It could be easy for a wandering eye to get carried away with the excitement of new beers arriving every week, beers that may only be brewed once and never seen again.
I can understand the fear of missing out on something, I can understand the thrill of hearing about a beer filled with crazy ingredients or one that pushes new technology or ideas to breaking point. However there is also something to be said for tradition, for beers that have been brewed to the same recipe since long before I was aware of their existence or even old enough to drink them, because the recipe works and people want to be able to drink it again and again.
So, this week is a nod to history and an admission that – sometimes at least – you shouldn’t mess with the classics.
Bayerischer Bahnhof Gose (£2.80/4.6%/330ml)
A little more restrained than many modern takes on the style, this is a beautifully balanced fresh and juicy Gose with just a hint of coriander on the nose a perfect level of tart refreshment on the palate and slightly salty kick on the finish. New to us this week, but already a firm staff favourite.
Little Earth Project South Island Sour (£4.30/5.8%/330ml)
The newest of the breweries I’m looking at this week, Little Earth have been around for less than a year but their offerings so far mark them out as having a real interest in historical recipes and pre-Industrial Revolution brewing techniques. This pale ale has been fermented with a mixture of brewer’s yeast and wild cultures from local cider, making for a quite unusual and interesting end result. There’s an initial burst of lemon sherbet, before a more floral note emerges on the nose. The palate is smooth and almost oily, sharp with gooseberry and zesty citrus, some unmistakable bretty bitterness and a slightly savoury minerality that lingers in the finish alongside – as the brewery name predicted - a little earthy spice and some elderflower notes.
Schneider Weisse Tap 6 Mein Aventinus (£4.50/8.2%/500ml)
Whilst my previous selections could be quite easily – to quote my good friend Owen – hoofed in a oner, this German Dopplebock is definitely one to take some time over. Big, rich and fruity with all of the classic banana esters that you would expect from a wheat beer, but with added plum, fig and toffee before bitter clove and herbal notes and a surprisingly dry finish which makes my earlier suggestion of taking some time over this one all the more difficult to heed.
Westmalle Dubbel (£3.00/7.0%/330ml)
Monks have been at this brewing lark for a little longer than most of these johnny-come-lately craft types, originally brewing for sustenance during times of fast or to raise money for the church. Fortunately it’s now easier for secular sorts like myself to get our hands on Trappist treasure and this Dubbel is a long time favourite. There’s a mixture of malt and spice on the nose with the occasional fruity hint of banana. The flavour shows plenty of malt too, with dark fruit and tobacco spice in there for good measure and a creaminess on the palate that makes it a real pleasure to drink.
St Bernardus Abt 12 (£4.50/10.0%/330ml)
More Monk-y business in this complex Quadruple from St Bernardus. There’s a lot going on here, with apple, honey and dried fruit being the most obvious – but by no means the only elements - in the aroma, before stewed plum, raisin and treacle on the palate but with a bitter hoppy hit and some earthy spice in the finish that keeps the whole thing balanced.
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