Porteresque v Birds & Bees
Porteresque is everything you might want from a porter. Rich, fruity, malty and without the annoying tendency to demand a tip before doing anything meaningful.
Birds & Bees starts out promisingly, with a crisp, fragrant nose and a very clean taste. The problem is that it is simply too light and clean, it has no depth at all and ends up very much like drinking fizzy water.
In the end , Porteresque wins by some distance. And no, it didn't cost me $5 just to say that.
Friday, 18 September 2009
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Sainsbury's Beer Competition - 5th Opening Contest
Chaos Theory v Woild Moild
OK, now this definitely sounds like a contest from Robot Wars. All we need are Craig Charles, Jonathan Pearce shouting like a deranged toddler and a large number of geeks. Oh, and Julia Reed and Phillipa Forrester in excessively tight leather trousers.
Unfortunately, there's not enough room in here for all of that, so we'll willingly settle for two beers and Mrs Bear in nothing but lingerie.
Beer first, obviously. Woild Moild is just as an old fashioned mild should be - hearty, almost treacly, with a lasting aftertaste.
Chaos Theory is a brute, as you would expect an IPA at 7.1%ABV to be. The problem is that it is almost completely unmemorable, too easy to drink and too lacking in distinguishing flavour.
Victory, therefore, to Woild Moild. I'll leave you to imagine Charles et all. I'm off to attend to Mrs Bear.
OK, now this definitely sounds like a contest from Robot Wars. All we need are Craig Charles, Jonathan Pearce shouting like a deranged toddler and a large number of geeks. Oh, and Julia Reed and Phillipa Forrester in excessively tight leather trousers.
Unfortunately, there's not enough room in here for all of that, so we'll willingly settle for two beers and Mrs Bear in nothing but lingerie.
Beer first, obviously. Woild Moild is just as an old fashioned mild should be - hearty, almost treacly, with a lasting aftertaste.
Chaos Theory is a brute, as you would expect an IPA at 7.1%ABV to be. The problem is that it is almost completely unmemorable, too easy to drink and too lacking in distinguishing flavour.
Victory, therefore, to Woild Moild. I'll leave you to imagine Charles et all. I'm off to attend to Mrs Bear.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Sainsbury's Beer Competition - 4th Opening Contest
Taylor's Tipple v Wilson's IPA
Oh dear. After six pretty decent pints, this really was - with apologies to Ben Folds - the battle of who cares less.
Taylor's Tipple was disappointingly average. Nothing but a bog standard bitter, ok to drink but nothing to stand out from the crowd.
The IPA was even blander, with no discernible flavour of either hops, yeast or anything else. It was also a bit sharper than an IPA should be.
Which means that the Tipple wins, but that's really not an achievement at all.
Oh dear. After six pretty decent pints, this really was - with apologies to Ben Folds - the battle of who cares less.
Taylor's Tipple was disappointingly average. Nothing but a bog standard bitter, ok to drink but nothing to stand out from the crowd.
The IPA was even blander, with no discernible flavour of either hops, yeast or anything else. It was also a bit sharper than an IPA should be.
Which means that the Tipple wins, but that's really not an achievement at all.
Monday, 14 September 2009
Sainsbury's Beer Competition - 3rd Opening Contest
For the second year, Sainsbury's are having a beer contest. The most popular of 15 selected bottled beers will make it onto their product list.
Now, the Bear loves a contest, so I'm randomly selecting two beers a night and playing them off against one another, until we either have a winner of I die of alcohol poisoning
Bays Breaker v Williams' Ceilidh
This was a genuine Blue Peter moment. I don't normally like lagers, but this was something of a revelation. Rich, complex and with an almost citrussy finish.
Bays Breaker is a perfectly decent bitter. Solid, warming, but with a slightly metallic aftertaste that takes a bit of getting used to. On any other day, this may well have been a winner, but the Ceilidh was too good today.
Now, the Bear loves a contest, so I'm randomly selecting two beers a night and playing them off against one another, until we either have a winner of I die of alcohol poisoning
Bays Breaker v Williams' Ceilidh
This was a genuine Blue Peter moment. I don't normally like lagers, but this was something of a revelation. Rich, complex and with an almost citrussy finish.
Bays Breaker is a perfectly decent bitter. Solid, warming, but with a slightly metallic aftertaste that takes a bit of getting used to. On any other day, this may well have been a winner, but the Ceilidh was too good today.
Sainsbury's Beer Competition - 2nd Opening Contest
For the second year, Sainsbury's are having a beer contest. The most popular of 15 selected bottled beers will make it onto their product list.
Now, the Bear loves a contest, so I'm randomly selecting two beers a night and playing them off against one another, until we either have a winner of I die of alcohol poisoning.
Dogma v Bretwalda
After yesterday's contest, this was disappointing. Dogma is a honey heather ale, weighing in at a hefty 7.9%ABV. Unfortunately, it lacks the lingering sweetness of other honey or heather ales, whilst also lacking the warming density of other high alcohol beers.
Bretwalda therefore wins by default, despite being a rather thin and uninspiring ale, with nothing special to commend it but none of the faults of Dogma, either.
Now, the Bear loves a contest, so I'm randomly selecting two beers a night and playing them off against one another, until we either have a winner of I die of alcohol poisoning.
