Predictable Predictions for 2016

Collaborations:
            Still big news in 2016, I expect there will be no shift in the balance between the majority having been nothing more than mutual admiration and actually being worthwhile. Bloggers who collaborate will be expected to turn their Blogs over to Brewers.

Barrel Aging:
            More Brewers will realise that it is better for the Barrel in influence the beer rather than dominate it. Unless, of course, it's to hide faults.

Tickers:
            They will not be sought for their opinion on the latest ticker beer.

Market Forces:
            There will be an increase in the number of Brewery start ups and an increase in Brewery buy outs. With heady capitalisation values being mooted of some Breweries the temptation to sell up will be too tempting.

Stylistically Challenged:
             Yet more mistakes will be made, I half expect to see Barrel Aged Imperial Smoked Cherry Chocolate Gose to be a big seller. Tickers will proclaim it the best beer ever.

Beer Festivals:
             Although GBBF will continue to be the biggest its claim to be the best will be difficult to defend. And it won't be London Craft Beer Festival that takes the honours, look to Indy Man Beer Con and Leeds International Beer Festival, to name just two, to see the new boys (and girls) on the block.
                  

Golden Pints 2015

GOLDEN PINTS 2015

Well, not quite everyone is doing it but I'll throw in my selection for consideration and/or ridicule.

My year of beer started with the Manchester Beer Festival at the Velodrome, I'll miss that venue in some ways but not in others. Quickly followed by Bierfestival Brugge.
Next up was my my local beer festival, one I've been working at for over 30 years.
In March one just has to attend this and the following week the volunteers of Bieres Sans Frontieres descended on the fair City of Milan, four brewery visits and a beer festival, not bad for a weekend away!
July and we're back in Staveley for one of the best Beer Festivals in the land, don't miss it.
August brought GBBF and London Craft Beer Festival, some bloggers seemed to think LCBF was superior... I just don't see how.
September means Leeds International Beer Festival great fun to work at and great company.
October and my first visit to Indy Man Beer Con great venue, great beer, enthusiastic punters and many friends. Somehow ended up heading to the wrong bar for after festival drinks with Stu McKinlay and Dan Shelton.

Anyway, the awards...

Best UK cask beer:

Vocation Life and Death, a bit of a latecomer in the year for me as I first encountered it in November, but what a beer.

Best UK keg beer:

Hawkshead Chuckleberry Sour, one of the most refreshing beers I had all year, and what a colour!

Best UK bottled beer:

Fullers 2003 Vintage Ale, it was just so damn tasty.

Best UK canned beer:

Moor Nor'Hop justifying the decision to move over to cans, this (and the other Moor canned beers) show that canning has truly come of age.

Best Overseas Draught Beer:

Birrificio Italiano Tipopils, this time drinking it ​at Birrificio Italiano restaurant in Lurago Marinone.

Best Overseas Bottle/can Beer:

Sierra Nevada Torpedo, again because it's constant and downright delicious.

Beer of the Year:

Mad Fox Brewing Company Barrel Aged Crazy Ivan Russian Imperial Stout (cask at GBBF)

Best Pumpclip or Label:

Magic Rock distinctive and direct

Best UK Brewery:

Kernel or Wild Beer Co. or Hawkshead or... this is just impossible, we have so many excellent breweries in the UK, we should be ashamed.

Best Overseas Brewery:

Pohjala a superb introduction to their beers at Indy Man, loved every one of them.

Pub/Bar of the Year:

North Bar, again by a short head

Independent Retailer of the Year:

No idea

Online Retailer of the Year:

Don’t buy on line

Best Beer Blog or Website:

Tandleman & Zythophile are the only ones I visit regularly.

Best Beer Festival:

GBBF still the best, also enjoyed Leeds International Beer Festival and blown away by IndyMan 

Best city for beer in the UK:

Leeds

Supermarket of the Year:

Booths

Best Beer App:

Craft Beer London

Best Beer Book or Magazine:

Too many are just lists of beers so it goes to Stephen Beaumont for The Beer & Food Companion.

Bières Sans Frontières at large in Milan, a preview

     One of the beery highlights for many of GBBF volunteers who work on the Bières Sans Frontières

bar is the annual planning meeting. Over the years we have graced such varied venues as The Melborn in Bradford, Cantillon Brewery in Brussels, Bernard Brewery in Humpolec, Brugs Beertje in Bruges and many more in between. As the specialist International Beer Bar we think it responsible to travel to the Countries that we get our beers from, so far we've managed Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and The Czech Republic as well as regular meetings in England & Scotland, so this year we're off to Italy.


