Wikio

Interesting, I've just been ranked by Wikio for the first time. Only 17th in the wine and beer category, but still, up there with the best. I'm chuffed.

Interesting, in a wine and beer category beer bloggers seem to have the edge, or so it would seem. It's all to do with how blogs link to each other, apparently. So, we're a sociable lot and no doubt, that's beer for you.

Right, I'm off to find more bloggers to make friends with. That can't be a bad thing, can it?

Interstingly, blogger spell check does recognise blog and blogger, but not bloggers. Obviously the system that provides this medium thinks we all act singularly and therefore there can't be a plural of the noun.

Great Big Barrel of Fun

GBBF trip post No3

Tuesday morning should have seen a lie-in, but sadly the cleaning staff seem to think that 8am is the time to start. Oh well, nearly caught nude in a hotel again, at least I was by myself and not up to no good¹. However, the rude awakening made me decide to get up, shower and head off for breakfast. I needed to ensure beer soaking carbohydrates after too much protein in the canapés from the day and night before.

I spent most of the morning drinking coffee and reading my newly signed book. I'd been struggling a bit with Pete's historical chapters and was pleased to have got to the start of the real journey, and of course the demise of Barry². I'm eagerly awaiting the Famous World Beer Smuggler, who hasn't yet entered the piece, but he'll be there there soon.

Finally, it was time to approach Earls Court. A queue? For a trade session? Gee, it's going to be full inside then.

I've been to Earls Court before, for trade shows, where no expense is spared on carpet and decor. It was interesting how different the place looked, but then amazing how many people such a great place can swallow and it didn't get too crowded at all. I was pleased to be able to get a nice tasting glass. Session drinking was not the point of this trip; Networking and beer tasting was. A 1/3 stemmed glass was perfect, not quite as good as an over-sized wine glass, but then I'm not the incumbent Beer Writer of the Year. Off I headed for the Bière Sans Frontières bar, only, where is it? If I had a complaint, then the lack of a map would be it. Carpets would be a complete waste of money, but I like maps.

OK, 5 minutes later and bumping into Adrian Tierney-Jones and I found it. It took me a little while longer before I found a beer I wanted, a slow start, but eventually, I found my feet. A little overwhelmed at first at the size of the biggest beer festival in the country, but, gradually I decided it was a good setup. After a couple of hours there I could find what I wanted and understood the really quite logical setup.

I tried a few beers, and I did have a mission to find out a little bit more about wood aged beers, I suspected I would like them despite my friend Jeff Picthall saying they are crap "I can't say I'm a big fan of wood-aged beers". Confirmed, I like them, sorry Jeff. However, perhaps it's time to thank Jeff for suggesting that not going to the GBBF was a non option, thanks Jeff, you were right on that one. Now all I need to do is convince Ann that the trip was all work, work, work.

I don't want to fill this post with details of all the beers I tried. Except to say that again, I was drinking big foreign beers. My little stemmed glass perfect for trying lots of different ones. I tried lambics and cherry lambics and German Pilsners³ and more Belgian influenced American beers. It was fantastic.

I left the British beers alone, well mostly. It's not that I don't like them, it's just I know what they taste like. I don't need to spend money and time on a trip to London to try beers that are a variation on a theme. Beers that taste more or less like the ones I can get at home. There are some British breweries out there doing more innovative things, but knowing who they are and what they are doing wasn't easy for me to find out. For instance, if I'd known about Pride 'n' Joy, the 2.8% beer, I might just have tried it. I did try Fullers Vintage Ale, which I enjoyed and it made me realise, I'm not a ticker, I'm an explorer, thirsty for new ideas. But, you know, I'm open to new ideas, I'd love to hear from breweries that are doing something different, blogging is the new beer media, apparently, perhaps if I'd heard about things before I went I'd have tried it and then blogged. Just an idea for you brewers out there, BrewDog have got the idea.

