Beer- #259 - Shepherd Neame - Brilliant Ale

So what better way to celebrate a #NZSecretSanta gift of a beer glass than have a beer ?

Brilliant Ale - Brewed by Shepherd Neame in the Style of a  Golden Ale/Blond Ale and they do that in good old Faversham, England.

a 5.6% ABV beer in a 500ml bottle, which in NZ is 2.1 standard drink units, also importantly 168 calories. No idea why the calorie count would be important but it is. It's a new thing.

There is a legend at Shepherd Neame that Brilliant Ale was inspired by the vision of the bright early morning sun sending its golden shafts of light through the brewhouse window and onto the oak mash tun, inspiring the brewing team to brew a beer that echoed these hues. Historically this recipe was formulated with 100% pale malt and was bittered by the brewery’s signature East Kent Goldings hops, resulting in a golden, brilliantly bright, hoppy ale which has risen Phoenix-like from the ashes of time for the modern drinker to enjoy. Says head brewer Richard Frost, “According to brewery records, Brilliant Ale was first brewed sometime between 1825 and 1855, making it our oldest Classic Collection beer to date. Although we’ve rejuvenated it by using the modern hop variety Cascade, we’re staying true to the spirit of this great pale ale, which was hugely popular in its day.

Aroma on opening is just plain old English beer aroma. Pours golden pale yellow, with a smallish head.

It's surprisingly bitter though, and that was a surprise. Of the aroma there is only the musty pub smell that is familiar to most English beers.  I wonder if it's the cascade hops they're using.

Sits well in my new drinking glass too :-)

Is it brilliant though? I'm not sure that I can longer tell the difference between British beers of a type, it's amazing how you can get involved with more flavours and varieties and lose touch somewhat. It's not a bad thing however as this as a staple wouldn't be ultimately as rewarding as you'd think.

The pdubyah-0-meter likes the glass a lot more than the beer :-), with the beer being just about a 6 which is just above average on the arbitrary scale of things .

Comparison though , and this is where you could get offside, is a question. This or 2 Heineke\Grolsch\Stella  beers. I think I'd have this to be honest. Mostly because honest is what this is. It looks great, sits well, doesn't have a chemical sting in it, is refreshing and is readily and easily drinkable. If I was sitting in ye olde englishe pub I'd probably have one or two of these as a lead in to something more hearty, like a decent porter.

Alas not a beer for the ages and the sun in the eyes in the morning can play tricks on you.

CASCADE

Origin: Oregon, USA | Alpha Acid: 4.5 – 7.0%

Flavor Profile: Who doesn’t love a good grapefruit aroma and taste in their IPA? As one of the “three C hops,” the cascade hop is notorious for providing this character to both the flavor and aroma of a beer. Floral and spice accents are also seen with this variety which sees most of its usage in Pale Ales, India Pale Ales, and an occasional Lager.

Beer Styles: Pale Ales; India Pale Ales; Black IPAs; Lagers

Related articles

• #Friday night begins with a lovely bottle of Late Red from the Shepherd Neame Brewery. #beer #ale #realale #bottle #drink #shepherdneame (mosstraveltv.wordpress.com)


• Beer - #252- Faversham - Whitstable Bay Organic Ale (pdubyah.com)

Beer - #252- Faversham - Whitstable Bay Organic Ale

Ok, So I was at the English Corner Shoppe and was enticed by this, well not really, I was drawn buy the pretty average but huge selling Iron Maiden beer. But this then the bottle of a Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay Organic Ale.

Stewart in a straight line this is pretty close amirght?

Brewed by Shepherd Neame or the more romantic Faversham Steam Brewery Company as a Bitter in a place I used to know, Faversham, England

A Pint, 500ml, (near as close) of a 4.5% ABV beer , in NZ thats 1.78 drinks , the Uk 2.3! A 135 Calorie intake,

Ingredients: Organic English barley malt; New Zealand Gem and Hallertau hops. 
"Pure water from our own artesian well combined with over 300 years of brewing expertise create a clean, refreshing ale with a full-bodied flavour."Whitstable Bay Organic Ale is a light coloured ale that is brewed using only organic ingredients, and the brewery’s own chalk-filtered mineral water. It combines delicate hints of fresh hops with the softer, buttery richness of pale and crystal malts to produce a delightful ale.

Stand by then for : A well-defined golden ale that blends citrusy hops with nutty malt flavours to create a fresh drink with additional notes of ripe fruit giving a unique finish

This has that low bitter aroma of English beers, but pure that nice golden brown colour and almost with a head of foam, which is persistent if nothing else.

And as you can tell not a Pint, which would be 560ml, but close enough is close.

This is so so different to other beers that I've been drinking, there is so much more immediate noise in the profile. the Aroma is muted and flat to a note of just malt, the bitter is a ding on a piano scale not a crash.

