Dec 10 2014
My #GoldenPints 2014
Oh Shit! It’s that time of year when I’m forced to be decisive and tell you (and you probably couldn’t give a flying…..) about what I REALLY liked this year, by pre-defined category.
So, 2014 was a year when I discovered the following :
How much I love blogging about beer.
How much I really couldn’t be arsed blogging about beer.
How close you can come to a nervous breakdown (and I HAVE been there) and come through nearly unscathed (See The Independent Salford Beer Festival)
How much generally that “Beer People Are Good People”
And a huge thanks to “BeerReviewsAndy” (someone I have never met) for getting this snowball rolling…..
And….the following……
- Best UK Cask Beer – Grounds For Divorce – Five Towns Brewery (Wakefield, W Yorks) – For me, the best beer at #ISBF2014. A 7.8% Belgian style Tripel fermented using yeast from the legendary Brasserie Orval, brewed at the bottom of a garden in Outwood, Wakefield, by one of the most unassuming people that I have ever met. As fruity as Carmen Miranda’s headgear and as light and tasty as a Heston Blumenthal foam. It. Rocked. My. World. (And I’m yet to really get into Belgian beer!)
- Best UK Keg Beer – I haven’t really had all that much, but of those that I HAVE had, I’d fall on the side of American Brown Ale – Runaway Brewery – . From the first sip at Black Jack Tap (Hmmm….) to the last sip (WOW!). This beer adheres to Principle 1 of the 3 Jazwinski Beer Principles. It was a beer that improved with each and every sip. By that last sip, I could *almost* have been a convert to keg. And it was fecking astonishingly good at #ISBF2014 on cask too!
- Best UK Bottle or Can – I’m not gonna cop out here by choosing one each (I’ll do THAT elsewhere!). This was a close run thing. My vote – by a well groomed whisker – goes to Govinda (Brandy Barrel Aged) IPA – Cheshire Brewhouse (Congleton, Cheshire). A massively English hopped IPA at 6.8% abv, the original version was already a stunning thing, a grand riposte to those who think English hopped beers are merely brown and twiggy murk. Get Thee Behind Me Beery Satans! “Spicy boozy raisins, banana, marmalade dancing all over a deep toffee malt base. This is a proper IPA. The fruity and toffee flavours …. give way to a spicy hop…” Being fairly dedicated to UK – and Northern beers in particular, this proved the most intense #Beergasm that I had this year.
- Best Overseas Draught – Not. Really. My. Bag. Next……!
- Best Overseas Bottled or Canned Beer – Can? Founders All Day IPA. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Fresh, zingy and oh so refreshing. Bottle? Not had many…But, from Brouwerij The Musketeers (Ursel, Belgium) – Troubadour WestKust Black Imperial IPA – A 750 ml bottle that – in the midst of a tastebud numbing cold, I could actually taste. A full-bodied fruity hop assault. With licorice. What’s NOT to like?
- Best Collaboration Brew – Another tricky one. Came down to a choice of two, BOTH involving the mighty Stuart Neilson of the North Riding Brewpub in Scarborough. The first was 300 from Five Towns / North Riding – a big, punchy Double IPA which in no way tasted it’s strength but had more hops than Watership Down and was a damn sight tastier! However, edging this by simple force of Bitterness, is Protz’s Pleasure – Steel City Brewing (Sheffield) / North Riding Brewpub (Scarborough) – Conceived (possibly) as a riposte to a rant from Roger Protz about the beer type “Black IPA”. All of the oxymoronic characteristics of a BIPA with a simply MASSIVE bitterness. Astonishing.
- Best Overall Beer – See 3 above!
- Best Branding, Pumpclip or Label – Bad Seed Brewery. For that hanging tag pump label. Irritating for the staff, but classy as feck. (I’ve kept the one from #ISBF2014 – don’t change fellas!)
