So I haven't really drank much ales from bottles but after reading a really interesting article on The Guardian website by my house mate's sister on the subject, I will post a link when I re-find the article! Nice to have some young female support, excited for her coming to stay so I can pick her brains!
link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/sep/09/the-case-for-bottled-beer
Anyway....
So I was meant to go out into Leeds to do a little ale trail on Wednesday night to bring you back latest news on some of my favourite local pubs in Leeds but my company pulled out so after getting myself into ale mode (for women especially I believe a good hearty meal for stomach lining is imperative, idea for new blog post!). So I went out and got myself a 'Very Nutty Black' which as the name implies is a very dark ale with a beautifully fruity hoppy taste afterwards and a dry nutty flavour throughout.
It tasted really light when I was expecting it to be really bloating and despite it's dark appearance it drank well. After drinking Guinness, which is like eating a full loaf of bread, darker ales are actually less filling than I thought. I think the huge flavours that come with darker ales can be missed a lot by women because they go for the blonde 'lighter' beers thinking it will be easier to drink? I believe people should drink darker ales because they are missing some amazing ales!
So I have a preconception about bottled ales, they never seem as appealing to me as cask beers. Maybe it's just the packaging? After being exposed to advertising 24/7, the bright colours, lairy prints and thats just the alcohol market. What I have come to realise is that ale doesn't need a colourful eye catching bottle with sparkles on (we just got the limited edition Christmas J2o into work 'Glitterberry' Flavour with actual edible glitter in it!!! Tastes as sickly as it looks.). People who want beer will instantly go to the ale shelf in a supermarket for instance. The dark coloured glass is integral to the quality of the ale with sunlight causing oxidation which causes the beer to taste crap. Ales don't need to have a slogan on the front, the taste of the ale will sell it's self. People work though them to work out what they like similarly with the cask ales.
So I also bought 'St Peter's Best Bitter' but I didn't get round to sampling that one but it's in the fridge for another night in missing the casks but still getting that real ale. Single girls can't find somebody to go with them every night!
Friday, 7 October 2011
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
A vague guide to York
After deciding to go for a meander through York on one of my days off, I knew that I needed to pop into some of my favourite haunts just to have a little tipple, with a bite to eat of course! So I navigated towards one that always needs to be included in a trip to York, The Three Tuns, a small pub which is tucked away right by Coppergate walk and the Jorvic Center is deceptively tiny and being so long goes quite far back into the building.
Despite that there is a nice welcoming and friendly atmosphere, with a cheerful reception from the lady behind the bar after ordering real ale. I'm going to be honest I didn't take down the beer I had but it was lovely and alongside their tasty soup of the day (Stilton and Brocoli) suited me down to the ground! The rest of the food looked really nice as I watched it come out. Recommend for a bite to eat with a pint from one of the 3 pumps on.
After avoiding the April showers in September in shops I decided to try a place I have never been with an infamous reputation, not a a pub but a cocktail bar called The Evil Eye Lounge. With a extensive range of local and worldly beers and largers, I headed past them further back to the bar which served an eclectic range of food and an amazing range of cocktails. After much deliberation I ended up with a Hedgerow Bubbly cocktail which has my second favourite beverages Gin. More precisely Hendricks Gin with a mix of blackberries lemon and topped with Prosecco. I was beautiful, it had it's beatiful up's and down (which I'm told by my works mixologist is something to look for!) Also the staff were so friendly!!
Finally I made the imminent pit stop before the long 20 minute journey back to Leeds at The Maltings where I was given the scathing looks and immediately IDed before even ordering. In the fluster of it all I made a rookie mistake of ordering a 'Chilli and Chocolate Ale'!! I won't even eat chilli never mind drinking it! So I picked up the York CAMRA and starting flicking through. Feeling my mouth getting hotter and hotter, about half way through my half I realised I was simply drinking this bitter concoction to cool my mouth and in fact it was making it worse. It nearly blew my head off! Safe to say I went and deposited the rest of my half on the bar, with more scathing looks and headed straight out the door into the fresh air to pretty much walk back to the station with my tongue hanging out!
