Tag Archives: England

124. Concertina Bengal Tiger

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The glamorous, jetsetting life of Threehundredbeers continues as we board a leaking, 30-year-old Pacer at Sheffield station with the feintly terrifying plan of spending a rainy Saturday afternoon at the Concertina Band Club, a rather earthy working men’s club in a former mining village somewhere in rural South Yorkshire.

The reason we’re here is Concertina Bengal Tiger. This is a highly-regarded, award winning IPA that very few have tried. It’s brewed in the tiny cellar here at The ‘Tina, and it’s pretty much impossible to find anywhere else. Even if you could find it elsewhere, it would be an injustice to the Threehundredbeers project and to both of my readers not to make my way to Mexborough and the beer’s source.

The Concertina Band Club, Mexborough

The club itself has seen better days, and initially feels a little intimidating to a southern softie. Yorkshire folks don’t do the red carpet treatment, but the welcome is warm enough. The club is no longer home to an actual concertina band, that once widespread northern phenomenon sadly having gone the same way as sparking clogs and Sheffield United winning the FA Cup, but judging by the trophies, it does still boast a fearsome ladies’ darts side.

Moreover, the beer is of exceptional quality, unreasonably cheap, and served in generous measures. I could get used to this.

Concertina Bengal Tiger

Would you look at that. The head, the colour, even the temperature is mouth-watering. That’s a beer in impeccable condition, and we’ve been served somewhat more than a pint for an unnecessarily reasonable £2.15.

And it’s lovely stuff too. Concertina Bengal Tiger is a beautiful golden colour with quite the finest white head I’ve seen on a beer in years.

I’m expecting a fairly traditional English-style IPA, with big fat malts and modest hop bitterness, but instead I’m hit full in the face by a giant handful of full-on citrus hops, much more in the modern, American style of IPA. I remember having much the same experience with another Yorkshire brew, the Kelham Island Pale Rider, so I wonder if that’s entirely a coincidence.

As an IPA, this one is significantly and pleasingly more bitter, but as expected that bitterness is happily underpinned by big, juicy, mouth-watering malts. There’s booze on the nose, and there’s a giant hamper of tropical fruit in there too, which surprisingly enough reminds me of a personal favourite, the classic Beavertown Gamma Ray.

There’s the tiniest, slightly acetic sour tang at the end, which initially seems out of place, but eventually is moreish enough to send you back to the bar for a second pint. It helps that the Bengal Tiger is served nice and cold here too. This is not your typical warm, flat brown beer.

Instead, Concertina Bengal Tiger is everything an IPA should be, and well worth the trek to Mexborough.

The Concertina Band Club is found at 9a Dolcliffe Road, Mexborough. Daytime opening hours were 1-5pm on the Saturday that I visited, but it may be wise to ring ahead on 01709 580 841. The club is a brief, uphill stroll from Mexborough station, itself an easy train ride from Sheffield, Rotherham or Doncaster. Whilst the establishment is technically a club, my own non-membership was not an issue, although I’m told CAMRA members are particularly welcome.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Concertina, Mexborough, South Yorkshire, England
Style: India Pale Ales
Strength: 4.6% ABV
Found at: The Concertina Band Club, Dolcliffe Road, Mexborough
Serving: Cask, pint

121. Young’s London Gold

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A brief point of order before we begin. This one is listed in The Book as “Young’s Kew Gold”, a beer brewed to raise funds for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. For whatever reason, that particular relationship ended, and the beer was renamed London Gold.

In a way, the new name is even more misleading, since Young’s haven’t brewed in London since 2006, and instead this one hails from Bedfordshire.

Young’s do still have a large number of pubs in London, though. Conveniently there’s one just minutes from the office: The Windmill in Mayfair. At a loose end for a lunch hour, and—in a scandalous dereliction of duty—not having blogged a single beer yet this month, let’s pick off one of the easier ones.

Young's London Gold

In terms of apppearance, this is very much your standard Golden Ale. It’s the expected gold colour with a minimal white head that at least means we’ve got something close to an actual pint.

I don’t remember any kind of aroma. Perhaps there wasn’t any to speak of because, to be polite, this beer does not overwhelm the palate with flavour. In fact the most prominent flavour in there is that of the water. Maybe if you really concentrate there’s the faintest hint of a microscopic amount of unexciting English hops. Maybe.

