Dedicated to craft beer culture
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Pete Brown’s definition of craft beer Melissa Cole’s brews of 2014 ‘Resurrected!’ by Boak & Bailey Des de Moor gets all lambic on his cheeseboard
Issue 2 Autumn/Winter 2014/15
WELCOME TO ISSUE TWO OF CRAFT BEER RISING MAGAZINE...
CRAFT BEER RISING ARE... Daniel Rowntree, co-founder & director. Tips: Bear Hug – Spirit Pale Ale; Brodies – Pineapple Sour; Skinner’s – Porthleven
Matt Wright, editor, CBR magazine. Tips: Moncada – Notting Hill Red; Titanic – Iron Curtain; Everards – Tiger Pete Brown contributor: see page 4
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Chris Bayliss, co-founder & director. Tips: Arbour – Why Kick A Moo Cow?; Bear Hug – Hibernation; Cheddar Ales Goat’s Leap IPA
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Simon Dehany, event manager. Tips: Cromarty – Brewed Awakening; Tiny Rebel – Hadouken; Siren – Soundwave
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Over the past few months we have seen the craft scene get even stronger, with more intrepid brewers joining the revolution. We aim to bring these beer revolutionaries to the fore by featuring them and their creations in this magazine, in a bid to spread the word about drinks that transcend the norm. Still a relatively small sector compared to that inhabited by the giants who produce, shall we politely say, a more mainstream offering, craft beer (define it as you will as we are not getting into the technicalities here) is on the rise and our sole mission is to promote it to both seasoned professionals and novices alike. We’re proud to announce Pete Brown as a contributor this issue (p4), who adds his voice of experience alongside other beer luminaries such as Melissa Cole (p8), Des de Moor (p20), Richard Taylor (p12), Jessica Boak and Ray Bailey (p26). Alongside them we showcase our first sojourn out of London with Craft Beer Rising Glasgow, RISING 2014/1 5 ER hosted at the wonderful new Drygate BE CBR Brewery (more on Drygate on p16). ‘14: Scotland So grab a pint, schooner or bottle, relax (p18). 1 -2 19 t Sep and enjoy our adventures into the world of don ‘15: CBR Lon 2 speciality brewing… Feb 19-2 (p44)
PUBLISHER: Elastic (getelastic.co.uk) EDITOR: Matt Wright (07970 384013) PRINTED BY: Warners TO ENQUIRE ABOUT CRAFT BEER RISING EVENTS OR MAGAZINE, CALL 020 7639 5556
Melissa Cole contributor: see page 8 Des de Moor contributor: see page 20 Boak & Bailey contributors: see page 26
Distributed by...
Craft Beer Rising Magazine 3
MY DEFINITION ‘Craft’ isn’t about brewery size, hops, kegs, casks or America. Craft beer is about attitude, says Pete Brown
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here are two main problems with trying to talk about craft beer. The first is craft beer lives in the shadow of cask ale. To some, it’s the exciting new antidote to real ale’s boring, traditional stuffiness. To others, it’s a rebranding – a new way of looking at flavourful, interesting beer that includes 4 Craft Beer Rising Magazine
traditional cask ale but is not bound by format. Either way, the problem is that cask ale has a precise, technical definition that is painstakingly and periodically reviewed by CAMRA. We’re conditioned to expect something similar from ‘craft’. The second problem is that the only ‘official’ definition of craft beer is from
PETE BROWN ‘Craft’, or simply ‘good beer’?
Technically, US Bud is well brewed but no one would call it a ‘craft’ beer
PHOTO: CAMRGB.ORG
MolsonCoors brews Carling, but also this...
‘CRAFT IS ALL ABOUT HAVING AN OPEN, ENQUIRING MIND’ the United States. It was devised and continues to be updated by a small brewers’ trade association. While not completely useless, it works for a different market that doesn’t have Britain’s brewing heritage and is many times bigger than the one here. Its chief purpose is to define a craft brewer for the benefit of it members, not for the drinker, and the goalposts often shift specifically to include or exclude the right or wrong kind of brewer. Unfortunately, trying to come up with a workable, generally agreed definition of craft beer that works in a British context is futile. Here are a few observations I’ve made in the past about defining craft beer. The degree to which I agree with any of them varies from time to time... ● ‘Craft’ is an adjective in common use way beyond beer and was around long before beer adopted it. Beer can’t own and define it. ● The only people who use the term ‘craft beer’ (and its weasely relative ‘crafted’) are those seeking to jump on the bandwagon and create faux craft beers. ● Craft beer can’t be defined, only recognised. I can’t tell you the strict biological definition of a duck versus that of an elephant, but I can easily describe the difference between the two. ● There is a big difference between ‘craft beer’ and ‘well made’ beer. Technically, US Budweiser is a better beer
PETE’S TOP FIVE… Five of my current favourite beers that I regard as craft: Worthington White Shield – MolsonCoors, Burton upon Trent (5.6% ABV) Fresh – Wild Beer Co, Somerset (5.5% ABV) Rochefort 10 – Rochefort Brewery, Belgium, (11.3% ABV) 01/04: Grapefruit & Ginger – Brew By Numbers, London (5.5% ABV) Wild Streak – Brooklyn Brewery, New York (10% ABV)
than 99% of craft beers. (You’re not going to like this, but the quality of Goose Island IPA has actually improved since it’s been brewed in a big AB Inbev plant). But Budweiser is not craft beer by any useful yardstick. And without naming names, there are as many terrible craft beers as there are industrial beers. ● Craft beer is not about brewery size or beer style – and it’s certainly not about packaging format. It’s about attitude. Who had the final say in the recipe, ingredients and brewing process: the brewer, the marketing guy or the accountant? Was it created by someone who is passionate about beer and genuinely trying to express themselves with their creation? I can’t define this term. No one can. But even without a definition, I still think craft beer is a useful idea. For me, the final bullet point comes closest to defining – or at least describing – craft beer. It gives me a more liberal approach to the subject than most people I know. It’s perfectly possible – in theory – for any brewer, no matter how large, to brew ‘craft’ beers along these lines. It’s just that most choose not to. They may have organisational or financial strictures that prevent them from doing so, but they don’t lack the knowledge, equipment or ingredients. I believe Greene King for example can, and occasionally do, produce great craft beer. Their recently launched ‘craft’ range is a perfect
Craft Beer Rising Magazine 5
PETE BROWN PHOTO: CAMRGB.ORG
Rochefort 10 is in the author’s current top five, along with Fresh from Wild Beer Co (right)
‘CRAFT BEER COMES IN KEGS AND CASKS, BOTTLES AND CANS, FROM BRUSSELS AND BROOKLYN AND BARNSLEY’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Pete Brown is a writer, consultant and broadcaster specialising in beer, pubs and cider. He was named Beer Writer of the Year in 2009 and 2012 – petebrown. blogspot.co.uk
illustration. ‘Noble Craft Lager’ is neither lagered nor brewed with lager yeast, so it’s a travesty to call it a lager, let alone a craft lager. But the darker beers in the range such as Suffolk Strong ale, which has been around for years, are made with as much love and skill, and taste just as good as anything from any British microbrewer or US craft brewer. MolsonCoors may churn out Carling, but in the brewery next door they allow skilled brewers free reign to create Worthington White Shield – a traditional, subtle but complex British IPA that can trace its lineage back to the 1830s, ages in the bottle, and must be considered a craft beer by any reasonable beer lover. For most of us, craft beer is a new, exciting thing from America. But we – and the Belgians and the Germans – have always made craft beer that conforms perfectly to
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the American Brewers’ Association definition. Give me a Chimay Blue, a Timothy Taylor Landlord or a Schlenkerla any day over the latest murky single hop citra pale ale brewed under a railway arch in Hackney. When I started writing about beer, a pint of Bombardier seemed interesting and different. I’m delighted the craft beer boom changed the landscape. I’ve championed it from the start and will continue to do so. Americanstyle IPAs remain my favourite style. But for me craft beer comes in kegs and casks, bottles and cans, from trust-funded hipsters and traditional family brewers, from Brussels and Brooklyn and Barnsley. It’s strong enough to see off pretenders and bandwagon jumpers. Because the entire raison d’etre, the energy and inspiration, is about having an open, enquiring mind. The more rigid your terminology, the more you miss the whole point of what craft beer is about.