Usually we always visit The Maltings and to be honest even with parents in tow they usually ID me without delay. I work in a bar and know how important it is but they have no manners about it which is such a shame for what could be a gem of a pub!
I headed back to Leeds after a very happy day! Shall be hopefully heading back for more drinks in November.
Apples and Pears?
So I recently read an article which is about an subject has got my goat for a long while, OK so not exactly real ale but close to it.
After being a student for 3 or so years I will admit I have drank my fair share of barrel scrapings but Personally my pet hate is pear cider. Not only does it taste so sweet and sickly it gives me a headache but the name is so contradictory!
Pear Cider?
Oxford Dictionary clearly states that cider is "an alcoholic drink made from the juice of fermented apples" APPLES! As any sane person who drinks properly knows that it is PERRY which is an alcoholic drink that is made from fermented PEARS! (apparently the words both come from Middle English 12th to 15th century yadda yadda)
I cannot count the numbers of times I have had this argument with numerous people while going purple in the face because really, they don't care. They like the sweet fruity drink that gets the drunk! So in the end I just sit mumbling to myself and moving onto darker and darker ales to get me as far away as possible from the perry dressed up as the more marketable 'cider' Infuriating.
Rant over.
*Edit*
3 days after this post I went into work and guess what they had got in! 'Pear Cider' my my head nearly exploded! The Rekorderlig Cider which, to be fair is a nice cider, but the 'pear cider' is one step too far. I then went onto tell my bar supervisor my qualms about this product, he looked bemused and told me he like how I had displayed it in the fridges. Water off a ducks back that one.
After being a student for 3 or so years I will admit I have drank my fair share of barrel scrapings but Personally my pet hate is pear cider. Not only does it taste so sweet and sickly it gives me a headache but the name is so contradictory!
Pear Cider?
Oxford Dictionary clearly states that cider is "an alcoholic drink made from the juice of fermented apples" APPLES! As any sane person who drinks properly knows that it is PERRY which is an alcoholic drink that is made from fermented PEARS! (apparently the words both come from Middle English 12th to 15th century yadda yadda)
I cannot count the numbers of times I have had this argument with numerous people while going purple in the face because really, they don't care. They like the sweet fruity drink that gets the drunk! So in the end I just sit mumbling to myself and moving onto darker and darker ales to get me as far away as possible from the perry dressed up as the more marketable 'cider' Infuriating.
Rant over.
*Edit*
3 days after this post I went into work and guess what they had got in! 'Pear Cider' my my head nearly exploded! The Rekorderlig Cider which, to be fair is a nice cider, but the 'pear cider' is one step too far. I then went onto tell my bar supervisor my qualms about this product, he looked bemused and told me he like how I had displayed it in the fridges. Water off a ducks back that one.
Monday, 3 October 2011
A girl's guide to real ale & beers
So I have been doing some research around and about the internet about girls and real ales and found this eye opening website bookshelfboyfriend.com. 'Bookshelf Boyfriend is the how-to and advice site for women' apparently! So this what they had to say on the matter
Beer is as varied and as complex as wine in colour, texture, aroma, flavour and alcoholic content. This variety is steadily becoming better appreciated by the public at large as hundreds of micro-breweries in Britain alone are lovingly producing an ever expanding range of high quality 'real ales'. The following information all relates to real ales which are beers virtually always produced WITHOUT artificial preservatives or additives in contrast tothe bulk of mass-produced beers and lagers that are the main fare of public houses and restaurants.
A major source of information has been a publication 'The Best Long Drink in the World' from a non-profit organisation the 'Beer Academy'. (See later for further sources of information.)
Yeast is added to the cooled bitter wort and feeds off the sugars and nutrients in the malt, producing carbon dioxide and alcohol.
There are many facts and claims which have been published regarding the benefits to health from drinking real ale in moderation. Even if you are not convinced about some, the following list of positive attributes of beer is impressive.