     Long in the planning stages our intrepid Italian volunteers have put together a program to whet the lips of any serious beer lover. According to Thrillist Italy ranks as the 10th best brewing Nation, and few could deny that the rise up the ranks is well deserved. A glance through guida alle birre d'italia and you'll find an astonishing number of Breweries that have sprung up in the past ten years or so. No longer do you have to settle for standard euro pils when you have such choice before you.
 Luca Giaccone, one of the Curatori of the guide, has been a regular of the BSF Bar and his knowledge of the Italian Beer scene is unparalleled, together with the inimitable Lorenzo Dabove, Allesandro Meroni, Anna Borrelli, Barbara Boero and other volunteers they have  ensured that we are set for a first class weekend.

     Our Italian odyssey begins in Milan where our intrepid organisers will attempt to herd cats, or rather shepherd BSF volunteers who will have traveled from USA, The Netherlands, Sweden, UK and Italy to immerse themselves in the wonderful world of Italian Craft Beer.
     We start with a Friday evening visit to Birrificio Lambrate for a Brewery tour with Giampaolo Sangiorgi then drinks at the BrewPub before heading across the City to Antonio Maiorano's Lambiczoon. Anyone who has had the pleasure of visiting The Sherwood Pub in Nicorvo will certainly look forward to visiting this bar.

     Of course the main purpose of our trip is to review last years BSF @ GBBF and see where improvements can be made and whether we have new markets to explore as more Breweries contact us wishing to get their beers into GBBF. We are thrilled to have been invited to host our meeting at Birrificio Italiano in Como where head brewer and founder Agostino Arioli will lead a tasting of some special beers.
So looking forward to this as Tipopils is one of my favourite beers. We have regularly featured Birrificio Italiano on the BSF Bar.

     Following our meeting and refreshment we will hit the road to Carate Brianza to visit Birrificio Menaresta, a return visit for me, to sample some beers partner and founder Marco Rubelli. On my last visit we joined the team for lunch at a cafe around the corner. Not your average cafe though as I noticed a well stocked beer fridge just inside the door which even had Westvleteren in. But the biggest surprise was seeing a Hand Pump on the counter with a  beer from Moor on offer, apparently Justin was due to arrive the next day.

     A further journey will take us to Monza and Birra Del Carrobiolo where head brewer and founder Pietro Fontana will host our final visit of the day.


     It's a tough job, planning for a Beer Festival, and we are happy to take on the onerous task so that you can enjoy GBBF 2015

     Our thanks go to the Breweries and Bars for opening their doors to us, we are really looking forward to our visit and we will do our best to ensure that Italian Craft Beer gets even wider recognition.

Salute

Golden Pints 2013

GOLDEN PINTS 2013

The WINNERS ARE…

Another excellent year for beer, and particularly enjoyed my increased exposure to Italian Beers. I expect we will see a lot more Italian Beer in the next couple of years, they have many passionate Brewers who are not just aping American Brewers.

Best UK cask beer:

Summer Wine Calico Jack Imperial Caribean Ginger Stout, so good it should have been illegal

Best UK keg beer:

Meantime Friesian Pilsner

Best UK Bottled or Canned Beer:

Yorkshire Dales Garsdale Smokebox

Best Overseas Draught Beer:

Birrificio Italiano Tipopils, but strictly speaking it wasn’t an overseas beer when I was drinking it in Rome

Best Overseas Bottle/can Beer:

Sierra Nevada Torpedo, I’m not that exercised about ticker beer, I want something I can get regularly

Best Overall Beer:

Fullers Vintage Ale 2005, sublime at present

Best Pumpclip or Label:

Red Willow

Best UK Brewery:

Kernel but it’s not really fair to single out a single brewery when we have over 1000, my go to beers have been Taylors, Kirkstall, Fullers, Red Willow, Magic Rock, Marble and the local Old Spot

Best Overseas Brewery:

Birrificio Menaresta these guys are doing some excellent stuff, just ask Justin

Pub/Bar of the Year:

North Bar, by a short head

Independent Retailer of the Year:

No idea

Online Retailer of the Year:

Don’t buy on line

Best Beer Blog or Website:

Tandleman, Boak & Bailey & Zythophile are the only ones I visit regularly

Best Beer Festival:

GBBF still the best, also enjoyed Leeds International Beer Festival and Fermentazione

Simon Johnson Award for Best Beer Twitterer:

Don’t twit

Best collaboration brew:

Adnams / Pretty Things Jack D’Or (does that count?)

Best New Brewery Opening 2013:

Time will tell.

