Good old fashioned family brewery

What is it about brewers and South American honey (not sure if Mexico counts as South American). I have to say I didn't like this as much as the other honey beers on this blog Bewyched and Waggle Dance but I do like the fact that it comes from a really old brewery (see text below) and the name is tremendous. Also it is an award winning beer and it is a northern brewery not making the frothy bubbly stuff so it is worth promoting. I have to say I had not heard of Joseph Holt before. The good news is you can buy this in any of the major supermarkets in the UK so it is easy to get hold of

"At the heart of the Joseph Holt range is the company's draught bitter which is brewed at the Derby Brewery in Cheetham Hill, using a process, which is almost the same as when the plant was opened in 1860. Only the finest malt and processes are used to combine time-honored traditions with modern technology."

http://www.joseph-holt.com


Humdinger

Winner of the Tesco Beer Challenge 2004. Refreshing drink brewed with a combination of quality English malt, Mexican Aroma Honey and Citrus flavoured Traditional Whole Hops. Provides a rounded, tongue-tingling taste with an exciting aroma
4.1% ABV

http://www.joseph-holt.com

Fursty Work

Well it is safe to go out with an England rugby shirt again now. You don't have to be ashamed of their performance as even though the are not yet good they are the second best team in Europe! Actually they have improved but are still short of a few young beastly forwards. A good 19 stone second row and a couple of young animal props would do. Oh and we need a fly half and at least one decent young centre.

I couldn't celebrate in a pub as I was at the cinema with my Mum straight after the match as a joint birthday Mother's day celebration. So I missed Ireland Wales but it was still exciting on the recording even though I knew waht the result was.

So this weekend I bought another beer to drink at home based on the name "Fursty Ferret" fom Hall and Woodhouse Turns out it is a decent beer with a funny little story behind it.

Originally brewed at the Gribble Inn, Fursty Ferret was hugely popular, with demand by far exceeding supply and the capability of the micro brewery. Now brewed at Hall & Woodhouse, Ferret has become a favourite Seasonal Cask Ale and one of the best selling bottled ales in UK Supermarkets today.
This original recipe has now been researched and developed in order to meet the expressed needs of the modernist bottled ale consumer.
When in decades past the idyllic country home of Miss Rose Gribble became a local inn, legend has it that the inquisitive local ferrets frequented the pub's back door on a mission to sample its own reputed brew. In their honour it was named Fursty Ferret, and today is brewed in greater quantity, so now you can enjoy the celebrated ale that still eludes the ferrets of the Gribble Inn.
Availability: Available in most supermarkets, off licences and independent retailers. Fursty Ferret, 4.4% ABV, is available in 500ml clear glass bottles for pure indulgence.

Couch potato

So now England are the most attacking side in the 6 nations with 13 tries!!! and they could easily end up 2nd in the championship if Ireland get their Grand Slam because of |England have a massive points difference advantage over Wales. Ok France were rubbish and England only played 60 odd minutes but it is some progress. I still think we have no really outstanding players but potentially 22 really good ones. That is enough though in a team game to win most matches.

Will the RFU be consistent - Brian Ashton came second in the world cup and second in the 6 Nations and got sacked so Martin Johnson should be teetering on the brink. I suspect he is still pretty safe though. Whilst I think Brian Ashton was treated apallingly and should still be in the job I would like Johnson to be given a fair run at the job.

So any way that is the reason my running has been curtailed, I spent Saturday and Sunday afternoon in front of the 6 nations. One more weekend to go. Its easy not to run when you don't have a definte goal to aim at or it is a long way off like mine is April 2010 London Marathon is my goal. Whether I make it is down to my body holding out - left ankle and right knee are not too good at present. Having said that I was able to do 3 short (4mile) runs last week and I was on my feet from 9:30pm - 3:00am on friday night so I have had a bit of exercise.

There is only one thing for it more running and more beer to aid the recovery.

Memory Lane

Coming home at 3:00 am stone cold sober having not passed a drop of alcohol through my mouth is a strange position. I saw something I had forgotten all about - a milk man delivering doorstep pints. I had forgotten about the crashing of milk crates and the jingle of glass bottles. Then as I neared home I saw a near neighbour who has a market stall leaving for work. So what would I choose to drink but an old fashioned beer a dark mild, Black Dog from Elgoods. I originally bought the bottle because I liked the name, my Dad used to always have a black Labrador. I didn't actually look to see what kind of beer it was. I discovered it was a CAMRA award winning traditional dark mild brewed with roasted barley and crystal malt along with Fuggles hops. This really brough back memeories of drinking pints of Mild as a student in the early 80's. It has a low ABV of 3.6% which means it comes in under 2 units of alcohol. I liked the beer but I wouldn't want to drink multiple pints of it but it comes from a nice little old family brewer in Wisbech in North Cambridgeshire. I can remember visiting in the early 90's when the were making alcohol free bitter and still using steam driven water pumps. You can find out more about the brewery here

