Sausage & Ale At The Brandling Villa – Festival Update

Just a quick update on the Brandling Villa Sausage and Ale Festival.  Via the ever reliable Eric we learn that the following beers are those which are likely to be first up on the festivals temporary bar.

Anchor – Liberty Ale 5.9%

Bacchus – Kriek 5.8%

Blindmans – Golden Spring 4.0%

Brew Dog – Hardcore IPA 9.0%

Castle Rock – Preservation Ale 4.4%

Dark Star – American Pale Ale 4.7%

Great Divide – Wild Raspberry 5.6%

Leeds – New Moon 4.3%

Ouseburn – Bangerade 6.0%

Phoenix – Massacre 4.5%

Poachers – Shy Talk 3.7%

Roosters – Orange Blossom Cream Ale 3.9%

Schlenkerla – Rauchbier

Summer Wine – Barista Espresso Stout 4.8%

Thornbridge – Wild Swan 3.6%

Trentside – Hickman Gold 3.9%

These will be in addition to a further 6 handpulls on the main bar…contents as yet unknown.  The beer list originally provided looks to have been tweeked a little bit but remains largely the same and if I get any further info about additions/omissions I’ll post them as an update here.

I will be over there this afternoon/evening with Cider Tart Gamma so if you see us pop over and say Hi.  I’m looking forward in particular to trying the Great Divide and Roosters just so that I can get 2 of my 5 a day in…that works doesn’t it?  I’m also looking forward to trying as many of the sausages as possible too and have a large bag handy to take a large haul of them back home.

KC

Local Beer Fest News – Brandling Villa Sausage & Ale Fest 2011

The first week in March (3^rd to 5^th) sees the triumphal return of the Brandling Villa Sausage & Ale Festival.  Last year’s event was a tremendous success despite a few teething problems and Dave has learned from that and has planned an even more adventurous event for this year.

The pub is outside of Newcastle city centre but easily accessible via the Metro system.  Take a tram to South Gosforth and you will find it a couple of hundred yards down the bank.  The BV is an imposing, double fronted stone building and has plenty of room inside to fit everything and everybody in.  Dave has done a great job with the place since he took over about 18 months ago which will surely be rewarded with an entry in the next Good Beer Guide.

Anyway on to the festival and the beer and sausage lists, these are yet to be 100% confirmed but here is what we have so far and I’ll post updates if things change enough to warrant one.  The following lists are a bit long but worth reading through to pick out all the goodies to put on your festival hit-list.

DRAUGHT

8 Sail – Victorian Porter 5.0%

Adnams – American IPA 4.8%

Adnams – Belgian Abbey Ale 5.0%

Anchor – Liberty Ale (USA Import) 5.9%

Bacchus – Framboise (Belgium Import) 5.0%

Bays – Topsail 4.0%

Blindmans – Golden Spring 4.0%

Brew Dog – Edge 3.2%

Brew Dog – Hardcore IPA 9.0%

Castle Rock – Preservation Fine Ale 4.4%

Dark Star – American Pale Ale 4.7%

Flying Dog – Doggie Style (USA Import) 5.0% (may turn out to be Old Scratch)

Kwak (Belgium Import) 8.4%

Leeds – New Moon 4.3%

Ouseburn Valley – Bangerade 6.0%

Phoenix – Massacre 4.5%

Poachers – Shy T

Roosters – Orange Blossom Cream Ale 3.9%

Saltaire – Cascadian Black 4.8%

Springhead – Sweetlips 4.6%

Summer Wine Brewery -Barista Espresso Stout 4.8%

Thornbridge – Jaipur IPA 5.9%

Thornbridge – Kipling 5.2%

Trentside – Hickman Gold 3.9%

BOTTLES

Brooklyn – Chocolate Stout

Mort Subite – Gueze

Schlenkerla – Rauchbier

Quintine – Hercule

Goose Island – India Pale Ale

Bohemia – Regent

Flying Dog – Gonzo Imperial Porter

SUASAGES

Bison & Blueberry

Merquez

Black Rabbit & Brooklyn Chocolate Stout

Pheasant & Pear

Northumbrian Beef & McConnell’s Irish Stout

Roast Duck, Spring Onion & Wasabi

Pork, Bean & Jalapeno

Wild Boar, Honey & Thyme

Wood Pigeon & Damson Jam

Venison & KWAK

Award Winning Cumberland Sausage

Craster Kipper & Dill

Full English Breakfast

Butternut Squash, Sage & Gorgonzola

Duck, Orange & Apricot

Pork & Thornbridge Jaipur India Pale Ale

Liver, Bacon & Ouseburn Porter

Allendale Beacon Fire Banger (HOT)

Pork & Ginger

Haggis, Neeps & Whisky

Northumbrian Lamb & Mint

Ostrich & Rosemary

Crocodile & Sage

Beef & Newcastle Brown Ale

Pork & Black Olive

Lamb Bhuna

Pork & Apple

Pork, Dijon & Roosters Orange Cream Blossom

Spinach & Cheddar Cheese

Mushroom & Tarragon

Kangaroo

Duck Pork & Stilton

If you are still here after wading through all that, congratulations.  There will also be a selection of Ciders on throughout the Fest to keep the Tarts happy and in all Dave reckons that there will be 38 brews on at any given time.  Musical entertainment will be provided by the Lyndon Anderson Band, ZepFreeCream and the Mojo Hand band…if they can find any room to set up.

