; um, black by nature. Brewed in Dunedin at the Green Man Brewery to strictly organic standards (with no additives, sugar or isinglass – a fish product often used to clear beer), the Dark Mild is even suitable for vegans! Mellow, rich and sweet with an underlying bitterness, this style of beer was very popular in the North and the Midlands of England in the early-mid 20th century as the ‘beer of choice’ for manual workers looking to quench their thirst after a hard day’s work down t’pit or at t’mill, and is undergoing a revival among real ale producers in the UK.

It is named after the Green Man, oddly enough, an old folk-fertility symbol, said to represent the essence of nature itself. Hedonistic and ritualistic, the pagan figure dies each year in November and is reborn on 1st May.

The brewery website claims, ‘He is found in the spirit of the trees, and his presence can be felt around you, in the bush… He is in orgies on the hillside, riots in the street, the celebrations of plenty, and the privations of crop failure. He is in inebriation, orgasm, trance and possession. His eyes typically do not focus, and his image is part comforting and part worrying, like the force he represents.’ Sounds like a drunken old hippy to me – hurrah!

Comments:
Smooth silky little number
Dark and sexy – like an Asian prostitute
Rich, full of potential but overall a letdown – just like Man City
Hints of charred oak – or how I imagine it tastes
A Shakespeare beer – full of great content, but not everyone will appreciate it
Insipid and dark – the Keanu Reeves of ale
Chocolatey burnt taste – very nice; put me down for a case
Sticky but not that strong – I likeeee likeeee
A seductive, languid liquid – bloody good. Well done to whoever made this

Green Man Dark Mild came in at 6th place.

Beer Number Seven - Köstritzer Schwarzbier, 4.8%, Germany

The brewery that produces this fine drop was founded in 1543 and is one of the oldest producers of black beer (schwarzbier) in Germany. It was a favourite of Goethe who sustained himself on its health-giving properties when he was too ill to eat. Perhaps if we all fortified ourselves thus we too could write literary masterpieces with the impact of Faust. Here’s to trying…

Typical words used to describe this beer include chocolate, coffee, creamy, malty, roasted cereal, and (strangely considering all that) bitter. The amusingly translated German website states, ‘Brewed according to the German Purity Law of 1516, the original is convincing by its light and sparkling character; it really is a great enjoyment. The production of Köstritzer Schwarzbier is based on the Pilsner style. Its strength is comparable with light beers. It has been and will remain the nation-wide market leader.’ And who are we to argue with the Germans…?

Comments:
Revolting fizzy black stuff
I would rather eat glass than drink this
Marvin Gaye of ales – smooth, smooth and darkly dreamy
Hints of liquorice
Yuk, bitter and twisted – the Joan Collins of beers
Aroma of treacle and roasted nuts – perfect accompaniment to a Sunday afternoon
A big black lovely hole – dark, dreamy heaven
Another tasty beer, defo on the road to somewhere
Malty molasses on a wintry evening to warm the cockles of one’s soul – except it is summer

Quite a range of comments for this - some people like black beer and others simply don't. It came 8th overall.

Beer Number Eight - Jenning's Sneck Lifter, 5.1%, England

Another offering from the Lake District (Cockermouth to be precise), this winter warmer is a completely different ale. It is strong and dark with a reddish tinge derived from the use of coloured malts, described as ‘like diving through a bubble bath of hops’ – now there’s an image... Bitter and smoky; rich and chocolately; nutty and almost ashy, it is one for a night in front of the fire.

A sneck is a door latch in Northern-speak and a sneck-lifter was a man’s last sixpence with which he lifted the latch and entered the pub. Jenning’s are committed to beer drinking in the fells and sponsor ‘Geo-trails’ a GPS service that allows fell-walkers to know how far away they are from the nearest pub. This sounds like the sort of thing every household should have.

