O What a Beautiful Pint

I'm sorry to have been missing so much recently, Taste of London (which was a fantastic success) absorbed all my time over the past couple of weeks and then I've been playing catch-up.

Okay, I also went fly fishing for the first time on Tuesday with my lovely dad, and I even caught two 1.5lb beauties! Dinner last night was fabulous!

But anyway, my main reasons for this post are on a Welsh theme, which is O, so delicious - I think you probably know where I'm going with this.

Yes, my Otley beer was sampled and I'm thrilled to say that it was everything I'd hoped it would be - full of aromatic lime and lemon notes from the botanicals of kaffir lime, lime skins and lemon grass - as well as the glorious Sorachi Ace hops - and with just the right spicy undercurrent to offset the sweetness provided by galangal.

I was so pleased with it I must have hugged everyone at the brewery nearly to death at least twice when I tasted it!

For those of you who have been guessing it's called thai-bO and I'm delighted to say that Otley is coming to lovebeer@borough* on Saturday July 10 and you will be able to sample at the Meet the Brewer event then!

Usual deal, £15 a ticket and the sessions are at 1pm & 3.30pm, tickets available from the Rake or by calling 020 7378 9461 from 3pm today.

*lovebeer@borough is my tasting business in Borough Market, therefore this post represents something in which I have a financial interest

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...

BEER BITES BACK AT BOROUGH

lovebeer@borough and top Scottish beer producer BrewDog have joined forces for a day of tastings on November 29 to herald the start of BrewDog week at the Rake bar and sister market stall Utobeer.

Beers will include such incredible concoctions as Zephyr - a 13% India Pale Ale (IPA) that has been in a grain whisky cask for 18 months with 30kgs of fresh strawberries - and the specially name Rake Raspberry Imperial Stout created from a 10% imperial stout aged in a Smokehead whisky cask with 25kgs of fresh raspberries.

But, don’t be scared, we’ll only be serving them in sensible tasting measures – alongside a selection of other BrewDog beers such as the much-loved Punk IPA, Hop Rocker, The Physics and Rip Tide.

Tickets are 30 quid and available from the Rake and Utobeer on Borough Market or by emailing me melissa@love-beer.co.uk

This post promotes a tasting at lovebeer@borough, which I am a partner in.

Diving Straight In

I'm coming to you live from the Thornbridge brewhouse with the breaking news that I've just made my very first beer (with a little bit of help from my friends admittedly).

The reason I'm here is that I've decided that, for the next year, I'm going to try and brew at a different brewery every month - and head brewer Stefano very bravely offered his help for my first effort.

Called Heron, it will be a 3.8%ABV pale golden ale with four different types of hops - including two I've never come across before - and I can't tell you how excited I am!

The guys had already settled on a grist mix of low colour Maris Otter & Munich malts and it was my job to choose the hops to create a sessionable ale with interesting, but very drinkable, characteristics and, my god, did I have fun doing that.

Seriously, the Thornbridge hop store is like a beer-nerd's candy shop - and they gave me the key! (Possibly a bit like giving a monkey the key to the banana plantation but, hell, I wasn't complaining).

Early in boil we added equal measures of Bodicea and Vanguard and then later on we added Susan, which has a lovely fresh apple characteristic, and a smaller amount of Glacier, which has an amazing curly leaf parsley aroma with a real minerally/minty finish - which is a pretty exciting flavour combination to play around with.

We also added a tiny amount of the bittering hops after the boil had gone off just for an added extra bit of smooth bitterness and aroma which, if the green beer is anything to go by, will make for a really smooth, refreshing bitterness that doesn't linger at the back of the throat - fingers crossed anyway!

Much to everyone's amusement, except possibly mine by the time I'd finished cleaning the copper, I insisted on doing all donkey work as well as the sexy stuff - because it's just not brewing if there's not some blood, sweat and tears involved!

All right, no blood was involved but as you can see from the above photo there was a hell of a lot sweat, some tears and have I got some bruises in funny places from climbing in and out of the mash tun and copper?!

