365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
Beer #718 Newcastle Brown Ale / Caledonian Brewing Company, Edinburgh, Scotland
Previously from this brewery: the others
Hustle day, so I'm keeping this short - and if I can be honest, probably not interesting.
Today's beer is a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale, which I think was left in the cooler at a tailgate. Last season. It pours with a dark amber color with a fluffy white head. There are aromas of biscuit and malt, and flavors of caramel, sweet malt, and a hint of bitterness. This beer is very easy drinking, and while there are certainly more flavorful or complex brown ales out there, this one holds up.
Back when there was sun in the world, unlike winter
It's almost odd to have a beer that comes out of a clear bottle, when you think about it. Thing to Think About Today:
A brown ale... the day before Thanksgiving.... means you get Charlie Brown and the always magical Thanksgiving episode. Should I have posted this tomorrow? Probably, but time doesn't wait for awesome.
Day #714 Werewolf / Caledonian Brewing Company, Edinburgh, Scotland
Previously from this brewery: two reviews of John Smith's Extra Smooth Ale
Game Day!
Today's review is a beer that was in the fridge for seemingly an eternity. No clue where it came from or when it arrived. I guess a beer from Newcastle isn't that cool and kept getting pushed to the back of the pack when I've had some of the rarest and most magnificent beers in the world over the past two years. That being said, Newcastle Brown Ale was one of the first "good" beers I started drinking when I realized there was more to beer than just "cold" or "less filling".
The Werewolf is a special edition red ale (blood red ale, according to the bottle) that has a dark amber hue, and a quickly dissipating white head. Your nose finds aromas of toffee and malt, and there are flavors of bread, berries, and toffee, with a dry bitterness on the finish. This beer isn't exactly outstanding, but is certainly drinkable if you're looking for something in the blood red ale genre. And who isn't?
I'll call my wolf guy....
Thing to Think About Today:
I've already used the song Werewolves of London and the movie Teen Wolf in this space, thus using up two of my three favorite wolf motifs. The third? Duran Duran and Hungry Like the Wolf. Ah, the 80s. Never not awesome. Have a good Saturday, my friends..... go Penn State!
I'm ridiculously excited to go to work tomorrow. The thought of a five day work week is giving me hope that I won't be buried alive under a pile of unfinished paperwork and unfiled event folders. I am a dork.
Tonight I'm drinking an Extra Smooth Ale from John Smith's Brewery. This is another very old brewery that is now owned by a giant beer conglomerate. Mr. Blog Named Brew did all the research so I'll send you over there to learn more.
It is an English pale ale. I love what a widget does to a good pour of beer. That curtain of carbonation rising up to form the thickest, most beautiful head of beer is the thing dreams are made of...sorry...I got sidetracked.
Anyway after all that settled, I got a glass of dark amber ale with a thick, off white head. It smells like something between tea and tobacco. At 3.8% ABV, it is quite easy to drink. The Extra Smooth Ale lives up to its name. It is indeed very smooth. The aroma of tea/tobacco followed through in the flavor. The creamy head was delightful and it finished with a mild hop flavor.
This is a good beer...but I think there are superior examples out there. Old Speckled Hen for example. Cheers!
Beer #306 Extra Smooth Ale / John Smith's Brewery, Tadcaster, England
Today's beer means that we're rapidly approaching the 85% completed mark in this 365 day challenge. The heat is definitely getting turned up now that we're in the fourth quarter. I'm ready for it if you are.
I'll keep the drive alive and review the rather delightful Extra Smooth Ale from John Smith's Brewery in England. Courtesy of the widget in the can, it pours with a creamy cascade of dark copper and a thick white head. Your nose picks up the a sweet aroma of toffee and malt, and the taste is silky smooth, with delicious toffee and malt with some welcome and mild bitterness. At 3.8%, this is a beer that you could - and should - drink all day. I do love ales from England, and this fits in with the best of them. Well done.
I have to admit, that looks extra smooth.
Another brewery with ties to big business. John Smith's dates back to 1778 (as in, during the Revolutionary War), when it was first known as the Backhouse and Hartley Brewery. John Smith took over in 1847, and things went just fine right up to 1970, when hotel/bar conglomerate Courage stepped in and bought the brewery, only to have themselves later bought by Scottish and Newcastle, who later sold a stake to Heineken. Got all of that? While owned by their corporate overlords, this beer is still brewed at John Smith's brewery in Tadcaster, and therefore I'm giving them the credit.
Thing to Think About Today:
In the English speaking world, John is the most common first name, and Smith is the most common last name. Put them both together, and you're looking at the most generic name ever. I'm certain this causes much confusion for those who share a name, as well as those trying to find info on someone named John Smith (hint: helps if you own a brewery!). I guess I consider myself fortunate in the sense there's only one person in America, and as best I can figure the world, who has my name. Never have to worry about people confusing me with someone else, which I guess is a positive, although I can't act like stupid things I do belong to some other dude with my full name.
So, with first and last names on the mind, let's check in with the extra smooth (just like today's beer) Snoop Dogg for one of his first songs, Who Am I (What's My Name)? In addition to being an awesome song from back in the day, this video gave us the incredibly legendary if wildly non-romantic phrase, "You don't love me, you just love my doggy style." Thanks, Snoop. We owe you one.
