Mikkeller Tomahawk Single Hop IPA

Mikkeller Tomahawk IPA, from their single hop series, one of a number of breweries running with this concept, their occasional collaborators Brewdog being another.
I did look for tomahawk on Wikipeadia to learn that its a trade name for Columbus, a well known American hop.

Really good hazy orange colouring , with a massive head that reduces to frothy white covering.

An amazing hoppy aroma of grapefruit, pine, dilute orange juice.
Its oily, has pine and citrus, obviously the bitterness is foremost,  The flavours dont quite live up to the aroma though.
The bitterness lingers at the upper back palate, its quite intense but not harshly so.
Fresh, spiky, very enjoyable.
330mls, 6.9% abv.

Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody's Golden Ale

Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody's Golden Ale  4.2%, 500mls.

A golden ale, obviously,  made with Goldings and Fuggle hops.

Pours a golden yellow, and its quite well carbonated.
It had little to no head after the initial pour,
Its got sweet malts and citrus on the nose.
Its a little oily, good hits of bitterness with a light fresh citrus bite, some sweetness comes in like a mild honey.

Very good golden ale, well rounded, you could very easily sink a few of these in a session, on a hot day it would be perfect.

When I made notes I forgot to look to see if it was bottle conditioned, I do recall a minute sediment at the bottle of the glass so it might well have been.

Asahi Black

Asahi Black, an odd volume in the bottle at 334mls, and its 5% abv. Bought in Tesco last week, for £1.89.


Nice bottle cap and label, proclaiming this is Munich style, black lager.

Very dark brown, almost black and it started with a reasonable white head which reduced to a frothy white ring that stayed throughout.

Aroma was light, mild coffee and cream.
Light medium body but not to thin, light chocolate, grains, again a little coffee.
Nicely smooth, pleasant enough, overall though not very exciting.

Cardiff Discount Supermarket - New beers

Just as the Pub Curmudgeon was posting about Independent beer sellers and supermarkets, i was spending money that had only been in the bank for a matter of hours (electronically i suppose, not real money).
Fortuitously my wife had left her lunch at home and rang to see if i was going over her way to drop it off. Seeing as travelling into Cardiff was not on the list of jobs she had given for my day off i took this as an order rather than a request.
But this meant i could combine it with a trip to the beer shop.

Now i know i have mentioned them once or twice, but it is really a fab shop.


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You wouldn't guess the depth of range from the outside, pretty much any Belgian beer you can think off, British from up in Orkney down to Keltek in Cornwall. The US is represented regularly by Anchor, Brooklyn and Flying Dog now, dotted with specials from Sierra Nevada and others. Many other countries are represented by their more well known breweries, such as Australia and Little Creatures.
He also has a good range of changing German beers although he admits supplies are not as varied as before, the proprietor is friendly and good for a chat about what's new and good.
They have however found new suppliers and the shelves have been brightened recently with the likes of Thornbridge, The Kernel and Bristol Beer Factory. They certainly have come up trumps this time though, with small supplies of Mikkeller and Nogne O.
If you love beer and are in or around Cardiff then you have to visit,  at 97-99 Whitchurch Rd, Cardiff, South Glamorgan. 

What did i buy? My beer geek heart skipped a beat when i saw the Mikkeller, and he only had 2 bottles of the Nogne O so i took one. Beer Geek Breakfast and from their single hop series the Tomahawk IPA, the Nogne O is the Brun belgian style ale.
The one and only Kernel I've had was brilliant so from the range of 5 or 6 there i took the Pale Ale Citra and Cascade, and from an equally wide selection from Thornbridge i fancied the Saint Petersburg. 
My first Odell Brewing Co. beer will be the St Lupulin, and from Anchor is the large bottle but low abv 'Small Beer'. 
Following Ghostie's post i also picked up Berliner Kindl Weisse - wonder how much he paid for it in The North Bar? 

In the photos you can see the others i bought, hence i think that will be my last trip to the shop this side of Xmas!

 Speaking of Xmas, I got the seasonal offering from the Bristol Beer Factory 'Bristoloe' and one from Ridgeway Brewery who seem to brew for export to America more often than not, but I had their Reindeer Droppings before and it was quite good so took the 'Reindeer's Revolt'

And while we mention Christmas I see Tesco have a Leffe gift pack on sale. The post i did last year about a similar present is surprisingly one of the most read here, often through the google images picture I took. The gift I saw today is a 330ml bottle, glass and bottle opener, I think it was £5.99.

