The BeerCast

After the success of our first brewery showcase spectacular a few weeks ago, we decided to return to the same format once again for our 24th podcast. At the moment there can be fewer more deserving candidates than the Arran Brewery, given that until recently it looked like they might slip into the murky waters of brewing history. As we wrote back in May, after an increasingly successful eight year production span the financial climate conspired against them and they went into administration. Thankfully however, after a nervous couple of months a buyer came forward (the rather shadowy-sounding ‘Marketing Management Services International Limited’), and the beer started flowing again.

So as you can now once again find Arran’s beers in UK stockists, we thought it was high time to feature their wares on the BeerCast. Panellist Grooben made a recent visit to what is Great Britain’s ninth-largest island, and stocked up at the brewery shop. First on the menu for our special showcase is Arran Ale, followed by their seasonal beer for Spring – Sunset (as you’d expect from the BeerCast, we try this one rather than their more timely Autumnal seasonal Fireside). The third of their beers is the very popular Arran Blonde, which had previously been described by MrB as one of his favourite beers. Will it be as well received this time? Finally, the beer to close out the episode is their malty offering – Arran Dark. On the panel this week are Shovels, Grooben, Richard and MrB.

1. Arran Ale (3.8%abv)
The Arran Brewery, Cladach, Isle of Arran.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “Previously known as Arran Light – Arran Ale is pale coloured and a refreshing session bitter. Best served slightly chilled it’s great with a Ploughman’s Platter or just with a fresh baguette and a good mature Cheddar” [Official Website]; “An amber ale where the predominance of the hop produces a bitter beer with a subtle balancing sweetness of malt and an occasional hint of roast” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
MrB – You can quaff this constantly for 24hrs – don’t sip it 8
Shovels – Gets better the more you drink it 7½
Richard – Light in colour and taste, it’s your classic ’7′ beer 7
Grooben – Something of a companion piece to Deuchars 7

2. Arran Sunset (4.4%abv)
The Arran Brewery, Cladach, Isle of Arran.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “A golden ale – a delicate balance of malt and fruit, with a dry hop finish. This is a light mid amber summer beer. It is great if drunk with the good old British sausage, Ploughman’s Lunch or any good Mature cheese” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – I love the slight golden ale bitteryness to this 7½
MrB – More of a bitter, with a taste I don’t like so much 6
Grooben – A notch below the Ale but nice all the same 6
Shovels – I’m not keen on the bitter flavour compared to the Ale 5

3. Arran Blonde (5.0%abv)
The Arran Brewery, Cladach, Isle of Arran.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “A floral hop and new mown grass aroma, the taste is well balanced with citric fruit. A clear tasting pale golden beer in a continental style” [Official Website]; “A hoppy beer with substantial fruit balance. The taste is balanced and the finish increasingly bitter. An aromatic strong bitter that drinks below its weight” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
Richard – There’s a great hoppy tartness to this 8
MrB – I still prefer the Ale, but would choose this often 7
Shovels – Sweeter and more lagery compared to their others 7
Grooben – A bit underwhelming compared to the cask variety 6

4. Arran Dark (4.3%abv)
The Arran Brewery, Cladach, Isle of Arran.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “Rich aroma of malt and hops with ripe fruit, the palate is velvety, and the taste is of full malt with a deep bittersweet finish. A traditional smooth drinking Scottish heavy beer.” [Official Website]; “A well-balanced malty beer with plenty of roast and hop in the taste, and a dry bitter finish.” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
MrB – I’m a bit disappointed with the creamy 80 shilling thing 5
Richard – One of those beers that should just be a porter 5
Grooben – Too much sweetness to it, almost cloying 5
Shovels – Combines the smokeyness of a porter with the rubbishness of an 80/- 4

BeerCast panel verdict
Arran Ale (29½/40)
Arran Blonde (28/40)
Arran Sunset (24½/40)
Arran Dark (19/40)

Panellists – (from top left) Shovels, MrB, Grooben, Richard

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #24 – Arran Beers
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with our final ‘normal’ podcast of the year, before we break out the Christmas beers and build up to our Beer of the Year show. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!

Usually Lagerboy tries something new and undiscovered for this column, but sometimes the gassy yellow stuff has passed his lips before. Kasteel Cru is just such a beer, having been sampled by various BeerCasters over the years – and always with interesting results. It seems to be a conversation-starter, that’s for sure. Produced in Alsace by the Brasserie Licorne, the main selling point for this lager is the addition of something quintessentially French – Champagne (well, champagne yeast).

