Peanut's at the Vat and Fiddle!

Yes, literally, a cat called Peanut keeps turning up at a pub and brewery 33 miles away from his home, he loves the ambience and company, apparently... He first turned up there on the 9th of July, after being missing from his home in Lincolnshire for 6 days already, apparently enjoying his first birthday at the pub, the Vat and Fiddle in Nottingham (website). He was reunited with his owners after it was realised that he was 'chipped' but he returned to the pub again within 3 days of going missing a second time (BBC). It is a complete mystery how he travels between the 2 places, but he certainly remembered the way back, don't be surprised if he returns yet again! 

I have a long history with Tynemill and Castle Rock Brewery (website) going back to well before I started blogging, indeed my local pub 25 years ago is one of theirs, the New Barrack Tavern in Sheffield (website), although it wasn't owned by Castle Rock on my first visit there 30 years ago, but acquired since. I got on really well with their manager and his wife, and have a Castle Rock polo shirt given to me by them, without having the necessary points (they run a loyalty scheme). And I first visited the Vat and Fiddle towards the end of the last millennium, before going to a football match at Nottingham Forest with my then wife, where on that occasion we met another friend we've both kept as a friend since, Paul. So, Castle Rock, and I have mentioned their ales before, have made quite an impression on my life, a bit like Peanut's life! 🐱

Castle Rock Brewery do brew some excellent cask ales, including the 2 you are most likely to see around the country, Harvest Pale and Elsie Mo, and I have written about their ales before, for example on my older blog. The Harvest Pale (3.8%) is a very light and very drinkable citrussy session ale, brewed with Centennial (hopslist), Cascade (hopslist) and Chinook (hopslist) hops. The Elsie Mo is a stronger 4.7% golden ale, still very citrussy but more complex, and very drinkable too, and brewed with First Gold (hopslist), Challenger (hopslist), and Slovenian Aurora (hopslist) and Bobek (hopslist) hops. Look out for them, cheers! 😁

Image from the Vat and Fiddle facebook page.

Classic English Hop back after 100 Years!

I saw on the BBC website, that a grandparent of hops around the world, the Farnham White Bine (above image from Hogs Back website - info at Ed's Beer Site), has been resurrected after a hundred years, and is growing in the hop fields of Hogs Back Brewery (website), alongside their Cascade (British Hop Association) and Fuggle (British Hop Association) hops.

I thought, great to hear good news, but they've actually been growing Farnham White Bine hops for 10 years now, so not so new news. Indeed, Hogs Back brewed their first ale with this hop back in 2015/16 (the article I refer to suggests 2015, the brewery suggest 2016 😕), presumably after their first crop, and that was Farnham White, a 4.0% golden bitter (Cask Marque). 

If you want to experience Hog Back's ales brewed with the historic Farnham White Bine hops, watch out for their 'limited edition' ales, notably already mentioned Farnham White (photograph above with thanks to Andy King on UNTAPPD); their latest addition to their seasonal ales Blackwater Plum Porter (4.0%); and Home Harvest Pale (4.0%), brewed with their own Fuggle and Cascade hops in addition, this one for Autumn consumption (Hogs Back website). 

Happy hunting folks, cheers! 😁

Cask Ale Week 19-29 September 2024

How I missed he beginning of this 'festival' I do not know, but know I do now 😉 Cask Ale Week 2024 has begun, and runs for another week until next Sunday the 29th of September (website). This is a week organised to celebrate cask ale, so is essentially British, cask ale being lauded as "Britain's national drink." Although I only found out yesterday, I did partake in a few pints...

We started off at The Crown & Sceptre, 57 Melina Road, London W12 9HY (website), where an ale from the Welsh brewery Tiny Rebel (website) was imbibed by us both, but only by me continuously, it being a Fullers pub... 😏 Anyway, Tiny Rebel Park Life is a crystal clear 4.2% pale golden session bitter, brewed with Cascade (hopslist), Citra (hopslist) and Ekuanot (Yakima Valley Hops) hops, regular readers will appreciate these hops aroused my interest! My notes say 'very easy to drink' which it was, the subtle citrus and pine proved they hadn't gone over the top with the hops, and with a gentle bitter finish, I could have drunk this all day! 👍

On our way back to the South Coast we had a brief period in-between trains at Clapham Junction, so took the break to drop into The Falcon, a Nicholson's pub (website) at 2 St John's Hill, London SW11 1RU. The Falcon is on the corner at Clapham Junction of Falcon Road and, at the bottom of St John's Hill, with Lavender Hill going up the other way, pretty much a landmark. The building is Grade II listed, and was built in 1887, although a pub had been on the site for at least another 150 years. It used to have the longest continuous bar in the country, a claim supported by the Guinness Book of Records previously. But they've done some weird thing around the back where customers can stand behind what was the bar?!? For the sake of a few more standing customers I don't see the point! Now they can no longer make the claim. 😕

