Tag: beer

The Craft Beer Shop AKA Ales By Mail

Ales and Craft Beers / 6 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Visiting The Craft Beer Shop AKA Ales By Mail in Billericay last week was a complete spur of the moment thing. After spending the morning feeling awful and nervous about my assessment I decided afterwards I needed to do something different. The Mr loves his craft beer but local taprooms/shops weren’t open as it was only 11 am. I knew if I went home I wouldn’t go back out and I wanted to find some beers to take home. We came across The Craft Beer Shop through a google search.

The Craft Beer Shop

Being open from 9 am instead of 12 pm made diverting make sense. It took less time to divert there than it would have done to wait around for closer ones to open. I knew I recognised the name when we searched for them and then realised I already followed them on twitter last year too. I was a little bit hyper after a morning of nervousness so got slightly carried away & loved finding a beer with my name on it!

The Craft Beer Shop

The guy working in The Craft Beer shop was really friendly and answered all our questions. Even when I didn’t make sense he didn’t make me feel overly anxious and helped us out. Our friend who drove me there managed to find himself a few nice beers with some help. I started to put together a selection of different craft beer’s for the Mr too. Minus 1 bottle our friend took home to drink this is the selection we left with.

Selection Of Craft Beers

Craft Beer Selection From Ales By Mail

I love the different artwork across the cans and may have let that lead my decisions slightly. Ok, a lot. I really like the look of most of the artwork across this selection though. I may have accidentally picked some rather strong ones!

 

Dr. Raptor

I’ll send the Mr next time as I think he would find some really cool craft beers here.  Out of the whole selection the Mr really enjoyed the Loka Polly – Chinook Simcoe India Pale Ale, Cloudwater – DDH Pale Citra Eldorado, BBN 55/06 – Double IPA & the Weird Beard God Of The Cold White Silence.

 

Bargains

Everyone knows I love a bargain and I did pick up a few. The Magic Rock – Panther Ale is just £2, The Loka Polly – Chinook Simcoe India Pale Ale is £2.95 (yep, for that big can!) and the Tiny Rebel Clwb Tropicana is £2.10.

Loka Polly - Chinook Simcoe India Pale Ale

Head over to Ales By Mail to find some other fab bargains online if you aren’t in Essex. They also own the Imperial Beer Club a craft beer subscription for trying new and exciting craft beers. I’m tempted to sign up when finances are a bit better as they deals and selections look great.

BB No 55 06

Helping me calm down and returning with a well-deserved drink for the Mr, I was pleased to have popped in. Visiting The Craft Beer Shop is a great experience. It was cool to see such a range of breweries and styles. We will definitely be returning soon and I will be sneaking in an order online in time for the Mr’s birthday in June too!

Cloudwater - DDH Pale Citra El Dorado

Have you heard of The Craft Beer Shop AKA Ales By Mail? Have you tried any of these beers?

 

 

10 Craft Beers To Try 2017

Alcohol / 6 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

If you love craft beer then here are 10 craft beers to try that the Mr has enjoyed over the last few months. We have been seeking out new and different craft beers for the last year or so for the Mr and have found a great range across M&S, Tesco, Morrison’s & Asda. A few months ago we shared a list of 10 beers the Mr had enjoyed this year and decided to share again. So if you are looking for new craft beers here are some more to keep an eye out and give a try.

10 Craft Beers To Try

Oakham Brewery (UK) – Green Devil IPA – 6.0% A.B.V

oakham ales - green devil ipa

Whitewater Brewery (N.I) – Hoppel Hammer – 6.0% A.B.V

Hoppel Hammer

Nøgne Ø (Norway) – Pale Ale – 6.0% A.B.V

Nøgne Ø Pale Ale

Tiny Rebel (Wales) – CWTCH – 4.6% A.B.V

Adnams & M&S – Southwold Winter IPA – 6.7% ABV

adnams southwold winter IPA

Windsor & Eton Brewery (UK) – Treason West Coast IPA – 5.8% A.B.V

Treason west coast IPA

Dark Star (UK) – Sunburst – 4.8% ABV

Dark Star - Sunburst

Redwell (UK) – Extra Pale Ale – 5.6% A.B.V

Redwell (UK) Extra pale ale

Brewdog (UK,Scotland) – Hop Fiction – 5.2%

Brewdog - Hop Fiction

Innis & Gunn (UK, Scotland) – Session IPA – 4.5% A.B.V

Session IPA

Sierra Nevada (USA) – Pale Ale – 5.6% A.B.V

Sierra Nevada - Torpedo

Have you tried any of these 10 craft beers yet? If so which is your favourite?

