About Me

This blog follows my journey while drinking my way through the Post Office Vault's beer passport taking in 200 beers from around the world

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Maneblusser

I had this beer on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It had been another shopping trip into the city centre of Birmingham with my other half and I managed to sneak off to the Post Office Vaults. On ordering the barman gave me a look and informed me he wasn't sure if they had any in. Apparently a group of lads had been going mental for it last night. I was lucky enough to get the last bottle in the pub.

Maneblusser, apparently means moon extinguisher, and the story goes that in the 1600s in Belgium the red moon was shining through the fog one night and a man leaving a pub saw the light on the local church tower and cried fire. People arrived to put it out, much hilarity ensued and being Belgian they started brewing beer to commemorate it.

The beer itself is distinctly ok, nothing special. I mean it's nice but I wouldn't go out of my to get one. Those fellas the previous evening must have had funny tastes, or a keen interest in 17th century stories. 3 out of 5. 

On count back I realise that this is beer number 50. So it's my half century and I'm 25% of the way through. I've had some good beer, I've had some bad beer, but I have another 150 to go.

Thursday 7 November 2013

Lucifer

I had been dragged into the city centre shopping by my other half but managed to convince her to let me go for a beer. In general my other half is extremely supportive of going for a beer in the afternoon. She does however not share my enjoyment of the drink and normally opts for an orange juice and lemonade. Her loss I suppose.

Today's choice is Lucifer, its made by the same brewery that provided the last 3 beers in the blog and as they have been good I look forward to this one as I pour it into the glass. Its a nice golden colour and a little bit cloudy. Its got that characteristic yeasty smell that I associate with Belgian beers. The flavour is very nice, well balanced and you can certainly feel that 8% alcohol. Overall a very pleasant beer but not one I think I could drink more than about 2 of in a sitting. 3.5 out of 5.

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Gouden Carolus Tripel

The third and final beer from this Belgian brewery on the POV list is there tripel. It must be said that its a really nice beer, hoppy but balanced with a nice smell and a slight warmth in the mouth. A really enjoyable beer that makes up for the disapointing hospinjoor. 4 out of 5.


Tuesday 20 August 2013

Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor

After the delicious classic from this brewery. I was excited to see what the lighter golden beers from this brewery would be like. I was full of hope when i took my first sip of the Hopsinjoor. It has a nice smell to it, quite floral but apart from that I was really disappointed. This beer just lacks something, it seems a little light weight and lacking in any real depth of flavour, a bit too fizzy as well. Maybe times are changing, maybe I like dark beers now.

2.5 out of 5


Gouden Carolus Classic

I have regularly stated that my beer preference goes, light beers and pale ales at the top, dark beers such as porters and stouts at the bottom and fruit flavoured beers best not talked about. So when taking on this darker beer I wasn't hopeful of being blown away but expected it to be another solid beer. Gouden Carolus Classic seems to have been named for something to do with the golden coins of a Holy Roman Emperor and was enjoyed while fox hunting. I'm all about context for beer but as fox hunting is illegal in the UK and I don't know any emperors I just drank it in the pub like every other beer. I was very surprised I really enjoyed the deep malty flavour of this beer and the kind of warm feeling on the tongue. If I ever end up in 16th century Belgium I will try and go fox hunting if only for the beer. 4.5 out of 5


Vuur and Vlam

Once again I let my girlfriend choose the beer and she picked the amusingly named Op and Top. However on getting to the bar it became apparent that this wasn't in stock and so in keeping with the strange sounding Dutch beers I selected a Vuur and Vlam. It was an extremely pleasant beer, with a nice deep colour a good head and a deep slightly malty flavour. Very nice.

While drinking this I ran into a friend who works at Free Radio. While chatting to him and his fellow radio news readers, I mentioned th best and the worst pubs about. Me and my girlfriend warned them off The Crown on hill street as its a bit rough. They duly ignored me and went to the crown. I got a message later just saying "it was worse than you said, I had never been to such a place before". Suffice to say if you are in Birmingham near the station go to the Post Office Vaults for a drink and not The Crown.