Nicholson's get ales brewed for them, and this one was brewed by the 'organic' Stroud Brewery in Gloucestershire (website) in celebration of Organic September (Soil Association). Gaia is named after the Greek Goddess of the Earth, Gaia/Gaea (Britannica), and is a 4.2% 'organic pale ale' that we chose from the 5 ales on offer (they used to have 10 available from handpumps not so long ago). Apologies, but I cannot discover which specific hops were used, but I did find out that Gaia is brewed with 'old and new world hops.' A bit darker and with more body than the Park Life, slightly spicy with citrus and tropical flavours and aroma, with a dry bitter finish, not bad at all, cheers! 🍻

For further information about this collaboration I suggest a good read at the Stroud Times.

2 Rather Good IPAs and a bit more!

I couldn't believe it when I saw this on sale in Morrisons, but a 500ml bottle conditioned Thornbridge (website) Jaipur (5.9%). This superb version of an IPA with many hops from the USA, that are Chinook (hopslist), Centennial (hopslist), Ahtanum (hopslist), Simcoe (hopslist), Columbus (hopslist) and Cascade (hopslist). This is an excellent pale golden ale, with plenty of tropical fruits, grapefruit and citrus in the aroma and taste, with a dry bitter finish. I once had a few pints of a dry hopped cask conditioned version of this at the University Arms in Sheffield, when my old friend Mike Pigeon was the manager there, that was a bit special too, quality! 👍

Easily found at Marks & Spencer is their 4.9% Citra IPA, which is brewed by Oakham Ales (website), in the middle of Oakham's 4.6% bottled Citra and the bigger hitting 6.0% Green Devil, all brewed as single hopped ales, the hop being the excellent Citra, unsurprisingly (hopslist). Anyway, to the 4.9% M&S version, which has a big citrus aroma and taste, and paler than the Jaipur, with a lovely crisp dry bitter finish, very good indeed! Oh yes, and not forgetting... 😉

Have a guess what I was drinking yesterday in the Dolphin Inn in Hastings Old Town, yep, the wonderful session ale that is the  4.2% cask conditioned version of Oakham Citra! Not much to add really, does what it says on the label, and I can't remember it in better form, excellent!  😁

Cheers Ears! 🍻

The Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock a Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW (website).

The University Arms, 197 Brook Hill, Sheffield S3 7HG (website).

Pale Rider Update.

I  wrote about Pale Rider (5.2%) being available again in a blog late last year, because I have a great fondness for the brewery, as I used to work at Kelham Island Brewery (new company's website) when I was a postgrad student studying and living in Sheffield in the late 1990s and into this millennium. I have brewed, delivered and drunk quite a few pints of Pale Rider, and other Kelham Island ales, overall I lived in Sheffield for 16 years and still return regularly, at least once or twice a year! So it is a big thing to me, and for many others no doubt, that Pale Rider (5.2%) returned to life under the stewardship of its new custodians. 👍

One of the reasons I am writing this update is that they replied to a question I added to a tweet they had posted on twitter, and advised me the hops they now use for this award winning ale. When I worked at the brewery I only remember using one variety of hop for Pale Rider, that was Willamette from the USA, although when I chatted to the brewer a little over a year ago (blog) he told me hops used over the years had changed on a number of occasions. Anyway, Willamette hops are used again in Pale Rider's production, Willamette being developed from English Fuggle hops way back in the 1960s and "feature complex spiciness characterised by herbal, floral and fruity notes" (hopslist).

3 other hop varieties from the USA are also used for Pale Rider now, Cascade, Chinook and Crystal. I believe this fine pale ale is now brewed at the Thornbridge Brewery site (website), but by a completely separate business; although I also remember that my old boss at Kelham Island Brewery, Dave Wickett (R.I.P.) had provided some advice when Thornbridge was first set up nearly 20 years ago. Cascade was "developed through open pollination" of English Fuggle and Russian Serebrianka hops in the 1950s at Oregan State University, and "when brewed exudes a spicy citrus aroma with hints of grapefruit" (hopslist).

The Chinook hop was released in 1985 and is a "cross between Petham Golding and a USDA male, and features a pine-like, spicy bouquet with robust grapefruit flavour" (hopslist). Crystal is another hop bred in the early 1980s and has a lineage "extending back to Hallertau, Cascade, Brewer's Gold and Early Green" hops. "It's woodsy, green, floral and fruity, with herb and spice notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper" (hopslist).

From all the above, you can bet that Pale Rider has a great combination of flavours, and I'm looking forward to my next visit to Sheffield, cheers!

