chrisobeer's beer blog

Events Calendar - This Week's Updates 27/02/12

2012-02-28T13:11:00.014Z

A bit late, as I've just got back from a few days in York (of which more later) but here are details of this week's beer happenings in my London Events Calendar

DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE WELSH BEER FESTIVAL
320 Goldhawk Road, Stamford Brook, London W6 0XF
Saturday 25 February to Friday 9 March
The latest in a series of "country" themed festivals covering the whole period of the Rugby Six Nations Championship. Beer list is as follows:

Brecon Pale Beacons 3.9%

Otley Croes-O 4.2%

Otley O4 Colombo 4%

Otley O-Rosie 4.3%

Purple Moose Calon Lan 4.3%
Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose 4.6%
Purple Moose Glaslyn Ale 4.2%
Purple Moose Snowdonia Ale 3.6%
The Kite Brewery 4.0% (sorry, don't have the name for this one yet - probably Gorslas)

Waen Scrum And Get It 4.1% (NEW)

PIGLET 14 BEER FESTIVAL
Leyton Orient Supporters Club, Matchroom Stadium, Brisbane Road, London E10 5NF

Thursday 1 & Friday 2 March. Open 17:00-23:00 each days.

Due to have 30 beers, plus ciders. The beer list is rather incomplete at the moment - keep an eye on the Supporters Club website for updates. This is all they have listed at the moment:

Arkwright's Inspired 4.1%

Black Iris Bitter 4.3%

Botanist Humulus Lupulus 3.8%

By The Horns Bobby On The Wheat 4.7%

Dunham Massey Chocolate Cherry Mild 3.8%

Fyne Ales Hurricane Jack 4.4%

Kelham Island Bete Noire 5.5%

Slaters Top Totty 4.0% (groan!)

Liverpool Craft Icon 3.8%

Marble Ginger 4.5%

[Update: See Comment below for full list]

MARCH MADNESS BEER FESTIVAL

The Hope, 48 West Street, Carshalton SM5 2PR

Thursday 1 March - Saturday 3 March

Beer list - small but high on quality:

Red Squirrel Hopfest 3.8%

Brentwood Chestnut Stout 3.9%

Brodies Amarilla 4.2%

Marble Best 4.3%

Downton Mad Hare 4.4%

Magic Rock Rapture 4.6%

1648 Smoked Ale 4.7%

Dark Star Black Coffee Pilsner 4.8% (NEW)

Raw/Steel Aussie IPA 6.2% (NEW)

Arbor Breakfast Stout 7.4%

Arbor 500 Minute IPA10.7%

LOUGHBOROUGH BEER FESTIVAL

Polish Social Club, True Lovers Walk, Loughborough LE11 3DB

Thursday 1 March - Saturday 3 March

Hardly "London area" but the only CAMRA festival within easy-ish striking distance this week so I've included it. About 70 beers plus a dozen or so ciders. The full beer list is available on Loughborough CAMRA website.

THE RAKE WELSH BEER FESTIVAL
The Rake, 14 Winchester Walk, London, SE1 9AG
Thursday 1 March to Sunday 4 March
26 beers from 14 breweries. First sighting of beers from the Tiny Rebel brewery, about which I know precious little except that it is very new and based in Newport. The full beer list has been posted on the Rake's blog site.

QUEEN'S HEAD BEER FESTIVAL
The Queen's Head, 66 Acton Street, London WC1X 9NB
Thursday 1 March to Saturday 3 March.
Don't know too much about this one - beer list is "coming soon" according to the Queen's Head Facebook page.

SPOTTED DOG WELSH BEER FESTIVAL
The Spotted Dog, 13 Middle Street, Brighton BN1 1AL
Thursday 1 March to Tuesday 6 March
Beer list:

Brecon Pale Beacons 4.5% (I think this is actually 3.9%)

Brecon Genesis (1:ii) 5.6% (NEW)

Celt Experience Celt Golden 4.2%

Celt Experience Dr. Price’s Super Hop 4.5%

Monty's Mischief 5.0%

Monty's Sunshine 4.2%

Neath Deliverance 4.5% (NEW)

Neath Six Hop Nations 6% (NEW)

Newman’s Castle Cream 4.7%

Otley Croes-O 4.2%

Otley Motley Brew 7.5%

Otley OxyMoron 5.5%

Otley 03 Boss 4.4%

Otley 04 Columbo 4.0%

Waen Blackberry Stout 3.8%

Waen Scrum And Get It 4.1% (NEW)

GRAPE & GRAIN BEER FESTIVAL

Grape & Grain, 2 Anerley Hill, London, SE19 2AA

Friday 2 March to Monday 5 March

60 plus beers and ciders. There's a full list on the Grape & Grain website. Of particular interest, to me at least, are Ascot Anastasia's Triple Vanilla Imperial Russian Stout, Elland Scarlettes Fury, Kent Enigma and Kissingate Smelters Stout - all new beers (as far as I know) from brewers I hold in high regard.

CAMDEN TOWN US HELLS LAUNCH

55-59 Wilkin Street Mews, London NW5 3NN (sorry, can't get a Google maps link for that address to work)

Saturday 3 March. 12:00-17:00

First appearance for Camden Town's US Hells lager at their new bar. Apparently a revised version of their existing Camden Hells Lager, replacing the German hops with US varieties. Brewery tours were available but I understand are now fully booked. You do not, however, need an invite to attend the launch and try the beer. Apologies if my earlier blog post gave that impression.

FUTURE EVENTS

A few more events for later in March have been added to the calendar. I'll provide fuller details nearer the time.

10 - 11 March: Sebright Arms Beer Festival

22 - 25 March: Priory Arms Beer Festival

29 - 31 March: Hope, Carshalton - London Beer Festival

London Events Calendar - Latest Updates

2012-02-21T14:03:00.001Z

This week's beery happenings in my London Events Calendar:

BALD FACED STAG BEER FESTIVAL
Bald Faced Stag 69 High Road, East Finchley, London N2 8AB
Tuesday 21 February to Sunday 26 February
Can't tell you much about this one, which I picked up from the CAMRA North London newsletter, so you can blame them if this is a bum steer. The pub is Good Beer Guide listed but I haven't personally set foot in the place for many a long year. Their website is not exactly illuminating about the festival. In fact it isn't mentioned there at all.

BRICKLAYERS ARMS YORKSHIRE BEER FESTIVAL
Bricklayers Arms, 32 Watermans Lane, Putney, London SW15 1DD
Wednesday 22 February to Sunday 26 February
120+ beers from Yorkshire, many exceedingly rare and tough to find, even on their home turf. I will only be able to attend on Wednesday because I am actually heading for "God's own county" (not necessarily my own definition) and, more specifically, York (one of the greatest cities in the UK to visit - definitely by my own definition) for a long weekend on Thursday. York pub guide to follow in due course.

QUALITY SE1 PUB CRAWL

Wednesday 22 February, starts at 6:00pm at the Bridge House, Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2UP.

Then proceeds to the Draft House, The Dean Swift, Simon The Tanner and Platform (route map here). Yet again, I won't be able to make this, as I will be at the Bricklayers Arms Yorkshire Beer Festival (see above). One day ...

PEMBURY TAVERN BEER FESTIVAL

Pembury Tavern, 90 Amhurst Road, Hackney, London E8 1JH

Wednesday 22 February to Sunday 26 February

Around 45 different beers available over five days, with 25 on sale at any time. Tends to feature several beers from each brewery, concentrating on a few breweries per festival, rather than ordering a single beer from many breweries. See the "currently in the cellar or on sale" listing on the pub website for an idea of what will be available.

CHAPPEL WINTER BEER FESTIVAL

East Anglian Railway Museum, Chappel & Wakes Colne Station, Chappel, Wakes Colne, Essex

Friday 24 & Saturday 25 February.

60 or so beers. Admission by pre-purchased ticket only and all tickets sold out for this year. So, if you want to go next year, remember - book early.

RED LION BEER FESTIVAL

Red Lion, 92-94 LInkfield Road Isleworth,Middlesex TW7 6QJ

Friday 24 to Sunday 26 February.

About 35 beers, all from the Greater London area. No further details available. Note to organiser: providing a list of the beers that will be available is a jolly good way of encouraging people to attend.

DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE "RUGBY" BEER FESTIVAL(S)

320 Goldhawk Road, Stamford Brook, London W6 0XF

Part of a series of country themed festivals covering the entire period of the Six Nations Rugby Championship. 11 to 24 February features Italian beers. 25 February to 9 March is Welsh beers. 10 to 16 March showcases French beers. 17 to 24 March is Irish beers. Exactly what beers might available and when is not at all clear since the website provides no information in that respect. Given the duration of the event, it is probably a fair bet that the odd beer from the featured nation will make an appearance alongside the (excellent and varying) other offerings, but greater clarity would have been welcome.

