The BeerCast

We’re back after our summer podcast break with a cracking lineup of beers from three very enthusiastic British brewers – all of whom begin with the letter M (hence the dubious title of the podcast). Our 63rd edition focuses on the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield – home to two very distinctive breweries. We also throw in a beer from Manchester – a mere 30miles across the Pennines. Beginning with Danger: Hops! (5.1%) from the prolific Mallinson’s Brewery, we move on to a new producer – Magic Rock – and sample High Wire (5.5%) and Cannonball (7.4%). In between those hoppy numbers we add the Mancunian interlude, in the shape of Marble’s Chocolate Marble (5.5%). On the panel this week, Richard, MrB, Stuart and Grooben.

1. Danger: Hops! (5.1%abv)
Mallinson’s Brewery, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
500ml glass bottle

Opened in May 2008 in a converted garage, Mallinsons are one of the busiest English breweries around, having released literally hundreds of beers (their website’s latest is #233 Io – a Sorachi Ace hopped blonde ale). Production is overseen by the brewster/owner – Tara Mallinson, ably assisted by her partner Elaine Yendall. Being so prolific, they need plenty of names for their beers – Io is the ninth ‘space themed’ – they have also done series on viaducts, wonders of the world, long rivers, and a classic British bus series. Since 2010 they have bottle conditioned four of their best sellers – Stadium Bitter, Station Bitter, Lindley Pale, and Danger: Hops!

What They Say -
“A re-brew which is stronger and hoppier. Each cask is dry hopped with Citra. Pale straw coloured beer with a hoppy passion fruit and mango nose, a bitter strong taste and a long bitter citrus finish.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – Smells pineappley, quite sharp citrus on the taste 7
Stu – Danger Hops should slap you around the face a bit more 6
Grooben – Every Citra beer smells the same apart from this one 5
MrB – Not even mildly dangerous, it’s actually quite tasty 5

2. High Wire (5.5%abv)
Magic Rock Brew Co, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
330ml glass bottle

Magic Rock Brewing are a brand new Yorkshire brewery, having also begun in Huddersfield, but in mid-2011. Brothers Richard and Jonny Burhouse founded the business, after employing ex-Kelham Island, Acorn and Crown head brewer Stuart Ross to be their head brewer. The Burhouse brothers already run the online beer shop mybrewerytap, and also their family business which wholesales new age gifts – leading to their brewery name Magic Rock. High Wire is their tribute to the pale ales of the West coast of America. But how does it compare?

What They Say -
“Let your taste buds walk this test of balance. Mango, lychee and lip-smacking grapefruit flavours harmonise against a smoothly composed malt base, which develops into a crisply bitter finish. Are you ready for our tightrope of taste?” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB – There aren’t many beers in the UK like this, it’s really good 8
Richard – Not as hoppy as Sierra Nevada, good in it’s own right 7½
Stu – Not enough of a kick in the nuts, but I’m warming to it 7
Grooben – Smells great, I don’t think it’s flavoursome enough 6½

3. Chocolate Marble (5.5%abv)
Marble Beers, Manchester.
500ml glass bottle

Our dark offering for the podcast doesn’t hail from Hudders, but then Manchester is only 30 or so miles away. The Grade 2 listed Marble Arch public house in the city has had a microbrewery operating since 1997. They have been a fantastic success story, winning numerous awards and going from strength to strength. All their beers are vegan, many are organic, and they are branded with distinctive pantone-eqsue labels that clearly state what they are about. Their session beer is rather brilliantly called Pint. Today however, we’re tasting their porter(ish) beer – Chocolate

What They Say -
“Strong, rich and stout-like, full plated malts balance against an assertive bitterness. Organic.” [Label Tasting Notes] “Bittering herb notes blossom in the swallow, with dark roasty malt on the finish still characterised with a sweetish chocolatey slick and some gritty mineral notes.” [Des de Moor]