TEN BEST OF THE
MELISSA COLE GUIDES YOU THROUGH THE BEERS THAT HAVE ROCKED HER WORLD IN 2014… 8 Craft Beer Rising Magazine
MELISSA COLE’S TOP 10
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ust Try… Top 10… World’s Best Beers… all titles of articles that strike dread into the heart of any beer writer. So instead of a top 10 of ‘beers you must try’, I’m just going to let you know about beers that have set my world alight in the last 12 months, plus a couple of consistent classics. You will doubtless disagree with me but, as I always say, wouldn’t life be bloody dull if we all liked the same thing? I hope you enjoy my selections and I look forward to the arguments on Twitter! You can find me @melissacole
ROCHEFORT 10 11.3% If you’re going to do one of these lists, you may as well start off with one of the big loves of your life. Rochefort 10 is definitively one of the beers that took me from cask ale enthusiast to full-on beer geek – and the fact that I was told I was one of the first women journalists to be allowed inside the brewing operation made it just that bit more special. For me it’s like drinking liquid malt loaf and shouldn’t be poured into anything other than a big, full blown glass, swirled and savoured for its glorious bouquet of dried fruits, caramel and molasses; it should be sipped and enjoyed and lingered over like the finest brandy. It’s a gift from whatever gods you care to believe in… and if you’re an atheist then this could almost make you believe.
BREW BY NUMBERS WAI-ITI & LEMON SAISON 5.5% This is just about the best beer I’ve had from a London brewer in the last 12 months. It’s one of those beers that makes you stop and look at the liquid in wonder, as your soul resonates to the rhythm of your taste buds dancing. Initially mandarin, lemon and lime zest all vie for your nose’s attention, much of this coming from the hop, but there’s also a real fruit freshness, all underpinned by an earthy green peppercorn note from the saison yeast. But it’s when you take that first sip that it all comes alive, zipping around your tongue like a barely-caged citrus animal before exploding in a dry, zesty puff which only lingers enough to make you want more.
BULL & BUSH CBC#1 10% Bull & Bush is a brewpub in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado. CBC#1 is the first in its unique Colorado Barrel Collective series, where multi-awardwinning head brewer Gabe Moline uses barrels donated by local liquor stores to age beers. The base beer for this first one is B&B’s Old Ale, which is then placed in Weller Wheated Bourbon barrels to produce a beer that’s like a dessert and drinks trolley mash-up. Fruitcake, Pedro Ximinez sherry and Cointreau dominate the nose, but the initial palate is like warm caramel spiked with Amontillado, then poured over the pruney French dessert Far Breton. Then the warmth of the bourbon, laced with vanilla caramel cream, kicks in. Fewer than 1,000 bottles were made.
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MAGIC ROCK SIMPLETON 2.6%
JW LEES HARVEST ALE 11.5%
Big shouty beers might be all the go in some circles but sometimes you can speak softly and still carry a big stick. The concept of a session IPA hailed from the States but none I’ve tried come close to being as clever as Simpleton, although Loose Leaf from Odell and Go To IPA from Stone come
I do love a good, strong ale. Sometimes they are delicious when fresh, like last year’s Fuller’s Vintage Ale, and sometimes they need a little time and age – and that for me describes every release of JW Lees Harvest Ale. Every year differs but after six months of slightly warm
BATEMANS BLACK PEPPER ALE 5.1%
ILKLEY BREWERY SIBERIA 5.9%
Given that I’ll happily stick virtually anything in a brew when I’m making beer, even I was initially flummoxed by Batemans Black Pepper ale, but by golly it works. The story goes that the staff were encouraged to bring in anything from their kitchen
I have to hold my hands up and say that this is a beer I collaborated on, but I am so ridiculously proud of it that I’m going to put it on this list! Born from a Twitter conversation which blossomed, Siberia has proved a hit on both sides of the Atlantic and in
‘ON PAPER, SOME BEERS SOUND ABSOLUTELY close. At just 2.6% but filled with glorious tropical fruit flavours from hops including mosaic, earthy simcoe and pineapple-packed citra, it is hugely quaffable. I also recommend the brewery’s sours created by resident brewster Giada Simioni – Salty Kiss and Circus of Sour in white wine barrels have also rocked my world this year.
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maturation I find the most recent ones have an astonishing bouquet and flavours of sweet raisin, soft caramel and burnt orange. But nothing really prepares you for the sheer viscosity of this beer. It’s as if someone has gently warmed golden rum, cream sherry and orange bitters in a pan and added some maple syrup.
cupboards that they thought might work in beer; nothing was working until one chap very shyly presented the black pepper – and lo, the beer was born! An orangey, fruity base beer, full of earthy English hops, is really brought to life by the addition of the pepper. Take it easy with the sachet though – it can give quite a kick if you’re not careful!
some colder climes. A fairly simple malt base is layered with European hops before aromatic galaxy hops and dried orange peel are added in the boil; the beer is then fermented with rhubarb that’s been poached with vanilla, toasted grains of paradise and Saison Dupont yeast. The result is an aromatic fruitfest of a brew.
MELISSA COLE’S TOP 10
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHÂTEAU D’YCHOUFFE 2013 9%
CELT EXPERIENCE BRIGID FIRE 6.3%
CANTILLON LOU PEPE KRIEK 5%
This is another rare brew, with only 12,000 bottles made, so grab it if you get the chance. It’s a meeting of two worlds, not totally unique as both Cantillon and Dogfish Head have both made similar beers but I think this one has a highly individual flavour.
There are some beers that, on paper, sound absolutely revolting and I’ll be honest, this is one of them… which just goes to show what I know! This smoked rye IPA is nothing short of brilliant – I’ve never tasted a beer like it. Brewed with oaksmoked wheat,
I love a good sour but I like them to be refined; whilst I appreciate that super-tart versions are probably good for my cheekbones, they are a struggle to get through at times, which is why I respect this beer. This gueuze Lou Pepe is a two-yearold lambic with a
Melissa Cole is an award-winning sommALEier and beer evangelist. She judges beer competitions from London to Spain and Amsterdam to America. She runs private and public beertasting events and has written the book Let Me Tell You About Beer. Her website is letmetellyou aboutbeer.co.uk
REVOLTING, AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM’ Made with 60% La Chouffe wort and 40% dessert wine wort, and with grapes from Château d’Yquem or Sauternes, it is sweet, no doubt about it, but not in a sickly way. The overtones of dessert wine are balanced nicely by the carbonation of the beer and it goes magnificently well with a very stinky rind-washed cheese.
fermented with Bière de Garde yeast and hopped to hell with Nelson Sauvin, Brigid Fire manages to showcase all of these things strongly, without any of them arguing or dominating. Quite simply you should try it. A huge hat tip goes to the truly awesomely crazy brain of Tom Newman for creating it.
mellow taste, often coming from barrels that have previously housed wine. This beer’s secondary fermentation is not through the addition of young lambic but of sweet liquor. What comes out is a deliciously mellow, elegant and grown up sour. Full of leather, tobacco, cherry, oak, vanilla, parma violets and myriad other complexities.
