THE VIEW FROM BEHIND MY TANKARD... An Ale Review III

Welcome back to my Real Ale Review. Firstly I'd like to apologise for leading you up the garden path. I said I'd be reviewing TONGHAMS T.E.A. Unfortunately I drank that without reviewing it (Sorry!) so I'll review it at a later date. So, ladies and gentlemen I give you... Badger breweries POACHERS CHOICE!!!

I have drunk Badger beers before and can honestly say I've never had a bad one. So as usual here's what the label says:
BADGER since 1777. 5.7% ABV
The wily poacher knows the temptations the lush Dorset countryside has to offer. Just like Badger, the poacher craftily seeks out its treasures and makes the most of sumptuous local ingredients. This rich, smooth brew has a softly spiced sweetness with dark liquorice notes and a fruity damson aroma. A gutsy ruby ale that is well matched with hearty game pie or a tangy mature cheese.

Okay, now my words... Pours nicely and has a rich dark colour, good frothy head and nice smell. Very similar to Wychwoods Hobgoblin but it's a lot stronger at 5.7%.
The thing that struck me and the wife (yup, she's tasting the ales too) is how accurate the breweries description is, every ingredient you can pick out through taste and smell. For a strong ale this is unbelievably smooth and a little  moreish. One thing these breweries won't do is put calorific values on the bottle which is just as well because I'd guess it's close to about 300-350 calories but what the hey.
This ale kept it's head pretty much til the end and the Dorset  brewery has done themselves proud.

Price: 3 for £5 0r £1.79        Score 9/10
Labelling and bottle presentation:        Score8/10
Colour and translucency:      Score   10/10
Initial taste:                          Score  9/10
After taste:                          Score  8/10
Total Score                             44/50!!!

So, a stonking result for the Badger brewery and a well deserved score. It's one of those ales I would never recommend if you're driving as one bottle is 2.9 units which will undoubtedly put you over the drink drive limit and lose you your licence quicker than you can say 'One more for the road'.
Be safe and drink at home OR find a good driver to cab you around and thanks once again for reading my review.                          

THE VIEW FROM BEHIND MY TANKARD... An Ale Review II

So, to anyone who has read my first review, thanks for coming back. Anyone new to my blog welcome. I intend to review one beer each week and would be glad to see some comments regardless of their context.
Without further ado here is the next Ale to review...

I like to start the reviews with the description of the beer on the label so you guys and girls know what the breweries are trying to achieve and also gives you some additional information...

St Peter's Organic Ale
Near Bungay, Suffolk.
St Peter's brewery is located in a medieval hall in a remote and beautiful corner of Suffolk. There our beers began their lives deep below the brewery with water drawn from a pure source - as it has been for over 700 years, essential for the full flavour and pure character of all of St Peter's beers.
Our beautiful flask shaped oval bottle is a copy of one produced c. 1770 for Thomas Gerrard of Gibbstown, just across the Delaware river from Philadelphia.
The original is now kept at St Peter's hall and is a rare example of an oval 18th century beer bottle.

St Peter's Brewery says: Organically grown light malted barley and hops create a refreshingly wholesome flavoured ale with a delicate character. Brewed with skill and patience in one of Britain's finest small breweries.

So after that long historical Introduction I was looking forward to pouring this fine crafted ale into my tankard and relaxing.
At 4.5% it's not a weak brew, at first pour the head was very light and thin so giving it the benefit of the doubt I poured it into a glass to see if the head improved, it didn't.
The beer settles  very quickly and leaves you with little more than a thin film of white froth rather than a proper head and a pale ale colour.
The initial taste screams LAGER!!! at me and with the amount of gas in it had me belching in minutes.
A light crisp taste that tastes of little in the mouth and even less in the after taste department. It looks like a lager, it behaves like a lager and tastes like a lager and I won't be buying it again.
A shame as the history and look of the bottle made it unique alongside the other bottles on the shelf. Unfortunately it reminds me of a cheap duty free stubby from France.

* Price £1.79/ 3 for £5 @ Asda. 4/10
* Labelling and bottle presentation 9/10
* Colour and translucency 9/10
* Initial taste 3/10
* After taste 2/10
Total 27/50

To close this review I would like to remind you all that this is my opinion and I believe that people should try these beers for themselves as I appreciate the fact that peoples taste buds are different.
Thanks for your time and next week we'll be drinking beer from the Hogs Back Brewery at Tongham.

A few of my troops.

THE VIEW FROM BEHIND MY TANKARD... an Ale Review.

