A Beer on the Downs

Golden Pints Awards

2011-12-15T06:47:00.000-08:00

My first Golden Pints awards. It seems a long way back to the start of the year so these awards may seem a little second-half centric.

Best UK Draught (Cask or Keg) Beer

Cask: Oakham JHB at Tap East

Keg: Magic Rock Human Cannonball at The Craft beer company

Winner: Oakham JHB - So drinkable so I had to go back for a few more.

Best UK Bottled or Canned Beer

Bottled: Kernel Galaxy IPA

Canned: Brewdog Punk (the good ones)

Winner: Kernel Galaxy IPA - (Everyone raves about the Kernel's stouts and porters with good reason, but no-one gets true hop flavour like this into their IPA's)

Best Overseas Draught Beer

Nomination 1: Repoterroir (a five-brewery collaboration; Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada, Lost Abbey, Avery and Allagash) at the Dogfish Head bar. Cucumber in a beer?...hell yes! Try it if you get the chance. Read about it here.

Nomination 2: Weyerbacher Harvest ale at the brewery Saturday tasting and tour

Nomination 3: Harpoon IPA.

Winner: Weyerbacher Harvest Ale - Fresh straight from the brewery, awesome! Then again in a growler a couple of hours later. Top beer made with home grown cascade hops.

Best Overseas Bottled or Canned Beer

Bottled: Rodenbach Vintage 2007

Canned: Maui Big Swell IPA

Winner: Rodenbach Vintage 2007 - Sweet, Sour, Complex, Stunning dark red colour, goes well with just about any food and comes in a champagne style bottle. What’s not to like?!

Best Overall Beer

Winner: Kernel Galaxy IPA - Just proving I'm a hophead at heart. Close call over the Weyerbacher though...

Best Pumpclip or Label (I have gone for branding really rather the particular label or pumpclip)

Nomination 1: Marble

Nomination 2: Otley

Nomination 3: Magic Rock

Winner: Magic Rock - While I love the simplicity of the Marble and Otley brands Magic Rock has this one by a country mile.

Best UK Brewery

Nomination 1: The Kernel

Nomination 2: Oakham

Nomination 3: Magic Rock

Winner: The Kernel - not just the best beers. Evin and his team are just the best bunch of guys and have been very free with their help and information.

Best Overseas Brewery

Nomination 1: Weyerbacher

Nomination 2: Dogfish Head

Nomination 3: St Bernadus

Winner: Dogfish Head - I know that they don't export over here any more, but the range and innovation of styles makes them stand out.

Pub/Bar of the Year

Nomination 1: Craft Beer Co

Nomination 2: Euston Tap

Nomination 3: The Rake

Winner: The Rake - Very close call between all three here. The Rake's location tips the scales.

Beer Festival of the Year

Strangely I was only at one professional one...GBBF (the spoons festival doesn’t count, right?) Still the winner is:

Winner: London and South East Craft Beer Festival - a great homebrew festival.

Supermarket of the Year

Waitrose (Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Thornbridge) vs Sainsburys (Brewdog, Brooklyn Brewery, interesting beer hunt) vs Morrisons (Also Brewdog, Worthington's White Shield)

Winner: Waitrose - Torpedo swings it

Independent Retailer of the Year

Nomination 1: Cobbetts Real Ale - Dorking

Nomination 2: The Bottle Shop - Canterbury

Nomination 3: The Beer Boutique - Putney

Winner: The Beer Boutique - Newcomer on the scene, great range (esp in Belgian beers) and great decor. The Bottle Shop perhaps has a better range of beers but Canterbury is a long drive.

Online Retailer of the Year

I have only used one this year so the winner is: My Brewery Tap

Best Beer Book or Magazine

Book: Melissa Cole - Let Me Tell You About Beer.

Magazine: Zymurgy (an imported US homebrew magazine)

Winner: Melissa Cole - A great book with something for beer novices but also stuff for the more geeky reader. Perfect christmas present fodder.

Best Beer Blog or Website

Blog: Cooking Lager

Website: Jim's Homebrew Forum - Full of useful information

Winner: Cooking Lager - Drop the beer geek act cookie and get back to what you do best. Entertain us!

Best Beer Twitterer

Nomination 1: @SimonJohnson

Nomination 2: Andy Mogg @Chilliupnorth and @BeerReviewsAndy

Nomination 3: @twattdog

Winner: @SimonJohnson - Funny and seems to consume more beer then the rest of the twitterverse put together.

Best Online Brewery Presence

Nomination 1: Hardknott

Nomination 2: Dogfish Head

Nomination 3: Brewdog

Winner: Hardknott, with the twitter presence, the blog and now an online shop. World domination is next.

Food and Beer Pairing of the Year

Nomination 1: Brooklyn Double Chocolate Stout and Baked Figs with Mascarpone

Nomination 2: Spicy Pepperoni Pizza and Repoterroir at the Dogfish Head brewpub in Rehoboth Beach

Nomination 3: Brewdog Hardcore IPA with Dunsyre Blue Cheese at the Brewdog Burns night at the White Horse.

Winner: Pizza and Repoterroir - Probably has something to do with being on holiday and the atmosphere in the Dogfish Head bar, but given the choice now this is the one I would ask for. The carbonation of the beer lifted the cheese, and the cucumber and mint quenched some of the spiciness of the pepperoni and chilli.

In 2012 I’d Most Like To…

Start a Brewery

Photoblog: Saturday at Weyerbacher

2011-12-01T02:24:00.000-08:00

While meandering about the East coast of the USA we happened to be in Pennsylvania where the locals suggested we make the detour to Easton on a Saturday to visit the nice people at the Weyerbacher brewery.

Here is what we found:

Well it took us a while to find. Tucked away up what appeared to be a nice residential street we finally came across the little sign.

Plenty of beers

A flashy beer menu.

Some interesting branding. Insanity is Blithering Idiot aged in oak bourbon casks.

Craft beer, brewed in small batches...

...and served in small measures...

...so there was no shortage of people at the bar.

So on with the tour with our guide Billy Bragg...no not that Billy Bragg...but he does get a proper glass (jealous)!

These barrels have something interesting and sour in them, no tasters unfortunately.

The Homebrewers Tap. Some of the workers at Weyerbacher are homebrewers, here is where they showcase their beers to the rest of the staff.

The tour was interesting...

...and Billy was knowledgeable about the beers even though he is not one of the brewers himself.

Rented Kegs with the previous labels still on there or a lot of brewery swaps?

The Big Bottling line

Little Brother of Bottling Line...hopefully not bottling from the little room behind it!

The only drawback of the visit was not Weyerbacher's fault. The crazy Pennsylvania state laws state that we could only buy a case of 24 beers, no single bottles, no six packs but you could get growlers. We did not have that long to go with our trip so all we could go was get a growler of the fantastic harvest ale.

Anyone in Pennsylvania should make the effort to go visit these great people and fantastic beer. For UK people wanting to try Weyerbacher beer, it is available in bottles in the Craft Beer Co and the Cask Pub and Kitchen.

London and South East Craft Beer Festival - Winners

2011-11-14T02:15:00.000-08:00

London Amateur Brewers took over the hosting of this year's London and South East Craft Beer Festival after the retirement of Richard Burns from Cheers Homebrew.

