A pint of: Jeremiah Weed - root brew

Firstly the label & name made this instantly intriguing & appealing. It's trying to be very American with the use of the language used on the bottle. It says that Jeremiah Weed is the original southern gentleman from Kentucky, USA. I doubt he's ever existed & it's a shame to read on the back that it's produced & brewed in the UK & then gives a London address. I feel that it should either be genuinely American, brewed there and imported. Or be proud to be British & have a different theme. This is perhaps though a bug bear of mine, I dislike Fosters & other mass produced lagers that claim to be of Australia or a European country when they are in fact all brewed in the same brewery in the UK. A wine producer couldn't get away with it & I wish the same were true of beer. But anyway...

The drink itself is a 'ginger brew with fruit alcohol, spirit & flavourings'. No where on the label does it expand on what fruits are used or what spirit. Although I am assuming spirit meant whiskey et al but it may well mean the departed soul of Jeremiah Weed. Certainly given that it's only 4% abv the latter is certainly possible.

The drink is a cloudy amber. It is a bit fizzy & quite sweet. It doesn't taste very gingery. Far less than say the Wychwood ginger beard. That said this drink is very nice & extremely drinkable. It reminds me a lot of a favourite cocktail called the lucky leaf. To make a leaf which i wish was my invention, put some ice in a tall glass, then add 2 dashes of angostura bitters, half a limes juice, a shot of whiskey, a shot of green apple sourz & top it off with ginger beer.

This drink is £2 in Sainsburys currently. I give it 7 out of 10, I'm only marking it down for the bollocks on the bottle. The drink itself is brill.

A glass of Sainsbury's house sparkling for the lady

Hands up anyone who'd expect anything much from a £4.99 bottle of 'house sparkling'? Anyone?

Well, actually, there's a good chance you'd be missing out. In all honesty I only picked up this bottle because of the promised 'brioche' flavours advertised on the label. I'm very partial to enriched bakery products, so distilling this into a bottle of wine seemed like manna from heaven.

On this point I am rather disappointed- the promised brioche has failed to materialise on this particular palette. However in all other respects this is a pleasant glass of wine. It's nicely fizzy without feeling gassy and somewhere between a typical brut and demi-sec. I'm normally a proponent of very dry wines but I am somewhat more flexible in the presence of bubbles and found the very slight sweetness rather appealing.

As a hardened Cava and Prosecco girl I will admit I approached this wine looking only to criticise. However, now I've tried it I would definitely buy it again. 7/10

A pint of: Morland - old golden hen

A beautiful golden coloured ale. Very bitter with a strong, lasting, aftertaste. The bottle suggests subtle tropical fruit notes.

It's 4.1% abv & comes in a 500ml clear glass bottle. The bottle bit being tinted does increase the risk of the beer spoiling. So perhaps pick one from the back of the shelf.

Sainsburys, where this brew is from, seem to have recently increased all the alcohols prices. So this beer is currently £1.99. I give it 6 out of 10.

Thatchers Vintage Cider

This exceptionally strong bottle weighs in at 7.4%, and I think it suffers because of this. As is so often found, more alcohol means less flavour overall.

Thatchers are clearly trying to make this line more desirable and 'premium'; the bottle now comes with a fancy, ye olde worlde label and sepia-tinted pic of (one presumes) Mr Thatcher himself. So long as you don't know what a major company Thatchers is, this might work. However, the claim that they are 'family cider makers' made me laugh. I must also admit to being slightly bemused by the prominent advertising of this cider as '2011 vintage'. Was last year a particularly good year for apples? Would any other cider on the shelves be from another year? Questions to ponder...

In the glass this is a perfectly reasonable, lightly sparkling medium-dry cider. It's not particularly appley but easily drinkable and inoffensive. Unfortunately, that's about all I have to say on the subject. When I can comment for twice as long on the label of the bottle, rather than the contents of said bottle, then it's possibly time for the company to rethink the product.

A final observation: at this strength a single bottle represents 3.7 units and therefore, as clearly stated by the daily recommended limits printed on the label, your blogger (being unfortunate enough to be in possession of xx chromosomes) should not actually have drunk the entire contents. The things I do for you...

A pint of: Robinsons - Old Tom

This beer proudly proclaims to be the worlds best ale. It won the world beer awards 2009. It was first brewed by the Robinson family in 1899, cool.

The beer is very dark, almost as dark as Guinness. The beer is very bitter & like Guinness I consider this a stout. It has a strong port, almost burnt finish. I rather like it!

I was disappointed at first to discover the beer in a 330ml bottle. But after drinking it I stood up. And promptly as well as swiftly sat back down. The beer is 8.5% abv & my god did I know it. So thats why it's in a small bottle then. A pint would floor a horse. To be fair the bottle does advise caution. I was impressed by the strength I often find very alcoholic beers are ruined & taste worse for being so strong. Not so with old Tom. I give it 9 out of 10. If you like strong beer or stouts then you'll love this beer.