3.5 out of 5


Monday 19 August 2013

Barbar

For the final beer of the staff night out before I left for Bridley Place I ordered a Barbar. The barman at the time informed me that I was only getting the proper glass, a frosted mug type affair, as there was someone else to get it due to him not touching frosted glass, I guess we all have things that put us on edge.

When I got it back to the table the other teachers were disappointed that the mascot/emblem was nothing to do with Barbar the Elephant. Everyone had a taste and the consensus round the table was that it was a brilliant beer, I however didn't like it. I have stated numerous times that I don't like flavoured beers and this one has been sweetened using honey. While the sweetness from the honey wasn't overwhelming it was certainly enough to put me off. It reminded me slightly of the one time I had tried mead, not surprising really. I didn't like mead either. After this it was off to Brindley Place then we ended up in a 90s club. I was amazed they have 90s clubs, I was also very disappointed by the music it certainly didn't live up to my idea of the 90s. Beer score 2 out of 5. Club score 1 out of 5.


Saison Cazeau

For the second beer in the staff night out my workmate Michael went to the bar and came back with a Saison Cazeau. Now I don't like flavoured beers, see any of my comments earlier in the blog about the Floris range of beers, and this Belgian beer has been flavoured with elderflower. Its appearance is quite a like a lager, and on tasting I would describe it as a little lightweight in terms of flavour. I can taste the elderflower as an aftertaste and I suppose it could be quite refreshing if sat outside after a long walk through the Belgian countryside, but in a basement bar in the centre of Britain's second biggest city I'm not so sure. I am just not sure that it is my thing. 2.5 out of 5


Karmeliet Tripel

This beer is taken as part of another works night out. Thankfully its right at the start of the night unlike the beer that I don't really remember.

So a group of teachers assembled before moving on to the more rowdy venue of Bridley Place to celebrate the end of term but started a little more civilised. My first of the night was a Karmeliet Tripel. when I ordered the barman gave an approving nod saying that this was one of his choices of beer. Research tells me that it is brewed to a recipe from 1679 and according to this has won some very noticeable awards. While I really enjoyed it as a beer I couldn't taste the banana that the world beer award tasters suggested was there. Overall I thought it was brilliant. Golden in colour with a deep complex flavour and the right amount of alcohol coming through. 4.5 out of 5


Sunday 18 August 2013

Urthel Hop-it

My girlfriend is in some ways a bit of a beer widow. I am forever dragging her to beer festivals and down to the Post Office Vaults for another beer. I have tried to get her into it but she just doesn't like beer. Even during a tasting session from Daas, who make some nice beers despite them being gluten free, the only comment she came up with about all of their beers was "it tastes like beer".

She does however seem to enjoy picking the beer that I am going to drink based solely on the name. Today she has selected Urthel Hop It. What strikes me first is the loveable character adorning the glass. He has a big nose and one hell of a beard, which I can only hope to emulate one day. The beer itself is very nice, not that typical of most of the other Belgian beers I have tried but actually quite reminiscent of some of the American craft beers I tried early on. Overall I like it. 4 out of 5.

Slaapmutske Tripel

Now I will be honest, I had had a few by the time I ordered this one at the bar. I was out with some work mates making my way towards Chung Ying Gardens in the Chinese Quarter, we had a good meal. But I had taken in a few drinks in the Wellington and when writing I can't really remember much about this beer.

From looking at their website, Slaapmutske looks like a nice little start up Belgian brewery. My untappd check in gave it 4 out of 5 so I must have enjoyed it at the time. I guess that's What I will give it now.

Monday 12 August 2013

La Trappe Blond

The final beer of my drink in the pub with my mother is a Dutch Trappist beer called La Trappe, monks, hot on brewing and god, rubbish at naming.

Its another beer that is very pleasant without ever really being amazing. It tastes like a Belgian abbey beer, yeasty and with a good flavour but overall its instantly forgettable and becomes just another beer in the crowd. 3 out of 5.

