The BeerCast

Beer is one of the oldest creations of mankind, stretching back thousands of years to when the properties (if not the exact science) of fermentation were discovered. Whether a happy accident or not, crude recipes were devised to create drinks that made people feel bolder, more relaxed, or just forget about themselves for a few hours (or days). Fast forward to current times and some of these ancient styles are enjoying a renaissance at the hands of creative modern brewers. In our latest BeerCast, we sample four of these Beers of Yesteryear (title inspired by this article written by Mark Dredge on the subject).

We begin this podcast with Daleside Morocco Ale (5.5%), which dates back to Elizabethan times. We then move back 2,700 years to a tomb in Turkey, where the recipe for Dogfish Head Midas Touch (9.0%) was discovered. The Vikings are up next, as we sample the pine and spruce ale Alba (7.5%), resurrected by Heather Ales – the traditional arm of Alloa’s Williams Brothers. We finish on the mighty Thornbridge Bracia, a 10% old ale loosely based on an indigenous British beer from Celtic times. Buckling up on this Bill and Ted style adventure are Richard, Shovels and BeerCast debutant Blair…

1. Daleside Morocco Ale (5.5%abv)
Daleside Brewery, Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
500ml glass bottle

Back in the mid-19th Century feasts were all the rage amongst British landowners and the wealthy elite. Levens Hall in Cumbria hosted a shindig in May of every year – at which they served a beer that had been brewed and left to mature for 21 years. At the time, Charles II had married Catherine of Breganza – who brought with her as part of her dowry the city state of Tangiers. Things Moorish became popular, so this dark, spicy ale was named Morocco Ale. When originally served at Leven’s Hall guests were required to stand on one leg, drain a large glass and then recite “Luck to Levens whilst t’Kent flows”. With this version, recreated by Harrogate’s Daleside Brewery, our panellists merely have to score it out of ten…

What They Say -
“This is a very dark, rich and mysterious ale brewed to an ancient recipe dating back to Elizabethan times. Full bodied, malty with spicy overtones this complex beer is only brewed occasionally.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Slightly spicy, like a milder Old Peculier 7
Richard – Fruity but missing alcohol oomph 6½
Blair – Watery and sessionable, I’m looking for more 6

2. Midas Touch Golden Elixir (9.0%abv)
Dogfish Head, Milton, Delaware.
355ml glass bottle

One of the kings of the American Craft Beer movement, Dogfish Head pride themselves on their pioneering spirit. With that (and ignoring the oxymoron) they have turned to the past for inspiration. With the collaboration of molecular archaeologist Dr Patrick McGovern (a world expert on ancient beverages) they established a line of historical beers. One of these is Midas Touch, based on an ancient Turkish recipe developed from the residue found on drinking vessels recovered from the tomb of King Midas. Will it turn to gold in the hands of our panel?

What They Say -
“Our recipe highlights the known ingredients of barley, white Muscat grapes, honey and saffron. Somewhere between a beer, wine and mead, this smooth, dry ale will please Chardonnay or I.P.A. drinker alike.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Blair – To hit as many home runs as them you take a couple misses 6½
Richard – Tastes like Battenberg cake, sweet and flat 5
Shovels – Well-balanced but I’d not want a lot of it 4

3. Heather Ales Alba (7.5%abv)
Williams Brothers, Alloa, Scotland.
330ml glass bottle

Our third ancient ale predates the arrival of the mighty hop on British shores. Back in the day, people who wanted to make beer flavoured it with the natural ingredients they could find around them – herbs, spices, plant extracts. The Vikings (who liked to work up a thirst) added spruce and pine to their alcohol, and as these ingredients are endemic to Scotland that type of beer was soon copied here. Shetland spruce ale was said to “stimulate animal instincts”, and if women drank it they would give birth to twins. With the podcasters on board today, anything could happen…

What They Say -
“Alba is a triple style ale brewed to a traditional Highland recipe from Scots pine and spruce shoots pickled during early spring. A tawny brown strong ale with spruce aroma, it has a rich malt texture, complex wood flavour and lingering finish.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – Resinous sappy flavour, I quite like it 7
Blair – I get a lot of raspberry jam from this 7
Shovels – Sweet, caramelly, quite interesting, bit too sweet 5

