Mr David J’s Official Blog

So, last weekend I went to Bitter Virtue in Southampton to pick up more porters for porter weekend. In doing so I discovered some bottles from a recently opened brewery in my hometown of Totton.

I had the porter last weekend, and tonight, it’s the turn of Flying Saucer and Storm Brew.

Flying Saucer started off with an initial aroma of sherbert, which has since given way to a more lemony scent. Tastewise, the best description I can think of is “citrusy cardboard”. I’m not as impressed as I was with the Dark Castle Porter.

Stormbrew is a slightly darker amber ale, with a wonderful chocolatey aroma. The aroma reminds me of another alcoholic beverage that I’m struggling to place, and which is annoying me. It is however, a very nice aroma (in my opinion). The taste also reminds me of the same drink, which means it’s now annoying me even more that I can’t think of what it is. Overall though, it is by far the most enjoayble of the three bottles I picked up.

I’m hoping to be able to track down a bottle of their Imperial Stout soon, and also to see their beers on draught more when I go around the New Forest. Hopefully things will go well, and Vibrant Forest will be around for a long time to come.

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It is mid-afternoon on a Wednesday in January. It has reached that point in the month where most of us have failed on our resolutions and attempts to make January a “dry month”. Down on the South Coast, the Dancing Man Brewery launch is taking place. It’s currently quiet. Three of the four beers are visable on the bar. I have ordered my first pint of Pilgrim’s Pale Ale.

First impressions, it’s not bad, but it’s not really amazing either. It has an overall bitterness to it, and a mixture of fruits on the aroma, ranging from grapefruit to pineapple and sweet apples. I can’t really say much more than that, it doesn’t inspire me to. It’s that sort of pale ale.

The second beer, Troubadour, is described by their tasting notes as “a beautifully balanced session beer”. It’s 4.1% in strength and light brown in colour. On the first mouthful my initial thoughts are that it seems rather watery. There’s some hint of malt in there, but overall it doesn’t really feel like a beer. Actually, thinking about it, this could be held up as a perfect example of a dull brown ale. I like brown ales, when they’re done well. Sometimes, nothing is quite as enjoyable and refreshing as a well made brown ale. Unfortunately, this is nothing like a well made brown ale.

Due to space on the bar, only three of the four beers available for the launch are currently on the bar. The third one on at the time of writing is Big Casino, a 5% IPA. The tasting notes claim that it is loosely based on an American IPA, so I’m sure I could be forgiven for expecting something good.

Aromawise it’s full of citrusy and hoppy aromas, the tasting notes say that a combination of Styrian Goldings and Galaxy Hops go into this beer. Certainly, I think this is the most appealing that Styrian Goldings has seemed in a long while. Tastewise it’s a slight disappointment, yet still the most enjoyable beer of the three currently on. In a market currently filled with American hops (and for good reason, I challenge anyone to deny that overall they’re lovely), it seems good to come back to the standard taste of beer when I first started drinking.

There is one beer left to be tried, Fiddlers Jig, which will be put on when one of the above beers runs out. I’m hoping that will happen before I leave. If it does I’ll be hoping online and editing this post, if it doesn’t, then this will be it.

Overall I’m not really impressed. Still, it’s early days yet, and they might improve or create something worth coming down for. As it is, the fact that Southampton and Totton now have new breweries of their own is rather exciting. I only hope that things go well, and that Southampton follows in the footsteps of the other beery towns of the UK.

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Day 3 of Porter Weekend and the whole thing draws to a close. Have I learnt anything from it? Have I discovered the perfect porter? Will I ever attempt a trio of questions without failing to think of a good third question? The answers will hopefully be answered throughout this post (except to the third question).

Sunday’s round up of bottles saw Fuller’s London Porter, Brewdog’s Alice Porter, Nonge Ø’s Porter and Mikkeller’s To From Via going head to head to compete for a prize that doesn’t really exist, but does in a way, that of “Best Porter of Porter Weekend”.

Of course these were also going head to head with the 10 other porters that had already been consumed across Friday and Saturday nights, and to a degree also against the porters that I’ve consumed on draught over the last couple of months.

As for today’s porters. The Brewdog was a wonderful subtle mix of blackberries, chocolate and burnt malt, with a “full powerful burnt malt aftertaste that invades the mouth and makes the taste buds it’s own”. The Fuller’s London Porter was a disappointment. On draught this had long been tied with Brodie’s Superior London Porter, yet bottled it didn’t quite have the same taste and feel. 

