Wheet Beer - Hoegaarden Rosee

 

Drink name             Drink makers             Drink type             Drink strength
Rossee                     Hoegaarden               wheat beer             3%

I admit to being quite a fan of the Original Hegaarden beer but that was not enough to get me try this Rosee beer. Then I saw it had a cork in it. Had to get it then... sneaky people tempting me to buy there products with unnecessary gimmicks  :p


After the initial cork popping excitement and a quick sniff, which yielded a faint raspberry smell, I had a taste.
How to put this... The first taste made me think of fish!
Yes that's right, fish!
This is a fruity raspberry wheat beer and it took a bit for my taste buds to except those flavours together I think because the flavour because quite pleasant but if I left the drink alone for 5 minuets or so and came back to it, it would have that odd taste again.
Is it just me!?!      Please try some and tell me because it's just bizarre!

May be a good accompany to fish.



tasty rating
Good as a drink 5/10 Good as a beer 2/10
Can't put down factor 6/10
Good at getting you drunk 3/10
Bottle art 4/10
Rated = 40ish out of 100%
fish fish fish f f f fiiiiiishy fish

Taste the wild

http://tastethewildblog.co.uk/

Hey! it's a foraging sight!
Soon we may all have to forage if the price of food goes up any more :p

Wyld Wood Cider

Drink name             Drink makers             Drink type             Drink strength
Wyld Wood             Westons                     Organic Cider        6%

To begin with I already know that I like Westons Ciders... Not all of them mind you but enough to build expectations.

This drink has a dark almost leathery smell to it which I find most appealing and I already can't wait to try it.
I've found that most ciders you get are of the alco pop verity which in my opinion are just not worth the making of a bottle to hold them!

Wyld Wood cider however is not one to disappoint. The taste leans strongly toward a brewing in oak barrels and has that flavour I associate with ripe, red crunchy apples. It also has that spike which you often only get with a powerful cider.

Looking at the bottle art too I can't help but think of the this time of year and all of the apple trees I've walked past over the last month, still with apples heavy on their branches and something about it just makes me want to go scrumping.

This is a winner for me.

Well done yet again Westons




tasty rating
Good as a drink 9/10 Good as a cider 10/10
Can't put down factor 10/10
Good at getting you drunk 6/10
Bottle art 10/10
Rated = 90ish out of 100% (92% is really my 100%)
Oak barrels make all the difference.

www.westons-cider.co.uk

Thwaites Tavern Porter

Drink name             Drink makers             Drink type             Drink strength
Tavern Porter          Thwaites                    Porter                     5.7%


Ok, let me just star by saying that this has a good taste! nothing wrong with that but it's so fizzy that I ended up just letting it go flat before drinking an more which took hours!

If you like the feel of needing to burp through your ears then this is for you but not for me.

I was interested in porter as it is obviously stout with a different name so I looked up on the magical Internets and found this on wiki if you are interested in knowing more. *

I tried a better porter in Norfolk when I was there but as I say, the taste of this is good if you can get passed the gas!


tasty rating
Good as a drink 4/10 Good as an ale 5/10
Can't put down factor 04/10
Good at getting you drunk 5/10
Bottle art 2/10
Rated = 40ish out of 100% because fizz isn't always welcome

Drink link

www.thwaites.co.uk

Somersby - cider

Drink name             Drink makers             Drink type             Drink strength
Somersby                Carlsburg                   Cider                     4.5%


It seems like everyone feels the necessity to ruin cider and Carlsburg is no exception!

A with a sweet almost sherry like smell, an uninspiring light sparkle and colour and the taste of crisp green apples with an overly sweet follow up flavour and there you have it. Another cider experience ruined. But what should I expect from a lager... oh no, wait... BEER maker (hmm right)

It reminds me of kindstones cider, if this stuff had honey in it  :p

Don't panic though, I have some Morrisons own cloudy cider in the fridge!

Just a a dash and and it's fixed :)  mmmmmmuch  better.



tasty rating
Good as a drink 3/10 Good as a cider 5/10
Can't put down factor 02/10
Good at getting you drunk 5/10
Bottle art 2/10
Rated = 34ish out of 100% .
When will people learn that the best ciders are cloudy ciders!?! I guess when people stop thinking lager/beers are good

Mud city - Stout

Drink name             Drink makers             Drink type             Drink strength
Mud city stout         Sadlers                       Stout                      6.6%

Strong stout smell on this one (as long as it doesn't smell like a cows arse though I'm usually happy)

On tasting this dark and foreboding looking drink, the first thing that is apparent is the taste of burned toffee and dark chocolate! the after taste is just burned though so they, in my opinion, went a bit over the top with at least one of there ingredients or processes. ok lets face it.... this thing is malt'tastic!

