The BeerCast

Our 47th podcast sees the joining up of the two studios, as Andy and Jess travel north from London to sample four beers with Richard and Grant in Edinburgh. We try four beers from very different stables, beginning with a coriander and vanilla-infused wheat beer from Cornwall - St Austell Clouded Yellow (4.8%), before something more classically British (despite the name) - Kamikaze Bitter (5.0%) from Dent in Cumbria. Next is a strong IPA from the North East of England - St Cuthbert (6.5%) from the Durham Brewery, before we finish on a darker note with the 5.0% Burton Bramble Stout. This podcast features not one but two exploding beers, questions to keep you interested during the breaks, and numerous butterfly and moth facts…

1. Clouded Yellow (4.8%abv)
St Austell Brewery, St Austell, Cornwall. 500ml glass bottle

St Austell are no strangers to the BeerCast, with their flagship Tribute featuring in the most recent Beer of the Year show, having scored 81% in our South West Special, BeerCast #33. It finished tied for second behind the eventual winner - the awesome Stone Ruination IPA. Of course, the Cornish concern are far from being a one-trick pony - so we got hold of their vanilla infused wheat beer Clouded Yellow (4.8%), named after a migrant butterfly often found in southern parts of Britain during the summer. Bottle-conditioned, unfortunately it erupted out of the bottle on opening, losing about a third over the table.

What They Say -
“Pale yellow in colour and naturally bottle conditioned, ideally served cool in a long glass to experience the true citrus overtones which have been delicately flavoured with whole spices and vanilla.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Grooben - One of the nicest wheatbeers I’ve had, shame it exploded 7
Jess - Refreshing light nature, an 8 if not for the kerfuffle 7
Richard - Potpourri aroma, taste is heavy vanilla, it’s interesting 6½
Andy - Looks like Appletiser and is pretty refreshing 5

2. Kamikaze (5.0%abv)
Dent Brewery, Dent, Cumbria. 500ml glass bottle

Dent is something of a Geographical oddity, being within the boundaries of the Yorkshire Dales National Park yet not actually in Yorkshire. Located in a corner of south-eastern Cumbria, the small village is home to a thriving brewery, one of the remotest in the UK. Originally established to provide cask ale for the local pub, the Sun Inn, demand quickly outgrew their facilities and landlords from the Dales to the Lake District were asking for supply. All of their beers have a sheep theme, reflecting the traditional local industry, many having tongue-in-cheek names such as Golden Fleece (a Golden Ale) and Rambrau (a German-style lager). Kamikaze - maybe that should be Ramikaze - is a 5% bitter.

What They Say -
“Hops and fruit dominate this full-bodied, gold coloured strong bitter with a pleasant dryness. A hint of citrus and honey in the finish lead to a bitter aftertaste.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard - More hop than malt, but it’s dry like a golden ale 7
Jess - I don’t get any sweetness from the honey but it’s nice 7
Andy - Hoppiness cancels out the mustiness of some bitters 6
Grooben - Nice quaffable bitter, would be even better on cask 6

3. St Cuthbert (6.5%abv)
Durham Brewery, Bowburn, County Durham. 500ml glass bottle

We’ve talked about IPA’s many many times - and particularly about their history and the very Britishness of the style (even though others have since made them much livelier). But putting together a style show without an IPA wouldn’t be right - so we got hold of St Cuthbert (6.5%) from the Durham Brewery. This one is unusual as it has a totally different identity and branding depending on your method of purchasing. In the bottle, it’s badged with a celtic-style label and named after the patron saint of Northumberland. However, in a pub if you saw Durham Magnificat on cask and decided to order it, you’d get exactly the same beer. But would you get a nice beer? Names don’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things, after all.