But, bruises on my bum aside, I've had an exceptional time at Thornbridge, the hospitality I've been shown has been outstanding and the team here are, quite simply, lovely to work with and it was also a momentous day to be brewing as I was there when the deal for the new brewhouse was signed - so congratulations guys.

And finally, special thanks go to hugely entertaining Kelly & his lovely girlfriend Cat who beered and dined me on my first night at the delightful Coach & Horses pub in Dronfield.

To Matt (pictured below right trying the hopped wort of our beer) - thanks for putting up with me getting over-enthusiastic with the shovel and throwing hot malt in your face and then adding insult to injury by spraying you with very hot water! But most of all thanks for sharing my novice's enthusiasm for the whole process and for looking after me all day.

And to Stefano - thanks for putting up with multiple date changes, allowing me to invade your brewery and for stopping the car to show me the herons on the lake, thus providing the inspiration for the beer's name.

I'm quite serious when I say it's been a remarkably fulfilling, and incredibly educational, experience, I can't wait for the next stop on my brewery tour - and if you get a chance to try the beer please do let me know what you think.

The gang's all here: Kelly, Dave, Matt, Stefano & me (just in case all the long hair fooled you!).

Hands-On with London's Youngest Brewer!

Whatever you’re thinking, stop it! When I say I spent the day ‘hands-on’ with London’s youngest brewer, Tony Lennon, I mean he was kind enough to let me spend the day brewing with him.

Without wishing to tease too much I'm afraid I can't write extensively right now about my day's brewing with Tony at the Florence in Herne Hill, sister pub to the Cock & Hen , because I'm writing an article for a couple of magazines, which I'm sure I'll be able to publish extracts from in the not too distant future.

However, what I will say is how educational it was for me.

Although I know the majority of the theory, and I've been to many different breweries of varying sizes, I've never actually been hands-on with the whole of the brewing process and certainly not on such a micro scale and it's really increased my understanding of the practical side of the process, as opposed to the slightly more 'fluffy' tasting and food matching side.

We were making Bonobo at 4.5%, the darker of the two beers brewed at both the Florence and the Cock & Hen, and my boss for the day seemed pretty pleased with it all so that's good - I'll let you know what it tastes like in 40 days, by which time I should be able to talk more about the day.

Tony - despite the fact he's got the hump with me for calling him a 'lovely lad' in a previous post - was more than a little patient with my occasionally stupid questions and the fact that I was almost certainly more hindrance than help.

And at the risk of sounding like one big advert for Capital Pub Company on this blog at the moment, you really should get down to the Florence. It's a beautiful pub, with a massive garden, lovely airy conservatory, great food, beautiful architecture and original features and an in-house brewery! As just a small taster of what's on offer - they sell Budvar, Aspall, Adnams and, of course, either Weasel or Bonobo.

I will sound a note of caution though and that's if, like me, you have a nutter magnet on your forehead you may find some of the local residents a little disturbing - I had a couple of funny ones - but my personal favourite for the day? The guy who was collecting and smoking 'recycled' cigarettes about two feet away from me (fortunately on the other side of some railings) who proceeded to growl at me for about five minutes much to the amusement of the other patrons!

But PLEASE don't let this put you off - this kind of stuff happens to me all the time - it really is the most lovely pub and even worth a trip to Herne Hill for!

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!

Rake's Progress

I thought my first beery post should be about some dear friends of mine and their amazing bar, - The Rake in Borough Market. But before you think this is all a bit nepotistic I'd like to point out that readers of the Observer agree with me too and have just voted it the second best bar in the country.

If you've never been to Borough Market and you like food then you are seriously missing out - stunningly fresh red mullet from Appleby's, Mrs King's pork & stilton pie, Ginger Pig's prune & brandy sausages, Sillfield Farm's wild boar chorizo, samphire from Turnips and Secrett's Farm asparagus are just some of the fantastic purchases I have made recently, all of which have been wolfed down pretty darn quick!