There is also a bit of carbonation to the sup.

I'm a bit unimpressed by the label art but I've seen worse. On the other hand I do get the feeling that this stuff is brewed by a cabal, cult or at least the stone masons! Lets hope none for my sake :-p

When all is said and done, this is a very strong stout and if that is what you like then give it a taste (to quote a Yorkshire set film).


tasty rating
Good as a drink 6/10 Good as an ale 6/10
Can't put down factor 07/10
Good at getting you drunk 7/10
Bottle art 1/10
Rated = 54ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
I bet this would be perfect for a stake n stout pie

Belgian Wheat beer

Drink name / Drink makers             Drink type             Drink strength
     Belgian Wheat beer                     Wheat beer           4.9%

This is a Tesco finest product and as such is not too bad. It's a 750ml bottle and yes it has a cork in it!
(such fun)

This wheat beer has a subtle smell  which is pleasant but it's not as pleasant as the taste!

I'd class this as quite a fruity and fragrant tasting wheat beer, if that makes sense, with a slightly perfume like aftertaste that is just on the border between acceptably and too strong so I would imagine that a few people may find that aftertaste overpowering but I'd say it's still in the realms of acceptably.

All in all, being a bottle that cost on the lighter end of between 2 and 3 pound, I'd say this is a drink well worth enjoying, especially with Oktoberfest almost upon us and  Lederhosen so easy to buy thanks to the Internet.

I'm sure with all of tha wheat beer in you, you may even get to do tha German shlapping dance, yar?!

tasty rating
Good as a drink 8/10 Good as an beer 9/10
Can't put down factor 09/10
Good at getting you drunk 5/10
Bottle art 6/10
Rated = 74ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
don your Lederhosen and do the slapping dance!

Red Dragon - stout

Drink name          Drink makers             Drink type                 Drink strength
Red Dragon          Red Stripe                  Stout                         7.5%


I smells like a stout, looks like a stout ant tastes like the bastard child of a pint of stout a questionable whisky!

I noticed this stuff going cheap in a local supermarket and said "34 pence!?! well, if you insist" ..which got me some do looks but I mean, come on, if you've not experienced worse you probably deserve you lobotomy you would wish upon others if you weren't so ignorant as to know what it was :-D but I digress!

The bottles I picked up were 284 mL but as the things a 7.5% I think that's fair enough.

This is also made by red stripe and still brewed, I believe, in Jamaica and I must say that as larger like beers go they're done good (larger/beer is usually counted as filth in my eyes).

Plus the bottle art is nice yet simple. I'd have probably assumed it was made in wales if my reading skills were a little worse. So well done to 'em I say!


tasty rating
Good as a drink 7/10 Good as an beer 8/10
Can't put down factor 07/10
Good at getting you drunk 8/10
Bottle art 8/10
Rated = 76ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
I LOVE DRAGONS!!

wheat beer - Erdinger Weibbier

Drink name          Drink makers             Drink type                 Drink strength
Weibbier              Erdinger                     Wheat beer


I like wheat beers in the main and on opening this one I thought I was in for a treat. Alas not!

The taste of this beer is as good and imaginative as its bottle label.
I found it bland in taste. As if someone had watered it down.
Wheat beers should be nice and strong and this one isn't... Unlessssss, It's a wheat larger and then as a larger it's alright :-D

Still, I'd avoid this one.

tasty rating
Good as a drink 3/10 Good as a beer 2/10
Can't put down factor 01/10
Good at getting you drunk 4/10
Bottle art 2/10
Rated = 22ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.

Ice cream - Helmsley

I've found a great place to get ice cream in Helmsley.
It's called Ryebrun tea rooms (at least I think that's what it's called) .
They have a fantastic collection of homemade flavours.
When I was in they had a few sorbets and more ice cream flavours than I can remember from vanilla and  chocolate fudge to whisky and even a bubble gum one. Plus several different choices of cones.

