As is already tiresomely well established, I love top tens and indeed lists of any type. They keep me off the street.
Now, in last week's issue I listed my top ten breweries and was happy to do so. Unfortunately it seems that in the course of that top ten I a) took leave of my senses and b) have subsequently remembered some more breweries that I really like, but which I failed to include, but which I now want to pay homage to, in whatever cockeyed route is still available to me. What an appalling opening to a blog post this has been so far. Genuinely terrible. >>>Fast forward>>>
So then, here are 10 more outstanding breweries, who I love for my own reasons, and who could quite easily have been interchanged with any of the previous top 10*. These ones are in no particular order.
i) Stone
Original Yank powerhouse brewery. I tried Arrogant Bastard and Ruination in 2004 and was blown away. More recently in 2011, Sublimely Self Righteous was the first good Black IPA I ever tried.
ii) Great Divide
Can't believe I didn't include this lot in the original list, not least because my two highest rated beers of all time, were both brewed by them - Hercules and Yeti. Wowsers.
iii) Andechs
Fabulous Munich** brewery - great lagers and weisse beers.
iv) Oakham
Another headshaker. Cannot believe that I forgot to include the people who gave me Citra and Bishops Farewell, in my original list. Green Devil is a new favourite.
v) Buxton
I just cannot resist Buxton. Such a sweet hop blend in all their beers. Their Black IPA is magnificent, and so is Axe Edge.
vi) Brodies
Wonderful London microbrewery. So fresh and full of experimentation, and yet so weighted down with finesse and quality.
vii) Everards
Yes, they are from Leicester, so they sneak in through the local connection, and through happy memories of childhood. But, in all fairness, Tiger is a brilliant ruddy Bitter.
viii) Crouch Vale
They predate the 'craft revolution', but their attention to hops fits well into this new paradigm. Brewers Gold was a classic back in 2003, and they continue to churn out hoppy golden treats.
ix) Paulaner
A wide variety of German proficiency is available from this giant. Their Hefe is a classic, but it's their Roggen which is, for me, a classic beer sadly absent from these shores, in recent times.
x) Dark Star/Marble/Bristol Beer Factory/Magic Rock/Moor
Lists are always unsatisfactory (and yet I love them). There will always be breweries I'm not able to include, but whom I love. Here are a fistful of massively brilliant UK names, who deserve to be namechecked in any list of top breweries.
I may write shortly about the lovely story which featured in the Birmingham Post.
*perhaps. To be fair to the previous top 10, they deserved their exalted status.
**not actually based in Munich, but close-ish.
Showing posts with label magic rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magic rock. Show all posts
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Thursday, 31 May 2012
4 dark beers and DownDIPA/Eurovision
Sometimes the joy of beer is in sharing. The best case scenario is to share the beer experience in 'real time' either with friends in the pub, or via the medium of off-licence, at home (also with friends).
However, for someone like me with burgeoningly anti-social habits, the Internet offers a remarkably pain free way of sharing good beer experiences, with some complete strangers/friends who feel obliged to read your blog.
Here is a quick resume of my most recent 'good' beer experience. Actually, I'll give you my two most recent best experiences... how's that for a BOGOF?
i) 19th May AKA Champions League Final.
This evening saw four dark beers stashed in the fridge, and supped whilst Chelsea put Munich away on penalties. In fact, because I'm rather a slow drinker, this session probably lasted until well after the Chelsea fans had downed their last stein of Augustiner Helles in Munchen.
Things kicked off with Buxton Imperial Black IPA, an absolutely belting beast. Hoppy, ashy, smooth with licorice and good, clean earth. From that high point, it was a tough ask to top it.
But Magic Rock Dark Arts had a good stab at living up to Buxton's err blazing trail. Dark Arts is une grande Stout: chiseled blocks of graphite, bobbing in a sea of blended hop and sweetness.
Next up a Brewdog Dogma - an example of the style which is known as a Scotch Ale. What exactly is a Scotch Ale Dan? Did the style originate in Scotland presumably, Dan? Err, well yes, but it's been popularised by our US craft-brewing cousins. Dogma is everything which I profess to be err not necessarily enamoured with: thick, sweet, extremely malty, with not much hops. But, this was very delicious; exceptionally smooth and compelling. Another winner. But hang on, could it be that I'm deliberately lauding a Brewdog beer, because I'm so delighted that they are opening a new bar in Birmingham? Perhaps subconsciously. But honestly the beer was great. Great news about Brewdog opening a bar in Birmingham, by the way. Can't wait until August.
