The BeerCast

For our latest podcast, we started off drinking beers that didn’t seem related – but by the end a very definite theme had developed. Two chestnut red ales, the second of which was billed as having hints of a certain yellow fruit, were followed by two that had very serious hints of the same thing. We’re not sure if any other beer website has tried a Banana special before, but we started ours with White Horse’s Dragon Hill (4.1%) from Oxfordshire – which admittedly has nothing to do with bananas. We then move on to one from our side of the border – Williams Red (4.5%), from the eponymous brothers based in Alloa. Our third beer moves towards the theme, as we sample Wells Banana Bread Beer (5.2%) from the Wells & Youngs Brewery in Bedford. Finally we finish on the ultimate beer for the flavour – Mongozo Banana Beer (4.5%), from the Chokwe people of Africa, via Belgium. This edition sees a joining of our two panels, as Andy and Jess jet north to Edinburgh to join Richard and Shovels.

1. Dragon Hill (4.1%abv)
White Horse Brewery, Faringdon, Oxfordshire.
500ml glass bottle

The White Horse Brewery are a small producer based in the valley of the same name in rural Oxfordshire. Faringdon is a market town on the edge of the Thames Valley, and it’s here that Andy Wilson founded his brewery. They attempt to use local produce as much as possible for their ales, such as White Horse Bitter and their fiery, aromatic Wayland Smithy. Dragon Hill takes it’s name from the small chalk hillock nearby, upon which legend has it St George did his noble deed to resolve a problem with a large reptile. It’s also near the Uffington White Horse, a 300ft long prehistoric outline carved into the ground that forms the company logo.

What They Say – “Just like Saint George making his stand on the Dragon Hill many years ago, this beer is chestnut red in colour, with a dry biscuit after taste and a hoppy finish. As the start to the New Year has passed, it is time to re-define those taste buds with this early season beer made with the finest English malt and traditional hops.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – It’s very dry, with quite a biscuity aftertaste 7
Jess – I can drink it although there’s nothing rich in the taste 5
Shovels – A bit like bottled Deuchars, it’s underwhelming 5
Andy – The John Major of beers – not offensively bad, just so middle of the road it’s without merit 4

2. Williams Bros Red (4.5%abv)
Williams Bros, Alloa, Clackmannanshire
500ml glass bottle

The family-run company started in 1992 by brothers Scott and Bruce Williams first produced eclectic traditional Scottish beers brewed to historic recipes – such as Fraoch Heather Ale, (first produced in 2000BC). In 2004 they took over larger premises in Alloa and formed a new line of beers under the brand ‘Williams Bros’ – Gold, Red, Black, and Joker. The last couple of years has seen them expand into many more brands, such as the excellent Midnight Sun and Good Times. 2009 has seen the affable brothers score four beers in the finals of Sainsbury’s Beer Challenge – Birds & Bees, Williams 80/-, Ceilidh Lager and Williams IPA, which are all seriously drinkable (particularly the IPA). However, for this episode we sample one of their oldest lines – Williams Red.

What They Say – “Williams Red is a rich ruby malt ale, medium dry with hints of toffee and banana. Balanced with fresh spicy hops to give a zesty peppery backdrop, Williams Red is a warming full flavoured beer to be savoured.” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
Richard – I don’t get toffee or banana, just general sweetness 6½
Shovels – As malty red ales go it’s the right side of the 80/- line 6
Jess – I would have liked it more if it was more bitter 6
Andy – Just a bit too much for my fragile taste buds 4

3. Wells Banana Bread Beer (5.2%abv)
Wells & Youngs, Bedford, Bedfordshire
500 ml glass bottle

Charles Wells was born in Bedford in 1842. At the age of 14 he left school and boarded a frigate bound for India. By the time he was Chief Officer he had courted and proposed to a woman named Josephine Grimbley. However, her father had no desire to see her married to a man who would vanish for months on end at sea, so Charles abandoned his naval career and decided to open a brewery. He found a site on the River Ouse, sank his own well on a nearby limestone hill, and got started. Today, following a 2006 merger with London’s Young’s concern they are the largest privately owned brewer in the UK. Their Eagle Brewery in Bedford brews many beers under licence, such as Kirin, Cobra and Red Stripe. Their flagship brand is Bombadier, and they also own an estate of over 250 pubs.