It's a bit odd to drink a beer like this after so many really nice beers and not frown a bit about how point note this is and how there is no profile or journey. No Citrus, no malts, unless I don't understand those concepts this is devoid. Or perhaps those words do not mean what I think the mean.

his is a crash of bitter tang, with not a lot of carry and a sharp finish. It's a quintessential English Bitter. All immediate and delivered. You don't enjoy this beer you drink it.

Enlightened to realise that this has NZ Hallertau and Gem hops in it, doesn't make a difference. The Hallertau brewery uses these hops more effectively, well they don't but then they don't travel them half a world away to make nothing of them. Not all the Hallertau beers, hush me, the Stuntman is a to-die-for.

Calming myself, because now I'm just imagining me in a snug with this, playing dominos or some other game of skill, unrewarded.

Recapping and to get back on track then, this is a bitter beer in the English sense of bitter, bitter not through the actions of the hops as a piece of the profile but as a result of something. It's just a beer of plainness and averageness. Organic or not what' s the justification of the NZ Hallertau or Gem things? Doesn't Kent have a hop thing going on a bit closer?

The pdubyah-o-meter shuns the brit-beer thing with a 5 - average all the way mark for this. If this is your thing, you're upbringing then you might get it, if you're learned at all and drink more than "pint of heavy" or a regular domestic, then this can't be surprising or entertaining for you.

Again for me, not the thing that is going to make me want to dash back home and indulge myself to a liver transplant.  I'm being harsh because this does stack up against many local NZ beers and would not be called out.  But if you're going to call yourself out as "Organic", then make something else of it not just a thing that appeals to the unshed hippy.

I think.

Related articles

• Tasting - Kent Goldings Bitter (halffullpint.wordpress.com)


• The Swan Teynham Beer Festival Fri 29th Nov - Sun 1st Dec (akentishhophead.wordpress.com)


• Whitstable Castle.... (mapsworldwideblog.com)

 

Not being able to count and the beer list get closer to 100

The Beer List is upto 94! so far, so the next one is 95. I'd like to get to 100 on a special thing. I know this because when I was compiling a top 10 list I noticed that there were two of  65 and 66.

Must have been a good night.

So here is a provisional top 20(ish), 3 English beers and a Cider in the top 4, didn't expect that.

