Sharpest tools in the shed!

Blog 4. Just one more week until the blog's series finale! I have decided to branch out in the beer aisle this week and bring you 3 beers from Sharp's brewery in Cornwall, England. Sharp's brewery was founded in 1994 by Bill Sharp with the ambition of brewing 500 beers a week to pay the mortgage.

I was surprised at the variety of Sharp's beers available to me in a Scottish supermarket and the 3 I have selected are: Atlantic Pale Ale, Doom Bar Amber Ale and Seven Souls Dark Ale. 3 different ales to try and see which one I  prefer!

First up, we have Seven Souls. The Dark Ale! At 5.4% in strength; I have started with the strongest 1st tonight. Was this a good idea? Only time will tell... I have poured these beers into a glass tonight to see the colour contrast between them! There is a slight liquorice aroma to this one to match its almost black colour! First sip is not what I was expecting with a hint of chocolate and coffee with a very subtle bitterness. Quite a pleasant beer and I would recommend stout drinkers to give this one a go! Overall, 6.5/10.

Second on the agenda is the Atlantic Pale Ale! Coming in at 4.5% we have an averaged strength ale. Lighter in colour to that of the Seven Souls, it replicates the typical beer. With a sweet and fruity aroma it matches its tastes with a fruity hop hit with a sweet and refreshing finish! Lovely beer and I would recommend it to the lager drinkers wanting to branch out and try something different. Overall, 8/10!

Last up for tonight's episode we have the Doom Bar! I must admit I have had this a few times before as it usually pops up as a guest ale in a few pubs from time to time but I will try remain neutral! At 4.3% we have our weakest of the evening but not a weak beer by all means! A slight hoppy and nutty aroma! Taste is good with a sweetish malt flavour with a slight floral hop flavour to it! I must say, compared to the cask ale of this beer; I much prefer the bottled version! Overall, 7/10.

That's all for this evening folks! Tonight's winner would definitely have to be the Atlantic Pale Ale! I think this may be my favourite of the blog series so far! Please stay tuned next week for the blog finale. I will try finish on a high! As usual I hope you've enjoyed this blog and please feel free to share among friends! Hopefully give you some inspiration for the weekend!

Till next week!!

The Wild Wild West!!

Here we are! The blog series finale! I have decided to go all out and leave the beer aisle behind me and indulge in the pub experience! I have just returned from West Brewery Glasgow where I have undergone top class research. West Brewery has been sitting on Glasgow Green for 11 years with a company ethos of "Glaswegian Heart. German Head". West Brewery have tours available in their micro-brewery. They have many beers to choose from in their beer-hall style pub. Each beer being available in the form of pint, stein or jug! Obviously for the blog finale we went for something more than the usual pint and opted for the stein(Purely for the craic and entertainment purposes)! I feel if I opted for the jug I would be completely incapable of writing this blog now!

Picture Stolen from Google as it was dark when I was there.

Lovely Candle Lit Beer 

First stop on our western adventure was West4, a session lager at 4% in strength. This beer was a nice light beer very easy to drink. Almost like it was made for the stein! With a citrus aroma it made the beer refreshing and crisp. The only issue with this beer was that it lacked real flavour. Overall, 7.5/10 for this beer!

Murray and Jake joining me on the beer tasting! 

Next up, Wild West! At 4.9%, this was the unfiltered lager which gave it a slightly clouded look. On first sip you could taste mild bitterness from the hops in the beer joined with a fruity aroma and citrus flavour of passionfruit. Another easy to drink beer with more flavour to it and a prolonged taste after sip which made it that bit more enjoyable. I personally would give this beer an 8/10!

Shout out to sober Leah. No such thing as a diet that doesn't allow beer! 

So for the final beer of the beer blog, I opted for the GPA (German Pale Ale). At 5.9% I feel it was this stein that tipped me over the edge. A lovely delicate beer with a floral, grassy aroma. On first sip you are greeted with a hoppy hit with a prolonged bitter taste with a long lasting flavour it was rather enjoyable. To be honest it was a nice beer but I'll give it a 7/10 for reasons I am not sure on other than it took me longer to finish this stein.

Trying to power through the last one!

Overall, tonight's winner has to the be the Wild West. An easy drinker and full of flavour. However, don't let this discourage you from the others. All very good beers and easy to get through a stein of each of them! I would also recommend West Brewery to anyone for a drink. Lovely atmosphere and a cracking beer garden. We sat inside on this occasion as it was BALTIC outside!

3 empty steins!

I hope you have enjoyed the absolute garbage I have been writing in these blogs over the weeks but that is it from me for now! If you could help me out one last time by sharing it if you enjoyed it I would greatly appreciate and leave a comment if you would like to see more in the future!

Thank you all!

Over and Out.