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Young’s Special

neil — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:39:06 +0000

Enjoyed as a guest beer at The Melville Inn, part of a chain of pubs known as Village Inns, whose decor is one of faux-Olde Inn style. However, they do have a three hand pumps and the beer is usually served in decent condition – and while Deuchars and Caley 80/- is an almost ever-present fixture on two of the pumps, the other is available for guest beers.

A fairly generic bitter if the truth be told – the website states typical ingredients of Maris Otter and crystal malt with Fuggle and Goldings hops – but a decent session beer to be enjoyed with food or friends; or ideally both!

Over the Bar

neil — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:06:32 +0000

The second in Caledonian’s monthly specials in 2009, this brew is named for the Six Nations rugby tournament. Possibly brewed with the intention to celebrate magnificent Scottish wins – Murrayfield Stadium being situated little more than a mile from the brewery – but will unfortunately more likely be used for drowning of tartan sorrows! With the various cut-backs in the working at the Caledonian brewery as a result of the recent acquisition by Scottish and Newcastle (now owned by Heineken) it’s good to see that a full programme of seasonal beers is planned this year.

Pipeline Porter

neil — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:37:14 +0000

Moving onto to the last beer of this particular visit to the Paragon Bar, and instead of the local Mac & Jacks brew I had previously I moved a little further afield – to Hawaii! Pipeline Porter was my reward, from the Kona Brewing Company. As well as the usual malt and hops, the beer has 100% Hawaiian coffee amongst it’s list of ingredients. This gives it a rich coffee flavour, as you might expect. Something Guinness has been able to do for years without resorting to the addition of it as an ingredient – or, cheating as it might otherwise be known as! In any case, it was a lovely pint to wash down the last of the sliders and prepare me for my flight back to San Jose.

African Amber

neil — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:58:52 +0000

Next on the liquid menu was this delicious amber beer from Mac & Jacks, a local brewery from Redmond – about 10 miles east of the very pub we’re sitting in! Sweet aroma, balanced taste – not too fizzy, which made a nice change! Alongside this I was introduced to sliders – think mini burgers, usually served in portions of three. It’s fairly usual in a bar or restaraunt to have a selection of different toppings on each burger, and it’s amazing how good these really are. I’ve found a new favourite American food!

Mirror Pond

neil — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:31:50 +0000

As part of my trip to the States I have a visit up to Seattle for the day. Getting up at four in the morning when you think it’s two in the afternoon when you’re trying to adjust to a new time zone is a real bitch, but then having a two hour flight up from San Jose to Seattle and arriving at nine in the morning ready for a day of customer visits is something else. Anyway, no work chat here – after the visits we headed up to a bar on Queen Anne Avenue where I was introduced to locally brewed craft ales.

First of which – Mirror Pond. Created by Deschutes Brewery in Oregon and available year round, this classic American pale ale is served like pretty much every other beer in an American bar – very cold and very fizzy. It was possible to discern sweetness over the intense hop flavours (again, very typical of an American beer) but after a day of work, and feeling somewhat tired, it was a nice refreshing pint – which ultimately is what it is all about!

Oktoberfest

neil — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:40:23 +0000

One of the perks with my job is the chance to visit some pretty amazing places around the world – with the chance to sample the local beers also! This is one such opportunity, and I find myself in California on the night of Super Bowl XLIII – tied, jetlagged and very hungry! The hotel in Los Gatos, about an hour and a bit south east of San Francisco, is just a five minute walk from a brew pub. Given from previous visits I know this pub has a fine selection of beer, food and some huge high definition TVs it seemed to be a no-brainer to turn up here for my tea.

The place was jumping, but I managed to get a seat at the bar and order a pint of Oktoberfest, brewed on the premises. A tasty craft-brewed lager, with a slightly bitter finish, was very refreshing and very welcome. I got talking to the barman (who recommended the special – a giant burger – to go with my beer) and a knowledgeable local who was able to explain the somewhat bizarre set of rules that govern the game of American Football! In the end, the Steelers triumphed over the Cardinals 27-23: I’m not immediately sure what that means, but it seemed pretty close to me!

Pure Gold

neil — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:18:01 +0000

Another post-work visit to the Caley Sample Room on a Friday evening yielded a tasty discovery in Pure Gold. This delicious golden ale is produced by the Purity Brewery from Warwickshire. It has a lovely balance of bitterness and sweetness, with a lovely dry finish. Even in the dark interior of the Caley, the clarity in the colour was clear – a lovely golded colour, just as it says on the tin. On the nose, the fresh hops that are responsbible for the dry finish are prevalent. A very tasty drop.

Tayside Amber

neil — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:13:58 +0000

As if the Homecoming Scotland Beer wasn’t enough, we found another little gem from Inveralmond in the form of the 70/- style amber beer called, aptly enough, Tayside Amber. Double score!

Homecoming Scotland

neil — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:14:55 +0000

Another Tuesday, another film night. Which means another visit to McCowan’s, and an inevitable choice from the usual fare from Inveralmond – Ossian, Independance, Thrappledouser or Lia Fail – right? But wait! What’s this?

Homecoming Scotland Beer, that’s what! Released to celebrate the ongoing Homecoming Scotland events, it was brewed to be a taste of Scotland in a glass. It has a lovely dark amber colour, a similar biscuity flavour as the Lia Fail with a nice hoppy aftertaste.

Black & Tan

neil — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:56:25 +0000

Black and Tan is traditionally a mix of half a pint of stout or porter, with half a pint of pale ale. Unlike the American equivalents, which typically require pouring the stout (usually Guinness) over the back of spoon into the half of pale ale allowing for a pretty layered drink, a UK Black & Tan is simply mixed together. After all, what’s the point in putting the half pints in the same glass yet keep them apart? Mix them up to get the benefit of the taste!

And that’s exactly what customers of the Fox and Hounds in Houston – what sounds like a lovely wee pub with the added benefit of having the Houston Brewery being placed in the cellar – did. They mixed Warlock Stout and Killellan Bitter together to create a single brewery Black & Tan so good the brewery released it pre-mixed available on draft.

We travelled to Biggar, about 30 miles southwest of Edinburgh, and visited The Crown Inn for some food and a drink. Black & Tan was on tap and soon in my glass – the Warlock Stout providing the lion’s share of colour for the drink, and the initial rich taste, but the citrus zest flavour in the finish was characteristic of the Killellan Bitter. A very interesting pint – my first B & T – and one which I would enjoy having again. Or, perhaps when I am more brave, to create my own version…?