What They Say – “It’s flavour unfolds with a sensual sparkle and a smart crispness, which balances its aroma perfectly. Tropically fruity; its ripe banana flavour, emphasised by a hint of bitterness, comes from the addition of real fair trade bananas and finishes with an emphatic, steely dryness.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Andy – For an odd beer with stuff in, it’s as good as it gets 8½
Jess – It’s like drinking beer and having a lovely slice of home-made banana bread 8
Richard – Bananas come through in the smooth aftertaste 7½
Shovels – Tastes like banana bread with a fizz at the end 7½

4. Mongozo Banana (4.5%abv)
Brouwerij Hughye Melle, Belgium
330 ml glass bottle

Several years ago, Henriqe Kabia’s mother had a problem. Belonging to the Chokwe people of Angola she would follow tradition by passing on her grandmother’s palm nut homebrew recipe to her oldest daughter. Trouble was, she didn’t have any, so it was Henrique that got the know-how instead. When he moved to the Netherlands in 1993, he decided Europeans should get the chance to sample traditional African beer. After a struggle, he teamed up with Jan Fleurkens and persuaded the Belgian Brouwerij Van Steenberge to let him experiment – and it proved to be a hit. Today Brouwrij Huyghe (of Delirium Tremens fame) produce Mongozo under licence, and there are five flavours available – Coconut, Quinua, Palmnut, Mango, and last but not least, Banana (based on the Masai drink mbege). Henrique was killed in a car accident in Switzerland in 2003, but the beer survives and is increasing in market share throughout Europe.

What They Say – “The word Mongozo means ‘to your health!’ in the language of the Chokwe people of Africa. Banana, as already indicated by the name, is the unmistakeable flavour of Mongozo Banana. The beer flavour only comes through in the aftertaste. It goes without saying that Mongozo Banana is the yellow colour of ripe bananas.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Andy – It smells like you just opened a tub of pick n’ mix 5
Shovels – Should be called Monsweeto, a 3yr old would love it 4
Jess – No beer in it at all, it tastes like a fizzy drink 3
Richard – Tastes like colossally sweet banana cordial, it’s a poor excuse for a beer and just isn’t nice 1½

Panellists – (from top left) Andy, Jess, Richard, Shovels

BeerCast panel verdict
Wells Banana Bread Beer (31½/40)
Williams Bros Red (22½/40)
White Horse Dragon Hill (21/40)
Mongozo Banana Beer (13½/40)

Our live Twitter Updates will return at the GBBF

Our recent trip to the Scottish Real Ale Festival produced a lot of new and interesting surprises – even though it was our third consecutive year there – underlining why we love going to those kind of events. However, as much as we like experimenting with the output of Scottish brewers, there’s a much, much, larger gathering taking place down south at the start of next month. The Great British Beer Festival is being held at London’s Earls Court from the 4th to the 8th of August – and the BeerCast will be there.

We’re certainly looking forward to it – over 450 real ales, ciders and beers from around the world will be untapped for our pleasure, which is an astonishing number. The domestic beer list was recently put online, giving the prospective attendees a chance to mentally construct a battle plan. And a plan is certainly needed, as there are 26 bars to navigate – a step up from the two at the Scottish festival. That’s only domestic ales too, GBBF has dedicated areas for sampling European and global beers that rarely make it to our shores. The Belgian list alone could take you a couple of days to get through – look out for our global GBBF preview next week.

It’s nice to see plenty of beers on offer that we’ve sampled and scored here on the BeerCast. Examples include Wickwar Cotswold Way (4.2%), Harvey’s Tom Paine (5.5%), and York’s Centurion Ghost Ale (5.4%). The hefty Exmoor Beast (6.6%) scored 73% in our SouthWest special, which also featured Hogsback TEA (4.2%) and St Austell Tribute (4.2%) – the latter still in our top four highest-scoring beers of 2009, and so in line for our Beer of the Year show in December. Our reigning BOTY will also be there – Hopback Summer Lightning (5%), along with their Entire Stout (4.5%), which we have also featured. A personal favourite of mine will be there too – Cain’s Fine Raisin Beer (5%) divided opinions when we tried it, and it will be interesting to try on cask rather than bottled.

Of course it’s sampling new beers that becomes the real joy of attending beer festivals, and with the beer list running into the hundreds there are plenty of things we’ve never heard of that will be out there. Names like Townes Pynot Porter (4.5%), Langton Inclined Plane Bitter (4.2%) and Jarrow Rivet Catcher (4%) really stand out. We have tasting notes, but nothing more to go on. Concertina Bengal Tiger (4.5%) is an aromatic amber ale, Spectrum Black Buffle (4.5%) is a Norfolk stout named after the brewer’s cat, and Butts Barbus Barbus (4.6%) could be just about anything. Cwrw Eryri (3.6%) is a golden bitter from the Purple Moose Brewery in Gwynedd – the name translates as Snowdonia Ale, for the non-Welsh speakers. There are some beers that tell you exactly what to expect however – such as Green Jack Orange Wheat (4.2%) from Suffolk, or the lengthily-titled North Cotswold Vanilla Bumble Beer (4.5%) and Little Valley Organic Fair-Trade Ginger Pale Ale (4%).