There are certainly some great beers to try here and if Dave can get things to anywhere near the standard of last year’s event you will be in for a treat if you make it along.

KC

Local Beer Fest News – Brandling Villa Oktoberfest

Dave at the Brandling Villa has set up another special event for us all to enjoy.  Following the success of the sausage and pie festivals etc he is now giving us Oktoberfest.  Running from 14 October at 12:00 to 16 October at 23:30 Dave has put together quite a selection of brews and some canny scran to go with it.  No confirmation of the musical entertainment as of yet but I live in hope for an Oompah band…well, kind of.

DRAUGHT BAR 1

Chimay White
DAB *
Erdinger Dunkel*
Fruh Kolsch*
Kostritzer Schwartzbier*
Schneider Weiss*
Timmermans Kriek
Timmermans Peche
Vedett Extra White*
Anchor Steam Beer*

*available in litre steins!

DRAUGHT BAR 2

Little Valley Hebden’s Wheat
Hadrian and Border Byker Wit
Wylam Wit
Wylam Bohemia Pilsner
Harviestoun Schiehallion
Allendale Adder Lager
Thornbridge Jaipur IPA
Jarrow Westoe’s IPA
Loddon Hullabaloo
Mighty Oak IPA
Triple FFF Moondance
Marston Moor Merriemaker
Caledonian Oktoberfest

FOOD BAR

Bratwurst
Currywurst
Hendl (Chicken)
Schweinbraten (Roast Pork)
Brezel (Pretzels)
Knodeln (Potato Pancakes)

For those of you have yet to venture there the Brandling Villa is a mere 5 minute walk from South Gosforth Metro station and so is within 20 minutes of the centre of Newcastle.  You can keep up to date with all the happenings at the Brandling Villa on their website, facebook page, blog and on twitter.

Local Beer Fest News – Big Pie Weekend Update

Not long now until the festivities start at the Brandling Villa (Friday 12 midday) so I thought I should post the pie list and a few other details which have been sitting in my email for a few days now.

Northumbrian Steak with Wylam Haugh Porter
Pork & Bramley Cider
Minted Lamb
Spiced Beef & Spinach
Haggis, Neeps & Tatties in a Laphroaig Gravy
James Little’s Sausage Casserole
The Full English Breakfast
Chicken, Leek & Tarragon
Beef Sunday Lunch
Pork Sunday Lunch
Chicken Korma
Mince & Potato
Beef, Stilton & Mordue Workie Ticket
Chicken & Chorizo
Shepherd’s Pie
Allendale Chilli Beef Pie
Venison & Redcurrant
Game Pie
Pan Haggerty
4 Cheeses
Mushroom & Asparagus
Roast Vegetables & Feta Cheese
Thai Style Vegetable Curry
Coquetdale Cheese & Chilli
Chilli & Chocolate
Toffee Apple

One of the veggie pies should be gluten free.

CAMRA members will get 10p discount on beer & 20p off pies by showing their membership card.

I’ve taken Friday off in the hope that I can get a bit of a head start on the pies before the crowds head in and will be joined by HH and several Cider Tarts.  Pop over and say hello if you spot us.

KC

Sunday Worship- The Return

As you may recall, or not as the case may be, I took part in a beer and food matching event at the Bacchus in Newcastle back in November, well I’ve just got my tickets for the next one too.

This Sunday sees return to the Bacchus at the slightly later time of 15:00, I guess to allow Andy to maintain his normal Sunday lunch service.  This time the brewery in question is the Yorkshire Dales Brewing Company and the list is as below.  No word yet on the food to go with said beers but I’ll imagine we’d find out on the day as we did last time.

3.8% Coverham Abbey – A Blonde Lager style session ale.  Triple hopped with Centennial, Galena and finally Celeia.  Easy drinking but with a real fresh light hoppy taste.

3.9% Marsett Mild – A traditional Pale Mild brewed with plenty of vienna, amber and brown malts for a touch of malty sweetness and caramel.  Very lightly hopped with some English Challenger and Bramling Cross.

4% Fred Astaire – A Ginger Beer, golden in colour but with a real dry ginger bite.  This beer is hopped with a trio of American hops, Galena, Centennial and Cascade.

4.2% Warcop Fell – A Dark Marzen style Bock. Brewed with a range of dark malts including Vienna, Amber, Dark Crystal, Black and Chocolate, hopped with English Challenger and German Herkules hops.

4.3% Askrigg Ale – A Premium golden bitter hopped keenly with Northdown and Amarillo for a real grapefruit/citrus finish.  Very crisp and dry.

5.5% – Gaping Gill – a truly rich and smoky porter.  Brewed with the finest Bamberg beech wood smoked malt and plenty of brown malt for a smooth deep complex flavour.

5.5% Four Continents I.P.A – This is brewed with just Pale Malt and a small amount of Black Malt to reflect a simple malt bill but the abundance of hops in this I.P.A will blow you away.  The hops originate from 4 continents, Nelson Sauvin (New Zealand), Sorachi Ace (Japan), Chinook (North America), Celeia (Slovenia)

5% St’Out of this World – A vanilla stout hand crafted with a modern twist on a centuries old beer style.  Plenty of roast barley distinguish a stout from a porter and some rolled oats for a creamy white head.

Again a great looking line up and I can’t now wait for Sunday.

KC