Fourth and [thankfully*] last of the evening, was a Bristol Beer Factory Raspberry Stout. Now this was plainly a nice beer, but I'm afraid my tastebuds were shot by this point. In fact my sense of reason had wandered down Hagley Road some time previously.** It didn't hit the heights of the others.
* With ABVs of 7.5%, 6%, 7.4% and 7.7% respectively, I was at full capacity.
** Please see above sentence and try to pay more attention.
Buxton won the night.
ii) 26th May AKA Eurovision
Oh yes - Eurovision. But oh, not just Eurovision, also DownDIPA, the Campaign for Really Good Beer's celebration of Double India Pale Ales.
Not quite as socially unacceptable as the evening detailed above, this night saw the consumption of three beers of 7.2%, 9% and 4.9% content.
First up was Ageless, a very tasty hopfiend from Redwillow. This was more of a single IPA, rather than a double, but that's missing the point; the point being that it was a very tasty, hoppy, orange rock and parma violet accented beer.
Then came a genuine DIPA - Summer Wine Maelstrom. For those who need to know, Summer Wine are a really very good UK 'craft' brewery from Holmfirth (yes, the place where they filmed Last of the Summer Wine). Maelstrom was thin, sticky and packed with very bitter, oily alcoholic menace. Excellent.
At that point I was sensible (for once) and opted out of any further DIPAs. I had a Dunkelweizen instead. Maisels Weisse Dunkel in fact. Yes, it suffered in comparison with the two previous beers, lacking their hoppy, high content flavour. But it was nice to relieve some happy Germanic memories of Summer's gone by. More proof that this Summer will be the 'Second Summer of German beer' (which I will explain another time, but basically means that I am aiming to drink lots of delicious German beers this Summer, in some futile attempt to regain my fast fading heyday).
Any way, the Maisels was smooth, nutty and full of frothy sweetness. One day soon I might tell you my top ten Dunkelweizens***
Eurovision is obviously a hoot, and the beer was equally good. Here's to the next DownDIPA.
*** If you are particularly naughty.
However, for someone like me with burgeoningly anti-social habits, the Internet offers a remarkably pain free way of sharing good beer experiences, with some complete strangers/friends who feel obliged to read your blog.
Here is a quick resume of my most recent 'good' beer experience. Actually, I'll give you my two most recent best experiences... how's that for a BOGOF?
i) 19th May AKA Champions League Final.
This evening saw four dark beers stashed in the fridge, and supped whilst Chelsea put Munich away on penalties. In fact, because I'm rather a slow drinker, this session probably lasted until well after the Chelsea fans had downed their last stein of Augustiner Helles in Munchen.
Things kicked off with Buxton Imperial Black IPA, an absolutely belting beast. Hoppy, ashy, smooth with licorice and good, clean earth. From that high point, it was a tough ask to top it.
But Magic Rock Dark Arts had a good stab at living up to Buxton's err blazing trail. Dark Arts is une grande Stout: chiseled blocks of graphite, bobbing in a sea of blended hop and sweetness.
Next up a Brewdog Dogma - an example of the style which is known as a Scotch Ale. What exactly is a Scotch Ale Dan? Did the style originate in Scotland presumably, Dan? Err, well yes, but it's been popularised by our US craft-brewing cousins. Dogma is everything which I profess to be err not necessarily enamoured with: thick, sweet, extremely malty, with not much hops. But, this was very delicious; exceptionally smooth and compelling. Another winner. But hang on, could it be that I'm deliberately lauding a Brewdog beer, because I'm so delighted that they are opening a new bar in Birmingham? Perhaps subconsciously. But honestly the beer was great. Great news about Brewdog opening a bar in Birmingham, by the way. Can't wait until August.
Fourth and [thankfully*] last of the evening, was a Bristol Beer Factory Raspberry Stout. Now this was plainly a nice beer, but I'm afraid my tastebuds were shot by this point. In fact my sense of reason had wandered down Hagley Road some time previously.** It didn't hit the heights of the others.
* With ABVs of 7.5%, 6%, 7.4% and 7.7% respectively, I was at full capacity.