FUTURE EVENTS

I've also added a whole load of new events for March to May to the events calendar. Well, it really covers much of the South East and a fair few other events within day trip reach that I'm thinking of attending. In order to assist advance planning and for those of you who can't be bothered to click through to the calendar itself, brief details of the new additions (NB: this is not the full list of events in the period - some were listed already) follow. I'll provide fuller details nearer the time.

March
1 - 2 March: Leyton Orient Supporters Club - March Ale Festival
1 - 4 March: The Rake - Welsh Beer Festival
1 - 5 March: Spotted Dog, Brighton - Welsh Beer Festival
2 - 5 March: Grape & Grain, Crystal Palace - Beer Festival
3 March: Camden Town Brewery - US Hells launch & brewery tours. email mark@camdentownbrewery.com for an invite.
3 March: By The Horns Brewery - Open day (to be confirmed)
6 March: Tap East - Launch of Chocolate Cyn
15 - 17 March: Bristol Beer Festival (CAMRA)
15 - 17 March: St Neots Beer Festival (CAMRA)
16 - 17 March: Winchester Beer Festival (CAMRA)
16 - 18 March: Rifleman, Twickenham - Beer Festival
27 March: Wetherspoons, 02 Centre, Finchley Road - Adnams tasting evening
28 - 31 March: Wandsworth Common Beer Festival

April
6 - 7 April: Planet Thanet Beer Festival (CAMRA)
6 - 7 April: Fox, Hanwell - Beer Festival
12 - 14 April: Bexley Beer Festival (CAMRA)
20 - 21 April: Hook Beer Festival
25 - 28 April East Anglia Beer Festival at Bury St Edmunds (CAMRA)
27 - 28 April: Chippenham Beer Fetsival (CAMRA)

May
4 - 7 May: Duke of Hamilton, Hampstead - Cotwsold Beer Festival
10 - 12 May: Banbury Beer Festival (CAMRA)
11 - 12 May: Kingston Beer Festival (CAMRA)
18 - 20 May: Yapton Beerex (CAMRA)
21 - 26 May: Cambridge Beer festival (CAMRA)
24 - 26 May: Northamptonshire Beer festival (CAMRA)

London Events Calendar - New Events Added

2012-01-23T12:33:00.001Z

Last week was a rather quiet one in the chriso blogging and social media world, partly because my mobile device was knackered but mainly because I was in Liverpool, Manchester and Huddersfield and, frankly, too busy drinking and enjoying myself to bother with all that malarkey. Over the next week or so I'll be attempting to update my Liverpool pub guide, write up a National Winter Ales Festival round-up and maybe find the time to sing the praises of Huddersfield as a beery destination too.

In the meantime, I've added a few dates for the diary to my London events calendar.

22 February : Quality SE1 Pub Crawl
22 - 26 February: Bricklayers Arms - Yorkshire Beer Festival (thanks to Ian Davey for the info)
5 - 8 April : Egham Beer Festival
6 - 9 April : Brodies Bunny Basher Festival at the William IV, Leyton

London Events Calendar

2012-01-09T13:44:00.000Z

No so very long ago a London events diary would have been a rather skimpy affair. There were a handful of CAMRA festivals in and around London, plus the old ale festival and a few other events at the White Horse on Parsons Green, but that was about it. Now there's so much going on that it's difficult to keep track. The number of pub festivals has really mushroomed, with frequent fixture pile-ups. Meet the brewer evenings have become regular occurrences. New beer releases are often accompanied by a launch parties. The list goes on. And you have to keep a close eye on Twitter, Facebook, several websites and various other sources to keep up. Blink and you'll miss something. So, I'm trying to maintain a London beer events calendar. Mainly for my own benefit but I hope it may be of some use to others too. It also includes "selected" events outside London. By which I mean those that I'm thinking of going to. And it only goes up to May so far. It's not very pretty either but does the job for me. I hope it's fairly complete at the moment - the first week of the new year is not a particularly busy time for arranging and publicising new events. But I've probably blinked and missed something already. If I have, please feel free to let me know by commenting here or by contacting me directly.

10 to Watch for 2012

2012-01-08T18:49:00.004Z

Last time I wrote about some promising new brewers that I first came across in 2011. This time I'll be highlighting ten more breweries that I think are worth keeping an eye on this year. Some are quite new, others are most definitely not. There won't be any new names for the well-informed. But I'm expecting (OK, in some cases there's an element of hoping too) they will all raise their game and progress to even better things in 2012. As before, the list is in no particular order of merit.

THWAITES

Thwaites is a long-established brewery that many of a more beer-geeky persuasion would regard as a member of the fuddy-duddy old guard, producing boring beers for conservative drinkers. Some might even suggest that they employ uninspired brewers who are incapable of producing anything else. I do not believe that to be the case. I'm sure there are many very skilled brewers working for these medium sized family/regional brewers that could crank out some excellent and adventurous brews given the opportunity. Thwaites has certainly displayed signs of more ambition in its output. First of all there was their Craft beer range of monthly specials that included a cloudy wheat beer and an American style IPA, neither of which I got to try. Then there was Old Dan, a strong 7.4% ale that I didn't feel quite hit the spot but was certainly a move in the right direction. However, I was really impressed by Tavern Porter, a roasty slightly smoky bottle-conditioned porter with plenty of rich chocolate notes. There have been other encouraging signs within the old guard and I really just singled out Thwaites as indicative of that. I'm hopeful of more progress in the year ahead.

BRODIES

When the Brodie siblings relaunched the old Sweet William brewery, located at William IV pub in Leyton back in 2008, little did I realise that, two years on, they would have produced over a hundred different beers in a bewildering range of styles and strengths - quite a feat in itself. Of course, there are dangers in such an eclectic, some might say scattergun, approach. Let's face it, not every brew is going to be an unqualified masterpiece with so much experimentation afoot. And there have been rumblings that trying to serve too many of their beers at the same time at the William IV has led to quality issues. But, in general terms, I love what Brodies are doing and the way they are doing it. Superior London Porter, one of the first Brodies beers I tried, and one of the relatively few regulars in their range, remains a favourite. A recent distribution deal with Boggart means that Brodies beers are likely to get out and about more.

WINDSOR & ETON

I was surprised, on checking some details on Windsor & Eton, that they only started brewing in April 2010. They seem to have been around for longer than that. Progress has been measured and considered. They started with two decent, if unspectacular, brews in Guardsman and Knight of the Garter and, for quite a while, made little else. The appearance of Conqueror, a black IPA, signalled a more expansive intent and it quickly became a signature brew. A stronger version - Conqueror 1075 - and Republika, one of the best British lager interpretations I've come across, followed. I don't expect a plethora of new and experimental brews from these guys but I do anticipate further development, in that same measured and considered fashion, in the year ahead.

REDEMPTION

Another very accomplished brewer that has become something of a stalwart on the London scene in barely two years of existence. I have not tried a beer from these guys that I did not enjoy a lot. Big Chief was one I particularly liked in 2011. Redemption has certainly developed a local market with plenty of success and, of course, the idea of local consumption is certainly one that is gaining traction. But local is, in itself, not enough. Local but not very good and not very interesting doesn't really do it for me. Thankfully, Redemption manages to strike an excellent balance. Having recently had the opportunity to sample some of Andy's small batch home-brews, there could be a lot more interesting and adventurous beers to come. Assuming, of course, Andy is given the leeway to produce them.

HOPSHACKLE

Having been in business since 2006, Hopshackle was one of the earlier brewers to start producing beers in a bold, experimental and sometimes challenging vein but doesn't seem to attract the same level of attention as some others of a similar ilk even though the beers are right up there in terms of quality and interest. Many of the beers have a historical basis but there are equally beers that are more modern in outlook. If anyone out there hasn't yet discovered Hopshackle's beers I urge them to do so - I doubt they will be a disappointment. I particularly enjoyed Resination, a full-bodied 7% IPA with bags of pungent, sticky orange and grapefruit hop character

ARBOR

Arbor first brewed in 2007 and was not averse to producing some strong IPAs, stouts and the like from the outset. But they really seemed to up the pace, and their profile, in 2011. They have a lot of variation, innovation and quality across their range. More of the same in 2012 please. Although maybe not to everyone's taste, their 500 Minute IPA, a 10.7% monster crammed with hop character, was indicative of the willingness to take a walk on the extreme side here. In a less extreme, but still assertive mould, Yakima Valley American IPA more than held it's own alongside some US IPAs from across the pond at the Great British Beer Festival.

STEEL CITY

Whilst we're on the subject of hop lunacy, these guys are at the top of the tree. Gazza and Dave do not have their own brewery and both hold down full time jobs. But they manage to find the time to brew beers that they like at Little Ale Cart brewery and elsewhere. And what they like is invariably uncompromisingly, some might say insanely, hoppy, usually pretty pale in colour but with is the odd stout or porter from time to time. Decadent & Desperate, a 120 IBU "C" hop showcase particularly took my fancy. These guys never make the same brew twice and, if you really want to experience a vitriolic tirade, just suggest they use more crystal malt. I don't expect too much to change here (unless, of course, they decide to go full time) but I would like to see more of their beers finding their way out of their Sheffield heartland.

