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BEERS #2 - Beyond the Pale

Started by Shoulders?-Stomach!, March 30, 2020, 03:56:03 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

holyzombiejesus

Can anyone recommend decent gluten free beer? (Wife is coeliac.) Apparently, some type of Corona is GF and the man at Vocation told us that all Heart and Soul is GF now. All First Chop is gluten free too although it's too much of a ballache to actually pour that stuff without getting a 5" head of froth. I know you can get stuff branded as GF in the 'Free From' section but are there any beers that are GF without having a specific spin-off?

Ferris

I think GF beer is a bit of a swizz isn't it? All beer is largely GF as far as I'm aware, though maybe I have that wrong.

Worthless post sorry. Posted it now though haven't I

robhug

GF is a bit of a swizz, lifestyle choice

IE your paying £3 for a fucking load for your missus in Tesco

holyzombiejesus

It's not a lifestyle choice if you have coeliac disease, you stupid cunt.

holyzombiejesus

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on November 07, 2020, 01:23:27 AM
I think GF beer is a bit of a swizz isn't it? All beer is largely GF as far as I'm aware, though maybe I have that wrong.

Worthless post sorry. Posted it now though haven't I

It's the "largely" bit that's the issue. It's either safe to drink or it makes her really ill.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

According to untappd here are some top rated GF beers and gettable in the UK

Loads of beers from Wander Beyond Brewing based in Manchester
Hygge Figgy - Brass Castle
It's not me, it's you - Lervig
Ventura Highway - Kirkstall
GreenFlute - Wishbone
Fantasma - Magic Rock
Voyager IPA - Abbeydale
Cereal Killer - BrewYork
Ekuanot - Arbor*

*actually they seem to do gf versions of all their single hop pales

When I scrolled down it was strange how many of these were northern breweries. I didn't have it set to Local.


Ferris

Quote from: holyzombiejesus on November 07, 2020, 09:20:31 AM
It's the "largely" bit that's the issue. It's either safe to drink or it makes her really ill.

Ah right, I didn't know that. Will defer to other CaBbers but that sounds shite for her (and you). There's no way of saying that doesn't sound sarcastic, sorry.

holyzombiejesus

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on November 07, 2020, 11:07:31 AM
Ah right, I didn't know that. Will defer to other CaBbers but that sounds shite for her (and you). There's no way of saying that doesn't sound sarcastic, sorry.

Ah, it's ok. She generally drinks cider anyway. Just nice for her to have the odd ale when it's available. Quite a few pubs are doing GF beers on draft now but I'm generally a bit sceptical as unless it's kept meticulously clean and they ensure there's no cross-pollination , its a bit pointless. She's been ill due to pubs being lax far more times than food has made her ill. Not really the pubs' fault as it's still a pretty niche dietary requirement.

DrGreggles

Quote from: DrGreggles on November 05, 2020, 11:51:21 AM
Ordered this at the weekend and got a shipping email this morning.

Just arrived!

Hungover though, so probably not the best day to start sampling.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Wold Top Scarborough Fair IPA is another GF one.

Pink Gregory

Don't know if you can get them much outside of Bristol but I can recommend Arbor Mosaic, which is a single hop IPA that's GF.

king_tubby

A bit less crafty but my mate who tries to avoid gluten enjoys the GF Estrella, and it's widely available in supermarkets and that.



Shoulders?-Stomach!



Nankendorfer Bockbier (7.0%) Bock
Brauerei Schroll, Nankendorf

A cold foggy November night, and the remedy is this Bock beer. Bock is a strong ruby/dark lager, usually between 5.8-7% (although the stronger version Doppelbock can overlap). Yes, despite the strength this is still sold in 500ml bottles and the extra alcohol content doesn't generally cost you much more money in Germany, at least not as it would in the UK.

This brewery seems to be a decent sized operation in a tiny village, hamlet even, between Bamberg and Bayreuth, nestled in the countryside. Most of the towns in between feature a brewery of some sort with a pub attached. This is among the remnants of a gloriously long-running culture and tradition.

Anyway, the beer. Bock has always been a sweeter beer and so to provide a balance and drinkability it tends to be pitched in one of two directions - smooth as all hell, or dry and well-hopped. This bock is from the latter category. Just as you are plunged into a world of raisins, figs, prunes, nuts and so forth this is immediately offset in the mouth with a drying roast malt (one of the key characteristics of most dark beers in Franconia) and a surprisingly tingly persistent hop that probably isn't as forceful on tap, but gives the beer a slightly prickly edge - not in a bad way either.

The very aftertaste is not that dissimilar to a bottled ESB I suppose. Lingering malt tang with a distinctive hoppy accompaniment.

As it goes along there's a residual flavour that builds in your mouth that is really pleasant. Chocolate, fruit n' nut, then treacley.