** Please see above sentence and try to pay more attention.
Buxton won the night.
ii) 26th May AKA Eurovision
Oh yes - Eurovision. But oh, not just Eurovision, also DownDIPA, the Campaign for Really Good Beer's celebration of Double India Pale Ales.
Not quite as socially unacceptable as the evening detailed above, this night saw the consumption of three beers of 7.2%, 9% and 4.9% content.
First up was Ageless, a very tasty hopfiend from Redwillow. This was more of a single IPA, rather than a double, but that's missing the point; the point being that it was a very tasty, hoppy, orange rock and parma violet accented beer.
Then came a genuine DIPA - Summer Wine Maelstrom. For those who need to know, Summer Wine are a really very good UK 'craft' brewery from Holmfirth (yes, the place where they filmed Last of the Summer Wine). Maelstrom was thin, sticky and packed with very bitter, oily alcoholic menace. Excellent.
At that point I was sensible (for once) and opted out of any further DIPAs. I had a Dunkelweizen instead. Maisels Weisse Dunkel in fact. Yes, it suffered in comparison with the two previous beers, lacking their hoppy, high content flavour. But it was nice to relieve some happy Germanic memories of Summer's gone by. More proof that this Summer will be the 'Second Summer of German beer' (which I will explain another time, but basically means that I am aiming to drink lots of delicious German beers this Summer, in some futile attempt to regain my fast fading heyday).
Any way, the Maisels was smooth, nutty and full of frothy sweetness. One day soon I might tell you my top ten Dunkelweizens***
Eurovision is obviously a hoot, and the beer was equally good. Here's to the next DownDIPA.
*** If you are particularly naughty.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Mediocre Beer Adventures Goes on Tour to London
So why should the writer of a Birmingham beer blog, bother to trouble his readers with an account of a visit to London? Well, when you are concerned that your city is lagging behind in the beer stakes, you need to know what you are aspiring to. You also need to whet that appetite and remind yourself exactly what beer experiences you are seeking to reproduce in the city of thousand trades. Q. Are there really things in the London pub scene which don't exist in Brum? A. Yes.
After a great deal of painstaking research involving Twitter and the Transport for London website, my long anticipated London pub crawl finally happened yesterday.
Using this proposed route, three lifelong Leicester chums and I arrived just after lunch, with them waiting for me in the Euston Tap. I can certainly think of worse places to kill time - in fact if this place were in Birmingham, I would go there and stay all day.
First stop was the Southampton Arms, somewhere I previously visited in June. We trudged through slushy snow from Tufnell Park tube and on arrival made short work of some dimpled mug encased halves. My Brodies Dalston Black IPA was outstanding and I believe Dave's pork pie looked equally stunning, I say that I believe this to be the case, because it was scoffed so quickly, my recollection is based on only a fleeting glimpse.
Reluctantly we left this crowded, rustic and charming location, to get the bus to Brewdog's Camden outlet. By contrast, this bar was light, industrial and had plenty of breathing space. The beer choice was tantalising and hop drenched. I swigged 2/3 of a pint (in a 2/3 glass no less) of the latest IPA is Dead issue, this time showcasing the Simcoe hop. It was very good, as was Martin's 2/3 of Hops Kill Nazis. This bar is a winner in my book, with [duh] a big range of Brewdog beers (keg only), plus their bottles and the bottles of well chosen guests. Equally well chosen were the guest taps, with a clear leaning towards hoppy US craft brewers such as Lagunitas and Ballast Point. A really enjoyable stop off and a venue which needs a sister in Birmingham - STAT!
As the bus whizzed us into throbbing heart of London's shopping district, we hopped from Regents Street to Beak Street, and into the Old Coffee House, a proper trad London boozer, except for it's range of Brodies beers. Between the 4 of us we sampled each of the Brodies beers on show: Summer Saison, Bethnal Green Pale Ale, West End Best and Amarilla. The 8% Saison was bold and silky, but the West Best was probably, the err, best. Sorry about that gag. The Old Coffee House meanwhile was a good Soho stop off and atypical on the crawl, in that it was not a new generation beer bar.
Unlike the wonderful CASK Pub and Kitchen, which really set new standards when it popped up. The problem with the CASK (along with others on the route) was there was just TOO MUCH choice. Not just a bunch of good cask beers. Not just great foreign beers on tap. Not just top quality international bottles. Not just (is this getting boring yet?). In the end, three of the party, (including me) swooped for a 12% Mikkeller/Cigar City collaboration, entitled Swinging Harry. This Belgian style Quad was fruity, sweet and perilously easy to swig, given it's abv. The CASK really is fabulous and worth the detour to Pimlico, even though the tube station was shut and we actually had to walk. Could a CASK survive in Brum? My heart says yes....
