This Could Have Big Ramifications...

I apologise in advance to Cooking Lager who may be waking up to this potential disaster story for cheap booze which reports a licensee could be successful in challenging the fitness of some supermarkets in his area to hold licences due to their pricing policies on commodity alcohol brands.

I will be keeping close tabs on this - and yes I know it's a different licensing system but it's still bound to have a knock-on effect to the rest of the UK if publican Jeff Ellis is successful.

Next Time I Whinge About...

the overly macho marketing of beer in the UK, just remind me that at least I don't live in Brazil and didn't have to put up with Paris Hilton having some faux foreplay with a can of cold beer before the ad got banned.

As my mother always says, you can have all the money in the world but you can't buy class...

Aussie Rules

Well, I apologise for the gaps in posts - I've been mad busy and should actually be doing some work now, but seeing as it's about 7.30pm I've opted for grabbing a cold one instead!

The lovely Karl at Pierhead sent me some Boag's St George today and, I have to say, it's not a bad lager at all!

A little Tasmanian devil of a beer it's got a nice balance of sweet and bitter and made with local Tasmanian malt; unfortunately I don't know what the hops are but I hazard they might be Pride of Ringwood, they've got that character.

It's a real palette teaser. I've been so intent on working, up until now obviously, that I hadn't realised I was in the least bit hungry, yet this has sparked my mouth into life.

Unfortunately I'm also aware that, despite normally being a bit of an amateur cook, I've got sweet FA in the house with which to rustle up anything decent and my recent undertaking to lose more weight before venturing in front of the TV cameras again is sitting heavy on my conscience, so take out doesn't seem like an option - bugger!

So, another out of the ordinary lager - always a good find in my book because, to be honest, when I'm working and having a cheeky beer I don't want something too exciting because I'll only get distracted!

Try it with a beef rendang - it'll rock...

...now where did I put that pizza menu?!

On to Hunt in the Elysian Fields

Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter, has passed away.

A man of prodigious passion and zest for life, Michael's beer and whisky knowledge was the stuff of legend and I always found him generous to a fault with it.

An outrageous flirt and bon viveur Michael never failed to make me laugh when we met and was always, always threatening to take me out for longest lunch of my life - sadly that never came to pass.

At the age of 65 Michael had crammed more into his years on the planet than most of us could dream of; his breakthrough book, The World Guide to Beer, put beers in their cultural context and really changed the way people looked at this incredible drink.

His show, the Beer Hunter, got him much fame on both sides of the pond and he even appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Michael, and his beer journalist contemporaries in the 70s, worked tirelessly to save British beers at a time when they were spiralling into decline.

So next time you're enjoying a home-grown pint make sure you raise a toast to Michael - because without him you may not have even have got the chance.

Feeling Moved

Moving house, one of the three most stressful things you can do in life apparently so I'm currently panicking that I'm doing something wrong! Apart from the truly terrifying amounts of money fleeing from the bank account I'm relatively calm... which is actually now beginning to worry me - this could be a vicious circle!

Anyway, as the packing has commenced I have not only discovered beers I forgot I had, I've discovered some real doozies - a bottle of Thomas Hardy's and a presentation glass and bottle of Chimay Grand Reserve 2005, which I got when I was in Belgium.

I think perhaps this should be savoured as the moving in drink - and I suppose I'll have to share!

Anyway, the domestic abuse of my long suffering better half aside, the reason for this post is that I've heard a few comments floating around the place recently about the White Horse in Parson's Green, some of them negative.

Now for those of you who aren't aware of this beer mecca in the middle of sloane country it's been the benchmark for all things beer for a number of years, undoubtedly because former manager Mark Dorber carved out an impressive niche in a big pub company and ran the place like a freehouse - offering amazing beers and being incredibly knowledgeable about them all.

Now the new manager Dan, I'll admit, is a mate of mine BUT he is always quick to criticise my work so I'd be equally quick to criticise him if he wasn't doing a good job - but he is! He's doing an outstanding job.

The beers are all immaculately kept, the range has been maintained and his staff are just as well trained. For example, he put every single champion beer he could get his hands on during the week of the GBBF and not one of them that I sampled was in anything less than great condition (and I tried a few!).

What bugs me is that these people seem happy to damage the reputation of a great pub - yet if their bad-mouthing became financially damaging they'd be the first to scream if mainstream brands were put on the bar to make up the losses!

