Drinks in Focus
Discover World Beers @DiscoverWBeers Follow us to stay in loop with offers, events and news World beer buyer, Wayne Harvey, selects his favourites this quarter from the Discover World Beers range. Orval Orval is a Trappist ale but is remarkably different to the Dubbels and Tripels from the likes of Westmalle and Chimay. The beer is dry-hopped during conditioning so it has a brilliant floral aroma with a good deal of bitterness. The most interesting aspect of Orval is that it is bottle conditioned with Brettanomyces – a yeast strain that over time creates earthy, dry and slightly tart flavours. This beer is perfect for ageing, the dry-hop aroma dials back as it ages with complex Brett characteristics coming to the fore. This essentially means Orval is almost a completely different beer by the time it gets to a year old. Check the bottling date on the label to see how old your Orval is!
Victory – DirtWolf Double IPA Victory released this beer around this time last year in the U.S. and recently it has made its way to our shores. It’s a very modern, bold IPA brewed with 4 great American hop varieties - Chinook, Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe. All these hop varieties combine to create pungent citrus fruit, floral and pine aromas. The beer rocks in at 8.7% so there is a bit of warmth from the alcohol but it belies its ABV. It’s extremely drinkable and despite the intense hop bitterness there is a little malt sweetness to balance it out. Anchor – Old Foghorn Old Foghorn was the first modern barley wine to be brewed in the U.S. all the way back in 1975. It has now come to define the style,
not only for American brewers but also worldwide. This beer is based on the traditional British style but is given an American twist by the addition of Cascade hops. There are flavours of dark fruit, caramel and some slight booziness. Anchor say it is ‘to beer what port is to wine’ – fairly decadent, refined and definitely a sipper. Erdinger - Pikantus Pikantus is a ‘Weizenbock’ that is brewed to be enjoyed during the colder months. It’s dark, strong and complex. Expect flavours of spice (nutmeg, clove), toffee, raisins, stone fruit and banana. It’s slightly sweet but not cloying, the effervescence lifts the beer off your tongue to create quite a smooth mouth feel. This is a rich beer so it pairs well with equally rich dishes venison, mature cheeses and Christmas pudding being good examples.
Discover World Beers Festival 2014…continues! This summer has been an exciting time for Discover World Beers, with our first-ever festival. Discover World Beers Fest 2014 ran for four weeks over three venues, with special menus, discounts, never-beforestocked beers and tap takeovers aplenty. Missed out on the fun? No need to feel disheartened, read on for the best of the best news…
The DWBFest2014 ‘Passport’, however, was the most popular and enjoyable part of the festival. Customers were invited to ‘explore’ the beer world via a special loyalty booklet called the passport, trying various beers from each venue in order to receive a stamp.
From 20th July to 17th August three of our Nottingham pubs put on the first ever DWB Festival. The Canalhouse, the Kean’s Head and the Lincolnshire Poacher offered world beer lovers four weeks of beer related offers, events and food. The festival kicked off with Belgian week, offering speciality dishes like Moules and Stooflvees alongside beers from the likes of Brazzerie de la Senne and Dupont. Other focuses included Scandinavian week, the Brits Do It Best and American beers & burgers galore.
Once full, the passport was redeemed for an exclusive t-shirt & tulip shaped glass. This element, the DWBFest2014 Passport, we are super-excited to announce, will be continuing throughout 2014! Following great feedback from our customers, we’ve decided to extend this offer until 31st December 2014. Ignore the original end date, you’ve got months left!
For those of you that haven’t given it a go, pop down to one of the three pubs to collect your passport: it’s time to get exploring! For those of you who have already completed and redeemed your first passport, take a second hop aboard to achieve the ‘DWBFest2014 Gold Badge’. Simply complete a second passport and wear your t-shirt when you claim your badge.
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