Devonshire Cat beer

[Stoatwobbler]

I agree with all of that. I was brought up on hand-pumped Tetley's and that's the way cask beer should be served in my view. We used to laugh at the pints you got served in London and the South East with the head disappearing before you'd sat down. I like to see some rings of foam down the glass like you get with Guinness as you drink it.

 

Most places seem to get it right though. It's only a few real ale fundamentalist pubs that insist on the silly fairy liquid heads e.g. the Gardeners and the Shalesmoor tramstop one.

 

As for the Devonshire Cat, I had the Dev Cat Bitter last time I was in a week or so ago and it seems to be a brown type bitter now. It tasted awful to me (not off, just not my cup of tea). I'm sure it used to be a pale yellow hoppy one. The pub seemed much the same as ever.

 

I'm about 99% certain that Devonshire Cat Bitter is a rebadged Bradfield Farmer's Bitter. I quite like that one, but it may have been a different beer rebadged in the past. I'm sure somebody more knowlegable can enlighten us on that point.

 

As to sparklers, I'm with SteelCityAle on this point. All well & good for stout, porter, mild & bitter but they don't allow many of the hoppier beers to shine. The latest beer I would add to the "do not sparkle" list would be Raw Grey Ghost IPA from my visit to the Sheaf View on Saturday.

 

I can get round this issue by simply asking for the sparkler to be removed from the pump when I'm ordering. A request most pubs are perfectly happy with. The only pub I've been in where they found this request odd is the Bath Hotel under current ownership, although the beer in question (Thornbridge Sequioa) is miles better without a sparkler masking the hop flavour.

[alas_alas]

So is this the main difference explaining the North/South divide in beer 'quality'?

 

I've been to a number of great pubs in the Capital, but they all seem to serve a very flat pint, lacking a head and lacking the kind of liveliness of many of the beers I've enjoyed up here. To be honest, I never knew sparklers were an issue, but I've always been tempted to send back a pint that doesn't hold its head or create foam rings on the way down, usually considering it stale or even off.

 

Come to think of it, most top ales I've had in bottles seem to keep their head, creating a nice ringed pattern on the way down. Sam Smith's Taddy Porter is a good example of that, off the top of my head.

 

Rather off-topic, however, considering the beer in the Dev Cat specifically. Someone recently suggested to me that they might have had an infection in the pipes, affecting all the ales. Could there be any truth in that?

[SteelCityAle]

So is this the main difference explaining the North/South divide in beer 'quality'?

 

I've been to a number of great pubs in the Capital, but they all seem to serve a very flat pint, lacking a head and lacking the kind of liveliness of many of the beers I've enjoyed up here. To be honest, I never knew sparklers were an issue, but I've always been tempted to send back a pint that doesn't hold its head or create foam rings on the way down, usually considering it stale or even off.

 

Come to think of it, most top ales I've had in bottles seem to keep their head, creating a nice ringed pattern on the way down. Sam Smith's Taddy Porter is a good example of that, off the top of my head.

 

Rather off-topic, however, considering the beer in the Dev Cat specifically. Someone recently suggested to me that they might have had an infection in the pipes, affecting all the ales. Could there be any truth in that?

 

 

well, dirty lines are one of the primary causes of 'off' beer... lingering bacteria cause a reaction in any beer going through the pipe, hence regular cleaning of lines is essential. whether infection is the case in the Dev Cat is not for me to say, though in my experience is unlikely.

 

as for sparklers, a well brewed and well kept ale will have a natural head, and certainly won't be flat. I've served plenty of beers straight from the barrel that have a big head and lively mouth-feel. Sparklers can create the illusion of lively beer when the beer itself is flat as a pancake, but it's at the expense of flavour (though if the beer is flat there's not much that can be done...)

 

bottled beers retaining head do so because they've been force-carbonated (eg in the case of Sam Smiths), or sometimes because they've overfermented in the bottle in the case of some bottle conditioned ales (many of which are too lively, and half the beer climbs out the bottle as foam when you open it...)

[DerbyTup]

as far as i know Wickett had nowt to do with Devonshire Cat? so can't imagine that's the reason.

 

surely negative reviews based on personal opinion are allowed, else what's the point of a forum? any comments deemed slanderous/libellous could be individually removed, rather than trashing a whole thread...

 

Correct.

 

Folks don't know their "Fat" from their "Devonshire" on here obviously.

 

2 different pubs - 2 different owners. No connection whatsoever.