It's Great to be British and Love Beer!

The GBBF went with a swing yesterday, or a sway in my case, and I'm delighted to say a mild won! I love mild, I think it's an amazing beer style and I hope that Hobson's Mild winning will get more people to understand that it's just the best post-work or lunchtime pint ever!

I've had the great pleasure of drinking Hobson's Mild and it's a lowly 3.2% but packed with nuttiness and just a tickle of hops - it's wonderful.

I was judging the speciality section and the head and shoulders winner of that was Nethergate's Umbel Magna - and for those of you who read my last entry YES I got the fruit beers (I think it's a girl thing - they see bird and think fruit beer!). For the full results visit www.camra.org.uk

Down on the floor however I tried some cracking beers - Hall & Woodhouse's new brew Pickled Partridge went down well and they were asking for feedback, I thought a bit more pickle in the partridge to be honest, by that I mean a bit more spice, but it's shaping up to be a good addition to the portfolio, which has been long overdue a darker beer.

I thought the Otley O1 was extremely good, it won bronze in the golden ales category, and Buster from Breconshire's beers were spot on again, keep an eye out for his Py II Welsh Pale Ale - it's going to be a corker.

Wasn't so sure about the Hophead Extra (5.8%) though - I thought it had too much caramel, which overwhelmed the usually clean and light aspect that the Dark Star's normal Hophead has, although I've got a sneaking suspicion that it needed a few more days conditioning in the barrel, it felt a bit green.

Overall the event was excellent and the smoking ban has made it a more pleasant place to be if I'm honest, less litter and grubbiness.

Then it was on to the fabulous Cock & Hen in Fulham (which to be honest I shouldn't have done as I was a little bit happy by this point) and the wonderful hospitality of Phil and the extremely pleasant company of Tony the brewer. Lovely lad, 27 years old, mechanic turned brewer - couldn't be happier I don't think!

If you haven't been to this gem of a pub yet then make the effort - Tony's beer are shaping up nicely, if somewhat bizarrely named particularly Bonobo - for those of you who don't know Bonobo apes are also our closest genetic relatives and are extremely promiscuous; engaging in group and homosexual sex as well masturbation so they're pretty happy most of the time!!

Rumour has it that the female bar staff probably aren't going to be too chuffed with the next name however - I'll leave you to find out what it is for yourself when you visit this cracking addition to the area. www.capitalpubcompany.com/cockandhen

Extremely Interesting

I like Samuel Adams.

I like that the company totally debunks the myth that all American beers are more akin to gnat's piss than anything else.

And I am definitely very enamoured of their 'extreme beers'.

I was judging at an international beer competition the other week and the very last beer of the day was immediately identifiable as a Sam Adams offering - and if you're wondering why I say that it's because, in my experience of beer, no one else is mental enough to brew something that strong!

Called Utopias (I later identified due to its distinctness and by talking about it to fellow anoraks!) it turns out the version I tried was a mere 24% ABV, although they have achieved 25%ABV in 2005.

More akin to an olorosso sherry than anything else it is filled with vanilla, sherry and oak notes and is brewed with five different malts and six different hops.

It is then aged in a blend of scotch, bourbon, port and cognac casks for up to ten months using a pair of proprietary yeast strains developed by the brewery.

Rather entertainingly you will find on the Sam Adams website that it can't be sold in 14 different states in the US - and if it's anything like the Triple Bock they've brewed before (think molasses and Marmite meets Imperial porter) it can't be exported to the UK either because they can't always guarantee the ABV - so do keep a careful eye out for it when you are Stateside and treat this baby with respect!

www.samueladams.com

Having a Good Knight at the Cricket!

Despite the illustrious Sir Ian Botham's insistence that wine is the best drink in the world, (congratulations by the way Beefy), I don't think you can beat a pint whilst watching the men in white and I'm pleased to say there's a new book out that combines these two subjects beautifully.

The Beer Lover's Guide to Cricket by Roger Protz, the guy who compiles the Good Beer Guide amongst many other things (see links), is not only hugely fascinating if you are interested in cricket it also provides a great guide to getting decent beer in and around cricket grounds in the UK.

