TEN20 Commemorative Ale

I was recently gifted two bottles of James Squire TEN20 Commemorative Ale (7.9% abv) from my mate Greg the Rabbi. Last weekend I consumed one of the bottles. It was nice, but a little bit of a try hard attempt at something that could last the test of time. By saying this, it's no Fuller's Vintage. Is it a good beer? Yes it is, but its not brilliant. It's big by Australian standards, but not really that big a beer. It also tastes pretty similar to the home brew I have blogged about previously.

Anyway here is the official blurb. I'm to time pressed to write anything wholesome.

"Brewed with pale, Munich and carapils malts and hopped with deranged amounts of Australian hops (Galaxy and Super Pride) and American hops (Simcoe and Sterling), this gorgeous deep copper-coloured ale represents a blend of the imperial pale ale and barley wine styles. Dry hopping with NZ Pacific Hallertau creates the perfect herbaceous nose. The 60 BU’s of bitterness is tempered by the 7.9% ABV and the ale delivers a divine satisfaction with massive maltiness and ripe fruit esters. We suggest the 640ml bottle is best shared with a friend.
Only 1,900 cases of the Mad Brewers TEN20 Commemorative Ale have been produced, so beer lovers should join in this celebration and savour the rich flavours ASAP. The TEN20 Commemorative Ale is available from all good bottle shops nationally now or available to purchase on line by the case only"

Fuller's Vinatage Ale 2008

I had two bottles of Fuller's Vintage Ale kicking around my flat, enticing me to drink them. Last Sunday I could hold out no longer and drank the younger of the two bottles. The 2008 Vintage is still a little rough around the edges, but there is a beautiful barley wine starting to shine through. Upon tasting the elixir, my wife exclaimed "It doesn't taste like beer, it's more like Hennessy, XO or a sweet dessert wine". I tend to agree with her. The beer is very grape like in character with a strong alcohol warmth/sweetness that is hot, but not cloying. I assume that the longer the beer ages, the more mellow and smooth the overall flavour becomes. Anyhow to test this theory I have a bottle of Fuller's 1999 Vintage Ale sitting at the top of my staircase. I plan to drink it when I have something to celebrate (like when I can finally confirm that I am moving back to Australia). Let's hope that day comes soon!

I'm Trapped

For reasons I will not go into, I am trapped at home today - a prisoner in my small flat. I'm not going to let my situation get in the way of the greatness that is ticker Tuesday though!
To kick start the beer diary week the wife and I headed out to a local tapas bar in Brook Green. The food was pretty good and they had a few different Spanish lagers on the menu. I ordered a Mahou which is as good an example as any. I had this last year when I was Barcelona and in the video attached to the post is one of the best beer adverts I have ever seen. You can check it out here if that post predates your readership to the blog. Anyhow on Friday evening a few of the lads from the office headed to 'The Apple Tree' for a few after work pints. They had Bath Gem on and we proceeded to drink through the remains of the cask. They then put Fisherman's Tackle (4.1% abv) on which was a better beer than the Gem in my opinion. I can't find any information about the beer at all online and the pump clip was just some writing in chalk. Can anyone fill in the blanks here?
On Saturday evening I cracked open a bottle of UBU Amber Ale from purity Brewing Co. This US style amber ale was a little underwhelming after the Flying Goose I had from the same brewery last week, but still a nice drop. My beer drinking on Saturday was limited to just the one bottle of beer as I helped the missus finish off a few bottles of wine that have been loitering around for a while.
Sunday was the day of the hop monsters. My usual "Come Dine With Me" session was halted due to our television reception going down leaving me with only books and my wife's company for entertainment. Luckily I had a bottle of Mikkeller stateside IPA in the fridge. This 7% abv US style IPA from Denmark is extreme. It has to be over 100 IBU's of pure bitterness and makes your teeth feel like they are dissolving. Because of the lack of balance I didn't really enjoy this one - too hardcore my session drinking sensibilities. To make matters worse, I followed it with a bottle of Port Brewing 2nd Anniversary which is a 9.5% abv American Barleywine. This over the top hop monster was bordering on the point of undrinkable. It was thick, chewy and cloying and tasted like I had been chewing on a bunch of pine needles. I guess for some that would be ideal, but it's not really my cup of tea.
Anyhow that's pretty much the story of my drinking for the last week. Kind of lame really, but some interesting ticks there if you get excited by that sort of thing.
The next instalment of ticker Tuesday will be in a fortnights time (that's two weeks for you Yank's). It should be a good one as I am off to New York on Friday morning. I have a list of things I want to do while there (including Blind Tiger and Brooklyn Brewery) but can anyone fill me in on any other must do attractions that have to be on my list?

