Cask Ales in the USA.

I will perhaps repeat myself here and there, but I just read an article in the Spring 2026 edition of CAMRA's BEER magazine about how 'cool' cask ale is becoming in the USA. I'll write a wee bit about my experiences with ale from the USA, I have written around beers and bars in the USA a few times before, for example regarding the beer writer Michael Jackson (blog), and a friend's bar in Florida, the Brown Dog (blog). The article is called USALE and written by Ruvani de Silva.*

The image above is from Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago (website), which I visited towards the end of the last millennium whilst in Chicago delivering a paper to an academic conference; I had some time off thankfully. 😁 Anyway, I visited this brewpub in what seemed like a middle of nowhere industrial estate. I had had some advice from someone I knew who used to live close by before she moved to England, and her boyfriend, who really was the person I knew, and he had been to Chicago too. Since I visited, Goose Island has grown and been taken over by Anheuser-Busch since 2011: more in the Michael Jackson blog.

At Goose Island I had the choice of quite a number of different British style ales, Stout and Porter, traditional and Extra Strong Bitters, and an IPA/APA or two too, and served from traditional handpull beer engines. So good to see their cask ale variations, and not just at pubs and bars, but at cask ale festivals too. The image above is from the New England Real Ale Exhibition (NERAX), which is in its 25th year, indeed, it was just recently held, 25-28 March 2026 (website). It is also great to see that ales are served in British sized pints at the festival, in 20 fluid ounce glasses, and with other variations, half pints and less. 😕

Ruvani discusses bars and breweries from the East, bars like Jones Wood Foundry, 401 East 76th Street, New York, NY 10021, above (website), to the West, brewpubs like Steeplejack Brewing Company, 2400 NE Broadway, Portland, OR 97232 (website), and down South, Acopon Brewing Company, 211 West Mercer Street, Dripping Springs, TX 78620, image below (website). Jones Wood was established 15 years ago by Englishman Jason Hicks, who has lived in the USA for 30 years, and is an authentic British style bar. His cellar manager Ryan Leonard goes along with the 'cool' assessment of cask ale, stating that the number of women and younger drinkers has definitely increased over the last five to ten years.*

Anna Buxton, Head Brewer at Steeplejack Brewing, agrees that Millennials and Gen Z drinkers are turning to cask ales from stronger 'craft' beers, saying that "historically, a Portland cask ale customer was a middle aged cask enthusiast, drastically different from the new customer I'm seeing, who more consistently is late 20s and early 30s." *

This image of Acopon Brewing Company's brewpub is with thanks to the Destination Dripping Springs website, showing a rather more laid back Texas establishment. 😁 Dave Niemeyer and John McIntosh, the founders, chose to brew British style ales as they are easier for new beer drinkers, but appeal to craft beer drinkers too. John says that "people are very appreciative of the more nuanced flavours, are less bloated than when drinking carbonated beers" and like that more session strength ale "allows them to enjoy a few, not just one or two high-strength IPAs." *   

So a growth in cask-conditioned ales is happening over the other side of the North Atlantic, good to have such excellent news from the "cool" cask ale drinkers of the USA, cheers folks! 🍺

Jolly Fisherman Dark Beer Festival Report

Indeed, I have attended the 2026 Dark Beer Festival held at The Jolly Fisherman (blog), 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR, and there were some very interesting beers available, and the 'rare classic' I mentioned is first on this blog's list. I'm starting off with the cask ales first, followed by the crafty keg beers, and with the full list in the bottom image, because I haven't imbibed them all. 😉 There are a few not great images, but those photographs were taken in the evening, so lighting wasn't great, my apologies, I trust you'll cope! 🍺

The 'classic' in question is Thomas Hardy's Ale (11.3%), originally brewed by Eldridge Pope, who sadly no longer exist, closing in 2003. In 2013 ownership of the recipe/brand was bought by 2 brothers, Sandro and Michele Vecchiato, in more recent times it has been brewed in West Sussex at Hepworth Brewery (website). You will notice that this barley wine, and the one following, aren't really dark beers at all, but they certainly are strong ales!

Thomas Hardy's Ale is brewed with Maris Otter pale malt, a small amount of Crystal malt in the grist, and with a small amount of cane syrup to increase the gravity. The hop varieties used are Fuggle (hopslist) and Golding (hopslist), producing a complex flavour, certainly big malt taste from the Crystal, my notes say "sweet start, dry bitterness, almost metallic finish, good stuff! 👍 The image I used includes the charity box for cystic fibrosis remembering my training module at Sydenham Children's Hospital, who were then the local 'experts' for the condition.

