I Got The Remedy

So last Thursday I was lucky enough to be invited by Sam at Signature Brew to the launch their new beer in collaboration with Professor Green's. Named "Remedy" to co-inside with Hackney rapper Professor Green's new single this was a American inspired Pale Ale made solely with British hops.

Signature Brew are a fairly new brewery that offer musicians the chance to brew their own beers, to date having worked with Craig Finn from The Hold Steady and The Rifles. Signature Brew guide the artists through the whole process from the the development of the beer with testing sessions to help the artists pick out their favourite tastes, to the final brew at Titanic brewery.

My evening didn't start so well after getting lost coming out of the many at Old Street station I ended up walking in the wrong direction for quite some time before I arrived at The Marie Lloyd. The pub it's self is no longer open to the public but is in fact now owned by a PR and Media company for such events but it's self is still a lovely space, clearly used as an office by day but still manages to keep the a pub feel with brewing related nick nacks on the walls including a signed picture of Michael Barrymore!

The beer itself tastes like a classic American Pale without that familiar hop bite. Remedy however has a great crisp taste huge grapefruit after taste that really grows on you and kept me coming back for more. I'd be really interested to know which hops were used in this beer as the flavour was unexpected fore a beer brewed solely with British Hops.

After several bottles I got to talk to Professor Green about his beer and he came across very enthusiastic yet concerned that people wouldn't like it! But he couldn't be more wrong, I'd like to think I'm not a fan of gimmicks or things that are used as promotional tools but this is a good beer. The guys at Signature Brew clearly have a lot of knowledge and passion in what they are doing and this comes across in Remedy from the beer and the bottle it comes in. I look forward to finding out who they're working with next!

To find out more about the making of Remedy check out this video or if you want to get your hands on some Remedy then head over to www.gottheremedy.com

Punk AGM

So Tom and I headed up to Aberdeen for the Equity for Punks AGM last weekend!

Here are a few photos from the event.....

BrewDog Aberdeen

Mashing In

Queue Dogs

New Brewery

Scamps!

Musa

Brewery

Original Branding

Bottling 5am Saint

Fermenting Vessles 

Bottling Up

Brew Sheet

The Brewery

Out to Sea

From a far

Pomme

So on Thursday last week, I was invited to a tutored Cider tasting at the Euston Cider Tap, courtesy of Google Places. Having previously visited the Cider Tap's sister bar across the road several times, This was my first trip into the world of all things apples!

The night started with a glass of Kir Normand, a cocktail aperitif made with Normandy cider and cassis. As the other attendee's began to arrive the tasting got under-way. Starting off with an introduction to the evening an brief description of how cider is brewed from Charles Roberts the head brewer at Pickled Pig Cider.

The tasting was started with Calvados - Christian Drouin 3% ABV, a fruity and rich tasting unpasteurised French cider. Served along side an amazing Calvados Camembert cheese. After a the Camembert was devoured Charles talked us through his range of Ciders, starting with a traditional farmhouse cider; Pickled Pig - Old Spot - 6.5% ABV brewed naturally using three varieties of apple all grown locally to the Cambridgeshire farm. The naturally found yeast used in the fermentation gives this cider a tannic and acidic taste not dissimilar to those of a Lambic.

Next we were introduced to Pickled Pig - Rum Cask - 6.0% ABV. Slowly fermented and stored in an oak rum barrel imported from the Caribbean. This cider again had a sour tannic taste this time with a phenolic taste drawn from the rum that had previously been matured in the cask. Charles then went on to explain how the Cider would soon be changing its name to Saddle Back as a resort to meet the new laws imposed by customs and excise!

The tasting then moved to the several sparkling ciders on offer, Lilleys - Fire Dancer - 4.5% ABV described as "A traditional cloudy cider, with a rich rosy colour and full of flavour." I however thought it was heavily over carbonated and was all to similar to the more commonly found commercial ciders.

Sandford Orchards -Shaky Bridge - 6% This has a much stronger taste of apple and was much more palatable, but after several ciders my notes are somewhat lacking!

