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Choklat

Southern Tier Brewing Co

11.0% abv

This text review isn’t going to be long. This beer is my 100th video review and I’d love it if you took 8-9mins out of your day to watch it. A text review cannot don this beer too much justice…Southern Tier Choklat is more about a pure sensory enjoyment.

As far as a text review goes…
It’s a pitch black beer with a head of tight brown froth. The aroma is of chocolate, a rich yet creamy high class Belgian chocolate and sweet caramel that reminds me of the smell you get when making a cup of hot chocolate. This is one of those beers you can just smell for ages.
once the first sip passed my lips I was reassured that I’d made a good choice for my 100th video review. The first thing is a wonderfully soft but full mouthfeel with a perfectly judged level of chocolate. The chocolate flavour is sweet and without doubt of a very high quality. The dry bitterness of cacoa nibs, smooth sugary caramel and vague coffee roasted notes.

Creamy, sweet and luxurious. Dispite being a “flavoured” beer is still remains an very impressive imperial stout in its own merit.
Ok thats enough…this is a THEE chocolate beer you need to try. It’s ace. Try it!

Bearded Lady – Imperial Brown Stout

Magic Rock Brewing

10.5% abv

After pouring from the beautifully adorned bottle I was treated to a dark brown beer with the creamist brown head I’ve seen in ages.
Deep roasted malts lead the way, coffee, a hint of milk chocolate, port, and a waft of nostril-tingling alocohol at the back end.

In the mouth I was first grabbed by the full smooth body of the beer, slipping down like liquid velvet initial flavours were of heavy roasted malt, a bit of burnt beef, and a touch of vanilla extract and then the coffee arrives in crashing waves of bold roasted java. The coffee is to begin with bitter with a good whack of dark chocolate before the next wave hit me with a hop bitterness but with little hop flavour unlike the keg that still was relatively hoppy (considering) and a bit of the alcohol that was promised on the nose. The aftertaste is of a more fragrant coffee with a lingering espresso bitterness.

This beer is on par if not better that many other imperial stouts currently available worldwide, I’ve had lots of highly acclaimed Imperial Stouts from the US and Bearded Lady is better than a lot of those. Another prime example why Magic Rock are becoming more and more the prime example for progressive British brewing. Top drawer stuff.

Here is what Phil over at Beersay thought of Bearded Lady

Imperial Brown Stout

Kernel Brewery

10.1% abv
I’m laying my cards on the table from the off…this is the best beer that was brewed in the UK in 2011. Right I’ve got that off my chest. It is simply divine.
To give this beer brewed at the amazing Kernel Brewery in London it’s full name Imperial Brown Stout – London 1856. This is probably from the first batch that was brewed in February 2011. I first drank this at the first meeting I attended of the Northern Craft/Homebrewer accosiation. I took a few bottles of Kernel because I’d only brewed twice and the bottle I had at the time was pretty dodgy.

Less of the back-story lets get on to the beer itself. In the glass I witnessed a opaqe pitch-black stout with a dense creamy-foamy head. Its looked great. I stuck my nose in the snifter of black beer to be greeted with a comforting yet opulent aroma. I picked out currents, dates, charcoal, heavy roasted coffee, a hint of tar, and brown sugar in this complex scent.

Once I took a swig I was first greeted with roasted malts and espresso coffee, then on to dates, stewed figs, maybe a bit of concentrated coconut, molasses, 80% cocoa cooking chocolate very bold and bitter. The body is medium to full and velvety smooth. On the aftertaste I first caught a glimpse of hop bitterness, juicy raisins, warming alcohol, more dark chocolate and a lingering espresso bitterness. That is only a percentage of the flavour I managed to pull out of this wonder glass of beer.

This beer is amazing. I want to sit at home and share this with my family, I want to buy it in bars so my friends can share the experience, I want to stand in my kitchen with a very bright light and a video camera, type up some words on my crappy PC, post the video on YouTube and tell the whole darn world how great this beer is. Well I’ve done most of those so far but I will do it again with the next bottle and the next bottle and the next and the next…..

Christmas Porter

BrewDog

6.2% abv

This seasonal porter is flavoured with chilli, cacoa nibs and festive spices. A black beer with a fizz of dark tan head. Aroma is of very dry tobacco, dry wood bark, freshly ground coffee, charcol, a certain strange berry sweetness and a spice quality that must be the chilli? After sticking my nose in the taking a big sniff I certain got a tingle from the chilli up my nostrils.

The flavour takes a while to come through. First I got the crush of brown bread, arid dark malts, black coffee, dark chocolate and at the back end a nice British hop profile and a dry aftertaste that has a lasting sticky molassas flavour.

Golden Pints 2011

Rob’s Winners are…

Best UK Draught (Cask or Keg) Beer:

Winner: Magic Rock – High Wire (cask)

Runner up: Buxton SPA (cask)

Best UK Bottled or Canned Beer:

Kernel Brewery – Imperial Brown Stout

Runner up: Buxton – Wild Boar

Best Overseas Draught Beer:

Winner: Southern Tier – Mokah

Runner up: Birra Del Borgo – ReAle Extra

Best Overseas Bottled Beer: Firestone Walker – Parabola

Best Overall Beer: Firestone Walker – Parabola

Best Pumpclip or Label: Magic Rock – Human Cannonball

Best UK Brewery:
Winner: Magic Rock Brewing Co

Honourable mentions: Buxton, Kernel, Red Willow

Best Overseas Brewery: Winner: (joint) Southern Tier & Hoppin Frog

Pub/Bar of the Year:
Winner: The Sparrow (Bradford)

