A Local Beauty

 The Whitewater brewery is a small micro-brewery situated deep in the Mourne Mountains, Co. Down, Northern Ireland. It employs less than 5 people and is relatively anonymous outside of the Emerald Isle, but bloody hell, it produces some good beer!
   Their flagship brand, Clotworthy Dobbin, is a 5.0% rich porter, brewed to an original recipe concocted by Mr. Dobbin himself in the 1800's. The brewery still use yeast from the old Belfast brewery in order to achieve the most accurate reproduction of the original beer.
   This beer is a dark ruby in colour, with a smoky appearance and a thick, brownish head. It holds fantastic smoked oak and burnt sugar aromas, giving it a lot of body and depth. A significant amount of fruit is apparent both on the nose and on taste, giving it that little sweet edge, and adding an extra dimension to the beer. The finish is short and dry with some bitterness.
   Altogether, this beer makes for a great drink, whether as a session beer or with food. It left me dying for another, but instead, I decided to go for another of the Whitewater brands, this time, it was the lesser known Belfast Ale.
   This is a 4.5% amber ale, again brewed to an old recipe, originating in the old Belfast brewery.
  On first taste, the typical 'ale' tastes were immediately apparent. The beer had distinct sharpness with some hop and malt. As I took a few more sips, more fruity tones along with some sweet caramel aromas came along, eventually culminating in an obvious oaky taste and a long, bitter finish.
   Now, although not nearly as good as the old Clot, this beer is still something special. Another fantastic brew from a group of local heros, re-inventing the craft beer scene in Northern Ireland.
    Both these beers are truly wonderful and no matter where you are over the next few days, I encourage you to do your best to get your hands on either one of them, and enjoy an alternative Irish beer this St. Patricks Day.

Švyturys

When we think about beer, Lithuania is not a country that immediately springs to mind. Germany, Belgium and even the likes of Poland are all big beer capitals, but Lithuania?

   Well, think again. Švyturys Ekstra is a great beer, brewed in Klaipėda, Lithuania, and is fast becoming a big name on both the local and international stage. The brand is owned by the Carlsberg group, and is part of the Baltic Beverages Holding company.

  The beer itself is a 5.2% lager. It pours a typical golden colour and has a thick, lasting head. On first taste, some mild ale-like tones are apparent, as it has a reasonably strong aroma with some maltiness and some floral scents on the nose. There are some mild toffee notes with a hoppy undertone, giving a little kick. The finish is bitter but quite quick.

  Altogether I thought this beer was quite enjoyable, and went well with a delicious plate of beef stroganoff. I know that the brewery produce a number of great beers and I will be keeping my eyes peeled for any beers under the Švyturys brand.

March 2011

March's 'Beer of the month' is...'Pilsner Urquell'! Why? Because people that like lager should see where it all started. The original Pilsner. Try it this month!
      

Bitte, Ein Bit

 Germany. Some would call it the home of beer, but it is most certainly the home of one of the world's most famous continental lagers, BitBurger.
    'Bit' is instantly recognisable. It tastes like real lager should taste, pure. The Brewery opened in 1817, so was brewed under the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot (still a precondition of German Unity from 1871 right up to 1988, when it was lifted after over 500 years). This meant, and to some extent, still does mean, that the beer was just pure beer, no additives, no extras.
      This is apparent upon first sight. The beer is a wonderful golden colour with very little cloudiness and virtually no visible impurities. On taste it holds a delicious maltyness with fresh bread and biscuit aromas, along with some mild fruity tones. This all makes for a very quaffable pint, and in fact, this is one of the most drinkable beers I have ever tasted (excluding the macro- brewed American 'lagers' which thrive upon tasteless drinkability), yet I did want to drink it slowly. There were so many flavours on the nose and pallate that I just had to take it one sip at a time. I will concede, the beer is brewed for drinking and not over-analysing, but there is so much there that I just had to really examine the bouquet of flavours that it held.
    A truly underestimated force in the beer world, nochmal Bit, bitte.

