The BeerCast

The GBBF is Britain’s largest beer festival, and as soon as you step through into the main hall at Earl’s Court you can see why. As mentioned in our previews last week, it’s the sheer scale that makes this a step up from any other festival – hundreds of beers, dozens of bars, thousands of silly hats. It’s very tough to know where to start – so as with other beer festivals a random pick is always good, something to drink while concentrating on the epic programme to pick what to have next.

1. Funfair Dive Bomber (4.6%) Derbyshire

Always a good idea to start with a golden ale, to appreciate the delicate hop aromas and flavours before the stronger things take over. Dive Bomber is certainly golden and subtle – maybe too subtle for me, there’s not much zing there. It’s certainly refreshing for a hot day, which it was outside. A light one to start with.

2. Cains IPA (3.5%) Merseyside

Liverpool’s Cains Brewery were one of the many larger producers who had their own bar at the festival. I’m a fan of their other beers, but had not tried their IPA until I wandered past and decided to give it a go. For a start, it’s copper-coloured, and is very creamy. Very little – if any – hops come through at all. It tastes like a canned bitter rather than an IPA.

3. Salopian Shropshire Gold (3.8%) Shropshire

Salopian are a Shropshire brewery that are new to me, so I decided to go for another light golden ale when I passed the ‘Mid-West England’ bar. The printed tasting notes describe an ’unusual blend of body and dryness’ – and they are right. There was a very dry spicy elderflower taste to it, with a subtle but noticeable finish of ginger. Very nice, and very refreshing.

4. Cricket Hill Colonel Blides ESB (5.5%) New Jersey

After the excitement of writing the International beer list preview, the American bar was something of a disappointment. Only half a dozen beers on tap, with a big queue for a fridge of bottles. Not to worry, I went for one of the kegged ales in the form of an ESB from the Cricket Hill Brewery in Fairfield, New Jersey. It was totally flat, but tasted good – plenty of malt and a little hop to back it up, nothing really overpowering (to be expected at a restrained 5.5%), although having said that the mild flavours didn’t give away much alcohol. Could be dangerous on a session, this one.

5. Marble Lagonda IPA (5.0%) Manchester

Time for another IPA – and I managed to find one I had been looking for since the beer list was published on CAMRA’s website. Manchester’s Marble Brewery put a quadruple addition of hops into Lagonda IPA, and you can certainly tell. Dark, strong golden colours and a similarly strong taste, almost hints of Camembert cheeseyness at the end. Very good indeed, the hops really sing from this.

6. St Austell Black Prince (4.0%) Cornwall

To finish, a darker offering – Cornwall’s St Austell brewery put out some great beers indeed, so an unknown dark mahogany bitter sounded good. It was really well balanced, as you’d expect from St Austell, some molasses sweetness and roasty malt. It was pretty hoppy, too – and I was searching for ages what the aftertaste reminded me of, until I came up with it – sugared tea.

On that note, maybe it was time to finish. Beer of the day – Marble’s Lagonda IPA. T-Shirt of the day – Beauty is in the eye of the beer-holder. We’ll be back at Earl’s Court for more GBBF fun tomorrow. Tune into our Twitter feed (@thebeercast) for live updates, and check back here later for a report.

Once again we welcome two intrepid new beer explorers into the belly of the BeerCast. This time talented minstrels Kat Flint and Nick Hirst join us alongside Andy and Jess at the Belsize Park headquarters to quaff some beers purchased from that finest of British establishments, Marks & Spencers.

Andy was positioned a bit far from the mic and is a bit quiet at times (perhaps for the better!). We also run long on this one at an hour due to a couple of interesting diversions into beers for women and Tesco which were perhaps more interesting than the beer themselves. Still, hope you enjoy it. Andy

1. Buckinghamshire Ale (4.6%)
Vale Brewery, Brill, Buckinghamshire.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “Copper-red beer with a yeasty, bready nose and raisin fruit and spicy hops. Tart fruit, biscuity malt and bitter hop resins fill the mouth. The finish is dry and bitter with rich, juicy malt, burnt fruit and peppery hops” [www.beer-pages.com]

What We Say…
Nick – Nice, fresh, but not much to it, bit like a chemistry experiment 6
Kat - Smells a bit like coriander, like putting a penny on your tongue 5
Jess - I get that tart fruit on the tongue thing, i wouldn’t reach for it 5
Andy - Quite fresh, tastes a bit like Carex 5