 

International Beer Day – Beers We’ve Tried

Ales and Craft Beers / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Today is International Beer Day! With the Mr’s love of beers we decided to put together a selection of Beers he has tried over the last few months from local pubs & supermarkets. We’ve previously tried and reviewed Beer52 and Fallen Brewing beers on the blog and share the Mr’s finds over on Instagram too so we thought a round up would be an awesome way to celebrate International Beer Day.

International Beer Day

International Beer Day

The Mr tried a selection of beers from Tesco a few weeks ago for his birthday.

Adnams Southwolds – Ease Up I.P.A

Adnams Southwold, an independent family brewery founded in 1872 in Suffolk, is one of the Mr’s favourites. He would pick a beer from Adnams any day! This Ease Up I.P.A is gold in colour, with big aromas of mango, flavours of pine, melon and hints of grapefruit. At 4.6 ABV it’s a perfect session beer with a clean, dry finish, accompanied by subtle sweetness from the barley.

Stone Brewing – Go To IPA

Stone Brewing – Go To IPA is a hop heavy India Pale Ale at 4.8% ABV. With a hoppy, dry, melon flavour perfected by employing the hop bursting technique. This technique involves an irrational amount of hops being added in the final phase of the brewing process. Extreme flavours and aromas while also imparting a burst of desirably pleasant bitterness. The result is an alpha-acid-rich beer which the Mr quite enjoys.

Oskar Blues Brewery – Pinner IPA

Oskar Blues Brewery began the craft-beer-in-a-can craze with their funky little Colorado grown brew-pub in 2002. Cans keep beer fresher, longer by eliminating the damaging effects of light and ingressed oxygen. They are infinitely recyclable and portable. Pinner IPA is a India Pale Ale at 4.9% ABV. With tropical fruits, citrus juices, pineapple and spice berry up front in the aroma and flavour, the biscuit & toasted bread at the back to balance out all the hops.

Flying Dog Brewery – Snake Dog IPA

Flying Dog Brewery is a craft brewery in Maryland. Founded in 1990 Flying Dog Brewery is the largest Brewery in Maryland. Snake Dog IPA is an India Pale Ale at 7.1% ABV. Snake Dog has a big citrus (notably grapefruit) hop aroma and flavor with caramel malt notes. The cans artwork is rather interesting and designed by Ralph Steadman. Steadman’s Flying Dog artwork consists of strange, twisted imaginations of dogs with wings. They are rather eye catching with a vast array of bright and vibrant colours.

Have you tried any of these beers or any of those pictured? What’s your favourite beer?

Fallen Brewing For Father’s Day

Ales and Craft Beers / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Father’s day & the Mr’s birthday are coming up so I’ve been hunting out some gift’s like these awesome beers from Fallen Brewing! He really enjoys his craft beers & ales and loves a chance to try something new. This is a great gift for any craft beer/ale loving dad this father’s day and would go well with a nice home cooked meal too!

Fallen Brewing

Fallen Brewing

 

Fallen Brewing have some big flavoured craft Ales, a range made using only pure, soft Scottish mountain water and the best hops and malts from around the world.

For Father’s Day summer session drinking the refreshing blond New World Odyssey 4.1% (£2.90 hippobeers.co.uk) is Ideal. For a dad with a sweet tooth the limited edition Big Raspberry Dog Chew 10% ABV (hippobeers.co.uk)  made with Salted Caramel and Raspberry Milk Stout and tastes like an alcoholic Ruffle bar.

Blackhouse and New World Odyssey

Fallen Beers include:

  • New World Odyssey 4.1% ABV Blonde,
  • Local Motive 3.9% ABV, Session IPA,
  • Dragonfly  4.6% ABV, American Amber,
  • Blackhouse 5% ABV, Smoked Porter,
  • Grapevine  5.4% ABV,
  • Chew Chew 6% ABV, Salted Caramel Milk Stout
  • Platform C 6.3% ABV, India Pale Ale.

Dragonfly

The Mr really enjoyed getting a chance to try beers from Fallen Brewing as he hadn’t heard of them before. Trying the beers gave me a bit more knowledge about the different types & flavours too. With such a great selection of beers from fallen brewing there is definitely something for everyone’s tastes.

Just the ticket

Where are Fallen Brewing based?

Established in 2014, Fallen Brewing is situated in the old Kippen Railway Station with views towards The Trossachs and The South West Highlands. Fallen brew modern interpretations of classic styles with an emphasis on bold flavours and new world hops.

Where can I Buy Fallen Brewing beers?

Fallen beers are available all over the UK online from www.hippobeers.co.uk and in Scotland from Oddbins, Waitrose and M&S as well as independent shops including The Woodhouse Farm Shop, Cork and Cask, Cornelius and Beer Hive in Edinburgh and Hippo Beers, Good Spirit Company and Valhalla’s Goat in Glasgow.

Would your dad or other half love trying these for father’s day?