Been there, done that, got the glass

GBBF is done and dusted for another year. It hasn't really all settled in my mind yet, but as always, it was an immense pleasure to hang out and share beers with my fellow Ratebeerians. I've got about 70 rates to type up, including the ones from Chris's pre-GBBF tasting and the evening I spent at the Rake's Stone tasting. What makes this hobby so good? Mark Dredge has just put up a post on his blog that sums up the essence of why we drink superbly.

Beers of the Month - July 2009

Drinking highlights in July included an afternoon of Hophead consumption in the Evening Star in Brighton, but the best moment of the month was getting to try some of the new 13th Anniversary Ale from Stone. It is my beer of the month for July. Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing, was over in London and was given an understandably warm welcome by the London Ratebeer crowd when he came to the Rake.


If you know the brewery, you won't be surprised to hear than the beer is a monster with tons of resinous hop flavours and aromas, great malts that manage to hold their own and a sublime finish.

My highly commended beer for July is Brewdog 77 Lager. This is their new lager, that supercedes Cult and Hop Rocker. It lives up to its billing as "a lager that actually tastes of something". An uncomplicated, but extremely drinkable beer, it will be my quaffing beer of choice from now on.