But best of all, I caught up with many great people. Of course there was Tandleman. Thanks to Jeff Picthall for this picture⁴. There was Barm, Beer Nut, Zak, Mark and Jeffo. There were many other people I met that day and for me, the best thing was the fantastic combined enthusiasm by everybody for beer. That's what we were all there for, the beer.

It's easy for us to slag off various styles of beer because it doesn't fit what we want out of beer. I do it I know. But it's only opinion. We all know what we like. Some like to stick within their comfort zone, perhaps straying a little when adventurous. Others, like me, throw caution to the wind, unable to risk the chance that there is something we are missing out on, because life is too short to be bored. But, if you like beer, I'd suggest whatever type of beer it is you like, you're with freinds at the GBBF.

Of course none of this would happen without CAMRA. 1000 voluntary people, that's what it took to get the thing running. 1% of the CAMRA membership directly involved in the staff, presumably giving up holiday time to do so. This was CAMRA at it's best - Thank You.

Sadly it had to end. My train left Euston at 19:30. I left Earls Court at around 18:30, slightly later than perhaps I should have, but I just kept bumping into people. Across town with 20 minutes to spare, a quick Burger King⁵ burger and a coffee before boarding the train.

Drunk? no, not at all. Giddy with the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful people, some of whom my failing memory is struggling to find names for. But not drunk. 10% beers were typical for me on this day and not once in the 28 hours I spent in London did I feel drunk. It's all about pacing and appropriateness. On the train home I even read some more chapters and slept no more than I normally would have done, entertained by the constant apologies from the shop staff; member of the on board team in the singular, about the late "change of set" causing printer problems, stock shortage, coffee machine cleaning and could passengers please remain in their seats while he sorts it all out. We were sure that with his sweet tone of voice, that if he was being mugged we would still get the same calm apologetic explanation and he'd be sure to inform us just as soon as normal service resumed.

So, what is this about 10%, 12%, 15% or even scary 18.5% beers causing binge drinking? BrewDog are right. It's a cure. But why? And why is this notion being poo-pooed. Because it's to do with drinking culture, that's why. It's to do with taste. It's to do with savouring. It's to do with getting around the fact that a 330ml bottle could be shared, no really, I did this and it worked. I'm not sure how I'm going to make James's assertion sound correct; that 18.5% beer is the solution, not the cause of binge drinking, but I think he's right. It just sounds barmy and to be fair, judging by the choices of beer most people made at GBBF, our culture is just not ready for it yet.

Conversely, on arriving home, I drank a pint of my 4.4% American-inspired-hoppy-slightly-above-session-strength-pale-ish-beer. It tasted remarkably like an American IPA.

Oh, and very well done indeed to my Cumbrian colleagues Giles and Howard for Silver in the bottled beers category. Yewbarrow from their Great Gable brewery is indeed a good beer. I can't comment on any of the other awards as I'm not familiar enough with the beers.

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¹Yes, it did happen once, in my own sodding hotel. Yes, I was with someone on this occasion.

²Well buy the book then and you'll find out who Barry is.

³Which one again Barm? I forgot.

⁴OK, do your Wurst. Actually, notice two interesting beer creatures here. On the left is a confirmed pub supporter who enjoys nothing better than supping a few pints with mates and is unlikely to be caught being pretentious - note the pint glass. The fine specimen on the right is a bit of a beer scene chameleon. In his own home, strangely, he can often be found swilling pints like a good un, however, on this occasion, not wanting to loose face in front of his pretentious beer writing mates, is joining in with fine gusto - note 1/3 pint stemmed glass.

⁵Needs must. But, just like British beer, it's great for the right thing. In a pub, with mates, I'd drink a pint of standard British ale. In a restaurant on a special occasion I might well choose fillet steak or venison or corn fed chicken breast filled with organic goats cheese and wrapped with air dried saddleback ham dressed with a jus of white wine reduction. Today for lunch I had leftovers. Filled a gap and was fit for purpose.