Over a hundred beers were arranged in 7 categories, were judged by 14 qualified judges and professional brewers in the morning and in excess of 300 litres of beer were then available for the competitors and general public in the afternoon.

Here are the winners.

Category 1, Sweet and oatmeal Stouts, Red Ales and Speciality beers. Sponsored by Warminster Maltings

Winner: Tom Greasley with Sarcastro Stout

Runners up: Father and Son Chris and Paul Simpson with Golden Shower and Brewers Furst

Category 2, Special Bitters, Blonds and Pale Ales, sponsored by The Siebel Institute

Winner: Simon Poffley with Higham Hill Special

Runners Up: Owain Lewis with Simcoe Pale and Mick Harrison with Street Party Bitter

Category 3, Standard Bitters and Milds sponsored by Danstar

Winner: Rob Case with Scarecrow Mild

Runners Up: Dave Wilton (absent) with Little Brother and Mick Harrison with Howard Hughes Ruby Mild.

Category 4, IPAs and Amber ales. Sponsored by Brew UK

Winner: Organiser and and being handed a prize rather then giving one, Paul Henderson with Left Over IPA (note he managed to keep his eyes open in this picture....)

Runners Up: Graeme Coates with Red Sparrowhawk (this also won a few awards at the Bristol competition in September) and Ingemar Jansson with Slinka IPA. Ingemar is one of a pair of Swedish homebrewers who came over for the competition and a London beery weekend. It was great to meet you guys.

Category 5, Porters and Dry Stouts sponsored by My Brewery Tap

Winner: Gregg Irwin with Decadence Stout

Runners Up: Alan Lakin with Fuller London Porter and Alan Gayton (absent) with Sandalwood Stout

Category 6, Belgian, Fruit beer, Lager, smoke beer etc sponsored by Molson Coors

Winner: Steve Syson (absent) with Sorachi Vice

Runners Up: Gregg Irwin with Roaring Queen and Ali Kocho-Williams with Crafty Smoke

Category 7, Imperial Stouts, ESBs, Barleywines and Old Ales sponsored by the Homebrew Shop

Winner: Nick Reece with Imperial Stout the Second

Runners Up: Bryan Spooner with Barley One and Rob Case with Passing Time (my personal vote for the people's choice)

Onto the other awards:

Best label sponsored by the Malt Miller

Winner: Gregg Irwin with Roaring Queen. As this is mine I can show it below ;-)

People's Choice awards sponsored by Fullers, Brupaks and Sambrooks

3rd place, winning a boxset of beers from Fullers. Ingemar Jansson with Slinka IPA.

2nd place, winning a fermenter from Brupaks Mark Vincent with Hermen's hop Harvest

Winner and getting a brewday with Sambrooks Brewery Fergus McIver with Taste the Darkness. This was a great american style stout, probably entered in the wrong category or would have been higher up on the judges lists.

So to the final and top prize, Best in show, the Hayesenbrau Award.

Best in show The Hayesenbrau Award sponsored by the Kernel Brewery.

Winner: Tom Greasley with his Sarcastro Stout, a well deserved award for a really good beer. Tom gets a chance to put that beer into commercial production with Evin, Nate (above) and the guys at the Kernel.

A big thanks to all the organisers, judges, stewards, sponsors, brewers and friends who made the day a memorable one.

Session #57 Guilty Beer Secrets

2011-11-04T04:40:00.000-07:00

Steve over at Beers I've Known asked us to come clean with our guilty beer secrets...I have a few:

A few years ago myself and a few friends into Belgian beer visited the Cantillion brewery for a tour and tasting and our underdeveloped pallets hated every beer that was put in front of us. How things change!

I consume more cold fizzy Carlsberg lager than any other beer. No, I'm not looking to take over Cooking Lager's just vacated throne as King of the Lout, but after a hot day playing cricket cold and fizzy hits the spot, apparently repeatedly, until kicking out time.

The really delicious, but truly awful, fast food consumed at the train station after a night out on the beer. Cornish pasties, bacon double cheese burgers, greasy samosas, chicken nuggets, you name it I have eaten it and loved every bite at the time.

Each one gives me a twinge of guilt, each for a slightly different reason...now move along quickly, nothing to see here!

Photoblog: TapEast

2011-10-17T04:12:00.000-07:00

Things in the beer scene in London move quickly. 3 months ago Tap East was a twinkle in Utobeer's eye, now it is a living, breathing brewpub in a swanky new Westfield Stratford Shopping centre. They have been open on and off since mid September.

Friday saw their official opening night.

Here are some comments about the new establishment. (Positive and Negative)

Positive: Glyn "rabidbarfly" Roberts has moved from the Rake to manage the new brewpub.

Positive: It has a shiny new 2.5 Barrel brewkit. The plan is to brew a light and hoppy, a stout and an IPA, all cask, for the exclusive use of the brewpub. Brewing starts this week.

Negative: Does not look like a brewpub when approached from the inside of the shopping centre, more a winebar or coffee shop perhaps?

Positive: Stylistically I like the interior, a comfortable environment to be in.

Positive: Friendly bar staff.

Positive and Negative: 10 gleaming fonts standing proud as a honeymooner's dick from the bar. However the fonts had two with Grolch, Kaiserdom, a Kolch and two Octoberfest beers. I count that as 6 lagers. I'm sure this was a scheduling anomaly and not a policy and the Hofbrauhaus Octoberfest was on fine form.

Positive: They don't have a kitchen but put together some nice looking platters of food, and there was no shortage of good food places in the shopping centre.

Negative: They ran out of Kipling before I got there!

Their location will be fantastic for the Olympics and as other bloggers have said having a craft beer bar in a shopping centre is definitely a step further forward for the advocates of great beer in the UK. If you are out East give it a visit.

Beer Recipe: Beery Beans

2011-10-17T04:08:00.000-07:00

This recipe was developed when playing around with slightly off cans of Punk and the off flavours don't come through in the final product. However I would suggest that for best results you only use beer that you would be happy to drink. I have made this recipe with both light and dark beers of many levels of bitterness, I feel it is best with a light hoppy bitter or an IPA.

Beery Beans
Makes lots (can be refrigerated and used later)

Ingredients:
180g Smoked Bacon (lardons or chopped)
A pinch of Red Chilli Flakes
1 Green Chilli (finely chopped)
1 Small Red Onion (finely chopped)
100g Smoked German or Polish Sausage cut into small cubes
1 Clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
3 tins of assorted beans (I have used mixed and Cannellini)
2 tsp Sun-dried Tomato Paste
2 tsp Taste No 5 Umami Paste
1 Pint of beer (see above). I have used my homebrewed Very Pale Light ale.

Method:

Fry the bacon in a dry pan with the red chilli flakes until browned, this should release enough fat to cook the rest of the dish.
Add the green chilli, onion and smoked sausage and fry for another few mins.

Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Then add the beans and the two pastes. Stir to coat and then add the beer.

Bring to the boil then simmer gently for around 30 mins, checking and stirring every so often so as not to catch on the pan. The sauce should be slightly thicker than tinned baked beans.

Check seasoning and serve.

