Beers to note - September 2017

September has been a very quiet month for me and plans to go meet up with mates dropped by the wayside. I had a work day down in Brighton which provided me with a few new beers. But what kept my beer numbers up was the first of my two weeks in India which took place on the last week of September. I've no doubt that quite a few beers will be appearing in my October list as well.

Session IPA (Sambrook's) - 4% | Keg Pint
Sambrook's do solid nice session beers, and this one's description is bang on. It's hoppy and fresh and only coming in at 4% means you can have a few on a night out. I drank this at the brewery itself, so it would have been in perfect condition. The real test is to see if it reaches this same quality level when I happen across it in a pub.


Mongozo Banana (Mongozo) - 3.6% | Bottle 330ml
I picked up this fruit beer down in the Eden Project in August and only got around to drinking it. It had that fake banana smell and taste, but I absolutely loved it. It was like drinking a banana wheat beer. I also had the mango one but didn't like that as much.

Mojito Sour (Tiny Rebel) - 3.5% | Keg 2/3 Pint
That's three months on the trot that Tiny Rebel have had a beer in my beer to notes, and each time its a new one to me. This time round its their low percentage sour beer. It wasn't as lip smacking sour as I was expecting it to be, but was more like a sour IPA. Would definitely get again.


Corbel (Eight Arch) - 5.5% | Keg Pint
I only ended up getting this beer as the one I actually wanted had run dry. I was pleasantly pleased with my choice once tasted. This APA has a huge grapefruit flavour coming through.




Bira 91 White (B9 Beverages) - 4.9% | Bottle 330ml
This was a wonderful wheat beer that had a slight citrus taste to it, but went down very easily.



Kölsch (Independence Brewing) - ?% | Keg 500ml
Unsure of the ABV as not listed anywhere but I would guess it's in the session 4-5% range. This beer had a subtle fruit taste and wasn't overly carbonated, and went down a treat in the heat.

Flip Flop White IPA (Gateway Brewing Co) - ?% | Keg 500ml
As it quite similar with the Indian brews, the ABV's aren't readily available. The beer was had in their taproom and was a perfectly hopped.

Monk's Potion (Gateway Brewing Co) - ?% | Keg 500ml
A much stronger feeling beer and best one they had one. There is early grey tea added to the beer which really compliments this dark Belgian brew.

London Pub Tour 28 - South Kensington: Hoop & Toy and Zetland Arms

On this London Pub Tour I made the short tube journey from Victoria to the museum district in South Kensington. Just outside the station there is the Hoop & Toy (SW7 2HQ). This pub has the standard Taylor Walker look with the pub name on a gold background and encased in a plastic, for weather proofing, above the whole length of the pub. The outside has nothing stand out feature wise and the interior likewise. The pub itself has the feel of an estate pub built after the war built into the ground floor of a building and with quite a low roof. Surprisingly though the pub is about a century older.

The pub is open plan with some support pillars throughout. Upon entering, the bar is on the wall directly opposite and stretches along the majority of it. The pub has plenty of seating with all seats around tables, though some of these tables are quite small and close together, providing not much space. The pub is quite dark inside due to the low ceiling and as the light is only able to enter from the front entrance as the side area of this corner pub is bricks and side doors. The pub was busy with mainly tourists that must have been coming back from visiting the nearby museums and having a late lunch / early dinner. On the far side a large group had pulled some of the tables together so they could sit as one. There were screens with sports on and some gaming machines, which were all the more visible due to the glow of light in the dimly light pub. The pub had a wooden walk way from the front door to the bar, which then ran alongside the bar. The remainder of the pub was carpet, which with the low ceiling is beneficial for soaking in noises when busy.

At the bar we had the option of four ales which were GK IPA, London Glory, Scrumdown from Sambrooks and Grubber the GK Seasonal. On the taps we had Guiness, Peroni, Over Easy, Amstel, Fosters, Hells, Camden Pale, Stella, 1664, Punk IPA, Sambrooks IPA and Aspalls. I ended up selecting the one beer I had yet to taste before which was the Scrumdown from Sambrooks. The pint cost £4.70 which is reasonable for a tourist area. The beer poured dark with a red hue. It had a sweet taste to it and no bitterness. This was a good Irish Red Ale which was just missing the creamy head you expect from the style. After the lone pint I moved on to the next nearest pub which is the Zetland Arms (SW7 3EX) which also happens to be a GK pub.

