All Otley Beer Festival

Here's a plug for the all Otley Beer Festival happening over the coming weekend at the Bunch of Grapes, Pontypridd. The Commercial Room team will be attending on Friday, and it looks like there'll be plenty of quality beers to keep us occupied. We're particularly looking forward to 'Not So', 'Saison Obscura', 'O-Rosie' and one of our very favourities: 06 Porter.

Friday night sees some live 'New Orleans style' music. There's a BBQ during the day on Saturday, followed by some live rock 'n' blues. Whilst on Sunday the 'epic' roasts will be served during the day.

Photo - Ross Evans



Now for the important part (text lifted from the Bunch of Grapes website - http://www.bunchofgrapes.org.uk/)

BEERS ON THE MAIN BAR

O1 – 4.0%

Our Flagship Golden Ale.

CroesO 4.2%

Light, hoppy and delicate with big aromas. This is the Bunch’s house Ale and is hugely drinkable, as our regulars will attest to!

Thai-bO – 4.6%

Infused with lemongrass, lime leaf galangal and lime zest.  Fabulous with food, equally refreshing on its own!

O4 Columbo – 4.0%

In your face hop refreshment. Gold Medal in the Golden Ale category at the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival 2011.

O-Garden – 4.7%
Clear wheat beer flavoured with roasted Orange peel, coriander and cloves.

Oxymoron – 5.5%
Our Black IPA, brewed to look dark and taste light. Dry hopped with five different varieties – the result is both complex and satisfying.

O7 Weissen – 5.0%
Usually found in the Bunch in kegged form, for this weekend we have it Cask Conditioned. A lighter wheat beer with banana aromas and lemony aftertaste.

O3 Boss – 4.4%
A traditional, chestnut red coloured bitter with American hops for flavour and aroma.

O5 Gold – 5.0%
American hops and lager malt. Quaffable refreshment.

Stonegate – 4.0%

O6 Porter – 6.6%
An old style porter with a deep and full flavour.  Truly satisfying with smooth mouth feel.

BEERS ON THE FESTIVAL BAR

Not So – 5.5%
A modern take on the ‘Old Ale’ style. U.S., New Zealand and British hops unite!

O–Roger – 5.4%
A classic Burton Ale brewed with Roger Protz in the summer of 2011, with a slightly higher level of hops! Will you ever see this Beer again?

Saison Obscura – 5.5%
A continental dark Saison.  Flavoured with Grains of Paradise, Curacoa and orange peel.

O-Ho-Ho [vintage cask] – 5.0%

Our Christmas ale, blueberry infused.  Bitter with a delicate rose hue.

O-Mai – 4.3%

Our seasonal beer for May, pale and summery with fresh raspberries added late to the brew.

O-Rosie 4.3%
Single hopped and infused with rosemary.

Welsh Pride / Balchder Cymru

This is a 4% bottle conditioned bitter by the Conwy brewery.

Photo - Paul Evans

It is light copper in appearance, with a hardy frothy white head.  The aroma is of mild spice and barley malt.

Photo - Paul Evans

This is a very refreshing beer, that's flavour balanced in favour of malt over hops.  It is quite rich in the mouth with a good orange flavour.  It has a good crisp finish and the aftertaste is almost like a cider lolly!

I'm not usually a fan of bitters but I thoroughly enjoyed this.

3*

10 Edinburgh pubs

Photo - Paul Evans

We're going north on the Commercial Room today, up to Scotland in fact, to check out 10 great Edinburgh pubs.

1. The Ensign Ewart

The closest pub to the Castle retains a very traditional feel.  A few real ales on tap, but the real draw is the character, with it’s stained glass windows and proper pub gloom.

2. Deacon Brodies

Part of the Nicholson chain with plenty of real ales and good lagers on tap, with a wide selection of bottled beers too. A good whisky selection with very helpful bar staff on hand to advise.  Distinctive and traditional décor inside makes this a must visit. 