Best New Pub/Bar Opening 2013:

Tapped Leeds

Best city for beer in the UK:

London, sadly

Supermarket of the Year:

Booths

Best Beer App:

Craft Beer London

Best Beer Book or Magazine:

Too many are just lists of beers so it goes to Stephen & Tim for the Pocket Beer Book 2014

Italian Beer Oddysey. Part 3 Milan

Arriving in Milan we already had a couple of places to hit, the recently opened Baladin and the long established Birrificio Lambrate, there was also the promise of a couple of Brewery visits and the highly anticipated pilgrimage to Sherwood Pub.

Having already sampled the delights of Open Baladin in Rome we knew that a short trip on the Metro and a five minute walk would be the perfect end to our first day in Milan. When we arrived we were somewhat dismayed to see that every table had a reserved notice on it, not a good start. But, as if by magic, first one sign then another were removed as the staff realised that it looked rather silly to have a half empty bar with people looking for somewhere to sit.
I opted for a Nazionale to accompany a tasty Chicken Burger whilst Louise opted for an Isaac to go with her salad. Excellent food and excellent beer, we sampled a few more including Leon, Elixir and Nora.
Service was attentive and friendly, and by the time we left the place was full. Leo certainly knows what he's doing.

Lorenzo

The next day we caught an early train to Lecco to be met by Allesandro, one of the many Italian BSF volunteer staff, who had promised to show us a little of where he lived and take us to a couple of local Breweries. After a coffee and visit to a local cheese shop we were heading off to Birrificio Rurale to meet Lorenzo, the brewer, and to sample a couple of beers. As with the brewers we met at the Beer Festival in Rome we found Lorenzo to be a passionate advocate of Italian Beer, insisting that copying a style of beer without putting your own twist on it to make it Italian was not something he wished to do. As an example we sampled Seta and Seta Special, essentially the same Belgian Style Wit Bier but with the Special having Bergamot to give it a distinctive twist.

Marco

long way from home

Time to move on to Birrificio Menaresta and a few more beers to sample. Unlike Rurale where Lorenzo was working on his own most of the time there were a few more staff in evidence and a nice little bar to entertain guests. Marco, the brewer, was a generous host trying to get us to sample as many of his beers as possible in as short a time as possible. It was approaching lunch time, hence the rush. Needless to say the beers were excellent, and despite the contradictory name 'Hoppy Double Kolsch' I rather enjoyed that one. But in Italy everything stops for lunch and we were invited to join everyone as they walked round the corner and into the local restaurant. The first thing I noticed on entering, apart from it being full, was the well stocked beer fridge which even had Westvleteren in it. The next was a rather incongruous hand pump, what was that doing here? It turned out that Marco and Justin are friends, and Justin would be visiting the next day.
Following a leisurely lunch we headed back to Milan thoroughly exhausted by our whirlwind tour and needing a rest before heading out in the evening.

Call it serendipity, but again I had managed to book a Hotel in walking distance of a Brewpub, Lambrate was about ten minutes walk away and the newer Lambrate on Via Golgi, which we were assured served good food, was another five minutes away. Sorted.
The Brewpub was heaving and it took a while to get served, one of the first Italian beers that I remember having at GBBF some years back was Ghisa and I was looking forward to sampling it again, delicious. We decide to move on to the new place but found that to be equally heaving and some local Radio show being broadcast from there. All tables reserved, not a chance of a seat, so it was a good job it was warm outside. Also a good job we weren't particularly hungry, and after sampling three or four beers we decided to call it a day.

On Saturday The Sherwood Pub beckoned, first we had to get a train to Novara where we would be met by Nino who showed us around this beautiful City before taking us to a new bar that had opened recently. There we met up with a couple that I had previously met in Braustelle a few years back. It was part of the plan to ensure we got back to Milan that night! The bar was simple and looked more like a transport cafe, but it's early days and the beer was good.

Nino

The Sherwood Pub is in the small village of Nicorvo, there's not a lot else there, it's small and out of the way and why anyone would open a beer bar there is probably beyond most peoples understanding, but Nino did and it's wonderful.
The pub is a converted barn and on entering you notice the array of taps on the bar, the murals on the walls and the generally welcoming atmosphere. Beer appeared as if by magic. A fine Gran Cru Bruscella 2006? was carefully brought down from the special store to whet our appetites, this was followed by more beer and plates of Antipasti and the best Pizza I've ever had, and more beer. A visit to Nino's cellars left me drooling, so much fine beer. For desert a Birramisù, coffee then a bottle of Xyauyù was produced and it was a fitting final beer of the evening. Happy and contented we were taken back to Novara to catch to train back to Milan, a truly wonderful evening and one we won't forget.

 So that's it, three Cities in Italy which have great beer and great pubs. And there's to be another bar in Milan as Nino is opening one soon in his home City.

