Coourage Imperial Stout back?

Max wrote

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Hi Max, I tried the cask Courage IRS at GBBF - I hope I don't add too much salt to the wound :~) by saying it was great - deep dark, strong, roasty, rich, fruity, bitter, complex, etc, etc, - everything a true strong stout should be IMO.

A chap called Silk Tork, a beerfan extraordinaire (regular contributor to

very interesting stuff it is too (techie in parts- he spoke with their Brewing Dev Mgr, but very enthusiastic too) - nice to see brewers of a

According to the Courage Brewing Development Manager (via Silk Tork's ratebeer.com piece above) the beer was a one-off & won't be available in bottled form (incidentally I read that the same brewer was responsible for "the world's most expensive beer" - which I presume was the Ancient Egyptian style emmer beer that S&N did in 1996).

I think I read in WB which ScotCo brewery made the cask Imperial Stout

- but I can't remember for sure, I *think* it might have been Theakston's in Masham (certainly seems likely - with their ability to do quite short brewlength & cask beer facility & experience, unlike some ScotCo sites like Reading)

The piece also mentions Courage having done a cask(?) version for GBBF before in the 1990s - anyone remember when that was?

I can't remember who it was who told me the tale (not sure if it's true!) about the new brewery stock-takers (after the S&N/Courage merger) working in a Courage brewery/depot & coming upon a few pallets of this beer with no best-before-date that was brewed years before, and ordering its disposal!

I hope it's not true - surely someone in the brewery/store would know this beers worth - even if they just sold it in one go to a wholesaler/beer specialist shop? cheers MikeMcG.

Max wrote

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No, AFAIK John Smith's in Tadcaster are still there - brewing lovely creamy nitrokeg John Smith's Smooth :~) plus JS cask beer and Webster's, Courage Best & Directors. (Do not all rush at once, there's enough for everyone, make an orderly queue now) cheers Mike

It was there. It also was the only beer over 6% abv at the fest. It was very good, but could benefit from some ageing. When I saw it I wished I had brought one of my bottles of the '83 (which at 20 years is still going strong...) I couldn't get an answer if it is going to be a regular beer or if this was just a one off brew.

Fred Waltman

Max wrote

No, AFAIK John Smith's in Tadcaster are still there - brewing lovely creamy nitrokeg John Smith's Smooth :~) plus JS cask beer and Webster's, Courage Best & Directors. (Do not all rush at once, there's enough for everyone, make an orderly queue now) cheers Mike

Wrong.

Although the availability of British beers over that level is such that they are more likely to appear at a winter ales festival the BSF bar had no end of beers over 6% and one was at some massively stupid ABV in the

Why would anyone want to drink a typical winter ale during one of the country's record breakingly hot periods anyway?

That's the disorderly "queue" to get *out* you're looking at :-)

snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com (MikeMcG) ha scritto:

I... I... I hate you!! ;-)

I sometimes check that site... yes, I think I read a few reviews by him

read. thanks... quite interesting... :-o

That in fact was a little surprising to me. After a few time reading UK beer stuff (this NG, articles, books etc) I learned that UK beer scenery is quite complicated, but anyway the big ones (that many years ago were brewing beers I used tolike in Italy, eg Bass) were doing a lot of damages (merging, closing breweries, axing great beers etc). Luckily sometimes it's different...

Interesting... (BTW I had a few beers by D.H... all interesting and a few actually outstanding) If you are interested in such "ancient style" beers, you should also check Nora by Baladin (italian micro), made with a few unusual grains (e.g. kamut), spices, resins (myrrh) and almost no hops (he has to put a few hops to be permitted to sell it as beer, so he uses aged hops)

I also read that horror story somewhere - but it could have been you posting in this NG :-). I also read here or in r.f.d.b. about a guy wo said he was still able to locate some stocks of the beers: I tried to contact him but got no reply.

ciao and thanks max

p.s. are you still working in a micro in London? I will be there in a couple of weeks....

In article , Steven Pampling writes

And, equally importantly, why do we have three separate threads on the same subject?

fair enough, but with the bitter black-malt flavours only now fading away, I can live with that ;~)

not often, but yes, sometimes. e.g. I just read that Tetleys dry hop some of their cask ales! (as of last year at least, & acording to a Yorks CAMRA-member who toured the brewery) see -

Sounds interesting - a few brewers over here have tried recreating fairly old English recipes using spices (St/Peters did an un-hopped C*ut Ale, & excellent micro, Old Chimneys I think did a Milennium ale). If ever I see it "Nora" my local shops/pubs I will definitely try it :~) (I'm guessing it's not seen too far from the brewery?)

