Four More English Pales Ales

I have done a couple of sets of tastings of English pale ales before and with a guest about this is another good opportunity. Here are four more English ales: a 4.3% best bitter from Somerset to the left, then a 5.5% pale ale from East Sussex, next a 7.5% Burtonian IPA and to the right an organic 5.0% ESB from Oxfordshire. What an excellent selection with which to consider the pale ale family as expressed from its homeland.

Pitchfork Bitter: White merenge stiff whipped head over medium straw ale with a light floral and grainy nose. The mouth feel is light, full of pale malt graininess, bright with pear and unripened peach fruit from the malt. Dryish with significant but not overwhelming hopped. Well balanced and refreshingly clean. A very attractive lighter pale ale. Here is what the brewery says. Here is what the BAers say.

Thomas Paine Original: white foam and rim over amber. Black china tea hops plus fruity malt with caramel and a hinty molasses note. The fruit is raisin and fall apple. Heavier again, clearly an ESB, some way to Chas. Wells Bombardier but just one wee step down that path. Yes, here is what the brewery says and, yes, here is what the BAers say.

Burton Bridge Empire India Pale Ale: Woah, Nelly! I had a Burton Bridge Porter in 2001 and this is its somewhat nicer twin cousin. White whipped egg white head over cloudy deep straw. Unique Burton Bridge hops along with that Burton Bridge unique tang. The hops are sharp, green and like a marigold-based drink from the blender. The only brewery’s hop profile which is beyond my descriptor of the smell and taste of driving a lawn mower into a patch of weeds in June. Tangier than that. So tangy it is tongy, like licking a cast iron pot coated with plain yogurt. [Not really but no other ale I have had could plausibly have that image in the review.] Yet underneath is grainy malt and creamy yeast. Black pepper at the dry finish. Again, here is what the brewery says and here is what the BAers say.

Duchy Originals Organic English Ale: Light tan foam over orange ale with no notable aroma. Soft water, quite flavourful watery water. Some sweetness but not yet up to raisiny. Some thought of orange marmalade but nowhere near Special London Ale. Hints – all hints. A tiny notch heavier than Pitchfork above, more tangy white grapefruit hoppy. This beer is brewed by Wychwood for Prince Charles:

When the Prince of Wales created Duchy Originals in 1990 it was because of his belief in the clear advantages of organic farming: the production of natural and healthy foods and sound husbandry which helps to regenerate and protect the countryside. Profits from sales of Duchy Originals products are donated to The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation, which has to date raised more than £1.7 million.

Imagine that! It reminded me a bit of St. Peter’s organic. Finalissimo and once again, here is what this brewery says. Here is what the BAers say.

An excellent collection and instruction itself as to a portion of the English pale ale continuum.

Big Hop Bombs: Un*Earthly, Southern Tier, New York, USA

Can these guys make a bad beer?

This ale pours a light tan foam and rim over bright cherry-amber ale. You pick up heat from the first whiff. Check the bottle. Yikes 11%. I thought it was a Double IPA – but no…it’s an Imperial IPA. Good thing the Mets and Braves went to 14 innings. Another sniff adds rich greens and stone-fruit malt. Sip. Spicy hops over big body heat. It is creamy yet hot saucey. And a pile of weedy greens. And, yes, its 11%. Wow. Lots of graininess and fruit-juiciness even with the hot hot heat.

A very legitimate challanger to Double Bastard from Stone. Too bad I didn’t remember to note the price when I got it at Galeville a couple of weeks ago.

Most Haunted

hauntedMost Haunted. It’s the kind of show you stumble across after the Mets win in the 14th inning and for some unknown reason you are not quite ready to hit the hay. I think it is my best guilty pleasure for the following reasons:

  • The host who comes on at the end of the show to explain why everything you have just seen is likely hooey.
  • It’s in “W”, the network formerly known as “Woman’s TV” or something like that. I am not a “W” person. I cannot bear Debbie Travis. Debbie Travis is on “W” every three hours.
  • Green-grey night vision goggle filming of séances with people saying “did you hear that” or “I can’t stay in this room a moment longer” or “She is here. In that corner…right…there” over and over.
  • Elementary school ouiji-boarding ‘fraidy-cat hosts and para-normalists apparently getting really scared over and over week after week except for the fact that this is their job and their hobby and they are supposed to know a lot about things that go “boo”.

Best. Reality. Show. Ever.

Big Hop Bombs: Un*Earthly, Southern Tier, New York, USA

Can these guys make a bad beer?

This ale pours a light tan foam and rim over bright cherry-amber ale. You pick up heat from the first whiff. Check the bottle. Yikes 11%. I thought it was a Double IPA – but no…it’s an Imperial IPA. Good thing the Mets and Braves went to 14 innings. Another sniff adds rich greens and stone-fruit malt. Sip. Spicy hops over big body heat. It is creamy yet hot saucey. And a pile of weedy greens. And, yes, its 11%. Wow. Lots of graininess and fruit-juiciness even with the hot hot heat.

A very legitimate challanger to Double Bastard from Stone. Too bad I didn’t remember to note the price when I got it at Galeville a couple of weeks ago.

Wednesday…Thursday…Chatday…

Tra la! It’s May, the lusty month of May!
That lovely month when ev’ryone goes blissfully astray
Tra la! It’s here, that shocking time of year!
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear.

