Pickled Quails' Eggs in a Pub!

OK, not strictly about beer, although I did imbibe a couple of good pints whilst in the pub, and, regarding this photograph, the jar above had already been relieved of a few eggs by the time I took the photograph at home later. However, I couldn't resist the pickled quails' eggs that were on sale yesterday from the bar of the Albion, Marine Parade/George Street, Hastings TN34 3AG (website), a pub I've written about before (eg blog), they're wee and they're very tasty! And many thanks to Claire for her generosity, cheers m'dear! 👍

The Albion's not just a great place for ale, pies and pasties in Hastings Old Town. 😉

Just £5 for a tastefully packaged and well-packed jar, I'll be back, cheers!

'The Beer Wench's Guide to Beer' Review

I first mentioned Ashley Routson, self-proclaimed (I'm not being sexist) Beer Wench, and her 'guide' 7 months ago (blog) because of her invention of IPA Day, that was first celebrated back in 2011. I said I would order a copy of her book The Beer Wench's Guide to Beer: An Unpretentious Guide to Craft Beer, which, as you can see above, I have in my possession.

I did mean to write a review of this book a while ago, but, well, I do get mixed up with other stuff too, including my other blog (Steve on Hastings), a wee bit of work here and there, visiting friends and family, not to forget following football and failing at playing in minigolf competitions, anyway, I didn't write the review before. So I've re-read The Beer Wench's Guide to Beer and can confirm that it certainly is An Unpretentious Guide to Craft Beer. The book was first published back in 2015, but I've not seen anything written by her for a few years. She was originally from the wine trade, I do believe, but her experience in tasting follows through to her beer journey very well.

Although it's subtitle is An Unpretentious Guide to Craft Beer, it is a well-written guide indeed, a slim (256 pages) but very informative softback publication. Ms Routson explains how she became interested in beers and its different styles and where they come from, her Eureka! moment when she discovered IPAs and Centennial hops, and Belgian beers. Early on I discovered why beers should be in green or brown bottles, and I own up that I didn't know beforehand how UV light effects beer in the bottle, and she goes on to explain and discuss the different styles of beer, the difference between lagers and ales, providing examples of each style to try. Because this is a book from across the Atlantic, many of those beers aren't available in Britain, but for obvious European styles, European beers are mentioned, as you would expect.

So, among many others including beers brewed in the USA, for English ales she includes beers from Meantime Brewery, Fuller's and Wychwood; for lagers she includes Pilsner Urquell, Spaten Premium Lager and Radeberger Pilsner; for Belgian beers she picks Westmalle Tripel (readers and friends will be aware this is my favourite Belgian beer) and the uniquely (for Trappist beers) dry-hopped Orval, her favourite, "arguably the best beer on the planet" she enthuses!

In my early days visiting Belgium, in the 1990s, I used to always panic when entering a bar and looked at their beer menus with numerous beers included, and immediately plumped for Orval as first beer of choice. But my favourite, as I state above, is Westmalle Tripel, although I'm happy to drink all others, purely for research purposes, of course; even drinking Stella in Belgium, it is certainly better than what you get over here, actually, a bit like drinking Guinness in Ireland! 

The Guide goes into the brewing process and the 4 essential ingredients of beer, that are malted barley, hops (above image of Hukins hopfield), water and yeast (yes, other ingredients are sometimes used too, but they're what's needed). She explains mashing, the wort, boiling, cooling and fermenting, and even mentions how some brewers Burtonize the water used, that is certain minerals are added to help try and replicate the water found in Burton upon Trent; something we used to do when I worked at Kelham Island Brewery 20 years ago.

She also adds a chapter about respecting beer and how to serve beer, the best glasses to use for each style, and tasting and evaluating beers. The later chapters include how to pair different beer styles with different foods, using beer in cooking, and suggests recipes and beer cocktails (!). In conclusion, Ms Routson certainly provides a more than unpretentious guide, this book is an easily read 'guide' and packed with easily digestible information. It would be good to be in touch with her sometime to swap information and discuss how brewing, craft beers and cask ales have developed in more recent years, oh well, likely not to be, cheers!

Postscript:

I always seem to be apologising for not writing many blogs, but, as my brother would say, I am a wee bit of a bampot... My last 2 notebooks have both been in the back pocket of trousers that were placed in the washing machine and I have lost notes going back months 😒

I must try and do better, stay safe folks!

