Like millions of people I took photos of the Super Moon on Saturday the 19th but unlike everyone else my photos were rubbish – of course I blame my tools, ie using my crappy zoom lens and my knock off gorilla pod mini tripod (aldi 9.99)
but I was wondering why I am getting a few hits on them (a few Thousand a day) – well they are coming up in the Flickr search for Super moon taken on the 19th and relevant!
I have just got sent a Sony S380 Blu-ray Disc player for FREE – just for signing up people to the Lovefilm referral site – basically I refer people to sign up to their Film rental and streaming service and I get a credit – when I have got enough credits I can claim a gift – I have already got a Tom Tom GPS from them, so thought I would go for something bigger and after a few weeks this was delivered.
The only downside is that the Sony goes on about BRAVIA Internet Video and catchup TV and streaming TV but you need to either buy a Sony wireless dongle (Sony UWABR100 USB Network Adapter) which is about £60 (what a con) or like me have a Wifi Adapter that you can just plug into the player and it thinks it’s wired to your network.
Now I can use lovefilm video streaming and BBC Iplayer etc as still waiting for it to appear on the xbox
Thinking of getting
Moon
Kick Ass
Lord of the rings (I have not seen any of these at all)
Wonders Of The Solar System
Star Trek
Inception
The Hurt Locker
wonder if @jamescuff and @unklerupert have a view
Blimey it’s that time of the year again and Spoons are having their Real Ale and Cider Festival it starts on 23rd March 2011 and ends on the 10th April 2011.
Some great beers this time fifty of them!
what ever you say about spoons – they do let you taste a great variety in their festivals, and they have some great stouts & porters this time.
The Full list is below I have Highlighted the ones I am looking forward to
1. BUTCOMBE MENDIP SPRING 3.8% ABV
Butcombe Brewery, Somerset. Est. 1978
This new seasonal beer is light amber in colour and dominated by hops, giving a tantalisingly fresh character
with a floral aroma and characteristic citrus notes in the flavour, leading to a clean, dry finish.
Hops used: Amarillo, Challenger, Mount Hood
Beer style: bitter
2. KELHAM ISLAND RED MOLLY 3.8% ABV
Kelham Island Brewery, South Yorkshire. Est. 1990
This beer has made its return exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival, having been brewed only
twice before, in 2010. It is a distinctive and well-balanced, ruby-coloured ale, with blackcurrant and floral
notes in the aroma and a gentle bitterness, with hints of toffee, in the flavour.
Hops used: Bramling Cross, Cascade, Challenger
Beer style: bitte
3. WYCHWOOD ELDERWYCH 3.8% ABV
Wychwood Brewery, Oxfordshire. Est. 1983
This new beer for May has been brewed early, exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival.
It is golden in colour, with an aroma which combines hops and elderflower, developing into a flavour
which is crisp, dry and hoppy, with more elderflower hints emerging in the finish.
Hops used: Fuggles, Target
Beer style: speciality
4. OTTER HOPPY OTTER 3.9% ABV
Otter Brewery, Devon. Est. 1990
WWW.OTTERBREWERY.COM
This new beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. It is mid brown in colour,
with the wide range of malts used delivering a clean flavour, with hints of smoke and coffee, while the hops
used impart a fruity, woody taste and pine-like, fruit aroma.
Hops used: Northern Brewer, Willamette
Beer style: bitter
5. WELTONS CHOCOLATE MILD 3.9% ABV
Weltons Brewery, West Sussex. Est. 1995
This beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and is almost black
in colour, with a strong burnt-malt aroma, rich, deep flavours of chocolate and coffee
and a rich malt finish.
Hops used: Admiral, East Kent Goldings
Beer style: speciality
6. HYDES PLUM TREAT 4.0% ABV
Hydes Brewery, Manchester. Est. 1863
This beer was first brewed, in limited quantities, in November 2010 and has been brought back again
exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. It is a rich ruby-red in colour, with an appealing nose
filled with delicious aromas of fresh black plums.
Hops used: Challenger, Target
Beer style: speciality
7. INVERALMOND OLD BRIG 4.0% ABV
Inveralmond Brewery, Perth. Est. 1997
This beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and has a deep, ruby colour
which promises and delivers distinctive chocolate and caramel notes on the palate, leading to a soft,
bitter finish.
Hops used: Fuggles, Target
Beer style: best bitter
8. JENNINGS COCKY BLONDE 4.0% ABV
Jennings Brewery, Cumbria. Est. 1828
This new beer is scheduled for general release in July, but makes its first outing exclusively for this
Wetherspoon real-ale festival. It is a straw-coloured, full-bodied beer, with a light and refreshing flavour,
plus a delicate hint of strawberry, leading to a thirst-quenching finish.