4. Bracia (10.0%abv)
Thornbridge Brewery, Bakewell, Derbyshire.
750ml glass bottle

The first Thornbridge beer to make it onto one of our BeerCasts (although we have featured them on the website before), Bracia is a powerhouse of flavour containing six malts, four hops, roasted barley and Italian Chestnut honey. The original recipe vanished into the mists of time with the ancient Iron Age Celts (reference to Bracia was found in name only, inscribed by Romans at a Derbyshire fort). A honey beer high in alcohol, Thornbridge have recreated it pretty much from scratch, head brewer Stefano Cossi sourcing the honey from the Alps himself (possibly using elephants, we aren’t sure)

What They Say -
“Aromas are of chestnut, honey, cappuccino, white chocolate, dark fruits, vibrant fresh peel. The mouthfeel is velvety and rich, with notes of coffee, chocolate, liquorice and hazelnuts with warming alcohol, cocoa and a little peat in the finish Bracia can be cellared for up to one year, maybe longer.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Blair – Big bodied, the alcohol comes out well, really good 8
Richard – Every sip gives something different, just lovely 8
Shovels – Quite medicinal, really complex aftertaste 7½

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

BeerCast panel verdict
Thornbridge Bracia 23½/30
Daleside Morocco Ale 19½/30
Heather Ales Alba 19/30
Dogfish Head Midas Touch Golden Elixir 15½/30

Please keep those comments and emails coming in, and check back in a couple of weeks for our next podcast. We have two brewery showcases lined up – our Northern panel sample four beers produced by the Hardknott microbrewery in Cumbria, and our London crew tackle the beers of Robert Knops…

Of all the beer styles out there (and there are plenty), one of the most complex has to be the Saison. Deriving from the Francophone word for ‘season’ these beers were drunk by thirsty Walloon farmhands during the summer harvest, having been brewed during the previous winter and stored over spring. Consequently they had to be refreshing and relatively low in alcohol (farm implements and 9% ales not tending to complement each other). In some cases, they were distributed to the workers instead of water – so were very weak. As they had to last two seasons before being drunk they were quite highly hopped.

When Beer Hunter Michael Jackson visited the Dupont brewery in 1991, head brewer Marc Rosier told him that a saison “must be a good, honest beer. It should have character. It is essential that it has soul.” So were these beers treasured by the brewers as a classic Belgian style, or seen as the brewing equivalent of silage for the workers? Over the years, the style waned in popularity so much that it almost became endangered – only in the Walloon province of Hainaut were brewers still regularly making them. But, thankfully, the style recovered and more European – and then American – producers began adding a saison to their range.

Alongside the fact that today’s brewers are keen to re-establish links to the past, another reason for the resurgence in saisons could be the freedom they impart. These days Belgian farmworkers probably drink something very different (the non-mechanised ones, anyway) – so the modern-day saison need not be around 3%. The mix and balance of hops are completely up to the brewer, as are the addition of other flavours – spices, herbs, etc. They can be the traditional golden haze right up to darker, punchier examples. Basically, as long as there’s a whiff of the barnyard about it, anything goes for the saison.

In that spirit, three of the leading faces of America’s craft beer revolution have combined to produce a collaboration beer (surely the hot topic of last year) – and they decided to produce a saison. Dogfish Head, Stone and Victory brewing put out some fantastic beers. In fact between them they probably produce three of the best American IPA’s available (90 minute IPA, Ruination IPA and Hop Devil, respectively). Back in 2003 the CEO’s of these three breweries formed BUFF – Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor [sic] – so their new collaboration was named Saison du Buff.

Brewed once by each of the three, to the same recipe, the saison was released in 2010 in a different bottle depending on whose version it was. We managed to get hold of the Stone variant, which comes in their flagship smokey etched bottle. It pours like a true saison – massively foamy with a big pillowy head over the hazy yellow beer. The thing that separates Saison du Buff from other modern interpretations are the adjuncts – each of these three versions also contains sage, parsley, rosemary and thyme. This shows in the herbal sweetness on the nose, with a touch of grass and that distinctive barnyard straw tang.

If the nose – which is really something – yields only a ‘mixed herb’ aroma, on the palate some begin to define themselves. Rosemary is the one that came across the most – arguably the strongest-tasting of the four herbs. The parsley and thyme remain in the faintly vegetal background, and to be honest it’s so long since I’ve tasted sage I probably couldn’t pick it out anyway – but the mix of flavours is fascinating. As you’re thinking about this, the alcohol finish comes on (Saison du Buff is 6%) and really finishes off the beer well. It’s an incredibly interesting collaboration and fantastically drinkable.