Images reproduced, with thanks, from Kelham Island Brewery's twitter account and Thornbridge Brewery's website.

Bonus Belgian Beer and another 'Musical' Hop too!

Further to my recent Musical Hops blog, when I suggested there may be a second bonus Belgian ale review coming, and yes, I did purchase a few bottles of the beer above, another quality beer brewed by Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat (website), their 9.5% Duvel Tripel Hop Cashmere Belgian IPA. Since 2007, the brewers at Duvel have been creating a unique Tripel Hop each Spring, with a different third hop added to the regular Saaz-Saaz and Styrian Golding hops, this time it's one of my recent discoveries, the Cashmere hop. In addition, the beer is dry-hopped, and this year, of course, with the eponymous Cashmere hop! 

The Cashmere hop was developed by Washington State University and released in 2013, being a 'marriage' of Cascade and Northern Brewer hops. Cashmere has flavours of lemon, lime and melon, exhibiting a smooth bitterness, mildly aromatic with a subtle herbal bouquet*

So, what's it like? Well, unsurprisingly, this bottle-conditioned ale is a bit similar to the Tripel Hop Citra.  Indeed, another refreshing golden ale with a citrus fruity aroma again, and again a hint of sweetness at first taste, but not so much grapefruit to the taste this time, and ending with a very dry bitter finish. I shall take another bottle out of my fridge later today, cheers! 😉

* Thanks again to the excellent hopslist website.

Let's Play Musical Hops!

I drank an ale called Cashmere recently, a single hopped ale from the excellent Kent Brewery (website), and, when I shared it on facebook, a friend immediately did what I did, and linked it to a song by Led Zeppelin (YouTube). I'd thought the same, but had been thinking this Musical Hops idea for a while. However, that song is Kashmir, spelt differently. Anyway, I'm not giving up on this as I'm adding another 5 hops to this blog that start with the letter 'C' - bear with me!

The Cashmere hop was developed by Washington State University and released in 2013, being a 'marriage' of Cascade and Northern Brewer hops. Cashmere has flavours of lemon, lime and melon, exhibiting a smooth bitterness, mildly aromatic with a subtle herbal bouquet* - I certainly don't remember much aroma, but have lost my previous notebook, sadly. So I didn't use an image from that ale, but the image above is of this year's Duvel Tripel Hop Cashmere, and I have recently written about their previous  Tripel Hop (blog), a bottle of which I happen to have in my fridge 😉 and, just now I ordered a few bottles of the Cashmere pictured above!

My second "C" hop is Calypso, which was one of the 3 hops used by the, also excellent, Yorkshire brewer Mallinsons (website) in their 'Tropical Blonde' (above - and blog). This tune is haunting, frankly beautiful, and sung by Suzanne Vega, and Calypso was one of the 2 hops that gave me the idea for this blog well before I'd even heard of Cashmere, so Calypso (YouTube).

The Calypso hop was bred in the Yakima Valley of Washington State, with Hopsteiner lineage. It features crisp, fruity aromas and flavours, and is complex* with hints of stone fruits, apple, pear and lime. For the Tropical Blonde I got citrus and tropical fruit in the taste, noticeably mango and pineapple in the aroma, but then there were 2 other hops involved as well! 😉

My third hop, and another of the earliest influences for this blog is Cascade, one of the 3 hops used by the American brewer Sierra Nevada (website), and you'll likely have noticed these "C" hops are mostly from the U.S. of A. The beers I mention in this blog are of the, highly influenced by the craft brewers over the Pond, and mostly labelled American Pale Ales. So, to the music for this one, and Cascade by Siouxsie and the Banshees (YouTube), quality!

The Cascade hop was pioneered at Oregon State University in the 1950s and is widely used, indeed Cascade hops have been grown in England since 2002, after development at Wye College (website). However, Cascade was originally developed from the English Fuggle hop and the Russian Serebrianka hop and released in 1972. Cascade provides spicy citrus flavours, particularly grapefruit.* Indeed, the Sierra Nevada (blog), certainly has grapefruit in the taste.

So to my fourth hop, and, for the music I had to dig deeper, it wasn't as automatic for the next 3, and so a wee bit eclectic! Anyway, the Crystal hop, which is one of the FIVE hop varieties used in the eponymous Revelation, which is a revelation, and is brewed in Sussex by Dark Star (website). Music is Crystal by New Order (YouTube), never heard of it before, but not bad.

The Crystal hop was developed from Hallertau, Cascade, Brewer's Gold and Early Green hops, with floral, fruity and spicy flavours, notably cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper.* I'm sorry, but the Revelation has so much going for it (blog), that I couldn't guess how much Crystal hops influence the flavour, but influence they must, cheers! 😄

OK, I'm slipping in a couple of 'googlies' here, first although used in many pale hoppy ales (and other styles!), the Challenger hop is actually English, but certainly can be included as a "C" hop! And my second googly is the music, I said eclectic earlier, and a wee bit space agey... Challenger by Creo (YouTube). Oh yes, and Challenger hops are one of 2 hops used by another excellent brewery, Oakham Ales (website), in their session ale JHB.

