Northern Brewing – Two Tone Special Chocholate Stout

Brewery –          Blakemere Brewery

Beer –                  Two Tone Special Chocolate Stout

Alcohol –          5.0%

Origin –               Northwich, Cheshire

Style –                 Stout

Season –            Autumn

A work mate, visited the brewery over the weekend and as he’s not the biggest fan of Chocolate Stouts he thought he’d kindly get me a bottle and see what a thought.

I’m a big fan oF Chocolate stouts, as I think Stouts should be thick, heavy, and flavoursome; satisfying to the core.

Two Tone has a thick  black, oil slick colouring, with a light brown soft head.

Most chocolate stouts have a dark chocolate nose, but brew tastes lighter, with milk chocolate notes, with hints of hazelnut, and malty biscuit.

Initially, Coffee flavours develop on the tongue, but it’s a light cappuccino style which leads to a developing bitterness from the Dark Chocolate backbone. Earthy, and leathery notes add to the bitterness giving this a dark, rough, original feel.

The finish is bitter, with more dark chocolate, and cocoa, with a slight tangy mouthfeel on the sides of the tongue.

I think ‘Two Tone is an apt name for this brew; lighter milk chocolate notes lead deeper and deeper towards dark chocolate, with a solid full cocoa finish. It tastes like a micro-brewery beer, not refined and elegant, but rough and ready, home-made, and these are qualities which I admire in a beer.

Thumbs up to Northern Brewing, a chocolate lovers delight.

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Blueball – Frambozen

Brewery –          Blueball Brewery

Beer –                  Frambozen

Alcohol –          4.3%

Origin –             Runcorn, Cheshire

Style –                Fruit Wheat Beer

Season –           Summer

On our first visit to Kash Bar my wife chose a pint of Frambozen beer. Again usually fruit beers are served in small bottles or half glasses, but true to form, Kash give a frothy cool crisp full pint of Heaven!

Pink, pearlescent, cloudy, and luminescent; this beer is stunningly different looking, with a bubbling white, overflowing head.

The nose is sweet, with summer fruit raspberrys and white chocolate.

The mouthfeel is really smooth for a fruity wheat beer; uncarbonated, with the Blueball tang always tingling the tongue.

Notes of sugary pear and orchard scents, compliment the strong raspberry flavours, ending with a slightly hoopy dry raspberry finish.

This beer is incredibly fruity but wonderfully smooth. It feels like a cross between a wheat beer, a fruit beer and a mild, with wonderful intense fruit flavours, intensely Summery and drinkable but with an inherent smoothness mildness.

Weird, wonderful, and delightfully different.

 

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Blueball – Black Betty

Brewery –          Blueball Brewery

Beer –                  Black Betty

Alcohol –           7.2%

Origin –               Runcorn, Cheshire

Style –                 Black IPA

Season –             Summer

It was my first trip to Kash Bar, Chester over the weekend after finding out that it is child friendly hoorah!

Stepped up to the bar and asked for a pint of Black Betty… didn’t realise the strength of it! Usually beers of this strength are served in half measures but like the Blueball beers, there’s no messing around! A pint you ask… then a pint you’ll get!

This is rich and smokey brown black ale, interestingly highly carbonated with a frothy cappuccino head, and served a beautifully sculpted Kash Challis.

Dark Chocolate, Smokey with hints of Coffee on the nose, and laced with deep dark fruits. The strong alcohol content is apparent in its aroma; sweet and punchy.

The mouthfeel is smooth but like all the Blueball beers I’ve tried thus far there is an appealing tanginess to the brew giving it a modern and vibrant feel. It coats the tongue, thick and silky but this increases the time the beer is on the tongue, intensifying the flavours; longer, and deeper.

The coffee and dark chocolate on the nose give way to liquorice and blackcurrant flavours with the solid strong alcohol content apparent throughout, and leads to a lingering and clinging sweet finish.

This beer is packed full of flavour; it’s exciting, gripping, thoroughly satisfying, and is scarily drinkable and sinkable at that ABV!

 

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