A dram at the Ensign Ewart
Photo - Paul Evans

3. The Cask & Barrel

A very impressive real ale pub in the new town.  Very old-style inside with a huge selection of real ales.  Barrels for tables and high backed booths make this a very special pub, with a cracking traditional atmosphere.



The rather glum looking author at the Cask and Barrel
Photo - Paul Evans



4. The Guildford Arms

Sumptuous décor awaits after entering through the turnstile door.  Dark wood, brass, and gilded ceilings distract momentarily from the impressive beer selection available.

Photo - Guildford Arms

5. The Abbotsford

Tucked away on Rose street is this fine pub with an impressive wooden island bar.  This is the star attraction and it’s a  must to sit at it while choosing, and then supping one of the many fine ales on offer.

A selection of Ales at the Abbotsford
Photo - Paul Evans

6. BrewDog Bar

You can't be a beer lover visiting Edinburgh without going to the BrewDog Bar on Cowgate. It's grungy, loud, a little grubby and overpriced.  But the beers are simply epic, I tried Tactical Nuclear Penguin, twice, and at 34% it was worth the trip alone.

A selection of BrewDog Beers
Photo - Paul Evans

7. The Halfway House

Set down a stepped alley off Cockburn street, the Halfway house is reputed to be Edinburgh's smallest pub.  It's very traditional, very cosy and has a good selection of beers available. A true free-house and definitely one of Edinburgh's best pubs.

Photo - Paul Evans

8. World's End

This is a must visit pub for most who visit the city. Parts of the Flodden wall, which marked the city limit and provided protection against the armies of Henry the VIII, can still be seen. Inside is a low ceiling, dark wood traditional pub, with cosy corners and good beer.

9. Jolly Judge

Tucked away in an Old Town close, the Jolly Judge is a narrow, cosy pub with traditional features like beamed ceilings and a log fire. There are a good selection of beers and whiskies, and the midweek quiz is particularly popular.

10. The Royal Mile Tavern

I'll always have fond memories of this pub as it is where I first tried haggis, neeps and tatties.  This is a traditional pub with a dark, cosy feel.  There's plenty of dark wood and brass, a good selection of beers, and good food.

Arty pints no.9



Photo - Paul Evans


Ringwood Bold Forester, at the Stag Inn - Dolgellau.

Great pub views no.5

Photo - Paul Evans

A view from inside the City Arms of the millennium stadium, Cardiff.

Human Cannonball

This is a 9.2% double IPA by the Magic Rock brewery of Huddersfield.

Photo - Paul Evans

Its appearance is dark amber, with a short lasting head.  The aroma is incredibly hoppy, with notes of mango, pineapple, orange and tree sap. After being in the glass for a while there are also scents of curry spices, with fenugreek, cumin and coriander all recognisable.

Photo - Paul Evans

On initial tasting there is a massive blast of hoppy bitterness, followed by sweetness and a pink grapefruit bite. There's caramel in there as well as bittersweet molasses, and a deep malt flavour which binds it all together.

This beer is as complex as supramolecular chemistry, and makes your mouth water after each sip, which leaves you craving for the next mouthful.

This goes straight to the top of the Commercial Room's favourite beers.

Rating: 5*

Arty pints no.8



Photo - Paul Evans

 Veltins, at the Saracens Head Hotel - Beddgelert.

Tavern porter

This is a 4.7% bottle conditioned porter from the Thwaites brewery of Blackburn, Lancashire.

Photo - Paul Evans

The beer is very dark and enticing, with a strong coffee like appearance, and a very lively frothy head. The aroma is of sweet malts and juicy currants, with a slight hint of liquorice and a subtle warming bourbon feel in the nostrils.

Photo - Paul Evans

The taste is instantly bitter with biting roasted malts, and a warming Irish coffee feel that blushes the cheeks.  There are notes of liquorice and a satisfying smoky subtleness. Very good.

Rating: 4*



New kids on the block

The hangovers have just about gone, so it's time for the commercial room to have a look back at this year's great Welsh beer and cider festival.

