Beermeister Abroad: in the USA!

 

This blog includes information and photographs shared with me by my brother (he doesn't want his face included so you'll just see bits of him in this blog 😉) and by his wife Shirin, many thanks to them as I haven't crossed the Atlantic for many years! The image above with Beermeister cap was taken earlier in the year on the opposite side of the U.S.A. to where the rest of the photographs were taken (except that immediately below) with Tom's Restaurant (website) in the background, used as the outside of the fictional Monk's Cafe in the television comedy series Seinfeld (youtube). Also the inspiration for Suzanne Vega's song Tom's Diner (youtube).

The first cap is an older model, I no longer have that domain, but the latest Beermeister cap is in the image immediately above, crossing over to Gibraltar from Africa, they do get around! 😉

So, to Dan and Shirin's more recent visit to the U.S.A. where they started off in California and drove up the West Coast and back. I'm not sure of the route they took exactly, but I'm recreating it as from North to South when dealing with the breweries, beers and bars below. The photograph above includes Mount Shasta, California, in the background (website).

Bar-wise (and brewery-wise) I'm starting with Fort George Brewery (and Pub), 1483 Duane Street, Astoria, Oregon 97103 (website), excuse the lighting in these images, they arrived quite late in the day I believe, and consequently were hungry, see next image! 😁 

And so a hearty meal was enjoyed, plus a glass or two of Fort George 3-Way IPA (7.0%); more of further down, as 4 cans were brought back as part of their gift for me, cheers! 👍

Whilst in Astoria they also visited the, very close by, Astoria Brewing Company, 144 11th Street, Astoria, Oregon 97103 (facebook); either earlier in the day, or on another day (as it's brighter in this photograph). Here, whilst overlooking the Columbia River, Dan drank the Astoria IPA (6.8%), brewed with Citra (hopslist) and El Dorado (hopslist) hops, consequently packed with citrus and tropical fruit flavours, and enjoyed immensely I'm told! 👌

The next 4 photographs were taken back in California at Kern River Brewing Company, 13415 Sierra Way, Kernville CA 93238 (website), including the 2 colourful hanging tin advertising signs shown above (Isabella Blonde) and below (IPA).

Shirin drank the Kern River Lovely Kettle Sour (4.7%). I cannot find out what hops are used in the brew, but it appears it's flavoured with raspberries. Shirin described it as "quite light, tart and fruity, and delicious" - she obviously enjoyed it, cheers Shirin! 🍷

Dan drank the Kern River Lhazy River IPA (7.0%), brewed with Mosaic (hopslist), Citra (hopslist), and Amarillo (hopslist), hops. Look at those hops! Consequently very fruity, including orange and mango, 'hazy' as described in the title, and a 'New England' style of IPA. Dan told me he enjoyed it, as people will be aware I'm not a hazy beer drinker, but hey ho! 😏

The next beer was imbibed outside a bar at Venice Beach, Los Angeles, they didn't tell me the name of the bar when sending the photograph, oh well, never mind, but I do know the beer and its origin! It was from Old Stump Brewing Co of Pomona, California (website), and their 5.8% slightly hazy Mosey Cat IPA, brewed with Mosaic hops (hopslist), after which it is named. Another 'New England' style of IPA and, unsurprisingly, knowing that hop, very fruity.

Finally, I reach the beer I have actually imbibed, and alluded to above, Fort George (website) 3-Way IPA (7.0%), a collaboration with 2 other breweries, apparently each year they collaborate with 2 different breweries and uses different recipes. 2025 is a collaboration with Mirage Beer of Seattle (website) and Sunriver Brewing of Oregon (website).

The 2025 3-Way IPA is brewed with Krush aka HBC 586 (Yakima Chief Hops), Waimea (hopslist), and Nelson Sauvin (hopslist) hops; the website also suggests hops including Columbus (hopslist) and Strata (Indie Hops) are used too. Another 'New England' style IPA, but I carefully poured the beer out of the can, so it wasn't as hazy for me; if you enjoy hazier beers I suggest shaking the can when there's just a wee bit of beer left in it for full lumpiness 😉Anyway, it was packed full of citrus and tropical fruitiness, with a nice slightly bitter dry finish, I liked it! 