A pint of: Wychwood - Hobgoblin

This is Hobgoblin, brewed by Wychwood which is still doing its own thing but is owned by Marston's.

This is I confess a favourite beer of mine. It's dark amber & quite bitter. It's quite fizzy in the bottle. The draft version is much flatter & the caramel comes through much stronger than in the bottle.

The beer is 5.2%abv in bottle form & comes in a 500ml size. At the time of writing it costs £1.75 in Sainsburys .

I give it 8.5 out of 10. Purely because I prefer it on tap.

A glass of Morrison's Soave Classico for the lady

An unusual tipple for me everyone. Soave used to be a favoured bottle during my student days, but a few too many regretful Sunday mornings has led to me neglecting this variety in recent years. However, this bottle was a present and I'm not one to avoid a free bottle!

And, I must say, I think this could be a good argument for the return of Soave into my selection process. It is, indeed, a 'delicate and dry white wine', as promised by the label and went beautifully with my Gino D'Acampo white ragu. On its own it's big on citrus, but lacking the harsh finish that can imperil this grape, providing a please by drink to accompany 'The Voice'. It's not as quaffable as a good Pinot Grigio (a vital unit of measurement in my wine drinking) but certainly not a criticism. I'd suggest this wine is a better Sunday night glass, rather than a Friday might bottle.

I must also note the quality of the labelling on this Morrison's own-brand bottle.

A pint of: Sainsburys - Westmorland ale.

This is a Sainsburys taste the difference beer. Part of an expanding range of quality own brand beers & wines there currently offering. This ale is brewed for Sainsburys by Marston's at Jennings brewery. So the beer is brewed by those who know now to make it & it also has that I think is important. I think it's good that Sainsburys have taken the time to brew this beer in a local brewery. They could easily have called it Westmorland. Brewed a style that is in keeping with Cumbria but made it in London or abroad where it's cheap.

The beer is 4%abv & comes in a 500ml bottle. Although it curiously states on the bottle that it gives two glasses. Two 250ml glasses. But why wouldn't you serve it in a 500ml pint glass? It currently costs £1.69 which is pretty cheap.

In colour it's golden amber. It's not to bitter but does have quite a sharp after taste. It uses a combination of fuggles, goldings & challenger hops. This is s beer I would enjoy on a hop summers day. During a BBQ perhaps with the Cumberland sausages.

My score for this is 7 out of 10. A nice pleasant beer at a reasonable price. But nothing ground braking or exceptional.

A pint of: Black sheep brewery - Black sheep ale

Black sheep brewery must be one of a small number of independent breweries that produce a large amount of product. There are of course a great many micro breweries but slowly everyone seems to be getting bought up, usually by Marston's. 

This is a lovely bitter and unpretentious. There is no story of on the back of the bottle just information telling you to serve the beer at 13c. It's right that beer shouldn't be cold cold nor to hot but putting a temperature on the bottle seems a bit nit picky. Not least because how many people are going to stick a thermometer in it before drinking?

Still this is one of my favourite beers and I enjoy it every time. It's also worth checking out the website. It has some interesting info about the brewery and beers on it. One thing I particularly like that you don't see often enough is a list of  places you can buy the beer, which is just about every major supermarket and wine merchant.

The beer has won a string of awards over the years and is worthy of a 10/10 from me. There really isn't anything I can say against it. My bottle was from Sainsburys and cost £2.05.

A pint of: Marston's Old Empire.

This is old empire an Indian pale ale. This is a pale amber coloured beer. Very bitter, possibly a little to much so for my taste. It's also pretty strong at 5.7% abv but it would be an IPA if it wasn't strong. After all in theory it should be able to survive the merry voyage by sailing ship from England to India. Which according the back of the bottle took 3 months. Marston's are claiming a piece of heritage with this beer. Stating that in the 19th century the Burton brewery where this comes from produced the best beer for export. 

I like an IPA particularly on a hot day I think it's a refreshing beer although I found this one left a dry feeling in my mouth after the pint, which made me feel more thirsty.  My only other criticism is the clear glass bottle. Although it shows off the beer's lovely colour on the supermarket shelf it also makes it more likely that the beer will spoil.

This bottle was from Sainsburys and cost £1.99. I give it 4/10.

A glass of Mondelli Pinot Grigio for the lady

As warned, here follows the second taster of this popular grape.

Mondelli certainly knows its Grigios. This is a lovely bottle; light, refreshing but still a distinct and flavourful glass. While my palette may struggle to distinguish the pear drops and elderflower the label assures me are present, I can confirm that the fruity, citrus-y taste makes for a thoroughly enjoyable drink.

The husband bought this for £4.99 (another of Saibsburys' impressive offers: this was £9.99 originally), and I think it's a bargain. The elegant label design would grace any dinner party, certainly making guests think you'd spent far more than the till price! The delicately balanced flavour compliments any white-wine loving food, though a cream-based dish could, possibly, be a little overpowering.

