Taking the beard out of beer!

No Female Beer for NZ Competition

2012-01-17T03:06:00.000-08:00

Wow! It's bad enough that rubbish like 'beers for the ladeez' are foisted on women in the UK, but at least there isn't the archaic attitude recently demonstrated at a show in New Zealand where a woman wasn't allowed to enter a home brew competition because, well, she's a woman!

The awesomely-named Rachel Beer was told that she could enter her beer but it wouldn't actually be judged because, wait for it, it was a blokes-only competition.

Initially I thought it was just one dinosaur who had put everyone else in a bad light... but then, oh then, I saw this bright idea from the show president Mike Smith in this article from the New Zealand Herald.

He suggested Ms Beer put a proposal to his committee for a women's or mixed sex section next year.

WTF? Are you kidding me? Is that supposed to make it all better?

I actually find that more offensive than the outright sexism of the original exclusion because this fossil can't seem to recognise that it doesn't matter, as Ms Beer so bluntly and brilliantly put it, whether someone has balls or not - the entry should be judged on the quality of the brew!

I am also cross at how badly this reflects on the NZ beer scene, because I've tried quite a few of the craft brews coming from that neck of the woods and they are excellent and I also know some of the brewers, most notably the boys at Epic, and couldn't find their attitude to be more diametrically opposed.

Take Time to Smell the Beer

2011-12-11T07:00:00.001-08:00

I spend a lot of time during tutored tastings encouraging people to smelltheir beer before drinking it, in order to get the maximum enjoyment, but today I had a powerful reminder that this isn't just about immediate gratification, but could one day give you a beautiful gift in the form of a very happy memory.

Smell is the most powerful of the senses when it comes to recallingmemories and I certainly experienced that this morning, when the mere act ofopening a wooden box led to the unearthing of a memory that was sohappy, it bought tears to my eyes and a huge smile to my lips.

It was a memory of my Granddad, Alf Cole, who was a man I loved dearly. In fact, I'd go as far to say idolised. He died when I was 12 and, to this day, I find it heartbreaking he didn't live to see me grow up; I hope he would have been proud of me but, if nothing else, he would have at least enjoyed some free beer, that's for sure!

So when this box wafted its muted sandalwood scent at me, a tidalwave of powerful memories was unleashed and I was transported back at least 30 years to abright summer's day in the Barley Mow pub garden on Englefield Green in Surrey andmy Granddad holding his pint glass to my lips for me to take an illicit sip, which I’m pretty sure is myearliest beer-related memory - but it’s also so much more than that.

With that aroma came a host ofother remembered scents - over the pungent nuttiness of the beer, I could smell the smoke on his fingers, theBrylcream in his hair and, throughout, the woody note from the Old Spice shaving cream thathe used, whisking it to a lather in its branded china pot with a badger hair brush.

I then remembered how I would find him in the morning, carefully shaving in a mirror in the kitchen because it had the best light, wearing just his vest and trousers, with his braces flapping around the backs of his legs; how he'd pretend I wasn't there as he carefully finished, then wiping any excess foam away before giving me a good morning kiss and making me mybreakfast, which was always a bowl of cornflakes followed by blackcurrant jamon toast.

I am so pleased to have these precious memories gifted back to me forthe rest of my life by the simple act of opening a wooden box that I just want to encourage you all to do something that willhopefully make you as happy one day as this did me.

Stop and take the time, when you're out enjoyingyourself with friends or loved ones, to just inhale the aroma of your beer.

Just take that few seconds to commit that smell to memory and, perhaps, one day you will be drinking that same beer and you will be back transported back tothat exact moment in time of joy and companionship - and I hope it brings a smileto your lips as you take a salutary sip.

Party Time!

2011-11-01T02:06:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, as tonight is the official launch party for my book I just wanted to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for all the great feedback so far.

I've been utterly overwhelmed by the positive reaction I've had to Let Me Tell You About Beer and never, in my wildest dreams, did I think it would be so enjoyed by so many of you.

There are myriad people I couldn't have done this without - many of whom are thanked in the back of the book and many of whom I just couldn't fit in - but what always strikes me the most is how amazingly warm and friendly the brewing industry is.

I've always been given a great reception from beery people the world over, whether it's enquiring about their beers, offering feedback, writing about them or, even, going and brewing them.

And, whilst some may have recently been quoted saying the UK brewing industry isn't friendly, I would just like to state for the record that I have never, ever found that to be the case... perhaps those people should look at themselves, and their own conduct, before pointing the finger at others.

Anyway, I'll rant about that another time, because what I really wanted to use this post for was this...

To everyone, both personally and professionally, who has shown me love, respect and support over the last 13 years (since I joined the Licensee & Morning Advertiser as a cub reporter), I thank you from the bottom of my heart for enabling me to have the greatest job in the world.

Also, to all you lovely people who read my work, comment on it, show support or give me honest criticism, you are the heartbeat of what I do - if you didn't care there'd be no point.

Cheers all!

Melissa x

p.s. if you're at the launch party tonight and I have a little weepy moment, please don't take pictures, just laugh and hand me a beer, I'll get it together eventually! : )

Hummust Try This!

2011-10-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I just can't help myself sometimes, cheesy headlines make me happy!

Anyway, I popped a picture of this home-made hummus on Twitter last night and there was a very positive response, so I thought I'd pop it on the blog for you.

Here we go!

Harissa-Spiked Hummus
Equipment needed:
Small frying pan
Pestle & mortar
Food processor
Flexible spatula
Measuring spoons
Micro whisk/fork
Chopstick
Serving bowl
Large plate

Ingredients:
One can of chickpeas
Good, grassy olive oil
Tahini (sesame paste)
2 tbsp Cider vinegar (or you could use pomegranate molasses and dispense with sugar/nectar below)
2tbsp cumin seeds, freshly toasted & ground
Juice of a lime
Garlic (preferably roasted but not necessary)
1tsp Sugar/agave nectar
Salt & & freshly-ground pepper

For topping:
A few reserved chickpeas
Harissa paste let down with some olive oil
Toasted sesame seeds
Bit of green herb or some micro herbs or something pretty!

To serve:
A large, thin flatbread
Crudités

Method:

Drain and rinse your chickpeas
Pop in food processor with the garlic clove and a splash of water
Start blitzing for 30 seconds or so
Then add cumin, lime juice, sugar/nectar and tahini - blitz a bit more
Start adding olive oil very slowly so it emulsifies & becomes smooth
Taste for seasoning & acidity, add vinegar and salt as needed, it generally takes quite a bit of salt
Once you've blitzed in your balancing flavours, use your flexible spatula to scrape hummus out into serving bowl and smooth the top
Using your chopstick, drag a quite deep swirl pattern in the top of the the hummus
Whisk together your harissa with a splash of olive oil and carefully pour into the swirl pattern
Place chickpeas on top, garnish with whatever you're using and then sprinkle from a height with the sesame seeds
Crumple your flat bread and place on a plate then pop hummus in the middle of it and serve crudités on the side or sprinkled on the bread

Suggested beer match:

I actually was drinking a lovely NZ Villa Maria Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2010 to toast the Kiwi team's world cup win. With its huge gooseberry and elderflower notes it really reminded me of Oakham Citra, so that's my recommendation! Cheers and enjoy.

Something a Bit Silly!

2011-10-19T02:20:00.000-07:00

I don't care if this is true or not, it's an entertaining thought!

If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you would have £49.00 today.

If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you would have £33.00 today.

If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you would have £0.00 today.

But, if you had purchased £1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminium cans for recycling refund, you would have received a £214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle.

A recent study found that the average Briton walks about 900 miles a year.

Another study found that Britons drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year. That means that, on average, Britons get about 41 miles to the gallon!

Makes you proud to be British, doesn't it?

(thanks to Howard Winn for emailing this to me)

Battle of the Sexes - Bring It On!

2011-10-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

The lovely John Keeling

Tonight I am facing off against John Keeling, head brewer at Fuller's in a battle of the sexes - not really it's just going to be me and John picking beers for a menu set by the lovely Angus, licensee of the Red Lion.

I'll also have just 10 of my books, which I managed to beg, borrow and steal from the publishers to be signed, I did my first signing at Ilkley Literary Festival last week but I haven't had a chance to blog about that yet, it's all coming along with news from across the pond at GABF as well.

Anyway, here is what I'm putting up against the might of the narky Manc! I really hope given the breadth of choice I had available to me that I do justice to Angus's lovely food.

Amuse Bouche

Live oyster, steeped in Cantillon lambic & raspberry puree

Matched with Aspall's Cyder (I'm cheating straight away!)

To Start

Charcuterie board

“Pickled” smoked duck breast in Kriek w/ cherry compote

Matched with Anchor Liberty

Oxsprings English Air Dried Ham & fresh fig

Matched with Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted

Brandade of Salt Cod, on rye

Matched with St Austell Clouded Yellow

Devils on Horseback (pancetta/mango chutney /English mustard)

Matched with Chimay Blue

Main Courses

Sweet potato & Yam Fatt Putt w/ Chinese slow roast Belly Pork in Plum Sauce w/ Asian Slaw (mouli/carrot/spring onion/mint/toasted sesame & lime dressing)

Matched with Thornbridge Kipling

Lahmacun (greek lamb pizza-type thing) Pickled cucumber salad & Greek Yoghurt

Matched with Williams Bros Grozet

Dessert

Pear Tart Tatin w/ Fuller’s Double Stout Devon Ice Cream

Matched with Dark Star Espresso Stout

Chilli Salted Caramel tartlet

Matched with O'Hanlon's Brewer's Reserve

Really darling? Beer? How... quaint!

2011-10-06T02:11:00.000-07:00

Beer, but isn't that so very... blue collar?!

I've only just had time to properly digest this column from Susy Atkins at the Telegraph and the more I read it the more it irritates me immensely!

Opening with comments about the beer community being 'very pushy indeed' - you can almost hear her sighing her annoyance at the little people.

It's as if she's writing this piece to stop these annoying beer flies buzzing around so that she, and the rest of the grown ups, can all get back to the serious business of wine.

Yes, she throws a few crumbs out there about beer and food working, but it's always backed up by a little snipe 'wine's more versatile' that totally undermines any credibility or belief the casual reader should have in the piece or the assertion that beer and food match.

So, I've got a question for you Susy... Why is it so pushy to ask for a fair shout for our national drink, nay the world's favourite alcoholic beverage, on our national broadcaster? And why is it currently so roundly ignored?

I appreciate you've got professional territory to protect, you are employed by Saturday Kitchen to offer wine matches and no beer lover is suggesting you chuck a portion of your income out the window, just for beer to be allowed a fair showing - is that too much to ask?

Also, 'brew and stew'? Really? That's the best you can come up with? Why not go all out and call it 'pie & pint'? Or, when you use phrases like that, you might as well just say 'the commoner's drink'.

The inference that beer is somehow a crude tool when matched to food is simply nonsense.

I've worked with chefs to pair everything from seared foie gras to the finest Vacherin and delicate scallop sashimi to the most ephemeral chocolate soufflé, that's how versatile beer is and I can back up that statement - I notice you've not bothered to justify yours to any of the people who have politely asked you about it in the comments section.

Just last night I was working with a chef who was, when I met him, a self-confessed lager boy; a few menu planning sessions later and now he can't get enough of Brasserie Pietra's Colomba, loves Goose Island IPA, went mad for Aspall's Peronelle's Blush and is seriously in love with trying new brews when he goes out now (can't get him to like anything dark yet mind you, but I'm working on it!).

And it's not just chefs, every sommelier I've ever known has always said that cheese and chocolate are two of the biggest challenges they face when it comes to wine matches and, more and more, they are turning to beers like Rochefort 10, Harviestoun Ola Dubh, Dark Island Reserve, Fuller's Vintage, Sharp's Chalky's Bite, Otley O8, Marble Ginger and Brooklyn Chocolate Stout as the perfect alternatives!

So perhaps, Ms Atkins, rather than dismissing something you're clearly either threatened or underwhelmed by, you should stick to writing about wine and be honest with your commissioning editors and ask them to get someone else to do the beer writing.

Home Sweet Home!

2011-10-04T15:22:00.001-07:00

Finally! My blog has been dequarantined by Google, thank god, and I've got a lot to catch up on, not least my adventures in the US at the ever-awesome GABF, on which I'll be doing a separate post in the next few days.

But, before that, I just wanted to share something I made for dinner this evening that was not only healthy but like a hug in a bowl.

You see I really needed something comforting and cuddly, I've had jetlag like hell today but after a week and a bit of serious overindulgence, I needed something that would nurture my body a bit as well as lift my spirits and soothe my travel-weary soul - which this most certainly did.

The beer match I would suggest for the below would be something like a Vienna-style lager or even a crystal wheat or Belgian-style but nothing too dark and heavy or, conversely, very bitter as there is some very subtle and pretty spice notes in the dish that I feel would be overwhelmed

So, here goes my Oxymoronic One Pot Wonder (or slightly bastardised tagine recipe if you like!)

Serves 4 (with quite a good bit of bulgur wheat and veg left over for salads)

Sorry picture isn't great, I was hungry!

Toasted spice mix:
Half a cinnamon stick

3 tbsp Ras-el-Hanout (Moroccan spice mix)

2tbsp cumin seeds

1tbsp coriander seeds

1/2tsp chilli flakes

Dressing & Sprinkly Bits!

Finely chopped mint leaves

Two garlic cloves

Salt

Lime - juice & rind (juice of two if it's not very juicy)

Half an inch ginger very finely grated

Small pot of natural yoghurt

Pomegranate seeds

Pomegranate molasses
Toasted sesame seeds & chopped pistachios

Main ingredients:
8 x chicken thighs
1 x medium butternut squash chopped into inch cubes

1 x large aubergine chopped into inch cubes

4 x large garlic cloves smashed

1 x onion finely chopped

1tsp harissa

600gms bulgur wheat

Ready-to-eat prunes & dried apricots

Chai tea bags (optional to replace with a spiced Winter Ale, porter or mild)
1 x tin of chickpeas

1tbsp Harissa (or a slightly smokey not super-hot chilli paste)

1x bottle spicy ginger beer (I used Wychwood Ginger Beard, see brief review at end)

Small splash of groundnut oil
Seasoning

Soak your dried fruit *childish snigger* in the chai tea or one of the mentioned beers
Pop a dry pan on the hob to heat up
Whilst it's doing that, pop salt & garlic in a pestle & mortar and pulp
Add lime rind & juice + mint leaves & ginger - leave to macerate
By now pan should be nice and hot, add spices from spice mix list, turn heat down and toast spices carefully, don't burn and then set aside
Heat a large pot or hob-friendly tagine (I can't recommend Emile Henry highly enough)
Add oil and quickly brown chicken thighs, add half the toasted spices, then add onions and cook until they go translucent then add aubergines & butternut squash for four or five minutes, then the chickpeas and then add garlic, some seasoning & harissa, then add rest of spices
A minute after the garlic is added deglaze with a bit of water before adding any beer you're using
Add the bulgur wheat and stir everything together carefully, keep an eye on the liquid levels every five minutes, it's not an exact science
Whilst it's cooking add your mushed garlic, mint, lime etc. into your natural yoghurt
Then just give your spice pan a wipe & toast the sesame seeds & pistachios in that
To serve: test for seasoning then pile into bowls, drizzle over yoghurt and a bit of pomegranate molasses and sprinkle with some more chopped mint, sesame seeds, pistachios and pomegranate seeds - serve!
Drink beer with it!

Wychwood Ginger Beard

A name I've seen before in a Firkin pub but a very different beer Ginger Beard is initially a little sweet but ends off with a decent fiery Ginger Kick. Personally, I find this kind of ginger beer a little one-dimensional but that's probably because I came to ginger as a flavour a little later in life, the OH who loves Old Jamaica in the summer declared it would be 'really nice ice cold in summer as a thirst quencher' - so what do I know?! : )

Not Beer and Certainly Not Fear

2011-08-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

Via @rickontour on twitpic

This is a quick post that's not about beer, although I am having one as I'm writing this, it's about saying no to fear.

The streets of London, and other areas of the country, have seen the most appalling violence, thuggery and downright criminality in a way that I have never experienced in my lifetime.

Most heartbreaking was the footage of the scum who robbed an injured young man, after pretending to take care of him, I have never witnessed such a sickening display and if I had my way they wouldn't be left to breed, but that's why I'm not a police officer.

However, you lot all know about the horrors, so I'm not going to bang on about it.

First off, I want to thank our emergency services and for all the citizens who protected their own territories - you have all done amazing work in the face of tremendous adversity.

And to the people behind @riotcleanup I say bravo, you are true heroes and have engendered some of the most remarkable scenes of human strength, fortitude and beauty I've ever witnessed too - the brooms being held aloft around Clapham as hundreds took the streets to clean up the mess the thugs had left is still bringing tears to my eyes.

If these mindless thugs take to the streets again tonight and continue to trash our fair city, I'll be out there tomorrow with you because we need to show that they are a disgraceful minority, we will not tolerate it and FEAR WILL NOT WIN!

Be safe fellow Londoners - Drink Beer & Carry On x

Mild Makes Its Mark Again at GBBF

2011-08-03T01:15:00.000-07:00

I have nothing to declare but my genius

Mild has taken the crown again at Champion Beer of Britain, which is nice and will hopefully see more pubs stocking this refreshing, generally low-ABV, tasty style.

In light of the constant screeching from the neo-prohibitionists, this kind of low-alcohol beer is unlikely to get as many headlines but you never know, someone might screw their head on straight and laud it like they should!

Anyway, here's the list of winners, well done to Mighty Oak for its win and well done everyone else too.