On a side note why do monks love brewing so much? I guess there isn't a lot else to do in a monastery but get drunk.


Friday 9 August 2013

Leffe Blonde

No picture of this for some reason, but if you want to know what it looks like you can find it everywhere, they even sell it down my local Tesco.

The Leffe Blonde is from the same brewers as the previous 2 and I've had it numerous times before. Its exactly what is expected a nice golden ale that has the taste of a Belgian beer. I like it slightly more than the bruin version. 3.5 out of 5.

I was still in the pub with my mum while drinking this and while in there we ended up chatting to a lady who regaled us with her tales of drinking real ale around Birmingham. She also included a list of pubs she was banned from due to fighting but was quick to point out that she wasn't a violent person. A nice example of the characters you meet in the pub.

Wednesday 7 August 2013

Leffe Brun

So I have spent the last couple of days in Reading saying goodbye to my little brother. He is off on a round the world trip taking in the USA, Australia, South Korea and Japan. Now I don't know anything about the beer in South Korea or Japan, and I know that the beer isn't the best in Australia but I do know a little about craft beer in the USA. SO hopefully you are reading this and you should get yourself down to one of the Pony Bar locations. In Chicago you should head for one of the brewpubs run by Goose Island. Have fun bro.

Anyway to the beer. I was having a drink with my mum and opted to continue with the drinking some Leffe. Now Leffe is an abbey in Belgium but they license out the beer to ABInbev (the world biggest beer company) so its a bit of a trying to look local and small from the the big company. The Leffe Brun itself is exactly what you would expect, nice without being brilliant. It has a slightly sweet malty flavour and goes down well. 3.5 out of 5


Tuesday 6 August 2013

Leffe 9

Now I drink Leffe Blonde quite a lot. you see it in loads of pubs on draught, and can pick it up at shops all over the place. They even sell it at my local Tesco's. But I've never had Leffe Blonde's bigger brother the Leffe 9. Basically its Leffe Blonde but brewed longer and stronger to give more flavour. Sounds good to me.

On pouring it is a bit deeper in colour than the Leffe Blonde that I am used to. As It take my first taste I am very impressed. It has the distinct flavour of a Belgian beer but despite its big 9% alcohol has a mellow flavour and it slips down very nicely. 4 out of 5.

St Rogue Dry Hopped Red Ale

The Dry Hopped Red Ale from Rogue is one that I have been trying to get my hands on for a while. But it's been out of stock for a while and I had started to feel a bit of a fool asking for it over and over at the bar with little success. However on a boozy Thursday night out with a jeweller, a radio newsreader and a couple of teachers my luck was finally in.

I guess the real question is was it worth the wait. To this day I'm not sure. It wasn't a bad beer, it might even be a really good beer (its won a lot of awards), but I don't think its my kind of beer. I found it to be too bitter. Almost like one of those really sour sweets you get where your cheeks get sucked in by the sourness. As I go on I enjoy it more but not enough to have made the wait worthwhile. 3 out of 5

Petrus Gouden Tripel

Okay, so I've been away for a while. I haven't stopped drinking, that would be stupid, but I have had a lot of work on. The run up to the end of term at school was dominated by evenings spent boring myself to death markng GCSe and A level papers. This time replaced my blogging but has enabled me to book a holiday to New York where I should have convinced my other half to go to the Brooklyn Brewery for a tour. I'm very excited.

So I will try and work my through the beer I have had in the mean time and get us up to date on my quest.

Petrus Gouden Tripel. It looks exactly up my street, golden in colour fizzy, with a nice smell. If anything its a little disappointing as I expected it to be amazing. As I sip it though it grows on me, its got a nice flavour and a deep warm aftertaste, I would come back for more of this. 4 out of 5

Thursday 30 May 2013

Oude Geuze from Boon

Continuing on my Tuesday night antics with an Oude Geuze from Boon.