Italian Beer Odyssey. Part 2 Florence

Advance research told us that there would be good beer to be found in Florence, and yet again chance would have it that Mostodolce was almost on our doorstep. A bustling Brewpub with a good range of their own beers and some rather good pizzas which you could see being made behind the bar. Rebe, their version of a Belgian Witbier was particularly welcome after a day visiting the sites.



The walls are covered with the doodles of the patrons, don't know whether this ended up on the wall.




Being within walking distance of our Hotel it was hard to make the effort after climbing up to the top of Giotto's tower and Florence Cathedral but one must make the effort. It was whilst crossing over the Ponte Alle Grazie that I realised that we were close to The Beer House Club, hidden away from the tourist hordes it was a quiet lunchtime oasis with what appeared to be a good selection of beers.

Almond 22 had already impressed me at the Beer Festival in Rome so it was a no brainer to have for a lunchtime drink before heading back for more Italian Renaissance Art.

I felt a need to return in the evening and arrived to find it rather lacking in customers, maybe it was the threatened karaoke that put people off? Anyway I was there for the beer and decided to go for the 5 beer sample. The samples turned out to be full half pints, not begrudgingly small 3 or 4 oz samples. Chatting to the owner I was encouraged to try Bruton, Ducato, and Fabio's own beers Maledetto Toscana. Fabio had previously worked at Mostodolce but felt the need to make his own way with his own bar, and it's a good job he did.

I was soon joined at the bar by an engaging gent from Sweden who turned out to be the owner of Box Whisky who insisted that Fabio and I sampled some of his Whisky. Needless to say we then started sampling many beers from the fine selection at BHC and the evening passed all to quickly. When it came to settle up at the end of the evening all thoughts of what had been consumed were ignored, a good time had been had by all.

No doubt there will be more bars opening in Florence before too long judging by the popularity of Mostodolce. There is the demand and it would be nice to see BHC as busy as that one day. BHC has the better choice of beer and is cetainly worth seeking out.

Italian Beer Odyssey. Part 1 Rome

A recent holiday in Italy turned into more of a beer journey that I'd expected. I already had plans to meet Italian friends who are regulars at GBBF but as the holiday got closer things started to fall into place in a most fortunate way.
We spent our first four days in Rome, a great beer destination.
We were staying in Trastevere, the old part of Rome and in walking distance of Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa' run by the enthusiastic Manuele Colonna.
The Football Pub, as it is widely known, is, according to RB, one of the best beer bars in the world. Maybe an exaggeration, but certainly a tremendous experience.  It is also one of the handful of bars chosen by Cantillon to host Zwanze day, and, as luck would have it, I would be there. 20 litres sold in under 20 minutes and the crowd went wild. As for the beer, well I won't be sorry that it was a one off, Cantillon do much better.
But it was the Italian beers I was interested in and they didn't disappoint, starting with the ever reliable Tipopils from Birrificio Italiano there were also beers from Ducato, Loverbeer, Rurale and more. Not a bad beer amongst them all.
On Saturday, whilst admiring a Carravagio in one of the many Churches, I got a text inviting us to visit Eataly to meet up with Luca Giaccone, Editor of the Italian Beer Guide, and Leonardo Di Vincenzo, of Birra Del Borgo, for lunch. Grabbing a Taxi we headed for Eataly and were blown away by this Foodie Heaven, we wandered round before heading to the Lift and bumped into Leo who was with Teo Musso, of Baladin. The two of them, along with Sam Calagione, are partners in various ventures including Birreria, the on site Brewery.
Eataly is definitely a place worth visiting, but make sure you have plenty of money as it would be all too easy to get carried away shopping for food and beer.

Another happy coincidence was that Rome would be hosting a Beer Festival, Fermentazioni, and yes I didn't know this was on when I booked A small Festival run by some very enthusiastic volunteers it was a pleasurable way to spend the one day that it rained during our holiday. Meeting up with Leo & Luca beforehand at Open Baladin we headed off to the Festival, right next to the Football Stadium.
We spent the hours chatting to various brewers and organisers about the Festival, the Italian Beer Scene, their approach to brewing and the difficulties they faced. We came away with a sense that Italy is forging it's own path, it has taken inspiration from Northern Europe and from The USA, but they want to put their own stamp on the beers they make rather than copy what happens elsewhere. Yes, you'll find Double IPA's, Espresso Stouts and Hoppy Kolsch, but you'll also find Xyauyu, a beer like no other. I also got the feeling that we'd see more Italian beers at GBBF 2014, and I'll be eager to try them.

I can't leave Rome without mentioning the other great beer destinations;
Brasserie 4:20
Open Baladin
Mastro Titta
Bir & Fud

The Michael Jackson American Cask Ale Award

At GBBF 2000 it was decided that we now had a sufficient number of Cask Ales from America on the Bières Sans Frontières bar to run an informal competition. That first year the award went to Shipfitters Bitter from the Quincy Ships Brewery in Boston, that Brewery no longer exists but the Brewer is certainly one of the most respected in America, Tod Mott.

