June 8, 2020
This is the first beer I sampled from ‘Beer Hawk’s “Cheers to the NHS” box; as a confirmed Thornbridge fan I thought I’d turn to their ‘Florence’ brew first.
Thornbridge describe it as a 4.5% ABV session IPA with a “stone fruit aroma and a defined bitterness on the palate.”
The name is inspired by the fact that 2020 was designated as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, celebrating what would have been Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday. The whole Covid-19 pandemic kinda overshadowed THAT, but Nurses and medical staff are now, perhaps, getting the recognition they deserve.
Florence Nightingale is seen as the founder of modern nursing and was once a resident of Derbyshire, home of Thornbridge hall and brewery. Thornbridge, based in Bakewell in Derbyshire, is also offering a 25% discount to NHS workers during the pandemic and has announced plans for thank you parties once the pubs reopen.
The brewery says they wanted to find a way to support healthcare workers helping us all at this difficult time. Thornbridge co-founder Simon Webster said: “Those working for the NHS at this time are doing such an incredible job and we wanted to find a way to support them. What better way than to brew a beer to honour them and donate all profits to NHS Charities Together.”
So, to the beer, while I’ve enjoyed a great many brews in the last eighteen months, it’s the first time I’ve done this for a while, so please bear with me.
It pours a very pale, summery amber, with a crisp white head.
The nose is crisp and citrussy, and the flavour even more so. It’s light, crisp, citrus, almost piney, the hops are British, Magnum and Endeavour – new hops to me but very encouraging, if this is the way British hops are heading, bring it on.
All in all, it’s not dissimilar to Thornbridge’s AM:PM, a crisp, quaffable ‘session’ IPA. Thornbridge are good at brewing these and it’s a fine example.
Rating: 
Posted in 4 Star Reviews, All Brews Reviewed, English Beers, IPA, Views from a Brit, Yorkshire Beers 
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June 8, 2020
2020 is, by any yardstick, proving to be a memorable year.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused the lockdown of much of the UK.
Pubs and clubs – including my local – were closed by government edict on Friday March 20th; I spent that evening in my local.
- Lockdown Night in ‘The Curlew’
Much of the country entered lockdown a few days later. Factories, pubs, clubs, sports and shops were all closed; with the exception of supermarkets who introduced ‘social distancing’ protocols.
Long queues formed as people were forced to follow ‘one out, one in’ entry rules and two metre distancing.
The NHS (National Health Service) performed incredibly under impossible circumstances, staff had insufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and were universally regarded as heroes. People stood outside their homes on Thursday evenings applauding their ‘NHS Heroes’. One old gentleman ‘Captain Tom’ set out to walk 100 laps of his garden before his hundredth birthday and raised over £33million for NHS charities.
I digress, this is a beer site, but as I said at the outset, 2020 is a memorable year and it provides a frame of reference within which everybody is operating. As I type this in late May most people are still at home, furloughed and either ‘self isolating’ or ‘social distancing’.
Online sales boomed, including online beer sellers and one – Beer Hawk – launched a case of special beers (here), with profits raising funds for NHS charities. My daughter and her husband sent me a case for my birthday.
This comprised :
- 2 x Front Line Pale (Roosters Brewery)
- 2 x Florence Session IPA (Thornbridge Brewery)
- 1 x Nightingale Golden Ale (Rudgate Brewery)
- 1 x Heroes Thank You Lager (Camden Brewery)
- 1 x Nightingale New England Pale (Signature Brew)
- 1 x Isolation Lager
And in coming posts I will review the brews therein.
It’s good to be back!
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May 26, 2020
Oh heavens! Where has the time gone?
Looking back, as you will see, my last post was from Goa. I spent ten days there, alone, chilling and exploring local foods and brews. It was out of season and during those ten days I saw fewer than a dozen westerners.
At that time it was about a year since I’d lost my wife and, I while I was comfortable in my own company and still enjoyed beer, I simply couldn’t face reviewing beers.
In the spring of 2019 I actually gave up beer for four months!
In May 2019, after the local elections I unexpectedly became Mayor of Chelmsford!
The story ‘The Accidental Mayor’ is documented here, and I documented my experiences through the year in an ebook which can be found here – all proceeds will be going to Parkinson’s UK, my Mayoral charity.
One of my early Mayoral engagements was a visit to Chelmsford’s ‘twin town’ of Backnang in Germany for their summer ‘Straßenfest’ and, well, it would have been inappropriate to decline the local festival brew!