Aware that is was a school night we made plans to leave, but these where soon stifled, as we were offered a glass of Millwhites - Rioja Cask - 6.7%. With its pink hue drawn from its time in the red wine barrels, this was one of the most interesting ciders we had tasted with hints of oak tannin and warming overall sweetness. And with that the evening and my first foray into cider was over.

The Euston Cider Tap, is the only dedicated Cider bar that I'm aware of in London which is surprising since apparently we're now a nation of cider drinkers. Although I suspect this more than likely the type of cider served over ice!  If more pubs offered at least one craft or real cider, I for one would now be more inclined to move away from ales & beers every now and then. However there's still a long way for craft/real Cider to go before it can break the stereotype The Wurzels have set!

Living For The Weekend...

It's been a quiet start to 2012 on the beer front (and the blogging one), but a few weeks ago me and my good friend Moppo had a wee stroll down to tower bridge on a Friday night.As such here's his first foray into blogging....

First stop was the Dean Swift, which is located on Gainsford Street, near Tower Bridge. The pub describes itself as a ‘local beer house’, which is a fairly accurate description. Busy but not packed, the Swift is a small space with a mixed clientele: suits mixing with a smattering of trendy young people (and that was just me and Ford). The Dean Swift also boasts a very knowledgeable bar staff, each of whom was willing and able to offer recommendations among the array of pumps on the bar, and the multitude of bottled beers behind it.

First beer of the night for me was the Rooster’s Cream(4.7%), seasonal pale ale from North Yorkshire, brewed in Harrogate using hops from the States. As its name suggests, it is smooth and creamy on the tongue, with hints of vanilla, with a citrus finish. A really drinkable pint, I would have happily stayed on this all night.

From the Rooster’s, I moved on to Nibiru IPA (6.3%), brewed by Arbor Ales in Bristol. This is a really fruity beer: I’d almost say tropical, if that didn’t put me in mind of Um Bongo... Unlike that juice drink consumed in the congo, Nibiru is also bloody strong: a great supping beer.

At Tom’s suggestion, we then moved onto the bottled stuff. For me, this meant a bottle of Southern Cross India Pale Ale (7.3%), brewed in SE1 by The Kernel brewery, which had to be fetched from upstairs: too good to sell to the punters? At first taste it has a sharp, spicy quality, and it is dry, with a fruity bitterness at the back of the throat at the finish. A really great tasting beer, and a good note to finish on.

From the Dean Swift it was a short meander to The Draft House, itself only a very short trundle from Tower Bridge. You’ll forgive me for not describing the pub in huge detail, as by this point I was a fairly refreshed young man, but the main thing that struck me with regard to the décor was the Ghostbusters wallpaper on the way to the facilities. Pubs of Great Britain take note: you can do far worse than festoon your interiors with classic 80s film references, even if it is in the form of children’s wall decorations.

Choosing what beer to drink based purely on its name and how that name resonates with you at a certain stage of your Friday night probably isn’t a great plan, but it did lead me to try a bottle of Titan IPA. Brewed and bottled by the Great Divide Brewing Company in Colorado, it is a potent 7.1% ABV. In the glass, Titan has a deep amber colouration, with a small head (if you pour it properly). On the nose there’s a strong pine aroma, and on the tongue there’s a mixture of citrus hops, closing with a bitter finish which borders on sweet.  I just need to apologise to Tom for how much it cost…

Tom: No problem Moppo! Pleasure was all mine! 

1 Year on

• 27 Blog posts
• Over 100 Twitter followers
• God knows how many beers!
• 8 shares bought in Brew Dog
• Trip to Rome
• Trip to Russia
• Trip to Copenhagen
• Trip to Edinburgh
• 6 Beer Festivals
• 3 Pub Crawls

It's not been a bad year!

