The Black Stuff

British dark beer is a bit hit and miss to my mind. I rarely get to visit England, but when I do the lack of stouts and porters on cask in the pubs I visit is quite plain to see. The GBBF is the best opportunity to try British stout and porter and I plan to take full advantage next month at the trade day. When dark beer does turn up I usually find it lacking in character. Many times dark ales have let me down on bottle and cask. I can't say they are bad beers, but I just expect a little more from a stout or porter. Perhaps I am too well served for for decent stout in Ireland; the craft brewers of Ireland brew stouts that deliver big time. Stouts from the UK rarely do. Luckily I found an exception to this sweeping generalisation in the form of Hook Norton's Double Stout. It is full and sharp with roasted grain in the way stouts should be. Old Slug Porter from RCH Brewery satisfies too with distinct wood notes, as if the beer had been matured in oak. Sadly, Rhymney Dark supports my view about stout from across the Irish Sea. The label states that the beer is 'hopped with a true stout uppermost in our brewer's mind', but the beer is decidedly light in colour for a stout and also too thin. It's not a stout, but interesting none the less, particularly the distinct flavour of blackened bread crust that dominates the palate.

It is a curious thing, but it seems to me that UK brewers are afraid to take on a full bodied stout. Perhaps they are intimidated by a particular well marketed Irish stout - I can recall a UK brewer (I can't remember which) stating on their bottle that they consider their stout very good but not as good as Guinness, the insinuation being that it would be foolish to attempt to brew a stout as good as this.

Listen guys, it's not that hard. I've done it at home in a bucket more than once.

Cobweb ale

I dusted the cobwebs off my brewing equipment yesterday. Literally. Too long a stint in the attic draped them with silken threads. Another golden ale was my plan yesterday, but this time with a little more body than the last one. To this end I added 10% dextrin malt to the grist, which will fill out the body but will not alter golden colour I desire. It looked like this:

3.9 kg Maris Otter
400 g Carapils

35g Northdown 60 mins
15g Cascade 20 mins
15g Centennial 10 mins
15g Centennial 0 mins

Mashed at 66 C

40 IBU

Saf o5

OG 1.040

I made modest additions of calcium sulphate and calcium chloride to boost the calcium in my liquor and add some fullness. I had to make some major adjustments to my tap water because a grist that pale will not tolerate 200 ppm alkalinity, which is what I found in my water. I used lactic acid to bring the pH down to around 5.5 which corresponds to alkalinity of around 25 ppm.

While brewing I sampled two ales from this quarter's CAMRA beer club delivery. Interestingly, in the literature with the delivery CAMRA almost apologised for the inclusion of a golden ale, noting that a great many of them are not up to standard. I have whinged about this for quite some time, having been plagued with entire deliveries from CAMRA of listless, thin and gassy golden ales. Crop Circle from the Hopback Brewery was the worrisome golden ale in this delivery, but it can't be dismissed as bland. In fact this ale packs quite a bit of flavour, with a harsh hop character. Lemons strike you on the nose and the addition of maize to this beer gives it a lighter body. Along with this I tried Potholer from Cheddar Ales. This is my kind of English ale. Full biscuit malt with lip smacking, well rounded hop bitterness, topped off with rich foam and a mouth watering copper hue.

This is American beer

July fourth rolls around again. There is no real need for celebration in Dublin but a number of theme events are held around the city. It seems only fair that a nod is given, what with the warm American embrace our very own St Patrick's Day enjoys across the pond. None of these events are related to beer sadly, but that must surely change in the near future because there is vast selection of excellent American beer available in the city. Most of it is in bottles but a willing publican would not find it difficult to muster all these bottles together and stage an American beer festival all of our own.

American craft beer is excellent. No qualifications or caveats are required. American craft brewers are leading the way with a spirit of adventure without compromise, creating the best beer in the world. In celebration of this intrepid journey I opened a bottle of Flying Dog's Gonzo Imperial Porter. I sampled this beer in Copenhagen last year and was torn by it. A beer as black as that should not smell like an IPA. It just shouldn't! Thankfully I can say I have grown since then. Become more open minded, and had a whale of time in the process. From the bottle the hops are greatly subdued but still present. Luscious brown foam tops the ominous black lurking beneath. Treacle, tar and some smoke fill the mouth all rounded off with big body and warming alcohol. Unsurprisingly it is damn bitter, but perfectly balanced. A impressive beer that perfectly mirrors the no fear attitude of American craft brewers.