Another good thing about England
BEER!
England has a great tradition of beer brewing, in particular its Ales. And unlike Australia (which is dominated by major multi-national brewing companies) England still has many independent breweries scattered throughout the country.
After a couple of months I've done the rounds of the various Supermarkets, Co-ops and a few local pubs and I've come to the conclusion that my favourite 'gourmet' beer of the moment is :
Hobgoblin.
A local brew of Oxfordshire. Dark, a little bit malty ... but have it with Bolognese sauce and it tastes like Almonds! For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, here is some info.
http://www.wychwood.co.uk/wychwood_hobgoblin.htm
It is brewed in Witney, about 10 miles west of Oxford.
My other favourite 'gourmet' beers include Old Speckled Hen, and surprising, Newcastle Brown Ale, which personally I've found to be real surprise packet.
And lately I've had the Fursty Ferret, which was also very enjoyable.
http://www.badgerales.com/beers/ferret.asp
Beers that have disappointed include Spitfire, Thwaites Lancaster Bomber and Thwaites Dark Ale (brewed for the co-op). Lancaster wasn't too bad, but a tad too malty for my taste.
Regarding 'cheap' beers, I've found that Bass Ale and John Smith Bitter really hit the spot. Bass used to be served on tap at The Retreat on Nicholson St in Abbotsford, which was one of my 'locals' when I lived in Abbotsford.
This week I am trying out Fullers ESB (Extra Special Bitter), Tanglefoot (from the brewers of the Fursty Ferret) and Bishops Finger, brewed by Shepherd Neame in Kent.
BTW did you know that the Bass logo (the distinctive Red Triangle) was the first ever brand logo to be trademarked in England?
Bottles of Bass Pale Ale bearing the triangle can be seen in Edouard Manet's 1882 painting Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Bottles of Bass can also be seen in over 40 paintings by Picasso, mostly at the height of his Cubist period around 1914. Some of his paintings at the time included collage elements, and the Bass label provided a convenient bold symbol that would have been as immediately recognised at the time (from Wikipedia).
England has a great tradition of beer brewing, in particular its Ales. And unlike Australia (which is dominated by major multi-national brewing companies) England still has many independent breweries scattered throughout the country.
After a couple of months I've done the rounds of the various Supermarkets, Co-ops and a few local pubs and I've come to the conclusion that my favourite 'gourmet' beer of the moment is :
Hobgoblin.
A local brew of Oxfordshire. Dark, a little bit malty ... but have it with Bolognese sauce and it tastes like Almonds! For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, here is some info.
http://www.wychwood.co.uk/wychwood_hobgoblin.htm
It is brewed in Witney, about 10 miles west of Oxford.
My other favourite 'gourmet' beers include Old Speckled Hen, and surprising, Newcastle Brown Ale, which personally I've found to be real surprise packet.
And lately I've had the Fursty Ferret, which was also very enjoyable.
http://www.badgerales.com/beers/ferret.asp
Beers that have disappointed include Spitfire, Thwaites Lancaster Bomber and Thwaites Dark Ale (brewed for the co-op). Lancaster wasn't too bad, but a tad too malty for my taste.
Regarding 'cheap' beers, I've found that Bass Ale and John Smith Bitter really hit the spot. Bass used to be served on tap at The Retreat on Nicholson St in Abbotsford, which was one of my 'locals' when I lived in Abbotsford.
This week I am trying out Fullers ESB (Extra Special Bitter), Tanglefoot (from the brewers of the Fursty Ferret) and Bishops Finger, brewed by Shepherd Neame in Kent.
BTW did you know that the Bass logo (the distinctive Red Triangle) was the first ever brand logo to be trademarked in England?
Bottles of Bass Pale Ale bearing the triangle can be seen in Edouard Manet's 1882 painting Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Bottles of Bass can also be seen in over 40 paintings by Picasso, mostly at the height of his Cubist period around 1914. Some of his paintings at the time included collage elements, and the Bass label provided a convenient bold symbol that would have been as immediately recognised at the time (from Wikipedia).
posted by PG at 7:01 AM
1 Comments:
Well actually, I admit that I drink all my bottled ales from the fridge.
Not sure if this is 'kosher' or not...
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