The BeerCast

Lagerboy likes discovering new words – ideally on the side of a green bottle from which something fizzy has just been released. So imagine his textual joy when reading the back of the label from his latest conquest – St Austell Korev (4.8%) – he found another way to order everyone’s favourite beverage.

Ko•rev (cor-eff) n. traditional Cornish word meaning beer.

Can’t argue with that (although a quick Google reveals Korev is also a Yiddish word for relative, and a system of planets in the Star Wars Universe*). St Austell have been brewing since 1851, and this, apparently, is their first lager – or the first produced by current head Roger Ryman.

It pours a brilliantly clear golden colour, with lazy rising carbonation and an inch-high head – looking quite the teutonic pilsner. There’s a slight grassy herbal aroma, alongside a fair hint of grain (flaked maize having being added). It’s reasonably crisp on the palate, although the finish arrives pretty quickly.

It’s certainly a drinkers lager – the mix of hops (Perle, Hersbrucker and Saaz) just about make themselves known. The (locally grown) lager malt comes out on the taste, along with that typical creaminess you get from be-maized lagers. Carbonation is quite evident, although never over the top.

The Publican predicted late last year that 2011 could be the year of the craft lager. Whilst that fills Lagerboy’s head with wonderment, often those two words placed together just don’t deliver. Korev is well-made, and certainly more than a step in that direction.

*They are far, far away

Many thanks to Harriet Bremner at St Austell for the sample – we received other beers from the brewery at the same time, look out for other reviews in the near future…

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…

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 from the podcasts recorded in 2009 are re-sampled, and a winner picked. Previous winners are Anchor Christmas Ale 2006 (2007) and Hop Back Summer Lightning (last year), so whichever beer came out on top this time, it would be in good company. Re-tasting is always an interesting experience, as a second go often brings a different result from last time – and so it was to prove. The four beers in our BOTY show were St Austell Tribute (4.2%), Carnegie Baltic Porter (5.5%), Stone Ruination IPA (7.7%), and Goose Island Christmas Ale 2009 (7.0%). On the extended panel – Shovels, MrB, Andy, Richard, Jess and Grooben, all of whom were seconded to a remote and snowy location to sharpen the tastebuds…

1. St Austell Tribute (4.2%abv) 500ml glass bottle
St Austell Brewery, St Austell, Cornwall.
BeerCast#33 scored 40½/50 (81%) 28th May 2009
Originally tasted by Steve 9; Richard 9; Grooben 8; Shovels 7½; Stu 7

What They Say – “Tribute is a magnificent example of a bronze coloured English bitter, with a rich aroma of biscuity malt and tart citrus fruit from the Willamette hops. Juicy malt, hop resins and tangy fruit coat the tongue, while the finish is long and lingering, with a fine balance between malt, hops and fruit, finally becoming dry and bitter.” [Roger Protz]

What We Say…
Grooben – Much nicer than your standard session beers
Richard – As an English bitter you can’t get a better example
MrB – I don’t like it, it’s too watery and too biscuity
Shovels – It’s very subtle but very nice
Jess – There’s some kind of citrus in there, it’s very drinkable
Andy – It reminds me of drinking Tennents in working men’s clubs around Edinburgh

2. Carnegie Starkporter 2008 (5.5%abv) 500ml glass bottle
Carlsberg Sverige AB, Gothenburg, Sweden.
BeerCast#28 scored 32½/40 (81%) 1st January 2009
Originally tasted by Jess 9; Shovels 8½; Andy 8; Richard 7

What They Say – “Carnegie Starkporter är Sveriges äldsta ännu använda varumärke. Smakrik, fruktig och med en tydligt rostad ton och stor beska. Inslag av karamelliserat socker, kaffe och choklad. Carnegie Starkporter kan lagras upp till 10 år. När den lagras mjuknar smaken och aromenens komplexitet ökar.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB – I like porters a lot, but that’s far too sweet
Shovels – I think we’d had a lot of mediocre beers that night
Grooben – It’s a half-pint beer – although it is smooth
Richard – Sweet and it’ll get sweeter, I’m not that keen on it
Andy – I’m not sure it deserves to be in the BOTY Show
Jess – Can’t believe I gave it a 9, I think we were maybe too happy because we were on holiday