Now this is the first lambic beer that I have come across in my 200 beer quest and a bit of research shows that lambics come from a valley in Belgium where they expose the beer early on to the air in order to take advantage of natural yeasts. This means they don't need to add brewers yeast like other beers. Geuze is apparently the type of beer and oude means old, this means they haven't added anything to the beer to make it sweeter which has apparently come into fashion to try and open these kind of beers up to a wider market.

On pouring I notice that it is very fizzy, giving quite a head. the barman describes it as "full of life". The taste is very nice at first, quite light and not very hoppy with plenty of fizz. Towards the end it gives a very bitter, almost vinegary sour acidic flavour which I am not a great fan of, I guess this is why some people add those sweeteners. Overall its nice and a little different to most beers you get. 3.5 out of 5.

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Floris Passionfruit

So it has been a while since I posted. I haven't been into the Post Office vaults for a couple of weeks, I haven't stopped drinking, that is unthinkable. I have just been doing my drinking in some of the other fine pubs around Birmingham. But it being my week off and so it was time to get back on the horse and cross some more beers off of the passport.

It was with some glee that I ordered the Floris Passionfruit, it was the last of the Floris beers on the list and I certainly was glad to see the back of them. The beer was a bright yellow colour reminiscent of a urine sample . The taste, well it was sweet and passionfruity and with little about it to actually tell you it was beer. the general consensus from Rob and Adam was that it tastes like Rubicon. So if you are a big fan of Rubicon or Lilt I can recommend you this beer. Otherwise I think it is awful. The worst so far? maybe, certainly up there with the Floris Chocolate. 0 out of 5.

Sunday 12 May 2013

Zot

Another Belgian beer up next. Brugse Zot, chosen by my girlfriend for the name. The name means Bruges fool, I'm not sure what that says my girlfriend thinks of me. The beer bottle is adorned by a jester and a little research tells me that it's the only beer to be brewed in Bruges.

The beer is a nice golden colour with a nice head. It's got a good flavour and has what I would describe and a yeasty flavour which I find in a lot of these Belgian and Belgian style beers. On the whole a very decent beer. 3.5 out of 5.

Tuesday 7 May 2013

Floris Ninkenberry

Another Floris, there is only one more!!!! This time it's mixed berry. I have bee warned that this has the odour of cats wee, and upon pouring it does have the slightly cloudy golden look of urine. It doesn't taste great, not even really of berries, more just sweet. 0 out of 5.

Saturday 4 May 2013

Grimbergen Dubbel

Following up on the Grimbergen Blonde which I tried earlier is this. Now normally I prefer a light or golden beer to a dark one but I must say this is very good. I found the blonde version to be a bit light weight and lacking in a decent flavour, but the darker version is deep and full of flavour a delight, 4 out of 5.

Floris Mango

Not many more of these strange alcopops to go before I am free to drink proper beer for the rest of the challenge. This mango concoction is actually not as bad as some of the others in the range, it's not as sweet and if I close my eyes while I drink and try really hard I can nearly taste beer. 1 out of 5.

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Grimbergen Blonde

Followin up on the Floris is the Grimbergen Blonde. This beer comes to me from Belgium and has a long history dating back to an abbey. It looks the part and I am eager to get a proper drink. It flavour starts well but it is ultimately a little lightweight. When I was looking for a bold satisfying drink this was a little wimpy. 3 out of 5.

Floris Kriek

Tuesday after work is beer time. First up the instantly regrettable Floris kriek, the cherry flavoured offering in the Floris range. It's just as awful as the rest, is there even any beer in it? I don't think so. 1 out of 5.

Thursday 25 April 2013

Nounnette

The final beer if the Sunday is the Nounette from l'Abbaye des Rocs. I wanted to order the Montaganarde but the barman advised me that the batch they had in at the moment was a little lively and I was more likely to get it on the ceiling than in my glass.

The Nounette was a slightly dark pale ale with a good flavour at first. It has a long aftertaste which was slightly bitter but on the whole it was a delight. 4 out of 5.

Nik for his final drink of the day took on the Titanic Stout, the POVs alternative to Guinness. He rated it highly describing it as a Guinness beater.

