Season Over, rejoice

Yorkshire 251 all out
v Sussex 248 all out
Yorkshire 305 all out
Sussex 208 all out
Yorkshire win by 100 runs

LV County Championship Div 1
at Headingley

Friday 25 September 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

Great way to finish the season. Sussex By The Sea fought hard. They lost early wickets. But, were in it a bit. Great send off for Michael Yardy. Playing his last game. Salute fella. Yorkshire won the title in an earlier blog post. Apparently, they have also set records for; number of points, number of wins, number of times the same trophy has been presented. Having had presentations at Lord's & Hampshire, there was another one today in front of the home faithful. I was long gone.

I stayed long enough to see whether I could get a good shot at throwing my Membership Card at Gillespie in disgust, while screaming "RESIGN". Old end of season habits die hard. Even though I sit above & behind him on the Carnegie Balcony, too many people round him at the end. Didn't want to waste the throw unless there was a clear shot.

Done well the fella though, hasn't he. Maybe, I'll get a better chance next year!!!

Patto 5-11 at Worcester. Bairstow & Bresnan setting records at C-le-S. Ryan's ridiculous first over at Lord's. See you all in Dubai & Abu Dhabi. Rumours I'm hearing are that the 4 dayer in Abu Dhabi will be DAY GAME RED BALL.

The Beer

Northern Monk Brew Co. Refectory. All bricks, stones, pillars & exposed pipework. Tables made from planks & benches made from smaller planks. A beer list bulldog clipped (ffs) to a piece of tin (ffs). Like a tick box affair (ffs). Purporting to show which ones are on. I've got two degrees. I am also. None. The. Wiser. Also a board. Which ain't helped.

OK. OK. Regroup. We're here for the Beer. Possibly 10 keg lines. Plus a few duds. Two cask showing. Two turned round. It's a Brewery Tap. Good range that. Start high. No blinking or mumping when I asked to taste. Overall verdict. On the beer range & quality. Get yourself in soon & often.

Northern Monk Brew Co., New World IPA on keg at 6.2%. Surprisingly & definitely on the gold side (of amber) in the glass. Refreshing & effervescent. Slight, but nice bit of toffee in the sweetness. The bitterness starts gentle. Builds. A little bit of acidity enhances the sharpness. Quite chewy in the mouth. Earthy. An awful lot of grapefruit coming in as I get further down it.

Northern Monk Brew Co., Faith US Pale on keg at 5.1%. Great beer. Lovely bittering. Pretty much upfront. Hint of spiciness in the finish. Everything about that is refreshing & inviting. A little icing sugar on the lips later. Reassuringly simple. No messing about in the malt. One great trick. A hint of apple rocking there somewhere in the background.

Northern Monk Brew Co., Monacus Pale Ale on cask at 4.5%. Very clear in the glass. Some upfront sweetness. Leaning towards honey. Tastes nice. But, I'm left underwhelmed by the hops & bittering. There is something lingering there at the end. OK. Pleasant. But left behind by its cousins.

Northern Monk Brew Co., Chennai Export Porter on keg at 5.4%. Black black & latte head. First gulp is glorious. Got lots going on. Very balanced. Sweetness, roast/toast, bitterness. It is sweeter than I'd expected. And, surprised I like that. But I do. Sultana or currant sweet. A richness. Aroma is very neutral. But that belies the taste. Some tobacco in there. Your Nan's fruitcake. With a cup of strong tea thrown over it.

Northern Monk Brew Co., Stranik Imperial Stout on keg at 9%. Tastes it an' all. Almost a rum or whisky cask sweetness. Everything wells up. Serious beer. And, because it's keg & cold & fizzy. You'd get caught out by that. My refined palate (suppresses giggles) can taste the abv "burn". Lots of sweetened red fruits in there. Bordering on Black Forest Gateaux as made by your Nan before she had to flee Germany.

Toss up for Standout Beer of the Day. I'm giving it to the Chennai Export Porter. Ahead of the Faith US Pale.

212/430