It’s May! It’s May, that gorgeous holiday
When ev’ry maiden prays that her lad will be a cad!
It’s mad! It’s gay, a libelous display
Those dreary vows that ev’ryone takes, ev’ryone breaks
Ev’ryone makes divine mistakes
The lusty month of May!

A little something for the Broadway set amongst you.

Time is flying, is it not? A few short moments ago I was in winter’s grip and now the weather is all July in Halifax – mid-20s and sunshine. Fabulous. You know all those people who say October is the best time of year? They are nuts. May is. Pre-bug, pre-smog, pre-heat, pre-kids-at-home-every-day-with-nothing-to-do. It’s been a busy week following on a couple of busy weeks but at least it is May:

  • I have been contacted by the Asparagus Growers of America to remind you to eat asparagus. Asparagus is one of the two foods that kids won’t want to eat until they find out that it makes your pee change colour and then they can’t get enough. My trick? A little orange juice in the steamer.
  • In other public service news, send your kind thoughts for portland who is waylayed by a unshakable nasty bug these days. And one for the Junk Store Cowgirl, Linda, who has been in radio silence for almost a month now. You will recall her good lad received a shipment of Marmite from the office workers here.
  • Nice to see that radio is confirming the lack of practical support for podcasting:

    Commercial FM radio has reached the billion-dollar revenue milestone in Canada, at a time when they are also preparing to sing the blues in Ottawa this month. Industry data released Thursday show Canada’s commercial FM stations collectively pulled in $1.03-billion in revenue last year, with pretax profits of $247-million. Those numbers are up substantially from 2004, and when combined with earnings from AM stations, helped drive commercial radio to an unprecedented $1.33-billion in revenue. Pretax profits also soared 24 per cent to more than $255-million.

    Radio really is the miracle medium, providing all your wireless needs for a wee $7.99 transistor rig from Radio Shack. If I were you , I’d think about a career in radio.

  • It has been a week when I have re-evaluated Mr. Harper to a degree. His budget was not a bad budget, keeping in mind that I disagree with both the Tory child bonus voter attraction scheme and the murky Grit shadow plan that really never was. If I was a booster of the military more than I am I might be a little offended by something of a gap between word and deed but otherwise it was pretty middle of the road and is not going to undermine the tidy little boom we are enjoying. The most troublesome part of it is the continued de-Federalization of the nation that really has been tripping along since Joe Clark fist uttered “community of communities” back in ’79. Where will it all end? Who gets the “D” in Canada when it is utterly disassembled?
  • BLork is a wizard but more so a person of intestinal fortitude as I have had such jars but dipped into said jars.
  • This bit from a memo obtained under access to information is a tad odd:

    The percentage of Canadians who hold a valid passport has steadily risen — to 36 per cent in 2004-05 from less than 28 per cent in 2000-01 — in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. The passport office expects the figure to reach 48 per cent of Canadians by 2008-09. “Since 9/11, passports are being seen as secure identity documents rather than just travel documents,” the notes say. “Passport Canada is now as much a security agency as a service agency, in keeping with the new international norm.”

    Does my government think I need a secure identity document other than for travel? I certainly do not. My me-ness is mine wherever I am and I don’t need no state papers to prove that. Sounds more like Passport Canada just bigging itself up. Silly puffery as I’d like to think, generally, that I am much more in keeping with the new international norm.

  • Update: Why the heck is a company in PEI importing workers from Russia? Even with a 1.5% unemployment drop from March to April, there is still 10.5% unemployed in the province.

2006 Sports Pool Update

Well, the baseball points are in so time for another table in the Gen X at 40 2006 Spring Sports Pool. The right answers for the baseball questions at #5 and the total of 60 available points were:

Boston won on 1 May.
No winner – there was a rain out on 2 May.
Wakefield and Wang were the starting pitchers.
Boston led New York by one game at 9 am on 3 May.

How have we made out so far?

~
NHL
Playoffs
Other
Hockey
World
Cup
Other
Fitba
Baseball
Other
Sport
Total
Hans 69 0 0 0 20 0 89
Alan 36 0 0 0 20 0 56
Rob 38 0 0 0 20 0 58
Scott 61 0 0 0 20 0 81
Ranald 103 0 0 0 20 0 123
CM N/P 0 0 0 N/P 0 0
Don 67 0 0 0 20 0 87
Mike 116 0 0 0 20 0 136
Matt 75 0 0 0 40 0 115
Marcia 35

N/P N/P N/P N/P N/P 35

The Road Of An Evening

Sir John A, 401, 12, 7, 407, 427, 409, parking garage access road, garage, parking garage access road, 409, 427, 407, 7, 12, 401, Sir John A. Getting someone at Terminal 3 is a piece of cake even if a 575 km piece of cake. Thank God the Sox beat the Yankees and the Buffalo signal on 550 AM was clear until the New York City signal was clearer on 880.

What or who was a “bramp” anyway? The suit, the mailbox moneied and the tappers of ground and tree ought to witness Brampton from the 407 once in a life to see the deal. It doesn’t matter if you have got a million tonnes of this or that – if it doesn’t get packaged and shipped out it is just a pile. Brampton is the hive.