You should have noticed that I drank the 3-Way IPA out of another pressie from Dan and Shirin, a Kern River glass, many thanks once again bro and sis, cheers m'dears! 🍻

And A Couple More...

That is, a couple more cans 😉beginning with one from Brewdog (website), and their 4.3% Wingman, "The Eagle has Landed" Session IPA, brewed with Ahtanum (hopslist), Chinook (hopslist), Citra (hopslist), Mosaic (hopslist), Simcoe (hopslist), and HBC 692 (Yakima Chief) hops. With those hops you would expect plenty of flavour, and you would be right. 👍 Pale golden, with a big fruity aroma, notably pineapple and grapefruit, and tasting of tropical and citrus fruits, in particular peach and grapefruit, light and dry, with a bitter finish, not bad at all. 😁

AND, another AF beer in a tin, this one from Beavertown (website), their 0.3% Lazer Crush Alcohol Free IPA, brewed with Amarillo (hopslist), Azacca (hopslist), and Citra (hopslist) hops. Similarly, you would expect plenty of flavour with those hops, despite the lack of strength, and potentially lack of body, but I was quite surprised! It comes out of the can slightly cloudy, is very pale, and has a big fruity aroma, and grapefruit/lemon citrus taste, with a dry refreshing crisp finish. I wrote "not bad actually" and the best alcohol free IPA/APA I've had, cheers folks! 👍

Lakedown Brewing Co

The first of these 4 beers was imbibed at the Jenny Lind, 69 High Street, Hastings TN34 3EW (see blog which includes more information about the Jenny Lind etc). That is, from Lakedown Brewing Co (website), their 4.2% Wits' End, which, as I can find nothing about it anywhere, I am guessing was their Kicking Donkey rebadged for the Hastings Comedy Festival earlier this year. Whatever, Wits' End, which I'm not quite at yet, 😉 is a Best Bitter, and my notes suggest it does what it says on the label, it is a traditional, slightly malty, best bitter. If it is Kicking Donkey, the hops used were Pioneer, Cascade and Jester and all grown in England, Kent presumably, but it wasn't particularly hoppy, but then, reviews for Kicking Donkey suggest similar too, and I wouldn't bet against it being any different. Probably! 😏

The first of the 3 cans from Lakedown was their 5.7% Harmonium India Pale Ale, brewed with Cascade (hopslist), Centennial (hopslist), Chinook (hopslist) and Citra hops (hopslist), and finished off with Amarillo hops added at the end of the brew (hopslist). These hops make it an APA style essentially, but it's a bit darker than a typical APA, indeed, a deep copper colour, much more like a traditional IPA! Sorry, I'm trying not to get confused, despite the styles being confused, like 'fusion' brewing! Hints of tropical and citrus fruits, quite light and easy to drink, with a slightly dry bitter finish, with those hops and strength you'd expect a bit more to it, but deceptively easy to knock back, not bad at all, I'd love to try a cask version. 👌

Next I go to something much darker, their 4.8% Marquee, an American Stout From their subtitle I'll take an informed guess that hops from the USA were used when brewing this ale, but Lakedown appear to be shy about sharing the hops used! 😕 Whatever, because it is dark, as you can see in the image above, and rich and smooth, you catch the flavours from the malts used rather than from hops unsurprisingly. It has a quite subtle dark chocolate and coffee aroma, with roasted malt and dark chocolate more prominent in the taste, not bad...

