Star Wars Celebration will be held in London this Easter (7th-10th April) and what better way to mark the occasion than with a Star Wars-themed craft beer party and the launch of a very special, very limited collab brew from two of the UK’s most respected craft breweries: Emperor’s and BBNo (Brew by Numbers).
Tomorrow (Friday 29th Nov) is the official launch of Goose Island’s 2019 Bourbon County Stout (BCS). Get down to the Goose Island Brewpub in Shoreditch from 8.30am and secure your bottle because dannnnng this version is tasty AF.
I was lucky enough to attend the exclusive preview on Wednesday and I couldn’t get enough of it. So much so, that I’ve come home with two bottles (thanks very much to Tom’s Big Eats for gifting me your bottle).
This year’s BCS variant has been aged in 4+ year old Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey barrels and I knew it would be a winner as it combines flavours I adore: dried cherries, rich cocoa, smooth caramel and vanilla, alongside a hint of leather and tobacco to add into the mix.
Here’s the video of the launch party (provided by Zeitgeist). It was great catching up with a few familiar faces at the event and to meet a few people for the first time, like the awesome Rhythm & Brews who shared a bottle of Magic Rock‘s Strongman with me!
At the event we also tasted Nemesis, BCS 2018 and the Sour Cherry and Tonka Porter which was magical. The right blend of tart and indulgent for me. Here’s a video of Andrew Walton, Head Brewer at The Goose Island Brewpub giving the lowdown on this particular beer.
If you’re a BCS fan, what’s been your favourite variant to date?
It’s only a few days now until this event and I really am beside myself. SERIOUSLY. How do I prepare for such an epic event? Normally if I’m going out to a massive meal or buffet extravaganza I’ll wear elasticated trousers but for this event what’s a girl to do?
There’s going to be 60 breweries offering their delectable beers and although every single beer on the list won’t all be on the taps simultaneously over the two-day extravaganza, there’s still a lot to contemplate. It’s an ‘all-in’ ticket meaning that you’ll have the chance to cram in 100ml of each tasty beer which is awesome because there’s nothing worse than having to drink a shedload of something that tastes like crap. I’m sure I won’t taste any rubbish ones though…
Right, so that’s the small taster-sized samples ticked but what about a strategy for which bars to hit first? The last Beavertown event I went to was ‘Beaver For My Valentine’ and beers were running out left right and centre whilst I was queueing at the bars. This is the main reason for getting prepped as if I’m running a beer marathon. I’ve got the app, printed off the maps and the handy beer excel list – you can nab all these now from here.
Normally I just stroll up and enjoy but I’ve learned my lesson and I’m reminding myself: “fail to prepare, prepare to fail”. I know this seems geeky but who the hell cares if I get to sip some of those kick ass beers on my wish list?! The beer list goes live on the app on Tuesday 5th Sep too. Woo-hoo!
My comfortable shoes are at the ready – the location is huge, have you seen it?! Last time I went to the Printworks was for Star Wars Secret Cinema and although this time I won’t be bartering my way to a ticket to Alderaan, I will certainly be busting a move to get some tasty ales that are on my ‘beer-lust-list’ in my glass before the day is out.
12 targets on my ‘beer-lust-list’
So that’s a sneaky look at a section of my beery targets and if you see me at the bar ask me about swag. Yes that’s right I’ll have badges! 😉
See you there beer buds.
I love coffee and I love beer, so when the two are combined I get majorly interested. There’s loads of coffee beers on the market and I’m pretty sure I have at least another thousand to taste – wish me luck.
Thanks to my buddies at Coffee Architects I visited the London Coffee Festival in April which got me thinking about coffee beers and how my love affair with them is intensifying by the day. At the festival one of my favourite coffee tinged delights was available to sip – Wild Beer’s Wildebeest, if you haven’t tried it yet get out there and hunt a bottle down pronto. It’s so good that I have one bottle that I’m coveting in my cupboard for a ‘special occasion’.
Coffee being a stimulant and beer being a ‘depressant’ in classic terms should surely cause some trouble, right? When combined though they are an unbeatable combination. So why do they pair so well? Well if you’re a fan of porters and stouts you’ll know that they are already on the malty side of the spectrum anyway – giving hints of coffee aromas and flavours, especially in the delectable finish.
Although classically attributed to these beer styles this has now been turned on its head and brewers are experimenting with a new breed of coffee beers. Craft beer and craft coffee go hand-in-hand and as a major coffee fan, I like my coffee rich, complex and chocolatey – similar characteristics to some of my favourite beers! We can rejoice and cheer while we benefit from some these tasty craft partnerships like Beavertown and Caravan, or Wild Beer Co and Tincan Coffee.
So what other coffee beers should you check out? Try these gems:
A mini snapshot of my experience at this year’s Craft Beer Rising.
Craft Beer Pin Up 