690: Glamorgan Brewing Co. | Welsh Cake Stout

The brewery: “The Anstee family began supplying the hospitality trade in South Wales with beers, wines and spirits in the early 90’s. The knowledge and community ties established during this time gave us a real desire to see quality Welsh beer back on local bars. So much so we thought we’d brew some ourselves.”

The beer: “Inspired by one of our favourite treats we decided to experiment by adding a mix of oats and raisins to a brew. The result is a rich, dark, and chewy stout with a slightly sweet vinous character", alongside the biscuity effect of oats and barley. Every sip reminds us of fresh Welsh Cakes, straight from the griddle.”

A delicious stout, full bodied and a very moreish combination of flavours. Top stuff.

689: Coach House | Cheshire Gold

The brewery: “Coach House was established in 1991 following the closure of Greenalls Brewery earlier that year. We are the oldest cask ale producer in Cheshire celebrating our Silver anniversary in 2016.”

The beer: “A golden coloured beer with a fresh citrus hop aroma, creating a pine lemon crisp finish.”

It must have been the warmer weather but I found myself enjoying this one too - though thankfully the lemon finish went largely unobserved by my palate. Related entries

688: Coach House | Post Horn

The brewery: “Coach House was established in 1991 following the closure of Greenalls Brewery earlier that year. We are the oldest cask ale producer in Cheshire celebrating our Silver anniversary in 2016.”

The beer: “A rich, straw coloured quality premium ale with a robust malty palate and a well balanced steely bitterness.”

Tried not to let the paleness colour my opinion of this which was just as well as it was a superb tasting beer. Superb combination of maltiness and bitterness.

April 2021. Related entries

687: Tatton Brewery | Best

The brewery: “Tatton Brewery is a family-run brewery in Knutsford in the heart of Cheshire, just a stone’s throw from Tatton Park……We have a custom built modern brewery, and have combined this with a traditional local yeast (revived after 50 years retirement), the finest ingredients and years of experience creating internationally renowned beers, to brew what we believe to be Cheshire’s finest beers.”

The beer: “A classic light amber coloured best bitter with a clean malt flavour and fine hop character derived from a blend of aroma hops.”

Like this even more than the Gold - see previous entry - but then Best Bitters generally seem to satisfy my palate. Another great beer from Tatton. Related entries

686: Tatton Brewery | Gold

The brewery: “Tatton Brewery is a family-run brewery in Knutsford in the heart of Cheshire, just a stone’s throw from Tatton Park……We have a custom built modern brewery, and have combined this with a traditional local yeast (revived after 50 years retirement), the finest ingredients and years of experience creating internationally renowned beers, to brew what we believe to be Cheshire’s finest beers.”

The beer: “A full-tasting, satisfying deep golden special ale. This is a beer with a generous maltiness backed up by a robust hop character.”

The first of a few from my time in Cheshire with my ‘bubble’ over Easter. Liked this a lot, the maltiness kept them pesky hops in check and the result was a delicious ale indeed.

April 2021. Related entries

685: Lacons | Affinity

The brewery: “In the 1960s, we were taken over by a London brewer who closed Lacons down.  We subsequently reclaimed our independence in 2013 and started brewing again…….Based in Great Yarmouth, Lacons Brewery is home to Lacons Encore, the award-winning amber beer……Although the Lacons name goes back to the mid-18th century, our modern day brewery applies the latest technology to the age-old craft of brewing beer. We’ve taken the best of the old Lacons recipes (plus the original Lacons yeast) and tweaked them to create modern beers with years of heritage.”

The beer: “Big, bold, Beautiful…An intensely satisfying ale that makes any occasion special….Affinity is our boldest ale – with a passion for fruit and nut.”

Sampled on a cold Decembers’ day this didn’t really work for me but I could imagine it on a warm summers’ afternoon, maybe chilled a little more than is usual for ale. 4.8% A.B.V.

December 2020. Related entries

684: Rebellion | Red

The brewery: “The story of the Rebellion Brewery starts with two friends, Tim Coombes and Mark Gloyens. Attending school together in Marlow at a time when the old Wethered Brewery was in full production, the sweet aromas of malt were a constant reminder that Marlow was an active brewing town……….the Rebellion Brewery was eventually established on the Rose Industrial Estate in Marlow Bottom in April 1993. In 1999 the brewery moved to its current location on Bencombe Farm, occupying the old grainstore and other redundant farm buildings.”
  

• The beer: "A warming, Autumnal red ale, rich & malty, with a balancing bittersweet hop character."

Another good'un from Rebellion and my second favourite of the the three recent ones I've tried - Roasted Nuts Extra being top. Another quality ale that my awkward palate found very moreish. 4.5% A.B.V."

December 2020. Related entries.

683: Rebellion | Winter Royal

The brewery: “The story of the Rebellion Brewery starts with two friends, Tim Coombes and Mark Gloyens. Attending school together in Marlow at a time when the old Wethered Brewery was in full production, the sweet aromas of malt were a constant reminder that Marlow was an active brewing town……….the Rebellion Brewery was eventually established on the Rose Industrial Estate in Marlow Bottom in April 1993. In 1999 the brewery moved to its current location on Bencombe Farm, occupying the old grainstore and other redundant farm buildings.”

The Beer: "Ruby and warming Originally brewed by the Wethered Brewery in Marlow, Winter Royal became one of their flagship beers until the brewery closed in 1988. We are proud to be reviving this popular beer using the original Wethered recipe. Traditional Fuggles and a Goldings hop variety add to the authenticity of this classic English beer. The result is a deep, ruby winter warmer at 5.4%, with a rich maltiness, soft bitterness and a fantastic late and dry hop aroma"

My second beer procured from this Marlow based brewery during my stay in nearby Henley-on-Thames in December and once again it did not disappoint. A perfect winter warmer and not as sweet as some of these winter ales can be.