The second barley wine is a wee bit paler, brewed in the West Midlands at Sarah Hughes Brewery (website), renowned for their 6.0% Dark Ruby Mild. However, this ale was their Snowflake, named CAMRA's Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2 years ago. Similar to the Thomas Hardy's it is brewed with Maris Otter pale malt and a small amount of Crystal, and the same hops too, Fuggle and Golding, a barley wine recipe indeed, but with no added sugars to make it as strong. So, not as powerful, but still a big 8.0% with a fruity sweetness at first taste, with spicy orange and a hint of vanilla, but dried out to a bitter finish, nice one. 😁

My third cask ale here, though drunk earlier, was from the traditional heartland of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, and Burton Bridge Brewery (website), their 4.0% (dark) XL Mild. I believe brewed with the same hops as the 2 barley wines, but this is a much darker brew, very easy to drink, smooth with hints of liquorice and caramel in the taste, a little nutty, smooth and, yes, very easy to drink indeed, good stuff! 😊

On to my first keg beer and, from German brewery Konig Ludwig (website), their 5.5% Weissbier Dunkel, a Bavarian dark reddish wheat beer. They use Hallertau hops (hopslist) for their lighter weissbier, probably for this too, but certainly other hops from the same region must be used, although I do apologise for not being able to ascertain which hops. I found, quoting from my notes, it has a very fruity aroma and taste, dark and stoned fruits, hints of spices, chocolate and banana, light in depth and a dry bitter finish, very drinkable. 👍

Next, from the North West in Salford, Pomona Island Brew Co (website), their 6.5% Frangipane/Pastry Stout, No 'Rabbit in a Hat' Tricks, which does what it suggests, tasting of almond, vanilla and with hints of caramel and chocolate. I cannot find the hops used, but the flavour is dominated by the malts used and additions, it is a rich smooth luxurious beer! 👌

To Belgium for this one and Brouwerij Rodenbach (website), their Vintage, a classic 7.0% Flanders Red, matured in (not all of!) 294 enormous oak casks (foeders) for 2 years in cellars below the brewery, in which a secondary fermentation is created by wild yeasts. An older style of porter has a very important influence following Eugene Rodenbach's visit to England in the 1870s, where he learnt how to brew the porter of that time, which probably influenced his choice of hops too. Hops used in the copper include English types like Target and Brewers Gold, but the hops are used for retarding bacteria, not to balance the beer, the flavours develop in the foeders! Rodenbach Vintage tastes of red berries and tart apples, it really is bitter-sweet, not overly tart but gently pronounced. Surprisingly easy to drink. 😮

My penultimate beer reviewed is also from Belgium, but this time from a Trappist brewery, that is Chimay (website), and their 9.0% Grande Reserve (Blue). Chimay primarily use Hersbrucker hops for their beers (hopslist), sadly, I cannot discover whatever else is added for this one. Dark and dried fruits in the aroma and taste, with subtle hints of liquorice and chocolate, my notes say "complex and delightful" and yes, I liked it a lot, pretty darn good! 😁

Finally, the strongest ale here, just, a collaboration between West Yorkshire's Amity Brew Co (website), where it's brewed, and Leicestershire's Emperor's Brewery (website), Twelve Parsecs, a 12.0% Tiramisu Imperial Stout. Brewed with 8 different malt varieties, and for the tiramisu edge, Brazilian coffee beans are suspended in the fermenter for 2 days, replaced by cacao nibs for 5 days. The hops used are not divulged, but the aroma and taste are all about the malts, coffee and cacao, and they produce the desired effect, with chocolate, coffee and vanilla significant. It's described as a 'rich and decadent tiramisu stout' and that is what you get. 😉

I didn't drink every beer, as said above, a few too many for just a couple of visits, but the full list of what was available is in the image above, cheers folks! 🍻

Hoppy Beer Day Britain!

Indeed, happy Beer Day Britain 2025 (website), an annual event that has been going on for ten years now, on June the 15th every year, and instigated by beer sommelier and writer Jane Peyton, cheers Jane! The day is supported by many drinkers and organisations, including the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA), and the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).

This day is on the same date (please forget about the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752 😉) as the signing of the Magna Carta (National Archives), which said in Article 35 "Let there be throughout our kingdom a single measure for wine and a single measure for ale..." 🍺no coincidence methinks! Of course, historically, drinking ale was generally more healthy than drinking untreated water, so the importance of beer in British society was very understandable, not to forget the importance of the public house. As I regularly say, go to a village you've never visited, look out for the church tower or spire, and the village pub, or pubs, will be nearby, although the sad loss of pubs in recent years doesn't make this so for every village now.

