Camra

[Ish]

Been good for me too. I've started stocking up for christmas now. Got 3 1/2 weeks off which should give me plenty of time to sample ale.

So far put together a collection comprising a couple of bottles of each of these:

Goose Island IPA
Anchor Steam
Oud Beersel Gueuze
Coopers Stout
Dragon Stout
Superbock Stout
Broughton Scottish Oatmeal Stout
Hop Back Entire Stout
Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout
Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout
Sierra Nevada Stout
Wagtail Black Shuck Stout
Jacobins Gueuze
Brewdog Paradox Grain Cask Stout
Cains Formidable Ale
Otter Head
Wychwood Hobgoblin
Wychwood Black Wych

Plus I've got some homebrew on the go and doubtless that collection will have grown by christmas

[prinnysquad]

haha i bet you've more than a couple of otter head's after that lot.

Don't tell Ajay1986 you've got blackwych - it's his holy grail of wychwoods!

You'll have to tell me what that anchor steam is like, I saw it yesterday but got these foreign boys instead -

Pivovar Herold (Czech) - a 'black lager' - very much like a stout. 8/10

Asahi - Japanese - very wheaty and pale - 8/10 went down a treat.

[NW2013]

News for anyone in the Newcastle area. Apparently the head of steam are having a beer festival in January focusing on beers from Eire. Should be good!

[Ajay1986]

Ish were did you find Black Wych? I've still not been able to find it anywhere around York.

[Ish]

Ordered it online:

http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/acatalog/Beers_of_Europe__Wychwood_136.html

[prinnysquad]

Hardcore.

[prinnysquad]

News for anyone in the Newcastle area. Apparently the head of steam are having a beer festival in January focusing on beers from Eire. Should be good!

Where's the Head of Steam, Mr Spoon?

Oh, and did you perchance upon the union rooms for their festival recently?

[NW2013]

It's a pub opposite Central Station. Looks a bit grotty from the outside but is decent enough in there.

[prinnysquad]

oof so near the union rooms

[Plough Boy]

It's directly opposite the Centurion Bar numb nuts. Round the corner from the Long Bar.

[prinnysquad]

Shame, shame.

I ordered a 12 pack of random christmas beers for my dad for xmas from beers of europe. The box turned up today with 10 of the 12 completely new to me.

I had no other option...

It's now mine.

The thing is, most of them are different from the piccy on the website, so I presumed I'd have had a fair few.

I've now ordered another box for him.

Which I'm going to open and pilfer the newbies out of.

Basically, he's going to get a hotpotch of beers from 2 BOE boxes and whatever sainsbury's coughs up on the christmas front, AS LONG AS I've had them all.

Shame shame shame on me.

I also thought it would be a good idea to resurrect the William Hickey avatar for Christmas, a drunken cantankerous old goat.

Just like me

[Ish]

Don't be so hard on yourself. Any right minded real ale lover would do the same.

Had a couple of the Goose Island IPA's tonight. Incredibly fragrant and bitter. 9/10.

Also had a truck load of other stuff that I've reviewed before so won't bother scoring now. God only knows how I'll get to work tomorrow because right now I am f*@£ed.

[djjimbob]

Well Prinny, a gift is complete upon *delivery* so don't feel too bad.

[prinnysquad]

heh, I feel a bit better now

*guzzle*

[prinnysquad]

A legendary christmas night.

started with Hambleton's Mistletoe and Ale - 5% - 8/10

onto Hook Norton Twelve Days - 5.5% - mega tasty 8.5/10

then Hopback Brewery Pickled Santa - 6.0% 9/10 I drank the sediment separately (Jim Hardcore)

also Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale - 6.0% 8.5/10 I think, really nice and distinct

followed by a Young's Christmas Pudding each - 5.5% 10/10 MUCH better than real xmas pud

finished with Elgood's Black Dog, a 3.6%-er designed to finish the night calmly. Er, no. It was a stout. Fresh and breezy it wasn't, thick and black and stodgy it was, especially after all the xmas boys. Should have realised via the name really. Nevertheless, an 8/10.