Tasting notes:

Texture soft in the mouth with a very savoury taste, a slight sweetness from the sun-dried tomato, a bit of a chilli kick and a slight bitterness from the beer.

Serving suggestions:
A great hangover food when accompanied by the rest of a fried breakfast. If cooked a little longer can also be used as refried bean replacement in Mexican dishes.

Photoblog: A beery weekend in Boston

2011-09-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

A two week holiday started with a weekend in Boston. Beer was not the primary focus of the weekend initially but it soon became apparent that Boston is a damn good beer town.

Jetlagged we arrived on Friday night and only had the energy to have a couple of Harpoon IPA's in the hotel bar. Too jetlagged to take photos stupidly but the beer was stunning.

Saturday after a long morning of gym breakfast and sightseeing we came across this little gem. Refreshingly frank staff and reasonable beer list (or so I thought at the time, we got much better later)

A Harpoon Octoberfest seasonal was dispatched and Harpoon jumped a few more places up my favourite breweries.

Back to sightseeing.

We were in the town of Sam Adams, however no mention of beer on the statue :-(

McCormick and Schmicks looked to have potential with decent craft beer and beer wars events, to be kept in reserve for Sunday night.

You get what you pay for!

We did not stop here for a drink although it seemed to have a large number of pumps and some interesting beers - but so obviously a tourist trap.

Hotel bar was closed so we hit Rock Bottom.

A brew pub but as it turned out a semi-national chain.

Still, there were some interesting beers to be had.

It had some of the fastest moving bar staff I have ever seen.....never seen anyone work so hard behind the bar.

Some great customer service as well. The big glass was Mojo IPA and the small glass was an unasked for taster of the Rock Bottom IPA as comparison. The Rock Bottom was a better beer.

And look at the size of that plate of Nachos!

We had to leave Rock Bottom to meet a couple of friends in another great beer bar.

The Public House had an amazing beer list. This is only 1 page of about 5.

There were a few reminders of earlier photoblogs.

And could not resist a glass of the Houblen Chouffe...

...but beer of the night was Wilko Tango Foxtrot by Laguintas. A light black IPA, a hoppy Porter and Imperial brown ale? Who knows and one of the most aptly named beers I have seen and impossible to photograph.

After a few WTFs the night got a bit blurry...

...Sureal...

...and I even let myself be photographed!

I still found one more photo to entertain myself on the way home.

Sunday started slowly with just a touch of hangover. Where better to work it off than queuing at a Boston institution for Brunch.

The queue was long.

but there was method to the madness.

And a mighty fine end product....yes that is a waffle with bacon and blueberries!

We were soon on to Fenway Park where I had a good tip for some more nice beer.

The Boston Beer Works had a great range of beers.

The money shot was a Double Pale Ale, tasted like a world-class IPA to me.

The wife liked the Bluebeery ale, with added blueberries.

Final destination was a return to McCormick and Schmick. They have a great range of local craft beers all locked up in a beer safe! Somewhat annoyed that none of this beer is offered to the diners in the restaurant they get a generic 6 beer range tucked away at the end of the cocktail/spirit list so we ended up drinking a decent bottle of wine instead.

We did at last find the attached bar and beer list and the best beer of the weekend. Harpoon Brewery Leviathan Barleywine, the ultimate nightcap, huge hop character and bags of sweet malt, all integrated perfectly.

Harpoon rocketed from nowhere to my top 5 breweries in one weekend, does anyone import this stuff to the UK?

Boston was an excellent place for a weekend. I'm sure I only scratched the surface and will be interesting to see how Brooklyn and Rehoboth match up.

Photoblog: Belgium - Beer, camping, rain, old tanks and F1

2011-09-08T03:54:00.000-07:00

Seven of the guys set off to Spa with two goals in mind: watching some F1 racing at the best circuit in Europe and drinking some of the world's best beers, not necessarily in that order.

First stop Brouwerij St. Bernardus, just inside the Belgian border in Watou.

Marco Passerella, the marketing manager, arranged a tour of the brewery. A great host and full of useful information.

As on all good brewery tours, a sample or two was presented. A triple (above) and the Westvleteren-like Abt 12.

Negotiating some purchases before we left.

Next stop a little tavern on the way to Spa for food and of course more beer. The driver's on the lighter stuff.

The passengers (soon to be asleep) on the slightly heavier beers.

The next day in Spa: some ominous skies.

We got slightly wet on our walk back to the campsite.

Still, we were soon off to Achouffe to the Brasserie d'Achouffe and a glass of the Chouffe Houblen. Supposedly the original Belgian IPA, forerunner of Raging Bitch and Queboid perhaps? Regardless, probably my favourite beer of the weekend.

Other beers were consumed including a Royal Chouffe, which I think was La Chouffe with a large shot of Creme de Cassis.

The brewery tour was a slight disappointment when compared to the St Bernardus on the previous day. Still the Houblen was so good that two were downed in quick succession.

Beer was sourced for the evening at the campsite, including (possibly) my first taste of a Faro, a sweetened lambic with a complex sweet and sour taste.

The next day at the circuit was a bit damp.

Some of the side races were interesting...this was the 500m pit to pit tyre pull.

The weather did eventually clear up.

Another night another beer or 5. Not sure what the toilet roll was doing on the table!

Next day, race day was much better weather wise.

Side races today included the 500m totter in red high heels, over the same course of the previous day's tyre pull. The main event was a good race: Vettel worthy winner, but barnstorming overtaking from Button gave us Brits something to cheer on.

We decamped to Mons for a final night in Belgium. Straight into a "Tanks in Town" event.

Not unlike the UK, the beer choice in the restaurant was poor: Leffe was the the best choice, the rest being Carlsberg and Juplier. Still, tasted good after a long drive.

But some good beer was sourced back in the main square.

Maison De Brasseurs is an atmospheric little bar. A reasonable beer selection served well in the correct glasses. Worth a visit if you are in Mons.

Final day and back to Watou and a trip to Noel Cuvelier's Farm Shop. Noel is close to retirement and he doesn't normally open on Mondays, but we happened to arrive just as he was accepting a delivery, so he agreed to open the shop for 30 mins.

Some people got excited by this news....

...others shopped. We spent 700 Euros in about 45 mins so I'm sure he was glad he opened.

Some of the beers: a surprising number of sour beers there. Still if I can't get IPA's I have to get by kicks somewhere.

Anyone heading to Belgium, go to Watou. The Brouwerij St Bernardus and Noel Cuvelier's Farm Shop are two must-see attractions for any beer fan.

Beer Recipe: Chilli Con Carne the Dredpenguin way.

2011-06-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows how to make Chilli Con Carne.

Everyone thinks that their Chilli Con Carne is the best.

I'm no exception ;-)

Dredpenguin's Chilli Con Carne

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

500g Lean beef mince
2 Beef oxo cubes

Zest and juice of a lime

Pinch of dried chilli flakes

1 Tsp cumin seeds

1 Tsp dried oregano

1 Large onion finely chopped

1 Large garlic clove finely chopped or crushed
1 Tbsp hot smoked paprika (use sweet smoked paprika if you want to tone the heat down)

1 Tbsp mild chilli powder

Small dash of chipotle Tabasco sauce

Large dash of Worcestershire sauce

1 Bottle Ale. I'm using Adanam's East Green.

2 Tins chopped tomatoes

1 Tin kidney beans in water (drained)

1 Tin kidney beans in chilli sauce

75g Dark chocolate broken into pieces
1Tbsp brown sugar

METHOD:

1: Over a high heat, dry fry the mince with the chilli flakes, cumin seeds and lime zest, in a large pan or wok, until browned.

