I give in....

Queens Park Rangers 0 v Sheffield United 3

Sunday 4 January 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

I just do not understand how we are able to reasonably comfortably see off Premiership teams. I'm no fan of Premiership football. Rarely watch it on TV. You've got the true elite players & teams. But the rest of it seems much of a muchness.

We don't kick them to death. We don't park the bus. We don't hoof it. We don't have The Crazy Gang team spirit.

We do set up well. The midfield 4/5 not too far in front of the back four. You'll have to go across us. You can try going round us. Lose the plot & try and go over us if you like. But, you're gonna have a hell of a job to go through us.

And we have a gentle, encouraging team spirit. No eyes out on stalks and throbbing temples. Leave that to Clough & Morgs. Players know their jobs. They'll help the others know theirs. Stand up. Be counted. Keep at it. Look each other in the eye.

Journeymen Premiership players. Used to a different choreography. No plan B. Bingo. Too many hands on hips. Even when they have the ball.

And. When I was a kid, I did NOT dream of "getting out of this poxy league". I dreamt of winning cup games against the big boys. Poxy leagues come & go. Football was invented for days like today.

So, naturally, too much to drink.

BrewDog Shepherds Bush
Beavertown/Dogfish Head, Londonerweisse on keg at 2.8%. Very Sour.
Dieu du Ciel, Corne du Diable on keg at 6.5%. Glorious

The Parcel Yards
Redemption - Urban Dusk on cask at 4.6%
Fullers - Bengal Lancer on cask at 5%

Euston Tap
Buxton - Moor Top on cask at 3.6%
Buxton - Wild Boar on keg at 5.7%

And. Finally managed to track it down. Standout beer of the day. (Er... had more than one).

Siren/Beavertown/Magic Rock - Rule Of Thirds on keg at 6.4%. Superb.

(65/166)

I might pay Council Tax in Crewe

Crewe Alexandra 0 v Sheffield United 0

FA Cup 1

Saturday 8 November 2014

How much is the Council Tax in Crewe. This is my 3rd time here in a fortnight. ....

I had a one door closes one opens day. I was in Crewe early doors for a potential Double Header SUFC U18 in the morning & the FA Cup in the afternoon. But the U18s was called off. So I had time to go to Beer Dock.

It's one of those great off licence bottleshops with one cask & 6 keg lines & trestle tables all-in-one gaffs. Very welcoming but small one room affair.

Highly recommend it.

I kicked off with Heavy Industry 77 at 4.9% on keg. Lovely & floral in the mouth. Bitterness kicks in straight away, although that is behind a pleasant sweetness.  Some orange & marmalade. And a great long but not overpowering finish. That is a superb Pale.

Runaway Oktoberfest at 5.4% on keg. Well balanced. Quite sweet for my taste. But not cloying. All about the malt that one. I'm putting it as Marzen. Spiciness in the finish.

Red Willow Fathomless at 5.2% on keg. I'd call that easy drinking Stout. The head died pretty quickly. Nice red fruit blackcurrant on the nose which comes through a bit in the taste. I thought there was a hint of smokiness. But the more I look for it, the less I can taste it.

Siren Haunted Dream at 6.7% on keg. Pumpkin Porter. OK - but no. Very thin mouthfeel. I'm just thinking the pumpkin makes everything a little odd. It sort of gets there in the end. But it's all lost in the mix. It's complex. Which I like. But needs one of the flavours to come through the give it the wow oomph.

Not much happening at Gresty Road. Not dire but not much being created either. Everyone (but not me) back to The Lane a week on Tuesday.

Heavy Industry 77 the Stand Out Beer of the day.

Ban Blind Beer Tasting ... Now

Sheffield United U21 2 v Ipswich Town U21 0

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Twitter @ball_sup

Beer first, football at the bottom.

Here's my ruling. Blind tasting beers will have you questioning your sanity & doubting the integrity of your friends & loved ones.

It is a fundamentally deceitful practice. Steeped in folklore & wizardry. It must be stamped out. Great fun though.

My mate has a serious bit of homebrew kit in his shed. I've tasted his stuff over the years. In the Summer, I was at County Cricket with a group of people. I smuggled some bottles in & we tasted & rated 'em.  My mate's homebrew was in the mix. We had a range of different styles & as supplier & pourer, I couldn't do them blind.

Anyway, Wild Beer Madness IPA won it. The homebrew was down the bottom. But it did beat Great Heck Yakima. And I had to question my sanity. Fair play. Rather than say "I'm just a homebrewer" "I can't compete with the Big Boys", he said "I'm not having that".

So, he set up a plan to beat Madness IPA. And, we blind tasted his Brew #1 vs Madness.  And his won. No. No. No. Surely the randomisers (my wife & his wife) mixed them up. Otherwise I'm going insane.

Today we tasted his #1 & #2 vs five top of the range IPAs. Three tasters. Ratebeer scoring system. Double randomisation - my wife again & his two kids. I bought them, so I knew what was out there - but not the order we were drinking them.

