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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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