Overall winners
Champion Beer of Britain - Mighty Oak, Oscar Wilde (3.7% ABV, Maldon, Essex)
Second - Marble, Chocolate (5.5% ABV, Manchester, Gtr Manchester)
Third - Salopian, Shropshire Gold (3.8%ABV, Shrewsbury, Shropshire)

Mild category
Gold- Mighty Oak, Oscar Wilde (3.7% ABV, Maldon, Essex)
Silver- Rudgate, Ruby Mild (4.4% ABV, York, North Yorkshire)
Bronze- Coastal, Merry Maidens (4% ABV, Redruth, Cornwall)

Bitter category
Gold- Salopian, Shropshire Gold (3.8%ABV, Shrewsbury, Shropshire)
Silver- Teignworthy, Reel Ale (4% ABV, Newton Abbot, Devon)
Joint Bronze- Triple fff, Alton's Pride (3.8% ABV, Alton, Hampshire)
Joint Bronze- Potton, Shannon IPA (3.6% ABV, Potton, Bedfordshire)

Best Bitter category
Gold- Houston, Peter's Well (4.2% ABV, Houston, Renfrewshire)
Silver- Country Life, Golden Pig (4.7% ABV, Bideford, Devon)
Joint Bronze- Castle Rock, Preservation (4.4% ABV, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire)
Joint Bronze- Bollington, Best Bitter (4.2% ABV, Bollington, Cheshire)
Joint Bronze- Blythe, Staffie (4.4% ABV, Rugeley, Staffordshire)

Golden Ale category
Gold- Cumbrian Legendary Ales, Loweswater Gold (4.3% ABV, Hawkshead, Cumbria)
Silver- Salamander, Golden Salamander (4.5% ABV, Bradford, West Yorkshire)
Bronze- Holden's, Golden Glow (4.4% ABV, Dudley, West Midlands)

Strong Bitter category
Gold- Moles, Mole Catcher (5% ABV, Melksham, Wiltshire)
Silver- Kinver, Half Centurion (5% ABV, Kinver, Staffordshire)
Bronze- Adnams Broadside (4.7% ABV, Southwold, Suffolk)

Speciality Beer category
Gold- Oakleaf, I Can't Believe It's Not Bitter (4.9% ABV, Gosport, Hampshire)
Silver- Amber, Chocolate Orange Stout (4% ABV, Ripley, Derbyshire)
Bronze- Orkney, Atlas Wayfarer (4.4% ABV, Stromness, Orkney)

Winter Beer of Britain winner (announced in January 2011)
Dow Bridge, Praetorian Porter (5% ABV, Catthorpe, Leicestershire)
Holden's, Old Ale (7.2% ABV, Dudley, West Midlands)
Hop Back, Entire Stout (4.5% ABV, Downton, Wiltshire)
Marble, Chocolate (5.5% ABV, Manchester, Gtr Manchester)

Bottled Beer of Britain winners (sponsored by Hotel du Vin)
Gold- St Austell, Proper Job (5.5% ABV, St Austell, Cornwall)
Joint Silver- Molson Coors, Worthington White Shield (5.6% ABV, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire)
Joint Silver- Brown Cow, Captain Oates Dark Oat Mild (4.5% ABV, Selby, North Yorkshire)

Anti-Alcohol Lobby Is Taking Their Ball In

2011-08-01T02:12:00.000-07:00

What Don Shenker thinks inside
our heads looks like
Thanks to Jay Brooks for finding this

The Anti-Alcohol Lobby is one of the most infuriating, self-righteous, hypocritical and, frankly, downright untruthful bunch of blinkered blitherers (outside of religious fundamentalism) one could ever have the misfortune to meet.

And the national press's insistence that it will pander to them without thought or balance is equally disturbing and unprofessional.

Having been quite pleased with the Guardian's piece on health & alcohol not actually using a glass of beer for a change* I've now been utterly enraged by a piece in today's paper because it leaves several mahoosive issues surrounding balance, let's see if you can spot them?

"The drinks industry has secured heavy representation on a key government advisory working group on alcohol, putting it in a strong position to influence the coalition's forthcoming alcohol strategy.

Minutes of the Government and Partners Alcohol Working Group, which meets bi-monthly and is chaired by the Home Office director of drugs and alcohol, show that drinks industry membership has massively increased during the last year.

"Under the Labour government, there were a couple of industry representatives, but the coalition has swelled their numbers to the point where they make up almost half the membership of the committee, excluding the civil servants who represent government departments, such as health and the Treasury. Minutes of meetings before and after the election were obtained by the BBC's Panorama programme, which on Monday night will show the damage excessive drinking is wreaking on young people and asks why the government has not acted to raise alcohol prices.

"When the committee met in March 2009 – then called the Alcohol Strategy Delivery Group – eight of the members were non-civil servants and two of them were from the drinks industry – one from Bacardi and the other from retailers Morrisons. Five others came from a health background and the sixth represented local government.

"But the membership changed under the coalition government. In December 2010, there were 10 members from the drinks industry and seven others. In March this year, there were 10 members from the drinks industry, eight of whom were present, and six others – three of whom were in the room."

Did you see it? No? Yes? Well in case you didn't, it was the bit that says of the original committee: "eight of the members were non-civil servants and two were from the drinks industry."

Hmmm, anyone care to speculate on who those 'eight non-civil servants' might have been? My money is on anti-alcohol or 'concern' groups, but the piece doesn't address it, so we don't know (am ringing to find out later today, so will report back).

Also, is it just me that can't make the maths work in this piece either? First off they say that the drinks industry now makes up nearly half of the committee's membership, excluding civil servants, and then they say that they outnumber everyone else by three members - and it's not surprising that their presence looks a lot stronger when most of the 'other side' can't be arsed to turn up!

And it seriously infuriates me that the idea of balance, in making alcohol policy decisions, has so truly appalled the Grand High Poobah of neo-prohibitionists Don Shenker - chief executive of Alcohol Concern.

He is of the opinion that the ability to shape and define alcohol strategy lies firmly with him and his cronies, as evinced by his comment: "This government needs to decide if it wishes to truly get to grips with the significant levels of alcohol harms in the UK, or stick with the status quo of allowing the drinks industry to call the shots. It can't have it both ways."

Are you kidding me? Let's get this straight, you don't want to engage with the drinks industry unless you outnumber them 8:2? Yet you will continue to disseminate and champion completely skewed and totally unethical policy formed from erroneous information?**

Here are my top three favourites:

In 1987 the Government released daily guideline figures on drinking; it has since been admitted by one of the members of the Royal College of Physicians' original working party, figures were "plucked out of the air" in the absence of any clear evidence about how much alcohol constitutes a risk to health
The Government and EU have both been using research from a body called the Institute of Alcohol Studies as the basis for their alcohol policy, this is solely funded by THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT and has also been found by the Charities Commission to not fulfil the criteria to be a charity, despite saying so publicly
In April the ONS released statistics, based on flawed methodology, saying that women consuming excessive alcohol was on the rise, which isn't true, and several newspapers reported, several organisations shouted it and no- one retracted it once the ONS said, in very small letters: Oops we got that wrong, it's not actually, sorry!

So, I've decided that I'm going to come out with a couple of my own!

Since the Drink Aware Trust was formed there has been a drop in drinking levels in the UK

I can't actually prove that, but there is a faint correlation, so it must be true! Now, what else have I got? Oooh, here's a good one!

Drinking cask ale makes you 87.5% less inclined to have a punch-up; because in my experience in the last eight years of going to the Great British Beer Festival I've only ever seen one fight

But that's how the neo-pros work, not me, so I'm just using these random observations to make a point - because it appears to be how you get government to form policy. Hmm, maybe I should jack this in and become a lobbyist?

Anyway, I'm wandering off point here.

In no sane democracy should one standpoint hold the entire ground on a decision-making, and policy-forming, committee, but this seems to be what Don Shenker is saying should be so. Sorry Don, but democracy just doesn't work like that!

Do you hear other areas of Government, like the Department of Health and its various lobbying grouper fish, saying: "We need to lower obesity in the UK, but we won't talk to any of the major fast-food chains, they will bamboozle us with fatty acids and sweet liquids!"

No, you hear them saying: "We need to engage with this industry to ensure that the minority that abuses their products have more safeguards put in place to protect them from themselves."

And here's the nub of it all, people like Don look at all of us who drink and see a 'problem', which he and his cult of neo-prohibinists believe can only be solved by treating us all like three-year-old children or dirty tramps with a can of Special Brew.

Sorry Don, I'm neither, and just because you know don't have the whole of government's ear to ensure they treat me like one of these, doesn't mean you should crying like a little girl about it.

And nor should the Guardian or any other area of the press be taking your complaints at face value either.

We, the demos, deserve better than that.

*sadly it was later pointed out to me on twitter that it was women and health, so of course they were drinking wine! Silly me...

**For an in-depth look at the total bollocks that's been coming out from the anti-alcohol lobby over recent years see Pete Brown's tireless work to look at reams of numbers and uncover the truth.

Just When You Think It Can't Get Any Worse...

2011-07-24T00:15:00.000-07:00

This is Chick Beer.

No, this is not a joke.

I repeat, this is not a joke.

And apart from a couple of comments, I am going to let this chirp for itself. To understand what I'm talking about you need to visit the website in all its glory.

'Hi, my name is Shazz. Let me tell you the cool story of how Chick Beer happened.' - Shazz? I nearly spat my tea all over the screen...

The bottle is designed to reflect the beautiful shape of a woman in a little black dress - Really? what an oddly angular woman 'Shazz' must be.

The six-pack looks like you are carrying your beer in a hip stylish, purse - A cardboard handbag? Hmm, it's that hobo chic I've been missing all my life!

p.s. this has been launched in the States, not over here - yet!!

Back to the Snug Age

2011-07-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

Here's the pre-edit version of the article that I wrote for Guardian Comment is Free in case you need a little 'light & fruity' reading for the weekend - I'm off on holidays, so please play nicely in my absence!

This week was the official launch of Animée , a range of three ‘beers’ specifically designed for women, and beer writer Melissa Cole isn’t impressed at all – but why?

Did you know in the 1930s a Mass Observation survey found women in the north-west town of Bolton weren’t allowed to order at the bar of a pub? I think I saw a step back to that by the brewing industry the other evening when Molson Coors announced the launch of Animée .

Now, maybe I’m not very good at being told what to do, but the idea of a beer specifically designed for women really winds me up.

But why you may ask? Well, quite simply, what the big breweries need to be doing is asking themselves why more women don’t drink the beers they are already selling – and the answer to that is because they have busily been disenfranchising women from the beer market for the last 40 years and now seem are trying to entice them to return with tempting trinkets and shiny things.

It’s kind of the business equivalent of someone breaking up with you horribly at school, only to beg you to come back in your mid-30s! It’s both disturbing and ridiculous.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m keenly aware of the challenges that face the brewing market right now, with big brands in decline and less people going to pubs, but is a range of prettily packaged, flavoured drinks for the ‘ladeez’ the silver bullet to all the industry’s woes? No, it simply isn’t.

Several pieces of research - ironically including one done by the Molson Coors ‘girly arm’ BitterSweet Partnership – clearly show the major barriers to women drinking beer are myriad; mostly it’s based around a lack of education, too much gassy rubbish and ugly glassware.

But, top of the list, is that they find the inherent sexism in beer advertising and marketing the most off-putting. There’s little that says ‘it’s not pink and fruity enough’.

In fact, it’s quite the opposite. When Professor Fons Trompenaar, one Europe’s leading market research gurus, investigated this issue last year, he found it was the divide the brewers themselves have created between the sexes that has put women off beer.

What the female market most wants is to be more informed through unisex marketing and education – not adverts about groups of lads who can’t get into a cosmic nightclub or who shelter their pints in the shade of some Sheila’s giant rack.

But why are the big brewers running so scared? Mostly it’s because where they are seeing a decline, small breweries - which are putting an emphasis on provenance, strong tasting notes and exciting natural flavours - are seeing a sharp growth curve.

We now have more breweries in this country than at any other time since WWII and, over the past few years, the Society for Independent Brewers (SIBA) has reported a 7.7% growth for its members, a stark contrast to the 30% decline in beer sales over the last 30 years, which can nearly all be attributed to the big brands.

And, in case you think I’m picking on Molson Coors, which I genuinely feel is a business trying its hardest albeit in an epically misguided fashion, Carlsberg also entered the battlefield last year in an even more shameful way with Eve, the ‘shh, it’s not beer really ladies, it’s a malt-based beverage’.

I will give Molson Coors its due, it is trying to change that curve with what, at rough cut stage, looks like it might be a decent stab at some good unisex marketing - and I've yet to find anyone who doesn't find the Jean Claude van Damm Coors Light adverts truly entertaining.

However, I also don't believe that everyone can be bought by advertising (and am not so stupid as to think it doesn't matter either!) but I am on record saying I wasn’t going to fully comment on these products until I’d actually tried them and so, to the meat of the matter, what does the Animée range of drinks taste like?

Well, despite having some pretty pictures of hops on the bottle, if anyone can identify anything even approaching a normal beer flavour in any of these drinks I’ll eat my hat! The standard ‘clear beer’ may have a passing resemblance to shandy, but the lemon is simply undrinkable, closely resembling a locket, and as for the rosé version... well, if you want to hark back to your childhood days when your mum used to buy those cheap ice lollies from the ambient shelf to stop you whining about not being bought sweets - then you'll recognise the taste... because pretty in pink it ain’t.

And if the comments I received on Twitter when I simply posted a picture of the new products saying ‘Thoughts?’ I’m not alone in my overwhelming despair at these products either.

The reactions from both men and women ranged from @GuideDogSaint saying ‘way beyond contempt’ to @annie_dunn ‘that’s not beer’ and I don’t think I should print what @shoozographer said…

So, I’ll be interested in what you all think, but before I go I’ll leave you with this thought from Molson Coors marketing director Chris McDonough: “It’s important when launching a female beer not to be too patronising.”

Oh… the irony.

In the Interests of a Fair Press...

2011-07-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

Okay people, I've banged on before about journalistic ethics, so it's only right and proper that I give all products a fair crack of the whip.

So, I'm going to join Molson Coors for dinner this evening to hear all about the launch of these 'female-friendly' beers.

I shall report back later!

p.s. Well I hope so, I'm still feeling rotten from having a cold this weekend, it's decided it's going to be an achy one!

Got Great Taste, Well Then, Try These!

2011-07-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough recently to be asked to judge at the Great Taste Awards, run by the Guild of Fine Food, a body I genuinely admire for their warm & welcoming family nature, passion for all things tasty and for being one of the most powerful movements championing great produce and products, not only to the industry but giving consumers a clearly defined marker that they can trust in the one, two and three star system.

Not only that but, most pleasingly, the quality of the bottled beers was genuinely the best I've ever judged in any competition - full stop. This is not to denigrate any other bottled beer competition, I am only speaking as I find - and I, and the other judges, were extremely impressed with the quality of the brews.

It was a blind tasting with only two beer writers on both panels, paired with three or four others who have, what can only be described as, excellent palates. There was some healthy debate about some of the beers, downright disagreement about others and a chorus of approval for many.

However, and sorry to put a bit of dampener on this great beery moment, if I had to say one thing though, it's that a lot of the brewery's descriptions seriously let them down. I swear to god, some of the entry forms had 'bottled beer' or simply 'beer' on them!! Really chaps, if I was writing a report card it would say 'must do better' in big red letters!

But, that's a minor blip on an otherwise super result for British brewing.

So, without further ado, drum roll please for the winners!

3 star Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose

3 star Harviestoun Schiehallion

3 star Otley O Garden

3 star Thornbridge Jaipur IPA

3 star Thornbridge Bracia

3 star Orkney Dark Island Reserve

3 star Dartmoor Legend Beer

2 star Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted

2 star Harviestoun Old Engine Oil

2 star Harviestoun Old Dubh 16

2 star Monty's Sunshine

2 star Otley 06 Porter

2 star Otley 08

2 star Thornbridge Kipling

2 star Orkney Dark Island

2 star Black Sheep Ale

2 star Dartmoor IPA

2 star Hobsons Old Henry 5.2% ABV

1 star Chiltern Brewery Three Hundreds Old Ale

1 star Chiltern Brewery Lord-Lieutenants Porter

1 star Chiltern Bodgers Barley Wine

1 star Bristol Hefe

1 star Southville Hop

1 star Otley Colombo

1 star Thornbridge Wild Swan

1 star Wold Top Bitter

1 star Wold Gold

1 star Laverstoke Park Organic Lager

1 star Black Sheep Riggwelter

1 star Dartmoor Jail Ale

1 star Hobsons Town Crier 4.5% ABV

1 star Whitewater Clotworthy Dobbin 5.0%

1 star Cairngorm Black Gold

1 star Cairngorm Wildcat

Hello Again!

2011-07-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

If you like these then you can buy them here
I just wanted the picture!

Well, I managed to survive another collaboration beer tour and it seems you guys and your thirst for interesting beer hasn't abated.

And talking of interesting beer... I tried the St Austell Trelawney the other evening and it's a very suppable brew. It's interesting to see that in the craft beer world still making a very drinkable, low ABV beer, still has it's place.

Light citrus notes and a spritzy body make this a real BBQ winner, in fact this leads me on to what I reckon is a great way to cook chicken on the BBQ, I did it last night (not on BBQ sadly, just under grill, fifth floor flat and all that!!) and it was jolly yummy indeed!

Firstly, spatchcocking the chicken (a phrase that, I'll admit, always elicits a childish snigger from me). If you've never done this before then trust me, it really is insanely easy. I'll be honest, I've known the technique for about a decade but never done it, more fool me!

If you want a really easy 'how to' video, then this is the one to watch

So, here we go, this will serve four greedy people and six not so greedy people!

