The BeerCast

The first podcast of any year is always one to look forward to – as tradition dictates it’s our BeerCast Beer of the Year show. As highlighted in our recent preview, the four highest scoring beers we could find from the podcasts recorded in 2011 are re-sampled, and a winner picked. Previous winners are Anchor Christmas Ale 2006 (2007), Hop Back Summer Lightning (2008), Stone Ruination IPA (2009) and Odell Isolation Ale (last year), so whichever beer came out on top this time, it would be in good company. The four beers in our BOTY show were Rogue St Rogue Red Ale (5.2%), Kernel IPA Citra (7.2%), Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest (6.7%), and Thornbridge St Petersburg (7.7%). It’s always interesting to re-taste beers, as they can be very different a second time around…and so it was to prove. Our Beer of the Year panel consists of Shovels, MrB, Richard and Grooben…

1. Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red Ale (5.2%abv) 22oz glass bottle
Rogue Ales, Newport, Oregon.
BeerCast#58 scored 34/40 (85%) 15th February 2011
Originally tasted by Richard 8½; Grooben 8½; Shovels 8½; MrB 8½

What They Say – “Reddish copper in color, a roasty malt flavor with a hoppy sprucy finish.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Grooben – Really very malty, more than I remember
MrB – Mine’s got floaters in it, did I like this?
Richard – As close to an American session beer as you can get
Shovels – Still like it, and I still love the aroma

2. Kernel IPA Citra (7.2%abv) 330ml glass bottle
The Kernel Brewery, Bermondsey, London.
BeerCast#59 scored 36½/40 (91%) 29th March 2011
Originally tasted by Richard 10; Stu 9½; Shovels 8½; Grooben 8½

What We Say…
MrB – These bottles are six months old, it’s lost some aroma
Grooben – Lost some of it’s Citra-yness impact on the shelf
Richard – Back then it was absolutely great, though
Shovels – Thin, with a hoppy aftertaste, then a musty yeastiness

3. Southern Hemisphere Harvest (6.7%abv) 22oz glass bottle
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, Chico, California.
BeerCast#58 scored 34/40 (85%) 15th February 2011
Originally tasted by Richard 9; Shovels 8½; MrB 8½; Grooben 8;

What They Say – ” Robust hop character presents an intriguing floral-citrus aroma leading to layers of fresh-hop spiciness. Enjoy!” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Nice bit of malt backbone to it, I really like this
Grooben – Difficult to distinguish from their standard beers
MrB – I like it, but it’s no more tasty than other SN beers
Richard – Maltier and more body than the Kernel, it’s a bit soapy

4. St Petersburg (7.7%abv) 500ml glass bottle
Thornbridge Brewery, Bakewell, Derbyshire.
BeerCast#64 scored 26/30 (87%) 20th October 2011
Originally tasted by Richard 9; Shovels 8½; Grooben 8½

What They Say – ” Rich and dark with smoke, subtle peatiness and the power of the dark malts. Molasses and liquorice and chocolate goodness all wrapped up in a smooth, warming liquid.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Grooben – Wonderful balance to it, with no harshness
MrB – I’m not used to drinking stouts, it’s still very tasty
Richard – Absolutely cracking beer
Shovels – Lovely flavours, just a great beer

So those were the thoughts – or re-thoughts – of the panel during the tasting of the four beers that had made it through to the final. The next thing to do was go round the table and give our rankings from 1-4 on the night, plus a beer each that we enjoyed over 2011 and felt deserved a special mention…

Grooben
“1. Thornbridge… 2. Kernel… 3. Sierra Nevada… 4. Rogue… My favourite beer I’ve had this year is St Petersburg, it’s fantastically smooth and brilliantly made.”

Shovels
“First for me is the Rogue – I still liked it even though it had bits in, it had a great balance. Second – it’s a tough one, I’m going with the Kernel on memory, then St Petersburg, then Sierra Nevada. I can’t think of anything that’s really stood out for me this year – I’ve been too busy homebrewing.”

Richard
“My first on the night and in general is St Petersburg – it’s just a fantastic beer, second is Kernel IPA Citra, which is my favourite beer I’ve had this year. That for me was the Kernel beer that really pulled everything together. Third is Rogue because I really like it still, and fourth is Sierra Nevada.”

MrB
“Number 1 is St Petersburg, No 2 Sierra Nevada Harvest. I think I’ll have to go Kernel and then Rogue. But it’s not like any of them are bad. My favourite beer this year – 1000IBU from Mikkeller – which these days is where you have to go to make me go Mmmm. I spent 2-3hrs drinking a bottle in Ghent, and I loved it.”

So in the end there was a unanimous winner – Thornbridge St Petersburg becomes our fifth BeerCast Beer of the Year – and the first stout to take the Golden Mouthchart. Congratulations to all in Bakewell – yet another accolade to add to the pile! Second place – for the second year in a row – Kernel with IPA Citra. The two Americans were next, with Rogue’s St Rogue Red Ale picking up third, ahead of Sierra Nevada’s Southern Hemisphere Harvest. Four worthy beers, but one worthy winner.

