Ale Log

I popped into Morrisons on the way home from work and spotted this “guest ale” at £1.49, so popped it into my basket. From Batemans in Lincolnshire, this ale is described as a “classic premium bitter” and with a description by Roger Protz on the label of “a superb pale ale”, I was looking forward to tasting it.

“Bitter” does not do this bitter justice - it’s terribly bitter. With “peppery bitterness” as the label says, this is no quaffing ale. The hoppy aroma fills your mouth (and I have a cold too) and the aftertaste is wonderful. It’s very tart but there are fruity undertones. I like this ale, and will return to Mozzas before the “guest” spot runs comes to an end.

It’s worth noting that it is not finished off with fish-based finings, so this ale is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

Everyone in my family knows me well, especially Mrs. Northerner. For Christmas, I received over 20 bottles of different ales. I have just dipped into this stash for the first time and have come out with one from Mam and Dad Northerner - Tesco’s Finest Bottle Conditioned Ale.

I love Bottle Conditioned Ales and have had quite a few in my time. This one, from O’Hanlon’s brewery promised to be “wonderfully complex” with “rich toffee and malt flavours … balanced with a delicate bitterness and floral/citrus aromas”. I was looking forward to it. As my regular reader will know, I am also a sucker for nice looking labels, and this one’s two-tone yellow and green, simple, old-fashioned wordy one looked great. I was in for a treat.

Not so - it was a sour, dire affair. I’ve stored it upright and with care. I took care poruring it, but this is just a nasty beer. It was flat. It was sour. It was overly bitter. There were no flavours to speak of, and there was no citrus.

Unfortunately, I can’t really say much in this beer’s favour other than the label. I wish I was wrong, but others seem to have had the same experience (see what James Cridland says).

The closest supermarkets to where Mrs. Northerner and I live are a smallish CoOperative and a somewhat scummy example of a Morrisons. Although between them, it’s easy to pick up some bottled ale, I’m starting to get bored by their limited selection. This morning, however, I found myself in the somewhat more posh Booths in the somewhat more posh town of Ilkley.

What I saw was like an Aladin’s Cave. I’ve never seen such a selection of ale in a general supermarket, especially not a small one like this. I couldn’t count the ales - there was a full aisle, at least 5 metres long and 6 shelves high. Ales were also on special offer stands here and there. I didn’t have time to browse properly, but I saw offerings I’ve never seen, and I saw the full range of Adnams beers, including their carbon-neutral East Green.

I picked up three bottles:

• Moorhouse’s Pendle Witches Brew (£1.17)
• Moorhouse’s Black Cat (£1.00)
• Adnams Lighthouse (£1.00)

I’ll be driving over Ilkley Moor to Booths more often in future - it’s a treasure trove!

I love Leeds, my adopted home city. I love Leeds Brewery - a young, simply named brewery that seems to get everything right. Their image, from the distinctly-shaped pump clips to the decor in their three new pubs to the fabulous food they serve, is just right.

Mrs. Northerner and I have popped into The Brewery Tap for a couple of pints of Leeds Best. It’s a golden, quaffable, tasty, bitter ale and I love that too! We’re out on a date. The Toddler is away for the night, so Mrs. Northerner and I are having a night on the town…

This is the second time we’ve been to The Brewery Tap. The first was a Saturday lunchtime and we had The Toddler in tow. She was welcomed warmly, pushchair and all, by the bar staff although there ware no plastic cups or squash available. She loved the houmous and I loved the homemade chips with my baguette - one of the best bar meals I’ve tasted.

But I digress. The Brewery Tap is a modern, light, airy affair with its own micro brewery upstairs, although this is not active yet. It’s close enough to the train station to be busy with passing trade tonight (there’s a bouncer on the door - but he’s a friendly, courteous chap) but not close enough to be full of travelling riffraff. The drinks range is excellent. There are three Ossett Brewery ales on offer as well as the Leeds ones. The lagers are not your standard Stellas and Carlsbergs. We have Toubourg, Becks Vier, Leffe, Baltika.

The atmosphere is great, and I am sitting supping a fantastic ale with the woman I love - how happy can one get!?

I love this ale - wherever I see it, it is likely that I’ll buy it. It may be the traditional-shaped bottle that does it - I’ve always been drawn to style over substance. The oval cross section, the ‘St Peter’s Brewery’ embossed in the glass, the woodcut style bird on the label. I could be shopping the aisles of a monk’s pantry 700 years ago rather than the shelves of my local Oddbins.

