American beer, yes, really...

So, why have I, a great exponent of cask-conditioned ales, written a blog on beers from the USA? Well, it started in 1998, when I visited Chicago because I was delivering a paper to a social scientist conference out there, and I went to Goose Island for an afternoon. Goose Island was a brewpub, which I believe is now owned by one of the biggie brewers, but happy to get feedback on this and Goose Island. 

Anyway, I'd had a bit of local info from a mate who was married to a lass from nearby, Illinois or suchlike, and I was very happy with the results. Excellent real ales brewed on the premises, and all types of English styles: IPA, Extra Special Bitter, Porter, Stout, Best Bitter, they had the lot, and very nice they were too. The only error I made there was to order 'chips' with my burger ("How would you like your burger?" was a surprise question too) and being given crisps, oh well, a learning process... I also found out you could get their beers bottle-conditioned, I'm sure one was called 'Honkers' that I had back at the hotel where I was staying, although another learning experience for me, they DO like their beers cold out there, the Honkers was dragged out of a sink full of icy water! Goose Island do still exist, see their website (site).

Secondly, a friend of mine, Anne, who's first wedding, at Wandsworth Town Hall I was a witness at many years ago, now lives in Florida, and she sent Ken Wells' Travels with Barley to me as a present last year. Interesting read, and, although I haven't been able to grab hold of any of the 'extreme' beers mentioned therein, eg Dogfish World Wide Stout, weighing in at a hefty 23.6%, nor the same brewer's 120 Minute IPA, packed with hops, and a meagre 18%, I did manage to find the 4 following weaker beers, available at my local Morrisons.   

You'll notice that these are mostly IPA style, or APAs (American Pale Ales), which was not such a hardship for me, the first of which was the bottle-conditioned, and extremely well known, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (5.6%). I thought that this may not be that good, being as it was a bit 'run of the norm' for American beers, but it was bottle-conditioned, so... Magnum and Perle hops are used in the brewing process, and it is finished with Cascade, so promising, and it definitely had the citrus fruit you would expect, I got grapefruit, and have seen another reviewer say tangerine, whatever, it had very very nice flavour and bitterness too, what a pleasantly surprising start! More at the brewers website, if you want to research further (site).  

OK, I was getting into this now, I do love research, and moved onto my second choice, Steven Point (site) being the brewer, and their IPA this time, which is actally brewed for the UK market, that's how popular some of these beers are becoming! This is also 5.6%, and uses Magnum and Perle hops too, and dry hopped with Cascade, so I'm guessing they're competing directly with the Sierra Nevada... Indeed, I had already made a note of cascade hops used before checking, so that hop's flavour definitely came through, a wee bit apple in the flavour, hint of sweetness, and a bitterness coming from the grapefruit flavour provided by the cascade hops. Not bad at all, I wrote "goodish" in my notes, but not as much to my liking as the Sierra Nevada...   

My penultimate beer was another IPA, this time brewed by Shipyard Brewing Company (site) and 5.8%. The Shipyard version is a single hop variety, and even has a subtitle Fuggles IPA, and yes, you've guessed, fuggles are the hops of choice for this ale. I've seen quite a few reviews of this beer saying "traditional English style", oh dear, what a shame, though I didn't catch the grapefruit taste others did. Maybe I know the fuggles hop a bit too well, but I did pick up a fruitiness, apple and plum though for me! Another not too bad beer, but my IPA, or APA, of choice in this tiny sample has to be the Sierra Nevada, I thank you...  

I finished off my American beer venture with the Shipyard Blue Fin Stout, amazingly, being sold off cheaply at Morrisons for just £1 a bottle, many thanks to Morrisons as I bought a bottle on 3 or 4 separate visits! So, a very different style of beer, and, the fact I went back for more says a lot about it, and not just the price. The Blue Fin Stout is described as a "classic Irish Stout" and has an array of hops used in the brewing process, Warrior, Cascade, Tettnang and Goldings, though, excepting 'Black IPAs", as discussed in a recent blog, I have trouble spotting the hops in darker beers. This was very enjoyable, though, with a subtle malt and caramel flavour, and a nice dry roasted barley finish, 'twas a bit like a traditional stout, indeed. 