By this point my beautiful timings for the day had disappeared down a rabbit hole, so we reluctantly skipped the Rake and instead made the walk down Tooley Street to the Draft House at Tower Bridge, all the time admiring the ever growing Shard, with its top portion enveloped by mist. Spooky.
The Draft House is another lovely bar - so clean, so well presented and with a wide range of foreign beers on tap and some good bottles. Real ale too. Two of our party sampled Camden Town Pale Ale, one had St Feuillen (can't remember which one) and I grabbed a half of Milk Stout from new Brighton microbrewery Pin-Up.
After a beautiful walk across Tower Bridge, we just about had time to get to the Craft Beer Co in Farringdon, which really is like something from another beer planet. 39 beers on tap (keg and cask), with a small army of bottles also. Mind blowing. Genuinely mind blowing. Not only were the beers only from good* breweries, but the range of styles on offer was tear-jerkingly vast. Dare I dream that one day I may walk into a Birmingham pub and order a half of Double Imperial Ale, followed by a Saison or a bottle of Barley Wine? I just about had time to guzzle portions of Southern Tier IPA, Cigar City Jai Alai and Magic Rock Curious. Jon meanwhile, positively gurgled over his Rothaus Weisse. On another day I probably should have come here first.
As it was I had to bolt for a cab, which dropped me outside the Euston Tap 15 mins before my train left, giving me just enough time to grab a 1/2 of Nogne Imperial Stout, which was ruddy marvellous. I also bought a Kernel to take home - you can never have too many Kernels.
So that was London. Depressing in a way, that this sort of beer experience is 90 minutes away by train, rather than 10 mins by bus. Here was a wide range of pubs offering top World beers, cask and keg dispense, different glass sizes and more hops than you can shake a stick at. Just think, London drinkers have access to Mikkeller, Kernel, Nogne and Brewdog whenever they like. Not really fair is it?
After a great deal of painstaking research involving Twitter and the Transport for London website, my long anticipated London pub crawl finally happened yesterday.
Using this proposed route, three lifelong Leicester chums and I arrived just after lunch, with them waiting for me in the Euston Tap. I can certainly think of worse places to kill time - in fact if this place were in Birmingham, I would go there and stay all day.
First stop was the Southampton Arms, somewhere I previously visited in June. We trudged through slushy snow from Tufnell Park tube and on arrival made short work of some dimpled mug encased halves. My Brodies Dalston Black IPA was outstanding and I believe Dave's pork pie looked equally stunning, I say that I believe this to be the case, because it was scoffed so quickly, my recollection is based on only a fleeting glimpse.
Reluctantly we left this crowded, rustic and charming location, to get the bus to Brewdog's Camden outlet. By contrast, this bar was light, industrial and had plenty of breathing space. The beer choice was tantalising and hop drenched. I swigged 2/3 of a pint (in a 2/3 glass no less) of the latest IPA is Dead issue, this time showcasing the Simcoe hop. It was very good, as was Martin's 2/3 of Hops Kill Nazis. This bar is a winner in my book, with [duh] a big range of Brewdog beers (keg only), plus their bottles and the bottles of well chosen guests. Equally well chosen were the guest taps, with a clear leaning towards hoppy US craft brewers such as Lagunitas and Ballast Point. A really enjoyable stop off and a venue which needs a sister in Birmingham - STAT!
As the bus whizzed us into throbbing heart of London's shopping district, we hopped from Regents Street to Beak Street, and into the Old Coffee House, a proper trad London boozer, except for it's range of Brodies beers. Between the 4 of us we sampled each of the Brodies beers on show: Summer Saison, Bethnal Green Pale Ale, West End Best and Amarilla. The 8% Saison was bold and silky, but the West Best was probably, the err, best. Sorry about that gag. The Old Coffee House meanwhile was a good Soho stop off and atypical on the crawl, in that it was not a new generation beer bar.