As we rapidly approach our 50th podcast, we’ve decided to throw number 49 over to that homebrewing raconteur MrB – he was briefed to find four or five (he found five) beers that would get us talking. He’s certainly come back with an interesting selection, and we begin the MrBCast with a small-scale Scottish producer and end with an American giant. Our first beer is Ale of Atholl (4.5%) from the Moulin Inn Brewery in Pitlochry, one of the first microbreweries in Scotland. We then sample another from our home country, Larbert’s Tryst Brewery Raj IPA (5.5%), located a couple of miles from MrB’s birthplace. Our third beer is the start of the American ales – Odell’s Cutthroat Porter (4.8%), named after the state fish of Colorado. Next it’s the first canned beer to be sampled on the BeerCast – Caldera IPA (6.1%) from Ashland, Oregon. We end the podcast with a bang; Dogfish Head’s wood-aged brown ale Palo Santo Marron (12.0%). Joining MrB are Richard, Shovels and Grooben, and as Grooben says – expect “the most hoptastic, hoppiest hopcast that ever hopped”.

1. Ale of Atholl (4.5%abv)
Moulin Inn Brewery, Pitlochry, Perth and Kinross. 500ml glass bottle

The Moulin Inn dates from 1695 and was originally a coach house for services between Pitlochry and Kirkmichael. The brewery was established in 1995 and were therefore one of the first microbreweries in Scotland. Their first beers were called simply A and B, and were priced at 50p a pint in the pub. Holding a competition for more inspiring names, a local won a bottle of whisky for suggesting Ale of Atholl, a Geographic pun on the Inn’s location.

** Unfortunately the Moulin Inn’s offering may have been off – there were strange aromas and tastes coming from the bottle that didn’t really seem intentional. We carried on reviewing and scoring it, but may have to get another bottle of Ale of Atholl to get a true reflection on it’s taste. **

What They Say –
“The name of this full-bodied, mellow, red-coloured ale is a pun on the Vale of Atholl, which lies close to Moulin Village.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Grooben – It doesn’t taste quite right to me 4
Richard – May be a good beer under there, too much tartness 3
MrB – This isn’t their best beer by a long shot 3
Shovels – There’s a hint of raspberries and vinegar about it 2

2. Raj IPA (5.5%abv)
Tryst Brewery, Larbert, Stirlingshire. 500ml glass bottle

Falkirk’s Tryst Brewery grew from the ashes of another producer, as the closure of Manchester’s Berkley Brewery saw their gear bought by enthusiastic homebrewer John McGarva and relocated to Scotland. He’d taken a chance when the twin co-incidences of prospective downsizing at work and part-time work in a brewpub gave him serious thoughts of a career change. Tryst began life on an industrial estate in Larbert in 2004, initially concentrating on cask ales, they now put out a range of bottle-conditioned beers.

What They Say –
“This India Pale Ale marks a slight change in direction of Tryst Ales, away from low alcohol session ales to rather more substantial and serious Real Ale. This IPA is hopped with three popular British hops to produce a deep lingering taste, complementing the underlying malts for a memorable pint.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – Got a fantastic tropical fruit/mango aroma 8½
Grooben – Fruity but it packs a real bitterness though 8
MrB – It’s fruity rather than floral for an IPA 8
Shovels – Smells golden, tastes really very good indeed 8

3. Cutthroat Porter (4.8%abv)
Odell Brewing Co, Fort Collins, Colorado. 355ml glass bottle

In 1989 Doug Odell decided to take his passion for home brewing into something more commercial (like John McGarva a few years later). Together with his wife Wynne they left Seattle (where Doug had been brewing in his kitchen) and moved to Colorado to be nearer to his sister Corkie and start a brewery together. This they did in that same year, producing beer for the thirsty college town. In 1996 they acquired the facility to bottle their output, and shipped across the United States. They have a large range of English-style classics and seasonals, with a special oak-aged series running from 2007 thanks to the arrival of some Kentucky oak barrels.

What They Say –
“Not quite a stout but definitely no lightweight, Cutthroat Porter is smooth and robust. Inspired by the classic London porters, we use dark roasted malts to create a deep, rich color and flavor [sic] that hint at chocolate and coffee.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – A little bit roasty, not much coffee, it’s good to see an American brewery showing some restraint 7½
MrB – A great session porter with no Lactose sweetness 7½
Shovels – In a porter podcast this would be right up there 7
Grooben – I’m not sold on it, it doesn’t punish the mouth, it doesn’t excite me enough 6

4. Caldera IPA (6.1%abv)
Caldera Brewing, Ashland, Oregon. 355ml aluminium can

Caldera produced their first brew on the 4th of July 1997, after having been incorporated as a company in March the previous year. For their first eight years they concentrated on draught beers until June 2005 when the question of distribution arose. Unlike Odell, Tryst and Moulin they decided to go for cans – reasons why include portability, cost, refrigeration, and the elimination of oxidation. Caldera like to use plenty of hops in their products (which is presumably what attracted MrB), taking advantage of the ideal growing conditions in the Pacific Northwest.