So, I say "thank you" to the Yanks and their growing influence in the world of brewing, particularly to their willingness to chuck in loadsa hops, cheers m'dears!    

PS. Michael Jackson, the "Beer Hunter", was a better known exponent of different styles of beer, and he did like his American travels too. I was given a free bottle of the 'Extra Special' Fullers ESB he brewed for the American market, and it was pretty good, but he did like his favourite ale, the merely 3.5% Chiswick Bitter brewed at Fullers in nearby Chiswick. His last evening on earth was spent drinking Chiswick Bitter at his local pub, the Andover Arms in Hammersmith, whilst I was relief manager there... R.I.P. Michael Jackson (1942-2007). 

Brighton, and 2 new pubs for me, but should have been 3!

A visit to Brighton following St Jude's 'storm', and I attempted to go to the much heralded Craft Beer Company, however, despite the CAMRA Good Beer Guide stating their opening times as 12.00 every day, from this week (my life!) Monday to Wednesday, they will be opening at 3pm for the Autumn/Winter. Damn! So I wandered further down Upper North Street...

... and I revisited The Hampton, which changed hands early this year, so is missing from the 2014 Good Beer Guide, but it remains a fine establishment selling local real ales and some very interesting food, notably burgers extraordinaire! Had a long chat with one of the landlords, I believe, David, a Scot who left that country many years ago for the gentler climate of the south coast... Anyway, a real cider, sorry I missed the name, and 5 real ales, from the 6 handpumps.

Laine's Best (4%), more about later, Kings Poacher's Moon (4.1%), Dorking Number One, Pin Up Beers Red Head (4.2%), and the quite excellent Dark Star Art of Darkness (3.5%), yes, I've mentioned it before, and it is only 3.5%, but what a great light dark bitter with hops+++! So I had 2 pints of it, no Craft Beer Co, so extra time for me...

Then, off to The North Laine, Gloucester Place, a brewery in a pub... Among their ales were Laine's Best (4%), amusingly, brewed for Laine's by Kings (too high a demand for this ale apparently), and a stout, Black Rock (4.5%), Brighton Brau (5.2%), Summer Lovein (3.5%), and the two I tried... an attempt to compete with Fullers, I'd guess, ESB (4.8%), a not bad darker bitter, and India Pale Ale, a 5% nice pale bitter. You can order mini-kegs of their ales (9 pints, I believe) for less than £16, not a bad deal, email northlaine@drinkinbrighton.co.uk for more information. 

Round the corner in Trafalgar Street is The Prince George, a pub specialising in vegetarian food, and very good the food looks too! Also, another establishment selling local ales, served very ably, this day, by Claire. a friendly and knowledgeable lass, including Dark Star Partridge (4%), 1648 Laughing Frog (5.2%) and Festival 30 (3.8%), and the one I tried, Hepworth Sussex Traditional Pale Ale, a 3.5% pale bitter. This weekend, 31st October to 3rd November, they are holding a beer festival, with 6 ales from handpump, and another 6 on stillage by the bar; again, all local ales; go to their website for more information. 

Finally, one just has to stop at The Evening Star before catching the train home, only a few minutes walk from the station too. 3 ciders/perries, and 7 real ales, all served from handpumps, including Dark Star ales, being the brewery tap, despite the distance. I started off with the excellent Revelation (5.7%), already reported on, and full of flavour, plus they had Hophead (3.8%), American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%), and The Original (5%). Also, from the Norwich-based Fat Cat brewery Wild Cat, a 5% "ultra hop monster", very nice, but could have done with a few more hops, IMHO, Loch Ness Dark Ness (4.5%), and a big 7% Bristol Rock from Art Brew, which had plenty of flavour, but again, could have done with more hops. Oh yes, and another 'green hopped' ale for me, Downlands Fulking Green Hop, 4.4%, pale-ish, not bad... 

Cheers, maybe the Craft one next time!

3 pubs in the Chilterns, Buckinghamshire.