It’s in impeccable condition at the Windmill, as one would hope, but that doesn’t make it any more interesting. On the positive side, this is a very easy drinking, sessionable beer, but let’s diplomatically just say it’s far too subtle for my tastebuds to be able to appreciate it.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Wells and Young’s, Bedford, England
Style: Golden Ales
Strength: 4.0% ABV
Found at: The Windmill, Mill Street, London W1S
Serving: Cask, pint

119. Meantime IPA

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Between visits to Brighton last weekend and now Essex, we’re quite the jetsetter these days. You may remember Essex from such beery adventures as the rare and very tasty St. Sylvestre 3 Monts Bière de Garde.

This time let’s pack a bottle of something from closer to home, and once again call upon the help of friends in working through this formidably-sized, champagne-corked bottle of one of South East London’s most famous beers, Meantime IPA.

Meantime IPA

Meantime IPA pours a deep, rich amber colour with a modest dose of white froth. The aroma is initially a somewhat unpromising combination of root vegetables and wallpaper paste, but as it warms and breathes a little things become more fragrant.

This is an exceptionally flavoursome beer, with prominent zesty lime notes and big piney, oily resins from the hops. Indeed there’s a huge amount of bitterness in there, but it’s successfully balanced out by the malting.

I’d say the Meantime IPA seems to strike a really nice balance between the English and American styles of IPA, with the warm, sweet malts of the former combined with the big citrus hops and higher ABV payload of the latter.

Indeed, at 7.4% this is a big, strong beer, but there’s no harsh alcohol burn. Instead there’s just a huge mouthful of chewy flavour and a long, long finish.

Meantime IPA is actually a great beer, and I’m not sure why I don’t drink it more often. I guess the fact that it’s kind of rare to find on tap, or in a sensibly sized bottle, might partly explain it, but it’s definitely one I’ll pick up again.

I’m also slightly curious to find out how this one would age. Whilst the usual advice is to drink a hoppy IPA as soon after bottling as possible, something about the malts in there, and perhaps the champagne cork sat on the top, suggest this one could mature quite intriguingly.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company, Blackwall Lane, London SE10
Style: India Pale Ales
Strength: 7.4% ABV
Found at: Whole Foods, Glasshouse Street, London W1B
Serving: 750ml bottle

118. Ballards Wassail

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As I mentioned when we met Burton Bridge Empire Pale Ale recently, there might be a little more travel involved in tracking down some of the next few beers. And so it happens that this month’s Official Threehundredbeers Day Out takes us to the south coast for a slightly beery tour of Brighton.

We’re on the hunt for Ballards Wassail, a beer I’ve never even seen in my life. Fortunately the wonders of social media alerted me to the fact that the well-regarded new restaurant Coggings & Co carry an impressive list of local beers, including this one. Apparently they do a fine burger too, so this shouldn’t be too much of a hardship.

In fact, I think this will be the first beer here to be found in an actual restaurant. Clearly, we’re going up in the world.

Ballards Wassail at Coggings & Co

It turns out Brighton is quite the beer city these days. Apart from Coggings & Co, I managed to visit the Craft Beer Co, Brighton Beer Dispensary and the terrific Evening Star (twice) all in one day.

Anyway, to the matter at hand. Ballards Wassail is a deep, honeyed golden colour with very little in the way of froth. It was originally brewed as a christmas special, and it shows: this is a rich, warming beer full of festive fruit and spice flavours along with, at 6% ABV, a prominent but not unpleasant booziness to it.

In terms of style, I’d say this is about halfway between an Old Ale and a Barleywine, with the caramel sweetness of the latter very much present, but without the double figures alcohol payload. There’s a big, bready maltiness and even some herbal notes that remind me a little of the Fraoch Heather Ale.

This may not be a typical beer to choose in the height of summer to accompany a sturdy lunch, but we don’t stand on convention here at Threehundredbeers. I enjoyed it enough that I had a second while I was digesting.