But at this point we were only half-finished – our panel then tasted four more beers – the traditional ‘end of BOTY surprise’ involved four unusual adjunct-enhanced beers from Bières Bourganel in the south of France. Listen to our tasting after the BOTY voting, and check back to the website in a few days for a full review post on four very different beers. Many thanks to everyone who downloaded or subscribed to our podcasts in 2011 – we’ll be recording many more in 2012 – stay tuned..!

• Listen to the episode on Soundcloud here:

• Or here if you’re on iPhone/iPad: BeerCast #67 – Beer of the Year 2011
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our Site Feed

As things wind down over Christmas, the attention at BeerCast HQ turns towards our annual Beer of the Year Show. We tally up the scores achieved by each ale podcasted over the last twelve months, and take the four highest scoring for a re-sample. Which beer will follow on from Odell Isolation Ale and become our BOTY for 2011? Our BeerCasts this year featured 43 different beers, but only four can make it to the BOTY show. Well, four including ties…

Our first finalist is the highest scoring beer of 2011 – Kernel IPA Citra (7.2%). This is the second time that one of Evin O’Riordain’s India Pale Ales has made our BOTY show – last year the excellent IPA C.S.C. (Centennial, Simcoe, Chinook) made it, although it was beaten into second place by the winner from Odell. Since then, the Kernel’s Citra showcase beer wowed us with it’s hop flavour, scoring 91% in BeerCast #59. This makes it the third-highest scoring beer in our history (behind two other IPA’s, from Caldera and Stone). Yeah, we’re unashamed hop fans.

Next up for this year’s BOTY Show (in order of the scores they received), we have a tie. With scores of 87% – Thornbridge St Petersburg (7.7%) and Het Anker Gouden Carolus Christmas (10.5%). The first of these is from a UK brewery that needs little introduction to British beer fans. Bakewell’s Thornbridge have been producing quality products for years – and their Russian Imperial Stout St Petersburg is no exception. Sampled on our 7.5% and over duty protest BeerCast #64, the rich, deep flavours made a huge impression on us – and it takes a deserved place in the final.

The second of those beers was one of the undoubted surprises of the year. Our Christmas Specials have produced finalists before – three years out of four (with two going on to win our coveted Beer of the Year). So maybe having a festive beer scoring so highly shouldn’t have taken us aback – but Het Anker’s Christmas beer really did. It had the perfect balance of Belgian flavours and winter notes, with a generous helping of alcohol. Even Shovels – notorious for not ‘getting’ Belgian beer, gave it a 9/10. That was very much the surprise of the year – but one well-deserved.

So that gives us three of our four finalists. Trouble is, we then have another tie for the last spot in our BOTY show. What to do? Well – how about extending the final to five challengers, and inviting all of the beers in? With that, we have two American beers that came from BeerCast #58 – our Stateside Special. In the red corner – Rogue Brewing’s St Rogue Red Ale (5.2%). In the…green…corner – Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest (6.7%). Two titans of the US craft beer scene – both scored 85% – how could we include one at the expense of the other?

Rogue’s red ale has the lowest abv of our five finalists – at 5.2% (which probably says something about the BeerCasters). Our panellists loved the depth of flavour and the balance of malt – so we’re really looking forward to re-sampling this one. Sierra Nevada made our BOTY show last year – but we were unable to source their Harvest 2009 wet hop ale due to its rarity (and the snow). This year we featured their more available Kiwi hopped Southern Hemisphere Harvest, and really had to give it a whirl in the final. A different beer, of course, but it made the last fou…five in its own right.

BeerCast Beer of the Year Show 2011 lineup…
Kernel India Pale Ale Citra
Thornbridge St Petersburg
Het Anker Gouden Carolus Christmas
Rogue St Rogue Red Ale
Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest

So we can look back at another great drinking year on the BeerCast. We’ll be recording the BOTY show in early January with a specially extended panel. Stay tuned for surprises, controversy, and personal highlights, and in the meantime everyone associated with the BeerCast wishes our readers and listeners a fantastic Christmas and New Year, and all the best for 2011.

2010 Beer of the Year Show
2009 Beer of the Year Show
2008 Beer of the Year Show
2007 Beer of the Year Show

List-making is par for the course at this time of year – which explains our recent flurry of posts detailing our favourite new British beers. The trouble with compiling lists, however, is that you can’t add everything (unless it’s one of those Channel 4 shows like ‘the best 100 children’s breakfast cereals’). Listing our six – and I’m not sure why we decided on six – best new beers that were launched in 2011 left plenty out of the picture. But here they all are!

Well, we did actually mention Kernel IPA Double Black during our nomination of stablemate IPA 100 Centennial. It was almost a coin-flip decision on which of the two made it – they were both sublime. Other beers put out by brewers who made it into the top six were RedWillow Ageless, and Tempest Citra and Canyonero. Ageless in particular drew great praise in 2011.

Looking at Kelso’s Tempest Brewing – Canyonero was one of the more remarkable beers I’ve had for ages. On the face of it, a 5.9% bitter. But the Pacific Jade and Wai-iti hops produced all kinds of aromas and flavours – oak, vanilla, pepper, toffee, spices. Staying in Scotland, this year was a fine one for Black Isle – and their new Scotch Ale and Black Stout could make 2012 their best year yet. They could have made the list, easily.