What We Say…
Richard – Chocolatey background, some bitter coffee in there, I think that’s great 8
Grooben – More flavoursome than other beers, I’m liking this 7½
Stu – Great full, rounded flavour, I’d drink a few of these 7½
MrB – Smells particularly malty, it’s like a session stout 7½

4. Cannonball (7.4%abv)
Magic Rock Brew Co, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
330ml glass bottle

Magic Rock currently have a small plant situated in an adjacent building to their crystal business, and as they concentrate on American-style bold, hoppy beers, have a large hopback to get the flavours into their products. Cannonball is Magic Rock’s strong IPA – although they also release a 9.2% Imperial IPA called Human Cannonball. They also produce a 4.6% red ale called Rapture, a 6.0% stout called Dark Arts, and Curious, their 3.9% flagship pale ale. In case you hadn’t guessed it, they have a circus theme – and at a recent launch at the North Bar in Leeds the entire pub was converted into an impromptu big top.

What They Say -
“Crack the cap and let the flavour explode on your palate. Tropically fruity, resinous hops compete against a sweet malty backbone, while a rasping bitterness builds to a mouth puckering crescendo. Our hop bomb might just blow you away…” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Stu – I like it better than their High Wire, this brewery has potential 7½
MrB – Sweet and toffeish, amazing that an English brewer is doing this 7½
Grooben – I just think you need to put more flavour in 7
Richard – These guys only just started, this is very impressive 7

Panellists – (clockwise from top left) Richard, MrB, Stu, Grooben

BeerCast panel verdict
Marble Chocolate Marble 30½/40
Magic Rock High Wire 29/40
Magic Rock Cannonball 29/40
Mallinsons Danger: Hops! 23/40

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Please keep those comments and emails coming in, and check back in a couple of weeks for our next podcast, which should be from our Southern branch of BeerCasters – as they work their way through the beers of Edinburgh micro Knops Beer Company…

Blackburn’s Thwaites Brewery have been upping the ante recently, announcing a few new interesting beers to their core bottled range. We’re all huge fans of everything Lancashire here on the BeerCast – apart from Shovels of course, as he hails from the wrong side of the Pennines. However, even he forced Thwaites Double Century through gritted teeth in our 2008 Beer of the Year Show – although it didn’t win, shot down by the all-round drinkability of Hop Back Summer Lightning.

Founded in 1807 by Daniel Thwaites, the eponymous brewery have retained loyal to their roots – still producing their beer from the Blackburn base they originally occupied. Renowned for their love of dray horses – the symbol of the company – tradition plays a big part in their outlook (critics of the red rose county would say that’s all we have – I would counter with a butter pie in the face). Back in 1957, on their 150th anniversary, Thwaites produced an old ale called Old Dan – “a splendid warming strong ale in the nip sized bottle.”

Nips (i.e. thirds of a pint) were the way these hearty ales were distributed – different to the nips up here in Scotland, obviously – but still necessary given the higher alcohol content sported by these old ales. Old Dan waned in popularity since the late 50′s – but has recently been revived as a 7.4% Fuggles-laden ‘super-premium’ brand. Modernity having caught up (certain parts of Yorkshire excepted) the bottles are now, inevitably, 330ml – but they still look pretty smart. Even the wonky rear label is apparently intentional (a nifty trick if the bottling plant malfunctions).

Old Dan pours chestnut brown and totally flat, with a single lonely stream of rising carbonation. The label proudly sports the ‘bottle conditioned’ tag, but it has actually been filtered and re-seeded, which really doesn’t add much to the equation. Some alcohol comes out on the nose, with sweet caramel and toffee, and a touch of dark stone fruit. Big, warm, fruity malt flavours take over from the start – plums, damsons lead into an increasingly sweet, malty finish. More booze arrives as the beer goes down. It’s remarkably mellow for 7.4%, and is really rather good indeed. Lancashire’s answer to Theakston’s Old Peculier?

