A beer banquet

We had a family do on Saturday and were all asked to bring some food to share. The lovely Lisa had the brainwave of cooking some beer based food which sounded like an excellent idea to me. Though I'm not one for the beer and food pairing which seems popular with my fellow beer bloggers I do enjoy it when I see food made with beer.      

Here's what we brought:

Chicken liver and Titanic stout pate

Slow cooked gammon in alcoholic ginger beer

Beer bread made with Badger's Fursty Ferret

Here's a lovely pair of baps 

Birra misu made with Lee's Harvest Ale

Porter cake made with one of my own beers

All went down very nicely and I'm sure we'll be cooking some of these dishes again soon. 

As to what I drank with the meal, I'm afraid I had a beer nerdery failure. I haven't got into the beer and food pairing thing, so I finished off the glass of fizzy I'd been given on arrival and that was it. There was a good fight card lined up for the IPA challenge later on so I wasn't letting the side down entirely.  

IPA challenge bout five: Cobb IPA Vs St Peter's India Pale Ale

On account of our recent warm weather the latest bout in the IPA challenge was held outside at my favourite sister's place in sunny Richmond. Curious brew Cobb IPA was lining up against St Peter's India Pale Ale.  

At the weigh in it was obvious that St Peter's had more stamina (500ml Vs 330ml) but the Curious brew had a slight weight advantage (5.6% ABV Vs 5.5% ABV). The St Peter's camp is well known for producing a line of good bottled beers and the Cobb from Kent is a bit of an unknown quantity. The Kentish man does benefit from being free though, which always goes down well with the judges!

Facing off at the weigh in

This could shape up to be a classic bout, the eagerly anticipated Kentish Cobb enjoying a lot of support, but will the greater stamina of slugger from Suffolk prove telling under the sizzling sun?   

The caps are off an the fight is on! The Cobb proves to have a longer reach with a spicy goldings aroma landing before the faint floral smell of the St Peter's beer. On tasting both protagonists prove to be adept at their craft, plenty of hops are in evidence giving enough bitterness to balance the strength and both drinking very nicely. 

The bout swings too and fro as the glasses are passed around the expanded panel of judges. As the round progresses differences in style start to emerge between these two similar beers. The Cobb is spicier with a slightly harsh bitterness against St Peter's more floral and rounded palate. Neither of the pugilists can gain a clear advantage and when the round ends it's clear it will be close on the judges score cards. 

When the results come in it's a split decision with the panel voting

9-10

10-9 

10-9

10-9 

in favour of St Peter's, the greater stamina and the touch of caramel in the taste showing a better understanding of the sweet science to most of the judges. 

A win for St Peter's India Pale Ale by split decision. 

IPA challenge bout four: Brewdog Hardcore IPA Vs Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA

The latest bout in the IPA challenge is a clash between two heavy weights: Brewdog Hardcore IPA and Dogfishhead IPA, both weighing in at 9% ABV. Both lacking stamina (stingy little bottles), the fight has all the makings of being short and brutal.

Hardcore opens with a stinging jab and a taste like sucking on lemons but without making your eyes burn.

The Dogfish head has a darker copper colour, and with a bigger body. The famously continuously hopped beer is made to taste sweet in comparison to the hardcore hop monster from brewdog.

Styles make fights and though on paper these are both double IPA, when they get in the ring they're fighting with completely different styles. The bruiser from Brewdog has an unbalanced style with stinging hops constantly jabbing you in the face but not much in the way of body. Less reachy than Hardcore the Dogfish head's bigger body clinches to your tongue with a barley wine like sweetness.

Despite having all the makings of a classic fight, like with Calzaghe Vs Hopkins the clash of styles seems to bring out the worst in each other. After a sip of Hardcore the 90 minute IPA seems cloyingly sweet, but when you switch back the Hardcore tastes overpoweringly bitter.

At the end of a very negative round the judges are not impressed, with me thinking the 90 minute edges it and the lovely Lisa giving it to Hardcore. As we're the only two judges it's looking like a draw, but we can't progress with our knockout tournament if we allow that. So the only option is to call for another round. Sadly a rummage in the beer cupboard reveals I haven't got any more Dogfish head and won't have until my mum goes back to Delaware. So when the bell goes for round two 90 minute IPA remains on its stool and it's a win for Hardcore by TKO. Not a very satisfying result, and I'm sure 90 minute IPA will be eager for a re-match.

A perk of being a brewer

A local winemaker popped into the brewery today. Before he turned his hand to wine he used to work for Whitbread selling Stella, with a certain Pete Brown reporting to him. More importantly he has some beer made for him too and brought some bottles with him. I nabbed a bottle of Cobb IPA which I will now be entering in The IPA Challenge. 

IPA challenge bout three: Goose Island IPA Vs Marston's Old Empire

The third bout in the IPA challenge is between two middle weights: Goose Island IPA and Marston's Old Empire.