The Challenger hop, as I said, was developed in England, at Wye College, and is the result of marrying Northern Brewer and German Zattler hops, and was released to the public in 1972; also know as Wye Challenger. Challenger provides floral, citrus and spicy undertones, and is good for bittering ales.* JHB certainly has the citrus flavours expected, as noted in this blog.

My final hop for this blog is Chinook, one of the 3 hops used in Proper Job, which is brewed by the Cornish brewer, St Austell (website). The music is again a wee bit electronic, and bowls us yet another googly, Chinook by Julian Jordan (YouTube), likely more about the wind than hops. 😉

Chinook hops were released in 1985, a cross between a USDA male and Petham Golding hops, and has a spicy pine bouquet and definite grapefruit flavouring. They are widely used in APAs.* I regularly drink Proper Job, whether cask-conditioned, bottle-conditioned (my favourite!), or even from a can (blog), which has forest and citrus fruit flavours, notably grapefruit, nice one!

*If you're surprised by my wealth of knowledge about hops, don't be, I've used the excellent hopslist website as a source of much of the relevant content, many thanks to them.

I do hope you've enjoyed this blog, and some of the music too, cheers!

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! 

Combining Ale, the FILO, Pickled Onions & Charity!

OK, I own up that the main purpose of my visit yesterday to the First In Last Out, 14-15 High Street, Hastings TN34 3EY (website) wasn't just to drink real ales brewed in Hastings, indeed, close by and up the road actually, but because for a number of years now I have gladly taken advantage of the rather special spicy pickled onions (above) prepared and provided by Elina (once apprenticed to Paul; see older blog), and a wonderful puller of real ales too! Elina starts work on the onions well in advance of this holiday season, and all proceeds from the sale of the pickled onions go to the charity for homeless people in Hastings, Eastbourne and Bexhill, Warming Up The Homeless (website). So, not only have I contributed to that charity, I have excellent pickled onions to go with the cold meat, cheese and bubble & squeak that I shall be enjoying on Boxing/St Stephen's Day, quality, cheers Elina!

But, also, the beers... the 4 handpumps shown in the photograph above, plus a seasonal winter warmer that was a wee bit too sweet for me to drink more than a half of, quite pleasant, liquid Caramac came to mind, and with rum added to the cask, many thanks to Adam (whose back is in the image above) for serving it up. When I first arrived the first other customer I recognised was Eddie, who, coincidentally, I have seen a few times recently after not seeing each other for ages, great to chat, cheers Eddie! 

So my main drinks were two of the above ales, the easy to drink FILO Churches Pale Ale (4.2%), a refreshing session ale brewed with one of my favourite U.S. hops, Amarillo, and the stronger 4.8% FILO Gold,  brewed with another great hop from the USA, Cascade, their 'premium ale, nice and pale and golden, good stuff!

So, a pleasant afternoon was had, good ale, good company, and pickled onions to add to the mix, many thanks again to Elina for her time and patience, cheers! 

This blog was first written for my other blog, Steve on Hastings, and, by the way, here's a link to the FILO Brewery website.

A Gift from Scotland

Friends of mine, Mark and Maureen, often bring back beers for me when they go on holiday, eg when they went to Wales a couple of years ago (blog), and Devon earlier this year (blog). Well, they recently returned from touring around the Scottish Highlands and Islands, although Mark said he was a bit disappointed with the little choice on offer ale-wise, where there was mostly cream flow and keg beers available, but that's much of Scotland for you, sadly... 😕 

Anyway, this time they brought back a beer for me from a very decent Scottish brewery, Orkney (website), their 4.5% Orkney Gold, labelled a New World Pale Ale, thanks to the Amarillo, Cascade and Columbus hops used, from the USA; also Wheat Malt is used as well as the more usual pale malt, presumably Maris Otter. They suggest it is "spicy, fruity and hoppy" and I noted slightly citrus fruits in the aroma and taste, with a wee hint of forest fruits too, and refreshing with a nice bitter finish... Cheers Mark and Mo, and cheers to you too folks! 

Dheagh shlàinte!

Proper Job in Cans, yes, honest!

Well, I've written about St Austell Proper Job before many times before, including cask and bottle-conditioned versions (eg blog), but I have been amazed to find out that they now sell it in cans! And it's at the same 5.5% strength that the bottle-conditioned version comes at, but, obviously, not can-conditioned, although still with a great flavour coming through.