On Saturday 22nd June, my brother Dan, the Routemeister, and I walked a rather long pub crawl in Bucks, a roundabout overland route from Chesham to Amersham; more than 20 miles, so I slept well that night. Our first port of call was the Cock & Rabbit in The Lee, a hamlet near to Great Missenden; at the bar of which this photograph of Steve the Beermeister was taken ;-)

The Cock & Rabbit has been run by an Italian Landlord for getting on for 30 years now, and featured regularly in John Nettles' television series, apparently, Midsomer Murders and is well known for its good Italian food. This is a lovely multi-roomed building that has been licenced since the mid-19th century, has food, of course, and this includes a large bowl of olives (gratis) in front of the ale handpumps.  

Not too exciting regarding the ales, though, just the 2, Greene King IPA (3.6%) and the house ale, brewed by Morlands (now Green King too), ie Cock & Rabbit Original, a not too bad, actually, 3.6% medium coloured bitter. Decent ale, nice food, an interesting building and garden, though it was a bit damp to use the garden on Saturday, I liked the place!

We walked onto Little Missenden and the Red Lion, a 17th century pub that has also featured in Midsomer Murders, see website.  More traditional English pub food sold here, you can see the menu at the website, and 3 ales served up. There were a couple you'll see anywhere in the country, true of most ales now anyway, ie Skinners Betty Stoggs (4%) and Wadworth 6X (4.3%), an ale I used to love many years ago, still nice, but my tastes have moved on a bit since I first tried it. We had the third choice, Tring Sidepocket for a Toad, a nice refreshing 3.6% light bitter, oh yes, and the nicest Kiwi (the warm and friendly, Lyn the barmaid) since I drank Dark Star's version in September last! The Red Lion is another very good local with history too...

Finally, we reached Amersham, a reyt old town, and the Kings Arms, a 15th century inn with 34 bedrooms to let, and, oh yes, history (see website). Also featured in Midsomer Murders, of course, plus Four Weddings and a Funeral and Miss Marples, the history? Previous guests include Oliver Cromwell, whose troops were stationed in Amersham during the English Civil War/Revolution, and the pub part, to the left of my photograph, is still an old wooden beamed 15th century pub, though the clientele wasn't that old, but mostly people waiting to eat in the restaurant.  

So, a hotel, restaurant, and 3 ales too: Adnams Lighthouse (3.4%), Skinners Lions Pride (4.3%), presumably a one-off to celebrate the current British and Irish Lions rugby union tour down under, and we drank the (Marlow Brewery) Rebellion Mutiny (4.5%). The Mutiny has a deep red colour, with plenty of body, a rich, but still fresh and fruity, and a slightly roasted malt flavour that comes from the crystal malt used, I'd imagine.  The High Street here is full of 15th and 16th century buildings, and there's an even older road round the corner!

A return could visit well be on the cards, cheers!   

London 6th - 8th March 2013

I arrived at Clapham Junction on the 6th, and departed from Clapham Junction on the 8th, as you can see, a bit wet then, so a trip to The Northcote, Northcote Road, now it's a nice safe pub to visit, and not just for me, but a very woman friendly environment, together with a wide range of customers, young and old, as well as my age, in the middle a bit, haha, and, of course, male and female.  I was served a pint of the ale shown below by the delightful Ruby, who has been present on a previous visit too, and she asked me to mention their having a young Brazilian lad working behind the bar too, presumably, for my female readership?

So, apart from the obvious, other ales included Youngs Bitter (3.7% and called 'Ordinary' by us older Youngs drinkers, or someone like me who worked in a Youngs' pub in my yoof, when their ales were still brewed in Wandsworth) and Sharps Doom Bar (4%). I'm sure I must have drunk this before, anyway, I tried a pint of the Adnams Ghost Ship, a 4.5% reasonably pale coloured bitter, though not quite the "ghostly pale ale" the brewery describes it as, but a decent bitter nonetheless; and, of course, a pint of the local Sambrook's Junction, a 4.5% medium coloured bitter, what I always think of as a typical London bitter colour, I'm sure you know what I mean, and it tastes like a typical London bitter, very nice too, cheers! 