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CALEDONIAN CRAFT Scottish brewing is booming and it looks set to continue, says Richard Taylor
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n the past two years, 24 breweries have launched in Scotland; the same number as in the previous six years. The real test is going to be how many are still operating after five or ten years – but as the notion of craft beer starts to niggle its way evermore mainstream, increasing supply and demand look set to boost Scottish beer-makers yet further. We’ve always taken a hearty interest in beer north of the border, and right the way north, too: island breweries such as Orkney’s Highland Brewing Co conquer substantial logistical challenges on a daily basis. The brewery on the Isle of Colonsay (population 120) relies on a two-hour ferry simply to get their bottles to the mainland. If you wanted to lay down a few markers on key milestone years in the rise of Scottish craft brewing, you could select 1988, 2002, 2007 and 2012. The first of those years was when a benevolent pensioner entered the Glasgow homebrew shop of Bruce and Scott Williams, passing on the recipe for what would eventually become Fraoch Heather Ale. The year
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2002 was when Alva’s Harviestoun brewery became the first to age beer in Scotch whisky casks (Old Engine Oil in Dalmore barrels). The third milestone year saw Scotland’s largest – and loudest – proponents of craft beer, BrewDog, founded, and the final year saw the highest number of new breweries opening in living memory: 15. So much recent growth – but is it sustainable? At the moment, I think it is – we’re still far from reaching critical mass. Despite their astronomical progress, by their own calculation BrewDog equate to only 0.02% of the British beer market. The golden era of Scottish brewing – the mid19th century – boasted highs approaching 250 breweries in the country. Those numbers ultimately did prove unsustainable, but if you compare them to the boom of the modern age, there are currently 79 production breweries in Scotland, seven of which are in Edinburgh. So, yes, craft beer is on the rise in Scotland, as it is elsewhere, but there’s still plenty of room for more.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR...
Richard Taylor is the creator of The BeerCast, an award-winning Scottish beer blog (thebeercast.com, @thebeercast).
BEER IN SCOTLAND The Cobbles, Kelso
WHERE TO DRINK BEER IN SCOTLAND It comes as no surprise, but the surge in Scottish beer-making over recent years has also resulted in an increase in the number of pubs, bars, bottle-shops, brewery taps and restaurants that sell great beer. Here are just some of the places to find the best beers in Scotland…
THE ANDERSON
HANGING BAT
Union Street, Fortrose, IV10 8TD. theanderson.co.uk You don’t usually see Mikkeller tinsigns on the walls of Morayshire seaside pubs; but then the Anderson is no ordinary pub. Serving amazing beer to the tiny village of Fortrose, their motto is ‘if we don’t have what you drink, drink what we have’. And boy, they have a lot.
133 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9AB. thehangingbat.com Turning a failed ‘loud-music and drink-promo’ bar into a successful craft beer destination can be a hugely difficult thing to achieve. But the barnstorming Hanging Bat, by curating the best range of British beer in Scotland, has achieved it in spades (as well as in schooners).
FYNE ALES BREWERY TAP Achadunan, Cairndow, Argyll, PA26 8BJ. fyneales.com It takes a while to negotiate the roads up to Loch Fyne, but once there, a short rattle along a track leads to the new Fyne Ales’ brewery bar; a modern, welcoming place to sample stunning beer in a stunning location, yards from where it was made.
THE VINTAGE 60 Henderson St, Leith, EH6 6DE. thevintageleith. co.uk When it opened in the spring of 2013, the Vintage quickly built up a nearreverential following for its range and selection of charcuterie and craft beer. In the time since, if anything, this attitude has
increased; the staff are fantastic, the beers perfectlymatched, and it serves the best smoked duck in human history.
WEST 15 Binnie Place, Glasgow, G40 1AW. westbeer.com Located on Glasgow Green, West produce German-style beers aplenty in their huge ‘bierhalle’. When the sun shines, queues build for their crisp lagers and nearperfect hefeweizen, as a mass of humanity lazes about in Scotland’s best beer garden.
SIXºNORTH 6 Littlejohn Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1FF. sixdnorth.co.uk As something approaching a way of life, Belgian beer is enjoyed all over the world, and in Aberdeen it has found a welcoming home in the form of SixºNorth. Founded
Edinburgh’s Hanging Bat
by the eponymous Stonehaven-based brewery, the bar majors in a panoply of beery delights from the Low Countries.
INN DEEP 445 Great Western Road, Glasgow, G12 8HH. inndeep.com Inn Deep sits almost beneath the road, hidden from view. Once down the steps, though, you’ll find the bar overlooks the rushing River Kelvin, with outdoor seating aplenty; and with 12 draught lines, there are plenty of reasons to linger.
THE COBBLES 7 Bowmont Street, Kelso, TD5 7JH. thecobbleskelso. co.uk Tempest Brewing Company founder Gavin Meiklejohn
worked for years as a chef, so you’d expect the pub he opened with his wife to serve outstanding beer and food. And you’d be right; with multiple Tempest beers on offer, and locally-sourced food in the kitchen, it doesn’t get much better.
THE BOW BAR 80 West Bow, Edinburgh, EH1 2HH (no website) It might be as traditional as Edinburgh stand-up drinking shops get, but the Bow serves a fabulous range of beers on keg and from their (increasingly rare) air-pressure driven cask fonts. Located on one of Edinburgh’s most picturesque streets, it’s unmissable.
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JACK BRAND R E G A L D E P P O DRY H SNER MALT & DRY HOPPED MADE WITH PIL S FROM OZ. GOLDEN & WITH GALAXY HOP AL FRUITS, CITRUS & LIGHT WITH TROPICP FLAVOURS. BOLD, PASSION FRUIT HO % ABV. .2 BRIGHT & TASTY. 4 BS
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Craft Beer Rising Magazine 15
CRAFT BEER
PIONEERS
Glasgow’s Drygate calls itself the UK’s ‘first experiential craft brewery’. Intrigued, we went for a chat…
What is Drygate? “Drygate is the UK’s first experiential craft brewery, a place where people can come and immerse themselves in craft beer culture. We want anyone with an interest – from aficionados to novices – to experience Drygate. Our doors are open to all. “As a space, Drygate is multifaceted – it’s a 24-hectolitre brewery, a kitchen and bar, a 24-tap beer hall, a bottle shop with over
watching the brewing collective at work through the huge panoramic glass wall, Drygate seeks to break down barriers and create opportunities for people to explore and experiment.”