3. Ruination IPA (7.7%abv) 355ml glass bottle
Stone Brewery, Escondido, California.
BeerCast#36 scored 38/40 (95%) 13th July 2009
Originally tasted by MrB 10; Shovels 9½; Steve 9½; Richard 9

What They Say – “So called because of the ‘ruinous’ effect on your palate! This massive hop monster has a wonderfully delicious and intensely bitter flavour on a refreshing malt base. One taste and you can easily see why we call this brew ‘a liquid poem to the glory of the hop!’” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB – I stand by my 10
Richard – Love that piney resinous hop aftertaste
Jess – I can see why everybody go excited about it
Grooben – Expertly balanced, I’d give it 9½ too
Shovels – It’s the single malt whisky of IPA’s
Andy – They’ve managed to get the perfect balance point so you don’t taste furry-teeth sugary-ness

4. Goose Island Christmas 2009 (7.0%abv) 750ml glass bottle
Goose Island Brewing Company, Chicago, Illinois.
BeerCast#43 scored 25/30 (83%) 16th December 2009
Originally tasted by MrB 9; Grooben 8; Richard 8

What They Say – “Specialty Belgian malts create a deep garnet color and a truly rich old European flavour in our classic Christmas Ale. And the generous amount of crystal hops adds that extra spicy aroma to your pint, perfect for a wintry night.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Jess – It’s smoky but not as interesting as the Ruination
Richard – This one makes good use of it’s brown ale base
MrB – Not Christmassy, tastes like a nicer Goose Island IPA
Grooben – I think Ruination would blow away anything
Shovels – Gets high praise from me, it’s easy to drink
Andy – Pretends to be smooth but leaves you with a sharpness I don’t like

So that was 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 mark down a first and second choice for beer of the year. Given the comments about one of the beers above, it wasn’t really a surprise when the slip of paper had circumnavigated the table. Stone’s Ruination IPA was a resounding choice for BeerCast Beer of the Year 2009. Fitting, given that it debuted with a record score of 95% that will struggle to be beaten. There was a tie for second between the Goose Island Christmas and St Austell Tribute – despite certain comments on both it seems festive warmers and English bitters always seem to do well in our BOTY shows. But there was really only ever going to be one winner – the fantastic balance of massive hops and punchy alcohol really came through in Stone’s strong India Pale Ale. It was a deserved winner.

Our panel also tasted a fifth beer – a surprise bought by Richard and smuggled to the podcasting under the strictest secrecy. BrewDog’s Tactical Nuclear Penguin (32%), the strongest beer in the world. Listen to our tasting after the BOTY voting, and check back to the website in a few days for a full review post on what’s becoming the most infamous beer in Britain…

2009 was a great year for the BeerCast, we managed to get through 63 beers over the space of 16 podcasts, attend several beer festivals, and unleash a few new panellists on the podcasting public. As things wind down over Christmas we’ll be turning our attention towards the turn of the year – which means our annual BeerCast Beer of the Year Show. We tally up the scores achieved by each ale over the last twelve months, and take the four highest scoring away to a secret location for a re-sample. Which beer will follow on from Hop Back Summer Lightning and become our BOTY for 2009? Here are the four contenders.

First up (in order of when we initially scored them), you have to go all the way back to New Year’s Day and a snowy evening in Stockholm. Although our Swedish Special eventually hit the airwaves in March, and having been recorded on an iPhone it sounded like we were lisping underwater, our first finalist made it all the way through the year in the top four placings. Carnegie Baltic Porter 2008 (5.5%) came top of BeerCast 28, despite being brewed by mega-behemoth Carlsberg, who bought its Gothenburg creator Pripps Bryggeri. This sweet, earthy porter scored 32½/40 and thankfully we managed to track some down in the UK for our BOTY show.

Next is the only UK beer that made it through to our final four, the flagship ale from Cornwall’s St Austell Brewery, Tribute (4.2%). This classic English bitter won the highly competitive SouthWest Special of BeerCast 33, which produced several high-scoring beers. Recording a tally of 40½/50, it drew praise for its balance of malt and citrus, including two 9/10 scores. English session ales have traditionally done well in BeerCast BOTY shows, with Coniston Bluebird Bitter and Thwaites Double Century respectively making it through to the first two end of year spectaculars. Neither won though – can the self-styled “Taste of Cornwall” fare better?