I've got 2 bottles of the 1993 - I remember a few years back a good pub in Norwich had some, but I doubt they do now.

no, I moved back up North last year, but Zerodegrees should still be a decent place to get fresh interesting new-wave beer (unfiltered, unpasteurised, naturally CO2'd US, UK & Euro-style ale, lager & wheatbeer) & a few italians should still work in the pizza-kitchen too!

I've not been to the newer brewpubs - french-style Brasserie Francaise/Sans Culottes (27-29 Endell St, Covent Garden - but I've just read that they may have stopped brewing!), Sweet William/WilliamIV (816 High Rd Leyton, E10) (& Haggards Brewery, SW6 supplies The Imperial, 577 King's Road) Let me/us know what you find?

Anyone else been to these or the other London brewpubs - any comments? cheers Mike

Yes, I can testify to the fact that it was at the GBBF, as I had two pints of the stuff! A bit expensive though, but one of the nicest beers I've had. Not saure how I got home though!.

Mark

Mark Gary wrote

I didn't know about the price as while working on the BieresSansFrontiers stand I was given a pint of it to throw away by someone who thought it undrinkable :~)

This sort of thing happened from time to time & was the same way I got to try the (I suspect even more expensive) 20%+abv Dogfish Worldwide Stout :~)

about the 3Threads business Roy (& I'm not talking about Harwood's Entirely different subject) I think it may have something to do with Max posting separately to ukfdra & rfdb & me replying to them both separately & together! - apologies,

cheers MikeMcG PS ObligatoryBeeriness - lovely couple of pints of flowery & nicely bitter cask Beartown Kodiak Gold & locally-roasted peanuts (I kid you not, but nothing special!) with a final very pleasant (winey, rummy & roasty) pint of Old Peculier in a thatched pub - The Wheatsheaf, Raby, Wirral, Merseyside (I didn't mind the mildly noticeable dope-smoke, I did mind the piercing mobile phone tone tho).

Well, you're going to hate me too then, 'cos I tried it last Thursday evening at Keighley Beer Festival. And gorgeous it was too :-))

As someone said, it could do with some ageing, though. At 10% I think I'm correct in saying that the o.g. has been reduced from the original, but it's still a fine beer.

Not as strong as the Sam Adams Utopias which someone who shall remain unnamed is reputed to have quaffed in Stockholm on Saturday evening (25% abv and comes in a metal bottle).

Cheers

Mike Stuck at Arlanda Airport for 4 hours. The first and last time I ever fly KLM!

Mike Roebuck wrote

just looked at my 93 bottle - OG was 1098 & abv declared at 10% (but presumably that's gone up a bit in the bottle over 10 years!)

I've not tried this - some very beer-knowledgeable 'Merkans' at GBBF & the White Horse said ITO it wasn't pleasant drinking & certainly not worth the silly money.

talking of silly-strength Septic stuff - anyone spotted Dogfish Worldwide Stout (23%abv) in Safeway yet? - I haven't managed to get to my (not very) local one yet. cheers Mike

Hi

The cask that was not brouched at GBBF came up to keighley for our beer fest. In my opinion it was very nice.

Lynda

Hi

The cask that was not brouched at GBBF came up to keighley for our beer fest. In my opinion it was very nice.

Lynda

Because one enjoys beer, and doesn't have some IMO weird notion that stronger beers are only tasty if the mercury falls below a certain level.

-- Joel Plutchak Boneyard Union of Zymurgical Zealots

"Resorting to personal harassment is a tactic of desperation."

Yep. It was wonderful stuff, too. Very nice and rich. And remarkably smooth for being young.

It was served from the Theakston's booth. I don't recall the story if how it was brewed again. Peter Alexander, I think, knows, so he needs to get off his arse and post.

And, yes, it was just cask.

-Steve

Well, yes, it is a small brewpub but - contrary to most of the other italian micros an brewpubs - quite specialized in bottling (all ales, all bottle conditioned). So their bottles are now available in some shops all around Italy, and they even started a little export to US (I was suprised to find 2 of their beers in a pub in Manhattan - very expensive!). They are not exporting (AFAIK) to UK, but in the last years a few of their beers were regularly featured at GBBF BSF (maybe not in 2003, apart from the Kriek tasting)

I sometimes check on Ebay for old full bottles of "ageable" (is it the right english word?) beers, and lately there was a handful of 80's IRS on auction, along with a couple of Prize Old Ales and a few T. Hardy's. They were a bit pricey IMO - at least, more expensive than I usually see on Ebay - so I waited to see if next time (if unsold) are auctioned at a better price. (I had just bought a couple of 1978 T.Hardy's...)

ciao max

I've a few of the 1993 bottles and occasionally open one. They are foul. I had saved them specially for the Millennium and opened the first one on the strike of midnight.

Ugh.

John B