Thwaites Official website

Here at the BeerCast we’re always on the lookout for new and interesting things, partly to keep the readership happy – and partly to appease our flirtatious tastebuds. CAMRA Chair Colin Valentine recently criticised bloggers for having such an outlook – and it got us thinking. Maybe we are guilty of bypassing the timeless to concentrate on the next big thing. What about the classics? So, starting today, we have a new regular feature – rediscovering these “lost” beers. We begin with a British institution.

Fullers first brewed their Extra Special Bitter in 1971, as a winter seasonal to replace an older brand – Old Burton Extra. At that time, the beer scene here was at a nadir thanks to the despicable keg revolution – and it really took off. ESB quickly became a permanent fixture, partly thanks to the competition, and probably also in part due to the 5.5% abv – making it then one of the strongest beers in regular production.

Described as ‘perilously drinkable’ by BeerHunter Michael Jackson, it won Champion Beer of Britain in 1978, and never looked back. Since then, it won that award on two further occasions – not to mention CAMRA Best Strong Ale for seven different years. It became the industry standard for Extra Special Bitters – the premium (read: stronger) end of the brown beer spectrum (they generally top out at 6% abv). One of the first British ales exported to America, it cemented itself so much over there that beers of the style are commonly referred to by Fuller’s brand name – ESB’s.

Today sales remain strong – Fullers ESB is something I regularly walk past at my local supermarket on the search for something new and unusual. Bumped to 5.9% in the bottle, it remains 5.5% on cask – although those rarely make it this far north (Fuller’s flagship London Pride occasionally makes it to Scotland as a guest). It pours a walnut brown with a decent white head, which dissipates fairly quickly. On the nose – sweet toffee malt and mellow fruit, highly inviting.

Taste-wise, it’s pretty rich on the palate – but not too much, the caramel toffee nuttiness doesn’t veer into the overly sweet or cloying at any point. There’s a great balance of that malt with the fruity hops that come on the aftertaste – the citrus is there for a moment before the bitter finish arrives. Unsurprisingly, it’s lovely. Classics should be re-discovered from time to time, even if it means taking time out from the new and spectacular…

Stay tuned for the next part of this series, as we get to grips with a beer that created a style. What would your classic beer lineup not be complete without?

The leap from enthusiastic homebrewer to full-scale production is one that happens with some regularity in the world of beer – but there are other routes available. Making the switch from owning a pub to owning a brewery is rarer, and no less difficult. Dave Bailey, landlord of the Woolpack Inn near Boot in Eskdale is such a brewer. Wanting to increase traffic into the pub, and with some empty outbuildings, back in 2005 he set about producing his own beer to supply his regulars.

Five years later the Hardknott Brewery (named after the Hardknott Pass, behind the inn) were doing so well that Dave reluctantly sold the pub to concentrate on the brewing. Now located on an industrial estate in Millom, the distinctively branded beers are now being seen with more regularity around the country. We haven’t seen any north of the border as yet, but a trip to London gave us the chance to buy four of Dave’s beers for a brewery showcase. On the panel today – Richard, Shovels and Blair, making his second and last BeerCast appearance…

1. Dark Energy (4.9%abv)
Hardknott Brewery, Millom, Cumbria.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say…
“Dark, fruity, bitter, spicy. Galena and Willamette hops are added to a grist mix as complicated as an astrophysicist’s equation.”

What We Say…
Blair – I like a lot of the tastes, but it maybe lacks body 6½
Richard – High carbonation and sour finish, has a lot of good properties but some unusual ones 6½
Shovels – Dry prune taste, little bit of smoke, sour aftertaste 5

2. Infra Red (6.5%abv)
Hardknott Brewery, Millom, Cumbria.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say…
“This IPA is not particularly Pale. In fact it’s a deep ruby red. Based on a modern American style beer from Oregon using Cascade and Centennial hops in appropriate proportions, for bittering, aroma and dry hopping balanced with a strong Crystal malt backbone.”

