Last night I was happy to pay a return visit to the Brown Lion, which as you know, is the Two Towers' brewery tap, in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter.
The pub is still gloriously spartan, but has a acquired a few knick-knacks to fill it out a bit (e.g. some logs). It also seems to have dropped it's range of foreign bottled beers (boo), but does offer a nice menu of pub grub (hooray).
(Very happily) TT seem to be going from strength to strength as a brewer, with slicker pump clips, and more consistent beer.
Unusually for me, I stayed in the pub for a prolonged period, rather than flitting from place to place drinking halves. This was because I was socialising with normal people and felt obliged to try and be a bit more 'normal' - but in the end I'm glad I made the effort. Over the course of the evening I sampled pints of Complete Muppetry - a very tasty tropical-hopped Golden Ale; Mott St Mild - a deliciously smooth and chocolatey, jet black Mild; and Baskerville Bitter, a robust, traditional effort. This was genuinely pleasing: the Complete Muppetry was as good as the first time I tried it - fruity, smooth and aromatic, whilst the Mild was moreish, smooth and gently tasty. Well done Two Towers - now you just need to start pumping out some experimental specials, to build on your solid core range.
The other bonus of the evening was achieving a victory in the Brown Lion's inaugural Wednesday night quiz. Unfortunately for everyone else, the quizmaster played straight into my cohort's specialism and gave us both a 'music' round and an 'album cover' round. It was a massacre.
Generally, I believe that the Brown Lion already enjoys a positive reputation amongst Brum beer fans, so it only remains for me to tell them to keep up the good work, and for patrons to keep patronising it. It should also be reiterated that the Jewellery Quarter now offers a very nice little beer crawl, taking in the Red Lion, Drop Forge, Rose Villa Tavern, Brown Lion and the Lord Clifden. You could even tack the Church Tavern on the end.
Best.
Showing posts with label mild. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mild. Show all posts
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Thursday, 1 March 2012
My love of Lists: No.1 - Mild
In addition to being a rather pedantic and borderline obsessive beer spotter, I also have an enduring love of lists. (Sorry ladies, I'm taken).
I try to limit the number of times that I burden other people with my latest list, but I always end up convincing myself that they might be interested. In this post, there is a list coming up.
When I started getting fully [fully] into Ratebeer in 2004, I quickly morphed from someone only interested in European beer, to someone also interested only in UK cask ales also please. One style in particular what fascinated me was Mild - that most unloved and dwindling member of the beer family. I didn't know much about Mild, apart from that myth about it being constructed from the dregs of other brews. In order to be (slightly) contrary, I started to identify myself as a Mild fan, and hunted them out like a randy dog.
Luckily my Mild odyssey coincided with something of a Mild revival, which made my job easier. Perhaps because CAMRA were so successful in keeping the style alive, the novelty started to wear off. Due to this, sometime around the 100 Mild mark, I started to resist their arguable charm, and instead indulged my rising hop lust. I was being honest with myself: Milds were too mild for me.
It is at this moment in time, that I revisit my Mild heritage. How many of the Milds that scored the highest are even in existence now? How many would I actually seek out nowadays? After reviewing my historical ratings, here are my top ten:
1. Custom Beers Smooth Mild (4.4/5)
Well, this brewery went out of business in 2008, which is a shame as I remember this Mild being quite hoppy and deliciously smooth
2. Belvoir Star Mild (4.3/5)
I remember necking a pint of this delicious fellow at the Swan and Rushes: Leicestershire (well, Rutland) beer in a Leicester pub. Can't be bad. This one is still around and when fresh, is delicious.
3. Iceni Thetford Forest Mild (4.3/5)
A nice Norfolk drop, which seems to still be doing the rounds.
4. Beartown Ambeardextrous (4.2/5)
Strangely enough, this brewery used to be one of my favourites. This Mild is no longer listed on their website.
5. Spinning Dog Muttleys Dark (4.2/5)
The brewery is now renamed Hereford, and it seems that this milkshakey Mild is still going.
6. Banks and Taylor Black Dragon Mild (4.2/5)
Well this oily beauty is definitely still around.
