Beer Blog & Beer Reviews

Oh my goodness that smells like sweet spiced berries, malted and baked soft vanilla cake dough, but as sweet as all that. The smell reminds me of tribute ale, but it has stronger smells of burnt stuff and darker deeper berry type fruit maybe juniper berry or something. Reading the bottle I can identify the woody oak smells it talks about, it smells deep and rich.

In there Words:

“This strong beer is brewed and racked into oak whisky casks before being hidden away in our cellars. During its long slumber the beer undergoes an extraordinary transformation, emerging rich and complex with hints of whisky, creamy vanilla, toffee and spice.”

I took a good 10 min just smelling this trying to get a handle on it and enjoying aroma.

Waiting for the flavors is rewarded with a good number tasty happenings in your mouth.

I like beer like this…

I will explain more…

It has more than one flavor, It isn’t dull, there is no mistaking this for a pint of landlord or black sheep (both fine ales) becuase it has lots of different,non standard, flavors. I dont know how much effort goes in to making a beer this complex and interesting, though I could imagine new town have been built in less time.

So what exactly does Smugglers Vintage Ale taste like?

Well its has all the hall marks of a good ale, it has the whisky notes from its life smuggled away in a oak whicky barrel. I’m pleased the whisky hasnt parralized the beer but instead left a trace of its flavor lingering like an oily slippery taste of something old and warm mixed with herby coriander.

There are about three stages to the flavor first a sweet sugary malt with a slight licorice, then secondly you get a little of the whisky and some good strong smooth type hops, and then finally your get the full force of the whisky warmth. Its like a gentle lapping of a sea rather than a tusnami of strong whisky but its enough to enjoy.

Unlike Brewdog paradox I would drink a pint of this, I would buy a big bottle of it and I would recomend it to a friend as enjoyable experience rather than just ‘an expereice’. You get the beer taste clear and deep as well as some whisky not just all whisky with a bit of beer flavor. Thats just personal opinion mind, I know plenty of people who love Paradox!

If you want a complex bitter/sweat interesting yet enjoyable beer this is one option for sure. Its the best whisky aged beer I’ve found yet.

Winter is Coming, What Are You Drinking?

With the winter coming some good darker ales are in order! Here is safe and tasty bet, St Austell’sAdmirals Ale.

The last time I drank one of these I was on BBC Radio Tees talking about homebrew and the beer blog. Lisa McComick liked the St Austells ale describing it as dark chocolatey and complicated.

St Austells Admirals Ale

According to bottle:

Brewed in cornwall, to celebrate the 200th anaversery of nelsons victory at trafalgar in 1805. It was at the St Austells blue anchor Inn that the kings messenger carrying news of the battle, first stopped for refresehment on his long journey from cornwall to london.

Admiral ale glugs out of the bottle dark brown with a slightly off white head.

It smells sugary and burnt, deep and dark. I apologise I have a bit of a cold and a blocked nose, so my nose might be tricks on me.

Admirals ale has a light mouth feel, its not thick and viscous like I thought it would be.

It tastes like choclotae and charcoal, malted oats and brown ale. The head lasts about as long as an ice cream at a vindiloo chuging contest and disapears leaving no trace. Pour all the yeast in your glass if you like the bitter yeast tastes.

Apparently Admirals ale is made by using local grains especially malted using a unqiue kilining process for intense flavors. The result is the usual complex deep and intense falvors, non of which are overpowering. St austell balance the flavors with the skill of a old circus tight rope walker from a circus.

In the comming winter months I can imagine I will be having a few more of these.