Prague

It's five years since I've been to Prague and I dare say things have changed.  I'm off there on Monday for a few days with some of my more cultured friends.  They'll be seeking out classical music and museums and while I'm not agin either, I'll be looking for a decent glass or two.

Now I know some of the usual suspects - sorry highly recommended pubs - and know too that IPAs and God knows what else will abound, which should really interesting,  but I'd like some really good lager too, so I need some more specific advice as follows, if my readers would be so kind:



Where does a decent selection of (non PU and Budvar) lager exists and what should I drink there?

Where can we go for decent beer and food where we won't be smoked out?

Which pubs - even really good ones - are the most smoky and should be avoided on that basis?

What's the best around in the area of Rybna, Praha 1?

Can anyone help?  I'd really be most grateful

I also found 700 Kč in notes in my house.  Hope they haven't changed the currency. Should buy a few beers

Nothing Wrong With It?

After a busy weekend in London, we wound down with a long walk on Bank Holiday Monday and for me, a determination that my last few pints of the weekend would be guaranteed to be good ones.  Thus it was that we headed over Waterloo Bridge and into Maiden Lane for some non cask stout at the Porterhouse Brewing Company.  As always I ordered Wrasslers 4X and as always the uncompromising bitterness delighted.  We sat outside watching disappointed antipodeans gazing forlornly into the closed Australian.New Zealand/ South African shop opposite, with me wondering as I always do, whether I shouldn't have had a pint of Plain Porter first,  but deciding the step down in flavour and gravity would be unwise. E wasn't nagged by any such doubts, sticking happily with Oyster Stout.

The RV1 bus leaves from just around the corner and goes, via Tower Bridge to Tower Gateway, a mere cockstride from our flat.  Temptingly, it passes very near to several well known craft outlets and we nipped in to one and despite my promises to myself, I ordered cask, which was a bit warm and tired.  "Listen to yourself " I said grimly, but letting myself off, as the search for top quality cask in London is usually experienced best in hope rather than expectation. E smugly said her (bloody expensive) Kernel was rather good.

Not wishing to be caught out twice, keg was acquired in the next and last pub.  It was from Camden and was Pale.  Nice enough, but not a patch on their late, lamented, cask Inner City Green .  E had a half of Paulaner and as we sat outside people watching, she took her first sip and grimaced.  "This is off" she said.  I looked at it.  It was a touch cloudy and smelt stale and cidery.  It certainly tasted awful. Hmm. I took it back. The barman expressed surprise, poured himself a little and said "It's fine - that's how it's meant to taste, but I'll change it if you want."  Now this of course implies that the customer is wrong, but in a nicer way.  I asked him if he was sure that it was Paulaner Helles and was advised it was.  "So that's meant to be cloudy and taste cidery?" He looked nonplussed. A colleague was called who confirmed it was fine and I was given a half of something else.

From our vantage point at the door, I could see we'd generated a discussion among the bar staff.  When I went in for a refill, the original barman said "I think you might be right about that beer - we've taken it off."  What I do wonder though is how many other poor sods had had off beer and said nothing and how it came to be off without anyone knowing.  Don't they taste all the beers first?  It isn't the first time I've had imported keg beer which has tasted stale. Is this common?  It is certainly a dear do to buy in the first place and even worse when it isn't right. It also makes me wonder about some of the folks behind the bar in some of these destination craft places.  Do they really know what they are talking about?

At least Sam Smith's Pure Brewed Lager doesn't suffer from staleness. I'll be mostly sticking to that in summer visits to the capital. Damn sight cheaper too.

Yes this is another London moan.  I'll happily (unhappily) moan about bad beer anywhere though.

Even More Trouble Brewing

Following my post yesterday, in which I hinted that more news might be forthcoming, it seems that all brewing will be suspended (cease) at Cains of Liverpool, with Cains own beers being outsourced meantime, as the brew length will not economically permit the production of  the ensuing reduced volume of beer, which I understand, even with supermarket beer, had fallen to around 12,000 barrels. All hopes are being pinned on a site re-development into a leisure complex with a "brewing village" for which planning permission is being sought. The plans will be submitted to Liverpool council in the summer, and if approved work could start next year. The re-developed site would not be open for at least 18 months to two years, so presumably brewing will be "suspended" until at least then if all goes well.

Will the brewery ever re-open? Maybe we shouldn't hold our breath on that one.

The Echo has it all here again.  I'll keep you informed.

More Trouble Brewing

Cain's of Liverpool has had a somewhat chequered history since taking over the old Higsons brewery in Liverpool.  I have written about them before.

Yesterday I mentioned them as one of the UK's leading brewer's of low margin supermarket beer in the context of Thwaites leaving that market.  Today I learn by a phone call from a brewer friend that more trouble has ensued.  The Liverpool Echo tells me that with immediate effect that Cain's are ceasing their brewing of supermarket beers as they incur a loss.  38 jobs will go.  Those of us who follow Cains will doubt, despite assurances that the rest of the operation and pubs aren't affected, that this will be the end of the matter.

But we'll have to wait and see,  One thing is for sure as former employees head to the Jobcentre.  Supermarket own brand beer comes at quite a price despite its cheapness.

The Echo story can be read here.

Hot Weather Spells Trouble

It was warm in London when the CAMRA Rochdale, Oldham and Bury mob visited, led by that most intrepid of topers, Tyson himself.  They arrived on Friday, but I was a bit of an advance guard, having come down the night before from my mother's place in Scotland, to get a bit of rest beforehand.  Naturally that rest included a schlep to Camden Brewery for the launch of Mark Dredge's new book, where I enjoyed Camden Pale and Hell, didn't think much of American Hell and loved, as much as I've liked any beer this year, a one off Kiwi Wit, which reminded me very much of  Schneider Hopfenweisse, but was better to drink and at a more swoopable 5 per cent.   They seriously ought to think of bringing this out, even as an occasional special. I also renewed acquaintance with fellow bloggers and beer writers and met a couple more that I had either not met, or had met only briefly.  A really good night was had, marred only by a chicken kebab from round the corner from our flat.  A bad decision made worse by a forseeable outcome!  More of foreseeable outcomes later.

Friday was a glorious day as I walked to meet the thirsty Northerners at the Euston Tap. It all augured well as I observed no less than three Mallinsons beers on tap.  My request for a sparkler was met with an odd remark from the barman "I don't like sparklers on pale beer" quoth he hovering with the offending article in his mitt, but not applying it.  "Just as well you aren't drinking it then" I responded. "Sparkler please." Remember bar staff, it isn't your job to make judgements here.  Someone that specifically requests a sparkler in a place that provides the option is unlikely to be persuaded out of it.  Still, all was well with the beer here, as I have always found it to be. It was a good day beer-wise on Friday, with only the Parcel Yard needing to dial down the cellar temperature by a couple of degrees, though frankly, one or two others were on the edge.  (If in doubt, make it slightly colder. Beer always warms up. It never cools down.)

Saturday was similar temperature wise in the two pubs we visited on the official crawl.  Maybe, for Northern tastes at least, slightly (and arguably) on the edge in Craft Islington and too warm and flat in the Union Tavern, so E and I baled out to the sanity of the Old Red Cow, which is rapidly becoming a favourite and which serves cool beer and has a lot of cool people in it. And me.

I do worry continually about quality of cask beer, but more so in London which is a whole lot warmer than the North and which already suffers from a serious over-venting problem.  As it gets hotter, the beer quality gets worse as cellars either haven't got the kit to cool the beer, or are being incorrectly set.

Apart from a few trusted places,  come summer in London, this cask man will be haunting a few more Sam's pubs for Pure Brewed Lager. That's my other foreseeable outcome.


Pictured is the Fox and Anchor at Smithfield Market. Another new favourite and some rather flat looking beer bought on Saturday near a canal.

Crafty Dan

Set in a very cramped town centre location where it has been since 1807, Daniel Thwaites is one of the biggest, if not the biggest of the surviving family brewers, owning around 350 pubs. You won't find a Thwaites on the board though, the family name having been Yerburgh since the female line inherited and married one. It is still firmly family controlled however.

