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

Ads


Top Tastings 2011

Glasses waiting to be filled at the Beermongers, Portland OR, September 2011

This is the fourth year of compiling a Top Tastings list and I’ve stuck to the same self-imposed rules as previously. Here are 30 beers I’ve tasted during 2011 which particularly stuck in my mind as the sensory highlights of the […]

Wells & Young’s Courage Imperial Russian Stout 2011

Top Tastings 2011

ABV: 10% Origin: Bedford, Bedfordshire, England Website: www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk

Wells & Young's Courage Imperial Russian Stout 2011

Excitement rippled through the beer world in Autumn 2011 as one of Britain’s most historic beer brands made an unexpected return from the dead. Courage Imperial Russian Stout can trace its lineage back to […]

Theillier Bavaisienne Ambrée and Blonde

Top Tastings 2011 (Ambrée), Beer sellers: Abbaye des Saveurs

ABV: 6.5% Origin: Bavay, Nord, France

Theillier La Bavaisienne (Ambrée)

Northern French bières de garde are generally assumed to have deep historic roots in the local tradition of farmhouse brewing, though today’s best known and best selling brands are of more recent origin […]

Texels Bock

Top Tastings 2011

ABV: 7% Origin: Ouderschild, Texel (Noord-Holland), Netherlands Website: www.speciaalbier.com

Texels Bock

With my slightly sweet beer tooth, I’ve got a soft spot for the Dutch interpretation of bo(c)kbier, which has become an institution in its own right in the Netherlands, a seasonal focus for drinkers and a rallying point for […]

Proef/Craig Allan Agent Provocateur and Cuvée d’Oscar

Top Tastings 2011 (bottled Cuvée d’Oscar), Beer sellers: Abbaye des Saveurs

ABV: 6.5% and 7.5% Origin: Lochristi, Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen Website: craigallan.fr, www.proefbrouwerij.com

Craig Allan Cuvée d'Oscar (brewed at Proef)

These beers are produced in Belgian Flanders by a Scottish brewer based in Picardy, northern France, and are decidedly international at heart. Craig […]

Redwillow Ageless Double IPA

Top Tastings 2011

ABV: 7.2% Origin: Macclesfield, Cheshire East, England Website: redwillowbrewery.com

Redwillow Ageless Double IPA

Recent years have seen the emergence of a number of new, small British breweries that place themselves firmly in the international craft beer movement rather than the native real ale tradition. I hesitate to use the label […]

Pays Flamand Anosteké Brune Imperial Smout

Top Tastings 2011, Beer sellers: Abbaye des Saveurs

ABV: 8.5% Origin: Blaringhem, Nord, France Website: www.bracine.com

Brasserie du Pays Flamand Anosteké Brune Imperial Smout

In November 2011 I was in Lille for a few days, checking out among other things the excellent beer range at the Abbaye des Saveurs shop in Vieux-Lille […]

Marble Old Manchester Ale

Top Tastings 2011

ABV: 7.3% Origin: Manchester, England Website: www.marblebeers.co.uk, www.fullers.co.uk

Fuller's head brewer John Keeling with Marble Old Manchester. "Old and from Manchester." Pic: Fuller's

Collaboration beers are especially popular among the new generation of craft brewers, often across national boundaries, and have produced some fascinating results. But here’s one that crosses […]

Moonlight Death & Taxes

Top Tastings 2011

ABV: 5% Origin: Santa Rosa, California, USA Website: www.moonlightbrewing.com

Moonlight Death & Taxes Black Beer

The name refers to the old proverb about certainty, attributed among many others to Benjamin Franklin. And it’s a quality that I’ve come to associate over the past few years with Moonlight beers – the […]

Moncada Notting Hill Amber

Top Tastings 2011

ABV: 4.9% Origin: London W10, England Website: moncadabrewery.co.uk

Julio Moncada at the London Brewers Showcase, October 2011

2011 was an extraordinary year for brewing in London. When I sent the final text of London’s Best Beer, Bars and Pubs off to CAMRA Books in early March, I felt the capital […]