SADLERS

The Sadler family commenced brewing at the Windsor Castle pub in 1900 but the last pint flowed from the brewery in 1927. Until, that is, a subsequent generation of the Sadler family re-opened the brewery in 2004. But Sadlers would not have been a name that featured prominently on many of the geekier beer geeks' must try lists. However, their aptly named Hop Bomb, which I supped at the Great British Beer Festival was right up there with the efforts of any of the better known hop loving brewers in terms of impact and depth of flavour. It was one of the few beers at the festival that made a big enough impression on me to go back for a second. And it's a reminder, if any was needed, that it's not just the usual suspects that can produce beers such as this and make a damn fine job of it. More please.

GRAIN

In a beer scene where use of the word "solid" can convey a sense of damning with faint praise, Grain is a brewery to which I can apply the term in a wholly appreciative manner. Sure, there are some fairly mainstream beers in the range, but there's a fair amount of adventure and ambition too. Execution is generally first-rate and quality across the board is high. These guys deserve more attention. Their Porter was a particularly fine example, in a fairly traditional style and an excellent illustration that a beer does not necessarily need bells, whistles and the kitchen sink to make a big impression. The Plough in Norwich, which is operated by the brewery, is a very convivial spot in which to sample their wares.

BUXTON

And finally. If I had an award for most improved brewer of the year, Buxton would certainly be well in the frame. They started brewing in a not particularly attention-grabbing, and somewhat confusing (beers were first produced at Leek brewery, they then took over and moved into the premises of Wild Walker, then produced beers under both Wild Walker and Buxton names foe a while) fashion, but really started to deliver the goods in impressive style in 2011. Axe Edge, Black Rocks and Tsar would all be on my shortlist for beers of the year. And, as far as traditionally styled session bitters are concerned, Buxton Bitter is in the top flight. Things are already great here, but I'm confident they can only get better.

Inevitably with a list such as this, as soon as I'd finished typing I found myself thinking of other brewers I felt I perhaps should have included. So much so that it almost became a "20 to follow" article. But I had to draw the line somewhere and the UK beer scene is so vibrant these days that there are bound to be worthy candidates that get left out. So, many thanks to all the brewers that have provided me with so much enjoyment over the last year, often for so little reward. I raise my glass to all of you.

10 Promising Newcomers of 2011

2012-01-02T15:51:00.001Z

It's that list time of year so let's get it over and done with. First of all, my most promising new breweries of 2011. Some of these may have started in 2010 but I didn't come across any of their beers until 2011. In most instances I do not have a huge body of evidence to work with. In some instances I've tried just one or two beers from the brewery concerned. But I have high hopes for all of them and look forward to getting the chance to try more of their beers in 2012. Oh, and there's no outright winner here, just a "best of " list in no particular order of merit (alphabetical actually).

BETJEMAN

Peter Fowler

I first came across beers from Pitstop brewery in 2009 at Reading beer festival. Three beers, three imperial stouts and pretty damn good ones at that. At the time, the beers were brewed at Bellingers garage near Wantage, an enterprise that had already attracted attention for incorporating a shop that stocked a crazy range of beers in a most unlikely location. Subsequent beers, such as the appropriately-named The Hop reinforced the impression that this was a brewer with a distinctly idiosyncratic approach. Since then the Pitstop brewer, Peter Fowler, and Bellingers have parted company. Peter is now running the Shoulder Of Mutton pub in Wantage and a brewery at the pub is in the works. In the meantime, Peter is brewing beers under the Betjeman name at a couple of local breweries. I can't say I was surprised that the first Betjeman beer I encountered - Sebastopol - was an imperial stout. And a pretty damn good one. I've not yet encountered any more Betjeman beers but I have little doubt that, when I do, they will be in the same uncompromising mould.

BINGHAMS

Regular visitors to Reading beer festival may have noticed Binghams beers on sale there as "charity" beers for a few years. However, Binghams went fully commercial in 2011 and are showing a welcome degree of adventure, including some interesting stouts and IPAs, in their line-up. So far, I've been most impressed by their Coffee Stout and its Vanilla variant, but all the beers I've tried have been extremely solid. Binghams beers are mainly available in pubs in and around Reading but they have recently started bottling their beers, which can be bought from their on-site shop, or online from their website.

BYATT'S

I don't know much about this outfit other than that they commenced brewing in the Spring of 2011 and are based in Coventry. I came across two of their beers at Egham beer festival in August but have not seen them anywhere else. Phoenix Gold made good use of American hops, as did their Urban Red. Both were well-balanced and exceedingly drinkable. Coventry Bitter, a more traditionally styled session bitter seems to have made a good impression too but I haven't come across that one yet. I have to admit that Coventry is not a place that is high on my list of places to visit but I hope to see more of Byatt's beers in the year ahead.

CANTERBURY BREWERS / THE FOUNDRY

Good, purpose built brewpubs are rather rare in the UK. Based in an old foundry building in Canterbury, these guys seem to have made a good job of it. I say "seem" because I've not got round to visiting yet. The beers I've tried have been thanks to hand-bottlings by my friend, and Kent resident, Ian Harrison and a couple of sightings at festivals. There's no shortage of ambition here - they have tried their hand at a number of more interesting styles, including American and European, and have generally succeeded pretty well. I particularly enjoyed their Foundry Red Rye and Street Light Porter. Some barrel-aged beers are on the way. Time for a visit to Canterbury methinks.

LONDON BREWING CO / THE BULL

I've written about this outfit before so won't say too much more here. Just that Steve Gray, the brewer, is producing some very decent beers from a small brew kit located in the pub kitchen and that the Bull is a very convivial setting in which to enjoy them. I've particularly enjoyed their Nervous Energy, an American influenced pale ale using plenty of Cascade and US Brewers Gold hops but retaining a high level of easygoing drinkability.

MAGIC ROCK

It's hard to believe that Magic Rock has only been in operation since May 2011. Their beers have already made a big impression and there's not really much more that I need to say here. Although Magic Rock makes excellent beers across the board, and has some very weighty, strong and impressive specimens in their range, I enjoyed Curious as much as any. Not least because it was one of a number of sub 4.0% beers appearing during the year demonstrating that relatively low ABV does not necessarily equate to low flavour and impact. And, for me, it was strong contender for being the best of them.

REDWILLOW

Redwillow brewery is based in Macclesfield, Cheshire and actually started brewing in late 2010 but I didn't get to try any of their beers until well into 2011. From what I've seen so far, I'd be surprised to find too many boring brown bitters in Redwillow's portfolio. Ageless, a 7.2% IPA, was my pick of the beers I've tried up to now and I liked Smokeless a lot too. But I've not had one that I did not enjoy.

SHERFIELD VILLAGE

A small outfit based in a small village in Hampshire and firmly focused on a local market so it might take a bit of effort to sniff out their beers. Staying local is certainly a business model that has attractions but many of the brewers that adopt it stick to making firmly traditional ales that are, frankly, a bit boring. Not so with Sherfield Village. Whilst they do include some rather traditional offerings in their repertoire (and nothing wrong with that), they also spice things up with a good number of beers making generous use of New World hop varieties. Of the Sherford Village beers I've tried so far, I've been most impressed by Solo Quintessential and Pioneer Stout.

WEIGHBRIDGE

Primarily a brewpub (and a rather foody one by the look of it), located on the old Archers brewery site in Swindon. I've not visited because, well, I can think of very many places I'd rather go to than Swindon. It wasn't until the end of the year, at Pigs Ear beer festival, that I first experienced their brews. Three were available and, although there was nothing particularly innovative in terms of beer styles - two bitters and a golden ale, they were all excellent examples and stood out amongst a lot of rather similar beers at the festival. I've been too lazy to write up my reviews yet, but I particularly enjoyed Pooley's Gold.

WILSON POTTER

Another latecomer, which commenced brewing in September 2011 and I have to admit I had not heard of until I saw a couple of their beers, again at the Pigs Ear festival.. The first beer I tried - Cascale - was a real corker. The people behind Wilson Potter are two women - Kathryn Harrison and Amanda Seddon - and I see from their website that they visited Tara Mallinson to get some tips before they started the brewery. That does not surprise me one bit as the Cascale - pale and hop driven with lots of juicy, tangy citrus - exhibited many of the characteristics I've typically come to expect from a Mallinsons beer, and I mean that as a compliment. I'm very much looking forward to trying more from Wilson Potter in future.

So, that's the newcomers dealt with. In the next couple of days I'll put together my Ten To Watch For 2012 list. Not necessarily that new, not necessarily too obscure - just those that I expect to kick on to better (and bigger?) things in 2012. In the meantime, happy new year to one and all.