What more can I say? This bock doesn't reinvent the wheel but shows there is some variety within the style, it's rich, oddly quite refreshing for the strength at first, and just bob on in terms of its flavour balance. Enjoy in front of a log burner and a good horror film.

Your rating: ****


Shoulders?-Stomach!

https://www.pivoonline.cz/p6gzw425

Just ordered some Czech pivo from Pivovar Cvikov.

Czech beer is so cheap that even with £40 shipping costs it weighs in well under £2 / 500ml.

QuoteSváteční polotmavý ležák vaříme ze tří druhů sladů – plzeňského, bavorského a karamelového, klasickou dvourmutovou technologií. Každý ze sladů předává pivu něco jiného. Plzeňský slad tvoří základní chuťovou osnovu, bavorský zvyšuje vnímání plnosti piva a slad karamelový dokresluje příjemně hořkou chuť vícestupňového polotmavého piva. Jemná hořkost dává vyniknout sladovým tónům piva. Pivo kvasí spodním kvašením v otevřené spilce při teplotě 13,5 °C, následuje dlouhé zrání v ležáckém tanku při 2°C.

Při správném natočení je pivo pokryto vysokou pěnou se slabým karamelovým nádechem, zaujme i svojí jantarovou barvou.

Oohs and aahs

Shoulders?-Stomach!



Adler Brau Alt Frankisches Lagerbier (5.2%) Kellerbier/Vollbier.
Adlerbrau, Stettfeld

This is an amber, going on coppery chestnut lager with a nutty/roast malt aroma. Going from the website, this seems to be Adler Brau's flagship beer, and it's a lovely one.

Untappd describes it as a Vienna lager and I can see why. The key to its success is bright lingering hops (guessing Spalter from the flavour and sensation) which combine with the full texture to give a really, really satisfying mouthfeel. I wouldn't call it subtle, but it's punchy and that's certainly effective for a lager when done right. That said, there are some dusky floral notes buried somewhere in there, the sort that are unique for the style.

You could really imagine drinking this in a steinkrug (alas, I will have to imagine) where the best kellerbiers linger behind a frothy head and the stone mug, allowing only your nose and tastebuds to guide you.

Another beer I couldn't get sick of very quickly. Franconia dudes.

Rating: ****


Shoulders?-Stomach!



Huppendorfer Zwickel (4.9%) Zwickel
Privatbrauerei Grasser, Konigsfeld

This beer is what I used to think kellerbier was, before discovering that it could pretty much run the whole gamut of lagers. This brewery who are based out in the sticks east of Bamberg seem pretty well rated across the board for their wares, and it's pretty easy to see why from this bottle.

This Zwickel is decidedly different from the last few I described which were hoppy, zingy and bitter. Sure, it's still golden, slightly hazy with a soft froth, but this time round it's all about yeast, spice and floral elements. This beer is really mildly hopped with only a faint fuzz at the end to signify its presence. Instead you're encouraged to focus on what's going on in the mouth. There's a lovely gentle harvest field/yeast/spice. Each mouthful adds layers on top of one another. What was not there at the start now is there. A similarly gentle honeysuckle build up. It would be pointless trying to rate this beer from a sample, only the full bottle gives you the true experience.

A bit like the last one, this sort of mild-flavoured but full bodied lager is the kind of thing you expect to be served via a stone mug in Franconia. To neck, or to savour.

Rating: ****




JaDanketies

Anyone here drink 14 units a week or less? No? What do you tell your doctor when they ask how much you drink?

Shoulders?-Stomach!


DrGreggles

Quote from: JaDanketies on November 12, 2020, 01:43:37 PM
Anyone here drink 14 units a week or less? No? What do you tell your doctor when they ask how much you drink?

What the fuck is a unit?

JaDanketies

Quote from: DrGreggles on November 12, 2020, 05:04:50 PM
What the fuck is a unit?

half a pint of 4% beer, or one 25ml measure of 40% liquor. You're meant to drink less than 14 a week according to the UK government health guidelines.


Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: JaDanketies on November 12, 2020, 05:13:32 PM
half a pint of 4% beer, or one 25ml measure of 40% liquor. You're meant to drink less than 14 a week according to the UK government health guidelines.

Since lockdown I'm oscillating between 1 and 2 beers a day during the week and Sunday, then between 2 and 4 on Fri + Sat night.

I presume you'll be popping over to the food threads to remind them what the average recommended calorie intake of a human male is.


Shoulders?-Stomach!

Ooh. I still haven't tried Westvleteren. I'm sure it's lovely.

JaDanketies

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on November 12, 2020, 06:34:20 PM
Since lockdown I'm oscillating between 1 and 2 beers a day during the week and Sunday, then between 2 and 4 on Fri + Sat night.

