2013-03-13 IC, MR
Contacted Phil at the Long Dog brewery in Baskingstoke, and
he said he would be in at the end of our work day. His brewery had been visited
a year before, but he was not in at that time - fortunately the bar down the
way carried two of his brews.
Longdog brewery is located in a small industrial area, sort
of shoehorned in at the end. Befitting a small volume microbrew, it's a modest setup;
however there is a good bit of room for expansion. As one would read about on
Longdog's own site, the owner had been brewing beer for years, and made the
leap to commercial production a couple of years ago.
One can state almost uncategorically that chefs, bakers, and
brewers are full of almost boundless pride for the quality of the comestibles
they produce. Phil enumerated several of the awards his brews have won
recently. In fact if you want to commission a very small batch for a special
occasion, there's a small test/pilot batch operation available. Did pick up
some bottles of Golden Poacher and Lamplight Porter for later.
Were also able to contact Peter at the Sherfield VillageBrewery at Sherfield on Loddon and stop in. Sherfield Village Brewery is
located on a small farm area, as a tenant of a separate business; and not part
of the actual farm. What was decidedly odd about the area was a warning sign -
the meaning became apparent when the army helicopter churned overhead.
After that shocking surprise, we had the pleasant surprise
of the actual brewery. A modest site, to be sure, but the brews brewed are anything
but modest.
Some of the beers eschew traditional English hops, or craft
interesting concoctions by mixing and matching English, US and New Zealand
hops. Peter was a gracious host, and we sampled:
Wakatu (pale ale)
Hoppy Harrington (bitter)
Mellivora (red)
IPA 2012 (an IPA, from 2012)
Sherfield Porter
Brown Porter (from 2011)
Green Hops Special IPA (first time with a green hop beer)
Left with a bottle of Pewter Suitor to try
Stopped in at the Queens Cottage Arms, who is always good
for a pint. Tried the decidedly odd
River Cottage - Stinger Organic Ale
which apparently uses nettles as the bittering agent. An
interesting concept but the result was not too great.
Then back to the White Hart for dinner. Spoke about beer and
breweries with some of the locals. For dinner savored some really fantastic
chicken, beef, pheasant and lamb curry. Besides dinner, also tried:
Bowman - Nutz (ESB with chestnuts)
Kozel - Kozel (lager from Czechoslovakia) and an
Erdinger - Weissbier [#3,663]
After dinner a small cheese board and a scotch was the end
of a long day.
