Alnwick beer festival 2013

So it's that time of year again. The Alnwick Beer Festival 2013 has been long awaited this year, and as many may know runs in conjunction with Alnwick Food Festival in the town hall. After last year the big question for me was; would Mordue be there, or not?? As it turns out, we were! Autumn Tyne and IPA were in good form and selling well.

This year (as last year) there was a theme. The theme 'Counties' meaning beers from the various counties of the England. Some solid classics were on offer, York Centurion Ghost was always a solid dependable choice for a dark strong ale. Thwaites Wainwright was its pleasant sessionable self though Hopback Summer Lightning seemed a little tired, a mere shadow of its best. Blonde ales seemed a plenty, so did bitters. In fact you probably could have confused the theme with 'session bitters and blonde ales from the different counties of England'. No Stout this year, or Porter, Scotch ales or Wheat beers. Wharfebank's Hop of the World Galaxy gave a smidgen of hope to those on the hunt for something a tad more out of the ordinary. This beer reminded me distinctly of one of those home brews that got tucked to one side eventually making its way to the sink. Flat, sweet caramel but no Galaxy. Yet make no mistake plenty of quality beers were on offer with the likes of Stonehenge, Pictish Brewing and Black Paw all having worthy offerings but after a while it got a bit repetitive. Good festival though, definitely worth a visit.

Wild Beer Modus Operandi

Boy did that summer seem to end quick. Anyway it's time to settle down with some wild and crazy bottled beer, this time from a brewery way down south in lovely place called Somerset.

Basically Modus Operandi (not to be confused with SKA brewing Modus Hoperandi) is a barrel-aged old ale that's been given the old wild yeast treatment. I'm sensing a little Gale's Prize Old Ale or Russian River type inspiration from this one. That signature 'Brett' nose is evident, then it initially hits you with rasping strawberry, caramel and cherry. A sweetish body with subtle woody-caramel undertones is contrasted by tart acidity running right to the finish. Lots of berry flavours, and not assertively sour. Somehow there seems to be a lot going on for its modest 7% abv and I also found this to be a good beer for steak and stilton sauce although I imagine it would be great with duck or venison.

Overall an intriguing and well balanced bit of brewing and as far as specialist sour beers go this is a good call.

Workie Ticket

As a brewer the beers you invent are like your children. You watch them develop before releasing them into the world. The beers you brew but didn't invent are like your adopted children, try to change them if you like but some are best left alone. One such adopted brew I've got to know very well over my few years at Mordue is Workie Ticket.

I often say to visiting Brewlab students that Workie is the most old school beer we do. Some would call it a brown ale, others a Scotch ale cross best bitter ('style hybrid' dare I say?).
Workie Ticket is a classic ale of the North East region that's been around since way back into my school days. Chocolatey almond goodness meets rugged grain and underpinning hop bitterness in the finish. It's northern beer with character that almost echos decades of Geordie history.

Workie Ticket is  retro. It's the notes you've heard before yet not quite in that order. It's like Oasis 'Wonderwall' suddenly sparking up on the radio. This beer sits alongside its cousin IPAs, blonde ales Panda Frogs and others and is yet still at heart and soul of Mordue Brewery.

Workie Ticket is a lovely beer and I am a proud successor to its architect.

In addition to this I am even more proud to have been representing this arguably iconic North East beer at the Great British Beer Festival in London this week. With the Mordue team we represented our region, our brewery and our Workie Ticket.

Mordue Workie Ticket; champion beer of Britain 1997, champion best bitter of Britain 2013 

Return of the Killswitch

Killswitch 51. 51 IBU's, OG 1051.

Many will remember Killswitch 51 as Mordue's entry to last year's battle of the beers at Newcastle beer festival. This year we're bringing it back. Well I say bringing it back, as it's not quite the same beer. Let me explain.

It's always a difficult decision to make when dealt sub-standard hops. Never had I seen Galaxy hops so brown. Do you use them anyway or substitute completely? So in short Killswitch 51 (2012 version) became a sort of kit car beer, where a lot was made up as we went along. Though in the end we were happy with the outcome.

This year however we had the hops to make this beer the way it was originally intended. The original article you may say. Deepish amber with Melon and liquorice, smooth pine and backing of cinder toffee mellowing things out. Still Munich malt based although more complex and floral I would say. Strangely enough both brew days yielded the same exact 1051 original gravity. Killswitch 51 is available in cask and (very shortly) in keg form and for those who didn't guess the origin of the name first time round, then this link reveals all. I will be trying to hunt this out for sure.

Pleased To Meet You

If you haven't worked it out it's the name of the pub, or should I call it a bar. Pleased To Meet You is a relatively new craft beer hotspot in Newcastle I have been meaning to visit for a long time. It seemed everyone's been, except me, so I had to do something about it.

Before I start I must mention that this isn't another one of those bars you wished you could sit in for an entire day and try the bulk of the beer range getting merry in a sort of beery paradise. This is more of a bar you wished was situated next to your house, so every few days you could pop in to try something new, whether it be more beers from the taps, new whiskies, wines or even cocktails. You could devote an entire evening just to getting to know gin, or you could continually chase the changing guest draft beers. In short the emphasis on choice here is epic, with an atmosphere that's very charming and friendly.

So where to start, cask or Keg? Way more was on offer than could possibly be consumed in a sitting. The likes of Dark Star, Thornbridge and Marble were out in force while Tyne Bank and Mordue held the local front. A few beers down the line and the urge for something different arose. Amble Butcher's Chorizo and saffron mash with a De Struise Westoek XX is a half decent combination. This weighty 8% Belgian strong ale has a sweetish body and lots of tart wild yeast character with dark fruit. Classic Belgian to the core. Rustic, nuanced and unpredictable. More of a random wildcard pairing given the menu advises pairing this dish with 'gutsy red wine or a powerful hoppy IPA' but it worked ok.

Next up was the dessert named 'coffee and doughnuts' with my chosen beverage Dark Star 1910 Porter. This beer is one clean cut hit of Espresso with bitter dark chocolate that contrasted my doughnuts quite well. The menu suggests pairing an imperial stout but I honestly thought a heavy barley wine or rich Belgian strong ale would do better at lapping up all the sugary deliciousness of this dessert.

Next up a beer from the menu under the category 'peculiar' meaning not really fitting in a style category. This I like. Bristol Beer Factory Vintage 2012 sort of comes across a tad like a well aged old school barley wine but at 6.6%. Nice dried sultana and apricot esters over underlying woody notes. Probably excellent with a nice medium strength cheddar that's all about the texture.

The wife enjoying a Mojito IPA, a combo of rum and Jaipur IPA

So after a cracking evening was time to finish by turning to the extensive whisky range. Scottish, English, Japanese, American......

Again, this is probably worth another visit.