Equipment
Stove-top-proof tagine or other large cooking vessel with lid
Large cooks tongs
Skewers soaked in water for at least 30 minutes (use these to spatchcock bird)
Hot grill/BBQ
Baking tray
Sieve
Small-medium saucepan

Ingredients for chicken
Groundnut or rapeseed oil
2.4kg chicken (free range) - spatchcock and remove wing-tips (freeze off-cuts to make stock later)
1/2 litre chicken stock
1 bottle of barley wine/old ale, not too bitter, suggest UK one like Golden Pride/Old Tom etc.
8tbsp pomegranate molasses
4tbsp harissa (I like Belazu rose harissa)
1tbsp Ras-el-Hanout or Sumac
1 cinnamon stick broken up
4 crushed cardamom pods
Thumb-sized piece of ginger
Bulb of garlic chopped in half horizontally
Whole large green chill, with a small slit made in it
Seasoning

Additional Ingredients for Sauce/finishing:
2tbsp pomegranate molasses
1tbsp agave nectar
Seasoning
1 lime (zest finely grated off and flesh reserved)
Handful of mint/coriander/parsley

Method:

Heat pan/tagine
Make deep slashes in flesh of chicken, season liberally
Add some oil to pan, and put bird breast-side down in pan to brown
Meanwhile, mix together the wet ingredients and chop, crush, slit etc. dry ingredients, keep separate
When wet ingredients are mixed and dry prepped, the bird should be browned
Turn bird over, and add dry ingredients to pan to fry for about 30 secs then add wet ingredients
Cover bird and turn down to a medium simmer for about 40 minutes
After 30 minutes, pre-heat grill to maximum and pre-heat baking tray
After 40 minutes, check the bird is done (meat thermometer favoured method but checking for any blood in crease of thigh also good)
Take out of pan and place on baking tray, put under grill (or you can do this stage on the BBQ)
Sieve remaining cooking liquid into a pan, mushing the garlic and ginger with a fork, and reduce until consistency of runny honey
Once it's browned, take out from under grill, turn off grill, place bird at bottom of oven on tray to rest (if on BBQ, clear an area free of coals as your 'cool' area and put chicken there to rest)
Test your sauce for the balance of sweet, sour, salty, bitter - add a little of the pomegranate molasses for sour, some agave for sweet, some lime peel for bitter and some salt where needed - keep warm
Carve the chicken and then, whilst it's still on the chopping board, pour over some of the sauce
Then, add more sauce as serving - this goes really well with a simple bulgur wheat-based tabbouleh or, if you're like me, I prefer something with a bit more snap like cucumber, radish, spring onion and uncooked sugar snap peas
Put rest of sauce in a jug, arrange chicken on a big plate, put salad in a big bowl, put on table, dig in!

Oh, Oh - It's Otley Tour Time

2011-06-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

Thaibo is Back Baby! And this time it's got company!

Yep, you heard right, on June 30 we'll be kicking arse and being berry naughty as me and the Otley boys bounce around town showcasing our new collab brew, Hedgro (thank you Katie Hunt at CAMRA HQ for the name!) which is made with gooseberries and elderflower and, as mentioned a little bit enthusiastically earlier, Thaibo is back!

If you haven't tried this truly bonkers brew before it's a clear wheat beer made with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, lime skins and galangal - it's really delicious, I promise you : )

As I said, I'll have Nick and Matthew Otley with me, to talk about the beers and generally being charmingly Welsh!

So join us as it will be, as they say in Wales, TIDY!

I May Be a Bit Late on This...

2011-06-13T00:41:00.000-07:00

I'm drinking beer on a horse On the nose you'll get some heady aromas

and I probably am... but has anyone else noticed the resemblance between Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewery & the Old Spice guy? Just me?

Baffled & Bemused

2011-06-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

Clearly not one of the world's best bottled beers

I'm a bit confused this morning (not that this is much different from most other mornings) over national newspapers and their attitudes to writing about beer.

Yesterday morning there was a 'top 10 bottled beers' slideshow online at the Independent; the headline is the world's best bottled beers but the choice is bizarre at best by that standard (Doom Bar for example, as far as I can remember, hasn't won any major world awards for at least five years) and some of the descriptions bear more than a passing resemblance to what's written on the websites.

And apart from the fact that, obviously, I earn my living from writing about beer what really bothers me is, as Pete Brown reported on his blog, there seems to be some sort of in-built prejudice against beer within the national press, or more to the point beer writers!

You can tell the disdain they have for beer because, instead of getting a specialist beer writer to select a range of award-winning beers, they got a freelance who used to be a political aide to Zac Goldsmith; now that's not to denigrate the chap, I'm sure he's a great professional and I have no problem with him saying yes to the commission, hell we've all done it.

What I don't understand is why the paper gave him the job!

After all, you don't ask a political correspondent to write about the arts, you don't ask a war reporter to comment on wine - so why the hell do the nationals always ask someone totally unqualified to write about beer? It just doesn't make sense.

If you care about beer, at all, please pull the nationals up in the comments sections and let's try and get them to give this fantastic, complex and exciting drink the respect it deserves.

Kicking Ass and Taking Names!

2011-05-27T03:09:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update, I'm at Otley today brewing thai-bO - with kaffir lime leaf, galangal, lemongrass and lime skins! Hence the pictures! I've also tried the gooseberry & elderflower pale ale (name to be decided, needs to have an O and Goo has been rejected!) that will be fantastic once it's finished!

I'd also like to thank anyone who came to the Japanese Craft Beer tasting the other evening, some fascinating beers and £700 raised! Great work the White Horse who not only hosted and staffed the event but donated what my fee would normally have been to the fund, which was above and beyond - great work chaps!

Sharpen Your Tongue

2011-04-27T01:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday at the Draft House Tower Bridge the lovely, delightful and talented Mr Stuart Howe from Sharp's in Cornwall will displaying his wares - and possibly some beer.

The first session at 1pm is for ladeez only and is an in-depth tutored tasting with food matches, so if you are of the female persuasion and want to come, then please rock on over to the Barley's Angels Facebook page and sign up. There will then follow at 3.30pm a small public sampling session, no food but the chance to chat informally with The Howe himself.

Treats on offer are:
Cask Atlantic IPA

Cask 3 year old Massive ale

Turbo Yeast Abhorrence from Beyond the Ninth Level of Hades

Bottled Monsieur Rock

Bottled Single Brew Reserve 2010

Bottled DW

Another bottled beer yet to be decided

So, hopefully that will be enough to wash the rather unpleasant taste out of all our mouths left by the comments about beer by a Royal press officer this week !

NB: I have a financial interest in this venture

Me, Me, Me!

2011-04-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the content of this post because, to be honest, it's all about MEEEEEEEEEEE!

I've got loads going on this summer in terms of events, so I thought I'd let you all know now so you can sort out your diaries (cue a deafening silence in response to the breathtaking arrogance of this statement!).

Firstly though, ploughing boldly on, a friend showed me something particularly terrifying yesterday in the pub, and once he'd put that away he also pointed out that my book is available to pre-order on Amazon!!! Whoooop! Guess I'd better get a wiggle on and finish it then!

I'm also running tastings at quite a lot of festivals this summer too, so I thought I'd put a little diary of what I'm up to, and also the Meet the Brewers at lovebeer@borough above the Rake will be returning on some Saturdays during summer - I just need to sit with the lads and figure it all out.

Finally, before you can start filling up that diary, I'll be on the tellybox Thursday and Friday evening, Sky 249, 7pm, Market Kitchen with the hilariously funny and wonderful Richard Corrigan - I have to say I fell a little bit in love with his brilliantly crazy ways! And the food was fantastic - apart from the jellied eel terrine, just couldn't get on with that and I'm sure that makes me a bad Londoner and my East End grandparents are probably spinning in their graves!

Ludlow Spring Festival kicks it all off on the weekend of May 7-8, I'll be doing a tutored beer & food matching using brews from all over the SIBA Wales & West region, and pairing it with local produce - after which I'll be heading off to Otley to brew our long-anticipated elderflower and gooseberry IPA!

I'll be a busy girl at the Bury St Edmunds Real Beer & Food Festival - I'm doing about six talks with Greene King over two days (phew! just tired thinking about it) - and I'll be competing to outshine the lovely Henry Chevallier from Aspall Cyder too, bring it on!

On June 19 I'll be at Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival, which I'm really looking forward to, it looks lovely, and it'll be nice to see Galton Blackiston again, I thought he was lovely when I did Market Kitchen with him a few years ago.

Then June 27 I'll be presenting to deli and food shop owners at Harrogate for the Guild of Fine Foods, something more of a trade show than a consumer one - BUT if you'd like your local shopkeeper to stock more great beer but are having trouble persuading them then this could be a good thing for them to come to!

And finally, for now, I'm also doing Wirral Food & Drink Festival (there's only the 2010 website at the moment but it'll give you the general gist) at which I believe I'll get to work with

Times They Are A-Changin'

2011-04-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

The Project Venus brewsters

It's quite scary to realise that you're involved in a polar shift in cultural mores but it would appear that myself, and people like Maverine Cole (Beer Beauty), Ros Shiel (Dea Latis) and all my international women colleagues are in exactly that position.

We are getting more women to try, and enjoy, beer.

This isn't a boast because there is a lot more to do (although it is something I'm proud of), but it's a fantastic start.

You only have to look at the Rake on Monday night, where the Project Venus beer was launched (I couldn't be there as I was involved in KaiWeCare - got £800 for a beer tasting too!), apparently the pub was heaving!

The beer was the result of a bunch of brewsters getting together and making a 4% beer with Pacific Gem & Citra hops, which apparently turned out so good two firkins were gone baby gone on the night! That's 144 pints in four hours case you're counting!

And of course, there's Barley's Angels, which is really taking off! (Sorry, I just can't help myself.) You can join our facebook group here and once I figure out why the re-direct has eaten the blog you'll be able to find it here www.barleysangels.co.uk (sorry it's a mess right now!).

Goose Hooked, Not Cooked

2011-03-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist putting the Goose Island head on the AB eagle though!

I know there's a lot of consternation out there, in beer land, about the announcement that Goose Island has been bought by ABInBev but I spoke with brewmaster Greg Hall this morning (Chicago time) and, whilst I can't tell you all here as I've written a piece for the Morning Advertiser on the deal, I can make clear a couple of things that I hope will put some of your minds at ease.

First, Greg Hall is stepping down but is going on to look at different challenges outside beer, which he's going to chat to me in about a month or so BUT he insists that the brands, range, production methods, barrel-ageing programme and new product development will remain untouched and will flourish in the care of former Deschutes head brewer Brett Porter.

The AB suits will not be swarming into Chicago, and nor will they be handling any marketing, new product development or anything else of that ilk - there will be one line of reporting and that's John Hall, founder of Goose Island, who will report directly to the AB president in St Louis David Peacock - that's the only place where the two businesses will 'touch' on a day-to-day business. Goose Island will remain in Chicago.

Also the much-needed $1.3m that's being invested immediately will be great for all of us who love these beers and lament their lack of availability at times! If you've ever been to the Fulton Street Brewery in Chicago you'll know just how at capacity they are, they brew round the clock seven days a week for goodness sake! And that's just to keep up with demand now!

Finally, and most importantly, AB didn't get to be this big by being stupid - they know that by purchasing a multi award-winning craft brewer and giving it the capital to expand will give it more kudos and allow it to tap into more consumers that its own 'faux-craft' beer ever could.

And let's not forget we've already seen exactly the same move in the UK with Molson Coors and Sharp's...

Yes, we all have to watch this space, yes I'm a bit nervous too - especially given the Belgian arm of the business's awesome capability to bugger up craft brands - but we shall just have to trust that the Hall family didn't bust their asses to build this business only to see it dismantled.

And, also this move creates more jobs in Chicago, which if you've ever been to this lovely, but troubled, city you'll know is sorely needed.

Some Like It Hop!

2011-03-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

As you can see, it's one for the hopheads!

Following up on a twonversation the other day, or maybe it's a convertitter, I just wanted to throw a little bit of advice out there for all you hopheads - if you like it hop then drink it young!

The person I was chatting with had been deeply disappointed with some Three Floyds beers because they had a) come from the States in unknown shipping conditions and b) were well past their sell-by date and so had lost so much of their huge floral/citrus/bitter excitement.

Neither of these things was the brewery's fault, as they don't have an official export deal with the UK I'm aware of, but it's something for all your Humulus lupulus addicts out there to think on!

And whilst I've got you hopheads on board, I should tell you that I had the great privilege the other evening to drink a Sierra Nevada Hoptimum, which you should start seeing at various places around the UK soon including, I believe, the White Horse's Over the Hop Festival on over May Bank Holiday weekend - and I'm sure the Rake/Utobeer, Cask & the Euston Tap will probably have some too!

Onto the beer itself, it has a lovely pink grapefruit & peach nose, a rich burnt caramel middle on the palate and the bitterness at the end is like an under-ripe apricot, which mellows into a slightly soy-like satisfyingly rich finish.

And for those of you who care about such things, the bitterness is just on the cusp of being wrong, which makes it utterly, deliciously, right! And it was awesome with my really quite spicy beef curry too.

Eat Your Greens

2011-03-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

As St Patrick's Day is impending, I thought something green would be a good idea! And as I'm sure you're all sick of being told where to drink proper stout, or even crappy mass-produced freezing cold nitrogenated rubbish, I thought I'd go a different route.

This was inspired by a column by the lovely Oliver Thring in the Guardian's Word of Mouth column, I adore Oliver's stuff, it always makes me think about creating a dish with his subject of the week.

There was further inspiration from a recipe of Nigel Slater's I saw not so long ago combined with a conversation with my mum about chorizo the other day.

Phew! So many muses, so little time!

Anyway, this requires a little bit of wheat beer, I'm thinking more along the lines of a German Kristall or Belgian rather than a Hefeweizen, I think the latter would be too much, and I've made some suggestions below anyway.

This is very obviously not a complicated dish, and you can vary it with the seasons, maybe substitute the kale for asparagus and cook the dish with a saison a bit later in the year, or use Jerusalem artichokes and a a mild when they are in season, use Tolouse sausage, savoy cabbage (which is very similar to the French chou vert frisé) and a biere de garde for a twist.

It's a one-pan dish so washing-up is kept to a minimum and I'm pretty sure I don't need to advise you what to do with the rest of the beer that doesn't go into the cooking process - cheers!

Chorizo, Curly Kale & Potatoes
Cooking chorizo (I do like the ease and availability of the Unearthed ones in Waitrose 1 pack = two people for this recipe, but any spicy sausage would be good)
4-6 decent-sized new potatoes, boiled, cooled & sliced (you could also always use some of those lovely jarred white Spanish beans instead, just don't brown them!)
Curly kale (or any dark green cabbage like Savoy or Cavolo Nero)
Pine nuts
1-2 clovs of garlic - finely chopped
1 medium-large red onion - finely diced
Knob of butter
Wheat beer (Blanche de Bruxelles, Okell's MacLir, St Austell Clouded Yellow, Schneider Kristall)
Olive oil
Lemon
Seasoning

Heat pan (with a lid for later) until just beginning to smoke, add splash of olive oil wait a few seconds for that to heat up then add chorizo, turn down to medium heat, cook for two-three minutes.

Add potato slices and sprinkle a little black pepper over top, leave slices alone, do not turn until they've gone golden brown on bottom - wash your kale even if it says pre-washed! It never is properly!

Carefully flip all your potato slices and introduce finely diced onion, cook for a minute then add finely chopped garlic.

Immediately after garlic sprinkle pine nuts in, then after 30 seconds add your knob of butter and then add the kale and a small splash of wheat beer to the pan.

Turn heat down low, pop the lid on and leave to wilt kale for 5-7 minutes.

Check for seasoning (I think liberal amounts of black pepper always needed, salt depends on your sausage's salt levels), squeeze lemon juice over top - serve with some crusty bread to mop up those beery/buttery/paprika-y juices!

Yum!

Barley's Angels Take Flight to Fight Bad Beer

2011-02-17T01:52:00.000-08:00

All the women who independent, thrown your glass up at meee-hee!

Ladies, help fight against bad beer and become founder members of the Barley's Angels London chapter.

What's Barley's Angels? Well, it's a global beer movement just for women and this weekend everywhere from Portland, Oregon to Sydney Australia and the Canadian cities of Toronto and Vancouver to Sao Paulo in Brazil will be throwing their inaugural girls-only shindigs!

As a founder member you'll get money off future events like brewery tours, exclusive women-only meet the brewer events and beer & food matchings - and at the first organised future event you'll also qualify for a very snazzy t-shirt that I'll be modelling on Friday night as well.

The facebook group is here http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_111195885625127

The future events will be held all over London, including above the fabulous Rake bar in Borough, where our inaugural meeting is Friday February 18 at 6.30pm.

We are already speaking with Fuller's to organise an unforgettable tasting evening at their Chiswick HQ and with the explosion of great beer bars all over town we will soon be kicking down the doors of places like the White Horse, Euston Tap and Draft House. And for those ladies who are with us from the beginning you'll received a tshirt with our fab and groovy logo on it at future events!

The event on Friday night is just a fiver on the door for a cornucopia of beer and half of that goes to the founding of Pink Boots Society UK, which I will explain more about on the night.

So, independent women, I look forward to seeing you there!

BTW: Barley's Angels being women only doesn't mean we hate men, we just don't like sharing great beer with them! Just kidding, it's about creating a great environment for women to learn more about beer and take that information back to the pub to share or just enjoy for yourself!

Can It!

2011-02-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

I've been asked to participate in the Sessions - where beer bloggers all over the world comment on a single topic (I've been so busy I didn't get a chance to check out what it was all about earlier and I wrote a slightly rude intro about no knowing what I was up to, for which I must apologise, I'm going a bit mental this end finishing this damn book!)

So, firstly the below is a very bullet point version of my general opinions (again apologies!) but I hope it gives a general gist of how I feel; I've only had a chance to read Pete Brown's entry so far and I must confess that if I was to write a post entirely on keg vs cask then I'd have written exactly what he has, although maybe not as eruditely, but I've gone a bit wider and hope it all makes sense!