The choice is bewildering. I’m a fully paid-up IPA fan, so should I go for Marble Lagonda IPA (5%) from Manchester, with it’s quadruple addition of hops – or Red Squirrel’s White Mountain American IPA (5.4%) with five specialist malts? What about Grain Tamarind IPA (5.5%) from Norfolk? Or Durham Magnificat (6.5%)? What about all of them? I may even finally get to sample Falkirk’s Tryst Brewery Raj IPA (5.5%), which was the potential highlight of the Scottish festival, but was never delivered. Golden Ales are present in abundance too – Conwy’s Clogwyn Gold (3.6%), Cheddar Pot Holer (4.3%) and Funfair Dive Bomber (4.6%) all sound tempting, not to mention Lancashire producer Pictish’s Brewer’s Gold (3.8%). Multi award-winning Purity will be there too, with Pure Gold (3.8%).

There are beers hailing from points far from our Scottish base, such as Wooden Hand Black Pearl Stout (4.5%) from Cornwall. Okells Red (4.7%) comes from the Isle of Man, Hilden Scullion’s Irish (4.6%) from County Down, and there are even beers from Guernsey – Randall’s Patois Amber Ale (4.5%) is brewed about as far away from Edinburgh as you can get. There are several unusual beers that I’ll be seeking out, like Welton’s Pride ‘n’ Joy, which is a full bodied beer deliberately brewed to 2.8% to avoid the pitfalls of alcohol. Dunham Massey’s Chocolate Cherry Mild (3.8%) and Bartram’s Cherry Stout (4.8%) have their extra ingredient revealed upfront, but there are secretive tipples such as Abbeydale’s Matins (3.6%) from South Yorkshire, which uses muesli in the brewing process. Maybe that’s one to start with just after breakfast – it’s going to be a long haul.

The Great British Beer Festival opens on Tuesday the 4th of August at 5pm, running to 10.30pm. It then opens 12-10.30pm Wednesday to Friday the 7th, before finishing off on Saturday 8th 11am-7pm. Tickets are available online or at the door, at between £6 and £10.

GBBF Official Website
Domestic Beer List

There are plenty of places or organisations that claim something as their own, and so like to be known as ’The home of…’. For example, St Andrews is the home of golf, Lord’s the home of cricket, and Bury the home of black pudding. The county of Suffolk prides itself on being both the home of horse racing and the home of brewing – which may come as a surprise to the beer producers in Burton on Trent. But these claims are always subjective, and as it was Suffolk-based brewing behemoth Greene King who made that claim, maybe we can take it with a pinch of salt.

They stake a claim to horse racing as the fabled Newmarket track is located within Suffolk’s borders, having witnessed its first recorded race back in 1622. Greene King like to say they began operations in Bury St Edmonds in 1799, so they have plenty of history in common. They were joined again last week at the Newmarket Horse Racing Museum for the launch of their new bottled beer – Suffolk Springer.

Named after a racehorse whose odds shorten dramatically just before a race begins, it’s made in very interesting circumstances as two different beers are made and then blended together – unfortunately the press release didn’t elaborate on exactly what was mixed with what, only that they were of ‘different characters and strength’. Greene King’s take home and export Director Neil Jardine describes Suffolk Springer as a “highly crafted, strong, dark ale for people who appreciate excellent beer.”

Well, it pours with a large but quickly dispersing head to become almost flat, with a dark, dark ruby, almost purple/black colour. It smells very malty, and this comes through on the taste, which is extremely smooth and rich with those dark malts coming right to the fore. Sweet, fruity molasses and fruitcake with even a bit of over-ripe banana in there, it’s a heady mix of winter tastes – I’m not sure why it would be launched in July for racegoers. At 6% abv it’s a fireside sipper, not a summery quencher, but has a fantastic roasty prune aftertaste and reminds me very much of Theakston Old Peculier, and I would say on balance the Yorkshire version beats it by a nose.

Our latest BeerCast sees another split between the UK and USA – this time as we try four very different IPA’s. Originally heavily-hopped to survive transportation to the colonies, the India Pale Ale is a uniquely British style of beer. Or rather it was, as now IPA’s hail from all corners of the world – and particularly North America where, as ever, they like to do things ramped up a notch or two. First on the list for tonight is Kent’s Hopdaemon Brewery and their Skrimshander IPA (4.5%), followed by the first overseas entrant – Goose Island IPA (5.9%) from Chicago. We then go back to the UK for a strong ale – Downton Chimera IPA (7.0%), before finishing with an offering from one of America’s greatest exponents of tooth-rattling beer, Stone Ruination IPA (7.7%). On the panel this time are Richard, Shovels, Steve, and MrB. The Hopmeister Tom should have probably taken part given his title, but he’s still recovering from the effects of the Imperial Stouts.