Hops used: Summit
Beer style: golden ale
9. LEEDS DOUBTING TOM 4.0% ABV
Leeds Brewery, West Yorkshire. Est. 2007
This new beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. It is a classic pale ale,
using the choicest hops and premium malt to produce a fruity and well-balanced flavour,
with a full-flavoured, lasting bitterness.
Hops used: Cascade, Sorachi-Ace
Beer style: golden ale
10. TITANIC TUG LIGHT 4.0% ABV
Titanic Brewery, Staffordshire. Est. 1985
ABV 4.0%
This light mild has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. It is golden in colour,
with just a hint of hops on the nose before a traditional malt flavour, with a subtle sweetness,
develops into a moreish character, ensuring that we will have to be tugging away at the pump.
Hops used: Challenger, Goldings
Beer style: light mild
11. WADWORTH 125 CELEBRATORY STOUT 4.0% ABV
Wadworth Brewery, Wiltshire. Est. 1885
This beer has been brewed to celebrate 125 years’ brewing at this brewery’s Northgate site and is based
on a recipe for one of the first beers brewed there. It is a rich, dark beer, with a toasted aroma and big,
complex coffee flavours, balanced by sweetness from dark muscovado sugar and a long, dry finish.
Hops used: Bramling Cross, Cascade, Fuggles, Goldings
Beer style: stout
12. ORKNEY CORNCRAKE ALE 4.1% ABV
Orkney Brewery, Orkney. Est. 1988
This new, very drinkable spring beer is straw-gold in colour, with a white, creamy head and flavours
of soft citrus fruits which combine beautifully with gentle floral notes to produce a thirst-quenching ale.
Hops used: Styrian Goldings
Beer style: golden ale
13. WOODEN HAND CORNISH GRIBBEN 4.1% ABV
Wooden Hand Brewery, Cornwall. Est. 2004
This mid-coloured beer was first brewed in May 2010 and is well-hopped and distinctive,
with citrus and fruit notes in the aroma, continuing into the flavour, resulting in a well-balanced,
bittersweet finish.
Hops used: Challenger, Fuggles, Styrian
Beer style: best bitter
14. BATEMANS ALL SEASONS 4.2% ABV
Batemans Brewery, Lincolnshire. Est. 1874
This springtime-seeded, summer-cropped, autumn-malted and winter-hopped ale is a new addition to this
brewery’s full-time range of beers. It’s copper-red in colour and brewed with pale and crystal malts, rye,
wheat malt and oats, combining with the hops used to impart all that is best from all of the seasons.
Hops used: Styrian Goldings
Beer style: best bitter
15. GREEN JACK ORANGE WHEAT BEER 4.2% ABV
Green Jack Brewery, Suffolk. Est. 2003
This impressive speciality beer, the brewery’s most popular brew, is light in colour, with grainy, citrus and
marmalade aromas and flavours, making it a delightfully drinkable beer, with a lasting, refreshing finish.
Hops used: Citra
Beer style: speciality/wheat
16. SPRINGHEAD THE BEES KNEES 4.2% ABV
Springhead Brewery, Nottinghamshire. Est. 1990
This delightful golden beer has been available only once before (January 2010) and contains locally grown
wildflower honey, which combines with pale malt, fine wheat and the hops used to create an aromatic and
delicately flavoured beer, with a mouth-watering character.
Hops used: Northdown, Saaz
Beer style: speciality
17. BRAINS MILKWOOD 4.3% ABV
Brains Brewery, Cardiff. Est. 1882
This seasonal beer celebrates the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and his maxim ‘live, love and drink beer’.
The use of rye crystal and malted oats creates a russet-red colour. The smooth toffee flavour is poetically
balanced by a crisp hop bitterness.
Hops used: Challenger, Goldings
Beer style: best bitter
18. CAIRNGORM ROGGEN 4.3% ABV
Cairngorm Brewery, Highlands. Est. 1997
This new beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and is an orangey-brown in
colour, with a gentle hop aroma and a flavour which combines grainy, biscuit characteristics with a rye-grass
flavour, leading to a pleasing, bittersweet finish.
Hops used: Hersbrücker, Perle
Beer style: best bitter
19. CALEDONIAN DOC KENNEDY’S LIPSMACKER LEMON ALE 4.3% ABV
Caledonian Brewery, Edinburgh. Est. 1869
This new, pale beer is guaranteed to be more fun than your usual lemon barley and is brewed
with hints of natural lemon, complementing the delicate citric hop and malt flavour.
