Saturday 27 April 2013

Summer fruits in my ale

Rumour has it that there is a little sun around.  Sounds to me like the perfect excuse to talk about a Strawberry Ale.

Strawberry Ale - 5.1%
So what happens here is they take some organic ale and add strawberry juice and more organic ale.

Ignoring my classic bugbear of organic as a marketing label* let have a sniff of this.

Well there is no hiding it, definitely strawberries.  It actually comes across as faintly like the Nesquik powder for milkshake.  The colour didn't quite come through in the photo but it's definitely on the pinker end of the spectrum than a normal amber ale.

This is a gassy, gassy beer that's left me burping repeatedly all evening since.  It is sweet but also acidic coupled with the veritable sea of bubbles.  With the sweet of the fruit over the bitter of the ale it's quite a strange experience.

I do like it but the complexity forced me to slow down to be able to enjoy it.  Nice to drink cool in the sun, should it decide to put in an appearance.

*Seriously people.  Try drinking a beer or eating a vegetable that didn't relate to a living entity.  If you can find one, let me know.

Saturday 20 April 2013

Back from the dead

Celtica - 4.5%
Welcome back everyone.  Been quite a while hasn't it?  Well lets see how it goes from now.

It's finally warmed up enough for me to think that spring has actually arrived.  This means I have to go outside and do work in the garden.  So after an afternoon constructing a hose system and killing weeds growing through my patio I needed a cool beer.

I have a few in the fridge but I wanted to test out my new zero energy chiller, or as I call it the cupboard under the stairs.

Enter Celtica a blonde ale from Great Orme Brewery.

Considering it's not listed in the ingredients I'm amazed at the honey taste and scent coming off this beer.

It's smooth, easy to drink and no nasty change to the flavour after each mouthful.

Now can I get myself over to Wales for a few more beers?