What They Say – “An American-style India Pale Ale brewed with plenty of body and an assertive hop profile. Malts: Premium Two Row, Munich, Crystal. Hops: Crystal, Galena, Centennial.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB – One of the primary reasons this is so good for me is it’s 6% and almost sessiony, you could really drink a few of these 10
Shovels – On taste I prefer Ruination IPA, on drinkability I prefer this 9
Grooben – Really good, it’s got expertly balanced IPA flavours 9
Richard – Flowery and smooth with a pine aftertaste, any way you cut it this is a great beer 9

5. Pablo Santo Marron (12.0%abv)
Dogfish Head, Milton, Delaware. 355ml glass bottle

One of the pillars of the American craft brewing scene, Dogfish Head were founded by Sam Calagione in 1995 in the Delaware town of Milton. They revel in the unpredictable, producing beers with unusual ingredients – one of which was a green beer called Verdi Verdi Good – naturally coloured by blue-green algae Spirulina. Their signature line are their IPA’s – 60, 90 and 120 minute IPA, referring to the length of time hops are added to the wort. They also have a rare 75 minute IPA, which is a mix of 60 and 90 with maple syrup. We reviewed their astonishing 90min IPA here – today we’re sampling their wood-aged monster brown ale Pablo Santo Marron.

What They Say – “Big Brown Ale aged on palo santo wood from Paraguay. This beer is a 12% abv, highly roasty, and malty brown ale aged on the wood of the Palo Santo tree from Paraguay. Palo Santo means “holy tree” and it’s wood has been used in South American wine-making communities. We were lucky enough to get our hands on 20 blocks of the super-dense wood and the wood was added to the ageing tank after fermentation.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB – It’s like a fortified beer for sipping and appreciating 7
Richard – Sweetness is more confectionary than caramel 6½
Grooben – Got a sherry thing going on, I got a slam of alcohol at the end, but it’s just too sweet for my personal tastes 5
Shovels – I have a sweet tooth and that’s too sweet for me 4

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

BeerCast panel verdict
Caldera IPA (37/40)
Tryst Raj IPA (32½/40)
Odell Cutthroat Porter (28/40)
Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron (22½/40)
Moulin Ale of Atholl (12/40)

Next up is a true milestone as we reach BeerCast #50. Not many of us expected to still be recording beer podcasts three years after we started, but we have reached our half century. We’ll be doing something special, with some one-off celebration beers. Stay tuned, and thanks to everyone who has downloaded or followed us over the years…

We’ve been spoiled a bit on the BeerCast recently when we cast our minds to the subject of Imperial IPA’s. Those intensely hopped, low malt pale ales that originated in the USA are a favourite here (and a favourite of many other beer lovers on both sides of the pond). Over the past few months we’ve sampled Stone’s Ruination IPA, Great Divide’s Titan IPA, not to mention a pair from BrewDog – Atlantic IPA and Hardcore IPA. Well, now we managed to get our grubby little hands on one of the undoubted champions of the category – Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute Imperial IPA (9%).

Consistently ranked at or near the top of online beer polls, the Delaware craft brewery push a single, persistent ninety-minute hop addition into this beautifully hazy amber beer – they have other versions hopped for different lengths of time. We’re well aware that Dogfish Head are one of the most commonly-quoted and reviewed US craft brewers, it’s just that it can be so hard to track down their products in the UK – when you manage to get hold of a bottle, it needs to be savoured.

And savour is the word; every drop of this stuff is precious. It pours a hazy caramel colour with a menacing hue – the aroma is astonishing, massive hops, warming alcohol tingles the nose. The mouthfeel is also very warming, which disproves my theory about dark spicy beers working best in the chillier months. You need to chew your way through it, but it’s absolutely worth it. At the beginning it won’t affect your tastebuds the way a 9% beer should – later on though, they surrender and it really drinks to its par, coupled with a fantastic rising bitterness on the aftertaste. Simply one of the greatest beers in the world.