Whatever your favourite style of beer, raise a glass at 19.00 hours and say "Cheers to Beer!"

Cheers folks! 😁 #CheersToBeer 

Women and Beer 3 - History

I'd already written a couple of blogs about the role of women and brewing/selling beer a while ago, in The Beer Goddess and in Brewsters and Witchcraft?  However, I've fairly recently bought the paperback book The Devil's in the Draught Lines (Dr Christina Wade, Campaign for Real Ale Ltd, 2024), since which was published an article by the same author in CAMRA's BEER magazine Summer 2024 called The Ancient History of the British Alewife.

Basically, Dr Wade knows a helluva lot about the history of beer, is multi-qualified, including being a beer judge, and I'm guessing that part of her doctorate, or maybe her M.Phil, or both, included research about the history of women in brewing and selling beer, because there is so much specific information about brewsters (female brewers) and licencees! Also, she records interviews with many contemporary brewsters. In addition, she has her own website called braciatrix, which includes links to her book, and is about women and beer, to precis it... 😕 

If you are a CAMRA member you can access the BEER article at the website.

Or buy the book, or just read my blog 1 and  blog 2, a bit simpler/less info 😉 Seriously though, I can't compete, so buy the book, it's chock full of data, cheers!

Circular Walk, Putney to Richmond and Back.

Okay, not so much a pub crawl, but an excellent circular walk, 15-16 miles, from Putney to Richmond and back to Putney, with many pub opportunities, and virtually all off road, a walk in the country in effect! We started by The Spencer in Lower Richmond Road SW15 1HJ (website), but much before opening time, and walked across Putney Common, passing the wonderful Arts & Crafts All Saints church (London Metropolitan Archives), before reaching the often very busy Upper Richmond Road, which we crossed to Putney Park Lane, which was soon off-road.

We followed Putney Park Lane all the way to Putney Heath and continued onto Wimbledon Common, passing by the Windmill and across to Beverley Brook following the brook to Richardson Evans and the A3. Yes, we had to cross the A3, where there is a good crossing, but you have to stick to the lights because the traffic here can be very dangerous, and quite unsighted. Once across we entered Richmond Park at Robin Hood Gate, with deer all around us (above image, and that close, no zoom lens needed!). We then strolled across to the Pen Ponds and up to Richmond Gate at the top of Richmond Hill (website).

We walked down Richmond Hill, much of it through Terrace Gardens, down by Richmond Bridge to the Thames Path and along to the White Cross, TW9 1NR, originally built in 1740 with some rebuilding in the 19th century (website) at the bottom of Water Lane. The White Cross has been a Young's pub since 1869, so Young's ales on sale, Ordinary and Special, and we started off with a pint of Ordinary each (3.7%), a decent enough refreshing pale amber bitter. Sadly, Young's is no longer a brewery, but a pubco, and their ales are now brewed in Bedford by Charles Wells (website). I have written about the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth closing down before, and what is now there, eg blog.

Young's pubs regularly seem to have St Austell Proper Job (4.5%) as a guest, so I had a pint of that too, an ale I've written about many times before, eg blog. And I've had Twickenham Naked Ladies (4.4%) here too, named after statues in York House Gardens in Twickenham, eg blog. Oh yes, and we dined here, the menu isn't out of this world (website), but pretty decent quality and enough for us to do a share with an extra portion of chips, tasty...

On finishing our lunch, we continued on our circular walk along the Thames Path (though the Thames does meander!) towards Mortlake and had a pint each at The Ship, 10 Thames Bank SW14 7QR (website), a Greene King pub, but I do get 10% CAMRA discount off ales here.😊 The Ship was built in 1781, and the Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has had its finishing line here since 1845, so extraordinarily busy that day! Excellent views of the river and Chiswick Bridge, not the ugliest bridge crossing the Thames, and you can get 'trapped' in here for a short while every now and then when the tide is in, see photograph below from our previous visit here...

Or, of course, you can get your feet and trousers wet,😉but the tide starts going out again quite quickly, and there is always a wee path you can use along Ship Lane that goes up to the main Lower Richmond Road ('tis quite a long road) and Mortlake High Street. 