 The brewery itself is rather large, with a lot being crammed into the site. When I visited it last night though, it wasn't to see the large automated modern brewery it has become, but the fairly recently installed "Craft Brewery" where, shall we say, the more interesting beers are brewed. Set in a spacious part of the brewery, this self contained 20 barrel plant is in no small measure where Thwaites sees a major part of its future. Our guide was at pains to point out that when he first started doing the tours, the brewery only used five different hop varieties and now uses at least 25 to produce a range of 12 "Signature" seasonal beers plus quarterly beers and "one offs". In addition experimental, development beers and beers commissioned by individual customers are produced. The plant itself is a full part of the production of the brewery, as its beers mostly go out to trade, but this is very much a hands on operation. We did visit Fermentation Room 1 in the main brewery, where a large number of traditional open squares produce the brewery's main output of Original, Nutty Black, Lancaster Bomber and of course Wainwright's which is now their biggest selling beer.  The brewery is very self contained, with all racking, bottling and kegging done on site.

In the bar, we (National Winter Ales Fest workers) enjoyed the hospitality of the brewery, with Original, Bomber, Wainwrights, TBC and BB1 on offer. BB1 and TBC (Thwaites Best Cask) are produced in the micro brewery with the others coming from the larger main brewery. All were in the tip top form you'd expect and I particularly enjoyed the dark BB1 (it's their postcode) which has added cherries and a touch of sourness, at a very drinkable 3.7%. Think Belgian Dark Mild and you won't be far out. It was enjoyable too to talk to the very enthusiatic team that looked after us and to glean snippets of interest. Thwaites, like many others including Lees have more or less got out of the contract brewing game, as margins are so low. (Most supermarket beers are brewed by the likes of Burtonwood and Robert Cain) but they did brew (off and on) Punk IPA for you know who and still contract bottle and can as  required.

I first visited this site over 20 years ago and last night may have been my last chance to visit the brewery again, as it will move in the next couple of years to a new, less cramped green field site near the motorway,  as soon as planning permission has been gained for Sainsbury to buy the site, knock it down and build a supermarket. Oh and of course for Thwaites in the meantime to build a new brewery.  A shame, but one thing is for sure. While the "old" brewery will be scrapped, the craft brewery will be dismantled and taken to the new site.  

Thwaites see producing a wide variety of interesting craft cask beers as very much a part of their future.  Craft Cask?  Of course and why not?




We were all given a lovely 3 pack of a new beer too.  Name?  Crafty Dan.  It is made with UK and Munich malts, Amarillo, Pacific Gem and Fuggles hops.

Less is More

I've been away. First of all in Scotland, then in London.  More of London in another post, but I had my usual dip in, dip out taste of drinking in Glasgow.  Well Glasgow near its two main railways stations and limited at that. After all, I  shouldn'tt keep my old Mum waiting too long for the prodigal son.

I have always said that real ale's weakness is quality.  It is simple really.  When you have a perishable product, freshness is extremely important and one which seems to me is all to often a nettle which many obviously fail to grasp.  What's difficult to understand?  If it is going to go off first, then have a strategy to sell it before it does. If you can't do that then don't sell it at all.  But let's start off with the positive. There is no such complacency in the Drum and Monkey.  They know how to look after beer there and how to build up trade.  A reputation for quality beer will attract beer drinkers, just as a lack of care will repel them.  The Drum and Monkey has a good lunchtime trade and many of them drink cask.  It is a Nicolson's pub and while their corporate ethos must help, they also have a dedicated team that appreciates cask and have an enthusiasm for the product.  It makes for dependability and that is good. Who wants a beer lottery?

Sadly if you pop along the road to JDW's Counting House, that's just what you'll get.  Around 16 handpumps and you don't see many drinking cask, which probably explains why my beer was vinegar, but not why it was still on sale.  Two fellow travellers - from Hull as it happens - we had a chat - also handed beer back. Not a good thing and of course for every bad beer purchased, cask ale loses a customer and of course, sometimes the blame is wrongly put on to the brewery.  Just across the road, from its stablemate, the other Queen St area JDW is Camperdown Place and provides a welcome contrast..  It admittedly rarely has such a good range and not nearly so many handpumps, but it is always a step up in quality. Please note pubs - less can be more.  My Lancaster 1842 Pilsner (I had a taste first) was excellent and in stark contrast to the same vinegar I had a few minutes before.

On the way back south I had a quick nip into the Pot Still.  No quality problems there either. Two handpumps, both serving top quality beer, even though I was clearly the first cask beer customer.  That's better.  Have two and serve them well and it will stand you in good stead.  One mark off for both beers being jet black and very similar though I'll add it back for the welcome chat about Dumbarton FC.   Heading for the train now, opposite Central Station is the Toby Jug.  This is a long standing cask outlet and in my opinion the quality never rises above okayish from the three handpumps, which is probably one to many.  Again I never see anyone else drinking real ale when I go in.  That surely tells its own story.

Just a snapshot, but if I was to give advice to pubs selling cask in an area where old style keg is still king, it would be:  "Just sell one cask beer in great nick than three in bad."

There is no real ale in Dumbarton though a JDW coming soon will change that. Should be interesting.

A Progressive AGM

The recent CAMRA AGM held in Norwich was rather an interesting one.  It was one where CAMRA to a large extent, took a look at the future and felt itself confident about it.

I'll come to the motions in a moment, but I'll start, not with the Chairman's opening remarks, but with a very accomplished and entertaining review of the year by our Chief Executive, Mike Benner.  Mike, speaking without notes,  advised of a year of success, culminating in the victory in the beer escalator campaign.   The lesson of concentrating efforts in a smaller number of campaigns, as recommended  by the Fit for Purpose Review, was firmly learned and I'm sure that is one that will be repeated.  I'll add at this point, that I'm a big fan of Mike Benner.  We are truly lucky to have him.

We started off well, with a motion, seconded by me, giving the National Executive a kick up the backside for slow progress on the Fit for Purpose Review. (Which I again had a hand in.)  The review really has to form the basis of the future and despite our concerns, there is signs that CAMRA is moving in the right direction.  Main interest then was motions about that most divisive of words "craft".  The first stated that terms such as craft keg, craft beer, craft ale, etc, were meaningless and should not be used in CAMRA publications.  The motion was thankfully defeated.  Next up was a motion calling for CAMRA to run a campaign to educate CAMRA members and the public about the difference between real ale and what it termed "so-called craft".  The case for this wasn't helped by the mover not really explaining it very well and I spoke against it, particularly denigrating the use of the words "so-called craft."  I am glad to say that the AGM supported my view overwhelmingly.

Possibly the most awaited debate on the paper was motion 19 on minimum pricing which I moved.  My main theme was that it wouldn't put a single bum on a pub seat and that it placed us on the side of people such as Alcohol Concern, who were no friends of ours and that having got rid of one beer price escalator, we should not be voting for more government interference in beer pricing.  There was some well put opposition to my view, but supported by powerful speakers such as Steve Bury and John Cryne, I am glad to say that my motion prevailed, with again an overwhelming majority in favour of CAMRA withdrawing its support for minimum pricing.  I noted with interest that the National Executive was evenly split on this, showing, presumably, that it was a finely balanced argument within the Campaign at all levels. My other main intervention was in the discussion of CAMRA's Strategic Five Year Plan, where I succeeded in having "Looking at ways to extend CAMRA's democracy" inserted.  I am glad to say this was fully backed by the National Executive.

Looking elsewhere, I was very impressed by the speech from the new Campaigner of the Year, Dale Ingram (a young woman - we do have some) speaking about  a campaign to encourage communities to list their local pub as community assets. The aim is to get 300 pubs in England listed as Assets of Community Value in 2013. This is something we'll be looking at locally in my branch as it has real potential to save pubs. I was very impressed with Dale too, who only joined CAMRA two years ago. She is fantastically committed to the British pub, which makes her all right by me.  A well deserved winner.