Butt - 108 gallons*
Hogshead - 54 gallons
Barrel - 36 gallons
Half Hogshead - 27 gallons
Kilderkin - 18 gallons
Firkin - 9 gallons
Pin - 4.5 gallons
(*8 pints in a gallon)
You are more likely to purchase your real ale in demi-pins (18 pints) or bottles of 500 ml (about 0.9 pint) or 750 ml (about 1.25 pints).
When purchasing your real ale remember to ask whether it is 'bright' (has no sediment) or is 'bottle conditioned'. The latter type is more common and has some yeast sediment and therefore needs to be decanted carefully into a glass or pitcher, retaining the sediment for disposal in the bottle.
Ideally, pour the real ale with a head and let it breath to enjoy the aromas to best advantage. The same sorts of rules apply as do to drinking good wines.
If you are not consuming your real ale soon after purchase, ideally store it in a cool environment. It should also be away from light; it is for this reason that most beer bottles are dark brown to minimise light induced chemical reactions. Beer in clear or green glass bottles will not have the equivalent 'keeping' properties.
Bottled beers should be stored vertically unless the bottle has a cork, in which case lay it down like a wine to keep the cork moist and then stand it up a day or two before drinking to let the sediment settle.
Remember, the production of real ales is a complex process, with many variables at play and, occasionally, if one is a little off, treat it like your best friend and be understanding! The pleasures will far outweigh any disappointments.
Favorite bit??? Zero fat
Beer is as varied and as complex as wine in colour, texture, aroma, flavour and alcoholic content. This variety is steadily becoming better appreciated by the public at large as hundreds of micro-breweries in Britain alone are lovingly producing an ever expanding range of high quality 'real ales'. The following information all relates to real ales which are beers virtually always produced WITHOUT artificial preservatives or additives in contrast tothe bulk of mass-produced beers and lagers that are the main fare of public houses and restaurants.
A major source of information has been a publication 'The Best Long Drink in the World' from a non-profit organisation the 'Beer Academy'. (See later for further sources of information.)
What makes beer?
Barley
Barley is the main constituent of beer - as grapes are to wine, so barley is to beer. Barley grains are low in fat and protein but rich in starch. In growing barley it is the starch which is the plant food, but in harvested barley the starch is used to make beer.Hops
Hops are a close botanical relative of cannabis and contain over 200 natural flavour compounds in resins and essential oils that give beer its distinctive hop flavour and degrees of bitterness. To enjoy some DIY aromatherapy, buy some hops and try to detect the 'spicy', 'floral', 'resinous', 'citrus' and other unexpected scents.Water
Four to six pints of water are needed to produce every pint of beer. Naturally dissolved salts characterise different beers. The famous beers of Burton on Trent use water with dissolved gypsum which invest them with excellent 'keeping' qualities (hence many were exported to India).Yeast
Yeast is a microscopic fungus that grows on sugar, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide in a process called fermentation. Different yeasts create a wide variety of flavour compounds that again characterise different beers.How is beer made?
Malting
Barley is steeped in water and germinates. This 'malt' is heated to different degrees to stop further germination and to produce different colours and flavours.Milling
The malt is milled to a mixture of fine flour and husks, called grist.Mashing
The grist is mixed with hot water and left to stand, allowing enzymes to break down the starch to release soluble sugars. The clear sugary solution, the wort, is run off and the spent grains sold off for animal feed.Boiling
The wort is boiled with hops and then cooled and aerated to dissolve oxygen which will be needed at the start of fermentation.Fermentation
Yeast is added to the cooled bitter wort and feeds off the sugars and nutrients in the malt, producing carbon dioxide and alcohol.Conditioning
If going into casks, some yeast fungus and extra sugar, are added. A carbon dioxide 'tingle' is produced and the fungus attract the yeast cells to form sediment at the base of the cask.Filtration and Pasteurisation
If going into a bottle, can or keg, the beer is first conditioned and then filtered. These 'bright' beers are pasteurised for longer life.Describing beers
- ABV - Alcohol by Volume – the percentage of alcohol in beer.
- Abbey beer - A strong beer brewed in the fashion of monastic beers but by commercial companies. Only Trappist monasteries have the legal right to call their beers 'Trappist'. Beers produced in a similar style under licence from a clerical order have adopted the term 'Abbey'.
