Hope you all had a good time off relaxing (and visiting pubs!) – here are the poll results for our poll we ran over Christmas. We asked you where you were going to spend NYE..

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

55% of you then chose to not spend it in any sort of licensed establishment. Probably the sort of figure we’d been expecting actually. This year I spent it in a club again with a load of friends – it was considerably quieter than usual though until after midnight when it filled up. Is this the culture changing now, more people drinking at home before going out?

On to this week’s poll. There has been a lot of talk from some pubco’s about lobbying to change the drinking age - should it be lower, higher or stay the same?

Would be interested in some comments to why you think it should be changed too! 

ps. I hope the one of you that voted ‘Online’ had a good time playing Second Life or whatever you did on NYE!

Well, we’re out of the office now until Jan 2nd – although we’ll still be doing admin stuff on the site and forums we might not be so public on the blog. So we just want to wish you all a Merry Xmas and we’ll be back with our first post of the New Year on Jan 2^nd. Until then – have a good time and don’t drink and drive! Drink and rate pubs instead! – The BITE Team!

So, to recap we asked you;

Question 1. What was the name of the Georgian Style property purchased by George Bateman in 1880?
Answer 1.  Salem House

Question 2. In 1927 Harry Bateman purchased which hotel in Skegness?
Answer 2.  The Vine Hotel

Question 3. Name the Peterborough pub that George G. Bateman purchased in 2003
Answer 3.  The Palmerston Arms

And the winners;
1st prize goes to Martin Goodson from East Grinstead, well done Martin 6 bottles of Rosey Nosey will be on their way to you.

2nd prize goes to Micheal Dunai from Cardiff, well done Micheal, 3 bottles of Rosey Nosey will be on their way to you.

3rd prize goes to Jo Major from Bracebridge Heath Lincoln, well done Jo, 2 bottles of Rosey Nosey will be on their way to you.

Well done to our winners, and thank you again to everybody who entered the competition, may you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Don’t forget to check back here in the New Year for more Beer In The Evening prizes to be won.

If you’d like to know more about Rosey Nosey real ale you can read our review.
Or, if you’d like to learn more about Batemans Family Brewery and buy Rosey Nosey online, visit the Bateman brewery website.

Snowballs are a simple cocktail made from two standard ingredients, Advocaat and lemonade.  Advocaat is a bright yellow Dutch liqueur made from aromatic spirits, egg yolks, vanilla and brandy. There are many variations of this recipe some we have listed below for you to try;

The Classic Snowball
70ml Advocaat egg liqueur (2 shot)
Lemonade (top up half pint glass)
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Add the Advocaat to your glass, top up with lemonade, be careful as the two liquids mixed have a very reactive ‘expanding’ effect, add a few drops of fresh lemon juice, stir.
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The Russkie Snowballov
35ml Vodka (1 shot)
35ml Advocaat (1 shot)
Lemonade (top up)
Ice

If you attempt this one, trust us, build it the way we recommend, alternatives can be messy! Start with the vodka, top up to half way with lemonade, add the ice, then the Advocaat, finally topping up with more lemonade if required. This one has some kick.
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The Snow-lazy-ball
35ml Advocaat (1 shot)
1 can of sprite

Start with the Advocaat, gently add the sprite, and stir, 5 seconds and it’s done.
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Fireside-ball
35ml Advocaat (1 shot)
15ml brandy (dash or ½ a shot)
Lemonade (top up)

Start with the Advocaat, add the brandy and give it a quick stir, slowly add the lemonade top up. That’ll warm the barnacles off a north sea trawler.
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Citrus-twist-balls
35ml Advocaat (1 shot)
15ml fresh lime juice
Lemonade (top up)

Start with the Advocaat, top up to almost the top of the glass with lemonade, then add the lime juice, give it a good stir. Ouch – that’s zesty!
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Catballs
70ml Advocaat (2 shots)
Sprite
1 tblspn vanilla ice cream

Add the Advocaat and ice cream, top up gently with Sprite, the cat that got the cream.
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The Kings Snowball
Vanilla sugar
35ml Advocaat (1 shot)
15ml Brandy
1 tblspn vanilla ice cream
2 Slices of fresh lemon
1 tspn fresh lemon juice
Lemonade (top up)

Put a sprinkling of vanilla sugar on a plate and with one of the slices of lemon run it around the lip of the glass making it slightly wet with lemon juice, turn the glass upside down and place onto the plate of sugar allowing the lemon juice to attract some of the sugar grains. Turn the glass up the other way and into it add the Advocaat, dash of brandy, fresh lemon juice, and stir. Then add the tablespoon of vanilla ice cream. Slowly top up the glass with lemonade, finally decorate with the other slice of lemon. A lot of preparation involved, but the result is a drink fit for a king.