Runner up: Southampton Arms (London), Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa (Rome)

Supermarket of the Year: Booths

Independent Retailer of the Year: Beer Ritz

Online Retailer of the Year:
Winner: My Brewery Tap

Best Beer Blog or Website:
Winner: Ghost Drinker
Runner up: The Good Stuff
Honourable mentions: Ormskirk Baron, Eating isn’t cheating, Beer Prole

Best Beer Twitterer:

(joint) @broadfordbrewer for his true sense of community and support & @northernwrites for being a argumentative sod

Food and Beer Pairing of the Year: Beef Wellington with Brooklyn Blue Apron

In 2012 I’d Most Like To… Brew better homebrew and visit the Boreft Beer Festival

Open Category:

Europe’s most entertaining BeerTubers:

The Real Ale Guide (YouTube)

Honourable mentions: Urban Viking Ale Review (YouTube), Master of Hoppets (YouTube)

Past Masters Double Stout

Fullers

7.4 abv

Fullers are a rare breed in brewing, a large brewery with a long and respected heritage that the Modern day beer-geek still loves and respects. This is down to how they conduct themselves within the British craft beer world. Fullers have a keen eye of quality, an extensive barrel-ageing program and are very involved with the London Brewers Alliance with young upstarts like Redemption and Kernel.

The beer in question is there Double Stout part of their Past Master series where Head Brewer John Keeling delves into the extensive Fullers’ archive to reprise old beer styles.

The Double Stout is very dark brown in colour with a mid brown/dark tan head, very tight and oozes quality from the off.
The nose is a rich scent of pipe tobacco, smoked paprika laden Hungarian Sausage (See Gunter at the Deli in Bradford), a hint of charcoal and a good amount of soothing vanilla essence.
The taste is divine, a rich lavish beer that makes me think I should be sat in a leather high back armchair. A velvety smooth body with tastes of rich dark malts, burnt joints of beef, sweet molasses, bitter dark chocolate a wonderful dryness from an earthy fragrant coffee. It ends with a slight impression of bitter Kentish hops and a lingering coffee taste…a sophisticated and opulent beer.

Dim Sum – a beer made especially for Asian food

Mikkeller

5.0% abv

Dim Sum from Mikkeller – a beer made especially for Asian food with coriander and Lemongrass.

Tsar – Imperial Russian Stout

Buxton Brewery

Not many breweries in the UK have the talent or gusto to take on the might of Russian Imperial Stout but one of those brave breweries are Buxton Brewery in England’s Peak District. Their Tsar Imperial Russian Stout weighs in at a sizeable 9.5% abv and once in the glass is a black beer with a dark brown covering of foam. The nose of this beer is textbook Russian Imperial Stout, liquorice, bitter chocolate, molasses, raisins and a hint of bonfire wood the day after the fire on a wet dew-covered morning.

Once I took a swig of this imperialistic black beer I enjoyed flavours of dates in treacle, dark chocolate, black filter coffee that was back up by instances of hop bitterness that kept in flowing and easy drinking for a beer of this stature. Its ends with a lasting taste of dark filter coffee sans sugar and a pleasing hop bitterness that returns once again. Buxton Tsar is in my opinion one of the best Imperial Stouts currently brewed in the UK.

To read more about this wonderful beer check out Neil’s thoughts on it over at Eating Isn’t Cheating, a cracking food and beer blog by a fellow West Yorkshire beery chap.

A big thanks to Geoff at Buxton Brewery for sending this beer over for reviewing.

You can follow them of Twitter @BuxtonBrewery or on Facebook by clicking HERE

To buy Buxton Beers online please visit Beer Ritz Online.

Human Cannonball

Magic Rock Brewing

9.2% abv

In the glass this British brewed/ American style double IPA is a super clear looking deep amber colour and produces an impressive head of eggshell coloured foam. The nose is a beautifully sumptuous aroma of mango and apricot, an intoxicating scent. In the mouth the beer is big and assertive but always remains balanced. I noticed initial flavours of rich bitter marmalade working in union with a burnt sugar edge. That then leads on to a concentrated grapefruit juice with malt sweetness that stops it from becoming overpowering. Finally ending very pithy but not dry with more bitter orange and grapefruit with a slight amount of warming alcohol as it slips down.

Thanks to Rich at Magic Rock for giving me this bottle for review.

Please check them out oline at www.magicrockbrewing.com/

And CLICK HERE to buy Magic Rock beers.

Texas Ranger Smoked Chili Porter

Mikkeller

Chili beers are a strange old affair and to be honest I’m not a massive fan of chili in general. I just don’t think hot food is worth the resulting pain the following morning.

I’ve had a few chili beers and Texas Ranger from Mikkeller is by far the best example of this style. I’ve had the barrel-aged version a while back and really enjoyed that but feared this freshly brewed batch would be a bit too hot for my delicate constitution.

In the glass it appears dark brown/black dark tan head with the consistency of marshmallow. On the nose rich dark chocolate, smoked meats dryness from dark roasted malts. The flavour is all about the roasted malts, dark chocolate cocoa powder and an enjoyable amount of chili warmth at the back end with the taste of blackcurrants and raisins. More chocolate comes through with the chili that reminds me of cutting chilies and then forgetting and licking your fingers. Smooth, sweet, smoky and pleasantly spicy.

This one is a must buy for all you “Beer Geeks and Mikkeller Freaks”

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Past Masters Double Stout

Fullers

Dim Sum – a beer made especially for Asian food

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Human Cannonball

Magic Rock Brewing

Texas Ranger Smoked Chili Porter

Mikkeller

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