Camden Town & the Bull - New Releases

2011-12-16T15:18:00.004Z

Things have been very quiet round here for rather a long time so let's get cracking on the New Year's resolutions a bit ahead of schedule. On Tuesday evening I was confonted by something of a fixture clash. Down in the city at the the Craft Beer Co a meet the brewer event featuring Camden Town brewery, including the launch of two new beers, was taking place. Just an hour later, in the more leafy realms of the Ham & High, two new beers from the London Brewing Co beers would be making their debut at the Bull. Being well aware just how easy it is to get "stuck" in the Craft, I was harbouring serious doubts that I would make it to both events but, aided by some prodding and cajoling from friends (to travel with them rather than leave them at the Craft, I'm relieved to say), I managed to do so and I'm glad I did. And I even found time for a last pint or two at the Southampton Arms too.

The first new Camden Town beer I tried at the Craft was Gentleman's Wit, described as a Lemon & Bergamot Wit, apparently utilising lemons covered in Bergamot and roasted for 20 hours. To be honest, I'm not sure what aromas and flavours Bergamot imparts but I do know (OK with a little help from Wikipedia) that it is used in Earl Grey tea and was a major component in the original Eau De Cologne - guess I would need to have been an England rugby player in the 80s to know what that tastes like. The beer certainly did have an aromatic, spicy character and plenty of sharp, citric bite. The appearance was pale and hazy. Very crisp and refreshing on the palate. Tart, with a little sweetness to balance things out. British takes on the Belgian Wit style can be pretty dire but this one hit the spot rather nicely for me.

Next up was Bleeding Hops, a 6.4% IPA, heavily hopped with a whole cocktail of different hop varieties. To be honest, I was a little taken aback by the quite dark tawny colour. Perhaps I wouldn't have been if I had taken the trouble to read the blurb first. There were certainly plenty of juicy resinous hops in evidence. Lots of malty notes too - quite nutty, with some toffee and caramel as well. I assumed these elements, and the relatively dark colour, were due to the use of Crystal malt but Mr Dredge assured me that was not the case and the malty elements are derived from Aromatic malt, which is apparently a Munich type malt, often used in Belgian style beers such as Abbey Dubbels. This was a tasty and quite weighty mouthful but I have to admit it was not entirely to my taste, inhabiting an area somewhere between a paler aromatic IPA and the fuller, roasted feel of a black IPA, with a fair amount of sweetness. I have felt the same about some of the fatter, sweeterCrystal-influenced IPAs I have tried in the USA so it's just a matter of personal preference.

The pick of the bunch for me was Camden Ink, a 4.4% dry stout which had launched a few days earlier. Maybe mounting a major challenge to Guinness is a somewhat distant prospect, but that's the market sector it's clearly aimed at. And it's a far more enjoyable beer for me in every respect. Yes, it's inky black. Yes, it has a creamy head and consistency but it isn't nitro'd to within an inch of it's life, nor was it chilled out of all recognition. On the palate it's dry and smooth but much richer and more flavourful than Guinness, with subtle coffee ground and dark chocolate notes apparent alongside the roasty malt. There's a pleasing bitterness here but it's coming as much from good use of hops as from burnt malt. As you may have guessed, I was rather impressed.

As easily as I could have remained ensconced in the Craft, it was then on to a bus, over the hill and far away to the Bull in Highgate, which I have written about before. This is a truly integrated operation with the tiny brewery (using the name London Brewing Co) squeezed into the kitchen so that the brewer, Steve Grey, literally has to rub shoulders with the chef. He seems to spend a fair amount of time pouring and serving too. A couple of weeks ago Gazza Prescott, hophead supreme from Steel City Brewing, dropped in for a collaboration brew. Given Gazza's leftward leanings and the presence of a certain grave in the nearby cemetery, naming the 4.3% collaboration brew Full Marx was a no-brainer. Knowing Gazza's preferences, I was expecting some pale IBU insanity. However, whilst the beer was indeed very pale in colour, the hopping was relatively restrained (for Gazza) with as much emphasis on flowery, aromatic character as bittering. According to Steve, had Gazza been given an entirely free rein, the beer would have been "too hoppy for Highgate". There was a bit of sulphur and some farmyard/manure notes on the nose. And I mean that in a good way. The mouthfeel was clean and firm. Overall, this was a hoppy, but well-balanced and immensely drinkable brew.

Also on show for the first time was Pi Eyed - well it used the Pi symbol on the pump clip but I don't know how to type that. This was a darkish red, fruity and slightly sweet Wintery number. Some sharp notes in the fruit on the palate provided a balancing and agreeable old ale type character. I found this a satisfying and tasty beer too.

I very much like the Bull as a pub. Unlike a lot of refurbishments, it gets the balance right on many levels. And it's good to see the brewing side of things doing well too.

Competition for Greene King stirs in Suffolk

2011-10-08T13:04:00.000+01:00

Anyone who has been to Bury St Edmunds will know that it is a very handsome town but compromised, as far as the travelling beer enthusiast is concerned, by the overbearing presence of Greene King. Now, I’m not necessarily one of those that regard Greene King beers as particularly poor, although a lot of them are less than exciting, and I would put them in the “must try harder” category. I actually rather enjoyed my brewery tour there a few years ago, and the fresh beers I sampled afterwards in the tasting room.

The Nutshell

I’m not averse to a pint of XX Mild just along the road from the brewery in the welcoming and staunchly traditional Rose & Crown pub, which I had always assumed was owned by Greene King but, if so, is strangely missing from the pub finder feature on their wensite . And squeezing into the delightful and miniscule Nutshell, which has claims on being the smallest pub in the country, for an Abbot or two can be a pleasant, if sometimes rather cosy, experience. But this is Greene King heartland and its beers are just too ubiquitous. Consumer choice has been sadly lacking although, to be fair to Greene King, they do often allow guest beers into their pubs, although the range can be restricted.

The Dove

When I was last in Bury St Edmunds, admittedly a few years ago, competition to Greene King domination was largely restricted to the Old Cannon brewpub. A glance at the 2011 edition of the Good Beer Guide suggests that the Dove, a free house with six handpumps, mainly dispensing brews from independent East Anglian brewers, has more recently entered the fray. And there’s Bartrams brewery based in nearby Rougham, whose bottled beers you can pick up at Barwells store in the town centre, although I can’t remember ever seeing much of their beer in the pubs around town. But that has been about it for challenges to Greene King domination. Even JD Wetherspoon, often a source of some respite in places where a single brewer dominates, doesn’t have a pub within 12 miles.

Brewshed brewery

However, there’s a new kid on the block. On the beer list for Egham beer festival a few weeks ago I noticed two offerings from Brewshed brewery of Bury St Edmunds. A little research revealed that the owners of a small pub group in the town - comprising the Beerhouse, the One Bull and the Cadogan – have installed a brewery at the Beerhouse and its first beers appeared in May of this year. Even without the on-site brewery, the Beerhouse looks to be a worthwhile venue for the beer enthusiast, with eight handpumps, whilst The One Bell stocks the Brewshed beers and a guest or two. Judging from their website, the Cadogan seems less promising to those of beery persuasion, listing just Greene King IPA and Abbot as the ale choices. This may, of course, just be a case of delayed website updating and I would hope to see the Cadogan serving at least the Brewshed beers. When the new 2012 Good Beer Guide arrived through my letterbox, I was pleased to see that both the Beerhouse and the One Bull have made it into the latest edition, although rather surprised that the One Bull entry made no reference to the Brewshed beers. I was also rather surprised to see that the Old Cannon is no longer listed.

As for the Brewshed beers, the first I tried at Egham was Brewshed Best Bitter, a likeable, traditionally-styled, darkish best bitter at 4.3% with some fruity notes on the palate, a decent bitter hop presence and a quite full mouthfeel. Brewshed Pale Ale, at 3.9% was a very respectable and drinkable golden ale with plenty of tart citric hops, a firm bite on the finish and a crisp mouthfeel.

Understandably slightly cautious choices for their first brews but a solid foundation - the beers are well-made and certainly preferable to Greene King IPA. The Brewshed brewery, and the related pubs are a very welcome addition to the Bury St Edmunds beer scene and I wish them all the best in their efforts. The presence of two brewpubs in a modestly sized town suggests that drinkers there may be eager for a more varied beer diet than Greene King, Greene King and more Greene King, which can only be a good thing. I have also just discovered that a specialist beer shop - Beautiful Beers - opened in Bury St Edmunds earlier this year too. It’s probably time for me to pay another visit.

Project Venus at the Rake

2011-09-21T15:33:00.001+01:00

There’s a widely held belief that women don’t drink beer and don’t like beer. It’s no doubt true that more men drink beer than women. But whether that is because fewer women actually enjoy, or would enjoy, beer is more debatable. Perhaps the preferences are more cultural than taste-driven? Certainly, the beer world has come to be viewed largely as a man’s world, a concept that has been reinforced by the distinctly laddish slant to most beer advertising and the outdated perception of pubs as spit and sawdust, male-dominated, drinking dens.