Anyway, last week we asked if you thought the DrinkAware thing was a good thing or not – We in essence think it is, but it seems a little ‘overused’ – is alcohol advertising getting like cigarette advertising now, with all the WARNINGS every two minutes? Personally, I think we can be responsible enough without all those, but anyway, onto the results:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

You agreed with us (sort of) 87% of you said you think it’s a good thing, with 41% of the total vote saying you were sick of seeing it so much. Surprisingly, 13% of the total vote decided DrinkAware wasn’t a good thing? Not sure why, no one left any comments (hint, hint) – Nice to see a lot more votes this week – 119. Although that was because we did send out a newsletter (which plenty of you loved and plenty of you thought we had told you Xmas had been cancelled by the responses we got!)

This week we’re asking where are you spending New Year’s Eve? For many, they choose to stay in and watch BBC1 or perhaps go round to friends houses (we’ll call this a ‘party’ in this poll) – others choose to go to a pub or club – some even a restaurant (I have never spent a New Year in a restaurant, not overly sure that that’d be that enjoyable?) Anyway, where are you going?

You don’t get much more character in presence that a Wychwood Brewery production, just the bottle illustrations really set each brand apart, from the ghoulish and sinister to English humor (I’m thinking ‘The Dogs Bollocks’ here) each bottle looks like it has harkened from the fantasy realms of Pratchett or Tolkein.
I’m still picking up beer from my local supermarket, I noticed that the shelves had been stocked with a few WychCraft bottles and so I picked four up to try.  Mysterious looking thing, enticing even, there’s care and attention in the design, the embossed insignia on the glass neck giving yet another sense of real age.

WychCraft pours a golden colour with slight reddish highlights, a rising head of white foam crowning the pint which recedes to a halo head quite soon after pouring.  The pint has some low carbonation, I thought it would have been more as this is supposed to be a summer beer, but that’s just my opinion and shouldn’t detract from the great aesthetics this pint is showing off.

First olfaction is really hoppy, a nice familiar hoppiness, that’ll  be the Fuggles no doubt, I’ve heard an American reviewer call it a “typically British stink”, I wouldn’t label it a ’stink’, but ‘typically British’ yes, maybe it is (note to self, try more beers…)  On retro-olfaction the hoppiness increases with alcohol vapor giving you a stronger flowery presence, coupled with the dry malty taste on the tongue you can see why this is a summer drink.  Proper thirst quencher, no messing.
It’s got hints of citrus in the palette that create the foundation of the beer character but over all I wouldn’t label this one as a complex tasting beverage.

You now, I’d definitely drink this again I’ve had 3 and ended this session, but with its low ABV makes it a good contender for a real session beer, I didn’t find the ‘beer hit’ heavy at all, WychCraft actually put me in a good mood.

My Rating: 9/10 (+1 point for the brilliant product packaging.)

Hops used: Fuggles, Styrains
ABV: 3.8%
Visit the Wychwood Brewery Website for more information.

This is part of my Beer booty experience at my local supermarket, - I’ve picked up some Ruddles Rhubarb because they guy next to me mused it then added 6 bottles to his trolley, “he’s not having it all, the swine!”  So like a male jostling for position on the Serengeti I coughed loud enough to get his attention while I too reached for the same beer, …but only taking two, just enough to show him that this beer isle is a wrestled territory.

Well,  I should have let him have the lot, now I just feel like a prat for my actions.  The Rhubarb is immediately there on first olfaction, it’s a weird smell, a mixture of hops and rhubarb that I found slightly off putting.  You know I thought the same of Banana Bread Beer when that first went under my nose, so I was willing Ruddles Rhubarb to follow suit and surprise me after all…

It poured a lovely deep reddish copper colour which, considering what Green King designed it as - a Summer Real Ale, it certainly looks the ticket.  An immediate slightly off-white foamy head, that recedes quickly with some high carbonation that relaxes at about the same speed as the pint head.

The taste is too synthetic for me, I’m not a fan of Rhubarb, even having grown up in the countryside eating it regularly I consider Rhubarb an ugly bitter taste, so how this will balance out the bitter taste of the Bramling hops I’m not sure.  It does though, for a few seconds, but then the bitterness of the hops kicks back in, it’s like rhubarb, hops, rhubarb, hops on the tongue.  There is some vanilla complexity in there, I’m not sure it’s strong enough, perhaps if this was stronger it would mask the confliction between the hops and rhubarb on my pallet at least.