2: Add crumbled oxo cubes and the dashes of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces. Continue frying for a minute or two.

3: Add the onions, garlic, oregano. Cook for a further 2 minutes then add the chilli and paprika and stir.

4: Add the bottle of beer, it will foam nicely to start, stir well and scrape any caught caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan.

5: Cook the beer and mince mixture for about 5 mins until some of the beer volume has reduced.

6: Add the two tins of tomatoes and stir well.

7: Add the two tins of kidney beans and stir again.

8: Bring to rolling boil for 5 minutes.
9: Add the sugar
10: Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and gently cook for at least another 30 mins. The chilli will improve with longer cooking but remember to top up some water to ensure it does not catch on the bottom of the pan. You are looking for a thick sauce.

11: 10 minutes before serving add the chocolate and stir in well as it melts.
12: At flame out add the lime juice.

13: Taste (you were doing so all the way through, right?) and season if required. If it needs more heat add some more chipotle Tabasco.

SERVE:

Will eat well with rice, tacos, baked potatoes, even pasta (make the sauce a bit more liquid as the pasta will absorb some of the water and the dish will end up dry). For perfection serve with a big dollop of sour cream and some chopped coriander.

TASTING NOTES:
It should taste smoky, meaty, rich from the chocolate, sweet from the tomatoes and have both a good chilli kick and a slight sharpness from the lime.

BEER MATCH:
Goes down a treat with a nice strong IPA.

Photoblog: A Morning in the Rake.

2011-06-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

Slightly off piste for my latest photoblog, on the back of some of my other photoblogs, Glyn asked me to come and take photos of the Rake Bar for their website. For obvious reasons I can't really put all the photos up here but here are a few of the out-takes.

Nice sign - shame about the birdshit!

Chris and Daniel were the barmen for the day. Nice chaps and a good laugh...

...but perhaps not the most photogenic...

...any resemblance to Legolas is in the eye of a drunken hobbit.

When I arrived Glyn was working hard in his office.

Some photos were nearly good....this one has the reflection of a pesky barman again!

The walls and posts are covered with some great stickers and posters.

However this one has been graffitied. Can you spot where?

A decent shot, but it is keg lager so CAMRA would not approve.

The fridges in the Rake are things of joy and wonder....

...but the bottles don't look quite as good empty.

This is one of the most interesting shelves...except the Tusker perhaps.

One of the best beers around...and one of the worst taps.

A delivery arrived mid morning with some awesome beers

and was used by some CAMRA regulars for an impromptu table...are you sure that is real ale, son?

"Oh well Glyn, I'm off to the Old Fountain" (true story)

The cellar makes for some interesting drops.

And some major pain to get the big kegs in.

A pigeon basking on the deck...right before Glyn aims a kick at it. (And missed before the animal-lovers out there get grumpy!)

Final couple of arty shots.

Good fun was had and some good pictures were taken, however these are being saved for the Rake website so won't appear here. Thanks to Glyn, Chris and Daniel. It was good to see how the bar runs for a few hours.

Photoblog: LABrats brewing at Brodie's.

2011-06-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

The London Amateur Brewers (LAB), a bunch of keen homebrewers who meet monthly in London, were invited by James Brodie to come and brew a beer at his brewery. Not surprisingly the homebrewers jumped at the chance. And here are some photos of the day.

The KingWilliam IV is the brewpub and hotel where all the action would take place. Though it was all locked up when we arrived.

Soon we got inside and and started an inventory of the grains and hops.

So off to the cafe for breakfast and discussions on the beer we were to brew.

Someone had to bring out the laptop!

Eventually we departed back for the brewery with two recipes - a Kiwi IPA and a hoppy US-style porter.

Discussions ensued and the IPA was ditched as too close to an existing product so LABrat Porter was born.

Eric the Brewer made some tweaks to the recipe to make it viable on the Brodie's brewkit.

John the brewery assistant looking a bit rock'n' roll.

Mash in starts...any resemblance to projectile vomit is purely coincidental.

The mash tun was nearly full....

...time for a beer. Brodies Summer Special a 1.9% uber-session ale.

The main man arrives..."Hey am I late?"

13 brewers? The brewhouse was a little cramped.

First runnings onto the Warrior and Northern Brewer hops.

Sparging started and the runoff was very slow...so time to grab some lunch.

And take a few arty shots.

By the time I returned the mash tun was already dug out. What a shame!

Important equipment for mash tun cleaning are: Beer, Handleless Brush and Serious Boots.

One of 4 hop additions in the last 3 minutes.

This left about a foot deep of spent hops in the boiler.

That someone has to clean!

So James, what did you think of the beer?

A very fine day was had by all. I look forward to trying the beer when it goes live in a few weeks time. A big thanks to James Brodie for inviting us along and to Eric and John for looking after us during the day.

Photoblog: Beer Bloggers Conference 2011 Day 1

2011-05-21T04:18:00.000-07:00

Having a full weekend of sporting activities to occupy me I was only able to make the Friday of the Beer Bloggers Conference in the Brewery in Chiswell St. I took my camera, thinking i may not have 100% recollection the next day and this is what I saw:

The brewery was a fantastic location for the conference...

but all was a bit quiet when I arrived.

The ice bucket led me to my first beer of the day, unfortunately the clear glass bottle meant the beer was more lightstruck than the doctored sample later.

After that I avoided skunk alley.

I found something really rather nicer. Worthington's Red Shield was a refreshing zesty citrusy blond beer that was superb when matched with the salmon later in the evening.

However the best beer of the reception was Sharp's Single Brew Reserve 2010 which is a single hop beer made with Bobec. A riot of pineapple, toffee apple and lemony zing.

Lunch was served.

As you may expect with beer bloggers there was plenty of nosing the beer.

The Hardknott clan were there. Dave was refusing to look at the camera...this was to be a recurring theme in the photos I took!

And who knew the depth of love this man had for his little bear?

Just time for a Brain's Black Stout, from a can with a widget, more Murphy's than Guinness but I can imagine it going down very well watching some rugby.

We went upstairs to kick off the main event.

A welcome from Scott Wilson from Molson Coors the main sponsors. I gained some respect for these guys over the day - they talk a good game about craft beer.

Peter Haydon from Meantime delivering a fascinating talk on the history of London Brewing.

David Sheen from the British Beer and Pub Association, looking somewhat perplexed about his statistics.

A great panel on the Do's and Don'ts of Blog writing. I suspect I'm breaking at least 3 or 4 rules in this blog!

Melissa Cole adding a bit of glamour with her oversized ring...or is it a knuckleduster aimed at Shepherd Neame? Scary face there Melissa!

Next up was a beer fault tasting masterclass, or a faulty beer tasting class perhaps. The girls from FlavorActiV struggled with some facts.

Any joke about Carling being the main fault in the beer is in the minds of the reader.

The beers laid out for dinner.

