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.

Beer for Punks - no, beer for everyone

BrewDog - boys you rock.

Your brews show the world what a diverse, exciting and wonderful world beer is.

Thank you, and I'm going to watch the v-blog right now.

More to follow....

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!).

Pleasant Surprises

Well, it's been a year of pleasant surprises from the beer world so far, and I'm aware I haven't blogged about all of them, so I thought I'd create a whole entry from little mini ones!

1. Brewer's Reserve - Finally, after 507 days, Fuller's whisky-aged beer has been launched; lovely soft vanilla & spirit nose and then fabulous sticky fruit flavours (quince jelly & orange marmalade for my money) in the mouth, with a spicy bitter finish that reminds me of Green & Black's Maya Gold chocolate. Be warned, there are going to be different wood ages every year so make sure you lay your hands on some of the first one quickly!
   
2. Zywiec - the lager's very quaffable but the porter (pretty much only available at Utobeer on Borough Market as far as I'm aware) is absolutely awesome; at 9.5%ABV it's rich, dark, coffee & liquorice-dry and delightful.
   
3. Moravka & Cotswold lagers - both very, very nice and very, very drinkable; more pubs should be stocking these products, if you live in the vicinity of either brewery start pressuring your local licensees now!
   
4. Morrisey Fox Blonde Ale - went to the launch of this; Neil Morrisey is a very nice bloke (already knew Richard Fox was a sound chap) who is genuinely, almost intensely, passionate about his ale and the cask beer was jolly drinkable indeed - in fact I was pleasantly surprised that it was as bitter as it is, was expected a much more dumbed down product, good work lads.
   
5. Harviestoun Ola Dubh - get a bottle of this ramped up version of Old Engine Oil that's been aged in 30-year-old Highland Park casks, pour it into a brandy balloon, sit in front of an open fire if possible and... relax!
   
6. The launch of the Sainsbury's & Asda Beer Competitions - the winners of the Sainsbury's beer competition are two big favourites of mine; Dr Okell's IPA & Bath Ales Barnstormer, good work the rest of the judges for a good shortlist and the beer-buying public who had the final say. Asda's got big shoes to fill here and I shall report back in November on what went on at the judging.
   
7. Young's new bottle conditioned beers - back to Wandsworth standards, if not (dare I say it) better in my eyes. The Bitter in particular is extremely drinkable, haven't had the chance to try the cask recently but would be interested to hear what you guys think.
   

That's all for now folks! More to follow soon.

Priceless

I'm hugely amused by this sign, sent to me by the lovely Glenn Payne.

I can't figure out whether it's trying to challenge perceptions over women and beer or whether it should be said in the voice of a startled major-general-type figure spluttering the phrase out!

Women & Beer? Whatever next?

Go Green

Had Duvel Green for the first time last night, whilst my team of fellow hacks were wooping the arse of the 'beer expert' panel - ha ha ha!

It was held at the All Bar One on New Oxford Street, which is somewhere that doesn't normally register on my radar, but the range of beers is excellent and their dedication to glorious glassware is admirable.

Anyway, back to the Duvel Green, it's a 6.8%ABV beer which has a bag-load of flavours similar but not as complex the original. It still packs a punch though, as my head will attest to this morning!

Clarification on Portman Group Nonsense

For those of you who have read the below post about the Portman Group's nonsense shennanigans over Brew Dog and are getting a bit confused (as was I) over the Orkney Skull Splitter issue here's some clarification.

The Portman Group, clearly having more funding than sense, hired a management consultancy to 'carry out an independent audit to measure compliance of drinks packaging with the Code'.

Okay, before I go on to explain how Orkney got dragged into this, I first have to say WHAT?!

The drinks industry watchdog has to hire someone else to 'watch' drinks labelling to see if it complies with its own Code that it (the Portman Group) is mandated to uphold - does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?

Anyway, apparently Orkney was one of the sample drinks that were looked at and it was deemed 'potentially' in breach of Code rule 3.2b for the following reason:

"The name 'Skull Splitter' implies both violence and also the impact that the strength may have on the drinker. Additionally there is a picture which could be seen to reinforce the aggressive theme."

But, and here's the thing, the Portman Group itself recently upheld a complaint against a pre-mixed vodka drink because it wasn't clear that it contained alcohol!

I'm pretty sure you can see where I'm going with this point but I'm going to make it anyway, so how does this sit with the assertion that Skull Splitter advertises 'the impact the alcohol strength will have on the drinker' - surely that's a good thing?

But, all the other issues aside, my major issue with this 'independent audit' is that it has been undertaken in a codified vacuum, without reference to reality.

The isolated way in which the sample drinks names have been assessed completely fails to take them in any form of context, which means the whole report is effectively null and void as an analytical tool.

I will give the Portman Group the benefit of the doubt that they undertook this report as a genuine attempt to assess whether or not they were proving effective in their role as labelling watchdog, but I really wish they'd admit that the whole thing is fundamentally flawed and abandon this scaremongering approach amongst producers who are already under enormous amounts of financial pressure as it is.

