Lots of exciting things are unfolding for me - both professionally and for this beer purchasing addiction I call a hobby. I've accepted a new job that I begin next month and we (A Woman's Brew Podcast) have been selected by the WoT Festival as one of 6 paid commissions. Lots to happily shout about at present, but the downside is that all the paperwork and logistics meant I've neglected my socials and, in turn, neglected to update the latest podcast releases from episode 33 onward. I've also been rubbish at typing up all the other comparisons and content I've pencilled out in my physical notepad, but that's another matter entirely.
Instead of bombarding you with 4+ different posts, I thought I'd just give you the brief overviews in this thread.....So here we go...
Episode 33 - Toast & Crumpets -
In Episode 33, Joanne and I baked up a scheme (ha ha - get it?) to finally drink the Toast x Warburtons Crumpet Table Beer - a 2.8% refreshing offering using rejected crumpets from Warburton's in an initiative to help reduce food waste.
During this episode, I also read back answers to some questions that I raised with Kristen (Toast's social media manager). We learn more about Toast's latest "Rise Up" series in more detail alongside what we can all do to help do our bit to promote sustainability. Beyond all that, we drink this one how it's been suggested to - side-by-side with a freshly toasted and buttered crumpet (prepare for food ASMR).
Hear our thoughts via the links below:
A Woman's Brew on Youtube (video) A Woman's Brew on Spotify (audio only) A Woman's Brew on Sounder (audio only)
Episode 34 - Beer Blending
Episode 34 was easily one of the most fun podcast recordings I've done to date (it probably sounded like we were tipsy, but we genuinely weren't as were just having a good time). I've been slowly amassing a collection of all the Urbanaut beer blender sets I could get my hands on after Joanne brought them to my attention (which is what sparked our drive to make this particular episode). Even though they only ship direct within New Zealand, you can buy some over at New Zealand Beer Collective.
During the episode, we made 3 different concoctions. First being a traditional Trappist take where you mix a Dubbel and a Tripel (we used Westmalle - which we picked up from Tembling Madness's shop, though I have seen them pop in to Tesco periodically.) It's called a Trip-Trap and it might be one of my most favourite creations using beer that I've ever had (not to mention deadly with it's deceptive ABV). Once I get the opportunity to have this out and about, rest assured I'll be requesting it. Second up was a "classic" most people are aware of from Brewdog - the Elvis Hammer - where Elvis Juice is mixed with Jackhammer. I had to do the mixture myself but Joanne happened to have a premixed can from the Brewdog advent calendar. We finished on the Urbanaut beer blender where we mixed the rhubarb saison and the apple crumble sour. To put it mildly, if I could buy a whole vat of the apple crumble sour, I would've without hesitation. Yum.
For reference as well, here is a link to an older (but still useful) link from Beer Merchants about beer blending. Take a risk, blend your own, and report back! And remember that the rules are there to be broken, so don't take that guide (or your selections) too seriously.
Hear our thoughts via the links below:
A Woman's Brew on Youtube (video) A Woman's Brew on Spotify (audio only) A Woman's Brew on Sounder (audio only)
Episode 35 - Brown Ales
Episode 35 veered back into more educational territory, with Joanne taking the lead to educate me and the listeners on the history of brown ales as well as the variety of them that you can find (London/Southern Brown Ale vs Northern Brown Ales vs. American). We cover the traditional baseline with a Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale (purchased from Trembling Madness) before trying Kernel's English-style Brown Ale and Elusive's American Brown Ale (Mechanism). To end, we try an American Brewery's brown ale with a twist - Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery's Blueberry French Toast Brown Ale purchased - also - from Trembling Madness (which was my absolute favourite of the bunch despite there being some good'uns in the pack!). It's only available in the mixed pack from Trembling Madness at the moment, but it was very enjoyable if you're feeling so inclined. The spread was a really interesting and vastly contrasting range which were all great in their own rights.
Hear our thoughts via the links below:
A Woman's Brew on Youtube (video)
A Woman's Brew on Spotify (audio only)
A Woman's Brew on Sounder (audio only)
Episode 36 - Extra Special Bitter
Sticking to the path of "educational", episode 36 is another one where Joanne puts her teacher cap on to educate us all about Extra Special/Strong Bitters - or ESBs. We did start with a speed run back through standard bitters, for anybody not already aware or part of Joanne's Beer Tent Society like I am. We did try something a bit more interesting than a standard traditional bitter, however, as we sampled Yonder's mixed ferm modern bitter called Boogie.
From there we set the "trad" baseline with **MACRO ALERT** (lol) Fuller's ESB and learned how the ESB differed from a standard bitter. We finished on 2 different yet equally interesting craft brewery interpretation's of the trad style : Electricity Supply Board from White Hag x Cloudwater & Three Flow from Vocation x Amity x Sure Shot. We also shared some other examples of craft renditions Joanne and I had to hand (for me, it was Brick Brewery's Extra Special Bitter).
Hear our thoughts via the links below:
A Woman's Brew on Youtube (video) A Woman's Brew on Spotify (audio only) A Woman's Brew on Sounder (audio only)
This should pretty much cover it all and catch you up from after Werewolf beers chat up to today's ESB release. Some exciting things happening over the next few weeks to watch out for but I will try to make time to post in between.
Feel free to reach out to either Joanne or myself and let us know if there's any specific topics you'd personally like to hear about and we'll do our best to make it happen.
Overall tree with all the links for our podcast can be found here.