Previously, my brother, The Routemeister, had met me in The Candlemaker, Battersea High Street, on the 6th, where Kathryn appeared shortly after our arrival (I think that's how to spell her name, sorry if I'm wrong, K) and we were served by a very friendly Antipodean, Holly, who also has family links to South East Sussex. We each had a pint of the Sambrook's Pale Ale, a nice pale and hoppy 4.2% bitter from the local brewer.  They also had available the same brewery's Wandle, a 3.8% session bitter, Kings IPA (5.2%), which I'd have loved to try, but a bit strong for the middle of the day, and their own brewery, Laine's Best Bitter (4.1% and reported on before).  

Finally, we had a drink at The Bricklayer's Arms in Putney, where there were still many ales on from their 'Yorkshire Beer Festival', too many to mention now, but have a look at their website (site) for more information. We had a pint each of Great Heck Brewing Dispensible, a 4.5% pale beer, we were a little disappointed with, as, frankly, it needed more hops. Also, I was a wee bit upset I'd missed the Kelham Island Pale Rider, though I was to drink their Easy Rider at my local, the Dolphin, in Hastings, less than a week later (both ales I have brewed when I worked for Kelham Island). 

 

Cheers!

Weekend in Hastings (1st-3rd March)

A bit of chat about ales at 3 Hastings bars from over the weekend, and I think my good mate and colleague, Kieran, is going to add a blog about Southampton soon...

It was a bit overcaste, so this is an old photograph of the Tower, London Road, upper St Leonards, not far from Bohemia Road, an excellent place to visit, though, sadly, no Louisa to say "Trouble's here" when I walked into the pub, but her colleagues are all efficient and very lovely young women, so I have no complaints, and ale-wise, no complaints either.  Out of the 2 Dark Star ales, I drank the American Pale Ale (APA), 4.7% of excellent pale and hoppy beer, but there was also their Porter (5.6%, and a bit too strong for me on the day, sorry).  They also had 2 Bath Ales beers on, their Golden Hare (4.4%) and Gem (4.8%), at least one of which I have reported on before, another good brewer!

I hadn't been to the Dripping Well for a while, walking back down the hill (Bohemia Road) to reach it, where I called Nick, the landlord, by the wrong name! See, I said it had been a while...  I drank the Brains The Rev. James (4.5%), and Adnams Broadside (4.7%), which was in excellent condition, really enjoyed it. There was also the 'cooking bitter' Wadworth Henry's IPA (3.6%), sorry, I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but you know what I mean, and they usually have the Hastings Best (4.1%), but the pump clip was turned round, so I guessed it wasn't on at that time.

I also met a great couple there, Simon, originally from up in the North West of England, and a more Southern Belle, I do believe, from her accent, anyway, Rachel.  If you read this, Simon, the art deco pub I was trying to describe, is the Ship & Mitre (I could only remember Ship being in the title, if you remember) on Dale Street, Liverpool.  Well worth a visit if any readers are ever in Liverpool, as are The Philharmonic and Doctor Duncans, and, well, there are a great number of good pubs up there really!

At the Dolphin, on the 3^rd March, there were the usual 3 regulars, Dark Star Hophead (3.8%), Youngs Special (4.5%), and Harveys Sussex Best (4%), and the three guests were 2 Sussex ales from Isfield, Flapjack, a 5.3% ‘oatmeal stout’ and IPA, Imperial Pale Ale, at 4.2%, both self explanatory, and Elland Tomahawk.  The Yorkshire brewery describes their Tomahawk as a “strong aromatic bitter”, which doesn’t really do it justice, it is aromatic and 4.7%, and a full flavoured pale bitter, and it is very good indeed!

 

Debbie and Maz were working behind the bar of the Dolphin, with an excellent plum cake from Maz for the regulars to enjoy, many thanks Maz, great Tomahawk to drink, cheers both, and good company that included an intriguing French woman, Florence, and, later, dinner at Trattoria Italiana, an Italian restaurant in Hastings, obviously.  A good day in all!   

By the 5^th, the guest ales were all different again, the ‘semi-regular’ seasonal guest is now the very good Harveys Porter (4.8%), of which they currently have 6 firkins, so it will be on for a while, and the other 2 guest ales included an ale from a very new local brewery, Pig & Porter, Red Spider (5.5%), a full bodied bitter with roasted malt as a contributory factor; this is what I would call a ‘special bitter’, and very nice.   