- Best UK Brewery – On balance, this HAS to go to the brewery from which I drink the most consistently excellent and drinkable beers – Drinkability, for me, means a tasty, well hopped (or dark and roasted) beer that I can drink repeatedly without falling off my chair. For me, this means AllGates. From Sloe Stout at Manchester Beer and Cider Fest to Half Devil at #ISBF2014 and all points in between, just consistently excellent beer.
- Best Overseas Brewery – Moving swiftly on…..Next!
- Best New Brewery Opening 2014 – Controversy time! I’m going to go with Shindigger Brewing. I KNOW that they don’t have their own premises (yet!), but as a consumer, this is about the beer, right? From my first taste of Pacific Pale to the Saison/PIP at an MTB in Chorlton, they have progressed with each. and. every. beer. Cask, keg and bottle. Cuckoo? Gypsy? It’s about the beer for me, like I said. A HUGE honourable mention to Runaway Brewery and Squawk Brewing too. Manchester really IS rocking at the moment!
- Pub/Bar of the Year – (I’ve twisted the category – slightly!) Pub? Easy. As last year, The Hare & Hounds in Hindley (Wigan). A proper local that I need to visit WAY more often. 5 Great cask beers, friendly service, friendly locals, a real fire and a great landlord/landlady combo in Nigel and Adele. Sorted. Bar? Hmmm….Trickier. But I can’t split. So – a) Great Ale Year Round at Bolton Market for continuing to bring good beer to Bolton (and giving me a reason to visit the town!), a rare thing in the last few years for me. Great local cask/keg beers, friendly regulars, friendly hosts. Anne & Steve continue to do a sterling job. I just hope that the council could open up 6 days a week instead of 4! And – b) Wigan Central – 7 cask lines. 4 Craft keg. In Wigan? A brave move by Prospect Brewery, but one that appears to be paying off judging by the feedback that I’ve been privy to! They made a wise move in bringing Dan & Gina Buck in to run it (formerly of Great Ale Year Round – see the link there?). Great location, fabulously fitted out. Excellent beers too. (As far as the original category goes – both of the latter 2 opened this year!)
- Best beer and food pairing – I’m not QUITE reconstructed to that stage yet….Next!
- Beer Festival of the Year – 3 candidates. 1 I cannot choose. Because I organised it. The self interest element prevents me from choosing The Independent Salford Beer Festival. So, I’m left with 2. IndyManBeerCon is indeed a beery Tour De Force and remains a fixture for most sensible beer calendars (mine is set for 09:00 on 01/04/2015 – for the probable ticket release!). I DO think that cask appeared to be marginalised this year and I hear many gripes from elsewhere, but really? Just “grow a pair” and appreciate it for what it is! My winner though is AllGates‘ “The Road To Wigan Beer” in April. A fantastic selection of some of the newest and best UK breweries on cask. Spread across 6 pubs within Wigan borough. In one day. On a bus. Simply the most fun I’ve had in 2014. And fun matters.
- Supermarket of the Year – Booths. Simple. If you have been to a branch, bought beer, then chose a different supermarket, you’re having a laugh. At your own expense. Obviously, If you live more than 20 miles south of Knutsford, you may not understand. It’s a Northern thing!
- Independent Retailer of the Year – The Liquor Shop (Whitefield) Now closed and reborn as specialist beer shop BarBeerian, this has been the place from which I have bought the most beer. Period. The stock is large and wide ranging (Scotland to US/Italy) and great value too. All that from a small convenience store! Now Raj has moved a couple of doors down and opened up as a specialist beer shop, he’s looking to open a small bar upstairs with craft keg & a local cask line. I wish him well with this.
- Online Retailer of the Year – I haven’t. I try and shop locally. Aren’t I virtuous? Next!
- Best Beer Book or Magazine – Opening Times (Stockport & South Manchester CAMRA) – Essential semi-drunken bus home reading material. Well written & edited (Mr Clarke, take a bow!).