The original American canned craft beer,
Oskar Blues cites the can as a major saving

Glass - always brown, never clear, especially craft brewers; Badger, Greene King & St Austell have all been guilty of bottling good beers because they want to pander to the marketing departments. Why the hell do you let your brewers spend all that money on raw ingredients, utilities and manpower if you're just going to balls up the end result by putting it in a clear bottle.

For any brewery reading this, if profit is your primary concern then let me put why this is bad in terms you'll understand, it's short-sighted in terms of brand equity and longevity, unless you're Corona and you can convince the gullible that sticking lime in the top is a Mexican tradition to keep out flies, not to cover up the fetid stench of light strike as the hop oils degrade into something resembling a damp corgi who's been rolling in a swamp.

Cask vs. keg - different strokes for different folks, I think keg is a very different beast these days and the word no longer represents poor quality products (smoothflow on the other hand is the devil's own work!).

Cans - use the American method, use soda cans, they are a pleasing size to drink beer from, they keep beer super-fresh and it's my new favourite way of enjoying beer when not in a pub environment; I grant you I tend to drink American offerings so I don't get to enjoy them very often but the sooner more breweries follow in BrewDog's paw prints and band together to run a consumer campaign to get them to understand how much better the beer is when packaged this way the better everyone will be.

And why? Well for starters you can get across more information about your beer on cans as you have the whole surface of the container to use, they will save you transport costs as the are lighter and fill space on your transport more efficiently, so you will be able to get more pallets on one truck, they are better for the environment as they are more recyclable than glass and, finally and most importantly, if your product is designed to be served fresh then the can (when lined with a protective membrane like a soda can) will do a better job than any other container of protecting it.*

I know I've said all that before, but it bears repeating and besides, someone asked me to do it (still not sure why but hell, I'm a helpful kinda gal!).

*Caveat is obviously bottle conditioned beer, I can't see how you would be able to do that in can without it exploding, but I'm sure smarter people than I can tell me whether that's the case or not

A Far Scarier Merger Being Mooted

2011-02-03T02:38:00.000-08:00

You've probably already hear that Molson Coors has bought Cornish brewery Sharp's; head brewer Stuart Howe rang to assure me that the specials would continue unhindered and that I might be in danger of seeing him more than twice a year for a beer! All good news for ale lovers everywhere.

I don't think Banksy has anything to worry about...

However, I'd suggest you brace yourself for this news - AB-Inbev is allegedly considering a merger with SAB Miller. Credit Suisse has recommended that the way for the Budweiser owner to battle its current domestic beer market woes in the US is to take on board some SAB's commercial savvy.

Personally I think there's an easier fix - brew better beer. There, that should earn me millions in consultancy fees! Or not...

Anyway, obviously it doesn't only have ramifications for the US market it could create a truly terrifying two-brewer market over here as well.

Let's face it, Carlsberg and Heineken could rapidly lose their volumes solely on the basis that one lager is pretty much like the other to most commodtiy brand drinkers and the new SAB/AB-InBev leviathon would be able to charge a lot less than their rivals

And more to the point they have few products that engender customer loyalty through a lack of innovation. The 'girly non-beer' from Carlsberg (Eve) seems to have sunk without trace (I presume. No one seems to want to talk to me about it anyway and I've never seen it in a pub) and they are now more of a distribution company than a brand per se.

I'm not aware of any innovation from Heineken in the UK market either, and it does seem pretty intent on buggering up its ale side (which let's remember is the only on trade growth category), I know I'm not alone in believing Deuchars has become a mere shadow of its former self and let's not forget this is the company that moved the brewing of Newcastle Brown Ale to another county!

So, that pretty much leaves you with Molson Coors up against a two-headed giant in the form of a merged SAB & AB-Inbev (which given their giant creativity for their last name change I presume they're just going to call SAB-InBev?).

Molson Coors seems to be the least of any beer lover's worries right now, the company appears to 'get' the craft beer scene, investing in the Worthington brand and tapping into that market in the States and over here with Blue Moon. I also know a couple of the senior brewers who work for Molson Coors in Denver and it would appear they get given quite a lot of latitude to play and experiment and are also well-liked and respected in the industry.

So, why does that two-headed monster of SAB and AB-Inbev worry me?

Well, to be honest, I quite like that AB-Inbev seems to seize every chance to implode its business in the UK (see below) with alacrity. How they've managed to foul up the Stella brand so immensely it utterly beyond me, Beck's which has credibility has taken a back seat and they've ruined draught Bass beyond all recognition, as just a few starting points!

Whereas I consider the guys at SAB Miller to be quite smart as a general rule, measured and fairly immune to knee-jerk reactions.

So, just think what could happen if they got together? AB-InBev could not only own some very powerful brands, they could get some sane leadership in the UK too, which offers a high potential for market dominance.

If nothing else they create a terrifying front of cheap booze in supermarkets, which could easily put another nail in the coffin of borderline pubs. If this does come to pass, I for one will be writing to everyone I can to refer this to the Competition Commission and for it to be knocked back.

How Do You Like Them Apples
Whilst we're on the subject of AB-InBev I can't not comment on their announcement yesterday of a new cider product under the Stella brand.

Seriously, I have no idea what they've been smoking over in Luton but the utter lunacy of their product launches in the last three years alone is truly flabbergasting! They have actually managed to take any form of brand equity Stella had and, frankly, p*ss it up the wall.

The Stella family - that included Eiken, Bock & Peeterman's - sank without trace before even being given six months on the shelves I believe (could be wrong but they didn't exactly get much of a run) and then just last year there was Stella Black, which I finally had the horror of trying before Christmas, and it was fittingly like drinking sprout water - rancid! When I was trying to be so positive that it might actually taste nice in my previous post about it too...

And it never ceased to amaze me that despite proudly touting that it was matured for twice as long, they were never willing to reveal how long maturation was - let alone the whole debacle of calling a blonde lager black - I presume their PR department spent days just banging their heads on the desk in despair.

And, as if that wasn't enough, they've gone and launched a cider - sorry, cidre!

Without a hint of irony the release tells me that it's a Belgian cider, made in Belgium, but solely for the UK market... can you guess what it is yet?

Yep, a completely made up product! For us stupid British who just like shiny packaging! It's not as if we have any cider industry over here already!

Requests to find out what percentage of the drink are pure apple juice have gone unanswered, I presume that this will remain the case for the forseeable future!

If you try it, let me know, I'm not sure I can face doing so...

Sweet Like Chocolate - M&M Porter Goes on Tour!

2011-01-14T09:26:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been patiently waiting for this info, here are the times and venues on Thursday January 20, where Mark, myself and some other Dark Star dudes will be romping around some specialist beer bars in London with our collaboration brew and the very limited oak-aged expressions too!

So, if you want to come and try this smooth as a cashmere codpiece porter and its woody cousins then we will be delighted to see you! We will also be offering some first come first served free thirds via Twitter so follow me @melissacole or @darkstarbrewco for the passwords!

Itinerary:
5-6.30pm - The Rake, 14 Winchester Walk, SE1 9AG
7-8pm - The Euston Tap, 190 Euston Road, NW1 2EF
8.30-9.30pm - Cask Pub & Kitchen, Pimlico, 6 Charlwood Street, SW1V 2EE
9.45pm-CLOSE - The White Horse, 1-3 Parsons Green, SW6 4UL

I look forward to seeing all of you who have expressed such great interest in this latest collaboration and look forward to hearing your comments on the night!

Pint States: "Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated"

2011-01-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

(this is the full article I wrote for Guardian Comment is Free - it was rightly ruthlessly hacked as it wasn't the right tone but I think it works in context of my blog so I put here instead - hate to see writing go to waste!)

It’s the mark of our nation’s attachment to the pint that the recent announcement of a 2/3 of a pint measure has caused quite such a stir, with some fearing we could be kissing goodbye our most beloved drinking vessel.

Please let me reassure you now that, despite reports both here and in some Australian newspapers that it’s last orders for this most-loved of pub institutions, don't panic - just like the Ashes, we’ll be retaining our national pride! This is a new addition to our existing legal measures and nothing more.

But why has the thought of losing our beloved pint created such a stir? Because January’s a quiet news month? Possibly. But it’s probably more to do with the sheer history of it as, for at least 300 years, we have been legally required to drink our beer in this measure and it’s become part of the fabric of our national identitiy.

In 1698 an Act of Parliament declared that ale and beer (the distinction then being that beer used hops and ales didn’t, a now defunct distinction) should only be served in pints, full quarts (two pints) or multiples thereof – so, we were big drinkers even in those days then!

And the 1824 Act, that decreed all food and drink should be served in Imperial measures, further cemented the pint’s place in our hearts, as did the 1988 Weights and Measures (Intoxicating Liquor) Order, which is what we abide by today and which states: “Unless pre-packed in a securely closed container and except when sold as a constituent of a mixture of two or more liquids, beer or cider shall be sold by retail only in a quantity of ⅓ pint, ½ pint or a multiple of ½ pint.”

Also, it’s not just history, it's common parlance and pure habit. We all say, ‘fancy a pint’ even if you are going for a cocktail and, if you’re anything like me, you probably either openly or privately have a preference for a particular beer glass too, and which also carry their own history.

For example, did you know the phrase ‘pint pot’ doesn’t refer to those god-awful dimpled jugs, which are seeing an annoyingly kitsch revival in try-to-hard quasi-cool gastropubs? It, in fact, refers to those made of china, which graced British bars up until the end of WWII and the demise of which was bemoaned by Orwell in the Moon Under Water essay in 1946.

And of course there is the second ugliest drinking vessel ever visited on the public, the Nonik with its bulging gullet, so-named as it was designed to stop the problem of straight sided glasses getting nicks on the from stacking.

I can only hope that designers the world over are putting their caps on for something a bit more aesthetically pleasing for this new-comer, which of course brings us to the point that the Government, and various trade bodies, have been quick to claim that this new measure will not only be good for the pub trade but will get us girlies liking beer more too – which is the opposite to the usual message that we’re all heavy-drinking slattens who fall over the streets and are dying to flash our knickers at the nearest camera.

Annoyingly, although I very much welcome the move personally, I think they might be right and I welcome the measure personally; and not even annoying that it’s true, research and my own experience of holding hundreds of beer tastings agree that lots of women don’t like pints but feel halves are a little too little – it’s just annoying because they will probably follow it up with something asinine like: “It’ll be perfect for those pink, fruit beers that all you girlies love!”

Anyway, before I head off on a rant, I feel it’s rather at odds with the Government’s plans to blanket tax stronger beers in the next Budget as well, because it would seem an eminently more sensible measure for stronger beers that have been a boon to the booming craft brewing industry in the UK, many of which have made their names (not to mention a lot of profit for the Treasury already) by producing the kind of big beers - alongside sensible, sessionable offerings - that people will spend hours in a pub savouring with friends and respecting as artisan products.

The Government’s argument is that anything in the beer sector above 7.4%ABV is a problem drink – but let’s face it, the majority of the beers that are being bought by people who actually care about their beer aren’t a problem and, in all honesty, it’s got little to do with the makers, it’s all to do with the retailers and their pricing policies – but I guess when you keep on putting supermarket chief execs on the honour roll for their generous ‘support’ of your party it’s difficult to do much about it...

The majority of high-strength artisan beers are financially prohibitive to 99.9% of binge or problem drinkers; let’s get real about that shall we? If you’ve got a drinking problem and limited funds what are you going to choose... eight 500ml cans (4litres!) of Frosty Jack White Cider at 7.5%ABV for £5.69 from Bargain Booze or one 750ml bottle of Meantime’s India Pale Ale at the same alcoholic strength for £4.63 from Sainsbury’s?

But, I digress, and there’s an important bit that’s been missed by all and sundry here and that’s the issue that this Order to introduce the 2/3 measure hasn’t yet passed as law; let’s not forget, the previous Government said they too would introduce a 2/3rds measure but ran out of Parliamentary time before the election to ratify it - but hopefully the prospect of anarchic Scottish producer BrewDog sending another dwarf down to protest its lack of presence on our bars will pester MPs sufficiently to ensure it doesn’t slip down the Parliamentary roster.

But if this measure does become law I’d really like to have just one wish – stop calling it a bloody ‘schooner’! Partly this is because we’ve already taken everything we need from the Aussies in the past year and, secondly, because the pedant in me finds it irritating for no other reason than it isn’t correct.

Schooner is not actually a defined measure under Australian law and varies depending on where you are in the country, for example, I’m reliably informed if you’re in Adelaide the word schooner will procure you a half pint, whereas, it seems, pretty much everywhere else it means ¾s of a pint – neither of which correlate to our potential new measure.

So, I’d like to propose a brain storm, a whole new movement to name this new measure for generations to come – and I’d like to propose the word scoop!

Why you ask? Well, to be honest, because firstly, in a Stephen Fry kind of way, I find the word quite pleasing and, secondly, it brings to mind those fabulously kitsch moments where actors like Errol Flynn, playing some sort of dashing hero in tights, ‘scoops’ his beer out of a righteously stolen barrel and holds it aloft to his band of (soon-to-be) merry men with a resounding ‘huzzah’...

But perhaps that’s just me maybe... what do you, the possibly slightly more sane members of the public, think?

Mull This Over Around Christmas!

2010-12-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

To get you all into the festive spirit I thought I'd share this recipe I concocted for Market Kitchen - it got rave reviews on set so I thought it would be rude not to!

I had already used the cider/spirit mix in a previous recipe and just put some orange, cloves and cardamom in the mix but when I came across Nick Strangeway's piece in Jamie magazine with Wass'ail punch with the spiced syrup I shamelessly had to nick the concept - it just works!

As an aside, if I don't get a chance to raise a toast to all you guys before Christmas may I just say sorry things have been a bit sparse in recent months, the book has been pretty all-consuming and I'll be a bit quiet at the beginning of next year too.

HOWEVER, save the date, January 20 in the evening for a special event that I'll be involved in (also don't make a resolution for a dry January either!).

So, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year all and, of course, cheers! xxx

Wass'ail-Inspired Punch

Serves eight cups - don't drive after drinking this!

Liquids:

250ml English cider brandy (recommend Julian Temperley's divine offerings)

250ml sloe gin (recommend Sipsmith if you can get it)

175ml juicing orange juice (not sweet eating oranges)

175ml lemon juice

500ml good quality, strong, dry cider like Aspall Premier Cru

Spicy syrup (concept pinched from cocktail king Nick Strangeway):

1/2 a cinnamon stick

1 lightly cracked cardamom pod

1 star anise

a quick grate of nutmeg

175g vanilla sugar

250ml of water

To Serve:

Berries

Apple chunks

1 clementine studded with five cloves

Lemons

Vanilla sugar

First make the syrup by adding all the ingredients into a non-stick pan and reducing slightly until it coats the back of a spoon, careful not to over-reduce, burn it or get splattered!

Gently warm all the liquids in a large pan, not too much or you'll boil off the booze! Then add the syrup.

Warm your punch bowl with hot water, discard water, dry and then place the fruits & studded clementine in the bottom and pour over your punch.

Serve in handled cups/glasses with a lemon-juice wiped & vanilla sugared rim for a sour/sweet flourish

A Nod in the Wrong Direction

2010-12-13T03:58:00.000-08:00

Before I start this article I'd just like to say that a) you should probably read the original article that I'm responding to first and that b) I like Caroline Nodder a lot, I've known her for years and we've shared more than the odd pint together over that time but I find her leader column in last week's Publican somewhat odd.

The gist of it is that, as a consumer, she doesn't want to be consistently bombarded with complete geekery, that she considers beer the stuff that greases the wheels of sociability.

That bit I get, I really do, there are days when I just order a pint, drink it and order another because I've got better things to concentrate on than the delicate earthy aroma of the East Kent Goldings (for example!), but her attack on brewers and beer writers that are innovating is either deliberately provocative or the mark of someone who has become overly cynical about the industry they work in.

If the beer market hadn't started to successfully communicate beer's fantastic flavour attributes more effectively, using the language of food & wine writers, and celebrity chefs, then it was doomed.

This is because the new beer drinker demographic is the same one that already understands food descriptors and wine words and they don't just speak in the language of Jilly Goolden - who hasn't graced our screens in more years than I care to remember - they speak the language of Tim Atkin, Jancis Robinson, Jonathan Ray, Susy Atkin AND Jamie Oliver and they demand more of their beer descriptors than the lazy and slapdash use of the phrases hoppy & malty (shudder!).

But what really surprises me about Nodder's article is the section where she says:
"But I don’t see anyone out there really working on building a portfolio of strong modern beers, instead I see brewers showing off by tinkering with aged beers or overly strong ABV products, or shock launches a la BrewDog, when they could be building something that can change the very culture of the beer drinker forever."

So, can someone tell me what exactly it is that Dark Star, Thornbridge, Lovibonds, Meantime, Harvey's, Fuller's, Adnams, Sharp's, St Austell, Harviestoun, Marble, Moorhouse's, Otley, Breconshire, Rooster's, Kelham Island, Lancaster and countless others are doing then?

Every single one of those breweries I mention there has a strong, core range of sessionable beers that stand proudly as such on the bar - from London Pride to Hophead and Pint to Pale Rider every single one of these beers is award-winning and, more pertinent to Nodder's argument, profitable, but they are complemented by limited release beers like Brewer's Reserve or a limited release Imperial Stout here and there - which is a sound business model.

Why? Well as Nodder rightly points out, people's interest in all things craft and local is at an all time high so why would a brewery not want to take advantage of that by producing niche products that appeal to a niche audience alongside their wider appeal core range?

And whilst I can understand her frustration at some of the dumb stunts that have been pulled over the past few years by a few misguided brewers - or out-and-out pubicity junkies - you only have to look at the success of every single stage of the summer's Thornbridge meet the brewer tour, nearly every event BrewDog runs, Cask in Pimlico's constant draw of punters every time it does a brewery event, the White Horse's beer festivals (like the Old Ale one just past which had a record year) and even my humble lovebeer@borough business over the last few years to see that the special edition beers are the ones with draw for a growing audience.