Finally their 0.5% 'Alcohol Free' Sound AF, described as 'American' and a 'Juicy Pale' so presumably hops from the USA are used, but again, they're shy of sharing which hops! It pours a bit cloudy, but does have a big fruity aroma, and a subtle fruity taste, but it thins out as the glass goes down, with a dry finish. However, not bad though, for an AF beer. 😏

My guess is that the hops used aren't shared for the AF and the American Stout because they change a bit, just a thought, anyway, have fun folks, cheers! 😁

London Beer Flood 1814

As I usually report annually, the London Beer Flood was a tragic event that happened close to what is now the Dominion Theatre in Tottenham Court Road, in London's West End, occurring on the 17th of October 1814; some reports record this tragedy to have happened the day before, but evidence supporting the 17th as the anniversary looks stronger (HistoryUK).

In those days, London's beer drinkers were supplied by dozens of competing breweries, and some breweries built enormous vats in which to ferment and condition their ales. Indeed, the enormous porter vat of Meux & Company had a capacity of over a million pints! At about 6pm, on the 17th of October 1814, one of the steel restraining bands that encircled that gigantic vat broke and released its contents. Together with the million plus pints of porter released from this vat, other vessels in the brewery were also damaged, consequently releasing even more beer into the flood. The resulting deluge damaged the brewery and a nearby pub, the Tavistock Arms and, sadly, flooded the basements of nearby homes...

Depending on which reports you read, between 7 and 9 people died as a direct result of the flood over 200 years ago, most of them drowning in their own basements, and many more were seriously injured, including some of those who came to help rescue survivors... 

R.I.P. to those who sadly died in their own homes. 😢

I can't find the original sources for the photographs, apologies to them for not referencing. 

October Whisky of the Month

Another Scottish whisky this month, Chivas Regal 12 (40% - website), and another whisky I'd often bought for my grandad as a present, which I mentioned earlier this year (blog), a blend of malt and grain Speyside whiskies, and at a good valued price! Among Scottish single malts, I mostly prefer Speyside whiskies, so they already have smoother whiskies to start off with, and then the blend has been matured in a combination of casks for 12 years, consequently, why the Chivas Regal 12 is so easy to drink!

This has an aroma combining honey, vanilla, herbs, cinnamon, pears and toffee, and tastes of butterscotch with a hint of tropical fruits, oak, and hazel and walnuts, from the ageing process in casks presumably, and very rich and smooth with a slightly spicy finish. Best served over a cube of ice, or with a few drops of water, which helps bring out the flavours. I really like this, and so glad I was buying a quality whisky for Grandad, who appreciated it too, sláinte!

Hastings Tap Takeover On NOW!

Indeed, Hastings Tap Takeover 2025 is on this weekend, see the image above for participating venues and the breweries taking over their taps (facebook), cheers folks!

I've already visited the Crown and Jolly Fisherman. 😁

London Circular Walk: Tower & London Bridges

You could start this circular pub walk at either of the bridges, but I've started this blog at Tower Bridge because my favourite drink of the day was imbibed here, twice. 😉 So, behind Tower Bridge Road in a small back street is The Dean Swift, 10 Gainsford Street SE1 2NE (website), open from 12.00 noon every day of the week, until 23.00, excepting Sundays, when it closes at 22.30. The pub was built in the 1850s, and was originally called The Bricklayer's Arms, but was renamed for the Irish satirical writer and cleric, Jonathan Swift, who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin in 1713, hence Dean Swift, although I can find no connection to Swift locally or to the pub. And I've still not been able to finish reading Gulliver's Travels, ever!

This former Truman's pub, now a freehouse, has 20 'craft' beers available, including 2 cask ales and a variety of crafty keg styles. The cask ales were from Sussex brewery Burning Sky and their Plateau (3.5%), an excellent pale ale with hops from New Zealand and the USA (website), and the ale I drank 2 pints of (2 visits, first and fourth), from East London brewery Five Points Brewing (website), their 4.0% XPA, an American Pale Ale style, brewed with Citra (hopslist), Galaxy (hopslist) and Sabro (Hop Breeding Co) hops. This produces a pale beer with plenty of citrus and forest fruits, particularly grapefruit, bitter with a refreshing dry finish, excellent!

