What's in a Name

Sheffield United 1 v Rochdale 0

Saturday 13 September 2014

Twitter @ball_sup

I went a bit mad in The Rutland Arms & it got me thinking about Beer names.  I do like The Rutland Arms.  From my side of the bar, it has a straightforward beer model. House cask beers from Blue Bee & guest casks. Usually a Magic Rock keg, often a Summer Wine keg and some good guest kegs.  I passed on the Acorn keg, the Summer Wine milk stout & the Siren/To Ol Tickle Monster.

I went for a stout & a porter.  The stout was Blue Bee Inhov The Black at 7%.  The thing is, the pump clip was in faux Cyrillic script - a wrong way round N, etc.  Of course, having just got back from Moldova, I’ve spent 4 days trying to decipher real Cyrillic script.  Being a mathematician, I’m not too bad at spotting the letters and pronounciation.  Well, like an idiot, I didn’t realise at first that the fake Cyrillic spelling on Inhov The Black was a play on spellling/words of an expression in Snooker.  So, I was actually pre-programmed to try & decipher it - and of course, you can’t.  I even asked about the bar staff about the pronunciation. They must have thought I was mad.  The beer was lovely,

The porter was The Hop Studio Porter at 4.3%. That was great as well. I got chocolate straight away. I’m no expert, but I thought/hoped the chocolate flavour was coming from the malt, rather than through having chocolate chucked in.

Anyway. It got me thinking. Do we want our beer names to do what it says on the tin (The Hop Studio - PORTER)? Or to amuse us (Blue Bee - Inhov The Black)?

I do find myself asking too many times - “what sort of beer is that?”

So, I do lean a bit towards the simple descriptive names.  Oh, and don’t get me started on IPAs which don’t taste like IPAs.

Lion Cubs

England U17 1 v Portugal U17 2

Friday 29 August 2014

At Chesterfield FC

Twitter @ball_sup

Pre match in The Beer Parlour. Busy even at 1615 (although it is Friday). Sort of a front room come off licence come bar. 8 on cask. Various Belgian, German, fruit & Wit/Weisse on keg. I'd definitely recommend this place on beer choice & simplicity. Great place.

Beers written up on a blackboard. Lots of info.

I started on 4Ts Wise at 4%. Pale, clear, golden. Intense & fruity both in aroma & taste. Develops into oranges, mandarins & the ilk. Some bitterness there. But it's a short sharp shock. Very nice easy drinking. Refreshing. More citrus hitting me further down the glass.

Next up. Ashover Brewery Littlemoor Citra at 4.1%. Very sweet on the nose. Which caught me a little unawares. Quite a lot of sweetness in the mouth as well. A bit sweetshop. Cloying in the mouth. But pleasant. Bitterness a bit harsh & short.

Inevitable comparison with the 4Ts, which I liked much more.

On to Blue Bee Brewery Kikorangi Red at 4.5%. I really liked this one. There was just lots going on. And not in a sour, barrel aged with fruit way. In a mixture of malt & hops way. You know .... beer.

Slightly red tinge. Spiciness dominates. Complex without being confusing. Some soft sweet cinnamon like tones mixed with a pungent tongue tingler. The sweetness is hidden but glorious. Different flavours every time I dive in.

Finished on a Raw/Abbeydale collab. Ladyboy at 5.5%. Billed as Coconut & Kaffir Lime Stout. I got the Coconut in the smell. Which was very nice. But in the mouth it's the citrus lime taste which dominates. But it doesn't overpower. The lime sort of cuts through it.

There's not much toasting or caramel coming through.  But I found it very pleasant. Assuming it's made with Kaffir Lime leaves, it's interesting to get the citrus from that rather than hops.

Soft & gentle in the mouth. With just a hint of power from the lime. Not sure at first. But I liked that.

This is part of a four team tournament (Czech Republic & Italy). The FA try to host an early season tournament every year. Mainly to get the U17 group ready for the qualifying stages of the UEFA U17 EUROs.  This age group will also go on to the FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile in 2015 - if they qualify.

An enjoyable game. But not too much going on. No stand out. Two bits of quality won it for Portugal.

1,073 there.