This old New England Beer Examiner examines the new Old London Pubs VI

Dirty Dicks – 202 Bishopsgate, EC2M-4NR – 020-7283-5888 - http://www.dirtydicks.co.uk/

This Wells/Young’s operated pub is located just opposite the Liverpool Tube exit on Bishopsgate, look slightly left across the street and you’ll see a portrait of old Dirty Dick hanging over a canopied, flowerbox–draped, dual brass lanterned entry to the pub by the same name.

On an ominous note; According to legend, as written in CAMRA’s London Pub Walks, the original pub was named after Nathaniel Bentley, whose bride-to-be died on the eve of their wedding. The poor grieving man locked the room he had prepared for the feast and let himself, his pub and his cats go to rot. Dickens was inspired to create the character of Miss Havisham, in “Great Expectations” based on this sad affair. Where the name, ‘Dirty Dick’ fits in is unclear to me.

An even more foreboding sign of things to come are felt (and smelled) as you approach the entry and find a designated smoking area under the overhang, because to enter the joint you must pass through an ominous cloud of choking smoke. And unfortunately, this smoke trails in behind you and stays in the air. Allowance of this smoking area is certainly a bad thing for anyone planning to experience the aroma and taste of the cask-conditioned ales. Very bad!

Once you’re at the end of the bar, and as far away from the nauseous fumes as possible, you will have the pleasure of taking in an authentic-looking pub with wide wooden floors and thick post and beam timber framed wood work. The long and straight brass plated bar has around 10 tap handles and 3 cask pumps.

A friendly mix of locals from all ethnicities and income brackets hang together and chat like long-lost friends. Near the entryway, a few electronic arcade machines emit frenzied banging, ringing, shooting and action noises associated with such games.

There are 3 levels. The top level balcony is more of a gallery of odd relics and memorabilia, including what appears to be the mummified remains of one of Mr. Bentley’s cats. The cellar is more of a traditional restaurant setting.

The Tribute and Bombardier Ales were in tip top shape. I wished the smoke would cease pouring in, but it never did let up and we were forced to pay up and escape.

This COULD be a MUST visit London Pub, and it is if you happen to be a smoker and/or are into video arcade games.

My review of Nag's Head (London, United Kingdom (England)

My review of Nag's Head (London, United Kingdom (England)) #beer http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13359/?view=beerfly&ba=BeerResearcher via @BeerAdvocate

My review of The Harp (London, United Kingdom (England))

My review of The Harp (London, United Kingdom (England)) #beer http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/12931/?view=beerfly&ba=BeerResearcher via @BeerAdvocate

This Old New England Beer Examiner examines the new Old London Pubs IV

This Old New England Beer Examiner examines the new Old London Pubs IV

This is a series of my impressions of the very highest rated London Pubs according to CAMRA, Cask Marque, Time Out London and ViewLondon.com (along with some other very pleasant surprises along the way)

See part one for the criteria for a New Old Pub; http://www.examiner.com/beer-in-boston/this-old-new-england-beer-examiner-examines-the-new-old-london-pubs

Porterhouse – 21 Maiden Lane Covent Garden London

This 3 level Dublin-based pub is one of the largest boozers, area-wise, that I’ve had the pleasure to visit during my on-going London Pub Crawl series. It was awarded the CAMRA/English Heritage award for conversion to pub use in 2002.

Neatly tucked away on narrow Maiden Lane, you first come upon a large garden patio (smokers paradise) preceding the fancy pants double-door entrance. The doors lead to a dramatically vast interior anchored by an immense wooden L bar. It’s sort of like stepping inside a massive old wooden ship that a band of flamboyant, beer-loving pirates invaded, and then decorated.

