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?

Confessions of an underage drinker

                It's interesting to look back and consider what were our earliest influences when it come to our love of beer. Like many others I was not averse to underage drinking, and I don't think that I abused alcohol as a teenage toper.

                I remember the first time I bought a pint, it was Robinsons Best Bitter, at The Queens Arms in New Mills. I was sixteen. What makes it particularly memorable was that I was in full stage make up following the dress rehearsal for the School production of Anthony & Cleopatra. I guess it was a good job I wasn't wearing the PCV Roman Centurion outfit!

The Pineapple, venue for A level Art classes

                Over the year or so of underage drinking my visits to pubs slowly increased, the trick was never to draw attention to yourself or upset the locals. Luckily we had many pubs to choose from, in a 15 minute circular walk from School we would pass at least ten pubs. Several turned a blind eye, especially to the Friday afternoon A Level Art class spent in the Pineapple.

Sadly I didn't take A Level Art!

                As A Levels approached we had a few 'educational' trips to various Industries, a Paper Mill, a Margarine Factory, and a Brewery! Yes we lucky science students were off to see how beer is made, sadly seats are limited so tough luck for those not taking sciences.

Wilsons Brewery

                The first thing that struck me about Wilsons Brewery was the size, it seemed gigantic, a big red brick edifice on the outskirts of Manchester. The coach parked by a large open shed which was littered with broken wooden casks and shattered pub mirrors. If only they'd known that a few years later genuine pub mirrors were highly sought after. 

                We were taken round by a man in a white coat, he seemed to know what he was talking about but we had no idea what he was talking about, it all seemed to be very technical. However, he did get us tasting various malts and asking us what they reminded us of, biscuits, Horlicks etc. And then our first encounter with Hops, I have to admit I thought they smelt wonderful and on the rest of the trip round the brewery the aroma lingered on my hands. We saw the large open fermenters with great rocky heads and we were warned not to lean over because of the high level of CO2. But of course the thing about the visit was that it ended up in the hospitality room where several tables were weighted down with plates of food. And the bar was open. We were to be allowed two halves. We had more than two halves, but we were well behaved and we thanked our hosts, and we especially thanked the teacher who had the gumption to organise such a worthwhile educational visit.

                Can you remember buying your first pint? Can you remember your first Brewery visit? For me many pints and Brewery visits have passed, but my firsts were particularly memorable.

And now another Brewer for you to identify from his responses. This one may be a bit harder.

 Which Brewer do you admire...?

Garrett Oliver - he's melded together the beer and food worlds in an amazing way.

Favourite Brewery...?

Sierra Nevada - incredible quality and amazing beers. 

Favourite British Brewery...?

Thornbridge

What's the next big thing...?

It's already happening, but the next step in the UK has to be a proliferation of sour beers. Worldwide, I reckon we'll be getting more sessionable beers in the craft scene.

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

Brewing scientist! Either that or a perfumer... can't waste this nose!

Does consistency of flavour matter...?

Both! Though the more beers I drink, the more that consistent quality matters. I'm not bothered about consistency in flavour, seasonality can be a good thing!

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...?

Hmmm, a tough question... Let's just say Orval for arguments sake

And what would your final beer be...?

Westvleteren 12 - every time I've had it, the complexity has impressed me. It's a thinking beer...

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

Sierra Nevada

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

Taste and smell everything

And a few more personal questions;

What do you do to relax...?

Go fishing, play guitar, drink beer, head to the hills for some hiking

Favourite musicians...?

Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Tool

TV, Cinema, Concert or Theatre...?

Concert

Favourite holiday destination...?

Scotland

First one to get the identity of our mystery Brewer gets a beer at GBBF from me.

The beauty of Free Beer, and how to get some!

There's a strong rumour circulating that the powers that be over at The World Beer Cup have their eyes firmly fixed on the future. Way back in the dim distant past, or at least 1996, the good Judges issued awards in 61 Style Categories, even 2002 could only offer a seemingly lightweight 76 Style Categories. Fast forward to this year and they're closing in on the Holy Grail of 100 Style Categories. Yes just five to go and that goal will be reached. What's more they've already decided on number 100

Many beer drinkers consider this to be a myth, however, it has been confirmed that this style of beer is not only a reality but, according to some, is ubiquitous.
So what do we know of this style of beer?

1,      it looks great.
2,      it smells great
3,      it tastes great
4,      it's free
5,      you can always drink more


I have heard that some discerning beer drinkers will even drink Carling if it's free. But there's no accounting for discerning beer drinkers with dead palates.

If you're interested in sampling some free beer at GBBF all you need to do is to identify the brewer from the responses to a few questions I asked them.
There will be several sets of responses posted in the run up to GBBF so keep watching this blog.

We'll start with an easy one.