A Piss-up by Beer Writers

GBBF trip post No2

If the best beer writers in the country can't organise a good party, then who can? Monday night saw the 21st Birthday party of the British Guild of Beer Writers. My first real chance to meet up with many people I had heard about and perhaps interacted with on the Internet. Pete Brown gives an excellent report here almost making my post superfluous. But I'll find some words to fill a post, after all, I've got to practice so I too can work up to a 130,000 word¹ book.

A fine party it was indeed, made that way by good beer and good company. If I listed all the people I met I'd be bound to get some wrong, so I'll save myself the embarrassment. With so many new people in little more than 24 hours that I was in London, I soon started to get confused, not unusual, it's true.

Jeff Pickthall, my fellow Cumbrian, had managed to get The Hairy Bikers to come along. With Jeff Bell also there the northern contingent² formed the naughty boys at the back of the room during the speeches. We ended up getting told to stop chatting. The trouble was we couldn't hear the speakers, which was a bit of a shame really, because I gather some good stuff was said. Unfortunately the PA just wasn't set right for Public Address. It did work well for the SIBA band later though.

The beer was interesting. Not quite as exciting in its entirety as the American beers of earlier in the day, but the Harveys' Imperial Extra Double Stout was fantastic. I've never had a beer so opaque, it was so black that even the low sun over the Thames couldn't get it's bright penetrating rays through the liquid. I had a nice picture of the bottle, but on returning home I looked at the pics only to find that a member's female acquaintance was sitting opposite and all I can see in the mid background is the region just above the low cut top³ she was wearing. Honest, I didn't notice at the time, sorry.

I think I was just captivated by the quality of the beer and the joy of being with people, as Pete points out, brought together by beer. It was one of those evenings that you just don't want to end, the crack⁴ was spot on and I stayed longer than I should have done.

This trip was an important chance for me to explore how far I'm going to take this beer writing lark. To do so much further than blogging, we're told, is a toughy. However, It's turning into a passion, a desire to communicate what I know about beer, which it turns out isn't much and there is so much to learn. The beer world is interesting and it's diversity is becoming broader and deeper and there is a future - somewhere - for us beer writers, provided there are people who are prepared to read it. I wanted to hang on to these people for as long as possible, to soak up their combined knowledge before I had to go home. But sadly, I recognised the signals all too easily, as the bar staff signalled less and less subtly that it was Foxtrot Oscar o'clock.

I still hadn't checked into my hotel at this point and the last tube had gone. Jeff P got me to Clapham Junction, from where there should have been a single bus journey to take me to Earls Court. I've never got on with the bus route maps. Which side of the street should I be on and which street? These seemed to be nagging questions. The digestif effect of the stout and stuffed chilli peppers seemed to be kicking off peristalsis causing discomfort as various muscles fought. This doesn't help one to concentrate on sorting out a confusing situation. Being from the country, where a good sense of direction is required, a real map is preferable, rather than some sort of stylised interconnectivity transport node solution that bares little resemblance to reality. I decided to walk, using the A to Z as my comfort blanket, praying for the conclusion of alimentary activity to just wait a little while longer⁵. At 3am I eventually checked into the hotel, got to porcelain with such relief but surprisingly un-drunk and went to bed.

I'd been drinking beers that we're typically 6% and above, but I'd just been having tasters. Free beer all day and I was sober, well, fairly anyway. How was that? I think it's a sharing thing. I had a glass and there were bottles. Later, when it was draft beer, it was in pitchers. We just drank, and talked, and poured a little more into the small glass I had. No pressure. No rounds. No big glass shouting "drink me". Just great beer to enjoy, oh, and top company.

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¹Pete signed my copy of his book, Hops and Glory. In doing so he also disclosed the word count - thanks for the target, although I suspect, like you, I would overshoot somewhat. What's all this "couldn't think of any more" bollocks? Although words come easily, I've got several dictionaries and a thesaurus full of them if I get stuck, it's assembling them in a suitable order I sometimes have problems with. Oh, and thanks Liz for insisting on my full name.