This is the 1st beer review I have posted on here and would love to read feedback from any other Ale drinkers out there, especially if you've tried a beer through my recommendations.
So here we go. I have drunk this beer a good few times and have a pint in front of me as I type this.
This is how I intend to write these reviews as it gives me a good excuse to drink and keeps the taste fresh on my taste buds.
Brewery: Wychwood Brewery
Ale: Scarecrow, Organic Pale Ale.
Alcohol Vol. 4.7%
The Brewery says: Organically grown English Barley Malt & Whole Leaf Target hops combine to evoke lazy, hazy days of summer in this serenely satisfying golden harvest brew.

Okay, now my opinion...
I am a big fan of Wychwoods beer BUT if they make a beer I don't like I will tell you. I choose to mainly review bottled beers that I've poured myself as not all Innkeepers can be trusted to look after their ales and there's many a barman or barmaid/serving wench that can't pull a pint to save their lives.
THIS BEER (essential info above) is a pale ale as stated and is golden in colour but don't let that fool you into believing that it's a lads lager, it still has a true Ale taste which can only be a good thing in my opinion.
You can smell and taste the hops and unlike some other beers I'd find it hard to believe you'd walk away from anything less than an empty pint glass regardless of running late for an appointment/back to work/back home or whatever.
It has a good after taste and not too gassy making it hard to really blow out on it.
If you heed my advice I would suggest that with all Ales drunk at home REFRIDGERATE.
This beer is best served chilled and on a nice hot summers day (BBQ BEER) but is welcome in my humble abode 24/7 12 months of the year.
Poured correctly this beer holds a magnificent head that reduces to a frothy film on top of the pint all the way to the last mouthful unlike some beers that die within the first glug.

So, here are the scores for this beer...
Price: 4 pack Wychwoods Collection from Asda £5.40 (£1.35 per bottle) Score 9
Labelling and bottle presentation: Score 10
Colour and translucency of Ale: 10
Initial taste: Score 8
After taste: Score 8
Total Score: 45/50

I am now going to sign off and finish my pint, so remember to drink safe and enjoy.
These are my own opinions and I don't get sponsorship or bribes from breweries (although I wish I did).
As I said before, feel free to treat yourself to a bottle of SCARECROW and let me know if you agree with me.

My holiday and other stories by Lord of Barak Varr

Well, that's my holiday over and I'm back at my scribing table. I have journeyed far (to Dorset) on my grudge pony ( a 20 year old Toyota Corolla) and have returned safely to tell the tale.
I've experienced my wealth disappear before my eyes as my son and heir to the throne has delighted in electronic rides costing 1 gold piece per turn and splatting spiders at 30 pieces of silver a time (good training for the grobkul and killing those nasty forest goblins.)
Jnr's time away from the Barak hasn't been completely happy as day 2 he fell out of bed and landing head first on the floor causing a nasty bruise and we were all up and about from 5am. after a game of chase the beardling he threw himself onto the sofa and whacked his head on the window sill which he then re enacted each day until we left.
He loved jumping up and down in the stream/sea and feeling the waves crashing against his ankles as any Seagate Jnr would.
He spent a good ten minutes chasing a six foot lizard which I found quite brave and encouraging for a beardling only 4 winters old and we saw no rats all week (they must have known we were there.)
My Rinn (wife) and I enjoyed a week of no cooking and ate like the royalty we are and I drank some good beer which no doubt you will hear of at another date.
The ribs were juicy and plentiful, the beef was dry but edible and the fish and chips were ropey but you can't win them all.
I also visited the local Runesmith, he gave me a runic pendant that needs to be cleansed and energised by my good self. He tells me this will help in gambling and games of chance and luck, let us hope he speaks truth.
There is much more to tell but my new grudge is more important...
Grudges are recorded against the following:
* All those that undertake, fail to indicate when turning left and right and lane changing.
* Those that overcharge for their parking tariffs.
* Those that serve River cobbler and soggy battered fish.
* The town of Southampton for a disgustingly filthy and miserable hovel of a town.
* The Inn Keepers charging over 3 gold pieces per pint of ale (unfortunately a common occurrence nationally).

My thanks go out to those that work at Parkdean Sandford, they were most accommodating and the service was above satisfactory.

That is all for now.
My blessings are with the good people of this world.
Tromm.

Welcome to my blogpage :)

Welcome to my first blog.
This page will be updated with:

* Photos of my Dwarf Army (Games Workshop)

* Mini Battle Reports from my regular visits to Games Workshop, Epsom.

* An In length Report on how The Army of Barak Varr got on at Warhammer World in The INVASION Tournament. My 1st ever tournament.

* Real Ale reviews

* My occasional rants as to why the world is such a huge pain in the ass and how it was better when I were a lad.

* Anything else that comes to my attention which I feel you should know.

That's it for now and for the next week I'll be on holiday so nowhere near a PC, ah bliss!