Nonge Ø’s Porter seemed to strike a good balance between the rich, high alcohol porters and the lower strength more quaffable porters, much like the aforementioned Brodie’s Superior London Porter does. There was a distinct element to the beer that I couldn’t quite place, but overall it was one of the best of the weekend.

Which brings me to Mikkeller’s To From Via. This is another porter in which the bottled version doesn’t quite live up to the draught version, though that’s not to say that it’s not a damn fine and tasty beer. I have some in my glass right now, and there’s still some left in the bottle to finish off before the night is through. If it wasn’t for the relative rarity and cost of this porter I’d declare it winner without thinking about it.

The thing is though, drinking all these porters has got me thinking, what is it I want from a porter? Do I want to be able to quaff it like I could the Vibrant Forest, or do I want to sip and savour it like I would the Mikkeller?

I think, in terms of cost, availability, and how good it tastes, Brodie’s has it by a mile. Of the porters I drunk this weekend I’ve developed a soft spot for the Vibrant Forest Dark Castle Porter, probably because of the fact that my hometown now has a local brewery.

Have I learnt anything from this weekend? I suppose that I’ve seen that there’s a much wider range to the taste of porters than I expected, but overall nothing has really surprised me.

Now to decide the theme of my next weekend…

Posted via email from Good morning…

Tonight’s selection of porters saw five bottles from English breweries being opened.

The proceedings began with Dark Castle Porter from the Vibrant Forest brewery in Totton. There was a strong burnt malt aroma and taste to this that I felt could be offset by something, saying that though it was a really enjoyable, drinkable porter, and I’m looking forward to try the other two beers of theirs that I picked up at Bitter Virtue on Friday.

This was swiftly followed by Mighty Hop Brewery’s Black Pearl Porter, which seemed rather aromaless and tasteless following the Dark Castle Porter. There was a burnt malt aftertaste that lingered on the tongue, and a slight hint of blackberries, but overall it wasn’t really an overly enjoyable experience.

Post dinner, bottles of Hammerpot’s Bottle Wreck Porter and Saltaire’s Hazelnut Coffee Porter were opened. Both of these were nicely balanced, extremely enjoyable porters, with the former just pipping it.

Finally tonight it was the turn of Buxton’s Dark Nights, a US style winter porter. The aroma is full of those wonderful citrusy aromas you’d associate with US hops. The mixture of the flavour elements of these hops and the flavour elements of the dark malts combine to make a nice lingering bitter aftertaste. I like this beer, but overall tonight Vibrant Forest’s Dark Castle Porter wins on the basis that I could drink quite a bit of it if I was in a pub with it on.

I’m off now to open the last of the Brewdog Prototypes that I haven’t yet opened (the Scotch Ale), and look forward to the fact that tomorrow’s porters include Fuller’s London Porter and Mikkeller’s To From Via, both strong contenders for Best Porter of the weekend.

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The first day of porter weekend was a mostly American affair, with a bottle of Mikkeller porter finishing the proceedings.

The porters tried, in order, were Anchor Porter, Odell Cuthroat Porter, Stone Smoked Porter, Flying Dog Barrell Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter and the aforementioned Mikkeller Porter.

The Anchor Porter had a distinct caramalised sugar element to it, which made it rather enjoyable to drink, but at the same time not a porter that I could drink a lot of. The Odell had more of the burnt notes that I’d expect from a porter. The Stone Smoked was enjoayble, the smoked element was subtle, but not too subtle.

I’m not too sure if I should really include the Gonzo. It’s a lovely rich porter, though the high alcohol does show. Saying that though it’s a warming beer, and would be lovely as a night finisher, or drunk slowly on a cold snowy night.

Which is something that could also be said of the Mikkeller Porter. It’s rich, warming, and seems to be inviting me to take it slow and enjoy it. The burnt malts linger on my mouth and leave me satisfied. I like this porter.

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My search for a draught porter was fruitless, and so I turned to the closest thing I could find, a stout.

This weeks pint was consumed in The Guide Dog in Southampton, convieniently (for me) half way between bottle shop, Bitter Virtue, and St. Marys football ground.

I was going to write this post there whilst I was drinking the pint, but someone forgot to charge their netbook, so here follows a brief review based on what I can remember.

It was a good, enjoyable stout, nothing special or terrible, but more on the above average side of the scale. I’d have had another if I didn’t have other places to get to.

That is pretty much all I can remember, I can’t remember any distinct tastes or smells, just that I rather enjoyed drinking this weeks pints.

So, in conclusion, the moral of this post is always carry a pen and paper on you, or at the very least make sure your netbook is charged up before you leave the house.