Comments:
I couldn’t drink a lot of this, but I expect it’s expensive and gets you drunk quickly
Black and fizzy – like coke but not
Poor!
Not my favourite – burnt taste, burnt after-taste and a burpy after-hue I want a grappa with this one – magic stuff
Very tasty beer
Chocolatey in a beer-like way

Really rather nice
Sweet and yummy
Many a good night forgotten on this one
Chocolatey goodness
Like velvet on the back of the throat
Chocolate and coffee – mochabeero

Ladies and gentlemen - we have a winner. Jenning's Sneck Lifter is our Champion Ale of the night.

Beer Number Nine - Petrus Dubbel Bruin, 6.5%, Belgium

A Belgian offering ‘brewed with pure spring water and carefully selected hops and malts’ – so they didn’t just bung them all in then? I particularly like the jolly monk on the label waving a tulip glass of beer and a large ‘key to heaven’ – that is not a euphemism for anything nasty.

The beer is made at the Bavik Brewery in Bavikhove, West Flanders; a town with an admirable history. Records from the end of the seventeenth century show that the population was about 800 people and the village had six pubs – a document signed by the mayor and the aldermen, and addressed to the higher authorities, states that all these pubs ‘are a necessity and useful’. Quite so.

The Bavik Brewery was ‘confiscated’ by the German army during WWI, but they were persuaded to keep it open while the town and several nearby cities, such as Ypres, were destroyed. After the war, the brewery owner married a brickie’s daughter and he sent barrels of his beer on the cart with the bricks from the brickyard to the building front – bricks and beer; the foundation of any good city.

Now the largest international criterion for professional cyclists takes place in Bavikhove annually. It is accepted and expected that spectators take their glass of beer out onto the streets to watch the race. As the Bavik Brewery writes, ‘We don’t want anyone to be thirsty or having a dry mouth while shouting and encouraging the racers.’

Comments:

Creamy, good body
Very sweet and syrupy – a bit sickly really
Definitely a friend of Dorothy’s – far too fruity for friendship
Belgian beer, much liked by the group – suitable for cold dark evenings by the fire
Sweet finish yet malty – strong in alcohol like a Belgian beer
Couldn’t drink a lot, but a little is lovely
Like a cream pudding – you want a small slice but couldn’t eat the whole pie
Strong and sweet like alcoholic treacle
Fruity aroma initially – very fruity and a little jammy
Ginger, yeast, lovely magic beer
Malty, citrusy and gingery

Coming in at second overall, this proved quite a popular choice, 'much liked by the group' indeed!

Beer Number Ten - Urbock, 7%, Namibia

This is a traditional German-style bock, proof of Namibia’s past history as a German colony. Bocks are made with all malt and are strong, malty, medium to full-bodied beers with moderate hop bitterness. It is brewed in Swakopmund which is also interestingly enough the birthplace of the world’s most unfortunately-named human spoonerism; Shiloh-Pitt (think about it).

Namibia Breweries Ltd make this beer once a year so it is only available in May of each year in limited quality. It adheres to the German Purity Law and samples are regularly sent to a leading German brewing institute in Munich where the product is evaluated against quality standards prevailing in Europe.

Huge squabbles have developed between NBL and the giant South Africa Breweries and things seem to be getting nastily political, with the Advertising Standards Authority and the Namibian Government becoming involved. It’s serious stuff, is beer.

Comments:
A brooding beer
Packs a punch but a bit crazy – like Frank Bruno
Not bad at all for something I would never order in the pub
Taste of seasons greetings – Chateau Neuf de Christmas
No idea what this is, but I’d have it again once I found out what it was Undertones of honey – I like it
Looks fruity, smells strong – sticky
A small taste explosion occurs in the mouth – malty, yeasty, hoppy and quite yummy
Very strong with BIG flavour – too much
Liquorice, aniseed and black treacle

And this tasty little number merited a 4th place overall.

So, there we have it - the Annual Blackhurst Beer Festival is drunk and dusted for another year. Thanks to everyone for caming and sharing yur thoughtsand comments with the group. We may see you again next time. Meawhile, here is a reminder of the ladder of success.