London Pubs and an apology...

Apologies because I haven't written for a while, which is a combination of IT problems, other responsibilities and, let's face it, I'm notoriously in the pub! 😉 Well, I do have plenty to say and have been hoarding topics to write about since last year, and a mate posted this link to me on facebook, cheers Rod, which prompted me to pull myself together and write this easy blog! 

It's easy because I don't really have to say much this time, if you haven't looked at the link, it's to a website called Londonist, and article called Real Ale Trail: Where To Drink The Best Cask Beer In London. There is a lot there new to me, I can't visit the 40,000-ish pubs and bars in the country obviously, for which I again apologise, though I do try, but that article is pretty good and informative. I have previously visited and written about some of the pubs, for example, The Harp (above photograph, and blog from my older blog) and the Cask Pub & Kitchen (older blog), and the breweries, for example Sambrook's Brewery (blog), and I will try harder...

Anyway, expect more soon... ish, cheers! 🍺

Rye Waterworks & Happy (Chinese) New Year!

Indeed, today celebrates the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Rabbit (British Council), so Happy New Year! And what has this to do with the Rye Waterworks micropub (website)? Well, exactly a year ago today I wrote about my new year visit to the pub (blog), a favourite haunt of mine since I first wrote about it soon after it opened, getting on for 5 years ago (blog). Oh yes, and on Friday I visited for the first time this year, which meant I said 'Happy New Year' to the folks there... A roundabout way of linking my latest visit to the Chinese New Year, cheers! 😉

Anyway, like a year ago (blog), Friday was a lovely crisp day with a clear blue sky, and well worth the trip over. I started off with a few ales, 2 from Tonbridge Brewery (website), and the other brewed by the pub at their own microbrewery (blog), although this was one of the last firkins from before their brewery started functioning, when they were still a cuckoo brewery; ale from their own brewery will be available here very soon, I was assured by David. To the ales, I started off with the thirst quenching 3.9% Tonbridge Easy Street Pale, brewed with Northdown, Ernest and Fuggles, all 3 hops grown in Kent. It's a pale golden bitter with a light floral and spicy aroma, plenty of flavour considering its strength with a hint of citrus, and a lovely sharp bitter finish.

The other 2 were more traditional session bitters, the first being, appropriately, the 3.6% Tonbridge Traditional, brewed with Kent Golding and Challenger hops. I really rate this beer, indeed, I've not drunk a bad Tonbridge ale of any style recently, that I can remember, my notes say it does what it says on the label, hints of malt and citrus, very good! And the very local, also 3.6%, Waterworks Ureynal, a pun on the fact that in one of its more recent earlier lives the pub building was a public loo (blog with its history). This is another very good traditional session bitter brewed with Pilgrim hops, and, as I suggested above, I had a chat with David about this beer, and I am very much looking forward to my first taste of this, and other ales they are brewing, a pale and a darker ale too, when they are being served at the Rye Waterworks. 👍

And on to ciders... I had a couple of pints, including one of the excellent 5.8% Earl's Reserve Still Cider, made from Russet apples grown on their own 100 acre farm in Matfield, near Tonbridge in Kent, and where they've been growing apples since 1964, that is Charrington's (website). This is crisp and refreshing and so easy to drink, now this is apple juice, and one of my 5 a day! 😉

The second of my 5 a day (pictured above), and my final drink before departure to catch the train, was the slightly stronger, and crystal clear, 6.9% Perryhill Orchards Double Vision Cider (website). This is a more complex cider, with a dry bitter finish, and very good indeed, nice one; they also have a less dry version. Cheers m'dears, Happy New Year! 

Science and Beer 101

Logical! Many thanks to Rod for sharing this with me, cheers! Although Keith suggested 5 could come between 2 and 3, and 1 and 2 also, many thanks... 😁

Dark Beer Festival at the Jolly Fisherman in Hastings... NOW!

Walking by a couple of hours ago, but across the road, and I noticed the Jolly Fisherman was open earlier than usual, surprisingly (shouldn't have been) their annual Dark Beer Festival at this excellent micropub, open now, and at 12.00 noon tomorrow (Saturday) and from 14.00 on Sunday (facebook). Some very interesting beers there, cheers!

National Beer Day!

Many thanks to Planet Beer for making me aware, cheers! 👍