Beer Compurgation

"The downfall of being a great beer lover and enthusiast is a tendency to hoard. Nobody I know is as guilty of this as I. As such, I've come to realise in recent months that I really need to start working through my already sizeable bottle stock before purchasing anything else this year, if for no other reason than to try the beers I’ve spent my money on whilst they’re still at their best. Added to this is the realisation over the last few months – based on certain depressive life situations – that life is too short not to drink the great beers I have available to me. I also need to find new encouragement and inspiration to write again. I have never wanted this to be a beer review blog (with the exception of Advent) but all the above factors have led me to begin a series of “Stock Clearance” posts where I drink beers within my hoard that really need drinking for reasons that will be explained." "I shall further clarify that my beer hoard started to grow around t...

“If one of my friends committed suicide, I would have no sympathy for them. I would possibly not even attend their funeral. Suicide is the ultimate cop-out.” One of my greatest friends spoke these words to me when we were having a natural conversation two or three years ago. I cannot remember how the subject arose, knowing nobody suicidal at the time, but his strong stance resonated with me, almost making me ashamed to recall how I had such thoughts a couple of years previous. I didn't truly understand mental health issues myself at the time so was inclined to agree with his strong sentiments. Today this blog returns to Steve. I hoped I wouldn't need to return to speaking of alcoholism again on a blog that promotes the drinking of fine beverages, but it is an inevitable occurrence. For those of you who have not read my two previous posts regarding this man, Steve (not his real name) is somebody very close to me who is an alcoholic and who I am involved strongly in th...

The other weekend I had an afternoon out in Leeds city centre where I visited  Tapped Leed s for the first time, a fairly new establishment having only opened last year. It boasts 27 beers - 13 cask and 14 keg. There are also house beers brewed on site in the brewery whose kettles sit in the bar area itself. It's modern in design; square, matching and formulaic. It feels fresh and clean but certainly bar-like. As an ex-resident of Leeds it is interesting and incredulous that such a bar exists in a prime location (on the main road running to the train station by the brand new Trinity shopping centre) in a city whose drinking establishments have always seemed hidden or camouflaged. It stands bold as brass opposite the ever popular Yate's as an anti-thesis to it's rival. A doorman watches over even though it is early afternoon; a reminder of the reputation of this corner of the city.  Do I enjoy my time here? Of course. We sit on high stools just near the bar and sup a va...

If you don’t make mistakes then how do you learn? The problem for large CAMRA run festivals for as long as I've been attending them has always been to do with the Saturday dregs the majority of hard working folk are punished with supping. Each time this happens people complain that they have to pay the largest entry fee for the poorest range of beer available across four days. Every time the same arguments are had. But you live and learn, so they say,except, actually, they never do. To address this issue I had to take matters into my own hands when it came to the Manchester Beer and Cider Festival 2014 that was being held at the remarkable venue of the National Cycling Centre . The location prospect, plus early beer lists made me excited to have chance to attend, but I knew that the organisers would do nothing to target the problematic Saturday run-off. So I risked jeopardising any work I had to do in my job Friday morning by heading down to the festival Thursday even...

There was a time when I might have found a personal surmising of my own last 12 months a little self-indulgent. It is negativity within me that I am trying to shake off, but we will get to that later on in this seemingly endless ramble. 2013 was a year that can lend itself to the old cliché of being full of highs and lows; positives and negatives. Though I could be truly narcissistic and talk of my personal life at this point, I rather refer to my life within the beer world and my time as a blogger. In drinking and sampling terms I’ve supped some truly memorable beverages. I never came around to writing my own Golden Pints for the year, partly for I was too busy writing a Beer Advent Calendar post each day, partly because I fear I could open my “beer of the year” at 11.59pm 31 st December and partly because I find it too difficult to complete every category. Luckily, when it comes to remembering beers, I’ve got a blog for reference. Easily the two best beers I drank last year...

Let us end Christmas on a high. Let us do so because my calculations are poor and patience even worse. Let us rejoice in the coming of the Lord and Saviour and therefore we get crap loads of presents because some preacher was born 2013 years ago. Hark, for a 14-year-old woman has got knocked up and the only defence there is to claim it's because God has impregnated her. And I am a Christian and a Christmas lover before the pitchforks are sharpened.   Today the Advent Calendar comes to an end. I've really enjoyed it this year, where as last year's had become a chore by the end. Family casualties and endless work merriment made some of the posts published late, but I endeavoured and still am glad to keep mine solely Christmas ale exclusive. Last year I vowed never to do such a calendar again. This year I find myself already looking forward to December 1st 2014.   Somehow this year I ended with two beers left come December 24th. Perhaps it is due to the moving around...

Well this is truly very good. Just like the beer yesterday, Alesmith, Winter Yule Smith 8.5% has had to battle through my brutal seasonal cold to form part of my Advent Calendar. I'd been really quite looking forward to this one and considered forfeiting today's beer as, not only did I have a feeling this would be good, it was also rather pricey and it seemed to be wasted on a cold that has numbed both my sense of smell and taste. Luckily, this happens to be good enough to fight through it all.   This is, of course, the Winter Yule Smith where this beer is brewed as a big Imperial Red Ale; the Summer Yule Smith is a Double IPA that I have sadly never tried. It's not a traditional choice for a festive beer, but this is more of a celebratory beer for the season, just like Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale . Prior to tasting that beer in Window 17 I was disappointed to think that this Alesmith beer was going to be a big hoppy affair, rather than a warming winter tre...