Hopfenkonig

The next beer for the Sunday afternoon is Hopfenkonig from the Eggenberg brewery in Austria. Now so far I have had about 22 beers off if the list and this is only the second larger, strictly it's a pilsner but whatever. As I young adult I cut my teeth drinking larger in various rugby clubs across the country and then went off to university were I mostly drank larger. Larger gets a bad rap, most of what we get in pubs is pretty bad mass produced rubbish that is cold but hasn't got much to it. But every now and again you come across a larger that is very nice, one such example being the one from Brooklyn.

Hopfenkonig is one of these good largers, it's crisp, refreshing, and has a nice flavour to it, a solid and easy drinking 3.5 out of 5.

Nik continued his adventure away from Guinness with a 312 Urban Wheat Beer from Goose Island, he certainly seems to like this one.

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Sierra Nevada Stout

Second up in my Sunday afternoon drinking is the stout from the Sierra Nevada. Now I have had their pale ale a fair few number of times, you get it on draught in a number of places around Birmingham, and think its a great beer.

Nik joined me in having a stout and on poring it looked like a stout, thick and black. On tasting it starts with quite a nice deep flavour which gives way to that common kind of coffee burnt flavour I associate with all stouts. Not really my cup of tea 2.5 out of 5.

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Floris Honey

So what better way than to spend a Sunday afternoon than having a few beers with a friend. With this mindset I headed to the POV to meet my friend Nik. Now Nik is a devout Guinness drinker, in fact I can't remember the last time I went for a drink with him and he didn't have a Guinness. The POV doesn't have Guinness so I hoped that somewhere in there selection of 350+ beers we could find something that he would like.

I started our Sunday drinking with a Floris Honey, I have decided to tackle the Floris range by having one every time I go. This should help to split them up. I was greeted by a cloudy golden liquid that smelled strongly of honey.  It tasted at first surprisingly of beer, a true rarity for a beer in the Floris range, but this was quickly replaced by a sickly sweet taste of honey. 1 out of 5.

Nik started his drinking with a Delirium Tremens, based presumably on the 5 out of 5 score I gave it. While he said he enjoyed it I suspected that he would have rather had a pint of the black stuff.

On writing this I decided to have a poke around the website of the brewery that make the Floris beers, if we take into account the Mongozo range, it turns out the Belgians will literally put anything in a beer, I mean palmnut flavoured?! Quinua flavoured?!?!

Saturday 20 April 2013

Floris Framboise

Having spent the morning umpiring cricket in rural Leicestershire, the year 10 team I was in charge of won by a massive 60 runs in their 20 over game. I stopped into the Post Office Vaults to try another beer. This time it's another from my favourite range, Floris Framboise.

On entering the pub I find it to be full of Morris dancers. Now I have Morris dancers and the Wicker Man linked in my head so whenever I see a group of them it bring to mind human sacrifice.

The Floris Framboise was just as expected, far too sweet to be a nice beer. It's smell was also extremely strong. I never want to smell raspberries again. 0 out of .

A quick review also points this out to be beer number 20. That puts me 10% of the way through the beer passport. Its taken me just under 3 weeks, so going on that pace I should be done in another 27 weeks.

Thursday 18 April 2013

Raging Bitch - Flying Dog

So this is the final beer on the list from the Flying Dog Brewery. I have really enjoyed their offerings. I ordered it hoping to regain some credibility after the coconut fiasco. The bottle had the normal flying dog anarchic artwork and the description on the side read Belgian Style IPA. Now I don't know all that much about brewing history but I thought that IPAs were British beers, brewed nice and strong to survive the long sea journey to India were British soldiers were eagerly waiting to get wasted. Not sure what Belgium has to do with anything.

The beer was nice, very bitter. At first it almost gave that citric acid/sour sweet effect were I could feel my cheeks being sucked into my face. This sounds unpleasant but the actual flavour and aroma of the beer helped to balance the bitterness. Overall a quality beer. 4 out of 5.



