York 'LocAle' Competition

The York Beer and Cider Festival is soon approaching and for the second time York CAMRA have asked me to judge in the 'LocAle' beer competition. If the competition is anything like it was last year it should be a lot of fun.

In order for a beer to be submitted to the competition it has to come from a Brewery with in 25 miles of the festival site - its as simple as that. The festival will also feature a 'LocAle' bar showcasing 50+ beers from 19 different local breweries. This a great way to promote local beer. With so many breweries producing quality beer in the UK at the moment it is hard to keep up with whats available and I have found from experience that a lot of breweries, particularly the smaller breweries, can go unnoticed. The 'LocAle' competition and bar is a good way of letting the public know what beer is being produced outside their own front door and hopefully this will encourage them to buy local beer in the future. Great idea.

Although judging last year was fun I don't think my knowledge on beer was up to scratch. In the last year I have learned considerably more about beer which should make this year a lot more interesting.

If anyone is interested in going to the York Beer Festival all the information can be found here http://www.yorkbeerfestival.org.uk/2011/index

More posts about the 'LocAle' competition and the York Beer Festival to follow.

Good luck to any breweries submitting a beer!

Cheers!

To Homebrew or not to Homebrew?

Recently I attempted to make myself a hombrew. I have wanted to do this for a while and it seemed like fun, and in fact it was, but the end result was not what I  had aimed for. I attempted to make a strong, single hopped, citra IPA. The beer that came out the other side was alright, definitely drinkable, but not what I wanted. This presented me with a challenge!

As a student homebrew has a lot of advantages. Firstly it is cheap, very cheap. Once you have all of the equipment you can make about 70 bottles for around £25. I can use the homebrew for general drinking with friends and it wont break the bank. This frees a lot of money up for me to buy more expensive, interesting beer that I would not usually be able to afford on my student budget. Win! But there is a drawback. If I am going to be drinking the homebrew on a regular basis it needs to be good. I need to want to drink it, henceforth my new challenge.

Through trial and error, advise from others and possibly good luck, I am going to try and make a quality homebrew. If anyone has any helpful advise I would much apreciate it!

Updates will be posted! Cheers!

Have you tried...Goose Island Pepe Nero?

Goose Island describe this beer as a 'Belgian style farmhouse ale brewed with peppercorns'. From the vintage series, at 6% it isn't as strong as other Belgian styled beers, but that didn't matter. On pouring it gave less of a head than expected. A very dark mahogony in colour, it gave typical Belgian aromas with a slight chestnut twist. Before tasting this beer I was little apprehensive as I was worried that they may of overdone it with the peppercorns. This was not the case. Quite rich with an initial roasted sweetness, it's not till the after taste that the peppercorns become apparent. The peppercorns give a subtle sharpness that I think works with this beer. With it not being too expensive (around £3 a bottle) and with me being on a student budget, I would definitely buy it again! If anyone else has tried it comment and tell me what you think.