York

So, for a mate's birthday bash last Saturday a bunch of us headed out for a session in York. I have to say if you like your real ale, I highly recommend a night out there. So so many good real ale pubs and choices of beer.

Anyhoo, I started my drinking experience in the Duke of York, next to the train station.  For my first tipple I tried an old faithful 'Old Speckled Hen'. It is a very light beer with a subtle initial flavour, followed by quite a strong bitter, though not unpleasant aftertaste. Certainly one I could drink a few of, but the plan today was to try a selection of beers, so after a single pint it was time to move on - both geographically and  with drink choice.

Next bar we visited was called The Maltings ...I have to admit that as the bouncer made us wait outside whilst he 'checked there was room for us' (to be fair there were quite a few of us) I didn't have particularly high hopes. But oh how wrong I was, it is a truly amazing bar and just the sort I like. It was fairly small and olde worlde and had a friendly atmosphere. Best of all they had a wide and varied selection of real ales from the north and further-a-field. It was a tough choice for me (though my mate had to go for the brew from Coxhoe seeing as it was down the road from his house yet he had never heard of it), but I was drawn to the Roosters from a brewery in Knaresborough. Soft and pleasant and very fruity flavour, this was another beer with quite a sharp aftertaste.

I also have some vague recollections of a few other beers ...

Yorkshire Sparkle, as far as I remember wasnt immediately pleasant but had a strong and individual flavour which could prove to be an acquired taste. 

We popped briefly into the Evil Eye bar and immediately left again as it was pretty much the antithesis of our first bar ... trendy, pretentious,  expensive and no real ale - so I ducked out of that round and walked for a sandwich. 

I had a Summer Lighting in the Punch Bowl which I remember little ofeaning it was likely quoffable without being outstanding. Highly helpful I know ...

Also tried The Trembling Madness which I remember nothing about and Beavertown Gamma Ray American Pale Ale which I won't be bothering with again ... nor the odd bar whoch sold it, where the barmaid said there was no beer on draught ... and twenty minutes later birthday boy was drinking a yard of ale ... clearly not of the bottled variety ... also the stuffed animal heads were a little off putting. 

Overall I can highly recommend York for a beer drinking outing ... I shall certainly be doing it again sometime soon.

Home Comforts

Back in blighty after the weekend trip to Amsterdam and a bit of gardening has worked up a thirst and an appetite. Here we are in the good old Schooner having old faithful potato skins,  beef baguettes and most importantly of all John Smith's Extra Smooth on draft. It may not be a real ale for a conouseur but after a weekend on cocktails and Heineken,  it is more than hitting the spot here! Delicious.

A Snake's Bite

A Snake's Bite

In stark contrast to the last seven months of walking and reducing intake of calories,  which has had the profound effect of helping me to lose over three stones in weight,  I have decided to start my first entry to the world of the blogosphere talking beer.

Why beer? Why indeed considering I have drunk next to nothing in 2013 and that in the few years previous I have mainly drunk fruity flavoured ciders (Strawberry and Lime Kopparberg and Toffe Apple Cider being the favourite choice). Well prior to this recent foray into appley goodness I was a drinker of beer, though I should admit I was more partial to a Caffreys or Creamflow than a real ale generally. More recently I was introduced to the delights of Trooper Ale at the Download Festival and then became reacquainted with Bluebird Bitter on a week in Coniston (I also came across a delicious draft pint of Trooper at a pub in Ulverston too).

Today, after a hard days clothes shopping, I decided to get a few bottles of ale from Tesco and the first I opened was refreshing,  delicious and above all highly interesting.

So here we are ... I am from Middlesbrough, I am talking beer and this is a blog ... hence Boro Beer Blog or B3 if I get lazy!

So the first beer was a bottled gem that I will be stocking in my fridge from now onwards. The idea intrigued me due to my taste for cider as well as beer. The ale is Snake's Bite, from Wychwood Brewery (many fine ale names and images, most notably Hobgoblin from these folks).

This drink describes itself as 'cider apple fruit beer' and weighs in at 4.2% alc vol. Unlikely to be to every beer drinkers palate,  this is a very mild tasting beverage which makes it one of the most refreshing tipples I have ever indulged in, in fact it has a flavour similar in some ways to a beer shandy. The apple flavour is quite subtle,  not at all overpowering like in some strong ciders. I would rate this as a 10/10 drink based on flavour and refreshment value. It was part of a deal in which I got six bottles so I can't remember the exact price,  but around £1.50 I think.  Well worth a look!

(NOTE: re-posted from cached version after inadvertently deleting)