In recent times some of the big beer companies have decided to tap into the female market by promoting beers aimed specifically at women. But they are invariably anchored on the questionable assumption that women and men want different things. That, in order to capture that market, you need to produce something “female friendly”, whatever that may be. That women prefer something, well, girly. So, when Molson Coors announced the launch of their Animée beers, their major innovation was to make one of them pink. No stereotyping there then. The best Carlsberg could manage was Eve, a low ABV, lychee-flavoured concoction made with rice. Although they do also have their “gender-neutral” Copenhagen brand. And, as for Chick Beer – well, even the Facebook and Twitter symbols on their website are pink. These seem to me to be nothing more than dubious marketing wheezes that do nothing to challenge stereotypes and plenty to reinforce them. Maybe it’s just the women I know, but most of them are quite eclectic in the types of beer they enjoy and would regard this nonsense as offensive were it not so laughable.

One initiative that is doing something to tackle stereotypes and raise the profile of women in brewing is Project Venus, a group of female brewers in the UK and Ireland, who are getting together to produce a collaboration brew now and again. Of course, as any fool knows, brewing was not always a man’s world. Long ago it was very much the province of women, although probably more in the nature of a domestic activity than a business venture. Once brewing began to get more industrialised, the role of women declined. Thankfully nowadays there are a fair few women back in brewing and the numbers seem to be on the increase. Project Venus seeks to publicise and encourage that.

Unfortunately, I missed the first Project Venus beer - Venus Jade, which appeared earlier this year. However, I was on hand at the Rake on Monday night to sample their second creation, Venus Rouge, and met a couple of the protagonists. The beer was made at Oldershaw brewery and the collaborators on this occasion were Kathy Britton of Oldershaw, Sara Barton of Brewsters, Michelle Haydock Kelsall of Offbeat, Sophie De Ronde of Brentwood and Sue Hayward of Waen. The beer is 4.2%, reddish amber in colour, hopped with Chinook, Summit and Cascade. There’s a moderate but assertive grapefruit presence in the aroma, with some floral notes. On the palate there’s a developing citrus character, with orangey/marmalade elements in the forefront, underlaid by a quite chewy, toasty malt backbone. Just a touch of sweetness is offset by a firm bitterness on the finish. Overall it’s a very drinkable pint with plenty of body. So, whilst it’s a beer made by women, it’s by no means a beer aimed just at women – anyone can enjoy this regardless of gender. I know I did. And I’m pleased to report that Kathy Britton assured me the women of Project Venus won’t be getting too pink any time soon.

Chriso Is (a bit) Unwell

2011-09-19T13:57:00.002+01:00

This week I have mostly been drinking ...

Last week should have been a busy one. Monday saw the launch of Windsor & Eton brewery’s Republika, a 4.8% pilsner made using Saaz hops and Czech yeast, at the Rake. Tuesday was the opening of the Tap East bar at Westfield Stratford City, the latest venture (Tap East, not the shopping city that is) from the guys behind Utobeer and the Rake, with an in-house brewery due to come on stream soon. Wednesday was the Quality SE1 Pub Crawl, with guest appearances from Kernel, Innis & Gunn and Sambrooks. Saturday was going to be a bash at London Fields brewery but it seems that was put back to Saturday 24^th, unless I got the date wrong in the first place. And that’s without bringing beers festivals at the Sultan in Wimbledon and the Rose & Crown in Walthamstow into the equation. I say should have been because I missed the lot due to an annoyingly persistent snot-ridden bug attack.

I will be trying catch up on these missed opportunities, and to write something about them, before too long but in the meantime you will have to make do with a little piece about something stirring out in Suffolk. However, London Fields brewery will have to wait as next weekend I will be at the Borefts beer festival at De Molen Brouwerij in the Netherlands where Thornbridge, Marble and Kernel breweries will be flying the flag for the UK. Which means I will also miss the first beers from London’s latest brewing venture at the Botanist pub, from whom I received an invite to their launch on Thursday.

Between now and heading for Holland I will be attempting to drink and review a sizeable proportion of the sixteen beers comprising the Sainsburys Great British Beer Hunt, currently all sitting in my fridge. Although I have to acknowledge that The Beer Monkey, and several other, have stolen a march on me on that one. In addition, Monday sees the arrival of the brewsters of Project Venus and Venus Rouge, their latest creation at the Rake. And on Wednesday I hope to get to the Bricklayers Arms for the first day of their Derbyshire beer festival.

Just a few years ago, beer events in London were thin on the ground. Nowadays the scene has burgeoned and there is so much going on that even Londonites who never venture beyond the M25 are bound to miss something sometimes. I try to maintain a calendar of London-ish beery happenings but it is getting tough to keep abreast of every event. The expansion of interest in beer in London is immensely encouraging but also extremely annoying when it’s an unseasonal bug that’s to blame for missing out rather than simply a lack of time.

INFORMATION
Winsdor & Eton Republika is available in bottles from the brewery shop (see brewery website for opening times) and at the Beer Boutique Putney & Noble Green Wines in London. Also available online from Beermerchants. The Rake bar also has bottles at the moment. More to follow when I’ve had a chance to taste the stuff. Look too for another new brew - Conqueror 1075, a stronger version of Windsor & Eton’s excellent Conqueror Black IPA, also available from Beermerchants.

Tap East is a bar located on the lower ground floor of the Westfield Stratford City shopping complex (deep joy), aiming to carry 6 cask beers, 10 keg taps and over 140 bottles in addition to beers from their in-house brewery which are due to debut in October. More to follow when I’ve been there.

The Quality SE1 Pub Crawl is a monthly event taking in some of the best hostelries in, er, SE1 - that means the Market Porter, Rake, Draft House & Dean Swift amongst others. Everybody welcome. The next crawl takes place on Wednesday 19th October.

London Fields is a new microbrewery in Hackney. So far they have made six beers, which were first available at an extended launch party over the bank holiday weekend. The event was so popular they decided to hold another. I have not yet managed to try any of the beers and have no information about outlets. More to follow.

The Sainsburys Great British Beer Hunt is an event at which beers from smaller brewers get a temporary slot on the supermarket’s shelves and the two winners are stocked for an extended period. Reviews to follow.

Borefts Beer Festival is a now annual event hosted by De Molen Brouwerij in the small town of Bodegraven in the Netherlands with choice offerings from hand-picked brewers from around Europe. More to follow.

The Botanist is a pub and restaurant near Kew Gardens which is the latest in a string of new brewers coming on stream in London recently. Additional information on their Facebook and Twitter pages. More to follow.

Project Venus aims to promote women in the UK brewing industry, drawing inspiration from the Pink Boots Society in America. More to follow.

The Bricklayers Arms is a pub in Putney which holds several beer (and also cider) festivals a year, showcasing around a hundred beers from a particular county and invariably including some very rare specimens indeed.

Beer and Food Matching

2011-09-14T14:11:00.001+01:00

No, I’m not going to be jumping on the bandwagon of making particular beer and food matching suggestions. I’m just going to offer some observations on how the concept reflects on the way in which beer is perceived by us beery types, by wine drinkers, by critics, by the media and whoever else.

Susy Atkins' beer & food matching
suggestions

There has been some noise on Twitter about an article written by Susy Atkins in the Telegraph on the subject of matching beer and food. It’s a topic that seems to be cropping up with increasing frequency. A sign perhaps that beer is beginning to escape its flat cap, pie and a pint image and moving into more “respectable” territory, whatever that may mean. Of course, plenty of us beer enthusiasts have known that there’s more to it than swigging pints down the pub for years, even if we often feel more comfortable enjoying our beer in a more lively social setting than in an upmarket restaurant. And there are those beer drinkers who feel that it’s proper place is as a social lubricant in a pub, without too much swirling, sniffing and other analysis. Some would find the thought of discussing food and beer pairing in a fancy restaurant an anathema. For some, even the idea of gastropubs (or whatever we are supposed to call them these days) is repugnant, as the regular drinker can be, or at least feel, marginalised.

The truth is that beer can be enjoyed in a whole range of social settings and at a whole range of quality levels. Despite the efforts of the populist media to convince their readership otherwise, it’s not all kids getting blitzed on the High Street on Saturday night and tramps drinking Special Brew on park benches. Of course, wine has not traditionally been seen as an intoxicant favoured by irresponsible drinkers (unless you count Buckie as wine) but the perception of it has changed massively during the 40 years or so that I’ve been exposed to the joys of booze. Back then, wine was largely seen as the preserve of the well heeled, generally drinking wine from the classic French regions. For the rest of us it was a rarity, consumed mainly at meals on special occasions and on the occasional restaurant visit. And, for the general population, pretty unremarkable, not to mention downright dire, plonk was seen as oh so sophisticated – anyone for a Blue Nun nowadays?. Things have moved on. Good value, everyday drinking wines, often from the New World, are as likely to be consumed on their own as paired with food and the names of many grape varieties have long since entered the common lexicon.