How did the idea come about? “Drygate came about when Scott Williams of Williams Bros Brewing Co was approached by C&C chief executive
‘IT’S ABOUT LETTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF
400 bottled beers, a venue space and a place where visitors can brew their own ‘DIY craft beer’ on Drygate studio kit. “Whether having a beer at the bar, enjoying the craft-beer inspired menu or Drygate labels were designed by Glasgow School of Art alumni
Stephen Glancey, who had been watching what other international breweries were doing, particularly those in the US. “He admired what Scott was doing at Williams Bros and showed him the Drygate building which was – at the time – a derelict 1960s box factory. Stephen said ‘There’s a blank canvas, what can you do with it?’ “As a Glasgow native Scott had always wanted to brew in the city, so this helped to accelerate things. Drygate is about investing in the next generation of craft brewers and letting them brew fearlessly.”
How did it become reality?
“From day one, Drygate has been inspired by the spirit of collaboration and opening our minds to new ways of thinking. In preparation for the launch we collaborated with Glasgow School of Art alumni to create beer labels inspired by – and for – our core range beers which include Bearface Lager, Gladeye IPA and Outaspace
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FIND US... Drygate Brewing Co, 85 Drygate, Glasgow, G4 0UT, 0141 212 8815, @drygate, drygate.com
DRYGATE
The Drygate brewing collective. From left: Alessandra Confessore, Jake Griffin and Ed Evans
ON OF CRAFT BREWERS MAKE BEER FEARLESSLY’ Apple Ale. The Vintage at Drygate is another collaboration we’re proud of and one that has seen this award-winning gastropub expand to create a new bar and restaurant here in Glasgow’s East End.”
What can visitors expect?
“As well as brilliant craft beer, great food, exhibitions, live music and the opportunity to brew your own beer, visitors can expect a real sense of freedom, a place that’s not constrained by snobbery or convention. “The normal rules don’t apply at Drygate or the brewery. There is no hierarchy. Instead each one of us is involved in every part of the process; from recipe creation to brewing, packaging to engaging with visitors and visiting brewers. In this way, we can play to one another’s strengths, experiment, debate and seek inspiration from our different styles. Drygate is the home of great ideas and we can’t wait for others to experience it.”
Food is a big part of the Drygate experience
CRAFT BEER RISING GLASGOW
It’s all happening at the Drygate Brewery, September 19, 20 and 21
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fter two sell-out years in 45. Backed by a supporting cast that London’s Old Truman Brewery, includes Mia Dora, David Barbarossa, Craft Beer Rising is upping DJ Snafu, Ewan Chambers, Duncan sticks and hitting the road to Harvey and Andrew Divine, it’s safe Glasgow for our next instalment. This to say that the audio accompaniment time we are partnering Drygate to your beer drinking and street-food Brewery, Scotland’s first dedicated experience is in capable hands. experiential brewery (see p16). In And if that wasn’t enough we will what can only be described as a also be showcasing The Lab, where stunning space built for purpose, we the cousins of craft beer scene will will be rolling out another three days invite you to try beer cocktails, of beer, music and street food for partake in the Boilermaker your delectation and enjoyment! experience and give you the chance Brewery-wise we have around 40 to get hands on with your own brew. exhibitors including a strong domestic Look out for competitions on line-up that includes Williams Bros, Facebook and Twitter too where we Barney’s Beers, Knops, the mighty will give away free tickets, BrewDog and Harviestoun to plus the chance to take a S I I N R G 20 R 14 name but a few. It’s a great guided trip around BE E T / F opportunity to taste not Drygate Brewery Get your only core beers from these itself. We look tickets from outstanding breweries but forward to seeing craftbeer also to try some surprise you there! rising.co.uk brews and, if you’re lucky, find out a few brewing secrets along the way. On the food front we will have our fave burger joint rolling into town – Burger Bear – as well as local heroes Meat Hook. Fear not veggies, there will be options for you too… And of course, no Craft Beer Rising would be complete without its soundtrack. Headliners across the three days include Optimo, The Revenge, Mungo’s Hi-Fi, and an exclusive back-to-back session with Portishead DJ Andy Smith and Boca CR A
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ESSENTIAL INFO Tickets available from craftbeerrising.co.uk: £20 per session including £5 worth of tokens + glass + programme Sessions: Friday Sept 19, 6pm-1am; Saturday Sept 20, 12-6pm; Saturday Sept 20, 7pm-1am; Sunday Sept 21, 12-6pm
GLASGOW
BEER, MUSIC, STREET FOOD 19, 20 & 21 SEPTEMBER 2014
F E AT U R I N G :
OVER 200 BEERS FROM 40 PLUS BREWERIES D R YG AT E B R E W I N G C O. 8 5 D R YG AT E , G L A S G O W, G 4 0 U T TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW FROM £20 AT OUR WEBSITE. INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF ALL TICKETS: £5 WORTH OF BEER TOKENS AND A CBR GLASS Follow us, find us and contact us for updates @craftbeerriseuk Tel: 020 7639 5556, Web: www.craftbeerising.co.uk
Cheese is beer’s soulmate, says Des de Moor, and he
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sk most people to think of an alcoholic drink that goes with cheese and the word ‘wine’ will likely emerge. Now, there are very many ways in which wine enjoys an undeserved advantage over beer in public perceptions of gastronomic excellence, but this one is arguably the most unfair. On all rational grounds, beer is the much better match for a wellturned-out cheeseboard. Beer delivers much of the flavour profile of wine and far more besides. It can be sweet, fruity, flowery, bready and even acidic – but the grain can stretch to roast and bitter flavours that the grape can’t hope to match. And beer’s lively
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carbonation is a distinct advantage with such a creamy, fatty food, helping scrub the palate clean between mouthfuls. A grand European tradition Set aside the 1970s’ suburbanite aspirations that bequeathed us the cheese and wine party and you’ll find a rich tradition of cheese-and-beer matching in the folk gastronomy of Europe’s beer countries. A pint of traditional cask bitter is still the accepted accompaniment to strong cheddar with pickled onions and crusty bread in that pub-grub mainstay, the ploughman’s lunch. Dutch and Flemish bruine cafés invariably offer a portie kaas – simple
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BEER AND FOOD MATCHING
YES! selects the most sublime matches to prove it… cubes of cheese, ideally a good mature Gouda-style, perhaps with a blob of mustard. In and around Brussels, lambic is served with plattekaas (‘country cheese’), fresh soft cheese on rustic brown bread garnished with radish and spring onion. In Cologne, a Halver Hahn with Kölsch is not, as its name suggests, half a chicken, but a crusty rye bread roll with Gouda-style hard cheese, onions, gherkins and mustard. In Bavaria, they blend German-made Camembert, butter, paprika and raw onions to make Obatzder. It tastes nicer than it looks, especially with wheat beer, which is sometimes splashed into the mix.
Best of friends It’s not surprising that cheese and beer match well. Both are the product of ancient techniques that create a huge spectrum of flavours from simple ingredients. Both derive mainly from grains and grasses, though, as Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver points out, with cheese, cows (or other animals) are involved in the processing. And both involve cajoling uncooperative microbes like yeasts and bacteria into doing the most important work. Party time! Cheese is a great way in to beer and food matching, and running an informal
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Des de Moor is author of CAMRA’s Guide to London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars. He also ran the cheese and beer matching sessions at Craft Beer Rising 2014 in London.