The hops used are Williamette, Cascade and Chinook, providing an abundance of fruit taste in the flavour, citrus and forest fruits, notably grapefruit, with a hint of pineapple, pale and golden, and with a great dry bitter finish, loadsa flavour and not bad at all for a beer in a tin! 

If you see it, it is well worth a try, honest, cheers! 

A Trip to Putney and 37 degrees Celsius!

Loved these on the floor!

I arrived at Clapham Junction railway station following a surprisingly not too uncomfortable 2 hours wearing a face mask during the journey, and decided to walk along the Thames Footpath rather than catch a bus to Putney, and I couldn't believe how hot it was, 37 degrees Celsius! Still not sure whether I should have caught a bus or not, but I was looking forward to going to the Harvey's pub to the east of Wandsworth Park, The Cat's Back (website), however, it wasn't open when I got there sadly (about 3.15 pm). So, still thirsty, I cut through Wandsworth Park...

... into Putney, and ended up walking along the Lower Richmond Road to The Half Moon at number 93 Lower Richmond Road, SW15 1EU (website), a pub well known for live music in 'normal' times, and somewhere I hadn't been to this century! Well adapted for 'social distancing' with separate doors for entering and exiting, took my name and mobile number as I entered, very quiet, although I was informed customers had been there for lunchtime, and I was asked to sit under the air conditioning, very many thanks! It was so lovely and cool, cheers!! 😓

And I was brought a lovely pint of the excellent again St Austell (website) Proper Job, a 4.5% modern styled, USA-hopped (Willamette, Cascade, Chinook), 'Cornish India Pale Ale.' I have written about Proper Job before, named after a West Country colloquialism that I first heard when I visited Devon and Cornwall in the 1970s, meaning a job well done or quality, and used from Cornwall to Somerset. And the ale is a pale golden, dry, citrus fruity, bitter, very thirst quenching (I drank a second pint soon after 😉). I've written a number of times about this ale, for example when drinking a bottle-conditioned 5.5% version during the recent lockdown (blog) and, more recently following the sad death of its creator, Roger Ryman (blog).

Coincidentally, I was in Putney to 'house sit' (and look after 2 cats!) for my brother and his family because they were away across the country in Cornwall. Anyhow, I let you down a wee bit because the Half Moon was the only pub I visited whilst in Putney, it was too hot to go for long walks or to visit pubs really, and I had a nice garden in which to sit, although I mostly stayed indoors and watched DVDs supplied (virtually a self-imposed lockdown). But I did go just round the corner from the house to the Artisan & Vine at 195/197 Lower Rochmond Road, SW15 1HJ (website), which had a very interesting selection of canned beers to drink; I tested these 5...

2 were from the New Zealand brewery Deep Creek (website), first their 4.5% pale ale Lotus, New Zealand hops as you would expect (presumably Lotus), not too bitter, a hint of citrus fruit, and quite a pale golden beer with a dry finish, nice and refreshing. Then, their stronger 5.4% Redwood, an American Pale Ale, so presumably hops from the USA. Much more body as you would expect from the strength, a deep golden colour with a BIG fruity aroma, and citrus fruit/grapefruit in the taste with a hint of tropical fruits, again not too bitter, but with a dry finish.

Then, from much nearer to home, well Croydon, and Signal Brewery (website), and 2 of their beers. The 4.9% The Pale is an American style APA, using Cascade and Chinook hops, a golden beer with plenty of body and a big fruity aroma and tropical and citrus fruit in the taste; they describe the flavour as 'grapefruit & pomegranate.' Another that is not too bitter and with a dry finish. The second from this brewery was, also 4.9%, The IPA, cannot find out the hops used, could be similar, but an unfined beer, so hazy, very pale with a BIG fruity aroma too, and plenty of fruity taste, they suggest 'citrus & mango' and I shan't argue. Very good!

The fifth beer was again from New Zealand, but a different brewery, 8 Wired (website) Yes, Sensei, a 5.5% APA, described as a 'punchy little hophead.' A little bit darker than the other beers, nearer to a pale amber, and with plenty of body, I got peach in the flavour, guessing hops from the USA, with a dry bitter finish. The proprietor of Artisan & Vine comes from New Zealand, so may be a bit prejudiced, but he suggested this was his favorite, and it is very good, but so they all are. I may just agree with him, but enjoyed drinking the lot, every one a winner!

And to the sad loss of The Bricklayer's Arms to Putney, closed down during the lockdown. This has been the London CAMRA Pub of the Year many times in the past, but had been running down in recent years, and the beer garden has been built over with flats, consequently the regular beer festivals stopped. I suppose the writing was already on the wall when I wrote my blog (older blogspot) 4 years ago, when the council basically put a protection order on it, and many other pubs in Wandsworth, who knows?