The place is on the same road as the car park entrance so please go in and have a taste :-p

Pale ale Bure gold - Woodfordes

      Drink name               Drink makers                       Drink type                 Drink strength
      Bure Gold                 Woodforde's                         Ale                             4.3%

If I could give this ale a higher rating I would. The first time I tried this was in Great Yarmouth and I was instantly impressed.
It's a pale aromatic beer, which is a taste I like but only when the balance is just so. Often people get the mix wrong, in my opinion, and you end up with something that just isn't right (or maybe it's just because I'm more of a stout lover usually.... mmmm  malty).
It has a slight cloudiness to it due to the old fashioned way it is made apparently and I gotta say the taste is one I have liked so much, I went to their brewery on the way home. Well, I was in the Norfolk area anyway.
It's got hops from Washington in the USA but the malts used are home grown in Norfolk.








tasty rating
Good as a drink 10/10 Good as a beer 10/10
Can't put down factor 10/10
Good at getting you drunk 4/10
Label Art 8/10
Rated = 84ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
 Ah heck, as far as I really care it's as good as 100%! I just can't rate it like that.

Alcoholic lemonade and ginaer beer - Hooper's

I had to try these after trying the Dandelion & Burdock that Hooper's do but I have to say that although they are nice, they are nothing special.

They have an after taste a little like vodka. Now by that I mean that they have an alcohol taste to them no well masked by their actual taste, they don't actually taste of vodka.

On the hole they are nice drinks but not as good as the D&B they do.

Pork chops

This is a quick recipe.

Chop tomatoes in half
Dice Onion
Finely chop apples
Olive oil
Cook chop in grill approx 9 Min's on each side (18 min in all) or in George Forman grill for approx 9 Min's. keep checking meat. When there is a couple of minuets to go add the chopped tomatoes to grill.

While meat is cooking, add the onion into a pan with a bit of oil and cook until beginning to look soft. Add the apple can cook for a further few minuets. Is the onion browning? Add a splash of water and a tablespoon of sugar.

Add to plate with salt and pepper to taste.

wheat beer - Franziskaner

  Drink name          Drink makers             Drink type                 Drink strength
Franziskaner?         Naturtrub?                 wheat beer                 5%


Ok. So I'm not sure on the name... or the makers of this beer BUT I am sure that the monk on the bottle's label is enjoying the beer he has to an obscene extent.... and perhaps peeing and farting at the same time. It's hard to tell.

This beer has a nice looking bottle, a nice faint smell on opening, a pleasant amount of sediment and a good strong flavour with just the right amount of carbonisation ( which I'm guessing led to the monk on the bottle farting ).

The taste is just right. The brewers haven't held back on flavour and .... AARGH! I CAN'T STOP LOOKING AT THE FARTING MONK!!

Lemon Larger

Drink name  /   Drink makers                                   Drink type             Drink strength
Bavaria       Holland       Radler                                Larger/beer                  2%


Theres a lot to be said for fruit added to beers etc but in this case all that is to be said, in my opinion, is pleasently bland.

Radler, which I think is its name but I could be rong, is a bit lemony with a slight taste of larger as an aftertaste.
Its not a milloin miles away from the taste of lemon icetea.

Then again I picked some cans up for 55p so for that price I'd say they're quite good!

Refreshing.





tasty rating
Good as a drink 10/10 Good as a beer 2/10
Can't put down factor 8/10
Good at getting you drunk 2/10
Bottle art 1/10
Rated = 46ish out of 100%... just because

Chicken wrapped in bacon with salad

What could be simpler.
Get some chicken breast, wrap it in bacon, but it in the oven covered in foil for 20 or 30 mins. Then add salad.
Reduced fat coleslaw, boiled new potato's, Swiss chard, iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato's.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Mead

Broardland Norfolk Mead 12.5%

I've never had mead so I'm not sure that this is a good example of it.

I'd like to describe the smell but I can't... ah heck I'll give it a dry.  The smell is unpleasantly pleasant and yes I know that that is a contradiction. It's like... It's like a compost heap full of blossoms and sugar!

The taste is of honey, a taste like pollen smells (if that makes any sense) and has a sherry like taste in there with a mild burn on the way to your stomach which fills me with a vague sense of doom.

That bee on the label looks like a wasp pretending to be a bee!
I knew that eventually they'd find a way to fool and subsequently kill all humans!!
I'm not suggesting that this stuff has been made as a hyper intelligent plot by the wasps to poison people.

Norfolk Nog - Ale

Drink name                  Drink makers                         Drink type             Drink strength
Norfolk Nog                Woodforde's                           Ale                         4.6%


Let me start by saying that at the moment this ale is my favourite all time ale... That may change but for now this is top of my list.

I tried a pulled pint from Woodforde's while in Great Yarmouth and loved it so much I found the brewery was near by and went there. I recommend you go. It has a nice pub attached and the gift shop is great.