EdinBeer

As per usual it's taken me far too long to get this blog up, but after being hassled by a friend I've finally collated my notes and memories together! Myself and Christine headed off to Edinburgh in late November for a long weekend of site seeing and of course beer drinking.
Our first experience almost tarnished the whole trip. Aimlessly walking about the old town looking for a good pub for lunch, tiredness got the better of us and so we stumbled in to the nearest place. As soon as our food arrived, we realised the error we'd made! And so the bar was set (albeit low) by The Castle Arms!

But we this wasn't going to a problem to beat, knowing that the Brew Dog bar was only a short walk away. Perfectly positioned just off from the Royal Mile on Cowgate we popped in the next day for a well earned drink after a days site seeing! At the time this was the first time I'd visited a Brew Dog bar and I was fairly intrigued as to what the experience would be. As you walk in you're instantly greeted with the bold statement "No Football! No shots! No Stella!" and that sums Brew Dog up pretty well. The bar's stripped back appearance was great leading to the cosy informal atmosphere and with Biffy Clyro's greatest hits playing in the background, we grabbed a beer. Christine was excited at the chance to reacquaint herself with Tokyo* 18.2% ABV having tasted it around the time of its original hype laden launch. I plumped for the rather disappointing Christmas Porter 6.2% ABV which tasted all too similar to its parent beer Alice Porter and for me offered no seasonal spiced notes that it promised.

We returned to the bar late one evening with the place bustling, full of people. The bar had taken on a completely different vibe, with the draft and guest beers having changed from the day before I tried the prototype beer Hops Kill ? 7.8% ABV as well as treating my self to a expensive bottle of Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout 7.5% ABV.Chatting away to people on other tables about their beers it was great to see the craft beer scene was so popular.

Two off the other fantastic pubs among several we visited both severed Ale in the traditional Scottish method, using tall founts. These use air pressure driven by a water engine to push the beer through the tap instead of the English hand pump method.

One of these; Thomson's was only a few doors down from where we were staying and had a great selection of beers and whiskeys on offer. The cosy wood clad bar based on the designs of the architect Alexander 'Greek' Thomson, was busy when we popped in one night. Offering an extensive array of single malt whiskies as well as Scottish ales from Arran, Fyne, Cairngorm and Caledonian (when we visited). Thomson's is a great pub, full of regulars and those stopping in on their way to Haymarket station!

Bow Bar

Blink and you'd miss Bow Bar hidden on  West Bow a small winding street below the famous Edinburgh Castle and Royal Mile. The single room bar had been voted Edinburgh's best Whiskey bar, but also gave great attention to its ales with 8 taps and well stocked international bottle list to match . Its walls adored with old Brewery Mirrors from Scotland's brewing past. The barman was highly knowledgeable about his whisky, helping and advising the group of tourists humming and haring over the 200 plus Malt's on offer. He also had great passion for the beer and spent a great while explaining the workings of the Scottish tall founts serving the ale. We popped in to Bow Bar several time during our stay in Edinburgh, trying several of the ever changing ales, including: Stewart’s Edinburgh No 3 4.3% ABV (a scotch ale), Darkstar Green Hopped IPA 6.5% ABV, Elland 1872 Porter 6.5% ABV & Fyne Highlander 4.8% ABV. If you're visiting Edinburgh I'd definitely recommend popping in for a wee dram and pint, you wont be disappointed.

The final pub that deserves a mention is The Cafe Royal, based in the New Town off the main shopping precinct Princes Street, The Cafe Royal is a pub like no other, upon entering I was taken aback at the grandeur of the fittings! With a spectacular ornate ceiling, chandeliers, stain glass windows, mirrors and large island bar, (although decked in rather early Christmas decorations). The main feature are the six pictures on the wall of the bar painted by John Eyre and manufactured as tiles by Doultons. Each show inventors, at the moment of their discovery. With 3 or 4 Scottish ales on offer and yet again a wide whisky selection, drinking in The Cafe Royal gives you an opportunity to enjoy a drink in decadence.  

We had a great trip to Edinburgh and managed to do an awful lot in a long weekend. The views from Arthur's Seat were spectacular and the Castle offered a great day out. It was also pleasing to get the chance to sample so many Scottish beers, it's great to see that Scottish pubs and restaurants are proud to sell their countries beers!