2. Cornish IPA (5%)
St. Austell Brewery, Cornwall.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “A rich golden colour, and totally clear. It has a citrus bouquet with hint of malt and hop. These characteristics are replicated in the first taste to the palate, finishing with a modicum of marmalade bitterness. Perfection.” [realalenet.co.uk]

What We Say…
Nick – A delicious and well mannered beer 7.5
Kat - I could drink a few of those and be pretty happy 7
Jess – it’s nice, similar to Buckinghamshire in a way 7
Andy - More flavour than Buckinghamshire, some fruits in there 6

3. Yorkshire Bitter (4.6%)
Cropton Brewery, Pickering, North Yorkshire.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say - “A big sulphury nose with strong undertones of floral and spicy hops and tart fruit. Tangy fruit dominates the palate with sappy malt and spicy hops. Hop bitterness and tart fruit dominate the finish with light malt notes; it becomes increasingly dry” [www.beer-pages.com]

What We Say…
Nick – Bracing, Hair-chested, a working man’s pub beer 6.5
Kat - Bready, a pie & chips beer 6
Jess - Not as nice as the Cornish IPA 6
Andy - Darker, more bitter, bit too much for me 5.5

4. Organic Ale (6%)
Broughton Ales, Biggar, Scotland.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “On the nose there’s a sweet and orangy aroma, with plenty of caramel malt notes, herby, nettle aromas and a little earthy whiff of silage. On the palate it has a fine, chewy, creamy texture and plenty of malty character. The hops are there, adding a bitter twist to the finish, and that earthy, quite rich quality extends through the finish” [www.beer-pages.com]

What We Say…
Kat - Smells like beer trampled into mud, in a nice way 7
Nick - Honeyish, meady, a bitter finish 7
Andy – Zingy, Electricy, metallicy 6
Jess - Quite powerful upfront, could’nt drink much of it 5.5

Panellists – (from top left) Andy & Jess, Kat Flint, Nick Hirst

BeerCast panel verdict

Cornish IPA (27½/40)
Organic Ale (25½/40)
Yorkshire Bitter (24/40)
Buckinghamshire Ale (21/40)

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with BeerCast #36- a Blighty Vs Yankee IPA battle from the Edinburgh team. Keep the emails and comments coming in. Cheers!

We return to our Edinburgh studio for the 33rd BeerCast podcast, as an extended panel tackle beers from the South West of England – well, more or less. Panellist Shovels picked up the contenders on a recent trip to The Bottle in York, where they were all shelved in that particular geographic section. We have the self styled ‘ale of Cornwall’ up first – St Austell Tribute (4.2%), before moving on to Hogs Back T.E.A. (4.2%), which stands for Traditional English Ale and hails from Surrey – not exactly the South West. Our third beer definitely is from the correct region – Hop Back Crop Circle from Salisbury in Wiltshire (4.2%). We had high hopes for this, coming from the same producer as our reigning Beer of the Year, Summer Lightning. Finally we end on the typical strong note with Exmoor’s Exmoor Beast, at 6.6%. On the five-man panel this time are Richard, Shovels, Grooben, Stu and Steve.

1. St Austell Tribute (4.2%abv)
St Austell Brewery, St Austell, Cornwall.
500ml glass bottle

Now one of the largest private companies in Cornwall, the St Austell Brewery were founded in 1851 by a young local man named Walter Hicks, who mortgaged his farm for £1500 to get the necessary funds. Over 150yrs later they still remain in the hands of the Hicks family. They have 167 pubs in Britain’s most southwesterly county, but are expanding into and throughout the region. St Austell have won many awards, and their Admirals Ale was recently voted Supreme Champion of the 2008 International Beer Challenge. Tribute is their flagship ale, however, and is increasingly being found further away from it’s homeland. Brewed using Maris Otter and Cornish Gold malts, and hopped with Fuggles, Williamette and Styrian.