Starting with a detailed history of the Bat & Ball in Hambledon, the birthplace of the modern game, the author details the background of the game and includes notable and amusing anecdotes throughout - including this gem of bawdy humour:

"A minute records that at one dinner the toasts were for:

The Queen's Mother
The King
Hambledon Club
Cricket
To the Immortal Memory of Madge
The President

"Madge was the nickname given to the small wicket made up of two stumps. By extension it was also a vulgar term for a woman's private parts. What fun the members must have had when the shape of the wicket changed and Madge was infiltrated by a third stump."

The wags! But this is a beer blog after all and I'd love to just make this one point - why, oh why, are all these real ale brands investing in cricket advertising if you can't get a pint of the damn stuff when you're at most of the grounds' public bars? Smoothflow sucks, give us the decent beer please!

P.S. Congratulations to the two Neils of BarWizards on their stonking performance on Britain's Got Talent - as they are great mates of mine I personally think they stole the show, but then I'm biased! For some of the most entertaining bartending you'll ever see click here http://talent.itv.com/page.asp?partid=348 and if you want to contact the boys visit: http://www.barwizards.net/ and tell them you saw it here!

Chilly Reception

Right, this 'serve everything over ice' shit has got to stop!

It was bad enough when I was at an event recently that the first thing I got greeted with was a red 'bowl' of Piper Heidsieck champagne, with rapidly melting ice sloshing around in it, and the legend 'piscine' around the outside (wtf?) - but now one of my favourite breweries is at it as well!

I love Fuller's - I think Discovery is a cracking summer beer, the Vintage Ale is a work of art, the Porter is dark delight and the Golden Ale is a beer I can sit and savour for hours - but what the hell are their marketing people thinking by suggesting Honey Dew should be served over ice with lime?!

Unlike some of the fundamentalists out there I think it's a good thing ales are being served a little bit more chilled these days - because at the end of the day that's what consumers want and, if that's what they want, it's no use bitching and moaning it's not how it should be served - but this is just taking the so-called Magner's effect waaaaay to far.

In fact, I'm thinking about hunting down the bastard who started this 'over ice' business and having a word in their shell-like - who's with me?!

Feeling Fruity?

It would seem the description of Timmermans Peche in my Rake's Progress post got lots of people's juices flowing and I've been asked for more advice on fruit beers, so here goes.

Fruit beers fall broadly into two categories: those that are lambic-based and those that aren't. This divide also allows me to explain the term lambic, which was another question someone asked me - see, there is a pinch of thought behind this blogging business, I promise you.

The lambic style of brewing is just plain weird - seriously, when you first hear about it you check the calendar to make sure it's not an April Fool - because it's basically done by magic.

All right, maybe not magic but you can understand how, historically, people thought it was. Basically there are areas all over the world where natural wild yeast flourishes (no one is exactly sure why though) and if you leave the basic beer porridge out in the open it will spontaneously ferment and, hey presto, beer appears!

The thing is, it produces pretty sour beer (which I like but then I liked those super sour jaw breakers and cola bottles when I was kid too) but it makes it the ideal base to be sweetened up with fruit.

Great examples of this style are the Lindeman's fruit beers, which I personally prefer over the BelleVue.

Other fruit beers outside the lambic category range from the Yorkshire offering of Sam Smith's Organic Cherry Beer and bizarre Belgians - which include the smoothie-esque Fruli and super-sweet Floris Passion, Apple or Fraise.

Personally I like Liefman's as they aren't too sweet - the Kriek (cherry) version is perfect with venison carpaccio, dark chocolate desserts or even with pork. The Frambozen (raspberry) is definitely more a dessert beast, but also goes quite well with duck in port sauce as it cuts through the unctuous nature of the meat. You can get both these beers in most big supermarkets or your local off licence.

The Sam Smith's Cherry Beer is an honest to goodness cherry pop - you wouldn't have the first clue that it was alcoholic but, don't be fooled, it weighs in at 5.2% and can put you on your bum if you disrespect it!

Fruli, at 4.1%, is a wheat beer with a massive amount of strawberry puree in it, in fact so much that it's unrecognisable as a beer and tastes more like a smoothie - perfect for non-beer drinkers really.

The Floris beers are flavoured with syrups, which comes through in the quite sugary mouthfeel and, to my mind, slightly chemical flavour but they do have a huge following none the less.

So, hopefully, this brief romp through the more commonly available beers will inspire you next time you're feeling fruity!