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20p per pint discount on cask ale/cider for card carrying CAMRA members every day!
Come up to the top of Halkyn Mountain and join us as we drink in the atmosphere of the house of ale repute!
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Blue Bell Inn Beer & Cider Log (BLOG) - Tasting Notes |
I'm often asked what beer I would recommend, my reply has always been
"sorry I can't, all palates are different - taste them and make up your
own mind." It doesn't sound that helpful a response but having
spent many years travelling and supping all kinds of brews, a taster
will get you past the problem I experienced of having a pint in front
of you, bought with your own hard-earned cash and feeling upset as you
really couldn't stomach finishing the beer.
You can help those still in a quandary by adding your own beer comments and there's guidence from CAMRA & Cask Marque along with some notes from Roger Protz (Good Beer Guide) below. Here is information on how beer and cider is actually brewed from WikiPedia and you can use the alternate view to see what's coming soon or our bottled beers & ciders. To help you distinguish between Welsh and other cider & perry varieties we've used the Welsh forms for Seidr and Perai! Press here for CAMRAs NBSS (see below).
...Ohh yes, you brewers out there are welcome to add your own beers & ciders too or help us improve these pumpclip images, descriptions & ingredients!
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  A lovely Welsh medium dry cider at 6.7% abv from Gwynt-y-Ddraig in Pontypridd, South Wales.
Suitable for vegetarians, vegans and coeliacs.
Gwynt Y Ddraig Cider started production in the late autumn of 2001. Bill George and Andrew 'Drew' Gronow embarked on a cider making venture with one remit, to make Cider using traditional methods. There were no plans with what would be done with the cider once made, apart from being drunk that is, and it was all very much approached as a hobby.
Apples were picked and pressed pretty much at random as they had no real experience in the cider making field and the resulting juice was left to ferment in some old oak casks. Surprisingly the resulting cider, as Bill & Drew put it "wasn't half bad," although it was strong enough to knock out a couple of elephants! Many a person fell at the hand of that first batch. Importantly though, it gave them the cider bug. Realising that they had no way of re-producing the cider they had made due to the random mixture of apples they had used, they decided to take a more methodical approach.
From now on they would only use apples they recognised and had information about their cider producing properties.Through trial and error the technique slowly evolved into the methods used today. Still very much on a learning curve they continue to experiment with traditional methods with an emphasis placed on experimenting with apple blends to produce new and unique flavours.
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You might wish to use the new beer scoring system from CAMRA. It goes like this...
CAMRA has a new online National Beer Scoring Scheme
(NBSS). The NBSS is a six point scale
(0-5) for judging beer quality in pubs that has been designed to assist CAMRA
branches in selecting pubs for the bestselling Good Beer Guide. In the past
CAMRA members filled in cards to rate the beer in a pub and then submitted the
entries to CAMRA, but now they are able to fill the details in online at
www.beerscoring.org.uk - making the process quicker and easier than ever
before.
CAMRA members will be asked to examine the look, smell,
and taste of each beer before offering their evaluation. The scores are:
0 = Undrinkable: No cask ale or the quality is so poor
you can't finish it.
1 = Poor: Barely drinkable
2 = Average: Competently kept but uninspiring.
3 = Good: Good beer in good form. Worth another pint.
4 = Very Good: Excellent beer in excellent condition,
another pint is a must.
5 = Perfect: Very rarely given by the seasoned drinker.
Probably the best beer you are likely to find.
Should you feel like waxing lyrical, Roger Protz kindly let us reproduce some tasting notes for your guidence below...
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Term
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Description
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Sweet
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Sugary
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Bitter
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Tonic Water, Quinine
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Hoppy
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Floral, Grassy, Citrus
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Tropical/Soft Fruits
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Peach, Pineapple, Banana
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Malty
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Toffee, Horlicks, Biscuit
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Burnt
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Coffee, Burnt Toast
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Body
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Fullness, Thick
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Alcoholic
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Spirit, Warming
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The Language of Beer
Nose:
the aroma. Gently swirl the beer to release the nose. You will
detect malt: grainy, biscuity sappy. When darker malts are
employed the nose will have powerful hints of chocolate, coffee, nuts,
vanilla, liquorice, molasses and such dried fruits as raisins and
sultanas. Hops add superb aromas of resins, herbs, spices,
fresh-mown grass and tart citrus fruit - lemon and orange are typical
with intense grapefruit hints from American varieties. Sulphur
may also be present when waters are 'Burtonised': i.e. gypsum and
magnesium have been added to replicate the famous spring waters of
Burton-on-Trent.
Palate: the appeal in the
mouth. The tongue can detect sweetness, bitterness and saltiness
as the beer passes over it. The rich flavours of malt will come to the
fore but hop bitterness will also make a substantial impact. The
tongue will also pick out the natural saltiness from the brewing water
and fruit from the darker malts, yeast and hops. Citrus notes
often have a major impact on the palate.
Finish:
the aftertaste, as the beer goes over the tongue and down the
throat. The finish is often radically different to the
nose. The aroma may be dominated by malt whereas hop
flavours and bitterness can govern the finish. Darker malts will
make their presence felt with roasty, chocolate or coffee notes; fruit
character will linger. Strong beers may end on a sweet or
biscuity note but in mainstream bitters, bitterness and dryness come to
the fore.
ROGER PROTZ
Editor Good Beer Guide
On sale at the bar!
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What's On |
- Tues Pub Games Triathlon - ...
December 02, 2008 (5:00 pm)
(General) It's Pub Games Triathlon Night.
You can play games here most nights but tonight is the night to come and enjoy whilst, beetle, cards, board games (monopoly, scrabble, cluedo, mid life crisis and many others), dominoes, darts, dice, pool.
We're...
- Quiz Nights
December 03, 2008 (8:00 am)
(Quiz Nights) Come and join us for a fun quiz here from 8:30ish. We play for fun and the winners receive a few drinks.
- Free Guided Walk - 2pm Thur...
December 04, 2008 (1:45 pm)
(Walks) Around 1.5 hours and 3-4 miles you will be able to take in the stunning 360 degree panoramic views of over 60 miles on a clear day. The walks vary in route from week to week finishing off at the Blue Bell Inn for a chat and refreshments.
This walk is...
- Conversational Welsh with M...
December 04, 2008 (7:00 pm)
(General) So you've been to classes, what next? Come and practice in a real environment and you will surprise yourself how much you have remembered. You can broaden your vocabulary and have a great evening out too.
- Acoustic Music Nights with ...
December 04, 2008 (9:00 pm)
(Music) Paul Reaney here on the last Thursday of the month! Check out here for more details.
- Friday night singalong with...
December 05, 2008 (8:45 pm)
(Music) Traditional singing night with Roger Hampson at the keyboards, every Friday night.
View Full Calendar
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Open from 5pm Monday to Friday and 12pm Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays.
Food: Saturday 12pm to 2:30pm and Sunday 12pm to 2pm (menu here).
Advance bookings taken for food / drink outside of these hours.
Coaches welcome by appointment. - We take most major credit and debit cards.
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Beer + Cider Log 