My first beer for four months!
During that weekend I also met Ali and she and I were soon to become very close.
My Mayoral year kept me busy, too busy to review brews, but I was still enjoying beers and the British craft beer was going from strength to strength. In April 2019 there were 2,274 breweries in the UK, compared to just 1,352 five years earlier.
While a few may have fallen by the wayside, they’re all run by enthusiasts and brewing interesting beers – so many brews, so little time.
I’ve still enjoyed the new releases from Brewdog and Thornbridge, discovered “Tiny Rebel’ and invested some cash into Sirencraft whose brews I’ve enjoyed and reviewed here at The Brewclub in the past.
So… I’m back, and while I can’t commit to publishing reviews as regularly as perhaps in the past, I will strive to seek out interesting brews and review them here.
Cheers!
Posted in Other Stuff, Views from a Brit No Comments »
October 26, 2018
If you ask any Brit to name an Indian beer he (or she) will probably answer either ‘Kingfisher’ or ‘Cobra’; they’re ubiquitous in Indian restaurants in Blighty and, for now, we’ll ignore the fact that Kingfisher is brewed for the UK under licence in Kent and that Cobra was designed and originally brewed in the UK for the Indian restaurant market.
Indeed, on my recent trip to Goa, Kingfisher remained the most readily available brew and the most advertised.
When I first visited Goa, about fifteen years ago, the choice of beers was pretty restricted, ‘Kingfisher’ or, if you were lucky, ‘Sandpiper’ and it was ‘Sandpiper’ I drank on that first trip.
Last year I also stumbled across Kings Premium Pilsner, more of which later.
These days, globalisation has meant that more ‘international’ brews are available, bars boast illuminated ‘Budweiser’ and ‘Heineken’ signs while ‘wine shop’ fridges contain Carlsberg, Tuborg and a stronger 8% ABV Budweiser.
Kingfisher has also broadened its range with an 8% brew, an ‘Ultra’, and a canned draught beer – although that feels like an oxymoron.
But there’s also a new generation of Indian craft beers becoming available, particularly in Goa, which is viewed as India’s ‘Party Central’ – although I visited out of season and everything was quiet.
Just outside the resort of Baga – which merges with nearby Calangute to host several miles of party bars – there’s a brew house being commissioned, and brews from several new ‘craft’ breweries are available in the aforementioned ‘wine shops’.
So, firstly to Kings Premium Pilsner
King’s Premium Pilsner 4.8% ABV
I first stumbled across this at the Hard Rock Hotel in Calangute, Goa about a year ago. At the time it was a refreshing change to the ubiquitous Kingfisher.
This visit I’ve determined to seek out some more interesting brews to investigate and review. Rather than ship them back to Blighty I’ve reviewed and photographed them in the comfort of my hotel, so please excuse the non standard photographs.
It pours a crisp pale golden colour, with a tight white head that’s both slow to fade and leaves a pleasing lacing down the glass.
The nose is crisp and hoppy, I doubt they’re classic Saaz hops, but they’ll do.
The flavour is equally crisp, but this brew only works when chilled, there’s a maltiness that creeps out if it warms up at all.
My good friend Alan used to refer to supermarket lagers as ‘Europils’ – at least I think that was the phrase.
So, while I welcome a change from Kingfisher, this only merits two Brewclub stars.
Rating:
Budweiser Maxim 8% ABV
I was recently told a very rude joke comparing Budweiser to part of the female anatomy, I won’t share it here but it’s probably fair to say that Budweiser is not well regarded among the beer drinking cognoscenti.
So, when I spotted Budweiser Magnum in a ‘wine shop’, aged over beechwood chips and brewed to 8% ABV, I simply had to try it.
It’s brewed in Maharashtra state, somewhere to the east of Mumbai, so pretty much central India.
It pours a very pale gold, much like traditional ‘Bud’, with minimal head.
There’s no nose to speak of, maybe some hints of biscuit, but nothing to write home about.
The flavour is actually quite pleasant; obviously it would be difficult to hide 8% alcohol but, while I was expecting a palate stunner like ‘Tennent’s Extra’ (do they still brew that?), this comes through as very smooth and, dare I say it? Subtle.
There’s a mellow sweetness that’s reminiscent of Budweiser Budvar, and while this shouldn’t be a surprise – Bud was originally brewed as a beer in the Budweis style – it’s both unexpected and very pleasant.
Underneath the sweetness there’s a smooth maltiness, and then the veiled threat of alcohol.
