It was an interesting week, almost surreal at times. It’s called the Great British Beer Festival but it’s so much more than that. I’m not going to go into the debate about CAMRA’s beer policy, I am quite franky bored of it. The festival is so much more than it’s name advocates because it misses out the word people. It’s the people and everything they bring to the entire week that makes it. Without the people it would just be another boring beer festival. I’d like to say a big thanks to each and everyone of you, without exception, for making it what it was.
Tuesday
After filling myself with an almost lethal amount of coffee I caught the train down to Euston where I was plesantly suprised to find the Euston Tap open early. A quick half of Bristol Beer Factory’s Saison, a quick check into my hostel and I was on my way to Earls Court. I headed straight for the Thornbridge Stand and a half of Chiron was mine. I’ve tasted the vast majority of the Thornbridge range many times before but Chiron had escaped me up until this point. I wasn’t disappointed. A good smack of American hops was a fanastic way to ease me into an afternoon of imbibing. @SandstoneSweep was nagging me to go and find @HardknottSooty so five minutes later I was sat around a table with @HardknottAnn, @HardknottAlex/@BarmanAlex, @BeerReviewsAndy and @Aletalk. Despite only having a couple of halves, this is where things started to get hazy; The afternoon was spent running around for beer/toilets/fags. Problem was that you couldn’t go anywhere without bumping into someone you know – new faces, old faces and a couple of faces you really want to avoid. Even met the bloke from college who got me and my girlfriend together – that was odd.
The stand out beer of the afternoon really had to go to Hout and Hop from De Molen, full of Brett character, although the 2 year old lambic from Cantillon was a close second. I really wish I had more time to go to the US bar but perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. One beer that really disappointed me was the Fullers Brewers Reserve No3. I was handily one of the first in the queue for the second phase of serving for this beer and to be honest, I would rather have waited in the queue for 20 minutes for the No2 from last year. I can’t quite put my finger on what was lacking but it just didn’t float my boat at all.
One criticism that I did have of the British Beers (no, not that argument) was the condition. It’s hardly a promotion of British Real Ale when you’re conforming to the stereotype of warm, flat beer. If I served beer in this condition at the Wrexham Beer Festival I would have been ashamed. That said, I know how hard it is to keep beer in the circumstances that the bar managers had to put up with. I suspect the coolers were running flat out but with the humid mediterranean conditions of the hall they just couldn’t keep up. However, I didn’t let that spoil a good afternoon and around 6pm after meeting @TheHappyBat, @BeeryMatt and @MrsBeeryMatt it was time to leave.
I was ready for my bed but as it was still early I decided to head to the Cask and Kitchen in Pimlico. As hectic as I expected I went and sat on the pavement and found @robsterowski where we had a good chat about the good and bad bits of the festival. The Hardknott crew turned up shortly after and then @BeerReviewsAndy and @BeeryMatt decided to poison us all with the hottest bombay mix known to man. I’m pretty sure that stuff should be illegal under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. A fantastic evening of talking beer to faces old and new, including Max Chater of the Dean Swift who kindly invited me along to his pub for a bit of food and beer the next evening – but more on that later.
Stand out beer of the night had to be Mokah from Southern Tier (thanks to @GroveBri for that one), an Imperial Stout, rich and velvety with coffee and chocolate shining through to bring one of the best beers in this style I’ve ever had.
Still enough was enough and it was time for bed.
Wednesday
After a nice bit of toast and coffee in the Euston Tap, not to mention a fight with the Oyster top up terminal on the Underground I popped along to the Camden Town Brewery where @PeteBrissenden gave me a whirlwind tour of the £3million brewhouse. This was not just any brewhouse, this is a Dominic Driscoll type of brewhouse. Gleaming Stainless Steel everywhere, every brewing toy you can think of and all controlled by computer. I felt a sudden need for a packet of tissues and an overwhelming feeling of jealousy. However, it’s not your tools but what you do with it and Camden certainly don’t disappoint with their beers. I urge you to seek them out and drink (responsibly) copious quantities of whatever you can find.
A short walk (deceptively long as it turns out) to the Southampton Arms (SW5) saw me confronted by a fantastic pub with an excellent range of the cream of British brewing. A real back to basics pub I could easily have sat in here all day with @BGRTRob, @MrFoleys and @GroveBri. It’s the first time I’ve been to this pub and I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be the last. It’s everything I look for in a pub; Excellent beer, porcine products and good minimal decoration. Outside toilets also a plus in my book. No pretences, nothing trendy, just a good solid pub.
After that it was time for (my) inaugral trip to the Craft Beer Company in Clerkenwell. With 16 Cask Ales, 21 Keg Lines and a range of bottles to rival James Clay’s warehouse, this is a beer lover’s Nirvana. The majority of the keg lines were full of Mikkeller beers on my visit including the house beer, a lager made specifically for the Craft. Now many people know that I’m never bowled over by the majority of pilsner styles but this beer was fantastic; crisp with a nicely rounded body, far more than many I’ve tasted, and a fruitiness from the hops I struggled to name. A couple more halves and then the highlight of the afternoon – artesianal Norwegian water. Hand crafted from the distilled tears of Norwegian peasants, or so I was inclined to believe. It’s bloody water, stop taking the piss.
Anyway, the group drifted off to head back oop north and we were joined by @rhodeshannah for a swift one before we headed over to the Gunmakers. A couple of well kept pints, although quite what they were escape me at the moment, and I headed off for a final one at the Euston Tap (my hostel was in Russell Square, a comfortable walk). I was suprised and delighted to find @JonathanQueally propping up the bar. Several bottles of Port Brewing’s Older Viscosity later and we called it a night. Almost. John went home and I finished off with a Cantillon Kriek. I’m quite proud that I was still standing at the end going by Jon’s reputation.
