Lime and Beer Cake

I like the sound of this. Worth trying with some British beer?!

whyiamnotskinny

Remember how I told you that the wonderful guys at Belgium Beer Tourism sent me 2 beers???

I used the one, Kasteel Rouge to make Chocolate, Banana & Beer Muffins…. and now I have been staring at the other bottle and debating on how to incorporate it into another recipe!

While flipping through the latest issue of Olive magazine (October 2013)… the last page was dedicated to *cake of the month* (a reader submission from Wil Law) and his twist on a lemon sponge… which I immediately decided would be the inspiration for the La Chouffe beer that I had!

I adapted the recipe by making one cake instead of 2 round tins…. and therefore did not require the buttercream filling. I also adjusted the lime icing quantities.

Is this a recipe that I would make again? YES – it isn’t too sweet – but remains moist, light and tasty…

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Brass Castle Sunshine India Pale Ale

So from the village of Tockwith just to the west of York, my mini tour of Yorkshire breweries takes me to Pocklington to the south and east of that city, and the Brass Castle Brewery.

The bottle tells me that Brass Castle is a nano brewery and like others that I’ve acquired, Sunshine India Pale Ale is bottle conditioned (so I made a mental note to pour carefully).

This 5.7% ABV light ale is a light copper colour and pours without any discernible head (so once poured, this ale as it quietly bubbles away resembles a glass of a well-known and traditional energy drink).  There’s a faintly floral and fruity aroma, and the flavour is a surprise:  orange with hints of caramel, almost sweet, with a bitterness that hits the tongue only after all the other flavours have made their presence known.

This has been an interesting experience, and I’ve got three more beers to try from this small Yorkshire brewery. Can’t wait.

 

Rudgate York Chocolate Stout

This is my review of the truly excellent Rudgate York Chocolate Stout, which rounds off my series of reviews on the beers of this excellent brewery near York. I’ve definitely saved the best until last!

Everything stops for beer

So this is Rudgate’s York Chocolate Stout!  It has been sitting waiting to be opened since I spotted it in Evil Eye in Stonegate on a trip to York a few weeks ago and this seemed like the right time.  It’s a beer that should suit me down to the ground:  it’s a stout, brewed in the City of York which is famous for its chocolate factory and where I was a student, with added chocolate from the terrific York Cocoa House, so what’s not to like?!  This 5.0% ABV beer looks like liquid chocolate as I pour it into the glass, and the frothy, chocolate coloured head soon dissipates.  The aroma is quite spicy before the chocolatey notes kick in, and the taste is rich, warming and not surprisingly, the dominant flavour is the added chocolate essence.  It’s a beer that would work well with strong flavoured meats like…

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Rudgate Jorvik Blonde

This is a blonde that is worthy of the name.  Jorvik is a delicious pale gold colour that looks refreshing from the moment that it is poured.  There’s a light fizzing head and the aroma is lemon and fresh.  It’s a beer that delivers on taste too, a little bitter, but with that refreshing lemon note and a hint of honey. This is a truly enjoyable ale and at 4.6% ABV isn’t going to stop me from having another!  Would be great on its own on a warm summer’s day (like today), or with salad and a barbecue.

 

Rudgate Battleaxe

Next beer from Rudgate Brewery is Battleaxe Bitter, a delightful 4.8% ABV copper brown ale.  The aroma’s quite fruity, and the flavour is reminiscent of orange and hazelnuts, nicely dry without being overly so.  This is another great example of a beer of its kind form Rudgate, this time the archetypical bitter.  This could be a great session beer, but would go well with cheese too, or a ploughmans lunch, sitting outside the pub, on a warm Sunday afternoon.

Next up:  Rudgate Jorvik Blonde.

 

Rudgate Ruby Mild

For the next part of this bottle-top tour of Yorkshire, I’m heading a few miles to the west of York, to the village of Tockwith, and the Rudgate Brewery, established in 1992, and shared with the Marston Moor Brewery.  I’ve previously reviewed the York Chocolate Stout (though that won’t stop me having another taste later in this series), but I’m going to start with the Ruby Mild.

This 4.4%ABV ale is a deep red colour, with an almost light brown head that fizzes excitedly as its poured from the bottle.  There ‘s not a big aroma to it – maybe hints of caramel and hazelnuts – but the flavour is rounded and far from dry, as a good mild should be.  The hazelnut aroma is carried through to a very nutty finish in the flavour too.  This is a highly refined and enjoyable beer that would work as well with more delicately flavoured food as it would as a session ale.

And it’s not just me that likes this beer.  In 2012 it was awarded the Gold Medal for Mild Beers at the CAMRA Great British Beer Festival.

This is a great start to this exploration of the beers of this award-winning brewery.  Next into the glass is Rudgate’s Battleaxe.  Looking forward to that one.

 

York Brewery Centurion’s Ghost

York Brewery’s 5.4% ABV Centurion’s Ghost Ale is a deep red black ale with a beautifully creamy head.  The aroma is of coffee grounds and this is carried through to the taste, along with burn toast and malt whiskey.  It’s a big taste and the best of the range from York Brewery that I’ve reviewed.  This is a beer that I could enjoy all evening (in moderation) but would also go well with steak frites.  Very highly recommended.

 

York Brewery Yorkshire Terrier

Yorkshire Terrier is the latest in my series of reviews of York Brewery’s excellent ales.  It’s 4.2% light coppery gold ale with a light head.  The aroma is fragrant and floral, and the flavour itself is dry, hoppy and full of orange zest.  It wouldn’t be my choice as a session ale – it’s maybe a little too bitter/dry for my taste – but it’s a very clean, fresh taste, and if you prefer a hoppy ale, this one might suit you very well indeed.

 

York Brewery York Minster Ale

York Brewery’s 4.2% ABV York Minster Ale is a light golden bitter.  It smells of very little at all, to be honest, but the flavour is a good, strong dry bitterness, with plenty of zesty hops.  It’s a much more robust sustained flavour than the Guzzler, and as bitters go, I really like it, but personally prefer Guzzler.  I wouldn’t drink this with a meal, but wouldn’t turn down a pint at my local pub.

 

York Brewery Guzzler

To get me started on my series of reviews of beers from Yorkshire based breweries, I’m starting at the York Brewery itself, with the excellent 4% ABV Guzzler.  This is a light gold ale that pours with a light but enduring head.  The ale smells of citrus and elderflower, and the taste is light on malt, with subtle notes of citrus lemon.  Unusually, the tasting notes match my own assessment of the beer.  It would be great with a salad, or a very enjoyable session ale.  Highly recommended.