From a personal point of view, it was a good conference for me, as my main concerns all went my way. Far more importantly though was that members, looking into the future, took a responsible and considered view, not only of craft, but in the way CAMRA will face the future.  The Chairman too contributed in saying, as I did and others too, that we are the Campaign FOR Real Ale, not the campaign against other beers.  There was very little nuttiness, a lot of fun and a very upbeat feel and above all, the need to campaign positively was clearly recognised, which can only be good.

So, to sum up:

•  Fit for Purpose commitment restated
• Two anti craft motions roundly defeated
• Support for minimum pricing withdrawn
• Positive campaigning emphasised
• Extension of democracy to be looked at
• Strategic plan adopted

Not bad for a load of out of touch old duffers.

 I also enjoyed the speech and question and answer session by Pubs Minister Brandon Lewis who said that ""Protecting pubs is as important as the tax campaign."  Too right. He joined CAMRA after his speech too! 

May I also add my personal thanks to the Pub Curmudgeon for supplying much needed ammo for me to fire.

Iron Maiden, Super Trooper and er, Frederic Robinson

My eye was caught by a press release from Frederic Robinson about their new beer "Trooper" which is not even released yet. Quoting from press releases isn't something I usually do, but the press release is full of interesting claims, such as these mentioned below:

"So it’s one month on from the initial announcement, there is just under a month to go until the beer is available to the public and Trooper is already one of the most “followed” beers in the UK with over 42,000 on Facebook (compared to 51,000 for Bombardier, 35,000 for BrewDog, 30,000 for London Pride, 27,000 for Hobgoblin and 8,000 for Greene King IPA who have all spent a vast amount of time and money building up their brand awareness). “Facebook doesn’t sell beer unfortunately,” commented David “but considering we haven’t let anyone taste it yet this is a promising start. We are brewing three times a day six days a week for the first time ever in our 175 year history and we already have the first 20,000 cases ready to go out by post as well as several export orders.”

 Of course the beer having been designed by Iron Maiden's real ale enthusiast, lead vocalist, Bruce Dickinson will have helped a tad no doubt, as will the fact that Iron Maiden have 8.6 million Facebook followers. Let's hope then the beer lives up to the hype then, as it features prominently on the Iron Maiden web site.

Still, I must say I rather enjoy the thought of BrewDog being hammered at the viral advertising game, by a beer not yet on release, brewed by one of these staid old Family Brewers. Or, as BrewDog would have it, brewers of "stewed cardboard."


 Trooper will be available in bottle and in cask and is golden in colour with malt flavours and a blend of Bobec, Goldings and Cascade hops.

Why Can't They All Keep the Beer Properly?

Paul Bailey mentioned in his blog recently about cask beer cellarmanship. His thoughts are worth reading.  Despite what some would have you believe, it isn't that difficult, though like most things, it requires a bit of basic understanding of what goes, or should go on, a lot of attention to detail and a temperature controlled cellar - turned to the correct temperature obviously.  Thus I had my worries when we arrived in Norwich.  This is in the domain of Southern beer keeping practices, where the beer has a bias to warmness and flatness.  Would it be so in this lovely city?  Well the picture was mixed, with highs and lows as you'd expect. though in fairness, I didn't try that every recommended pub.  Probably around a dozen or so.

In the main I won't be naming and shaming either, not because I've turned over a new leaf, but because I didn't take a single note of where we were, so it would not be fair to rely on a memory which could at times have been afflicted by alcohol.  Suffice to say there were some stinkers and some highlights.   I'll name the highlights later, because they have stuck in my mind.  And in fairness many pubs didn't get a visit as I and my friends applied the principle of having found the silk purse, no point of risking a sow's ear elsewhere.  So what did I find?

• Over-vented beer on the point of oxidisation -some.
•  Flat beer - that is beer with almost no condition - not so much
• Warm beer - that is beer above around 14C - lots
• Headless beer - beer that either had no head or lost it pronto - lots
• Undrinkable beer - one horror - infected
• Acceptable beer - mostly
• Great beer - three pubs 
• Surprisingly good beer - one venue

I did miss out quite a few Good Beer Guide (GBG) pubs.  Only one GBG pub sold what I'd call "Not up to GBG standard."  Most pubs weren't in the current issue, but were chosen for convenience.  Two of the pubs with the best beer weren't in the GBG either.

There is probably little surprise to learn that the best beer and best pub by a country mile was the Fat Cat, which has won numerous awards and boy can you see how.  Apart from being a great boozer - clean, warm and welcoming,  with lots of distinct drinking areas, it made great use of limited space, but still felt roomy, despite being bursting at the seams. Great old stuff from defunct breweries on the walls added atmosphere and a fantastic local clientèle occupied their usual spots.  It kept its beers superbly, had a great "feel "about it and tremendous staff.  Hardly a difficult formula when you think about it  Get these basics right and you have a business.

Others of note that I do remember for great beer quality were the Reindeer (owned by Elgoods) and the Ribs of Beef.  I may be biased here though.  The Ribs sold Oakham Scarlet Macaw as our last Norwich beer, which was strikingly good.  The Reindeer provided us with excellent pints of something golden, hoppy, bitter and delicious, which I think was either from Oakham again, or somewhere else in my circle of trust - possibly Crouch Vale.  Or was that the Fat Cat?  See what I mean? In one pub, our beer was so flat, we complained and the smashing manager not only replaced it with a fresh cask, but showed me, unbidded, her immaculate cellar and how she looked after the beer.  (The cellar was also on CCTV for all to see).  She was spot on.  The beer wasn't and therein lies a tale.  Her hands are pretty well tied in getting better stuff in.  A lovely lass though, a great manager and a good pub with a warm welcome and customer first ethos.  Impressive.

What about the surprise venue I hear you ask?  Well, it was the CAMRA AGM Beer Festival.. All the beers, were properly cooled using CAMRA kit and were tip top until the end.  The festival was drunk dry.  Quality does count.

CAMRA - Walking the Walk.  Pure dead brilliant.

Norwich has some smashing pubs.  The city is a friendly delight too.  It is recommended strongly.   Next.  The proceedings.

Manchester Pale Ale

The Rain Bar in Manchester is one of Lees flagship pubs and a very nice place indeed.  Formerly an umbrella factory, it was the host venue for the launch of J W Lees latest permanent beer to join the range.  A fun night was promised, with local celebrities, a quiz and of course, the beer itself.

I got there bang on five and there was a few in already, some of whom I even knew.  This was later to be supplemented by the Beer Beauty herself,  Marverine Cole, who was there to add journalistic gravitas to the assembled motley crew of customers, beer buffs, publicans and what not. She also provided a bit of jolly company for me, which was rather nice.  This being Manchester and a straightforward kind of place, there was no keeping you gagging for a drink.  Before the welcoming speech by MD William Lees-Jones, we were introduced to the beer in the best way possible - by serving us a foaming pint of it.

William Lees-Jones then welcomed us all to the event.  He outlined that the beer itself was firmly a reflection of Manchester, with its bright, golden colour and its tight, creamy head.  He mentioned that such a beer from Manchester was sorely needed since Boddington's retreat from cask and that the brewery was aiming high, with London a likely target.  He also spoke of the new brand’s targeted appeal to younger lager drinkers looking for a “real refreshing alternative”. He felt the name Manchester Pale Ale - MPA - for short was ideal to achieve national status.  He hoped that MPA would do for Lees what London Pride did and does for Fullers.  As I said, high aims indeed.  The beer itself had been developed from a very successful seasonal beer of last year (British Jewels) and was 100% malt with Liberty and Mount Hood hops.  It is designed to be served through a tight sparkler and William added that the aim will be to provide a sparkler to all purchasers of the beer, along with pouring instructions.  While lauding the aim, there will have to be some serious knocking of heads together if this superior way of serving beer is to penetrate some parts of this sceptred isle.

What of the beer?  The brewery describes it as "Golden yellow in colour.  Floral Aromas with citrus and malt. Medium bodied, well rounded, light fruits, citrus and malt to taste. Refreshing finish.".  Well, yes.  I think they could have given it a bit more thought than that. The beer isn't nearly as boring as that makes it sound.  The Liberty and Mount Hood hops do show through, particularly in the rather bitter finish  which leaves you feeling like another pint.  The bottled version comes in at a slightly higher gravity at 4.1%.

