The BeerCast

Gift packs are a relatively new phenomenon in the real ale world – multipacks of beers on a theme for easy purchase in supermarkets. Either several beers showcasing one producer, or a mixed pack giving a selction, they serve as a safe bet for people willing to go above the usual randomly-chosen bottles for that real ale fan. But are they any good? One such gift set is Great British Ales, which consists of two beers from England and one each from Wales and Scotland. Unfortunate for real ale fans in Northern Ireland then – maybe a true British Ales selection could include one from somewhere like the Whitewater Brewery? Anyway, be that as it may, this particular pack features four ales – here’s the BeerCast’s verdict…

Black Dog 3.6%
Elgoods Brewery, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
“Our award-winning dark mild, full of roast malt flavour” says the back of the bottle – and we love an award-winning ale here on the BeerCast. A mild though? Our (admittedly limited) experience of that particular style of beer hasn’t been a good one until now. But Black Dog is really rather good. It is roasty, with a touch of the dreaded caramel and a dark molasses aftertaste – it’s almost like a shandy version of Theakston’s Old Peculier. It certainly has more taste than any of the milds I’ve had before – probably put together.

Fraoch Heather Ale 5.0%
Heather Ales Ltd, Alloa, Scotland
We’re no strangers to Fraoch, indeed it featured in our BeerCast #23 when we looked at beers with unusual added ingredients. It scored 50% that day – we’re immune to accusations of Scottish favoritism here – even though it is produced by the affable Williams Brothers, Bruce and Scott. Pronounced ‘fro-ik’, it has a “floral peaty aroma, full malt body, a spicy herbal flavour and a dry wine like finish” according to the label. There is a dryness there, but it couples with the floral taste from the heather really very well.

Double Dragon Ale 4.2%
Felinfoel Brewery, Llanelli
‘The National Ale of Wales’ according to the boast on the label, Felinfoel’s Double Dragon pours a rich dark brown and has a seriously malty aroma. This continues in the taste – malt malt malt all the way, with a sweetness at the end. It actually gets sweeter the more you have. This is in no way negative – it’s a very good brown ale, and certainly belongs in the pack due to the style. It gets a bonus for being named after a tremendous 80′s computer game, as well.

Spitfire 4.5%
Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent
Spitfire is also a British ale in the classic style, so no surprises to see it included in the selection. Amusingly it describes itself as ‘The Bottle of Britain’ – ho ho – yet it actually tastes pretty similar to the Double Dragon. Also a dark nutty brown colour, it has a consistent malty flavour. According to the tasting notes, a ‘generous aroma of tangy malt’ can be detected, and this is imparted on the taste as well – tangy is the word for this one. Average is another. It would be better if it was a bit stronger maybe, but it’s certainly drinkable.

Nothing stomach-churningly awful in the Great British Ales gift pack then – but what would we like to see in a similar set? We’re a British beer website after all. Despite my opening tirade, sadly we’ve yet to taste any beers from Northern Ireland so we’ll follow the country format of the original pack. Here are the BeerCast’s suggestions for a Great British Ales boxed set…

St Peter’s India Pale Ale 5.5%
St Peter’s Brewery, Suffolk
The first thing to package up is an IPA – just one of the many styles of beer we’ve given to the world. Admittedly several other countries have down a lot more with it since, but the 5%-ish India Pale Ale is one of the quintessential British beers. We’d be tempted to rock the boat with something like BrewDog’s Hardcore IPA, but as this is a mass-marketed boxed set, something classic like St Peter’s India Pale Ale, from Bungay in Suffolk. Hopped to survive lengthy voyages, it’s robust and really zesty.

Brains SA Gold 4.7%
Brains Brewery, Cardiff
Our Welsh offering is from the most successful brewery from the country – Brains. Their flagship beer is Brains SA, a dark coppery ale similar to Spitfire or Double Dragon (although none of the parties may appreciate the comparison). But they produce a fantastic golden ale which I enjoyed tremendously during a trip to the Welsh capital last year. Us Brits invented the golden ale – and pioneers like the wonderful Hop Back Summer Lightning and Exmoor’s Exmoor Gold are world-renowned. But they make great golden ales outside of the South West of England, too.