And what's wrong with that? Uncovering hidden gems is awesome, it's something to share with your friends, it's an excuse to meet up and try what you've found or even Tweet about it for the world to see.

What Nodder has missed, and maybe it's because she so dislikes the world of geeks (as she is entitled to) is that breweries like Marble wouldn't be in the happy situation of moving into a brand new brewery and are still brewing all the hours god sent to keep up with the enormous demand for their products without the beer nerd network.

The shoe-gazing that she refers to, which she feels has been indulged by beer writers like myself, are often actually high publicity projects that pay dividends for breweries and the writer alike. Every time I go and brew somewhere I learn something new, which can only make me better at my job, and it's something I'm proud of - particularly when it produces something profitable for the brewery.

For example, the brew I did at Otley, thai-bO, was so commercially successful that it's been incorporated into the seasonal roster (sorry that sounds a bit boastful but it's true!), Pete Brown's book Hops & Glory and his epic IPA journey has helped put Worthington White Shield on more people's beer map in the last couple of years than any advertising campaign ever could and Stuart Howe's interaction with the geek network has seen him brew 52 beers in a year, some of which will now make it onto the Sharp's roster because they've been so well received.

I guess, in summation, what Nodder sees as navel gazing I see as interaction with interested consumers - what do you think?

Miss You Kelly Ryan - Your Skype is Going to Be Busy!

2010-12-02T01:46:00.000-08:00

Because I'm a disorganised numpty I didn't manage to post my simultaneous beer blogger tribute to the delightful Kelly Ryan (pictured left), formerly of Thornbridge, who is deserting us and heading back to his home shores of New Zealand with his lovely lady Cat.

So, as I'm nursing a fuzzy head from that last half of Alliance I thought it wise to drink at the Euston Tap at his London leaving bash last night, I thought I'd better get on it!

Kelly has not only been responsible for, or involved in, some of the most glorious beers to hit UK bars in the past few years, he has also been a rock for me personally and I hope one of the many huge hugs I gave him last night helped convey how much I appreciate that and will miss him.

Whether it was bouncing ideas around about my insane ideas for bonkers stuff like thai-bO or how to get rose flavours into a beer (a scheme not yet realised but it's coming!) he's always encouraged me and never laughed at any question I've asked.

No matter how stoopid I've been Kelly has always been unfailing helpful, cheerful, knowledgeable and fun (whilst managing to be pretty darn decorative as well!) and I hope it won't be too long before I share a beer with him and Cat in hobbit land.

In all seriousness though, our loss is New Zealand's gain so please, Kiwi brewing scene, take care of Kelly and nurture him - he's a star now but I predict we're going to see him become a far brighter fixture in the brewing firmament in years to come.

Yummy Night Ahead in Winchester

2010-11-24T05:46:00.000-08:00

I'm really looking forward to my tasting at the Wykeham Arms in Winchester this evening, there are still a few tickets left if you live in the vicinity.

The matches are below, it's all bite-size offerings to go with the beer so please don't be intimidated by the length of the menu!

Cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup, truffle oil,

Matched with HSB

-----------

Sauté of Shetland scallops, crisp pork belly, spiced apple compote

Matched with organic Honey Dew

-----------

Roast saddle of Hursley estate venison, seared liver, goose fat potato and red cabbage

Matched with 1845 ale

---------

Pan-fried south coast turbot, crisp oxtail, curly kale

Matched with Bengal lancer ale

--------

Madagascan vanilla bean pannacotta, compote of plums

Matched with Golden Pride

---------

Selection of British cheeses

Lincolnshire poacher vintage cheddar, Exmoor blue, Tovey goats cheese, May hill green Brie

Matched with Brewer's Reserve No. 2

----------

Coffee and London porter truffles

*this is a commercial event for which I'm being paid

We Interrupt This (Travel) Programme AGAIN...

2010-10-28T06:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure I've been impressed and then been so depressed by one organisation in such short order...

BrewDog has managed the admirable feat of giving with one hand and taking away with the other in such a tiny timespan, in fact so tiny I thought it was only possible for Governments to bend the time/space continuum in such a fashion!.

James Watt's comments re: cask ale in the Publican are really something special - and I presume the brewery will be halting all cask production forthwith to prove how right they are?

I also presume Pete Brown wonders why the hell he wrote the Cask Market Report and why anyone bothered to publicise the great news about the success of cask beer in the last 12 months in the face of such a diabolical overall beer market ...

As I said on Twitter (@melissacole if you're interested in following me) I am currently banging my head on the desk in between typing this!

We Interrupt This (Travel) Programme...

2010-10-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

Just a quick break in my ramblings about my meanderings...

If you are quick to criticise, you should be quick to praise, and this is a brilliant bit of marketing by BrewDog to put a dwarf protesting the fact that we can't have 2/3 pint outside Parliament - amusing and has a very good point - as has the post by (I presume) James about the fact it's perceptions of beer that are the problem:

Fewer units for drinkers choosing higher ABV beers, which many craft beers are
A more sophisticated drinking experience based on quality rather than quantity
More choice for drinkers – half pints are often deemed too small, and pints too large by many
A more attractive measure for female audiences who are often put off by the scale of a pint glass

I've been told by several sources that the only reason we can't have 2/3 pint glasses is due to an odd piece of punctuation - seriously guys, we've got spell check these days, let's sort it out shall we?!

The Wanderer Returns Pt. 2

2010-10-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so last post I promised to tell you a bit more about my recent meanderings across the globe so here's a bit more from my trip to the States.

As someone who firmly believes that beer & food are fantastic natural partners (in fact I'm currently making French onion soup with Fuller's Golden Pride, which will be served with Cantillon-washed cheese croutons & Sharp's Single Brew Reserve), so when beers & wings at Rock Bottom (which are very good) were upstaged by an invite to Mizuna, a fine dining establishment from the lovely Matt Stinchfield for a beer & food-matched dinner I couldn't resist.

The at-times whimsical menu was matched with beers from various breweries, including Stone, Great Divide, The Bruery and Moylan's, sometimes to good effect and sometimes not but the collaboration and effort that went into the evening is definitely something to build on and there were stand-out matches that were certainly a winner (see below).

It also gave me the opportunity to spend time chatting with the delightful Denise Jones from Moylan's, (whom I consequently had some good fun drinking with later in the week) and who makes great beer including an awesome Scotch Ale in the form of Kilt Lifter, very dry for the style but (in my humble opinion) fantastic for it – I also have her to thank for a very cool new t-shirt declaring my undying devotion to Humulus lupulus!

But anyway, there is a bit more of a point to this post than just taunting you with pictures of delicious food and it's about the UK restaurant scene and its failure to capitalise on beer, despite some bright spots!

I was mortified to hear about the recent experience of two high-end restaurant figures to whom I recommended a trip to Le Gavroche, because they want to give beer some serious thought and, given all the shouting about the beer & food matching that's gone on around the restaurant over the past few years, I couldn't think of a finer place.

Oh dear, according to my sources, the waiter, when asked about beer on the menu, repeatedly told them that there was a big brand lager and that was it, even when prodded that there was supposed to be a more extensive beer list - which says to me there's one of two problems here:
a) said beer list has been taken out
b) staff are insufficiently trained on beer because there isn't a real commitment to it

To bring it back to my experience at Mizuna, and the reason why I'm mentioning it, is because I'm just so over places that talk the talk but don't walk the walk and why I would like to sing the praises of the two young chefs in the kitchen who have a love for craft beer were given their head - which is the only way for beer & food matching to be given the creative attention it needs.

And whilst they freely admitted some things didn't work, by god they were going to be polishing their beer & food-matching skills until they were right - you could see that burning out of them as they talked.

So, I guess, what I'm trying to say to anyone who is thinking about beer & food matching is this: don't do it unless you're going to commit - beer & food matching is not a gimmick, it's not a passing fad and it's not something you just play with because it deserves more respect than that, and so do your diners.

Anyway, that rant over, I hope to have some new restaurant news for you this week about where to go to get great grub & good brews and I'll also be posting some further musings from my wanderings, and keep an eye on Twitter for my Amsterdam adventures at the end of the week - I promise all pictures will be suitable for workplace viewing!

But before I go, here's the menu as I promised, I've put in bold the beers I think worked with the dish:

First

Spanish Mackerel

w/macerated raisin, candied citrus, fregola

Collette Farmhouse Ale, Great Divide Brewing Company (CO)

Hottenroth Berliner Weisse, The Bruery (CA)

Second

Wagyu Beef Cheesesteak

w/Ale gougere, Gruyere fondue, caramelised onions

Moylan's IPA, Moylan's (CA)

Stone IPA, Stone Brewery (CA)

Third

Hudson Valley Duck Breast

w/squash flan, toasted barley & glazed onion

Autumn Maple Ale, The Bruery (CA)

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, Stone Brewery (CA)

(sorry but neither beer was subtle enough for this dish & just dominated)

Fourth

Corned Beef & Cabbage

(house-cured short rib w/butter melted cabbage)
I can't find the pic for this, it's possible I ate it before I could take a snap - it was AMAZING! (thanks to Matt for having more restraint than greedy me!)

Moylan's Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale, Moylan's (CA)

Rugbrod Ale, The Bruery (CA)

Fifth

Beer Battered Cherries

w/espresso Chocolate Ganache

Moylan's Old Blarney Barleywine-style Ale, Moylan's (CA)

Oak-Aged Yeti Imperial Stout, Great Divide Breweing Company (CO)
(the cherries were less than stellar but the coulis & ganache were superb)

The Wanderer Returns

2010-10-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m sorry I’ve been missing but I can only cite the fact that my life has gone mental! In a great way I must confess but that means I have to mega-apologise for not blogging for so long – I still love you all I promise!
So, why have I been missing? Well, first things first, I’ve got a book deal! Very excited to say the least! It has been a great process with the wonderful people at Anova refining the concept and I think we’ve hit on a fresh formula, which will make it accessible for the idly curious and the uber-interested alike (fingers crossed!!). Out towards the end of next year with luck!

But, I’m sure you’re not going to let me get away with just that as an excuse! So what else have been up to?

Well, I’ve been travelling a heck of a lot, in the past six weeks I’ve been in Belgium, Bristol, Czech Republic and the People’s Republic of Cornwall! But let me take you back to September first...

A beaming Bagby!

Excitingly I was back in the States judging at the Great American Beer Festival and it was just as much of a blast as it was last year, if not more, and you can see the results here but, very quickly, I’d like to make special mention for Jeff Bagby & his crew at the Carlsbad Pizza Port for winning medal after medal and taking large brewpub of the year – he’s an absolute sweetheart, his fiancée Dande is a honey - I can’t think of nicer people to win the award.

But aside from adoring Jeff, what I can't reiterate enough is his talent as a brewer. Just one example of this is that I judged the medal round of English IPAs and I was adamant that his (which I didn't know at the time I promise, it's a blind tasting!), was head and shoulders the best beer and the only one to really make the Fuggles & Goldings shine the way English brewers do - in fact I stayed at the judging table a few additional minutes with an extra glass in my hand courtesy of our lovely table steward! That's how highly I rated it.

It was also grand to see Noah from the San Clemente branch of this modest brewpub company win small brewpub of the year too – he's a star of the future in my humble opinion, and is certainly a hit with the beer ladeez across the pond!

Super Sour Maker Tomme Arthur

Tonya from Bend, it's blurry
'cos we're giggling - again!

It was also gratifying to see medals for brewers I not only like but seriously respect as well, like Tomme Arthur from Lost Abbey, Tonya Cornett from Bend Brewing, Mitch Steele from Stone, Matt from Firestone Walker, Wayne from Cigar City, Jeremy at Schmaltz (who’s just written a book, which I haven’t had time to read yet), Greg Hall at Goose Island, Jeff at Alaskan, Nick, Barnaby & the crew at Three Floyds, Larry at Iron Hill and Brian from Great Divide (hope I didn’t miss anyone I know – got this sneaking suspicion I have though, apologies!).

The festival is awesome - although the pretzel necklaces & multi-coloured beads leave me a bit confused - it’s busy but not cramped, there are water stations everywhere, there’s a great buzz about it and I do quite like the ounce servings you get - sometimes I do crave a bit more of the beers that I really take a liking to, but it does also mean you don’t procrastinate in one place and it encourages you to try as many different ones as possible.

On a personal note I'd just like to send thanks to all at the Brewer’s Association and most especially Chris Swersey, as ever, this is the slickest judging event I’ve ever attended, you are an organisational genius, and I may make you regret that fishing invitation if I get the time next time I’m over! And thanks to all the volunteers, you are truly smiley happy people, who do all the real hard work whilst we sit on our butts & drink great beer!

Also, thanks to my fellow judges, you were all a collegiate pleasure to judge with and also to my awesome, awesome roomy Jessica Heidrich, who on the final night put up with my dumbass capability to drunkenly demagnetise my key card and opened the door in wee hours three times in a row, and made a trip to the mall and hugely entertaining process - you rule lady!
But, this is the first instalment what have you got to come? Well, it was a trip of high amusement, high cuisine and even higher altitude drinking - not to mention a Goldilocks-esque story of 'who's in my bed?!' to come (not involving me I hasten to add)

Tune in for more, later in the week.

p.s. off to try the Grand Ridge beers at the White Horse, Parsons Green this evening, unless you've been to Australia it's unlikely you'll have tried these before so this is ticker/beer geek heaven baby!

Beer is Here!

2010-08-02T02:56:00.000-07:00

Don't expect the queues to be this small!

It's GBBF week and I couldn't be more excited, or I will be when the various aches and pains from what was a fairly gentle game of cricket for me yesterday, I just haven't played due to injury for a number of weeks and it's left me a bit sore!

Anyway, my guided walks for women are nearly all booked up (only a couple of places for Wednesday remain I believe and they are going fast) and my American beer talk is all sold out on Friday, nice to be loved!

But, I guess you are wondering what it is I'll be drinking, and I must say I'm very impressed with the battle plans that are posted on other blogs, but every year I plan to try x,y&z beers it all goes wrong because I inevitably can't go more than two steps without seeing someone I know and get sidetracked! Also, I have the opportunity to drink a lot of the ones I like during my guided tours!

Anyway, if you follow my blog and we haven't already met, please do introduce yourself if you see me wandering around - unless I'm in the middle of one of my guided tours of course, but if you read this blog you're clearly smart enough to know that anyway : )

A Hyperbole of Hilarity

2010-07-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

As I was away during the news of BrewDog's latest effort I wasn't going to get hot & bothered about it, in fact I'm still mostly nonplussed by the idea and just hope they carry on brewing stuff like ~~Halcyon~~ Hardcore (apologies for blonde moment, had been doing my GBBF list and it was the last one added and on the brain) and doing less like the End of History, but that's just me I guess.

However, when you come across something as truly hilarious, ingenious and downright brilliant like this, you just have to share it... well done Dan Payne of Beer-Ritz, if I had my way I'd just award you the British Guild of Beer Writers blogger of the year now!

P.S. I'm deeply concerned to hear rumours that the original brew dog, Bracken, has taken the precaution of having his orifices forcibly sealed shut in case a bottle is bought anywhere near him... poor pooch, a catheterised canine is not a pleasant thought in anyone's book really!

Kick in the Nuts

2010-07-12T04:33:00.000-07:00

Wow! When the lovely Nick & Charlie from Otley were over at the weekend doing a Meet the Brewer at lovebeer@borough they told me my collaborative beer with them, thai-bO, has been going down so well they are making it their seasonal next month!!!

I'm a little bit pleased about this to say the least! Anyway, this post isn't just to pat myself on the back, I've been doing quite enough of that as it is on Twitter!

I did have plans to write a more extensive post today about Roger Protz's latest column in the Morning Advertiser but I'm pleased to say that someone has rung me with some paying work, so I'd better get on with that.

However, before I go the 'nuts' part of the headline (the kick being the thai-bo reference, geddit?!) is about Rise Bryggeri's Ærø No. 5 Walnut Beer.

This is a gloriously rich, complex, baffling and bizarre beer that shouldn't work but it does, it does, it does.

With a gorgeous reddish-amber hue and slight mapley nose it morphs into a dryish pecan mouth-pleaser with intensely moorish nutty notes.

It's not that easy to get hold of, I'll admit, but if you visit 95% Danish they had some in stock last time I spoke to them, along with the brewery's Grolle pilsner, which I'm assured (admittedly by one of the shareholders, who I met through my lovely mate Tim in the Rake completely by coincidence) is one of the finest sunshine beers you can sup - we just need the sun to come back now!!

Stella Black - some exclusive info

2010-07-08T03:13:00.000-07:00

It was with interest that I read Pete Brown's blog post here about the new launch from InBev Stella Black.

Whilst I agree with a lot of his points, most especially naming a lager 'black' and it being golden when the UK market has gotten used to the concept of dark lagers, I wanted to get more information about the beer itself before I wrote anything.

The reason for this being is that I promised myself earlier this year that I wasn't going to knee-jerk react to products just because they came from camps whose actions I've disapproved of in the past.

Anyway, my pathetic personal angst aside, the first point I find interesting is it's stated as being a full grain mash. Now, there have been a lot of allegations (whether or true or false I've never been able to get an answer officially) that a lot of syrups are used in the production of mainstream Stella, so to hear Black is a full grain mash is certainly a great step forward if the aforementioned allegations are true.

The grain bill, if you're interested, is malted barley, raw barley and maize - don't know what the hops are but I'm taking a punt they are Saaz, as that's what's used in the original - and provided they haven't gone overboard with the maize it could be a good start.

Then, and here is something I was quite pleasantly surprised by, they informed me they are also using orange peel and coriander in the beer and apparently, according to ABInBev's press office, I'm the only person to know this at the moment because I'm the only person who's asked! How depressing is that?!

