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So those of you that follow Stuart Howes blog, will know that he's set himself the challenge to brew at 12 breweries in 12 months. February's Brewery was London Bridge's - Brew Wharf

The challenge this time was to brew a beer with the most hops possible. Starting with 62 and eventually (after raiding Melissa Cole's cupboard at Lovebeer) 69 different hops

For a list of all the hops click here

Luckily I have to pass Brew Wharf on my way home, so when I spotted on their twitter account that this record breaking 69 hop beer was on tap, I had to drop in.

With 69 different hops this was always going to be a hit or miss beer. The nose was obviously amazingly hoppy with fresh organic notes. The taste however was over overpoweringly bitter. There were some sweet citrus notes to be found but they were quickly subdued by the bitterness.

I'm glad  I got the chance to try this beer, but for me it was just too much. With the everlasting bitterness still playing with my pallet as I headed home for something more balanced!

His bark is worse than his bite

With the news that Sharps had been acquired by Molson Coors last week, people on the blogsphere began to wonder if head brewer Stuart Howe's wonderful seasonal & limited batch beers would continue. Thankfully Stuart later posted on his blog "Molson Coors are very happy for me to continue uncensored and the 12 brew project is still very much on track with two brews nearly confirmed for February". Oh if you've not already stumbled across Stuart's blog I highly recommend it.

With this news I felt it time to try out some of Sharps less well known beers...

Late last summer I took trip to Padstow a stones throw away from Sharps brewery and the millionaires play ground of Rock. Padstow has also aptly dubbed "Steinstow" after the TV chef  Rick Stine who seeming owns half of the bustling harbour town, with four restaurants and cafes. 

So when Rick challenged Stuart to create a distinctly English beer with the character, individuality and quality to stand alongside the Belgian greats. It was going to take something special.

First up was Chalky's Bite 6.7 ABV%, named in honour of Rick's dog and with the unusual addition of wild Cornish fennel added to the brew. This beer produces a lovely golden blonde appearance and with the first sip comes a bitterness with intense flavour. There's a smells of fruit & hint of spice from the fennel. Being based on a Belgian beer there's that familiar yeasty after-taste matched to the strong lingering alcohol.
Overall this is a strange beer for me, as I'm not always so keen on Belgian whitbier, but the added spice from the fennel makes this beer different and some how more interesting to drink.

Being so pleased with Bite, Rick again challenged Stuart to create another beer, so up next was Bite's successor Chalky's Bark 4.5% ABV Again with a novel ingredient this time Ginger.

Like the beer its based on it has a golden blonde appearance but this beer is a lot lighter tasting. It offers a sweet citrus flavour and is wonderfully contrasted by the ginger which gives this beer a subtle zest without being over powering like you may expect. This is defiantly a beer with beer with ginger and not a ginger beer.  This is a highly refreshing beer perfect for summer thankfully I've stashed a bottle away for just that!

Indulging

Another weekend and another perfect example of why I've started this blog! Meeting up with Tom at the Market Porter opposite Borough Market on Friday night I sampled possibly the strangest beer I've tasted.

Darkstar's Winter Solstice 4.2%: Sweet smelling with a sweeter taste. Bubblegum. Bitter sweet after-taste that lingers all this but strangely moreish. Looking up the beer later I discovered that the "subtle hints of flavour and aroma come from freshly ground coriander."

We then moved on to infamous Rake around the corner. Squeezing in to the bar to try San Diego's Stone Brewing's Stone IPA 6.9%: I tend to love American IPA's and this beer didn't disappoint. A flora smelling  solid hoppy & citrus IPA.

Giving up on London Bridge we headed to Crystal Palace and my home from home The Grape & Grain. Amongst the ever changing selection on offer was Sharps Cornish Stout 4.2%. Sharp are another one of my favourite brewery's, years spent in the West Country led to Doombar becoming a firm favourite tipple. This is Sharps first commercial Stout, using Coffee Beans sourced from the Eden Project which lend to its smokey chocolate taste.