No, not a fan of this one, I stopped after one bottle and carefully placed the other bottle at the back of my special beer bunker in the “try in summer” section.  If Green King designed it as a summer ale, “the taste of Ruddles County” they must have a good reason, and so perhaps the moral of the story here is try it when they recommend, and who knows you may well learn to like it.  But for now, stood here on a frosty crabby December Wednesday, on personal reflection, I can’t help but think what the hell was that guy in the supermarket going to do with six bottles of this stuff? 

My Rating: 4/10 (sorry, just not my cup of tea… or beer.)

Hops used: Bramling Cross
ABV: 4.7%
Visit the Ruddles Brewery Website for more information.

Shepherd Neame oldest brewery in Britain, a well established name amongst pubs these days, walk into any Wetherspoons, Green King or a Punch Tavern pub and you’re sure to find a Shepherd Neame brew on tap.

It’s worth noting then, I’m not in a pub, I’ve just done the Christmas shopping, and taking a break from pushing the Jackass stunt wagon round the clinical white supermarket I’ve stopped off at the beer isle to cast an opinion on the mountains of cheap lager that are supposedly destroying the English pub trade. It was a pleasant suprise then to find my attention diverted to a wide range of real ales, Badger beers, Charles Wells, Cotswold Brewery, Youngs, and Shepherd Neame brands lining the shelves like soliders of salvation.

I picked up a few bottles of Bishops Finger, not a very inviting name, but it was very cheap… Did I just say that, “it was cheap?” Well, it was.  I felt like I’d found a bargain, a secret bargain that only I knew about.  It was as though I’d smuggled the ales into the trolley hiding them behind the bread and cat food so that nobody saw me do it, I imagined that later I would return with a bigger trolley and reclaim the rest of my treasure.  I was beer bloody rich.

And so it was, the tale of how I came to drink Bishops Finger, again not a very inviting name, probably a lot to do with why I haven’t tried it in the past. But here it is, pouring a dark amber with reddish tones, a good head of just off-white foam, that sits well, not dispersing, I don’t like to use the word lacing, but it was impressive hugging the glass to half way down, giving the pint a full feeling.  Strange word to use ’full’, it doesn’t totally describe what I’m trying to say, I guess the strong lacing made the pint seem denser and longer lasting than it actually was. An optical illusion I  suppose. Bishops Finger has a more gentle carbonation compared with other bottled beers I’ve tried recently and that too adds to the pint appearing ‘full’ giving the pint a look of warmth.  The first olfaction is malty with tinges of the yeast used in brewing and it’s almost like ginger to me. You’re probably thinking I’m going to kiss the damn thing in a moment “man marries pint” the papers will say, I’ll better that - I’m just going to drink it.

The first taste is bitter and citrussy not unpleasant but quite strong immediately, I felt that the instant bitterness mellowed as the pint went down, leaving more of a lasting citrus fruit after taste on the palette, it basically starts off all coiled and complex, then unravells itself and relaxes to be a good example of what a top British pint should be.

I’m not feeling like drinking much tonight, so I stopped after the first one, but I’d suggest with it’s high ABV of 5.4% it’s not a session ale and you should take it easy after 3, enjoy the winter night and maybe cap it of with a fourth - but thats up to you.

My Rating: 8/10

Hops used: Goldings (I assumed)
ABV: 5.4%
Visit the Shepherd Neame Brewery Website for more information.

We asked whether you’d like to review beers and breweries as well as pubs. We’ve had a lot of emails asking for both of these so we thought it’d be wise in asking you what you thought. Don’t worry, it’s not something we’re going to do immediately, but more likely introduce in the first quarter of next year. We’ve already got a list of beers (17,470 to be precise) - no idea how upto date and accurate that list is, but we’ll sort that out nearer the time. With regards to reviewing breweries we meant to say not just the overall beers they produce, but perhaps things like the tours they offer / visitor centres, etc. Anyway, onto the those poll results

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

I think it’s a yes overall

This week we’re asking whether you think the DrinkAware campaign is a good or bad thing. Don’t get us wrong, we think responsible drinking is the right thing - however, is DrinkAware doing a good thing? Or are you just sick of seeing it on every TV advert, magazine advert - you name it. Do you think we need to be told when we’ve had enough? The BITE team were out on Friday night and at one point FIVE uniformed police visited the venue we were in, walking around checking everyone wasn’t too drunk (we know this because I actually asked them why they were in there) - sorry, but we think that is overstepping the line, do you agree? Leave us a comment and vote..!

ps. There are over 360 pubs within 1.0 mile of the HQ of DrinkAware (nice location boys!)

