This is a Rum One!

Well folks, I have a new drinks interest but don't worry, I'm not cheating on beer altogether just having a serious flirtation with the fantastically diverse drink of rum.

I've just been privileged enough to spend a week in Barbados learning all about the Caribbean's rums with the West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers Assocation for the body's True Rum campaign and, wow, I've discovered some corkers!

Now, I don't know about you but my previous experiences of rum have all been bad, I don't like Bacardi and Malibu makes me feel ill just smelling it, but the rums I've been sampling are a totally different kettle of flying fish altogether.

This absolutely amazing, informative and, at most times, side-splittingly hilarious press trip has opened my eyes up to the quality coming out of the Caribbean- and even if they aren't the slickest marketeers in the world don't be put off, because the authenticity of these products are what set them apart.

With the company of my new partners in crime - the legend that is Ben Illis, master mimic Graeme Jackson, the ever-giggling Sara, the truly gorgeous David 'Laslohoff' Laso Tabliega and puffer fish-footed Paddy (who has the most infectious laugh in the world) - I've not only discovered the absolute passion with which rum is produced in the Caribbean but its astonishing diversity too.

I'll be writing more extensively on the subject for a number of titles, including Times Online which I'll post the link to when I've done it, but here are some to look out for:

El Dorado 15 Year Old
Pretty much my favourite find was the El Dorado 15-year-old,with a slightly tropical fruit nose, backed by lightly toasted hazelnuts and demerara sugar it moves on in taste to leather, pear and sandalwood flavours that resonate through the mouth with silky ease.

Rhum Barbancourt Estate Réserve
A 15 year-old rum, made entirely from sugar cane juice in Haiti, which presents some red apple skin & caramel to the nose, with a hint of oak from the Limousin oak barrels, and a lovely leather tobacco finish.

Cockspur VSOR
Cockspur rum may be a familiar name but there's nothing run-of-the-mill about this rich & delicious number, with the VSOR standing for Very Special Old Reserve.

Recommended to me by the equally delicious Daniele Biondi, the WIRSPA Italian rum expert & founder of Rum Club Italiano all the spirits in the bottle are a minimum of 12-years-old and its rich impression starts with an intense autumnal colour in the glass and just doesn't quit from there.

With its slightly caramel orange and sweet biscuit nose, with a touch of sandalwood, it opens on the palate to a rich earthy spiciness that ends with a pleasant touch of astringence from the wood aging.

R.L. Seale's Sixty Six
Available in the UK in July, this is a really complex sipping drink with touches of raisin, charred oak, vanilla and a finish that's feels like you've been sitting in an old leather couch smoking a damn fine cigar (minus the bad breath of course!).

Exclusive News - Pimp My Handpull

You heard it here first folks - Wells & Young's has pimped the traditional handpull.

Starting with Bombadier, and moving through the brands, the brewery will be making the poor old handpull more appealing to those who do want to drink decent beer but are easily distracted by shiny lager marketing.

I'm impressed with this bold move, whether you like the design or not you have to agree that the handpull is well overdue an update and if it means that cask beer will be on in more pubs then hoorah!

It would be lovely to frequent a style bar with my mates and have a pint rather than being forced(!) into drinking cocktails or wine for a change and apparently swishy joints are throwing their doors open to this concept already.

So, tell me what you think - are you pro pimping the handpull? What would you do differently? Can real ale ever be sexy? Will Kate Moss consider cask beer the next must-have accessory? Am I getting a little carried away?!

Look Sharp!

Is Sharp’s head brewer Stuart Howe’s bark worse than his bite? And why is he Rick Stein’s favourite beer maker?

Find out the answers to these and more questions when Stuart comes to town with a selection of his favourite beers from the Cornish coast.

lovebeer@borough is playing host to Sharp’s head brewer Stuart Howe on May 9, to personally introduce his very special brews.

On show will be some never before casked and rarely seen beers – as well as all the Sharp’s favourites like Cornish Coaster, Doombar and Special.