Tuesday 16 April 2013

Mongozo Coconut


Now I am drinking this next thanks to a comment from Arn, someone who commented on my blog and does his own blog on beer, specifically all the beer he has drunk in South Wales. Check it out, he has certainly seen off a lot of beers.

It being the end of the Easter holidays I am back at work and Tuesday night means meeting night. To try and take the depression out of meeting night I will be trying to go to the POV on Tuesday evenings to keep moving towards the end of the passport.

Being dubious to start with, this is from the same people who brewed my least favourite beer so far, I headed to the bar and ordered a Mongozo Coconut. I am greeted by my bottle of beer and a distinct lack of a glass to put it in. Instead I am given an empty coconut shell, lucky me. I take a seat and decant my beer into my shell. I feel a right prat sat in a pub of serious beer drinkers sipping out of a coconut shell, its like everyone is watching me and judging me. Thanks Arn.

The taste, well I think it is best described as drinking a beery Bounty. While not totally without merit its not what I am looking for in a beer, firstly it doesn't taste enough of beer. The sooner I have got through these "novelty" beers and onto some proper beer I will be happy. 1.5 out of 5.

Dead Guy Ale - Rogue

Having dealt with the trauma of the Floris Chocolat it was time to have a proper beer. And for that proper beer I selected the Dead Guy Ale from the Rogue Brewery. It comes to me from Newport Oregon and having read their website, it seems to have quite a pedigree.

On tasting it was alright, without being anything memorable. A perfectly ordinary ale without anything to special to mention about it. I guess it must be even less than average because it comes so quickly after the Chocolat and so should taste amazing by comparison. Maybe the Chocolat ruined beer for me. 3 out of 5.

Sunday 14 April 2013

Floris Chocolat

The idea is sound I suppose, I like beer, I like chocolate, so chocolate flavoured beer should be amazing. However as I went to the bar I was far from convinced. The barman, the same one who served me the Floris Fraise, gave a wry smile as he disappeared into the rooms behind the bar to find the bottle. On a side note I can only imagine that those rooms behind the bar are something like the warehouse out of Raiders of the Lost Ark but with beer instead of crates.

On pouring out the beer it looked ok and I took a tentative sniff, it smelt horrible. Like a spicy mix of chocolate and beer. It tastes was the same. Now I've drunk beers I don't like that much, mainly stouts and porters, but I could see the appeal of every one that I have drunk, they all had some redeeming quality. This didn't. It was horrid and I struggled to finish it all. My girlfriend said I couldn't write about it unless I finished it.

I handed the empty to the barman and told him my views, he agreed, labelling Floris Chocolat as the worst of the 350ish beers they do, he did however mention a man who comes in and only drinks Floris Chocolat. I pity that man. 0 out of 5.



Saturday 13 April 2013

Flying Dog - Snake Dog IPA

Having read this from the BBC, I congratulated myself for being cool, hip and involved with the American craft brewing revolution by ordering another American craft beer. Snake Dog IPA from the Flying Dog Brewery. I really enjoyed this beer, its quite up front at first but has a nice crisp almost citrusy flavour. Unlike the Goose Island IPA and the Brooklyn East Indian Pale Ales I tried earlier it's not overpowering. A very likable 4.5 out of 5.

I also noticed a link to my blog from this website. It is nice to be mentioned and if you want to read about beer from someone who knows what they are talking about you should make your way over to their blog.


Friday 12 April 2013

Floris Fraise

The barman chuckles when I order this and I explain that I'm only drinking it because it's on the list. He tells me that it is basically the Belgian WKD and is far too sweet. On tasting I agree with him, basically it's pink and it tastes of strawberries, not much else to say about it. It's hard to tell that it's even beer. 1 out of 5. If I want an alcopop I guess I could do worse.

Goose Island IPA

My final trip to Chicago's Goose Island to taste their version of Indian pale ale. It's very similar to the Brooklyn Brewery East India Pale Ale I tried earlier . Not as punchy and more golden in colour, it's also slightly more bitter than you would expect looking at it. 3.5 out of 5.

