Beer Tasting in the State of Cotteridge

Hello all.

Rah rah rah, it's really important as a blogger, to declare your interests, tell everyone if you've been sent a free bottle of beer to review etc.  After all, the two people reading (hello Richy) might be wondering. 

In light of that, please read the following report into a fantastic evening, safe in the knowledge that I had some free beer and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I wasn't the only one.

Cotteridge Wines tell me that they have been around for 17 years, but being a Johnny-come-lately myself, I've only really been aware of their existence for about 6 months.  But during those 6 months they have demonstrated to me, and perhaps to themselves also, that they are capable of stocking a really excellent range of high quality beers, from around the World.

On Monday evening they did something a bit different, or different for Birmingham at least: they held a beer tasting.  Now obviously beer tastings sort of take place every evening in pubs and homes around the country, but I do mean a sort of organised tasting in which people come together to taste beers and say "hmm" quite a lot, and scratch their forelocks, and marvel at the blend of malt and hop flavours, and so on.

And so it went on Monday evening.  A group comprising Birmingham Ratebeerers (The_Bish, RichTheVillan, Tomman and moi), Paul from Arbor Ales and assorted members of the Brum Beer Twitterati (@Kaufmanised, @RobertoRossUK, @CarlDurose, @tania_nexust, @MarbleTim, @nebolland) gathered at Cotteridge Wines to sample some incredible beers.

I may or may not have forgotten some of the bottles on offer, but the ones I sneaked a nip of, were as follows (in no particular order):

De Molen Bommen and Granaten
- a blindingly good 15.2% Barley Wine

Fyne Ales Jarl 
- a full flavoured 3.8% UK Golden Ale

Arbor Goo Goo G’joob
- a super smooth Imperial Stout

Arbor Ginger IPA
- a hoppy IPA infused with ginger??? IT SHOULD NOT WORK. IT DOES WORK.

Zwiesel Dampfbier
- a malty, nutty German Lager variant

Rogue Chipotle Ale
- a US Amber Ale, made with chipotle chili peppers - smoky/spicy

Durham St Cuthbert
- a medium strong hoppy UK ale

Haandbryggeriet Røyk Uten Ild (Smoke Without Fire)
- a deliciously smoky and smooth Norwegian dark ale

Lambrate Ghisa
- an Italian Smoked Stout

Durham Diabolus
- an exclusive sample of this Imperial Stout brewed with gueuze yeast - a blend of dark malt power and sour tang.  IT SHOULD NOT WORK. IT DOES WORK.

Mikkeller The American Dream
- a Lager so good, you wouldn't even know it was a Lager

Moor Northern Star
- one of the best, most hoppiest UK 'session' beers around

The beers were clearly delicious, but honestly the beers were only one half of the evening's fun.  The other half was the excellent conviviality on show, both from fellow guests and of course from our gracious hosts.  The final half of fun, as an extra treat, was the presence of Arbor Ales, ably represented by Paul.  Arbor are obviously one of the better breweries in the UK: even when sober (which I am now) I know that this is a fact.  It was cool to get the background to some of Arbor's excellent beers - such as the two mentioned above and other top hits like Single Hop Citra and Oyster Stout.

 A 'tasting' and a 'Meet the Brewer' in a single evening - a double first for me.

 So then, in short, it was great to attend a fantastic tasting event, celebrating solidarity and the existence of nice beer, deep within our midst.  It would be remiss not to pay tribute to our hosts for putting such a nice event on, and inviting us along, so I happily voice my gratitude here.

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On a separate note, the Bank Holiday Weekend also marked a very impressive Craft Beer Festival, held at Cherry Reds in Kings Heath.  Unfortunately I was not able to get to the festival, but I know several people that did attend and loved it.  The beer list was very impressive, and I hereby send an electronic pat on the back for a job well done.

Short and to the Pointless

A quick heads up on some good recent beer experiences:

Allgauer Buble Bier

An example of what Ratebeer classifies as a Zwickel/Keller/Landbier - 3 [minor] related German beer styles which equate to an unfiltered, slightly cloudier Lagerbier than normal.  Sometimes they approach amber in colour, but often they are the standard blonde - which is what this one was.  I don't go in for the history of beer styles as a rule, as they are the cause of too many arguments, but if you are interested, why not research
Zwickel/Keller/Landbiers on the Internet?