Fuller's Golden Pride

Hmm, a quick trip to Waitrose on a Sunday afternoonand I return armed with some goodies including Fuller's barley wine offering - Golden Pride (8.5% abv). Pouring the beer into the glass it could easlily be mistaken for a pint of regular pride, a sniff reveils an aroma that is similar. The taste is when it all starts to fall apart with a sharp chemical like whack before a strong alcohol warmth. Not quite what I was expecting, not exactly pleasant, but not rubbish either.

Anyhow, I am not going to go into too much detail ('cause I am lazy today), so I have stolen someone elses review from ciao.co.uk.

"I seem to have been picking my way through a number of the heavier, higher alcohol ales of late. This is another of the “high end” brews from one of London’s old established breweries. They may not be suitable for regular drinking, but these “superior strength” beers do demonstrate the wide range of strengths, tastes and flavours that can be wrung from the limited list of ingredients that go into them.
THE BREWERY

“Golden Pride” is one of the prime labels from Fuller Smith and Turner operating from the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, London. Fuller’s was established in 1845 and the Griffin Brewery name is trademarked fifty years later. A brewery has stood on this same Chiswick site for over 350 years, and a wisteria plant, the oldest in Great Britain has clung to the brickwork of the brewery for 186 years. The brewery is now renowned for brewing both organic and seasonal ales (ESB, London Pride). As well as these “conventional” brews they also produce some interesting “flavoured” beers such as “Honeydew” (original honey and recently introduced honey with cranberry) and the winter ale “Jack Frost” which is seasoned with blackberries.
It is available in both 500ml and 330ml bottles.

WHAT THEY SAY
“This superb quality premium beer is the equivalent of a Belgian 'Abbey Beer' and is arguably the 'grand cru' of Fuller's bottled beers. At 8.5% alcohol by volume, it is as powerful as some wines. In days gone by at Christmas, as a special treat, Fuller's pub landlords tend to keep a small barrel of draught Golden Pride on the back of the bar, dispensing to customers in strictly limited quantities. One beer writer has described it as 'the cognac of beers'.”

THE BOTTLE

Fuller’s use a signature dark brown bottle which has the Griffin crest and the logo ‘Independent Family Brewers’ embossed into the glass for their range of brews. The front label announces the brand name in large white letters on a dark red background with a gold surround. For further emphasis there are the three words “Superior Strength Ale”. This is no doubt all geared up to persuade you of the sumptuous treat you have in store. The crown cap also bears the name “Golden Pride”. The neck collar also displays the Fuller logo and crest as well as a representation of a number of gold medals.
The rear label tells you that this beer is an award-winning exceptionally fine strong ale of immense character and finesse. It has been brewed from Pale Ale and Crystal malts; Northdown, Challenger and Target hops. It also proudly boasts that “.. this is the finest example of our brewer’s art; truly a connoisseur’s choice”. Some claim!!The bottle holds 500ml and it is brewed to a 8.5% ABV.
THE DRINK

After the recent really hot spell, the garage has cooled down considerably and this bottle was kept in a dark corner rather than the fridge. It was at about 14°C when I came to drink it. The top came off easily enough. The “Golden Pride” poured a rich amber / red colour creating a reasonably thick foamy head. There is a fine tracery left on the glass as the ale is consumed. There was good carbonation in the glass. The ale is crystal clear and there was no sediment in the bottle.
The nose is quite complex with hints of caramel, Butterkist (TM) and a vague Oxo saltiness. This continued to develop with yeasty, aromatic and slightly earthy overtones. Let me hasten to add that the overall impression was quite delicious and certainly not bad or off-putting.The first taste is rich and bittersweet almost like a barley wine with traces of biscuit (? Rich Tea). This is a strong full bodied ale that is very – deceptively – smooth. Bitterness develops on the tongue with acquaintance but there are also hints of dried fruits, treacle toffee, marzipan and plum pudding. There is a satisfying, pleasurable warming glow on swallowing. The bitterness lingers refreshingly on the palate. Make no mistake, this is one heavyweight of an ale.
This is another of those brews that has to be respected. It is not one for idle quaffing. It reminded me very strongly of Young’s “Old Nick” that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago – perhaps just a little less sweet. It is an ale designed for contemplative appreciation; very much like a fine wine. I would not want to drink more than one at a sitting. Equally I would not want to serve it with a full blown meal, although thin slivers of apple or pear with a truckle of cheddar would not go amiss. Yes, I’d have an occasional one again – but I rate it just shy of the Youngs."

Anyhow, the website is here.