- Best Beer Blog or Website – Hmmm….Time for another split. Still up there (and one of my two) is Glenn Johnson and his “My World of Beer“. Informative, straight and tells me what I want to know. Is the pub/bar/beer good. And does it well. But locally? The Boozy Procrastinator by Deeekos, a blog that came into its own with some assertive posts on a variety of issues from IndyManBeerCon through to Myleene Klaas & Paddington Bear (in the same post!). Funny, informative, passionate. A winning combination.
- Best Beer App – Twitter. I think I would meltdown if I used Untappd. And not in a good way. Some people talk such utter bollocks about beer & breweries when they can be cloaked in anonymity. So no. Next!
- Simon Johnson Award for Best Beer Twitterer – @BroadfordBrewer. For #TwattyBeerDoodles and so much more.
- Best Brewery Website/Social media – Cheshire Brewhouse. Just functional & classy.
Apr 9 2015
The Road To Wigan Beer – Allgates Brewery – 04/04/2015
It’s probably going a bit too far to say that this day endangers my marriage, but this is the second Easter break in a row where I have been given a green card and skipped a visit to my beloved Outlaws – For the record, I actually DO love my In-Laws! This event has become a bit of a fixture for both myself and the Arch-Nemesis since the first episode in October 2013. Read HERE about that one.
So here is the spec. 6 pubs. 11 days. 95 beers – many new both to Wigan AND the North West. AND on the first Saturday, a bus. To take you around all of the pubs in one day (with a hot pot supper laid on at the end!) All for £5 (plus the beer, of course!)
My love of Allgates’ beers is well documented. By me. It’s all well and good worshipping the God that is Humulus Lupulus. But the hop was meant to be a seasoning for beer. Not a spicy flamethrower. Beer is meant to be drinkable and Allgates makes eminently drinkable beers.
But they also have a number of pubs in the Wigan Metropolitan area, in which they sell (strangely), their own beers, alongside some excellent guests. At prices mostly £2.50 or less a pint. Yes Mancunians! There is a world where this is possible!!!
Twice a year, the good people of my favourite brewery scour the country for new beers for the drinkers of Wigan (aka Lucky Gits!) and spread these beers out across many of their pubs. for two periods of 11 days at Easter and October. And on the first Saturday of each – barring unforeseen problems – they lay on bus, so that some hardy souls can sample some of these new beers in each of these pubs. On a single day.
And if they can’t, this event is so unmissable, that we do it by public transport! Read that one HERE!
It’s gruelling. It’s hard work. But someone has to do it. Step forth a beery Ratman & Bobbins!
The Anvil – Dorning Street (adj to Wigan Bus Station)
Allgates’ brewery tap and some would say “flagship pub”. Whatever, there is one thing to be said for this (effectively) 3 roomed pub. It never lacks for custom! A fairly bright and modern interior belies the early 20th century looking exterior. This pub just hums with conversation, whatever the time.
The six handpumps help. Outside of RTWB, Allgates AllBlack Mild is my go to. But this IS RTWB. And I spied this….
Pig & Porter Brewery (Tunbridge Wells, Kent – 4.5% abv) Starvation Point Porter . Dark, medium-bodied and oh so smooth. Coffee roasted aroma with a little smokiness, with sweet coffee flavour and almost a vanilla hint with all the roastiness. A superb start.
With time for a swift half (REALLY swift) before the bus set off, another new brewery to me
Firebird Brewing (Rudgwick, W Sussex) and #79 Golden Ale (4.3% abv). Golden? Check! Fruity as a fruity thing? Check! Run for the bus? CHECK!!!
“Just hop on the bus, Gus”
Ding! Ding! And we’re off on the first leg (but second pub) to……
The Crooke Hall Inn (Crooke Village, Standish Lower Ground)
(CAMRA Wigan Pub of the Year!) Now. It’s a rare thing when the ankle nibblers (who are hardly THAT at 20 & 15!) agree with their dear old Dad – even when he is PAYING! – but we agree on this pub. Them? Because the food is excellent here, especially the Sunday lunches. Me? That’s a rhetorical question. Obviously.
A lovely and well maintained 3 roomed pub – a lovely thing in itself – the views onto the Leeds – Liverpool canal make this journey so worthwhile, especially on a sunny day like this.