One of the most blogged-about brewers of the year weren’t represented either – Huddersfield’s Magic Rock. Yorkshire pundits featured them heavily in their ‘best of’ lists – and with good reason. Human Cannonball, Dark Arts, High Wire – all superbly drinkable, and from a pretty much brand-new producer, Magic Rock have really hit the ground running.

Other great new beers that debuted in 2011 – Fyne Ales Sublime Stout, Meantime Yakima Red, Dark Star Carafa Jade and Thwaites Old Dan. Give me each of those on a night out, and I’d be a happy man indeed. The last twelve months have been a great vintage for British brewing – let’s hope the next twelve are even better…

If you have a standout new beer – then let us know in the comments section. Next up on the BeerCast, our annual Christmas Special podcast – our panel get to grips with six festive beers. After that, we preview our most important BeerCast of the year – our fifth annual Beer of the Year Show. Stay tuned…

Our final best new release of 2011 is a beer that appeared only a few weeks ago – from a small-scale brewery in Yorkshire. The Summer Wine Brewery have been going for about three years – but recently have firmly thrust themselves into the crosshairs of the bloggerati. All of their beers pack a punch (which is probably why) – their double black Belgian rye IPA is no exception…

Cohort (7.5%)
Summer Wine Brewery, Holmfirth, Yorkshire
(keg, released November 2011)

Stop me if you’ve heard something like this before – “We plan to tear up the rule book & brew beers that demand you sit up & take note by shaking up your senses.” Taken from Summer Wine’s website, it reads straight from the Fraserburgh school of beer marketing. If SW plan to go along the BrewDog route, they’ll need some seriously thumping beers to back up the talk. Luckily (or skillfully) they seem to be walking the walk – their strong IPA Diablo is a pithy grapefruit monster, Barista a caffeine thunderbolt.

Andy and James have also crossed the ultimate ‘craft’ line, by laying down a beer in barrels – Kopikat, an imperial vanilla coffee stout. Co-incidentally it was just after sampling another imperial VCS (Harknott’s rollocking Vitesse Noir) at the Free Trade Inn in Newcastle, that I got to taste Summer Wine’s Cohort for the first time. The beer scene in the North-East of England is thriving, and pubs from South Yorkshire to the Scottish border have been taking SW’s beers recently – a sure measure of their popularity.

Cohort was jet black, with a tiny, tight fizzy head. Once the beer warmed a little, the aroma was fabulous – resinous hop mixed with roasty malt. Clearly they love to pile zingy hops into everything, and the balance with the slightly spicy roast from the rye was really something. It may seem that 7.5% is the new 5% – but these kind of beers are just so full of flavour – and clearly Summer Wine are on to a major winner.

Well, that’s it – our six best new British beers of 2011. Tomorrow we’ll be posting the ‘nearly beers’ – we had to narrow the field down somehow, but there were far more than six great new beers around this year. If your latest favourite hasn’t been listed yet, it may well be tomorrow…

Only two more posts to come in our best new beers of the year feature – and for our penultimate gong we pay a visit to Macclesfield, and another producer who had a breakout year in 2011. Toby McKenzie’s RedWillow Brewery has set the blogs abuzz recently with some cracking beers – and a faithful rendition of a British classic is the next in our best new UK beers of 2011…

Fathomless (5.2%)
RedWillow Brewery, Macclesfield, Cheshire
(cask, released October 2011)

We’ve not seen much of Toby’s beer in Scotland to this point, but drinkers across the North of England are becoming familiar with the characteristic egg-shaped pump clips of RedWillow. His refreshingly honest, PR-free blog is well worth reading, as it charts the highs and lows of being a small, start-up brewery. It was in Leeds that I first tried his beer, in the excellent Mr Foley’s (named after an old-time local property baron) – on the bar that day was RedWillow’s oyster stout – Fathomless.

This particular style has been around for a long time – and dates back to when oysters and stout were a popular pairing (before anyone used the term in the ‘craft beer’ sense). There are a few on the market today – although many (such as those produced by Marstons and Adnam’s) contain not a single bivalve. This is probably down to cost, ease of brewing, and the perception of oysters that many people have. For Fathomless, however, Toby and a couple of mates spent an entire day shucking the little guys – ending up with 250 for the boil.

Oysters have such a delicate flavour, that boiling them into a beer can potentially leach the flavours away – but the joy of Fathomless is that you can clearly pick them out. Jet black, with dark, oaty, malty aromas (Toby had to hand-roast the oats in his kitchen oven) – there was also a slight briney tinge to the nose. The rich stout flavour was followed by a thick, ozoney edge to the finish – a fantastic aftertaste. A perfect fireside beer, Fathomless was a wonderful reward for Toby’s hard work.

Join us tomorrow for our final choice – who will make the list? If your pick doesn’t – stay tuned as we’ll also be posting the ‘nearly beers’. RedWillow’s strong IPA Wreckless recently won gold at the 2011 SIBA North awards – and speaking as one of the judges, I’d say it was well-deserved…