Craft Beer Rising Magazine 21
BEER AND FOOD MATCHING Des’s beer and cheese matching session at CBR 2014 in London
THANKS TO… The Bottle Shop (bottle-shop.co.uk) for supplying all the beers except the Fuller’s, which is available direct from the brewery. The Gouda is sold by the Borough Cheese Company (boroughcheese company.co.uk), and Perl Las by the Fine Cheese Co (finecheeseco. co.uk), while Wildes sell direct at Borough Market. The other cheeses are available from Neal’s Yard Dairy (nealsyarddairy. co.uk).
tasting for a few friends is a simple matter. Unless it’s very soft or runny, cheese is the perfect finger food and needs little preparation. And with good quality cheese, you don’t need to eat much to enjoy the flavour: a total of around 75g per person is usually more than adequate. Go to a good local cheesemonger rather than a supermarket because you’ll get better quality, a bigger range and more expert advice. Cheese is better cut and weighed fresh, and a good supplier will be happy to sell a selection of small samples, while in the supermarket the most interesting stuff is usually prepacked rather than on the deli counter. Pick four to six cheeses and the same number of beers in a range of styles and textures. You can serve all the cheeses at once – at room temperature please – but take the beers in order, trying several different cheeses with the same beer and discussing what matches best. Serve plenty of water too, and good quality but plain tasting bread or crackers. Traditional cheese partners like pickles, nuts, mustard, fruit or olives are best omitted if you want to concentrate on the flavour of the cheeses themselves. The one disadvantage of cheese is that, with its high fat and salt content, it’s hardly the world’s healthiest food. Reduced fat and salt varieties sadly also tend to be reduced in flavour, so I recommend that, like beer, you enjoy the real thing, but in moderation.
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DES DE MOOR DAMN FINE COMBINATION
CELT OGHAM ASH WITH PERL LAS
Numerous world craft brewers have been influenced by Dany Prignon, a true Belgian maverick at work in the Ardennes since 1988. Dany’s brews, often dosed with herbs and spices foraged locally, can vary from outstanding to doubtful, but his standard Fantôme (8% ABV, fantome.be) has stabilised to a soft, creamy, grainy golden ale with hints of custard and chamomile, a squeeze of lemon and a drinkability that belies its strength. Its rustic refreshing quality is a great match for Lincolnshire Poacher, a raw-milk hard cheese from the Lincolnshire Wolds (lincolnshirepoachercheese.com). It’s styled after classic Cheddar, with a familiar slow-developing smack on the roof of the mouth. A citrus-tinged wash of beer helps underline the cream quality of the cheese, with yeasty fruit and that herbal note complementing the Poacher’s nutty sweetness.
Celt Experience in Caerphilly IS one of the rising stars of Welsh craft brewing – the brewery actually began in Somerset in 2003 but founder and brewer Tom Newman hopped over the border in 2008. He developed imperial stout Ogham Ash (10.5%) specifically to accompany a particular cheese, though it’s delicious enough on its own. Exotic hops lend well-judged tropical fruit and bitterness to this rich, dense beer with sultana and fine dark chocolate sweetness, rye bread spice and a red fruit tang. The cheese it’s made to match is Perl Las (‘blue pearl’), made in Carmarthenshire. Essentially a blue-veined Caerphilly, the cheese delivers big flavours over a delicate creaminess, with a hefty dose of salt. The sweetness and intensity of the beer offsets it marvellously, cutting through the salt without overcoming the earthy blue notes, and providing fruit and roast flavours that float over the cream.
PHOTO: CAMRGB.ORG
MOOR’S NE ATIONS…
FANTÔME SAISON WITH LINCOLNSHIRE POACHER
Craft Beer Rising Magazine 23
BEER AND FOOD MATCHING FULLER’S VINTAGE ALE WITH STICHELTON
PHOTO: CAMRGB.ORG
PHOTO: CAMRGB.ORG
SIREN LIQUID MISTRESS WITH L’AMUSE OUDE GOUDA
Founder Darron Anley enlisted craft brewer Ryan WitterMerithew, formerly with brewers like Stillwater and Mikkeller, to help launch Siren (sirencraftbrew.com) in 2012. The brewery, based at Finchampstead near Wokingham, has delivered on its promise with beers like Liquid Mistress (5.8%), a ruddy ‘red IPA’ with a luscious sultana toffee malt palate showing off spicy, floral US hops. Most Brits know Dutch cheese as the insipid stuff sold in supermarkets, but aged ‘oude’ (old) Gouda is another thing entirely: nutty, toffee-tinged and sometimes with the crunch of crystallised salt. It demands plenty of malt, so I tried a 16-month-old cheese made for L’Amuse, one of the Netherlands’ leading cheese traders, with Liquid Mistress. The match showcased the richness of both, with the beer lifting the cheese’s fattiness, though with just a little too much bitterness.
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Moving from one of London’s newest breweries to its oldest, Fuller’s annually produced bottleconditioned barley wine, Vintage Ale, is one of the world’s great beers for ageing (8.5%). I picked out a 2006, a year when the beer was single-hopped with Styrian Goldings, and found lots of mature port-like character on the aroma, with a delicate heathery perfume. The palate had rich orange sweetness, tea and toasted seeds, with chewy herbal hops mellowed but still obvious on the finish. Blue cheese’s well known fondness for port extends to aged beers with similar characteristics, and one of Britain’s best blue cheeses is Nottinghamshire’s Stichelton. It’s essentially a Stilton, but not entitled to the designation as it’s made from raw rather than pasteurised milk. My sample was gloriously complex and creamy, offset perfectly by the rich but tangy ale.
OWA UME LAMBIC 2013 WITH LONDONSHIRE Spontaneously fermented lambic, with its fruity, lactic flavours, is a classic beer for cheese. This 5.5% example was created by expat Japanese brewer Leo Imai at De Troch, a lambic brewery in Itterbeek, Belgium. It’s been macerated with ume plums from Japan’s Wakayama region. Lambic can take on big salty cheeses like Parmesan, but in Belgium they reach for milder stuff. I tried Londonshire, from Wildes Cheese in Tottenham, a subtle, densely creamy creature loosely inspired by Camembert. The lactic flavours of both partners hit the spot, but the beer was sharp enough to cut through the cream, carrying its seductive fruit perfume with it.
BREW BY NUMBERS 05|01 WITH ARDRAHAN Brew by Numbers is among the best of the new crop of London brewers, growing from a tiny kit in a Southwark basement in 2011 to a decent set-up on Bermondsey’s ‘beer mile’. 05|01 (6.7%) was founders Tom Hutchings’ and Dave Seymour’s first attempt at a US-style IPA, with amarillo and citra hops. Hoppy beers don’t always work with cheese but this well balanced brew is helped by a firm malt backdrop supporting notes of marmalade and mango. The creaminess of Ardrahan, a semi-soft cheese made in County Cork, does well against the fruit, while 05/01’s herbal bitterness provides a surprisingly effective foil for Ardrahan’s pungency.
