Like a child on Christmas Eve I’m getting all excited about this week’s European Beer Bloggers Conference taking place in Leeds from 18 May – 20 May. So here is my rundown of what I’m excited about seeing and doing:

It’s a time for a celebration! My favourite craft beer bar and regular watering-hole The Sparrow Bier Cafe, Bradford is celebrating their first birthday. In just 12 months trading The Sparrow and delighted and educated drinkers of Bradford to the delights of real ale and fine craft beer. Along [...click the heading to read more]]]> A great reason for a celebration

It’s a time for a celebration! My favourite craft beer bar and regular watering-hole The Sparrow Bier Cafe, Bradford is celebrating their first birthday. In just 12 months trading The Sparrow and delighted and educated drinkers of Bradford to the delights of real ale and fine craft beer. Along the way they have impressed the local CAMRA peeps and scooped the Pub of the Season Autumn 2011 and recently announced Bradford CAMRA Pub of the Year 2012! Very impressive for a new business opened by two first-time publicans.

Wednesaday 17 May starts a 5 day celebration featuring 2 brand new keg lines, some great beer including Boon Kriek (keg), one of my favourite IPAs Nogne Ø’s Two Captains (keg), Sierra Nevada’s Ruthless Rye (keg) and two special birthday beers by local favourites Saltaire Brewery. Owners Mark and Les visited their local brewery recently put the finishing touches to two special anniversary beers, Dunnock American IPA an über-dry hopped and Black Throat  a Black  IPA. As for cask offerings you should expect highlights from some of The Sparrows favourite breweries Red Willow (Faithless 16) Hawkshead (USPA) some tasty brews from one of the UK’s kings of cask Buxton Brewery, Ratebeer.com’s 2^nd Best New Brewery 2011 Magic Rock and local favourites Kirkstall and Ilkley who’s beers always cup the pumps busy and punters thirsts quenched. There will be a number of new specials available in the fridges including Flying Dog Wildeman…Finally I’ll find out why Marko was raving about it after his recent trip to New York.

The Sparrow is a great bar, offers great beer and a warm welcome…in many ways I feel like I’ve become a “Norm” type figure in a Cheers-like fashion. A place where everybody knows your name…and they serve great beer too.

So come along 16 – 20 May and raise a glass to The Sparrow.

This video review was with Peter “The Master of Hoppets”, a Beeruber from Denmark currently studying in New Mexico, USA.

So here you have a guy from Denmark in the US drinking a beer from Denmark with a guy in Yorkshire…truly an international beer review. Peter is one of the most well-known [...click the heading to read more]]]> To Øl

This video review was with Peter “The Master of Hoppets”, a Beeruber from Denmark currently studying in New Mexico, USA.

So here you have a guy from Denmark in the US drinking a beer from Denmark with a guy in Yorkshire…truly an international beer review. Peter is one of the most well-known beer reviewers on Youtube and was recently voted as the people’s second favourite Beertuber.

Goliat Imperial Stout brewed with coffee by two brewers (Tobias Emil Jensen and Tore Gynther) known collectively as To Øl are two former students of Mikkel Borg Bjergsø (Mikkeller)…yes Mikkel used to be a teacher. This stout pours black as night with a great looking mid-brown head like the frothy top of hop chocolate.

Once I stuck my nose in the general direction of this devilish stout I was greeted by a epic waft of heavy roasted coffee with a earthy tone. Loads of dark chocolate, a salty hint of soya sauce…full and rich, a beer I could sniff all day.

The taste of this beer is immense, big on the espresso coffee, dark chocolate but with a good amount of brown sugar sweetness. Just before the aftertaste I got a juicy taste, kind of like cola and concentrated orange full and roasted. The aftertaste has a nice amount of blackcurrant, raisins but mostly a lingering coffee flavour that is absolutely divine! It has a thick velvety body that slides down and at 10.1% abv its ruinously drinkable!

This beer is that damn good, Dark Lord, Parabola, Abyss…To Øl are knocking on your door and they’ve brought a GIANT with them!

