The Lemon Fool

UncleIan wrote:Moral of this story - your local brewery has probably switched to home deliveries, why not give them a shout?

Inspired by this, I thought I'd look up one of the local breweries https://canmorebrewing.com/ whose beers I've been enjoying since we holed up in our mountain retreat an hour west of Calgary.

Free same-day delivery for orders greater than $50. Happy days!

So now I can look forward to:
Ten Peaks Pale Ale, named for Valley of the Ten Peaks at Moraine Lake in the Banff national park. The beer reminds me of London Pride, but is a bit lighter and crisper.

Misty Mountain Hops, a New England IPA. 6% so not too strong, with pleasant citrus notes. Since recently returning to Alberta from Ontario, I've been seeking a new go-to IPA and this is my current favourite

Golden Hour Belgian Golden Ale. This is their newest seasonal beer. I'm looking forward to trying it for the first time. At 7.5%, it seems suitably Belgian in the strength department. Now let's see what it tastes like.

Greg

vandefrosty wrote:Ten Peaks Pale Ale, named for Valley of the Ten Peaks at Moraine Lake in the Banff national park.

Thanks for the memory



Scott.

swill453 wrote:

vandefrosty wrote:Ten Peaks Pale Ale, named for Valley of the Ten Peaks at Moraine Lake in the Banff national park.

Thanks for the memory
Scott.

Is your beer really that colour, or is it a trick of the light or other artifact of the pic?

Don't think I could drink that much. At least, not without pausing for breath.

Dammit I'm thirsty ! Even though I'm working from home all the time now I'm sticking to Fri/Sat as beer nights. Been checking out my local breweries to see what they'll deliver - just outside the free delivery radius for Binghams but they are probably the best around here. West Berks are quite good but not really my style. There's Tutt's Clump cider, but a weekend on their scrumpy could finish me off...
No Reading Beer Festival to look forward to this year (sob)

BrummieDave wrote:
Footnote to Simoan: last week Tesco were selling two four packs of Jaipur (cans not bottles) for £9. Eight cans for £9. Not sure if the offer is still on. Incredible value.

Yes, that's incredible value! Unfortunately, beer is a very low priority when it comes to supermarket shopping these days which is why I ordered direct from Thornbridge. The Tesco stock is also probably nearer the "real thing" than the cans I received from the brewery last week.

I can only assume they have changed the recipe during March because there is something missing (date on can is 27th March). Perhaps they are struggling to get certain hops? I've been drinking Jaipur for several years and I could pick the standard recipe pretty easily in a blind tasting. However, the beer I received from them last week in the orange Jaipur can doesn't taste much like Jaipur to me - it completely lacks the usual hit of tropical fruit before it turns bitter. I thought I was tired and my taste buds dead with the first can but subsequent cans have been the same. I realise needs must in these difficult times, and I'm glad to do my bit to help keep them going, but I'm still a little bit disappointed by the beer I received - it ain't Jaipur!

All the best, Si

simoan wrote:

BrummieDave wrote:
Footnote to Simoan: last week Tesco were selling two four packs of Jaipur (cans not bottles) for £9. Eight cans for £9. Not sure if the offer is still on. Incredible value.

Yes, that's incredible value! Unfortunately, beer is a very low priority when it comes to supermarket shopping these days which is why I ordered direct from Thornbridge. The Tesco stock is also probably nearer the "real thing" than the cans I received from the brewery last week.

I can only assume they have changed the recipe during March because there is something missing (date on can is 27th March). Perhaps they are struggling to get certain hops? I've been drinking Jaipur for several years and I could pick the standard recipe pretty easily in a blind tasting. However, the beer I received from them last week in the orange Jaipur can doesn't taste much like Jaipur to me - it completely lacks the usual hit of tropical fruit before it turns bitter. I thought I was tired and my taste buds dead with the first can but subsequent cans have been the same. I realise needs must in these difficult times, and I'm glad to do my bit to help keep them going, but I'm still a little bit disappointed by the beer I received - it ain't Jaipur!

