Allgates Quaker House - A Proper Stout

Tuesday was an exciting day for me. Not just because of the monthly CAMRA Branch Meeting which I chair (and that's quite exciting)  but because the stout I brewed jointly with Allgates Brewery and two fellow bloggers, was to make its bar appearance. 

Allgates is a fantastic brewery with well made beers that have that elusive drinkability.  Now you can wax lyrical all you like about wine barrel aged imperial double saisons and their ilk, but the essence of good drinking is a decent (cask conditioned) pint of good honest beer.  Substance over style if you like. (And even if you don't like.) In fact here's a point of view. There's a big difference between really good drinking and what the beer geeks might term "awesomeness" in beer.  One is a social lubricant that makes the world go round just that little bit better and brightens your life accordingly, as an accompaniment to it.  The other is perhaps a tad more introspective and exclusive. All too often it comes across as a one dimensional, fleeting paean that worships the product (often for its bragging rights) more than the moment, the company or the occasion.

Right. That's off my chest, so back to our Quaker House.  Like all Allgates beers, it was named after a defunct coal mine from the area around Wigan, which used to yield many millions of tons of the black stuff.  Appropriate then on two levels at least.   Having agreed we'd produce a stout, it was my hope to persuade my fellow brewers that it had to be a real stout of premium drinking strength and most importantly, it had to be as black as the ace of spades and not a pale, see through porterish excuse of a beer. In my view, if you can see through the bloody thing, it isn't a proper stout. Fortunately that idea was readily agreed and there is no doubt that this is a proper stout. Jet black, with a gorgeous off-white, creamy head, it looked like Guinness used to look before they fucked it up completely many moons ago.  The oats gave it a tremendously smooth mouthfeel with roast and chocolate malt and decent hopping from the Warrior and Galena hops came through nicely.  It is a deep and satisfying beer which drinks easily and belies its 4.9% alcohol.  The finish is long and roasty with lingering hops. It coated my palate wonderfully.  The beer is pretty damn good. If I had my time again, I'd have perhaps have suggested a few more resinous hops in the finish, but I remind myself it is a collaboration and that we have produced a beautiful, easy drinking stout which has enough complexity to make it a cut above the ordinary.  Gratifyingly many of our members supped it with pleasure.

It was also a great pleasure to me that it was hosted by the Baum, CAMRA's National Pub of the Year, so no doubts about quality of keeping and dispense. Served with perfect conditioning, at around 12°C and sparkled as God intended, I was a happy man.

Thanks again to David and Jonathan at Allgates. Princes among men.

Tyson and Jim (my fellow collaborators) will have their barrel on soon. Jim's is on Friday at the Joshua Brooks in Manchester I believe. Tyson TBA.

My chosen charity (it was kindly donated by Allgates) is the Salvation Army in Rochdale to help with their work with the homeless.