Over the years the number of beers that have been brought over has steadily increased and the competition has become eagerly anticipated, not just by those judging but by the Breweries that have sent their beer over.

Following Michael Jacksons death it was decided that the Award should be named in his honour, little did I know that that would take two years of negotiation with his Literary Agent and Executor to gain official permission. But permission was eventually granted and the Award took on an extra cachet for the American Brewers who held him in such high esteem.

This year the honour went to Marble Brewery of Albuquerque New Mexico for their stunning Double IPA, runners up were Smuttynose with Finest Kind IPA and Lowell Beer Works with Sour Red.

Earlier this year Marble Brewery Albuqurque and Marble Brewery Manchester participated in a bottle swap via BSF staff at The Bruges Beer Festival. Let's hope that winning this award will encourage them to visit GBBF next year and maybe make a trip to Manchester! I'm sure James will be only too happy to do a collaboration brew.

Smuttynose are no strangers to the competition having won on three separate occasions, a testament to the quality of their beers.

The Sour Red from Lowell Beer Works was an exceptional example of the Flemish Sour style that managed to fool more than a few into believing that they were drinking a Belgian Beer.

Congratulations to them all, let's hope we see many more Cask Ales from America next year on the Bières Sans Frontières Bar.

GBBF 2012. Part 1

I've just spent another 11 days in London for the Great British Beer Festival, this was the 17th straight year that I've worked there and all of it on Bières Sans Frontières. There was quite a contraction in size compared with last year as we adjusted for the impact of the Olympics and the lack of one of the Halls. For most of the volunteers this was a welcome return to the far more attractive Olympia with natural light flooding the building for most of the time. 

One day to go before we open

One radical change was the location of a few bars on the upper level, sadly it appears most visitors thought there was just a single green carpeted scaffolding staircase to the new area, shame they missed the doors around the sides but I guess that as they were closed and were Fire Doors there was an assumption that they were not accessible.

Every one a winner

There's always great anticipation over the arrival of the American beers, we've had our fair share of mishaps with the shipment, but thankfully when I checked it all we had only lost half a dozen bottles. More importantly every Cask was sound and showed no sign of leakage. Deliveries from The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Norway and Australia followed without a hitch.

Setting up the Festival in preparation for opening to the public regularly presents us with a few problems, like trying to put just short of sixty Casks into a space for twenty or 400+ cases of beer into a fridge with half the space taken by those casks that couldn't go on the stillage. But every year we manage, we have some dedicated volunteers who know what needs to be done.

My opening day started early with a spell of judging on CBOB, very enjoyable but I had to cut short my visit to the buffet that had been laid on to get back to my bar for opening time. The Annual race to the tables is an amusing diversion as the staff urge the visitors to put on a bit of a sprint. Before too long the cash was mounting up in the tills, a few sales to 'tickers' certainly helped. I do, however, wonder at the goings on in the head of the person who spent over £100 on beer and left it all behind, a case of more money than sense?

One of the sponsors of the mainly American 'Rest of the World' bottle bar was The Brewers Association, to whom many thanks for their assistance and, of course, the beer. Accompanying the new Brewers Association European Ambassador, yes we have to call Andreas 'Your Excellency', were Jack White and Bill Graham. Why do those those names ring a bell? Whites Stripes and Evangelism at GBBF? Actually founders of, respectively, Ballast Point and SkaBrewing. Also in attendance were Jamie Cook, not from The Arctic Monkeys but Stone & Wood Brewing in Australia, and Mike Murphy from Lervig Brewery in Norway. Naturally all these guys need to do serious QC on their beers to ensure they reached these shores in excellent condition. Luckily I can report all were very happy with their beers.

Trade Day was quieter than usual, probably down to a smaller number of Brewery Bars and the expense, many who would normally come down and send a night or two in London made day trips instead. Even the Brewery Bars that were in attendance seemed to have fewer representatives. However introductions and networking are all part of the day and I did my share arranging a visit to Fuller's for the overseas Brewers the next day to be shown round by John Keeling.

Apart from the beers I sampled during the CBOB judging I had two marked down as must try's for Trade Day. Both were in limited supply and both caused queues to form when the Firkins were available. Firstly it was Fuller's Brewers Reserve No4, aged in Armagnac Casks, another beer that is influenced by the Spirit rather than obliterated by it. I'm sure this will age rather nicely just as 1,2 & 3 are doing. This one I fear will be a little more expensive than the previous offerings, but we have definitely entered an age where we are increasingly willing to pay for special beers.