This was actually our last pub before heading across London from London Bridge tube station, thus why I drank the cider, as I wasn't sure the 3 ales available would be able to compete with the XPA I'd just drunk, and I had had an extra pint than Paul, so just a half for me. 😏 So, The Raven (website), 218 Tower Bridge Road SE1 4PR (The Dean Swift is virtually around the back of it), which was built on the ramp leading up to Tower Bridge around 1900, and was previously an Adnams pub called The Bridge House, changing its name to The Raven in honour of the Ravens of the Tower of London in 2019, and there's a stuffed raven at one end of the bar! 

And indeed, I had a half pint of a cider from the award winning Sandford Orchards in Devon (website), from their 'Vintage' cider collection they've been developing since 2017, and launched in 2021, the 8.4% The General, named after Sandford's Ten Thousand Gallon Oak Vat built in the 19th century, and now used for ageing their ciders! A little sweet to start, juicy with nectarine and apple flavours, but slight tannin and sourness to the finish, pretty good!

Simon The Tanner, 231 Long Lane SE1 4PR (website), named after a biblical character, Simon of Joppa, and situated in an area where tanning leather used to be prolific (Southwark News), note nearby Tanner Street too; opens at 16.00 Monday to Thursday, and at 12.00 noon Friday to Sunday. The pub dates back to the 18th century, in 1780 being called Simon of Joppa the Tanner, and it has even been a Shepheard Neame pub since, but it is now now a freehouse.

The only cask ale they had was from Reading brewery Siren Craft Brew (website), their 3.8% Memento, brewed with English hops, not divulged, and dry-hopped with U.S. Cascade hops (hopslist), presumably what makes it a 'modern best bitter.' I have to admit that I didn't really notice the Cascade in the taste, I just thought that it was a pretty basic 'best bitter.'

First and last pub, maybe, and if you've read this all the way through you should get the gist. The Shipwrights Arms, 88 Tooley Street SE1 2TF (website), is a Victorian pub with a wonderful exterior and interior, inside there is a classic central island bar and a tiled mural of shipwrights at work among its features. There was an older pub on the site previously by 1792, the Ship Wright Arms, and it was re-built in 1884, slightly changing the name. They have the handpumps for up to 6 cask ales, but only had 4 different ales when we met up there. 

We both drank the Cornish brewers Sharp's (website) Solar Wave, a 4.6% 'Hazy IPA' brewed with hops from the USA, but the hops are not specified (the pumpclip was askew, by the way, the image is not because of me). Hazy, as they say, not too thick though, and with plenty of tropical fruit flavours, not bad. Sadly for me, what I was interested in drinking was the 4.0% Southwark London Pale Ale, but it was only put on just as we were leaving, life, eh?!? 😒

I admit that my record here looks weird as I arrived in London early, and checked on the pubs and took photographs as I had an hour to spare before meeting up, hence the extra pint too. 🍺 But the order here is a circular rout, wherever you start, and The Shipwrights Arms is just along from London Bridge Station entrance, so the best place to start and/or finish, I suggest.

Of course, we passed other pubs too, but time was short, and we wanted to stay sober!

My favourite of the pubs we visited was The Dean Swift, mostly because the 2 ales available were much more to my taste, and on my first visit I chatted with the manager, who is very knowledgeable about his beers, the locale and its pubs. I was a wee bit disappointed with Simon The Tanner, which was the only one of these pubs I'd visited before, and written about a couple of times, on my previous visits it was a little bit rougher around the edges with interesting stuff on the walls, see my older blog, it's a bit more polished now, and sadly there was only 1 ale available this time. The Raven was a bit noisy for me, but they were setting up for karaoke later in the evening, pleasant enough though, and all the pubs had friendly bar staff. As I pointed out, The Shipwright's Arms is closest to the station, very friendly bar staff, but take note that you are provided plastic 'glasses' to drink from if sitting outside, we stayed by the bar and were served in eccentric glass glasses. 😁 Anyway folks, cheers for now, and until the next time! 🍺