Photo - Paul Evans

I attended this year on Thursday and Friday, wanting to ensure that I tried all the beers I had selected from the beer list.  In past years I have been left disappointed that particular beers I really wanted to try had sold out, this year the event was very well stocked.

The champion beer was awarded to the Heart of Wales brewery for its very strong 'high as a kite'. It was particularly pleasing to see the judges pick a less conservative beer this year and opt for a strong 9.5% almost barley wine style beer.

Photo - Paul Evans

Highlights included beers from the Waen brewery, particularly the chilli plum porter and the always good blackberry stout. Otley had their usual selection of top notch beers, and it was good to be re-acquainted with thai-bo and the spectacular odessa. Brains had their new craft beers on offer, and I enjoyed sampling those, but the star of the show was Tiny Rebel, who sold 3500 glasses of beer over the weekend - incredible!

All weekend the longest queues were at the Tiny Rebel bar, and it was not difficult to see why once I sampled the entire range on offer.  Hadouken was a particular highlight, whilst fubar served dry hopped through the hop rocket was an unusual and interesting take on serving beer.  Doc brown, cwtch and dirty stop out were also top notch beers.


Photos - Paul Evans


The festival saw a debut for the new Pixie Spring brewery of Llantrisant, and their IPA 'prince of Bengal' was very good. We also love Bullmastiff at the commercial room, and it wouldn't have been a beer festival without trying the always brilliant 'son of a bitch'. Other brewers we particularly enjoyed were Acorn of Barnsley, Wentworth of Yorkshire and Brecon's ever expanding range.

Photo - Ross Evans

In all, a thoroughly good festival this year and a definite improvement on years gone by.  My only gripes - the slightly confusing beer tokens, and a lack of tables and chairs.

I tried too many beers to list them all, so here's the commercial room's top 5 festival beers:

1. Hadouken 7.4% - Tiny Rebel

A double IPA with massive flavour from a complex mixture of hops. the commercial room's beer of the festival by some distance.

2. Chilli plum porter 6.1% - Waen brewery

A warming dark beer with coffee and dark fruit flavours.

3. Dirty stop out 5.0% - Tiny Rebel 

A subtle smokiness from this smoked oat stout makes it very complex, and very moreish.

4. Rampant gryphon 6.2% - Wentworth

A strong golden beer, quite hoppy, with fruity hints and a good biting alcohol sweetness.

5. 06 Porter 6.6% - Otley

Another of the commercial room's favourite beers. A full-on, smooth and complex porter.

Roll on next year!

The beer scoring system

After much discussion at commercial room towers, we've decided to amend the beer scoring system we use.

Currently a beer is awarded points out of 10 in three categories (appearance, aroma & taste) which gives it a final score out of 30.  What we've found is that the system unfairly favours stouts and porters for example, as we think they look the best, and often they top the scoring chart simply by attaining a very high score for appearance.

We've also found that ciders score in the low 20s simply because, and let's be honest, they don't look particularly attractive.  So, to make it a more even playing field we are adopting the star method, and whilst we'll still judge beers and ciders on the 3 most important categories, we will be giving a final star rating out of 5.

Cheers!

The hit list

The great Welsh beer and cider festival has just opened its doors. We're very exited at the Commercial Room, and we've compiled our must try hit list to abate our anticipation (which isn't working). Roll on 5pm!

1. Brains craft brewery Barry Island IPA, 6%
2. Kelham Island pale rider, 5.2%
3. Pixie Spring prince of Bengal IPA, 5.5%
4. Tiny Rebel hadouken IPA, 7.4%
5. Tiny Rebel dirty stop out, 5%
6. Waen brewery chilli plum porter, 6.1%
7. Waen brewery blackberry stout, 3.8%

Cheers!

Jolly Jubilee

Photo - Paul Evans

Celebrating the Jubilee with some Westons cider.

Great pub views no.4



Photo - Paul Evans


This was taken in the front bar area of the Torrent Walk Hotel in Dolgellau.