Enjoy REBEL RED, FRIAR WEISSE & SHANDON STOUT Sensibly. Visit
RESURRECTED! Hark! Extinct breweries are rising again. Ray Bailey and Jessica Boak investigate the growing trend for rebirths
26 Craft Beer Rising Magazine
REVIVED BREWERIES
I
n the mid-19th century, ‘buying local’ was a fact of life rather than a lifestyle choice, and most small towns had at least one brewery to call their own. As the years went by, brewing became more competitive, until, after World War II, huge national brewing companies emerged. In the age of television advertising campaigns, major brewing companies wanted a handful of beers with distinctive logos, not tied to any one place, that they could sell in uniform packaging from Plymouth to Carlisle, so local brews began to disappear. Eaten alive What happened to Lacons Brewery of Great Yarmouth is typical: in 1958, colossal London firm Whitbread bought a share in the company, before taking it over completely in 1965. In 1968, Lacons brewed a final batch of mild before closing for good, leaving the town’s drinkers with no beer to call their own. A similar story was unfolding in Northampton, where Phipps began to slip out of existence in the wake of a takeover by London brewer Watneys: first, the local draught beer brands went, replaced by the notorious Red Barrel and other nationally-marketed products, and then, in 1974, the brewery was closed and demolished. In its place, Watneys built a plant producing Carlsberg lager – about as far from local as it was possible to get. By the early 1970s, the Campaign for Real Ale had come along and began to protest against such closures, but even a 600-strong march with brass bands couldn’t save Joule’s of Stone in Staffordshire. Bass Charrington decided to close the brewery so it could concentrate production in a new facility in Runcorn, Cheshire. Joule’s popped out of existence in 1974, its last day marked by a funeral procession and the laying of wreaths. Truman’s of London lasted a little longer: it was taken over by Watneys in the mid-1970s but continued brewing at the Black Eagle brewery on London’s Brick Lane until 1989. When it ceased brewing,
Faded Truman’s signs are still common in the East End
‘WHAT HAPPENED TO LACONS WAS TYPICAL... WHITBREAD BOUGHT IT, THEN CLOSED IT’
London’s Truman’s was taken over in the 1970s but has now been revived
the East End, historic birthplace of India Pale Ale and once a hotbed of brewing activity, was left without a single large brewery. British beer seemed to be on a one way road towards fewer breweries and bigger brands. Would anyone ever drink a pint of Lacons, Phipps, Joule’s or Truman’s again? The revivals... Brothers Alaric and Quentin Neville grew up in Northampton. Their grandfather had been a keen drinker of Phipps beer and Alaric recalls hearing him rage at its replacement by Watneys Red Barrel. While Alaric became an archaeologist with the local council, Quentin commenced a career in the pub industry, eventually becoming a director of a Scottish & Newcastle
Craft Beer Rising Magazine 27
REVIVED BREWERIES pub chain based in Northampton. In 2004, when S&N decided to brew a Phipps beer as a one-off special, Alaric was perfectly placed to find a historic recipe in the county archives. Eventually, Quentin was made redundant, but took the Phipps trademark and Alaric’s research as part of his settlement. Beer bearing the Phipps trademark returned to Northamptonshire pubs in 2008. Lacons Meanwhile, elsewhere in the country, Mick Carver, MD of a drinks distribution company in Suffolk, was finding himself increasingly captivated by the sight of the Lacons name in faded signs on pub walls. He wanted to drink this long-gone beer and realised others might feel the same. A practically-minded entrepreneur rather than a mere dreamer, in 2009 he set about negotiating the rights to the trademark from multi-national giant AB InBev. Once he had it, he was able to stake a claim to the proprietary yeast strain preserved at the National Collection of Yeast Cultures at Norwich. Joule’s Joule’s, the closure of which had made national news at the height of the 1970s’ ‘real ale craze’, returned from the dead in 2010. Steve Nuttall had been an executive at Bass but wanted to be the boss of his own small brewery rather than a board member at a large one. A Stafford boy, he had grown up in Joule’s country, and had
The Joule’s name died in 1974 and was revived in 2010
‘TRUMAN’S WAS REVIVED IN 2010 BY TWO LONDON BUSINESSMEN’
WHATEVER BECAME OF? Benskin’s of Watford, famous for Colne Spring Ale, were taken over by Ind Coope in 1957 and the name was applied to many beers brewed all over the UK until 2002. Devenish were big in Cornwall throughout the 20th century and had a final fling with Newquay Steam Beer in the 1980s, before being taken over by Whitbread.
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Shipstone’s of Nottingham was closed by Greenalls in 1991. Local enthusiast Richard Neale bought the name and brewing recommenced in 2013. Ruddles of Rutland had a big cult following but were eventually closed down by Morland, who were themselves taken over by Greene King in 2000. Ruddles County is still brewed as a ‘ghost brand’.
also worked with the last vestiges of the brand as a marketing trainee. In 2000, he set about acquiring the rights to the name, commencing what would turn out to be a decade-long struggle. In the meantime, he put together a brewery, not in Stone but over the county border at Market Drayton in Shropshire. Recipes and other key information came from the Bass archive at the National Brewing Museum in Burton-upon-Trent, and Anthony Heeley, who brewed the last batch in 1974, came on board as technical advisor and a link to the past. Truman’s It was also in 2010 that Truman’s was revived by two London businessmen, Michael-George Hemus and James Morgan. It is hard to avoid seeing peeling maroon-painted Truman’s livery on pubs in East London, and the old brewer chimney broadcasts the name in bold white lettering for miles around. As well
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REVIVED BREWERIES
After a long gap, you can now enjoy a pint of Truman’s or Joule’s again
as being driven by nostalgia, Hemus and Morgan thought that a new microbrewery bearing that old name might thrive off the back of what was, in effect, free advertising. At first, Truman’s re-launched with a straightforward, darkish bitter called ‘Runner’, brewed in Essex using an inauthentic yeast. This led to accusations that it was merely a logo being slapped on an off-the-shelf product. The Neville brothers once faced similar criticism and Alaric recalls, with some indignation, being dismissed as ‘big business entrepreneurs making a fast buck out of the hapless Northants drinkers’. Neither Neville brother is a trained brewer and so they too had their beer made under contract elsewhere, albeit with input from The names are the same but are these revivals simply ‘tribute acts’?
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industry veterans who had brewed at Phipps in the 1960s and 70s. As Alaric says, somewhat defensively: “We got the beer right rather than the postcode.” The real deal? But, in 2013, Truman’s began to address criticism by coming back to London, albeit to Hackney rather than Brick Lane, and sourcing an original Truman’s yeast kept in stasis for nearly 60 years. Phipps, too, is edging nearer to authenticity by moving back to Northampton where, from this year, it will occupy an old brewery building once owned by a Phipps subsidiary. For all their efforts, are these revived breweries ‘the real thing’, or mere tribute acts? If the latter, they can at least be said to have more heart than European lager brands brewed in the UK.
WOULDN’T IT BE NICE...
Ray Bailey: I’d like to see the return of West Country brewery Starkey, Knight & Ford, which was taken over by Whitbread and disappeared in 1970. My Dad talks about SK&F XXX mild which he drank as a young man. I’d love to know how it tasted.” Jessica Boak: “I’d like to see beer being made again at the old Courage Brewery at Tower Bridge, having once been lucky enough to taste a 1983 Imperial Russian Stout.”
