A Little Surprise

Five years ago I was a fanatical home-brewer. I was well versed in the arts and applied my expertise in organic chemistry to produce amazing beers (if I do say so myself). Anyhow every now and then for one reason or another you produce a dud. The beer pictured in the over-sized wine glass on the left was one such example. It was brewed in the generic Amercian Pale Ale style with a touch of Cararoma for a slight toffee/nutty note and was modestly hopped with New Zealand grown Cascade hops. The result was a failure and the beer was over carbonated with a distinct Belgianesque funk to it. I was gutted at the time assuming that the beer had picked up a gusher infection. This prognosis was reasserted by the scum ring that had formed in the necks of the bottles.
Fast forward five years and I have returned to Australia and started to find my way back towards the brewing arts. Upon digging out my old kit I came across 15 or so long-neck bottles of this failed brew and decided to chill a couple of bottles to see whats going on. I felt at best the beer may pass as a lambic, but more than likely was going to taste like vinegar and have a trip down the drain. Guess what?? The beer is awesome, and probably the best beer I have ever brewed. I am guessing that I originally over-primed the bottles resulting in over-carbonation and an astringent bite from carbonic acid formed in the process. The continued fermentation must have carried on in the bottle resulted in a krausan ring in the neck. Over time the flavours must have come together to bring out the awesomeness that the beer is today. Anyhow I plan to recap the bottles to release some of the carbonation as its still slightly over-carbed and then enter it in the NSW state titles next year. I am surprised at how fresh the beer still tastes after 5 years in the bottle - remember that this isn't some imperial this/double that vintage ale, but a modest 4.5% APA. Remarkable.

Anchors Aweigh

Anchor Brewing Company has been brewing beer in San Francisco since 1896, although it emerged on the craft/micro brewing scene after Fritz Maytag acquired and subsequently saved the brewery from closure in 1965. The brewery is one of the last remaining producers of Californian Common beer, which is colloquially known as steam beer. Actually, Anchor have an appellation stating that they alone can call their product "Steam Beer".

I have had these three bottles of beer from Anchor Brewing Company sitting at home for a while since picking them up from Whole Foods, Kensington. I have enjoyed the Steam beer before on a few occasions, but had not come across the Liberty Ale or Porter.

Anchor Steam is an interesting beer. It is a lager, but is fruity and has a caramel edge like an ale. It is fermented at ale yeast temperatures which results in both lager and ale characteristics emerging in the flavour profile. I enjoy this beer, but I don't think it's for everyone. It is even better when consumed during a "Come Dine With Me" omnibus on a Sunday afternoon!

Anchor Liberty Ale is an American style IPA in a similar vein to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It is a good beer, but this beer style is becoming as common as muck these days. The Liberty Ale is a good interpretation of the style though and well worth picking up if you see it about, but I would not go hunting it down specifically. I feel the same about the Porter as well. It is a good beer and incredibly robust, but just lacks the subtle nuances that you get with a well presented cask of Fuller's London Porter. I think Fuller's really do have the best porter that is available. Maybe I am slightly biased as I live so close to the brewery, but that's my opinion none the less.

Anyhow that's all I care to say about these beer's from Anchor, although I would like to get my hands on a bottle of their "Old Foghorn" Barley Wine which I hear is a cracker.

http://anchorbrewing.com/

The wife and I are off to St Ives for an extended weekend tomorrow and I am looking forward to getting away, breathing some ocean fresh air and having a few pints of St Austells and some harder to track down beers from Sharp's (I'm over Doom Bar). If anyone can recommend any good restaurants or pubs that I 'must' visit while I am in Cornwall, I would be most grateful. I have not been out to that part of the country before and it should be fun.

Battle of the IPA's: AUS vs USA. The results are in....

Over the weekend there was a showdown. Little Creatures Pale Ale (LCPA) from Australia in the green and gold corner, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (SNPA) from the USA in the red, white and blue corner. Allies in Afghanistan and Iraq meet to slog it out over the neutral ground of my flat in Brook Green, London. I should not big this up as a competition as really both these beers are awesome, but there is national pride at stake here. While they are extremely similar beers and probably made with almost the same grain bill and hopping regime, the experiences of the two beers are completely different.
I won't intellectualize each beer individually but concentrate on their differences.