The more esoteric offerings will include:
• Chalky’s Bark (exclusively in cask) – a newly-launched ginger-flavoured beer & deliciously refreshing at just 4%
• St Enodoc - an 8.5% Belgian-style beer that has been conditioned for 11 months
• The simply named 4 – an 11% barley wine-style beer that’s a natural match for blue cheese

Commenting on the event Howe says: “As a London lad it’s nice to bring my beers home, so to speak, and I’m looking forward to sharing them with London-based beer lovers and those from further afield.

“Our range is designed to cover everyone’s tastes, from the simple refreshment of Cornish Coaster to the food-matching capabilities of Chalky’s Bite through to the sip and savour nature of the St Enodoc - I know everyone will leave having found a new favourite.”

Tasting session times are noon & 3pm - tickets cost £15 and the venue (as ever) is lovebeer@borough, above the Rake, 14 Winchester Walk, London, SE1 9AG or email: melissa@love-beer.co.uk to reserve.

Look forward to seeing you then!

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

New Look

I get bored with my hair colour, make-up, wardrobe and shoes on a very regular basis - much to my bank manager's horror - and it suddenly occured to me that I was a bit bored with the look of my blog so I've changed it.

If you don't like the new layout however, please do let me know and I'll change it back.

Anyway, whilst I've got the words new look floating about the biggest new look I'd like to see in pubs is better bloody glassware - seriously people how much research needs to be done before you realise that one of the most immediate and effective changes you could make to get women to drink more beer would be to put it in a better receptacle - and breathe!

Sorry, now I've stopped ranting, the point of this post when I started was to provoke some discussion.

You see, much like my shoes, handbag, clothes, hair & make-up I like the beers I'm drinking to look nice, so I like drinking beer from stylish glassware and I was wondering how many of you out there would like to see more stemmed branded glassware in pubs for handpulls as well as bottled ales like the Badger one pictured?

Whilst I completely appreciate that a lot get nicked and they are a pain to collect as they don't stack, surely pubs that take pride in their beer and creating an inclusive atmosphere have staff smart enough not to give them out like candy with the Carling but reserve them for the more discerning drinker?

Also, would you like your local brewery to produce glasses like this and would you be willing to pay a couple of pennies premium on your beer in order to enjoy it from a glass like this?

These are just questions, not solutions, I know how strongly I feel about it (I'd start a ban the Nonik glass campaign if I thought I could get away with it) but how does everyone else feel about it?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts...

White Horse and Dark Knights

I feel I need to share the news that the new X-Men Origins movie both sucks and blows - an achievement I feel - not even Hugh Jackman could keep me interested (yes, yes I know, call double standards if you like but still...).

On the up side, the White Horse's London Best Fest has some utterly amazing beers - Golden Pride & Fuller's London Porter on cask, Meantime Special Porter and its Scotch Ale, which isn't due for release for another year and I can't wait to taste it then - not wishing to diss it, it's great, but will be awesome with a year's conditioning I think.

Got to play cricket tomorrow so presume it will probably be gone by the time I go back on Monday - enjoy it whilst you can!

Getting the Coors Shoulder

The Seduction
I had a very short-lived love-affair with Coors just recently; it was much like all wild affairs, it started with so many promises, teases and temptations – then ended in betrayal and broken dreams as they turned out to be not the brewer I thought they were.

This big, strong, brewer wooed me by forming an all-female think tank, called the BitterSweet Partnership, to show me it cared; then tempted me in with research which showed when you really asked women why they don’t drink beer it wasn’t just taste - it was glassware and not knowing what to order, it was not realising how low in calories beer is in comparison to wine, spirits with mixers or the dreaded bag of peanuts.

It tempted me with findings about women’s feelings for the current state of beer advertising in the UK, that they knew that advertising like Foster’s and Stella 4% was rubbish and patronising – and I was hooked, because unlike any other big brewer in my life they really got me, they cared.

The Betrayal
But then the rumours started, I heard that they were being unfaithful to our passion, that they were going to be re-starting a relationship with someone, or something, (possibly called Zima) from over the pond – that they were cheating on our beer-love!

And it was true!

They were seeing this cheap tramp, this recycled failure of a concept, this syrupy, nasty ‘clear beer’ that even beer-rejectors don’t seem to like – this, this, Barbie-doll silicone implant of a beer has taken my place in their hearts.