So, the concept that wine is a drink for many situations and comes at many quality levels (and prices) has gained general acceptance. Although a vague awareness that beer might have a similar versatility is on the increase, progress is slower than I’d like and certainly hasn’t reached the stage of general acceptance. Susy Atkins expressed the view that there's a major push to persuade “us” that beer is just as great a match with food as wine and that beer enthusiasts and bloggers are in the vanguard of the pushers. She may have a point there. She also said “and, you know, they're right to a large degree (even if wine is more versatile)”. Leaving aside the question of how much beer and food pairing research she has actually done, the general view expressed on Twitter was that her piece was a step in the right direction but still carried an air of condescension. And there's no doubt that wine snobbery is still alive and well in certain quarters. Perhaps beer snobbery will become the new wine snobbery?

The fact is that, with a few exceptions, there is a high degree of ignorance about beer in the wine and food world. The majority of better restaurants lavish much attention on their wine list but their beer selection is desultory to say the least, if not entirely absent, and certainly appears no more than an afterthought. Places that wouldn’t dream of serving wine that is no better than cheap plonk to their customers seem happy to offer widely available beers that are poor examples of their style and can be picked up from any local distributor. Guys, Leffe Blonde is not a top-notch example of a Belgian ale. And when the Michelin-starred Quilon restaurant started to display an interest in beer, amidst some ballyhoo, the best they could manage for a Belgian style wheat beer was Blue Moon.

Now, those who know me will be aware that, as well as beer, I’m rather partial to a decent wine or a good whisky and not immune from blathering on about them a bit too. Needless to say, when I visit a restaurant, I’m going to have a few drinks - it’s usually in a social context and having a few drinks is what I generally do socially - and, partly because the beer selection is likely to be piss poor, it’s usually going to be wine. And you know what? Whilst I might make some effort to avoid obvious clashes, food and wine matching is not always something that is at the top of my agenda. For me, the essence of a good restaurant experience is good food, good drink and good company in comfortable surroundings. The drink is integral to the restaurant experience but is not immutably bound to the culinary experience. In fact, I am less than convinced by the concept that synergies between food and drink often produce something that is greater than the sum of the parts. The higher up the quality ladder I go the more I am likely to savour that experience outside a purely social context - although there is joy too in sharing choice creations in the company of friends - and the less I want it adulterated with competing aromas, flavours, textures or whatever. I have a bottle of Chateau Margaux sitting at home waiting for a suitable occasion to be opened and what food I should pair it with when that time comes is not in the forefront of my mind. The same goes for a bottle of Alesmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout that sits close by.

Of course, whisky doesn’t generally have to cope with the straightjacket of being viewed very much in a culinary context. In these times when drinking alcohol for the sheer enjoyment of it can be represented as “irresponsible”, emphasising the food matching qualities of beer is understandable but I wouldn't like to see it go too far down that route either. Maybe respectability through food matching is an inevitable step along the way to wider appreciation. But the truth is that beer is a supremely versatile drink that can be celebrated in many different guises, in many different social contexts and in many different places. Despite the constant tales of woe about pub closures, more brewers than ever are providing more variation and more opportunities for us to revel in those experiences. We beer enthusiasts have never had it so good and, thankfully, others are starting to catch on too. Long may that continue. Just a little bit faster would be nice.

Highgate calling – The Bull & London Brewing Co

2011-09-07T18:29:00.002+01:00

Highgate is not an area I visit too frequently and the Bull - not to be confused with the Bull & Last, a distinctly gastroesque joint down the hill on Highgate Road - is not a pub that had ever generated a blip on my radar before. Until, that is, news came my way that Dan Fox, previously manager at the White Horse in Parsons Green had taken over the reins and an in-house brewery was planned. From what I can gather the Bull had latterly been a gastropub, which closed a while back and had since been squatted.

The new venture opened its doors a couple of weeks back but the first beers from the brewery were not ready in time for that and their launch date was announced as 6 September. So it was that yesterday found me marching up to the top of the hill (I lie – I took the bus), and part way down again, to the Bull. The exterior looked spick and span with some tables and parasols on the raised patio out front. Inside was clean and uncluttered with bare boards and a cool, but not sterile, contemporary feel. Upstairs, two more interconnected, spacious rooms continued the theme. Having eaten before going out, I did not try the food, which looked to have an American slant – the menu included such items as sliders, fish tacos and pulled pork.

But, enough of all that, what of the beer? There were five handpumps (or was it four, I forget) on the bar, a number of “craft” kegs and a solid bottled beer list. Beers from Odell, Fyne Ales, Kirkstall, Oakham, Offbeat and Thornbridge, amongst others, have already been through the taps. When I arrived the handpumps included their own Beer Street and a house beer made by Redemption. I don’t know whether the latter will be a permanent feature or was just a stopgap until their own beers came on stream. Before long a firkin of their second beer, Nervous Energy, was tapped by Steve, the brewer, and generous free samples dispensed. Nervous Energy then joined the other beers on handpump on the bar. I meant to have a longer chat to Steve but I never got round to it so I don't know his brewing background. What I do know is that he was previously with Dan as cellarman at the White Horse.

Somewhat surprisingly, given the proliferation of new breweries in recent times, the Bull has managed to bag the name London Brewing Co, which must be something of a coup in itself. The Beer Street was a 4.0% amber, traditionally styled bitter with plenty of robust, earthy bitterness and a firm, slightly minerally mouthfeel. Straightforward and pleasantly drinkable although the backing malts perhaps felt a little raw. The Nervous Energy was a 4.8% golden American Pale Ale using Cascade and US Brewers Gold hops, also with plenty of bitterness, a spicy edge, that firm minerally mouthfeel again and a twist of grapefruit on the finish. The gravity-dispensed sample was a touch short of condition but hand pumped version was more lively, although a touch more aroma hopping would not have gone amiss. As the first beers out of the brew house, these are no doubt, to some extent, something of a work-in-progress but are a decent, solid foundation.

Clearly, given the location and the background, the Bull has the potential to become “Sloaney North” but the OK-yah element was not too much in evidence yesterday. This was a very enjoyable and convivial first visit and I wish Dan, Steve & the rest of the team all the best for the future. I’m sure I’ll be back before too long.

INFORMATION

Location:	13 North Hill, Highgate, London N6 4AB
Transport:	Highgate tube or various buses
Website:	http://www.thebulln6.com/
Email:	dan@londonbrewing.com
Telephone:	0208 341 0510
Facebook:	The Bull, Highgate
Twitter:	@Bull_Highgate
Twitter (brewer):	@caskmansteve

Egham Summer Beer Festival 2011 - Roundup

2011-08-26T21:37:00.005+01:00

Well, that’s Egham Beer Festival over until the next time. As usual, it was thoroughly enjoyable festival despite inclement weather on the two days I visited. I managed to get most of the beers that I wanted to try and only missed out on a few, mainly because they had not come on by the time I left on Saturday night. I’m pleased to say that, although there were a few that were not entirely to my personal taste, the beers were nearly all of a extremely high standard with no real duffers, covered a wide range of styles and in were generally in very good shape – something that can be difficult to achieve at a beer festival. So many thanks, once again, to Bob Inman and the team for their sterling work. The next festival commences on Thursday 3^rd November and runs until Sunday 6^th. Unfortunately, I will only be able to visit on the first day because I will be heading for Lewes, and it’s bonfire celebrations, for the weekend. Before I move on from Egham, I’ve not been able to resist picking out some particular favourites so a list of my “awards” (no they aren’t worth anything) follows: -

	DARK BEERS
	Winner	Ascot Last of the Blue Devils Imperial Stout (Cherry)
	Runner Up	Canterbury Street Light Porter
	Runner Up	Sherfield Village Pioneer Stout
	Highly commended	Betjeman Sebastopol
	Highly commended	Rectory Mild Pilgrimage
	Honourable mention	Old Forge Old Ted

	PALE BEERS
	Winner	Wayland's Sixpenny Rushmore Gold
	Runner up	Westerham Hop Rocket American Pale Ale
	Runner up	Ascot Single Hop Apollo
	Highly commended	Black Cat Hopsmack
	Highly commended	Complete Pig Hallacre Gold
	Highly commended	Byatts Phoenix Gold
	Highly commended	Kent Club Cascade
	Honourable mention	Ascot Single Hop Sorachi Ace
	Honourable mention	Bingham Outer Space Hoppy IPA
	Honourable mention	Canterbury Haka
	Honourable mention	Devilfish That Gold Devil
	Honourable mention	Brewshed Pale Ale

	BITTERS
	Winner	Rectory Rector's Celebration
	Runner Up	Halfpenny Anniversary Ale
	Honourable mention	Black Cat Original
	Honourable mention	Brewshed Best Bitter
	Honourable mention	Devilfish Devil Best
	Honourable mention	Longdog Brindle Bitter