RANKING	Drank in order	MAKER	Pdubyah-O-Meter	Drank in	Link here
1	#12	Theakston -Old Peculier	10	Mar-12	Link
1	#17	Rekorderlig -Cider	10	Apr-12	Link
1	#20	Shepherd Neame  -1698	10	Apr-12	Link
1	#27	Thornbridge -Jaipur	10	Jun-12	Link
5	#18	Marston - Pedigree	9.5	Apr-12	Link
6	#2	Fullers – London Pride	9	Dec-12	Link
7	#5	8 Wired  - Saison Suavin	9	Jan-12	Link
8	#7	Brasserie De Saint-Sylvestre – 3 Monts	9	Jan-12	Link
9	#9	Badger - Blandford Flyer	9	Jan-12	Link
10	#10	Shepherd Neame- Bishops Finger	9	Feb-12	Link
11	#11	Renaissance - Paradox Blonde	9	Feb-12	Link
12	#14	Thwaites – Lancaster Bomber	9	Mar-12	Link
13	#15	McCashin - Stoke Bomber- Bohemian Ale	9	Apr-12	Link
14	#34	Epic  - Epicurean Coffee & Fig   Oatmeal Stout	9	Jul-12	Link
15	#38	Epic – Hop Zombie	9	Jul-12	Link
16	#42	8 Wired – iStout	9	Aug-12	Link
17	#45	Chimay - Grande Réserve (Blue)	9	Aug-12	Link
18	#52	Apache -  American Amber Ale	9	Sep-12	Link
19	#59	Eagle vs Dog - Episode 2 Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster	9	Sep-12	Link
20	#65	Chatoe Rogue - OREgasmic Ale	9	Sep-12	Link
21	#75	Three Boys  -Porter	9	Oct-12	Link
22	#24	Nøgne Ø - Two Captains Double IPA	8.5	May-12	Link
22	#37	Baird Beer – Baird Wabi Sabi IPA	8.5	Jul-12	Link
22	#47	Moa  - Methode	8.5	Aug-12	Link
22	#72	De Molen – Heen and Weer (Back and Forth)	8.5	Oct-12	Link
22	#81	Yeastie Boys – Gunnamatta IPA	8.5	Oct-12	Link
22	#82	8 Wired – The Big Smoke	8.5	Oct-12	Link
22	#84	Yeastie Boys – Red Rackham	8.5	Oct-12	Link
29	#4	Magners – A Cider!	8	Jan-12	Link
29	#8	Aspall – Oh no its a Cyder!	8	Jan-12	Link
29	#25	Sawmill Brewing company – “The Doctor” is in the house	8	May-12	Link
29	#31	Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer	8	Jun-12	Link
29	#33	Stoke Bomber – Smoky Ale	8	Jul-12	Link
29	#35	Adnams Broadside	8	Jul-12	Link
29	#43	Old Mout – Pear Scrumpy – it’s not a beer!	8	Aug-12	Link
29	#48	Epic – Message in a Bottle	8	Aug-12	Link
29	#49	Renaissance – Craftsman Chocolate Stout	8	Aug-12	Link
29	#51	Hoegaarden Wit	8	Aug-12	Link
29	#54	Golden Ticket Brewing – Black Emperor	8	Sep-12	Link
40	#1	Fullers - Honey Dew ‘Organic’ beer.	7	Dec-12	Link
40	#3	Skinners- The Cornish Wheat Beer	7	Jan-12	Link
40	#6	Badgers – Fursty Ferret	7	Jan-12	Link
40	#19	Belhaven - Twisted Thistle	7	Apr-12	Link
40	#21	Wigram - Kortegast Red Sparkling Ale	7	May-12	Link
40	#29	St. Peter’s Cream Stout	7	Jun-12	Link
40	#30	Duvel - Duvel	7	Jun-12	Link
40	#36	Wanaka Beerworks – Sir Walter	7	Jul-12	Link
40	#40	Townshend  - Sutton Hoo	7	Jul-12	Link
40	#57	Golden Bear Brewing Company – Pirate Peach Saison	7	Sep-12	Link
40	#58	Pauwel – Kwak	7	Sep-12	Link
40	#60	Dead Good Beer – IPA	7	Sep-12	Link
40	#64	Invercargill  -Sa!son	7	Sep-12	Link
40	#65	Green Flash Brewery – Le Freak	7	Oct-12	Link
40	#66	Rogue – Mocha Porter	7	Oct-12	Link
40	#68	Golden Eagle - South Island Pale Ale (S.I.P.A)	7	Oct-12	Link
40	#70	Yeastie Boys – Motueka Raven	7	Oct-12	Link
40	#77	KJD Brewing – Chocolate Cherry Porter	7	Oct-12	Link
40	#80	Rogue – Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red Ale	7	Oct-12	Link
40	#83	Hallertau – Barley Wine	7	Oct-12	Link
40	#85	Yeastie Boys – Pot Kettle Black	7	Oct-12	Link
40	#87	Baird Beer – Kurofune Porter	7	Nov-12	Link
62	#89	Croucher- Pale Ale	6.85	Nov-12	Link
63	#90	Croucher- Pilsner	6.5	Nov-12	Link
64	#13	Wells – Banana Bread Beer	6	Mar-12	Link
64	#16	Emerson’s -  Weissbier.	6	Apr-12	Link
64	#23	Steampunk - Strong Ale	6	May-12	Link
64	#41	Raindogs Brewing Company – Apothecary Amber Ale	6	Aug-12	Link
64	#44	Black Sheep Ale	6	Aug-12	Link
64	#55	Ass Kisser – Vanilla Pale Ale	6	Sep-12	Link
64	#62	Epic – Double Stout	6	Sep-12	Link
64	#63	Invercargill Pitch Black Boysenberry Stout	6	Sep-12	Link
64	#69	Shepherd Neame – Spitfire	6	Oct-12	Link
64	#73	De Molen – Bed and Breakfast	6	Oct-12	Link
64	#74	Harringtons Brewer’s Selection Hop Tremor IP	6	Oct-12	Link
64	#76	Mussel Inn – Captain Cooker Manuka Beer	6	Oct-12	Link
64	#78	Three Boys – Oyster Stout	6	Oct-12	Link
64	#80	Yeastie Boys + Liberty Brewing – Yakima Raven	6	Oct-12	Link
78	#50	Kaimai Golden Rye Ale	5	Aug-12	Link
78	#71	Moa - Imperial Stout	5	Oct-12	Link
78	#79	Mussel Inn – Dark Horse	5	Oct-12	Link
81	#22	Hawkes Bay  - Amber Ale	4	May-12	Link
81	#28	Brasserie Du Mont Blanc -  La   Blanche	4	Jun-12	Link
81	#32	Harrington’s Belgium Tempest	4	Jun-12	Link
81	#39	Brasserie De Saint-Sylvestre  -   Gavroche	4	Jul-12	Link
81	#53	Golden Ticket Brewing – Champion Malky	4	Sep-12	Link
81	#61	Dead Good Beer – Golden Ale	4	Sep-12	Link
81	#86	Valley Brewing Co – Muster	4	Nov-12	Link
81	#91	Coronado – Orange Avenue Wit	4	Nov-12	Link
89	#56	Sawmill Brewing Company – Crystal Wheat Beer	3	Sep-12	Link
89	#67	Monteiths -  Unfiltered Apricot   Wheat	3	Oct-12	Link
89	#88	Wigram Brewing Co. – Ginger Jerry	3	Nov-12	Link
92	#46	Warsteiner -  5ltr Keg	1	Aug-12	Link
93	#26	The weekend assortment.	0	Jun-12	Link
94	#66	Lion Red - Lion Red	0	Sep-12	Link