Hops used: Pioneer, Sovereign, Styrian Goldings
Beer style: speciality
20. ELGOOD’S SPRING CHALLENGE 4.3% ABV
Elgood’s Brewery, Cambridgeshire. Est. 1878
This new beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. It is light amber in colour,
with delicate malt and hop aromas and a rich, malty palate, culminating in a finish which is both pleasing
and moreish.
Hops used: Challenger, Fuggles
Beer style: best bitter
21. HOLDEN’S APRIL SHOWER 4.3% ABV
Holden’s Brewery, West Midlands. Est. 1915
This seasonal beer, last brewed four years ago, is golden in colour, with a delicate, hoppy aroma and
medium-bodied character, with an underlying, gentle, malty sweetness and muted cereal notes, developing
into a restorative, bitter finish which provides a totally revitalising experience.
Hops used: Fuggles
Beer style: golden ale
22. PHOENIX PALE IMITATION 4.3% ABV
Phoenix Brewery, Manchester. Est. 1982
This beer, first brewed in 2010, is pale in colour, with a heady hop aroma and hints of dried fruit,
leading to a clean-tasting, well-bittered flavour, with a pleasing mouthfeel and bitter finish.
Hops used: Chinook, Mount Hood, Progress
Beer style: golden ale
23. ROBINSONS GINGER TOM 4.3% ABV
Robinsons Brewery, Cheshire. Est. 1838
This new speciality beer is maple in colour and has a sweet ginger aroma. Its flavour is a perfect balance
of ginger, spiced herbs and roasted malt, culminating in a distinctive, lasting finish.
Hops used: Goldings
Beer style: speciality
24. SKINNER’S MOUSEHOLE MOONSHINE 4.3% ABV
Skinner’s Brewery, Cornwall. Est. 1997
This beer, previously available only in Cornwall, is named after one of Cornwall’s most beautiful fishing
villages, pronounced ‘mowzel’. It’s now making its national début, exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale
festival. It is amber in colour, with a superbly balanced flavour and smooth finish.
Hops used: Northdown, Styrian Goldings
Beer style: best bitter
25. DALESIDE WHITE BIER 4.5% ABV
Daleside Brewery, North Yorkshire. Est. 1992
This beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival, using unmalted wheat,
malted barley and authentic Belgian wheat yeast, creating a clear, light wheat beer with various
herb and spice flavours.
Hops used: Bobek, Northern Brewer
Beer style: speciality/wheat
26. EVERARDS EARLY DOORS 4.5% ABV
Everards Brewery, Leicestershire. Est. 1849
This beer, brewed only once before (September 2007) solely for this brewery’s tied estate, makes its return
exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. It is mid brown in colour, with soft fruit characters,
a flowery hop aroma and a full-bodied, nutty flavour.
Hops used: Cascade, Fuggles, Styrian Goldings
Beer style: best bitter
27. NETHERGATE SAISON BLONDE 4.5% ABV
Nethergate Brewery, Suffolk. Est. 1986
This brewer’s interpretation of a classic beer style has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon
real-ale festival. Brewed at a much higher temperature than normal, enabling ester flavours to develop
and a delicious spiciness to emerge, this amber-gold beer makes for a really refreshing spring ale.
Hops used: East Kent Goldings, Styrian Goldings
Beer style: best bitter
28. WELLS BANANA BREAD BEER 4.5% ABV
Wells & Young’s Brewery, Bedfordshire. Est. 2006
This beer, always a popular choice, has now featured in several Wetherspoon real-ale festivals. Deep amber
in colour, with tempting banoffee aromas, it is tempered by a grassy, lemony nose, all leading to a finely
balanced, fresh, delicate flavour of peppery hops, with a lingering, dry finish.
Hops used: Challenger, Styrian
Beer style: speciality
29. ZEUNERTS ALE 4.5% ABV
Zeunerts Brewery, Solleftea, Sweden. Est. 1857
Rickhard Voigt and Roger Osth, from Zeunerts, have travelled to Everards Brewery, in Leicestershire, to re-create this beer
especially for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. This copper-coloured beer is fresh and fruity in character, with a flavour
which delivers touches of coffee, butter and hops, resulting in a good mouthfeel, with a pleasing, moderate bitterness.
Hops used: Magnum, Perle
Beer style: best bitter
30. ARUNDEL PRIZE FIGHTER 4.6% ABV
Arundel Brewery, West Sussex. Est. 1992
This beer was last available in cask in 2009 and has been brewed again especially for this Wetherspoon
real-ale festival. It is a traditional premium bitter, with a mid brown colour, warm, malty aroma and a slightly
sweet, toffee flavour which leads to a soft, bitter finish.
