Here we are once again at the coldest, bleakest point of our orbit around the sun, plunging through the mind-grinding vastness of a cosmos so empty and uncaring about our insignificant human foibles that it’s almost enough to drive you to drink… Talking of which. If your mind turns at this point to the enjoyment of beer in the company …
It’s been a busy time for me recently. I qualified as a Beer Sommelier – which claims quite a bit of time and brainspace – plus I’ve been setting up a business. (Oh hai, you want a beer tasting, perhaps some training?) So I didn’t have much attention to spare when the rumour mill started up around Beavertown perhaps being …
Most of the time, for most people, enjoying a beer is a simple and uncomplicated pleasure. But sadly we don’t live in a perfect world – things can and do go wrong even with a beautiful beer. Life can be cruel, don’t you think? Let’s be real though. For the most part the various off-flavours in beer are subtle and …
I like South-East London’s Brick Brewery, and I like their sour beers too. This is another totally crushable example: crisp, bursting with flavour, refreshing – everything I want from this type of beer. This is not a mouth-puckering sour. It’s more restrained and balanced, with the cucumber doing the heavy lifting while strawberries dance over the top to keep things …
Ales Tales, the only beer festival in the UK entirely dedicated to Belgian beer, returned for its second year on the 1st and 2nd of June. Drinkers in Hackney’s Oval Space were presented with a choice of 78 different beers from 20 Belgian brewers, as well as the usual accompaniments of food, live music, and merch. As beer festivals go, …
Let’s just clear something up quickly. OK? Palate: the roof of your mouth. Also your sense of taste. This is the one you usually want if you’re talking about how a beer tastes. Palette: the thing a painter uses for mixing up colours. So, by extension, a range of colours available for use. Could then conceivably be used to describe …
It’s time for something a little bit specialised today. One for the real beer nerds. If you’re interested in training for a career in beer, or if you’re a home brewer, this is for you. When you’re training as a Beer Sommelier or Cicerone, developing your palate is extremely important. It’s your main tool after all, so best keep it …
First things first: I’m not just talking about how best to store your beer for a few days before you get around to drinking it. This is about thinking long-term – keeping a beer for a year or more to discover how its flavours develop and (with luck) improve over time. Check out my other post if you want to …
Belgian brewers Duvel Moortgat yesterday launched a new version of their iconic strong golden ale, Duvel. For the first time drinkers can now seek out Duvel on tap – although for now it is available only at two locations, The Draft House, Old Street, in London and The Canalhouse in Nottingham. We’re used to seeing beers on tap here in …
I’d had this beer a couple of times before but a while ago now and in bottles. I’d liked it a lot of the first time, and had been slightly underwhelmed the second time. Then I saw it cropping up in cans, and heard they’d tweaked the recipe. Time to taste it again. As before this poured a very dark …
There are many lookalike beers that can be hard to tell apart. Any number of similarly dark brews can give you pause for thought – mild and porter, schwarzbier and black IPA – but it’s the yellow fizzies that can prove especially challenging. They can bamboozle the attentive drinker even when you’ve moved past your visual assessment to the aroma …
