Saturday 28 March 2015

Beer Central Bottle Share 7 -(Berry Saki Bastard by Buxton Brewery)

A swift pint of Magic Rock's clever Retrospect (4.8%)  took a fair while to arrive in the busy Ruttie but this clever 'Yorkshire Common' bitter was the ideal starter as I eagerly awaited the delights to follow upstairs.(It`s wot Landlord ought to taste like in 2015).



The first few contenders were little to write home about. One of the Sharp's (special/connoisseur) brews was ok with a playful sherbet hint whilst the other was full-on strong (special brew) and much-liked by Sean, reason unknown. Doomed. Ya Barred. (Mebbe the buritto had destroyed his taste buds. More evidence to follow).
The Ratchet Blended Saison by Siren set alarm bells ringing as it was sprayed over an unimpressed Steel City Dave by 3 Tuns Kate, an alleged professional pourer `n` that. Apparently there is a Youtube video of how to open this brew, so Illka informed us later. The taste lacked such excitement though.


Northern Monk and Smuttynose didn't really deliver either and a Marble special (from Grove Hali) and a North Riding effort disappointed this time too. Steel City's Funeral in Carpathia (8.7%) was worth the wait though and it was the first quality brew of the night IMO. Roasted and rugged, you taste milky choc and coffee. One of the best of the Black Metal collection methinks and their finest work since All Hallows  - ?

Mikkeller's Nelson Sauvin took an age to open but it was worth it. Amazing aromatics and full-flavoured all the way. A booming 9 from me.


My offering of Buxton's Berry Saki Bastard (10%) was a decent one. Raspberries dominated the nose and Dap & Drink`s Claire astutely proclaimed BSB to be like 'Victoria sponge'. (Her Limoncello IPA had not been at it`s best btw). BSB is a beautiful drink from an on-form brewery cleverly combining and balancing saki yeast, raspberries and white wine.



 However, a certain bottle retailer who shall remain nameless scored this as a '3' thus costing Buxton the win.

The night's winner though was Even More Jesus 8 by Siren and this sure was a master-class of an imperial stout that impressed everyone, fair do`s. An ideal nightcap to end a lovely evening with cool people. Cheers!
 el scores (by Alex)

Sunday 15 March 2015

Sheffield Beer Week

How do. Just a quick blog bit to give a two beer geeks best wishes for an exciting new event coming up; Sheffield Beer Week.

Image result for sheffield beer week

In the days leading up to SIBA X, Jules,head honcho at Hop Hideout, and Claire, who is famous for being Exposed all over Sheffield, have coordinated a whole load of beery events around our city. Here's our three not to miss:-

Monday - IPAs at Shakespeares. Hosted by convivial chaps Sean (Beer Central boss) and pub president Chris. So that's one of the most popular ale styles at our favourite pub. No-brainer.

Wednesday - Siren at The Rutland. Meet Berkshire's best brew squad and sample some of their finest wares. The last year has seen so many great ales over a broad range of styles from Siren. What's not to like?

Thursday - Great Heck at The Tap & Tankard.


Nice new Kelham Island Brewery run Cambridge Street pub , which was formerly The Sportsman offers the chance to chat to Denzil Vallance who apparently is a heck of a great bloke. Low ABV Powermouse  is one of our favourites.

For full details of Sheffield Beer Week go here.
Enjoy.