American Beers and Michael Jackson.

A few years ago I wrote a blog about beers from the USA and included a homage to Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter, not the singer, and last year was 10 years since his death. I meant to write again last year but I wasn't so great with my ale blogging last year, so have decided to make up for it now by re-writing the original! My interest in beers brewed in the USA started in 1998, when I visited Chicago whilst I was delivering a paper to a social science conference out there, and I went to Goose Island for an afternoon. Goose Island was a brewpub, and is now owned by one of the biggie brewers, but it still brews in Chicago I believe.

Before I flew out I was provided with some local information from a friend who was married to a lass from nearby in Illinois, and I was very happy with the 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, I drank one that was called Honkers back at the hotel where I was staying, although another learning experience for me, they DO like their beer cold out there, the Honkers was dragged out of a sink full of icy water! 

Secondly, a friend of mine, Anne, who's first wedding, at Wandsworth Town Hall I was a witness at many many years ago, now lives in Florida, and she sent Ken Wells' Travels with Barley to me as a present. It's an interesting read, and, although I haven't been able to grab hold of any of the 'extreme' beers mentioned therein, eg Dogfish World Wide Stout, weighing in at a hefty 23.6%, nor the same brewer's 120 Minute IPA, packed with hops, and a meagre 18%, I did manage to find the 4 following weaker beers, available at the local supermarket.

You'll notice that these are mostly IPA style, or APAs (American Pale Ales), which was not such a hardship for me, knowing my preferences! The first of which was the bottle-conditioned, and extremely well known, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (5.6%). I thought that this may not be that good, being as it's considered a bit 'run of the mill' for American beers apparently, but it was bottle-conditioned, so... Magnum and Perle hops are used in the brewing process, and it is finished with Cascade, so promising, and it definitely had the citrus fruit you would expect. I got grapefruit in the flavour, and have seen another reviewer say tangerine, whatever, it had a very nice flavour and quite bitter too, what a pleasantly surprising start! More at the brewers website, if you want to research further.

OK, I was getting into this now, I do love research, and I moved on to my second choice, Steven Point (website) being the brewer, and their IPA, which is actually brewed for the UK market, that's how popular some of these beers are becoming! This is also 5.6%, and uses Magnum and Perle hops too, and dry hopped with Cascade, so I'm guessing they're competing directly with the Sierra Nevada... Indeed, I had already made a note of cascade hops used before checking, so that hop's flavour definitely came through, a wee bit apple in the flavour, hint of sweetness, and a bitterness coming from the grapefruit flavour provided by the cascade hops. Not bad at all, I wrote "goodish" in my notes, though not as much to my liking as the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

My penultimate beer was another IPA, this time brewed by Shipyard Brewing Company (website) and 5.8%. The Shipyard version is a single hop variety, and even has a subtitle Fuggles IPA, and yes, you've guessed, Fuggles are the hops of choice for this ale. I've seen quite a few reviews of this beer saying "traditional English style", oh dear, what a shame, though I didn't catch the grapefruit taste others did. Maybe I know the Fuggles hop a little too well, but I did pick up a fruitiness, apple and plum though for me! Another not too bad beer, but my IPA, or APA, of choice in this tiny sample has to be the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, thank you very much!

I finished off my American beer adventure with the Shipyard Blue Fin Stout (4.7%) a very different style of beer obviously. The Blue Fin Stout is described as a "classic Irish Stout" and has an array of hops used in the brewing process, Warrior, Cascade, Tettnang and Goldings, though, excepting 'Black IPAs", I have trouble spotting the hops in darker beers. This was very enjoyable, though, with a subtle malt and caramel flavour, and a nice dry roasted barley finish, 'twas a bit like a traditional stout, indeed, cheers!

So, I say a big "thank you" to the Yanks and their growing influence in the world of brewing, particularly to their willingness to chuck in loadsa hops, cheers m'dears!