Hops used: Challenger
Beer style: best bitter
31. TRIPLE FFF RAMBLE TAMBLE 4.6% ABV
Triple FFF Brewery, Hampshire. Est. 1997
This new, American pale-ale-style beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival.
It is pale in colour, with bold, fruity, citrus aromas and a touch of malty sweetness in the flavour, developing
into a bitterness which lingers in the mouth, right through to the clean, dry finish.
Hops used: Centennial, Columbus, Simcoe
Beer style: best bitter
32. FERAL THE RUNT 4.7% ABV
Feral Brewery, Baskerville, Western Australia. Est. 2002
Brenden Varis, from Feral, has travelled to Wadworth Brewery, in Wiltshire, to re-create this beer, the current holder of the ‘Champion
Beer’ trophy at the Australian International Beer Awards, especially for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. It is a pale, easy-drinking beer,
with a pleasing dry character and a wonderful tropical fruit flavour and aroma, perfectly showcasing the character of the Citra hop.
Hops used: Citra
Beer style: golden ale
33. RHYMNEY KING’S ALE 4.7% ABV
Rhymney Brewery, Merthyr Tydfil. Est. 2004
This beer was first brewed in late 2010 and makes its national début exclusively for this Wetherspoon
real-ale festival. It is mid brown in colour and has a strong taste and remarkably rich flavour, supplied by the
range of coloured malts used.
Hops used: Fuggles, Goldings
Beer style: strong bitter
34. MAULDONS BLACKBERRY PORTER 4.8% ABV
Mauldons Brewery, Suffolk. Est. 1982
This beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and is a full-bodied, black
porter, with a balanced hop aroma and rich blend of chocolate and roast flavours, giving way to a subtle,
sweet fruit finish.
Hops used: Bramling Cross, Saaz, Willamette
Beer style: speciality/porter
35. OAKHAM TAIPAN 4.9% ABV
Oakham Brewery, Cambridgeshire. Est. 1993
This new beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and is copper in colour
with a fruit-resin aroma and a flavour of rich, hoppy fruit. Hints of berries, carried on a background of biscuit
malt, result in a satisfying, bitter finish.
Hops used: Cascade, Centennial
Beer style: strong bitter
36. ACORN 1887 (GOD CREATED TANGERINE) 5.0% ABV
Acorn Brewery, South Yorkshire. Est. 2003
This beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and is named after the year when
Blackpool FC was formed, known as ‘the tangerines’, because the director of this brewery is a fan! Dark crystal malt
creates a rich, orangey-red colour, while the English hops give a crisp, fruity aroma and spicy bitterness in the flavour.
Hops used: Challenger, WGV
Beer style: strong bitter
37. BIG CITY JAMAICA STOUT 5.0% ABV
Big City Brewery, Kingston, Jamaica. Est. 2001
Kimberly Gordon, from Big City, has travelled to Banks’s Brewery, in the West Midlands, to re-create this
beer especially for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. This deep black stout has a complex aroma of chocolate,
roasted malt and caramel, plus an intense malt flavour, with hints of toastiness and sweetness. The gentle hop
character adds to the full-bodied character of this beer, resulting in a moderate dryness in the warm finish.
Hops used: Fuggles, Target
Beer style: stout
38. HAWKSHEAD CUMBRIAN FIVE HOP 5.0% ABV
Hawkshead Brewery, Cumbria. Est. 2002
This beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and is a strong, golden pale ale,
with a highly hopped aroma of tropical fruit and a blend of traditional and modern hops, giving a full flavour
and long, dry finish.
Hops used: Amarillo, Bramling Cross, Citra, Fuggles, Goldings
Beer style: strong bitter
39. HIGHGATE FOX’S NOB PREMIUM 5.0% ABV
Highgate Brewery, West Midlands. Est. 1899
This beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and is mid brown in colour,
with a traditional English hop aroma and bitterness, balanced by malt flavours and given an interesting twist
by priming with honey.
Hops used: Fuggles, Progress
Beer style: strong bitter
40. LANCASTER KINGMAKER 5.0% ABV
Lancaster Brewery, Lancashire. Est. 2005
This beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and is very pale in colour,
with a floral and delicate earthy aroma, slightly citrus bitterness and smooth finish.