Yorkshire Terrier 4.2%
York Brewery, York
York Brewery was established in 1996 at the site of an old motorcycle showroom inside the city’s famous walls. Any foursome of ales from this part of the world has to include a premium best bitter – and Yorkshire Terrier certainly is that. Named after a small dog that used to be taken to work every day by it’s brewer owner, this one mixes well the lively hops and creamy malt. The Great British Ales set seems to be all about tradition, so there’s no chance we could put one out without a northern English bitter.

Dark Island 4.6%
Sinclair Brewery, Orkney
It would also be unforgivable to put out a best of British selection and not include a porter or a stout – and the very greatest exponent of that style is Sinclair Orkney Dark Island. Twice CAMRA Champion beer of Scotland, it’s an iconic standard bearer for traditional Scottish ales (their words, not mine). They never really refer to it as a porter, only a ‘very dark beer with a ruby tint’ – but however you pigeonhole it, Dark Island is wonderful. Chocolate, figs, dried fruit, it’s warming, malty and moreish, with hops on the finish. It’s at the very top of British beers.

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas from all at the BeerCast! To celebrate what is traditionally a time for hefty drinking we have put together a seasonal podcast – and following on from last year’s spectacular we have ramped up the festive factor. This time we try no less than SIX Christmas and Winter Ales, the drinking order chosen at random by panellists MrB and Grooben. First beer in front of the fearsome foursome is BOCQ Christmas (8.1%) from the Brasserie du Bocq in central Belgium. Following our strongest beer of the night (which had to come out first) we move back to the UK and BeerCast favourite Hop Back, for their seasonal offering Pickled Santa (6.0%). The next beer in front of the panel is one we were all looking forward to – Anchor’s Special Ale 2008 (5.5%), bearing in mind their 2006 Ale is our reigning Beer of the Year. It’s a tough act to follow, but the fourth beer that gamely tries is Shepherd Neame’s Christmas Ale (7.0%) from Kent. Next on the mammoth podcast lineup is a seasonal porter from Burton Bridge in Staffordshire (4.5%). Eventually we bring the Christmas special to a close with the festively titled Rudolph’s Revenge (4.6%) from the Cropton Brewery in Yorkshire. Also on the panel with drink selectors MrB and Grooben were Shovels and Richard. Alongside our usual scoring system, we also judged each beer critically on the Christmassy nature of the label – we’re nothing if not getting into the spirit…

1. BOCQ Christmas (8.1%abv)
La Brasserie du Bocq, Purnode, Wallonia, Belgium
330ml glass bottle

In 1858 Belgian landowner Martin Berlot decided his farmhands needed some gainful employment during the long winter months, so he put together a brewery – the Brasserie du Bocq. Starting locally, they expanded after the end of World War I with the help of a strong brown ale called La Gauloise. In 1967 they produced their first Christmas beer – called simply BOCQ Christmas. A typically strong Belgian festive ale, it’s the strongest of the night for the panel – but the random beer selector throws it up first…

What They Say – “BOCQ Christmas is dark in colour and has a rich flair with a scent of coriander and liquorice. It is full mouthed and heady, with a pleasant aroma. A typical beer for the end of the year to taste together with family or friends.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Strong, full in the mouth, tastes of pontefract cake 7
Richard – Classic standard brown beer with Christmas sweetness 5
Grooben – Hides the alcohol well, but is cloyingly sweet 4
MrB – It’s too sweet and it tastes of bum 3

Label Christmas Rating – 9

2. Hop Back Pickled Santa (6.0%abv)
Hop Back Brewery, Salisbury, Wiltshire
500ml glass bottle

Wiltshire’s Hop Back Brewery began life in 1986 in the basement of the Wyndham Arms pub on the outskirts of Salisbury, and have risen to become one of the UK’s most-awarded producers. Currently their tremendous Summer Lightning tops the BeerCast rankings – so possibly another gong awaits. We’re sure they’ll be clearing a space on the label just in case. Pickled Santa is their seasonal offering proving they offer more than just hoppy session beers.