A very nice beer then, combined with a cracking feed including some of the best chips I’ve ever had, and a warm welcome from the lovely staff. I was a very happy camper indeed. I look forward to trying more beers from this brewery, and I can certainly recommend Coggings & Co if you’re in the area.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Ballards Brewery, Nyewood, Hampshire
Style: Old Ales, Barley Wines and Vintage Ales
Strength: 6.0% ABV
Found at: Coggings & Co, Dyke Rd, Brighton, East Sussex
Serving: 500ml bottle

116. Brakspear Bitter

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A trip to the West Dulwich mail sorting office to collect a package is always a good excuse to stop by The Alleyn’s Head, a pleasant enough local pub with a traditional but regularly changing guest cask lineup.

Since the sorting office is only open in the morning, we’ve reached the pub at a scandalously early hour, so perhaps something on the sessionable side is called for. Fortunately, there on the pumps is another of the many English Bitters we need. At an improbably reasonable £2.95 a pint (£2.49 all day Mondays) it won’t break the bank either.

Brakspear Bitter at the Alleyn's Head

Brakspear Bitter hails from somewhere in Oxfordshire, and comes to us courtesy of the same folks who brew that rather nice Brakspear Triple we enjoyed back in this blog’s infancy (last year).

It’s a fairly standard colour for a Bitter, in other words brown, if a little darker than some examples of the style. There’s a smallish cream coloured head that clings to the glass in an appealing fashion.

Well, it’s certainly bitter. There’s an unmissable citrus tang all the way from front to back. There are some juicy underlying malts and a tiny hint of butterscotch sweetness, but it’s that sharp bitterness that gets the attention.

In fact it’s hard to taste much else unless you concentrate quite hard. It’s not unpleasant though, and in fact is quite moreish. There’s no doubt that the Brakspear Bitter is in impeccable nick today, so I had a second pint. At that reasonable a price, it would seem rude not to.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Brakspear Brewing Co., Witney, Oxfordshire, England
Style: Bitters
Strength: 3.4% ABV
Found at: The Alleyn’s Head, Park Hall Road, London SE21
Serving: Cask, pint

115. Burton Bridge Empire Pale Ale

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It’s becoming apparent that if I’m to make a great deal more progress through the lengthy todo list, I’m going to have to spend a little more time looking beyond the perimeter of London.

Burton Bridge Empire Pale Ale is a case in point: it’s brewed in the heartland of British brewing, Burton-on-Trent, but the vast majority of it is exported to the States. One of the few places you will find it in this country is at the brewery tap, the Burton Bridge Inn.

As it happens, a day trip to St. George’s Park with The Official Threehundredbeers Sister meant that a visit to the Bridge Inn on the way home was eminently achievable, nay inevitable.

And why not. It’s a very pleasant, traditional two roomed pub of the sort that you’d barely leave if you lived nearby. There can’t be many places where one could get a stronger sense of being back where it all began, beer wise.

Burton Bridge Empire Pale Ale at the Burton Bridge Inn

Burton Bridge Empire Pale Ale is only available in bottle-conditioned form, and I’m immediately impressed that at the Bridge Inn, the bottles are kept in the cellar to be served at the perfect temperature. Fortunately the barman is a youthful chap, and more than happy to descend the stairs to fetch us one.

It’s lovely looking stuff, a honeyed copper colour with a thick tan head that lasts. The aroma is of huge bitter hops—it’s an IPA, that’s for sure—and an unexpected but unmistakable waft of sour notes that can only come from Brettanomyces yeast, of the sort that turns Orval slowly yet deliciously sour as it ages in the bottle.

We’d better get stuck in. Blimey, it’s strong and drinks every inch of its hefty 7.5% ABV payload. It immediately gets to work, flushing your face with warmth, and making you think you should probably take it slowly rather than get giddy and embarrass The Official Threehundredbeers Sister.

Once you get past the initial boozy hit, it’s lovely, mouthwatering stuff. The hop bitterness is huge and uncompromising, and the beer is all the better for it. It’s complemented by peppery spice and sultana fruit from the malts.

This is an IPA very much in the traditional English style, and I suspect this is as close as you can get to the proper old IPAs that were brewed in Burton 150 or so years ago, and exported to the Empire. Hence the name, I suppose.

That said, the sour Brett notes are intriguing, and not typical of IPAs that I’ve experienced. Thinking about it though, the chances of a beer brewed back then, and then transported in wooden barrels in the hull of a ship for several months not becoming inoculated with a wild yeast strain seem fairly remote.