Regarding Michael Jackson, the "Beer Hunter", he was a well known writer who loved many different styles of beer, including American and Belgian beers. A friend who works at Fullers Brewery gave me a bottle of the 'Extra Special' Fullers ESB Michael brewed for the American market, and it was very good too. Indeed, another customer I knew asked why I hadn't got Michael to sign the bottle label as he had (he was going to see if he could sell it on e-bay). Silly man, I'd already drunk it the night before!

But Michael did like to knock back pints of his favourite ale in a jug, the merely 3.5% Chiswick Bitter brewed at Fullers in nearby Chiswick. His last evening on earth was spent drinking Chiswick Bitter at his local pub, the Andover Arms in Brackenbury Village near Hammersmith, whilst I was relief manager there... 

R.I.P. Michael Jackson (1942-2007).

Women and Beer: 1. The Beer Goddess

I am going to blog two, perhaps controversial, pieces about women and beers/brewing/pubs, and I got the idea of writing this first blog a few years ago, from reading Travels with Barley, written by the American journalist Ken Wells, within which he discusses the idea of the "Beer Goddess"; a book, incidentally, sent to me by a friend of my youth, Anne, who now lives in Florida. And I immediately thought of the Sumerian Goddess of Beer, Ninkasi, as one does...

But, no, Mr Wells was really looking at the influence of women on men drinking beer in the contemporary U.S. of A., we could be talking about poor lagers, of course, but we are also talking about the craft beer 'revolution' that has been going on over there for quite a few years now. Craft brewers in the USA have, in recent years, been instrumental in, not just the development of new strains of hops, but also the use of hops aplenty in the brewing process, most of their beers aren't 'real' ales as us Brits expect, but they can certainly pack a punch with flavour, and strength! Notably, hops from over the Pond are regularly used in ales here now too, particularly the new-ish style (fad?) of American Pale Ales (eg Dark Star APA).

Women have had an enormous influence on brewing over the years, indeed, over many many years! As far as the history books show, women have dominated brewing from the first beers brewed in Sumeria 4,000 years ago, and for most of the centuries since, and there are quite a good number of women brewing (brewsters) for micro breweries now (eg Brewsters!), thank the goddess of brewing!

But, Mr Wells also was referring to female bar tenders or bar stewards, what some people in the UK call "barmaids", which apparently, is too sexist a term for the Americans and their pressure groups, so, to him, a barmaid is a "beer goddess." However, although the Bavarian barmaid can carry many glasses of foaming beer without spills, as this photograph attests to, and which may show a propensity towards superhuman strength, they are well oversized glasses, so nowhere near full. Us ale swilling British males, not always the most beautiful aesthetically, do enjoy the company of barmaids, though, let alone goddesses. However, I have to admit I've only ever had one relationship with a barmaid in my life, when I was in my early 20s, though my ex-wife runs a pub in Sheffield with her new husband (a lucky, and lovely, couple!); maybe many barmaids are goddesses, whatever, they've certainly avoided lowly me...

More seriously though, in recent years in Britain the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has used the female image to help its cause too, eg with this more up to date image of the goddess, Ninkasi, which I imagine was partly a way to encourage more women to drink real ale, although I'd imagine it has encouraged many men to drink even more real ale! 

A few years ago, Jennifer Ellison was used as part of CAMRA's successful campaign to stop the Government's beer tax escalator; she may well be a caricature of how barmaids are supposed to look, maybe a 'beer goddess' even. However, barmaids and barmen (I can attest to this having been a bar steward in many hostelries in the past) are usually much like the rest of us, ordinary people, not gods or goddesses, carrying out a wonderful role serving up quality ales to us, and may they continue to do so, many thanks.

Mr Wells also mentions a beer writer in the USA who calls herself "The Beer Goddess", Lisa Morrison, whom I follow on Twitter and Facebook, and I do like reading her articles, but, whatever, more next time...

Hail Ninkasi, indeed, cheers!