Back and this time I'm giving It a real go!

BEERS?!?!

Evening all!

Right so my first attempt at blogging on a regular basis fell my the wayside amid settling in to a new country and job searching. Now though I've decided to reinvigorate myself and start again. As before topics will range from whatever I feel like to whatever sounds like fun! Shout out to Andrew Ferguson who's own blog got me thinking of tackling this again. Give it a check out here http://improvisedfood.blogspot.co.uk/

First up in 2014 and it's back to beer, who would have guessed it huh?

Ommengang - by far my favourite American brewery and they have a great selection of beer including a partnership with HBO and Game of Thrones to produce a beer for every season of the show that is designed to mirror the mood or something of each season. I don't really buy any of that but the first 2 beers have been great!

Iron Throne (6.5%) (Blonde Ale) - Season 3
Aroma- 4      Appearance- 4    Taste- 4     Palate- 3       Overall -15/20
This one seems like a fairly standard light ale with very light hop flavour but after a few bottles ends up being a real sessionable beer. Definitely worth a check out if you can still find it (or get it at all outside of the North East US). A little citrus and spice rounds it off fairly well and goes well with an Indian!

Take the Black (7%) - Randomly in September 2013 a few months after Season 3 finished.
Aroma - 4     Appearance- 5     Taste - 4    Palate- 4       Overall- 17/20
This one is a really quality stout that's very dark and malty. Thankfully they resisted the temptation most American brewers go for in making dark stouts almost exclusively coffee flavoured. (to hell with that poison!) and instead give us a chocolaty and slightly spiced fruit beer with only the unavoidable hint of coffee aftertaste. Gotta say that this is a top, top beer and one I've stockpiled a few of. After all you never know when it might be needed!

The upstate New York company out of Cooperstown, a place I've been reliably informed has absolutely nothing except this brewery and the baseball hall of fame, so as far as I'm concerned just the one reason to go up there then. Seriously baseball sucks.

Other Ommegang Beers

A little subsection of the Ommegang range - just what I have my "wine rack" at the moment.

BPA - Belgian Pale Ale (6.2%) Citrusy and light - 12/20
Witte - Wheat Beer (5.1%) Belgian wheat, not the best - 8/20
Rare Vos - Amber Ale (6.5%) Cracking beer, fruity, spicy, amber - always a go to - 17/20
Hennepin - Saison (7.7%) Can't decide about this one - I cant decide what it is - 12/20
Abbey Ale - Dubbel (8.5%) In the Delirium Tremens ilk but not quite as good - 15/20
Three Philosophers - Quadrupel Ale (9.8%) Unbelievable beer, 98% Belgian Quadrupel Ale, 2% Liefmans Kriek (Cherry), didn't fill me with positive thoughts when I found it but it is outstanding - 18/20 

P.S. The Three Philosophers inspired me to try making a similar beer myself and that turned out to be a cracker too, even if I do say so myself.

They also do a range of limited edition and "historical" beers which are not particularly easy to get, hence why that is my new mission for future posts. I've just found this cheeky little number which I'm desperate to crack open, but I need to find a second before I can, gutted!

Wild at Heart - Apparently tastes both dark and of Mango, Passion fruit and Pineapple - An American Ale

I think I'll leave it at that tonight and get back to watching the new season of Archer, Danger Zone!


Next post - Making your own beer in a New York apartment!