Will it succeed?  This is a twofold question really.  First there is Lees own 170 strong estate.  I reckon it will do rather well there, as it provides a golden ale alternative and will be priced at 5p a pint cheaper than Lees Bitter.  Looking wider, I see the targets as Deuchars IPA and Thwaites Wainwright among others.  It should certainly do better than Deuchars (apart from in Scotland) and as Wainwright seems to have gained in sweetness at the expense of hops, there should be a good opportunity there too.  As Lees is my local brewery, I hope to see them achieve success. (Interest declared - I am Lees CAMRA Brewery Liaison Officer.)

The night itself continued with pints of MPA, a quiz hosted by Mark Radcliffe, in which I was knocked out early, proving my Manchester local knowledge to be at best surface deep and a disco by the famous Bez of Happy Mondays fame.  I was able to introduce the Beer Beauty to the Lees-Joneses and we got a goody bag on the way out, so I am the proud possessor of a bottle of MPA and am MPA bottle opener.  I have already used my MPA sunglasses!

I look forward to seeing MPA in my local pubs and elsewhere.  Lees are putting a lot of effort into this beer and I'll be plotting progress with a very keen interest.

Manchester Pale Ale has its own website.  I'd recommend though that the JW Lees webbie links to it, which it doesn't, though it does the other way. Nor does it seem to mention it at all, which seems a missed opportunity.

It's Not All Good

Is anyone else getting fed up of the cask versus keg debate or is it just me? Thought not. I am pretty cheesed off with it, but will have to gird my loins to speak against one or two anti craft motions at the CAMRA AGM, not because I'm a big proponent of craft keg. Most of it - at least at the supping rather than sipping end of it - is pretty dull in my view - just like most cask is a bit samey. My drinking experience tells me that kissing lots of frogs is a bad idea percentage wise. You rarely find a princess. Better by far at my time of life, to eliminate that onerous task by drinking what you know to be good, or what is recommended by people you trust. I've done the beer hunting bit to death and now, though the experimentation and hunting rears its head from time to time, by and large, I just prefer to drink beer for enjoyment and with my friends.

Mind you, I say that as a personal thing. I have done plenty of beer exploration and experimenting in my time, but I'm well again, though I really do recommend it to our younger beer drinkers, as you need to go through that pain to get to, if not nirvana, equilibrium. But then again, I am a beer drinker - side swipe following - not a fan boy. Drinking beer to learn and discover is one thing.  Doing it because it is fashionable, quite another, though as in most things in life, one thing leads to another, so maybe even that isn't all bad.

Reading the AGM motions and looking at the election address one of the CAMRA National Executive contenders, I get the feeling that there is a bit of unease at best and hostility at worst, to our new cohort of keg devotees.  I've thought about it and while there is no need for CAMRA to change its priority of real ale,  there is no need for a dog in the manger approach either.  Keg beer appeals to a certain kind of drinker that associates it with experimentation, cutting edge and hip.  Why not? I feel pretty relaxed about it overall.  Where there is a mixed approach to cask and keg, it works well and as most of the keg stuff is strong, it gives more choice when a similar cask wouldn't be finished before going flat or off. (By the way - if you could polish off a cask of strong beer in the first couple of hours, it is usually superior in developed flavours). But I digress.

Choice is good, keg bashing is bad, CAMRA bashing is bad, beer drinking is good.  Not all beer is good and the idea we should all just drink beer and not care how it is dispensed doesn't work for me.  I'm a real ale man and always will be.  When kept well it beats the keg equivalent into a cocked hat.  It has drinkability in a way that keg doesn't.  But modern keg beer isn't always a bad thing.  It's that choice thing again and especially where there is a mixed offer, it gives the chance for drinkers to compare and contrast.  I don't think there are that many ale drinkers that never drink cask, just as there aren't so many CAMRA members that never drink keg.  There is of course a need to protect live beer, as there is a thin end of the wedge and it would be bad if it disappeared, but the way to do it is by continually promoting real ale and always pressing for better quality at the point of dispense.

I'd be happier if we were discussing beer quality more at the AGM.  It doesn't seem to be mentioned this year, though I will try and do so.  Quality is always cask's Achilles heel.  We should give a lot more attention to that. 

I'm off to the launch of a new Lees beer tonight.  I'll know people.  That's as much of  a draw to me as the new beer. 

Maybe Later

Having sat down with the intention of doing a little light blogging, you know what?  I have found that I just can't be bothered.

Ironing then.

What CAMRA is Really Like

There was a flurry of tweets on that there Twitter on Friday about CAMRA's AGM and the "dodgy" motions being submitted to it, plus some scathing remarks about CAMRA's democracy and some odd ideas about how to sort this appalling Stalinist organisation out.

 CAMRA to its active members means something a lot different to those that aren't. It presumably means something different again to those that aren't members at all. In my local branch we have nearly 1400 members and are growing at approximately 30 a month. (Actually more, but we do lose a few, so that's net). We are doing well. We have a complete database of all our pubs, we contact all of our email list once a month with news and views from the branch, and the rest by snail mail twice a year. We invite all members to nominate pubs for the Good Beer Guide by sending them simple forms to fill in and we take these views, expressed postally or by email, firmly into account when we decide what pubs go into the guide. This we do, like all branches as far as I know, by a meeting of members, where we usually get around 50 showing up. .  That's not bad, but we are looking to see how we might make it even easier by polling on line. Despite that, we are lucky to get 60 or 70 replies.   There is no back door to GBG entry in my branch and I doubt if there is in any, though of course, I can't say for sure.  Everything we do is above board and while those who attend on the day get the final vote, the list comes from the postal/email nominations.

There are suggestions we should do more on line as an organisation, consulting members more in that way.  That wouldn't be an issue for me, but I  doubt if it would be much better in terms of replies on line. You see, in any voluntary organisation, the vast majority just like to know what is going on, support the general aims and don't really want other involvement. Voluntary organisations at active level really are a coalition of the willing, the hobbyist, the oddball and those that just like the friendship and the beer.  Ideas like delegates mandated by branches etc. are just not appropriate.  It wouldn't enhance democracy one bit.  We often say getting CAMRA members organised is a bit like herding cats.  You can probably do it, but you'll nearly die in the process and piss all the cats off.

 I mentioned social aspects. The importance of the social gatherings to CAMRA cannot be over emphasised. It is one of the many dabs of glue that hold us together. We visit breweries, we meet at pubs to show support for real ale and just to have a natter with friends. We have plenty of members that support mainly the social side, but why not? Funnily enough, the conversation is rarely about beer in any great detail. It is more about places and people. Beer gets recommended along the lines of  "the Pictish Brewer's Gold (or whatever) is spot on" or whatever. There is little if any clinical analysis and beer geekiness.  Good or shite?  That'll do! Some of us have known each other for years, but we have many who are new and who enjoy it just the same, dropping in and out, just as they do at business meetings, where I make a personal effort, as does our membership secretary) to welcome them, introduce them to others and to encourage them to come again. We don't want to be seen as a clique and try to actively avoid appearing as such.

Ah yes, business meetings. These are where we grimly work out how to implement the never ending edicts from CAMRA HQ. Er no. What edicts? CAMRA is a remarkably de-centralised organisation. Such instructions as we rarely get are usually to comply with company law, best financial practice, insurance and the like. Nobody tells you what to discuss or how to go about it. Nobody is asked to confirm compliance with this or that AGM decision. CAMRA is very devolved and very local. I doubt if the branches would have it any other way, though of course, we don't break the basic principles of the organisation in that we campaign for real ale.

Locally we get around 30 members to a meeting (we constantly encourage attendance) and what we talk about is mostly local pubs, breweries and beer.  It will vary a lot from branch to branch I suppose, but we have a pretty good relationship with all of ours and they like us being involved.  They like to enter competitions and are extraordinarily pleased to win awards. They like us to come and visit them, mention them in our newsletter and hold meetings in their pub and brewery and to call in when we have days out.  It is all a bit of fun for us mostly and that's as it should be.  For them it is publicity and involvement and maybe from their point of views,  just a touch of approval.