Marston's

  The Marstons brand is a familiar sight in any pub across the UK. Their 'Pedigree' ale is one of the top selling ales in Britain and their many other brands are becoming increasingly popular, and there is a reason for that. Character.
  Now, I probably use the term 'character' far too often with regards to beer, but there is no other way to describe the beer coming out of the Burton-on-Trent brewery. Marston's plc. does own many beer brands, such as Wychwood, Brakespear and Jennings', but Marstons branded beer has something special.
       Their flagship brand, Pedigree, is made in a unique way, using the oak Burton Union System (allowing it to ferment in wooden casks, rather than steel or alloy ones). The result is a pale, amber coloured ale with sweet, toffee-like aromas along with some grassy notes. In the mouth it holds a crisp, dry flavour, with some sweetness and biscuity malt. The beer is brewed using the ever-popular hop varieties, Fuggles and Goldings, giving an earthy flavour and plenty of aroma. This is a very drinkable beer, and has an abv of 5%.
     A slightly less common beer under the Marstons brand is their strong ale, Owd Roger. A 7.3% dark ale, with quite a lot of flavour.
          The toffee and oak notes are immediately apparent and some aromas of burnt sugar and liquorice do appear once you have started to drink. The flavour is sweet but with a bitter finish. It is very smooth on the pallate and is suprisingly quaffable for such a full-bodied ale.
    Both these beers are full of body and character, and are a welcome addition to any meal  or just an evening in the pub. I know that Marston's have many more brands out there, and I look forward to trying them all!

Re-united with an old friend

 This month I re-discovered an old favourite of mine. Peroni's extra special 'Gran Riserva'. This Italian beauty is one of the nicest, most flavourful continental lagers on the market. A 6.6% abv doppio malto, this is not a weak beer. The hoppy flavours are immediately apparent, creating a refreshingly bitter bite, whilst retaining the depth of flavour that Peroni is famous for. It was dark gold in colour with a small white head. My only criticism of the beer was the slightly watery taste that it left at the back of the mouth, but one could argue that this made the beer somewhat more drinkable and refreshing.  The beer went perfectly with the small portion of Bruschetta that I was enjoying, but would work equally well with any Italian cuisine. It was one of the few beers which genuinely left me feeling happy afterwards. It combined character, depth and drinkability, working together to create one of the most well rounded beers of its type in the world.

  On a side note, the beer is quite hard to get in the UK, and, as far as I know, is not stocked by any of the major supermarkets. I had my most recent bottle in a ‘Pizza Express’ restaurant, where I know it is often available at a reasonable price. If anybody reading this knows where the beer is available, please do leave a comment.

The Commercial Crisis

 The beer world is in a state of crisis. It's public image is being weakened constantly by a vast deluge of sub-standard 'commercial' lagers. Beers such as 'Coors Light' and 'Miller' are controlling the worldwide beer market, giving the general public the idea that all beer is just urine-coloured (and some would say urine flavoured) water. Coors is a particular pet hate for me. It lacks any sort of flavour, texture or character, and is, quite frankly, disgusting. The sad thing is, this is what people are drinking. these beers would not be as common as they are if nobody actually drank it. Even some of my favourite breweries are succumbing to this phenomenon. Italy's 'Peroni' now distributes 'Nastro Azzuro' right across Europe and further afield. This beer is a far cry from the original 'Peroni'. It is, although infintely better than any of the commercial American beers, unbearably watery. This is truly worrying. I love beer, not alcoholic water.
    So where is the future for beer? Ales and German Wheat beers are still popular across Europe, but how long until the ominous giant that is popular western culture consumes them, producing more brands of characterless muck?
    My advice to you...Don't conform to this damaging and degrading culture. Stand up for the craft brewers, and the micro-breweries, and the ales, the stouts, the wheat beers, the truly original creations! It's time to start a beer revolution!