Posted via email from Good morning…

It’s currently almost twenty to three in the morning. I have just got in from work after having to stay an hour longer to try and fix a problem which still isn’t fixed, but that’s a problem for the morning.

Beside me I have a glass filled with the contents of my last bottle of Brewdog’s Christmas Porter. This is where Porter Weekend begins.

Porter is one of my favourite beer styles. I look forward to when winter comes around each year, and more porters are available. I love the idea of sitting in a pub, by or near an open fire, reading a book whilst drinking a pint or two of porter. To me it’s a wonderfuly tasty and moreish drink.

I selected this weekend to be Porter Weekend a couple of months back, since that time I have been gathering a selection of bottled porters, that I shall be opening over the next three evenings.

As for now however, that Christmas Porter. I can’t say I’m keen on the aroma. It seems rather metallic to me, but the aroma isn’t really the main player here. On the first mouthful the cocoa hits instantly. I’m expecting to be hit with a chilli kick in the aftertaste but I’m left somewhat disappointed, not completely though as the cocoa still lingers, and I like cocoa and chocolate.

Finally on the third mouthful I begin to get the chilli start to come through, as if it’s been lingering to lull me into a false sense of security before pouncing onto my tastebuds. As a result I want to drink some more. I want to taste the cocoa again, knowing all too well that it’s going to be followed by the attack of the chilli.

I take another mouthful, this time it seems neither predominantly cocoa or predominantly chilli, but a mixture of both that doesn’t really work. I try again and get the same sensation. What started out as enjoyment of what seemed like a reasonably good beer is turning into disappointment. I still have just under a third of a pint left though, things could turn around.

There was a slight blip of improvement, but things seem to be continuing down the “not quite working as well as it should be” amalgamation of chocolate and chilli. I continue to the end of the glass, not begrudgingly, but greatful that I know there’s better to come.

Porter weekend has begun.

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Okay, so I lied, or I changed my mind, depending on which way you look at it. Last week I had no intention of heading to the Brodies West End Festival until Sunday evening, or possibly even chancing my luck on there being something left on Monday. As it is I decided to pop down this morning for a quick pint before heading back for work.

There should be a picture here, but I’m currently unable to upload it

This weeks pint was Brodie’s Columbus For Breakfast. It’s dark in colour with a strong citrusy aroma. There was an initial taste of burnt malt but this was soon overpowered by the flavours of the hops, though the burnt malt did start to emerge again in the aftertaste. Overall it seemed rather easy to drink and was very enjoyable.

As a side note, I also had a half of Stephney Green Steam whilst I was there. It’s rare that I can find pale ales that I enjoy drinking in the cold winter months, but this is one that I might be having again.

Posted via email from Good morning…

Okay, so I lied, or I changed my mind, depending on which way you look at it. Last week I had no intention of heading to the Brodies West End Festival until Sunday evening, or possibly even chancing my luck on there being something left on Monday. As it is I decided to pop down this morning for a quick pint before heading back for work.

There should be a picture here, but I’m currently unable to upload it

This weeks pint was Brodie’s Columbus For Breakfast. It’s dark in colour with a strong citrusy aroma. There was an initial taste of burnt malt but this was soon overpowered by the flavours of the hops, though the burnt malt did start to emerge again in the aftertaste. Overall it seemed rather easy to drink and was very enjoyable.

As a side note, I also had a half of Stephney Green Steam whilst I was there. It’s rare that I can find pale ales that I enjoy drinking in the cold winter months, but this is one that I might be having again.

Posted via email from Good morning…

For my first “Friday Pint” I decided to go across the city to The Craft Beer Co in Clerkenwell. I hadn’t really set myself any rules or made any pre-journey choices as to what I was going to be drinking, other than it had to be a pint (rather than my usual half that I opt for to drink more varities of beer in a session), and it had to be something new to me.

I could have chosen an amazing beer, or I could have chosen one that was awful and undrinkable. As it was I went for Buxton Brewery’s Wild Boar, a 5.7% IPA. It’s not bad. It’s drinkable, I managed to finish it and I didn’t not enjoy it, but it’s not the sort of beer that inspires writing. I struggled to write down anything as I was drinking it, other than vague notes about the aroma being a feint mix of citrusy and flowery aromas, and that it has a bitter aftertaste.

In contrast I followed this with a half of Southern Tier’s IPA. I managed to write much more in my note book drinking this. Not only was it much more flavoursome, but the aroma was much stronger, and the whole thing seemed much more enjoyable.

Next week I’ll be holding back my Friday Pint until Saturday, when I’ll be in Nottingham. Any suggestions for pubs and pints are very welcome.

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