They say…

Des de Moor
Best beer and travel writing award 2015, 2011 -- British Guild of Beer Writers Awards
Accredited Beer Sommelier
Writer of "Probably the best book about beer in London" - Londonist
"A necessity if you're a beer geek travelling to London town" - Beer Advocate
"A joy to read" - Roger Protz
"Very authoritative" - Tim Webb.
"One of the top beer writers in the UK" - Mark Dredge.
"A beer guru" - Popbitch.
Des de Moor

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Top Tastings 2008

Writing this piece was one of the things that inspired me to launch this website. My mate Chris, who edits the Stereo Jealousy music blog, habitually starts the year by selecting the best albums and singles of the previous one. Seeing his 2008 list inspired me to look back over my tasting notes, for a […]

Trunk Vierzehnheiligen Nothelfer Dunkel

Top Tastings 2008. A shorter version first appeared on facebook January 2009.

ABV: 5.1% Origin: Vierzehnheiligen, Franken (Bayern), Germany

Trunk Vierzehnheiligen Nothelfer Bier

I tried this wonderful unpasteurised Dunkel fresh from its cask at the Pigs Ear festival. The brewery, in a rural setting behind a basilica in a Franconian village named for […]

Stewart Edinburgh No 3 Scotch Ale

Top Tastings 2008. A shorter version appeared on facebook January 2009.

ABV: 4.3% Origin: Loanhead, Midlothian, Scotland Website: www.stewartbrewing.co.uk

Stewart Edinburgh No 3 Premium Scottish Ale

I was recently enthusing to a Scottish friend and fellow beer enthusiast about the recent improvements in the Scottish brewing scene, to a somewhat arch and cynical […]

Sainte Hélène Djean d’Mady

Top Tastings 2008. A shorter version appeared on facebook January 2009. Beer sellers: Beermania

ABV: 5.5% Origin: Èthe, Luxembourg, Wallonie Website: http://www.sainte-helene.be/

Sainte Hélène La Djean d'Mady

Founded in 1999 by home brewer Eddy Pourtois, who named it after a street he walked down when working as a postman, Ste-Hélène, originally in Virton, […]

Southern Tier hoppe imperial extra pale ale

Top Tastings 2008. A shorter version appeared on facebook, January 2009. Beer sellers: Bierkraft

ABV: 10% Origin: Lakewood, New York, USA Website: www.southerntierbrewing.com

Southern Tier hoppe extra pale ale

‘Southern Tier’ is the informal geographical term for the southwest counties of New York state, and was also the name chosen by Phineas […]

Southampton Cuvée des fleurs

Top Tastings 2008. A shorter version was published on facebook January 2009. Beer sellers: Bierkraft

ABV: 7.7% Origin: Southampton, New York, USA Website: www.southamptonbrewery.com

Southampton Cuvée des Fleurs

The Southampton Publick House, Don and Charlie Sullivan’s acclaimed brewpub in the town of the same name at the eastern end of Long Island, […]

Smisje Meso

Top Tastings 2008. A shorter version appeared on facebook January 2009.

ABV: 2.5% Origin: Assebroek, West-Vlaanderen (since moved to Oudenaarde, Oost-Vlaanderen) Website: www.smisje.be

"De Regenboog brews Mesopotamian beer: Archaeologists find recipe in Syrian song from 1800BC."

An interesting attempt to recreate an authentic ancient beer made in collaboration with the brewing school of […]

Port Lost Abbey The Angel’s Share Bourbon Barrel

Top Tastings 2008. A shorter version appeared on facebook January 2008.

ABV: 12.5% Origin: San Marcos, California, USA Website: www.lostabbey.com, www.portbrewing.com

Lost Abbey brewer Tomme Arthur. Pic: Port Brewing

Another rare treat on draught at the Great British Beer Festival, this extraordinary barrel aged beer has spent six months in Heaven Hill Wheat […]

Oc’Ale Bière Noire Stout

Top Tastings 2008. A shorter version appeared on facebook January 2009.

ABV: 6% Origin: Lafrançaise, Midi-Pyrénées, France

Brasserie Oc'Ale

One of the surprises in store at specialist French beer shop Cave à Bulles in Paris is that craft brewing in France has now spread far beyond its historic home in the North, even […]

Nethergate Augustinian Premium Ale

Top Tastings 2008. A shorter version appeared on facebook January 2009.

ABV: 4.5% Origin: Sudbury, Suffolk, England Website: www.nethergate.co.uk

Nethergate Augustinian

Brewer Ian Hornsey, a former microbiologist, has been turning out excellent beers on a commercial scale since 1986, and has worked from his current site since 2005. He’s particularly renowned for reviving […]