 So back to the AGM. There are 19 motions on the agenda paper. Not very many seem nutty. Most discuss internal arrangements such as strategic plans, Fit for Purpose Review, books etc. Unusually - and I've been to a few of these things - there are some controversial motions. Given that beer is going through changing and challenging times, wouldn't you expect that? We will be discussing craft beer. Be odd if we didn't, given the fuss some people make about it. There are some peculiar ideas in some of the motions, but again, given that CAMRA is a collection of individuals, that's hardly surprising. You would surely expect a wide range of views. They'll at least make the bloody thing more interesting!


Where there is a democratic deficit is in consultation - we should try and do more - possibly in the other major part of the campaign, which is the lobbying and consumer part of the organisation.  This is more of the ambit of the National Executive (lay) and full time employees.  Where that goes wrong - like in my view support for minimum pricing - there is the opportunity to overturn it at the AGM, which is what I'll be trying to do.  As an individual member.  Does my branch agree? Don't know, but if any of my members want to speak against me, they are welcome to.

Best I can do I'm afraid, but at least there is a route.  So no Stalinism, no edicts, just people doing something they believe in, in their own way.

I'm aware that this has got a bit rambly, but I hope it gives you a sense from one perspective at least.

A Good Afternoon Out

Have I tipped Wilson Potter as a brewery to watch? Dunno. I know I have praised their astonishingly clean beers on Twitter and I may have mentioned them elsewhere.  In fact, on checking I have and I was going to do so again following a visit on Saturday, but have been beaten to it by a fellow blogger,* who writes BeerManchester. So, rather than re-invent the wheel, I'll merely direct you to his report, which is here and which gives a potted history of the brewery and the rather pleasant lasses that own and run it.

One or two things to add.  While their cask beers, mostly hop forward, are really rather good, additionally they really seem to have cracked bottling beer.  Those that know me will be aware that I don't do much by way of bottled beer drinking, but the beers they produce are always worth having and last to their "use by" date rather well, maintaining condition, appearance and flavour.  Many of you will be aware that the ability to put beer in bottles by hand and produce something that isn't yeasty/spoiled/vinegary/ explosive, or just generally horrid, isn't a skill mastered by all.  This is undoubtedly helped by a Howard Hughes like obsession for cleanliness.  I am glad to confirm that they are starting to stride forward and earlier (natural) worries about progress seem to be behind them.  Concentrating on clean, hoppy, drinkable session beers seems to be working out for them and is proof (like their friends at Mallinsons) that brewing good suppable beer that people actively want to drink, is not a bad idea at all. In under six months I'd say they have come a long way.

Lastly, they are members of the Female Brewing collective known as Project Venus, though I'm pretty sure they regard themselves as "brewers" first and "brewsters" by accident of birth. That's as it should be too.

Seek their beers out and you won't go far wrong is my firm recommendation.  (Later this week, at the Oldham Beer Festival would be an ideal opportunity.)

I would tell you my blogging colleague's name, but when I met him, I was a few pints of Bon Don Doon in and either don't remember it, or am unsure that I was told it!

Open Preview

JDW's twice a year beer festival begins today, or, for those lucky enough to be in the vicinity of the Regal Moon in Rochdale, it began last night.  It is my usual port of call before our monthly CAMRA meetings and this time, I had been tipped off that all of the beers brewed by foreign brewers would be on the bar.  Reasons to try some then.

First up was Pivovar Kocovnik from the Czech Republic, which was pale and refreshing, but a tad dull, with no dominant flavours. The tasting notes describe it as "balanced" which it may well be, but it was nothing special.  Devils Backbone American Amber on the other hand delivered as much, if not more than it promised, with loads of juicy C hops and not as much malt predominating as the programme suggested.  Good stuff in fact.  The offering from the Ionian Sea was Corfu Ionian Porter, which had quite a bit of coffee and chocolate in a slightly thin body. Hops were there, but little of the promised citrus was evident.  Deschutes Twilight Pale Ale was certainly pale for an American inspired beer, but that was possibly its best feature.  The beer was thin, with obvious acetone and astonishingly dry.  Not great on this sampling.  Lodewijk Fly By Night was supposedly a Dutch beer inspired by Belgian Dubbels.  Not like any I've tasted, with a thin body, raggy malt and no real sign of the described ""wonderful emerging hop." Disappointing.

After an enforced break chairing our CAMRA meeting, I was back to sample the remaining three beers.  Good George Pacific Pearl is a Black IPA.  It had southern hemisphere hops, dark chocolate, pine resin and a decent body.  One of the better ones for sure.  Vasileostrovsky Siberian Red at a hefty 6.% was more the biz.  Lovely body, roast malt and hop flavours and just in fact as described, it was a very decent beer indeed.  This left just one beer before the bus.  Central City Racer Red IPA hails from Canada in inspiration at least. It didn't do what it said on the tin, as I didn't detect much by way of hopping, never mind "intense hops."  On this showing at least, not my cup of tea.

So there you have it.  A quick gallop through the foreign runners and riders.  I did feel some of the beers would have benefited from a little more cellar time, so remember, these are cask conditioned beers and will develop and change.  Your experience may be better or worse as the beer matures in the cellar.  It will almost certainly be different.

That's the real beauty of real ale.

 Do you think the foreign brewers really capture the essence of the beers as you'd like them to? I'm not so sure.

Pricey JDW?

Did you know there is a Yahoo Group for J D Wetherspoon supporters? Well there is and pretty informative it can be sometimes. You get the usual and well known issues of being unable to be served, tables not being cleared and the chips being cold, but one thing seems to be dominating at the moment. Prices.

 JDW seems to have applied a 6p a pint increase in most places, while in others, they seem to have applied more. One irate correspondent says that they now charge £2.89 a pint in a new pub in Whitby, which astutely was observed to be " a bit dear for Wetherspoons quality and service." Quite. And of course in London there are two other sets of prices, an "Inside the M25" one and a "City of London" one, both of which are considerably more ouchy price wise. And airport venues are even more.

 More ire is directed at JDW's budget response, where the decision to reduce the cheap end beers, Greene King IPA and Ruddles Best by 5p a pint, while, presumably, trousering the rest of any duty reductions passed on, is seen as taking the piss. Seems too the grub has gone up and the portion sizes have decreased and there are moans about the price premium for stronger beers as well as quibbles about the price of beer at the forthcoming beer festival. A slippery slope is being predicted.  Now this is mostly huff and puff. Apart from Central London, JDW for all its faults, remains cheap -  if not exactly cheerful, with reliable real ale and cut price lager. (Central London is quite another case, with some beer prices being nearly as much as some in the Euston Tap.  Extracting the urine from customers price wise is hardly a new phenomenon in London after all)

Now most of my readers won't care about this, but it is interesting in the sense that it send s a message that beer is becoming more costly, even at the budget end of  the market. It also says something about the pressures within the industry. Of course, like many of you I'm sure, while I do go into JDWs reasonably frequently, I'm not that worried about their prices, but I'm not their core audience. People like those on the Yahoo Group are, and they are sending a clear message of disgruntlement.

 Timbo Martin would do well not to alienate them and comments such as "Don't treat your loyal customers as fools!" should not be ignored.

The denizens of the Yahoo Group, oddly refer to individual pubs as "branches". Hmm.

Baby It's Cold Inside

As this winter drags on and on, one place of solace ought to be the pub.  Excellent beer, a cheery welcome and a warm fug of heat as you enter, makes the winter blues dissipate somewhat does it not?  One problem I have found recently though in that otherwise cheerful picture I've drawn, is that far too many pubs are at the moment, not to put too fine a point on it, bloody freezing.

On Saturday, our trip to Magic Rock having taken the knock due to appalling weather, a brave band of us went for a few pints in Manchester.  It wasn't all plain sailing. On one of the coldest days of the year, it wouldn't be unfair to say that two well known pubs in the Northern Quarter, both in the Rochdale Road area, were as cold as a sheep on Arran.

