This blog was suggested by my good friend and fellow quiz-master Simon Waltho. I was putting it off for no good reason as I am wont to do, but the first night of the Volunteer Tavern's (my local pub in Bristol and one which I'm sure will be mentioning an irritating amount) 1st Birthday beer festival presented an opportunity even I couldn't procrastinate past. The theme is West Yorkshire, and irrepressible landlord Peter Gibbs has procured 24 magnificent beers, both from that area and more local to Bristol. Last night was the opening night, just for members of CAMRA and BRA (The Bristol Real Ale society, of which I am Vice President) and Pete's friends. I toddled along and tried a few great beers which I will discuss in pretentious detail below.
Cotswold Spring Rascal
This orange-coloured wheat beer is fairly uncharacteristic of the style, lacking the familiar banana and clove esters often found in similar offerings, but instead offering some very pleasant melony notes in quiet a well balanced flavour profile. I don't normally like melon but it worked well here. The beer didn't have huge depth of flavour and didn't hang around for very long; a description I used at the time which I think is quiet useful is that it "floats slightly above the tongue". By this I mean that it doesn't offer much richness of flavour, like a blanket of taste resting on the tongue, but rather seems slightly out of reach, moving over the tongue without ever truly announcing its presence before going down throat having left little lasting impression. At 4.7% it made a pleasant enough pint, but probably not one I'd seek out again
Art Brew Sophie's Rustic
This is a weird one. Not nasty, just weird. Brewed in conjunction with, and named after Sophie Atherton, a beer sommelier (a profession I would love, incidentally), it's a fairly standard amber colour with a slight haze. However the overriding characteristic is the very strong flavour of pears which hits you the moment it touches your tongue. There is perhaps a very slight apple flavour as well, but it's unusual sweetness definitely screams pear. It has quiet a dry finish, reminiscent of white wine or cider, despite the sweetness. I'd recommend it particularly as a beer for cider lovers to try. The tasting notes talk about hay bales, which I can see very slightly, but almost everything is overpowered by the sweet peary flavour perhaps more reminiscent of tinned pears than fresh ones. Despite this it's a very pleasant pint, though perhaps it lacks a little balance. Apparently there are some marigold flowers in it. Having never eaten marigolds I'm not sure what they added, but it's always interesting to see new adjuncts, as long as they complement the beer rather than taking it over. It's definitely a pint you should try if you come across it, but I think it may divide opinion somewhat.
Elland 1872 Porter
This is a very solid porter, brewed from a recipe from 1872. It isn't terribly innovative (well it is old) and doesn't have many stand-out flavours besides a nice coffee note in the after-taste with perhaps a hint of iron, but it's a very good example of the style. It's very strong at 6.5% but this isn't immediately obvious on tasting, so be careful not to drink too much!
Elland Top of the Hops
This golden coloured ale has a delicious floral, fruity aroma, I suspect it may have been dry-hopped in order to give it this complexity of hop flavour whilst not being too bitter. It has quite a strong elderflower flavour, which is a large component of the overall flavour without overpowering the secondary flavours such as grapefruit and other citrus notes. This is a delicious, very drinkable beer, which should be tried at your earliest opportunity.
Cotswold Spring Rascal
This orange-coloured wheat beer is fairly uncharacteristic of the style, lacking the familiar banana and clove esters often found in similar offerings, but instead offering some very pleasant melony notes in quiet a well balanced flavour profile. I don't normally like melon but it worked well here. The beer didn't have huge depth of flavour and didn't hang around for very long; a description I used at the time which I think is quiet useful is that it "floats slightly above the tongue". By this I mean that it doesn't offer much richness of flavour, like a blanket of taste resting on the tongue, but rather seems slightly out of reach, moving over the tongue without ever truly announcing its presence before going down throat having left little lasting impression. At 4.7% it made a pleasant enough pint, but probably not one I'd seek out again
Art Brew Sophie's Rustic
This is a weird one. Not nasty, just weird. Brewed in conjunction with, and named after Sophie Atherton, a beer sommelier (a profession I would love, incidentally), it's a fairly standard amber colour with a slight haze. However the overriding characteristic is the very strong flavour of pears which hits you the moment it touches your tongue. There is perhaps a very slight apple flavour as well, but it's unusual sweetness definitely screams pear. It has quiet a dry finish, reminiscent of white wine or cider, despite the sweetness. I'd recommend it particularly as a beer for cider lovers to try. The tasting notes talk about hay bales, which I can see very slightly, but almost everything is overpowered by the sweet peary flavour perhaps more reminiscent of tinned pears than fresh ones. Despite this it's a very pleasant pint, though perhaps it lacks a little balance. Apparently there are some marigold flowers in it. Having never eaten marigolds I'm not sure what they added, but it's always interesting to see new adjuncts, as long as they complement the beer rather than taking it over. It's definitely a pint you should try if you come across it, but I think it may divide opinion somewhat.
Elland 1872 Porter
This is a very solid porter, brewed from a recipe from 1872. It isn't terribly innovative (well it is old) and doesn't have many stand-out flavours besides a nice coffee note in the after-taste with perhaps a hint of iron, but it's a very good example of the style. It's very strong at 6.5% but this isn't immediately obvious on tasting, so be careful not to drink too much!
Elland Top of the Hops
This golden coloured ale has a delicious floral, fruity aroma, I suspect it may have been dry-hopped in order to give it this complexity of hop flavour whilst not being too bitter. It has quite a strong elderflower flavour, which is a large component of the overall flavour without overpowering the secondary flavours such as grapefruit and other citrus notes. This is a delicious, very drinkable beer, which should be tried at your earliest opportunity.