Right, that out of the way, lets Begin.

This ale has a slight smell to it but nothing strong enough good or bad.
The colour is dark and the taste is rich yet refreshing with malt, hints of chocolate, liquorice and a very slight bitterness to finish.

The bottle label is nice too. Inviting and well representing what I saw of Norfolk.

The only down side is the live yeast in the bottle. Make sure you store standing up and leave the sediment in the bottle.



tasty rating
Good as a drink 10/10 Good as an ale 10/10
Can't put down factor 10/10
Good at getting you drunk 5/10
Bottle art 8/10
Rated = 86ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.

Drink link

www.woodfordes.co.uk

rabbit pie

After looking at this recipe I decided this was the pie to try making!

Recipe link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/rabbitpie_89204

I freely admit that I bought a turnip and added it to the recipe and used veg stock and not chicken stock but apart from that I followed it perfectly... sort of... maybe.
Ok so I oven cooked the rabbit in water and I don't think that was what I was supposed to do but what the frak.

Here's the pictures of massacring .. I mean making the pie recipe.

By the way. It was nice but pulling all the flesh off of the rabbit legs has made me not want to ever eat rabbit again.

 sharpen all of your veg... in case of vampire attacks whilst cooking.

Citra - Beer

Drink name                  Drink makers                              Drink type             Drink strength
Citra                             Oakham Ales                              beer/Ale                 4.6%

To star with I like the bottle lables being used here. The Hopy character looks like someone gone wodwo.

The smell from the open bottle is of lychee which is a strong factor in the taste also.
Citrus hops and a dry finish make this one of the oddest ales I've tried.

It's good. I like it but it feels like something I couldn't drink a lot of.



tasty rating
Good as a drink 7/10 Good as an ale 9/10
Can't put down factor 09/10
Good at getting you drunk 5/10
Bottle art 8/10
Rated = 76ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
lol... wodwo

Drink link

www.oakhamales.com

Maple Gold - Ale

Drink name                  Drink makers                              Drink type             Drink strength
Maple gold                  Joseph Holt                                   Ale                        4.3

This drink is already promising a lot. A taste with a hint of maple? We'll see about that.

What a lovely colour. It certainly looks like syrup. It smells nice and sweet too with an element of crispness at the end.
The tastes of sweet hops and malt.

Dam. That does taste nice.

I like the label too. Good change in the colour balance if the image to match the drink.



tasty rating
Good as a drink 8/10 Good as an ale 9/10
Can't put down factor 08/10
Good at getting you drunk 4/10
Bottle art 8/10
Rated = 74ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.

Drink Link

www.joseph-holt.com

Shut thi gob - Ale

Drink name                  Drink makers                              Drink type             Drink strength
Shut thi gob                 Barnsley Beer Company             Ale                         5.1% 



This is an odd ale with an odd name and an odd taste.
Not unpleasant, just unusual.

I've never herd of this brewery but they are from my neck of the woods... not really, they're about 2 hours away I think. I'm closer to Newcastle than I am to Barnsley!
But still.

The smell isn't great off this beer (reminiscent of a fart you'd be proud of doing in a friends car before getting out) but the taste has hops and a spiciness to it which is unusual enough that I can't put it down.

I think I like it but  don't know why!


tasty rating
Good as a drink 5/10 Good as an ale 8/10
Can't put down factor 09/10
Good at getting you drunk 5/10
Bottle art 8/10
Rated = 70ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
It's a puzzeler

Paddy's tout - Wychwood

Drink name                        Drink makers                    Drink type                 Drink strength
Paddy's tout                       Wychwood Brewery          Stout                         4.3%


Could this bottle art be seen as racist? probably but I like it anyway. The Wyshwood bottle artist person has a real flair for the interesting and odd.

The drink has a subtle smell and a strong taste like toffee and bitter chocolate. Just what you want for a stout. I think this must be a seasonal drink because I didn't know Wychwood did stout but I could be wrong!
On first drinking this there is not only a zesty after taste but also a harsh but subtle chemical taste too which goes away after the first few tries.

This is good stuff. I'll have to keep my eye out for it when It comes back in the shops... and look in the £ shops in case it's still on sale in one of them  :-D




tasty rating
Good as a drink 8/10 Good as a stout 10/10
Can't put down factor 07/10
Good at getting you drunk 5/10
Bottle art 8/10
Rated = 76ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
WARNING. I drowned my last calculator in my drink for not agreeing with me.