Now, please don't think this is me bigging myself up but don't you think this is a question that should have been asked by others by now?! (I'm not including Pete on this BTW, he was commenting on how he thinks the beer's market position falls between two stools and I think he's right given the brand's 4.8% ABV, Stella 4 & its other 4-something per cent stable mates like Beck's Vier.)

However, I'm also totally exasperated that instead of using a whole world of pointless hyperbole - like calling it a 'premium plus' experience - they didn't focus on what makes it so different, which really is PR 101 and something that they really need to focus on communicating if they want to try and claw back some sort of credibility.

All that aside, however, I actually do want to try this because it does look like they've had a stab at creating a more complex drinking experience but the proof, as they say, is in the pudding and as they haven't yet confirmed where the limited number of outlets (500) are they are placing it yet, I will have to wait.

I completely appreciate that this is the kind of posting that's going to make me unpopular in some camps - apart from perhaps with Cooking Lager! - but, hell, what's new there?

So, a black day for mainstream lager or a ray of light? I'll let you know when I've managed to try some...

Women Better Beer Tasters

2010-07-05T03:50:00.000-07:00

I got sent this link the other day about women being better beer tasters than men, it's something that has come up quite a lot over the years and there was some research on more women being supertasters a number of years ago.

It also reminded me of an article that I wrote for Reuters on International Women's Day that was well received at the time and contains some of the themes in it I'm going to be touching on again in another up-coming article about women in the industry.

It's very much my opinion that women are often toxic towards other women in all walks of life, and it's something I work very hard on myself as I will admit that, as I've got a fairly unique territory, my knee jerk reaction is often to jealously guard it - which I then stop myself doing unless it's justified.

I'll be interested to see what you think, whether you've seen this kind of behaviour before or whether you've experienced something similar as a guy.

Independent Women?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the question of whether we still need an International Women’s Day nearly a century on from its founding.

The simple answer is yes, we do, but that spawns the more complicated query of why do we still need IWD nearly 100 years on, and here’s what I think are, at least some of, the reasons why.

My first is a personal one, and it’s about the reaction I get when I tell people I write about beer for a living and their response is almost always something along the lines of ‘but you’re a woman’. It’s not normally nasty, or malicious, more unthinking and instinctive, and I’d really like to see that change.

Whilst I’ll freely admit there are plenty of upsides to being a woman in man’s world; the major one being that I get spoiled a lot when I go and visit breweries, or at industry events, but if I didn’t have the knowledge behind the eyelashes, or the respect of people in the industry, I wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of continuing to work.

And whilst I would like to think that just proving my ability to absorb knowledge about, or have a great instinct for, beer, I also make sure I’m not shy about getting my hands dirty either.

Spending time getting stuck into the coal face of brewing has not only been massively enriching to my knowledge of beer, it’s also gained me some respect on unexpected fronts. But I’m also introspective enough to know that, on some level, it is my way of proving I am one of the boys and that I’ll don my wellies with the best of them.

And whilst this is something I work very hard to eradicate in myself, I see a far worse malaise in today’s young women as they desperately seek male approbation through hyper-sexual behaviour.

How has it come to pass in our supposed post-feminist society that young women have embraced sexual aggression in place of sexual liberation?

How did we get to place where it’s okay for the Playboy-brand, or sexually suggestive slogans, to be seen emblazoned across little girls’ chests on a regular basis but we won’t let teenagers in pubs? Or that it’s okay for teenagers to be exposed to images in the media that just 10 years ago would have been consigned to the top shelf but that they can’t have one glass of low ABV beer or watered down wine with dinner without the fear of social services kicking the door in?

Personally I think part of this is because it’s so difficult for families to spend social norming time outside of rigidly prescribed, often costly, environments.

Without consistent normalisation into society and seeing real people rather than the media airbrushed images is it any surprise girls as young as nine are being diagnosed with eating disorders? Or that young women are so confused about the rights and wrongs of society that one in three of them in a recent survey by Engender, a women’s rights group, believe that it’s okay to be forced into sex in some circumstances? After all, it happens on Hollyoaks so it must be real, right?

And don’t even start me on music videos; I won’t let my niece or nephew watch MTV when they are over, let alone listen to songs from so-called independent women like Beyonce exhorting you to watch her on your videophone...

And do you know what the worst thing is about all this and why I think International Women’s Day is still so incredibly important? The stresses and pressures of trying to bow to society’s distorted image of success is making us women toxic towards our own sex, we're the first to sabotage or decry the success of others and, many of us, eagerly lap up any glossy magazine that shows you a celebrity with cellulite and, distressingly, we tend to carry that over to our own working and personal lives too.

If International Women’s Day does nothing else, I hope it gives women all over the world pause for thought about how they conduct themselves and how they in turn can affect the conduct of others – because that’s the kind of world I want the next generation of women to grow up in, I hope you do too.

Because I really don’t want to believe that the next generation will grow up to believe that a liberated self-sufficient woman means being able to balance in your Laboutins whilst performing a back-alley sex-act on a minor celebrity then negotiating a newspaper deal to tell all about whilst having all expression in your face botoxed out.

Or perhaps I need to just stick to writing about beer, what do you think?

O What a Beautiful Pint

2010-06-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Day Full of Profit & Potential

2010-06-10T23:40:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note for you all, as I like to bring good news to the table on a Friday morning, Fuller's results are out and they are gooood!

For those of you who are interested in that kind of thing you can read the full set here - for those of you, like me, who prefer a more executive type of summary, here are the highlights:

Revenue up 8% to £227.7 million (2009: £210.0 million)
Adjusted profit before tax up 17% to £26.6 million (2009: £22.8 million)
Own Beer sales volumes up 2%
Managed Pubs and Hotels like for like sales increased by 2.7%
Tenanted Inns like for like profits declined by 1%.

Also, just as an aside, I'm off to try my Otley beer today, which has the potential to be awful or fabulous, I'm very nervous about which one! And for those of you who've been trying to guess what the name is, it's thai-bO - told you'd all kick yourselves (sorry, I just can't help myself, I've got some sort of syndrome, bad punitis or something!).

So, I'm wending my way to judge at the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival, where I'll try my beer but it is a tad wearily, I must admit, after an excellent event with Young's, Charles Campion, the Evening Standard and Martin Peters MBE! What a very nice man, great crowd pleaser and full of funny stories and the audience was super-receptive to my beer tasting before hand and asked some quite taxing questions, great to see such knowledge and passion in the room!

However, obviously they were there to see Martin Peters and I have to say quote of the night was when he was asked about 'that' goal in the 66 final: "It was a goal, I'm telling you that because I was f*cking there!"

Priceless!

Stars & Stripes to Fly Over SW6

2010-06-09T03:57:00.000-07:00

Yeh haw! The American Beer Festival is back at the White Horse again this year and looks set to be bigger and better than ever.

Take your taste buds on a trans-Atlantic trip as south west London’s finest beer pub showcases some of the very best America has to offer, including some never before seen on these shores draught beers from respected brewers like Goose Island from Chicago, Yard’s Brewing from Philadelphia, and Flying Dog from Maryland.

The pub will also be bringing over brews from Odell’s, Brooklyn, Blue Moon, Sierra Nevada , Left Hand and Stone. The White Horse is hoping to repeat the success of last year's similarly themed event. Timed to celebrate Independence Day, the fest kicks off on Friday July 2 and will carry on throughout the weekend.

There will be a tremendous choice of the finest American beers, including Goose Island Bourbon County Stout in cask, which will only be served in halves, alongside some extremely special cask beers from the ever anarchic, and always tasty, Flying Dog, including the brewery’s latest offering Raging Bitch – an IPA brewed with Belgian yeast.

There will also be a wide array of keg beers on offer from highly-respected breweries like Sierra Nevada, and also little-known in the UK but nonetheless multi award-winning microbreweries like Yards from Philadelphia..

And, because the White Horse is always all about demonstrating the diversity of British beers as well, they will have beer on handpull from a whole host of English beers that boast an American influence in hop form from breweries like Crouch Vale, Thornbridge and Dark Star.”

Weather permitting the BBQ will be fired up and offering a whole host of American classics, as well as the ever-popular hog roast and, as you would expect from The White Horse, the beer quaffing will be accompanied by appropriate live music from The Steelers and Fallen Heroes, and there will be live barn dancing with Cut a Shine.

The White Horse, 1-3 Parson's Green, London, SW6 4UL T: 020 7736 2115 W: whitehorsesw6.com E:info@whitehorsesw6.com Twitter: @WhiteHorseSW6

* I have been working with the White Horse on this beer festival

True to Form?

2010-06-08T05:07:00.000-07:00

Only got two ticks to post this but BLIMEY! Truman's beer is back http://www.trumansbeer.co.uk/ - when I find out more I'll post more!

World Cup Fervour?

2010-06-08T02:54:00.000-07:00

Hmm, it may be a little late but a heads up to all small brewers putting out a World Cup beer, be careful how you brand it - FIFA is on the warpath and Hook Norton is currently in its sights according to Brand Republic.

The thrust of why FIFA is turning its sights on a relatively small brewer from Oxfordshire is that it has used the phrase 'Brewed to celebrate the FIFA World Cup 2010. Supporting England', which it's apparently not supposed to without jumping through a whole series of hoops and parting with large sums of cash!

Oh, and this goes for publicans thinking about how to go about showing the World Cup, apparently you've got to be careful not to breach guidelines too!

However, I do have a rare good word for Carlsberg as the official beer of the England team, which has sensibly chosen not to pursue any legal action, knowing that a) the backlash would be enormous and b) that it's frankly pointless as it would cost more than any settlement would be worth and, I would imagine, could easily put a brewery the size of Hook Norton on very shaky ground.

Mars, on the other hand, looks like it's going after Nestle for its Kit Kat Cross Your Fingers campaign, which could see an almighty legal battle - although I'm still hanging on the outcome of Unilever suing the BNP for using Marmite in a party political broadcast, perhaps we can get an extraordinary ruling where Nick Griffin is publicly flogged for being a total waste of skin & oxygen...

Genetically Modified Welsh Football

2010-06-02T02:48:00.000-07:00

Guys & Gals,
I apologise for the lack of blogging activity recently but boy have I been busy and I'm afraid I lack the dedication of other bloggers to write until 4am in the morning after finishing a day's work - call me old-fashioned but I feel I ought to speak to my other half from time to time!

Anyway, I've got a few newsflashes for you - firstly it's come to my attention that someone (who doesn't even have the conviction to name themselves) has been wandering around the interweb claiming Fuller's uses GM US hops; as far as I can find out in my enquiries there isn't even such a thing as GM hops and the only beer Fuller's uses US hops in is Discovery, so where this person gets their "information" from is beyond me.

But, if you want to ask the head brewer himself he'll be coming to lovebeer@borough on June 12 for two meet the brewer sessions at 1pm and 3.30pm. Tickets are just £15 and the beer line-up can be found on our Facebook group.*

Secondly, I had an awesome time brewing with Otley in Wales last week, we made a wheat beer flavoured with galangal, oven-dried lime skins, lemon grass & kaffir lime leaves + Sorachi Ace hops; it's other going to be magnificent tasting or great to dab behind the ears - but you never know until you try!

I also did a little filming whilst there and once I've edited out the most unglamorous bits (because god know's it's tough to look glam when you're brewing and I was a little worse for wear after drinking with the lovely Mr Nick Otley the night before) I shall get that up, which will be a first for this blog!

And finally, I recently prepared a list of World Cup beers for a paper which strongly intimated it was a for a commission, it wasn't they just wanted my hard work (and, admittedly, ~~plaguarism~~ utilisation of the www.beergenie.co.uk website, which I did hold my hands up to!) so I shall be using it to my own ends and will be posting a list of World Cup beers, where to get them and also a few food suggestions that I'd love people to add to from their own experiences as I haven't been to far too many of these countries and my knowledge of, say, Uruguayan food for example, is slim at best.

Toodle Pip for now blog followers and a little thanks to www.pocket-lint.com for making me website of the day - please give them a visit.

*this mention is for my beer tasting business in Borough Market

The Politics of Tweeting

2010-05-27T05:14:00.000-07:00

There's a stark contrast between judging in America and over here, which I wrote a piece on for the British Guild of Beer Writers newsletter and have pasted below, however, I'm also struck by the fact that I feel slightly uncomfortable with the concept of tweeting during the judging process.

I don't know whether it's because often my first thought when I'm unsure about something is to put myself in the other person's shoes and if I had entered some of the categories in recent competitions and heard them so roundly slated before the results were even out I'd be a lot less inclined to enter the following year or whether it's just because I don't think it's professional.

I think the mobile ban at both the GABF and the WBC is well worthwhile, partly because you often think that you know a beer and end up being completely wrong and could tweet about it being in fine form and give false hope too. My best example of this is that one beer competition I was convinced I was drinking Deus, as it's such a distinctive beer, and it turned out I was actually judging Eisenbahn's Lust - so it just goes to show how wrong you can get it!

I think part of the problem I also have with the social networking during competition is the flaw in our systems and this is that the brewers rarely get a copy of the judging feedback in the UK, which is totally opposite to the US, where the judging sheets make carbon copies of all your notes, which also makes me question slightly why you'd even enter as a brewer if you can't find out why or how your beer won/didn't make a medal.

This is not a pop at anybody/competition in particular by the way, quite a few people have done tweeted/Facebooked during these comps and I'm not even entirely convinced I haven't, but I've decided definitively I won't be doing so in future, I'm just airing my views and wondering what you think about my points both below and above?

Brave New World

You may be aware that nothing is done on a small scale in the States and in keeping with that Herculean sense of bigness the GABF is the GBBF super-sized. And I’m not just talking about the festival itself, but also the judging. The sheer level of professionalism at the GABF is something to behold and I believe all of us who run, or participate in, beer competitions can really learn from this.

Here’s just one example: on the night before judging commenced we attended the judges’ briefing session, which took us through the whole process and provided us with our categories. Then, and here’s what let me know straight away I was in a different league, we were given some sensory training using different hop products and asked to rank them in order of bitterness — at this point I’m thinking okay, a little bit nerve-wracking for the new girl, I’ll give it my best shot.

So after tasting all these products and ranking them I begin to relax a bit when the majority of the show of hands in the room agreed with my assessment… only for the presenters to announce that these compounds were actually all the same IBUs and to be careful about using our ‘perceived’ bitterness in beer as an absolute benchmark; this was fascinating, insightful and extremely valuable.

And when it comes to the physical judging itself, there are 78 different beer-style classifications, some with sub-categories, to be judged — and okay we may not have, or be willing to, break down our beers that minutely, in the UK but I feel we are currently failing to accurately reflect the diversity of beer styles available and that this needs addressing. Without doubt the most useful tool of all is the style descriptor sheet you get and this is something I’d really like to see adapted and adopted over here — here’s just one small extract:

Bohemian-Style Pilsner: Bohemian Pilsners are medium bodied and they can be as dark as a light amber colour. This style balances moderate bitterness and noble-type hop aroma and flavour with a malty, slightly sweet, medium body. Extremely low levels of diacetyl and low levels of sweet corn-like dimethyl sulphide (DMS) character, if perceived, are characteristic of this style and both may accent malt aroma. A toasted, biscuitlike, bready malt character along with low levels of sulphur compounds may be evident. There should be no chill haze. Its head should be dense and rich. Original Gravity (degrees Plato): 1.044-1.056 (11-14 degrees Plato); Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (degrees Plato): 1.014-1.020 (3.55 degrees Plato); Alcohol by Weight (Volume): 3.8%-4.4% (4.5%- 5.5%); Bitterness (IBU): 18-25; Colour SRM (EBC): 4-5.5 (8-11 EBC)

Now I’m not necessarily advocating this as the definitive format, as the technical aspect may prove overwhelming for some, but what I wanted it to demonstrate is the gulf between our methods and

those in the US. Here in the UK we quite often don’t even provide the category descriptions the brewers

were given to enter the competition, and whilst I applaud the fact we have significantly more focus on drinkability in most of competitions, there’s also a lot to be said for raising the professionalism of the industry as a whole by ensuring beers do meet the criteria set for their entry.

All this aside, the most lasting impression that I got from the overall experience I feel is the most important one that we can learn from in the UK — and that’s the positive attitude. Glenn uses the word collegiate and I can’t think of a better term with which to describe the brewing community out there; people work together so closely, they care about what happens to their neighbouring brewery and they refuse to give in to any doom and gloom.

I know we’ve been having a rough time here over the past few years but the outlook is brighter now than it’s ever been, with more craft breweries in the UK than at any other time since 1945, and I strongly feel it’s time we started focusing on that and sending out the good news stories.

Happy Birthday RealAle.com & Discount Beer!

2010-05-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

A little newsette for you! Sorry it's a bit press-release-y but I only had time to tinker with existing copy they sent - busy getting set for big tasting with Alec Stewart tomorrow night! Discount details at end.

This month, Twickenham-based Real Ale Ltd. celebrates its fifth Birthday. Since opening the shop doors on 14 May 2005, the company has grown steadily, now supplying people all over the country with its large selection of ales and ciders from micro-breweries across Britain, Europe and the rest of the world.

Operating part of its business out of a warehouse, close to Twickenham Green, the company has used its experience to choose the right beers from an ever-growing number of micro-breweries as well and running not only its own successful ale club, and has also recently taken over the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Beer Club, which boasts nearly 1,000 members.

Nicholas Dolan, managing director of Real Ale Ltd., comments “Since the beginning I’ve always wanted to give customers the opportunity to try interesting and different beers, which would otherwise be hard for them to find and the development of realale.com felt like the obvious next step, offering a next day delivery service nationwide.

“Being able to work closely with Marks & Spencer’s to source and develop their beer range, with small brewers, has been a unique experience and has undoubtedly taken us to the next level”.