I presume you'll be popping over to the food threads to remind them what the average recommended calorie intake of a human male is.

I've got a checkup coming soon and they're gonna ask me. I don't think I've ever been honest. Actually I think I get threatened by the knowledge that they're gonna ask me so every year before the checkup I sort my alcohol intake out for a fortnight so I can be kinda honest

Shoulders?-Stomach!



Cvikov Hvozd (4.5%) 11° pale lager
Pivovar Cvikov, Cvikov

The Czech beer arrived this morning a day early. I have this brewery's 11° & 12° pale lager (svetly lezak) and their 13° semi-dark (polotmavy) to try.

Cvikov is in northern Czechia near the German border. The Lusatian mountains nearby, just for trivia's sake, inspired the setting of The Grand Budapest Hotel (much of which is shot in Gorlitz).

The German connection seems a reasonable place to start, because this could easily pass for a Franconian beer. Only a certain hop tang and some diacetyl (butteryness) gives it away as most likely Czech.

Why the similarity? Well, alike the many vollbiers that have passed my lips since lockdown - remember all those Zoigls and kellerbiers? - this is chestnut brown (more brown than the above photo) and accentuates its malt character while still being moderately bitter. The balance constantly sought in this culture is between flavour, complexity and drinkability.

The Czechs aren't as obsessed with everything being near bob-on 5% and you will usually find a healthy range between 3.5-6% as you explore the style. Their demarcations (using the plato ° scale) are so distinct that in their pubs you can order a destika, jedenactka, dvanacta and they will normally know instantly what sort of beer you're after. There is no real stigma - it's 10, 11, 12, sometimes 13 and higher - off you go. After a while though, you really start noticing the difference in body and texture even half a % of alcohol produces in a lager and the tricks brewers use to mask lighter body (usually hops, a specific distracting flavour or both) or prop up bitterness in a stronger, sweeter beer.

This beer being 4.5% is definitely lighter than the Framconio set but the mild butteryness and fullness of texture easily makes it compare with the many stronger beers from Germany I've been drinking.

One other thing - this has been filled from the brewery tap into a 1.5l PET bottle and so while this has been shaken about en route to the UK, I am in effect drinking tapped beer, which can make a difference.

Untapped, ratebeer etc are almost always down on traditional German and Czech lagers unless they are from very particular breweries but to my experience this a decent effort that's clearly superior to most mainstream Czech lagers (discounting stuff like Budvar and PU - I'm thinking more like Branik, Staropramen, Gambrinus). In fact, this beer almost is like an improvement on Gambrinus, the every day beer of choice in Czechia.

Czech breweries are starting to cast their net wider due to coronavirus and a few are opening online stores. Czech Beer Fan Club on Facebook put me in touch with it. https://www.pivoonline.cz  I got a 30kg shipment for less than £2 a bottle which simply wouldn't be possible if Czechia wasn't as cheap as it is for beer.

Rating: *** and a half

DrGreggles

Quote from: JaDanketies on November 12, 2020, 05:13:32 PM
half a pint of 4% beer, or one 25ml measure of 40% liquor. You're meant to drink less than 14 a week according to the UK government health guidelines.

You're not my real Dad!

Shoulders?-Stomach!



Cvikov Klic 12° (4.8%) Pale Lager
Pivovar Cvikov, Cvikov (see previous review for website link)

Usually much more bitter and fuller-flavoured, the 12° is the acid test of lager brewing. In short, to brew beer that is knock-back drinkable and refreshing, as well as feisty, as well as subtle and rewarding to linger on. The 12° Svetly Lezak is the benchmark for any Czech brewery. Even in the craftiest of craft bars you can expect a high quality fallback dvanactka, premium pale lager, as an option.

The first thing to state about Cvikov's attempt is it has a wonderful amber colour that is really inviting. One look at it and you want it.

There is a faint yeast and even more faint floral meadowy type aroma. At first I picked up a slightly medicinal element but it might have crossed with what I had just eaten. Whatever it was, it subsided. This offers lively, zingy, Pilsner Urquell-esque bitterness which dances with hallmark unfiltered, unpasteurised spice and tang  the beer tastes vibrant + alive, like cask ale does when it's at its best.

It took a few gulps to get what this one was driving at, but once it settled in, you can't help avoid the conclusion that this beer is really fucking good. Mahr's aU sort of really fucking good. Desert Island Pints sort of really, fucking good.

Rating: *****

Chedney Honks

Loving the reviews and I'm making notes. Mahr's aU is right at the top of my list, in case it ever pops up.

I've just had my first Westvleteren 12.



It is fucking beautiful, amazing quad, even more complex than the Rochefort 10 and Barnardo 12 but I do think that the 8 is probably a bit more to my taste! Definitely will look for more of them.