Well, it was ten years today that I joined the Campaign For Real Ale. (CAMRA). In that time we have seen the rise of the micropubs, more beer choice and then suddenly - bang a pandemic !
I was going to launch into a review of my last 10 years, but its a nice warm sunny day outside, possibly the last this year ?, so instead I think its time to review my top ten beers. Ive done this in a previous blog but since then a couple more have appeared. One criteria is , if its on in bar , it will be first choice.
So this is the list, in no particular order, with a few notes.
Theakstons Old Peculier
I first drank this in The Fountain Hotel in Hawes, North Yorkshire and was blown away by the complexities of the flavours. The bottled version is readily available but not a patch on the cask. The last cask of it I
had was in 2016 at 11am in the Old Black Swan, Bedale, about 5 miles from the brewery in Masham.
Jennings Sneck Lifter.
This used to be in Jennings core range but is now an "occasional". Shame is its a great beer to drink. A friend of mine had an afternoon session once and had to be assisted back into his house. Happy days
Robinsons Old Tom
I first came across this gem at a Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) about 15 years ago. Three of us looked warily at the description in the programme, " A full bodied dark beer, 8.5%" We saved that one till last . Mostly seen in bottles these days , had it once in cask a couple of years ago
Marstons Owd Rodger
I used to drink this 7.4% cracker in the Cooperage in Newcastle then go to work for an evening shift. Sadly the Cooperage closed a while ago and only seen Owd Rodger once on cask in a local Marstons a couple of years ago. I get the occassional bottle from B&M's, although during the lock-down the visits increased !
Maxim Maximus
I cant recall the first time I had this wonderful dark beer, but I do recall a friend, who doesn't do strong beers (this is 6%), ordered a pint by mistake and I had to drink it for him. Shame. Can be found as a house beer in my local Spoons where it goes down a treat ! ( left)
Broughton Old Jock
I first read about this in the book "300 Beers To Try Before You Die" by Roger Protz. As my daughter lives in Glasgow who better to provide some bottles every time she visits us ! Been having these for Xmas, Birthday and Fathers Day for about five years now. The Sunderland Beer Festival had the beer on cask for the last two years.
Darwin Extinction
This barley wine won CAMRA Champion Beer Gold for Barley Wine and Strong Old Ale category in GBBF 2016 where I first drank this strong (8.3%) ale. Last time I enjoyed this was during lock-down in bottle form.
Brass Castle Bad Kitty
Ive been to the Brass Castle Tap House in Malton. The Bad Kitty, a 5.5% Vanilla Porter, is available on an occasional basis at the Station House in Durham. During lock-down, I ordered a minicask from the brewery. They make great beer but are crap at packaging. The cask was stuffed in a cardboard box with no padding. It looked like it had been used as a football when I opened the box.
George Samuel Harvey
This brewery in Spennymoor closed last year and the only beer I had drunk of theirs was called Harvey. This 5.6% porter hit the spot when I first tasted it in The Station House Durham. It made occasional appearances and I had my last ever pint in February this year. Of so I thought.
George Samuel and Harvey are back ! This time in a brewery and cafe in Shildon. I feel a trip out coming on !
Mount St Bernard Tynt Meadow This is the first monastic beer brewed in the UK for centuries and comes in bottled conditioned form only. Available since 2017 , Ive been to the abbey in Leicestershire twice and was served by a German monk the first time. I had decided that today I would drink a real ale version of my favourite 10 and this was available in my secret store. It was too hot today to visit a pub anyway so drank this in the garden!
So there you go ; most are dark beers and the "weakest one" is a mere 5.1%.