It was a Friday afternoon, we had unfortunately not been sent any freebies this week to drink trial in the office and blog about so we decided to head on down to our local O’Neills. I have seen the marketing campaigns, tried in vain to contact a Guinness Brand Manager via numerous methods - including their blog (if there is one out there that actually reads this – how about contacting us?) to give us more info / a list of pubs that serve it (to put on BITE), but I still hadn’t tried Guinness Red yet. You’d think we would have been an ideal platform to help promote it considering it wasn’t at every pub! But anyway…

Anyway, onto the drink. It pours like a normal Guinness, including the traditional two second wait before topping off the pint. It has a thick, creamy head like a normal Guinness and it looks (apart from if you hold it upto the light) like a normal Guinness too. It’s not really that red, more reddish. But that is where the comparison ends. Oh wait, it has the same ABV too (4.1%). I was quite surprised actually, it tastes good – BUT – it tastes like something is missing. Have you drank Diet Coke after drinking normal Coke for years and felt it was lacking something? Well, Guinness Red has that same feeling. It doesn’t feel as heavy or ‘thick’ as normal Guinness, but it does still have that distinctive taste and will still give you that distinctive ‘tache too. To be honest, I would drink it again (actually, I first tried it and then immediately before putting the pint down drank it again to double-check it like I had missed something) – I think it’s the ideal ‘pub lunch’ drink. The sort of drink you’d have at lunchtime midweek with colleagues but don’t want to start ‘drinking’ – we’ve all been there, have one pint at lunch and it goes straight to your head because you choose a bloody salad or something with it, well, this is the drink to order! I see Guinness Red as a drink I will order again if I am in a pub that sells it, but I don’t quite see myself travelling to another pub JUST to order it. Sorry Guinness, I am lazy.

Overall, I would give Guinness Red a favourable 8.5/10.

It’s that time of year again, no I don’t just mean Christmas, I mean winter warmer ale season.  This year I  am sampling the Bateman Breweries ‘Rosey Nosey’.  English masters of brewing seasonal ales, Batemans winter warmer suggests that it “Compliments any Turkey”… well, with this in my hand I do look a little more handsome I must admit.

Rosey Nosey is a beautiful deep caramel colour, pouring with a good tanned foamy head and some relaxed carbonation.  I’m beginning to understand how to divide the beer taste complexity, and that’s certainly something you’ll need to do with Rosey Nosey.  I’ve heard it described as cherry, malt biscuit tasting as well as rasin and fruity.  I agree, I can sense the cherry taste, thats true, it’s slightly over cast by the bitter hops taste which dominates the first few swigs of this winter warmer, the mixture of the bitter and cherry sweet comes across as almost almond on the palette.   There’s a prevailing taste left in the mouth which is slightly fruity, it’s got the same sharpness as cranberry, this would surely be complimented by a hearty Christmas dinner, but to be honest I find Turkey rather bland and only wish to eat the ugly bird on one day of the year so I will just pour another Rosey Nosey for the time being.

It’s got a rather mild ABV for a winter warmer in my opinion, meaning you could have a few and make it a very Merry Christmas, it’s still strong enough to be just over a recommended session ale, so take it easy after three or four of these.

My rating:  8/10
ABV: 4.9%
For more information visit the Bateman Brewery website.

Thats right, for your chance to win 6x 500ml bottles of Rosey Nosey simply answer three questions and enter our prize draw, it won’t cost you a single penny, this is a BITE team give away, the beer is coming straight out of our supplies. 

This offer ends on Wed 19th December 2007, so hurry, click here to enter the competition.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Thanks to all 54 of you that voted. I think it is time we removed the anonymous box, because it does cause more trouble than it’s worth and being realistic – your personal details aren’t really for show on the site anyway because of how little information we collect about you. It would also help when we start introducing a few more features (like being able to see who rated what, etc)

Also, yes – we are looking at adding the polls to the main site to get the polls more exposure but it’s a technical thing why we can’t currently more than anything (hoping to have that resolved this week!)

This week we’d like to ask:

Would you like to review beers and/or breweries on the site as well as pubs? Voting is open now! (..and yes, we know you’d like to all the site totally finished and up to date before the above features – but this poll helps in our planning of the new site/changes!)

Here it is folks, if ever there was a need for a drum roll, or a clap of thunder under a perfectly black rain cloud English sky, it is now.  I’ve waited two months to write about this beer, Batemans Dark Lord, patiently ushering other beers and ales onto this Blog knowing full well that I was building a foundation with which to rock using Dark Lord, my own personal favourite.