Unlike the wonderful CASK Pub and Kitchen, which really set new standards when it popped up. The problem with the CASK (along with others on the route) was there was just TOO MUCH choice. Not just a bunch of good cask beers. Not just great foreign beers on tap. Not just top quality international bottles. Not just (is this getting boring yet?). In the end, three of the party, (including me) swooped for a 12% Mikkeller/Cigar City collaboration, entitled Swinging Harry. This Belgian style Quad was fruity, sweet and perilously easy to swig, given it's abv. The CASK really is fabulous and worth the detour to Pimlico, even though the tube station was shut and we actually had to walk. Could a CASK survive in Brum? My heart says yes....
By this point my beautiful timings for the day had disappeared down a rabbit hole, so we reluctantly skipped the Rake and instead made the walk down Tooley Street to the Draft House at Tower Bridge, all the time admiring the ever growing Shard, with its top portion enveloped by mist. Spooky.
The Draft House is another lovely bar - so clean, so well presented and with a wide range of foreign beers on tap and some good bottles. Real ale too. Two of our party sampled Camden Town Pale Ale, one had St Feuillen (can't remember which one) and I grabbed a half of Milk Stout from new Brighton microbrewery Pin-Up.
After a beautiful walk across Tower Bridge, we just about had time to get to the Craft Beer Co in Farringdon, which really is like something from another beer planet. 39 beers on tap (keg and cask), with a small army of bottles also. Mind blowing. Genuinely mind blowing. Not only were the beers only from good* breweries, but the range of styles on offer was tear-jerkingly vast. Dare I dream that one day I may walk into a Birmingham pub and order a half of Double Imperial Ale, followed by a Saison or a bottle of Barley Wine? I just about had time to guzzle portions of Southern Tier IPA, Cigar City Jai Alai and Magic Rock Curious. Jon meanwhile, positively gurgled over his Rothaus Weisse. On another day I probably should have come here first.
As it was I had to bolt for a cab, which dropped me outside the Euston Tap 15 mins before my train left, giving me just enough time to grab a 1/2 of Nogne Imperial Stout, which was ruddy marvellous. I also bought a Kernel to take home - you can never have too many Kernels.
So that was London. Depressing in a way, that this sort of beer experience is 90 minutes away by train, rather than 10 mins by bus. Here was a wide range of pubs offering top World beers, cask and keg dispense, different glass sizes and more hops than you can shake a stick at. Just think, London drinkers have access to Mikkeller, Kernel, Nogne and Brewdog whenever they like. Not really fair is it?
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Saturday's stolen 'crawl' and a craft beer checklist
Well it was stolen, but not a crawl. I left work yesterday, pinched borrowed 5 bob off leather-clad chum Malcy, legged it straight to the Welly and necked two halves in ten minutes, as follows:
Black Iris Bitter - a proper old-skool, 'real man' type Bitter, which makes no concessions to fruity transatlantic flavour, just a wallop of grizzled UK hops and chiselled sandpaper malt. It was alright though. Interestingly enough, having tried all five beers from this newish Derby-based microbrewer, I am now their top rater in the World. Consider personal trumpet thoroughly parped.
Second was a new beer from Oakham - always a pleasant sight to greet a weatherbeaten beer fan, upon entering a boozer. This one, entitled 'Preacher' was a suntanned bronze colour, with a luscious aroma of tropical fruit. Taste was right upfront in the 'delicious mango and passionfruit' department and as balanced as my current account* throughout. Really good from Oakham. As always. Which got me thinking....
How many of the top, top UK breweries' products actually make it to Birmingham on a regular basis?
Oakham - We are lucky to have one of their own pubs serving all their best stuff, plus their beers always make it to the Welly.
Crouch Vale - they pop up in the Welly, fairly frequently.
Moor - Nicholsons carry them, so four chances for their beers to appear in the City centre.
Brewdog - no bar in Birmingham as yet, and their stuff hardly ever pops up on cask, except occasionally in the Bleagle. Nowhere in Brum serves craft beer on keg, so we are fairly scuppered for Brewdog generally. Their bottles make it to Stirchley Wines; as do >>>
The Kernel - no pubs in Brum take these bottled masterpieces. Thankfully Stirchley Wines are doing Birmingham proud.
Magic Rock - to my knowledge, none of their beers have ever appeared in a Birmingham pub, which is nothing short of a scandal, given their reputation as one of the UK's hottest new brewers. Thankfully Stirchley Wines have just picked up their bottled range (are you noticing pattern here?).
Summer Wine - they very (very) occasionally pop up in the Welly - I've sampled them there twice.