All the best, Si

Can't comment on whether they've changed the recipe or taste because, although it was Jaipur I first came across from thornbridge, and used to drink it a lot, particularly whilst working in Sheffield a few years ago (where Thornbridge have several pubs, plus they sell it at the excellent Sheffield Tap on the railway station), since they expanded the range so considerably I've been working my way through all the fantastic beers they've released in the past two years or so. They are up there with the best IMHO.

vandefrosty wrote:Golden Hour Belgian Golden Ale. This is their newest seasonal beer. I'm looking forward to trying it for the first time. At 7.5%, it seems suitably Belgian in the strength department. Now let's see what it tastes like.

Beer time arrived at last after a difficult afternoon with kids arguing about doing schoolwork, and with me pondering the etymology behind this brand. Given every other beer is named after a local landmark - mountains, abandoned mining towns, roads, etc - this one didn't seem to fit. It isn't some cryptic wordplay that takes a swipe at dodgy continental practices, is it?

I needn't have worried. The can says it's named for the 'magical moment when the mountains are bathed in the hues of the setting sun' or somesuch guff. I can appreciate this, especially at present when there's still sufficient snow and an absence of haze that dawn and dusk are indeed magical sights.

The beer looks and smells like Leffe Blonde. The flavour is also similar but isn't quite as deep and the mouthfeel didn't linger as long as I recall Leffe does. I was expecting to feel pushed about by the 7.5% ABV, which I find that IPAs at that strength sometimes do, but that didn't happen. Sadly the beer had no gas out of the can and made no head at all, which was disappointing. Hopefully that's an issue only with that can or this batch. I'll keep trying!

Greg

BrummieDave wrote:Can't comment on whether they've changed the recipe or taste because, although it was Jaipur I first came across from thornbridge, and used to drink it a lot, particularly whilst working in Sheffield a few years ago (where Thornbridge have several pubs, plus they sell it at the excellent Sheffield Tap on the railway station), since they expanded the range so considerably I've been working my way through all the fantastic beers they've released in the past two years or so. They are up there with the best IMHO.

Yes, Thornbridge is one my very favourite breweries and I have tasted their range extensively too. In fact, the only reason I don't mind going to see my other half's folks and friends in Macclesfield is that we can go via a slower route that takes in Bakewell and Buxton. Means I can get some 500ml cans of Axe Edge and Myrcia on the way too!! We last dropped into Thornbrdge just before Xmas where I got the last case of Jaipur and two mixed cases where I took samples of any bottles and cans they had from the beer fridge. Of the latter I only have a couple of Market Porters and a Bison left.

All the best, Si

simoan wrote:Yes, Thornbridge is one my very favourite breweries and I have tasted their range extensively too. In fact, the only reason I don't mind going to see my other half's folks and friends in Macclesfield is that we can go via a slower route that takes in Bakewell and Buxton. Means I can get some 500ml cans of Axe Edge and Myrcia on the way too!! We last dropped into Thornbrdge just before Xmas where I got the last case of Jaipur and two mixed cases where I took samples of any bottles and cans they had from the beer fridge. Of the latter I only have a couple of Market Porters and a Bison left.

All the best, Si

Another coincidence there, as my mum grew up during WW2 in a quite famous, albeit now demolished, pub in Macclesfield. On sunny Sunday afternoons in the 1970s we'd drive out to the "Cat and Fiddle" which, presumably, you drive past en route from Buxton to Macc.

Footnote: As this is a beer thread, the pub my mum grew up in and which I went on to visit as a child was a Robinsons, still I'm pleased to say one of the most respected breweries in England, despite the disruption to the industry, both good and bad, over the last decade or so.

BrummieDave wrote:Another coincidence there, as my mum grew up during WW2 in a quite famous, albeit now demolished, pub in Macclesfield. On sunny Sunday afternoons in the 1970s we'd drive out to the "Cat and Fiddle" which, presumably, you drive past en route from Buxton to Macc.

Yes, the drive from Buxton over the tops takes you past the Cat & Fiddle pub It's been closed since 2015/16. The road is meant to be one of the most dangerous in the country, hence now it's littered with speed cameras which spoils the enjoyment somewhat. I've never been to the pub but there's a cafe just off the road on the way down into Macc that does really good value home cooked food. Just the kind of place you hope will survive the current situation.

All the best, Si

GrandOiseau wrote:IHow's everyone getting decent beer supplies in these times?

