Difference of Opinion

I sometimes, despite protests, get sent bottles of beer to try.  I do give them a go, but as I rarely drink at home, it usually takes me a while to get round to them.

Friday was a lovely warm night, so I dug out two bottles. One, St Peter's English Lager, had been in my fridge for a few months, the other, Brilliant Ale from Shepherd Neame for only a week or so. I do confess though that I did drink one of the two bottles of St Peter's Lager when it was sent and thought it pleasant enough, but somewhat ale like.  A little like those hybrid "lagers" - really more like Koelsch I suppose -  that family brewers used to pass off as the real thing. Think Amboss, Edelbrau, Stein, Einhorn, Holtenbrau etc.

We shared the bottles in the sense that I had one and E the other. We didn't split them, though we each tasted both.  I still thought the St Peter's rather ale like, but E liked it well enough.  My Brilliant Ale was a perfect summer beer.  Light, spritzy, slightly dry and just the thing to watch the sun go down on a beautiful summer at dusk and it would had been even better if I'd had it when the sun was higher and I'd maybe had a couple more to wash down the one I'd had.

E thought it OK but preferred the St Peter's.  That's beer for you.

Thanks to both breweries for sending the samples.  Brilliant Ale (5.6%) is brewed to a recreated recipe from sometime between 1825 and 1855, with the original East Kent Goldings being replaced by Cascades. St Peter's Lager (5.2%) has a classic combination of Hallertau and Styrian Goldings

Fuller's IPA - 1998

Way before blogging was possible, there was this thing called Usenet. It still exists. I used to contribute to it, including this rather lack lustre beer review. Look at the price of the bottle. You probably wouldn't pay much more now.

It was posted on May 27th 1998. I've been around I have:

Fullers IPA Bottled 500 ml - Bought Leeds UK £1.49 abv 4.8%
Best before 05/01/99

Golden brown / amber in colour with a thin loose head which rapidly falls away. Aroma is of flowery hops, possibly Fuggles, with crystal malt and caramel.

Beer starts with a deep bitter Goldings flourish. Body is quite light and malt is subdued throughout. Carbonation is just on the high side of medium through which the abiding impression is of hoppy bitterness. Finish is short and bitter leaving a pleasant hoppiness and some caramel.

Conclusion

Overall the beer is on the thin side and drank below it's strength. IMO the pasteurisation shows through too much. This beer would improve as a BCA. Nonetheless pleasant and drinkable but unremarkable.

The label claims "Fullers have faithfully recreated the traditional characteristics of this historical product"

God was I was crap at beer reviewing then! In this instance at least.

Williams Brothers

For those of us that grew up in Scotland, the name Alloa is synonymous with brewing. Youngers, Maclays and of course the biggest of them all when I was a lad, Ind Coope, brewing in the former Arrol's Brewery, famous or infamous for Skol Lager and whose Diamond Heavy was an erstwhile favourite of mine. Now of course it is all gone and only one brewery remains, or rather, has emerged; William Brothers known hitherto mainly for its Fraoch Heather Ale.

They kindly sent me some of their beers to sample and finally I got round to trying two. First up after mowing my grass - I wouldn't call it a lawn - was their lager, Ceilidh (4.7%) which seemed a reasonable place to start. Dull gold in colour with a lasting white head this beer had a Southern German Helles nose, but there the similarity ended. Lemony/lime citrus and spiciness are the dominant flavours, though I didn't get the sesame referred to by the Bitten Bullet. Lemon is foremost through to a dry, citrus finish with just a touch of grassiness and a slight aromatic hint of hops. The malt base underpinning all this could be firmer, but this is a decent enough beer, though not one I'd rush to buy. Not all the Tandleman household agreed. E tried it and summed it up pithily as "horrible." A bit harsh I'd say.

A different kettle of fish is the same brewery's five percent IPA. They set out to achieve a beer for the novice and hophead alike, which is a tricky one. Well I liked it. Big, booming alpha hops give it a grapefruit nose and a resiny, quenching flavour throughout to a dry, bitter, lasting, resinous, hoppy finish. I couldn't detect the tell tale blackberry (or should I say bramble?) flavours from the Bramling Cross hops and I'm glad of that. Instead Amarillo dominated, which is just fine by this writer. The grain bill is lager malt with some wheat and that worked well too. This was a beer of some poise and I'd certainly buy it again. Oddly it refreshed far better than the lager.

Lawnmower beer? I should say so.

E loved this one too.