They just don’t want an honest female beer drinker any more, in fact they don’t even want to listen to their own research.

You see, my former love had already told me that their BitterSweet research had uncovered that ‘cider and alcopops, which have targeted women more prominently in recent years, are only preferred by 6% of women’.

So why, oh why, were they starting a new relationship with something that is, in effect, an alcopop? And let me tell you about this floozy concept that’s been whoring around American for 13 years and has finally had to tout its services elsewhere when its pimps took it out of circulation.

A (currently nameless) ultra-fine filtered beer to take out all colour (and one presumes flavour), it is then pumped full of things like ‘dragon fruit’ and ‘green tea’, which merely creates a fizzy, synthetic and grossly sweet flavour, in other words it’s an airhead of a product – I’ve been dumped for a bimbo beer!

Moving On
But, don’t worry dear reader, my heart is on the mend because I’ve got a new love from America as well, and it’s the whole of the craft brewing movement.

That’s not to denigrate what UK brewers have been doing during National Cask Ale week, they have been proactively running tastings and beer events for women across the land, and have got some good results, St Austell and Hook Norton for example have been making themselves pretty attractive through their efforts to entice more women into the ale category.

These two breweries worked hard at tasting events on femALE day to introduce women to the beauty of beer, and have had a modicum of success at doing so and good on them.

But I’m afraid they just don’t have the allure, the pizzazz or the glamour of their contemporaries over the pond as was demonstrated at the recent Craft Brewers Conference in Boston.

And my current object of total adoration is Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing.

His presentation of a short film entitled ‘I Am a Craft Brewer’ is the single most powerful message that I have seen about artisan beer in a very long time and it has totally stolen my heart – watch it online and you will undoubtedly feel the same.

The video highlighted the amazing array of men and women who brew great beers in American and who are responsible for making craft beer the second fastest growing sector in the beer market, according to recent Nielsen figures.

It rightly points out that as the bigger brewers took taste out of their beers by using rice and maize, craft brewers became stronger and more popular, as society took their tastebuds out of their big-brand torpor and went in search of real flavour.

It talked about the honour of the craft brewing movement, its soul, and in the process cemented my undying affection for the US’s approach to artisan beer making.

What I thought was particularly powerful was that it ended with this quote from Nigerian poet Chinua Achebe: “One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.”

Coors - and every other big brewer out there that thinks women’s hearts can be won with plastic flavours and patronising fruit-based malt beverages - please take note.

Tip Top Beer Festival

Le Gothique is the place in Wandsworth that did my wedding reception and totally blew me away, completely exceeded all my expectations and are just gorgous people in a gorgeous building - therefore I am really looking forward to going to their beer festival this evening http://www.legothique.co.uk/Beer_Festival.html - may see you there!

Like/Dislike

I got an email promoting this entertaining t-shirt today, and I rather like it.

Other things I like this week:

Zeitgeist - BrewDog is launching its new black lager, which is jolly tasty - although not the first in the UK, despite what the press release says.

Diageo celebrating Guinness's birthday - I don't understand the company, its communications strategy or why they aren't making more play on the Original product during the brand's 250th year but I like that they are celebrating its birthday with some gusto - good work.

Goldminer - I know I might be a bit behind the rest of the world on this, but if you've got a Co-Op nearby get yourself some Goldminer, it's a top-quality British bitter.

That my mild's ready!!! I'll get to taste the final blend this weekend, can't wait, thanks Stuart at Sharp's and keep an eye out for it beer lovers!

New figures from the Society of Independent Brewers showing craft beer sales are up 10% and set to grow 15% this year - keep supping people!

Things I don't like this week:

Contrived articles - there are a couple of very contrived and poorly-written articles in the trade press this week, clearly generated by brewers with a jealousy agenda who are being pandered to by poor hacks. Seriously guys, pack it in!

Daas Witte Beer - the blonde's okay in a lagery 'I'd happily drink it if it was put in front of me' kind of way, but the witte is very sickly sweet - and I'm not fond of the marketing materials either, the orgy-suggestion just doesn't do it for me I'm afraid!