The food in general read better than it tasted. Nothing too bad but somewhat under seasoned.

I was lucky enough to be on Stuart Howe's table.

The beers on the other hand were in general fantastic.

Chalky's Bite was better than the Grolsch with the starter.

At this stage I was lubricated enough to forget to take pics for a while.

DW was a great beer but the Red Shield was a better match for the salmon.

The Brew20: Gorse Strong Ale was best with the dessert, with Blue Moon being positively awful as a match.

Syringes...were we about to start mainlining the beer?

Ah that makes more sense.

Best beer name of the night: Turbo Yeast Utter Abhorrence from Beyond the Ninth Level of Hades III Actually not a bad beer if you could get over the grappa like smell.

A great speech from Steve Wellington, what an absolute gent as well.

Is that a tear in Pete Brown's eye when Steve announced his imminent retirement?

All that was left was to hand the party over to Václav Berka from Pilsner Urquell who brought many casks of fresh unfiltered beer with him. He was moving way too fast for my camera but led us all to a great party downstairs.

All in all a great time was had thanks to Mark and Allan (who must be a vampire as I have no pictures of him!) for their organisational efforts. Shame I could only be at day 1.

Photoblog: Redemption Collaboration Day.

2011-05-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Redemption Brewery is a newly founded (2010) 12BBL micro a stones throw from White Hart Lane in North London. They brew a cracking 3% beer called Trinity among other hoppy brews.

Today they were brewing a collaboration brew with Evin from the Kernel Brewery a subject of a previous Photoblog.

They were good enough to invite a few more interlopers along.

Tony, Manager of the Euston Tap and ex brewer at the Florence Pub.

Bryan, a fellow beer geek, brewday virgin and owner of some of the best facial hair around, he is slowly been weaned off a Brewdog obsession.

Meet the Redemption guys. Andy Smith is the brewer. He moves so fast it is impossible to take a picture of him in focus FACT!

And Andy Moffat. An ex city trader who is the organisational brains behind the the brewery and as nice a guy as you would ever want to meet.

By the time I got there after a 2.5 hour commute they had mashed in and were weighing out the first of the hops.

Still there were some advantages with bacon butties on the go.

Evin and Andy discussing the recipe which was a mash up between Redemption's Trinity and The Kernel's SCCANS.

The conclusion....

More hops....

and more Hops....

And even more HOPS

....they ran out of buckets as there was so many hop additions 22 in all.

I liked the Redemption brewery. It has a well worn look to it, well I say well worn, battered would be a better word especially for the brew kettle.

Although they seemed to have a bit of a large slug problem.

Mexican standoff for who digs out the mashtun.

Strangely enough lost by the visitors Bryan and Tony

Time for some Trinity straight from the conditioning tank.

With so many hops in the brew it is no real surprise that the hop filter clogged a few times. but it was still a really fast brewday. Done by 2pm.

Time for an arty shot...there is always one.

Finally off for a bit to eat at the Jolly Butchers.

It was another really fun brewday. Many thanks to Andy and Andy for their hospitality and Evin for allowing me to continually stalk him! Really looking forward to getting a pint of this beer.

Session 51. A week long beer and cheese extravaganza.

2011-05-16T02:40:00.000-07:00

Jay at the Brookston Beer Bulletin called this one and the task was to pick some beers with 3 american cheeses.

I must confess that the title is a lie. I'm just too lazy to taste 3 beers with 3 cheeses all on one night and equally slack about writing up the results.

I did taste some cheese with some beer over the course of the week and this is what I found.

I matched Fullers Vintage Ale 2002 (a recommendation from Andy at the Bottle Shop). with ASDA Mature Afon Cleddau Cheddar Cheese (suggested American cheese - Widmer 1-Year Aged Cheddar).

The beer was great. Sweet raisin smell somewhat reminiscent of a Pedro Ximenez. Toffee apple, crystal malt taste initially then effervescence then bitterness makes it seem a lot less sweet than it smells. Very complex, very nice.

Cheese was not as strong as expected. It was nutty and smooth - a little disappointing. I was expecting a more crumbly crystalline cheddar.

In combination with the cheese the beer lost a bit of its initial sweetness and left a creamy cocoa chocolate milkshake taste. Effervescence was less evident but pallet is cleansed and the bitterness left right at the very end. All in all a very pleasant experience.

Additionally the cheese with Kernel Pale Ale Centennial was also a good lemon/zingy match.

Next up a few days later was Tesco's American Double IPA, matched with Blacksticks Creamy Blue cheese (suggested American cheese - Maytag Blue). Please ignore the Bravissimo bag in the background it has nothing to do with me!

Cheese is very creamy and has a nice saltiness with a lingering savoury aftertaste. Lacking the umph of a really good strong blue.

The beer is really Brewdog's Hardcore IPA re-branded for Tesco. A fantastic take on an american IPA with all the grapefruit and piney nose expected with this style, and the sweet malt fading into the lingering bitter finish.

The match was ok. The bitterness of the beer is tamed a little by the creaminess of the cheese. The whole experience was pleasant but lacked the fireworks I have had with Hardcore and some stronger blue cheeses.

I could not find a goats cheese rolled in ash never mind one with ash in the middle so had to make so with a French style goats cheese from Asda (suggested American cheese - Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog). This was matched with Not Another Wit from Mikkeler, an imperial wheat beer. Another recommendation from Bottle Shop Andy.

The middle bit of the cheese was fresh and creamy - pleasant, nutty finish and slight sour tinge. The edge is somewhat more mature less fresh and lacking the sour note but the nutty flavours are increased and it has a nice salty tinge although there was some suggestion of sweaty socks.

Beer was cloudy golden in colour. Smell is more like an IPA but does have the wheat beer yeast coming through. Taste is of a Belgian wit to start with but with more body as you may expect from the stronger alcohol. Finally there is a lasting and harsh bitter finish. Overall I was expecting more.

The match is somewhat of a non-event. The cheese reduces the ending bitterness and the aftertaste is from the cheese rather than the beer.

All in all the best match was the Fullers Vintage Ale and the Cheddar.

The ASDA cheese range was a little lacking and it was a shame I did not have time to hit up a proper cheese shop.

I'm way too late for the round up but still I guess I can post this as Session 51.5

Pan Fried Beer Marinated Pork with Pearl Barley and Soy Beans.

2011-05-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

A recipe with a bit of a beer background, not only in the marinade but in the Barley which I love an alternative to rice.

Serves 2 hungry people
4 Lean Pork Steaks or 2 Pork chops
2 Cloves Garlic (chopped)
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp Course Seasalt
Juice and zest of a Lemon
100ml Best Bitter (I have used Dorking Brewery One)
2 tbps Olive Oil
200g Pearl Barley
1 Onion (finely chopped)
200g Frozen Soya Beans (or Peas if you so desire)
600ml Chicken Stock
1 good pinch of Dried Thyme
1 good pinch of Chilli Flakes
1 Bay Leaf
A Bunch of Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley chopped retain some for the garnish
Small knob of Butter

1. In a mortar and pestle add the garlic, seasalt and fennel seeds. Grind to a rough paste. Mix with zest and juice of the lemon and beer and use to marinade the pork for 30 mins.
2. In a saucepan heat half the olive oil over a medium heat and gently fry the onions until they are soft. Add the thyme, bay leaf and chilli and cook for a further minute. Add the barley and toss until it is well coated in oil, add the stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat cover the pan and simmer for 35 minutes until the barley is tender and absorbed all the stock. Add the Soy Beans or Peas for the last 5 minutes to heat through. As it is taken off the heat stir through the parsley. Taste and season.
3. Heat the remaining oil over a high heat in a pan and shake the marinade from the pork. Fry the pork until cooked through and lightly browned, usually takes no more then 5 minutes but it really depends on the size of the steaks. Remove the Pork from the heat to rest for a few minutes.
4. Serve the pork on top of the barley garnished with the retained parsley, and enjoy with a glass of the beer you cooked with.