(Archive shot – too busy drinking for pics!)
The pub is easily accessible (on a nice sunny day) via a canal walk from Gathurst Train Stn (Southport line) and the walk is worth it – you can trust me as I’m neither a politician nor a used car salesman!
In here, there was time for 2 beers..(and a lovely Steak Pie!)
Fixed Wheel Brewery (Blackheath, West Mids) had their “Single Speed Waimea” on the bar. This did the trick, being golden, fruity and tart with a nice pine resin hit in the finish.
Binghams Brewery (Ruscombe, Berkshire) – Space Hoppy IPA was stepping up the abv a touch and was golden and plenty fruity & bitter enough. Works for me!
Never enough time in this pub for me, only once have I managed more than 2 pints. A crying shame, but the bus was calling…. Ding! Ding!
The White Lion (Leigh Road, Leigh)
Another award-winning pub. (SE Lancs CAMRA Pub of the Year!) This pub is on a main road just around the corner from Leigh bus station (Is Leigh REALLY the largest town in the UK without a train station?) – Harry the landlord has been building a cracking rep for his beers. And the prices are ludicrous to these Manchester focussed eyes!
A 3 roomed town centre boozer with the main room housing the bar – complete with its SEVEN hand pumps complete with the fifth successive beer from a brewery new to me!
Totally Brewed (Nottingham) and their Papa Jangles Voodoo Stout worked its spell on me! Big coffee nose up front and a really creamy full-bodied mouthful. More coffee and a ickle vanilla hint probably made this my beer of the day. Utterly lush.
Mordue Brewery / Panda Frog (Wallsend, Tyne & Wear) – Pandademic was another belter from a brewery I’ve never had a beer from (despite Mordue being around for a few years!). For a 3.5% beer, this felt much more full-bodied! Golden, fruity and tart with a crackling resinous finish. Panda Frog is a side project from Mordue and definitely worth looking out for!
Glentworth Brewery (Doncaster) and their Rain Dancer was from another brewery new to me (with no Social Media link, click the hyper for a few words from excellent Yorkshire bloggers A Swift One) – A 4% golden beer that was tart fruity & refreshing (and light, which at this stage was a bonus!) – Only 3 pubs in and I was starting to realise that this is a marathon, not a sprint!
Ding! Ding!
The Union Arms (Castle Street, Tyldesley)
Pretty much a 4 roomed pub this, with that number of distinct areas, this is another pub with a good reputation for honest pub food (and a few took advantage here). Lots of wood and a raised eating area in the main room. This is probably the closest Allgates pub to me and needs visiting more. The beer……
Green Duck Beer Co (Stourbridge, W Mids) and (the aptly named) Drunken Duck was my “finishing line” beer. Another pale beer with a citrus fruity nose and a nice fruity bitterness.
“(if music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it)
no more no need for gents and ladies
no need no more for breeding babies
take in that torso-redesign
no more divide the body and mind
not a duty just an action you’ll enjoy
for any boy and boy girl and girl and girl and boy
rub out the rules on how and who can procreate
xoyo triple x: sex mosaics (renegades!)”
“XOYO” – The Passage
By • Uncategorized • 1 • Tags: Allgates Brewery, Beer Festival, Binghams Brewery, Blonde, Blonde Ale, Crab and Winkle, Drunken Duck, Dry Bones, Duck Blonde, Firebird Brewing, Fixed Wheel Brewery, Glentworth Brewery, golden ale, Green Duck Beer Co, IPA, Mordue Brewery, Number 79, Ossett Brewery, Pale Ale, Panda Frog Project, Pandademic, Papa Jangles Voodoo Stout, Pig and Porter, Porter, Rain Dancer, Single Speed Waimea, Sonnet 43 Brew House, Space Hoppy, Starvation Point, Stout, Tedney Gold, The Anvil, The Crooke Hall Inn, The Road To Wigan Beer, The Victoria, Totally Brewed, Union Arms, White Lion