Hops used: Green Bullet, Saaz, Sovereign
Beer style: strong bitter
41. ROOSTER’S ANGRY YANK 5.0% ABV
Rooster’s Brewery, North Yorkshire. Est. 1993
This beer was created by Gareth Lester-Oliver, a home brewer who won the National Homebrew
Competition, in 2010, and has been re-created exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival.
This is an impressive IPA-style beer, with aromas of tropical fruit and a long, aromatic finish.
Hops used: Cascade, Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka
Beer style: strong bitter
42. SALTAIRE LIQUORICE STOUT 5.0% ABV
Saltaire Brewery, West Yorkshire. Est. 2006
5% ABV
A SMOOTH STOUT WITH THE RICH AROMA
OF ROASTED MALTS. TREACLE AND
ROOT LIQUORICE ADD SWEETNESS
AND DEPTH. CASCADE HOPS
PROVIDE A TANGY FINISH.
This beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and is a smooth stout with
a rich aroma of roasted malts, while hints of treacle and liquorice add sweetness and depth to the flavour,
balanced by a tangy hop finish.
Hops used: Cascade, Challenger
Beer style: speciality/stout
43. SHEPHERD NEAME EAST INDIA PALE ALE 5.0% ABV
Shepherd Neame Brewery, Kent. Est. 1698
This celebrated pale ale, from far back in this brewery’s archives, has been revived especially for this
Wetherspoon real-ale festival. It has been brewed true to its original style, with the finest malt and
Kentish hops, resulting in a classic bitter, with generous hop notes throughout.
Hops used: Goldings
Beer style: golden ale
44. THWAITES BLOOMIN’ SMOKY 5.0% ABV
Thwaites Brewery, Lancashire. Est. 1807
This smoked version of this brewery’s new seasonal beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon
real-ale festival. It is a naturally cloudy, tawny-coloured wheat beer, with a fruity, complex character and
refreshing, spicy taste, leading to a lasting, smoky finish.
Hops used: Cascade, Fuggles, Styrian
Beer style: speciality/wheat
45. WOLF PRAIRIE GOLD 5.0% ABV
Wolf Brewery, Norfolk. Est. 1996
This beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival and is a refreshing,
golden ale with a pronounced hop aroma and flavour, leading to a crisp, citrus finish.
Hops used: Cluster, Goldings, Sovereign
Beer style: golden ale
46. BALLAST POINT CALICO AMBER 5.2% ABV
Ballast Point Brewery, California, USA. Est. 1996
Yuseff Cherney from Ballast Point, voted ‘Small Brewery Of The Year’, at the 2010 World Beer Cup, has travelled
to Shepherd Neame Brewery, in Kent, to re-create this beer especially for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. This
amber-coloured beer is inspired by traditional English strong bitters, but is as American as it can be. A rich complexity is
provided by the four types of malt used, while American hops give this beer its fruity richness and unique, floral aroma.
Hops used: Cascade, Centennial, Fuggles, Galena, Perle
Beer style: strong bitter
47. LODEWIJK’S DUTCH DELIGHT 5.5% ABV
Lodewijk Swinkels, The Netherlands.
Lodewijk Swinkels usually brews at La Trappe Brewery – the only Trappist brewery in the Netherlands.
He has travelled to Marston’s Brewery, in Staffordshire, to create this beer especially for this Wetherspoon
real-ale festival. He has based this beer on a 1930s English strong ale recipe, then added his own touches to
create an interesting cross-over, with a floral hop character, full-bodied flavour and hints of caramel.
Hops used: Saphir, Select, Tradition
Beer style: strong ale
48. LYMESTONE GAUL STONE 5.5% ABV
Lymestone Brewery, Staffordshire. Est. 2008
This new, golden ale has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival, using Belgian yeast
to create a beer with soft meadow and hedgerow fruit aromas, giving way to a full-bodied flavour, with lots
of hop character and a floral, fruity, hoppy finish.
Hops used: Strisselspalt, Willamette
Beer style: strong bitter
49. GREENE KING IPA EXPORT 6.0% ABV
Greene King Brewery, Suffolk. Est. 1799
This new beer has been brewed exclusively for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. A far stronger version of
Greene King’s popular IPA, this uses English hop varieties to produce a full, hoppy character, evident from
the aroma, through the flavour and into the finish, balanced by subtle flavours from pale and crystal malts.
Hops used: Challenger, First Gold
Beer style: strong bitter
50. FREEMINER DEEP SHAFT 6.2% ABV
Freeminer Brewery, Gloucestershire. Est. 1992
This classic, strong stout was last brewed in 2003 and makes its welcome return exclusively for this Wetherspoon
real-ale festival. This is as big as a stout can be, brewed with more black malt than is sensible and huge amounts of
hops, resulting in a dry, roast malt flavour and full-on oats, finishing with burnt toast and floral hop notes.