What They Say -
“Fresh and clean tasting with citrus notes, this beer is dangerously drinkable. Our interpretation of an India Pale Ale featuring Challenger, Target, Columbus, Golding and Saaz hops.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard - Dead-on strong IPA - citrus, hops, alcohol backing 7½
Jess - Just a bit muddy for me, I like refreshing beers 4
Andy - Some orange citrus but it’s hidden by other flavours 4
Grooben - Doesn’t sit right, there’s an unpleasant metallic taste 4

4. Burton Bramble Stout (5.0%abv)
Burton Bridge Brewery, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire. 500ml glass bottle

Burton is where it all began in many respects, being the symbolic heartland of British brewing. The soft hills surrounding the River Trent made the perfect water for brewing, and an industry was born. Burton beer was transported around the country on the railways, and around the globe on ships. Today there are still a few producers in the Staffordshire town, one of which being Burton Bridge. Begun by two brewery fitters who realised they could do a better job than many of their clients, they renovated the derelict Fox and Goose pub before starting down the path that would lead to numerous awards. Their Bramble Stout won SIBA’s national bottled beer of the year in 2005.

What They Say - “Brewed as Top Dog Stout with the addition of blackberry juice to add a faint sweetness. Challenger hops and Pale and Chocolate Malts, Burton Bridge Bramble Stout has a strong chocolatey aroma with a hint of fruit, full bodied with a smooth bitterness.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Andy - Has the potential to be nicer but I think they need to smooth out the rough edges a bit 6
Grooben - Light and bitter on the palate, it needs more brambles 6
Richard - A blackberry tartness at the end, but maybe not enough 6
Jess - It’s too medicinal for me, nothing like I expected 5

Panellists - (clockwise from top left) Richard, Andy, Jess, Grooben

BeerCast panel verdict
Dent Kamikaze (26/40)
St Austell Clouded Yellow (25½/40)
Burton Bramble Stout (23/40)
Durham St Cuthbert (19½/40)

Stay tuned for our next podcast, as BeerCast #48 features four beers around the theme of the railways - our LocoCast is up next, boarding in a couple of weeks…

Sitting on the bottom of the beer shelf at my local Sainsbury’s the other day was a newish-looking beer I didn’t recognise, with a dark green and silver hop-covered label. The rather lengthy title of ‘Natural Brewing Company Irresistible Premium Ale’, and the limited information on the bottle gave little away. But as it was an unknown quantity, into the basket it went, along with the seven packets of Super Noodles and the toilet roll. At 4.3% it screams session ale, and the description on the back of …“Barley, hops and spring water – and nothing else” throws up the prospect of a Reinheitsgebot-style offering, particularly as it is apparently gravity tower-brewed. Despite the rather ridiculous title, NBCIPA seems to talk the talk.

After a bit of digging, the sideways-scrolling website lists the three founders of the NBC (Mark, Julian and Gary) as your typical ‘chuck the city jobs and start a brewery’ types – which is always pleasing to read (even if it makes one envious). I guess those who can, brew, and those who can’t, start a beer website. The NBC seem to trade heavily on their environmental credentials, and the site is full of admirable pledges about saving the planet, carbon footprints, and community wells in India. They have some serious brew knowledge behind them too however, as their Julian is Julian Herrington, who spent 15yrs as master brewer of Shepherd Neame before joining London’s Meantime. It seems he’s now coupled with the marketing and business brains of Mark and Gary to go it alone.

Anyway, the pour is highly carbonated, very frothy, and extremely clear, with a light amber or very pale chestnut colour. The aroma is mostly citrus – First Gold giving their characteristic zesty orangeyness. The taste is really surprising – for such an unknown quantity it’s extremely nice – bitter, fruity and with a simple flavour. That’s not meant as a slight at all – simplicity can work when the mild components are balanced correctly. A rising bitterness comes through at the end after a while, as the hops nudge their way to the top on the palate. It’s highly sessionable, and is a classic example of that easy-drinking style. I had no idea what this would be like, but was very pleasantly surprised. I’m not so sure about the name, but that’s something I can live with when you have a beer as well constructed as this.

Official Website

Tongham’s Hogs Back Brewery are perhaps best known for their 4.2% flagship T.E.A. (Traditional English Ale), which we featured back in May last year as part of BeerCast #33, our south west England special. It came second behind St Austell Tribute, despite the fact that Tongham is in the south east (it appeared to have been stored on the wrong geographical shelf in York’s The Bottle beer shop). The fantastically named Tony Stanton-Precious and Martin Zillwood-Hunt were introduced by the editor of The Grist magazine, after the former wrote to them seeking partners for a prospective brewery. They found a site in Surrey and named their new operation after the distinctive raised ridgeline of the nearby North Downs.