This 4.5% organically-produced pale ale is lovely. It’s got a pleasing bitterness and can be supped all night. Tonight, we’re recovering from a night on the ales at SR’s Christmas Party, so Mrs. Northerner and I are just sipping half a bottle each. We’re tired, but there’s some good food in the oven and the house is smelling of garlic, cheese and cream. It all makes this Organic Ale taste the better.

There are some good notes on the label about the history of the brewery, St Peter’s in Bungay, Suffolk.

I saw this IPA on the shelves of OddBins about half an hour ago. The flat blue and white label screams of marketing at a ‘young’ audience - it’s all very street. The label proclaims the beer as being a “postmodern IPA”, an “aggressive” beer and that the brewers, Brew Dog “don’t care if you don’t like it”.

All interesting stuff and all the kinds of thing that should have set alarm bells ringing - oh dear - an IPA dressed up like a “hard” drink for kids. But I am glad that I did not hear these bells - this is a good ale! It’s strong at 6% but the bottle is small (330ml). The aroma is sweet and floral, the taste well rounded and pleasingly bitter with hints of caramel.

I like this ale. It’s available in cask too, according to the website. This is an interesting angle on marketing ale, and I hope it works. This is one of the most interesting and pleasing bottled beers I have had in a while.

I’ve braved the freezing cold night and a five minute (!) walk down to The Junction in Baildon for a couple of pints with dad-to-be RB. The Junction always has a Saltaire beer on (the brewery is just over the road, after all), and tonight, it was this sumptuously dark Hazelnut Coffee Porter. This is a fantastic pint! It has hints of coffee and hints of hazelnut, but nothing too overbearing. It is very sweet and if I didn’t have such a sweet tooth, it may become overbearing on the second pint. Saltaie never seem to be afraid of trying out different ingredients in their ales, and this is no exception. Full marks - this is the most interesting and enjoyable pint I have had in ages.

[Twenty minutes later...]

Oh well. That was the last pint in the cask. There’s no more. It’s been replaced with Saltaire Bavarian Gold - another favourite of mine (and Mrs. Northerner’s!) - a pale, bitter, gorgeous pint. Go on then, I’ll have another…

I popped into Marks and Spencer on the way home from work - it’s my mother’s birthday tomorrow and being a terrible son, I had left the purchasing of a card until the last minute. These four bottles of bottle-conditioned Cornish IPA caught my attention. I like the old-fashioned, blue and cream labels and the maritime feel to them. Always one to judge a book by its cover, I snapped them up at £1.99 a bottle.

The beer poured a russet colour and I found the ale to be bitter, strong, and tasty. I poured all the yeast from the bottle into the glass when pouring the second one, so it was cloudy and bitty. It soon settled to the bottom of the glass though and did not distract from the taste in any way.
M&S are not ashamed of their own-branding products from other breweries. In fact, they pronounce this on the bottle - brewed by the St Austell Brewery in St Austell. As far as I can tell, the ale is unique to M&S rather than being a simple re-branding of one of the brewery’s own ales.

Mrs. Northerner is hosting a Girls Night In, pink-themed party in aid of Cancer Research UK tonight and I have been roped in volunteered to be cocktail maker and bartender for the evening. It’s a thankless task involving lots of ice, lots of sticky juice, lots of shaking, and lots of brightly-coloured pink alcohol. If I make it through the night with my best pink shirt and tie in tact, it’ll be a miracle.

I’m getting through the night by nursing four bottles of this golden bottled ale from Jennings Brewery in Cockermouth. Cumberland Ale is the perfect, well-grounded drink to sip on while mixing and serving such pink delights as Dragon Blossom, Pink Gin and Tonic, Pink Lady, Seabreeze, and tonight’s most popular, Pink Sin Martini. The ale is not pink, but is a dark gold and it has a nutty, full-bodied aroma. It’s not for quaffing, but I’d never tire of its taste.

But what’s this!? Mrs. Northerner’s sister has decided that cocktails are a bit “too spirity” and has asked if I have any beer! Well, although it breaks my heart, I have surrendered one whole bottle, a quarter of the night’s stash, to the cause.

There’s nothing else for it - make mine a Clear Skies Ahead.

A pale ale from the Little Creatures brewery in Australia, Mrs. Northerner picked us up a couple of bottles to enjoy before going out for tapas with CW and LK. It’s a dark orange colour and quite tasty. I swear I smelled Ribena as I took my first sip. It is quite a tasty beer, but Mrs. Northerner pointed out the overriding taste of iron. It feels a little bit like drinking rust. I’ll not go as far as Mrs. Northerner who thought that it reminded her of the taste of blood when you bite your tongue!

I like the name of this beer, and I like the label on the bottle (a classic cream and red, with simple lettering and a beer-tankard-holding cherub). As for the taste though, I’ll go as far as saying “it’s alright”.