Slainte Mhath!

Slainte Mhath! (pronounced Shlandjivar) is the Scots for Cheers!

A good glass of single malt seems appropriate today to toast the bard on Burns night and wash down my haggis with neeps and tatties.

Life isn't just about beer when there is also good scotch to be had.

Christmas Ale

So, it's Christmas Eve and time (at last) to crack open the Christmas ale!

On opening the Groslsh-style bottle top (something in itself very satisfying) I am greeted with a sweet candy floss aroma which takes me back to my childhood, of hanging around the fairground rides - what a start!

The first sip has an unexpected hint of roasted coffee but a taste that isn't experienced again at any point thereafter. What follows is a very rounded, smooth caramel/toffee flavour that stays throughout the rest of the glass (think bonfire toffee here).

Further on I am greeted with a very pleasant marsh mallow taste but a marsh mallow covered in caramel or treacle - very smooth and delightful. There's even a slight hint of a very expensive chocolate in there too.

If I could choose my favourite style of beer, this wouldn't be far off perfection. Not too sweet to be sickly and not too bitter or insipid. The character stays throughout and has me chuckling with joy as I approach the end of the bottle!

Time to open another, me thinks! A very well done to Head Brewer John and those that assisted in this brew - a very fine job indeed!

Some Antwerp photos

They can’t even spell Antwerp properly!

Some old building or other

Handy!

John posing

“Now, I’m sure there’s an interesting fact I can tell you about this spot…”

The cellar bar

Lunch time

Is the pub this way?

No idea what they were looking at here!

"I swear, they were this big"

How to Brew Beer

The beer was based on a recipe for Ringwood Old Thumper.

Brewing day started bright and early on 20 November 2010 (well 9:15 was as early as I could manage).

First step was to put the water on to heat up and eat a bacon sandwich.  The boiler is the large white object to the right of John, the bacon sandwich is the smaller white object in his hand.

Sterilise everything.

The grain needs to be weighed out - for this brew mostly pale malt but with some crystal malt and chocolate malt for flavour and colour and some torrified wheat for head retention.  It is a good idea to keep your head on brewing day.

Now the tricky bit - mix the grain with hot water while keeping the porridge-like mixture at 66C.  This is the real test of the brewers art.  The lid then goes on the mash tun and we gave it 90 minutes for the alchemy to happen.

The now sweet liquid is drained off and the sparging can begin. It is time for the first beer of the day and Chris and Paul take turns at sparging, rinsing the last of the sugars from the grain.

Time for lunch and pint number 2...

...as the wort was boiled for 90 minutes.

Challenger hops are added as bittering hops with more hops going in with 10 minutes left and after the boil for flavour and aroma.

The now bitter wort is crash cooled by running cold water through a helical copper tube.

The yeast is started with a warm sugar solution.

The now hoppy wort is strained to take out the solids

The gravity reading is taken.  It is spot on.

The yeast is pitched into the unfermented beer.

Then we all go home to carry on our lives as we let nature take its course.

We'll meet again in January to drink it.

Antwerp

We did go to Antwerp.

Here is a picture of Antwerp station to prove it.

I am still hoping for lots more pictures and a full report.

Apple Press

We now have a share in an apple press.

You can use any available woman to press on the apple pulp as in the picture, or use the car jack provided for exra pressure.

Nottingham Beer Festival - Advance Party

I was sent to work in Nottingham on Thursday 14 October so I felt compelled to pop in to the festival.

It is bigger and better than before.

Standout beer for me was my last one, Thornbridge Murmansk Baltic Porter.

It had a rich rounded fortified wine smoothness (it is 7.4%) with chocolate and a dark roasted coffee underneath.

Worth going to a festival for.