- Ale - A beer brewed with the yeast sitting on top of the wort during fermentation (compare to a lager).
- Barley Wine - A very strong, often sweet beer.
- Bitter - A well-hopped ale. Bottle-conditioned - Beer which undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle (most real ales) and hence has a bottom sediment in the bottle.
- Bright - Filtered and usually pasteurised beer, in contrast to bottle-conditioned beer in that it has no bottom sediment in the bottle.
- CAMRA - The Campaign for Real Ale – British consumer organisation founded in 1971.
- IPA - Indian Pale Ale
- Lager - A beer brewed where the yeast sinks to the bottom of the wort during fermentation and which is matured for several weeks or months at low temperatures. The word 'lager' is derived from the German word for 'store'.
- Mild - A lightly hopped, low strength ale (normally under 4% but can be up to 6% ABV). Pale milds have a fruity aroma and gentle hoppiness. Dark milds have a roast malt or caramel flavour.
- Pasteurised - Beer which has been heat treated to kill remaining yeast cells and prevent further fermentation.
- Porter - A light predecessor of stout, usually with a sweet taste.
- Real Ale - An unpasteurised, unfiltered beer which continues to ferment in the vessel from which it is served ('cask-conditioned' or 'bottle-conditioned').
- Stout - A heavy, strong beer, usually dark in colour, tasting dry and bitter, often with roasted barley flavour. Wheat Beer - A beer brewed with a high percentage of wheat and often served cloudy with yeast in suspension. Sometimes called 'white' beers.
Health Benefits
There are many facts and claims which have been published regarding the benefits to health from drinking real ale in moderation. Even if you are not convinced about some, the following list of positive attributes of beer is impressive.- Zero fat and zero cholesterol in beer.
- Full of vitamins and minerals.
- A litre of beer can supply 10% of your daily proteinneeds (whereas wine has none).
- Alcohol in general can benefit the heart and circulatory systems
- Polyphenols in beer act as scavenger of cancer-inducing free radicals like those in red wine.
- Soluble fibres in beer have the same type of benefits as those in cereals. Moderate alcohol consumption leads to stronger bones, as you grow older.
- The malt in dark real ales can prevent tooth decay.
- A beer a day is linked to a 40% lower risk of kidney stones forming.
Calorie counting!
If you are an avid calorie counter, note where beer sits in the following calorie league table.- Beer 4.5% ABV - Half pint - 110 cals
- Gin and Tonic - 25ml gin & 180ml tonic - 121 cals
- Sparkling wine 125ml - 131 cals
- Cola/soft drinks - Half pint - 136 cals
- Table wine - 175ml - 175 cals
- Sweet wine or Vermouth - 125ml - 200 cals
- Bacardi Breezer - 330ml - 220 cals
- Milk Shake - Half pint - 284 cals
Buying, storing, pouring beer
While its impressive to know the definitions of the different beer containers, such as:Butt - 108 gallons*
Hogshead - 54 gallons
Barrel - 36 gallons
Half Hogshead - 27 gallons
Kilderkin - 18 gallons
Firkin - 9 gallons
Pin - 4.5 gallons
(*8 pints in a gallon)
You are more likely to purchase your real ale in demi-pins (18 pints) or bottles of 500 ml (about 0.9 pint) or 750 ml (about 1.25 pints).
When purchasing your real ale remember to ask whether it is 'bright' (has no sediment) or is 'bottle conditioned'. The latter type is more common and has some yeast sediment and therefore needs to be decanted carefully into a glass or pitcher, retaining the sediment for disposal in the bottle.
Ideally, pour the real ale with a head and let it breath to enjoy the aromas to best advantage. The same sorts of rules apply as do to drinking good wines.
If you are not consuming your real ale soon after purchase, ideally store it in a cool environment. It should also be away from light; it is for this reason that most beer bottles are dark brown to minimise light induced chemical reactions. Beer in clear or green glass bottles will not have the equivalent 'keeping' properties.
Bottled beers should be stored vertically unless the bottle has a cork, in which case lay it down like a wine to keep the cork moist and then stand it up a day or two before drinking to let the sediment settle.