The stairway down to the left leads to the basement level where the restrooms (more on them later), TVs and an entertainment stage are the focus. To the left of the bar, a wide stairway leads to a quite foyer nook halfway up the stairs. The top level provides you a more spacious seating area. Extensive (and expensive) wood and brass-trimmed brewery-related piping and plating run throughout. Even the hanging light fixtures are brass-trimmed. A very cool brass clock hangs over the upstairs balcony and can be viewed from most any place in the top floors. The wall nooks and windows are lined with Porterhouse beer bottles and knick knacks. It must be a bitch to keep clean!

It’s a bit cluttered. I’m trying to spy the tap handles, but all the little doodads and bric-a-brac catch my eyes, forcing me once again to concentrate on the task at hand…deciding which beer to try next.

The seating choices are varied enough to suite any individual or group needs. Hang out near the bar on simple wooden stools, or relax upon cushioned leather armchairs and/or coach-style benches, or just stand around gawking, beer in hand. Choice is yours. Enjoy your surroundings early in the day, before the after work crowd arrives…unless you enjoy mob scenes. In that case, arrive at 7pm (1900) on a Friday night.

The on tap selections are brewed mostly by Porterhouse and poured under pressure. There are always a couple of “Real” ales and guest beers (Erdinger on this day) available. I can highly recommend the Plain Porter and the Turner’s Sticklebract Bitter on cask. Lovely stuff! There are plenty of bottled selections from the wonderful world of Beerdom plus a solid selection of wines and mixed drinks for the folks not very interested this article.

The food menu is fairly extensive. A mix of pizza, burgers, fish & chips, standard Irish and gastro-pub food is available. The best option might be the fresh Rock Oysters. ½ dozen for 7 pounds is a very fair deal by London standards.

Now to the restrooms as promised; My wife felt a little uncomfortable going to the lady’s room because a group of guys were hanging out by the door. We’re sure they meant no harm, but creating a little separation between the restrooms and the lounge area would be smart.

All-in-all, an interesting pub with a bounty of very good beers to try.

Place Porterhouse on your ‘Should’ visit London Pub list.

Cheers!

Quote: “For every wound, a balm. For every sorrow, cheer. For every storm, a calm.

For every thirst, a beer” – Unknown Irish Author

Beer style of the week; Autumn Ale

Week 33

First, to be clear, there is no officially recognized beer style designated as “Autumn” Ale. There are, however groups of ales that successfully, if loosely, convey the spirit of the demi-season bridging summer to fall. Heck, there is even debate about the defined difference between autumn and fall, but let’s forget all that and go with our simplistic explanation. Fall begins later when signs of frost begin and the leaves have fallen (fall) to the ground. You want a more bracing and substantial brew to warm your insides, and more importantly, it give me more styles to write about.

The Autumn Ale might slide a bit into the English Brown Ale style, if you don’t mind an extra dose of hops, a bit more roasted malt and the resulting kick of alcohol. Or, if you prefer to accept another brewer’s interpretation of what kind of ale best conveys the sense of Autumn, maybe a slightly amped up American Amber or Red Ale will fit the bill.

Whatever style the brewer borrows from, the Autumn Ale should have a solid malt body with a deep amber, or auburn to brown ale color, a substantial off-white to beige head, an assertive (not aggressive) hop profile and a bit more robust than the style it’s born from.

You know it’s time to locate your favorite sweater, windbreaker, lawn rake, and college football schedule when the first sightings of Autumn Ale hit the packies.

While Autumn Ale seems to be an American hybrid of some traditional English ale styles, we can find some of those originals still fit nicely into the theme of the season. Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale comes immediately to mind as ale to enjoy in Autumn weather, although maybe it lacks a bit of the warming alcoholic kick I thought might be needed to create a new sub style.

Autumn Ales

Sierra Nevada Tumbler – Chico, California – 5.5% ABV12 oz. dark brown bottle. No freshness date. Marvelous dark auburn, brown leathery color with a medium-sized beige head on top. Loads of sticky lacing clings to the glass throughout.The aroma is mostly malt-driven, with dry grain, caramel malt and farina wheat smells. There is a bit of fruit and citrus peel to the hop aroma.The flavors are under-whelming. I expected a strong, sweet malty taste with a solid hop blend for support, but was a little disappointed. It sort of reminds me of a New Castle Ale, except with a bit more of a hop and alcohol kick.The body has an unexpected spritzy effervescence. I would like a little more solid, rich malty body in an autumn ale. Something to stand up to creamy, thick autumn stews, perhaps.