Hops used: Fuggles
Beer style: stout
Ciders:
51. BROTHERS GINGER 4.0% ABV 500ml Bottle
Containing a natural ginger extract, this has a distinctive, fresh aroma, a smooth palate, balancing ginger
and cider flavours, plus an aftertaste of ginger heat. This special-edition ginger cider has enough fiery
refreshment to cut through the toughest of thirsts.
52. WESTONS CIDER TWIST RASPBERRY 4.0% ABV
This is a limited-edition blend of traditional Westons cider, with a refreshing raspberry juice twist.
This medium-dry still cider is excellent with duck and venison, chilli and rich chocolate desserts.
53. WESTONS BOUNDS SCRUMPY 4.8% ABV
This dry, still, traditional Herefordshire cloudy scrumpy cider is made from the finest bittersweet
cider apples, slowly matured in 200-year-old oak vats, to deliver a rich character.
54. THATCHERS OLD RASCAL 4.9% ABV
A smooth, easy-drinking traditional cider, this has a light fruity aroma and a slightly misty haze.
Produced from a blend of English bittersweet and culinary apples, it will appeal to those who enjoy
real Somerset cider at its very best.
55. WESTONS MARCLE HILL 5.0% ABV
This medium still cider has a well-balanced fruit flavour. It is smooth and mellow,
with a clean apple finish, leaving the mature taste of bittersweet apples.
56. MR WHITEHEAD’S CIDER CIRRUS MINOR 5.1% ABV
This thirst-quenching medium-sweet cider is blended from a mix of eating, cooking and cider apples.
It has a deep colour, with quite complex flavours.
57. THATCHERS CHEDDAR VALLEY 6.0% ABV
This is a distinctive, robust, naturally cloudy and dry cider. Produced in Somerset,
it is crafted using traditional techniques and expertise gained since 1904.
58. WESTONS OLD ROSIE 7.3% ABV
This still cider is allowed to settle out naturally after fermentation, resulting in a truly old-fashioned,
full-flavoured, cloudy scrumpy cider, with a well-balanced, medium-dry character and hints of citrus
and spicy cloves.
59. WESTONS ORGANIC 7.3% ABV
Fully matured in 200-year-old vats, resulting in an easy-to-drink, lightly sparkling cider, with a ripe apple
aroma and refreshing, well-balanced taste. This is the UK’s leading organic cider – reminiscent
of baked apples and apple crumble.
60. BROADOAK PERRY 7.5% ABV
This lovely drinkable perry has a true pear aroma, starting with a medium-sweet taste, followed
by a dry finish. It was awarded the gold medal at CAMRA’s Cider & Perry Competition, in 2009.
I feel my Camra vouchers will be well used 🙂
Myself and mrsuw had a short break (thanks Groupon) at the quaint English town of Stow-on-the-Wold near Cheltenham, we just left before the onslaught of Irish race goers descended on the town for the Cheltenham gold cup this week.
anyway its only 2 hours (going up via the Welsh borders) away and it’s is a different wold (sorry world).
The Cotswold stone buildings are lovely and the way that the architecture has been kept modest is a great example of , if the ultimate chocolate box was asking for pictures then I am sure a scene from Stow-on-the-Wold or the ultimate village Cotswold Broadway would make it every time.
We stayed at Grapevine Hotel – an 17th Century hotel that has had a boutique type makeover with 22 individually styled bedrooms- it was very nice – if you like coordinate wallpaper and comfy chairs (which MrsUW does) – the staff where very friendly but be warned the car park is tiny at the back.
We only stayed for one night, and had an evening meal & bed & breakfast for a very good price.
Dinner in the Conservatory Restaurant I had
Pressé of local game, red onion marmalade – this was lovely but it was served with some Brioche, come crackers or homebacked bread would have been better
Roast rump of lighthorne lamb, gratin potato & Ratatouille – a wonderful gravy (Jus if you will) – succulent lamb from over the border in Warwickshire.
Assiette of desserts: poached pear, vanilla cheesecake and a white chocolate pannacotta – slightly disappointing the vanilla had sank to the bottom of the pannacotta and the cheescake was a bit dry 🙁
MrsUW had
tian of salmon and crab
pheasant breast with savoy cabbage
a lemon and rhubarb tart with raspberry sorbet – she said the pastry was lovely.
but overall it looked and tasted great and was worth every penny.