1. Skrimshander IPA (4.5%abv)
Hopdaemon Brewery, Newnham, Kent.
500ml glass bottle

New Zealander Tonie Prins opened the Hopdaemon brewery in Canterbury, Kent, in 2001 and started off winning contracts to brew beer for several London tourist institutions (the British Museum, Science Museum, the Barbican), as well as 30 or so pubs in the area. In 2005 they relocated to bigger premises in Newnham, just outside the ancient brewing centre of Faversham (home to Shepherd Neame). Striving to use local ingredients where possible they rely heavily on East Kent Goldings, Fuggles and Challenger hops. Skrimshander IPA takes it’s name from the old-time practice of carving whalebone.

What They Say – “An aromatic copper-coloured pale ale brewed with Kentish hops for a refreshing taste and a fruity finish. Skrimshander is conditioned naturally in the bottle to produce a sparkle and sediment characteristic of all great living beers.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – 4.5% yet it tastes like a 7% IPA, it’s tremendous 8½
Shovels – More bitter than usual for an IPA 8
MrB – Smells like an IPA, a nice beer but not that special 7
Steve – Very tasty but it needs a beer garden 6½

2. Goose Island India Pale Ale (5.9%abv)
Goose Island Brewery, Chicago, Illinois.
355ml glass bottle

Goose Island opened their first brewpub in Chicago in 1988, which back then was something of a rarity – only a handful existed in the Midwest of America at that point. By 1995, the brewpub had become so popular that founder John Hall and his son Greg, who had by then become Goose Island’s brewmaster, decided to open a larger brewery and bottling plant to keep up with demand. Finding still more room for growth, in 1999 the father-son team opened a second Goose Island Brewpub just a stone’s throw away from historic Wrigley Field. Their most popular beers are Honkers Ale, Nut Brown Ale, and their India Pale Ale, which contains a heady mix of Styrian, Fuggle, Cascade, Centennial hops and Pale Malts.

What They Say – “Recognised as amongst the world’s finest, Goose Island’s India Pale Ale has a spicy hop aroma and inviting fruity flavour. This exceptional beer is one you will not soon forget.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB – A lovely beer, it’s a longtime favourite of mine 9
Shovels – Got so much kick and flavour, perfect in the bottle 8½
Richard – A typically strong, hoppy, bitter American IPA 7½
Steve – The citrus taste comes to the fore the longer it sits 7½

3. Chimera IPA (7.0%abv)
Downton Brewery, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
500ml glass bottle

Downton have three 20-barrel vessels in their brewery, and produce a range of seasonal beers, many of which have added fruit. They were set up in 2003 with equipment leased from the Hop Back Brewery just up the road in Salisbury. In their early history their beers were sold solely through the larger operator, but eventually they outgrew their wholesaler and struck out on their own – although roughly half their output still goes up the road to Hop Back for transfer to other outlets. Downton are still a small producer though, and employ only two people – their director, and their brewer – both called Martin. Chimera IPA was the overall winner at the 2005 Bristol Beer Festival.

What They Say – “Chimera IPA is a truly classic IPA. Bursting with resin and hoppy flavours, Chimera packs quite a punch, as a traditional IPA should. Chimera would certainly win in a fight against Greene King IPA & Deuchars IPA’s softer, less traditional alternatives.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Steve – Tastes quite light, this one is very deceptive 8
Shovels – I would drink this out of curiosity, it’s hard to rate 7½
MrB – I’m really confused – every mouthful I have is different 7½
Richard – Nice enough but not strong for a 7%er 7

4. Ruination IPA (7.7%abv)
Stone Brewery, Escondido, California.
355ml glass bottle

The Stone Brewing Corporation were founded in 1996 in San Marcos, southern California. In 2006 they relocated to a new, custom-designed facility in Escondido. The new brewery currently has a capacity of 70,000 US barrels per year, and also includes an on-site bottling line. It sounds ideal for a day out, having a 300 seat restaurant (Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens), with a large outdoor patio that sounds perfect for enjoying one or more of the brewery’s creations. Stone revel in the philosophy of not making a boring beer, as their names tend to reflect – Arrogant Bastard ‘This is an arrogant beer – you probably won’t like it’, and their brilliantly titled Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale. Ruination IPA is probably also aptly named.