Remember, the production of real ales is a complex process, with many variables at play and, occasionally, if one is a little off, treat it like your best friend and be understanding! The pleasures will far outweigh any disappointments.
Favorite bit??? Zero fat
Manchester september 2011
So I've been sat on this post for about 2 weeks now after visiting my sister Ella in Manchester. She moved there beginning-ish of september and I said I would go visit and even though she's not really into ale much (she has tried on several occasions to get involved on this family tradition) she had scoped out one or two pubs but with time frame and pizza express offers calling we only had chance to nip into one tucked away pub.
Called The Salibury which had 5 pumps on that day, we decided to try The Blonde Witch which was out of character for me because it was so blight but the peachy undertones and I got for Ella an Autumn Red which was a bit more amber in colour with a slightly smokey aftertaste.
There was quite a strange atmosphere with a heavy metal music soundtrack to knock your socks off on a Wednesday afternoon, with token red pattered carpet and wood everywhere we left quite quickly after that because I prefer somewhere to enjoy my ale a bit more peacefully on an afternoon!
I saw a few more pubs on my travels that I will frequenting with what I like to refer to as soul in Manchester....we still have 3 years to go Ella!
Called The Salibury which had 5 pumps on that day, we decided to try The Blonde Witch which was out of character for me because it was so blight but the peachy undertones and I got for Ella an Autumn Red which was a bit more amber in colour with a slightly smokey aftertaste.
There was quite a strange atmosphere with a heavy metal music soundtrack to knock your socks off on a Wednesday afternoon, with token red pattered carpet and wood everywhere we left quite quickly after that because I prefer somewhere to enjoy my ale a bit more peacefully on an afternoon!
I saw a few more pubs on my travels that I will frequenting with what I like to refer to as soul in Manchester....we still have 3 years to go Ella!
First and Foremost.
So I thought I best tell you a bit about myself. I am a 23 year old woman who works in a bar in Leeds City center and consumes a lot of different drinks but mainly I love real ale. So after many a night of being sat in the pub with different people and threatening to make this blog here it is.
I'm not the usual ale drinker, being 23 and a woman who looks about 15 I don't half get some funny looks and am usually IDed straight off, but I wanted to start writing about real ale to help people understand why I drink it. I take my friends down to the pubs, some of whom drink as well but I'm slowly converting the rest.
Some were easier than others. I'm still working on one who regularly asks me why I drink something that 'tastes like dirty dishwater' though I have to say she has moved onto organic cherry larger, which admittedly still tastes like a cherry VK but one baby step at a time, She'll get there!
Dad and Mum were the ones who got me into drinking real ale, after me trying sips of their pints then moving onto drinking half of it they decided it was time high time I started getting my own! As long s I can remember trips around England when we were younger were heavily influenced, not by maps and tourist attractions but Dad and his Good Beer Guide!
So I think my first stop in Manchester, after my sister moved there in September for university, she must have known when I went to visit that we were going to bypass the freshers bars and head to the real ale pubs. The good sister that she is she had already spotted some on her walk to uni so there we headed!
I'm not the usual ale drinker, being 23 and a woman who looks about 15 I don't half get some funny looks and am usually IDed straight off, but I wanted to start writing about real ale to help people understand why I drink it. I take my friends down to the pubs, some of whom drink as well but I'm slowly converting the rest.
Some were easier than others. I'm still working on one who regularly asks me why I drink something that 'tastes like dirty dishwater' though I have to say she has moved onto organic cherry larger, which admittedly still tastes like a cherry VK but one baby step at a time, She'll get there!
Dad and Mum were the ones who got me into drinking real ale, after me trying sips of their pints then moving onto drinking half of it they decided it was time high time I started getting my own! As long s I can remember trips around England when we were younger were heavily influenced, not by maps and tourist attractions but Dad and his Good Beer Guide!
So I think my first stop in Manchester, after my sister moved there in September for university, she must have known when I went to visit that we were going to bypass the freshers bars and head to the real ale pubs. The good sister that she is she had already spotted some on her walk to uni so there we headed!
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