Goose Me!

I will add much, much more to this post shortly but if you can get your hands on some Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, do yourself a very, very big favour - buy everything you can see!

More to follow shortly and sorry for lack of posts (if anyone cares!) I've been happily busy recently.

Help Stop Over the Top Portman Group

Mr Protz has hit the nail on the head with his recent, and excellently crafted, tirade against the utterly humourless Portman Group and it's prompted me to start this petition, please sign up to it.

I'm seeing an escalation of the Portman Group's weird attitude to beer names, I've been horrified with the Portman Group's recent attack on Brew Dog and its stance on Orkney's Skullsplitter (named after an Earl of Orkney) just seems to be a continuation of this.

In my opinion names like Skullsplitter and Liquor Mortis should be actively bloody encouraged!

Why?

Because they tell me straight up front that they are strong.

These kind of names say, quite clearly, mess with me at your peril - if you want to wake up feeling like a Norse invader has cleaved your head in two then go ahead big boy! Try drinking four pints!

Interestingly, and not so long ago, a very senior figure in the spirits industry suggested to me that the Portman Group's days were numbered because, in his opinion, they'd basically stamped out all the ridiculous products - clearly aimed at a very young market - coming from his sector.

It would appear, however, that the Portman Group recognised this too and are now busy justifying their existence by attacking the brewing industry.

If we don't all make a stand now, this could get very, very ugly.

NEW ADDITION: In the spirit of accurate journalism, I really should have checked out whether or not the Portman Group was planning action against Orkney, instead I listened to the grapevine, they aren't apparently but my points about Brew Dog and the concerns I have over Portman's new stance stand - but fair is fair!

March On

This Saturday I'm honoured to be supporting the Help for Heroes march from Portsmouth to the Tower of London by providing beers for the guys & gals of the army at the end!

Whatever you may feel about the political rights or wrongs of our actions in Iraq or Afghanistan, you have to admire and support the men & women of the Forces who are fighting out there, and it's even more important to support them if they return injured.

Help for Heroes raises funds for Headley Court Military Hospital, which is specialised in the treatment of orthopaedic and sports injuries, spinal injuries, neurological rehabilitation and rheumatic disease. The rehabilitation staff of around 200 include specialist medical officers, nurses, remedial instructors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, a cognitive therapist, social workers, engineers, and administration support staff.

As you can imagine, this requires quite a lot of support and H4H is instrumental in the hospital's funding and has already raised £8m to make the lives of those injured as whole as possible again - as you can see from the picture.

And, it's also worth bearing in mind, that the developments and breakthroughs in all of the above medical disciplines are then used in the wider medical community and could therefore one day benefit you or a loved one.

My small display of support wouldn't have been possible without the kindness of many different breweries - Shepherd Neame gets a big thanks for its support by sending nearly 500 bottles of beer, also thanks to all those brewers who agreed that any left over beer from our pre-GBBF bash could go to this worthy cause, thanks also to Moorhouse's, Coors, R&R, Stiegel, Purity and a gang of Welsh brewers who are also sending some stuff through, I'll name-check you when I know what's coming in guys!

Also, last but not least, thanks to my boys at Utobeer who are warehousing and delivering all the beer for me - lads, couldn't do it without you - kisses!

GBBF is No Good for Feet

Well, the tours seem to be going well, I've met a lot of lovely people and managed to enthuse (I think) even the most hardened beer rejector who came along.

My feet are killing me and I'm absolutely shattered but it's been great fun. It's been an unfeasibly busy time with the media as well as the beer, and there's been some great coverage/article opportunities - not least being one of the four most read articles on the Times Online yesterday! I'm a bit chuffed with that!

Find of the festival that I would really like to see more widely available is Caledonian's Deuchars XPA - it's like the IPA on steroids!

With more floral and tropical fruit aromas on the nose, and ever so slightly more creamy in the mouth it's an absolute stunner!

Other beers that I've loved have been Cribyn from Breconshire Brewery (not to mention the Ysbrid y Draig in Bowmore casks that Buster kept back for me, I love that man!), Otley's OG which won a gold medal in the strong category and Whitstable's Raspberry Wheat, which is even nicer in cask than bottle.

Other highlights have been Bateman's Salem Porter, which is in awesome nick, Moorhouse's Premier and Cairngorn Trade Winds.

Still not sure what I think of the new Canterbury Jack from Shepherd Neame, it's coming off a bit bland at the moment BUT when you're at something like the GBBF it's very easy to dismiss lower gravity beers that aren't trying to shout at you, but whisper gentle drinkability.

I'll revisit when my tastebuds haven't been partying for three days straight!

Free GBBF Guided Walks for Women

There are still places left on my guided tours around the Great British Beer Festival in the evenings next week - visit here to sign up!

http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=280895