Our final two beers hail from over the Atlantic, coming from two heavyweights of the American craft brewing scene. That’s no co-incidence, as smaller-scale producers are very rarely found in the UK. Things are changing though, thanks to importers such as James Clay, and specialist beer retailers like Norfolk’s Beers of Europe, York’s The Bottle, and Edinburgh’s own Cornelius. Our third beer is Stone Ruination IPA (7.7%), a “liquid poem to the glory of the hop” from California. Ruination blasted to the top of our leaderboard (where it remains) in our IPA Battle, BeerCast 36 in July, ending up with a 38/40 score for an almost perfect 95% rating. The balance of hops and alcohol make this truly special, and as it garnered the first ever BeerCast 10 score (from MrB, of course) – it has to be the favourite for our 2009 BOTY show.

The final beer that made it through is also our most recently drunk – coming from last week’s Christmas Special. Anchor’s festive beers have done very well in the past, but their 2009 beer was gazumped in spectacular fashion by Goose Island Christmas Ale 2009 (7.0%). Racking up 25/30 it finished with the second-highest score of the year, ironically bumping Goose Island IPA out of the top four in the process. The Belgian malts and Crystal hops combine for the wintery tastes, and although our panel felt it wasn’t as classically festive as others they tried, it was still head and shoulders above the rest. This could be a dark horse for the title, particularly as a Christmas beer has won previously, Anchor Christmas Ale 2006, won our first ever BOTY show.

So as our list stretches from the afore-mentioned Stone Ruination IPA on 95% down to Dieu du Ciel’s terrifying Péché Mortel coffee-infused imperial stout on 14%, we can look back at another great drinking year on the BeerCast. We’ll be recording the BOTY show at New Year, and it’ll be up sometime within the first couple of weeks of January. 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 2010.

2008 Beer of the Year Show
2007 Beer of the Year Show

In an industry plagued by news of pub closures and faltering breweries, Cornwall’s St Austell are one major success story. They have flourished from small regional producer to one of the largest in the country, and have done it largely off the back of a single beer – Tribute. Their flagship 4.2% amber-coloured ale is found over most of England and Wales (although rarely in Scotland). This is something of a shame, as it’s extremely good and currently sits in our top four beers of 2009, and could well take it’s place in our Beer of the Year Show at the beginning of January.

St Austell are far from a one-trick pony however, and have recently increased their output with the addition of a new beer – Smugglers Ale. At 6%abv, it’s a rich ruby coloured beer, evoking the history of smuggling and wrecking on Cornwall’s coasts. Interestingly, it’s actually a blend of an un-named dark ale and an oak-aged barely wine, which is then returned to the whisky casks and matured for a further minimum three months. According to St Austell’s head brewer Roger Ryman, Smugglers Ale is a “truly complex beer with hints of whisky, creamy vanilla, toffee and spice.”

It pours with a fast-dispersing head, and is highly carbonated with a small amount of sediment in the base of the bottle. Roger isn’t kidding when he says it’s complex, the first thing I got from the smell was dandelion and burdock, but that may have been the tang of the Fuggles mixing with the oak aged aromas. As you’d expect, the roasted malts come out strongly in the taste, along with sugary molasses and the highlighted toffee. It doesn’t taste 6%, the vanilla sweetness shields the alcohol flavours in particular.

It’s very tasty indeed, strong yet drinkable – you can certainly tell two different beers have been blended together as the sweet malts hit the ruby whisky flavours. That’s actually what it reminded me of towards the end, a ruby malt whisky ale. Crucially – and this is where a lot of the more bespoke whisky ales fall down – the sweetness is balanced and not overpowering. It’s very good indeed, and so is a real pity that Smugglers Ale is currently only available in the South West of England. We were kindly sent some to sample, but might have to get more smuggled up to us somehow – it’s worth the risk.

St Austell Official Website
[Smugglers Ale is also available from St Austell's online shop]