New Bar Towel Event: May 23rd - BEER LINEUP ANNOUNCED!

[northyorksammy]

The new F&M formulation pilsner was the big winnerto me
and Trafalgar's critical mass was a surprise and interesting

[flip]

Thanks again for organizing this event, Cass. It was great! The beers and format were really well done.

My top vote was tied between the Tankhouse Cask and Black Oak Cask... but in the end I had to pick the Black Oak. Man, they were both great beers.

I was also really impressed by the Stonehammer Pilsner.

[Cass]

I just want to thank everyone who showed up last night for the Taster's Taps. I think we had just the right amount of people, we had a great space and the selection was outstanding.

Special thanks to George @ CW and John Walter for helping to organize.

Hope to see everyone again on Friday, the winners from last night will be bolded on the full tasting menu, so everyone will be able to try our picks.

Cass

[old faithful]

Thanks Cass for setting up this event and to GC and JW. The beers were very interesting. I think my favourite was the first one served, a F&M pilsener whose formulation had changed apparently, it had a nice mellow yeast background (lightly fruity) but also I liked L'Ale, which George told me was a mix of lager and ale, the ale was 10W30. It was in effect a cream ale, an amber cream ale you might call it and a good summer beer. The maple beer was fascinating, very similar to an ice wine or tokai wine, but for me strictly for small quantity sampling. A number of us present agreed it might age well. The Trafalgar 13% abv was very good, a bit like some extra-strong Trappists but cleaner in taste and perhaps a little sweet. Again it might benefit from being stored for a while. The cask ales from Black Oak and Mill Street were very good in the sense of being well made and pungent with West Coast hops - not my favourite style but I admire the skill with which they were made (I just wish we had beers like that made the same way but substituting Goldings for the American hops, actually we do have that, Granite IPA, but we need more). Most of the other beers failed to impress but were still interesting to try.

Actually one of the best beers of the night was sampled at beerbistro just before I went to C'est What, Delerium. Very good and in great condition, so fresh it was throwing rings on the glass. It had that chalky sharp aftertaste some Belgians have (from the yeast) which offsets the high abv and the decent malt content. It was not as idiosyncratic as some Belgians (e.g. it didn't have the funk or comlexity of some Saisons) but it was a fine example of the brewer's art. But I only drank a half-serving (served in a cognac-type glass), these strong beers are self-limiting in that way but on the other hand, it is a superb beer to accompany food.

Gary

[shintriad]

Cass, great event and thanks again for putting it on!

I was extremely impressed with the lineup: these are all more or less local brewers, and all of them went out of their way to provide something special. There really wasn't a loser in the bunch. I would love to see any of these beers on tap at my local or in bottles, but who knows when we'll be able to sample them again?

For me, Church Key's well-formulated Bier de Garde came out on top. It had a very rich aroma, a unique flavour, and great balance. Trafalgar's outlandish barleywine-like offering was a real palate shocker. The dry-hopped Mill St. was also wonderful.

I have to say, though, I found the Black Oak disappointing. It tasted great, but there was no body. To me, it was basically like drinking very watered-down bourbon.

[the_big_v]

Hello all!

My first post, one of many I hope....

Last night was great. A really good, varied selection of beer. The Mill St. was excellent (as expected), the surprise for me was the first Pilsner (F&M was it?), very tasty and quite complex for a Pilsner.

I also liked the "I could drink this all night" feeling that I got from the Church Key IPA - A challenge I feel I should partake in in the near future.

It was good to meet some of you (yes, even Newcastle supporters), thanks Cass for letting me come at the last minute.

Cheers!

[Jon Walker]

Hey avatar copier! Good one though...like it.

My plans to attend were completely sabotaged by circumstances beyond my control. I'll have to settle for trying the stuff on Friday night.

[the_big_v]

Yours is better and you were here first, so I have replaced mine with a picture of God instead

[Jon Walker]

No complaints...Cantona will do nicely.

[midlife crisis]

So which five beers got the coveted thumbs up from the Tasters?

[GregClow]

So which five beers got the coveted thumbs up from the Tasters?

We won't know until Friday when the tabulated results are announced.

[sstackho]

Hello all!

My first post, one of many I hope....

ugh. If I have any personal responsibility for bringing this gentleman to the board (which officially brings us to 2 over our Man U supporter quota), then I at least have to bring praise to the team that singlehandedly kept Cantona scoreless for 9 months.

[Cass]

So which five beers got the coveted thumbs up from the Tasters?

The results are in, but you're going to have to come on Friday to find out!

[northyorksammy]

[

Gary[/quote]

so i don't have to kick myself for leaving at a respectable time

[JWalter]

Apologies for continuing in the soccer vein, but for those of you who don't know who Eric Cantona is, he's a real hero to Man United supporters, he's currently 'hosting' those Joga Bonito commercials... Take a peek at this, it's a pretty decent picture of when he leaped over the advertising hoardings and drop-kicked a FAN. Great role model.

Anyhow, back to the Tasting Night!

It was a great night, nice seeing everyone again, and meeting a few new folks! I was super-impressed by the F&M Stonehammer Pilsner, I'll definitely be picking some up, I think it'll be my new Pilsner of choice, replacing Steamwhistle...

Of course the highlight of the night for me was the Hop Juice that was the Tankhouse Dry-Hopped Cask... Wow! Hoppity Hop Hop Hop... Delicious!

I got some good audio for a Podcast that I'll be assembling, plan to capture more tasting notes and conversation at Friday's festival, so if you see me wandering around with my PocketPC, be friendly and say Hello!