Wonderful Wonderful Copenhagen

War Pigs beer list

A recent three-day break in Copenhagen is barely enough time to form a strong view of the cities beer scene, but it certainly left an impression on me for a number of reasons.

As one would expect, Carlsberg is the dominant brewer and very high profile. The main brewery is no longer on the outskirts of the city but there is still a very well run visitor centre where the brewery once produced thousands of barrels of beer and a micro brewery that specialises in the excellent Jacobson beers. The main production plant is now in Fredericia on the Jutland peninsular, but more of Carlsberg later.

In Copenhagen we visited Vesterbro, the old meat packing district. This has become the fashionable and vibrant place for new restaurants, nightclubs and art galleries to establish themselves. Its also a great place for a craft brewery and WarPigs is a brilliant buzzing brew pub. Targeting the younger drinker with a thirst for zany beers that challenge both the palate and traditional beer styles, they brew some interesting beers both in name and flavour. We only visited the once and tried a couple of beers, First Resort IPA and Iron Dice Weiss bier, both were very good. They have upwards of twenty taps and all beers are unfiltered and if the other beers match up to the two I tried then no wonder this place is so popular.



War Pigs Brew Pub

The food offer here was all around large chunks of meat, potato salad, beans and slaw. Kept very simple it was satisfying and tasty and fitted like a glove when paired with the strong robust beers on offer. The décor suited as well, it reminded me of a canteen from a British Leyland car factory of the late 1970's from where I began my working life - uniform, simple, unpretentious but functional. However, the surroundings were the picture frame that allowed the artist to shine with the beer and food offering.

So if WarPigs is a good example of the craft beer scene then it certainly looks like that is well catered for. Another interesting visit was to Charlie's Bar. This is a well known haunt that specialises in cask ales from the UK. I was delighted to find some fine beers on show including two St Austell Brewery small batch beers. The beer was in good condition and served at the correct temperature. The bar is small, narrow but cosy and has a certain charm about it harmonises with the beer. There were some English voices to be heard but also Danish and it was clear the bar is not just an outpost for Brit's missing their favourite beers.

So, back to Carlsberg, from where my latest rambling began. A much respected multi-national company they brew and own some very big brands. As a Brit, one tends to think of the UK Carlsberg Green that's brewed to 3.8% abv, a standard lager, it performs a role but is still a big powerful brand. However the Carlsberg beers in Denmark are different, they are not dull, they are not insipid, they are polished, crisp and very drinkable stunning beers. I enjoyed Carlsberg and Tuborg lagers and all were excellent. Carlsberg is clearly a brand the Danish are very proud of and rightly so, it was great to see their branding in Copenhagen is confidently visible and part of the fabric of the city. They may not be cutting edge fashionable craft beers, but they are beers people enjoy drinking and of reputable quality.

So if you do visit Copenhagen and I would recommend it, especially at Christmas time, do visit Tivoli, its for tourists but a night time visit is quite charming. If you are into your beers search out the local craft offerings and if you have time, Charlie's Bar is well worth a visit. However I would finish by saying, do try the beers from the Carlsberg stable, just because they are the large dominant brewer does not mean they are characterless, it means they are fine beers and people have enjoyed drinking them for generations. Skal!

Reflections on Swindon Beer Festival 2017

The Steam Museum

Another year passes at Swindon Beer Festival set in the fabulous Steam venue, the railway museum in Swindon. For me, the venue is part of the attraction. Compared to its near neighbours Oxford and Bath, Swindon has a limited heritage, but the railway museum and the great workshop buildings that surround it, would once of harboured a momentous industry supplying railroad stock and engines to the railways in the South West. So at Steam, you are within touching distance of the towns industrial past.

As for the festival, well done to Swindon CAMRA for putting on yet another great event. Most CAMRA run beer festivals are well oiled machines and everyone knows what they are doing and this was no different. I was also delighted to meet many old friends from the branch who all made me feel most welcome. Swindon seems to have a solid core of enthusiastic volunteers all of whom are intent on making sure both they and their festival goers have a good time.

The beer festival itself is an event for showcasing the best beers, with some music featuring in a supporting role rather than one of the main protagonists. There are over 100 beers plus ciders on show attracting in excess of 2,000 visitors across the three-day event. What Swindon do well is to limit the glass size to the half pint (lined at a third). This promotes trial of lots of different beers rather than pint glasses which can lead to problems associated with over indulgence!