Insomnia - seriously, a girl needs her sleep, if it doesn't show what time this was posted it's 5.56 of the a.m. and I've got a session with my trainer at 7.30 - urgh!

Time - or the fact that I'm running out of it before my wedding on Saturday. Yep, that's right, the other half finally lost his marbles after 10 years and we're getting hitched, so I'll be missing in action for a bit drinking Carib in the Caribbean and, hopefully, watching England win the Test series... okay drinking Carib in the Caribbean it is then!

Say What You See

I know some of you guys have expressed some disdain for the Guardian recently but I actually laughed out loud for quite some time at the headline on the e-version this morning.

I really hope that the sub who wrote this gets a bonus, the sarcasm is so thick you couldn't chop your way through with a machete!

Belated Update

Morning all, well firstly apologies for being away for a while, the need to organise big events in one's life can become all consuming!

I'm having a bit of a Radio 4 moment this morning, with a thought for the day, after being send a quote by Kaiser Wilhelm, which states: "Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world."

So, if I'd been born about 100 hundred years ago (presuming it was KW the Second who said this) I could have been Grand High Empress & Supreme Poohbah of the Entire Globe! How awesome would that have been?!

Okay, so it's a reach but I'm just getting over yet another cold this winter and am feeling terribly upbeat - but I do also have a confession.

I'm afraid at the Malcolm Gluck Guardian showdown I probably didn't do beer as many favours as I could have.

That said, he did come utterly determined to run the room and deride beer at every available turn, which I do feel was a complete waste of the whole exercise that left quite a sour taste in the mouth.

He has come under a lot of fire from various camps and, having met the guy, he wasn't Satan himself, just a misogynistic dinosaur who is clearly intelligent but uses it more for spite than to disseminate knowledge - and I found it dreadfully depressing that he couldn't actually be anything other than obnoxious about beer until all the people had left the room and (initially I believe) thought the cameras weren't rolling.

What I mean by that is what you see at the end of the film, where he admits that the Thornbridge Alliance aged in Pedro Ximinez casks is delicious (which it is - one of the best beers I've tasted in years but the Madeira cask just squeaks past it in my book - buy them quickly!)

But for the rest of the time, without actually turning into some sort of screaming harridan and talking over him every five minutes, I had not a chance to counter-act his consistent desire not to share the room with someone else - you see I don't think it was a wine vs. beer thing, I think it was a limelight thing and as far as he was concerned it was all his.

So, to all you beer drinkers that feel let down by this piece, I apologise - and I'm kicking myself that this should have been a much more spirited display.

But the honest truth is that I wasn't going to let myself down by lowering my behaviour standards to the level of outright rudeness in a fruitless attempt to prove a narrow-minded man wrong.

I hope you understand...

This post promotes a v-blog job I did for the Guardian.

Pint Pots at Dawn

Actually I'm kidding, well sort of, for those of you who haven't seen the public disagreement between myself & wine writer Malcolm Gluck on the Observer Food Monthly blog yet then the finale is today, when I treat Mr Gluck to a beer & food extravaganza at lovebeer@borough.

I'm hoping he's coming with an open mind, I certainly am.

If you want to follow what's been going on you can start here with Malcolm's original post, follow it to Roger Protz's response and then mine if you like - I'll update either later or tomorrow on what went on!

At the Sharp's End

Well, what a couple of days! I've been to Cornwall for the first time, interviewed Rick Stein (very nice man) and done a day's brewing with the man the seafood-loving chef dubbed a genius to a room full of beer writers - the hugely entertaining & utterly charming Stuart Howe.

Yep, that's right, brew number two has been made and a mild is born. Flavoured with some very unusual spices & the essence of gorse (for a little extra happiness with your hops) I have high hopes for this beer but will have to write more when I'm not on a train!

Will post full story soon...

Thornbridge Meet the Brewer

Great news, Thornbridge is coming to town for a meet the brewer session at lovebeer@borough!

Ideal as a last minute Christmas present for your beer-loving buddies or family, or possibly as a treat for yourself to look forward to in January, tickets cost just £15 and are available from Utobeer or the Rake (both on Borough Market) or by emailing melissa@love-beer.co.uk or calling 020 7378 9461.

