16/3/2017 2 Comments Craft Beer NewsletterWesthill Service StationIf you're local to Westhill, or if Westhill Service Station is your local beer wonder emporium then you may, or may not be aware about their craft beer newsletter. This is the official blurb from Chris, who works at the service station: "The newsletter will be sent out to selected customers that would like to be the first to hear what’s new in stock each week. Detailed info on each new beer will be provided, along with options to reserve as much stock as you wish, for store collection at anytime that suits. Prices of each item will also be listed, and there’ll be a brief word on craft competitions, upcoming tasting events and a weekly review on what’s selling the best, including what’s close to selling out. There will be links to read how each beer is going down by others around the world through Rate Beer, and there’ll be links to fire us any requests that will automatically get saved for me to try hunt down! Finally, I’ll be including an up-to-date stocklist of everything craft currently in-store that week…so you can plan out your craft purchases to your hearts content! " It's definitely worth signing up to the newsletter. Every week so far it has been jam packed with great beers, and the opportunity to reserve some of the limited stock beers from guys like Beavertown & Cloudwater is a great touch. The reservation system works great, I've used it a couple of times so far to bag some excellent beers, Cloudwater DIPA v12 being one of them, and more recently the super rare collaboration between Brewdog & Beavertown - Coffee & Cigarettes. Even if you don't use the newsletter to reserve beers, it's still a good way to keep up with the latest releases and learn a little about them. You can sign up to the newsletter by visiting the link below 🍻
https://www.facebook.com/WesthillServiceStation/app/100265896690345/
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10/3/2017 0 Comments Beer Review - DIPA v12CoudwaterI've been drinking craft beer for what seems like forever now, and in that time I've only had one beer made by Cloudwater...two if you include Big Dipper; their collaboration with Magic Rock. Neither of these beers have been any version of their DIPA series, and for a brewery that's considered as one of the best in the UK - that is shocking on my part! So when Westhill Service Station's weekly craft beer newsletter was sent out the day before I flew to New York, and the headline beer for the week was DIPA v12 - I immediately emailed and asked them to reserve a can for me on my return. Chris who works there was more than happy to so for me and after a brief mix up when trying to collect it...I was finally ready for my first taste of a Cloudwater DIPA. DIPA v12 is the 12th beer in Cloudwater's highly revelled, and now monthly, DIPA series. Coming in at a hefty 9% ABV, Mosaic hops take the lead here, backed up by a combination of Nelson Sauvin, Chinook & Citra. WLP095 Burlington Ale Yeast is used with a small addition of Caramalt to give some fruitiness. Well, I don't know what to say, apart from that I'm blown away. This is one of the best DIPA's I've ever had - it's certainly up their with Bloody Notorious & Big Dipper. Opening the can, you are greeted with big fruity aromas - pineapple and mango especially. These flavours follow through into the flavour, with mango in particular at the forefront of the flavour bomb. Rounding these flavours off, is just the right amount of bitterness that makes this DIPA very drinkable - it is everything you look for in a DIPA. v12 has also looks great, pouring a nice hazy golden colour, that is topped off with a nice white head. Now I know what everyone has been raving about for so long! I wont be leaving it so long to have my next Cloudwater beer after this. On the basis of this beer, I can certainly see why the are gathering such an impeccable reputation. I'm not sure how long they're planning on keeping up this DIPA series, but I will definitely be keeping tabs on the next release.
5 out of 5 hops from me 🍻 http://cloudwaterbrew.co/ 9/3/2017 0 Comments Brooklyn BreweryWelcome To BrooklynDuring my epic week in New York, we spent an afternoon in Williamsburg, Brooklyn; home to Brooklyn Brewery. It was a Saturday, it was my 30th birthday, and we had just been to Greenhook gin distillery which is also in Brooklyn. After queuing in the sun for around 15 mins, we eventually got into the brewery where we are given our tickets for the free tour. The taproom works on a beer token system, so we got in line and bought ourselves some beer tokens. Inside the brewery was such a great atmosphere; it was buzzing inside and the walls were covered in cool artwork. We had half an hour or so to kill before the tour, so we got decided to get ourselves a beer and something to eat. There was a varied selection of beers available on draught (around 15) and plenty of bottles & cans too – we were able to get something to suit everyone. Over the course of the afternoon, I had the following beers:
The tour itself was conducted by a guy called Dan who worked there (I never caught his exact role), but he was very informative and insightful. Despite the sweltering heat in the brewing room, his did his best to give us a bit of history behind Brooklyn Brewery and explain the various stages of brewing. It's actually my first brewery tour, so I found it very interesting and loved getting to see all the various tanks and equipment used to make great beer. Afterwards, Dan opened the tour up to questions and I got to briefly speak to him. Being from Aberdeen, and also wearing one of their t-shirts, I of course asked him if he had heard of Brewdog! He had indeed heard of Brewdog, and knew that they had great values and made exciting beer - he did not know that they were building a brewery in Columbus, Ohio. Upon learning it was my birthday, he kindly wished me a happy birthday and gave me a free beer token. The next time I was queuing at the bar, he also let me try a sample of Brooklyn Brewery's latest release; Cloaking Device which is a Brett-fermented strong porter aged in French oak red wine barrels. It tasted great - extremely smooth to drink, and the wine flavour really came through. We had an awesome afternoon at Brooklyn Brewery. If you are visiting New York anytime soon, and you like craft beer (I would hope you do if you are reading this) then I would highly recommend paying a visit to Brooklyn Brewery! It is a such cool location, filled with great beer and friendly people 🍻
http://brooklynbrewery.com 7/3/2017 1 Comment Beers In The Big AppleLets Beer It For New York...I recently spent a week in the greatest city on the planet; New York City. My wife booked it for my 30th birthday, and it was everything I could have hoped for and more. Everything about New York City was amazing - the sound of the streets, the atmosphere, the people, the food, and what we are here to talk about...THE BEER. I had so many awesome beers in New York; some that I’d tried before and some that were new to me. I didn't manage to keep track of them all, these are just a few:
My favourite of the bunch was Ballast Point Pineapple Sculpin. This was my first beer by Ballast Point, a brewery I’d heard so much about - and they did not disappoint! Pineapple Sculpin is jam packed with sweet fruits and bitter hops, it is my exact kind of go to beer. Without question, my favourite bar I visited was Beer Authority. This place was awesome. They have 90 beers on draught and over 100 bottles! This was where I tried most of the beers on the list above, including the awesome Pineapple Sculpin. Their beer menu was seriously impressive, as was the food menu...unfortunately we didn't get to try the food. I can't wait to return to this incredible city one day. I've dreamed of visiting since I first watched Home Alone 2, and now that I've been - I can't get it out of my head...I felt at home there.
There's something magical about being on a rooftop bar, looking out onto Times Square at night with an ice cold beer 🍻 6/3/2017 0 Comments Beer52The Belgium BoxReturning home from my epic holiday to New York (more on that later), I was happy to be greeted with my latest Beer52 delivery - which is a Belgium themed box. It contained beers by:
Ferment magazine features articles on Brussels Brewing Project, a Brussels bar guide and tips on starting your own homebrew (one day...maybe!). There's also a cool little feature on my second favourite drink - Gin! As always, if you are interested in trying out Beer52, then you can sign up via my subscription link below...it will save you money 🍻
www.beer52.com/join/69081/14fadd89eafb7d65 |
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