Jennings Sneck Lifter 2

When I first covered Sneck Lifter (5.1% abv) way back in April, I found the beer to be slightly unremarkable in bottled form. I could not relate my own tasting experience with others that I had found online (ok, this is true to a point, but I was probably not as serious in my posting back then as nobody read my blog!). Anyhow, whilst I was in ticker mode down at The Victoria last Wednesday night I managed to quaff a pint fresh from the cask. What can I say, it's like a totally different beer...... The first thing I would like to point out is that I have been quite harsh on Jenning's beers that I have had previously - and I have carried this through to commenting on others blogs as well. I think this stems from the fact that the brand is owned by Marston's and I think that the bottled beers are brewed under licence rather than up in Cumbria.

The cask version however is full of flavour. I am going to be bold here and suggest that the real deal (i.e. casks) are brewed in Cumbria and not in Burton-on-Trent. The beer is complex and has a strong smokey coffee flavour which works really well.

Anyhow, once again if you would like to find out more, just check out the website.

For what its worth, I went on and continued to drink Trade Winds till we got kicked out at closing time.

Jenning's Golden Host

I picked up a bottle of Jenning's Golden Host (4.3% abv) whilst on my weekly pilgrimage to Tesco. Having enjoyed most of Jenning's beers earlier in the year, I was keen to discover what the fuss with this beer is all about. The beer itself is a golden coloured bitter, which is about all that is remarkable about it... Its clean, its a bitter and its hopped with Goldings. besides this its rather pale.

What is worth noting is that thi sbeer is in fact drinkable, which is more than I can say for any other beer which falls under the Marston's family of companies! On a trivial note, the beer is named after a line in I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth. It just so happens that old Willie Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, where the original Jenning's brewery resides. Now, one can't stop and think how the great man would be dissapointed with this beer!

Geez, you would think that there was more to Cumbria than William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter but apparently there is not! Linky

Jennings Cocker Hoop

The last of my Cumberland selection pack, Jennings Cocker Hoop (4.6% abv) is apparently an award winning golden bitter, but in reality tasted very similar to the other offerings from the Jennings brewery. To be fair the beer does have some citrus hints on the finish, but overall was a little bland. The name is interesting though! The name is derived from ‘Cock-a Hoop’, an old custom of removing the cock (or spigot) from a barrel and resting it on the hoop of the cask before commencing a drinking bout, but was changed to reflect the brewery’s location on the banks of the River Cocker. I won't seek this one out again, and chances are I won't come across it draught in London anyway! Website: Here and here

Jennings Sneck Lifter Strong Ale

The second beer from my Cumberland Ales pack, Sneck Lifter Strong Ale (5.1% abv) is a deep red ale with roasted barley notes and a nice crisp bitter finish, a definite winter warmer. My colleagues from the north tell me that in local northern dialect a sneck is a door latch, and a sneck lifter is a bloke who used to steal money from under the door latch to buy beer? I don't know, sounds all a bit odd. There is a little bit about this sort of thing on the website as well. I wont be a toff and go into all the ticker speak, but I did find this beauty on rate beer!

Appearance: dark mahogany color. Medium, beige, lasting and dense head. Aroma: intensive fresh toasty unmalted-wheat smell and of others toast grains. This aroma remembers me the fresh “toast flour”. Caramel, cacao, sugar and light smoke aromatic reminiscences. Flavor: lightly sweet start with nice toast-wheat taste and the reminiscences of “toast flour”. Fresh roast-coffee, cacao, caramel, wood, candy figs and plums, toast-breed and light smoke notes. Light dry and lasting final, mainly from the toast. Palate: medium body and light carbonation. Remark: nice toast-unmalted-wheat and light smoke taste. Advisable beer with own-character

I bet this guy is a tosser! I for one could not taste wood, candy, figs or plums in this beer. I suspect that the poor bloke who reviewed this beer with such detail may not be familiar with the intricacies of DMS which is common in some immature ales and has some of these flavours? Anyway, i say talk less and drink more!

Jenning's Cumberland Traditional Ale

Cumberland Traditional Ale (4.2% Abv) is tasty golden coloured bitter from Cumberland in the north of England and is a product of the Jenning's brewery. The guys at jenning's have conveniently put together a Cumberland ale pack with a few of their beers which is available at Waitrose (which is posher than Tesco's I might add!). The beer has a solid and full malt profile and is quite hoppy as well. This one is definetely worthy of checking out! Website