Thursday
After a quick trip to the Primarni at Marble Arch I headed towards London Bridge to catch a train to Brighton. I stopped off at the Rake, always a pleasure to meet Tom and Glyn, where they were celebrating International IPA day with a fantastic range of beers, both inside and on outside stillage. One beer turned into two and before you know it I decided to sack Brighton off. A pleasant afternoon slowly drinking and I had to be off. I had to pop into Borough Market for a couple of kilograms of cacao nibs (look out for a beer using them towards Autumn folks) and it would have been rude to pass Utobeer without stopping in to buy a few bottles.
A quick shower and shave later and I headed towards the Dean Swift. Now this was the highlight of the week. International IPA day was started by a couple of twitterers from the US and has been championed over here by James and Andy from Summer Wine Brewery. Max at the Dean Swift together with his Head Chef Momo Medi and the glutton that is Rick Furzer got together to produce a food and IPA matching night to celebrate the event.
I’ll leave it to Rick to explain the menu and beers and James from Summer Wine to explain the night as they are both far more masterful with words and descriptions than I will ever be. I have to say though, I referred to some of the attendees as “beer royalty” on Twitter and as far as I’m concerned the passion and talent of the people there that night puts them in a higher league in my mind than the monarchy ever will. Each course and beer came together to provide a taste and smell sensation. The talent of Momo in the creation of the dishes and Rick’s palate to match the beers perfectly to every morsel is unparalleled. The passion for beer was evident throughout the night, Max’s passion especially shone through and I have to say a big thank you for his generosity in the invitation. I was honoured and humbled to be there. One of the finest meals in my life, together with the company of people who are striving to make the beer world a better place, this night will alway stay in my memory. With people like this, there will be some exciting times ahead in the country for beer. I urge everyone to pop into the Dean Swift and witness the passion for themselves.
Friday
After some faffing around trying to find a bed for the night (thanks for all the offers of help people) I decided that it was time. Time for a pilgrimage to the Evening Star in Brighton. There were two reasons for my trip. One was the obvious, and the other was a meeting with my brother who lives down there. We’ve never really got on but it was good to see him, even if he decided everyone in the pub was a ‘weirdo’. I assume that included me.
The Evening Star itself had everything I look for in a pub. Good beer in tasteful surroundings run by a couple, Matt and Karen Wickham (@BeeryMatt and @MrsBeeryMatt) who obviously love good beer and all the people that follow it. For those who don’t know, the Evening Star was the birthplace of Darkstar Brewery, way back in the hazy days of 1994. I only had a couple of hours there (so including the train fair, probably the most expensive three pints I’ve ever had) but I enjoyed every second. I must make excuses to visit more often.
I headed back to London, the train quite handily came into Victoria this time so I popped upto the Cask and Kitchen in Pimlico again. Memory escapes me for the tipple I chose other than another Cantillon Kriek but I had a happy couple of hours sat there abstracting electricity for my phone and enjoying some beers.
Onwards to the Rake to meet up with James and Andy from Summer Wine, Martin/@6townsmart and Phil/@filrd for a couple of beers and a good laugh over this:
Everyone then headed to the Dean Swift while I popped into BrewWharf to meet @TomasDanko to enjoy the last remaining cask of BrewWharf v. Danko, a Saison brewed at BrewWharf by Angelo (@terry_tibbs) and Tomas back in June. I’d been waiting to try this beer for months (my contribution was opening the boxes of candi sugar) and I wasn’t disappointed with it. Crisp with a mild fruitiness with a fantastic spiciness provided by the yeast, were it not for the 6% ABV I could have happily drunk it all night. But two pints later and we both caught a taxi to the Dean Swift for some more IPAs.
Everything got hazy after that…
Saturday
Last few hours in London so I headed down to The Kernel Brewery on Druid Street near Borough. Tucked away around the back of the railway arches, surrounded by a smorgasbord of meats and cheeses, this is where some of the most exciting beers in London are coming out. It was 10am and already the place was packed, helped by the Ratebeer crowd on their European Summer Gathering. There’s no computer controlled, gleaming stainless vessels here. Just good old fashioned passion and manual labour. The Summer Wine boys were already there and James was sipping an Imperial Brown Stout with vanilla and oak chips. I grabbed one myself once I could face beer and chatted the morning away with Phil (@flird) and his delightful partner Rachel.
Soon it was time to lump my case of bottles back towards Euston, we had a quick half in the Rake and parted company. I headed up to the Euston Tap to wait for the train, only to be joined back by Phil half an hour later (stalker!).
At 3pm the train was there and I headed back to North Wales, supping a glass of Camden’s Lager and reflected on a fantastic week. But it wouldn’t have been a fantastic without YOU.
You all know who you are. Thank you.
And another special thanks to Max Chater and Momo Medi from the Dean Swift, Rick Furzer, Andy and James from Summer Wine Brewery, Toby and Nate from Kernal, James Watt from Brewdog, Peter J Millar, Patrik Strandberg and Phil Strongman. Your passion is infectious and inspiring.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Simon Johnson.
“…people who respect beer are the finest people you’ll know. Beer is brewed to be enjoyed. When we lose sight of that, we lose beer’s soul”
Tweet This Post
When the brewery closed, it almost felt as if the heart had been ripped out of the town and its identity lost.