What They Say – “Chestnut in colour, strong in flavour, hints of cinnamon, coriander and nutmeg.” [Label Tasting Notes] “In the mouth it is initially malty, but the spices soon take over. A syrupy sweetness is offset by some hop bitterness, and there is a little caramel and treacle, especially towards the finish. It leaves a strange aftertaste of peppery malt, with lingering cinnamon and nutmeg.” [Oxford Bottled Beer Database]

What We Say…
Shovels – Unlike most Christmas beers I’d order this in a pub 7½
Richard – Tastes like the nutmeg from on top of custard tarts 7
MrB – Smells Christmassy, the more I drink of it the less I like it 5
Grooben – It’s intriguing, you can’t really taste the alcohol 5

Label Christmas Rating – 7

3. Anchor Special Ale 2008 (5.5%abv)
Anchor Brewery, San Francisco, CA
355ml glass bottle

San Francisco’s Anchor are one of the giants of the American craft brewing industry, and have a wide range of beers in their armory. Every November they put out a festive beer for the season, and every year it’s different. Since 1975 their head brewers have been constructing subtly different offerings for the lucky public – their 2006 Special Ale is our current BeerCast Beer of the Year, for example. Their 2007 Special Ale also went down well during the same BOTY edition – but what will the 2008 vintage bring?

What They Say – Anchor never reveal the exact ingredients of their Special Ales, but speculation on the RateBeer forum is that the 2008 contains hints of citrus and circus peanuts (whatever they are), but also that it’s one of their nicest and is similar to the 2007, but not the 2006.

What We Say…
Shovels – Not as full-bodied as the 2006 but still bloody tasty 8½
MrB – They may all pale into comparison with the 2006 7½
Grooben – Made specially for Christmas which sets it apart 7½
Richard – Sweeter than the 06/07, not as good as either 7

Label Christmas Rating – 6

4. Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale (7.0%abv)
Shepherd Neame Brewery, Faversham, Kent
500ml glass bottle

If there’s anyone who should know about producing warming hoppy liquids it will be Shepherd Neame – their oft-repeated claim is that they are Britain’s oldest brewery. There may be some debate as to whether or not they actually started in 1698, but they certainly have a long and varied production history. We’ve featured their wares on the BeerCast before – Bishop’s Finger made a decent impression back in BeerCast #4. But their 7% Christmas Ale is another story, and has yet to pass the panel’s attention.

What They Say – “Our Christmas Ale is a glowing amber winter ale with a beady, fruity nose. Crystallised winter fruits combine with festive spicy hops on a platform of smooth warming alcoholic notes, leaving a refreshing cleansing hop finish.” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
MrB – It’s lager and lime only with ale, has a warming finish 7
Grooben – The beer tastes normal, the label screams Christmas 7
Richard – Smells like lime cordial, tastes only reasonable 6½
Shovels – For me it’s just not Christmassy enough 5

Label Christmas Rating – 9

5. Burton Festive Porter (4.5%abv)
Burton Bridge Brewery, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire
500ml glass bottle

If you stop to think about brewing in the UK, the small town of Burton has to feature. The inhabitants of the monastery of Saint Mowden and Burton Abbey laid the beery foundations, only for later generations to discover a local water source high in gypsum salts. As a result, more hops could be added to Burton-area beer and they could be stored and transported for longer, and by the 1880′s there were thirty breweries there. An astonishing one quarter of all beer drunk in Britain came from this small Staffordshire town. Burton currently has five producers – one of them being the Burton Bridge Brewery which was established in 1982 in the Fox and Goose pub. By 1990 it had won Brewpub of the Year according to the Good Pub Guide.