Aside from the bitters and session ales, they put out some stronger, more beery offerings. A 9% barley wine (A over T; or Aromas over Tongham) tops out the list, but running behind is their winter seasonal Santa’s Wobble, at 7.5%. Released in December on cask and in bottles, it is branded as Wobble in a Bottle the other eleven months of the year, giving the bespoke Christmas Ale a wider retail window. It pours totally flat, an opaque purplish mauve colour with no rising carbonation. The aroma is very fruity indeed, with alcohol at first on the palate, leading to rich berry fruit, malts, and warmth. These rich, ripe tastes hide the alcohol on the finish and leave the malts coming through. More fruit comes out at the end – it tastes like it should be one of your five a day, and is a great antidote to these unending Scottish winter nights.

Our first podcast in 2010 takes place back in our regular Edinburgh haunt, after the excitement of our BOTY Show had subsided. No 32%abv beers on offer tonight, as Grooben and MrB join Richard for a last-minute BeerCast decided on the spur of the moment. Richard dashed to Morrisons at lunchtime to come up with four beers - hence the title of the podcast (and also homage to a truly great television programme of old). First up in our aisle foraging special - Everards Tiger (4.2%) from the award-winning Leicester producer. We then move slightly south-east as we sample Wychwood’s Circle Master (4.7%), and debate it’s ‘Golden Pale Ale’ description. Our third beer is from Cumbria - Jenning’s Sneck Lifter (5.1%), and we finish on a slightly stronger note with Greene King’s vintage ale Abbot Reserve (6.5%). Stay tuned also for discussions on driving, Richard’s story about the time his Grandad almost punched Tommy Cooper, and a heartwarming tale of cross-border teen romance from MrB.

1. Everards Tiger (4.2%abv)
Everards Brewery, Leicester, Leicestershire. 500ml glass bottle

Tiger is the flagship ale from one of the East Midland’s most successful family brewers. Everard’s were established in Leicester back in 1849 when one William Everard purchased the South Street Brewery. Over the years they have expanded and developed, and today are in the hands of the fifth generation of William’s descendants. Their current home is Castle Acres in Narborough, and was purpose built to push the company into nationwide levels of production. Tiger combines Maris Otter malt with the classic British bitter combination of hops - Goldings and Fuggles.

What They Say -
“A true award winning best bitter with universal appeal. Tiger Best Bitter is a classic example of getting the perfect balance between sweetness and bitterness. Crystal malt gives the beer its rounded toffee character.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Grooben - It’s not as interesting as it makes out 5
Richard - I’ve had this on cask and I liked it a lot more 5
MrB - Malty and watery with a bit of toffee 5

2. Circle Master (4.7%abv)
Wychwood Brewery, Witney, Oxfordshire. 500ml glass bottle

Wychwood are one busy brewer. Alongside their varied and expanding range of ales, they also contract brew all bottled beers put out under the Duchy Originals label, not to mention their acquisition of the troubled Brakspear. There are two brew plants at their Witney headquarters to cope with the demand, which is understandable. In 2002 (the same year they bought Brakspear), they were themselves taken over by the pithily-named Refresh UK, a subsidiary of Marstons plc. Their most popular beer is Hobgoblin, famed throughout real ale circles for it’s “…afraid you might taste something?” advertising.

What They Say -
“Whole leaf target hops, naturally grown in a single garden in Kent, are added to create a beer of exceptional taste and character. The Circle Master conducts a melody of refreshing citrus and delightful malt flavour, rounded off with a spicy bittersweet finish.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard - They may be stuck between two styles here 7
Grooben - There’s an extremely lingering dry aftertaste 6
MrB - Bitter and fizzy, too much like a lager 6

3. Sneck Lifter (5.1%abv)
Jennings Brewery, Cockermouth, Cumbria. 500ml glass bottle

Like Everards, Jennings are another 19th Century family brewer - they began in the village of Lorton, between the Cumbrian towns of Keswick and Cockermouth. In 1874 the Castle Brewery in the latter of those two towns was purchased, and Jenning’s moved to increase production. Cockermouth made global news in November 2009 when enormous floods caused by the rising rivers Cocker and Derwent inundated the town to a depth of eight feet. The Jennings Brewery - situated on Brewery Lane almost at the confluence of the two rivers - was also flooded, but has since re-opened for production.