Open It Weekend

2011-05-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

I was away for the first half of the long Open It Weekend (the subject of another blog post when I write it), so only a few bottles to describe.

First up was an impromptu one on Sunday afternoon. I was eating some leftover Easter egg chocolate and wanted a rich imperial stout to go with it. Went to the homebrew fridge to find I had drunk or given away all my own stuff but there was a bottle of the Kernel Imperial Brown Stout - London 1856. Swiftly cracked open and distributed into a couple of glasses dark and inviting with an impressive coffee coloured head. Tried on its own at this time of the afternoon it was a bit much but in combination with the chocolate it was a wonderful mouth-coating sweet start with gentle fizz as the beer cleanses the pallet in a slow and sensual way. I consumed way more chocolate than I intended to due to the great combination.

Next was the Thornbridge Darkstar collaboration Collation Old Ale. Probably the star of the show. Poured a hazy orange/brown colour with a short lasting white head. The aroma was of hot toast slathered in thick cut Seville orange marmalade. More orange on the taste but the flavours were many and complex - pleasingly long but sedate bitter aftertaste. It was a bit like a beefed-up and more complex Darkstar Sunburst, one of my favourite regular beers.

Next up was an Brewdog AB01. This is a beer I had tried before and not been overly impressed with. My hope was that it would improve with some ageing and this one was now 15 months old. It poured a darker brown then I remember with thin but lasting white head. Typical malty/candi sugar belgian style aroma with perhaps a hint of vanilla coming through. On the pallet it was a lot smoother than my previous tastings, again vanilla being a background taste with an estery (red) fruityness. Previously I found the alcohol kick a bit overpowering but this had considerably mellowed with age and the whole experience was a pleasant one. I have one bottle left and suspect I will keep it for some time.

Finally the next night I had a unique bottle to open. It was a magnum sized Grolsch swingtop bottle filled straight from the Dorking Brewery fermentation tanks by my own fair hand. It contained their Winter Ruby beer which is a dark 5.5% seasonal that is somewhat akin to Old Peculiar. Unfortunately it had a nasty medicinal after taste which leads me to suspect that I did not rinse the caustic out of the bottle well enough. A shame because I had been looking forward to this for a while.

Photoblog: A month with Dorking Brewery

2011-04-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Dorking Brewery is based in the Old Engine Shed at West Dorking Station. They have been going since 2008 and distribute to many pubs in the Surrey and Sussex areas. They were good enough to allow me to hang around with them for a month or so earlier in the year and ply me with some beer. Here are some photos I took during that time.

The Brewery was quite difficult to find the first time, tucked away behind a van hire place and a car valeting company.

Meet Graham, one of three partners who heads up the admin side and gets his hands dirty every now and again.

Rob is in charge of recipes, production, cleaning and most things physical and is a big England Rugby fan...I guess we can't all be perfect.

The 3rd Partner is Mark who was never there!

The Brewery is located in the old engine shed at Dorking West Railway Station, some relics of the past are visible...and I'm not talking about the trousers.

The brewery used to be a car re-spray shop. Apparently the previous tenants had to leave rather quickly, at Her Majesty's Pleasure.

They have a 10 BBl Dave Porter Plant.

Before and after on a batch of Gold.

They currently only bottle DB Number One but are planning to bottle the Red India Ale soon. They also now have a licence to sell directly from the brewery if you are passing.

Three new designs for the Red India Ale bottle...guess which one they picked?

A rather empty-looking cold store after a record-selling week.

The clean-up never ends.

The Automated Cask Washer...Also known as Rob!

Anyway here are a few more to clean.

Someone has been experimenting!

Yum, crystal malt.

Firkins ready to be filled.

Right to the top of course.

Giving it some tap.

Barrels a-rolling in the cold store.

Some arty firkin shots.

They have 3 core beers in their range and a number of seasonals. Tasting notes where I have tried them:

DB One: 4.2% A Best bitter with good malt characteristics especially in the bottle and good hop finish especially via Cask.

Gold: 3.8% A pale session beer with decent body and and exotic fruit nose from some late American hops

Red India Ale: 5% A dark IPA made with bags of crystal malt and loads of Centennial hops.

Black Mild: 3.2% Complex grain bill gives this a fantastic chocolate roasty taste with a nice hint of bramble. Brewed generally in the spring it is well worth looking out for. My personal favourite.

Winter Ruby: 5.5% Rich dark winter seasonal

In development is a Stout with 7 grains in the malt bill and hopped with lots of Bramling Cross

Session #50 - What makes me buy someone's beer?

2011-04-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

Alan over at A good beer blog is hosting this session and to my mind it is the simplest question to answer.

5 golden rules:

Brew good beer.
Store the beer well.
Serve chilled beer.
Use appropriate and clean beer glasses.
Don't charge silly prices for your beer.

St Paddy's Day

2011-03-17T03:02:00.000-07:00

I'm proud to be Irish but ...

Today I won't be drinking Guinness, I will be drinking my own homebrewed stout.

Today I won't be going to a themed Irish pub, Irish pubs are fine in Ireland, but excruciating elsewhere.

Today I won't be wearing Green, nor a silly hat, nor growing a ginger beard and I certainly won't be holding a shillelagh.

I'm proud to be Irish 364 days a year but today just makes me cringe.

Photoblog: A Day with The Kernel and a Rabid Barfly.

2011-03-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

So an early start and my first morning commuter train in 6 years took me to Druid Street to an unmarked archway under the train line out of London Bridge and The Kernel Brewery, recent winners of the Best Bottled Beer in Britian award from SIBA. Today Evin and Toby were joined by Glyn Roberts, manager of The Rake Bar and keen brew collaborator to brew another batch of their India Pale Ale Black. This is a photographic record of the day.

The brewery does not have the whole archway to itself, it shares with an artisan cheese and ham maker.

The closest Evin got to the brew process was to check the recipe.

Loving the named fermenters.

"Green" Yeast being cleaned from Chad, ready for today's brew, it smelt amazing and was from some S.C.C.A.N.S.

Malt ready to go.

Evin's presence was not missed with Toby's expertise...

...and Glyn's enthusiasm.

"Aren't you a little short for a brewer?"

Getting that mash just right.

First runnings a little light for a black beer?

Ah! That will be the Carafa then...

Glyn and hops, like a cat with catnip.

See what I mean?

And the Kernel had no shortage of hops... from my swift calculations that is 100kg of green gold.

The sparge gave us time to demolish some lunch...

and snoop around looking for some arty shots.