Thursday 11 April 2013

Floris Apple

No picture for this one as I managed to leave my phone at home. It was an unexpected visit as I had been dragged shopping by the other half and managed to convince her to let me get a beer. Today's offering is the Floris Apple from that finest of Belgian brewers Huyghe.

Fruit flavoured beers are a bit of a mystery to me, I've had the odd pint of strawberry flavoured beer and its alright for half a pint and then a bit sickly after that but based on previous offerings from this brewery I went in hoping for the best.

The beer itself looks like a wheat beer but has a fruity appley smell that reminds me of esters.The taste is quite nice, at first it tastes like most other wheat beers, maybe a bit sweeter, but then it finishes with quite an appley aftertaste. All in all not bad, certainly something for the summer and not as bad as I thought a fruit flavoured beer would be. 3.5 out of 5.

Delirium Tremens

Having had an excellent beer from them previously I decided to push on with the Huyghe Beers. This time going with the Delirium Tremens, apparently named for the shakes you get when going through alcohol with drawl, no chance of me getting those while pushing on through the 200 beer challenge. The beer is a golden ale and looks quite fizzy, you could probably mistake it for a larger if you weren't paying attention.

The beer itself is delicious, full flavoured and up front with a nice long aftertaste. I can't really fault it, I'd guess if I was really picking I could say it tastes quite strong but then it is quite strong. 5 out of 5.

A note on the scoring, I've given this 5 out of 5 and it deserves it in every way, its better than the 312 Wheat Beer or the Deliurium Nocturnum. But who is to say that I wont find an even better beer, I guess what I am trying to say is that the scoring is comparative not absolute and maybe we will see a 5.5 out of 5.

Delirium Nocturnum


While at the Post Office Vaults this evening me and my girlfriend started chatting to a nice couple on the table next to us. They were from Preston and were taking a holiday to Birmingham, strange but I guess Birmingham is better than Preston. They were extremely knowledgeable about beer, and were jealous about the proximity of a pub like the POVs to our home. They showed me the phone app untappd. It's a bit like facebook for beer so I will be trying that out. They also shared the location of two fine beer shops in Birmingham, Cotteridge Wines and Stirchley Wines. Both seem to have an amazing array of beer available and at some point I will get out of the city to check them out.

Anyway yet again I let my girlfriend choose the beer, and she plumped for the Delirium Nocturnum from the Huyghe Brewery in Belgium. This get approval from the other people in the bar and my girlfriend looked like she has won the lottery.

Its the first beer I've had that gives a decent head and we are much impressed by the bottle and the design of the label. The beer itself is brilliant, tasty, lets you know how strong it is without overpowering and has a really good balanced flavour. 4.5 out of 5.

Goose Island Matilda

I gave my girlfriend free reign on choosing the beer and so she selected Matilda, a Belgian style beer from the Goose Island brewery in Chicago, presumably for the name. While paying for my beer the froth starts to escape from the beer bottle. I am assured by the barman that this is a sign of a well conditioned beer, slightly dubious I decant it from the bottle to my glass and get to the drinking.

The beer is good, it certainly tastes Belgian with a big yeasty flavour and it tastes every bit the 7%, there is also a slightly fruity smell about it. 4 out of 5.

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Goose Island Honkers Ale

After the delight that was the Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Beer I was excited to re-visit the Chicago based brewer. The bottle of the Honker's Ale says it is inspired by trips to English country pubs which sounds good and the ale produced is firmly in the style of British ales, it's decent without being outstanding, a beer that I would expect at a country pub but not one to shout about and make a special trip to said pub. 3.5 out of 5.

Flying Dog - Gonzo Imperial Porter

Now before we start this I will talk a little about my feelings on really dark ales like porters. Basically I am not normally a fan, my experience of stouts and porters hasn't been good. I find they normally taste of burnt, maybe with a bit of coffee flavour (I don't like coffee either). This came to a head while visiting Dublin and taking the tour of the Guinness store room. Everybody tells you Guinness is soooo much better in Ireland so I was looking forward to having my mind changed. I got to the top of the building and sipped my pint, it was just as horrible as every other Guinness I had had anywhere else. Safe to say I wasn't looking forward to my porter, an offering from Flying Dog called Gonzo Imperial Porter.

