Britain drinks beer. Everyone knows this.
When the Normans took over, they brought their effete wine-drinking ways to the royal table. But they could never convince the rest of the populace to give up their good, solid ale. Even decades of misguided tax policy, which weakened and degraded British ale into a ghost of its former self, couldn’t kill it off entirely. Eventually, the Brits invented CAMRA to revive and preserve their beer-drinking heritage. It just wouldn’t be Britain without beer.
So it is only right and proper that we have several Brits in our club. They may brew Belgian ales and even the odd sour. But they carry on the proud British tradition of ale-making bred into their DNA.
One such Brit is Andy Tipler, of course, host of our November meeting. We invaded the poor man’s house this past Wednesday, demanding good English ale and cider. And we were not disappointed.
As tends to happen at Andy’s, there were several kegs of beer and cider in the kitchen. The table was groaning under a huge spread of excellent food. Members who were “not attending the meeting” showed up and had a few tastes. It was a good time.
We even welcomed a new member into the club. Another Paul. (Some sort of differentiating prefix or nickname will be necessary here.) Facebook tells me that New Paul is a pastor. I think it’s pretty clear that we could use such a person in our little group. I just hope we don’t horrify him too much.
A number of truly excellent beers, meads, and ciders were judged:
- Pils, Liam & Mara (Makehaven). Grain, husk, corn, a little butter. Perfumey hops and a little spicy phenols. Dry, bitter finish. Could use a few bubbles. 36
- “Stone-smoked Kolsch”, Steve and Pierre. Just a kiss of smoke in aroma. Fruity but restrained. Much more smoke in flavor. Dry finish. VERY drinkable. Was brewed as a saison but heating element charred the wort in the boil. Sat for a year until drinkable. 40
- Rye lager, Andy Cox. Spicy rye nose. Clean. Hint of sulfur. Very fruity in flavor. A little too sweet. Needs hops and bubbles. Very cloudy. 29
- Dark mild, Eric. Toffee, caramel, nuts, earthy hops. Just beautiful to look at. So much flavor for a session beer. Dry finish. Super drinkable. 2.2%abv. 42
- English porter, Pierre. Acrid, spicy. Caramel and bread dough. Cloudy. Astringent. Not enough base malt. Pierre says this is the first pint off the keg and rest will be better. Will bring to a future meeting. 27
- Wee heavy, Eric and Andy. Syrupy sweet, sugary. Caramel, toffee, alcohol, dark fruit, grapes, burnt sugar, raisins. Ruby highlights. Chewy. Stone-brewed ale. Lots of kettle caramelization. Finished at 1.022. 42
- Imperial stout, Mark. Not enough fruit character. Some roast, tobacco. Vinous. Well balanced. A bit light on flavor. Bitter finish. Needs bubbles. But quite drinkable. 36
- English cider, Steve. Clear and yellow with a white head. A little barnyard. Andy likes it. Tannic, with bright acid. Fizzy. Extremely drinkable. Blend of heirloom apple juices from Cider Days. 39
- Cyser, Pierre. Phenolic. Straw-colored and hazy. Bitter. Tastes a bit of raw honey with an alcohol bite. But actually quite drinkable. Blend of sweet and dry cysers. 33