[DerbyTup]

well, dirty lines are one of the primary causes of 'off' beer... lingering bacteria cause a reaction in any beer going through the pipe, hence regular cleaning of lines is essential. whether infection is the case in the Dev Cat is not for me to say, though in my experience is unlikely.

 

as for sparklers, a well brewed and well kept ale will have a natural head, and certainly won't be flat. I've served plenty of beers straight from the barrel that have a big head and lively mouth-feel. Sparklers can create the illusion of lively beer when the beer itself is flat as a pancake, but it's at the expense of flavour (though if the beer is flat there's not much that can be done...)

 

bottled beers retaining head do so because they've been force-carbonated (eg in the case of Sam Smiths), or sometimes because they've overfermented in the bottle in the case of some bottle conditioned ales (many of which are too lively, and half the beer climbs out the bottle as foam when you open it...)

 

If the pub, whichever pub, cleans its beer lines properly and regularly - like after every barrell, rather than once a week, there shouldn't be a problem - unless the beer is off in the barrell itself.

 

I've not had any issue with the beer in the Dev Cat - but I've also never thought it's kept anywhere near as good as say, the Coach & Horses at Dronfield, or the Greystones or Dada. I'm referring specifically to Jaipur - hence all the Thornbridge pubs mentioned.

[kirkyb]

If the pub, whichever pub, cleans its beer lines properly and regularly - like after every barrell, rather than once a week, there shouldn't be a problem - unless the beer is off in the barrell itself.

 

I've not had any issue with the beer in the Dev Cat - but I've also never thought it's kept anywhere near as good as say, the Coach & Horses at Dronfield, or the Greystones or Dada. I'm referring specifically to Jaipur - hence all the Thornbridge pubs mentioned.

 

Good choice of pubs good indeed!

[DerbyTup]

Good choice of pubs good indeed!

 

yeah well, some folks will think i work for Thornbridge now - which I don't - but I make a major contribution to their business!

 

My favourite brewery is Buxton Brewery. I think they make the best beers I've ever tasted from any one brewery. A good range from the light stuff, like "Moor Top" at 3.5% to "Tsar" at 9%. My favourite by a country mile is "Axe Edge". I honestly think that's the best beer I've ever tasted. I think it's about 6.5% or something - but it is absolutely fantastic. Wild Boar is good too.

 

Only problem is, we don't see their beers around here very often. Sheffield Tap occasionally has them - Coach has them maybe for a beer festival but not routinely - Chesterfield Arms has them occasionally, Dev Arms at Beeley, Rutland Chesterfield .

[Stoatwobbler]

yeah well, some folks will think i work for Thornbridge now - which I don't - but I make a major contribution to their business!

 

My favourite brewery is Buxton Brewery. I think they make the best beers I've ever tasted from any one brewery. A good range from the light stuff, like "Moor Top" at 3.5% to "Tsar" at 9%. My favourite by a country mile is "Axe Edge". I honestly think that's the best beer I've ever tasted. I think it's about 6.5% or something - but it is absolutely fantastic. Wild Boar is good too.

 

Only problem is, we don't see their beers around here very often. Sheffield Tap occasionally has them - Coach has them maybe for a beer festival but not routinely - Chesterfield Arms has them occasionally, Dev Arms at Beeley, Rutland Chesterfield .

 

The Coach & Horses had Moor Top on cask on Tuesday as it happens!

 

You see Buxton's beers more often in bottle. Dada has some for instance and I have been known to stock up on their Imperial Black IPA from The Beer Parlour & Real Ale Corner in Chesterfield. Buxton Imperial Black IPA is in my opinion one of the very best beers being brewed in the UK right now.

 

Thing is, a lot of their beers (Axe Edge being a prime example) are much better on cask and I would like to drink more of their cask beer.

[jemson]

The Coach & Horses had Moor Top on cask on Tuesday as it happens!

 

You see Buxton's beers more often in bottle. Dada has some for instance and I have been known to stock up on their Imperial Black IPA from The Beer Parlour & Real Ale Corner in Chesterfield. Buxton Imperial Black IPA is in my opinion one of the very best beers being brewed in the UK right now.

 

Thing is, a lot of their beers (Axe Edge being a prime example) are much better on cask and I would like to drink more of their cask beer.

 

I had some at Broadfield, which was very lucky as they usually have bland stuff imo.

[jemson]

Had a Pale Rider at Dev Cat last night (there wasn`t an inspiring choice tbh) and it didn`t taste good.