Pheasantry Gift Set

 

The Pheasantry Microbrewery in Nottinghamshire is one of the newest microbreweries on the market and they seem to be out to make a splash. I came by a triple bottle gift set through colleague Brandon Myland whose cousin owns a stake in the company... Or at least I think that's how the story went, though I only had to remember 2 things so it'd be somewhat worrying if I managed to get that bit wrong. My first impressions of the gift set and, indeed, the first foray for Pheasantry into the world of craft beer is that they seem particularly no-nonsense, which in the craft beer world speaks much more than so many bells and whistles. Like a lot of fresh microbreweries Pheasantry have gone with a flagship selection of a Pale Ale, Bitter and Dark Ale, which is much the way I imagine I'll go when I start making bigger batches of my home brew. I can see these guys being a perfect example for anyone who wants to get into the craft beer game. The proof, however, is in the pudding... The tasting of the pudding... Time to drink!

DA - 4.2%

Or Dark Ale, for those who can't speak beer code, is a rich smelling, deep mix of hazel and burgundy (depending where the light is,) smooth, bready and bitter beer with a little tingle of alcohol at the end. At 4.2% it's definitely a session beer and was never going to blow any doors down with massive hop flavouring but it doesn't need it because it has something completely different. It's got a zing to it that, mixed with the bready, yeasty, taste makes it taste a little like a good bread and butter pudding and there are few things in life that I like more than a good bread and butter pudding... Well there are a few actually but one of the others is beer and this brings the two together. If only there was a way of experiencing a Hellblazer comic through the medium of beer, this would be my perfect drink.

The thing I like about this Dark Ale is that with a lot of other examples of the species you can sometimes get the impression, perfectly naturally, that it's been hanging around for a while, the darker ones always feel well lived, in my head they all get their flavour from living long enough to see themselves become the villain. Not with this though, this tastes fresh, this tastes surprisingly light and drinkable for a dark beer. Maybe that's because they're a young company and haven't had to make those tough choices when one road leads them to good quality (and often poverty) and the other is a short cut to money bag city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty... Good at pouring a pint.

I very pheasant pint by Pleasantry... Or something along those lines.

Food Suggestion: Some sort of sweet and sticky Moroccan Tagine would go perfectly with this! The sweet, hot, spicy, flavours and aromas mixed with the subtlety and rich smoothness of DA sounds like an absolute winner to me.

Drink this if you like: This reminds me of Nutty Black by Thwaites, which is readily available at pretty much every supermarket in the country. The texture is also not unlike that of the famous Newcy Brown though this is much more subtle and, I dare say, more interesting for it.


BB - 3.8%

I've decided to do these three reviews the same way movies depict death, going towards the light. In the middle there is the Best Bitter, a beer that almost perfectly matches the colour of those beer bottle sweets you used to see around but probably don't see any more because of some stupid rule about not encouraging small children to drink... Preposterous! I get the impression from their website that BB is the flagship brew, the staff bearing grog, the talismanic tipple, and with that burden placed quite heavily on its shoulders, how does it fare?

Well the pour is satisfying, a little head that dissipates quickly enough and doesn't cling, there is a very light hoppy aroma which lulls you into a false sense of security because when you take that first sip you instantly wish it was a first gulp and before you know it half the pint is gone and you're rustling around in your pocket for some more change before realising that you're not standing in a bar and the closest bottle of BB is several hundred miles away. This is a smooth and deep bitter with only a twang of real bitterness in the after taste but smooth maltiness throughout which, together, culminate into something really quite gratifying. I wouldn't describe this beer as a delicious beer, though it definitely does taste very pleasant, it would be better to describe it in terms of texture and feel. Some bitters can be sharp and jagged in all the wrong places and utterly ruin the balance of the beer, there's nothing like that with BB because BB has balance for days. Tight rope walkers often look at BB and think "F***! I need to get a new job!"

I don't do ratings systems, I don't believe an opinion can be graded but, for all you people out there who NEED a rating then here's a shorter version of what I thought of this beer: Me like beer. Beer are gud.

Food Suggestion: Roast lamb with mint sauce and potatoes roasted in goose fat. Seasonal veg and I DON'T CARE THAT IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO GO WITH LAMB!: MAKE YOURSELF THE BIGGEST YORKSHIRE PUDDING EVER! Bitter and roast dinner... Gooooooo England!

Drink this if you like: Do you like bitter? Any bitter? Then you'll like this. Bam! Simple!


PA - 4%

This was probably the one I was least excited about trying because it's difficult to make a good pale ale... In my opinion at least. I love all beer equally, as if they were my children but I just happen to get on with some of them better than I do with others. It's not their fault that it appears that I love them less, it's just something that they have to deal with. Later. In therapy. However, when I poured PA (Pale Ale) what I got was an excitable little puppy of a brew that better resembled a violently bubbly pilsner than it did a pale ale. That's gotten me on side and wanting to drink the living crap out of this pint, but was it worth the emotional roller coaster?

In a word, yes, in a sentence, HELLS TO THE YEAH! It's lively and light and smooth but it has all the character of a rich, much darker, ale. I'm missing the aroma yet again but that may be because I have a bit of a cold (though I'm normally a blood hound, I can smell a Goldings hop from a mile away,) but the taste of light honey and grapefruit more than make up for that. It's such a gratifying pint purely because it's so energetic, it's like a puppy that's learnt how to backflip. It's really hard to dislike this beer because you get the feeling that it's trying so hard for you to like it... And I do, PA, I like you, you can come over to my house and we'll have tea... Then some other stuff will happen involving some light chilling and a branded pint glass, it'll get a bit awkward for a while, and you'll never be able to go home ever again... But it'll be worth it. Not for you, for me.

Food suggestion: This is a summer beer, definitely needs something like a ploughmans or, and this might be a bit out there, a share platter at a mexican restaurant, maybe followed by the duck or pork belly fajitas. It needs a meat that goes with something sweet. Failing that, just cook up a gammon joint and gnaw at it greedily over the course of an evening.

Drink this if you like: This does remind me of the St. Austell crew a little bit, except a bit friskier, and seemingly a lot more eager to please. I love St. Austell so this is high praise indeed.



Verdict:

Though there was a lack of aroma for all three beers there was a greater depth in character that pulled each one of them through. They all excelled in certain areas and need only minor tweaks, maybe in hop or grain combination, to become truly excellent beers. Right now they are good beers and I would happily drink each one of them until my liver became a bubbling pile of sludge, I just hope they've got a whole mess of tricks up their sleeve as they progress into what is a very competitive environment. They've got the tools, the knowledge and the attitude to succeed and I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be seeing bottles of BB, PA or DA on supermarket shelves within a few years because all three are already better than quite a few of them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this gift set, it has definitely converted me into a supporter of Pheasantry. I heard down the grape vine (through their site) that they will soon be making a lager. All the positive elements from this gift set lend themselves to lager perfectly so I expect good things from that one. Keep an eye out for these guys, I think they've got a bright future.