Thornbridge - pretty good coverage with Post Office Vaults, Wellington and the Nicholsons' pubs taking them. Unfortunately no one serves their keg efforts, so we have never seen Versa, Italia or Kill Your Darlings, to name but three.
Dark Star - these appear in the Welly with almost acceptable frequency.
Brodies - never glimpsed in Brum.
Redwillow - spotted twice in the Welly by my good self.
Marble - occasional visitors to the Welly, but a full bottled range is at... wait for it....Asda Stirchley Wines.
Bristol Beer Factory - not spotted in any Brum pubs for a good wee while, luckily someone has some bottles for your delectation.
Hard Knott - Stirchley only.
Hawkshead - interestingly enough, Wetherspoons are your best bet for these Cumbrian beauties.
Gargoyles - The Anchor is your best bet to try these Devonian treats on cask, which is the same story for...
Steel City - only spotted in the Spanker.
Camden Town - only Nicholsons have sported a beer from this lot so far, but then again, they are primarily keg only.
Buxton - yawn, I'm boring myself now ... these are spotted very occasionally in the Welly, but Stirchley take their bottled range.
As a City, the end of term report reads "Must do better". Beer fans like you and me must request these brewers' products and our band of dedicated landlords must seek them out.
*perhaps more so actually.
Black Iris Bitter - a proper old-skool, 'real man' type Bitter, which makes no concessions to fruity transatlantic flavour, just a wallop of grizzled UK hops and chiselled sandpaper malt. It was alright though. Interestingly enough, having tried all five beers from this newish Derby-based microbrewer, I am now their top rater in the World. Consider personal trumpet thoroughly parped.
Second was a new beer from Oakham - always a pleasant sight to greet a weatherbeaten beer fan, upon entering a boozer. This one, entitled 'Preacher' was a suntanned bronze colour, with a luscious aroma of tropical fruit. Taste was right upfront in the 'delicious mango and passionfruit' department and as balanced as my current account* throughout. Really good from Oakham. As always. Which got me thinking....
How many of the top, top UK breweries' products actually make it to Birmingham on a regular basis?
Oakham - We are lucky to have one of their own pubs serving all their best stuff, plus their beers always make it to the Welly.
Crouch Vale - they pop up in the Welly, fairly frequently.
Moor - Nicholsons carry them, so four chances for their beers to appear in the City centre.
Brewdog - no bar in Birmingham as yet, and their stuff hardly ever pops up on cask, except occasionally in the Bleagle. Nowhere in Brum serves craft beer on keg, so we are fairly scuppered for Brewdog generally. Their bottles make it to Stirchley Wines; as do >>>
The Kernel - no pubs in Brum take these bottled masterpieces. Thankfully Stirchley Wines are doing Birmingham proud.
Magic Rock - to my knowledge, none of their beers have ever appeared in a Birmingham pub, which is nothing short of a scandal, given their reputation as one of the UK's hottest new brewers. Thankfully Stirchley Wines have just picked up their bottled range (are you noticing pattern here?).
Summer Wine - they very (very) occasionally pop up in the Welly - I've sampled them there twice.
Thornbridge - pretty good coverage with Post Office Vaults, Wellington and the Nicholsons' pubs taking them. Unfortunately no one serves their keg efforts, so we have never seen Versa, Italia or Kill Your Darlings, to name but three.
Dark Star - these appear in the Welly with almost acceptable frequency.
Brodies - never glimpsed in Brum.
Redwillow - spotted twice in the Welly by my good self.
Marble - occasional visitors to the Welly, but a full bottled range is at... wait for it....
Bristol Beer Factory - not spotted in any Brum pubs for a good wee while, luckily someone has some bottles for your delectation.
Hard Knott - Stirchley only.
Hawkshead - interestingly enough, Wetherspoons are your best bet for these Cumbrian beauties.
Gargoyles - The Anchor is your best bet to try these Devonian treats on cask, which is the same story for...
Steel City - only spotted in the Spanker.
Camden Town - only Nicholsons have sported a beer from this lot so far, but then again, they are primarily keg only.
Buxton - yawn, I'm boring myself now ... these are spotted very occasionally in the Welly, but Stirchley take their bottled range.
As a City, the end of term report reads "Must do better". Beer fans like you and me must request these brewers' products and our band of dedicated landlords must seek them out.
*perhaps more so actually.
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