Check Out Peter’s YouTube Channel here…

The Sparrow … On Tap is a regular (weekly I hope) feature. The Sparrow is a great beer bar in Bradford, I work in Bradford and love to visit this fabulous bar. They offer a great range of beers and in The Sparrow … On Tap I will highlight [...click the heading to read more]]]> Dark Star Brewery

The Sparrow … On Tap is a regular (weekly I hope) feature. The Sparrow is a great beer bar in Bradford, I work in Bradford and love to visit this fabulous bar. They offer a great range of beers and in The Sparrow … On Tap I will highlight one of the beers they are serving that week. If you live nearby why not head up to North Parade and try it for yourself and if you live further afield you can view it as a simple text review of a British cask or keg beer…and once in awhile I may even throw in a continental lager or two. With this feature I hope to support a great local business and wonderful beer.

The Sparrow … On Tap – weekly short #9

Six Hop Ale – Dark Star Brewery

6.5% abv

Method of dispense: Cask – Handpull

Appearance: Bright tangerine orange beer with a creamy off-white head that had an orange hue.

Aroma: Big orange peel, intense concentrated peach juice and bold resinous pine.

Taste:  Showing of all of its hefty 6.5% abv with a sizeable chewy body I got flavours of sweet pine, grapefruit flesh, jasmine tea and lots of bitter orange marmalade (with bits of rind).

Aftertaste: Finishes rather full flavoured with bitter grapefruit juice, prickly hops that dance on the tastebuds and lots more of that bitter marmalade that lingers.

Jim Miller is a title contender moving towards an innevitable shot at the UFC’s (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Lightweight Championship. Not only is Jim one of the world’s most highly rated mixed martial artists he is also a keen homebrewer. After hearing Jim talk about his love of craft beer and homebrewing on Sherdog [...click the heading to read more]]]> Exclusive interview

Jim Miller is a title contender moving towards an innevitable shot at the UFC’s (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Lightweight Championship. Not only is Jim one of the world’s most highly rated mixed martial artists he is also a keen homebrewer. After hearing Jim talk about his love of craft beer and homebrewing on Sherdog Radio I just had to hear more about one of my favourite fighters’ past-times. Jim was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about beer and fighting!

Homebrewer and submission master

HopZine - Why and when did you start home brewing?
Jim Miller – I started home brewing, with success, in late 2009. I have always enjoyed making things for myself and wanted to use that same approach for my beer and wine. I had given it a shot a few years earlier but I failed miserably. I just jumped right in without really learning what equipment was needed or how to use it. In 2009, I moved into a house with a nice sized basement and finally had the room as well.

HZ - Did you start off brewing all grain or did you use kits or extract/partial mash first?
JM - I brewed about a dozen batches of extract before switching to all grain. I have been thinking of mixing in the occasional extract batch simply for the easier brew day while still making good beer.

HZ - What was last beer you brewed?
JM - The last batch I brewed was a Black IPA. It came out pretty good, but the hop profile was a little off of what I wanted. Still very drinkable though.

Jim Miller battling toward the UFC Lightweight title

HZ - You recently sighted “balance” as being key to both brewing and MMA, What do you think creates a balanced beer?
JM - As much as I love hoppy beers, and I’d love to just dump a pound of hops into each batch, it wouldn’t work out too well in most cases. A beer needs a good malt character to match the hop profile. I am still working on the processes of brewing and fine tuning my equipment at the moment. I haven’t brewed many recipes more than once, so I haven’t quite learned exactly what flavors or characteristics each ingredient imparts on the final product. I do love chinook hops though, and yeast starters are awesome.

Jim Miller in action (and victory) Vs Kamal Shalorus

HZ - After raking up another win in your pursuit of the UFC lightweight title which is your favourite style of beer to celebrate with and which is your favourite brewery?
JM - I wouldn’t same that I have a favorite brewery or even beer style. I like to try anything that I haven’t had before and like a wide variety. Dogfish Head, Sixpoint, Weyerbacher, Great Divide, and Sam Adams are all frequently occupying space in my beer fridge. I do really enjoy APA’s and IPA’s, but sometimes an Imperial Oatmeal Stout just hits the spot.

HZ - How does drinking craft and home brewed beers fit into the lifestyle of a mixed martial artist?
JM - I think it fits in quite well. There are times when I can’t or shouldn’t have a beer, but that’s only in the last few weeks leading up to a fight. Otherwise, it’s like anything else in life, moderation is key.

Some beery pics from Jim's Twitter feed

HZ - After your MMA career ends would you consider going into brewing full-time or even open your own microbrewery.
JM - I think that would be fun. It would take a lot of work and a lot more practice to get into that though. I know that I would need to get WAY better at brewing on the small scale I’m on now before I could size up as well.

