Open It! Four Great Bottles

This weekend’s Open It saw a burst of beer-opening excitement (check out the twitter hashtag #openit for all the action). Here’s what I opened.

The first beer wasn’t strictly there for Open It but it was so good that it’s getting a promotion. Buxton Brewery’s Moor Top is 3.6% and 3.6% of bottled British beer usually makes me sigh in expected disappointment (too thin, too weak, not enough flavour), but this one is very different. A looking-loving pale gold pint, this one takes off when you get your nose nearby and take a faceful of Chinooks for the effort – lime, grapefruit, tangy tropical fruit, ginger. It’s clean, refreshing, light and so, so drinkable, plus a poky bitterness to keep you going back for more. I’ve heard good things about Buxton and now I want to try more!

Coalition Ale, the Thornbridge and DarkStar collaboration, has been waiting for a special occasion and it didn’t disappoint: it’s one of the best beers I’ve drunk this year. Brewed in February 2009, hopped with Atlas, Aurora and Liberty, and bottled in October 2010, it pours a handsome hazy orange with a head which drops to a fine lace. The aroma is a subtle, pastel-coloured spectrum of oranges, and the taste is the sort of thing that has your tongue dancing. It’s so simple yet there’s so much interesting complexity to it, so much depth. It’s bitter at the end but never overpowering, mellowing marvellously into the beer, there’s a dryness to it, lime oil, citrus zest, liquorice, and no negative signs of aging, no greys around the temples. It’s stunning and I want more bottles.

Next was Kernel and DarkStar’s Imperial Marzen, a 9.1% nightmare for style pedants. A hazy red-amber pour, malty and full bodied as you’d expect from a Marzen, especially one supersized in strength. There’s lots of orange blossom, orange pith, peaches and a bunch of fresh flowers in the aroma, probably from something other than noble hops, and it’s got that gorgeous slick body I love from Kernel beers. There’s not much bitterness but lots of hop flavour, and it’s very easy drinking – the sort of beer you chase to the bottom of the glass to try and understand it, never quite managing it and needing another straight after. It’s so interesting, so tasty, so nice to drink, even if it does defy every style book written now or in the future.

Another Kernel topped off my Open It weekend – Imperial Brown Stout 1856. A 10.1% beer monster packed thick with chocolate, a little coffee bitterness, some booze around the tonsils, a chocolate ice cream sweetness, a puff of smoke and char and a plum skin fruity bitterness. It’s mouthfilling, intense, rich, darkly delicious and very good. Absolutely brilliant.

Four of the best beers I’ve had in a long time, especially the Coalition, which is a masterpiece. What made these beers stand out is how balanced they all are and how drinkable, despite some lofty ABVs, they are, with each of them having a depth of flavour that makes each gulp more interesting than the last. And that’s a great quality to have in a beer.

Who else has had these beers? What did you think? 

Open It! Reminder: 29 April – 2 May

Don’t forget, Open It is this coming weekend. It’s a reason and an excuse to open a bottle of beer you’ve been meaning to open for ages and enjoy it. And whether you do it alone or with a group of friends, make sure you tell others about it on twitter (#openit), facebook or in blogs (but don’t use it as a willy-waving competition – it’s for sharing the experience of a beer you’ve wanted to try for ages and saying whether it met, exceeded or failed your expectations).

29 April – 2 May. Just Open it!

Open It!

Grab your diaries and put a big red circle around the Royal Wedding weekend (29 April – 2 May) and inside that circle scribble the words ‘Open It!’ because it’s time to go into the dusty depths of the beer cellar and open something good just for the sake and fun of opening something good.

Open It! is there for those bottles that are set aside for a special occasion which invariably never comes. It’s for those bottles that take pride of place in the cellar but never end up getting opened before sadly replaced by shiny new bottles. It’s for that one beer you’ve been waiting to open but just didn’t know when to open it. Or, it’s just for sitting down and opening something different, something you’ve always wanted to try or something brand new.

It’s about drinking a good beer and sharing it with others, whether in real life or online in blogs, twitter or on facebook. Maybe you’ll open that prized old ale, perhaps it’s a brand new release, maybe you want an Open It! party to get through a few special treats, whatever, let’s just open some great beer and drink it!

Do it any time over the weekend of 29 April – 2 May. Feel free to use the logo (designed by Rich from myBrewerytap and Magic Rock Brewery) and use the #OpenIt hashtag on twitter. Let’s drink some good beer!