What They Say – “Very dark brown fruity porter with a distinctive bitter after palate. Target and Challenger hops combine with pale, crystal and chocolate malts.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Swill it round and all you taste is stewed apples 4
Grooben – Smells very yeasty and really tastes of nothing 3
Richard – It’s not Christmassy and it’s not a porter 3
MrB – Even the Santa on the label isn’t drinking it 3

Label Christmas Rating – 9

6. Rudolph’s Revenge Winter Ale (4.6%abv)
Cropton Brewery, Cropton, N Yorkshire
500ml glass bottle

Happen we ‘ad to ‘ave a Yorkshire beer in t’podcast – and Cropton’s Rudolph’s Revenge comes in a particularly festive bottle. Established in the cellars of the New Inn, the Cropton brewery began in 1984 solely to supply the pub. But when their debut Two Pints Bitter was so well-received, they started to supply other outlets. In 1996 a 100 barrel per week facility was opened in the grounds of the Inn and production increased rapidly. Their festive offering is Rudolph’s Revenge, a bottle-conditioned bitter…but is it festive enough?

What They Say – “A dark bitter, using finest Cascade and Styrian Goldings hops and English malt, providing a unique hoppy beer with a fruity aftertaste.” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
MrB – It’s almost too fruity but is a tasty tasty beer 7
Shovels – This one goes hopsFRUIT!!! 7
Richard – This is hoppy like none of the others tonight 6
Grooben – Doesn’t taste Christmassy but crucially it tastes nice 6

Label Christmas Rating – 8

BeerCast panel verdict
Anchor Our Special Ale 2008 (30/40)
Rudolph’s Revenge Winter Ale (26/40)
Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale (25½/40)
Hop Back Pickled Santa (24½/40)
BOCQ Christmas (19/40)
Burton Festive Porter (13/40)

Panellists – (from top left) Shovles, MrB, Grooben, Richard

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #26 – Christmas Special 2008
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in the first week of 2009 with our biggest podcast of the year – our second annual BeerCast Beer of the Year episode. Join our greatly enlarged panel for a sampling of the four highest-scoring beers reviewed during 2008, as we gather together to pick a winner. See below for the contenders. Until the new year then, Merry Christmas from all at the BeerCast, and have a happy new year. As ever, please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!

BOTY finalists – Hop Back Summer Lightning, Thwaites Double Century, Theakston’s XB, BrewDog Hardcore IPA

The south of England – historically some of the world’s oldest breweries are found here. The second half of the BeerCast’s English two-parter ventures beyond the Midlands and into the home counties. Three of the region’s giant beer producers make it into the show this time – Greene King, Shepherd Neame, and Fuller’s. Between them, they own several thousand pubs, have many city shareholders, and have been known to absorb the odd smaller brewery here and there. Even in the distant north of Scotland, it’s possible to find many of their beers (bottled if not on draught), so the BeerCast panel sampled three of their flagship brands, respectively – Abbot Ale, Bishop’s Finger, and Organic Honeydew. For this episode – one of the first we recorded – our Edinburgh tasters are joined via the magic of the internet by London-based reporters Andy and Jess. Somehow it managed to work out, as both groups discuss the beers, despite being 331.98 miles apart (give or take).

1. Abbot Ale (5%abv)
Greene King, Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk.
500ml glass bottle

East Anglian brewing giants Greene King have been producing beer in Suffolk since 1799. They are now the largest British owned brewery in the UK, and as one of the UK’s largest companies Greene King PLC are a member of the FTSE 250 share index. They own more than 2000 pubs across the South-East, and have an aggressive history of takeovers – Morlands, Ruddles and Ridleys have all been acquired and subsequently closed, and in Scotland Greene King also own Dunbar-based BeerCast favourite Belhaven. Abbot Ale is their flagship beer, and it takes it’s name because the Domesday Book of 1086 recorded the town’s brewers as being in service of the Abbot of the Abbey of St Edmundsbury. Good enough for the clergy – but is is good enough for the panel…?