 Times is hard I know and fuel bloody expensive, but you don't go to the pub as an endurance test.  A small coal fire in one room will not heat a large pub on a very cold day.  This really is a case of speculating to accumulate, because customers will simply not sit about drinking beer when the temperature inside would make a yak shiver.

Put another couple of pennies on a pint - I don't care -  but heat the pub up please.

It has to be said that the three, shall we say, less traditional pubs we visited, were lovely and warm. Even if the beer was icy.

Magic

One of the things we do locally in CAMRA, when not imposing fantasy rules on what people should or shouldn't drink (we are pro choice Folks, remember that) is to have an active social side, with various tantalising trips out to this or that town, renowned for the quality of its watering holes. Sometimes even, we visit a brewery to see if we can organise a piss up in one. Such an event happens tomorrow when we visit (snow permitting) Magic Rock.

I am expecting that along with cask beer, we'll be offered some keg. Do I care about that? No, of course not and hopefully my colleagues won't either. Of course we believe in cask beer and always will do, but you know, sometimes it is good to get outside your comfort zone.

As I said, I am looking forward to it. It's Magic Rock* after all  

Of course, keg is sipping beer and cask supping beer. That's a given.  An easy little aide memoire, brought to you by this blog, as a public service.

* I'm told we'll get to taste their new lager. Yum yum. I like lager.

All Forest - No Trees

My London reports have been a resounding success, with an enormous number of comments, for which I am grateful. Well not exactly, though readership of the articles has been high. More comments please. Really they are the life blood of blogs. Not numbers, but opinions. Still, I'll plough on, this time returning to pubs and three and a half bits of really good news. Well news to me at the time anyway.

Where was I? Oh yes, at the closed Tower Hill tube station, but undaunted, we nipped up the Minories and hopped on a tube at Aldgate, destination, the Old Red Cow of which I'd heard good things. Heard from Tyson that is. It is a neat little pub, just outside a gigantic hole which is part of Crossrail and just along from Smithfield Meat Market. Two bars here, the downstairs one with handpumps and some keg and the upstairs one with a keg only bar, but possibly with a touch more room. Beer choice was good, with a very knowledgeable and chatty barmaid downstairs and the more usual, tactiturn beardy manning the CO2 upstairs. Why are these beardies always so bloody dour? I am going to make a study of this. I would tell you all about the beer, but that's boring, except to say it closely resembled the Dean Swift in its foreign range and unlike the Dean Swift, is sparkled as God intended. Well my pint of something black and tasty was. It was at the correct temperature too. Upstairs, we bumped into Tyson and Eddie, still on the prowl and giving up, we threw our lot in with them for the duration.  We certainly couldn't beat them, so we joined them.

I liked the Old Red Cow enormously.  A lovely little boozer with good beer, all served properly.  Only black mark was the ludicrously overpriced Brick Lane Lager at £5.10 a 33cl bottle.  Nearly £10 a pint for a locally brewed beer.  Taking the piss.  Nonetheless I'll be back, made all the more likely by our next port of call, the Fox and Anchor, a couple of hundred yards away.

The Fox and Anchor is a long, elegant, dark wooded, feast of Victorian pub architectural splendour.  It reminded me of the Beehive in Liverpool before some arseholes (Punch Taverns) ruined that.  Lots of trendy snacks were on offer, good looking meals and a decent range of beer in top condition too.  I enjoyed (again) Citra from Caveman. It was very busy indeed and we were all impressed and again, combining it with the Old Red Cow, we'll be back.  Me when it is quieter for a proper look round.

Next up, a decent walk away was Exmouth Market and the luscious looking Exmouth Arms, which I haven't been in for years.  It has been opened out, is all bare boards and is very dark inside, but somehow cosy and pleasant.  Or was that just because the drink was getting to me?  I don't know.  It might be as I have no recollection of the cask beers at all. My drink of choice was kegged Camden Pale, served in the proper glass and rather good.  Again, we'll be back.

All good things must come to an end though. Eddie and Tyson were looking at their watches anxiously. Of course that merely meant we had time for one more pub.  Again one I'd heard of, but this time, one I haven't been in.  The Pakenham Arms, right by Mount Pleasant Sorting Office, has large picture windows and a sort of gentleman's club atmosphere.  Again very likeable, but the veritable forest of handpumps (was it 16?) had only three or four on.  There is also a small selection of craft beer in bottles. The beer was good though and again, I'll be back, as the pub itself is very attractive.  Have a look at their website to see what I mean.

 With the addition of the Well and Bucket, I have, in one weekend, found (or rediscovered) five pubs I'm keen to go back to because they are good places and importantly have good cask beer being looked after properly.   London certainly is picking up a bit. 

It is particularly gratifying that some pubs at least have installed (or are starting to use) cellar cooling.  Summer though is a big test for London.  I'll let you know.

Feeling a Bit Partizan

Another day in that there London and another new brewery.  Another within walking distance too.  Now I hadn't been to the new Kernal, but planned to change that, combining it with a trip to a new (but related) brewery, Partizan.  We weren't sure which order to take them in, but decided on Partizan first, as it was furthest, about two and a half miles away, over Tower Bridge and through some high rise estates.  A pleasant enough walk.

In the inevitable railway arch, we found the brewery, a neat little affair, with a simple serving counter for the bottled beers offered.  We also encountered a surprise in the shape of Tyson the Beerhound and his partner in crime, Eddie, the eager, legal, beagle, who had set off at sparrowfart from Manchester with a similar quarry in mind.  Greetings were exchanged, along the lines of "Bloody Hell it's a small world" etc etc. but there was beer to be tried. We plunged in with the simple expedient of ordering the first two on the list.  An Amarillo/Pacific Pale Ale for me and a Wakatu Pale for E.  No tasting notes I'm afraid.  There might have been, but when you have friends to talk to such things must fall. Both were very well made and delicious, though we both marginally preferred the Amarillo version.  I also had a chat with Andy, the brewer, who seemed a splendid chap.  He told me that he was sticking to his knitting by and large.  He only really has space for bottling, so that's what he'll stay with for the time being at least, though he doesn't rule out the odd special occasion cask or keg.  Next beer was Citra/Amarillo IPA.  Another belter with the 6.9% alcohol, cunningly hidden hehind decent malt and layers of lovely hops.  A belter.

By this time Tyson and Eddie were getting itchy feet and headed back to my manor and the Dean Swift, but another Northern replacement was immediately forthcoming in the shape of Thornbridge Dom and his girlfriend Janine.  Now Dom is one of the good guys and Janine, delightful, so a cheery hour ensued in which two different saisons were tried (I preferred the Galaxy, but both were good) and various sips and tastes.  It was a very pleasant interlude, reminding if reminder be needed, that beer people are blessed among men (and women) and which caused us to ditch Kernal for another time.

Neither of us fancied the walk back, so a bus was taken, which gave me my first tour of the Isle of Dogs, but eventually dropped us at the Southwark end of Tower Bridge again, where after a sneaky pee in the Pommeller's Rest JDW and a trot across the bridge, we found Tower Hill station closed.  Station?  Yes. We had the beery bit between our teeth by then, more of which soon.

So.  Partizan? Recommended.

Aren't the Partizan labels, which can be viewed here, along with details of the brewery) delightful?

Well and Bucket

Another day in London, another new experience planned. Love it.  In a persistent drizzle I set off from the flat and headed for Brick Lane. Now one thing about Brick Lane is that fifteen years ago, the place boasted many little Asian caffs.  OK, they didn't do rice and three like the Manchester ones, but I liked them.  Cheap and cheerful and home cooking - what's not to like?.  Gradually these were replaced by more glamorous ones and a load of pests trying to persuade you to come in and eat.  Now things are swinging back.  More little caffs have re-appeared and the number of shiny restaurants has diminished though the pests remain.  All well and good.