Whilst there i did also pick up two bottles I've not seen before, Asahi Premium Black lager, and Crabbie's Black Reserve. This is a 6% abv giner beer oak matured with extra spices, citrus and ginger for longer than normal.

Great Orme 'Orme'

The Great Orme brewery, based in the Conwy Valley, have been going since 2005, and I believe they sell quite well in North Wales, but this is however the first time I've seen their beer outside a festival.

'Orme' is a 4.2% bitter, 500mls bottle, not bottle conditioned.
Colour is deep brown, briefly had a head but soon gone.
Aroma was malt, caramel, a little smokey and woody.
It has a thinnish body, the malt and caramel dominate, again smokiness comes in, fruity and some butter too.
To be honest i didn't really enjoy this, I didn't think it was balanced, the caramel and fruit sweetness are spoiled by the butter overtones, and a hop bitterness smothered by the woody smoke that's not pleasant.

Jacobi Brewery of Caio "dark roasted ale"

I'm afraid I know little about this brewery but what i manage to find out is:

- Based on one of the few National Trust lands in Wales, the Dolaucothi estate in West Wales.
- Started in 2006 by Justin and Jane Jacobi, i met Justin at a recent food festival and he's a very nice bloke.
- He told me that they were hoping to convert a nearby building into a brewery tap and shop.
- This is the website but there's nowt there!

 So, the Jacobi Brewery of Caio produce 4 regular beers plus seasonal offerings, I picked up the dark, Light ale, and Red Squirrel bitter. I also tasted a locally sourced honey beer (i forget its name). They sell locally, festivals, realbeerbox online and through some National Trust shops.


Tonight i fancied the 'dark roasted ale', 500mls, 5% abv, not bottle conditioned. When opening it i feared it was going to be a flat beer as there was hardly any 'pffft' but this was actually no problem i the end, it stayed perfectly carbonated through to the bottom the the glass. Head retention was reasonable also, an off white head.

Strong roasted aroma, creamy chocolate, a little spicy.
With the fizz and its dark brown colouring its similar looking to Coke, plus a head.
Light body, not as strongly roasted as the aroma suggests but nicely smooth to start with light chocolate, a dryness, sharp berry fruits sneak in too. Ends with a mild bitterness.
Very pleasant overall, look forward to trying the other beers from the brewery.

Purple Moose Brewery 'Myrica Gale'

The Purple Moose Brewery are based in North Wales near Snowdonia whose range of beers in their 6 year history have won quite a few awards at national and international level, including Champion beer of Wales in 2009.

My bottle tonight is this years winter seasonal 'Myrica Gale'. A stout brewed with Hallertau hops, 500mls 4.1% abv, and with bog myrtle added.
Bog myrtle is also known as sweet gale, and has a long history in brewing, being frequently used for bittering, its 'intoxicating' effects and was used in place of the hops when brewing.

A nice very light brown head that settles to a ring in the glass. Colour is near black but deep red at the edges when held up.
Aroma is chocolate, spicy which reminds me of dandelion and burdock.
Light to medium in the mouth for a stout, carbonation is good.
The spices are more evident in tasting, herbal and bitter tones, although they dont linger to much in the mouth. As it goes on the chocolate and roasted malts come through more.
Easy to drink and overall its quite nice, refreshing, interesting. I found the spice dominating over your normal stout flavours however, although not in an offensive over the top way.

International Stout Day

is November the third, you can find more details here.
But what more do you need to know?  just get some stout and drink it!!
Except i cant. I'm working a couple of night shifts this week.
Poor show for a blog with stout in the title huh!

Anyway on the next available evening i'll retrospectivly celebrate and drink some black stuff, namely these two welsh bottles.

The Jacobi brewery of Caio  i picked up three of their bottles a month ago, the Dark roasted ale will be perfect for stout night, the sample i tasted was tantalising. 

Next will be the Purple Moose brewery  and their seasonal offering "Myrica Gale"  'a sumptuous stout brewed using Hallertau hops with the added extravagance of bog myrtle' 

Sounds interesting!!