Dogma v Bretwalda
After yesterday's contest, this was disappointing. Dogma is a honey heather ale, weighing in at a hefty 7.9%ABV. Unfortunately, it lacks the lingering sweetness of other honey or heather ales, whilst also lacking the warming density of other high alcohol beers.
Bretwalda therefore wins by default, despite being a rather thin and uninspiring ale, with nothing special to commend it but none of the faults of Dogma, either.
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Sainsbury's Beer Competition - 1st Opening Contest
For the second year, Sainsbury's are having a beer contest. The most popular of 15 selected bottled beers will make it onto their product list.
Now, the Bear loves a contest, so I'm randomly selecting two beers a night and playing them off against one another, until we either have a winner of I die of alcohol poisoning.
Hardcore IPA v Bath Ales' Golden Hare
A tough decision this, because I genuinely liked both beers. Golden Hare is a nice, light drinking ale, hoppy but not overly so. A perfect drink for a warm summer evening.
Hardcore IPA, on the other hand, is slightly more bitter than the average IPA. However, it brings with it a certain depth of flavour and a certain density that set it apart from other IPAs. The beer is also slightly more viscous than usual, meaning that the flavour lingers in your mouth a little longer.
In a close contest, the winner is Hardcore IPA
Now, the Bear loves a contest, so I'm randomly selecting two beers a night and playing them off against one another, until we either have a winner of I die of alcohol poisoning.
Hardcore IPA v Bath Ales' Golden Hare
A tough decision this, because I genuinely liked both beers. Golden Hare is a nice, light drinking ale, hoppy but not overly so. A perfect drink for a warm summer evening.
Hardcore IPA, on the other hand, is slightly more bitter than the average IPA. However, it brings with it a certain depth of flavour and a certain density that set it apart from other IPAs. The beer is also slightly more viscous than usual, meaning that the flavour lingers in your mouth a little longer.
In a close contest, the winner is Hardcore IPA
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
I'm A Cheat
I’m a cheat.
There, I said it. No messing, no excuses, just an open and honest admission. I get onto a rugby pitch and I cheat like mad.
Handling in the ruck? Absolutely. I’m damn good at that. There’s no coincidence that the best referee my side had all last season was the only one to catch me doing it. (By comparison, the worst referee we had was the one who pinged me for handling on the only occasion I never actually touched the ball.)
That’s not my only crime, though. Breaking too soon from the scrum when the referee’s back is turned? That’ll be me. Slowly retreating so I’m still in the way when a tap penalty is taken? Guilty, your honour. Cutting a team-mate so that we can have a blood replacement? Er, no. That’s going way too far.
I’m a back row forward. Cheating is what we are good at, it is part of the game and everyone does it to everybody else. I’ve been involved in playground-style scraps for the ball with opponents when we are both lying at the bottom of a ruck. But hell, I’ve never gone as far as Dean Richards had his Harlequins team do last season. There’s cheating where you do it to your opponent before they do it to you, and there’s cheating where you stoop so low that even the earthworms look down on you.
The sad thing is, I learned a lot of what I know from watching Deano. For example, I wear my socks rolled down, because he did and he did so because it makes it harder for the referee to tell which side an infringing leg belongs to. As a callow youth in the 80s, learning the basics of back row play, there was no better player to watch. Look back at his debut against Ireland and see the lengths the Irish pack go to to stop him scoring a third pushover try and you’ll see what I mean.
For me, those memories are all tarnished now. The man who played the game as it should be played on the pitch somehow has become the man who tried to ruin the game for those who came after him. The world of rugby may never forgive him.
There, I said it. No messing, no excuses, just an open and honest admission. I get onto a rugby pitch and I cheat like mad.
Handling in the ruck? Absolutely. I’m damn good at that. There’s no coincidence that the best referee my side had all last season was the only one to catch me doing it. (By comparison, the worst referee we had was the one who pinged me for handling on the only occasion I never actually touched the ball.)
That’s not my only crime, though. Breaking too soon from the scrum when the referee’s back is turned? That’ll be me. Slowly retreating so I’m still in the way when a tap penalty is taken? Guilty, your honour. Cutting a team-mate so that we can have a blood replacement? Er, no. That’s going way too far.
I’m a back row forward. Cheating is what we are good at, it is part of the game and everyone does it to everybody else. I’ve been involved in playground-style scraps for the ball with opponents when we are both lying at the bottom of a ruck. But hell, I’ve never gone as far as Dean Richards had his Harlequins team do last season. There’s cheating where you do it to your opponent before they do it to you, and there’s cheating where you stoop so low that even the earthworms look down on you.
The sad thing is, I learned a lot of what I know from watching Deano. For example, I wear my socks rolled down, because he did and he did so because it makes it harder for the referee to tell which side an infringing leg belongs to. As a callow youth in the 80s, learning the basics of back row play, there was no better player to watch. Look back at his debut against Ireland and see the lengths the Irish pack go to to stop him scoring a third pushover try and you’ll see what I mean.
For me, those memories are all tarnished now. The man who played the game as it should be played on the pitch somehow has become the man who tried to ruin the game for those who came after him. The world of rugby may never forgive him.
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