But a shame, it has been a great place to drink ale, was the best in Putney for years...

More Real Ale Available during this crisis...

The Tower

Apologies to readers from elsewhere, but this is mostly local to me and where I live on the south coast, but I did write a blog not so long ago about initiatives around the country, so please don't feel left out. Anyway, I more recently wrote a blog about real ale brought to me by The Jolly Fisherman in Hastings, but now I have an extra source of cask-conditioned ale, yay! 

The Tower (see, for example, an older blog), up on the corner of London Road and Tower Road in Hastings & St Leonards TN37 6NB, is holding a launch opening on Monday 1st June 2020, and then will be opening 3 evenings a week from Wednesday 3rd June to provide off sales, with 'social distancing' facilitated, and hand sanitizer provided too:

Monday 1st June 4-8pm; THEN

Wednesdays 4-8pm

Fridays 4-8pm

Saturdays 4-8pm

There will be 2 cask-conditioned ales on sale at a great value £3.99 for 2 pints, changing as each cask runs out: kicking off with 2 Sussex ales this Monday, from Dark Star Brewing Co (website), their superb 3.8% pale refreshing session ale Hophead, brewed with Cascade hops providing plenty of citrus flavour and bitterness, a dependable old favourite. 

The second is a darker ale from Franklins Brewing Co (website), and a very interesting Porter style too, their 5.0% Sriracha Ace, brewed with Sorachi Ace hops to add a citrus note to dark chocolate and coffee flavours subtly spiced with Guajillo Peppers... I so need to try this one!

They are also selling 6 different real ciders (2 pints for £3.99, again, great value); keg beers, beginning with Guinness, Fosters and Stella Artois; cans, including ale and lager (2 cans for £3.80 or 4 for £7.49), from another local brewer, Gun Brewery (website); bigger cans (!) as in Mini Kegs from Gun Brewery too (small and large cans, I gather, will change as stock changes, and 'showcasing' different breweries); and 3 bottles of wine for £20. 

2 pint reusable plastic bottles are available, but customers are asked to please bring their own bags in which to transport them. It is excellent to see another local business helping us real ale drinkers survive the Coronavirus Crisis, and I wish good luck to, and express my thanks to, Louisa and her colleagues, who I may just see very shortly. 😉

Look after yourselves folk and be careful out there, cheers!

And beers in a bottle...

3 very decent bottled beers enjoyed by myself very recently, bought in a local off licence, 3 for £5.25 and I've had all 3 cask-conditioned in the past too... But where to start? It has to be the 2 Oakham Ales (website) first, paler, and actually the order in which I did drink them. 😉

So, and straight from the notes I took, with a wee bit added here and there because of my knowledge base, of course, Oakham Inferno (4.4% but usually 4.0% cask conditioned), labelled a 'Blonde Ale' but I wrote "pale golden" which is what I shall retain in my memory; blonde, golden, what's the difference really, just trendiness I suppose! Quality too, Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Sterling are the U.S. hops used. I wrote "very pale golden, citrus in the aroma with a hint of citrus in the taste, but quite subtle (amazingly subtle, considering the hops used! - me added just now) with a lovely dry bitterness, very nice!!" Excellent session ale.

Oakham Citra (4.6% but usually 4.2% cask conditioned) pretty much does what is says on the label, zesty hoppy citrus, a single hopped ale using Citra hops, and I believe it to be the first single hopped Citra ale brewed in Britain. Notes: "Not quite as pale as Inferno, but pale golden with a fruity citrus aroma, bitter orange and grapefruit in the taste, a drier pale golden bitter!!"

Says it all, both great ales indeed, but...

And now for something completely different! That is, Titanic Brewery (website) and their 4.9% Plum Porter! Straight to the notes: "Deep dark red colour, with a big fruity plum aroma, plum flavour and a hint of vanilla, bitter sweet really, with a dry bitter finish. Very good!"

So, hardly surprising that I liked the 2 Oakham ales, a brewery that I love, I can't say I've ever not liked any of their ales, and they brew excellent pale dry bitters, just what friends and regular readers will know that I like. However, I had forgotten just how good the Plum Porter is, the only shame is that I can't drink these 3 beers cask conditioned these days... 😢

Back to beers in a can...

Okay, I tend to prefer beer from bottles than cans (and from cask even more!), it's probably just psychological, but I bought this lot and, probably because both are very hoppy, and because I haven't had a proper cask-conditioned pint for ages, however, I quite enjoyed them both, or all 8, depending on how you look at it... 😉

I'll deal with the Derbyshire brewers Thornbridge (website) and their 5.9% Jaipur first. I came upon this brewery's ales when I was up in Sheffield and they'd just started up, I seem to recall that my old boss at Kelham Island Brewery (Dave Wickett R.I.P.) was involved somehow. Anyway, many stories and anecdotes about this fine ale, including once drinking it, cask-conditioned, at the University Arms in Sheffield, when Mike Pigeon was manager there (I believe he has since worked for Thornbridge as area manager, but haven't seen him for quite a few years), anyhow, the story here is that it was dry-hopped in the cask, and marvelous!