Or you can stay and have a drink, indeed, we sat outside (to the left of the photo immediately above, though sunny this day, and the tide wasn't in) and enjoyed a couple of pints of Greene King New Tricks (4.0%), a golden ale with lemon peel and ginger. Now I'm not the greatest fan of Greene King ales, but its location, and 10% off the price, influences our decision to visit here whenever passing. The New Tricks? Very subtle flavours form the ginger and lemon, a gentle bitterness, and wasn't bad at all, always worth dropping into The Ship. 👌

When we'd finished our drinks we carried along the Thames Path to Putney, completing our 'circular' route, and each had a Leffe Blonde (6.0%) to rinse away the dust, cheers!

Leffe website.

Oh yes, and if you want to drink in a pub close by the Thames in Putney, I suggest the Bricklayer's Arms, which is included in a recent blog, enjoy.

Belgian Ales Part 1

As I recently wrote (blog) I had acquired 10 different Belgian ales (ales as they're 'top fermented' and not lagers, which are 'bottom fermented' or the fermentation of ales is at a warmer temperature than lagers with yeasts that convert sugars to alcohol at the top of the wort in the fermenter, and the yeasts used to convert sugars to alcohol for lagers work in the wort at the bottom of the fermenter at cooler temperatures, straight forward so far!). Wort is the sugar rich liquid that is derived by 'mashing' malts, hops are added at various stages, mostly in the kettle that boils the wort; if you don't already know the brewing process I can do no better than CAMRA.

Anyway, most of those 10 ales I hadn't drunk before, and I added 2 more that I do like a lot, one is to compare with an ale I hadn't drunk yet, and the other is my favourite regularly available Belgian ale, Westmalle Tripel, which I have written about before (blog), you'll get why when I move on with this and the next blog. Another characteristic of these 12 ales is that they are all bottle conditioned, that is, have a secondary fermentation in the bottle, again see that blog for further information. Finally, before I deal with the ales individually, if you would like to read more about the types and styles of Belgian beers, I suggest either reading the Serious Eats Beginners Guide to Belgian Beer Styles (website), or read a copy of Michael Jackson's (not the singer, but the Beerhunter - see blog) The Great Beers of Belgium, or online (website).

The Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, or Duvel Moorgat Brewery, is a Flemish family brewery (website) founded in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat, and now run by the 4th generation of Moortgats. A combination of yeasts from a Scottish ale (McEwan's Scotch Ale, very popular in Belgium at the end of WW1) was extracted and used by Moortgat's sons to help create a lighter ale, which, legend has it, was called a 'real devil' or Duvel, the local dialect for Devil.

This version (above) was created to celebrate the brewery's 150th anniversary last year, using 6 different hop varieties, and catchily called Belgian Blond Duvel 6.66% at 6.66% strength, a younger brother of the next Duvel I shall describe (below). It certainly has an aroma that I recognise in many Belgian beers (including lagers like Stella!), less body than its older 'brother' and a wee bit gassy, very easy to drink for a Belgian ale, as in speed-wise, if not for the gas, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed as it's not what I really look for in a Belgian ale, that is, a big flavoured ale to sup at a leisurely pace. Anyway, very decent, but compared to stronger Belgian ales, I could only give it 5.5 out of 10, didn't have a chance really, when compared to the rest!

So, to the 'big brother' that the Duvel story above really relates to, and at 8.5% a much more vigorous ale indeed! This is a multi award winning pale golden ale (my description), or Strong Blond ale (theirs), with lots of body and flavour, and a subtle bitterness, very good... I just wish they still sold it in the buffet on Eurostar, I used to love supping a couple of bottles of Duvel to and from Brussels! OK, we're getting into very good territory now, so I rated this 8.5 out of 10.

Next came an ale I definitely cannot remember drinking before, from the Brouwerij De Klem (website), which has been brewing for just 10 years, and their 7.5% Hellegat Super Blond, brewed with 3 types of malt. I quite liked this, nice flavours with a hint of vanilla, a wee bit sweet to start with, but dries out nicely in the finish, I wrote 'decent' in my notes, and gave it 7 out of 10. 

Moving away from Flanders to the Ardennes, in the French speaking region of Wallonia, for the next ale, and to Brasserie D'Achouffe, or D'Achouffe Brewery (website), and their 8.0% La Chouffe (the Chouffe is the bearded gnome which became a symbol of the brewery from its inception 40 years ago, and is on the label). I must have tasted this in the past, surely, but I'm not sure (I lost all my notes for ales I sampled in Belgium quite a few years ago, sadly!). Called a Blonde (French, so an E at the end), although they describe it as golden, there you go, slight citrus flavour, full bodied, with a slightly dry bitter finish, I liked it! Scored 8 out of 10.

