Updated on October 18, 2015
I’m back and I’m beering.
After our home tasting with a friend the other week, we were invited again, by a different friend, to come around and taste some beers. I believe the phrasing was, “try some beers and eat potato wedges”. An invitation like that pushes a person a few rungs up my friendship ladder.
Now, while I do use Untappd, Instagram, and a beer blog, I don’t like to spend much time on my phone while I’m drinking beer. I want to stay in the moment: engage with people, enjoy my drink, and appreciate the transience. In this pursuit, I’ve mastered the art of the late check-in, the Latergram, and the untimely blog post.
But of course, I do still like to write about and share my experiences. When I’m having a beer with people I like, I take a photo and sometimes jot down minimal notes–that’s it. So I thought I’d give you a little look behind the curtain by sharing my notes from the other night.
John Boston: The Guard House Golden Ale.
John Boston is the newer, cheaper James-Squire-look-a-like. It’s cheaper for a reason, I think.
My notes:
“Pleasant, beer-flavoured water.”
Pretty self-explanatory.
Next was Sail & Anchor Golden Ale.
My notes:
“Beery, malty-flavoured soda water.”
A step up from the previous one! Look at that glowing review. They’ll fly off the shelves.
Keith & Sons Thai Ginger Beer.
My notes:
“Chilli nose.”
Okay. This one might need some explanation
You know how spicy food makes your nose run and your eyes water when you eat it? Well, have you ever thrown fresh chilli into a pot/pan, and the resulting steam/smoke has gone into your face, up your nose, and BURNED? You haven’t touched it or tasted it, but even the AIR from the chilli is spicy enough to burn your nose. That is ‘chilli nose’. And this ginger beer was so spicy that even the fumes from it gave me chilli nose. (Needless to say, drinking it had a similar effect.)
Sail & Anchor Amber Ale.
My notes:
“Amber.”
Clearly this one didn’t blow my away. There was not one distinctive element for me to write about. Now, to be fair, I’m not great at describing judging from scratch. I tend to compare to similar beers as much as judge something on its own merit. So there was nothing wrong with this amber per se. Just nothing special.
Matilda Bay Dogbolter.
My notes:
“Staid but flavoursome. A bit toffee, but boozy and warm. Great.”
This was definitely tasty, but too tame to be a truly great beer. I wanted more, more, more of those flavours!
And we finished with Monteiths Black Beer, which I’m very familiar with, so didn’t take any notes on.
That’s it. That’s the notes I took.
Some people write beer blogs because they are impressive. Maybe even intimidatingly so. Their experience with beer, their refined palate, their ability to articulate that a certain beer had hints of Jamaican black cherry, Kentucky blue grass, a whiff of 1992 Bordeaux with a finish of week-old lady finger bananas.
But that’s not me. I’m just the guy who wants to sit down and drink a damn great beer with you. I love craft beer, I’m trying to nurture that appreciation, and occasionally I sum up an entire flavour profile with ‘chilli nose’.
P.S. What’s that? You want to hear about the other beers I had this week? The Dancing Fox, the Berserker, the Schopsh? You probably don’t. But if you do, you can always follow me on Untappd and Instagram.
Berserker? Wat? Was I there for that?
You were indeed! That was our recent date at The Scratch.
The moon was low in the sky; the stars aflame. The band played our favourite song, as you drank the chocolate oatmeal stout and I drank the Berserker amber ale. I think they’re going to make a movie about it, starring Hugh Jackman and Zooey Deschanel.
This absolutely. There s chill and have a drink maybe on a date beers, have a beer with dinner beers, and let s pound some fucking beers and get weird beers.