December 2020. Related entries.

682: Rebellion | Roasted Nuts Extra.

The Brewery: “The story of the Rebellion Brewery starts with two friends, Tim Coombes and Mark Gloyens. Attending school together in Marlow at a time when the old Wethered Brewery was in full production, the sweet aromas of malt were a constant reminder that Marlow was an active brewing town……….the Rebellion Brewery was eventually established on the Rose Industrial Estate in Marlow Bottom in April 1993. In 1999 the brewery moved to its current location on Bencombe Farm, occupying the old grainstore and other redundant farm buildings.”

The Beer: “Based on our ever-popular winter cask beer, Roasted Nuts Extra is brewed to a higher strength to make this bottled Version a true 'Winter Warmer'.The rich malt character is complimented by the fruit flavours from the Cascade & Bramling Cross Hops.Think of this beer as a Claret, best served at cellar temperature. Whilst it can be enjoyed at any time, its deep, complex nature marries beautifully with hearty winter stews and red meats.”

A stay in Henley-on-Thames before Christmas meant a visit to the brewery shop at nearby Marlow was a must, where I bought a multi-pack of ‘Winter Warmers’.

I thought I would like this - given how much I enjoyed the standard Roasted Nuts - and I was right. Superb, delightfully rich and malty. 5.8% A.B.V.

December 2020. Related entries.

681: Burton Bridge Brewery | Festive Christmas Porter

The Brewery: There’s a great piece on their website about how the brewery came to be, tied in with some history of brewing in Burton. Check it out HERE

The Beer: “A fruity, very dark brown beer with a bitter after-palate…..Only available in late November and December in time for Santa to deliver on Christmas Day. This beer is a variation on our traditional bottled porter.”

Enjoyed this immensely. Black as yer ‘at - always a tick for the Blogger in Black - and very flavoursome. Notably less gassy than many bottled ales - another plus point in my book. Hoping I come across some of their regular ales at some point.

4.5% A.B.V. December 2020

680: Purple Moose Brewery | Dark Side Of The Moose

The Brewery: “Y Bragdy Mws Piws / The Purple Moose Brewery is a '40-Barrel' micro-brewery based in the historic harbour town of Porthmadog, North Wales, close to the mountains of Snowdonia. Brewing commenced on 14th June 2005 with a one-off special pale ale at 3.5% called "No.1".

The Beer: “Ochr Dywyll y Mws/Dark Side of the Moose is a delicious dark ale brewed from Welsh mountain water and natural ingredients. Using a delicate blend of dark crystal malt, roasted barley and Bramling Cross hops the 'Dark Side' exhibits a rich malty flavour balanced with fruity bitterness. “

Another good un, just enough fruitiness without being too sickly. 4.6% A.B.V. December 2020

679: Great Orme Brewery | Welsh Black

The brewery: Well a website is currently under development but they are not located in Llandudno as the name might suggest but now in the Conwy valley.

The Beer: “Rich, dark and full of malt flavours, this black bitter owes its characteristics to the large amount of chocolate malt giving it a velvety smooth rich coffee finish. No aroma hops are added to this beer, instead seven types of grain are used to develop the flavour.”

Liked this, it was very rich and velvety indeed. Taste belied the strength. Another from the great little deli in Llangollen.

3.7%. A.B.V. December 2020

678: Bluestone | Moonstone

The Brewery: “Bluestone Brewing is an exciting, eco-friendly family run brewery situated in the foothills of the Preseli Hills in North Pembrokeshire…..The name comes from the local stone that the buildings were built from many years ago. Bluestone is also pretty famous for being mysteriously transported over 250 miles to become Stonehenge over 5000 years ago! The water we use for brewing our Rock Solid Ales is unique to Bluestone. Our water filters down the Preseli Mountains and collects in a well on our land. And because the spring water is so natural and crystal clear, it goes straight from the well into our beers, with no filtering or added chemicals.”

The Beer: “A full bodied traditional dark Porter hopped with Bramling Cross and Fuggles hops creating a spicy bitterness to compliment it’s chocolate and nut flavours. A recipe true to Britain’s most popular beer of the 1800s”

The first of a few beers from Wales, procured in a great little deli in Llangollen during a day trip whilst staying in Chester.

Yes a traditional Porter but I found it slightly more flavoursome than the previous entry although the lower A.B.V was evident.

4.6% A.B.V. December 2020

677: St Peter’s | Old-Style Porter

The Brewery: “St. Peter’s Brewery is one of England’s original craft breweries, founded in 1996 in former traditional agricultural buildings alongside the moated St. Peter’s Hall, deep in the picturesque Suffolk countryside. The location, in the village of St. Peter South Elmham, near Bungay, is ideal for the excellent water quality used in the brewing process – all beers brewed at St. Peter’s Brewery use water filtered through chalk deep beneath the brewery, obtained from our own deep bore-hole.”

The Beer: “A blend of mature and young ale creates a porter of traditional character  that is dark cherry in colour and complex in taste. Aromas of rum, liquorice, raisin and chocolate with hints of coffee are in abundance in this full-bodied warming ale.”

Maybe I’ve got used to the more modern porters of late where the rich coffee and chocolate flavours are more prominent but this didn’t quite hit the spot for me. It didn’t feel that full bodied to be honest - there was nothing wrong with it - I just found it a bit plain. Hoping I come across some of the other beers in their range though.

5.1% A.B.V. December 2020