With the sparge complete,

and the boil going well,

the clean up starts...

...at high speed.

Bags and buckets of spent grains.

Elsewhere in the brewery the Kernel labelling process begins. They bottle and hand label all their beer, which can be upwards of 5000 bottles a week. Evin has not been slacking.

Boil and transfer complete Glyn gets stuck into the Kettle. Still, he is happy because it is hops.

Target gravity achieved...and check out the colour now.

Time for one final arty shot before heading off for a beer.

A big thanks to Evin, Toby and Glyn for letting me come along to take the photos and sample some of the great beers.

The Session #49. A Regular Beer

2011-03-04T02:06:00.000-08:00

There are many beers that I drink on a regular basis:

Some are good.
Some are bad.
Some I drink for the taste alone.
Some I drink for the taste with food.
Some I drink for refreshment after a hot day playing cricket.
Some I drink for the numbing effect after a game of lacrosse.
Some I drink because I made them myself.
Some I drink because I helped clean up the brewery.
Some will be gulped and glass quickly refilled.
Some will be savoured, sipped and sniffed.
Sometimes a new beer comes along that is added to the list.
Sometimes an old beer drops off, ignored but not forgotten.

There are too many to mention them by name but each has its place and each time I go back I remember why they are regular beers.

The session hosted by Appellation beer

What is Craft Beer?

2011-02-10T17:30:00.000-08:00

Mark over at Pencil and Spoon has suggested that beer bloggers put their thoughts on screen about craft beer, not having joined in a group blog before this seems a good place to start the topic being close to my heart.

"I like to drink Craft Beer" is a phrase I find myself saying on a fairly regular basis. The question I will try to address here is what exactly is craft beer? and specifically what is craft beer in the UK.

My love of craft beer was ignited a few years ago on a trip to the North America when I had my first taste of Dogfishhead beer in a bar in Toronto. Craft beer is a standard term in the US, so how do the Yanks define it?

From The Brewers Association

An American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional.
Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition.
Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer.
Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewers brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.

So small, independent and traditional, would this be viable in the UK?

Size, I suspect 6million barrels covers just about every non multinational British beer manufacturer but could this not be rescaled to be appropriate.

Independent, well yes fine but I think most people who know would consider Stuart Howe at Sharp's to be a brewer of many fantastic craft beer products (we can skip over Doom Bar) but no more with this definition.

Traditional, well not 100% sure how this definition works. Does it mean for example that that someone who used a small percentage of torrified wheat for head retention in their beers would be discounted as it does not enhance the flavour? However in general I agree with this.

Not too bad a match, however my problem is that there are many average, under hopped, generic beers that would fall into this category, these average beers are not what I would consider craft beers. Anyway I guess my point is that it is difficult to nail down a definition, it is a very subjective matter and does not fit well with hard and fast rules.

So what is craft beer to me?

The passion and love a brewer puts into his art.
A commitment to excellence when brewing every beer.
The sense of excitement about trying a new seasonal or one off brew.
Adding that extra Kg of hops, even thought it will reduce profits, to make the beer better.
The ability to change a well respected and successful recipe because you think you can make it better.
The experimentation with different styles and use of different influences to combine to make something unique.
The use of the best ingredients regardless of where they are from (a late edit due to this blog).

Craft beer is good beer. If you like it just drink it and don't argue about what it is called or how it is dispensed.

Hello, My Name is Brewdog.

2011-01-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

When Brewdog does Burns Night in London you would expect them to do it in some style, so when a it was announced that they were doing a 5 course tasting menu matched with beers at the White Horse in Parson's Green, with a promise of a taster of AB:05 and other brewdog rarities, there was nothing to do other than to convince the wife to overcome her fear of bagpipes and jump on the train.

The pub is an excellent venue for these kind of events and generally has a great range of draft and bottles beers. Their food menu looked good and each dish was paired with a recommended beer. The dinner was being hosted over two areas of the pub, upstairs and a back dining room. I believe there were 90 places at the event so credit to the kitchen for getting all the food out in a timely manner.

We got there early and started sampling halves of the brewdog beers. Alice Porter (excellent), New Punk ( from cask, a little lacking in condition), Edge (an awesome mild) and Alpha Dog (a fairly standard bitter, I was expecting more of a 5am saint on steroids) were all consumed before the off. A mini stampede to the function room at the back and we were treated to a 7 course tasting menu, but sadly no AB:05 as it was not ready yet.

We were hosted in the dining room by Tom and Josie, two of brewdog's dynamic sales team and had James, replete in his kilt and work boots, pop down from hosting the upstairs room to give us a talk about each beer.

So the haggis spring rolls with a spicy chilli sauce. The pair of spring rolls were crisp and had a nice meaty centre, the sauce unfortunately was ketchup like and heavy, overpowering the haggis filling and was slightly disappointing. I had imagined a light Thai-style chilli dipping sauce and think that would have been much better. James taught us how to introduce ourselves to the beer and the beer, the new Punk IPA certainly said hello back just bursting with tropical fruit hop aromas, probably the most in your face aroma of any beer I can remember. The taste did not disappoint either with the hops again to the fore but lacking the edgy bitterness that was a hallmark of the original punk. The match was not the best of the night, the overpowering spicy sauce obliterating all those nice tropical fruit flavours and the bitterness was not there to allow the sweet/bitter/hot rollercoaster described here.

The salmon with was a simple Japanese style preparation with a bowl of Soy sauce and some leaves. The beer needs a bit more explaining. Hello, my name is Ingrid is a double IPA with cloudberries, brewed especially for the Swedish market. It has a strong malt slightly sweet backbone really good dry hop aroma and taste and a lingering fruity tang of the cloudberries . Such a shame it is not normally available in the UK. The food match was superb with the sweetness of the beer duelling with the salt from the soy. However skip the soy and it was not good at all.

Cullen Skink a traditional Scottish potato soup with smoked haddock, rich thick and warming with a great smoky taste. This was matched with Bitch please. I think this was a last minute substitution for the AB05 and never have I come across such a mad beer. James introduced it by putting on a nice little song. It was brewed in conjunction with Three Floyds who added heaps of shortbread and toffee to the boil. It was not a clear beer...in fact this beer could be served in slabs! Seriously sweet and rich too much for me on its own but it was my wife's favourite beer of the night. This however was one of the best and probably most unexpected beer match of the night, the thick smoky soup seemed to calm this mad beer down and allow it to show off some amazing flavours of toffee aniseed candyfloss and a rich spicy undertone. One to watch out for when it is released in April, the extra conditioning could make this something special.

After a piper, and a scotsman quoting Robbie Burns stabbing a haggis we had our main course. Tasting notes become a bit patchy from here on in. The haggis neeps and tatties were matched with Alice Porter. A pleasant combination but I found the porter a bit lacking against the strong haggis flavours and sweet neeps. Or perhaps it was my pallet struggling to get rid of the large glass of Bitch Please followed by the shot of whisky.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin (if there is any better named beer I have not found it) is a beer that I have had once before. Seriously strong and smoky I found it interesting but not enjoyable, bit like I feel like a peaty single malt. Add an dollop of vanilla ice cream and it becomes an heavenly interesting shot - the overpowering alcohol and smoke are calmed by the creamy vanilla and it all melds perfectly.