At 5.2%abv, this rather refined ingredient seems to be added to give the beer an extra acidity and sparkly taste – the official website describes the “immediate zing from the carbonation”. When you first pour it, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a rather oddly-coloured glass of wine – bubbles rise up in streams, the faint yellowish tinge just about visible to remind you that it’s grain-based, not grape. It’s so pale you almost want to give it a few steak dinners to toughen it up a bit.

As a result, Kasteel Cru has a strong, gassy nose and a really sharp, bitter taste. The Hallertau hops give it that bitterness, and it combines with the champagne yeast to unsurprisingly give an almost wine-like taste. If previous Lagerboy entries have confused by describing beer as ‘tasting green’ – then this one without doubt tastes green. It’s one of those things – if there wasn’t the c-word plastered all over the bottle (as it were), would you sense there was champagne in there? Lagerboy certainly thinks so.

It’s an interesting beer, distributed in a reassuringly hefty bottle designed by expert glassmakers in Riems. The contents are certainly refreshing, because of all the sharpness going on as a result of the ingredients. But is it that nice? Well, I’d have to say no it isn’t – no question bitter zingy lagers are eminently preferable to sweet malty ones, but Kasteel Cru maybe pushes things a bit too far. The smell verges on the vinegary, and the delicate champagne taste gives way far too quickly to an aftertaste that verges on the unpleasant.

Kasteel Cru Official Website

Last year on the BeerCast we highlighted the local gem that is The Wellington in Bennett’s Hill, Birmingham. A real local boozer that values well-kept and varied ales above everything else is a treat wherever you live. On a recent trip to London we ventured to a similarly well-regarded establishment – the Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell. Located down a side street a short walk from Farringdon tube station, the battered narrow front door with peeling paint gives little away as to the interior.

Directly inside is a small boothed area, with the bar halfway up on the right – a glass partition hides it slightly from view. The overall impression though is wood – the Jerusalem is small, quiet, and extremely brown. It almost has the feel of a rustic coach house, with the narrow back room and tiny flight of wooden steps up to a rather cute single elevated table. Apparently the pub takes it’s name from the 12th Century priory of St John of Jerusalem, which used to stand nearby.

But the real treat of course, is the beer. The tavern is the only tied pub in London owned by the St Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk – and as a result gets very busy with loyal followers of the Bungay producer. Only their ales are on offer, served from wooden casks mounted in the back wall of the bar. A well-informed blackboard gives the styles, abv and price, so there’s no excuses here – you really know what you’re in for.

I started off with their classic, St Peter’s Golden Ale (4.1%), which was a very appealing deep orange colour. Dry and hoppy, with a touch of fruit and malt, the hops win out at the end and it becomes a fantastic session bitter. Speaking of which, I then moved on to their Organic Best Bitter (4.7%) – as opposed to their regular Best Bitter – which was darker and more malty, with that lovely Northern-style long bitter finish (to which I am biased, after all…). Finally after having been joined by panellist Andy, we plumped for their Grapefruit Beer (4.7%), which was really quite tremendous – slightly cloudy but with a deep grapefruit smell, the taste was zesty and sharp – this one must be refreshing when drunk in summer, and proves St Peter’s can handle all styles of ale.

‘Glad you could join us’, reads a small sign at the back of the Jeruslam Tavern. I’d be quite happy to re-join them every time I got back to London.

If you want to get down to the very basics, beer should only really have four ingredients – the near-mythical German Reinheitsgebot purity laws state our favourite drink can only contain water, barley and hops (yeast became the final part of the foursome only when it was discovered). But as anyone who’s stood bemused in an off-licence can tell you, these days there are all kinds of different things in beers. Fruit is a very common (and not entirely unpleasant) addition to ale – whether a Belgian framboise or a pint of the fantastic St. Peter’s Grapefruit Beer. But increasingly, other things are added to the brew to give some interesing results – and some aren’t exactly new ideas, either. Today on the BeerCast we taste four traditional beers with an extra, non-fruit, ingredient. Our first of these is the rather herby Brother Anthony’s Rievaulx Abbey Ale, from Suddaby’s in Malton, North Yorkshire. We then move to Scotland and try two of the Williams Brother’s historical range – Fraoch Heather Ale, and Kelpie Seaweed Ale. Finally we return to Yorkshire for Naylor’s Ginger Beer, proving once again that you don’t need to have a modern style of beer if you’ve got the right ingredients. On the panel this week with Richard and Shovels is the returning Andy, of Andy & Jess.

