So I decided to go to my favourite soulless supermarket chain to avail myself of their range of stouts for a series of reviews. I decided against sampling Guinness for the moment because if you are reading this blog and you haven’t tried (or have an opinion on) Guinness then quite frankly you should go and read something else. That left me with the following three noble stouts – Marston’s Oyster Stout Williams Bros Brewing Co March of the Penguins Hook Norton Double Stout Not that many to choose from…
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Hook Norton is an old English brewery that has been in operation for many years and they have produced an appealing looking bottle design with strong classy branding for their Double Stout with a nice tag line of “Handcrafted in the Cotswold Hills since 1849”. How many other stouts currently on the market have a brewing history of over 150 years? The stout ours jet black with an off cream head that seems to dissipate to a couple of millimetres of head within a few minutes of drinking and as…
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March of the Penguins is from a brewing company from which I have never had the pleasure of drinking any of their brews before so I have been looking forward to sampling the quality. The bottle itself is branded very nicely. It has a modern, slick design which the brewers have clearly given some time and effort towards. Understandably for a stout it pours jet black and is slightly above average carbonation for a stout. It has quite a frothy off-cream coloured head upon pouring which is retained through drinking….
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Marston’s Oyster Stout is a traditional stout offered by a mainstay of British brewing. Perhaps this can explain the “traditional” labelling on the bottle which in my mind is quite old fashioned and lacking in precision. The notes on the bottle label suggest it is best to drink with oysters, other shellfish or just on its own. I haven’t personally contemplated a combination of eating oysters or any other shellfish along with a stout, but perhaps that’s just me being unadventurous. Anyway, about the brew itself. It pours jet black…
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This week seems to have been the week for some much needed common sense from the great and good in the pub scene. Instead of the usual bombastic pronouncements about the death of the great British pub, etc. with no useful counters towards their apparent inexorable demise, we actually have a couple of articles published this week with some common sense ideas involved instead. Both of which a separate pieces but have a common thread – “diversification”. Ed Turner, Commercial Director for the Young’s brewery exemplified in this article that…
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Taking its name from a peculiar species of tusked Arctic whale that survives the pitch-black depths of upto (or rather down to) 1500 metres, Narwhal Imperial Stout from California’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Co is a deliciously dark, tremendously rich and unbelievably complex Russian Imperial Stout. Pouring into the suggested ‘snifter’ glass a thick, viscous oil-slick black with a head reminiscent of a perfect espresso coffee shot, this is a beer that grabbed my attention from the outset – it actually looked like it was going to be well worth drinking…
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If you forget the sensationalist headline and the various opinions in the piece unsubstantiated by facts, this Mail on Sunday article about the rise of the coffee shop and the fall of the pub is quite an interesting read. I’m typically cynical by nature so the fact that throughout the article there are attributed quotes from named individuals espousing the benefits of coffee shops but the only quote that purports to show any support for pubs comes from the ubiquitous “industry insider” only heightens my suspicion as to the reasoning…
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Tell us a bit about your brewery. Quantum Brewing Co is a Five Brewer’s Barrel (1BBL = 36 gallons/163.7L) craft brewery in Stockport, founded in 2011. We produce beers of all styles and strengths, with a heavy focus on flavour. We are hugely independent. How long have you been brewing for? Commercially, since 2011. How did you get into brewing? Did you homebrew? I got into beer mainly through my dad, who used to homebrew all the time when I was growing up. My local pub when I was a…
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So according to the BBC Heineken have decided to reduce the ABV of John Smith’s from 3.8% to 3.6%. The reduction in strength will start to kick in on 4th February and by reducing the alcohol content it is claimed that Heineken can cut 2.5 pence off a pint at the trade level (whether this reduction will be reflected in the prices the average consumer pays at the pump is a question I think we can all answer). By making the change, Heineken will apparently save themselves just over £6…
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Red Hot Poker is a seasonal ale brewed by the Tatton brewery located in Knutsford, Cheshire and we tried it at the Pied Bull Hotel in Chester over Christmas time 2012. If there is ever a beer that could be called a “Christmas” beer it’s this one. The pint pours a lovely ruby colour and weighs in at a fairly hefty 6% ABV so it’s a brew that deserves your utmost respect. I’ve tried brews from Tatton before such as the excellent Lazy Haze and in the past I’ve been…
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