Cranachan was great, creamy cream, sharp raspberries and crunchy oats. Black Tokyo Horizon was the beer match. This is the darkest of dark stouts, a Brewdog collaboration with Mikkeller and Nogne-O. Another very sweet beer and a thumping 15% but the overall effect with the cranachan was good. The carbonation cleansed the cream the sweetness mixed well with the sharp raspberries and the beer added a nice chocolate note and a long bitter coffee like aftertaste.

Finally we had the cheese plate; a blue, a cheddar and a brie. All very nice cheeses served with fantastic oatcakes.The beer served with it was Hardcore IPA, an interesting choice to serve - a dry very hoppy bitter beer with the cheese. The beer totally obliterated the brie, and to my suprise, did not stand up at all against the cheddar, hardly making an impact on the strong flavours. The match with the Dunsyre Blue was absolutely spot on. The tangy strong cheese and earthy oatcake seemed to be lifted and enhanced by the beer and resulted in a salty, creamy, bitter, oaty, hoppy merri-go-round that went on for an age in the mouth. Truly the match of the night. Pass the port...no thanks! If you take anything away from this blog is should be that Hardcore IPA is the beverage to match with a blue cheese.

A great night, some very good food and great beer well matched. Say what you like about Brewdog but they have come a long way in a few years and long may they put on events like this.

The Curry Match Part 1

2011-01-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

Home brew a beer to match a curry banquet...yeah ok then I'll give it a go.

The clubhouse at Walcountians Sports Club is in a poor state at the moment. There is an urgent need for a new roof so the onus is on everyone involved to raise as much money as possible. My section, the lacrosse club, is luck enough to have a talented curry chef who caters for 100 people each year at his curry buffet night. This year in addition to the curry buffet we will be having a more up market Curry Banquet as an additional fund-raising event.

I will be adding value by attempting to home brew a beer specifically to match the curry served at this banquet.

What factors are there to consider when matching beer to curry. We certainly don't want some flavourless fizzy (or not so fizzy...yes I'm looking at you Cobra) lager. But this at least gives me a decent name Mongoose, cause it eats cobras for breakfast(1).

Strong flavours in the curry will need a strong beer to match. ABV needs to be high but not too strong...say around 6%. The beer needs to be bitter and well hopped ideally with plenty of citrus aromas, it needs a small amount of residual sweetness. Looks very much like we are talking about an IPA.

So we have a 6% Mongoose IPA that was the easy bit. But there are many flavours of IPA. We need to consider the grain backbone, how dark should the beer be, which hops for bittering aroma dry hopping. Should there be a twist, chilli, ginger, coriander or cardamom in the secondary? Chickpeas in the mash? So many possible variations, I guess I will be making a lot of IPA in the next few months.

(1) I am aware that the indian mongoose does not actually eat cobras, it is mainly vipers apparently but there is no premium lager called viper aimed at the curry market so I'm using a bit of poetic license.

Oi Herby No!

2011-01-17T07:52:00.000-08:00

Bath Ales Festivity with Irish Sausages and Mash.

The Food
Sausages from Paul Rankin's Range produced by Finnbrogue with creamy mash, broccoli and my own recipe herby sweet caramelised onions. Onions cooked with thyme, bay brown sugar and a splash of beer (recipe may come in another blog). I have to say that the sausages were magnificent easily the best supermarket packaged sausage I have had in a long time. Firm in texture but still juicy and packed full of pork goodness and just the right amount of herbs and spices.

The Beer
A seasonal beer from Bath Ales Festivity is a robust full bodied porter with plenty of chocolate and coffee. It is one of my favourite dark beers. I was lead to believe that they were sold out a few weeks ago but found 4 bottles on the shelves in Waitrose so bought them all! Unfortunately this batch seemed to have very little carbonisation and poured with no head, I don't remember it being so flat before so perhaps a slight fault with this batch. I did however drink it and feel the need to test another bottle straight away afterwards.

The Match
Porter and Sausages seems a natural combination in my mind bringing to mind thought of pubs on a Sunday lunchtime in front of a roaring fire. The combination was pretty much a success. The little carbonation tried its best to cut through the rich sausages and the butter in the mash and the chocolatey bitterness played well with the caramelisation on the fried sausages. I thought the difficult match might be the thyme heavy, sweet onions and while the porter held it's own again the sweet onslaught I'm not sure that it was not slightly overpowered by the herbs.

So not quite the outstanding match of my previous attempt but not bad. Lose the herby onions and it would be much better.

Note for next time...work on the food presentation.

A Punk and a Mexican have a Fight.

2011-01-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

Brewdog Punk IPA and my homemade chilli con carne

For my first food pairing my little knowledge of beer and food matching suggests that IPA and chilli would be a good one, although I was a little concerned about the sweet tomato sauce.

The Food
This particular homemade chilli has rather spicy chilli kick with a smokey hit from the paprika and a sweetness of carrot and tomato in the sauce (too sweet really if I was being critical about the food).

The Beer
The Punk IPA is an old friend. An initial smack of hoppy pine and citrus and a long lingering bitter finish that drags you back for more.

The Match
First round to the Mexican as a lot of the initial hop hit of the IPA is lost in the strong flavour of the chilli and tomato sweetness. Then the punk fights back and the long bitter aftertaste outlasts and finally wipes away the sweetness and when that eventually fades the warm tingle of chilli is left on the palate, tempered but unbowed by the beer. Quite a rollercoaster and not an unpleasant one.

In sumary this is definitely a pairing I would recommend the chilli is definitely enhanced by the Punk IPA but I do miss that big initial hop hit that I would get from drinking the beer without food.

I feel that the punk's hardcore big brother may be an even better match. I also look forward to trying the new recipe Punk with a less sweet chilli next time.

Final note to self...take a picture next time.

A brief introduction...

2011-01-12T16:36:00.000-08:00

So here is me 38, can't spell for toffee and new to the world of blogging. How can it not be a riotous success!

I've been reading so many beer review blogs and other beer related columns recently and kind of wanted to join in the fun. However the question remained what, within the gamut of beer topics to write about?

Craft Beer reviews? Already done by many and done well.
My home brewing? Easy to talk about but not sure how interesting to the world at large, one of my main aims is to help spread the word about craft beer so I have discounted this as a main topic.
My pipe-dream of setting up a microbrewery in Epsom? For another day and another blog.

Not much to go on there...but what about the crossover between Beer and my other passions? Cricket, Lacrosse and Food.

Beer and Cricket. Well my cricket circles certainly drink plenty of beer and I play in a beer sponsored league but not much of it is craft beer and I'm sure by the 3rd week of the season talking about drinking many pints of London Pride and talking bollocks about cricket would be a bit old hat.
Beer and Lacrosse. See Beer and Cricket except without the beer sponsor on the league.
Beer and Food. Well I have just got a copy of The Brewmaster's Table, my knowledge of matching beer and food is basic at the moment but I do expect it to improve. Not totally original but less crowded then pure beer reviews ... just perhaps we have a goer here.

So this is a long winded way of saying this will be a blog about Beer and Food. beer with food reviews, cooking with beer, beer in restaurants and perhaps a specific home brewing project to come up with the ultimate beer to match with a special curry dinner.