Either way, it works. The combination of bitter and sour mean you’re more than likely to be sending the barman downstairs for another, as I did, and perhaps even taking one or two more home with you.

This is very much to my tastes, and it’s a beer I’d drink quite regularly in London if only it were easier to find. I’d also be fascinated to know how it responds to the long journey over to the States. For the time being, though, it looks like I’ll have to find another excuse for a trip back to the Bridge Inn.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Burton Bridge Brewery, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire
Style: India Pale Ales
Strength: 7.5% ABV
Found at: The Burton Bridge Inn, Bridge Street, Burton on Trent
Serving: 500ml bottle

114. Triple fff Alton’s Pride

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You simply have to love The Grape & Grain. I’ve said it before, but the contribution the pub has made to this blog, not to mention the South London beer scene, has been absolutely priceless.

This is no less than the tenth beer that the Grape & Grain have been able to furnish us with. Look, I’ve even given the relevant posts their own super special Grape and Grain tag now.

Shall we swing by once again on the off chance there may be something of interest among their 12 hand pumps? I don’t think there’s any doubt that we shall.

Triple fff Alton's Pride at the Grape and Grain

I know very little about Triple fff, other than they’re a fairly small brewery tucked away somewhere remote in rural Hampshire. Alton’s Pride is yet another past winner of CAMRA’s coveted Champion Beer of Britain award, along with such beers as Mordue Workie Ticket and the wonderful Kelham Island Pale Rider. Perhaps I should create a tag for past winners too, as there are more to come.

Alton’s Pride is another fairly typical English bitter. I’ve been known to accuse examples of the style of being a bit boring and even crushingly unexciting, but this one is in a different league entirely.

It pours a very appealing deep bronze colour with a big, foamy tan head that fades quite quickly. Unlike some bitters, this one actually tastes of something.

Indeed, it’s big and fruity, with both citrus and dried fruits up front and vying for your attention. There’s a dense underlying Lyle’s Golden Syrup sort of sweetness from the Maris Otter and Cara Gold malts, and an immense, long bitter finish from the First Gold and Northdown hops. And when I say long, I mean I drank this beer several days ago and can still taste it. In a good way.

What a lovely pint. If I was looking to find fault, I might mention that the body is perhaps a little on the thin side, but for a beer weighing in at a modest 3.8% ABV, that isn’t really anything out of the ordinary.

What you get in return is a beer that’s hopelessly easy drinking, and an excellent session bitter that isn’t actually boring at all. Good stuff, and I’ll be keeping an eye open for more beers from this brewery.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Triple fff Brewing Company, Alton, Hampshire
Style: Bitters
Strength: 3.8% ABV
Found at: The Grape & Grain, Anerley Hill, London SE19
Serving: Cask, pint

112. Samuel Smith’s Organic Pale Ale

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It’s Friday, it’s lunch time, and the office is eerily quiet, so let’s sneak out to the pub for a well-earned spot of light refreshment.

It’ll be a good opportunity to try the Glasshouse Stores, one of the countless Sam Smith’s pubs that lurk around the nicer end of Soho, luring in passers-by optimistic that they may be able to requisition a pint of their favourite brand of beer within.

They can’t, obviously, as it’s all Sam Smith’s beers in here. That’s fine with us, because we’ve a fourth and final one to track down. This is the Organic Pale Ale, formerly known as Old Brewery Pale Ale, but rebranded a couple of years ago when organic things seemingly became more fashionable than old things.

Samuel Smith's Organic Pale Ale at The Glasshouse Stores

The Glasshouse Stores itself is a very nice old thing, or at least looks it. It’s a bit of a cosy timewarp, with its etched mirrors, acres of timber panelling, and warren of tiny rooms that you know are there but can’t seem to find a route to. It successfully manages to pull off feeling like a decent local boozer despite its location, and for that it is to be commended.

Pouring the beer from its satisfyingly chunky, generously sized bottle, there’s a big waft of enticing dark fruits, and the Organic Pale Ale comes out a very nice deep chestnut colour, albeit with a slightly alarming pinkish tinge.