So how did it compare from the can? Well, as I said, it seems like eons since I have been drinking cask ale, and maybe even 2 or 3 months since I've had Jaipur cask-conditioned at The Tower in Hastings/St Leonards/Bohemia, so difficult to really compare to memory, but... well, let's first look at how it is brewed, and the 6 varieties of hops included! Ahtanum, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Columbus and Simcoe is the wonderful group of hops used for this pale golden ale. It has a fair amount of body, as you would expect, a big fruity citrus aroma and taste, with a dry bitter finish that makes this an excellent and refreshing beer.

Like Jaipur, the American brewery Lagunitas (website) beer is described as an IPA (India Pale Ale), but not the traditional IPAs that were sent out to the Raj in India, when English hops were used in strong bottled ales, no, both of these use American hops, so really in the more modern APA style ('American Pale Ale'), paler and fruitier, but still usually strong and gorgeous!

I have written about Lagunitas before (eg this blog a couple of years ago), but I've usually only had it in bottles, but it was okay in cans too. It is reckoned that 43 hops are used in the brewing, I'm presuming they pick from 43 different types of hop for each brew length, because the tin only mentioned 5 hops, ie Cascade, Emperor, Eroica, Horizon and Pathetique, and there was plenty of flavour from that lot, I can tell you! A golden IPA, with a big fruity aroma, a nice full body, dominated by a citrus flavour with a hint of malt, starts off slightly sweet, but quickly bringing in bitterness and a lovely crisp dry finish, and another refreshing beer indeed!

Maybe I shouldn't be enjoying drinking beer at home, but I really did enjoy both, cheers!

Pubs Still Closed: What to do?!?

So what can we do? Obvious really, not as good as drinking cask conditioned ales, but there is some interesting stuff in bottles and cans, so yesterday I tried...

St Austell (website) Proper Job, usually a 4.5% ale from the cask, but a 'beefed up' 5.5% in the 'bottle conditioned' version, as close as you're going to get to cask conditioned, in the circumstances. Yes, this is a pale hoppy beer; they call it 'Cornish IPA' and it does what it says on the label! Refreshing aroma and taste, with big citrus flavours, and a hint of tropical fruits, not surprising when you consider that the hops used in the brewing process are Willamette, Cascade and Chinook, a lovely mix. Actually, my recent tastings of this from cask have been disappointing (6-8 weeks ago), and friends have said similar, but this was very decent indeed.

And Meantime Brewing (website) London Porter, a 5.5% 'porter' brewed for Marks & Spencer. This was a reddish brown colour, chocolate in the aroma and a hint of chocolate in the taste, and roasted barley there too. This was quite thin, refreshing though, but a disappointment there was little body considering the strength. I would suggest this is more like a 'thin' stout rather than a porter (for opinion see older blog), Okay, but a wee bit disappointing... 

I shall be drinking some more of the bottled Proper Job very soon, cheers!

Visit to West/South West London

So what were we doing drinking in a Wetherspoons pub? Well, historically, as in the last few years, I've considered the Bricklayers to be my pub of choice in Putney, sadly, they've gradually descended into the abyss, it's freezing out of the summer season, I've been there and they've had no beers at all, recently very few ales available, and on our last visit we were served up a very poor pint from the usually reliable Twickenham Ales, and at £4.40 a pint... I've given up! So, to The Rocket, Putney Wharf Tower, Brewhouse Lane, Putney SW15 2JQ (website), it has a great view of the bridge and down the river (Thames), and is next door but one to St Mary's Church (website), who's 15th century tower is visible, and the church where the Putney Debates were held by the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War, proper historic!

Also, as I'm a member of CAMRA I get another 50p off a pint of real ale there with a voucher, and during my recent visit, that was off an already low £2.29 a pint, so just £1.79 each for a few very different decent ales, instead of £4.40 a pint plus for poorly conditioned/dead ale, no competition, and there's not much else in Putney for real ale these days either! My brother Dan, really liked the 4.9% Romsey brewery Flack Manor (website) Hedge  Hop, a traditionally copper coloured bitter, slightly sweet biscuit flavour, with hints of fruit and spice the result of the use of Cascade, Pilot and Challenger hops, not bad and Dan kept returning to it...