Who’s in?

Hair of the Dog Adam and Moor JJJ IPA: Open It!

The final day of Open It! and two more bottles. The first is a survivor from San Francisco; Adam, a ‘Hearty Old World Ale’ by Hair of the Dog in Portland, which uses Northwest hops, pilsner malt and speciality malt, including some smoked malts. At 10% it pours like black petrol with a red hue. It’s so unexpectedly fruity that it brings a smile – raisins first, then a spritz of mango and passion fruit, then dark, finger-staining, overripe berries. That fruit chimes with the uplifting sweetness which runs through it but it’s shadowed by a deep, dark chocolate and charred wood background which really makes this beer. It’s intense, full on, interesting and different with each mouthful. The smoke adds a really interesting flavour to the whole thing while all that fruit cuts through it.

And the final Open It! beer is one I’ve been saving to see how time changes it. When I first opened a Moor JJJ IPA I described it as “not a pussy-footing, pretend imperial IPA. This beer is balls-out and in your face” with the “kiss-on-the-cheek, slap-on-the-bum of big malt and big hops that makes very bitter beers so drinkable.” Now it’s so very different. The hops have changed, they’ve blended in, they’ve left a little sticky, piney residue and a drying finish and instead of punching you in the face they now tickle your chin. This beer is no longer about the hops and it’s the malt that wins it with berries, jam, vanilla and oh-so smooth and easy drinking for its toe warming 9.5%. I wanted to see what it’d be like with some age to it but I didn’t expect such a large shift; it’s like a new beer. Given a choice I think I’ll go with the fresh one (I love hops), but on a cold Sunday night this one warmed me to the core and I enjoyed every greedy gulp. ‘Drink Moor Beer’ is something I intend to do next year.

That’s Open It! done and I think it was a success. So much of a success that we’ll plan another one in six months! Thanks to everyone who took part, I hope there were some good beers poured over the weekend.

Nectar Ales Black Xantus: Open It!

Some people are just nice and want to give you bottles of beer because they think you will like them. This happened to me when I was in San Francisco. A tweet arrived saying something along the lines of ‘I’ve left some bottles behind the bar for you.’ I never met Bill (I don’t think so, anyway, although I don’t remember much of SF as I was either completely wasted or disgustingly hungover with very little in the middle UPDATE: I did meet Bill! It was in City Beer Store where I was at my drunkest! Sorry Bill and thanks again), the guy who left them, but I’m incredibly grateful. The first was a Russian River Damnation 23 (an oaked tripel) and it was sensational. The second was Black Xantus by Nectar Ales.

It’s an 11% imperial stout with coffee, aged in bourbon barrels and hopped with US Fuggles, which is just my kind of thing. It pours a dark brown with a chucky head that you can’t help but dip your finger into. Immediately it bursts with bourbon and throws out vanilla ice cream, oak, coconut and milk chocolate. One mouthful and I’m in love (and lust): imagine an amazing chocolate milkshake with bourbon and you aren’t far off. It’s a smooth glugger, packed with chocolate, iced coffee, fruity and roasted coffee, lots of barrel and a little liquorice. It’s – here it comes – awesome.

Simple as that. I don’t know much about the brewery or the beer but it doesn’t matter. The beer is excellent and I’ve finally got around to drinking it. The joy of Open It! is that it isn’t necessarily about drinking the superstars or the rarities of the cellar (though this may well be a rare superstar...), it’s about drinking the beers you’ve been meaning to drink.

There’s still time for people to take part in Open It! and lots have already been drinking something good from their selection. Just look at twitter to see what people have been drinking.

Marble Decadence Kriek: Open It!

I’ve decided to make a weekend of Open It! and get through a few of the nice bottles which are in the beer cupboard. Following the action on twitter, it seems I’m not the only one taking full advantage and getting stuck into some of those beers which were gathering dust.

I’ve had the Marble Decadence Kriek for ages. It’s just been sitting in the cupboard with no real to-be-opened occasion hanging around its shoulders. It’s an 8.7% imperial stout blended with kriek, a sour cherry beer (I was told what kriek it was but my booze-addled brain has completely forgotten). They also do a straight-up Decadence, which I’ve got but haven’t opened, and one blended with Frambozen, which I had months ago. When I opened the Frambozen the cork nearly blew a hole in my kitchen ceiling, so I proceeded with caution with this, making sure eyes, teeth and lights were at safe distances.