Any road, this was lovely.  All the refreshment and clarity of a Lager, cutting through thirst and all that. BUT with the added, delightful sweetness offered by all the subtle muck, which would normally be filtered out, in the name of a crystal clear beer.  This was purchased from Cotteridge Wines, and I know for a fact that they have a few Z/K/L beers, so why not dive in?  Other good examples are Hacker Pschorr anno 1417 or St Georgen Brau Kellerbier.

Beavertown 8 Ball Rye IPA

Beavertown are one of the wave of new London microbreweries and I would say that this is their best known beer at present.  Certainly it's the only one that I've tried.  It's an IPA, so it has a range of lovely hops - particularly lovely in this case.  What it also has is the addition of Rye, which gives the beer both a lovely rosey hue, and a subtle sweetness/fruitiness.  This tipped it above a good percentage of the burgeoning number of hoppy beers, which are now flooding our better beer establishments.  This was bought from Stirchley Wines.

Brodies Hoxton Special IPA

I necked this beer immediately after sampling another Brodies beer - London Lager.  I was musing that it would be difficult to top the London Lager which was an unbelievably tasty and well-hopped lager.  However, I was clearly mismusing, as the Hoxton Special IPA gently nuzzled the Lager with it's warm, fuzzy [metaphorical] snout, before brusquely nudging it aside.  Yes, the Special IPA was that good.  In fact, it was one of the best beers I have ever tried. UN-B-LIEVE-ABLE.  I already liked Brodies, who are clearly the, if not one of the most brilliantist of the new London brewers, but this sort of bottled majesty is very likely to make me paint my arms purple due to unfettered beer frenzy.  Brodies are amazing.  Cotteridge
Wines are carrying a range of Brodies, including the London Lager, Big Mofo Stout, Hoxton Special IPA, Hackney Red IPA and Dalston Black IPA.  I dare say that none of them will disappoint you.

The Grant Arms, Cotteridge

It has lovely leatherette, curved banquette-style seating (in places).  It also has competitively priced clingfilm-wrapped cobs behind the bar, which I am a sucker for.

I have been a bit poor at blogging recently.  As such I am currently coming up with some new ideas.

Pioneer Launch

Last night was the launch of Freedom Brewery's new beer - Pioneer.

Now normally, the arrival of a new UK lager wouldn't necessarily feel me with the throbbing of a deep joy, but as it happens I was rather glad I attended this.

Where was it held Dan?  It was held at the Post Office Vaults, whose staff were bedecked with Freedom shirts as they busily dispensed steins of free Pioneer to the hordes of free loading parasites, errr local beer enthusiasts, all eager to whet their whistle.  I include myself in the aforementioned number.

The beer itself tasted like a UK version of Victory Prima Pils, but hopped heavily with indigenous, rather than US hop varieties.  I detected herbal notes, some sweet grassiness and plenty of tongue wrapping, juicy, mulled lemon mulch.  It was very pleasant.  Hopefully it will become a fixture around the bars of the City, as it will offer a reliable kegged option, for refreshment porpoises.

Following the launch, I skedaddled to the British Oak in Stirchley, to hook up with an unspecified member of Brumcraft and top Birmingham beer reviewer the_Bish.  Having not been to the British Oak for many years, I must say I was very pleasantly surprised to see the well kept decor, and lovely atmosphere, which was a blend of hipster-honeytrap and family friendly.  I particularly liked the sprawling garden (complete with bowling green), which really is one of Brum's best beer gardens.

During the launch I was happy to grovel network with the head of Freedom Brewery, who struck me (n.b. not physically, he didn't hit me) as a nice chap indeed.  If the purpose of the evening was to demonstrate that Freedom brewery is safely being steered in the right direction, then that objective was achieved.  Now we just need them to launch that range of bottled Berliner Weisse they were talking about.

For a bit of formatting fun, why not cut and paste the previous paragraph into the correct position within this blog post?  Prizes for the best guess.

Following the British Oak, a quick dash into Stirchley Wines also, which saw me commit a classic schoolboy error - yes, I bought a beer I've already tried.  Heavens above/strewth etc.  There is nothing which drives more mad (for indeed I am a beer trainspotter) than to buy the same beer twice**.  So if anyone in Birmingham would like to do a swapsy with me, I am willing to listen to offers for a pristine bottle of Summer Wine Reaper Red IPA - which is a lovely beer.



