..not more bloody glasses!

is what my  wife is saying, as over the last month I've picked up a couple of new one from various charity shops. She's threatening to throw some of my older one's out unless I make some room my self!

The Duvel was the latest find, actually there was three of them but I thought that would be pushing my luck so got just the one.
The Rochefort and Maredsous are really nice but not sure how much I'll use them.
I saw the ten sided 'fluted' half pint mug in our local shop, something rang a bell about this and I found what I had previously read about these on the excellent Zythophile.

Lastly I also found this ceramic mug (handle is out of shot) of the Weihenstephan brewery, not quite sure what I'll do with this one!

(They also had glasses from this Moeder Overste beer but it was a frosted style glass and not that nice to be honest.)

Maredsous 6 Blond

I opened this whilst watching England get their arses kicked by Ireland in the rugby. Just like Ireland this beer was big, strong and followed through to the end.

It starts with a big foamy head, straw gold colour, and its aroma is yeasty, and a very sharp citrus hit.
It was very carbonated, with a clean bitterness, melon, lots of alcohol, and a sticky quality.
I really was enjoying this, taking attention away from the disappointment on the TV. You could taste in the upper palate the hop bitterness, and the alcohol and pepper came through stronger in the aroma at end joined by some candy sugar taste.

a few new bottles

Managed a beer run early this week in Cardiff, and now i'm tingling with excitement at my purchases.
On my last visit i chatted with the owner about possibly getting in more US beers, and i was pleased to see a chance to try something other than the Pale ale from Sierra Nevada as on the shelves was their Torpedo IPA.
Turning the corner and amongst the very recently newly stocked shelves was Sharp's Monsieur Rock, which i think most beer drinkers who read blogs will have read about, a brilliant tasting and extremely drinkable bottle from Stuart Howe and Orval's Jean-Marie Rock apparently. I picked up three bottles, kept looking at the others on the shelf though, i might go back sooner rather than later.

 Next in the box was something i've seen around in books and online but never actually on a shelf, that is Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Joining it was Saltaire brewery's Cascade Pale ale 4.8%, Naylor's brewery Bradford Lad 7.2% strong ale/barley wine.
Ridgeway brewery's Bad King John, a 6% black ale which going by the label is supposed to exported to the US.

Now from the other side of the English Channel comes:
Saison Dupont 33cl 6.5%, Lindemans Faro Lambic 4.2%,
Maredsous Abbaye Blonde 6%, and Westmalle Trappist Dubbel 7%.

Again there was so many i picked up and left behind, 3 Monts, Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet, so many british breweries, Thornbridge's pilsner also was hesitantly put back (this time). He only had the Marzan smoked beer left no Urbock unfortunately, and i was hoping for a couple of different wheat beers but his German supplier is not as good as it used to be he tells me. And i got a free glass!