Full Bore: aka ROCKET FUEL

Full bore. I think the name speaks for itself.

Another brainchild from Hunters Brewery in Ipplepen, I have to say they have done another good job. Lets just start with outlining the most important aspect of this ale, and quickly mention in passing the fact that is has an 8% ABV! That my friends, results in a pint you have to be reasonably careful with.

The over-the-bar dialogue: white = customer, blue = me (bartender)

"Hey, can I get a pint of the full bore?"
"Watch out, its rocket fuel- 8% you know..."
"Woah what! (checks pump clip) So it is! er, ok, I'll just have a half."
"Ok, thats fine, come back if you want some more"
... minutes later customer returns....
"(sheepishly) Yeah, I'll have two pints please"

So there you have it. People are initially shocked by the ABV, but then it turns out they don't actually mind and come back for more anyway.

You have to wonder why, and so, I had a pint after work.

I was expecting to be overwhelmed by the alcohol, but in fact they seem to have got away with it. In itself, it is a very sweet beer with a deep rich fruity smell and a medium dark colour. I realised the reason for the sweetness was obvious. In order to get a draught real ale with that kind of percentage, you have to put vast amounts of sugar into it. I did a bit of research, and apparently they use a lot of Devon honey to achieve this. There you have it, thats how it gets so sweet.

I would say its a pretty slow drink. Not exactly a chugger or a session beer. I mean after all, too many would kill you and it is kind of heavy to drink. But I suppose that has to be expected. I personally think it makes a nice pint.

Interestingly, Hunters Brewery also do a pint called Half bore- which is the same as full bore but with half the stuff and half the alcohol. I would be curious to taste it and see how it turns out in terms of flavour and colour. Anyway, this led me to discover something...

If you buy half a pint of full bore, you are kind of paying half price for a pint of half bore. And inversely, if you buy a pint of half bore, you are paying double for half a pint of full bore, or half for a full pint. That is provided what Hunters say is true about the "exact half ingredients" thing. Get your head around that one.

A Pint of your best Piddle please...

Now that I work in a pub, I am beginning to understand the value of customer/ bartender interaction when it comes to the purchase of ale. Its a fine art- discussing flavours, heaviness, aroma, ABV, and the all important offering of tasters.

However, when a patron approaches the bar and asks for a pint of Piddle, you can't help but smirk. Its also a good conversation starter, for example, "A pint of piddle please", "HAHA I love it when people say that", "yeah, funny name right" ... and so on, and so on.

I am of course talking about "Dorset Piddle", from the dorset piddle brewery. Previous to 2008, if you asked for a pint of Piddle you would get laughed out the door, but now with the release of this rather idiosyncratically named pale ale, it is proving a big hit. Yesterday, I must have sold about 20 times more of this stuff than the other 3 guest ales we had on pump at the time.

As for the beer itself, it is amber in colour but still manages a nice full flavour. I have often found that some beers of paler nature tend to lack in body and substance, but this one doesn't disappoint. It tastes quite fruity and has a fruity kind of smell to it, but what I like about it most is the fact it still manages a nice bitter finish at the end.

In the words of the brewery itself, "I love a good Piddle".

The brewery also does a number of beers that look promising, such as Yogi Beer, Silent Slasher, Cocky Hop, and Jimmy Riddle. You can't help but spot a theme... regardless, I look forward to tasting them if Piddle is anything to go by!

Back in the swing with Bay's Gold

First of all, my apologies! I have been totally away from blogging for about half a year! As of now I will be rekindling my ale blog and my main day to day blog, so stay tuned. Someone made me realise that blogging and keeping a record of your life is far too cool to not do. So in order to not, not, be awesome... I am blogging again.

In the time between now and my last post, I now actually work in a pub that serves guest ales on a regular basis, so expect regular updates as of now.

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I thought I would start with a Bay's beer. I live in Torbay, in fact, only a short walk away from the brewery. They have established themselves well in the local market and set up a lot of deals with local pubs so they are permanently on tap.

Me and my drinking partners have always been, lets say, rather critical of Bay's beers. In general we have found them to have not a very good head and be a bit tasteless. My personal opinion of them is that they are drinkable, no doubt, but quite watery.

Today, I had a pint of Bay's staple beer- "Bay's Gold", despite my previous reservations.

The colour of the beer was pale, but not the palest I have seen. It had a nice hoppy bitter taste to it, but once again disappointingly like other Bay's ales, no real head at all. It was not as watery as some of the Bay's beer I have tried, but still pretty thin. Again, I have had thinner beers.

On the whole, I would say by no means is this a bad beer. It tastes fine, but it wouldn't be my first choice if there was something else I liked. It is pretty safe to have at 4.3% ABV, and so in conclusion I deem this an acceptable session beer. I prefer my session beers a bit smoother, but the thin quality of Bay's Gold didn't allow that. My impression of Bay's in general have gone up, and I would recommend it because it is locally brewed.

However, for someone who is just starting out with drinking ales, if you try this, do not assume this is what really good beer is like. Bay's Gold is fine, and I will enjoy a pint of it, but there are plenty of lovely ales with all sorts of attributes that can make you never want to go back to drinking lager.