But man does not live by curry fantasies alone, so I plodded on to Bethnall Green Rd, turned right and crossing the road, a few yards along, is the re-opened Well and Bucket; broad in the front with huge picture windows.  Promising.  Inside is a big square.  Clearly this place has been opened out from its previous existence, but damaged tiled walls speak of a previous grandeur, while the island bar - I do love an island bar - gleams.  The first thing you see when you walk in is a bank of handpumps, which is as it should be.  Handpumps make a pub look like a pub.  The craft beer type should not worry though, as on one side is two arrays of fonts dedicated to the craft keg, with a well chosen range.  Seating is a good mix of church pew type stuff, large wooden tables, stools at the bar and great floorboards.  Beer lists with prices are on every table and at the bar. It was immediately likeable.

I wasn't there for the décor though,  A pint of  Citra from Caveman in Kent was ordered.  I made an immediate blunder and ended up with a dreaded dimple mug, but that's what you get when looking round and not paying attention.  The place was empty, but passed the Tandleman test with colours if not flying, at least fluttering strongly. The beer was at the correct temperature and was well conditioned.  Bingo.  I deduct points for the dodgy glass and for the fact that the barmaid had never heard of a a sparkler, never mind had one to enhance my brew, but a straight glass was produced on request for my second pint, so no real issue there.

Reluctantly I left as I had a grim mission to undertake.  A visit to BrewDog Shoreditch, a mere 100 yards away.  I say grim because I loved Mason and Taylor who occupied the spot before, with its friendly staff and good cask beer.  BD has moved the bar to the window space, but this is a dark pub at the best of times and I didn't think the low ceilings, lack of light, grey walls, grey bar and grey BD fonts did much for it.  It was all kind of gloomy.  A cheery Weegie was behind the bar though and I ordered a half of Punk, which was ordinary in the extreme and a taste of Amarillo, which had promise. The place was nearly empty and there was nothing more I wanted to drink, so I drank up and left.   But I have been and it was better before. In my opinion of course. Prices, for those interested in such a thing, were frightening.

Shaking off the gloom was needed, so I headed to the Carpenter's Arms which I've written about before. I quite like it here, though the remarkable taciturnity of the staff (in a pretty empty pub) may be off putting to some.  A new beer was on the bar.  I ordered it.  A pint of Sharp's Panzerfaust, described as a "Black Gose Beer".  This is a collaboration with Beer Writer Adrian Tierney-Jones, who amongst other florid guff, describes it as "a very elegant black IPA".  I describe it more as a porter, but what's in a name? It was decent, in good nick and I enjoyed it.

Heading home, I called in to the Pride of Spitalfields, which I've been going to, off and on, for 15 years. It was busy and I immediately was engaged in conversation (about railways no less) by a couple of very nice old gents.  This is a pub as some may remember them - friendly, unchanged, unpretentious and bursting with life and character.  The Crouch Vale Brewer's Gold wasn't bad either.

On Sunday I took E to The Well and Bucket.  It was jumping, the beer was good, the food looked great (I fancy the oysters and the sliders looked good too)  and it had a representative mix of people in.  We even  had a nice chat with a lady who remembered it in its original incarnation having lived across the road and she described it to us, which was nice.

E loved it.  We'll be back again. And again I imagine. 

Someone did tweet me about the hopelessness of the staff. OK they seemed pretty keen on hugging and cuddling each other, but they served quickly enough and were cheerful.  That's a good start.

Stick It Up Your Jumper

It seems that a fair chunk of London's new wave of brewing is concentrated in the east of the city. This is handy as when I am there, that's where I'm concentrated too. So, after a fairly civilised session at the London Drinker Beer Festival, it was time to up the octane trendiness wise. Unfortunately, there wasn't time to grow a neatly trimmed, but astonishingly bushy beard, but compromising by way of our tightest fitting clothes, we headed off up to and across Commercial Road, on to Whitechapel Road, then just before it becomes Mile End Road, left into Cambridge Heath Road, passing on the way, many interesting looking pubs of shall we say, a basic nature and a little portion of what appeared to be a market in Bangladesh after a typhoon. Nobody paid us the least bit of attention. It wasn't hard to find our destination thanks to Google and after a shimmy under a railway bridge, a sharp right and we were there.

Redchurch Brewery is in a a set of railway arches, so typical of London micro brewers.  The bar is upstairs and only open on a Thursday night, hence my determination to get there.  Showing what a small world the world of beer geekery is, I bumped into Mark of Beer, Birra. Bier on my way upstairs.  He was busy brewing on a small pilot kit with his home brewing pals.  Upstairs in the bar was Rich of Beercast, though that was less of a co-incidence as he'd told me earlier he'd be there. Seems he thought he'd be gone by then, but had been gripped by the demon drink (or was it the attractive lass he was talking to?) and was still giving it laldy.

The space is a modern, open one, with a small bar in a corner at one end, a few easy chairs, high tables and the like dotted about and a lot of thin beardy men.  Beer is keg and dispensed American style from taps in the wall, supplemented by bottles.  I decided to start with Shoreditch Blonde on draught, which I didn't like much, though according to the barman, is their biggest seller.  It was astonishingly highly carbonated, with a sherbet lemon nose, palate numbing cloves, though hoppy and bitter enough.  E was luckier with Bethnall Green Pale.  This had good pine resins, clean and bitter hoppiness throughout, but the body was made rather thin by excess carbonation.  As we sipped, we looked round at the gathered throng (not a big throng, but perfectly formed) and noted the high hipster content, including one bearded gent who, rather like a none too subtle shoplifter, had a (very well behaved) baby tucked up his jumper.  He cooed to it from time to time, while his lass chatted to her mates.  That was nice.

Things looked up with Brick Lane Lager in bottle.  This was the business though. Loads of C hops, a decent body and that elusive drinkability, was just what was required.  I finished with an impeccably good porter on draft, which was smooth, liquoricey and contained more resinous C hops and a hefty swipe of alcohol and an equally good Hoxton Stout, which certainly hit the spot body and hop wise.  They were very good indeed and I recommend them highly. So all in all,  I reckon these guys are on the right tracks.  It was well worth a visit, so why not make the journey?  Beers were (I think) £3 a bottle and around £2.50 a half.

The bus was our preferred journey home, straight to Aldgate, but of course after that sipping I fancied something to actually drink, so we called into our favourite local.  The barman called us both by our names despite not seeing us for several months, there was a sing song to Delilah (and many subsequent songs) on the go with the jukebox in full swing.  There was much merriment and a lock in. 

You probably don't get that kind of malarkey in Hipsterville, but room for both I'll happily say.  

More on the smallness of the geeky world in a subsequent post.

Flipping Blogger

Does anyone like the new blogger?  Not me.  Among many other gripes like not being able to resize your photos to suit yourself, the way it brings you back to a big menu page when you want to do anything and loads more, I have just realised since it changed I haven't put labels on my posts.  Way back since October 2012.  I might go back to over it and correct this, but I might not.  Seems like a ballache.  Before they were handily placed below your new post, so you couldn't miss them.  Now they are tucked away on the right hand side, so you forget. Or I did.

Can't say I noticed though. Until today.  Their fault though.

And the scheduler for posting only works when it feels like it.

A Very CAMRA Beer Fest

I went to the London Drinker Beer Festival Trade Session in Camden Town Hall last week. I haven't been to it in many years (over 20)and nothing much seemed to have changed. The hall is a typical square to oblong, local authority affair and it reminded me instantly of itself from memory, and the hall we used for years in Bury for the Bury Beer Festival, from bitter experience.

Now speaking as a beer festival organiser of many years standing, there is little you can do with such a place other than stillage the beer around the sides and try and tart the place up a little to make it more appealing. Price, location, availability and paucity of venues tend to dictate where beer festivals are held, not as some contest, a lack of imagination of behalf of the organisers, CAMRA or otherwise.

My main aim in attending here was to catch up on the new London brewers and this was the stated theme of the trade session, where a number of sponsored London beers were offered. I had my first tastes of quite a few breweries and as you might imagine, they were a bit of a mixed bag. So, a quick rundown: Portobello American Pale had decent hopping, little nose, but didn't hit any high spots. Crate IPA was underwhelming in body and hadn't conditioned properly. London Fields Brewing High Rise was good, with a nice mix of malt and hops. Clarence and Frederick's Golden Ale was a very drinkable beer, with decent bitterness and excellent condition. Sadly their IPA was a dumper, though my very brief notes don't say why. Windsor and Eton Tree Top impressed with its dark bitterness and coal dust finish, while Botanist Queen Charlotte was clean, herbal, slightly sweet, but likeable.  Pretty much as you'd expect really. Some good, some not so good, but no stunners unfortunately.

