Nov 26 2014

The Naked Beer Company

Posted on November 26, 2014 by admin

Having discovered a real love for craft beer, when The Naked Beer Co recently braved a #bloggerswanted on Twitter, I grabbed my iPhone and threw my hat in the ring. I figure, if there’s any other newbies to the-craft-beer-scene, my amateur reviews will be among the more accessible that Google has to show for itself.

Luckily they picked me, before I had resort to stalking them!

So who are they?

There are 3 flagship beers from this Worthing-based brewery; Freudian Slip Special Ale, Streaker IPA, and the moreish Porter Indecent Exposure. I’m sure there’s something vaguely poetic and romantic I should be saying about their provenance, but having never been there, and being incredibly inexperienced in this sort of thing I’ll have to pass. Needless to say, Sussex appears to be a bit of a hotspot for independent brewers, ale-friendly gastro-pubs and drinker’s festivals - sounds like heaven.

The brewery is the love child of head brewer (Rob) who is now 5 years in the game (formerly of Bristol Beer Factory and Ascot Ales). Having honed the skills, itchy feet and a desire to brew with wreckless abandon saw him start Naked Beer Co in February 2014.

With their 3 flagship beers having been selected for the Indigo Pub List in Brighton, the Naked Beer Co has grand ambitions for the winter quarter with shiny new toys and a couple of seasonal releases in the pipeline (Beer pundit Rachel Smith has more on this over on her blog Look at Brew).

The Review

So when that tightly-bound parcel arrived on my doorstep I tore into the parcel tape with all the frenzy of Jason Voorhees. Once they’d had their obligatory 24 hours rest, the beers were ready to be savoured and we whisked the kiddies off to bed to get stuck in. Their motto being ‘Break the rules, challenge the status quo, let your instincts rule‘ meant we were expecting dizzy concoctions and surprising flavours, and we weren’t disappointed!

Freudian Slip - 6.5% Special ale

This what Craig and I (like the amateurs we are!) class as a wader, meaning you wade through it as you would a liquidized dessert; savouring flavours and wincing as they come through. It was the colour of rusty nails with murky brown, red and ginger hues, yet showed a real clarity in the light despite its syrupy viscosity. The off white head one-finger head quickly dissipated to a fine bubbly lace leaving a bold, smooth yet complex glass.

An aroma of dried fruits, Dime Bars and smoke wafts before your nose conjuring images of halloween and campfires. It packs a real punch with the bitterness of currants and raisins juxtaposed with sweet caramel and ginger nut. The aftertaste (think espresso and toffee apples) lingers on your tounge, the sides of your mouth, and in between your teeth like cloying honey helping it live on beyond the glass.

Being by far the most boozy and mysterious of the three, I loved it. Craig pulled a few faces and was less keen, but bitters are less to his taste anyway.

Streaker - 4% IPA

Right up Craig’s street, I left this one to the pale ale pro himself. It’s an easy pour, materialising as a cloudy yet pretty burnt amber colour in the glass. Pops of citrus shine through leaving a delicate sweet aftertaste that dries all too quicly and calls you back for more. I got a mix of stewed tropical fruits (mango, pineapple and lemon), yet Craig was pretty sold on a citrus mix of mandarins, orange and clementines.

The head holds firm throughout and the consistency was pithier and yeastier than expected, yet not unpleasant. At 4% it’s a great entry level ale for the uninitiated and could easily keep the lads lubricated during one of Sky Sport’s Super Saturdays (or whatever they like to watch nowadays) without seeing them stumble into the road on the way home.

Indecent Exposure - 4.5% Porter

Right up my street, this is one of the least alcoholic porters I’ve tried. It pours smoothly leaving a glorious thick frothy caramel-coloured head. It’s a bloody triumph and goes great with mounds of cushions, soft lighting, and an iced dessert. I denied myself this one night until Heidi finally succumbed to sleep after a rough night teething. When I finally sank into the sofa and Craig poured me this, I felt the stress ebb away.

Aromas of devilishly dark chocolate, espresso and raspberries punch through, yet it offers a seriously creamy smooth mouthful. It’s perfectly balanced yet full of accomplished rich flavours; mocha, ‘pillow chocolates’, berries, dried fruits, molasses and Horlicks. The lightly carbonated hoppy mix is silky smooth on the throat and there’s comfort to be had knowing it’s only 4.5%.

All this needed, is more of it - there’s something a little disappointing about drinking a lush, fragrant and full-bodied porter from a half-full pint glass.

Want to try it? Well cases are available from the website, or you can taste it from the barrel against a backdrop of live music, good food or comedy at a number of Indigo pubs in the Sussex area.

Nov 21 2014

A Christmas Cocktail Masterclass!

Posted on November 21, 2014 by admin

As per yesterday’s post, we’ve stupidly volunteered to host Christmas this year. That’s 12 guests (+3 under two’s) to keep happy and referee when the obligatory Christmas rows begin.

From the start my plan has been to get tipsy before our guests arrive. I figure the more ruddy-faced and glassy-eyed I am, the more likely I am to be forgiven for any resulting food poisoning the next day. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve stocked up on Aunt Bessies and have plenty of cheats up my sleeve to pull off my sous-chef duties with minimal effort. But I’m very desperate to avoid awkward silences and get my guests suitably squiffy before dinner is served.