7. Potbelly Beijing Black (4.2/5)
I remember this brewery first arriving on the scene, and the burnt power of this tasty number. It's still going.
8. Iceni Men of Norfolk (4.2/5)
Another Norfolk Mild, this time a big beautiful beast. Another stayer.
9. Derventio Maia Mild (4.2/5)
Still around.
10. Otter Mild (4.2/5)
Well, this is a fairly new one, sampled during a JDW fest, with pleasure.
Other faves, just outside my top 10 include: Grainstore Rutland Panther, Everards Mild, Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild, Church End Grave Diggers, Teignworthy Marthas Mild and Rugby 1823.
Hmmm, in starting this post I expected to report that all of my favourites were no longer in existence - a metaphor for my lost Mild love. In fact, they are still around, bar Custom Smooth, which is a shame.
Even so, on the (rare) occasions when I do sup a Mild nowadays, it's because I'm curious to see what the new lads are doing with the style. But if anything, I want to go out now and sample a few old faves, which is most unlike me. Nostalgia is powerful indeed, but we already knew that, right?
I try to limit the number of times that I burden other people with my latest list, but I always end up convincing myself that they might be interested. In this post, there is a list coming up.
When I started getting fully [fully] into Ratebeer in 2004, I quickly morphed from someone only interested in European beer, to someone also interested only in UK cask ales also please. One style in particular what fascinated me was Mild - that most unloved and dwindling member of the beer family. I didn't know much about Mild, apart from that myth about it being constructed from the dregs of other brews. In order to be (slightly) contrary, I started to identify myself as a Mild fan, and hunted them out like a randy dog.
Luckily my Mild odyssey coincided with something of a Mild revival, which made my job easier. Perhaps because CAMRA were so successful in keeping the style alive, the novelty started to wear off. Due to this, sometime around the 100 Mild mark, I started to resist their arguable charm, and instead indulged my rising hop lust. I was being honest with myself: Milds were too mild for me.
It is at this moment in time, that I revisit my Mild heritage. How many of the Milds that scored the highest are even in existence now? How many would I actually seek out nowadays? After reviewing my historical ratings, here are my top ten:
1. Custom Beers Smooth Mild (4.4/5)
Well, this brewery went out of business in 2008, which is a shame as I remember this Mild being quite hoppy and deliciously smooth
2. Belvoir Star Mild (4.3/5)
I remember necking a pint of this delicious fellow at the Swan and Rushes: Leicestershire (well, Rutland) beer in a Leicester pub. Can't be bad. This one is still around and when fresh, is delicious.
3. Iceni Thetford Forest Mild (4.3/5)
A nice Norfolk drop, which seems to still be doing the rounds.
4. Beartown Ambeardextrous (4.2/5)
Strangely enough, this brewery used to be one of my favourites. This Mild is no longer listed on their website.
5. Spinning Dog Muttleys Dark (4.2/5)
The brewery is now renamed Hereford, and it seems that this milkshakey Mild is still going.
6. Banks and Taylor Black Dragon Mild (4.2/5)
Well this oily beauty is definitely still around.
7. Potbelly Beijing Black (4.2/5)
I remember this brewery first arriving on the scene, and the burnt power of this tasty number. It's still going.
8. Iceni Men of Norfolk (4.2/5)
Another Norfolk Mild, this time a big beautiful beast. Another stayer.
9. Derventio Maia Mild (4.2/5)
Still around.
10. Otter Mild (4.2/5)
Well, this is a fairly new one, sampled during a JDW fest, with pleasure.
Other faves, just outside my top 10 include: Grainstore Rutland Panther, Everards Mild, Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild, Church End Grave Diggers, Teignworthy Marthas Mild and Rugby 1823.
Hmmm, in starting this post I expected to report that all of my favourites were no longer in existence - a metaphor for my lost Mild love. In fact, they are still around, bar Custom Smooth, which is a shame.
Even so, on the (rare) occasions when I do sup a Mild nowadays, it's because I'm curious to see what the new lads are doing with the style. But if anything, I want to go out now and sample a few old faves, which is most unlike me. Nostalgia is powerful indeed, but we already knew that, right?
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