What They Say -
“In northern dialect sneck means door latch and a sneck lifter was a man’s last sixpence which enabled him to lift the latch of a pub door and buy himself a pint, hoping to meet friends there who might treat him to one or two more. This dark beer with a reddish tinge, derived from the use of coloured malts, perfectly balanced with specially formulated brewing sugars and English aromatic hops.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard - I love the smokiness that gives way to bitter taste 8
MrB - Once the smokiness goes down the hops come out 7
Grooben - I didn’t expect it to be this complex 7

4. Abbot Reserve (6.5%abv)
Greene King plc, Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk. 500ml glass bottle

Greene King aren’t a family brewer - but they do have a history, as they claim to have started production in 1799 in the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmonds. Having a head start seemed to help, as they are now the largest British-owned brewery in the UK. Trading on the ftse stock exchange, they have helped their position by an aggressive series of acquisitions of smaller brewers - Morland, Ruddles and Ridleys have all been bought and closed, and they also own Dunbar’s own, Belhaven. We sampled their 5.0% flagship beer, Abbot Ale way back in BeerCast #4 in September 2007, where it scored 36/60 (60%).

What They Say - “Abbot Reserve has an abv of 6.5% and is a perfect winter warmer on a cold night. It is a distinctive full-bodied smooth and mature beer, bursting with rich fruit cake and toffee flavours.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Grooben - A brown sugary blast, not offensive but not pleasing 5
Richard - Fruitcake taste but nothing else to give it substance 4½
MrB - Gets far too sweet as it warms up 4½

Panellists - (clockwise from top left) Richard, MrB, Grooben

BeerCast panel verdict
Jennings Sneck Lifter (22/30)
Wychwood Circle Master (19/30)
Everards Tiger (15/30)
Greene King Abbot Reserve (14/30)

Stay tuned for our next podcast, as our Southern studio get together for BeerCast #46 - a celebration of Mexican beer….

“Legend” is a word that can be overused in today’s fawning celebrity culture, and is increasingly being applied to almost anyone and everything – even, of course, beer. As a county, Yorkshire is never shy about promoting locals to legendary greatness, whether it’s Captain Cook or Fred Trueman. However, the website of Masham brewer Theakstons claims their 5.6% ale Old Peculier is simply ‘The Legend’. Canny self-promotion? Or genuine accolade? Well, we do like a Theakstons beer on the BeerCast, as Theakston XB made it to our first ever Beer of the Year show, narrowly losing out to a festive stunner from San Francisco’s Anchor.

We tend to write one-off reviews about new, unusual or far-flung beers, as by their nature we’re compelled to try them and report what we find. But I’ve been drinking Old Peculier for years, so it’s almost unusual to try and put into words a summary of what the flavours are. It’s also quite hard, as Theakstons say in the marketing speak it has a “mysterious and distinctive flavour”. From the bottle – and it is much nicer on cask, as most things are – it’s very dark ruby, almost black, with a highly carbonated head lasting for some time. It has a rich, sweet molasses aroma, similar to the smell from a can of treacle, although with some hop and malt aromas added.

This darkness continues into the taste, the syrupy molasses cover your palate – it’s a fireside beer if ever there was one. There’s some malt components on the tongue as well, although no roast or burnt caramel flavours at all - Old Peculier is very thick and very sweet. It reminds me of a Scottish 90/- wee heavy – although at 5.6% it falls under the ceiling for those stronger beers. It’s very full-bodied though, and if anything it gets nicer as it warms because the sweetness fades into the malt. That’s where the shilling comparison ends, as they characteristically get sweeter as they warm to room temperature, but this one becomes more balanced. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to bestow legendary status on it, but as Fred might have said, it’s blooming tasty.