Also, for the past three years Real Ale Ltd. has been supplying Marks and Spencer’s with bottle conditioned ales from regional brewers.

Dolan continues “We work in conjunction with M&S to find regional breweries that produce beers that represent their regions. All of which are brewed exclusively for M&S.”

The nine beers supplied include Scottish Ale from the Cairngorm Brewery, Yorkshire Bitter from Cropton, Norfolk Bitter from Woodforde’s and Cornish IPA from St Austell Brewery.

As Real Ale Ltd. continues to grow, states Dolan emphatically, everyone in the business is never complacent and still feels passionately about the importance of their shop on Richmond Road; he adds: “Promoting small and medium-sized breweries, in many cases from rural communities across the UK, is fundamental to our ethos. We are very keen that the current momentum behind the real ale sector continues for the many years to come."
RealAle.com will be celebrating its 5th anniversary throughout May and will be offering all of its customers 10% off any purchase.

A Large Offering of Otley

2010-05-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

Those lovely boys at Otley are having an almighty beer festival this weekend at their brewery tap the Bunch of Grapes if you happen to be around the Pontypridd area.

I'm hoping to get them to London for a meet the brewer soon to showcase what I hope will be an awesome ale I'm off to brew with them soon.

For the first time, the entire range of Otley beers will be served at the pub over the weekend, including its latest seasonal beer –O-Mai, a 4.3%, light amber, hoppy ale flavoured with hints of raspberry. The pub, run by Otley, will be setting up a festival bar to serve the range which includes:

Otley O1

Otley O2

Otley O3 Boss

Otley O4 Colombo

Otley O5 Gold

Otley O6 Porter

Otley O8

Otley OG

Otley Dark O

Otley O-Garden

Otley 11O38

Otley Croeso

Otley Motley Brew

Otley O Mai

AmericanO

ShadO

Otley OF

Otley O HO HO

This Rulles

2010-05-12T01:43:00.000-07:00

Despite taking on board recent comments on other blogs about not just saying 'I drank this, I drank that', I don't do straight beer reviews that often so I'm going to share this one anyway!

Paul from www.AlesbyMail.com very kindly gave me a bottle of Jean Chris Numero 1 from Brasserie Artisanale de Rulles and it is utterly delicious!

It's almost a saison/biere des gardes/Belgian blonde hybrid with an American hop influence but, unless you know what those are, I'd better elaborate because there's nothing more annoying than style comparison, up-your-own-bum beer writer know-it-all nonsense like that!

So, to put it in real world terms; the gorgeous cloudy amber colour is backed up by a nose full of orange blossom honey, with a hint of an earthy spice. The beer then develops a BIG orange & candied tangerine peel on the palate with a very pleasing hint of dill that arrives just before the serious citrus bitter kicks in, it's not an unpleasantly strong bitter but it's pretty prevalent nonetheless.

My attempts to pair it with last night's curry went by the wayside, not because it didn't go, but because we'd drunk the bottle before the beef had sufficiently softened, but a Gouden Carolus stood us in good stead in its place! Oops!

But I will say I think this would be magnificent with dark chocolate or perhaps even a classic poached salmon with dill & lemon butter or something rich like pork belly, perhaps in the Szechuan style with some jasmine rice & steamed bok choi with garlic.

Under the Influence of Influential People

2010-05-10T03:12:00.000-07:00

There are wonderful moments in life that bring you back down to earth with a bump, that knock any delusions of grandeur out the window, that make you realise you don’t have as much influence as, perhaps, your slightly over-inflated ego suggests – and this happened to me last week.

So, as a result, the person who resulted in me being taken down a peg or two must be mocked – it’s the law!

So, Mr Pete Brown, stand up and take a bow as an ‘influential beer writer’! Me, I get scumbag journalist, but Pete, he gets ‘influential beer writer’!

All right, the scumbag bit might have been my inference but with Mr Brown getting ‘influential beer writer’, I’ve clearly got to up my game people!

With this kind of accolade bestowed on him at a SIBA event, no wonder there are people now looking at his influential beer writer words in light of theories and expostulations by French philosophers & theorists like Roland Barthes or compared to cloud-based projects on the web, or the wisdom of crowds by James Surowiecki, the influential New York Times writer.

In fact, his recent rallying cry to improve blogs, to make them more than just ‘I drank this, it tasted like that’ could even be looked at through the schools of thought of Motivationists, Consequentialists and, at a push, could even be glanced at through Kantian theory if you look a bit sideways!

But, however you look at it, that particular post is certainly having an influence on the blogosphere, so his accolade is correct and when I have the time to post more it will be with that bold statement in mind.

Anyway, there was another reason for this ramble (apart from taking the mickey out of myself and poke a bit of good-natured fun at Pete), I had a bet with manager of the Rake Glyn Roberts that we could both write a post about this event and get influential beer writer in to it as many times as possible in around 350 words!

Sorry, but after a few beers these things seem like a good idea, and at least I tried to give it some sort of relevance!

Come to the Dark Side

2010-05-06T01:28:00.001-07:00

Legendary Sussex brewery, Dark Star, is striking back at lovebeer@borough on May 15.

After winning hearts at last year’s Valentine’s tasting, head brewer Mark Tranter returns with award-winning beers and some special brews just for you!

Currently the line-up is semi-secret, as there are some rare beers coming we know you'll love, but we can confirm we will be tasting:

The icon that is Hophead, American Pale Ale (voted Britain's best golden ale), the World Beer Award-winning Espresso Stout and the rare as hen's teeth 10.5% Imperial Stout

Entry, as ever, is just £15, sessions are at 1pm and 3.30pm and you can buy your tickets from the Rake or by calling 020 7378 9461 between the hours of noon and 4.30pm.

lovebeer@borough is based above the Rake on 14 Winchester Walk, Borough Market, London, SE1 9AG WWW.LOVEBEERATBOROUGH.NING.COM

*this post is for my beer tasting business in Borough Market, which is a commercial concern*

Seriously?!

2010-04-30T01:28:00.000-07:00

Question: they opened the National Brewery Centre in Burton-on-Trent last night by offering guests a) beer in elegant stemmed glasses b) old fashioned dimpled halves of the new(ish) Red Shield or c) French champagne?

There are not enough expletives in the world to express how frustrated I am that the answer is C.

Anchor's Away

2010-04-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

To continue the nautical theme, news is leaking from the States that Anchor has been sold.

It would appear one of the people involved some of you might have met at BrewDog's Equity for Punks launch in London, Keith Greggor, who made his name in the drinks industry with Skyy Vodka and has invested heavily in the Fraserburgh-based brewery.

The issue that is causing some ill-ease is not so much the news, because it would appear that there is a commitment from both Greggor & his partner Tony Foglio to stay true to boutique brands, but how it was leaked, as the lovely Jay Brooks points out on his blog here.

However, it is also reported that Fritz Maytag has been made Chairman Emeritus of Anchor Brewers & Distillers, which means the man with the vision is still involved in the business and will continue to be until he drops I would imagine.

Either way I didn't pick up on this story early enough to make any calls to the States but I will be emailing Greggor at my earliest available opportunity to see whether he'll make any comment.

All in all I wouldn't suggest it's time to launch the lifeboats yet but the bizarre way in which the news was released has understandably worried a lot of the American beer writing press and beer fans.

Savour the Spears

2010-04-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

God I love Spring in the UK - the trees are bent low with blossom, the cricket season starts and there's an air of expectation and optimism that is almost tangible.

I'm sure, partly, it's because it's such a great time for fresh produce that, when you eat it, you can almost feel it doing you good.

Some of my most longed-for treats finally come to fruition in April and May and there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that compares to English green asparagus - sorry, but I'm not brooking any argument here.

That Peruvian nonsense you get in Winter is pallid & flavourless, I don't know why it bothers to make the journey, and don't even get me started on that weird white stuff - shudder!

But a beer match can be tough, because with British asparagus's inherent bitterness you have to drink something with a little residual sweetness in it, which is a point well made by Zak Avery's tripel suggestions, but I thought I'd throw my penn'th worth in as his excellent v-blog nudged my memory about a sublime combination of prosciutto crudo-wrapped asparagus with the frothiest, lemoniest Hollandaise sauce, served up with a well-chilled Gouden Carolus.

First, I lightly steamed the asparagus before wrapping each stem in the prosciutto and pan frying it until the crudo was crispy. For the Hollandaise sauce I used Delia's recipe here but very carefully added some extra lemon juice and a little water and, using one of those otherwise useless milk foam thingies, gave it a right good frothing.

When paired with the asparagus and fruity prosciutto the Gouden Carolus becomes almost as herbal as Colomba, the Corsican unpasteurised wit beer made with herb de maquis, in fact it almost develops gin-like botanicals and then somehow combines with the hollandaise to develop an almost preserved lemon middle, with the bitterness of both the beer & the asparagus providing a long, but not aggressive, end to this symphonic oral episode.

Oh, and you must get in there with your fingers - asparagus should NOT be eaten with a knife & fork - it's a tactile, sensuous food that should flood your being with an overwhelming sense of naughty, indulgent enjoyment.

Not Just Women Who Get Patronising Marketing Then!

2010-04-20T00:57:00.000-07:00

Boys, it's clearly unmanly to eat ice cream unless it's got beer in it - now I suggest you get your knuckles off the floor and go get some!

p.s. sorry Dave at Kelham Island, I love your beers but it's just how this story was written!

Wonder Women!

2010-04-16T04:13:00.000-07:00

My love/hate relationship with the BitterSweet Partnership continues apace as they've just released some really good research that shows that a fifth of women are now opting for beer in pubs - so is it really necessary to produce a patronising clear beer for them - oh all right, I've already made my point about that so, let's have more of the good news stories - women are now more often opting for beer than a spirit & mixer! My full story below and then a link to the Sun's version below that - enjoy the difference!!!!

Good news for independent hosts, new research reveals nearly one in three women visit the pub at least once a fortnight, with 72% plumping for their local rather than a large or upmarket high-street chain.

The findings, released by the Molson Coors-operated Bittersweet Partnership, show excellent pub grub and atmosphere are nearly half the reason why they went to their local, with good value coming a close second at 42%.

In line with the recent figures showing cask ale is the only beer category in growth, the traditional female bar order of a gin and tonic or vodka and coke has finally been ditched in favour of beer, with a fifth of women opting for a beer over 19% choosing mixers. And range is clearly also important, with nearly one in 10 wanting a broad selection of beers to choose from.

However, many outlets are still making fundamental operating mistakes, with the biggest female bugbears proving to be lack of seating (18%), an un-friendly and often unwelcoming environment (26%), cleanliness (16%) and poor music choice (21%).

The Sun's story here - http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2933700/Women-hailed-as-pub-saviours.html - oh, and if a fortnightly trip to the pub makes women 'booze-guzzling' then I presume they advocate that someone like me should be committed, or arrested, or perhaps just socially 're-programmed'?!

Showing Coors a Clear Pair of Heels

2010-04-15T02:24:00.000-07:00

In the interests of fair and impartial journalism (something I'm accused of on occasion) I'm not going to make any assumptions about the flavour of the new Coors Clear Beer product until I've tried it.

But I'll be very clear about one thing, I'm not impressed with how it's being portrayed in the press, it's designed to get women into beer? Oh please!

Despite the long hair, addiction to hilariously high heels and obsession with big earrings I balance that out with other areas of my life; most of my mates are lads, I play cricket and go fishing for fun and, of course, I do that most unfeminine of things, I enjoy a pint!

God, my mother must be so ashamed of me - or would be if she didn't now drink beer herself, in the golf club and everything! The shame!

I mean, seriously, what the hell is wrong with this world? We seem to be going completely backwards in the journey to bring the sexes closer together - and I don't mean I think I'll ever be able to lift, punch or run as well as a bloke but I damn sure know I don't need a product that's been designed for my delicate little tastebuds!

And do you know what really riles me about the way it's focusing on the beer being in bottle & clear making it, allegedly, spike-proof? It paints women as victims that something just hasn't happened to yet.

Please don't get me wrong, I will not make light of drinks being spiked in a pub - it happened to me once in a club, it was terrifying and I had a lucky escape - but is this how you want to portray beer? That it has to be clear so you're safe? Christ, I may never leave the house again!

How about designing trouser pockets to be clear so we can check people aren't carrying knives? Or transparent backpacks so we can be sure no one's carrying a bomb? And perhaps we could all embrace our inner 80s and start wearing jelly shoes again for the good of society?!

I am not a victim, I am someone who is more than capable of finding my way around the range of products on offer out there and navigating whatever life throws at me with luck, and I don't spend every waking minute looking over my shoulder in case the boogie man is coming to get me - if I do that, someone might spike my drink when I'm not looking!

And I find it interesting/depressing this move appears to coincide with a very long-standing beer education programme & PR campaign coming to a close. What? Job done? I don't think so.

Do I think that the population as a whole could know more about beer? Yes I do.

Do I believe that women have been disenfranchised by the beer market? Indeed, so let's educate them.

Am I going to back a product that seeks to collectively pat women on the arse and tell them type up the minutes neatly? No I'm bloody well not.

I am inexpressibly furious with this launch - it's almost more insulting than Eve, which at least pins its colours to the mast and says it's a patronising piece of crap. Hell they haven't even got the guts to call it a malt-based beverage, for fear of scaring the living daylights out of us girlies!

This is a negative story and not one I'm thrilled the new group Dea Latis is associated with either - just to be clear, (no pun intended) my understanding of our group has always been about getting more women to enjoy the beers that are out there, to embrace the fabulous brewing and diversity of craft brews and heritage we already have, to stop patronisation and gender bias in the beer market.

This is not helping...

P.S. when I said high heels I don't mean the ones pictured, I just thought that, somehow, there was a correlation between the two products...

Chicago Blew Me Away!

2010-04-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry about the cheesey headline, but if you've followed this blog long enough you'll know that I live for them - I'm kinda like people who collect sad things like china miniature poodles or commemorative spoons, in cabinets - one is just never enough!

Anyway, onto the point of this post and it's Chicago baby! What an awesome place! I had time to do exactly zero, nada, bupkiss research before I jumped on a plane with Fantastic Mr (Dan) Fox to this Illinois city that I'd never really given much thought to before, for which I feel I should apologise somehow (not that Chicago cares much either way I'd imagine).

Upon landing it was a pretty simple mission myself and Dan had in mind, get sorted and get out to try some Goose Island on its home turf, however, we ended up in Rock Bottom Brewpub, which I'd been to the Denver version of and really enjoyed, so no complaints there!

The food is pretty good, apart from the Titan Toothpicks (deep-fried full-size tortillas with mysterious meat and 'stuff' in them - truly awful and terrifying in one go) and the portions had us laughing like drains, particularly the onion rings as you can see from the picture!

The beer, which is brewed on site and all the RB beers are unique to each venue, was excellent. The pilsner they'd produced in association with the German Hop Growers was sensationally drinkable, and when we found ourselves unable to take another enormous-tasting beer, we reset ourselves with that and were off again! My personal favourite was Eric the Red, which was exactly as the beer list described it: "A dry-hopped American-style Red Ale brewed with dark crystal malt that lends a caramel and maple character to this deep ruby-colored brew. Copious amounts of Cascade and Centennial hops are addded into the fermenter to create an explosion of lemon and grapefruit flavors and aromas."

They were also kind enough to host a brunch as a judges' send-off the Sunday after the awards, which was really lovely of them and much needed by many, including the man previously believed to be indestructible - the gentle Cali giant Jeff Bagby of Pizza Port who spent a lot of his time staring at his pint with great suspicion! (I really hope this makes him laugh and not mad, seriously, he's huge!).

Also, the in-house brewmaster Chris Rafferty was still celebrating his win of a gold at the WBC for Dude, Where's My Vespa - his coffee beer - and as a result he was so high on life, it was utterly infectious.

Right, enough RB love, another must-visit when you're in town is Clark Street Ale House, it's a late-night venue so I'm not even going to venture a guess at what I was drinking other than it was all good and I'm pretty sure that Three Floyds beer was in there somewhere! I think it was Alpha King but I can't swear to it! And if you get to the point where a spirit seems like a plan then they've got an awesome whiskey selection, although my companions seemed to be avoiding the good stuff and drinking the eye-wateringly strong kind, why do I always end up with these kinds of dudes at four in the morning... in fact, don't answer that!

Moving swiftly on, at the opposite end of the scale is Publican which makes very pretty food, and really knows what to do with a pig! Their oysters were also absolutely magnificent but avoid the mussels, they were muddy and awful, and whilst it's not to my taste even Alex Barlow's weird pizza was good, squid & chorizo I believe it was, but very good nonetheless!

Having heard how good the food was I went with full intentions of creating myself a full beer & food fest that was to utterly die for but I got hooked on Lost Abbey's Framboise di Amarosa, a truly stunning and balanced sour raspberry beer that had me making all sorts of happy noises whilst drinking it, as far as I'm concerned that stuff goes with everything!!

And last, but not least, on my list of bars that should not be missed in Chicago is Piece. In fact, this was my favourite, it ticked all the boxes for me, friendly customers and staff, fantastic beers brewed on site and enormous thin-crust pizzas where you choose the toppings! Utter, utter perfection.

Owned by Bill Jacobs (below on the left of the pic), who is as deliciously entertaining as the bar itself, Piece has a great little multi-level thing going on, making the space feel much less sprawling than it could and also allowing for noise dissipation because I can attest you will need a set of lungs on you when it's busy!

It's also got a lot of pedigree in the industry's eyes as in 2006 it and its brewmaster Jonathan Cutler (who I sadly didn't get to meet) won the prestigious World Beer Cup Champion Small Brewpub and Brewmaster Award. I was, however, shown around the brewery, which is a miracle of mechanical ingenuity, an unwillingness to give up on a space and an awesome example of what you can do with some welding gear when you set your mind to it!