Apart from the 8.5% Duvel being fitted in early, my model was to gradually increase the strength of the ales reviewed here, so I'm back to Flemish breweries, unsurprising as 4 of the ales in this blog were supplied by my Flemish mate Frank, who brought them back following a recent trip to his home city of Antwerp, as mentioned in my earlier blog. So, this is from his local brewery, I suspect his favourite brewery from past conversations, Stadsbrouwerij De Koninck (website), named after Joseph Henricus De Koninck who bought a coaching inn in 1827 that was converted into a brewery after his death 6 years later. De Koninck actually tell us the hops used for this golden/blond ale (Saaz-Saaz), their Tripel D'Anvers (8.0%), which is full of body, a wee bit sweet at first, drying out with gentle bitter finish; I did like it, hence the 8 out of 10 scored.

The final ale I am reviewing for Part 1 is, as I said above, my favourite regularly available Belgian ale, Westmalle Tripel, which I have written about before (blog). I'll just say what I said before, the Westmalle Tripel, is a golden beer, subtly fruity, quite dry and bitter finish, quite frankly, excellent! There are a number of bars in Brussels where I would always drink this, the waiting staff in the magnificent Le Cirio in Brussels, by la Bourse, always taking care not to disturb the sediment, but leaving the bottle for people to add the sediment if they so wished. Indeed, the owner of the bar closest to where my brother used to live always called me "Monsieur Westmalle", but that bar, sadly, is no longer open, the owner having retired.

Westmalle Tripel is a 'trappist' ale, the brewery established at the trappist Westmalle Abbey since 1836 (website), and gradually updated over the years, in 1968 their own water purification plant was set up, their bottling plant was modernised in 1956 and again in 2000, and a few years ago a new brewhall was installed. Although the monks no longer brew the beers themselves, they are still in overall charge of the brewery, ensuring tradition is upkept, and pure ingredients used, their own water, 100% barley malt, hops, and yeast from their own culture.

For my latest tasting notes I wrote "so good!" I scored it 9.5 out if 10, unsurprisingly.

Belgian Ales Part 2 coming soon, cheers! 😉

Congratulations to the Rye Waterworks!

My last very recent visit to the Rye Waterworks micropub (website) had me chatting to David the publican and discovering that the CAMRA (South East Sussex branch) has voted the Waterworks as their Cider Pub of the Year 2022, so congratulations are most definitely in order to David, Ulla and Eddie (who weren't there whilst I was this time), and all staff, including Lotte and Morganne, who were serving up fine drinks to myself and other customers, cheers!

Before David shared the information with me I had already drunk a pint of the very tasty and refreshing 3.8% Old Dairy Uber Brew (website), which I have written about before, and the (new to me) 3.6% Hopfuzz Fallout (website), described as a "zingy" session IPA, which had a dry bitter finish and an aroma I couldn't work out, but 'twasn't bad. BUT! David had told me about the cider award, so I had to try a couple of the (many) ciders available, luckily I had only tried the 2 weaker session ales so far...

Usually I would post a photograph of the board that tells you what ales and ciders are available, but it is a very shaky image I'm afraid, and I had, beforehand, walked up the hill to the Church of St Mary, and taken this photograph of their Burne-Jones stained glass window (Rye website), and it's well worth a visit! I own up to having an interest in the Pre-Raphaelite artists and Arts & Crafts movement of the 19th century, and it's a beautiful window... 

Anyway, to the ciders... I started cautiously and had a pint of the just 5.5% Nightingale Tenterden Cider (website), a 'wild fermented' cider, that is, the natural yeasts of the apples are used in fermentation, then it's matured for at least 6 months. My notes say "pale, slightly hazy, and very nice!" I liked it very much indeed; I do need to drink more cider. 😉

My second cider, and I was tempted to stay longer, but common sense won the day, anyway, my second cider was the slightly stronger, and crystal clear, 6.9% Double Vision Cider. This was a bit more complex, dry bitter finish, and very good too, although I did prefer the 5.5% cider. But I was taken back to my Devon years (blog). 

And, if you haven't already read it I do give more information about the Rye Waterworks, including historical details, in this blog from nearly 4 years ago, and congratulations again!

Goose Island, Chicago, Shoreditch, and Sheffield!

I recently read, in CAMRA BEER Spring 2022, an article by Matthew Curtis about cask ale in the USA, and very interesting it is too but, sadly, only available to CAMRA members, presumably unless you buy a copy from them. Anyway, it took me back to 1998, when I visited Chicago to deliver a paper to a social science conference at the impressive Palmer House Hilton. On the Saturday I had sufficient free time to visit Goose Island for the afternoon. Goose Island is a brewpub, which is now owned by one of the biggie brewers, AB InBev, but it still brews in Chicago, and since 2018 has had a brewpub in what has become a very fashionable part of East London too (website).