What They Say – “A full-bodied distinctive beer with a bittersweet aftertaste.” [Good Beer Guide]. “It has masses of ripe fruit character, a malty richness and superb hop balance, followed by an intense bittersweet finish”. [Abbot Ale official website].

What We Say…
Shovels – It’s a fine tipple 8
MrB – I’d be happy drinking this in a pub 7
Richard – It’s a grower 7
Jess – Lovely bitter aftertaste 7
Alison – Once you get past the smell, it’s alright 5
Andy – Smells like an old man’s pub 2

2. Fuller’s Organic Honeydew (5%abv)
Fuller’s Brewery, Chiswick, London.
500ml glass bottle

The Griffin Brewery has been sited in a leafy corner of Chiswick for over 350yrs. Popular with rowers and boating clubs, the Hounslow location by the Thames is on the site of a late-medieval cheese fair (from which the name Chiswick derives). Fullers – full name ‘Fuller Smith and Turner plc’ are one of London’s success stories, having won the coveted CAMRA Champion beer of Britain award five times in it’s 25 year history. Their flagship brand is London Pride, which is available pretty much everywhere in the south of England. But as part of their range they also produce a summery honey ale, made with full compliance of the Soil Association’s organic requirements. Has all that hard work by the bees paid off…?

What They Say – “A light golden beer, it is a naturally palatable brew, approved by the Soil Association as 100% organic. Served chilled, it is light and refreshing, and has an appeal that reaches out to people who perhaps wouldn’t usually drink beer. It is brewed with English malt and hops and laced with the finest organic honey”. [Fuller's website]

What We Say…
Andy – It’s light, refreshing, and easy on the tongue 8
Richard – I can’t taste the honey, this is middling 5
Shovels – Doesn’t really taste of much 4
Alison – You get a rather sickly aftertaste 4
Jess – It would make me feel sick if I drank a whole pint of this 4
MrB – I don’t like honey, so I really loathe this one 1

3. Bishop’s Finger (5.4%abv)
Shepherd Neame Brewery, Faversham, Kent.
500ml glass bottle

Located in Faversham, five miles west of Canterbury, Shepherd Neame claims to be Britain’s oldest brewer, starting operations in 1698. They still use the same water source today, along with giant Russian teak mash tuns that date from 1914. Bishop’s Finger is brewed only on Fridays by the head brewer, and was awarded ‘Protective Geographic Indicator Status’ by the EU, meaning it’s the only beer in the world that can be called a ‘Kentish strong ale’ – all ingredients used come from within a few miles of the brewery. It takes it’s name from the distinctive signposts that used to point the way to Canterbury for weary pilgrims. When first produced in 1958, Bishop’s Finger was sold for 7.5p a pint. Is it worth the money…?

What They Say – “This ember-warm Kentish ale takes the dense, rich fruit notes of gently roasted malts and mixes them with a profusion of locally grown Kent hops to give a satisfyingly clean, dry, lingering Seville-orange finish” [Andrew Jefford, BBC Radio 4 Food Programme]. “It is Britain’s most distinctive premium ale, with an intense taste that is more challenging than other brands.” [Bishop's Finger official website].

What We Say…
MrB – I do like this, it’s very hoppy 7
Richard – It’s a decent generic aley beer 7
Alison – Quite pleasant but I’m not blown away by it 6
Shovels – Starts alright tastewise, but lingers a little too long 5
Jess – I had this once some time ago, from what I can remember 5
Andy – I’ve never tried it 4

BeerCast panel verdict

Greene King’s Abbot Ale – 36/60
Shepherd Neame’s Bishop’s Finger – 34/60
Fuller’s Organic Honeydew – 26/60

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

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #4 – Southern Delights
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with Episode 5 – our first foray outside the UK. Which country will it be? Our panel of four BeerCasters will reveal all….soon. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!