**Not strictly true.  I do buy a number of beers more than once, if I like them - e.g. Lindemans Cuvee Rene Gueuze et al.        

The Hype Machine

Are things really kicking off for Birmingham beer fans?

Is it finally happening?

Yes, I think it is and they are.  [Remember to edit this sentence, it's rubbish.] [But isn't it deliberately rubbish? Isn't it slightly knowing?] [Yes, I suppose you're right, OK leave it.] [Thanks]

This issue of the Mediocre Hype Machine will give you cast-iron proof that things are on the turn:

i) Brewdog Birmingham
No visible sign of building work at their John Bright Street site yet, but we I believe they are still due to open sometime in August.  This will bring uber-trendy beer in bottles and on tap.  Plus, we should get new beers when they are new, rather than eons after the rest of the country.

ii) Purity's new Craft bar
Just round the corner from Brewdog, we now have news of a second new craft venue, which will be run by Purity team.  Twitter brings news that it will feature a range of craft beers, in tandem with a top-notch food offer.  This sounds good.

iii) Brumcraft
In July 2013, Birmingham will have it's first Craft beer festival, organised and delivered by Birmingham beer fans.  No longer prepared to wait for the very best new beers to make their way to our City, a small group of determined activist have raised their heads above the parakeet and are now in a position to deliver a new kind of beer event - one peppered with the very best flavour combinations, from the very best new brewers.  This will be a big one.

iv) Off licences flexing their muscles
I dare that say that both Stirchley Wines and Cotteridge Wines would rather that their competitor was located a bit further away; BUT given their close proximity, it's Birmingham beer fans who are reaping the benefits.  There is no doubt at all that Cotteridge and Stirchley are driving up each others' standards - bringing in more and more of the World's best beers to us, at an ever quickening pace.  The work of new and hitherto unseen breweries is arriving day by day, and the choice of so many great beers, means that personally I no longer feel like I have to live a compromised beer existence.  Dan in 2005: "What beer shall I sup at home tonight?  Samuel Smith? Freeminer? Erdinger? Marston?; Dan in 2012: "What beer shall I sup at home tonight? Mikkeller? De Molen? Kernel? Summer Wine?  No contest.  I may be asking too much, but I hope this level of competition continues, as it will surely breed a newer, larger audience for quality beer in Brum.

v) Better beer in existing pubs
Dare I hope?  Is genuinely high quality beer starting to become commonplace in venues like the Old Contemptibles, and the Wellington?  This may seem facetious, as these are two pubs in the City, already known for a premium beer choice; however.... they were are not always home to the very, very best brands.  But in recent weeks, we have seen Hawkshead and Moor at the OC's, Red Willow and Buxton at the Wellington and Tiny Rebel at the Post Office Vaults.  I accept that these are very small, isolated examples, but I am still taking them as a positive.  In fact, when I popped into the Welly on Friday, they had a mini-festival underway, featuring beers from a fistful of London's new breed of microbreweries - By the Horns, Hackney and the Botanist, in addition to Happy Valley from Macclesfield.  Now I'll leave aside the fact that the Wellington failed to publicise this via social media, which would have been helpful, but you can't have everything.  Pubs of Birmingham, we want these top beers, we want them regularly and we want to know when you have them.

vi) Cherry Reds
A tiny venue single-handedly taking on the apathetic giant, this Kings Heath venue are doing a great job with their range of great beers on offer and by hosting beer tasting events - to my knowledge they are the only venue really doing this at the moment.  This outfit are a model of independence and integrity.  More please.

vii) Beer Geek
6 months (or so) on from their launch, they are now an increasingly established local brand, available in loads of places across the region.  More please.  On a personal note, I would like them to brew a delicious beer in my honour, but I realise that does sound a bit grandiose and bit git-like, now I come to type it.

viii) Birmingham Post
Talented journalist/cum PR Manager Keith Gabriel neatly captured the gathering beer zeitgeist in the City, in this article.  It's clearly a great piece of writing and clearly mentions all the most important beer figures in the City - namely moi.  But seriously folks, when the Birmingham Post starts noticing that beer is on the up, beer really is on the up.  In actual fact, the article in question appears to have been heavily plagiarised (in theme and tone) by me, in this post, here.  Whoops.

So then, lots to be positive about.  Are there any more?

Drinking - My New Paradigm

It's time to finally admit.  I don't go the pub very much anymore.  I think I was sort of trying to make this point in a previous post, but it warrants a more explicit airing.