What We Say…
Richard – Really nice, great bitter hop flavour coming through 8
Shovels – Good hop flavour, but better beers out there for this style 7½
Blair – A little bit more floral or citrus would be nice, but I like it 7

3. Queboid (8.0%abv)
Hardknott Brewery, Millom, Cumbria.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say…
“A double IPA. Strong and flavoursome.”

What We Say…
Blair – Even-keeled beer, Belgian influence on an American style 7½
Shovels – I’d like a bit more hops in this one 7
Richard – Sweet at first, then dry when the hops arrive 7

4. Granite 2009 (10.4%abv)
Hardknott Brewery, Millom, Cumbria.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say…
“Created using natural Lake District water extracted from volcanic rock. The heat of our copper drove the malt sugars to twice the concentration producing a burnt toffee flavour.”

What We Say…
Blair – I’d call it an imperial smoked porter, but I really like it 9
Richard – Alcohol but no sweetness, it’s really interesting 7½
Shovels – To be honest, I like it because it doesn’t taste like a barley wine 7

Panellists – (clockwise from top left) Shovels, Blair, Richard

BeerCast panel verdict
Hardknott Granite 2009 (23½/30)
Hardknott Infra Red (22½/30)
Hardknott Queboid (21½/30)
Hardknott Dark Energy (18/30)

Stay tuned for our 63rd BeerCast, as we assemble the London chapter for another Brewery Showcase. Our Southern branch will be tackling the beers of the Knops Brewing Company – no strangers to our Edinburgh team – but how will Rob’s beers go down in the other capital? Find out in a few weeks…
Hardknott Brewery website

We’re rapidly approaching the end of May – which draws to a close the only month on the British beer calendar with a designated style. CAMRA have a stated aim to protect traditional varieties of beer – one of the most threatened of which is currently the humble Mild. To publicise the risk this beer faces they introduced a Mild in May campaign – encouraging brewers to produce the style, and punters to drink them, during the current month.

It’s an idea with the best of intentions – one of the reasons that Milds are sliding from view is that many drinkers today see them as old fashioned, and associate them with times gone by. Humble Northerners in the 1950′s drank mild, flat cap in the other hand, down their local. Today things have moved on. I used to be of that persuasion, having had a couple of truly awful Milds a few years ago.

At their worst they can be utterly bland and insipid, dark in colour but devoid of any flavour once the first slightly roasted notes have passed over the tongue. But there are some great Milds out there – proving that subtlety needn’t be at the expense of quality. Highland Dark Munro and Kelburn Dark Moor, for example, both have a lovely toasted malt backbone – and are well worth seeking out.

Beers such as these two give hope to the Mild enthusiasts – but there are also a couple of other reasons to think that a resurgence could be on the cards. Ironically, one is the increased experimentation of modern brewers. As they become more prolific, many turn their hand to recreating historic styles of beer – such as Milds. Rarer versions – such as the Strong Mild (with an ABV of around 6%) – are becoming popular, and dare I say it, fashionable.

One such beer is a collaboration produced by London’s Kernel and Redemption breweries. Their Strong Dark Mild rocks up at 6.1%. It has the big roasty liquorice notes you’d expect from a beefed-up Mild, plus the signature hop edge of the Kernel Brewery. When the alcohol arrives on the finish, the whole thing ends like a chewy strong porter.

CAMRA should be applauded for trying to retain one of the UK’s native beer styles, which although not to everyone’s taste is definitely worthy of saving. As brewers follow their lead and put out more quality traditional Milds, together with the appearance of beers like the Kernel/Redemption offering (also traditional, of course) things might just be looking up. The Government reducing duty on beer under 2.8% can’t hurt, either.* Maybe come May 2012 there will be more Milds to tempt us to rediscover the style…

*Not that it was done with the intention of saving the Mild, of course…