	SPECIALITY / OTHER
	Winner	Surrey Hills Greensand IPA
	Runner Up	Byatt's Urban Red
	Highly commended	Sherfield Village Solo Quintessential
	Highly commended	Old Dairy Heiferweizen
	Highly commended	Westerham Bohemian Rhapsody
	Honourable mention	Ascot Red IPA
	Honourable mention	Havant The 7 Pointer
	Honourable mention	Loddon In Yer Face American IPA
	Honourable mention	Canterbury Summer Wheat

You can find my full reviews for all these beers at RateBeer. Or, if you want to see a compendium of my (briefer) reviews of all the beers I tried at the festival, not just my top picks, head to Egham Beer Festival Summer 2011 – Tasting notes & Reviews

Going down to Liverpool - A big pub guide

2011-08-25T15:22:00.001+01:00

A while back, in A tale of two cities - and farewell to the Everyman, I was singing the praises of Liverpool as a beer-drinking city. Tandleman and Eating Isn’t Cheating have also been talking about Liverpool pubs recently. There’s plenty of top notch beer to be had and many of the pubs are quite simply fantastic. And, to assist anyone planning a beer-oriented trip to Liverpool, I have put together a rather hefty pub guide, including maps and routes. It’s really too big to post in its entirety here but you can find it at Chrisobeer’s Liverpool Pub Guide - don't worry about the safety of the link, it just takes you to a pdf on my Google Docs page. One thing. As I found out, it is impossible to do the city's pubs justice in a single day. You'll need a couple of days to make the most of it, which sounds to me like an ideal weekend break, although you might need another break to recover. So, a return trip is beckoning me strongly. Just for research purposes to fill a few gaps in the guide you understand. But I expect I’ll have a rather fine time as well.

And now for something completely different – Egham Beer Festival

2011-08-19T14:20:00.003+01:00

Egham played a prominent part in British history as the location of Runnymede where (probably), in 1215, a reluctant King John sealed the Magna Carta. In more recent times AliG, the most famous son of Egham’s near neighbour Staines, declared the Wimpy bar on Egham High Street to be part of his turf. I may be doing Egham a disservice but, if much has happened in Egham in the intervening eight hundred years or so, it has passed me by. But three times a year, for the last few years, I’ve made the journey out to the quiet suburban town, and through it’s quiet suburban streets (if the Wimpy bar exists I’ve never noticed it) to a rather nondescript blocky building that goes by the name of Egham United Services Club. It’s a journey that has been made by large numbers of other discerning beer enthusiasts too. For, within that community Egham and it’s United Services Club have acquired a burgeoning reputation. That reputation is, as you might have guessed, based on the superlative beer festival hosted there.

After the gargantuan Great British Beer Festival in the cavernous Earls Court, Egham beer festival is indeed something completely different – intimate, modest and low-key. But the list of British beers that Bob Inman, Ian Davey and the rest of the EUSC team put together is anything but low-key. The number of beers is not huge compared to the hundreds on offer at GBBF – 70 or so is the norm – but what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality. Where the British selection at GBBF is regarded by many as somewhat pedestrian, Egham’s is adventurous in the extreme. And some of the beers are rather extreme too. Not to mention the new, the novel and the obscure. For this reason, Egham has become a magnet for scoopers from far and wide. Even the most hardened of tickers will find plenty of new stuff. Of course it’s not that tough to disregard the quality and simply order beers that nobody, even the most seasoned ticker, has ever heard of, but the Egham guys have a happy knack getting in the good stuff and it’s certainly not just a ticker-fest. It was at Egham for instance that I first had the opportunity to try two British brewed Belgian-style tripels alongside each other – something that I would have considered quite unbelievable just a few years ago.

So, yesterday, I found myself joining a procession of familiar faces from Egham station to the EUSC for the Summer 2011 festival. At GBBF, out of the 500 or so UK cask beers there were just about 100 that were new to me and less than half that number that I was really looking forward to trying. At Egham yesterday the list of 70 beers contained nearly 60 that I had not encountered before and I wanted to try them all. I managed to get through 26 of them yesterday before my grip on sobriety began to loosen and I decided it was time for home. They included beers from 9 breweries I had never come across before and, whilst there were a fair number of “brown bitters”, I also sampled milds, porters, stouts, imperial stouts, German & Belgian style wheat beers, strong IPAs, zesty golden ales making generous use of US hop varieties and more. It would be unfair to single out particular beers (although my reviews will be appearing on Ratebeer in due course), a high proportion of which were excellent and nearly all of them were interesting – something I would be hard pressed, in all honesty, to say about the UK beer selection at GBBF.

Whilst I’m feeling a little fragile today, I will be back for more tomorrow. If you have not been to Egham beer festival before, I would urge you to give it a try. The festival is open until chucking out time on Sunday. If you can’t make it this time, the Autumn festival, to be held from the 3^rd to the 6^th of November should be a date for the diary.

Ridleys return to the Compasses, Littley Green

2011-08-16T21:15:00.004+01:00

Most of my posts up to now have had something of a valedictory tone. By way of balance, this one is more of a “welcome back”. A few weeks ago, at Chelmsford beer festival I noticed some beers from the Compasses brewery, which I had never encountered before. A little bit of research revealed it is based at the Compasses Inn at Littley Green in rural Essex.

Now, I am familiar with the Compasses, although have not visited in many a long year. It was the brewery tap for Ridleys, which had operated a classic Victorian tower brewery under family control since 1841 in an equally rural setting at Hartford End, just a couple of miles away from the pub.

That is until 2005, when the brewery and Ridleys’ 70 odd pubs were acquired by Greene King. At this point in any Greene King acquisition story it is customary for the term “rapacious predator” to be applied but, in this case, things are not quite so straightforward as it seems that Ridleys had put themselves up for sale. Whether Ridleys was unviable in the longer term or it was a case of the family cashing in is beyond the scope of this piece but it seems to me inevitable that, at some point, most of the established family brewers will either go bust or the owners will decide to sell out. After the takeover things proceeded in the usual fashion. The brewery was promptly closed and stripped out, some of the Ridleys beers were dumped and a few were retained, brewed by Greene King in Bury St Edmunds.

Six years on the brewery still stands empty, redevelopment having, as usual been bogged down by planning wrangles, although it seems that a proposal for a housing development retaining part of the original structure is now in the offing.

As for the Compasses, it operated for a few (presumably unsuccessful) years as part of the Greene King estate, followed by the customary attempt to sell it as a private house. Until, finally, it was sold to Joss Ridley, a direct relative of the original Ridley brewing family, who has reinvigorated the pub and decided to get back into the brewing business. I’m not sure whether he intends to install a brewery at the Compasses but, for the time being, the beers are brewed at Felstar brewery, just a few miles down the road. Their first beers appeared in May of this year. Fittingly, they are brewed by Joss’ brother Nelion. I wish them all the best in their endeavours.

There were three Compasses beers on the list at the Chelmsford festival – Gold, Special and Bitter. Unfortunately, the Gold was nowhere to be seen on either of my visits. The Special was a sweetish, fruity best bitter with caramel and nutty notes, perfectly well executed but not entirely to my personal taste – I’m just not that keen on that type of beer. The Bitter was a traditionally styled bitter, pleasantly drinkable although the malts seemed a little raw and toffeeish – probably still something of a work in progress. But it is invariably preferable to try the beers on their own turf than in, often less than perfect, beer festival conditions so it’s perfect excuse for an excursion into the Essex countryside to sup some fresh beers and sample the famous huffers (look it up).

A good opportunity would be this weekend, August 19-21, when there is a beer festival (with lots of other attractions too) at the Compasses. Unfortunately I am otherwise engaged so my return to the Compasses will have to wait a little bit longer.

Earls Court - A goodbye to all that

2011-08-12T16:32:00.005+01:00

Phew, that was a heavy couple of weeks. A week of pub touring with my friend Pat from Finland to start and the RateBeer European Summer Gathering to finish. With four days at the Great British Beer Festival sandwiched in between. The last GBBF at Earls Court. Next year Earls Court is being used for the Olympic volleyball and GBBF moves to Olympia. After the Olympics, Earls Court will be flattened to make way for a new housing development. Which raises the question of a longer-term home for GBBF.

Olympia is without doubt a more aesthetically pleasing venue but it’s smaller than Earls Court. And anyone who has been at the GBBF during the busy Thursday and Friday evening sessions will know how crowded even Earls Court can get. But Earls Court is probably the best London venue that’s available, at least in terms of what CAMRA wants GBBF to be. Sure it’s a horrible, soulless concrete bunker with no natural light. And it has a nasty echoing boom when there’s a band playing. But it can pack the punters in and has an easily accessible London location, which I think are key priorities as far as CAMRA is concerned.