New England Autumns

Geary’s Autumn Ale – D.L. Geary’s Brewing – Portland, Maine – 5.8% ABV

This Autumn Ale is in a class of its own. Sort of a cross breed of Hampshire Special - sans the piney effect, and Pale Ale.It pours a wonderful teak color with a thin tan head. A nice blend of roasted malt and hops make up the initial burst of aroma. The aroma fades rather quickly. The full-bodied toasty malt is lightly sweet, with hints of caramel and dark coffee, and in the Geary's fashion, a little on the raw-edged side. Bitter citrusy hops mingle with a mild metallic tang and a slightly peppery spiciness. The flavors tend to balance towards the end and this brew just glides down the throat in a rich, almost buttery, velvety textured liquid. Oh my!

Long Trail Harvest – Long Trail Brewing Co. Bridgewater Corners, Vermont – 4.6% ABV

12oz brown bottle. Freshness date on label.
It pours a tan/cordovan with a smallish off-white head and some patchy and trailing lace.
The aroma is mostly of sweet malt and brown bread.
It's not as malty as one would expect after reading on the label about all the malts used in the brewing.
There's a light caramel sweetness and a taste of fresh marble rye, along with the essence of brown bread.
A sweet lime-like bitterness is matched by a taste of hard water and faint metallic tang.
This is a flavorful brew despite the fact that it is low in alcohol.
Nice stuff to quell spicy chili.

Pretty Things – St. Boltoph’s Town (Not listed as an Autumn Ale, but a damn good one anyway!) 5.9% ABV22oz brown bottle. Bottled on date stamped on cap top label. (Batch 10)

Served in a standard pint glass. Pours a dark brownish amber mahogany color with a solid 2" beige head and lots of webby lacing. Smells of roasted barley, barn, and resinous and citrusy hops blend nicely together. A whiff mixed fruit soaked in mellow rum floats in the background.

Brown Malty backbone with a touch of toffee. Evenly matched hoppy balance. A light taste of prunes with a hint of tobacco.

This is an amped up Brown Ale. It can easily slide into an Autumn or Fall Ale style profile. There's more malt, hops and alcoholic punch to this wonderfully crafted ale, than you find in your standard English Brown Ale.

Just a lovely ale for a cool evening! Very nice!

Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale – Portsmouth, New Hampshire – 6.5% ABV

On Tap served in a standard pint glass

It pours a burnt, orange-hued tan leather color with a medium-sized beige head and a fair amount of webby lacing.

A pleasant aroma of roasty brown malt rises at first pour. A light tea-light follows and lingers throughout. Mild resinous hops and a touch of alcohol fuminess round out the aromas.

The flavors match the smells to near perfection, with the exception being, a hint of a metallic tang noticed in the aftertaste.

This is a very fluid liquidy brew. The alcohol is fairly well disguised, so don’t just sit there enjoying one after the other and thinking to yourself, “man, these are tasty suckers, I can drink these all day long!”

Now, where’d I leave my favorite sweatshirt?

Next week; Oktoberfest (It’s on right now! – Sept 17 – Oct 3)

Quote: “And young and old come forth to play
On a sunshine holiday,
Till the live-long daylight fail;
Then to the spicy nut-brown ale” – John Milton – 1608 - 1674

4th of July Beer style of the week – Independence Day-inspired beers

Week 22

The course of history might have been drastically altered had, for instance, Paul Revere ducked into a pub for a few pints on his way to Concord, or had he detoured to Concord, New Hampshire and begun ringing bells to warn the British, as the history-challenged Mama Bear from Alaska suggested.

