Open Your Eyes To Puppy Dog

[lupestripe]

Last night, Wolfie and I met up with my sister to go to a beer tasting session at BrewDog. As I'll be working pretty extensively over the Christmas and New Year period, this was the only chance I got to see my sister over this period. The BrewDog tasting had already been planned for Wolfie and I but when my sister said she could make it, missing her office Christmas party in the process, I booked an additional ticket. In the end, it was only the three of us, which is quite often the case at these tasting sessions for some reason, so much so that we have some influence on when they take place. It may be the night they occur (usually a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday) or a general lack of interest, but it always seems to be us propping them up. Still, we do like sampling a range of different beers and with me having just discovered the Untappd app, I imagine this is only going to increase.

Last night was themed a Walk on the Wild Side with saisons and sour beers the selection. I generally don't like these types of beer but the two saisons we had (from Stone and itinerant brewer Stillwater) weren't overpowering and thus perfectly drinkable, although the former was perhaps laiden with a few too many spices. The sour beers did increase in tartness (from another itinerant brewer Mickeller to Gauze which was the most tart) before moving on to the failed IPA that was Blonde a la Brett and ending with Coffee Ruby, which did have a vague aftertaste of coffee but actually tasted like a fruit salad sweet in a glass. Paul, one of the beardy men from the bar and a good friend now, was our guide through the beers and he was quite surprised I liked so many. It was my sister'a first tasting session and she seemed to enjoy it too, while afterwards as is usual we got a few more drinks and talked about James Bond before we took her back to the train station so she could get her train back to Sheffield.

Preceding the tasting session, we went to the German Christmas Market, only the second time I had been this year due to me being in Italy and Mexico. Due to work, I was fashionably late and Wolfie and my sister were already there. Despite the relatively warm weather for this time of year, it was surprisingly quiet, allowing me to get an overpriced snausage and a Knobibrot relatively easy. We could also look around the trinket shops with ease and I bought my sister a little glass pig. I was also constantly singing "Saviour's Day" by Cliff Richard that seemed to be stuck in my head for some reason. I have always liked the German market but it needed to be a little busier I think to capture that Christmas excitement, although the Bierkeller was jumping as is often the case. It's a shame that it's the same shops year after year though - as with the same Christmas songs being played every year (seriously, has there been a good one since 1995?) - I'm getting a little tired of them and would like some more variety but I guess it's only once a year so what can you do? And still nothing beats piping hot Knobibrot with it's strong garlic taste. I hope to sample some more on the final day of the market being open, during Saturday's Christmas Leeds meet.

Comments

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

In the end, it was only the three of us

Wow! That really surprises me. The location's fairly central, ne? Do they not promote these sessions as effectively as they might, perhaps? FSM knows, I'd be all over them if they had a pub in town. (Sadly, the pub up the road turned into another damned Tesco a year or so ago, approved in record time. It was a Punch holding, which is never good news for landlords - but, if they really want to make a success of it, it is possible, as demonstrated by the Belle Vue. The beers are a bit more expensive than elsewhere as a result of that tie, but they do a superb job of keeping an interesting rotation of beers around, and some appealing whiskies too, as well as simply being a good, cozy pub, with a small art gallery in one section, and a good line in live music every Saturday night. So, it's in no danger of going under. ^_^

I'm quite a Saison fan, it has to be said. (BTW, unrelatedly, have you tried the Ilkley Brewery's White Chocolate Stout? I had the good fortune to try that (twice =:) a couple weeks ago, after one of my long-distance rabbiteering expeditions. It's a very strange beast indeed: tastes just as you'd expect a stout to, with a distinct edge of white chocolate, but it's the hue of an amber ale!)

Mikeller's definitely an interesting brewery. The White Horse works with them fairly closely, to the point where there are occasional staff outings to the brewery, where they get to sample many of their public and experimental works.

Very good to hear sis enjoyed her time at the tasting! Is she normally a beer lover? It's rather sad that current marketing always seems to push women away from beer, toward insipid white wines, or vodka.

One of these days, I'd love to get back to Hamburg for the Christmas markets. ^_^ (Though I'd happily accept any other city with a good gastronomic presence) Even the simplicity of fresh caramelised almonds are such a joy, straight out of the brazier.. and just that aroma! =:9

It's a shame that it's the same shops year after year though

I suppose it's an extension of the sad state of British markets overall, having been largely reduced to purveyors of cheap tat, with the rise of the almighty supermarkets, and their usurious profit margins. (Relatedly, how the hell is it that even in Wetherspoons, mass crap will be £3-3.50 a pint, with their gigantic scales of economy, whilst the locals will sell at £2.20-2.40 or so?) So there's much less of a fundamental culture of traders ready to sell their own wares, rather than just reselling stuff they've bought in. Still, the momentum does seem to be in the right direction, at long last - even the local one in town sometimes has some quite interesting vendors, let alone forthright foodie extravaganzas like Borough Market. (I know you're not London's greatest lover, but Borough Market is an absolute joy for the senses!)