However, I digress - the point of this blog is beer after all!

Now I won't deny there are lots of good beer pubs around Borough but the Rake stands head and shoulders above all of them, with over 130 different bottled beers in the fridges alone.

The lads who own it, the divine Rich & Mike, also run a beer stall on the market, called Utobeer, as well as a wholesale business, which means they can get some unusual and 'unattainable' offerings like Thomas Hardy's Ale in cask!

For those of you who haven't sampled Thomas Hardy's get ready for the taste experience of your life! More akin to a fortified wine like madeira than anything else, this brew is just phenomenal - weighing in at a pokey 11.7% it is absolute packed to the gills with chocolate, tobacco and liquorice flavours and is only offered in third pint measures!

Normally only available in bottles, which are individually numbered, it's brewed by O'Hanlon's in Devon and has a quote from the great man himself on the front:

"It was of the most beautiful colour, that the eye of an artist in beer could desire; full in body, yet brisk as a volcano; piquant yet without a twang; luminous as an autumn sunset."

And when it comes to describing the appearance of this beer I couldn't put it better myself!

But it's not just overly-strong beers these guys stock here there really is something for everyone. If you're not normally a beer fan then give the Mongozo coconut or banana beer a whirl.

Not only can you drink this fairtrade brew with a clear conscience, they are also organic and brewed with the superfood quoina, which apparently is an Incan custom. The coconut one in particular is a real hit with a mate of mine who swore blind he wouldn't drink any beer ever, no argument (that didn't wash with me however), and now he drinks pretty much nothing else! The other bonus is that both these beers are gentle on the strength front with the coconut coming in at just 3.5% and the banana at 4.5%.

There's also normally at least one or two different English ales on draught, which are always slightly on the chilled side which I'm a fan of, as well as a selection of world beers like good old Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Not pale at all but definitely deliciously fruity and spicy - it's 5.6% though so do be careful, it can catch up with you all at once, I speak from experience!

Chouffe's distinctive branding, dodgy garden gnomes, can often be found on the bar along with other Belgian brews like Timmerman's Peach, which is a 4% lambic beer (for lambic read sour) that is surprisingly sweet with strong peach flavours (no surprise there) but also apricot notes, which stop it being too floral, but personally I find one glass more than enough.

If you are feeling like just having a lager the Veltins on draught is good, and in the fridge you may be able to find that gem Brooklyn lager - which I think is divine. Not particularly hard to get now I first tasted Brooklyn lager about four years ago and was as taken then with its darker than average looks and sumptuous caramel tones.

If you happen to fall in love with this place too then please leave my introductory fee (a pint) under the name of Melissa with the staff - they'll know who it is!

14 Winchester Walk, London, SE1 9AG, United Kingdom
Tel: 020 7407 0557
Email: therake@utobeer.co.uk
Nearest tube: London Bridge

The Birth of a Beer Blog

The best ideas always arrive once you've had a drink, or so they say, but in this case it's true. So thank you Stephen for the suggestion, and here it is - A Girl's Guide to Beer.

I'm lucky enough to get paid for my beer journalism - I drink beer, I write about it, I get paid - groovy huh? But not enough girls, or guys for that matter, get to experience beer in the same way, which is why I'm hoping to share some of my adventures in brewing with anyone who's interested, and maybe change the minds of those who think they aren't!

Over the course of this blog I hope to be able to make your leisure time more fun - that's it... that's all I want to do.

I say this because for me beer is about enjoyment. It shouldn't be about hard work and lots of poncey terminology (although I can do that if you realllllly want me to) beer should simply enhance your life - whether you are out with friends, relaxing alone, eating a meal or trying to forget a shit day and having a pint, half or bottle should just make all of that simpler, better or nicer.

Some of what you see here will have been published elsewhere and there will be some links to other sites I think are great pubs, restaurants, off licences or resources.

All that's left to say now is - cheers!