Why it's time to drink those special occasion beers, dealing with wax tops and a VERY red recommendation
Issue 2 of Beer in Berkshire features Andy Parker from Elusive Brewing telling us a little bit about enjoying those beers you're saving for a special occasion.
Hello and welcome to Issue 2 of the Beer In Berkshire newsletter. A fortnightly email talking about all things Berkshire beer.
This week we cover:
š Beers for a special occasion
šµ The best beers to age with Elusive Brewing
šŗ Fortnightly recommendation (itās very red)
š©¹ Opening wax-topped bottles (more of a question than self-help)
I want to take you all the way back to Christmas 2022 for this weekās main feature.
I am a terrible beer hoarder. If itās a special, presented in a really nice way or simply just a terrific beer, Iāll save it for a special occasion.
Over the festive period I decided it was probably about time I drank some of those beers I've been saving for special occasions because otherwise I could see a point where theyād be there for a decade or more. And whatās the point of that really?
What I of course realised that all this saving for a special occasion meant that many were now WELL past their best before end date.
Some of them still tasted great. Some of them, significantly less than great - so if thatās the case why am I wasting REALLY GOOD BEER? (Note: Iāll not be featuring any that didnāt age well because thatās on me, not the brewery).
So I thought Iād ask an expert about favourites, saving beer for occasions and the best beers to age.
That expert was Andy Parker at Elusive Brewing - and if you enjoy great beer the Elusive webshop has PLENTY!
Hereās what he said: āSo there's a lot of variables in this as you could imagine. The first thing to note is that I think cans and ageing beer in cans is definitely a bit of an unknown for everybody. Because people have not really been canning that long generally and we don't really know too much about how things develop in one versus ageing beer in bottles which people have been doing for years and years.
Some of the beers I've had the best success in ageing are things like the fullest vintage, some Belgian beer like Lambics and sort of stuff, and they're all in bottles. Some of them are corks and caged and they've got live yeast in and they continue to develop in the bottle.
The second point is in style. So certain beers definitely deteriorate quite quickly, often within a couple of months, particularly the hoppy type beers because we know that hop compounds and aroma compounds do lose their shine and do start to mellow in time. So, that beautiful IPA you enjoy today, if you buy a load of them to age, you probably won't have too much joy. If you crack those in a few months time and you find it, it's all a bit you know, not what you remember.
And whatās in the Elusive web shop that might age well?
We've got a lovely, lovely Sticky Toffee Pudding Imperial Stout. If you grab one of those and go for it around Christmas time, that should be pretty nice. So that's probably my top pick.
Sticky Toffee Imperial Stout 10% from Elusive & Sussex Small Batch is available here.
One beer that did age well in a can..
Yesterday I posted this on my Twitter feed and I wanted to reveal what it was and if it was any good!
Short answer, it was Double Barrelledās An Audience With Llamas which was a personal favourite from them - so much so I kept a can for a special occasion.
Thankfully.. it was really really good and tasted slightly stronger than itās suggested 7%. Iām just sad Iāve got no more!
Recommendation
Paul Smithson posted a much better image than me of this on the Berkshire Beer Facebook group. But there was only one beer I was recommending this week and itās UPRISING DIABLO ROJO. An 8.4% hazy Belgian ale. It looks and tastes great. Really really Belgian if that makes any sense.
It looks like itās only available in a 12 pack but youāll probably be able to pick some up in person. Itās here in the shop.
The Outside Bar
Iām sure there will be many reading this whoāve thought about/craved an outside/garden bar. Well.. Iām building one and Iāll share bits and pieces here as it goes. Iām not creating any sort of shed or cover - if it rains Iām not going to be outside - but itāll be a nifty/eye rolling/of course you have [delete as appropriate] addition to the garden.
Iām also teaming with an old colleague who runs the very successful Cuprinol Shed of the Year competition and Iāll be bringing you details of a great Pub Shed each week.
Meantime.. this is where Iāve got to. I need a drink just looking at it. But if you have built your own garden bar, do let me know in the comments below.
Finally.. a big question
Right. I can Google this I know. But in the interests of #engagement, does anyone have any tips for opening bottles with a wax top? Because I am so tired of accidentally stabbing myself.
I have also tried spoons. Suggestions in the comments below, please!
See you in a fortnight. Questions and comments really welcome. Iāll be pulling in favours left right and centre to bring you another full read in two weeksā time!
Thanks for doing this!