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Given it is sometimes named “honey wine”, I suppose it is closer to the former:
Being served in my local pub today: a white chocolate light mild.
A white chocolate flavour in beer is a new one on me. It is actually quite good.
Sounds disgusting!
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highwaysExcellent cider knowledge, Drone. I grew up not too far from where Brimblecombe’s was made, small world! Sadly the drink is now demised. I wasn’t familiar with Snell’s but a quick search tells me that it’s also gone although I know for sure that Gray’s is still going strong, quite literally! Apparently the also defunct Brommell’s formed a local ‘Gang of Four’ ciders.
Hazy memories of Ye Olde Cider Bar and the legendary Diesel which was orange in colour. I haven’t been for a while but apparently it’s still going.
I think the farmer literally selling outside the gate is a best a rarity these days but local farm shops often stock some of the good stuff from nearby producers.
I also have never tried mead, I’ll have to get down to M&S
“Sounds disgusting!”
I thought it sounded a bit dubious but I was pleasantly surprised. Not a classic by any means but I have had far worse.
“I think the farmer literally selling outside the gate is a best a rarity these days”.
I suppose so. I remember CAMRA saying it couldn’t provide a definitive list of cider and perry makers because there were so many small, artisan producers but I doubt there are many of them left.
I wonder how many people still do home brewing? It was quite a popular hobby when I was younger. You could buy a basic start up kit in Boots, if memory serves.
A woman I used to work with used to make her own sloe gin. I often bought a bottle from her for Christmas.
I grew up not too far from where Brimblecombe’s was made
I recall their cider store being in a lovely old beamed barn full of huge wooden casks, probably 55-gallon hogsheads.
I went there during a stay in Bovey Tracey, used as a base to tramp the wilds of Dartmoor, an area I like very much.
I’ve sampled others efforts at home brewing but wasn’t impressed.
A friend of mine makes sloe gin too and I once helped her pick the sloes which was a tedious task, though not I imagine as tedious as pricking each one, apparently necessary to release the juice. A distinctive tipple but too sweet for me.
Blackthorn which bears the sloes has just started to flower round here, so perhaps there’ll be a bumper crop given the current clement weather. Will I get the call for assistance harvesting the bounty come autumn?
I recall their cider store being in a lovely old beamed barn full of huge wooden casks, probably 55-gallon hogsheads.
I went there during a stay in Bovey Tracey, used as a base to tramp the wilds of Dartmoor, an area I like very much.
Sadly there was a fire there not too long ago but I’m not sure exactly which building(s) was/were affected.
Being sandwiched between Dartmoor and the coast is so normal to me but it is a privileged position to be in. Half an hour one way I can have a deserted beach to myself, half an hour the other I can be in the middle of nowhere on Dartmoor.
My aunt lives in Tavistock at the edge of Dartmoor, so I have seen that moorland landscape many times. I prefer the wild countryside of the likes of Dartmoor and the Peak District to the more picture postcard locations.
I remember playing golf on the course in Tavistock. It is on the edge of the moor. All the greens had to be roped off to resemble boxing rings, to prevent Dartmoor ponies from walking over them. The local rules advised you could lift, clean and drop your ball without penalty if it came to rest in anything one of the ponies had left behind..
I did intend to visit the cider house in Newton Abbot on my last visit to the racecourse but there wasn’t time. There can’t be many such houses left now.
Cider enthusiasts finding themselves in the Lewes area (perhaps following an afternoon at nearby Plumpton) would be well advised to pay Middle Farm a visit: Middle Farm
I no longer live in the area sadly but can vouch for the products and, having taken advantage of the apple pressing service, well remember a piece of advice given to me by one gnarled veteran of many a previous vintage “you might as well brew five gallons as one gallon. It takes the same amount of time and lasts nearly twice as long”.
Wise words indeed.
For white chocolate light mild, I raise you Salted Caramel Ice Cream Porter.
I wasn’t tempted by that one.
It’s times like that when you need the half or even third measurement. Sounds like the sort of oddity you might try at a beer festival but it seems a bit out there as an offering at the bar.
A young woman did order a half pint of it just as I was leaving.
The place is something of a boutique micropub with a bit of a bohemian vibe. It is not the first time I have seen speciality type beers in there, so presumably they do sell.
I had a pint of Wrexham Lager, which I don’t recall seeing outside of its North Wales heartland many times before.
I don’t recall child free pubs being particularly controversial when I was young (which wasn’t all that long ago, honest).
I do accept that for businesses reasons some pubs will allow them but equally if they choose not to, as is their right, then bloody well go somewhere else if you have kids and stop criticising them, there are plenty of other options. The entitlement of some parents is staggering.
I live in an area with a lot of young families so the nearby pub doesn’t really have a choice but thankfully it’s quite large both inside and out and one half inside seems to, at least unofficially, be reserved for adults which works well. Doesn’t seem to quite work like that outside which is annoying in summer when there are kids running about or sat there with a phone or tablet on loudspeaker.
I read about Mr Johansen’s pub earlier this week. I understand his decision. It sounds like he has tried to be reasonable but has run out of patience.
My thoughts on the subject are: if a pub serves food, I don’t believe anyone should object to children being present. Such pubs benefit from families going together.
However, I really don’t get why some parents take their children to traditional wet pubs. These places are not set up for children. It is not surprising that many children inevitably get bored and restless in them.
I don’t think it is unreasonable for landlords of wet pubs to have a no children rule. Nor is it unreasonable to expect parents to go somewhere else – there are plenty of other places they can go.
I meant to add: I have always been sympathetic to the idea that 16 and 17 year olds should be allowed to drink in pubs. I would rather them be drinking good quality alcohol in a supervised environment, rather than drinking cheap supermarket cider from a 2 litre plastic bottle in the local park and maybe causing trouble afterwards.
I was interested to find out earlier this week that Jimmy Carr has the same idea, amongst others in this clip. Worth a watch, with a trigger warning for some naughty language:
I don’t believe it will ever happen but I have to say I’d be open to the idea if it was implemented in the right way. Carr does make some good points in the video and whilst I don’t always agree with everything he says at least he’s putting an opinion out there.
I’m fairly sure some mainland European countries allow purchase of beer and wine at 16, although whether this only in shops or includes bars/pubs as well I don’t know. If anything off sales should be subject to higher limits because as you say there is more oversight in a pub.
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