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…
Steve – Digestive biscuit taste to it with some citrus 9
Richard – Great hop aroma with a long malty bitter aftertaste 9
Grooben – A good drinking beer, it’s right up my street 8
Shovels – Lingers all around the mouth but it’s pretty good 7½
Stu – Just a little too bitter for me in the aftertaste 7

2. Hogs Back T.E.A. (4.2%abv)
Hogs Back Brewery, Tongham, Surrey.
500ml glass bottle

Surrey’s not exactly in the south west, but at least it’s in the south – and if a bottle shop chooses to shelve ales slightly out of alignment then that’s good enough for us. The Hog’s Back Brewery are situated in the small village of Tongham, and take their name from a geological feature nearby – the raised ridgeline of the North Downs that runs from Farnham to Guildford. Their first batch was completed on the 4th of August 1992 following the efforts of two men, Tony Stanton-Precious and Martin Zillwood-Hunt, who were put together by the editor of The Grist after Tony wrote to the magazine looking for a prospective partner to open a brewery. Like Tribute with St Austell, T.E.A. is Hog’s Back’s flagship beer, and in 2007 was a finalist in the bottled beer class at the GBBF’s Champion Beer of Britain.

What They Say – “T.E.A. is pale brown, with a hoppy and slightly fruity aroma supported by malt in the taste. A well crafted, bittersweet beer with a long dry finish. A classic Best Bitter.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Stu – I enjoyed it much better than the Tribute 7½
Shovels – A classic best bitter that’s nicer with the sediment 7½
Steve – It’s almost like drinking a Terry’s Chocolate orange 7½
Richard – Very malty but I don’t get any citrus or sweetness 7
Grooben – Smells of not much, and it does taste a bit like tea 7

3. Crop Circle (4.2%abv)
Hop Back Brewery, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
500ml glass bottle

Hop Back began in the basement of a pub – the Wyndham Arms, on the outskirts of Salisbury. When bought by John and Julie Gilbert, John decided to use the cellar to experiment in brewing beer for the pub, and made such a success that CAMRA beer festivals were dishing out plaudits within two years. The couple bought another pub in 1991 – the Waterloo Arms in Southampton – and once capacity was reached they went all out and opened the Hop Back Brewery. Renowned for Summer Lightning, our reigning Beer of the Year. But they are far from a one-trick pony, and Crop Circle is brewed with added coriander.

What They Say – “A very clean, flaxen-coloured beer with wonderful thirst-quenching properties. The subtle blend of aroma and bittering hops give a crispness on the tongue which is delicately fruity, giving way to some dryness. The inclusion of flaked maize in the grist subtlely hints at crisp corn flavours.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Refreshing and drinkable with not much body 7
Steve – The herby taste does fade very quickly 6½
Richard – Has a sharp bitterness but not in a good way 6½
Grooben – More like Cobra than Summer Lightning 6
Stu – I think it would go well with something spicy 6

4. Exmoor Beast Strong Ale (6.6%abv)
Exmoor Ales, Wiveliscombe, Somerset.
500ml glass bottle

We’ve never featured a Somerset Brewery on the BeerCast before, but Exmoor Ales are one of the most successful producers in the UK. Founded in 1980, they had a flying start by winning the Best Bitter national award at that year’s GBBF…with only their 13th brew. That beer was known simply as Exmoor Ale, and was a classic 3.8% session beer. They didn’t rest of the laurels of that quick success, as in 1986 they then produced Exmoor Gold, widely regarded as the first Golden Ale (along with Hop Back’s Summer Lightning) – a pioneer of the quintessential British summer ale style. Exmoor Beast is a full-bodied dark porter that was first brewed in 1992.

What They Say – “Its strength means this is a beer to be respected, sipped slowly to warm up a winter’s night while the weather does its worst. Brewed with a mix of pale ale, chocolate and crystal malts, and hopped with Goldings, Challenger and Brewers Gold, it is dark mahogany-brown in colour, with the merest hint of crimson tints at its edge.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Steve – Would be nice with a fruit cake, it’s a winter one 8
Richard – There’s definitely a rum background in there 7½
Shovels – A raisiny sipper – just one pint would do I think 7
Grooben – More complex than I thought but isn’t my type of beer 7
Stu – Drinking beer with fruit cake scares the hell out of me 7

Panellists – (from bottom right) Grooben, Shovels, Richard, Stu, Steve

BeerCast panel verdict
St Austell Tribute (40½/50)
Hogs Back T.E.A. (36½/50)
Exmoor Beast (36½/50)
Hop Back Crop Circle (31½/50)