Beer Geek's Breakfast

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7870641958407671573.post-59498087533755134542008-04-17T00:15:00.000-07:002008-04-21T23:53:30.219-07:00Beer Geek's BreakfastWell, this beer geek's breakfast was judging the Sainsbury's Beer Competition yesterday and the final 15 were a jolly impressive round-up of good to great beers - full list below. My personal favourite of the bunch was Holden's Golden Glow - do you know why? Because it is a just a really good, easy drinking, well balanced beer - and you just don't get enough of those these days. It is a British ale, just 4.4%, and it's made with Maris Otter and Fuggles - and all those simple things somehow combined to make beery nectar of the highest order. What really struck me about this beer was it did everything just right - the mouthfeel was silky without being sickly, the biscuit of the malt wasn't too sweet and the hops were just bitter enough to make me want to take another sip, and another, and another! So well done Holden's - for me you were head and shoulders above everyone else in the craft of balanced brewing. I also had a good chat with the beer buyer - and Sainsbury's seems pretty committed to stocking good beer and supporting the brewers who make it, which is nice to see. I'm not advocating abandoning local beer purveyors if you use them, but if you are going to shop in a supermarket for your beer then choose one that gives brewers a fair deal. Anyway, on to the reason for the title of this post. Having finished in Holborn I had to head to Borough to do some work on my new joint venture <a href="http://www.lovebeeratborough.ning.com/">http://www.lovebeeratborough.ning.com/</a> and I got caught, as so often happens, having a couple in the Rake. Whereupon I met Phil Lowry from <a href="http://www.beermerchants.com/">Cave Direct </a>, who may need to redeem himself after saying something along the lines of 'you look nothing like your facebook picture' and then following it up later with the comment 'it's a sexy picture'!!!! My fragile ego has naturally been shattered by these comments... Anyway, he's currently still, just about, making the Christmas card list because he introduced me to the Beer Geek's Breakfast, a coffee stout from <a href="http://www.mikkeller.dk/Ollet_Geek_GB.html">Mikkeller</a>. These former home-brew enthusiasts were voted fifth best Danish brewer in 2006 and on the strength of this beer I can see why. Although I will honestly say it's a little sweet for my taste, coffee lovers will adore it - it's made with a pretty complex mix of malts, hops, molasses and coffee - pale, oat, smoked, caramunich, brown, pale chocolate and chocolate, roasted barley, flaked oats, Palisade, Centennial and Cascade. And I love their unashamed assertion that you should actually drink this to start the day: "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, many say, and if you are a beer geek there is no better way to start the day than with a powerful, complex morning stout. The unique mix of oats and coffee gives this beer large body and power, while the coffee, at the same time, creates a nice balance." Couldn't have said it better myself! Sainsbury's Beer Competition Winners Williams Bros Brewing Co Good Times Holden's Brewery Ltd Golden Glow Hampshire Brewery Pendragon Highgate Brewery Ltd Highgate Old Ale St Peter's Brewery St Peter's Amarillo Ale Sharps Brewery Honey Spice Wheat Beer Okell & Son Ltd Dr Okells IPA Copper Dragon Scotts 1816 Frederic Robinson Ltd Ginger Tom Redrat Craft Brewery Crazy Dog Stout Bath Ales Barnstormer Ridgeway Brewing Beer of the Gods Greene King Greene King Sun Dance Arundel Brewery Prizefighter Williams Bros Brewing Co Harvest Son Cairngorm Brewery Company Trade Winds<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7870641958407671573-5949808753375513454?l=girlsguidetobeer.blogspot.com'/></div>Melissa Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13701889299756506857noreply@blogger.com6