 

The sixth ale was the excellent Salopian Golden Thread, a 5% pale bitter with a ‘peach’ fruity aroma and plentiful body, a cracker of an ale, and the Hophead was in very good form too, by the way!  Company today included the landlord, Mark, and behind the bar the two very delightful daughters of the family, Laura and Louise.  

 

I enjoyed my time as ever, of course, cheers!

The Dolphin, Hastings, and an excellent ale, or six…

I thought an update concerning my ‘local’, the Dolphin, was due, particularly as I drank here, yesterday, what must be my favourite ale for years, it stood out that much.  Also, a testament to Mark, the landlord, and all the family and staff there, that they have kept to 6 ales since the New Year, as their sales of real ales have kept up, so no need to have a month or two with just five ales as in previous years, as Mark always likes to ensure to his ales are served in best condition, quality!

On Thursday, the real ales included the 3 regulars, Dark Star Hophead (3.8%), Youngs Special (4.5%), and Harveys Sussex Best (4%), and three guests: Franklins Mama Knows Best (4.1); Milk Street The Usual, a 4.4% bitter, with a hint of roasted malt, and aroma of toast and marmalade, very interesting and very good; and a very drinkable pale ale, Orkney Scapa Special (4.2%).

By the 25^th, the guest ales were all different, and I’ll start by describing the excellent ale mentioned in the first paragraph, sitting next to my regular favourite, Hophead, it was the 5.6% Ilkley Lotus IPA, a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, to quote Ilkley’s pumpclip… As soon as you smell it, a citrus aroma fills your nose, very big on grapefruit in the drinking too, good body, dry, pale and bitter, what more could I ask for? All the way from Yorkshire and, although I had drunk this last year, as previously reported, it hadn’t stood out as much then, but yesterday, I loved it!  

2 other new guest ales too, both very drinkable: from a Sussex brewer, so much more local, Isfield IPA, a light beer, with a slight flavour of roasted malt; and a ruby ale from Plain Ales of Wiltshire, Intrigue, a full-flavoured 4.2% bitter.

 

If you want to taste the Lotus IPA, I’d suggest you get to the Dolphin very quickly, as I doubt it will still be available for much longer, despite 2 firkins, as it really is that good, and really is being drunken in quantity, otherwise, visit Yorkshire, cheers!

Saturday 10th November - Fires and pubs, Pett, East Sussex

The Routemeister had visited me for the weekend, so Saturday meant a fairly long walk, this time across the top of the cliffs and Hastings Wildlife Park, a fairly arduous trek to Pett Level, where we hoped to drink at the Smugglers, which we had sat outside looking at the beach virtually a year ago to the day. Sadly, it's temporarily closed, but soon to re-open, I have been reliably informed by one of those taking over the pub, when I spoke to her this Tuesday, there being just a few technical problems, so, fingers crossed!

Addendum and update, even, The Smugglers deal has fallen through, it is now rumoured to not be re-opening before Easter at the earliest! 

Anyway, we headed uphill, through fields (along a right of way) to Pett Village, only a mile or so away. Our first port of call there was the Royak Oak, which has 3 or 4 ales on at a time, today was Hopback Summer Lightning, Morlands Golden Hen and Harveys Sussex Best; a little disappointed that we just missed Triple fff Brewery's Jabberwocky coming on, which was soon to replace the Summer Lightning.  All these ales are either well known and/or already reported on by me, so I'll get onto the fires...

We sat right in front of the smaller fire, note our Beermeister caps drying out and warming up in the photograph above, we had been walking through rain for about 3 hours by now!

The larger fireplace is pictured above, though we'd have been hogging a table nearer to people eating if we'd sat there, so we relaxed in front of the previous fire, well away from people, though two older women did come and sit to the left of that fire; we're obviously not intimidating people.

We then walked along the main road to the Two Sawyers, a favourite of my brother's I believe, and one of mine too.  Here was Ringwood Fortyniner and Harveys Sussex Best, both well reported ales, and Harveys Trundle Bitter (3.5%) and Isfield IPA, a 4.2% pale bitter, with a biscuity flavour and dry aftertaste; from this you can guess this is what we drank there, and I've been reasonably impressed by the ales from this new brewery so far. 