This pub from the outside immediately looked much better. Again a corner pub, but much larger and more importantly both sides had window letting in that much required natural light.  When entering from Old Brompton Road the entrance is on the corner. The pub looked small from this entrance but is much bigger than you expect, plus it extends back further than you can see. From this entrance your diagonally facing the bar. Down the right hand side are some tables with sofa seating one side and chairs the other. Down the left is the same style seating until some high tables at the end by the toilets. A work crowd was blocking the bar area up right by the door so I squeeze past them further down the bar, it was at this stage I noticed that there is a large rear section which has numerous high tables plus some large round sofa seating on the back wall. The pub was all wood flooring except for tiles directly alongside the bar. The bar runs in a loop through all sections and some beers different beers are hidden down the far end which I learn afterwards.

On offer at this pub was again 4 hand pumps offering up Twickenham's Red Head, the own label 1730, Green King IPA and the aforementioned Sambrooks Scrumdown. On tap there was an ever larger selection offering up the mainstream beers such as Guinness, Peroni, Stella and 1664, alongside the Sambrooks Pale, Hop House, Hazy Hog, Hogstar, East Coast, Vedett and Little Tenderness (to name a few). I selected a pint of Hogstar by Hogs Back for £5.30. It's a beer I've had before but normally later on in the night so not quite remembered whether I enjoyed it or not. The beer I would say is average, it has a slight hop aroma with a bitter taste to the beer. After finishing my pint I had no hesitation in ordering a second beer and this time the one I had failed to spot on the bar area round the corner. This of course was Little Tenderness by the Little beer Corporation. The pint cost £5.80 and came in a branded glass with the tag line Drink a Little Beer. This was an amber looking beer which had a roasted dark malty taste to it. There was also a slight smokey taste which was different and nice. I certainly liked that beer and would be keeping my eyes out for any other beers by the Little beer Corp.

I ended my little pub tour here only managing to knock two pubs off my list but slowly covering move of the central west area of London. I had visited neither of these pubs before, though passed them many times. If in the area again, I would certainly walk that little extra distance from the station to the Zetland Arms for a pub that has a better feel.

Beers to note - February 2017

I'm a bit late in posting this as I had the in-laws over for two weeks which meant I haven't had time to write up. In February I managed to sample 51 different beers. Some were good (Which will be listed below) whilst others were not to my taste. One beer in particular that I had bought and was expecting good things from but which turned out to be the first beer in ages I was unable to complete and pour away was Flat White from ABC. I honestly tried to drink the beer but it was just tasting like coffee and wasn't enjoyable, and I struggled, even with it only being 330ml from a can. Thankfully I enjoyed the below beers a bit more, but we all have different tastes so I've no doubt others will have found the Flat White right up their street.


Brugse Zot (De Halve Maan) - 6.0% | Bottle 330ml
After a hard days work this was a nice beer to tuck into. It was a nice straw colour and have a fruity aroma and taste. At 6.0% though I'm leaving the other bottle for another time.




Bengal Lancer (Fullers) - 5.0% | Cask Pint
Lancer is one of my favourite Fullers ale. It's not too hoppy and has a nice malt flavour coming through. Although I believe its no longer a seasonal, I normally only see it on cask in the winter period. The bottle version though is readily available in London and comes in at a higher 5.3% ABV.






Davy's Old Wallops (Charles Wells) - 4.2% | Cask Pint
This was in my December beers to note and it's back here again. The beer was once again in fine form and easy to sup. It was made all the more enjoyable by the basement setting and the metal pewter it was served in.

Malt Brown (Harveys) - 4.8% | Keg Pint
My first Harveys keg beer and I was very impressed. This brown ale had the right sweeteness balance to it and went down a treat. I didn't realise it was coming in at 4.8% but I certainly think you could have a few of these in a night.







Chimay Blue Grande Reserve (Bieres de Chimay) - 9.0% | Bottle 330ml
I do like the Chimay beers and this was certainly a good one. Yes you can feel the percentage but it's not a burning or over powering taste. This one was so enjoyable I actually had another after, which I would suggest is not a good choice if the wife is expecting you home by a certain time.



Hertford Castle (McMullens) - 5.0% | Bottle 500ml
This is the first McMullen's beer I've had in a while that I could drink all night. I like McMullen's but have gone off their beer as the taste is just not right. This bottle version of Hertford Castle though was spot on. It was a nice sweet Pale Ale. I hope I can come across this on Cask soon.





Scrum Down (Sambrook's) - 4.0% | Cask Pint
A very decent Irish red ale from Sambrook's. It may be seasonal for the rugby but it had a nice sweetness to it with no bitterness. The only thing letting it down was the head retention but that could be more pub specific than brew related.






Little Tenderness (The Little Beer Corporation) - 5.4% | Keg Pint
First time I've come across this brewery. Beer had a roasted dark malty beer taste to it even though an amber. Slightly Smokey as well. Nice and different.











Barbarossa (Ilkley) - 5.0% | Keg Half Pint
Another red ale in the list. This one used Australian and New Zealand hops, but for me there wasn't a massive hop hit (Which is a good thing) and everything was nicely balanced.