Hooky Dark

Even though it is silly season, I have been keeping a level headed approach. Sadly that means I have not been drinking as much as I should be as I hate seasonal drinkers in pubs. They are the worst kind, clutching their pints of Peroni thinking they know what good beer is and overlooking the brilliance on offer on the handpumps.

My mate Chris (with the big head) used to be one of these types, but I have slowly brought him round and now he is borderline open minded. Anyhow, Chris is planning a pub crawl tomorrow from Hampstead to Highgate and wanted to borrow my CAMRA London pub walks book. He had a narrow window of time in which he could pick up the book on Wednesday evening so I arranged to meet him at the Melton Mowbray on High Holborn with the view of getting a pint of Fuller's London Porter in. Sadly when I arrived he had already ordered me a pint of Discovery, despite the fact that it could have snowed at any minute! To be fair they didn't have the Porter on and had Fuller's other seasonal beer Jack Frost which I don't really care for, but I am willing to be open minded!

Anyhow we ended up going round the corner to The Castle for a second pint and after negotiating my way past Peroni drinkers, I finally managed to 'secure' two pints of Hooky Dark (3.2% abv) which is the Hook Norton Brewery's Mild offering. This beer was lovely and certainly carries a lot more flavour than it's abv suggests. The conditioning was reaching the end of it's stretch though and some oxidized flavours were starting to come through. I don't understand how The Castle can keep 7 handpumps on all the time when they have a predominately lager drinking crowd?

Anyhow, my year at work here is about to wrap up and a few of us are heading down The Gunmakers for a beer. This will be my last post till the new year as I am off on a beer adventure of sorts (ok, I am following my in-laws around Europe, but there will be beer). First stop is Munich for a short one nighter on Monday followed by 3 nights and xmas in Salzburg, 3 nights in Vienna, 3 nights and New years in Prague, then a short hop to Amsterdam for 2 nights, Brugge 2 nights and finally Paris 2 nights and back at work on Jan 8. I should have lots to blog about on my return, but hopefully in a revamped format for episodes post NYE.

For now, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Tim

Thwaites Nutty Black

Work has been insanely busy this week. The end of our corporate financial year, combined with a multinational, multi-corporation, multi-million dollar project that I am working on escalating into its final stages has left me rather stretched and tired. Thank god I have tomorrow off work! Combine this with my brother and law visiting from Australia with his girlfriend, and the in-laws flying in for Christmas and you have one flustered Timmy! To escape the carnage that is unfolding around my desk and in particular, my inbox - I decided to sneak out for half an hour and head to the oasis that is the Gunmakers.

Being silly season, it was actually quite busy at 3pm on a Thursday, with a crowd of city type's enjoying their Xmas lunch and giving the staff a hard time. I wandered in with my Andy McNabb novel under my arm anticipating a nice read. I ended up not reading my book at all, but having a pleasant chat with one of my colleagues who frequents the pub, and a couple of other regulars over a pint of Thwaites Nutty Black (3.3% abv). For those who are unprivileged in the way of Thwaites, Nutty Black is a new product - OK, well it's not new, but it is Thwaites Dark Mild rebranded. It's a nice beer, but like any beer - it is made better by the circumstance and surroundings in which it's consumed.

Anyhow, it is safe to say I am back in the office now and stealing a few precious minutes to tell you about it. Website

Old Mill Mild

The Old Mill brewery is a small independent brewery located in Sniath Yorkshire. The brewery is named after it's location, situated inside an old corn and flour mill. As you probably guessed, they also make a mild which was on offer at the Ealing Beer Festival!
Old Mill Mild (3.4% abv) is smooth and nutty flavoured mild with a slightly chocolate finish. Deep red in colour the beer would make an awesome session beer as it is packed with flavour and is still relatively light in alcohol. You can find out more at the breweries website: http://www.oldmillbrewery.co.uk

Naylor's Pinnacle Mild

Mild is the 'Endangered Species' of the beer world. Back in the 1950's, approximately 50% of all beer brewed in the UK was Mild, in just over two decades that slipped down to 10% and the popularity of the beer style declined further until there was just a few breweries in the Midlands area producing Mild. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the style, it is a low alochol (~3.5% abv), dark (often dark brown or black) ale with a slightly sweet taste and a roasty finish.
Naylor's Pinnacle Mild (3.4% abv) is a typical and strictly to style Mild which is surprisingly easy to drink. I was lucky enough to come across a few Milds recently at the Ealing Beer festival which was a god send in Mild startved London!
Naylor's is a small independent brewery located in Crosshills. Their Mild can be described as dark brown and malty!

St Peters Mild

Last night saw me take a quick treck around the Farringdon and Clerkenwell area after work. Knowing that Stonch and his posse will be at the London Drinker Beer Festival up at King's cross, I decided to hit up his local: The Jeruselum Tavern.

Some of you guys may recall that I have been here previously and enjoyed the lovely cream stout. Last night this was unavailable so I opted for their lovely Mild Ale. The Mild ale was fresh, with moderate bitterness and a nice malty taste. I was surprised at just how malty this beer was for such a low gravity. What was most remarkable about the beer though was the environment in which it was enjoyed. The Jerusleum Tavern is a small quirky kind of boozer that is generally always standing room only, and then not much of that! The crowd is generally office types from the surrounding area, but you dont generally get the full on cashed up toff/city boy crowd due to the mid town location. The beers here come directly from the small firkins behind the bar or from bottles. i did notice some euro lagers on tap but with the ale selection being so good, Who really cares?? One more point to notw was the bar staff were efficient and friendly even when the bar was packed. An added bonus was that the bar man admitted he sometimes stops by and reads my blog. Nice one, and cheers mate. TCB

Black Dog

Last Saturday I did a bit of a Tesco run and picked up a bottle of Elgood’s Black Dog Mild (3.6% abv) and I was quite glad I did. This mild is dark, thick, roasty and quite robust but doesn’t hold back on flavour which a lot of mild’s tend to do. The texture is rich and creamy with a head which persisted and left lacing down the glass, the balance is just about there too with the exception of a slight bitter kick in the aftertaste which adds depth and complexity to the beer. Overall I think I will pick up a couple of these in the future, as at 3.6% it’s a great session beer that won’t get you too smashed. This is one beer to definitely check out. Two thumbs up!