Breweries and Armageddon

2012-03-11  IC, MR

After work, we had time to try and visit a few breweries and pubs before dinner. The first attempt to the BlueBall Brewery was fruitless, as they appeared to be closed. 

 

This was after several attempts to contact them. Not a good start.

The next brewery was quite impressive. 

At George Wrightbrewing we spoke with Mr. Wright (not named "George") and has a brief tour. His brewery is relatively new, and was formed upon his retirement. It is extremely modern in the sense that a custom-programmed PLC control system "allows you to set up the day's brew from your PC or iPhone(!)" 

 

This may sound to some like a sterile, soulless way to brew, but the name of the game in any recipe is consistency. It also  maximizes efficiency, in that the boiler will take into account such things as ambient air temperature when heating the water to a boil. 

 So that when you walk in at 9 AM to begin brewing, the water has just reached proper temperature. You have not wasted one Joule of energy. Now that is environmentally-friendly, "green" brewing. 

Picked up for later that night:

Pure Blonde Premium Lager

Cheeky Pheasant (ESB)

Pipe Dream (IPA)

Stopped at the Caledonia, which had some good ales on. 

Also had a great chat with the manager about the Walking Dead TV show, and zombies in general. Tried a:

Box Steam Brewery - Piston Broke (golden; "pissed and broke")

Revolutions - Vienna Lager (quite good)

Liverpool Craft - Icon Dark (London porter)

From there it was a brisk walk to Peter Kavanagh's - and by "brisk" it is meant "snowy and freezing" - for a few.

A very eclectically-decorated interior, led to a nice choice of ales:

Blakemere - Ginger Hop (spiced ale)

Peerless - Crystal Maze (brown)

Then it was back for dinner, with a short stop at the Telegraph. 

Here we learned that BlueBall brewing is still around, but apparently not as active as it was. 

Had a:

Wynchwood - Hobgoblin (ESB)

Osett - Yorkshire Blonde

After dining, had the beer. The beer that went across the Atlantic to America, then due to a DHL cock-up (more on that when the rage subsides) back to the shipper, where it was almost destroyed! 

Anyway, presenting the strongest beer in the world (for now):

Brewmeister - Armageddon 

[65% ethanol, 130 proof] (classed as an "Ale, Scotch, Suicide")

So how is it? It does not taste as strong as the ABV would indicate, nor is it as thick. Both the former and latter may be to less impurities, due to the nature of the "freeze fermenting" which removes water, said water containing solids as well. Is it worth the cost? That depends on your point of view. If you're a beer fan - absolutely.