Goose Island, Shoreditch Huigh Street E1

Anyway, back to Chicago, and before I had flown out I was provided with local information from a friend who was married to a lass from nearby in Illinois, and I was very happy with my visit to Goose Island (website). There were quite a number of excellent real ales brewed on the premises, and all types of English styles: IPA, Extra Special Bitter, Porter, Stout, Best Bitter, they had the lot, and very nice they were too! The only error I made there was to order 'chips' with my burger ("How would you like your burger?" was a surprise question too) and being given crisps, oh well, a learning experience. I also found out you could get their beers bottle-conditioned, indeed, I drank a few bottles of their Honkers back at the Palmer House that evening, also very nice. Although this was another learning experience, they DO like their beer ice cold out in the USA, the Honkers was dragged out of a sink full of icy water! 😄

Fat Cat & Kelham Island Brewery

Anyway, I do need to get to Shoreditch some time soon, although I expect prices will be very high, but it has to be done for old times sake. 😉 Oh yes, and Mr Curtis said he drank an ale in the USA brewed by Hogshead (website), which reminded him of Kelham Island Pale Rider, which was "one of the first in the UK to feature" Cascade hops. Now, when I was up at university in Sheffield, and worked part-time at Kelham Island Brewery (website) up to about 20 years ago, I remember brewing Pale Rider with Willamette hops... Did they use Cascade in the early days, or do they use them now? I do not know, but am visiting Sheffield soon, so shall make a point of asking.

Memories, cheers! 

Save Pubs, Cut Beer Duty!

I've written before about the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and Long Live The Local campaigns to protect pubs and a previous petition to cut beer duty, now there is an updated petition from Long Live The Local; go to their website for further information.

Campaigns and petitions that I too support, and have signed, and even more necessary in these COVID-19 Crisis times; cheers folks, and stay safe!

A Love Affair With Pubs...

Not my 'love affair' with pubs, but yesterday I read Roger Protz's piece in the June edition of CAMRA's What's Brewing, which I still get in hard copy (can be read online here) A Love Affair With Pubs. Roger mentions 14 pubs, a good number of which are from where he has worked and lived, a few in London when he worked in Fleet Street, and 4 in major cities around the country; those 4 he appears to have particularly liked because of their architecture and interiors.

Please note I've had some problems with websites, presumably Covid-19 induced. 😕

The Philharmonic, Liverpool

I was a wee bit surprised to see the pubs he chose, but I shouldn't really have been. Of the 14, I've never been to any of his local/Suffolk pubs, of the 4 in London I have been to 2 of them, coincidentally because I used to work close to Fleet Street in the 1970s too, maybe, but the 4 from major cities, very interesting, because I love all 4 of them, indeed, 6 years ago they were all in a national top 10 of pubs I'd chosen! The Philharmonic (website) in Liverpool, came in at number 7 on my list, and a pub I have very recently written about (blog) after it had become Grade I Listed, if you haven't already read the blog I'd suggest you do, as it gives a bit of history of the pub, plus a bit of history of my interest, and all these pubs have a football interest in them for me too, as in visiting whilst in town for a football match, but 3 of them I've visited just to go there for a drink when I hadn't even been living locally, that's how good they are!

Next, The Bodega (website) in Newcastle, number 8 on my list, but why Bodega? The name comes from a small wine cellar or wine shop in Spain, and there are a few pubs called this in Britain, notably this one in easy reach of Newcastle FC, although I have also drank here before and after matches at nearby Sunderland FC too! Another lovely interior in another Victorian pub, with a long bar extending way back, an elaborately tiled floor and 2 stained glass domes, or cupolas, in the ceiling. I haven't visited for a while, but last time there were 8 real ales on offer, 4 guests supporting 4 regular/semi-regular ales from 3 of my favourite brewers, Oakham Ales, (website) Fyne Ales (website) and Durham Brewery (website), no wonder I like returning!

Next, and number 4 on my old list, is The Marble Arch Inn (website) in Manchester, another wonderful listed Victorian building. Gorgeous tiling, some of which, it appears, was found by chance when the ceiling fell in because of dampness! This used to be a brewpub, and you could see the brewery out the back, and, in the past, I had often chatted to the brewers about the ales on offer, but now Marble Beers (website) are brewed around the corner in larger premises, supplying organic, vegan-friendly, ales to the pub and the free trade, indeed, I last drank their 3.9% session ale Pint at the Tower Pub in Hastings not too long ago. Their pub though, sells not just excellent ales but very good food too, and they had a great jukebox when I was last there.

