– An evening with Garrett Oliver – Wednesday 9th November
PSBH, Oxford University Press & James Clay
Present an evening with Garrett Oliver.
A small intimate affair to celebrate the publication of the Oxford Companion To Beer.
Garrett Oliver is a man needing very little in the way of introduction, but I’ll give you one anyway. One of the most knowledgeable and well respected brewers in the business, Garrett has been at the helm of the world renowned Brooklyn Brewery since 1994, winning awards and plaudits for his innovative approach and the outstanding quality of output. One of the generation of US brewers who took the British brewing tradition and transformed it into the modern US craft beer scene we see today. In short he’s a bit of a legend.
Garrett will be discussing the new tome he has edited in conjunction with the Oxford University Press , also we’ll be tasting some beers and matching them with some lovely canapes provided by The Mark Addy.
SOLD OUT! – please email us to add your name to the reserve list
Wednesday 9th November 2011 / 7pm
at Port Street Beer House, 39 to 41 Port Street, Manchester, M1 2EQ
£15 advance (ltd to 30 places) available over the phone on 0161 237 9949 or in person at Port Street Beer House.
The ‘Oxford Companion To Beer’ will be available to purchase on the night.
– Beer Review – Left Handed Brewing Co: Milk Stout / By DJ Adams
Sometimes you’re not in the mood for what everyone else is having. That’s the tagline of this Longmount, Colorado brewer Left Hand Brewing Co’s Twitter presence. As I approach the bar at Port Street Beer House and observe the orders for a seemingly endless collection of beers, one bottle calls out to me from the fridge. Milk Stout. Exactly what I’m looking for. This beer’s reputation precedes it; awards galore already won, most recently Gold in the European Beer Star Competition.
Sunlight streams through the windows on this cold, crisp autumn day as I reverently carry the bottle and a stemmed glass to the table. This is not your father’s stout. No sense of vast volumes of heavy blackness tinged with bitterness here, thank you very much. This is a full-bodied sweet stout, an English style beer from the late 19th century. Espresso coloured, with coffee traces and slight vanilla notes, this is an incredibly velvety smooth experience from start to finish. Any hints of bitterness are more than balanced from the inclusion of milk sugar, which is defined as “a sugar comprising one glucose molecule linked to a galactose molecule”. Galactose? Space milk? All I know is that the inclusion of milk sugar into the brew has had a fabulous effect. Sweetness and chocolate overtones make this a very enjoyable experience. Normally at this stage in the review I have some beer left in the glass, but the glass and bottle are both empty already.
Left Hand Brewing Co’s philosophy is about balance. It’s fair to say that they’ve achieved a great balance between traditional style and modern interpretation, between the Magnum and US Golding Hops, the myriad malts (from Crystal to Flaked Barley and Chocolate) and the milk sugar sweetness, and between the relatively high ABV content and inherent drinkability. Next time you’re stuck or spoiled for choice, go for something different. Take a chance on this Milk Stout, and you’ll be far from disappointed.
Brewer: Left Hand Brewing Co
Brew: Milk Stout
Style: Sweet Stout
ABV: 6.0%
http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/
Words by: DJ Adams – http://www.pipetree.com/qmacro/
– Moor Moor Moor!
Well, we finally managed to organise getting some beer from one of the UK’s most highly regarded breweries, so here are a few words to give you an idea of what the fuss is all about. I had better write this pretty quick as the beer is practically walking out the door.
Tucked away, down a picturesque Somerset lane is the recently expanded Moor brewery, the brewer is one Justin Hawke, an American brewing there since taking over in 2007. Justin’s beers are multi award winning and it’s a struggle to get them out of the county, so we feel very privileged that he sent some up for us. His Californian roots and west coast brewing attitude are evidenced in these beers, particularly in his liberal use of hops. However, these are far from US clone beers, these are some of the finest contemporary English ales you are likely to find, packed with flavour, a perfect blend of innovation and tradition. That, I suppose is what has lead to such huge demand, accolades, awards and general all round kudos.
Justin, it strikes me, is a man of strongly held beliefs, which, admittedly is prevalent among brewers. One of these beliefs is about finings and the use thereof, Justin speaks at length about this here. We’re happy to be showcasing some of his unfined beers over the next week or so, all his dark beers are unfined and we have waiting in our cellar a couple of firkins of unfined Revival. So how important is a clear pint of beer to you? Finings inevitably strip out a lot of flavour giving funk from the beer and it could be said this is purely for aesthetic reasons. Why go to all the trouble of making a full flavoured beer only to fine it clear and lose some of the character, I suppose it’s the same argument brewers have about filtration, pasturisation, etc but taken one stage further. Please let us know what you think on the subject and what you think of the unfined beers we have from Moor, and whether you want to see more unfined beers on the bar.
Finally before you ask we weren’t able to get any of the famous JJJ IPA as there isn’t any, potentially until next year. Maybe we’ll try and get some Moor beers next year, if he’ll let us! Boom boom.
– Meet The Brewer with Jay Krause (Quantum) – Monday 31st October
Meet The Brewer with Jay Krause (Quantum Brewery)
Monday 31st October / 6pm until 8pm (bar open until 10pm)
£6 advance – limited to 50 places
available over the phone (0161 237 9949) and from behind the bar
includes four beer samples, snacks AND your chance to win prizes in our special Halloween beer quiz!
info about the brewery :
“Quantum is all about experimenting with modern, forward thinking recipes but with a huge focus on flavour and quality of ingredients. The beers are mostly hop forward but not exclusively so – it’s far more about balance. As a new brewery we’re still finding our feet and don’t have a core range as such, but that has given us chance to experiment and focus on specials, series beers and collaborations.”
follow them here: http://twitter.com/QuantumBC