Sunfest

The Rising Sun, Fulwood Road, Sheffield are hosting their annual Sunfest beer festival from 9th to 12th July 2009.

Over 60 real ales plus cider and bottled beers.

Plus music.

Friday 10th July: Gentlemen of Jazz
Saturday 11th July: Scuppered and The Loxeley Silver Band

The Rising Sun
471 Fulwood Rd
Sheffield
S10 3QA

CHIMAY - Blanche Tripel

Chimay Blanche Tripel is well known for its typical golden colour, its slightly hazy appearance and its fine head is especially characterised by its aroma which results from an agreeable combination of fresh hops and yeast.The beer's flavour, as sensed in the mouth, comes from the smell of hops: above all it is the fruity notes of muscat and raisins that give this beer a particularly attractive aroma.The aroma complements the touch of bitterness. There is no acidity, but an after-bitterness which melts in the mouth.This top fermented Trappist beer, refermented in the bottle, is not pasteurised.

* Special Offer * 24x 330ml Bottles On Offer : Was £50.59 - Now £47.10 from The Drink Shop

Producer: Chimay

ABV: 8%

Country of Origin: Belgium

Latitude 41 46' North, Longitude 50 14' West

Are the mighty Titanic Brewery sinking? It has been reported that this fine brewer of real ales has sent out hazy beer to its outlets. Hazy? Well, hazy would be flattering; cloudy is a more apt description. The offending article happened to be the seasonal Longitude (4.4%) which was well below the usual standard I have come to expect from Titanic. It tasted alright though, a very bitter light copper coloured ale with a smooth mouthfeel and sweet finish. This is a deep and complex beer, where the American hops offset the caramel sweetness to create its bitterness. Are Titanic drowning? Maybe its just a bad year for the hop or their next ale will have to be named 'Snorkel'.

Cornish Ales

It seems Cornwall is a bit of a desert for northern real ales. Its a great to be if you love Skinners and St Austell ales but for ex-pats from other parts of the UK there seems to be little choice for the real ale drinker.

Reports have trickled back to reveal St Austell pubs are not free houses and although in theory they should have guest pumps in reality that is not always true. The Cornish CAMRA branch seem fairly low-key aswell. With 13 real ale breweries scattered throughout the county from the Isles of Scilly to Redruth there should still be some choice on the pumps.

Someone suggested the possibility of a backload the next time St Austell drop of up north, "but what about the empties" I said.

Westons Stowford Press LA Cider

This is my top recommendation for warm summer evenings.

Westons are renowned world-wide for producing some of the best ciders available - and now they have a low-alcohol version containing less than 0.5% alcohol-by-volume!

Perfect for the summer, this medium-sweet cider is great served chilled over ice.

Stowford LA is matured in old oak vats to produce a light, refreshing low-alcohol cider with that particular quality and character only associated with Westons.

Contains no artificial colouring, flavouring or sweetening. Suitable for vegetarians, vegans and coeliacs.

Contains less than 0.5% alcohol-by-volume.

Sold in cases of 24 x 330ml bottles.

If you order any 12 bottles of 750ml wine from The Alcohol Free shop, and subscribe to their newsletter, you'll pay no delivery charge for your entire order - including unlimited cases of beer!

Thronbridge In The Media

Congrats go out to the Thornbridge brewers for achieving the enviable. Its no mean feat to be featured in the Guardians Saturday supplement and the write up by Matthew Fort who knows his stuff when he writes for Around Britain With A Fork is outstanding. Heres a link to the full article if you missed it. I am pleased to see Matthew is another member of the growing Jaipur fan base. Although I'm not sure how he manages to use his fork with this one.

Abbeydale Deception

Abbeydale seasonal ale available throughout January and February.

Deception is a very pale blonde ale made with Nelson Sauvin hops. Aromas of elderflowers and gooseberry excite the nose while lots of citrus flavours rush through to the pallate, especially grapefruit. There is a wine like quality to thia ale which laces well to the glass and has a light foamy head. Deception is an eminently quaffable session ale with a good, long finish.

• ABV 4.1%