The festival has changed little over the years, bar an extended food area. Yes, it would be great if they could showcase keg/craft beers as well, but I am realistic enough to know the latter bring a technical services challenge that the volunteers wont have the necessary skills or equipment to overcome. I think for many regional beer festivals, showcasing craft keg is a step too far without the support of CAMRA head office.

I attended with my day job as St Austell Brewery and we are always popular guests. Our beers for the event included well known brands like Tribute and Proper Job, along with the perennial favourite at this event, Bucket of Blood - it is Halloween of course! We always try to feature a couple of new beers and were delighted to have a wonderful beer called Dear Boy, brewed to commemorate St Austell's BLO from Cornwall, Gerry Bazin, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Dear Boy, as Gerry would refer to people, sold very well indeed and there were many requests for St Austell to bottle this or make it a permanent part of the portfolio.

Swindon CAMRA logo

We also had Mocha Choca Lotta, a 6% milk stout. This split the room, some loved it, others less sure. Not a beer for me, the coffee flavour was a little dominant. However there is always a place for beers that challenge the conventional at beer festivals, it should be an environment where customers can taste beers that they would just not see in their local pub.

I'd say to anyone thinking of attending a beer festival, please go along and give it a try. By there very nature, a lot of small brewers benefit as there are fewer well known brands on show so you are supporting grass roots brewing and business. Swindon CAMRA and Steam set a high bench mark with their organisation so if other regional events can match that you would be in for an enjoyable visit.

More than just a new suit!

 

Classic view of Salisbury from the racecourse

We recently spent a few days in the lovely cathedral city of Salisbury, primarily to visit the races for my part and for my wife, a trip to the shops with new outfits to be perused and purchased. The days racing was as good as ever and I can thoroughly recommend a visit to Salisbury racetrack, a small regional course but with bags of character and good quality flat racing. The day at the shops promised less interest for me but this is where my next blog begins.....

After an arduous morning of my wife trying on various outfits only relieved by a short Costa stop, lunchtime was fast approaching so I felt being in the heart of Badger Ales country, it was time to search out a decent pint of Tanglefoot. This is a classic beer and those that know their regional brewers will appreciate finding a perfectly served Tanglefoot is quite a treat. I was in luck, the New Inn was just around the corner and the beer was very good. Once refreshed we ventured out and that's where we discovered Regent Tailoring and the subject of my blog.

Regent Tailoring shop window

An exquisite gentleman's and ladies tailors with its focus on classic British clothing, this was a shop for me. We met the owner, Jason Regent whose grandfather was butler to Ian Fleming, writer of the iconic James Bond novels. Jason clearly has a passion for the 1960's, and quality tailoring, but he is also wise enough to realise his business will do better by looking outside of clothing sales alone, so he is branching out and has launched the Regent Liquor Club.

The shop itself is on three floors and made up of numerous small rooms with many terrific tailoring treasures to be unearthed as well as some gems of other items you would not expect to find in a normal clothes retailer. The business targets an affluent customer with style and taste, but also a customer that is ready made for the craft gin, rum and beer market, as well as some exclusive wines. It struck me what a good idea this was because although his customers are not huge in number, they do spend time in the shop, so up-selling into areas of interest that are not just focused on clothing makes sense. He does not need to carry a huge range, just enough to make it interesting with brands that are either exclusive, local or not available in the major retailers in the city.

The cost is just a premises license, the marketing of the club and the stock, so potentially a low risk venture assuming he does not over order with stock. I'm sure it will take time to get the liquor offer up and running but in terms of thinking out of the box and trying to grow his business in other ways, it seems a good idea.

As for the beers on offer, these were limited to the one brewer at my time of the visit, Downton Brewery, a local brewer. Jason gave me a bottle of the New Forest Ale to try, which was a robust 4% bitter and easy to drink. Showcasing local beers that are not easily available is a solid starting offer, so long as the beers are good and consistent. In time, as his reputation for craft and distinctive liquor builds he might be able to grow into offering some of the more eclectic craft beers from further afield.

Good luck to him, both for the main business of clothing and the liquor venture. As for me, I did make a few purchases on the day, a classic waistcoat made from material that Jason had discovered from the 1960's and a couple of cigars to enjoy as a treat. As we tend to go racing at Salisbury each year, I will at least have one shop to look forward to visiting as well.

For anyone interested in Regent Tailoring or the racecourse the links are below:

http://www.regenttailoring.co.uk/
http://www.salisburyracecourse.co.uk/salisburyracecourse.html

Reflections on GBBF 2017, past, present and the future?

