At present my bottle stash has a very continental theme and
is full of the weird and the wonderful. Whilst out yesterday I added to it with
Japanese and more American beers. Which is why on Friday it was nice to try
some more traditional beers and so I treated myself to a local beer night. I
had bottles in from my two local breweries – Millstone and Greenfield, as well
as one from fairly local and new brewery Wilson Potter. I also rounded off with
a Marble beer, because they are local too and fitted in with the theme
I started with a very local brewery and Greenfield’s
Uppermill Ale. I get the chance to have Greenfield on draught regularly and their
Black Five, Icicle and festive poison Rudolph’s Tipple are excellent whilst
some of their traditional bitters can be average for me. So when I saw their
beers in the shop I chose the Uppermill Ale being one I hadn’t tried before.
It’s a pleasantly clear looking amber beer that smells darker than its shade.
There's plenty of roasted smells, but also a strong hint of caramel and toffee.
The taste holds a slight fizz, but not in an disagreeable manner. It’s long and
dark and tastes stronger than it is. I felt my head swirl slightly after the
first gulp. As it warms it changes and those caramel/toffee aromas enter the
taste, leaving a sweet afterthought. It's definitely enjoyable and one of the
brewery's best. One I will look for on draught.
Next I chose the even more local Millstone Brewery and their
True Grit. I must confess to being a huge Millstone fan, but not in a biased
way. To me their ales taste consistency is only matched by their underrated
consistency. I have had True Grit many a time on draught but this will be my
first taste from a bottle. A perfectly clear honey colour, it smells of pure
Chinook, with the orange zest and pineapple scents that accompany that hop. The
taste from bottles is different, but in a brilliant way. I can tell you now, if
True Grit was produced by a modern craft brewery people would rave about this
beer. It's delectable hoppy goodness. It comes with no beer description but is
very similar to the popular modern IPA’s we’ve seen so much of. The hoppy
sweetness and bittery finish is sublime. It is a terrific tipple.
Moving further away, but still in the Greater Manchester
area I recently picked up a couple of beers by newcomers Wilson Potter,
including tonight’s choice In The Light. Being new, I am very much looking
forward to a sample of their beers and go in blindly and without any
prerequisites. In the Light pours a dark blonde colour and looks as flat as a festival
beer. It claims to have a citrus aroma, but to me it is much more malty with bitter
roasts in there for such a pale beer. Despite this, the taste is unexpected.
It's bitter and zesty at the same time. At first it seems a decent bitter but
my palette finds a tang at the end. Then another sip really does provide citrus
flavours. But then another sip is distinctly bitter. I like this. It hints at
imperfection which only serves to make it interesting. I look forward to seeing more from this
brewery.
I finished with a Marble Manchester Bitter which I hardly
feel the need to go into tasting notes about. It’s almost as good in bottles
but loses some of that distinctive Marble taste. I used to frequent the Marble Arch
and know that Marble have been doing incredible and exciting craft beer for
much longer than their recent popularity suggests. I only hope they keep level
headed and keep consistent. There’s a reason they’re probably the most famous
of my local micro-breweries and I fitted them into this local beer evening to
remind myself that they are precisely that (local, that is).
Tonight reminded me that there are still great, more
traditional ales being made and not everything has got to be about big hop
bombs or crazy stouts. I support my local breweries as much as possible and implore
everyone to do the same. So every now and then have a local beer night like
this. I guarantee you’ll enjoy it.
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