Tag: Craft Beer

Chester Craft Beer Festival

The Chester Craft Beer Festival organised by Helsby based Beer Heroes was held at the Carriage Shed, adjacent to Chester railway station. A semi covered venue and a gloriously warm April day provided the perfect environment in which to sample some of the 60 or so beers available on offer. As with such events the festival presents the opportunity to try something new/different and with pours available as 1/3, 1/2 or 2/3 that’s all the encouragement you need.

Top Rope – Liverpool

Overkill IPA 5.5%  – An American west coast style IPA first brewed as a tribute to Motorhead’s Lemmy who died in 2016. Light amber, hazy with a light head. Citrus with hints of nutty caramel the develops as it warms. Low bitterness.

Papa Mango Pale Ale with mango 5.1% – Yellow, cloudy with little head to the beer. Pronounced mango on both the nose and palate. Quite sweet, low bitterness.

Gibberish – Liverpool

Custard Cream New England Pale 5.2% – Pale amber/yellow, opaque, gives the appearance of being much thicker than it really is. Very pronounced aromas of grapefruit and lemon, high bitterness, creamy with a developing smokey note. Finish is grapefruit pith and a little aggressive. An interesting beer in a style which may well be an acquired taste.

Vibrant Forest – Hampshire

Dunkelunch Dunkel Weisse 5.6% – A dark style of wheatbeer. Light brown, hazy, light head. Flavours of treacle, nutty, smokey. Quite full flavoured and creamy with a nice lingering finish.

Runaway – Manchester

NZ Pale 4.2% – a light pale ale brewed with New Zealand hops. Amber with a slight haze and a light head. Low bitterness, malty, caramel, slight crispness. Good flavour, very drinkable.

Marzen Lager 5.4% – Yellow/gold, slight haze and little head. Malty with. slight touch of sweetness, clean ,dry. Very drinkable.

Chapter Brewing – Cheshire 

Parabola Pale Ale 4.7% – Light amber, slight haze, light head. Lemon citrus with grapefruit notes, floral,low bitterness, some caramel, quite full flavoured. Very drinkable and a reasonably low ABV.

Steadfast Companions 6.6% – A collaboration with Beer Heroes a New England IPA. Light amber, hazy no head. Grapefruit is the dominant flavour, nice  creamy texture which makes it very appealing. Has a good rounded slight bitter finish. Very nice indeed.

Stone – California

Go to IPA 4.8% – Light gold, clear, no head, lemon citrus, fruity. Medium bitterness. Lingering flavour of citrus on the finish. A very drinkable session beer.

Exhalted IPA 7.0% = Gold in appearance, clear and bright, no head as such. Rich, savoury and complex with a nice citrus finish. Medium bitterness.

Notes from 38000 feet.

Trying to occupy myself on the fourteen hour leg from Singapore back home I wrote a few short notes about our trip to Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. The list is below and I haven’t added anything since I got back so it really is a snapshot with little editing. If I were to compile it now it might be a little different but probably not much.  The list is in no particular order and lots of research went in to 1, 8 and 12.

  1. New Zealanders make the best coffee.
  2. Singapore is an excellent stopover en route to New Zealand, there is so much to see and do.
  3. 23Kg is a more than generous luggage allowance and you don’t need to use it all and you have to lug it around with you.
  4. I thought I knew what rain was until I went to tropical Queensland.
  5. Botanic gardens don’t have to be dull and boring
  6. New Zealand is a wonderful country in which to drive a  car, the roads are so quiet.
  7. Koala Bears are bigger than I imagined and difficult to spot in the trees.
  8. Craft beer is a big thing in New Zealand and beers are very good.
  9. The breakfast on Singapore Airlines is excellent
  10. There is so much more to the Red Centre of Australia than Uluru.
  11. Spending part of the winter in the Southern Hemisphere is so much better than spending it in the cold and damp of the UK.
  12. Old vine Grenache from the Barossa Valley really is excellent
  13. There is hardly any litter in New Zealand.
  14. Almost everyone we met on our trip were positive, friendly and helpful
  15. There is so much still to see and do in Australia. We need to go back as soon as we can.

Hemingways Port Douglas

Hemingways is a gastrobrew pub located on the Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina in Port Douglas, Northern Queensland. Sine its opening in the summer of 2016 it has successfully produced a range of beers with are un filtered, unpasteurised and free of any preservatives. The craft beer movement, while well established in New Zealand, is not so well represented in Australia and this is the first venture of its kind in tropical Queensland although plans are afoot to open a second brewhouse in Cairns in summer 2018.

As its very hot and humid in this part of Australia a nice cold beer is just what the doctor ordered.

A selection of the beers tasted in March 2018

Doug’s Courage IPA  5.6% IBU 41

A brew named in hour of the courage of Port Douglas to rebuild following the devastation caused by a cyclone in 1911.

Amber in appearance with a slight haze. There is a good head to the beer that persists. Full flavour, medium bitterness, citrus abounds. Full and round on the finish. Very nice indeed.

Pitchfork Betty Pale Ale 5.1% IBU 35

Light amber, clear with a good, persistent head to the beer. Full flavour with smokey black cardamon,  medium bitterness,mildly hoppy with a nice tropical fruit edge.

4 Mile White Lager 4.7% IBU 16

Full flavoured wheat beer with flavours of bubblegum, apple juice and a gentle tanginess. Low bitterness. Very drinkable, very nice.

Mrs Watson Small Ale 3.7% IBU 30

Light amber in appearance, clear with a light frothy head that persists. Low bitterness. Lemon citrus with a gentle touch of spice. Quite full. very drinkable.

All beers were well made, characterful and thoroughly enjoyable. Others beers are available including a pilsner and a dark lager but lack of time prevent tasting. They also do a very good food menu and I can certainly recommend the double cheeseburger!