THE AUTHORS
Jessica and Ray write Boak & Bailey’s Beer Blog and their book, Brew Britannia: The Strange Rebirth of British Beer, was published in June 2014: boakandbailey.com
WE’RE A LITTLE BREWER, AND A LITTLE UNUSUAL. WE MATURE OUR BEER WITH OAK, PRODUCING UNIQUE FLAVOURS AND A RANGE OF BEERS THAT ARE FINDING FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD (TOUCH WOOD) FIND US ON
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FEELING THE H Designing and brewing a beer as a commercial proposition is harder than you
‘WE WERE TRYING – DESPERATELY, AGONISINGLY – TO DECIDE ON A BEER NAME AND A RECIPE’ 34 Craft Beer Rising Magazine
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ight of us sat in the room, racking our exhausted brains. “You have one hour, ladies and gentlemen, the clock is ticking,” spoke a voice from the head of the table. “We’ll put it to another vote,” croaked a voice opposite. “OK. Are we all ready? We’ve got to nail it. We’re running out of time.” It sounds like a scene from Westminster Village – politicians trying to push through critical legislation. In fact, it’s a description of a group trying – desperately, agonisingly – to decide on a recipe and name for a new beer. Designing a brew The eight of us were on Everards’ Gold Course – a workshop designed by the Leicestershire brewer to give its pub tenants unrivalled beer knowledge. Over three days, the course – run by Everards head of quality control Mark Tetlow and head brewer Graham Giblett – teaches you about brewing and beer cellar management, and the main bit involves creating a beer from scratch and brewing it yourself at a microbrewery. You must come up with a beer concept, recipe and name. And that’s what had stumped us. We’d reached stalemate over what we wanted our beer to look and taste like. Argument over final product is something most brewers and beer marketing teams know well. But for me, this debate was fascinating. I’d thought that designing a brew with a few fellow beer lovers would be easy. But I’d
The course involved learning how to manage a beer cellar as well as brew your own beer
Craft Beer Rising Magazine 35
BREWING forgotten how hard design by committee can be. I’d also failed to consider that six people on the course would be pub tenants. They were going buy this beer with their own money and sell it to their customers. When cash is on the line, the mind gets sharpened. And for me, this was the beauty of Everards’ Gold Course. It provided insights into the challenges of commercial brewing by posing this question: if you had to put your hardearned into a beer, what would you brew? The world of commerce We could have all thought, sod it, let’s brew something crazy, but we ended up with a different mindset. Commercial concerns entered our thinking. Who did we want our beer to appeal to – traditional real ale lovers or more experimental craft beer drinkers? Should it be high ABV, or low ABV to appeal to as many people as possible? Light or dark? Should we risk using speculative ingredients like coriander and ginger? And what about the name and pump clip? These questions dog commercial brewers day in, day out. Being in that room felt like I was experiencing a microcosm of the beer industry. It’s easy to ask yourself what beer you like to drink. Asking yourself what you’d choose to brew commercially is an entirely different question. Something else Everards’ Gold Course threw into sharp relief was how passionate people get about beer. No
Mission control at Everards Brewery
The production line
‘GETTING ALL FIRED UP ABOUT A other food or drink product fires folk up so much. Beer fans have strong opinions about what’s ‘right’ and what’s ‘wrong’. Some say ‘proper’ beer has to come out of a cask. Others argue that true ‘craft’ beer can’t be mass produced. Hops and malt must be well balanced, say one group. Wrong, says another, balanced beers are boring. Bloody hell, this is too bland. Stone the crows, that’s too extreme. And so on. To a dispassionate
HOW EVERARDS DESIGN THEIR BEERS “We don’t have a formal model for designing our beers,” says Everards head brewer Graham Giblett. “It’s different each time and involves the brewing team, plus the sales and marketing teams. Sometimes we start with a name and sometimes we start with an idea based on market research. But ultimately it’s the head
18 Craft 36 CraftBeer BeerRising Rising2014 Magazine
The brew room at Everards in Leicestershire
brewer’s decision. As an example, with Whakatu [a seasonal brew], the sales team suggested we create a light, golden ale. We used Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand, which gave hints of gooseberry and kiwi flavours. The name came about when we discovered that the Maori name for the region of Nelson where
Everards head brewer Graham Giblett
s Don’t mis r e e B ft Cra ondon Rising L see – 15 0 2 p44
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UT A BEVERAGE IS ODD, RIGHT?’ observer, this must seem odd. So why does it raise such passions? It might have something to do with the fact that, as we discovered on the Gold Course, from four ingredients it’s possible to create a final product with infinite variations. You can create an entire spectrum of styles and flavours just by changing what you do with those four ingredients a tiny bit. But as we sat around that table there was more to our
Nelson Sauvin hops originate is ‘Whakatu’.” Everards’ Gold Course provides a good way for the brewer to experiment. It has even led to some regular Everards’ beers such as Regimental IPA, which began life as an idea brought to the course by beer writer Pete Brown. Pete wanted to recreate an original 19th century IPA recipe he had discovered. Everards’ Mark
Tetlow recalls: “In some ways that Gold Course IPA was a disaster – it was a nice beer but we only ended up with two casks out of 40 brewed. The rest exploded due to the sheer amount of hops forcing themselves out of the cask bungs! But in other ways it was a triumph because it led to us honing the recipe and eventually coming up with Regimental IPA, which has been a real success.”
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Why beer is special Over the years – if we’re lucky– we subconsciously associate beer with good times, celebrations and friends, so it occupies a special place in our minds. Beer punctuates the journey of our lives. From the moment we see mum and dad drinking it when we are little (when we are also amazed at how foul it tastes), many of us start to form a bond with beer, and it becomes important to us.
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indecision than being flummoxed by too much choice, like kids in a giant sweet shop. There was passion too. Which led me to question why beer lovers get emotionally attached to their favourite drink. I mean, getting fired up about a beverage is odd, isn’t it? Well, not really.
The final brew In the end, after performing many U-turns, we reached a conclusion. Our Gold Course brew would be called Synergy, so named because it’d be the perfect blend of styles and ingredients. It would be a 6% ABV chestnut-brown beer brewed with maris otter malt supplemented with wheat, crystal malt and oats. We would use plenty of magnum, summer and goldings hops, plus ginger and coriander. Three days later we reconvened at the Brunswick Inn’s 10-barrel microbrewery in Derby to brew 2,390 pints of Synergy. Under the guidance of Brunswick Brewing Company’s James Salmon, we got our hands dirty mashing in the grain and adding the hops. And the finished product? A very drinkable and interesting beer – 5.6%, moreish, subtley flavoured with coriander and gently warmed by the ginger. It was a little sweet perhaps, but well worth that toecurling design-by-committee session. Now, whenever I drink a beer, I think about its journey from field to glass. I make an effort to consider the thought and investment the brewery has put into its creation. I imagine the debates it has fired and try to remember that there’s far more to brewing than making beers you like to drink yourself.
Craft Beer Rising Magazine 37
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Westside Drinks’ George MacNicol Some of the (right) and Jordan Mace Westside range
WESTSIDE DRINKS
Westside Drinks provides bars and pubs with iconic beer and cider brands Westside Drinks represents and distributes premium drinks brands throughout the UK. We have a ‘best in class’ portfolio and our mission is to provide choice and quality to customers. Westside Drinks was born out of Fuller’s Brewery in London, who have more than 165 years of brewing and retailing experience. We benefit from Fuller’s exceptional support network and can offer industry-leading support, knowledge, and insight.
Westside Drinks carefully selects beer partners from around the world to create a unique portfolio of draught and bottled products. Our range is
available direct, or via one of our wholesale partners. To discuss your range or receive a free mixed case of samples, contact us on the details below.