            Which Brewer do you admire...?

of the previous crop, Reg Drury and Ken Don had the greatest influence over me. Most of the micro brewers I admire seem to work as teams rather than individuals. I do like the work Roger has done at St Austell and I even admire some of the things Brewdog have done (unpasteurised cans very brave!). However the greatest individual working in brewing today is Peter Eells of Timothy Taylor

            Favourite British Brewery...? (apart from where you are now)

My favourite is always changing because new beers appear and capture your taste buds. I have great affection for Marble and Hardknott . I have many friends at other breweries whose beer I always look out for. When Oscar Wilde Mild won GBBF last year I thought good for John Boyce who I have known for years.

            Favourite overseas Brewery...?

I think now it is Firestone Walker because they make great beer and are nice people.

            What's the next big thing...?

The next big thing will be unfiltered beer in keg!

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

A history teacher- too many people like to claim innovations when it is merely an extension of lessons from the past.

            Does consistency of flavour matter...?

Consistency matters because drinkers need to recognise the beer they drink. However consistency needs to be balanced with character which is the ability of the beer to make you think about its flavour

            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...?

Michael liked Chiswick whenever I drank with him however I think he might have liked a wee dram too.

            And what would your final beer be...? (again not one of your own!)

I guess it would be a pint of Boddingtons circa 1974

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

My next collaboration should be with a London brewer but I have a desire to brew in Australia

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

Learn the technical things ASAP and at an early age. Taste and wisdom will appear magically later

            What do you do to relax...?

I listen to music and read but my job is generally relaxing

            Favourite musicians...?

I think Ornette Coleman is an inspiration to us all. I would like to take Mark E Smith as a role model especially when I have meeting with accountants

            TV, Cinema, Concert or Theatre...?

I love going to concerts and have a wide taste in music.

            Favourite holiday destination...?

I don’t really go on holiday but then again every day is a holiday to me.

First correct response gets a Free Beer at GBBF from me. And I'm there all day every day.

I've often wondered what draws people into a love of beer, I'm not talking about an obsessive preoccupation with having the latest beer or following the latest trendy Brewer but an appreciation and enthusiasm for that wonderful drink.

Thinking about it on a personal level takes me back not just to my youth but back to infancy, all of ten years old, of course at the time I had no thoughts about what I was seeing or doing but in later life I recognised it as that initial spark of curiosity.

So let me take you back to Infant School in a small Derbyshire village, I hated School meals and so used to walk down to the elegant Georgian Hotel in the centre of the village where my mother worked in the kitchens. 

There I would sit down and scoff sandwiches, or maybe a child size meal in double quick time before being allowed to roam through the Hotel. With time to kill before returning to School the various staff would keep a friendly eye on me. One happened to be the Hotel Handyman cum Cellarman, a friendly old man called Joe with who was happy for me to tag along carrying his bag of tools and even venturing into the Cellars!

At least once a week there would be a delivery from the Brewery and it always seemed to happen at lunchtime, Joe would unlock the Cellar hatch and position a pile of hessian sacks filled with horsehair directly below the entry. Outside the Draymen would, likewise, position another sack at the side of the wagon. Barrels were then maneuvered to the side and rolled off the edge onto the sack and thence to the Cellar hatch. I seem to remember that this was always accompanied by much shouting between Joe and the Draymen, especially as the barrel dropped into the Cellar. I later knew these barrels to be Hogheads, 56 gallons, and I'm glad I was never under one as it dropped. But as they dropped onto the cushion of horsehair Joe quickly moved in and rolled them off and up a gentle slope onto the stillage which ran the full length of the Cellar. It's only looking back that I realise how skilled he was in this operation as when the barrels came to rest in the shallow indentation on the stillage the keystone was always at the bottom.

Deliveries over, and all barrels on the stillage, Joe would wander down the length of the cellar tapping the barrels that were connected to a maze of plumbing, presumably judging by the sound how close to empty they were. On a couple of occasions he would decide to tap a new barrel in preparation for connecting it up to that curious maze. The taps were all Brass and there seemed to be hundreds of them either in use, useable or consigned to the pile of tarnished and battered taps on one of the stone shelves. Obviously, having been tapped Joe needed to sample the beer to ensure that it was ready, a pint would be poured and discarded, something I always thought odd, before a fresh glass was filled and held up to the light. Much muttering, sniffing and swirling of the glass followed before he took a sip quickly followed by a good drink if he was satisfied. Occasionally there was the shake of the head and a piece of chalk was produced from his waistcoat and some code written on the barrel end.

And so, in the cool confines of that cellar I had my first taste of beer, I can't say I remember it or whether I liked it, but for a couple of years those trips down the Cellar were a regular occurrence. The beer? Well it was a Wilson's house, and Wilson's Brewery happened to be the first that I visited several years later.