And, top of the shop at number 1 for me 6 years ago was The Bartons Arms (website) in Birmingham, particularly suited for attending Aston Villa FC matches (safe for away fans), but I have traveled to Birmingham alone just to drink and eat here. Yet another gorgeous Victorian pub, the Victorians certainly knew how to build them, built as the Mitchell and Butlers brewery flagship, and now one of the handful of Oakham Ales pubs (website). Beautiful interior, superb ales, and fine Thai cuisine, other than a victory at Villa Park what more could you want?!?

So Roger Protz obviously chose wisely pubs that I value too, but, that just supports how interesting they are as buildings, and what good pubs they are as public houses... I shall now have to have a rethink of my top 20 pubs nationally and write about them soon; oh well, gives me something to do before pubs are open again, cheers! 😉

CAMRA and Beer Deliveries to Your Door plus More!

The Jolly Fisherman, Hastings

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) provides details of its contemporary campaign Pulling Together (website) concerning the current Coronavirus lockdown, something I have mirrored where I live down here in Hastings (Steve on Hastings blogspot). Commendable though Pulling Together is, as you might expect I did find some errors and missing services, eg a pub that isn't delivering beers included (The Tower, and the publican has assured me she is not delivering beers, and no off sales) and missing pubs that are delivering locally. Consequently, please do use the links I include below, but you may find some are not delivering, and that you may be missing others that do, so more research may well be required where you live. 

CAMRA link to brewery initiatives; click on where you live on the map.

CAMRA link to pub and bar services; add the postcode or town where you live. 

CAMRA link to cider and perry services; click on where you live on the map.  

Plus, CAMRA has also created a virtual pub where you can go on line and chat, join in pub quizzes and other events, and drink too... with ales supplied from the services detailed above, of course! I haven't visited, but this link will take you to The Red (ON) Lion.

Please look after yourselves folks, cheers!

Great British Beer Festival 2020 Cancelled!

2013 GBBF

The 2020 Great British Beer Festival (GBBF), which was to have been held in August, has been cancelled by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) due to the Coronavirus 'crisis' (CAMRA website). The GBBF has been an annual event for over 40 years now, and attracts about 40,000 visitors a year, enticed by a selection of over a thousand different beers. Not only real cask-conditioned ales are sampled, but American and British crafty keg beers, and real ciders too; also a range of great food is usually available. I have visited a number of times, for example in 2013 (my older, unused now, blog), but more rarely in recent years. Still, it's sad to see there is no GBBF after more than 40 years of one, oh well, keep safe fellow drinkers.

I seem to be sharing just bad news all the time... 😧

Roll on re-opening, whenever that is, cheers! 

Summer of Pub!

1967 was the Summer of Love, 52 years later CAMRA has announced a campaign for 2019 called Summer of Pub to encourage people to get down to the pub over the coming months. So look out for dedicated posters and beer mats in pubs taking part, or encourage your publican to participate, or if you are a publican join in! How to get involved and details of events and participating pubs can be found at the CAMRA website.

Please do enjoy the Summer of Pub!

Novemberfest at Bexhill on Sea's Albatross Club

From today, the RAFA Albatross Club at 15 Marina Arcade, Bexhill TN40 1JS, is holding its Novemberfest! There will be live music each day, food available, and, of course, 10 extra ales served straight from casks downstairs, in addition to the 5 poured by handpump on the bar at ground level. Opening hours are 11.00 to 23.00 today (Friday 23rd) and tomorrow, and 12.00 to 17.00 on Sunday (25th), and you don't have to be a RAFA member or CAMRA member to visit this weekend, all sensible drinkers are welcome, cheers!

The Albatross Club (RAFA)

Festival ales come from up and down the country and include Gunpowder Mild (3.8%) from Coach House Brewery in Cumbria (website); Blackthorn Sloe Porter (5.0%) from North Yorkshire Settle Brewery (website); Saltaire Blonde (4.0%) from the excellent Saltaire Brewery in West Yorkshire (website); the ever excellent Titanic Plum Porter Grand Reserve (6.5%) from Titanic Brewery in the Potteries (website); Pop Up IPA (5.0%) from The Cronx Brewery in Croydon (website); Gadds Dogbolter Porter (5.6%) from Ramsgate Brewery in Kent (website); plus 4 more pale, golden and copper coloured bitters from Rudgate Brewery (website), Acorn Brewery (website), Potbelly Brewery (website), and Westerham Brewery (website)!