What They Say – “So called because of the ‘ruinous’ effect on your palate! This massive hop monster has a wonderfully delicious and intensely bitter flavour on a refreshing malt base. One taste and you can easily see why we call this brew ‘a liquid poem to the glory of the hop!” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB – This is like my favourite beers multiplied by my favourite other beers, it tastes fab and should be a 10
Shovels – I was expecting to be blown away by hops but this is the single malt whisky of IPA’s 9½
Steve – I think you might still be able to taste this in the morning, it’s just so different to anything else we’ve tasted 9½
Richard – Got that whack oomph smell, it’s punishing but doesn’t overstep the mark like others I could mention 9

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

BeerCast panel verdict
Stone Ruination IPA (38/40) 95%
Goose Island India Pale Ale (32½/40) 81%
Chimera IPA (30/40) 75%
Skrimshander IPA (29½/40) 74%

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with our next podcast – an episode very loosely themed around a certain fruit that you wouldn’t normally expect to find in a beer. Stay tuned for that, and in the meantime keep the emails and comments coming in. Cheers!

Once again we welcome two intrepid new beer explorers into the belly of the BeerCast. This time talented minstrels Kat Flint and Nick Hirst join us alongside Andy and Jess at the Belsize Park headquarters to quaff some beers purchased from that finest of British establishments, Marks & Spencers.

Andy was positioned a bit far from the mic and is a bit quiet at times (perhaps for the better!). We also run long on this one at an hour due to a couple of interesting diversions into beers for women and Tesco which were perhaps more interesting than the beer themselves. Still, hope you enjoy it. Andy

1. Buckinghamshire Ale (4.6%)
Vale Brewery, Brill, Buckinghamshire.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “Copper-red beer with a yeasty, bready nose and raisin fruit and spicy hops. Tart fruit, biscuity malt and bitter hop resins fill the mouth. The finish is dry and bitter with rich, juicy malt, burnt fruit and peppery hops” [www.beer-pages.com]

What We Say…
Nick – Nice, fresh, but not much to it, bit like a chemistry experiment 6
Kat - Smells a bit like coriander, like putting a penny on your tongue 5
Jess - I get that tart fruit on the tongue thing, i wouldn’t reach for it 5
Andy - Quite fresh, tastes a bit like Carex 5

2. Cornish IPA (5%)
St. Austell Brewery, Cornwall.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “A rich golden colour, and totally clear. It has a citrus bouquet with hint of malt and hop. These characteristics are replicated in the first taste to the palate, finishing with a modicum of marmalade bitterness. Perfection.” [realalenet.co.uk]

What We Say…
Nick – A delicious and well mannered beer 7.5
Kat - I could drink a few of those and be pretty happy 7
Jess – it’s nice, similar to Buckinghamshire in a way 7
Andy - More flavour than Buckinghamshire, some fruits in there 6

3. Yorkshire Bitter (4.6%)
Cropton Brewery, Pickering, North Yorkshire.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say - “A big sulphury nose with strong undertones of floral and spicy hops and tart fruit. Tangy fruit dominates the palate with sappy malt and spicy hops. Hop bitterness and tart fruit dominate the finish with light malt notes; it becomes increasingly dry” [www.beer-pages.com]

What We Say…
Nick – Bracing, Hair-chested, a working man’s pub beer 6.5
Kat - Bready, a pie & chips beer 6
Jess - Not as nice as the Cornish IPA 6
Andy - Darker, more bitter, bit too much for me 5.5

4. Organic Ale (6%)
Broughton Ales, Biggar, Scotland.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “On the nose there’s a sweet and orangy aroma, with plenty of caramel malt notes, herby, nettle aromas and a little earthy whiff of silage. On the palate it has a fine, chewy, creamy texture and plenty of malty character. The hops are there, adding a bitter twist to the finish, and that earthy, quite rich quality extends through the finish” [www.beer-pages.com]

What We Say…
Kat - Smells like beer trampled into mud, in a nice way 7
Nick - Honeyish, meady, a bitter finish 7
Andy – Zingy, Electricy, metallicy 6
Jess - Quite powerful upfront, could’nt drink much of it 5.5

Panellists – (from top left) Andy & Jess, Kat Flint, Nick Hirst

BeerCast panel verdict

Cornish IPA (27½/40)
Organic Ale (25½/40)
Yorkshire Bitter (24/40)
Buckinghamshire Ale (21/40)

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with BeerCast #36- a Blighty Vs Yankee IPA battle from the Edinburgh team. Keep the emails and comments coming in. Cheers!