Dark Lord is a commemoration to Sir Thomas Fairfax, who fought alongside Cromwell during the battle of Winceby (Oct 1643) - a true English military hero, courageous and gallant, ‘Black Tom’ as he was known to his men - fought the Royalists with a fanatical zeal. Englands New Model Army under the head strong command of Black Tom had not lost a battle, siege or storm during that first civil war.

As I mentioned with regards to King Alfred’s Bitter, “there is no better monument to an Englishman than to have his memory cast into the soul of a beer.”  Black Toms legacy certainly deserving such a recommendation. 
So, it falls to Batemans, proud English family brewers to bring forth the drink for which he shall be remembered.

Dark Lord pours oil black.  Light almost does not penetrate this liquid except for a slight deep amber shine at the very bottom of the glass.  An impressive head of thick creamy foam, with some fast initial carbonation that then settles as the head recedes.  The aroma is thick and malty, full of citrus hints, almost like lemon, but not quite prominently there if you know what I mean.  The taste is at first licorice followed with a strong roasted malt and bitter sweet sensation on the taste buds, it’s got a wonderfully strong retro-olfaction, as you breathe out the aroma is just as pure if not slightly stronger with the alcohol vapour as it was when first sampling it from the glass.  It’s got a good strong ABV making it a great winter warmer but not a real session beer, two or three of these and you’ll start to feel the darkness so take it easy. 

I’ve found the flavour strength of Dark Lord to be the perfect accompaniment to strong English cheeses, and dare I say instead of steak and ale pie, or beef and Guiness stew, seriously try Dark Lord as a variation.  Sacrilege! I know some of you may think - but it works.

The other day I gave Fursty Ferret a 10/10, caught by surprise I was by the goodness of that cheeky beer, but today is Dark Lords day, this was always going to be a 10/10 for me no questions asked.  Watch out for Dark Lord as it will appear again early next year on this Blog. “To good health!”

My rating 10/10 ( my personal favourite)
ABV 5.0%
Visit the Bateman brewery website for more information www.bateman.co.uk

First brewed at the Gribble Inn at Oving, it has become legend that local ferrets visited the backdoor of the Inn to taste this amazing ale.  I’ve just tried my first Fursty Ferret and like the ferrets of yore I am converted. 
This is the best seasonal cask ale I have yet tried; I can’t reward it enough and have already used my mobile communications device to send various text messages to friends informing them of my discovery.
It’s recommended ’served chilled’ - I have to argue that this is not the correct way to serve Fursty Ferret, at room temperature this ale really is heaven, pouring a deep caramel colour, with some fantastic carbonation that oozes from a third way up the pint to the top meeting a beautiful head of creamy foam.  It looks just as good as it tastes, on first sip I am almost transported to a scene akin to Constables famous ‘The Haywain’ painting, it’s got a marvelous gingery hint full of hops with a waxy malty finish on swallowing, it is so smooth on the palette I’m perplexed as to why it’s not in more pubs up and down the country.

This ale has the perfect balance of flavours for me, a real English countryside ale.  I can’t pin a seasonal recommendation to it as in my mind it would be great in spring, summer, autumn or winter.  Those damn ferrets knew they were onto a good thing, and it’s up to me to continue to spread their knowledge. 

Fursty Ferret is likely to be found in all good supermarkets (if there is such a thing) and is low in price, making it even more ideal.  Transport yourself back to olde England with this wonderful concoction from the Hall and Woodhouse brewery.

My rating: 10/10
ABV 4.4%
Visit the Hall and Woodhouse brewery website, home of Badger Beers, for more information.

Purchase Location:

Harrier Lite, if you know you’re out for a good while and you see the Harrier, it’s a great session beer, very refreshing and fruity with a nice low ABV, I wouldn’t call it so much a citrus taste, but it’s got a fresh zesty taste throughout, even down to the hand-warmed dregs, maybe it’s the presence of Saaz hops which I have never come across before? A nice head that lasted for just over half the pint, giving each swig a smooth texture in the mouth, not watery at all. Harrier Lite was apparently discontinued but has been flown back by the Cottleigh brewery due to popular demand. I’m told that Harrier is kind to the hips, for the health concious drinkers out there… But I’m not bothered, the burger in my hand has kindly set karma back in balance.

My rating: 8/10
Hops used: Goldings, Challenger, Cascade, Saaz
ABV 3.5% Visit the Cotleigh Brewery website for more information.

Purchase Location:

Like a  spinning dog, that’s how I felt, Muttley certainly did take revenge on my stomach after three pints of this, perhaps it’s the strong citrus acidic aftertaste that makes this beer feel like you’re drinking a pint of serious home brew.
If strong flavours is your thing, then do seek this one out. It might be an average ABV but it packs a real bite. I got a rather heavy chest and slight sway during this session of Muttleys. I have to say I wasn’t really a big fan, but as there is no such thing as a bad beer (unless it’s been contaminated or over chilled) I thought I would persist with a small session with this one to try and change my mind.