Secondly was Greene King 5X, a massive 12% beer that is the base for Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale (which I would dearly love to get my hands on again) aged for 24 months in massive Oak Tuns. Seeing the rather long line of eager punters I headed straight to John Bexon to get my taste of this special beer. It was simply stunning, rich dark caramelised fruits, Sherry, Liquorice and a touch of sourness. The queues for this beer must give cheer to GK, everyone who tried it thought it was wonderful.

One drink that almost lifted my skull was a tiny sample that Rich at Magic Rock insisted I try, he'd had some beer distilled at Herriot Watt to make a beer Schnapps. Well that certainly was hoppy! With more hops and added hops. Did I mention the hops? I think it may take a little more work on that project!

And before I continue with more on GBBF 2012 let's return to name the Brewer, this time I'll give a little hint.  He's a damn good brewer.

Which Brewer do you admire...?

Steve Wagner and Lee Chase

Favourite Brewery...?

Stone Brewing Co

Favourite overseas Brewery...?

Fuller’s 

What's the next big thing...?

My participation in the JD Wetherspoon International Real Ale Festival

If you weren't a brewer you'd be a...?

mayor of my home town. I was trying to do. But have never run the election.

Does consistency of flavour matter...?

I believe it’s very important to ales we’re making. But very hard to keep the consistency. It’s challenging every day.

Michael Jackson always denied that he had a favourite beer, but said if you asked him what        his final beer would be as he faced the firing squad it would be...?

Bitter, of course it’s REAL ALE.

And what would your final beer be...?

Stone IPA or Arrogant Bastard 

If it were possible, which Brewery/Brewer would you consider doing a collaboration beer with...?

Lee Chase, Jeff Bagby and me plus Mitch Steel & Steve Wagner

If you were to give one piece of advice to an aspiring Brewer it would be...?

I’d like them to have lots of experiences with looking at facilities at other breweries, tasting other beers and making collaboration beers with other brewers. 

And a few more personal questions;

What do you do to relax...?

Swimming in the ocean, biking from home to the brewery and running on the beach. Triathlon!

Favourite musicians...?

Spandau Ballet and Bob Dylan

TV, Cinema, Concert or Theatre...?

Akira Kurosawa’s movies

Favourite holiday destination...?

San Diego, CA 

IT'S THAT WORD AGAIN!

I picked up a link to another Brewery that has decided that they need to stand out from the rest of the crowd by being like all the rest of the Breweries that feel they need to stand out. It's rather disheartening that there is this need to make it appear that they are, somehow, special by aligning themselves to an idea that they may be different. And, of course, that's where they stumble.

Now I don't want to appear disparaging of Brewers who use this word, but it's the sort of stance that can really put you off, at least I can say it puts me off, and ensures that I'm not in a receptive frame of mind when it comes to the beer. Maybe it's because I have a strong aversion to being told something is good because the people who want me to believe that it's good are the people who either produce it or are paid to sell the idea to me. Not that these Brewers are necessarily saying their beer is the dogs dangly bits, no they're telling me what type of people they are and that I should understand that means that their beer reflects that. All rather meaningless when it comes to brewing beer isn't it?

The word? Attitude.

Brewers with Attitude.

What does it mean to them? It certainly means nothing to me, I'd rather have a Brewer with Flair, or with Ambition. But it's a code, A Brewer with Attitude, we are to assume, is not going to brew the same old beers that other Brewers do, they're going to explore the possibilities that the raw materials offer, they're prepared to do the unexpected, to challenge tastebuds, to be different... ooops, there's that fail again.

Not long ago one Brewer said that those of a similar ilk were 'Hardcore Brewers', I half expected to see a Calendar on sale with photos of them all in neon striped spandex leotards sat astride gushing Kegs of Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.

Warning!!!! Please do not attempt to visualise the above!

Hops, glorious Hops. & pt4 guess the brewer

Hop to it Boys.

                A recent visit to Kirkstall Brewery got me thinking about the change in our taste for beer and more specifically the massive change in flavour profile we've been accustomed to through the use of non native Hops. There was a stack of newly delivered boxes containing no less than eight varieties of Hops which Dave would be using in his excellent beers. Varieties that a few years ago many of us would probably not have heard of; Mounthood, Simcoe, Citra, Apollo, Marynka, Cascade, Dana... 

                To me, it seems that the biggest change for beer drinkers in the last twenty years or so has been  in the choice of Hops used in our beers. Having been a Real Ale drinker before CAMRA was formed I drank what some now dismissively call 'Brown Beer', beers from Local Breweries like Robinsons, Holts, Hydes and Wilsons. Those brewers used British Hops like Goldings, Fuggles, Northern Brewer and Bramling Cross and it is fairly evident that those Hops are no longer the choice of the new breed of Brewer. 