Beyond that, I have little to say. If you like a good PG, then this is a reliable use of your money. Now, I must return to my own glass...

A pint of: Wood's - Shropshire lad

A nice dark amber colour Shropshire lad is bitter though not overly so. I can't taste it but the bottle suggests flavours of toffee, fruits & pear drops.

The beer isn't very fizzy, naturally flatter than others. Which I prefer, I hate getting that bloated gassy feeling.

The beer was originally brewed to mark the centenary of the publication of A.E. Houseman's collection of poems.

On a point about the bottle it amuses me that it states to be "serve cool, not cold." I also appreciate the label listing the beers look, smell & taste characteristics. I wish more beers had this on I find it helps in selection of a beer. Particularly when it's not one I've drunk before.

I found this in Sainsburys. It comes in a 500ml bottle and is quite strong at 5% abv. I give this beer a 9/10 I'd like another.

A pint of: Fraoch; heather ale

This wonderful beer from Morrisons is probably the only beer that can claim to have been brewed since 2000bc.

To quote the bottle "heather ale has been brewed in Scotland for four thousand years and is the oldest style of ale still made in the world" I think that's pretty cool and reason alone to give it a go.

The recipe for this beer is from the 16th century. Heather flowers are infused with the hot ale before then being fermented.

I find sometimes that beers infused with another ingredient can be overpowered. Fraoch however still hits those beer flavours. The beer is quite bitter, sharp then with the floral taste from the heather. The bottle describes the heather flavour as floral & spicy herbal. I found it tasted a bit banana like. I enjoyed this beer although I don't think I would like more than a couple.

The beer is 5% abv and is in a 500ml bottle. I rate it a 7/10.

A glass of Piccini Chianti Riserva (2008) for the lady

As a special pay-day treat (to go with the regular pay-day steak) I picked up a bottle of Piccini Chianti from Sainsburys. The bottle caught my eye as it's currently on offer at £4.99 down from £11.99.

Headline response? I'd be cheesed off of I'd spent £12 on this bottle. It's rather tannin-heavy, comprehensively staining all it encounters. It went well with the steak and is generally pleasant, but oddly lacking in flavour. The dark red wine hits the back of your throat, but it is much more sensation that taste. On the other hand, possibly it's our fault; the label tells you it's 'best served at 18c'. Being somewhat unwilling to stick a thermometer in my glass I had to take my best guess (finally giving it half an hour in the fridge before setting the table).

However, it's a very drinkable bottle for a shared mid-week indulgence at this price, and was a welcome treat tonight. I would just recommend keeping an eye out for this on offer and save the plus-£10 price tag for a different bottle.

A glass of Barefoot Pinot Grigio for the lady

This is a favourite grape variety of mine, so be prepared for plenty of Pinot Grigios to appear here.

This particular bottle is apparently the recipient of a '2009 hot brand award'. A Californian offering, it is perfectly inoffensive but hardly ground breaking. One cannot help but suspect that this award was gained mostly on the strength of an eminently quaffable but unmemorable taste- a standard example of a highly popular wine. Slight citrus aromas fail to fully materialise on the palette, and a glass is drunk hardly without noticing if distracted by something entertaining on the TV.

Barefoot went very nicely with my risotto, and the Friday night comedy that followed. I'd recommended it if on offer, but the £6 price tag is, I think, a little steep for such an easily forgotten wine.

Final verdict? Maybe 7/10 on a good day; probably good for company as I imagine no-one would raise objections to a glass or two.

A pint of: Ginger Beard

Ginger beard is a ginger beer from the Wychwood Brewery. Clocking in at 4.2% abv if its in the 500ml bottle & slightly weaker at 4 % if you find it on tap. On the Wychwood website this beer is listed as a permanent and seasonal. It is my understanding that it can be found bottled all year around but only in cask through July.

I love its darkish amber colour and the smell of ginger is lovely. In taste I reminds me of ginger bread more than anything else, there is a baked quality to the ginger that other ginger beer alcoholic & otherwise don't have.
One of the things that appeals to me so much about this beer is its beer taste. Other ginger beers I've had I've felt are a bit alcopoppy. They taste like the non alcoholic fizzy stuff only you fall over after a few to many.
Ginger beard on the other hand still has those beer notes, it truly is a beer infused with ginger. Which I prefer.

Taste wise it's gingery followed by a warm ginger after taste and those hoppy beer notes. Its not to fiery and is very sweet. There is a slight fiz to it but it is in no way fizzy.

It can be bought from a range of places online at direct from Wychwood as well as other online retailers. My local Sainsburys doesn't stock it but my nearest Morrisons does. In general I find Morrisons very good for a large range of real ale, wines & spirits no matter what store you wonder into.

I give this beer 9/10 if your looking for an alcoholic ginger beer this is the one to drink.