BIG BELLY – AETHELSTAN – BARREL AGED 2023 (11%)

De overheerlijke Aethelstan is nu nog beter. Deze dikke stout van Big Belly Brewing heeft 17 maanden op ex-armagnac vaten gelegen.(https://brother-beer.nl/product/big-belly-aethelstan-barrel-aged-2023/)

Het donkere, zeg maar gerust zwarte, bier is best zwaar. Het bier drinkt eigenlijk wel goed weg.

Æthelstan is een dikke maar zeer goed uitgebalanceerde Imperial Stout. Deze speciale Barrel Aged versie heeft 18 maanden gerijpt in Armagnacvaten, wat dit bier een nog intensere smaak geeft. Dit bier moet je niet te koud en zeker niet te snel drinken. Neem de tijd om te genieten en bij elke slok nieuwe unieke smaken te ontdekken. (https://topbieren.nl/products/big-belly-brewing-company-aethelstan-barrel-aged-2023)

Zwaar bier? Unieke smaken? Wat is me nu weer ontgaan? Het bier dronk ik zo weg.... Helaas weer een hele smaakervaring veronachtzaam weggedronken... Met 11% was dat misschien niet slim,

Op de website https://www.hoptimaal.nl/nl/big-belly-aethelstan-barrel-aged-2023.html zeggen ze "Uh oh! I think you're lost."...

Æthelstan is a thick and well balanced Big Stout. We used peated whisky malts to give a little touch of whisky flavor. Togheter with the very extensive malt bill, Æthelstan has a complex flavor not a lot of other beers offer. Don’t drink it too cold and enjoy is slowly. Cheers! AGED 17 MONTHS ON EX-ARMAGNAC BARRELS (https://www.debiersalon.nl/product/big-belly-aethelstan-barrel-aged-2023/)

Æthelstan or Athelstan (/ˈæθəlstæn/; Old English: Æðelstān [ˈæðelstɑːn]; Old Norse: Aðalsteinn; lit. 'noble stone';[4] c. 894 – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939.[a] He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern historians regard him as the first King of England and one of the "greatest Anglo-Saxon kings".[6] He never married and had no children; he was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund I. When Edward died in July 924, Æthelstan was accepted by the Mercians as king. His half-brother Ælfweard may have been recognised as king in Wessex, but died within three weeks of their father's death. Æthelstan encountered resistance in Wessex for several months, and was not crowned until September 925. In 927, he conquered the last remaining Viking kingdom, York, making him the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of the whole of England. In 934, he invaded Scotland and forced Constantine II to submit to him. Æthelstan's rule was resented by the Scots and Vikings, and in 937 they invaded England. Æthelstan defeated them at the Battle of Brunanburh, a victory that gave him great prestige both in the British Isles and on the Continent. After his death in 939, the Vikings seized back control of York, and it was not finally reconquered until 954. Æthelstan centralised government; he increased control over the production of charters and summoned leading figures from distant areas to his councils.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelstan)

By the ninth century the many kingdoms of the early Anglo-Saxon period had been consolidated into four: Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia.[7] In the eighth century, Mercia had been the most powerful kingdom in southern England, but in the early ninth, Wessex became dominant under Æthelstan's great-great-grandfather, Egbert. In the middle of the century, England came under increasing attack from Viking raids, culminating in invasion by the Great Heathen Army in 865. By 878, the Vikings had overrun East Anglia, Northumbria, and Mercia, and nearly conquered Wessex. The West Saxons fought back under Alfred the Great, and achieved a decisive victory at the Battle of Edington.[8] Alfred and the Viking leader Guthrum agreed on a division that gave the Anglo-Saxons western Mercia, and eastern Mercia to the Vikings. In the 890s, renewed Viking attacks were successfully fought off by Alfred, assisted by his son (and Æthelstan's father) Edward and Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians. Æthelred ruled English Mercia under Alfred and was married to his daughter Æthelflæd. Alfred died in 899 and was succeeded by Edward. Æthelwold, the son of Æthelred, King Alfred's older brother and predecessor as king, made a bid for power, but was killed at the Battle of the Holme in 902.[9] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelstan)

Son of Edward the Elder and grandson of Alfred the Great, Athelstan was the first king of all England. King Athelstan has sometimes been lost in the history books and taken a backseat to other significant rulers of early medieval Britain, however his kingship and influence on the Anglo-Saxons cannot be underestimated…...     King Athelstan is remembered as a great Anglo-Saxon King but perhaps most significantly he is considered by many to be the first King of the English, ending his reign overseeing his extensive kingdom. After his father, King Edward the Elder passed away in July 924, his half-brother Aelfweard was initially recognised as King of Wessex, only to die three weeks later. Athelstan thus, in the light of his father and brother’s deaths, ascended the throne and was crowned on 4th September 925 at Kingston upon Thames. Whilst his path to kingship was now unrivalled due to the passing of his brother, not all were happy with his ascendancy to the throne. Although he could rely on the support of Mercia, opposition to his rule came from Wessex. Now with the title of king, Athelstan’s task was extensive as he had inherited a great responsibility from his father Edward, who had managed to gain control of all of England south of the River Humber.... By the early 930’s, Athelstan had established himself as effectively overlord of Britain, with very few areas untouched by his power.      That being said, in 934, whilst relative peace had been achieved across his lands he made the decision to invade Scotland. In doing so, he managed to force the Scots into a policy of appeasement after his army wrought havoc on the lands of the Scottish kings. Whilst no battles were recorded, it was known that the army he amassed included four Welsh kings who assembled at Winchester before travelling to the Midlands where they were joined by six Danish earls. (https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/King-Athelstan/)

On 27 October 939 Athelstan – the first and perhaps the greatest King of England – died in Gloucester at the age of 47. This man was remembered as a famous warrior who defeated the Danes and the Scots and forged the Kingdom we now call England. However, he was also a gifted statesman who introduced legal and social reform, founded churches across his new land, and brought England into contact with mainland Europe more than any ruler who came before him. (https://www.historyhit.com/death-athelstan-first-king-england/)

 Aethelstan werd rond 895 na Christus geboren als zoon van koning Eduard de Oudere en kleinzoon van Alfred de Grote. In 924 of 925 volgde hij deze op als koning. Voor het eerst werd er een koning gekroon op de King’s Stone in Kingston upon Thames. Hij wordt wel gezien als de eerste koning van Engeland. Aethelstan van Engeland behaalde grote overwinningen op de Denen en wist het rijk zo flink uit te breiden. In 927 nam hij York in ten koste van de Denen. Daarnaast lijfde hij onder meer delen van Wales en Cornwall in. In 934 viel hij Schotland binnen. Hierop werd een coalitie van Schotten, Welshmen en Vikingen gevormd die het gezamenlijk tegen Aethelstan wilde opnemen. Aethelstan versloeg deze coalitie tijdens de Slag bij Brunanburh in 937. Op het gebied van de wetgeving was Aethelstan eveneens actief. Hij liet oude wetten optekenen en vernieuwen en liet voorschriften voor de geestelijkheid vastleggen. Aethelstan van Engeland overleed op 27 oktober 939 en werd begraven in Malmesbury Abbey. Hij werd opgevolgd door zijn halfbroer Edmund I van Engeland. (https://historiek.net/aethelstan-van-engeland-ca-895-939/3318/)