                We've undergone a revolution and it's not all down to American Brewers as some seem to believe. Brendan Dobbin and Sean Franklin were the pioneers in using American Hops in the early 90's. Their inspiration was in the use of the new 'exotic' Hops as an alternative to the traditional Hops to achieve a well balanced beer that offered something new. Brendan's West Coast Brewing produced one of those beers that just made you sit up and take notice. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale/Yakima Grande brought those wonderful new Hop flavours we've become familiar with to our notice. And Rooster's Yankee again opened our eyes and tickled our tastebuds with the fresh taste Cascade.

                Yet it took quite a few more years before the UK Hop revolution took off, in the mid 90's, encouraged by Michael Jackson Bières Sans Frontières started to bring Cask Conditioned Ales over from America for GBBF (the first was brought over as 'luggage' by the late BertGrant) and the Brewers came over as well to see what was happening, Pete Schlosberg, Garrett Oliver and the late Jeff Charnick were all regular visitors. For the first time we were getting the chance to try the new beers that were putting America Brewing clearly on the UK beer drinkers map. Big IPA's, full bodied Stouts and everywhere Hops and more Hops. Visitors to GBBF had found something that excited them, and as American beers became more easily available and beer lovers were planning holidays around beer a new market emerged in the UK. A move away from traditional UK Hops to the increasingly available American Hops.

                But, much as I love the flavours of American Hops I have to admit that I miss the UK Hop. I know they're still there, where they've always been, where they always will as long as our long established Breweries continue to produce excellent beers. What I'd like to see, what I'd like to taste is what some of the newer Breweries, who it seems almost exclusively use American or New Zealand Hops, can do with UK Hops. Is it possible for Magic Rock to make a new beer using Bramling Cross, can Kernel do something exciting with Northern Brewer, can Thornbridge turn Challenger into next years trendy Hop? It's not a case of sentimentality but a desire to see these Brewers step outside their comfort zone, it's often a criticism levelled at the Big Brewers, that they don't step out of their comfort zone. But with the installation of an increasing number of 'Pilot Plants', see Pete's recent Blog , it appears they are taking that step. Fuller's have just released their Wild River American Beer and John has brewed a couple of collaboration brews.

                So let's see some new English Beers with English Hops lads, I know you can do it.

And now for Part 4 of name the Brewer. Here's someone who has brewed his fair share of beer.

Which Brewer do you admire...? 

Garratt Oliver 

Favourite British Brewery...?

Nethergate

Favourite overseas Brewery...?

BrooklynBrewing Co

What's the next big thing...? 

England winning the Webb Ellis trophy

If you weren't a brewer you'd be a...? 

Gigolo

Does consistency of flavour matter...? 

Too right it does

Michael Jackson always denied that he had a favourite beer, but said if you asked him wha8       his final beer would be as he faced the firing squad it would be...? 

Abbot Reserve

And what would your final beer be...?

Duvel

If it were possible, which Brewery/Brewer would you consider doing a collaboration beer with...? 

Boston BrewingCo – Sam Adams

If you were to give one piece of advice to an aspiring Brewer it would be...? 

do it your way

And a few more personal questions;

What do you do to relax...? 

cooking, squash, pub

Favourite musicians...? 

Queen

TV,Concert or Theatre...? 

Theatre

Favourite holiday destination...? 

Barcelona 

Get a free beer from me at GBBF for the first correct answer.

Vintage Beer & name the Brewer pt3

What's so fascinating about old beer?

   I can trace my interest in Vintage Beer back to an article written in The Readers Digest some time back in the late 60's, an odd place I know but it was something that caught my eye at the time and was quickly forgotten. Now I don't know where the magazine came from and I can't remember how old the edition was or even why I'd picked it up, but the article that said you could lay some beers down and that they would improve with age, just like fine Wine. And somehow that article was laid down in my memory to surface a few years later.

   I was a young beer drinker just getting my taste for beer and being spoilt for choice, the pubs I'd started to visit were a mix of Robinsons, Wilsons, Hydes, Burtonwood, Ansells, Joseph Holt, Boddingtons and when I went to University I swiftly added Tetley's, Webster's, Timothy Taylor and Theakston, and that was after discovering the magnificent Barnsley Bitter whilst on an Industrial placement in Peterborough. 