I spoke to Bill about how the whole thing came about, and I got a pretty neat story. After learning to bake from some New Jersey guys he decided to bring bagels to Chicago with his brothers, Andy & Pete, and built it up through openings and acquisitions to a chain of 17, which he sold to Big Apple Bagels in 1999.

The brewpub came about when he met the fabulous Matt Brynildson (now winning masses of awards with Firestone Walker and can be seen being tortured by me to eat weird stuff when he's in the UK) out in the park over, wait for it, ultimate frisbee! Yeah, I know, but given the shape both those boys are in I really am not going to mock how hilarious it sounds on paper! Besides, they didn't laugh at my tipsy cricket demonstration (in high heels) so I owe them that courtesy in return!

For the rest of the story, I'll let Bill tell you in his own words: "After a tournament Matt came up to me with beer, a wit beer, which he was carrying. He gave me some and said, 'we can make this'.

"At that point he set the wheels in motion as I'd always thought about bringing great thin-crust pizza to Chicago, the kind I grew up eating in New Haven. Great beer was the perfect compliment to great pizza and that's where it all started.

"Between 1997-1998 I worked with Matt (pictured above on the right) and several others constructing the business plan for Piece. Matt was going to be the brewer for Piece, but when the opportunity came in SLO Brewing Company in California, he seized it. Piece was still in its developmental stage, no lease secured at that point, and it was an opportunity Matt couldn't pass up.

"When it came to hiring a brewer for Piece in 2001, Matt encouraged me to hire Jonathan Cutler, our terrific brewer, who had brewed for him at Goose and was looking to move back to Chicago from Chico, CA, where he was brewing at Sierra. Matt worked with Jonathan initially creating a beer list based on the styles, but Jonathan has created the beers and the names for Piece."

Now, you might remember when I came back from Denver I was raving about how collegiate the beer scene is in the States and how it would be nice to see more of it over here? Well here's a great example of what I've been banging on about...

"Matt remains our closest friend and our reliable consultant/expert if Jonathan needs support. Reciprocally, Jonathan assisted Matt with his gold medal winning hefe, the same gold he won in 2006 when Piece won Champion Small Brewpub - which is great because Jonathan has won five medals for his Top Heavy Hefeweizen."

And, if all that doesn't convince you to get your butt over if you're ever in Chicago then maybe this will - one of the investors is Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen - if you can't place the band immediately you'll almost certainly know their anthem song, give it a listen and do what it says when it comes to Piece - Surrender!

Apologies and Small Update

2010-04-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

Hello all, I must apologise for neglecting you so much, with going off to the AWESOME World Beer Cup and Craft Brewer's Conference in Chicago I haven't had time to blog at all.

Because I had an insane amount of work to get done before I went I was fried and it's partly for this reason I decided not to take my ailing/near terminally ill laptop with me because I wanted to give the week my focus - I did notice that a lot of the people tweeting & social mediaing like mad sometimes missed chatting to people, which for me is what it's all about, not a criticism just a small explanation of my view on it all! And besides, if I'd had my nose buried in my phone/laptop the whole time I would have missed out on a whole lot of hugs, which is always a bonus of going to US events!

Anyhow, in case you haven't already heard, the Brits made a pretty good showing, given that there were only a pitiful 51 beers entered, which I've got to be honest I'm really shocked about. I'm aware that times are hard in the industry but surely the world-wide benchmark competition is something you should always enter?

Anyway, two golds went to UK brewers, the first was a category that I judged (along with several other UK judges including the lovely Glenn Payne and the fabulous Mr Dan Fox from the White Horse) and it was the subject of some really lively debate, which was brilliant because only good beer provokes passionate responses - the upshot of this being that Rooster's took a one and two in this category with Leghorn and YPA respectively, so well done Sean, I'm thrilled for you and feel you've taken two well-deserved wins there.

The second gold medal winner was BrewDog for its new Hardcore IPA, which is utterly delicious and the type of beer I'd love to see this brewery do more of, they have such a flair for making drinkable beers that have a higher ABV than the norm without having to resort to publicity stunts - but that's enough of that, my views have been aired and Mr Watt looked so resplendent in his kilt I was inclined towards forgiveness! Just kidding James, I hear you've got enough crazed fans without me adding myself to the list!

Anyway, the UK beer I was most thrilled to see win on the evening was Bracia from Thornbridge - I've never made any bones about the fact I think this is one of the most delicious beers I've ever drunk in my life and think it's a undoubtedly a silver medal winner, I didn't get to try the gold which is from an utterly unpronounceable brewery in Lithuania, so goodness knows how amazing that is!

There's also a shamelessly selfish reason why I was rooting for Bracia as well, when I was introducing Kelly or Stef to people I kept on saying they'd entered this sublime beer and it really should medal - so at least I didn't end up with honeyed egg on my face there!

Also, congratulations have to go to Shepherd Neame for which took a bronze in the best bitter category, it's not one that I personally drink much of but for the people of Kent it's a positive institution and we should be owning that category anyway dammit! Bitter's ours!!!!

That's just the UK update, if you want to see all the winners then the link is here, I'll be giving you my assessment on the best of the rest once I've had a nap, I didn't sleep as well on the plane as I normally do due to a lack of alcoholic intake before take-off!!

So if there are grammaticals, spelling mistakes or anything else off-kilter with this post then I apologise but, stick a fork in me, I'm done!

Be Afraid

2010-03-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

Right, we all know that the Chancellor & the current Government seem to think that the booze industry and pub trade is their bitch, to do with and destroy at will but I warn you now, the Conservative Party is looking to tax ALL high ABV alcohol on a blanket basis, which I have outlined in a letter from my MP.

I'll be asking my local Lib Dem candidate what their policy is and will be posting all the parties proposed policies in detail on here soon.

I'm not saying it's what you should wholly base your vote on but, if you follow this blog, then beer & the pub is probably quite close to your heart and therefore I presume it has some sort of influence!

There will be a more cheery post on some sublime American brews I had last night very shortly!

Fuller's Cask Ale Week News

2010-03-24T02:45:00.000-07:00

Just leaving for a meeting so don't have much more time than to quickly say keep a look out for Fuller's 1845 and London Porter specially on cask for Cask Ale Week next week.

If you see 1845 also try and get yourself some cheese at the same time - it takes it from sublime to transcendent as a beer (although Golden Pride is still my fave strong Fuller's beer!).

Bad news is, it's only in Fuller's pubs - sorry about that.

A Few Things of Importance to the Pub

2010-03-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

Just a few things if you're a UK publican or a punter who has a good enough relationship with your local landlord that you can point these things out to them without getting barred!

Poker nights are finally being cracked down on in pubs, it was only a matter of time and a lot of guidance has been issued on this matter but some licensees either chose to ignore it or haven't seen it; the long and short of the news is that you can only have very low stakes of £5 per head or £100 per premises per day (so you may as well just play for matchsticks!).

The other thing that licensees and restaurateurs may have missed is that it's now illegal not to offer 125ml glasses of wine for sale in the on trade, irresponsible drinks promotions have also been banned - but it would appear the legislation has some serious holes in it and has been rushed through.

That annoys me because I'm firmly behind everything in this amendment to the laws and if they've buggered it up then it just creates further uncertainty for licensees who have more than enough to worry about already.

Wandsworth Beer Festival

2010-03-18T01:59:00.000-07:00

When I was looking for somewhere to hold our wedding reception it quickly became clear to me that I was fighting an uphill battle with places that I was going to see.

Even the venue in Putney where the caterers used to do the Beer Writer's Dinner were about as much help as a chocolate teapot (particularly loved that they sent me emails with the wrong name at the top and then repeated the mistake repeatedly - that's personal service for you!).

So, when I finally gave up going places, sat at my computer and typed an email outlining what I wanted to achieve from the event I got one response back and it was like being greeted by the world's most enthusiastic puppy at the idea of running a beer and food wedding reception from the owner of Le Gothique Mark Justin.

The day was fantastic, the beer and food matches were glorious and the service impeccable - I loved it.

Shortly after our wedding they ran their very first beer festival - sadly we were still on honeymoon for most of it but we made the last day and it was a genuinely jolly affair, with well-kept ales and a nice variety.

So, this year, I heartily encourage to head on down to Le Gothique in the beautiful Royal Victoria Patriotic Building and bag yourself a couple of lovely beers.

Bits & Bobs

2010-03-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

Just a few observations on what's going on in the beery world and also a question for you my knowledgeable and lovely readers!

Firstly, the new Marston's fast cask seems to have raised a stink, I'm only going to make one comment on this for the time being because I've got some so-far unanswered questions about the technical aspects of this product BUT what I will caution is everyone thinking that this is a panacea for lack of cask distribution - it's not.

Lazy, poorly trained or ill-informed licensees will still cock cask up - this will not change that.

Nor can I see any reason why it would survive any longer or be okay in a crappy cellar BUT I do hope that this will work well for outdoor events and that it will mean that I can finally get a pint of ale at a cricket match without having to walk half the length of the ground to do so/be utterly disappointed that there isn't any (the picture is my attempt at humour, these casks must have been going very fast - geddit?! Geddit?! - okay, I'm sorry...)

In other news, word on the grapevine has it that Mikkeller is opening a beer bar - is anyone else of the opinion that they could easily drink themselves into an early grave and die happy in such a place? I have been a huge fan of Mikkeller beers since Phil Lowry forced me to drink one at 10.30 in the morning once, it was of course Beer Geek Breakfast, been hooked ever since (hmm, don't they say the first step to overcoming a problem is admitting it? Problem is I can't see what the problem is with that sentence!!).

Anyway, my issues aside, Knut Albert's Blog informs me that it will be open on April 29 and it's in Viktoriagade, Copenhagen (I think!) halfway between the Central Station and Hotel Sct Thomas with 15 beers on tap.

And finally, does anyone know of any SW/London-based cask beer-loving celebrities? If so hit me back on the comments section (that means metaphorically people - no happy slapping if you see me in the street please!).

Looking for Inspiration this Weekend?

2010-03-13T02:39:00.000-08:00

Visit Bar Pepito in King's Cross, Camino's sherry-serving little cousin is yet another triumph from my favourite bar impresario - Richard Bigg - it's tiny and cute and delightful
And whilst we're on the subject of the capital and the sun is out, why not go for a row on the Serpentine, then head to Ye Grapes in Shepherd Market for a pint, and if you're peckish give one of the Lebanese restaurants in the area a whirl
Staying in? Get online and order some beer from Bitter End Brewery - these Cockermouth brewers have produced a refined and technically excellent range of beers that gently lead you by the hand through a fabulous array of flavours - I started with the elegantly refined and aromatic Honey and ended up at the bolshy but bloody marvellous IPA
Once you've done that why not try and make Brian Laugh? If you can hear the Blessed's great burst of guffaws and not at least turn the corners of your mouth up then there's something wrong with you!
Sit down to the rugby with a selection plate of samosas, bhajis and pakoras and enjoy a few bottles of Bengal Lancer from Fuller's from your local supermarket or off licence (or better still in the pub!)

Dark Deeds Down Under

2010-03-11T00:14:00.000-08:00

Who knew that Woolworth's had interest in a microbrewery or two in Australia - and how sad I've only found out because they are closing it.

Sorry for the brevity of the posting but I'm a bit up against again today I'm afraid (decorators coming round, again, why oh why, oh why, can't they just get it right first time???!!!!)

Still in the back pocket are reviews of Bitter End Brewing in Cockermouth (if you see them in the meantime buy them, bloody lovely stuff!) some news on what's coming up at lovebeer@borough over the next few months and some other exciting stuff which I can't tell you about just yet, but it's cool people, it's cool!

See ya! x

Home Brewer Makes Jolly Good Beer Shocker

2010-03-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

All right, I know I'm going to get strung up for that headline but the last three home brews I've been daft enough to accept have (in order) made me vomit, made me gag at the smell and have not even made it across my threshold before exploding! So, forgive me if I'm a little wary of people giving me homebrew.

Fortunately, the last one that was handed to me was from Sean Ayling, who is an ex-hack and keen homebrewer, whom I caught up with in the Brown Dog in Barnes, .

He bought me a Cooper's kit beer brewed with Amarillo hops and it was delightful! Luscious lychee and tangerine aroma, a jaunty effervescence and a good grapefruity finish with a hint of kaffir lime peel all vied for my attention along with a lingering tropical fruit-yoghurt creaminess.

Not only does the man brew well, he also writes entertainingly about it - well worth checking out his blog and if he ever thinks of taking this up full time I can see a much bigger shed in his future!

WEBrew with Purity

2010-03-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

I am so incredibly excited about the fact that there is a new brewery launching called Windsor & Eton Brewery! Given that it's in my old neck of the woods I hope it's going to be fabulous. I was hoping to meet with them this evening but life got in the way so meeting with them next week with luck - really looking forward to it!

However, in the meantime, I must report that a while back I had the most fabulous day brewing with Florent from Purity. We brewed UBU and I have to say I learnt a lot and was made to feel exceptionally welcome and enjoyed every minute of the brewing day and had even more fun in the pub afterwards - even if the journey home was hell!

The Purity brewery is set in some of the most stunning West Mids countryside and I adore the ethic of all involved - not only do they know the pub game they are working very hard to raise the profile of beer and how transcendent it can be with food.

They brew great beers, Gold, Mad Goose & UBU - so if you haven't tried any of them yet give them a whirl, I bet you'll find a favourite in that tight portfolio.

Return of the Shire

2010-03-05T02:37:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't got time to re-write the below but thought it was a cute story to put a smile on your Friday faces! I'm going to enter Fuggles as the horses name personally - that way people will have to ask what it means and will get some beer education at the same time.

I thought about offering up Saccharomyces cerevisiae but thought that would just be a bit sad! Have a great weekend all.

Shire Horses to return to the National Brewery Centre

Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, UK – 5th March 2010 – In readiness for the 1^st May 2010 opening of the new National Brewery Centre, Burton upon Trent, staff are busily preparing to welcome back the much-missed Shire horses to the Horninglow Road site.

The iconic breed is well-known for its work in the brewing industry and Planning Solutions Ltd, the company behind the new National Brewery Centre, has secured two young local Shire horses that will be at the site during weekends, school and bank holidays.

The first, a two year old gelding, born in Ramsor, near Ashbourne, is called Major and currently stands at 16.3 hands high.

The younger of the pair is yearling colt, born in Sutton on the Hill and currently stands at around 15.2 hands high. The National Brewery Centre is launching a competition to name him and the lucky winner will receive a Family Annual Ticket for the centre.

To enter the naming competition, entrants will simply need to email their suggestion of a name for the yearling colt, along with their name and contact details to: shires@nationalbrewerycentre.co.uk

The competition closes at midnight on the 31^st March 2010 and the winner will be contacted shortly afterwards.

The new National Brewery Centre will be open by the 1^st May 2010 and further details can be found at the website www.nationalbrewerycentre.co.uk

This Could Have Big Ramifications...

2010-03-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

I apologise in advance to Cooking Lager who may be waking up to this potential disaster story for cheap booze which reports a licensee could be successful in challenging the fitness of some supermarkets in his area to hold licences due to their pricing policies on commodity alcohol brands.

I will be keeping close tabs on this - and yes I know it's a different licensing system but it's still bound to have a knock-on effect to the rest of the UK if publican Jeff Ellis is successful.

Next Time I Whinge About...

2010-03-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

the overly macho marketing of beer in the UK, just remind me that at least I don't live in Brazil and didn't have to put up with Paris Hilton having some faux foreplay with a can of cold beer before the ad got banned.

As my mother always says, you can have all the money in the world but you can't buy class...

One for the US Readership

2010-02-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

I know some of the readership is from the States, so I'd just ask you to take the time to read the below and support this excellent cause - cheers!

Pints for Prostates is offering beer lovers a chance to fight prostate cancer and win a dream trip for two to the largest craft beer event in the United States, the Brewers Association Great American Beer Festival℠. The GABF will be held in Denver from Sept. 16-19, 2010.

The winner and a guest will get a chance to sample beers from an estimated 450 breweries serving more than 2,100 brews at the GABF. They will also receive tickets to one of the top gourmet beer events in the nation: The Denver Rare Beer Tasting II, along with visits to great craft breweries and special access to insider beer events.

The trip includes:

-- Round Trip Airfare for Two to Denver (from anywhere in the continental U.S.)
-- Three Night Hotel Stay at a Convenient Downtown Location (Double Occupancy)
-- Two Tickets for Three Sessions at the Great American Beer Festival (http://www.facebook.com/l/0f0cc;Thurs./Fri./Sat. Nights)
-- Two Tickets to the Denver Rare Beer Tasting II (Friday 1-4 p.m.)
-- Hosted Pub Crawl with Rick Lyke, Beer Writer and Pints for Prostates Founder
-- Special Access to Insider Beer Events to Meet Brewers and Taste Limited Release Beers
-- Gift Cards for Lunch & Dinner at Denver Brewpubs & Beer Bars

The total estimated value of the trip is $2,500. The winner will be selected on Aug. 21, 2010.

Tickets will be available where legal at beer festivals and other events for a $10 donation or three for a $25 donation. If you cannot get to one of our events, you can still enter. Mail a check made out to "Pints for Prostates Inc." for the number of tickets you would like, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope so we can send back your ticket stub(s) to: Pints for Prostates/GABF, 12673 Overlook Mountain Dr., Charlotte, N.C. 28216-6726. You must be at least 21 years old to enter and to take the trip.

All proceeds benefit the Pints for Prostates (http://www.facebook.com/l/0f0cc;www.pintsforprostates.org) campaign, which supports programs to fight prostate cancer and help men and their families battling the disease. More information about the trip is available by email at rick.lyke@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support of the Pints for Prostates campaign. Please feel free to invite your Facebook friends to join the group and to post your "My favorite beer is...." message to help spread the word. The more men we reach, the more lives will be saved.