Available to a thirsty public will be the brewery’s renowned interpretation of a classic India Pale Ale (IPA) in the form of Jaipur, the South Pacific-inspired Kipling and the beautiful Bracia, made with Italian chestnut honey – which was recently chosen for, and proved to be the star of, the British Guild of Beer Writers annual awards dinner.

Also to feature is the beer I brewed when I was up there, Seven Heron, which I tried for the first time on Friday night and was pretty pleased with, apart from the slight toffee up front which I'm not that fond of, I think it's got really refreshing pine, citrus & slightly minty flavours to it, offset by a slight bready flavour which stops it becoming too aggressive on the bitterness front.

Hope to see you there!

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

12 Beers of Christmas

I know it's a bit late in the day but, I figured, you could have two a day from here on in!

1. Fuller’s Vintage Ale, 8.5%
   I’ve started buying several bottles and trying to restrain myself from drinking the last one and cellar it instead, as I am never, ever disappointed in this beer. Usually full of rich fruit cake flavours it's also been known to have marmalade, red cherry, chocolate, coffee, toffee & a slight peatiness over the years - available in Waitrose or from http://www.fullers.co.uk/
   
2. Bath Ales Festivity 4.8%
   A rich rum raisin nose joined on the palette by chocolate & coffee flavours but very drinkable because there are just enough hops in it to give a pleasantly dry finish.
   Available in nine-pint microcasks and 36-pint boxes from http://www.bathales.com/
   
3. Bateman’s Rosey Nosey 4.9%
   You can’t fail to love the flashing pump clip that goes along with this festive classic – and the beer’s pretty darn good too! Full of rich red cherry and sultana flavours, backed by an undertone of good dark chocolate, it drinks well above its weight. According to the brewery it’s even used by some people to baste their turkey – well at least that would mean the world’s most boring bird will taste of something nice for a change! Also available in bottle at Utobeer on Borough Market or via http://www.bateman.co.uk/
   
4. Breconshire Brewery Winter Beacon 5.3%
   I can't improve on the official description, ‘as pale as the winter sun in the sky above the snow-capped Beacons, but with all the welcome warming glow of the fireside after an afternoon's walk in the hills’, it’s made with a mix of different grains that gives it a complex mix of toast, coffee, bread and a tiny touch of liquorice, available at http://www.realbeerbox.com/
   
5. Okell's MacLir 4.4%
   Now, you might be wondering why a filtred wheat beer is on the list, it's because I think easy drinking is underrated at this time of year at times. Because, if you're a beer fan, the winter tends to produce a yearning for big, beefy beers you sometimes can get a bit of fatigue, and I think this is a nice antidote. Light citrus & pine notes interplay with slightly richer, but faint, banana and clove flavours to produce a really refreshing beer, it's one of my favourites. Stocked by Utobeer on Borough & Beer Ritz in Leeds If you can't find this then the equally yummy Dr Okells IPA is available from Sainsbury's.
   
6. Sharp's Special 5.2%
   Head brewer Stuart Howe has produced a jammy little number with hints of spiced plum and a lovely burnt toast & deep toffee flavours as well. Available at http://www.sharpsbrewery.co.uk/
   
7. Orkney Dark Island Reserve 10%
   The first time I tried it I was blown away and I've not got bored of it yet. One to sip and savour, it goes fantastically with roast loin of venison with a bitter chocolate and redcurrant jelly sauce (a fab alternative to dull turkey BTW) because it's got a lovely sticky figgy flavour with rich vanilla & dry chocolate notes that complement red meat really well. I'm afraid I only know that it's available from Utobeer on Borough Market at this point, although Zak Avery might stock it at Beer Ritz too (update: Zak does stock it at his shop in Leeds).
   
8. Thornbridge Jaipur 5.9%
   This fruity little number from those lovely lads at Thornbridge has won a lot of awards for a reason, it's luscious. Full of tropical fruits, like lychees, mango and passionfruit, it is a taste sensation all on its own. But it's also particularly fabulous with coconut-based or fruity Nepalese curries, West Indian cuisine or even overblown pavlovas - it's a classic. Available in minicask via their website.
   
9. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 11%
   There are beers in life where you just have to hold your hands up and say it's impeccably produced and a real one-off, which is this dark beauty from Goose Island all over. Rich, chocolatey with vanilla and charred oak overtones from the barrels it really does cry out to be poured into a brandy balloon and consumed in front of a roaring fire and a big, fat cigar. Incredibly hard to get hold of in the UK but I'll work on finding a supplier for you.
   
10. Greene King's Crafty Old Hen 6.5%
    This is a really nice beer, although I still don't like to see good artisinal offerings in clear bottles, but I guess the hop isn't the star in this beer anyway and marketing departments have serious clout in bigger breweries, but anyway! It is a lovely beer, it's really very raisiny, with some tea-soaked prune depth to it as it's a blend of Old Spec and Old 5X - to create a very 'chewy' beer if that makes any sense as a tasting note at all! Major supermarkets.
    
11. Harviestoun Ola Dubh 30-year-old 8%
    This is a big beer - based on a ramped up version of Old Engine Oil, which I already love, it's without a doubt one of the most interesting beers that's been produced in years. Coffee & liquorice dance with leather and smoke, with the merest hint of Scotch, on the tongue - it's delightful sipping liquor.
    
12. BrewDog Punk IPA 6%
    This is undoubtedly one of my favourite beers, and one I think is set to establish itself in the annals of beer history as a classic. Brewed by the mad alchemists from Aberdeen this is a citrus, pine, tropical fruit with slight pine taste sensation, heavily influenced by the American approach to IPAs. It's not for wimps, but then none of the beers on this list are. Available from Utobeer, Realale.com and Tesco nationwide.

Just in case I don't get time to post before the festivities begin, have a fantastic Christmas, everyone, and I hope Santa is kind.

It'll Be All-Bite on the Night!

Sorry for the terrible headline but I'm trying very hard to keep it together right now, I've got half a kitchen, tradesmen everywhere and more dust than half the Mojave desert! New central heating system, who knew what a palaver it would be?!

Anyway, that's not the point of this post, I promised more on the BrewDog tasting events and here it is...

They were awesome!

We were virtually sold out for both sessions and the lads rocked the house with their mix of wit and beery wisdom. Lucky punters got to taste 10 beers including a couple of particularly special recipes.

The penultimate beer in the tasting was the specially name Rake Raspberry Imperial Stout created from a 10% imperial stout aged in a Smokehead whisky cask with 25kgs of fresh raspberries and the finale was Zephyr - a 13% India Pale Ale (IPA) that has been in a grain whisky cask for 18 months with 30kgs of fresh strawberries - and if you want to try them I suggest you hurry down to the Rake because they are apparently both selling like hot cakes.

For my money the Zephyr is exquisite, the interplay of strawberries and strong, almost vinous, aged beer is incredible. There's a whole host of tropical fruit, coconut and lime on the nose, which is then added to with rich, warming white port-like flavours and a slight dry finish to stop it being too sickly sweet. But I can't wait to try the raspberry stout once it's had a chance to age a bit.

What was also really cool was to compare the keg and cask Punk IPA, the brewery's best-seller. It caused a lot of debate between the 10-or-so of us that were sampling it after the official tasting; I preferred the cask for its big fruity/bitter finish and others preferred the slightly less aggressive keg product - but we all agreed that whatever form it came in, it's a darn good beer.

It was also such a pleasure to finally meet Martin, having communicated with him so much over the last six months or so, and great to have a chance to catch up with James outside the pressure cooker environment of a trade show. Thanks also to Fraser whose mad rye bread slicing skills were a godsend!

But the best part for me was the eclectic mix of people who came to the tastings; from die-hard beer fans and familiar faces, to a father & son, two women barely in their 20s to a middle-aged couple who were clearly happily overwhelmed with the veritable array of flavours on offer.

This is what meet the brewer sessions should be all about - and we've got another one coming up in January, so watch this space.

This post is a write up on a tasting at lovebeer@borough, which I am a partner in.