   Bottled beer was something I rarely drank but, possibly taking the lead from my father, I enjoyed the odd bottle of Barley Wine. Visits home always meant a trip to The Hatters 

with the fearsome Landlady Sadie, and a few pints of the best kept Robinsons you could find. In the Winter months a Pin of Old Tom would be put on the bar and the traditional final beer was a pint of Best Bitter followed by a nip of Old Tom. Bells started ringing one evening when out of the depths of my memory came that Readers Digest article, yes Old Tom was definitely one of the beers mentioned. Old Tom could, the article had informed me, be kept for 5, 10, 15 or possibly 20 years. But what were the others? Courage Russian Imperial Stout, Eldridge Pope Thomas Hardy Ale, slowly they came back to me and I started to buy them when I could. Most strong bottle conditioned beers can improve with age, some need only a couple of years whilst others seem to be slow burners steadily changing, and improving, over many years.

No journey back home was complete without adding a few more bottles of Old Tom, and yes it comfortably aged for five years, and ten years but was a bit ropey at fifteen. I only wish I'd been able to afford to buy more of the Thomas Hardy   when it was relatively easy to find, and sadly the Courage Russian Imperial Stout disappeared all too soon (but shortly to make a comeback on these shores). 

The worst thing you can do to a beer that you intend to lay down is mistreat it, it has to be looked after and the best place for it is in a cellar. I've been lucky, or maybe I planned it that way, but each house I've lived in for the past thirty odd years has had a cellar and the beers have beer put away and forgotten. 

   Having a Vintage Beer is a treat, it's something I savour and that I try to share, partaking in a Vertical Tasting is an experience that should not be missed. My first Vertical tasting was one of the tutored tastings at GBBF back in 2006, John Keeling presented ten years of Fuller's Vintage Ale. Although I'd organised a few tutored tastings at GBBF this was the first I'd actually joined in with and it was glorious. In 2009 I tried to replicate the tasting with the help of friends on Bières Sans Frontières, we were missing just one year!

   The opportunity to taste year against year enables the changes to be tracked, whether they be subtle or dramatic, but a single tasting can also be satisfying when you find that magic bottle. I'll admit there have been some disappointments when oxidation has ruined a beer resulting in a drain pour. Then there are those beers that seem to improve, then decline only to come storming back a couple of years later, something that one gets used to. But it's not just bottle conditioned beers that can be laid down, Lees Vintage Harvest Ale is probably the widest available and should not be drunk until at least three years old.

   In the cellar is an unopened case containing six bottles of Whitbread Celebration Ale,   there's a sheet of A4 in there on which Michael Jackson said this beer can be laid down for twenty years. It's twenty years old this year so it's accompanying me down to GBBF where I'm sure there will be a few people who will be keen to sample it.

   It takes patience to keep a beer so long and it's time now to make inroads into the stash in the cellar, but where to begin? For so long I've limited my consumption of these fine beers, I'm down to my last three bottles of Courage RIS, a dozen or so original Thomas Hardy. Once they're gone that's it, I can't get them back and I'll be sad to see them go. But I've steadily built a collection of the more easily accessible Vintage Ales from Fuller's and Lee's so I'll be OK for a good few years. But I won't stop adding to the collection, but it may, just may, start to shrink.

   I know I'm not alone in having a fascination with the effect of age on beer and I'd encourage anyone with the patience to think ahead, you may be in for a real treat in five or ten years time.

And now for the continuing guess the Brewer slot, still no responses for the second in the series so it looks like nobody wants any free beer at GBBF!

Which Brewer do you admire...? 

Eric Toft, Schonrahmer Brauerei, Petting, Bavaria.

Favourite British Brewery...? 

Harveys…if anyone has perfected Tradition, they have…hats off to Miles Jenner.

Favourite overseas Brewery...? 

Schneider, Sierra Nevada…building huge breweries based on State of the Art technology and maximum taste and flavor in the beer

What's the next big thing...? 

Craft Keg Beer

If you weren't a brewer you'd be a...? 

Weather Man!

Does consistency of flavour matter...?

its everything in beer…it enables you to build a strong bond with the consumer who is keen to learn and enjoy more

Michael Jackson always denied that he had a favourite beer, but said if you asked him wha8     his final beer would be as he faced the firing squad it would be...? 

a mature Orval

 And what would your final beer be...? 

Rochefort 10

If it were possible, which Brewery/Brewer would you consider doing a collaboration beer with...? 

Hans Peter Drechsler at Schneider.. 

If you were to give one piece of advice to an aspiring Brewer it would be...? 

Air is the enemy of great beer.

And a few more personal questions;

What do you do to relax...? 

golf…and watch the weather..some say at the same time.

Favourite musicians...? 

Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead

TV, Cinema, Concert or Theatre...? 

Cinema…..or cricket on TV!

Favourite holiday destination...? 

Syria..seriously, nicest people I have ever met travelling…not now though, what a international outrage.

So, if you think you know who the Brewer is just add a comment and maybe you'll be getting a free beer at GBBF.

Did I mention the free beer?