I was pleasantly surprised, while it did have a little bit of the burnt aftertaste that I so dread from a beer like this overall it was full of flavour and perfectly acceptable. 3 out of 5.

Monday 8 April 2013

312 Urban Wheat Beer

My first wheat beer in the journey through the 200 beers and it comes from the Goose Island Brewery Chicago. It looks exactly how you would expect a wheat beer to look, golden yellow and slightly cloudy. It is really nice, fruity, light, refreshing. I could see myself sat outside on a sunny afternoon drinking this. My favourite beer so far. 4.5 out of 5

Wednesday 3 April 2013

Flying dog - Doggie Style

Another pale ale from the USA, Doggie Style. The barman does his best with an obvious joke about its name but its tired and falls flat. It's a nice deep amber colour , and the bottle comes with some crazy anarchic artwork which I really like. The beer is lovely, full of flavour. While quite up front and punchy it's not overwhelming like the Brooklyn pale ale. I also found the health warning on the bottle amusing, if you are pregnant I would hope you dont get to the stage were you check the bottle of beer you are drinking for a picture to tell you if you should drink it. 4 out of 5.



Brooklyn East India Pale Ale

So it's back to the Brooklyn Brewery for my next beer, their take on the Indian pale ale. The first mouthful is like being punched in the mouth, it's certainly got a full on flavour. Initially I don't like it but as I go on I warm to it. I guess on the whole I like a beer that is a little less full on and not so strong, this came in at 6.9%. I respect it but I don't love it, I'd have it again. 3 out of 5.

The first night.

So having picked up my passport I turned randomly to a page and selected my first beer. For this I choose Anchor Steam Beer, no. 187. It had made its way all the way from San Fransisco where they have some special brewing technique that is part larger part ale or something. the bottle it came in was very pretty but sadly this was the highlight of this beer. I found it to be bland and unappealing. I described it at the time as like drinking a glass of brown water, not a great start. 1 out of 5.

To try and redeem American brewing I choose my second beer to be the Brooklyn Brewery Larger, no. 188. I'd had this a few times before on draft around time and liked it then so was hopeful. It was exactly what I expected, fresh, sharp, tasty. All in all a very good larger, certainly a cut above what you get on draught at most places. 3.5 out of 5.

Finally I went for something that I had never heard of before a De Koninck from Duvel Moortgat. As a Belgian beer it delivered deep taste and was much darker than the previous two beers. Overall it was very nice without being special. It also came in its own lovely glass but I found the white hand they use as their symbol a little reminiscent of fascist imagery, whereas my girlfriend said it reminded her of Saruman from Lord of the Rings. However it was certainly the best beer of the night. 4 out of 5.

With these 3 done I moved on.

Introduction

So, I like beer, that pretty much the main theme of this blog. Its going to be abut how I like beer and the many different beers that I drink and how much I like them, or don't like them. Basically the blog starts on a Sunday night out in the fine city of Birmingham. I'd been to a few pubs and found myself wandering into the Post Office Vaults. Now I've been in there a fair few times since it opened and I like it but I've never been what you would call a regular. The staff are friendly, the selection of beer is interesting, over 300 different bottled beers, and I like the occasional game of bar billiards. However it can be overcrowded and very hot at times.

This time I went in with some friends and ended up chatting to a nice Irish lady at the bar. She was murdering the pronunciation of La Chouffe which she was trying to order at the bar. While talking she told me about the Post Offfice Vaults new beer passport. The basic deal is they have listed 200 of their bottled beers and if you try them all you are rewarded with a crate of beer, a t shirt and your picture on the wall of fame. I was instantly hooked and so this blog will detail my journey through this list of beers and hopefully help me to remember which ones I liked and which ones I didn't.