But I prefered, from the much more local Wandsworth brewer, Sambrook's (website) Powerhouse Porter (also 4.9%). I have to admit I wasn't too impressed with Sambrook's in their early days, but their ales seem to get better every time I try them, and this one is a gorgeous example of a Porter! Brewed using a variety of malts, and producing a smooth deep dark red ale with plenty of body, and a hint of chocolate in the taste, very nice, cheers!

The next day we walked a circuitous 18 mile route to Richmond and back, via Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park, and the Thames footpath (mostly Middlesex side). In Richmond we visited The Victoria Inn, 78 Hill Rise TW10 6UB, our new 'favourite' pub there, with excellent service from the Cornish 'maid' (oops! My history of living in Devon and Cornwall coming out there, sorry, all women down there are called 'maid' and all men are called 'boy', so 'young boy' or 'old boy' etc!). Anyway, here we both drank the Suffolk brewer Adnams (website) Ghost Ship (4.5%), more expensive, oh well, you can't be paying £1.79 a pint everywhere, sadly... This is a pale sharp refreshing ale, with a slight citrus flavour from the Citra hops used (and other unspecified hops from the USA) and a dry bitter finish, their best ale, I believe.

When we got back to Putney we dropped down in strength at The Rocket, but what a great brewery to find an ale from, Oakham of Peterborough (website), and again at £1.79 for CAMRA members, still great value at £2.29 though for others! Jeffrey Hudson Bitter (JHB, 3.8%) is a wonderful pale golden ale, with citrus in the aroma and flavour provided by the Challenger and Mount Hood hops used, quite sharp and refreshing, with a dry bitter finish and, indeed, one of the best session ales brewed!

I usually prefer to drink at smaller local ale houses, but the manager/cellar manager appears to be keeping their ales in very good condition, and, although quite a busy pub, The Rocket has an appropriate number of staff working to keep the drinks flowing and the till ticking, cheers!

First Real Ales of 2018!

Well, my first trip to a public house in 2018 was on Tuesday to the Tower, 251 London Road TN37 6NB (tel: 01424 721773), which, depending on how you consider your geography, is described as St Leonards on Sea, which is in the borough of Hastings, but the smaller area the pub is in is called Bohemia... Whatever, it is up the hill about 1250 metres from the beach, and I prefer to call it Bohemia, because, well it sounds more bohemian (see Ordnance Survey website). And, by "real ale" I mean cask-conditioned ale, see CAMRA website; though Belgian beers do come a close second to proper British cask-conditioned draught ales, in my opinion...

The Tower is the reigning CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) South East Sussex Pub of the Year 2017, and sells 6 real ales from hand pumps; 2 regular excellent ales from Sussex brewer Dark Star (website), their 3.8% session ale Hophead and the stronger 4.7% American Pale Ale (APA), so-called because of the style and the use of hops from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. There are also 4 regularly changing guest ales (and more often than not from local breweries too), and 6 real ciders and 1 perry (the perry currently from Westons; concerning 'real cider and perry' see CAMRA website).

The 'guest' ales included Hopback Summer Lightning (5%, see website), an excellent pale bitter I've used to help convert lager drinkers to real ale many times over many years! Also, the 3.9% pale session bitter from Red Willow (website), their Stateless, which is brewed with more hops from across the Pond, Cascade, Columbus and Chinook... it does what it says on the label, it's pale with citrus flavours and finishes with a dry bitterness. But...

OK, it's obviously the right time of year to be appreciating darker beers, but I particularly want to express just how good the Porter shown in the photograph was, however, I next drank, from Kent, Whitstable Brewery Christmas Spirit (I noted 4.6%, the website says 4.7%, I could be wrong! Website). Darker, a reddish chestnut colour, and brewed with English hops, Admiral and East Kent Goldings, as one would expect, producing a slightly spicy beer, not too heavy but with more body than the paler ales, and with a hint of chocolate in the aroma and taste too...

To the Aromatic Porter (4.5%) from Brewsters then (website), a brewery I've mentioned before when talking about women, brewing and witchcraft (eg blog and blog)! I didn't really get the 'aromatic' here though, and the chap sitting next to me at the bar, a well-known local CAMRA enthusiast, had been put off by the term 'aromatic', he needn't have been. Of course there was an aroma, but more subtle than the name implies, I tried to work out what it was, and I think I've come up with a dark berry, mostly blackcurrant, to the nose, certainly fruity. A much darker, well-bodied, bitter beer, with a dry finish and a hint of roasted barley in the taste, it was pretty damn excellent, and just £3 a pint, cheers Louisa!

Not to forget, ignoring Wetherspoons, the Tower is the best value real ale pub in Hastings, with the two regulars £2.90 a pint for Hophead and £3 a pint for APA, and on the day, the most expensive ales were £3.20 a pint, eg the Summer Lightning, and all in lined glasses too...

Keep up the good work Lou!