http://www.elgoods-brewery.co.uk

Oh Well

I have to eat my words but to quote Fleetwood Mac "I can't help about the shape I'm in, I aint pretty, I can't sing and my legs are thin, but don't ask me what i think of you I might not give you the answer that you want me to ....... Oh well" England play the most boring rugby but interestingly only Ireland have scored more tries (so much for Welsh flair and attacking play) So once again you have to say the press are full of rubbish and write a story to fit around their opinions England have the best defensive record (conceded only 3 tries joint best with Ireland) and are the second best atttackers so where does that leave northern hemisphere rugby because England are boring rubbish at the moment.

Enough of that the beer I was drinking when I became unhinged watching England give away penalty after penalty was Marstons Old Empire not Marstons IPA even though it is a pale ale. I rather enjoyed it but even at 5.7% it wasn't strong enough to dull the pain of the game.

All the beer I put on the blog I seem to like - as long as it is liquid, has hops and malt and alcohol - no I do drink some beers I don't like but I haven't bogged the rubbish yet.

This stuff is very drinkable and available in bottles in supermarkets in England and if you can find a Marstons pub you may find it on draft as well. It has a fresh slightly hoppy taste and would quench quite a dry parched throat.

Marston's Beer

Old Empire

In the 19th Century, Burton-upon-Trent became famous for brewing the best beer for export to thirsty ex-pats and colonial soldiers in India.

With its pale appearance, strong hoppy taste and higher alcoholic strength Marston's Old Empire comprises all the genuine characteristics of a true India Pale Ale, which were necessary to last

The 3 month journey from Burton to Bombay. Old Empire is brewed using optic malt, a subtle and paler grain that will allow other flavours to come through on the palate. Goldings and Fuggle Hops are added to this brew, which is then late hopped with the American Cascade variety for extra hop strength.

Wales "Basterauded" giving England an chance at the championship - we need another seismic improvement this week though. I reserve judgement until tomorrow night.

Did a five mile walk followed by a 6 mile run with no knee support - knee is holding up well. Tried Marstons IPA - will need another bottle or two to properly assess it but I have to say it tasted great but I couldn't concentrate on ot because the rugby was too exciting.

Long Standing Aquaintance - Old Bob

This weekend I hooked up with a long standing aquaintance OLD BOB from the sadly now defunct Ridleys brewery. It brought back memories of beer at 35p a pint and the days when you ordered a half of bitter and a bottle of Old Bob and the bartender would give you 2/3 of a pint in a pint glass and a half pint bottle of Old Bob. Clearly drinking beer does not diminish the long term memory as a 35p pint would have been about 30+ years ago. It also brought back memories of under age drinking in the Old Lamb (sadly also gone and now 2 or more houses stand on that plot) in High Roding with the ex butcher who always looked miserable as a Landlord. People used to say it was a hard life being a butcher which is why he always looked miserable but I think he was worried about his daughter hooking up with one of his regulars. Ahh what memories, I guess that my interest in nostalgia means I am now middle aged.

The demise of small breweries and the loss of pubs is a sad fact of modern life and I can't say I call it progress. Ridleys at Hart end Felsted wa a delightful old brewery which was a bit like a museum when I last visited it a few years ago. They still had the old coppers, still hauled the hops up to the top floor by hand etc. but apparently they didn't make any money so they sold out the Greene King who make a few passable beers. I remember them buying Rayments in the 80's. Rayments used to supply the beer to our rugby club but the BBA soon became IPA and there is now no Rayments beer left as far as I know, so lets hope Ridleys is a stronger brand.

Any way Ridleys Old Bob is now available in 500ml bottles from most good supermarkets. It is a proper bitter without the sweet addition of some of my recent beers. I like the fact that it doesn't really have any head and in my opinion you could easily drink more than one of these in an evening. The clear bottle also lets you see exactly what you are getting.


Ridley's
Old Bob Strong Pale Ale
ABV 5.1% • Vol 500 ml • bottle •
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Ridley's, brewing since 1842 till around 2005, was an Essex-based brewer of traditional English ales. Old Bob, a premium ale at the weaker end of the 'old ale' style, has a distinctive, delicate malty aroma with a touch of hop and a thick, persistent head out of the bottle. The attack is sharp and bitter-sweet. There is a lively, very rounded palate of rich, treacley, faintly caramelly malt, without being thick or cloying, and a clean, hoppy (Fuggles) bitterness fading into a bitter aftertaste, with maybe a trace of burnt malt, in the back of the throat. This tastes just how one imagines a beer should - rich, complex and bloody marvellous. Although quite sweet for a pale ale, the flavour is perfectly balanced by the Fuggles bitterness and the deeper roasted malt notes.