Thursday 26 April 2007

Dark Beer Festival – Provisional Beer List

Just got the beer list for the Mayday weekend dark beer festival at my family’s pub.

Batemans- Dark Mild 3%

Bartrams- Mauld 3.5%

Bartrams- McClearys Milk Stout 4.3%

Bartrams- Comrade Bill Bartrams Egalitarian Anti Imperialist Soviet Stout 6.9%

Bear Town- Polar Eclipse 4.8%

Buffys- Mild 4.2%

Dark Star- Over the Moon 3.8%

Elgoods- Black Dog 3.6%

Hesket Newmarket- Great Cockup Porter 3.0%

Iceni- Men of Norfolk 6.2%

Mauldons- Black Adder 5.3%

Mighty Oak- Oscar Wilde 3.7%

Milton- Nero 5.0%

Nethergate- Old Growler 5.0%

Nethergate- Umbel Magna 5.0%

Pitfield- Shorditch Stout 4.0%

Pitfield- 1850 London Porter 5.0%

R.C.H- Old Slug Porter 4.5%

Teignworthy- Marthas Mild 5.3%

Titanic- Last Port’o Call 4.9%

Triple FFF- Pressed Rat and Warthog 3.8%

Not bad list, a bit higher in alcohol than in past years but still some lo ones. Looking forward to Over the Moon and Pressed Rat, two of my favourite Milds. I Have never had any of the bartrams beers. There are a few classics as well. Good List? What do you think?

Tuesday 24 April 2007

The Black Boy, Winchester

After visiting such good pubs in Alton (The Railway Arms) and Selborne (The Selborne Arms) I thought the pubs of Hampshire couldn’t get much better. The misses and I decided to have a day out in Winchester. After a look round museums and the sights I looked in the GBG to find a suitable place to have lunch. The Black Boy sounded an interesting place from the description and it was not far from the town centre so we headed off. From the outside it looks rather bland and almost looked as if it was closed.
As soon as we walked though the door we could see that it was going to be a nice little pub, but nothing could prepare us for the rest of this amazing pub.
At the bar were a number of ales including Hop Back Summer Lightening. This was my first choice. I think my pint might have been from the bottom of the cask as it was not quite right. We also noticed that there was no food being served for some reason.
Under normal circumstances I might have been a bit annoyed but this pub had so much intrigue I soon forgot about my slightly iffy pint. The pub has been extended quite a bit but still looks good from the outside. The inside has been filled with an amazing variety of stuffed animals, plastic meat, old keys and a huge amount of other items. We sat down and just looked around in amazement. It is better than any museum and so packed with interesting things I have forgotten lots of them (wish I had my camera).
The back room was my favourite. Its décor is based on a country style kitchen complete with Aga. Everything makes it feel like a kitchen, apart that is from the stuffed donkey wearing a straw hat!
To find out more about this pub visit their site at http://www.theblackboypub.com/ or even better visit the pub its self.

Thursday 19 April 2007

The Selborne Arms

After a highly enjoyable night in the Railway Arms, Sunday morning soon came. So we (me and the misses) decided to go for a walk around the lovely countryside of Newton Valence and Selborne. Selborne Common was made famous by naturalist Gilbert White, who wrote the Natural History Of Selborne in 1789. Gilbert White as well as being one of the fist naturalists was also a vicar and part-time brewer. Tripple fff brew a beer based on his original recipe, but due to capacity and strength of the beer, is only brewed very occasionally. The beer is ‘6% ABV, smokey ale, golden in colour with a moderate hoppy bite’; sounds nice!
Luckily one of the two pubs in Selborne is a nice little boozer. This is the kind of pub that could be easily ponced up for the tourists. It hasn’t though, it has been extended but the interior has been largely unspoilt. There is a focus on food, but this equally hasn’t spoilt its character too much.
With six hand pumps I was impressed with the quantity, but what about the quality? There were no dark beers so that’s a minus. But the ‘Bitters’ available, were on the whole, good, the best being the Hogs Back Brewery’s Hop Garden Gold (4.6%). It is a beer so full of flavour, sweet beyond belief; almost syrupy, balanced with an enormous hop tang.
We washed down the beer with a healthy sized ploughman’s and enjoyed the afternoon sun in the generous beer garden. A pleasant and relaxing day.

Wednesday 18 April 2007

The Railway Arms, Alton

I thought, while visiting my girlfriend and having a mini holiday in Hampshire, I would investigate some of the counties top pubs. Saturday night saw us visit the Railway Arms in Alton. I was looking forward to this one because it is owned by the Triple fff brewery, who make some great beers. The pub is cosy and was quite busy with customers of all ages. It is one of those places that instantly makes you feel at home. Plenty of brick-a-brack and hops hanging around the bar. Beers available were Alton Pride, Moondance, Stairway and Pressed Rat and Warthog. The latter being my favourite. Being a fan of Mild I will always try it if it is being served, Pressed Rat is one of the best. Full of maltyness offset with sweetness with a slight hop aroma, it is certainly a proper mild. This is the kind of beer that non-real ale drinkers should be weaned on. I think some Milds are more drinkable than ‘golden ales’ that aim to replicate the appearance of lager and attract younger drinkers.
I tried the other beers available and all were highly enjoyable. Camra prize winner Moondance is full of flavour and bursting with hops, in both aroma and bitterness. It is really drinkable and has a great citrus bite.
Later on in the evening I spoke to Mike, (Triple fff's bottling man) he’d had a few. He told me how they have just upgraded to a 14 barrel plant and their is not much bottling to be done at the mo. He was waiting for the real ale train to arrive. The Real Ale Train is a steam train that travels down the Watercress Line from Alton to Alresford and serves beer from across the south of England.
As the train arrived back in Alton a few local trianspotters (including Mike) rushed outside. This was followed by a massive serge of people heading towards the pub. The busy but not noisy Railway Arms soon became very crowded. It was a great atmosphere and everybody enjoyed the superb beer.

Saturday 7 April 2007

Back Soon

It’s been a busy week and the next is going to be just as packed. I have just returned from Hampshire visiting my girlfriend Becky. We frequented 3 great pubs during the week. Reviews of these will be posted as soon as I get back from my next trip, to the Lake District. My dad and I are walking the Cumbria Way over the next week. I’m sure our thirsts will be quenched with some quality brews and a trip around the Hesket Newmarket should be a good insight to an award-winning brewery. Check back on the 16th.