Beervana: Tasting notes (Part 2)

One of my favourite beers of the night was the Yeastie Boys’ Pot Kettle Black. This is an American style porter and very dark. With a bit of an interactive theme, punters were asked to state whether they preferred the handpull or the pressurised tap version.

Not just to be awkward, I preferred the smoother texture of the hand-pull, but I felt the chocolate and hop flavours came through better from the pressurised tap. Him outdoors stuck his nose in the tasting glass, took a swig, smacked his lips and muttered something about ‘orange and pine’.

I confused the boys at Croucher Brewing Company by waffling on about Peter Crouch. As you do. They were very kind and they also serve a damn fine drop of pale ale. This beer looks good, smells good and tastes good. It is good, and it has a hoppy, fruity, grassy feel that lingers – I would definitely try this again. It comes from a boutique brewery in Rotorua and is available in several outlets in Wellington (the website above has a full list of locations). I shall be looking out for it!

To my mind, Monteith’s is one of the best mass-produced beers in the country. I recently had a heated debate about whether or not it was a boutique beer. I said not. If you are owned by DB Breweries you are not, by definition, a boutique. They do, however, have a great advertising campaign which is neither sexist, ageist, or insulting to the intelligence, so that’s a refreshing change. They won the packaging award – I’m not sure whether this has anything to do with the adverts, but it’s all part of the same marketing department.

We tried a beer which I think (and I’m struggling to read my handwriting at this stage) was called 140W. It is a West Coast Pale Ale Reproduction and I’m pretty sure I liked it, but I would have to try it again to be sure.

I would also like another pop at the Emerson’s Old 95 . This was billed as an old English ale – how could I go wrong? The combination of hops and fruit is very well balanced and the nuance of toffee is not too sweet. Him outdoors sampled the Piny Stout (aged in pinot barrels, 5% stout), new for the festival apparently, and was again heard to mutter something about oranges – I think this may be his new obsession. On the other hand, it did win a silver medal in the ‘fruit, spiced and herb flavoured beers’ category, so perhaps he knew what he was talking about after all.

We paid a visit to the Dux de Lux brewery which again brought back memories of our time in Christchurch, although we never really took to the one in Queenstown. The lady at the stall said people had been coming up to her all night saying they had fond memories of the beer from when they were at Canterbury University . Weren’t they supposed to be studying, dear me, these students, tsk, tsk.

I tried the Sou’wester because I don’t remember having it before. I’m afraid I still don’t remember having it. I’m not sure whether this says more about the state of the ale or the state of me at this stage. Maybe I should have had the Ginger Tom, which always wakes me up!

Green Man Strong is exactly what it says on the tin (6.5%). When it was first released it sold out in 11 days, and it picked up a bronze medal here. It’s a Doppelbock aged in whisky barrels for 3 months, and then blended with best bitter. It’s quite sweet, as you would expect from this combination, but dangerously drinkable. It cost double beer tokens and I’m glad I only discovered it at the end of the night, or things could have got quite messy!

Incidentally, the Green Man brewery also won the accolade of Best in Class for their Enrico’s Cure. At 14.5%, this is a barley wine beer brewed without sugar by a German brewmaster. Scarred by memories of Carlsberg Elephant and other nasties in golden tins drunk by people in supermarket car parks, I avoided this particular brew, although I heard others say it was very nice. I think it’s odd that the class it won, is titled, ‘Experimental and non or low alcoholic beers’. Isn’t that a massive difference?

I finished up with a beer from the Twisted Hop, and although I don’t know which one, this seems in keeping with my usual experiences there. The whole thing has a sort of magical mystical quality to me. I know the bar is tucked down a side street in Christchurch, and I have had a couple of very good nights there. But I can never remember how to get there when I’m sober. It’s like Diagon Alley. Anyway, I know from previous experience that the Challenger is exceptional – well, I’m always up for it! Oo-er missus.

So, to sum up, I drank lots of beer, I like hops and I had a great night. My top three, entirely unscientifically based upon the way I was feeling at the time are Epic Pale Ale, Yeastie Boys' Pot Kettle Black, and Croucher Brewing Company Pale Ale. Anyone else?