Tasting notes: Hobson's choices

A wee squint around Oddbins in Glasgow city centre unearthed two new-to-me funky-labelled offerings from Shropshire brewer Hobsons (though the address on the website is Worcestershire - go figure). Founded in the early 1990s, the story behind the brewery appeals to me. Locally sourced materials, sustainable production methods and a commitment to "brewing beyond their weight". Take a look through the online almanac [http://www.hobsons-brewery.co.uk/media/8684/hobsons_almanac%202009.pdf] to find out what that means.
First up is Old Henry, a premium bitter named after Master Brewer Henry Hobson's hat, the coke - pronounced 'cook' - originally used as a hard hat by gamekeepers to provide basic protection against assault from disgruntled poachers. The other beer is Postman's Knock, a ruby porter honouring novelist Simon Evans who settled in Cleobury Mortimer (home of the brewery) after WWI and became a postman, as you do. His 18 mile post round gave him plenty of time to contemplate his navel and write clever stuff, apparently.

TASTING NOTES, AFTER A FASHION:
Old Henry, 5.2% abv, £2.09, Oddbins
More of an opaque reddy brown than a true chestnut as claimed on the bottle, the beer pours nicely though the bottle I tried was fairly lifeless in the glass with virtually no head. Definite sweet, fruity berry notes on the nose with some nice malt and a fair helping of spice too. Medium bodied and smooth, it lacks a little life in the mouth but lots going on flavour-wise. Sweet and fruity with plenty more spice and roasted malt in the background, tapering off quite quickly through orange peel and more spice into a lovely bitter, hoppy glow that was just a wee touch sour. Lovely drop and horrendously easy to drink.
Score: 3/5

Postman's Knock, Hobsons Brewery, 4.8% abv, £2.09, Oddbins
A totally different kettle of fish, this bottle conditioned dark, dark ruby porter pours nice and thick with a big deep head - though it didn't hang around for long. Lovely colour in the glass and typical porter aroma: chocolate, roasted malt, liquorice and, oddly enough, milky coffee, though I did read this in someone else's tasting notes so this may simply be the power of suggestion. [It's hard not to find things once somone standing next to you at a tasting mentions them.] Viscous and full in the mouth, the flavour is just as big and bold as the nose with bags of treacle and smoky, toasty malt and more coffee (no milk this time). Really well balanced, the finish is cracking, quite an aggressive hoppiness sorting out the sweetness in double time - just the way I like it. Right up my street, this one.
Score: 4/5

http://www.hobsons-brewery.co.uk/

Tasting notes: Colonsay lager - a taste of the sea

Heresy: my first blog on proper beers is on a lager. But not just any old lager - no siree. When I was in Peckhams on Glassford Street in Glasgow the other day looking for a few bottles of something interesting for a pre-Xmas party at the weekend, the young guy behind the counter nodded approvingly at the bottle of Colonsay Lager in my basket, as young men behind counters in Peckhams are wont to do. I'm not normally a lager fan, though I'm not a frothing-at-the-mouth lager hater either. It's just that there's not normally enough going on in a glass of lager to get excited about. But I grabbed the Colonsay because, well, I'd never seen it before and I fancied a nosy. I got to the counter before I noticed the £3.09 price tag.
"They age it in barrels next to the sea and you can taste it in the beer," said the Peckhams guy. Sounds like Laphroaig. Turns out Colonsay Brewery is quite a new enterprise, set up just a few years ago by four of the residents of the tiny Inner Hebridean island (pop.120). Legend has it the 4 of them came up with the idea over a pint in the island's only pub, if an article in The Scotsman is to be believed [http://www.scotsman.com/drink/Taste-of-enterprise.3773955.jp]. Thanks to a lot of energy and enthusiasm and a brewing consultant happy to make the arduous boat journey on a regular basis, Colonsay Brewery was born. The core range includes an IPA, an 80/- and this lager.

TASTING NOTES, AFTER A FASHION:
Colonsay Lager, Colonsay Brewery, 4.4% abv, £3.09, Peckhams
Pop the cap and get the stuff into a glass and you basically get smacked full in the face with a Colonsay beach. Nice rich gold and absolutely reeks of saltwater and seaweed and that unmistakable smell you only get on west coast Scottish beaches. In the mouth there's loads of saltwater and seaweed upfront - though not in an unpleasant, overpowering way, or is it? - but there's a wee bit of honey sweetness, fading to a drier, salt-tinged finish. Only subtly hoppy but dry enough to be thirst quenching. Biggest decision is whether the seaside effect is either just too much or absolutely spot-on. Couldn't quite make up my mind but think I love it, though it would have to be in small doses. Especially at £3.09 a pop.
Score: 4/5

http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/index.htm