Stranger than fiction.

Being as I am very interested in my beers and ales, I make it my business to know as much as I can about new produce coming into the market. 

Sometimes, with CAMRA, I have the opportunity to visit microbreweries and thus, become familiar that way. A visit to the Great British Beer Festival is another avenue of enquiry. I also scour food magazines and sections in newspapers, just on the off chance - indeed, that is how I became familiar with Banana Bread Beer almost 20 years ago. A local ale trail is another fantastic way for any enthusiast to sample new and also well loved craft ales whilst in the company of fellow ale lovers. This medium happens to be my favourite! 

With the internet now available to one and all, information, articles, reviews and blogs pertaining to my specialist subject is just a click away, and this is another way in which I keep abreast of exciting developments in the wonderful world of real ales.

It would be remiss of me to not to utilise the information that is so readily available at my fingertips.

So, imagine my delight when at a recent family gathering my niece excitedly tells me about a new company hailing from a few miles over the border in the Land of Our Fathers. 

'Check this out, Uncle Dick!' She beamed as she brandished her new iPhone something or other that she'd had for Christmas.

'This sounds right up your street! Real Ale Company, listing as shopping and retail on Facebook. Looks good. They seem quite young..'

She plonked down at the side of me to show me the screen. From what I could see, the company had started a few months back in 2015. It was exciting and new, sounding impressive with a small gaggle of followers. 

'Looks like they have a blog too.' She added, 'I'll send you the link.'

Excellent! New blood, exciting blood and, more importantly, young blood. Charged, passionate and full of ideas for Real Ales, spurring on the next generation of Brewers.

I excitedly fired up my PC, received the link and watched the screen with avid interest. It looked great! Slick and trendy, arty photographs, homely feel. A young, newly wed couple at the helm.

Fantastic!

And then I scratched a little deeper....

Now, it could be because I am old and I just don't understand how these youngsters operate, or it could be that I am downright stupid, but I am failing to understand the company and it's mission.

Are they selling? Brewing? Reviewing??

There are no products for sale, be they outsourced from other local breweries or their own, so I am thus far certain that they are not retail.

I can't see any reviews either, although there is a ramble about some knights sampling ales, but with no specific names of beers, breweries or particular tasting notes I really can't be sure. Forgive me, but if you are in fact reviewing, readers need a bit more info than 'it' tasted like a toilet...

There is a blog, yes, but I am perplexed at the purpose. There are a lot of words - evidently not proof read, such is the folly of youth -  but it all seems to be a lot of effort for little content. 

And yet the owners of the company insist that on our beery adventures, we take them along on the ride. 

But, Dear Hearts, how exactly does one go about achieving that? 

I am hopeful that perhaps I am being premature and demanding far too much from such a new company far too soon. But for now, it's a bit of a Really Real Fail...

2016...

Hello there! Only me, back from the dead so it seems! 

2016, what a load of rubbish you have been so far, allowing us to lose so many talented people in such a short space of time. 

I was worried for a short while, being of a similar age to Messrs Bowie, Rickman and Wogan, but then the little lady mentioned that my impact on the Arts has been negligible, so it probably wasn't time to be called home. 

Still though, you reach a certain age where you're attending more funerals of your kinfolk than ever before and it certainly makes you think...mortality is sometimes a scary issue when you still have the mindset of a 17 year old, but I digress!

Christmas 2015 saw me blessed with a feast of some of my favourite and also some unusual ales, generously sourced by members of my family and presented in a giant hamper, all for me. 

I still have some patiently waiting in the pantry, ready to be cracked open and supped with the last of the mince pie stash I have managed to eek out.

Now, whilst I promise to return with a veritable burn of a blog very shortly, I shall leave you with my musings concerning two of the ales I received.

I am not particularly fond of these types of ale as a usual rule of thumb, but feel that they deserve a special mention as they have swayed my mind set.

First up:

Samuel Smiths Organic Chocolate Stout. 

5%

Brewed in Yorkshire, UK.

Absolutely delicious, not as bitter as a usual stout but the rich, warming chocolate flavour really comes through in this brew. Sweet, dark, but not sickly, I found this a very unique quality to this particular brand that I have not experienced before.

I was very pleasantly surprised and paired this with a massive wodge of Christmas pud with extra thick brandy cream. Just delightful. 

Second:

Black Mountain Brewing Co. Chilli Beer.

4.2%

Brewed in Arizona, USA.

This beer arrives with a whole chilli in the bottle. It certainly is a bit of a conversation starter and one of those 'novelty' beers that I tend to steer clear of, because I am essentially a grumpy old bugger.

I know that there are many of my generation who don't particularly like 'hot' in their food, but I quite enjoy the chilli tingle on my lips and tongue...even if my good lady wife doesn't enjoy the aftermath in the littlest room the day after! 

Where can I start with this? 

It's golden, almost like a Mexican lager type of affair, on opening the bottle, there is an aroma of chilli. It's not unpleasant, but I can understand how it's not for everyone.

Onto the experience. There's not much fizz, but that's ok. On first sip, it's very much like a pale ale, fairly crisp, and then the kick of chilli. Don't get me wrong, it's not like Beelzebub's bum, but there is a good quality tingle. 

This is most definitely a novelty beer, and not one for a session, however, as one with 'the lads' over a bowl of nachos with chilli and dip, this would be most agreeable indeed. 

Not for everyone, but one I enjoyed.