On May 5th Jim Miller will be headlining against Nate Diaz in what is tipped to be a Lightweight number one contenders bout featuring two impressive fighters!

UFC Diaz vs Miller will be live on FOX in the USA and online at UFC.com

For more info on Jim and his brother Dan Miller both top flight MMA fighters CLICK HERE to visit thier official website

and follow him on Twitter @JimMiller_155

6.0% abv

These bottles were given to me by one of the nicest people in brewing Matt Clarke the Head Brewer at Hawkshead Brewery. They’ve had a storied life, travelling to Manchester, getting on the wrong bus, walking through a dubious housing estate in the rain (it always rains in Manchester), back [...click the heading to read more]]]> Hawkshead Brewery

6.0% abv

These bottles were given to me by one of the nicest people in brewing Matt Clarke the Head Brewer at Hawkshead Brewery. They’ve had a storied life, travelling to Manchester, getting on the wrong bus, walking through a dubious housing estate in the rain (it always rains in Manchester), back to Staverley, then finally heading to Shipley in the back on my friend’s car. So this wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the generosity of Matt and Martin, Thank you chaps.

This bottle of NZPA (hopped with Motueka, Green Bullet, Nelson Sauvin and Riwaka) was hand-bottled and is the first of a range of small runs of limited edition beers coming out of Hawkshead Brewery.

Once I poured it into a glass I was greeted but a slightly hazy yellowish orange beer with a majestic head of pillowing white foam.

Wonderful aromas leap from the glass, the smell of fresh orange, fleshy mango, evergreen pine, pineapple, pithy orange and mild resin. An amazing bouquet of freshly chopped tropical fruits, it smelt incredible.

The taste continues where the aromas left off, pithy orange, lemon peel, sweet pine, a fragrant if slightly perfumed lemon juice that leads to a lingering bitterness of lemon peel and dry citrus pith. The body is soft and kind of froths up in the mouth.

An incredible beer! Since I drank the first bottle on the video I think it’s lost any green hop astringency and blossomed into a delicate and sumptuous beer. I can’t wait to see the rest of this range.

Click here to find out loads more about Hawkshead by visiting their website and buy the permanent range of their bottled beers (but not this one, sorry)

7.0% abv

This is a review of two halves. The bottle in the video was super fresh, had only been back at the brewery 3 days before I recorded that that review. I’m now drinking another bottle from the same batch about 3-4 weeks later.I’ll be interested (and hope you [...click the heading to read more]]]> Magic Rock Brewing

7.0% abv

This is a review of two halves. The bottle in the video was super fresh, had only been back at the brewery 3 days before I recorded that that review. I’m now drinking another bottle from the same batch about 3-4 weeks later.I’ll be interested (and hope you will two) to see if and what is different between these two separate experiences of the same beer.In the glass this Black IPA was as you’d hope…BLACK! A devilish looking beer with a creamy head of deep beige foam.

This time the aroma is much more subdued than my first time a looked into the Magic 8 Ball, gone are those smokey bacon smells and hints of burnt rubber. Now I get smooth milk chocolate, mild hop spice and a hint of tar. Clearly the intense late/dry hop aromas has calmed down but a hint a pine remains. I really don’t mind it but its now smelling a bit more like a hopped-up milk stout that has been poured over an evergreen tree. As it warmed up a slight smokey edge reappeared.

Once in the mouth I’m reminded that this is a Black IPA. Initially smooth and silky but then the combined bitterness of dark malts and hops appear. Tastes of blueberry, espresso, resinous pine and a pleasing amount of sweetness. The mouthfeel is beautifully silky and slides down ending on an aftertaste of black coffee and pithy grapefruitand a tingle of bitterness that danced on my tongue.

This beer is absolutely fascinating for me, I’ve read, watched and talked about various people’s experience of Magic 8 Ball. Some people had a similar experience to me but others spoke about how full of typical citrus taste and aromas this was. Is it because my bottles came from a different part of the pallet or was it more a personal physical experience that differed.
Regardless, its a cracking beer that once again displays the breadth of the style.

Big thanks to Richard at Magic Rock for giving me bottle of this to try.

For more info about Magic Rock and to buy their beers visit their website magicrockbrewing.com and “Taste the Magic”!

11.0% abv

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 [...click the heading to read more]]]> 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!

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 [...click the heading to read more]]]> 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