It’s got to be another one for spring/ summer, the citrus is so refreshing it’s going to make an excellent ‘after hard days work’ beer. There is a flowery hoppy background that soothes the taste buds, and an absence of head but a feeling that there is still plenty of carbonation left in the mix.

My rating: 6/10
Hops used: Challenger, Target
ABV 4.8%
Visit the Spinning Dog Brewery website for more information.

Your results were:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Not overly surprising, we didn’t expect the chain pubs to get many votes to be honest but were surprised to see the country came out on top (although only by 4 votes)

This week’s vote feels a bit pointless, we roughly already know your answer to this - but we’d still like to ask anyway before we go ahead and change anything…

Should we allow anonymous reviews on pubs? Voting is open now..

ps. The forums are going well, over 200 posts in the first week – great to see your input everyone, thank you!

Have you ever woken up at 4.30am with a crook neck, shoes still on, sleeping like a tramp on your own sofa surrounded by empty KFC boxes and lettuce?
Or, woken up on the bathroom floor hugging the toilet draped in a towel feeling that you’re tied to a spinning wheel?
We’ve all had those moments, those drunken moments and drunken photos that end up on Facebook - chipping away at your cool, speaking of Facebook, join our BITE group and spread the gospel to all your friends.

Fear not, you can now do all that and more in style, with Sumo Chairs!

I’ve got a Sumo Chair after my partner and I relaxed all night at a sunset beach bar in Turkey on a pair of them, they were the perfect way to spend a chilled out evening watching the sun disappear into the Med.  Back in England we just had to get one, but being 200 miles in land and with the obvious lack of sun in our quaint little country, was it really going to be practicle buying a gargantuan cushion for our two bed mid-terrace house? 

Of course it was, Sumo Chairs are the lightweight durable beanbags of the future here today. “But just how space age can you get with simple beanbag technology?” I hear you ask.

Well, these enormous comfort lumps come with a wipe clean nylon surface, Sumo Chairs are oversize, not like the ‘just big enough for your backside’ fire hazard beanbags of the 1980’s - they’re so last century.
Sumo Chairs command presence in any room, I wonder if sumo wrestlers actually use them? …They are not objects to hand down to your dog as a place to sleep when they go flat, Sumo Chairs don’t go flat.
Ok that’s probably a lie, they will go flat, but it will take years, Sumo Chairs come packed with thousands and thousands of polystyrene balls that are locked away behind the worlds stickiest Velcro strip and the most durable childproof zip we’ve ever seen. In fact you’d have to put some bullet holes in your Sumo Chair in order to see those annoying white balls spill out everywhere, Sumo Chairs are not bullet proof and we do not actually recommend you buy a Sumo Chair just to shoot at.

So, when you come home from a heavy night out, don’t head for the sofa, nay, look for your Sumo Chair, the new mistress of pacification in your home. The moment you hit the Sumo Chair at 6 drunken miles per hour, the Sumo Chair reacts, it’s like it re-programmes its DNA to suit you, it moulds around your exact body shape giving you comfort and support in whatever position you throw at it.

I’ve tried the ‘face first star shape’; Sumo Chair was there in a blink of an eye, maximum head support and a perfect horizontal tilt. Then, ‘collapsing into the fetal position’, sumo chair was there again, I felt like a cat in a pile of clean clothes.
My friend tried the ‘just need somewhere to sit quickly maneuver’ - bang, Sumo Chair saw it coming and reshaped itself into something that I can only describe as reminiscent of the scene in King Kong where Kong picks up the damsel in distress in a very caring way while fighting 3 Tyrannosaurus Rexes’.

In a moment of clarity (whilst sitting in my Sumo Chair), now the smoking ban is enforced in all British pubs, I think Sumo Chairs would make a great addition to a pub lounge area, or a trendy student bar, you can see it now, students up and down the country searching for bars just because they have Sumo Chairs, so they may sit in various positions and discuss each Sumo Chair position, the impact it may have on socialism or other deep political agendas, …as well as taking cool pics to put on Facebook. Awesome, high fives all round!

You know I’d really like to say that Sumo Chairs would make the perfect Christmas presents for your family and friends, but hiding them is a real problem, when a Sumo Chair is delivered to your house, it looks like the postman is asking you to dispose of a body, whilst they are super light in weight, they are extremely big, so I’d suggest you just go out and buy one, or two, or three, right now and just say “I bought you a present”, “Why? Because I love you honey”. Then, when it’s home time on that next pub tour make sure you hit the Sumo Chair and leave the sofa and bathroom floor behind.