No probs so far, just received 3 large cases - c120 different personally/specifically chosen beers of precise styles I like - from 'my new favourites shop in the world' in Antwerp/Belgium. From a huuuge range, I could have picked 100's...
https://belgiuminabox.com/shop/
Huuuge range of mostly Belgian beers at prices that make BeersOfEurope (UK) seem like gouging.

simoan wrote:..
Yes, Thornbridge is one my very favourite breweries and I have tasted their range extensively too. I

I rather went off Thornbridge when they moved to silly little bottles, down from the much more reasonable 500ml jobbies... I still buy their stuff occasionally though.
My local Waitrose in Windsor normally had a few (Jaipur, Halcyon etc) Sadly now I'm in west Berkshire they are harder to find. I'm sure the Grumpy Goat beer shop in Reading has a few, but every time I go in there I seem to spend about £20 on 'not many' cans and bottles.

Earlier this year I was in a Thornbidge pub in Leeds (Banker's Cat) which was a first for me. Pretty good it was too.

DiamondEcho wrote:

GrandOiseau wrote:IHow's everyone getting decent beer supplies in these times?

No probs so far, just received 3 large cases - c120 different personally/specifically chosen beers of precise styles I like - from 'my new favourites shop in the world' in Antwerp/Belgium. From a huuuge range, I could have picked 100's...
https://belgiuminabox.com/shop/
Huuuge range of mostly Belgian beers at prices that make BeersOfEurope (UK) seem like gouging.

Are Beers of Europe still going? I remember doing a couple of orders with them a loooong time ago.

Checking out belgiuminabox.com !!

DiamondEcho wrote:https://belgiuminabox.com/shop/
Huuuge range of mostly Belgian beers at prices that make BeersOfEurope (UK) seem like gouging.

What do they charge to ship to the UK?

GrandOiseau wrote:Are Beers of Europe still going? I remember doing a couple of orders with them a loooong time ago. Checking out belgiuminabox.com !!

From what I can see. I just checked their site, and appears live/normal as usual.

GrandOiseau wrote:What do they charge to ship to the UK?

I don't recall. But trust me sufficiently low (or even nil?) that THAT is the reason I do not recall, simply because in the scheme of things it's peanuts vs the value of their prices. It might even be free if you order over say Euro100 but in any case the beer order I had all in was such good value it didn't figure.

When I was trying to figure out the total price of a shipment of BeersOfEurope [BoE] versus BelgiumInABox [BIaB] I decided on a test list of say a dozen major Belgian beers, and put it in Excel. Then I imitated ordering 3* of each beer for that dozen beers from each outlet. Added freight/shipping etc. and hence toal cost. BelgiumInABox came out the clear winner FWIW...

BoE actually seems more focused on a global offering of all styles. BIAB is a huge range majoring on Belgians, plus veering into niche and really niche (Belgians). If you want to go right through Belgian dubbel/Tripel/Quads/ etc etc then BIAB is the place I reckon.

I just put in another order for Belgian beer last night. This time just 40 different bottles, as the previous order of about 120 arrived in three huge boxes. Nice problem for me to have, less so my wife

Oh btw I just popped by to post this headline (of an hour ago) that popped up on Yahoo News:
'Brewers Marston’s and Carlsberg UK to join to form £780m beer giant'. Let's hope Marton's don't get neutered by the 'factory brewer'...

Everybody stopped drinking beer!??

I've been mixing it up between take outs from two local micro's that I can cycle to (Blackened Sun and Bucks Star) and a bit of shop bought (Titanic, Franziskaner, Oakham).

Went to the pub for the first time on Saturday during a full days hiking down in the Chilterns. Had 3 pints of Tring Pale Four - a 4 hop (as the name would suggest) American IPA. Nice to sit in a pub garden and have a nice beer again.

Kernel India Double Porter, Citra hops, 7.5%. Usually drink it as a night cap. My local beer shop has a good supply of Kernel's beers, I'm a big fan.

Earlier I ordered mini-kegs (8-9 pints) from a couple of breweries. The freshness was a bit hit and miss. To be certain of drinking it fresh, needed to be drunk by end of day 2 after starting. The breweries claim it lasts up to a month whilst unopened.

West Berkshire Brewery does mini-kegs for £17 each; £7 delivery.