Of course, it being a cold and wet day, a fire was lit at the Two Sawyers too.  Cheers!

Thursday 25th October - an intermission, of sorts...

It was a strange day on Thursday, visiting 2 pubs that I'd be unlikely to, but for the circumstances; first, The Old Garage, Replingham Road, Southfields, SW18.  The reason to visit a Greene King pub? My stepdad was buying me lunch, and you should rarely turn down a free lunch!

I used to live down the road from here when I was a kid and into my teens, when it was a garage, the pub is pretty new in itself, and I have to admit to having a pint or two here before visiting my mum a couple of times before she died (RIP), but it is Greene King, and, quite frankly, I'm not their biggest fan, taking over other brewers and becoming a 'new national', and serving up a bland session ale, though I do like their Abbot Ale, a fine stronger bitter.  So, 4 ales, including their IPA (3.6%), Old Golden Hen (4.1%), Ruddles County (4.3%), and Abbot Ale (5%), all brewed by Greene King. I had a couple of pints, the 'County', not as good or as strong as I remember from my past samples at the Hand in Hand, Wimbledon Common, when it was a Ruddles pub (not the Youngs house it now is) and the Abbot Ale, which still lives up to it's promise, and has to be their 'flagship' ale, very good, and a decent meal too.

Then, in the evening, following his arrival back from foreign parts, the Routemeister and I went to see my niece, his daughter, receive her school award for music up in the West End. We arrived early, so dropped into The Golden Eagle in Marylebone Lane, W1, for a quick pint.  My outside photo, taken by a mobile phone, doesn't do the pub justice, so here's the bar, which is small, and within a small pub really.

 

This is a free house, with a quite mixed clientele, though mostly people on the way home from work, as you'd expect in the early evening up here, and felt convivial enough. There are 4 ales on sale, 2 regulars, Fullers London Pride (4.1%) and St Austell Tribute (4.2%), and 2 guest ales, today was Sambrooks Wandle (3.8%) and, from another new 'national', Marston's, Wychwood Hobgoblin (4.5%).  All reasonable enough ales, we each had a pint of the Pride, and I would definitely return, should I be in the area again, cheers!

18th-19th October - Hastings

As you would expect, the guest ales keep changing at the Dolphin, down opposite the fishermen's net huts at the Stade, Hastings. The female section of the host family were in attendance Thursday evening for the weekly quiz, always good to see, and I had a good chat to Mark at the early session Friday lunchtime.  

So, which ales have changed? Well, there will obviously be more changes, probably the Sussex Pride will be changed this weekend, but, already, the Britannia has been replaced by Whitehorse Saracen IPA, a 4.5% ale, a little darker than my usual choice Hophead, but I had to try a pint on Thursday, and on Friday too, just to be sure of my analysis.  The IPA has an immediate caramel flavour coming from, presumably, the roasted malt, with quite a dry aftertaste, very nice, but I returned to my Hophead to finish the sessions both days, unsurprisingly, and we didn't do too well in the quiz, oh well, can't win all the time.   

I'm not one to regularly visit Wetherspoons pubs, but I've been quite impressed with The John Logie Baird, Hastings version, and their choice of local ales, so thought I should make a point and pass this information on, good luck to them, I say!  I'd just missed Keisa going off shift, shame, but the equally interesting and efficient Chrystal was behind the bar Thursday afternoon. The manager of this pub does seem to employ interesting young women, who are also very good at their job, another plus for the pub.

 

So, the usual ales you see all over the country were on sale, but there were 4 ales from local microbreweries, excellent!  2 ales from Longman, Sussex Pride and Long Blonde, both of which I've reported on before, so I tried the 2 from WJ King.  King's India Pale Ale (IPA) was a not very bitter ale, quite nice, but with less body than I expected it to have at 5.2%, but the Autumn Mist, at 4.1%, was a very good ale, a typical 'Autumn' style, darker, like an 'old ale', I liked it very much. The IPA was £2.15 a pint (less my 50p CAMRA token/discount = £1.65) and the Autumn Mist £1.99 a pint, though I only had a half of it, bargains.  

 

Cheers!