Young's London Ale

Morrissey Fox

Young's Winter Warmer

Bud-wiser

Potholer

This one was also enjoyed at the Lansdown. A potholer is a cave explorer! This one, from Cheddar Ales, did not taste cheesy at all. It was good, but not especially memorable.

Bath Barnstormer

Here is another delicious concoction from our friends at Bath Ales. (And another lame cel phone pic collaged with a grab from the website.) This one was a dark bitter. It was probably a touch too strong for my tastes, but it still had the smooth, juicy consistency of a genuine Real Ale. I had this one at the Lansdown Public House in Clifton. It is a very cozy pub with a nice fireplace. There is more sampling to do at this place! Well Done.

The Best, Literally

My cel phone pic was shitte (apparently, as my phone's pic storage fills up, it takes smaller and smaller pics without giving any kind of warning: here is my marvelous 12k shot), so I've included a grab from the Courage website. This from our friends who also gave us the previously blogged-about Director's Ale. I had this whilst attending my first Sunday roast in England, at a great little place called the Angel Pub. The SONY gang was there: DougIke and Cocoa, Satch, TBrandt, Orecklin, as well Shellaine and the twins and my in-laws. A great time was had by all; the beer and the roast were top-notch. I only had a half pint because I was driving the gang around, but I will definitely revisit this one when I can have a full pint. Very nice.

Summer of My Discontent

Another less than impressive offering from Badger, this Summer Ale invites the drinker to "sip into Summer". It was pretty bland and not very memorable. With so many varieties produced, it seems that quality has definitely slipped away from the Badger folks. I'm pretty sure this is the last Badger I'll try.

Beer With Appeal

I immediately thought of my friend and beer expert Jeff Dillinger when I saw this one. He's always up for any beer drinking challenge, and this one looked like it would indeed be a challenge to get through. It's not a flavor of beer I would feel compelled to try, but in the interests of complete investigating, I gave it a go. For Jeff. Also, this one is made by our friends at Wells who brew the luscious Bombardier, so I had to approach it with some measure of respect. The analysis: the banana bread flavor was not overwhelming, but it definitely had a presence. It was acceptable as a novelty beer (kinda like the honey beers), but there's no way it could ever be a go-to favorite. I just can't see anyone going down to their local and having 3 or 4 of these. Not a session beer.

Another From Greene King

This self-proclaimed "beer to dine for" was probably the best I've had from Greene King so far. I'm finding that English beers in general just aren't as hoppy as American beers. I really miss that skunky pine tree smell/taste that so many IPAs from back home have. This Hop came pretty close, however.

Canned Redemption

This was the best canned beer experience I've had here so far. Although there was no widget involved, this one behaved just like a draughtflow beer (have they found a way to do it now without needing a widget?). It was really tasty with a thick, firm head. This has renewed my interest in the can, as I have seen other canned beers consistently displayed in the same area as Caffrey's, and it has me wondering if they may be similarly creamy. A great beer.

A Gem, Yet Again

I had this a few days ago from the bottle (Gem Amber Ale, Bath Ales), and I am here to tell you it is even better from the tap! It was enjoyed at my lovely local, the Highbury Vaults.

Another From Wychwood

Another offering from Wychwood brewery (Hobgoblin, Hobgoblin Ruby), this wasn't as good as the original Hobgoblin. It has me wondering whether Hobgoblin isn't the tentpole which provides a platform for other supporting (but ultimately inferior) beers. Will other Wychwood tastings bear out this hypothesis -- wait and see!! Nice concept and label, though.

Solid

I'd already had this on tap at The Pumphouse a while back, and I had no cause to suspect that it would be any less satisfying this time around. Doom Bar, named after the sandbar at the mouth of the Camel Estuary in Cornwall, upon which countless numbers of ships were said to have met their end, was rich and tasty.

Well Done

This fourth and final Butcombe variety (already logged the Gold, Blond, and Bitter) is, I believe, my favorite. By far the hardest to find, this IPA comes closest to my American IPA ideal. Named after one of Bristol's favorite sons, this beer marks the 200th birthday of Isambard Brunel, an engineer who helped to shape the town's shipping/transportation industries (he probably did a lot of other cool stuff, too, but hey, this isn't a history lesson). It tasted great!!

Going for 100

As I look over the entries in the beer blog so far, it occurs to me that I may likely try 100 beers while I'm over here. That seems like a nice round number to shoot for. Really, it only underscores just how many beers there are here, as I will have only sampled a fraction of the brews available by the time I leave.

Fool's Gold

This looked like a one-off from a brewery whose wares I'd never seen stocked on the shelves in the stores before. It was completely forgettable.

A True Gem

I first tried a beer from the lovely Bath Ales about a month ago at an art opening (Wild Hare) which was excellent, and this second variety did not disappoint, either. As it currently stands, Bath Ales can do no wrong.

Whatever . . .

There was an Aardman employee leaving the company today, and so she was given the typical send-off of warm bottled (lousy) beer. This was Beck's, but at least it was served in bottles with artsy labels (there is apparently a limited edition run of labels which feature work by fine artists). Still, it was just about as bad as the Beck's back home.

Tribute

I swung round to the Highbury Vaults to have another ale, and Tribute was the lucky winner. This one was great -- so rich and tasty. Man, it's great to live in a place where they take their beer seriously!!