A Tale of Two Beer Festivals

October was a rather busy month for me on the Beer Festival front, with the JD Wetherspoons self proclaimed "Worlds biggest Real Ale & Cider Festival" running for over 3 weeks. As well two contrasting local festivals; Wallington and Wandsworth.

Wallington Beer Festival in full swing

The differences between the two were vast, first up was Croydon & Sutton CAMRA's 18th beer festival hosted in the slightly dilapidated Wallington Hall. With a emphasis on the LocALE campaign with over 50 real ales on offer from 27 different breweries coming within 30 miles of the venue! I first attended the Wallington festival year and had a great time despite being noticeably the youngest person in attendance and this year was no difference! The festival seemed quieter this year but that meant being served at one of the 3 bars was never going to be a problem.

Perched next to a Sambrooks Powerhouse Porter 4.9% ABV pump-clip and having missed out on this first of Sambrooks seasonal ales last year it seemed wrong not to try it. Sticking to the Porters next up was Botanist Night Porter 5.0% ABV, having never come across the Kew based microbrewery before I was delighted with this traditional porter. With a malty caramel nose and a lovely smokey roasted taste, I'll be sure to look out for more Botanist beers in the future.
Other highlights were Westerham's Little Scotney Green Hop 4.0% ABV brewed from hops from the National Trust's hop farm at Scotney Castle, But the beer that got my taste buds tingling was Brodies Kiwi 3.8% ABV. A wonderful golden ale laced with Nelson Sauvin hops giving a hoppy sweet long bitter after taste.
Although the festival is always friendly, I feel just feel something else is lacking, some entertainment to break things up a bit or maybe just a change of venues would breath more life into the festival.

On the other hand Wandsworth Common's Halloween Beer festival was a different experience. Set in the amazing Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, which has seen a number of uses over its 150 years including a field hospital for the soldiers of the First World War & as a base for the secret services during the Second World War, including the interment of the Nazi politician Rudolf Hess. Although not run by CAMRA, members did receive discount. Offering 90 ales including Darkstar, Thornbridge and Sarah Hughes. However despite the promotional posters listing Brew Dog, a note in the program detailed the organisers choice to not server their beers, due to the fact "Brew Dog in their infinite wisdom have decided to produce their portfolio of beers in bottle and in keg only". This is the downside to Brew Dogs choice but I'll leave that for another blog and another day.

Myself and Tom (again the other one) were pleased to see five Thornbridge beers on offer including the brilliant St. Petersberg Stout, however the new Sequoia American Amber Ale 4.5% ABV was my choice with a citrusy pine flavour and a lovely balanced bitter after-taste.
With two more friends joining us we returned to the bar this time I tried Art Brew - Blackberry Stout 4.6% ABV. I'm still not sure if I actually liked this beer, tasting somewhat like a Guinness and black. The blackcurrant's really over powered the expected smokey taste of stout leaving you with an unexpected sweet after-taste.

As the courtyard started to fill up with people it was clear that the festival had attracted a much more diverse crowd than Wallington, with several groups of younger people quaffing the ales and ciders the bars soon became a free for all and it became increasingly difficult to be served. Maybe it was the Green Jack- Baltic Trader Imperial Stout 10.5% ABV but I didn't seem to mind the wait. This beer packs a punch as you would expect for an Imperial Stout , with a slight mocha after-taste. I'll try to get hold of a bottle as it would be more sorted to a quiet night when it can be sipped leisurely.
The other highlight was Redemption Brewery - Big Chief 5.5% ABV a brilliant IPA packed full of New Zealand hops offering a unmistakable citrus flavour, I love beers like this but it slightly felt out of place on a dark, wet October night!

Overall October has been a great month for trying new beers, with three festivals showcasing some of the countries top breweries. The contrast in the attitude and environment environment of the two events I attended, suggest to me that CAMRA still needs to work on their image, while the beers are starting to speak for themselves.