Breakfast the next day – was traditional English – but with lovely Gloucester old spot sausages and bacon and the best black pudding I have had in years… we bought some old spot sausages & bacon to take home from the brilliant local butchers Lambournes – it was very tempting not to buy their great pies.. as well – there were some great small shops in the town – the chocolate shop is worth a visit, also it’s home of Scotts of Stow as well – they sell everything you thought you would never need.
onions goggles or pork crackling knife anyone
Some great little pubs in Stow – The Queens Head – a traditional boozer with dogs in serving a local pint donnington Brewery BB
and the White Hart a gastro type put but with decent Arkells beer – but empty on a sunday early eve.
anyway there were a few more pubs we did not make it to in the town, but we will be visiting the area again soon – as its a beautiful part of the country.
UPDATE
Food writer Stephen Nottingham thankfully reports that it’s just temporary – great news for Cardiff & snack fans.
A spokesman from First Cafes, who own the snackbar, reassurred me this afternoon that The Hayes Island Snack Bar was merely being refurbished.
Hopefully Stephen will tweet the first roll served on reopening.
Recently featured in Cardiff’s top ten lunch spots at the guardian
I was walking past it today – and shock horror the shutters where up and replaced with a posh burger fan.
The famous tables locked up .
Thinkgeek has some great Star Wars related items for the sci-fi foodie in your life – to be honest I think I can see myself in the Leia apron 🙂
* Kitchen & BBQ apron that instantly turns you into Slave Leia
* Great way to make cooking dinner or making burgers more sexy
* Alternative: Great way to let your significant other know they are Jabba
* One size fits all, 29″ long
* 100% polyester, machine washable
The death star cookie jar is another great product – no if only I can get moon sized cookies nom
When you get off a train at Cardiff central on a Monday morning after a rugby international you are greeted first with the sound of the dive bombing seagulls from the River Taff, then the more welcoming smell of beer being brewed from the Cardiff brewery that is S A Brains – it’s a smell that reminds people of many things, for me it takes me back to my first pint of SA in the Athletic club in Pontyclun, many years a go.
Brains are synonymous with the city and it’s beers are seen as a great Welsh traditional not only to rugby fans that descend on the city from the valleys in their droves – but the Kardiffians – who luvs half a dark.
I was invited by Brains to spend the afternoon of St David’s Day with them, not only to celebrate our Patron Saints Day but to celebrate the 1st Birthday of Brains Black , their Welsh Stout, which is doing very well against a certain Irish brand.
The day started well with a tour of the Brewery tour with Bill Dobson, the head brewer, he was very passionate about their bottled SA gold, which I have overlooked a bit in the past – but think it will be a great summer addition to my beercupboard.
I had visited the former brewery on St Mary Street before it closed in the late 1990’s but this was my first visit into the heart of the current brewhouse, which is on the site of the former Bass/Hancock Brewery – of course one my fellow visitors Arfur Daley could tell you the proper history.
We started at the top in the mill and tasted some raw ingredients – why can’t all pubs have malted Barley or even oats on the bar (like the City Arms) for you to nibble on.
The tour carried going through the whole process of brewing the mashing and Fermentation, but you lot know the process better than me.
The fermenting stage was a highlight, the smell of the Dark bubbling away in the tanks was great, some got bananas in the air but all I could smell a sweet/sour flavor like a lambic, of course Dark is not that at like that in its finished state… so maybe it was the heady aromas in the brewery that confused me.
The casking area was hive of activity and their even had a shed, my two loves beer and sheds in one place – yes this was a perfect day.
The tour was completed with a session of their beers in the sample cellar where the products are checked from each batch created.
This is a dream for any beer geek, seeing the barrels stacked up to be tasted being poured by the head brewer – all the main Brains Cask range were on offer and tasted great straight from the barrel.
Brains Bitter (3.7% ABV) – Not had one of these for years (prefer stronger beers) but it’s an easy to drink session beer originally brewed for working man in Cardiff (when there were steelworks and shipbuilding and not sitting on their behinds all day in an office like me) – uses Goldings and Fuggles hops
Brains SA (4.2% ABV) – a stable of the Cardiff pubs with a reputation with traveling rugby fans- Challenger, Goldings and Fuggles hops used.
SA gold (4.7% ABV) – a great refreshing beer late-hopped using Cascade and Styrian Goldings, that’s proving very popular in bottles (and not just with the head brewer)
Rev. James (4.5% ABV) – a great dark copper beer with lots of caramel – named after the founder of Buckley’s Brewery which Brains purchased in 1997.