Colour: They are both amber, but the LCPA seems to be slightly lighter in colour.
Carbonation: The LCPA has only very mild carbonation, although this could be a consistency issue. Bottles I have had in the past have been more carbonated. The SNPA was strongly carbonated at a level similar to US mega lager.
Aroma: Both had a similar citrus aroma, however the LCPA's was stronger and contained a pineapple/passionfruit note which was absent from the SNPA. I think LC uses chinook hops as well as cascade.
Body/mouthfeel/taste: I am lumping all these together. Overall they taste different. SNPA is very malty and has a chalk like bite. I think they use water that is a lot harder than the water used in LCPA. SNPA tastes a lot more bitter (perceived bitterness) because of this as well, but I bet these beers have very similar IBU levels. The LCPA tastes thinner, but more refreshing. You could drink more of it.

Which beer is better? Well they are both awesome beers, but different animals in the glass. If I was only having one beer and sipping on it, I would choose the SNPA. If I was drinking all day long in the Australian sun, then I would choose LCPA.

I should also note that I have deliberately called these beers IPA's rather than APA's. Although both of these beers appear to use American hops and would fall within the style guidelines for an APA - they are basically IPA's. Style guidelines are stupid - keep it simple.

Brew Dog Punk IPA

Yes, another 'Tesco pick up', the cool looking graphics and alternative anti-marketing on the label of this beer sealed teh deal and it made its way past the disapproving gaze of my wife and into the trolley.

For the uninitiated, Brew Dog are a relatively new brewery located in Fraserburgh on the north east coast of Scotland. They have a few simple rules and basically they brew for taste and flavour rather than to what the market wants, a bold game but one that seems to be paying dividends for them.

Their simple rules;

- To only use the finest fresh natural ingredients.
- To put no preservatives, additives or any other junk in your beer!
- To always make amazing quality premium beers and promote them in a way which makes people smile!
- Not to try and pass off gift tags as ‘special mini Christmas cards’

Punk IPA (6% abv) seems to be their most 'standard' offering. Its pretty much a stock standard American pale ale with strong tropical hop flavours and an intense and lingering bitterness. I really rate this beer so if you come across it in your local Tesco, do yourself a favour and check it out. Even better if you find it on cask!

An awesome beer: website

Ascot Alligator Ale

My wife surprised me for my birthday with a case of Real Ale bottles from RealAle.co.uk. The case is comprised of a number of tasty beverages upon which two of these were Alligator Ale (4.6% abv) from Ascot Ales. Alligator Ale is an American Pale Ale which is balanced a lot better than most beers of this style. Hopped exclusively with cascade hops, this beer is packed with all the piney citrus laden aromas you would expect, but it also does so without overpowering the predominant malt flavour. My only criticism of the beer is the amount of yeast sediment. There is at least a centimeter of sediment at the bottom of the bottle, which was hard packed and remained there. This will be welcomed by homebrewers who can propagate this yeast for use in there own breweries. I am going to be bold and say that this is the best beer that I have had this year to date. I would love to get out to the brewery one day and help out and have a look around (oh and yes, buy a gut load of beer!). This is definitely a beer to keep an eye out for. Information regarding Ascot Ales can be found at their website: http://www.ascot-ales.co.uk/

Ascot Ales began production in 2007, specialising in Real Ales with a New World twist.

Meantime London Pale Ale

During my weekly shopping trip to Tesco I managed to sneak a couple of bottles of beer into the trolley! Meantime London Pale Ale (4.3% abv) is a new addition to the line up from the Greenwich Meantime brewery. The beer is an American Style Pale Ale in a similar vein to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but offering a slightly English twist to the formula. The results is a cracker of a beer! The beer has minimal carbonation which tones down an insane hop level and intense bitterness. But in saying that, this beer is still extremenly well balanced and could easily be a session ale.

I really like this emerging trend for UK based brewers to branch out and try some of the newer beer styles emerging from the US. This is definetely a beer to checkout. Website: http://meantimebrewing.com/

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (5.6% abv) is a style defineing American Pale Ale from the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. The beer was one of the first examples of an American Pale Ale which uses Cascade hops for flavouring. Another point of note is that it is one of the USA's best selling craft beers. The colour of the beer is a deep amber with a medium level of carbonation, intense bitterness with a strong refreshing aromatic citrus taste and aroma. I think that this is among the list of my all time favourite beers and APA has to be one of my favourite beer styles.

And guess what makes this beer even better. All I have to do to get my hands on a bottle is stroll down to my local Tesco and pick it up! The website is here: http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/paleale.html I even managed to find a review online for you to marvel over!