Ringwood Brewery - Boondoggle

4.2%

Golden ale. Fruity, grassy flavour, quite sweet with a bitter-sweet citrus finish.

Really drinkable as it's fairly light. The kind of beer that you could have a quick pint of after work and feel refreshed or drink in a steady summer afternoon session.

Find out more here.

Thwaites - Lancaster Bomber

4.4%

Chestnut brown, classic bitter taste, dry aftertaste.

Traditional English ale really, something you can happily drink but would not be the first choice I'd make. You would enjoy with something traditional like pie and mash but it wouldn't be a beer to crack out at a summer BBQ.

Find out more here.

(Note: I wrote this one before I even thought of the blog so I didn't do a picture, I had to steal one from off of the internet)

Stewart Brewing - Hollyrood

5%

Pale though also cloudy, due to the use of wheat. Grapefruity and nicely hopped, but the taste has quite a subtle and light finish. 

It's not really a wheat beer even though it looks like one and hints at tasting like some of the nicer wheat beers. I know it's not really a wheat beer because I'm not a great fan of wheat beers - I have a "when in Rome" approach to them in that I only really enjoy them if drank in their country of origin. It's how light and hopped this beer is that makes it more drinkable. A nice drink but not one I would actively seek out for myself.

Find out more here.

St Andrews Brewing Co - Fife Gold

4.2%

Pale and golden, sharp and fruity taste, great citrus aroma. Fairly bitter and dry aftertaste that is a little woody but sharp taste stays on the tongue too.

For some people it would be more of a summer ale and the sharp fruity taste probably means this is an ale that you could chill in the fridge and still enjoy a lot of flavour and refreshment from, if that's your preference. It's a beer I could drink all year round very happily though, it's a shame they are brewed in such small batches.

Find out more here.

An Introduction

So I recently turned 30, and as it was a big birthday it meant slightly more presents than usual, and as apparently I'm difficult to buy for, the default gift of choice is beer. I got quite a lot of beer!

The thing is, I got a lot of beer from people who don't really drink beer. That meant a combination of supermarket staples, those with the stupidest names, and also some of those you don't normally see (from the people who tried a little harder).

Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for every last one of them - heck, even the Marstons can go in a beef and beer stew. But none of the beers I got were ones I would pick up for myself. Some were beers I like quite a bit but just don't buy very often, some were beers I haven't had for years, some were ones I've never felt inclined to try and others were ones I have had before and disliked.

What this wide range of beers did was give me an idea. The idea was to write my own thoughts and tasting notes on them, just for myself. This quickly developed, as my thoughts often do, into turning this into a blog. This of course was after I've polished off the lovely St Austell 'Tribute' that was amongst my bounty, but before I had actually set up this blog. So I'm going to start with a few beers that were finished off before I clicked 'publish' on this introduction, I hope you enjoy reading and it gives someone some inspiration to try a new beer - assuming anyone reads past this self indulgent monologue!

If you do like what you read, check out my other blogs:
MarkillSports
MarkillWalking
Super League Pod