 

1. Brother Anthony’s Rievaulx Abbey Ale (4.0%abv)
Suddaby’s (by Brown Cow Brewery, Selby, N Yorks).
500ml glass bottle

The Suddaby family name has gone hand in hand with the North Yorkshire market town of Malton for over a century – Suddabys having been voted “Rural Pub of the Year” by Scarborough CAMRA eight times in nine years. The Suddbay beers, however, are produced under license by the Brown Cow Brewery in Selby, as there are no production facilities in Malton. We sampled their 6% bruiser Old Bob in BeerCast #17, and it brought back a lot of bad memories for panellist Shovels.

Added Ingredient(s) – Honey, Lavender, Lemon Balm

What They Say – “Brother Anthony’s Rievaulx Abbey Ale is brewed with the finest English malt, hops, borage honey, and yeast with a subtle hint of herbs. It marks the 875th anniversary of the founding of the famous Rievaulx Abbey” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
Andy – I would recommend it to people with a sweet tooth 7
Shovels – As far as honey beers go it’s not bad, down the middle 5
Richard – Smells like cream soda, the herbs are far too subtle 3

2. Fraoch Heather Ale (5.0%abv)
Williams Bros, Alloa Scotland.
500ml glass bottle

In 1986 a Gaelic-speaking man wandered into Bruce Williams’ homebrew shop in Glasgow and began telling him about a recipe for traditional heather ale – “Leann fraoich”. Once the Mr Miyagi/Yoda character had left, Bruce took up the challenge and revived this ancient Scottish beer, testing the results on the visitors to his shop – calling the concoction ‘Fraoch Heather Ale’ (Fraoch being Gaelic for heather). Once he started a brewery with brother Scott, it was an obvious choice for the first product. Heather Ale Ltd eventually became the Williams Bros Brewery – we tried their wonderful Williams Gold way back in BeerCast #2 – but how does this ancient drink compare?

Added Ingredient(s) – Heather

What They Say – “Fraoch has a floral peaty aroma, full malt body, a spicy herbal flavour and a dry wine like finish” [Label Tasting Notes]; “The unique taste of heather flowers is very noticeable in this beer. A fine floral aroma and spicy taste give character to this drinkable speciality beer” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
Richard – Beer then heather comes at you from all directions 6
Shovels – Tastes like a wheat beer mixed with something else 5
Andy – Strong flavour but not a strong character 4

3. Kelpie Seaweed Ale (4.4%abv)
Williams Bros, Alloa Scotland.
500ml glass bottle

The third of the Williams Bros Historic Ales to feature on the BeerCast (as BeerCast #2 also featured Ebulum Elderberry ale) is Kelpie. Named after a mischievously deadly water spirit fond of taking the form of a beautiful white horse, the inventive Alloa siblings mash seaweed into the malted barley. This has some historical significance, as Scottish coastal farmers traditionally planted their crops in seaweed beds, giving an unusual taste to the resultant beer they produced. But will we like it?

Added Ingredient(s) – Argyll seaweed

What They Say – “Kelpie is a rich chocolate ale which has an aroma of fresh seabreeze and a distinctive malty texture” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
Richard – It’s very nice but you just can’t taste the seaweed 7
Shovels – Smokey, chocolatey, gets better as it warms up 7
Andy – Fantastic colour, it’s more coffeeish than seaweedish 6

4. Naylor’s Ginger Beer (4.4%abv)
Naylor’s Brewery, Keighley, West Yorks.
500ml glass bottle

The old Yorkshire textile town of Keighley is known in beery circles as being the home of the hugely successful Timothy Taylor brewery, but there are others nearby too. The Naylor’s Brewery are based in the nearby village of Crosshills, having started in 2005. They recently launched a range of six beers called Pinnacle, named after a local landmark which features on the label. Their traditional ginger beer isn’t one of these – but the tower still appears on the bottle. It’s a classic British drink, but what does a proper ginger beer taste like?

Added Ingredient(s) – Root Ginger

What They Say – “A mid amber beer, our brewer’s choice Ginger Beer has the addition of fresh ginger root to give a subtle spice flavour” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
Andy – Would be a great cleansing after dinner drink 7½
Shovels – Subtle ginger spicyness at the end, it’s summery 6½
Richard – Nice but not sure how many of these you could drink 5

BeerCast panel verdict
Kelpie Seaweed Ale (20/30)
Naylor’s Ginger Beer (19/30)
Fraoch Heather Ale (15/30)
Brother Anthony’s Rievaulx Abbey Ale (15/30)

Panellists – (from bottom right) Andy, Richard, Shovels

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #23 – Hold the fruit!
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with our second BeerCast brewery showcase – from the Arran Brewery. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!