Historical inaccuracies aside, we can take comfort and a measure of pride that 235 years ago a nearly cosmic alignment of smart, independence-minded leaders, hard-working farmers, sailors, business owners and clergymen stood together, shoulder to shoulder and drank beer.

And they didn’t just huddle secretly together in taverns to slug down beer to discuss sports and women. No, they decided they didn’t like living under tyrannical rule of law or being taxed without representation, so they drafted a Declaration of Independence and after fighting war with King George III’s army followed by several more rounds of ale, drafted The Constitution of The United States.

Was it any coincidence that founding fathers George Washington, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson (Great, great, great, great, great grandfather to George Jefferson of “The Jefferson’s”), John Hancock and Ben Franklin were all brewers of beer? I don’t think so!

You’re probably asking yourself, “What prompted Don to write stuff about Independence Day and somehow try to tie it into an article about beer?”

It was Samuel Adams (a real Patriot) Boston Stock Ale. It triggers my patriotism every time.

Passionate beer lovers well up with pride whenever we hear of how George Washington, in the heat of war took on a congress that suggested beer rations for the troops be cut in half. General George knew that in addition to providing some nutritional value, beer gave the troops a much needed boost in morale. You might say, beer won the war. I wouldn’t go that far.

This Independence Day, as we gather with those near and dear to us for American-style BBQ, let’s raise a glass or two to those who came before us to fight for the freedoms we enjoy today. And what patriotic beers should we raise in New England this 4^th?

Beers for working at the grill and snacking on appetizers

Samuel Adams Boston Stock Ale – Boston, MA – 5.2% ABV

Sam Adams Boston Ale/Stock Ale is my favorite "everyday" ale. When researching and rating a vast array of ales and lagers, from delicate pilsners to overwhelming imperial stouts and barleywines, it's good to find an ale with which to refresh the palette or to simply enjoy without research in mind (yes, at times we need a break from the daily grind). This ale has a deep copper color with reddish hues, nice malty body and is amply hopped. The separation between the distinct malt and hops flavors, smooth out and become more balanced after a few gulps. The fresh finishing hop aroma lingers. There's a clean fruity finish and nice long lasting head. Now I’ve gone and made myself thirsty for another one!

Liberty Ale - Pale Ale– Anchor Brewing – San Francisco, California – 6% ABV

Yes, it’s not from New England, but it does inspire “Liberty” and the pursuit of Hoppiness!

The rich copper color shines brightly. I believe Maaco should offer this color in car paint. They could call it 'Liberty Deep Copper'. It would certainly look great on my Ford Edge!

The wonderful hop bouquet is immediately noticed and appreciated when poured into the glass and unlike most American pale ales, the aroma lingers, albeit more subtlety as the brew disappears.

After taking the time to fully admire the fine hop nose and rich copper color, the next outstanding trait of Liberty Pale Ale one notices is the hop distinctive taste. The fresh whole hops are in abundance, yet not overwhelming. There's a crisp metallic sharp-edged bitterness with light citrus undertones. The sharpness diminishes slightly as you drink it down and the hop to malt difference becomes less exaggerated and more balanced and smooth. The medium to full malt body is lightly sweet with a hint of nuts. It seems to me that a lot of care has been taken in the malt roasting process.

Main Course Beers

Salads and Cold Plates

Les Biere Des Sans Culottes – Biere de Garde – Brasserie La Choulette – Hordain, France – 7% ABV

This beer is not only a nod to the French who helped us achieve our independence, it’s a fantastic Biere de Garde! Viva la revolution!

16.9oz tall green, corked bottle. Best Before date notched on the side. Nice artwork on the label paying tribute to the "trouserless" laborers who did the handiwork of the French Revolution. BTW - The fighters appear to be wearing trousers, but the woman leading the charge has raised her flag while lowering the top of her blouse. Ooh la la! Merci!!!

It pours a cloudy honey gold color with a small, but lasting white head and some sticky and trailing lace.