It pours an oily black with a tan head flush with the pink of cherries. The kriek dominates to begin with to the point where eyes-closed this could just be a heavy-bodied sour beer, but if ever there was a case for a beer to be decanted then this is it, as over the space of a couple of hours it evolved and grew into something altogether different.

Starting with sour overkill, at one point I wrote that it tastes like cheap red wine (heavy on the tongue, sharply overpowering berries, tannic) but then it all changed and mellowed and the sour went in and the chocolate underneath came out. By the end of the bottle it’s chocolate, sour cherries and almonds in near-harmony, though still a little cherry-heavy for my taste. It won’t be for everyone, given the sharp tang running through it, but it’s an interesting beer. The true test: would I buy it again? Probably not (give me the kriek and the stout separately). I’d stick to the Special (which really is special) or try the new US IPA, Utility Special, which is currently available. Or the delicious Dobber.

Marble Decadence Kriek: I finally opened it! Now what should I have tomorrow... 

Open It! This Weekend

It’s almost time to Open It! This weekend, 3-5 December, is when we can get those special bottles and open them just for the sake of opening them. Andy and I have also managed to arrange for lots of people to be snowed in to enjoy it even more and to have an even better excuse to drink a beer from the stash...!

It’s simple: just choose a bottle you’ve been saving for ages and open it. Then tell others about it on twitter (use the #openit hashtag), blogs, facebook or even in real life. It’s a chance to drink those beers while they are (hopefully) still good because the last thing we want is to hoard a beer for years and then find out it’s way passed its best!

Open It! this weekend. Who's taking part?

Annoyingly, I am actually snowed in with no hope of reaching my special bottles, which live with my parents in their garage (I’ve called and made sure a few towels have been laid over them to keep them less cold). This means that one or two of my to-be-opened beers now won’t be opened and instead I need to pick a few others. Thankfully I’ve got a couple in the flat that I can finally release into my glass.

Feel free to use the logo in any blog posts you want to post. It was designed by Richard from myBrewerytap. If you are snowed in and need beer then that’s the place to go!

Open It! Reminder

Dust off those special bottles because Open It! is coming very soon... Friday 3 December to Sunday 5 December, get the good bottles out of the cupboard and get them open. Don’t hold back thinking that a worthy special occasion will come along soon, that you might get a new job next week, a promotion next month, win the lottery, get married, have some kids, whatever. They don’t come very often and the last thing you want is to go to that bottle in a year and find that it’s past its best. This is the chance to make a special occasion just to open that bottle.

It’s as easy as that and everyone can take part: Open a bottle or two (share them if you want – an Open It! Party) over that weekend and then tell others. Write a blog about it, tweet about it (#openit), use the facebook page or just talk to people in real life while you drink that beer you’ve been saving for ages. Do it between 3-5 December and tell us what you are drinking and how it is.

Just Open It!

This is another joint effort between me and Andy from Beer Reviews.

Announcing: Open It!

Here comes the next community blog project and this one is about collaboration, sharing and having an excuse to open something special.

Does any of the following sound familiar… Lots of unopened bottles at home, special bottles, rare bottles, expensive bottles or just bottles that aren’t ready to be opened. Most of them are waiting for ‘special occasions’ but these occasions don’t come around or aren’t special enough. And the bottles build up, they get added to, a hierarchy develops, things get pushed up or down. But all you really want to do is drink these beers and you know you should just get it open, drink it and enjoy it. Instead they wait, gathering dust, not getting any better, just because we are waiting for the right moment...

So here’s the idea: let’s create a special occasion. Let’s call this special occasion Open It! and let’s drink the good beers. Let’s find a bottle from the depth of the cellar and open it, drink it and then tell others about it (in blogs, blog comments or twitter or facebook).

Open it alone or open it with others; hold an Open It! party or take it to the pub to see what people think. Most importantly, get that bottle open and drink the thing and then tell everyone about it.

This can be like The Session or Beer Swap (and we can do it once or twice a year) and it’s not limited to beer either. If you’re a wine drinker or whisky, whatever, just get the bottle open. Choose the bottle you most want to drink from the cellar and make the occasion a special one – light some candles, choose the right music, wear something nice, you get the picture.

Open It! over the first weekend in December – Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th – and then blog about it in the week after. Use the #openit hashtag on twitter while you are drinking it and like the facebook group. It’s just about opening something special and enjoying it.

Who’s in?

And many thanks again to Rich from myBrewerytap for the logo!