Well cannily, the guys at Christmas Connections (personalised card specialists) have teamed up with the cocktail masters at Cord Bar in Manchester, to show you how to pull off a Tom Cruise-esque performance on Christmas Day. They’ve created three Christmas-inspired cocktails and a mocktail that might well rival the M&S Christmas Pud that I’m likely to ruin come 4pm.

The Apple of My Eye is a delectable mix of apple juice, bourbon whiskey, Tuaca and gingerbread that tastes just like homemade apple crumble.

It delivers a suitable kick, with hints of spice, and thanks to the Bourbon, a warm belly despite the crushed ice.

The Green Desire is a delicious mix of mint and brandy that tastes just like an After Eight mint.

The Santa Baby is by far my favourite. This cheeky little number is a heady mix of cherry, Amaretto and Brandy that tastes just like marzipan Christmas cake.

Serving it in a fat tumbler and getting really creative with your garnish could leave you with something seriously Christmassy too. I love this idea from the Style Cocktail! It’s a great way of getting the kids involved too.

Not to leave out the designated driver, the moreish Black Forest Mocktail will hopefully be enough of a treat to keep them sweet when the rest of us are making fools of ourselves playing twister on the living room floor. In fact, the recipe also includes a quick way to make a non-alcoholic alternative to Baileys! All you need is a shot of espresso, a spoonful of brown sugar, half a glass of single cream and a spoonful of cocoa powder.

This mocktail is a pretty ingenious way of fooling grandad when he’s staggering around the lounge and boring the kids with war stories. He won’t know his drink is alcohol-free freeing up those Santa Baby’s for me! Bonus.

The kids and I attempted the non-alcoholic Baileys this afternoon - adding a secret ingredient of crushed cookies! In my opinion it needs a little vanilla ice-cream and that drool-worthy liquid jam infusion referenced in the video - but I think the kids preferred this version!

Voila! Christmas cocktails to impress your friends this festive season! Thanks Cord Bar, we’d have been necking cheap wine without these inspiring tutorials.

Nov 20 2014

How to Cheat at Christmas Dinner

Posted on November 20, 2014 by admin

Image Credit: The Guardian

My sole contribution to cooking in this house is eating the results. Yet this Christmas we’re having no fewer that 12 people round to dinner, and I’m somehow expected to morph into a Sous-chef under Craigy. To make matters worse, Craig and I have a sort of unwritten rule never to work together in any way whatsoever. In fact, part of what makes our relationship so strong is the fact we have so little do with each other!

So we’ve come to a sort of uneasy agreement where I’ll crack on with the vegetables, and he’ll bast, stuff, massage and whatever else you do to a turkey to make it edible, and make his world’s famous pigs in blankets. Little does he know, I plan on doing most of my cooking using our shiny new microwave oven.

Yep, unbeknown to Craig, I’ve made friends with the microwave. I know how to turn him on, pause him mid-flow, and get him to produce something vaguely attractive. I’ve also been secretly road-testing Aunt Bessie’s finest and hiding the evidence in our second freezer in the garage. Whilst I wouldn’t dare serve any of my dishes to the fastidious panel on MasterChef, I think I can fool my family that they’re more of a labour-a-love than they actually are.

Without further ado, here’s how to spend more time playing with Mega Blox, and less time sweating over parsnips on Christmas Day!

Potatoes & parsnips

My dad has advised me to peel and parboil these the night before, bung them in the fridge submerged them in water, and simply shove these on a roasting tray the next day. Sounds simple enough, but I actually had to Google parboil.

Nope, I’ll be making a secret trip to the garage and getting out the frozen roasties. I’ll then tactically call Craig to the lounge to do a round of bum changes, and secretly deposit them into the oven with a sprinkle of rosemary and chopped onion to disguise their plastic bag provenance. Sshhh - don’t tell anyone!

Sprouts, carrots & other veg

If I had it my way, I’d buy one of those colourful bags from a Tesco freezer chest and pass the work off as my own, but I figure this won’t be Christmassy enough to fool my guests.

Having consulted with the goddess that is Delia and read a good few online “Cheat’s Guides”, the consensus seems to be that the smart chef will whack as many vegetables in together as her boiling pan will allow to save faffing about. So I’m doing what any clever mum would do and recruiting my nearly-three-year-old to help prepare them. The idea is, that if they look rubbish, are incorrectly peeled or chopped, everyone will still coo over them given Dexter had a hand in it - genius.

Trimmings

I’ve found a cool artisan supplier online to lovingly prepare my cranberry sauce - this looks nice and chunky and suitably homemade. I’ll pop this in a dish and dump the evidence in the recycle bin the night before so Craig is none-the-wiser.

The one thing I am prepared to make, is the brandy butter - purely because it’s a fabulous excuse to buy rum and brandy and get suitably squiffy before the yawn-fest that is Her Majesty’s speech. I’ll mix in a couple of glugs to crème fraîche and icing sugar then bung it in a dish for serving. Simple enough.

Laying the Table

As if I’m doing this! You mean to tell me we have 8 guests to dinner and they sit on their butts making towers with my children all afternoon? Nope, I’ll run on the sport for 30 seconds to work up a sweat & smear a bit of ketchup on my apron (so I look a bit worn out and panicked) then dump everything on the table an hour before dinner and ask them to prettify it. Job done.