Buy yourself a Sumo Chair today and say goodbye to hard unforgiving surfaces.

Clark Rams Revenge has got a comical character this season, the sign on the pump is staring at me agressively and this is why I have picked it as the first beer for the night. 

Rams Revenge pours a deep dark caramel colour, with an impressive head that has receded from the bar to the table.  The aroma is lightly malty, with a first taste that is really quite sour and acidic.  However for the rest of the pint it’s quite refreshing with a flowery taste that spans the rest of the pint.  There’s some lacing down the sides of the pint, this is all gone by two thirds down and it’s looking like quite flat leftovers. 

Not a great session beer for me with it’s moderate ABV and sourness, I drank this outside in mid November with a cold snap in full force, Rams Revenge is certainly a pint that I would like to try during a hot summer evening, with it’s immediate refreshing qualities it would be best served late July in Cheltenham’s huge beer garden. 

My Rating: 5/10

Hops used: Cascade, Fuggles
ABV: 4.6%
Visit the H.B. Clark Brewery Website for more information.

There’s a strong smell of anise today in the BITE office, we’ve been lucky enough to be given seven bottles of Antica Sambuca to try out, seven different flavours, seven different hangovers perhaps?

If you’ve ever been abroad to the Mediterranean, you’ll recognise the taste of Sambuca as it’s very similar to the Greek Ouzo and Turkish Raki, all distilled from the vapours of aniseed, for that distinct taste.

Now, you’ll probably have heard of Sambuca in its most legendary form, the  ominous “Flaming Sambuca” – some bright spark in history,  decided that it would be a good idea to ignite this rocket fuel liquor and thus many a Saturday night A&E wards up and down the country have been filled with second degree burns victims… You know I once heard a rumor that the world record for sticking flaming Sambucas to your ass was held by a gentleman here in the Cotswold’s (Something we don’t condone!) , I’d love to find out if that’s true or not, a pint to the first person who can confirm or deny this!

Ok, here’s the twist, because the strong aniseed flavor of Sambuca is not appreciated by all palettes’ the brainy folks at Antica have blended in some extra flavours that work well in bar cocktails or simply on their own.  We’ve got our hands on seven prestigious flavours; Classic, Banana, Orange and Mango, Mandarin, Raspberry, Apple and Liquorice.

But first, drink responsibly…
Remember folks, we are doing these shots neat with half a pint of water in-between each shot, also a good hour passes between each shot, drinking responsibly is the new black don’t forget.

Classic Sambuca: 
Chris; “It tastes nice, a lot like liquorice, like those old sweets you used to get”
Steve; “It reminds me of being on a Greek night, a one Sambuca, two Sambuca, three Sambuca floor.”

Banana:
Chris: “It’s horrible, too much like medicine for me”
Steve: “It’s quite sour for a banana taste, this would be good in a punch or something.  I thought it would be sweeter, but I can imagine this being mixed with real banana pieces and tasting spot on”

Orange and Mango:
Chris: “This smells like sweets, like refreshers, and it tastes just like childrens medicine, you know the brightly coloured ones you’d get as a kid.”
Steve: “Fhhu… , tastes vile to me, it’s got too much going on flavour wise for a shooter.”

Mandarin:
Chris:  “This smells like a radox bath, to be fair it doesn’t taste like mandarin but it’s not bad at all.”
Steve: “Too much like gin, I can’t even swallow this” (I had a bad experience once on Gin and I have never drank it since.)

Raspberry:
Chris: “Smells like something from Bodyshop and looks like it too, tastes a bit like Parma violets, quite nice actually”
Steve: “Possibly the best of the lot, nice and sweet, definitely the one to do on its own”

Apple:
Chris: “Smells quite nice, tastes nice too, you have to do the whole shot to taste the fruit flavour which kicks in right at the end.”
Steve: “Tastes like sour apple, I would have liked this to be sweeter maybe, this would work really well in a summer mixer.”

Liquorice:
Chris: “Wow, this is just like super strong version of the classic one, it’s got some real kick”
Steve: “I can’t stand liquorice, but that’s awesome, - definitely the daddy of all these flavours”So, scour the bars for the multicoloured bottles of flavoured Sambuca, we’d advise going for the Liquorice or the Raspberry flavours if you’re looking for a quick shooter. 
In the run up to Christmas we will be reviewing different applications of each flavour as we try our hand at some cocktail making, so stay tuned.