Sour Beers, well I do seem to like some of them!

There's been quite a bit written about 'sour' beers in the CAMRA press recently, an article in the August edition of What's Brewing discusses Belgian beers, reminding me of my visits to my brother over the 15 years he lived in Brussels, and our visits to Cantillon Brewery (website) in Anderlecht. Luc De Raedermaeker's article looks at the different styles in Belgium, and specific for this blog are the Lambics and Gueuzes, which are spontaneously fermented ales (with local wild yeasts) from around the Brussels area that he describes as complex, sour and acidic.

I was never a great lover of these sour beers beforehand, but our wandering around the brewery, and tasting beers in the brewery, changed my mind quite a bit. Indeed the Cantillon Vigneronne (6%) I found to be like a rather fine dry white wine, perfect with fish dishes or just supping as a refreshing ale. The Vigneronne is one of Cantillon's rarer ales (less than 5% of the brewery's total production), and is a blend of lambics aged 16-18 months old, with Italian Muscat grapes added. If you ever see it, and it comes in 750ml bottles, I'd recommend buying some!

Chorlton Mango Sour

In Britain now though, with the recent trendy move among many smaller brewers to brew crafty keg beers, they not only appear to have been influenced by the big hopped craft beers produced in the USA, but also by the Saisons, Lambics and Gueuzes brewed in Belgium. There's a very interesting article in CAMRA's Autumn 2018 Beer magazine, written by Adrian Tierney-Jones called 'Supping on a sour beer style' which explains the different ways of brewing 'sour' beers. These are either by adding lactobacillus (the bacteria found in yoghurt) to the wort in the kettle, or by using wild yeast and ageing in barrels after fermentation, just like the Belgian brewers. I've even seen brewers adding salt, though that shouldn't be great for drinkers with hypertension!

Anyway, now I have a craft beer shop around the corner, the Eel & Bear (blog) I have been sampling some of these sour beers brewed in Britain. The first that I appreciated was from Manchester brewer, Chorlton Brewing Company (website), and their Mango Sour (4.5%), brewed with pale malt, mango extract, and Bramling Cross hops, I believe. This was draught, and packed a big fruity mango aroma and flavour with a hint of biscuit from the malt. Slightly hazy with plenty of body and a dry tart finish, a bit like an alcoholic smoothie, and not bad at all!

Next I had a "Gooseberry Gose" (apparently Gose is a German sour beer style) from Huddersfield brewer, Magic Rock Brewing (website), their 4.1% Salty Kiss, which is brewed with lager malt as well as extra pale malt, Cascade hops, gooseberries, sea buckthorn, and, you've guessed, sea salt! I couldn't quite work out the aroma, I wrote "a bit strange & sea-like", the flavour was gooseberry fruity and salty, with a dry sour bitter finish, and it's oddly refreshing!

I've also enjoyed a bit more colourful sour beer from Aberdeen brewer, Fierce Beer (website) and their 4.5% Very Berry, a "Sour Berry Ale." These tend to include wheat malt in the mash, so wheat malt as well, plus Chinook hops. Cloudy, of course, with a deep red colour and a big fruity aroma and flavour, raspberry, blackberry and blackcurrant, and a dry tart finish, very nice!

I've left what I consider the best to last, a collaboration between Buxton Brewery (website) and Norwegian brewer Lervig Aktebryggeri (website), that is, Trolltunga! This 6.3% 'Gooseberry Sour IPA' is named after a jutting rock in Norway (guess the translation!), 700 metres over lake Ringedalsvatnet. Trolltunga is a pale golden colour and has a subtle aroma, tasty gooseberry in the flavour, and a nice sour bitter finish. Like the Cantillon Vigneronne mentioned above, I wrote "would go well with fish!" I certainly like it, and have gone back for more, more than once. The photograph below is the draught version, which looks cloudier than from the bottle, however, I did pour it carefully for the photograph above, and there was still lees in the bottom of the bottle.

Trolltunga

Whichever, draught or from the bottle, with little lees or very hazy, I enjoyed the Trolltunga very much, and I will carry on drinking it every now and then, no doubt, cheers!

Hoppy Beer Day!

Enjoy the annual Beer Day Britain today (website), it should be interesting, hopfully with much appreciation of ales, but then...

What an appropriate day for CAMRA members living in, and visiting, Hastings to discover that it's not just Wetherspoons giving discount to them, but now the award winning (more of that soon) Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road TN34 3DW (website) gives discount on real ale to card-carrying Campaign for Real Ale members, cheers!