²Sorry Stonch, you're from the North, as well you know, and don't forget it. But, it was nice to see you've got somebody who's able to cope with you, spot on company both.

³No, I'm not sending out copies. I like these people, I'm not going to upset them any more.

⁴Crack is similar to criac in Ireland. In Cumbria it means gossip, news or general conversation. I know in London it means some sort of substance, but us simple country folk don't understand these sort of things.

⁵OK, too much information, but in Cumbria you don't have to walk too far before you can find a convenient wall to hop over. Where do you go at 2am when you are caught short in London? Call yourselves civilised?

American Craft Beer

GBBF trip post No1

Despite being from the delightfully remote and beautiful Cumbrian valley of Eskdale, where the population of sheep¹ greatly outnumber us humans and the air is crystal fresh and clear, I always enjoy with great relish a visit to London. This time I was here for the Great British Beer Festival and incidentally to also attend the 21st birthday party of the British Guild of Beer Writers. I'd have to admit to childlike excitement as I stepped off the 15:12 at Euston, incredibly less than 3 hours after I'd boarded it at Oxenholme in The Lake District.

My first call on Monday was the Porter House in Convent Garden. My hotel was at Earls Court and a change at Leicester Square was needed anyway. It's two minutes walk from the tube station and a guarantee of something reasonable to drink. The guild party was not starting until for another three hours so I had time to kill. Having got myself a bottle of Liberty Ale I walked out into the sticky afternoon mug that is expected alfresco in these southern city places, and settled to enjoy my beer.

Within a few minutes a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers walked up simultaniously greeting me and the three others on the next table, who it turned out are also members. "Has it started already?" he asked. "Has what started?" I returning a further question. "There's an American beer tasting session downstairs, I'm sure you'd be welcome as a guild member". Well it would be churlish to refuse, wouldn't it?

The "New world" beers are still an area of research I need to develop. Although I've had my hands on them here and also in Oregon, I'm quite convinced I need to explore them more. A bad experience, as it turns out, with Arrogant Bastard Ale had made me sceptical about the whole American beer scene. That is until I cracked open a bottle of something different from the same consignment 2 years later which changed my view completely.

This tasting session was about to confirm that there is a whole new angle that can be applied to beer. It showed, that in fact, the bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale I had before must have been duff as not only did it taste foul, but it also made me as sick as a dog. The very nice gentleman who gave it to me probably didn't know, and I was too polite to object. The beers I tried here all excited me, including Arrogant Bastard.

There were, I believe, four American breweries represented including Stone and Victory. As well as my successful second chance at Stone's beer I was impressed by V12 which had an incredible Belgian style nose, quite unmistakably. I asked, because I suspected, what yeast was used and was delighted to hear it was Westmalle. That explains things. In the taste there is something that cuts through the wonderful Belgian style and declares itself American, the hops I suspect is what makes it and together it works fabulously well. At 12% ABV not a session beer, but as I'll explain later in this series of posts, that, in itself, does not produce drunks. In fact, it would seem to me that this could not be further from the truth.

There were incredible stouts and porters and IPAs and even a hoppy Pilsner to really inspire. All beers with bags of flavours and most with ABVs higher than are the norm in the UK. I realised these beers were all beers I'd like to have better access to and started to ask how I could obtain them. The answer seemed to be that I'd have a problem in my location, up in Cumbria. Then somebody pointed out that there was no reason why we couldn't make these type of beers here in our green and pleasant land. It would make them cheaper than these imports and cut down on global freight into the bargain.

The majority of our UK beer culture is about the tradition of real ale. There is nothing wrong with this, but it's by far the loudest drum being beaten. There is more to beer than "Trad Beer" as my cellar technician terms it, seemingly with disdain. Even the labels on the bottles of these US beers project an excitement and a cool image that is almost completely missing from the craft beer scene in the UK. These people are about pushing boundaries and making something even more exciting than was done last time. We could learn a lot. If nothing else we could learn that we need to fight the prohibitionist movement, not join in with it.

