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Beer Swap : The Beers Have Landed

Posted on November 22, 2009 by andyMogg in Beer Festivals & Events, Beer Swap 9 Comments
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  • Beer Swap : The Beers Have Landed

If  you are reading this then the beers I sent have reached their destination.

This post is in place of the letter that was meant to go in with my beer swap parcel, I did write one I just forgot to put it in – along with a rather tasty bar of chilli chocolate i bought as a little extra, I guess I will just have to eat that, sorry Ed!

Finding local bottles was harder than I thought it would be, as I have mentioned before we have lots of breweries round here but not many bottle their beers, the ones that do are generally available in the supermarkets and I wanted to avoid those.

Beer Swap Beers

We also lack any really good bottle shops, luckily a couple of places do sell the odd local beer.

The first beer I chose was Wylam Rocket, this was also one I sent in the test pack, it’s from more that 30 miles away but it’s a beer close to my heart and one that is a beer festival staple round here. Surprisingly it was bought in a local Tesco who have started a little (2 or 3 bottles) local ale section.

Winner of the prestigious Tesco drinks Awards 2008 and SIBA bottled beer awards 2009 Wylam Rocket lives up to it’s reputation. A pale copper traditional best bitter. Deceptively easy drinking with a fresh citrus and aromatic character from the Centennial hops. Good bitter finish to follow.

The second beer was Hambleton Nightmare, I am quite a big fan of Hambleton’s beers in cask and bottle format and Nightmare is a cracking stout, I bought this one directly from the brewery (hence the old style label) I did want to include their Black Lightning but couldnt get hold of any after drinking all my supplies.

The bottled version of the classic Champion Winter Beer Of Britain 1997. A smooth, massively flavoured creamy drink, best served on the warm side allowing full appreciation of the roasted barley rearing out of this four malt brew.

The 3rd beer was a new brewery that I discovered on my hunt for the Beer Swap beers, The brewery in quesion was Yorkshire Dales Brewing Co, I got a few of their bottles and didn’t come across one I didn’t like, their lables also really stood out as they were nice and bright, although looking back, Askrigg Ale might have been slightly better but I couldn’t get any more of that.

The bottle I ended up sending was Great Shunner ale, which is bottle conditioned and bottled by hand in the Yorkshire Dales.

A dark ale brewed with Maris Otter and a little crystal malt for a subtle biscuit flavour. The four hop varieties provide a fine balance and characterise the beer with a spicy citrus finish.

The final beer was Wold Top’s Mars Magic

MARS MAGIC is a 4.6% A B V Premium Ale with a red glow reflecting the Dark Crystal malt with a hint of Roast Barley in the brew. A malty flavour combined with the subtle aroma of the wonderfully aromatic ‘Progress’ hops which are also used for bittering give a thoroughly warm feeling just right for driving out the winter chill

The beers were bought from Lewis and Cooper which is a local deli type shop (who also sell my favourite wasabi peas) they are a bit hit and miss for beers, sometimes they have lots others they hardly have any.

I did try lots of other beers but decided they just weren’t good enough for the swap, I also struggled to get a couple of beers I wanted to send so hopefully I will be able to find them for the next round.

Fingers crossed Ed will enjoy the beers and the will offer a brief glimpse of what the breweries round here have to offer.

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9 comments on “Beer Swap : The Beers Have Landed”

  1. Ted says:
    November 24, 2009 at 09:11

    Ah Lewis & Coopers – always handy for some decent local bottled beers when I’m back home to see my mum. You could do a lot worse.

    What about Binns in Darlo? I know it’s not as good as it once was when John looked after it but I suppose they still have a decent choice downstairs?

    Reply
  2. andyMogg says:
    November 24, 2009 at 09:14

    Thanks for the tip off Ted,I will have a look in there as I work in Darlo, I asked around when I started here but no one knew of any decent bottle shops – mainly because no one drinks real ale.

    Reply
  3. Ted says:
    November 25, 2009 at 12:44

    I’m a Darlo fan who lives in London and am up for most weekend games.

    I tend to frequent the Quaker and No. 22 when I’m there – te best places to drink as you’ll probably know. There are plenty of real ale drinkers if you look…

    Reply
  4. andyMogg says:
    November 25, 2009 at 22:25

    I suppose someone has to be ;o) where about do you frequent for beer in the big smoke? i’ve heard good things about the rake!

    Reply
  5. andyMogg says:
    November 29, 2009 at 22:10

    For those of you who would like to read Ed’s thoughts on the beers I sent you can read them here
    http://thebeerbear.blogspot.com/2009/11/beer-swap-this-is-how-it-was-for-me.html

    Reply
  6. Ted says:
    November 30, 2009 at 09:43

    Down here I tend to frequent (in no particular order): Harp (Charing Cross), Royal Oak (Borough), Wenlock and Old Fountain (Old Street), King Charles I (Kings X), Doric Arch (Euston), Palm Tree and Eleanor Arms (Mile End), Wheatsheaf (Borough Market), Gunmakers (Farringdon), Rosie’s (Woolwich) and a few others that I’ve forgotten.

    The Rake is OK if it’s quiet – it’s a bit small and can be full of wanky Borough Market-types who sup Duvel out of bottles. The staff often give the impression that they’re doing you a favour and a lot of the bottled beers are frozen to death in the chiller cabinets (not great if you want a stout). Can be some interesting beers on though…

    Reply
  7. andyMogg says:
    November 30, 2009 at 11:53

    Thanks Ted, always handy to have a list of pubs for when Im down that way!

    Reply
  8. Ted says:
    December 10, 2009 at 12:28

    Had some time when I was in Darlo on Sat and popped into Binns – the off-licence part is no more I’m afraid…

    Reply
  9. andyMogg says:
    December 10, 2009 at 12:42

    Thanks for the info Ted, it’s a shame, I will grill some of the darlo lads at work and see if i can find any shops round here!

    Reply

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