This is actually a well crafted beer, deserving of some respect.
Rating: 
Kingfisher Strong 8% ABV
As I mentioned earlier, United Breweries are diversifying and leveraging the Kingfisher brand with variations on the theme, with Kingfisher Ultra and Kingfisher Strong which is described, by United Breweries as “India’s largest selling beer” being, “brewed from the finest malted barley and hops” – to a potent 8% ABV.
As you will see, it pours unremarkably, a pale lager, who’d have thought it? With very little head.
The nose is disappointing, slightly chemical, no hops to speak of.
The flavour is better, it’s well rounded and you can detect the underlying potency, but it’s missing a refreshing hoppy bite that you’d hope for from a lager.
No matter, it’s interesting and reasonably refreshing – the 5% Premium Kingfisher is crisper and more refreshing and while I don’t think, at 8%, I could manage too many of these, it appeared to be the ‘go to’ brew for the local lads.
Rating:
Now on to a couple of India’s new craft brewers, firstly White Owl.
White Owl Spark 5% ABV
It pours a classic witbier, pale gold and hazy, with a tight, white head. There’s some lacing, but not a lot.
The nose is frankly disappointing, yeasty and bready.
But the flavour? Wow! This is classic witbier, dry and also slightly sweet, with hints of banana and orange peel.
It was twenty eight degrees (Celsius – about eighty four in Fahrenheit)when I tasted this, late afternoon in Goa, and this brew shone through, really refreshing.
I’m going to give this four and a half Brewclub stars… it’s a great brew, they also brew ‘Halcyon’ – a Hefeweizen, sadly I couldn’t find it in any of the ‘wine shops’ in Calangute or Baga – I tried!
Rating:
White Owl Diablo 5% ABV
Diablo is White Owl’s take on a ‘Irish Red’ ale, not a particularly widespread style, most examples I can bring to mind are actually French.
It pours a deep amber, without much evidence of a head. White Owl describe their brews as ‘partially filtered’ so the brew looks a bit muddy.
The nose is malt loaf.
Flavour-wise it’s quite thin, what flavour there is is malty, with caramel, as I mentioned, this is a difficult style to compare against, but I generally found this to be unsatisfying.
And when you consider that White Owl also brew ‘Spark’, this is a disappointment.
Rating:
Despite Diablo being a disappointment, I suspect that White Owl could prove to be India’s Brewdog, they’re punchy, full of ‘in your face’ attitude and they brew interesting beers.
If you’re ever in India – and stranger things have happened – look out for the White Owl.
Another Indian Craft brew I found was from the Simba brewery.
Simba are part of Sona Beverages, who brew a range of beers for international brands, under licence, in Chhattisgarh, in Raipur, North East India.
They brew four Simba beers including this – ‘Wit’. Frankly, it’s (no pun intended) sometimes a relief to be offered something other that the ubiquitous, but not unpleasant, Kingfisher.
Simba Wit 5% ABV
It pours a pale golden colour, with no discernible head, and it’s clear, I was expecting something hazy.
There’s no nose to speak of, but the flavour is classic ‘Wit’, with orange peel and coriander. The brewery suggests lemongrass but I couldn’t discern it.
It’s all in there, but subtly, like a ‘Wit Lite’, not an ‘in your face’ Wit Bier like Hoegarden, I really like it.
Rating:
And finally, the last craft brewery I found was ‘Bira 91’
Bira 91 Blonde 4.9% ABV
Described as a strong, hoppy lager.
It pours a very, very pale golden colour, with no noticeable head.
Similarly, there’s very little nose to speak of; this is something I’ve noticed among these Indian craft brews.
And, to be honest, there’s very little flavour to speak of.
I’m sorry, I experienced some good brews on this trip, but this is a major disappointment.
Rating:
Bira 91 White 5% ABV
In all honesty, this beer is everything the previous one wasn’t.
It pours pale gold with a rich, fulsome white head. There’s a rich hefeweizen nose, banana, coriander, and lemon.
And the flavour is simply delicious, the lemon hits first, followed by the coriander, banana and bubblegum…and then, bizarrely, a hit of honey and butter.
I really enjoyed this brew, if you’re a fan of classic hefeweizen brews, keep an eye out for this one.
Oh – and it comes in cans too!
Rating:
Strangely, I failed to find a single IPA during my trip. Go figure.
Posted in All Brews Reviewed, Not American Or European Beer Comments Off on Indian Brews
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