Weetwood Ales | Old Dog

The Brewery: “Weetwood Ales began brewing in 1992 when finding a great pint of cask ale was a challenge. The brewery was founded by Adrian Slater, a skilled brewer, and Roger Langford, a farmer with space in a barn and a love for proper beer. Roger’s farm is in Weetwood Common, near Tarporley in Cheshire and the brewery took the name”

The Beer: “No need for new tricks here, this is as traditional as it gets. Maris Otter and dark roasted malts create a wonderful deep colour and buckets of English hop varieties combine for extra flavour.

How odd. I fully expected to enjoy this more than the Eastgate Amber Ale given my usual preferences for darker beers. It was enjoyable enough certainly and I can only put it down to the fact the Eastgate was the first (and second) after a long dry week and this followed on the next night.  4.5% A.B.V.

June 2019

Weetwood Ales | Eastgate

The Brewery: “Weetwood Ales began brewing in 1992 when finding a great pint of cask ale was a challenge. The brewery was founded by Adrian Slater, a skilled brewer, and Roger Langford, a farmer with space in a barn and a love for proper beer. Roger’s farm is in Weetwood Common, near Tarporley in Cheshire and the brewery took the name”

The Beer: “Brewed for the centenary of Chester’s Eastgate clock. A Champion beer of Cheshire, brewed exclusively with whole leaf Cascade hops for a fruity foretaste and distinctly hoppy flavour. Has a long sweet finish and a very large fan base.”

Ok, those who look as this blog regularly - both of you - will assume from the description that I wouldn’t enjoy this much, but in fact I did. Certainly there was a slightly sweet finish but it wasn’t too hoppy for my fussy palate. In the interests of thorough research I had a second which I’d put in the fridge at the same time. It was, understandably cooler but this didn’t impair the flavour at all. I was really quite refreshing. 4.2% A.B.V. Thanks to Sandra for procuring on my behalf and bringing to a recent caravanning meet up.

June 2019

Dorset Brewing Co. | Durdle Door

The Brewery: “Dorset Brewing Company was founded in 1996, when Giles Smeath restored an 800-year-old brewing tradition to the Dorset port of Weymouth in the heart of the World Heritage Coastline (the Jurassic Coast)……Dorset Brewing Company relocated in 2011 to Crossways and upgraded to a state-of-the-art spring water-fed brewhouse capable of crafting 1.5 million pints a year.”

The Beer: “Rusty full bodied ale with a warm caramel flavour and hints of marmalade on the nose.”

One of the events of our special caravanning meet up was a beer and cheese ‘festival’. Lot’s of beers from all over the country were on offer, the idea being that you sampled a drop of many rather than a whole bottle of few. This was one of the left overs and very nice it was too. As the label says, a classic premium ale – not too sweet though a bit more bitterness would have satisfied my fussy palate even more. 5% A.B.V. May 2019

587: Windsor & Eton | Guardsman

The Brewery: “Windsor and Eton are already famous for many things. The castle, college, river, racecourse and of course the Royal connections. In 2010 the four of us wanted to add beer to the list. In fact we had a wild idea to make beer the top attraction. So we brought brewing back to the heart of Windsor…..We are proud to be part of the revolution in beer making throughout the world. As founder members of the London Brewers Alliance, we have helped grow the number of the Capital’s breweries from 11 in 2010 to over 90 today.”

The Beer: “The first beer brewed in Windsor for more than 80 years was launched on St George’s Day 2010 – it remains one of our best sellers to this day…….A lovely copper coloured session strength ale with a tangy taste, yet a really smooth fresh hop finish, ensuring that it is very ‘quaffable’.

My favourite style of ale and this did not disappoint, everything I like about a beer and in a lovely setting too - overlooking the times prior to the start of the Army v Navy rugby at Twickenham. I may have had more than one…4.2% A.B.V

The White Swan, Twickenham. May 2019

586: Twickenham | Naked Ladies

The Brewery: “Twickenham Fine Ales is London’s oldest micro-brewery……Founded by Steve Brown in 2004, Twickenham has been at the forefront of the resurgence of breweries in London. ….Twickenham Fine Ales was the first brewery in Twickenham since Cole’s Brewery closed in 1906…..In the beginning there was a 10 barrel plant which was installed in a small unit opposite a Greggs Bakery factory – pint and a pasty seeming natural bedfellows.”

The Beer: “Outstanding, glorious, hoppy golden ale using Herkules, Celeia and Chinook hops for full-flavoured satisfaction. Inspired by the statues of water nymphs in York House gardens in Twickenham, known locally as the “Naked Ladies” “

Appropriate to start with a beer from this brewery as the purpose of our visit was for the Army v Navy rugby match. Not my sort of beer as you have guessed from the description but enjoyable enough, particularly if you can arrange a nice warm summers day to go with it. 4.4% A.B.V.

The Royal Oak, Twickenham. May 2019.

585: Hepworth | Red Export

The Brewery: “Andy Hepworth started brewing in Reading almost directly after University. He moved to Horsham in 1980 and within five years became the youngest Head Brewer in the country, winning many awards. The long-standing tradition of brewing in Horsham came to an abrupt halt in 2000 with the sale of its last brewery and so Andy, determined to maintain that tradition, joined up with the key members of the brewing team in order to create Hepworths, an independent brewery aiming to build its own range of quality brands, while maintaining flexibility for contract work….. The Company was established in 2000 and started production in 2001.”

The Beer: “Slightly sweeter than most of our ales, Red Export has a delicate hop character reminiscent of Irish Red Ales”

I got quite into red ales when we went to Ireland in the caravan a few years ago and still enjoy one occasionally. This was a gift from a colleague who in turn had been given some for his birthday - however he is a coeliac and couldn’t partake. I certainly didn’t find it too sweet and nice that it was local too. 4.5% A.B.V. May 2019.

584: Inveralmond | Ossian

The Brewery: “Opened on 14th May 1997, The Inveralmond Brewery is at the very heart of our beer. Situated in Perth, the brewery nestles between the fabulous rolling hills of Perthshire, the mighty Grampian mountain range and is surrounded by crystal clear rivers, providing inspiration and nourishment for the beers we produce and export around the globe.”

The Beer: “Our brewers selected flavour packed, slow kilned ale malt, caramalt and biscuity malted wheat to craft a malt backbone which is then beautifully complemented by a heady hop aroma of zesty lemon and orange citrus. This golden ale finishes refreshing and moreish.”

Lemon and orange? Yep, one I’d enjoy more on a hot summers night than by the fire in winter but it made a nice accompaniment to stint in my friends hot tub during a lovely stay at their house near Falkirk over Easter. 4.1% ABV. April 2019.