There's a slight weight advantage to the American (5.9% ABV Vs 5.7%), but the Brit has more stamina (500 ml Vs 355). Goose Island is starting the favourite, popular with the British crowd and with a good reputation amongst beer nerds everywhere, but the Old Empire is no mean beer and looks unfazed as it enters the ring in a clear glass bottle, with the Goose Island is in brown.    

The caps are off and the bout is on. Only a faint smell from the Old Empire, a rich aroma from goose island of elderflower and grapefruit.

On to the first taste and a good start for the beer from Burton, strong but drinkable, using an orthodox stance. Goose Island counters with its modern American style, the probing aroma, and strong flavour but looking a little clumsy on first taste. 

Back to the Old Empire and the strength of the American has taken it's toll, the Brit is still drinking beautifully but the flavour's seeming weak in comparison and is having little effect. The contender from the windy city is getting more settled as the round progresses. Unfortunately we're not as the constant swapping of beers seems to have upped our usual sedate drinking rate giving us bloated stomaches and making us a bit windy ourselves.

Old Empire bravely battles on and never looses its composure but the heavy hands of the American land more telling blows. Though it was more closely fought than many expected there can't be many surprised when the judges find in the American's favour.

A win for Goose Island IPA by 10-9   

The IPA challenge second bout: Jaipur Vs Punk IPA

Two beers from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, I mean the New Wave of American inspired British Breweries line up for the next bout. Or if NWOBHM's not you thing, the brewing world's Stones and Beatles apparently.

Despite the superficial similarities, both being from similar training camps and in stingy little bottles, at the weigh in it started to look like a potential miss match. The punk was over filled*, not something I'd normally complain about but possibly suggesting a problem with the bottling line at Brewdog. In this game if you haven't prepared properly your weaknesses will be painfully exposed once you step into the ring. 

Punk IPA (6% ABV) steps up to the canvas, looking brash and in your face, any doubts about the bottling clearly not affecting their confidence. Jaipur (5.9% ABV) is looking more subdued, perhaps feeling the pressure. 

Seconds away and caps off the bout is on. Jaipur has a bit more aroma, though surprisingly malty. Punk smelling a bit harsh, reminiscent of a lemon toilet duck.  

They come together for the first sip and and, oh my god, the Jaipur is totally overwhelmed. It's been caught flat footed! Well, not so much flat footed as just plain flat. It just hasn't got the conditioning, and in this game if you don't put in the time on the road work you won't last five seconds in the ring. The Jaipur hops are nowhere to be seen and just a sweet maltiness is present in the taste. Punk may smell a bit rough round the edges but with the wallop of grapefruit it packs into its pale body it knocks the Jaipur out cold.

But what's this? the second, Kipling (5.2% ABV), has popped its top and is climbing into the ring. It must think it's a medieval duel! This is disgraceful, the referee is stepping in but the Punk looks up for it and is squaring up. It could be a rash decision on the part of Kipling, and it's giving away a weight advantage. The Kipling flicks out a tentative aroma but it's putting on a poor show compared to when it was seen on cask only a few months ago. Again we just get flat bland sweetness form the Thornbidge boy which is easy dispatched by the fighter from Fraserburgh. 

It may seemed the Brewdog bottling line could cause problems but it's the in the Thornbridge camp that the questions will be asked tonight. They're really going to have to put some work in to make a come back after this performance. 

A win for Punk IPA by knock out. 

*Embossed on the bottom of bottles is their capacity in ml and the distance from the top the bottle needs to be filled to reach it. Not a lot of people know that.

IPA challenge first bout: Fuller's Bengal Lancer Vs St Austell Proper Job

The lovely Lisa and I have started a challenge competition to find which IPA we like best. It's a knockout competition where beers will be matched with an opponent to be drunk side by side and the better beer goes through to the next round. 

The first bout is between Fuller's of London Bengal Lancer (5.3% ABV) and St Austell's of Cornwall Proper Job (5.5% ABV). The Cornishman has a slight weight advantage here but the Londoner has been recently revamped and is raring to go. 

Seconds away round one: 

Proper job comes rushing out with a big whoosh of citrussy goodness and lots of hop flavour. There's plenty of  body to back it up and Bengal Lancer has been caught sleeping. The Londoner just has no answer and seems harsh and thin in comparison. The size advantage may seem small but the Cornishman is a much bigger beer all round. Bengal Lancer has been completely overwhelmed and the ref has had to step in for a standing count. Bengal Lancer holds on to the end of the round but there was no going back.

The only hope the Chiswick Griffni had would have been to box clever and fight in the drinkability stakes. If Bengal Lancer could have got on his bicycle the thinner body could have proved an advantage, as I'm not sure how many pints of Proper Job we could have downed. It wasn't an option though as we're only doing a bottle of each at a time so they only get one round. There's no room for fancy tactics, just two beers slugging it out toe to toe until one emerges victorious. 

A win for Proper Job by 10-8