Give me strength. Once my wife & his kids had decoded the blinds, his homebrew beers had come 2nd & 3rd behind Siren Soundwave.  Surely, surely, they’d fixed it. I don’t trust anyone.

The scores (out of 60) were;

Siren Soundwave - 49 points
Homebrew #2 - 48 points
Homebrew #1 - 46 points
Wild Beer Madness IPA - 41 points
Buxton Axe Edge - 38 points
Oakham Green Devil - 33 points
Summer Wine Diablo - 26 points

You know, Soundwave only just beat the Homebrew. And there on the list is Wild Beer Madness IPA - my go to IPA. And there on the list is Oakham Green Devil - I’ve previously ruled that’s got the longest finish of any beer I’ve tasted.  The randomisers must have got that wrong. STOP these blind tastings NOW - they’re tearing families apart.

The football. Good game up at Shirecliffe. Great to see Terry Kennedy up and running again. The main thing I couldn't get out of my head was they were set up with three at the back. Chris Morgan is manager. Three at the back. Did I really see that. I'm questioning my sanity again.

Kennedy, Banton & Sam Berry as the three. And Jordan Hendrie & Jason Paling putting in goal line to goal line shifts as the wing backs. Great shift fellas. To top it off, Jason Paling bagged the first goal with a lovely, composed, skilled & drilled finish. All the United players were lively. Good game.

The Best Football Club

Leyton Orient 0 v Sheffield United 1

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Twitter @ball_sup

This piece is mainly in praise of the Leyton Orient Supporters Club Bar.  Maybe similar bars exist at other clubs - although I’ve yet to find one. In my experience, it is non-league clubs are more likely to have well functioning & welcoming bars like the one at Orient.

Simply. The set-up that Orient have should be the aspiration & model for all football clubs.

Readers can go online to find the details & the story.  I’m just going to give a personal perspective. The Bar is outside the ground (in the sense of accessible from the street).  It’s partly staffed by willing volunteers. On the occasions I’ve been in after games, I’ve had to wait outside for the Orient supporters to applaud their team off the pitch, zip round to the Bar, get behind it, let the masses in and shout “who is next?”. Marvellous.

Of course the model is simple & circular. Serve a range of good beer. Draw people in. Sell a reasonable volume. Put new casks on. Thus extending the range of beer. Thus drawing more people in. Allowing you to sell a reasonable volume. Rocket Science.

It’s essentially a Members Club - hurray to that. It has recently won the CAMRA East London & City and Greater London Club of the Year awards.  I understand that on occasions, (popular games, etc) they have to restrict entry to Members. But, they’ve never failed to let me in. For guests, it’s free for CAMRA Members or a quid on the door.

Staff & punters never fail to be welcoming. 8 handpulls when I walked in. Hackney, Harbour, Black Country, Mighty Oak & Colchester all present.

I was enjoying myself too much to make tasting notes. So it's a list.

Hackney - American Pale Ale 4.5%
Harbour - IPA 5%
Colchester - Pontisbright 4%
Mighty Oak - Captain Bob 3.8%
Mighty Oak - Oscar Wilde 3.7%

Not a bad shift by the Blades. Scored early. Hung on.

After the game I went into The Leyton Technical. Very handy for the Tube & the ground.

Siren - Under Current 4.5%
Ilkley - Lotus IPA 5.6%
Summer Wine - Ten Malt Porter 5%

Not much in it. But I'll give stand out beer of the day to Siren Under Current.

Harry Maguire - Shattered Dream

Twitter @ball_sup

Sheffield United 0 v Huddersfield Town 1

29 July 2014

A pre-season home game as the will he/won't he Harry Maguire saga drew closer to a conclusion. He's gone to Hull.

I could fill the internet with lists of players who have left Bramall Lane to pursue their dreams. Where are they know .... Jordan Slew.

In Harry's honour I tucked into Siren Craft Brew Shattered Dream in The Rutland Arms.

A pulverising 9.8% Imperial Stout. The smell was very pleasant & not at all overpowering. Quite gentle coffee & vanilla tones. Nothing burnt or even toasted.

Mouth filling & smooth - velvet. It tasted very well balanced. There was a little bitter finish (which I like). Went down very easy for a belting abv.

One of those beers you expect to be extreme - but you come away thinking - oooooh lovely. The coffee & vanilla flavours linger on the tastebuds - & I'll repeat, without overpowering.

Next up. Magic Rock Brewing Craftwerk at 5%. Magic Rock turns up a lot in The Rutland & I love their beers.

Craftwerk was a perfectly nice, but unexceptional US/German Pale. Nice & refreshing, a little bit of citrus. But I found myself waiting for a hop kick.

Next stop. The Lord Nelson (Fannys). I had Fox Brewery Patriot on cask at 4.8%. Loved it. It surprised me. Felt a bit like the best of both worlds. Malty & ruby like an English bitter but with a "not quite pucker up" hop hit finish like an American pale. I'd embarrass myself if I guessed the hops. Maybe they were American maybe Kent. Who knows.