Usually on the BeerCast we take a theme for an episode and pick beers from four different producers. But this week we have four from the same brewer, as we showcase some of the ales made by Gloucestershire’s Wickwar Brewery. Founded by Ray Penny in 1990, they began in an old cooper’s shop in Wickwar, ten miles north of Bristol. Since moving to a larger location on the site of the Arnold Perrett&Co Brewery, they have expanded to produce eight regular cask ales, seven seasonals, and eight bottled beers. Our first of these is Cotswold Way, the official beer of the southwestern footpath. We then sample Wickwar’s Brand Oak Bitter, or BOB – the only bottle conditioned ale of the episode. Our third beer is another acronym, IKB, named after the great Victorian engineer Isombard Kingdom Brunel, and we end on a darker note with Mr Perrett’s Traditional Stout, honouring the original Wickwar brewer. On the panel this week with Richard and Shovels are Grooben and the returning Hopmeister Tom – himself a Gloucestershire native. Big thanks to Chris in Bristol for sending us the beers to sample.

1. Cotswold Way (4.2%abv)
Wickwar Brewery, Wickwar.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “Winner in it’s class at CAMRA’s Beer of Gloucestershire competition. An excellent choice among drinkers everywhere, no disappointments here. A rich, amber, smooth, well balanced beer with a terrific hoppy finish. If you require succour after rambling along the Cotswold Way, then it has to be the beer of the Cotswolds…” [Official Website] “Amber-coloured, it has a pleasant aroma of pale malt, hop and fruit. Good dry bitterness in the taste with some sweetness. Similar though less sweetness in the finish, with good hop content.” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
Shovels – Subtle flavours going on, I really like it 7½
Grooben – Very malty smell, quite down the line really 5
Richard – Pungent smell and insipid taste, very watery 5
Tom – At best a bad pint of Scotch ale, it could be tinned 3

2. Brand Oak Bitter (BOB) (4.0%abv)
Wickwar Brewery, Wickwar.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “A distinct blend of hops, malt and citrus fruits. The slightly sweet taste turns into a fine, dry bitterness with a lasting finish. Very moreish and an award winning classic ale. Our brand leader.” [Official Website] “Amber-coloured, this has a distinctive blend of hop, malt and apple/pear citrus fruits. The slightly sweet taste turns into a fine, dry bitterness, with a smiliar malty-lasting finish.” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
Richard – Genuinely interesting, sharp green smell and taste 6
Shovels – Cooking apple smell, fizzy but not bad at all 6
Grooben – Fizziness and fruitiness, it does taste of pears 6
Tom – Certainly distinctive, it tastes a lot stronger than 4% 5

3. IKB (4.5%abv)
Wickwar Brewery, Wickwar.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “Strong in multi-malt flavours, and very well balanced to produce rich fruit flavours of cherry and plum. IKB (Isambard Kindom Brunel) is the latest member of the Wickwar family. Introduced to the portfolio to help celebrate the opening of our new home at the Old Brewery. Engineered to perfection. An award winner in the making!” [Official Website] “A ruby red ale with a complex hop aroma and flavour derived from the use of three hop varieties. Flowery but well balanced.” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
Tom – More of a cherry taste, I could drink a lot of that 8
Shovels – Full-bodied and with lots of flavours going on 8
Grooben – Head and shoulders above the rest 7½
Richard – Dark fruity malt flavours, it’s very nice 7

4. Mr Perrett’s Traditional Stout (5.9%abv)
Wickwar Brewery, Wickwar.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “A powerful stout with licorice and chocolate bursting throughout, and a very long finish. Dedicated to Arnold Perrett & Co. who brewed on the same site.” [Official Website] “Aroma and taste of smoky chocolate malts and peppery hops. Dark fruits of black cherry and blackcurrant give hints of sweetness to the dry, quite bitter, slightly spicy, well-balanced beer.” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
Richard – Dark malty taste with lots of fruit coming through 7½
Shovels – Balances bitter and sweet quite nicely 7
Grooben – Nice, but not the expressive taste of other stouts 6½
Tom – I’m not a huge stout fan but this is pleasant enough 6

BeerCast panel verdict
IKB (30½/40)
Mr Perrett’s Traditional Stout (27/40)
Brand Oak Bitter (BOB) (23/40)
Cotswold Way (20½/40)

Panellists – (from top left) Shovels, Tom, Grooben, Richard

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #22 – Oo Arr Wickwar
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with an episode themed around beers with unusual added ingredients that aren’t fruit-based, and in a little longer our second brewery showcase from the Isle of Arran. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!