Wetherspoon's Beer Festival! Yeah OK I Know, But Really...II

Meetings, Beer Festivals, etc.
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SteveW
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Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:53 pm

Wetherspoon's Beer Festival! Yeah OK I Know, But Really...II

Post by SteveW »

Its that time of year again! (14th March - 1st April 2012)
I notice that one of the beers (of many but mainly rather boring in my opinion) on offer this year is Vasileostrovsky Imperial Russian Stout. Following Alis talk at our last BCB meeting I thought people might be interested in this.
As the tasting notes detail the hops used in each brew it might be worth nipping in and picking up a copy just to see which hop combinations are 'fashionable' this year.
From the tasting notes: (available from http://www.jdwrealale.co.uk/ales)

Vasileostrovsky Imperial Russian Stout
Brewer: Vasileostrovsky brewery, St Petersburg, Russia
Est: 2002
ABV:6.5%
Hops Used: Fuggles, Goldings
Beer Style: Stout
Description:
Evgeny Tolstov, from Vasileostrovsky Brewery, is our first visiting brewer from Russia and has travelled to Banks’s Brewery, in the West Midlands, to brew this beer especially for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. Traditionally, this style of beer was brewed in Britain for export to Russia, so we thought it most apt to ask a Russian to come over here to brew this one for us. This version is at a lower strength than is usual for this style, but still maintains all of the expected characteristics: black in colour, with a rich, enticing aroma and a complex flavour, with a strident hop bitterness balancing the deep malt character.
The craft beer revolution will not be sanitised!
(Apologies to Gil Scott-Heron)
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alikocho
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Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 8:31 am

Re: Wetherspoon's Beer Festival! Yeah OK I Know, But Really.

Post by alikocho »

SteveW wrote:Its that time of year again! (14th March - 1st April 2012)
I notice that one of the beers (of many but mainly rather boring in my opinion) on offer this year is Vasileostrovsky Imperial Russian Stout. Following Alis talk at our last BCB meeting I thought people might be interested in this.
As the tasting notes detail the hops used in each brew it might be worth nipping in and picking up a copy just to see which hop combinations are 'fashionable' this year.
From the tasting notes: (available from http://www.jdwrealale.co.uk/ales)

Vasileostrovsky Imperial Russian Stout
Brewer: Vasileostrovsky brewery, St Petersburg, Russia
Est: 2002
ABV:6.5%
Hops Used: Fuggles, Goldings
Beer Style: Stout
Description:
Evgeny Tolstov, from Vasileostrovsky Brewery, is our first visiting brewer from Russia and has travelled to Banks’s Brewery, in the West Midlands, to brew this beer especially for this Wetherspoon real-ale festival. Traditionally, this style of beer was brewed in Britain for export to Russia, so we thought it most apt to ask a Russian to come over here to brew this one for us. This version is at a lower strength than is usual for this style, but still maintains all of the expected characteristics: black in colour, with a rich, enticing aroma and a complex flavour, with a strident hop bitterness balancing the deep malt character.
Evgeny, who is in fact a semi-pro/homebrewer, makes excellent beer.
Ali

BJCP National Judge
BJCP Assistant Regional Director (North-East/Europe)
American Homebrewers' Association International Subcommittee
Organizer, National Homebrew Competition
CBA UK Competition and Training Coordinator

http://serenbrewing.com
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SteveW
Posts: 264
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:53 pm

Re: Wetherspoon's Beer Festival! Yeah OK I Know, But Really.

Post by SteveW »

I tried this beer yesterday at the Van Dyke Forum.

Well presented, but nothing special, the beer we sampled during the talk by Ali was much better!

I am looking to try and 'bag' as many as I can during the festival (Thirds only!), I've got the tasting notes and am ticking them off.

I can't help it - its the train-spotter in me!
The craft beer revolution will not be sanitised!
(Apologies to Gil Scott-Heron)
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