Milkwood 4.3% ABV – a seasonal ale, not had this before but very nice – the rye crystal and malted oats gives it a great consistency – and yes it tasted milky! – It was brewed in dedication to the renowned Welsh poet & drinker Dylan Thomas.
and finishing with Brains Dark 3.5% ABV– or RD (Red Dragon ) Dark as it’s know in the company – the best Mild in the UK and a favorite of mine – even though its not strong its the prefect pint every time.
We had lunch (a selection of Welsh themed dishes), including a brilliant Red mustard and Bara brith pudding, at their famous Brewery Tap, the Crawshay Arms – the best pub in Cardiff as there is no till;) and is not normally open to the public.
The afternoon ended with a tour of a couple of their great City Centre pubs, which I seem to spend more and more time in nowadays the City Arms and Goat Major.
It’s excellent news for the Real Ale drinkers in Cardiff that Brains is also welcoming more and more guest beers in their pubs – this will pull in more punters not just from the local area but further field who will see Cardiff as a great place to come and drink quality beers.
The evening ended for me quite early (8ish) anyway, in the Yard, which has just been given a make over – for the Birthday party for their excellent stout Brains Black.
I am sure Samuel Arthur would be proud that his name is being used on some great beers, and thanks to him I was spending a day in the company of people as passionate about beer as myself – my other tour members were respected beer writers Adrian Tierney-Jones and Tim Hampson, Editor of the Brew Wales Arfur Daley and youtube beer video blogger Simon Martin
You can see the full set of photos of my afternoon at Brains on Flickr.
People who know me – know I am a grumpy sheddie most of the time – and even mrsuw has her moments – but I normally don’t grump much in my blog posts (beer & sheds are my norm) but when one idea for Cardiff keeps coming back again and each time nothing happens.
Plans for a Cardiff monorail unveiled reports my employers MediaWales from it’s ultralocal YourCardiff site
How much consultation money has been spent over the years on these projects (enough to electrify the rail line from Cardiff to Swansea I would think;)
I am sure we hear about this every few years – look from the BBC 1986 talking about the redevelopment of Tiger bay, previously it was the pod like body snatchers Urban LIght Transport – what happened to that
Personally I think they should have a “travelator” from the Goat Major down the docks to the Packet – with a stop off in Caroline Street a bit like a Continuous Transit System with Sub-Surface Moving Platform, but we can dream
Anyway all I can think of is the monorail song from the Simpsons
Marge: But Main Street’s still all cracked and broken…
Bart: Sorry, Mom, the mob has spoken!
Lyle Lanley: Well, sir, there's nothing on earth
Like a genuine,
Bona fide,
Electrified,
Six-car
Monorail!
What'd I say?
Ned Flanders: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: What's it called?
Patty+Selma: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: That's right! Monorail!
[crowd chants `Monorail' softly and rhythmically]
Miss Hoover: I hear those things are awfully loud...
Lyle Lanley: It glides as softly as a cloud.
Apu: Is there a chance the track could bend?
Lyle Lanley: Not on your life, my Hindu friend.
Barney: What about us brain-dead slobs?
Lyle Lanley: You'll be given cushy jobs.
Abe: Were you sent here by the devil?
Lyle Lanley: No, good sir, I'm on the level.
Wiggum: The ring came off my pudding can.
Lyle Lanley: Take my pen knife, my good man.
I swear it's Springfield's only choice...
Throw up your hands and raise your voice!
All: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: What's it called?
All: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: Once again...
All: Monorail!
Marge: But Main Street's still all cracked and broken...
Bart: Sorry, Mom, the mob has spoken!
All: Monorail!
Monorail!
Monorail!
[big finish]
Monorail!
Homer: Mono... D'oh!
Siba has produced this rousing video – its a bit English centric to be honest – but
In just under five minutes, the film delivers a simple, powerful message about British beer, articulated by some 25 brewers, as well as licensees, bar staff, barley farmers, hop growers and maltsters. It’s not just a ‘feel good’ movie, however: just three weeks away from the Budget, it also sends a stern warning about the ruinous effect of the government’s beer taxation policy. “Stop the duty increases –
show some pride in British beer”, implores a group of brewers in the film’s end frame.
The script was written by Pete Brown – so was a bit shocked there was not any swearing in it 😉
google.co.uk and their big brother google.com is celebrating the patron Saint of Wales with a doodle of a Welsh costume and a Daffodil
but was I the only one to notice that it looked like she had a Pint of Wales National Drink (IMHO) Brains Dark on her head?
FYI the Goat Major Pub is selling Brains Dark for £1.90 a pint you don’t have to be a Saint to take up the offer