The aroma is a pleasant mix of dried malt, hay, lemony citrus and faint whiff of alcohol.

The malt has a nice herbal quality to it. A light sweetness and buttery biscuit taste provide a uniquely satisfying maltiness.

A lime-like bitterness is upfront. Hints of coriander, cloves and faint taste of pears adds to the brew's fine subtle character. The 7%abv is well disguised.

This is one those rare beer purchases that turn out to be an amazing find. I ALWAYS wish I had bought more.

Grilled and/or Smoked Meats

Geary’s Hampshire Special - D.L. Geary’s Brewery – Portland, Maine – 7% ABV

This was a winter seasonal - Must Try! Now it’s available year-round. Deep golden bronze/amber with a tint of red. Very complex dry robust malt with a trace of sweetness. Powerfully hopped, then dry hopped for good measure. The maltiness rolls forward throughout the glass and begins to reveals a trace of berries and some smoothness. An unusual, but nice pine essence is long lasting. The alcohol is noticed, though not overly so. The creamy beige head lingers and nice lace is formed. As with all of D.L. Geary’s brews, there sort of a raw wildness, like Maine itself. It’s easy to picture a Norman Rockwell Maine coast pub scene in winter where the cheerful patrons are toasting one another with a frosty mug of Hampshire Special. Now that really warms the heart! BTW Hampshire Special pairs really well with hearty stews and grilled or smoked meats. Try braising a roast with this ale in place of Burgundy wine.

Desserts

Blueberry, Strawberry and Whipped Cream Parfait (Red White & Blue)

We need a beer here that can pair with tart fruit, yet melds well with rich sweet cream.

Thomas Hooker Liberator Dopplebock – Bloomfield, Connecticut – 8% ABV

16.9oz dark brown swing top bottle. Bottled in 2006.

It pours a very dark and deep ruby-hued mahogany color with a fast-fading beige head, along with thin scattered patches of lacing.

It smells like a hop monster with big whiffs of caramel and damp hay accompanied by notes of dried barley and leather.

Tastes of burnt crème brulee, sweet caramel, Ovaltine, milk chocolate, tobacco and leather are all quite upfront and noticeable. A slight background taste of prune juice is detected in the background.

A mellow Myers Lemony tartness provides some contrast to the big, bold malty body, as does a dose of a metallic bite. Though make no mistake, this brew is all about the malt structure with well-applied hop reminders.

Lovely Stuff!

Rich, creamy Cinnamon Ice Cream or Indian Pudding

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin – Portland, Maine – 9% ABV

Pumpkins were widely used for brewing in early America’s history. The colonists of Maine built “shipyards” to build the ships which were used to defeat the British. Shipyard Founder and Brewer, Alan Pugsley emigrated from England. How’s that for rationalizing?

22oz brown bottle. Served in a Chimay goblet.

It pours an oily, orange-hued amber color with a beige head along with some wisps of trailing lacing.

A strong and delightful whiff of rum-soaked pumpkin pie rises at first pour. Do I actually smell the crust! The nutmeg spiciness is subdued, but thoughts of Thanksgiving dessert flood my senses. A solid malty smell mingles with some spicy and citrusy hops. Dark rum in the nose never fades.

The flavors are bold and upfront. Very little in the way of subtleties. Big spiced pumpkin taste, Big Doughy Maltiness, Big Ruminess, and not so big, yet noticeable hoppiness.

SO much better than Shipyard's other Pumpkin Ale, and not because it's much bigger. It's big but balanced and wonderfully rich and decadent.

Let's see how it ages...

Ok, let the fireworks and patriotic music begin! God Bless America!

Quote: ““An attack on one of our sister colonies, to compel submission to arbitrary taxes, is an attack made on all British America. That we will not hereafter, directly or indirectly import, or cause to be imported, from great Britain, and of the goods hereafter enumerated, either for sale or for our own use . . . beer, ale, porter, malt.” – George Washington - 1774