The fact is that GBBF can’t be all things to all people. Those who already appreciate beers that are not mainstream mega-commercial products (see how I avoided using the terms “craft beer” or “real ale” there) generally find it flawed for one reason or another. The geeks find the UK beer range too conservative to tickle their taste buds and tend to gravitate towards the foreign beers. The scoopers find insufficient new stuff on the UK list and many steer clear of foreign muck. Some of the more mainstream CAMRA types regard it as overcrowded and overpriced. But GBBF is not squarely aimed at existing beer enthusiasts. It is a shop window hoping to attract the gaze of those who are normally more at home supping Stella, or Guinness, or Magners, or even a chilled Pinot Grigio. Take a look around at the composition of the crowd and you will see a lot of tourists, and office parties, and groups of lads on the piss, and groups of girls on the piss, and those who are simply curious and have a free evening so pop in to see what it’s all about. It’s all very jolly, and all very good natured and CAMRA hopes that those people will be inspired to change their drinking preferences. Sure it sometimes leaves us diehards wanting something rather more adventurous in beer terms but, hey, I have a cracking time anyway.

All of which leads me to the conclusion that, despite its shortcomings, Earls Court is a very suitable venue for GBBF in its current format and with its current priorities. So when I walked out of an Earls Court GBBF for the last time last Friday it was without doubt something of a bittersweet leave-taking. Will Olympia be up to the task of reclaiming the permanent home spot when attendance is well up on what is used to be? I guess we’ll have a better idea this time next year. Some people have been suggesting that other changes should be considered. Such as moving GBBF out of London to somewhere like the NEC near Birmingham. Or accepting that it will have to be housed in a smaller venue and limit attendance. Those are certainly possibilities that are worth considering but GBBF would surely become a significantly different beast to what it is today. The demographic of those attending would certainly change. My experience of a number of CAMRA festivals, and festivals in the United States, where numbers are limited suggests that the more casual visitors would be replaced by those who are prepared to go through a few hoops to secure tickets. And moving GBBF outside London would certainly attract fewer “casuals”. So there are lot of issues to consider. Hopefully those in the CAMRA hierarchy will be giving serious thought to what they want GBBF to be and how best to achieve that.

In the meantime, Earls Court – so long and thanks for all the good times and good people I’ve rubbed shoulders with there. And hopefully I’ll see plenty more of them in the future wherever GBBF ends up and however it evolves..

Who Knows Where The Time Goes?

2011-07-05T12:31:00.000+01:00

It seems I underestimated the demands of blogging. Clearly, since I haven't managed to post anything for nearly a month, it's not so easy after all. It's not the writing that's the problem, it's finding the time to do it. Of course, the busier I am, the harder it is to find the time. And believe me, I've been busy. After returning from Liverpool it was off to Belgium for a few days, then Cardiff for the Great Welsh Beer festival, then the wedding of the year (no, not that one), then a meet the brewer with Alex from Revelation Cat, then the Craft Beer Co opening. This week it's Ealing Beer Festival, next week it's Chelmsford Beer Festival. Then we're nearly into GBBF season. So it goes on. Occasionally, there's a bit of real life to fit in too.

So, as far as blogging goes, the end of term report is a resounding "must try harder". We'll see.

A tale of two cities - and farewell to the Everyman

2011-06-08T20:54:00.002+01:00

OK, looks like my piece on Denmark will have to wait yet again. Last weekend saw me just outside Manchester on family duties but, on Monday, I managed to sneak off into the city centre to meet up with ReluctantScooper and Tandleman for a jaunt round a few of the choicer spots, starting at the Marble Arch. I won’t bang on about the boring details but suffice it to say there’s no finer way to spend an afternoon than sinking a few good (and occasionally not so good) beers in convivial company. Those of you who have been following the CAMRA real ale vs “craft keg” storyline will know that Tandleman is firmly on the real ale side of the fence. I tend, albeit with no great conviction, towards a broader church. But chewing the fat with fellow enthusiasts brought it home to me that we are essentially a pretty like-minded bunch and our differences are comparatively trivial. After all, we all want more good beer don’t we? Even if we have trouble defining what exactly that is and even if it doesn’t have a formal organisation to promote it.

On Tuesday I moved on to Liverpool, where I spent my university years in the 70s and had barely revisited since. So I set about hitting a few of my old favourites, not to mention a gaggle of places that either didn’t exist or bypassed my radar way back when. What struck me was how little many of the pubs had changed. Rigby’s, the Lion, the Hole In The Wall (still has the cellar upstairs apparently), the White Star, the Roscoe Head, Ye Cracke, the Philharmonic and Peter Kavanagh’s (it was called the Grapes in the old days and is now in the "Georgian Quarter" apparently) were still much as I remembered them. Except that the beer is way better now than it was then. Great boozers all. And great boozers is what Liverpool does really well. Sure, a few of them have made a nod in the direction of food. And you do often get the opportunity to booze in unspoiled, idiosyncratic and often ridiculously opulent surroundings. But, at heart, they are still boozers through and through. And long may it continue. I must remember not to leave it another 30 years before visiting again.

Sadly, even if it is not strictly a boozer, one place that will not continue as it is much longer is the Everyman Bistro. This Liverpool institution, located in the basement of the eponymous theatre, will close it’s doors for the last time in July as the building is to be demolished and rebuilt. I don’t remember it being a particularly inspiring beer venue in my day but it has certainly been a Good Beer Guide stalwart since the 80s. What you did get was cheap bistro-style food in a bohemian, artsy atmosphere where it was possible to rub shoulders with the likes of Roger McGough, Adrian Henri and Brian Patten. Ideal first date territory, at student-friendly cost, obviously. If you didn’t have the money for the food, you’d wander down the road to O’Connor’s Tavern (now some sort of fancy dress emporium) for a drink and blather on about how Ginsberg described it as the "the centre of theconsciousness of the human universe". That sometimes worked too. Not as often though. Or, if you were flush, maybe the new-fangled Kirklands Wine Bar (now the Fly In The Loaf pub). Like CAMRA, the Everyman Bistro reaches it’s 40^th birthday this year. What a shame it will be it’s last. Whilst there will be a bar/restaurant of some description in the new Everyman when it reopens in 2013 (supposedly), the founders of the Bistro, who are still in charge all these years on, have decided to call it a day and I very much doubt that any replacement will be able to come close to recreating the vibe of the original. Which, like many of the pubs I visited, was much as I remembered it too

Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to Belgium for a long weekend to mark the demise of another venerable original – De Gans in Huise, a classic Belgian country pub which will close its doors for good shortly. I’m reliably informed that there’s still plenty of vintage lambic in the cellar so I’m sure a splendid, if possibly rather sentimental, time will be had.

So it looks like Denmark will have to wait again. I’ll probably have forgotten what I intended to write when I finally get round to it.

This blogging lark seems easy enough

2011-06-03T14:20:00.000+01:00

Well, here I am with a blog. That wasn’t too difficult. Easy as pie to set up really. I’ve been blathering on inanely about beer in one way or another for years so I suppose this blogging lark should come as second nature. Wonder why I never got round to it before? For one thing I invariably get into cutting edge (for me at least) technology just as it’s becoming retro for pretty much anyone of a more recent vintage. Also, I’m just a bit too lazy.

But something happened recently that galvanized me into action. As CAMRA celebrated its 40^th birthday (and maybe entered mid-life crisis territory?) its chairman took the opportunity in his address to the AGM to reaffirm its stance on the promotion of anything other than “real ale” and took a bit of a pop at those who have been fuelling murmurings that it might review it’s position. He named and shamed the group who he held responsible for these seditious rumblings, pointing the finger firmly at the “the bloggerati”. I rather doubt he intended the moniker to be taken as a compliment but it sounds pretty good to me.

I’ve never had the privilege of being called an “ati” of any description before (or noisome for that matter). Sure, I’ve read a fair few books but I can’t recall anyone ever describing me as one of the literati. And (you may have already guessed) glitterati is completely out of the question. But, I can get an “ati” just for some inane blathering about beer? I can do that. Just the job.

So should I wade in to the “craft keg” debate here? I think not. As usual, I’m a bit slow off the mark and others who are far more practised at this blogging malarkey, not to mention rather more eloquent have got there first.

What I will say is that I have the greatest respect for what CAMRA has achieved in the past 40 years. In fact, we nearly share an anniversary, as 31 May 1971 was the day on which I sunk my first pint of real ale. Not that I knew it was real ale at the time as I’d never heard of the term, or of CAMRA. I have certainly not achieved as much as CAMRA in the intervening 40 years but I like to think I have moved with the times, if sometimes a little slowly. I’ll raise a glass to CAMRA in the expectation that it will do so too.

What I will be writing about next - if I get round to it of course - is the week I’ve just spent in Denmark (and a teensy bit of Sweden), with Copenhagen beer festival as its centrepiece, enjoying some very fine beers indeed. Of course, very few of them would meet the CAMRA definition of real ale. But they were mainly foreign muck so what can you expect?

chrisobeer has left the building

2011-06-03T11:57:00.000+01:00

Heading North for a few days for a family shindig. Hopefully, might get to a few decent boozers. My piece on Copenhagen will have to wait.