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¹Now, I know what you're thinking, and you are right. The totty quality is significantly better in London.

I Don't Belive It!

There, an exclamation mark in the title. Perhaps I really mean it. Abolish alcohol duty on 2.8% beer and below, why do these people really think that's going to make a difference?

Anybody that thinks that an abolition of beer duty at this percentage is going to save the pub industry really, really does not understand the pub industry.

It's bollocks.

Perhaps, when I have time, I'll tell you why. That will make the total number of posts I need to do add up to four. But today, the sun shone, and I had a lovely day with my kids while the pub ran beautifully without me. Tomorrow, I need to do some real work, GBBF favours returned to the family, but not yet the business.

60p reduction in the price of a pint? cloud cuckoo land mate. Alcohol free Coca Cola costs typically £2 plus a pint in a pub and there is a good reason for that. Go figure. Stop diverting from the real issues, please.

Blood is now vaporising with astounding speed. Sorry to those who might have expected a report on my trip to the GBBF etc, it's on it's way - this one just got me gobsmacked. But really, I thought pubs were about beer, perhaps wine or whisky or, if you have to, alchopops, not plain old pop.

What's a Duck-do?

We often have duck on the menu. Apart from being really tasty and coming from Goosnargh, which must mean it's good. The event of it being cooked is great fun for new members of staff.

"Check on chef, one Fillet, one Duck."

"Ok, Fillet no problem, I've got the duck breast here, I need a Cointreau to go with the fillet and fetch me the Duck-do from the walk-in please"

I normally have to turn away as I'm crap at the poker face malarkey.

"Yes Chef!........... erm, what's a Duck-do?"

At which point there is a chorus from the rest of the brigade "Quack, quack"

Actually, it only ever worked properly once, when Iulian was in charge of cooking one evening and Rasvan, his brother, had just started with us. Lets just say we needed a few moments to regain our composure before we could continue to cook. Iulian is a pretty good wind-up merchant, don't take him on at poker. Luckily, Rasvan also has a sense of humor, you have to have to work with me.

Sorry, but I had to use that joke to introduce this beer. I eventually got to try Kwak last night as we escaped for a few hours. On a Saturday? - yup, incredible. Anyway, I'd heard a bit about this Belgian beer before. Some reports seemed to suggest it was overrated. I had to try it, if for no other reason than it is served in an interesting glass. "Do you want it in the funky glass?" the barman enquired. Part of the reason for ordering the beer, surely.

That crazy glass looks at first sight like it's big enough to take two bottles. Deceptively, it just about manages all of one bottle with it's decent head. Carbonation seems very high, but the beer, whilst not my favourite Belgian beer, is a worthy experience, made all the better for the entertainment of the glass. If you want to know more about the glass there is some information on the Bosteels web site about the "coachman's glass". Personally I just think it's a useful marketing gimmick, but one I like.

I also got a little peckish and spying a stout on the bar decided, unusually for me, to try it with the dark chocolate Bounty that was shouting "Buy Me!" from the back bar. I don't normally like chocolate with beer, but this worked well with the bitter dark chocolate and roasted barley flavours mingling well.

Right, I'm off to the GBBF. I have a strong suspicion that most of the time I'll be around the BSF bar, which apparently is where the real beer writers hang out. Besides, Tandleman is on that bar and it would be nice to get a real chat with him this time.

If you see me there during the Tuesday trade session, do say hello. If you see me there at any other time you've had too much beer and are seeing things; I won't be there unless of course I've had too much beer and I miss the 19:30 back out of Euston for the frozen north. I'm suposed to be back in Cumbria before Tuesday turns into Wednesday, I have a pub to run you know.

Worlds Best Ale

I got sent a press release today. Apparently, the World’s Best Ale is Robinsons Old Tom (8.5%).

This is according to Beers of the World. It seems their web site has yet to catch up with the news.....