Much respected colleagues in the Birmingham Beer Twitterari have recently revisited a much noted point - that Birmingham still doesn't have a City Centre pub, which can consistently deliver, on tap, one or more hoppy, high quality beers.  Various location have their moments, but equally there have been many (boringly retold) occasions when I have ducked in and out of several boozers, during an attempted 'stolen crawl' only to find nothing to take my fancy.

This is one part of the problem.  Now this part may be fixed by the arrival of Brewdog, in fact I'm sure it will.  However, that will not correct part 2 of the problem, which is fiscal in nature, and could perhaps be described as 'quantitive diseasing' i.e. large corporations liberally pumping funds out of my bank account.

Brewdog won't be cheap, but then again, nowhere is that cheap anymore (except for the Black Country).

So shorn of my once frequent pub loitering, I have now moved fully to an off-licence driven pursuit of great beer.  Off licence addiction is now easier than ever to 'get into', as Birmingham now provides any number of places to grab some Eastern European lager, plus two premier destinations for all the very best beer brands - both located along the Pershore Road (Stirchley Wines and Cotteridge Wines).  Off licence shopping is clean, easy and oh so tempting; but it does lead to single-handed drinking, for [I am perhaps glad to report] my house is not usually filled with garrulous blokes standing at the bar necking boozes.

Yes, I now mainly drink alone, which simultaneously means I don't drink as much.  This is good for health reasons obviously, but it does lead to a stockpile in my beer cupboard.  Why is this?  Well during a proper session in the pub, I might manage to sample 4 or 5 different beers in an evening, but I'm unlikely to do this at home, as sitting on my sofa, watching Family Guy and getting mullered on fine beer is not exactly the height of spiritual rebirth and doesn't provide the most wholesome example to set for one's offspring.

So then, what I have right now, is a cupboard full of beer, and ever more chances, to purchase ever more delicious beers, from some of Birmingham's ever more brilliant off licences.  Good for the City, meh for my wallet, and confusing for my hectored brain.  How can I keep up?

In the long run, will it truly be possible to be the poster boy of Birmingham's craft beer revolution from my sofa?  Only time will tell, but it will require some ingenuity.

This post is dedicated to the_Bish - one of Birmingham's premier Ratebeer and Twitter correspondents.         

Two Lovely Black 'Ayes'

I love the idea of doing back to back tastings - typically this might consist of 2 or several beers by the same brewer, or of the same style.  Here's one I sort of did for Saisons; and here's one that CAMRGB organised for Double IPAs.

Here, today, is some details of one what I done the other night, and it was done on the theme of Milk Stout.  What is Milk Stout?  Well, in technical terms it's something to do with the use of milk sugar.  Nope that doesn't mean anything to me either, but Sheriff Mitchell gives a good overview here, which I recommend you read.

So Milk Stouts are a rather antiquated sounding beer style, but a good few examples have popped up recently, and in fact I've sampled 4 that I can think of over the last year (which were all very pleasant).  Below is some detail of the two which I supped this week.

Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout arrived courtesy of my brother Pete, a Bristol resident.  It's a jet black, sweetly perfumed, beguiling foxtrel.  Initial swigs revealed little in the way of flavour, but wait..... repeated sips rewarded my perseverance, by delivering super subtle, sweet milkshake choc, with a bit of gentle roastiness.  An attractive dark beer experience, which builds and builds.  Right this moment I am folding my arms, staring intently at you and whispering "compelling" (try to picture Christopher Lee, and you won't be far off).

So having done Bristol's effort, let's move onto a Milk Stout from Holmfirth.  Summer Wines' Mokko is another jet black beast, with a chocolateade scent. Marginally less dramatic than the previous beer, this is nonetheless a satisfying and subtle experience.  Choc-led, rather than roast-driven, this is filled with sweet nuances, and feels marvellous dans your gob.

If I had to pick a winner, it'd be the Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout, but both beers are recommended, and can be purchased from Stirchley Wines and Cotteridge Wines.

If you in the market for further Milk Stouts (and why wouldn't you be?) I also recommend Pin-Up's version and the version from American brewer Left Hand.  Both are excellent, especially latter.  Mackesons is also still doing the rounds, if you want to get in touch with your inner 'old git'.

   

My ten favourite breweries that I forgot to put in my top ten favourite breweries

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.