THE WESTSIDE RANGE
Westside’s George MacNicol (right) and Jordan Mace
> Frontier Lager > Black Cab Stout > Bengal Lancer IPA > Sierra Nevada > Chimay > Cornish Orchards > Veltins
George MacNicol on 07919 326 515 (george.macnicol@westsidedrinks.co.uk) or Jordan Mace on 07810 771 473 (jordan.mace@westsidedrinks.co.uk) Follow us on Twitter: @ Westside_Drinks
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MEET THE BREWERS
One Irish and one American beer maker, each with a fascinating history
FRANCISCAN WELL
C
ork, Ireland, has a long brewing history, so Franciscan Well founder Shane Long knew that standing out was always going to be a challenge. Perhaps the fact that his craft brewery sits on a Franciscan monastery and well dating back to 1219 has helped give it some of its allure. Shane started the brewery in 1998 with a desire to turn his passion for great beer into a career. Over time, he started experimenting, giving out samples and refining his recipes along the way. Today, the brewery combines modern technology and Irish tradition to create classic beer styles like
lager, ale, stout and wheat beer. While innovation is important to Franciscan Well, it’s the traditional brewing techniques that have helped maintain its authenticity and love amongst locals. All Franciscan Well beers are natural – they don’t contain any chemical additives or preservatives and aren’t pasteurised or micro-filtered, so they retain that real brewery fresh flavour and condition. The flagship beers are Rebel Red, a malt-driven Irish red ale balanced by numerous hop varieties, and Shandon Stout, a creamy
Shane Long
Cork-style dry stout with the roasted malt character that defines this classic style. Following its success in its home country and in Scotland, Franciscan Well has now launched in London, and has big plans for the rest of Britain.
BLUE MOON BREWING CO
B
lue Moon Brewing Co prides itself on its artistic approach. Founder Keith Villa says: “We carefully select quality ingredients. Then we spend time making test batches until we arrive at a balanced, flavourful beer.” Blue Moon is renowned for innovation, often experimenting with unconventional flavours to meet ever-changing tastes. Limited releases in recent years have included Blackberry Tart Ale, Peanut Butter Beer and ‘Wine-Beer’ Vintage Blonde Ale (8.5% ABV), brewed with malted wheat and Chardonnay grapes. Keith Villa began his beer career studying brewing at the
40 Craft Beer Rising Magazine
University of Brussels in Belgium, and he is now one of a handful of people in the US with a doctorate in brewing. His first interpretation was Belgian White, which was launched in 1995 and is now one of the fastestgrowing beers in America. Keith wanted to make a beer inspired by the full-flavoured Belgian witbiers he enjoyed while studying in Brussels. Witbiers often have herbal, citrusy flavours and aromas, due to the curaçao orange peel traditionally used. Keith opted to use Valencia orange peel instead, to create a
subtle sweetness. It was then decided that the beer should be enhanced with an orange slice to heighten the citrus aroma and taste, contrary to the lemon wedge which is regularly served with wheat beers. Oats and wheat were added to create a smooth, creamy finish.
Keith Villa
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Westside Drinks’ George MacNicol Westside Drinks’ George MacNicol (right) and Jordan Mace (right) and Jordan Mace
BEAR HUG BREWING
London’s Bear Hug Brewing want to turn everyone on to great beer Bear Hug Brewing Co launched at Craft Beer Rising London in Febuary 2014 and have come a long way quickly. They aim to “make beer for everybody” by being a ‘gateway brand’ for new drinkers, while also appealing to experienced beer lovers. Their first brew – Hibernation White IPA – was made by extracting the normal strain of yeast found in a wheat beer (which gives banana and clove flavours), replacing it with a neutral American yeast and then dry-hopping with citra, chinook and target hops. Hibernation is rare as it has the distinctive flavour of an IPA but with the body and look (cloudy) of a
traditional wheat beer. Spirit Pale Ale has since followed, with Bruno Lager due to land soon. BearHug call themselves “hobo brewers” – they’re without a home for the time being – so they work with other brewers and use their kit to create their unique recipes. Hibernation IPA and Spirit Pale Ale are made with Eddie Gadd at Ramsgate Brewery, and Bruno, their double-hopped pilsner (their own recipe), is being made in a 400-yearold brewery in Austria.
With a pop-up bar in conjunction with Burger Bear in London’s Stoke Newington (Stokey Bear) coming soon, and Bear Hug beers now available in the capital at places like Hackney Picture House, Made Bar (Camden Roundhouse), The Culpeper, Ivy House, Flying Pig, and a new listing for Hibernation with Punch Taverns, it’s exciting times for this new brewery. In retail, Bear Hug beers can be found at Clapton Craft, Bottle Dog Kings Cross and The Ale Shop, Twickenham.
GET IN TOUCH: Bearhugbrewing.com, facebook/bearhugbrewing, @bearhugbrewco – for more information contact Matt on 07870 679725 or email matt@bearhugbrewing.com
Don’t miss...
CRAFT BEER RISING LONDON 2015! W
TV’s Oz Clarke loved every minute Mr Scruff on the ones and twos
From Suffolk with love
hat a party it was! Craft Beer Rising London 2014 took place at The Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane on February 21-23. Over 4,500 people attended, plus 65 breweries, 402 beers, several world-class DJs and musicians and some brilliant street food producers. The pictures opposite give you a flavour. Don’t miss it in 2015!
Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane
CBR LONDON 2015: FEBRUARY 19-22, OLD TRUMAN BREWERY, BRICK LANE – TICKETS FROM CRAFTBEERRISING.CO.UK 44 Craft Beer Rising Magazine
Around 4,500 people came to CBR London 2014
A pout and a pint
The sport of cheese and beer matching
Straight outta Wales... the Brains Brewery girls They came bearing gifts from the south coast
Let’s all have a Bear Hug
Happiness in a glass
Truman’s returned to its spiritual home
PHOTO: Tim Schnetgoeke
MUSIC MASH
You are a brewer . . .
DJ Andy Smith – one of the stars of Craft Beer Rising Glasgow – selects beers to match five great tunes
1
Under Mi Sensi by Barrington Levi
I don’t think Mr Levi was referring to it (I’m sure he is referring to, ah, something else!) but I’m more than happy to be Under My SENSI-BULL from Chester’s Pied Bull Brewery (3.8% ABV).
2
Give It Up Or Turn It Loose by James Brown
Now this track makes me think of Loose Cannon Brewery of Oxfordshire’s ABINGDON 251 ALE (4.3%): I’d be yelping and screaming like Soul Brother Number 1 for a pint of that!
3
Cherry Wine by Little Esther
Cherry wine is all well and good, sister, but maybe you should try a cherry ale? Perhaps a BLACK CHERRY MILD by Kissingate Brewery of Sussex (4.2%)?
4
I Get The Sweetest Feeling by Jackie Wilson
Well, you must be on Southbourne Ales of Bournemouth’s SUNBATHER SWEET ALE at 4.0% then Mr Wilson. A good choice sir!
5
Strong Island by JVC Force
These boys from Long Island, NY, should check out THOMAS HARDY’S ALE by Devon’s O’Hanlon Brewery. It’s strong, at 11.7%, but they won’t be displeased if they fancy a proper ale.
. . . you just don’t know it yet. www.BrewCraftBeer.co.uk
46 Craft Beer Rising Magazine
Boutique Beers offers a wide range of beer styles from many different countries. From A - Z, we have easy drinking pilsners, hopped IPA’s, malty porters and many more.Our range has captured the best of UK, USA and beyond. Along with an excellent range of beers, we can also support your outlet with branded Boutique Beers point of sale to help drive your range such as glassware, beer mats and menus designed by our in house team.
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