Dogfish Head website

Another week, another BeerCast fieldtrip – although it’s pretty tough to compare Birmingham and Tokyo. After all, one of them is a glittering, fast-paced neon metropolis packed with exuberance and incredible food – and the other is the capital of Japan (you must have seen that one coming). On a recent visit to the far East I was determined to track down some local beer – stay tuned for two special Ji-Biru BeerCast podcasts in the near future. Thanks to local guide Tim Eustace, I attended a tasting session in central Tokyo. Tim runs regular workshops on different types and styles of ale, with discussions and sampling – educational and fun. The few days I was in town, an IPA tasting evening had been scheduled. Here’s what was on the menu…

1. Shiga Kogen IPA (6%abv)
Tamamura-honten, Nagano
Two Japanese IPA’s to start with, the first of them from Tamamura-honten, a sake brewery founded in 1805. They have since developed into a range of beers, and produce a blondes, porters and a couple of IPA’s. The 6%er we tried had little hops about it, but a nice bitterness and a lingering taste.

2. Ise Kadoya IPA (7%abv)
Kadoya Honten, Mie
From the Mie prefecture south of Tokyo comes another Japanese IPA. Ise Kadoya IPA is really quite fantastic – dry, fruity and hoppy, and very moreish. At 7%abv it packs a punch too.

3. ACME IPA (6.5%abv)
North Coast Brewing, Fort Bragg CA
The rest of the tasting event switched to American IPA’s – some of which I was seriously eager to try, others I had never heard of. North Coast’s Californian IPA was one of the latter, but with mouthfuls of citrusy grapefruit was a very pleasant surprise.

4. Full Sail IPA (6%abv)
Full Sail Brewing, Hood River OR
American IPA’s aren’t known for being subtle, but Full Sail IPA is just that. Delicate and zesty, despite the 6%abv – which is high in relation to UK IPA’s, but relatively middling for those from over the pond. I’d certainly drink this again, if I could find it.

5. Stone IPA (6.9%abv)
Stone Brewery, San Diego CA
Bang! This is one beer that needs to be noticed. Over the months we’ve been writing and talking about beer, other (overwhelmingly American-based) websites and podcasts I’ve looked at continually sing the praises of Stone’s beers such as Ruination IPA and Arrogant Bastard, held up as being classics of their type. Their ‘basic’ IPA has everything, citrus, hops, crispness, bitterness, aroma, It’s fantastic. We need to hunt this down in the UK and get it on the BeerCast.

6. Hair of the Dog Blue Dot Imperial IPA (6%abv)
Hair of the Dog Brewery, Portland OR
There are normal beers, and there are Imperial beers – essentially this means everything involved is ramped up a level. In this instance, the %abv is still relatively low (given the direction we were heading), but the taste was certainly not. Frothy and lingering, it was amusing watching Tim trying to explain the meaning of ‘Hair of the Dog’ to the Japanese tasters.

7. Dogfish Head 90min IPA (9%abv)
Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton DE
One from the Eastern seaboard, and another standout American brewery – Dogfish Head. This is what Imperial IPA’s are all about. At 9%abv it’s seriously strong and robust, with a long finish. It goes well with cheese, something I never considered from a beer. But then I’ve never had a 9% IPA before.

8. Hopsickle Triple IPA (9.2%abv)
Moylan’s Brewery and Restaurant, Novato CA
Back west to California and Moylan’s Hopsickle IPA, a triple-hopped Imperial IPA. Tomahawk, Centennial and Cascade hops scream for attention. It’s dark and unbelievably strong. Pouring the last inch out didn’t help, as clumps of yeast added to the mix. The suggested food pairing for this one is blue cheese, which gives you an idea of the taste. It’s really too much.

9. Green Flash Imperial IPA (9%abv)
Green Flash Brewery, Vista CA
The ninth and final beer of the night (and it’s not often I say that) is Green Flash IPA – “It’s all about the hops!” trills the website, but it tastes a bit line a pine air freshner. Having said that, it’s actually pretty good, and a welcome way to end the tasting.

With that, I staggered out into the Tokyo night feeling pretty good. IPA’s are my favourite beers, and I discovered a few crackers. Top three would certainly be those from Stone, Ise Kadoya, and Full Sail. I just need to track them down in the BeerCast’s backyard.

Thanks again to Tim for the organisation, and you can catch up with some more Japanese brews here soon – in a change to the advertised schedule (as they say), BeerCast number 7 will be a four panellist, four beer spectacular from that very country. Check back next week for the podcast…