Yes a typical CAMRA Beer Festival, but none the worse for that.  The staff were cheerful and willing, the beers were as good as can be expected in this less than perfect venue and the trade session worked for me as a beer writer, in that I have started to catch up on some new London breweries. More research required though, as you can't really have more than an impression on a one off tasting. 

I left as the public were starting to be admitted.  There was a large queue outside.

Five new breweries for me. I'm almost a ticker!

The Cost of Craft Keg

This isn't a rant about the cost of that lovely stuff, but a little anecdote about comparative costs.

 Now it is rare, for me at least, to see the same beer on cask and keg in the same pub. Thus it was on my return home to Manchester after a very good trip, that I nipped into the Euston Tap for a last London pint. Now I like the ET for many reasons and I'll mention them elsewhere. I ordered a Summer Wine Oregon on cask. I love their beers. It was superb and was presented in spot on condition and at the correct temperature, despite I am sure, me being the first to try it that day. It was a very reasonable £3.50 a pint for a 5.5% beer. It was so good that I immediately wished I had ordered a pint of it. Perusing the beer list as I waited for my train, I noticed what appeared to be the same beer on keg. Same name, same strength. Price? £5 a pint.

So there you have it. The cost of having your beer in keg is an extra £1.50 a pint in this very fairly priced establishment. Possibly not typical, as others aren't so decent in their pricing, but maybe the margin of difference remains?

I didn't try it. Why would I bother paying a premium for such a beer, when I already had a perfect beer for less? I ordered another swift half and went off for my train.

Now I am sure that someone will tell me Summer Wine Oregon isn't really cask conditioned etc. etc.  I don't care. It was superb and not freezing and gassy.

Unexpected Consequences

Before I went off to London for a break, I asked the landlord of the Baum, Simon, how winning CAMRA National Pub of the Year had affected business. A red faced regular butted in "It's ruined the place on Friday and Saturdays - it's full of young local people looking for alcopops". It seems that a piece (which I haven't seen, but if it is the same as this, fairly harmless I'd have thought)in the Rochdale Observer, has attracted much attention from local drinkers, who have subsequently come in for a look. Good news you'd have thought, but it seems these aren't, shall we say, the usual discerning customer the Baum is used to. The are looking for Fosters and Blue WKD, cheap lager by the bottle, lurid drinks enhanced by caffeine and loud thrumming music. The Baum doesn't offer any of these.

Now as someone whose own local has been from time to time, almost taken over by outsiders, I can see where the regular is coming from. You get used to your pub being a certain way and with the same faces and enjoy the steady familiarity of place and people. It is why you come in the first place.  You feel ill at ease when that appears to be challenged. You unconsciously adopt a kind of proprietorial sense of "mine".

Simon was much calmer though. He doesn't sell the kind of drinks his new temporary customers want. He feels it will be a short term phenomenon as folks revert to places that sell what they like, but they've been for a look and as long as they behave, why not? The daytime business though has brought many more of the usual Baum types from far and wide as evidenced by his new visitor's book. It will all settle down and he is right; nobody continually visits a pub where what it sells and the type of company therein isn't what they are comfortable with. The Blue WKD mob will pass and hopefully the honour of being National Pub of the Year will bring good new business of a kind that is in keeping with the pub and its regulars. I am sure it will.

Nonetheless an interesting and unexpected development.

All pubs tend to get a sudden influx for various reasons from time to time, but it almost always settles down.  It is sometimes a mystery where these folks come from.  Or why. Less so in this case.

Supporting Miggy Breweries

My adopted home town Middleton is colloquially known as "Miggy".  Among other things it boasts two breweries - JW Lees, a large, fairly well known concern with 170 odd pubs - and new kid on the block, Wilson Potter with no pubs.  I have the honour of being CAMRA's Brewery Liaison Officer for both.

Last week I was invited to Lees to taste the new seasonal beer Drayman's Promise, described as " a rich mahogany ale. The aroma delivers a pocket of hops with deep spice and citrus notes. To taste,expect the refreshing qualities of a great bitter with a swell of hops on top."  The brewer, Michael Lees-Jones described it to me. It is brewed using solely First Gold hops and has a touch of chocolate malt added to the grist which gives it colour and a touch of richness in the finish.  It is late hopped to give a hoppy, spicy finish.  It was an enjoyable beer at the brewery, but Michael felt that the late hopping had not shown through as much as he'd hoped and he'll up the hopping for the next brew.  More power to his elbow on that one.

The true test of any beer isn't how it drinks in the brewery though, but how it performs where it matters - in the pub.  I gave it a pretty thorough road test last night in the nearest proper pub to me, the Lancashire Fold and it was not found wanting. In perfect condition, it was more the beer that Michael was after, but I would never discourage him from giving it bit more hop oomph.  It was lovely stuff either way and oddly pleasing to find it better in the pub than the brewery

Today, being an even handed sort of chap, I'm off to visit the good folks at Wilson Potter. It is a classic micro brewery on a small industrial estate and is probably the spickest and spannest brewery you'll ever come across.  Cleanliness is an obsession there and that's no bad thing.  The beer isn't at all bad either and here there is no doubt that humulus lupulus is in the beer. They brew a great range of mainly hop forward beers and I'm looking forward to my favourite "Tandle Hill".  I'll tell you a bit more about them and how I got on in a blog post next week.

Despite the obsession with exotic beers from far away, it is satisfying to support local breweries and I was pleased to read today, that in a declining market, local beer increased its sales by 6.8% last year.  I like to think I do my bit in helping that total along.

So that's Miggy.  Two breweries and me. What more does a town need?

I note yet another new brewery in another part of my CAMRA branch area, Bury as described by my good friend Tyson. It is rapidly becoming a new (small) Burton on Trent

What's In a Name?

.@heraldscotland can't believe you are again promoting this poorly researched article. Dreadful representation of Scottish beer.
— Denis Johnstone (@DenisJohnstone) February 25, 2013

Surfacing from the depths of the CAMRA stuff I am currently embroiled in - editing (writing?) a magazine, proofing Good Beer Guide entries, writing articles for local newspapers and the like - I had a look at Twitter and a message about a newspaper dissing Scottish beer caught my eye. Now as an exiled Scot, I keep my eye on the Scottish brewing scene as much as I can, mainly through the likes of @robsterowski and of course, through Scotland on Sunday, the paper edition of which I buy every week. It also allows me to look on in amazement at the word battle over Scottish independence, but that's another story.

 So what was this? A fellow exiled Scot has tweeted as above. The newspaper was the Glasgow based Sunday Herald and seemed to be to be absolutely inoffensive and in fact, given some of the absurd clichéd, tartan bedecked Brigadoonish names unwisely chosen by some, it has let them off more than a touch lightly. How about a pint of Sheepshagger? Or maybe some MòR Tea, Vicar? (There are no vicars to speak of in Scotland.)  Or would your boat be more floated by Sporran Lifter, Kilt lifter, Nessie's Monster Mash, Santa's Swallie or the Terror of Tobermory?

Funnily enough, I am very impressed by Scotland on Sunday's coverage of Scottish brewing and its rival now seems to be setting off down the same path. In fact there are plenty breweries mentioned that I didn't know of, so the article itself, far from being an insult, was serious attempt to look at what's going on and to me at least, informative.  For the uninitiated, probably more so.   (Some of the beers in fact did have some well thought out and interesting names that had local connections without being naff.)  The article actually illustrated that the newspaper was hosting a (slightly pricey) craft beer lunch where, one course lunch sampling of ten Scottish beers was offered.  Something to be welcomed, in principle at least, I'd have thought.

It is hardly the Herald's fault that some of the names are daft.

This isn't a pop at my fellow twitterer.  His take is different, this is just mine. The article can be read here.