Visit the Antica Sambuca website for contact information.
Can’t wait? Buy Sambuca online from TheDrinkShop.com

Here are the results:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Quite a surprising result for us, we’ve had a lot of requests via email for us to add sports listings – Obviously these peaked during the Rugby World Cup. We agree with you on keeping the listings updated though, it would be up to the pubs to make sure they had ‘their name down’ as such to tell us when and what they were showing. So, we won’t bother with this feature apart from maybe special events (like Euro 2008 for example).

This week’s poll is about your favourite type of pub to drink in, whether it be a local in your town/city or you like to go out in the countryside to it – what is your favourite? (We realise you have different favourites depending on the day, i.e. Sunday) but think overall which is your favourite? Voting is open now until next Monday, thanks!

ps. Don’t forget our newly opened forums!

http://forums.beerintheevening.com is the address you’ll need and you just need your existing BITE username and password to login!

We know there are a few little bugs here and there with it and we’re counting on your feedback for any changes you’d like (such as adding a new forum for discussion of real ales or whatever you’d like)

We hope the forums will allow you to talk to us much more directly and we’ll promise to (hopefully!) answer you all as quick as possible. So go tell everyone that the BITE Forums are now open!

One last thing though, please be nice – it’s not a place to slag off each other – people who abuse the forum will be banned from it!

Now.. on with those beers – it’s 4pm and getting late! Have a good weekend everybody!

Cheers!

Ah, good King Alfred, known throughout history as Alfred the Cake, the king that burned the Pig farmers cakes… But, there could be no greater monument to your legacy as an Englishman than to be remembered in the present day with a beer that is named after you.

King Alfred’s pours amber in colour, almost caramel brown, there’s not much of a head on this pint - shame, it’s receded to a halo of a head by the time I’ve got back to the table. The aroma is quite hoppy, I hate saying that a beer smells ’hoppy’, to a non-beer drinker that means what exactly? With King Alfred’s it’s hard to describe it as anything other than hoppy, the smell of hops. There’s a bitter thirst quenching taste, very satisfying after a long day at the computer screen. I’ve been told that I should be able to taste the slight caramel textures in the beer complexity, but I can’t, it’s more chocolate reminiscent to me, slightly sweet, with a sourness at the back of the tongue.

A great session beer, due to its average ABV, it’s certainly worth drinking a few of these through the night as the alcohol does not take effect for a good 40 mins.

Cheers to King Alfred!

My Rating: 7/10

Hops used: Challenger, First Gold, Goldings
ABV: 3.8%
Visit Hampshire Brewery Website for more information.

Served as a great looking amber pint, maybe it’s all the swish lighting and mirrors in Varsity but this pint looks like it’s been created by Faberge as it sits there basking in its own smugness.

First taste this is a lot more earthy and sweet than I thought; I assumed I was in for a yeasty bready pint, but no, the Wye valley tastes almost like it’s been brewed using mushrooms. Yes, definitely a ‘mushroomy’ taste, not unpleasant but not expected either.

The pint head has lasted to about half way down the glass, giving some lacing down the side, after the pint has warmed it’s got a much more floral taste to it and the hops start to show through, there’s a bitterness at the back of the throat.
Not my favourite pint on the night, and quite a low ABV, but a nice pint that would sit well with a Sunday dinner.

My Rating: 6/10
Hops used: English Target, Goldings
ABV: 3.6%
Visit the Wye Valley Brewery website for more information.

 
The name ‘Black Cat’ has ties to the Lancashire Witches of 1612; nine local people were hanged for practicing the black arts, magic and witchcraft. If the witches of yore were brewing something similar to Black Cat then pass my broomstick I’ve got a date with the dark side.

Black Cat has an immediate strong smokey flavour, I’ve heard some other beer drinkers call it chocolaty, but I couldn’t catch it in this one. The smokiness is coupled with a toasted barley taste I’m told, but maybe it’s just a bad day as I’m finding it quite malty - it sure looks malty. Black Cat pours a very dark beer, but as with most dark ales it has the typical ruby highlights when held to the light (hallelujah!). At first look you’d think Black Cat will be a strong one, but surprisingly it’s only a mild with a low ABV, this mild quality starts to come through as the texture of Black Cat is definitely watery, the Guinness’esq head doesn’t hang around on the Black Cat for too long which was a bit of a shame. I did drink three of these, with such a mild ABV this is a good beer to enjoy in a drinking session as it doesn’t take over, - there’s a slight bitterness after drinking so much but that’s easily balanced by taking yourself to the bar and demanding fish and chips for your table.

My Rating: 6/10

Hops used: Fuggles
ABV: 3.7%
Visit Moorhouse Brewery for more information.