Monday 25 November 2019

Wot, no Yorkshire Stingo?


I’ve been up in that there London place again, with my son and heir for company.  Apart from looking at new mobile phones, followed by a stroll across Hampstead Heath,  I was attempting to track down some Samuel Smith’s Yorkshire Stingo.


This legendary beer weighs in at 8.0% abv, and is only brewed in limited quantities. Prior to release, it is matured in oak casks, held in the brewery cellar, for an unspecified period of time.

It is normally available in bottled form only, but this year, for the first time ever,  Sam’s are selling Yorkshire Stingo on cask. It’ll be served straight from an oak cask at a limited number of their London pubs from this week until Christmas.

So after arriving at the wonderfully restored, Victorian masterpiece in Holborn, that is the  Princess Louise, my excitement mounted when, after entering the pub, I noticed a pump, advertising “Oak barrel-aged” Yorkshire Stingo.

My joy quickly turned to gloom though, when the barman informed me stocks had run out. To make matters worse, he didn’t know when the pub would be getting more in. Disappointed or what?? Word had obviously been passed around on the beer bush telegraph. I’m not sure what happens now, as I’m unlikely to be visiting the capital this side of Christmas.

On the plus side. The Old Brewery Bitter was on top form, and I scored it at 4.5 NBSS. The pub itself was a delight on the eyes, with its amazing tile-work and intricate etched glass panels. And, as you can see, I even managed to take a few photos, despite Sir Humphrey’s ban on mobile phones!

4 comments:

retiredmartin said...

Disappointing, but also oddly encouraging.

RedNev said...

The original Higson's Brewery of Liverpool used to brew a bottled strong beer called Stingo. I've also seen beer mats with Stingo Gold, but I'm unsure whether this was a renaming or a variant.

Paul Bailey said...

According to one source, "Stingo is a strong beer that is often described as having a smoky flavour." It can also be used to describe "a strong, sharp alcoholic beverage or old beer."

Sound about right to me, even though I didn't get the chance to sample any last weekend.

The word "Spingo" has the same meaning, and beers brewed in the brewery of the Blue Anchor Inn, Helston, Cornwall, are known as Spingo.

I spent a rather drunken evening at the Blue Anchor, many years ago and would love a return visit, but this time with a more leisurely sampling of the beers.

Etu said...

Well, I suppose that "sprain: and "strain" have similar meanings too.

You'll have to be careful in those parts with "stain", "stunk" etc. though - could lead to all sorts of problems.