There’s a big cream-coloured head, and indeed a lot of fizz due to the carbon dioxide added to the bottle, which seems a surprising choice for such a traditional style of beer.

It’s tasty though, that’s for sure, and full of malty sweetness and dried fruit. So much so that I’m actually reminded of a Barleywine, which I didn’t expect. The spicy English hops provide a big, satisfying bitter finish that’s very moreish indeed.

There’s a lot of depth and complexity in there, yet served well chilled it’s refreshing too, and thoroughly welcome on what was the hottest day of the year so far.

I stuck at one and drifted back to the office, but this is a beer I’d happily drink again. I happen to know it’s a great accompaniment to your traditional sort of pub food—fish and chips, burgers, that sort of thing—but I’ll save that for a cooler day.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Samuel Smith Old Brewery, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England
Style: Pale Ales
Strength: 5.0% ABV
Found at: The Glasshouse Stores, Brewer Street, London W1F
Serving: 550ml bottle

110. Adnams Southwold Bitter

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For the second of the two Adnams beers that we need to try, let’s seek out an actual Adnams pub. In fact, it’s terribly convenient that the sizeable Suffolk-based brewery happen to have one, and it is just the one, right here in London.

And so to the Bridge House on the southern slopes of Tower Bridge. As an Adnams pub, you’d expect their flagship Southwold Bitter to be in good condition here. You’d also expect your pint to be reasonably close to containing a pint, and to be served in less than 10 minutes if you’re the only customer waiting at the bar. But you might well be disappointed.

Adnams Southwold Bitter

Stingy measures and disinterested service aside, the Southwold Bitter is a handsome enough beer, being a deep reddish copper colour with smooth off-white head, albeit one that fades quickly.

It’s relatively full bodied and indeed full flavoured for an “ordinary”, and in fact reminds me more of a Best Bitter. Still, I guess the sober 3.7% payload would preclude that particular classification.

Beyond that, it’s a Bitter, and you already know what it tastes like. There’s very little to distinguish the Southwold Bitter from any other example of the style that you might come across, and so I’m struggling to come up with colourful adjectives to describe it. It doesn’t help that it’s a style of beer that doesn’t tend to be particularly exciting in the first place.

Still, it’s in good condition here, and it was entirely drinkable and seemed to go down quickly enough. Which was convenient as it allowed me to press on to the Draft House just down the road for a rather more interesting selection of beers.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Adnams, Southwold, Suffolk, England
Style: Bitters
Strength: 3.7% ABV
Found at: The Bridge House, Tower Bridge Road, London SE1
Serving: Cask, pint

108. Hanlons Port Stout

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I’ve lost count of how many beers the Grape & Grain have been able to furnish us with so far, but I think it’s approaching double figures. Indeed it’s often worth casting a speculative eye over the pumps if I’m in the area, and today was no exception. Pint of Hanlons Port Stout please, barman.

There’s a minor operational matter to clear up before we dig in, though. This one is listed in The Book as “O’Hanlon’s Original Port Stout”, but is now the more concisely named “Hanlons Port Stout”, since the O’Hanlon’s Brewery changed hands just a few months ago.

It’s the same beer though, though, and is even brewed by many of the same people. It’s time to see what a Stout with port in it tastes like.

Hanlons Port Stout

Hanlons Port Stout looks much as a Stout should, pouring as black as you like, with a light tan head. From the first sip it’s very much an “Ooh, that’s quite nice actually” beer.

It’s smooth and rich, and basically tastes a lot like a decent Stout. I’m not sure I’d be able to identify port specifically, but it does work. There’s a floral and very subtle Turkish Delight sort of sweetness that balances the inherent Stout roastiness, taking any kind of burnt edge away.

In fact there’s no harshness at all, so this one might appeal to drinkers who wouldn’t usually try a Stout. There are plenty of nutty, chocolatey notes too, and a long, pleasing bitter finish to keep things satisfying and moreish.

This perhaps isn’t the deepest, most complex Stout I’ve ever tasted, but it’s one of the most drinkable, and is certainly worth a try if you come across it.

Facts and Figures

Brewery: Hanlons Brewery, Half Moon Village, Devon
Style: Porters and Stouts
Strength: 4.8% ABV
Found at: The Grape & Grain, Anerley Hill, London SE19
Serving: Cask, pint