Brewhouse Beer Blog
by Richard Salsbury
A Little About Richard
I try to write on a broad variety of topics, but I have a particular interest in technology, society, and personal philosophy, which all sounds very grand, but I’m also deeply concerned with writing stuff that entertains. An element of humour and/or irony often creeps in.
Some of my favourite writers include David Mitchell, Scarlett Thomas, Jonathan Coe, Kurt Vonnegut, Graham Greene, Dickens, Shakespeare … I could go on.
All of my novels are based in the fictional town of Strathurst, on the border between Hampshire and Surrey.
In my previous jobs I have worked as a civil engineer, software engineer, training instructor and technical writer.
Dino Riders Guide to the Galaxy
Staggeringly Good Dino Riders Guide to the Galaxy (440ml can, 6.3% ABV, vegan) Douglas Adams’ much-loved Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has been everything: radio series, novel, TV series, film, stage show, comic book and computer game. Is it now a beer too? Well, not officially, but no fan of Adams could fail to spot the references…
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Urban Graffiti is a bit different.
Urban Island Urban Graffiti (440ml can, 6.0% ABV, vegan) Well, it’s taken a while to get round to Urban Island, one of Portsmouth’s new-ish breweries, which served up their first beer back in 2014. You can visit their taproom, a few minutes from Hilsea station, on Fridays and Saturdays. You can drink in, or take away growlers,…
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What’s that? Goodens Gold? Oh, I thought you said Goolden’s Gold.
Flower Pots Goodens Gold (500ml bottle, 4.8% ABV) This one tastes of dragonfruit, peppered venison and August evenings in the last rays of the Tuscan sun, with an aroma of crushed Twiglets and a finish reminiscent of Croatia’s entry for the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest. What’s that? Goodens Gold? Oh, I thought you said Goolden’s Gold. Ahem. Providing tasting notes for…
Read More Flower Pots Cheriton Porter
Flower Pots Cheriton Porter (500ml bottle, 4.2% ABV) In the early 2000s I remember stopping off at the Flower Pots Inn while walking in the countryside around Cheriton and being impressed by their beers. They seemed to be very much confined to the pub, a small-scale operation, but in recent years they’ve become much more widely available.…
Read More West Berkshire Maharaja IPA
West Berkshire Maharaja IPA (500ml can, 5.1% ABV) Taste is a funny thing, isn’t it? I’m not talking about taste in music or films or books. That’s simple – my taste is better than yours and that’s the end of it.* No, I’m talking about taste as in flavour. To give some examples: there is some evidence…
Read More Powder Monkey Drop Anchor
Powder Monkey Drop Anchor (440ml can, 4.6% ABV) Hello, there! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Brewhouse overlord Matt is resurrecting the beer blog, and we return with an absolute cracker. Powder Monkey is a new brewery in Gosport, named after the boys (usually 12-14) who, in the age of sail, ferried gunpowder from a warship’s magazine…
Read More Vibrant Forest Inaudible (440ml can, 5.0% ABV)
Ah, the hazy pale ale. So murky. So fruity. So fashionable. Inaudible is part of the ever-expanding roster of beers available from Vibrant Forest, who have always been unashamed about making hazy beer. I have to say, I agree with them. The taste of beer is far more important than whether it’s clear or not.…
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Velocirapture
Staggeringly Good Velocirapture (440ml can, 6.5% ABV, vegan) It’s hazy, it’s hoppy, it’s festooned with dinosaurs. It can only be another brew from Staggeringly Good of Pompey – their take on the American IPA. It pours a hazy orange with a rapidly dissolving foam. The aroma and flavour are dominated by the hops, with grapefruit, tangerine and…
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Kellerbier
Yeovil Kellerbier (500ml bottle, 4.3% ABV, vegan) A kellerbier (‘cellar beer’) is a style of German lager that hasn’t been pasteurised or filtered. Those expecting the usual characteristics of a lager (a clear, golden colour with a thick, foamy head) might be disturbed to see how murky a kellerbier is. This example also has almost no head. This is not…
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Grizzly Pear
Vibrant Forest / Affinity Brew Co Grizzly Pear (440ml can, 4.3% ABV, vegan) ‘You’ve got to go outside your comfort zone!’ That’s what people say, isn’t it? But there’s a perverse part of me that wonders how good this sort of advice is. No matter how exciting it might be, I’m still not prepared to…
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Southwick Brewhouse, Southwick, PO176DX
Tel: 02392 201133 Email: [email protected]