Alcoholic Dandelion & Burdock - Hooper's

Drink name                        Drink makers                    Drink type                 Drink strength
Dandelion & Burdock       Hooper's                            Dandelion & Burdock          4%

I'm on holiday with a hole mess of familly and doing a light bit of shopping for essentials when I spy Some alcoholic madness!

Dandelion & Burdock!?! Really!

Well, I had to get some.

You know what? It tastes almost exactly how Dandelion & Burdock usually tastes, except for a slight aftertaste which is like Vodka only not bitter. That's the best way I can describe it.

It's good and worth a try, if you like Dandelion & Burdock that is.


tasty rating
Good as a drink 10/10 Good as an alco-pop etc 10/10
Can't put down factor 09/10
Good at getting you drunk 5/10
Bottle art 6/10
Rated = 80ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
WARNING. Rating was worked out on a calculator which I can't use correctly.

Hoegaarden - wheat beer

Drink name                       Drink makers                       Drink type                Drink strength

Wit - Blanche?                  Hoegaarden                         Wheat beer                4.9%


I confess I'm not trying this for the first time and that I love it.
I didn't know the joys of wheat beer until I tried this.

Drinking it again, I can't put it down. The taste is fantastic. Wheat and spicy flavours with a bit of carbonated fizz.
And so refreshing.

This makes me want to put on some and then go dancing in lederhosen and randomly do that slapping dance!

NOMen hosen drinken dancen shnifen beeren tasten!!
(sorry if that's offencive to anyone.I got a little exited there)


tasty rating
Good as a drink 09/10 . Good as a beer etc 10/10 .
Can't put down factor 10/10 . Good at getting you drunk 5/10 .
Random factor ... I threw a dice and it said 6 So I'm going with 10/10 .
Bottle art 9/10
Rated = 86ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
WARNING. Rating is personal and May differ from your opinion and also logic.

Huntsman's ale - Tetley's

Drink name                       Drink makers                       Drink type                Drink strength
Huntsman's ale                  Tetley's                                Ale                            4.2%

AH! Tetley's.
This is one of the names of Alcohol I remember from childhood... Not I didn't drink as a child. I mean I was aware of it then and it stuck in my mind. Like Bass, but that's probably more to do with the shandy they sold.

This ale has a nice strong smell and a strong yet refreshing taste to it and surprisingly enough a fox didn't just out of it when I opened the bottle as I was for some reason expecting.

It has a nice amber colour to it too. All round I have nothing but good things to say about this ale. How odd.




tasty rating
Good as a drink... 09/10 Good as an ale etc... 09/10
Can't put down factor... 08/10 Good at getting you drunk... 5/10
Random factor... 0.3 :: % = potato/10
Bottle art 6/10
Rated =74.00potato out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
WARNING. Rating is not worked out in any logical way and may as well have been put together by a hive of hyper intelligent wasps... Just because they are hyper intelligent doesn't mean they know a good ale when they taste one!

Double Stout

Drink name                       Drink makers                       Drink type                Drink strength
Double Stout                     Hook Norton Brewery         Stout                         4.8%

Now this is what I call a good drink.
It's strong, smooth, fully bodied and with a taste like bitter chocolate to it with flavours of malt.

I like the label of cause. That's the first thing we notice about a drink and this one feels right for the drink.
A dark  looking bottle for a dark drink.

Oh and the bottle says hand crafted in the Cotswold Hills since 1849.



tasty rating
Good as a drink 09/10 Good as a beer etc 10/10
Can't put down factor 09/10 Good at getting you drunk 5/10
Bottle art 10/10
Rated = 86ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
WARNING. Rating is not worked out in any logical manner.

Drink link

www.hooky.co.uk

2012 Vintage cider - Westons

 Drink name                       Drink makers                       Drink type                Drink strength
 2012 Vintage?                   Westons                               Cider                         8.2%


 Smells like cider, looks like cider... has an odd picture of an old fassioned bloke with apples on the lable which I hope isn't sugesting theres bits of someone in the cider... and it tastes like cider.

And good cider at that. Maybe not as appley as I'd prefure (the strength of alcohol must have taken some of the flavour) but the oak flavour is about right.

 I like a medium cider with an oaky taste.

This one will get the summer wasps drunk when they attack me in the garden.



tasty rating
Good as a drink 08/10 Good as a Cider etc 09/10
Can't put down factor 07/10 Good at getting you drunk 9/10
Bottle art 5/10
Average = 76ish out of 100% because I can't count and I don't understand percentages.
It's close enough.