Beer - #69 - Shepherd Neame - Spitfire

Shepherd Neame Spitfire, this has been in the beer fridge for an indecent amount of time, mostly because of the amazing amount of  beer that's not available in the  stores. Of course its brewed by Shepherd Neame it's Styled as a a Bitter, and it's a visitor from Faversham, England

Originally produced in 1990 as a bottle conditioned 4.7% premium bitter as part of the 50th anniversary of the Battle Of Britain. Pint of 4.5% ABV beer, with a dinky cap that reminds you of a roundel that you see on Spitfires et al from the war movies.

Your starter for 10 on this that you'd expect it be of a quality and therefore deliver something a bit special.

hes said.

I brought this in my English beer moment, and I've had a few beers since then, it's nice to go back to the old country and your roots, because that's always a good baseline.

Pours like a pint, couple fingers of good white foamy head, yusss! The aroma is instantly a throwback to pubs from my past, the sweet malt smell, ah public bar  '79........

wow, as a change of pace this is a full flavoured beer, it's englishness is apparent. Sweet malts, toffee, caramel, and an understated hop. It's a nice english beer coloured beer, when you go back to one from the previous trip around the world it becomes clear that the English have their own thing going on.

This isn't drop dead shut up! beer, it's just beer. It's English beer, it is beer that you get in he pub, and sit in the snug or in the garden and drink, a few times. There's not moment of 'wow' or do they sell it in bigger than a pint sized serving, it's just a beer. A Fine English beer. Alright!

Because I've got a bit more "picky" at beer, this however does end up as "thin", let's be fair though, this is from a billlion gallon container and a mass market, which it does in aces.

The pudubyah-o-meter has to have a duel purpose. 6-10 arbitrary things as is, the rating of all things arbitrary. but picking a beer for someone, and you want to have a bit of old blighty this would be 8-10, and not much by way of disappointment, middle of the road, unprepossessing and a bit mild mannered, a great supermarket beer where nothing is offensive or challenging.

There  are so many better beers than this, but you know what? Like a blankie this is something that you know at some point you want to have a hand on, you could easily get drunk on this, play some darts and tell some stories, and then go and do it all again the next day.

which reminds me I have another in the fridge... stand by....

Related articles

• Beers of Europe: England (familynomadic.wordpress.com)


• Shepherd Neame profits soars thanks to Asahi and Spitfire sales (standard.co.uk)

Beer – #12 in a series – Old Peculier

From those fabulous people at Theakston- the Legend that is Old Peculier

The power of Old Peculier should never be under-estimated! A dark, strong beer Old Peculier is justifiably famous for its rich and complete character, its sheer strength – and for being a beer with a long history.

A pint sized of dark beer 5.6% beer that made me go cor!

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240"] Theakstons Brewery (Photo credit: Effervescing Elephant)[/caption]

Googlevating it tells me: T&R Theakston is a British regional brewery located in the town of Masham, North Yorkshire, England. They are the sixteenth largest brewer in the UK by market share, and the second largest brewer under family ownership after Shepherd Neame.

 

On the Pdubyah arbitrary star-o-meter this one is easily 5 from 5, but then I'd decided that before I opened it and welcomed an old and lost friend back into my life. You little beauty!

Beer – #10 in a series – Introducing the Bishops Finger

I look like a bit like someone who's escaped from somewhere, can't help that. Tonight it's the Bishops Finger, a dark Kentish Strong Ale.

The local New World supermarket seems to have cottoned on to the "luxury" end of the imported beer, and have such a wide range and choice that it's hard to maintain a sense of normal and only spend enough for the night in.

Tonight, then, the Bishops finger, a  5.4% Ale in a handy pint sized bottle. It's $8.00 a bottle, which is sort of about right price, I guess.

The label describes Toffee and Berries, I just smelt a rich bitter beer smell that so reminds me of English pub ale. It pours well and it drinks just great. You can tell that I'm wearing a real shirt with buttons, it's a work night, and it may not end well.

On the arbitrary stars-0-meter this would an easy 9 arbitrary stars out of 10 arbitrary stars. It's good.

Related articles

• Beer - #9 in a series - Badger Blandford Flyer (pdubyah.com)


• For Bitter Beer Lovers (yuzuhoney.wordpress.com)