Festival goers Nick Sturley & Shane Gilchrist

Another year of the amazing Great British Beer Festival and well done to all the volunteer CAMRA members and brewery bars who work so hard to make this such an enjoyable celebration of cask beer.

The organisation of GBBF is a well oiled machine and everyone knows what they are doing to produce great beers served in pristine condition ready to serve for the first day. Great credit is deserving for all of those who work so hard to make this happen, but below the surface, just like an iceberg, is all well with GBBF?

I have attended the last five consecutive GBBF's so what has changed in that time. The UK beer market has certainly changed dramatically with the influx of craft ales and pressure from other sectors such as gin and cider, but has GBBF, the showcase for cask ale moved on to address this?

CAMRA bar

To an outsider the answer has to be no. Yes there has been some welcome additions with the American and Foreign beer bars and more street food stalls, but the place still looks the same as it always has and there seems a dearth of fresh, younger active members amongst the volunteers. Everyone, including the event has just got a little older and it seems as less inviting now to younger drinkers as it was five years ago. That's not to criticise its appeal to more mature drinkers, it certainly fulfils that need, but in my view it needs to move on and appeal to younger drinkers.

It is time for CAMRA to grasp the nettle and start to showcase craft keg beers and lagers from UK brewers, whether they are brewery conditioned or naturally conditioned. That probably means enticing these brewers themselves to showcase their beers as its as much about badge style, design and meeting the brewers as the beers themselves. Cans should also be welcomed with open arms, quite why these are frowned upon is beyond me as often these mimic a beers draught version better than a bottle.

Tiny Rebel brewers bar

The number of brewery bars increased this year from eight to eleven, but it was noticeable that the bigger regional brewer players have ceased to support the event i.e. Greene King, Marston's, Charles Wells (now part of Marston's). These bars were once the life blood of GBBF offering not just a taste of their fabulous beer but also a brand experience. Without a strong selection of brewers GBBF is a poorer event.

So for the future, imagine a different GBBF, an event to be proud of that truly showcases all that is best in the world in UK beers. It would feature the best of cask beers, keg and lagers from the UK. Bottled beers whether they are bottle conditioned or not and of course cans. Brewers would be welcome, the bigger regional brewers set the standards and their big brands help to keep the market robust against other sectors,  but its important the event is also accessible to the smaller craft brewers as well.

St Austell Brewery Proper Job Ambassadors on trade day

Some areas would have to compromise to make space. Perhaps fewer CAMRA bars, less street food, less book stalls etc and the biggest compromise of all might be divorcing the event from the core beliefs of CAMRA to avoid the constraints of preserving cask beers only. I think for cask to survive and prosper in the future you have to make it attractive to craft drinkers and to promote it alongside these beers at the same event would seem a good start.

In conclusion, I am still a great fan of GBBF but I think there is a wonderful opportunity to make this it a quiet brilliant event if changes are made now. If it carries on in the current format for the next five years I fear numbers will have declined further and someone will invent another event that will take its place. Please don't let that happen, its too good to lose CAMRA.

Favourite Cornish beer and Cornish cheese pairings

 

A lover of beer and cheese, I decided to indulge myself by choosing some of my favourite Cornish bottled beers to match equally favourite Cornish cheeses. In my view the beer and cheese food match is one of the very best so its been great fun and equally satisfying to define this further.

I will make no excuses that my favourite Cornish beers are all from St Austell Brewery. An established major player in the South West, their beer range is so diverse in terms of style and flavours that its hard to beat when looking for an interesting, varied and quality beer selection.

For the cheeses I've tried to select the major Cornish cheeses, ones that you just might find in a local supermarket or delicatessen, so if you want to try these yourself there is every chance of finding them. There are certainly other wonderful cheeses produced in Cornwall by smaller cheese makers so my apologies to those for not making my selection.

So here we go, here are my selections.

Proper Job IPA and Cornish Blue

 

Proper Job is quite possibly my favourite bottled beer and one that always forms part of my weekly beer festival. A modern 5.5% abv IPA, it has plenty of resinous pineapple and citrus on the palate with a bitter back bone that does not hide away to keep your taste buds in check. The mouth feel is fresh and not overly big, so its quite capable of contrasting a full creamy cheese.

Cornish Blue has been crafted on the edge of Bodmin moor by Philip and Carol Stansfield on their farm using milk from their Friesian herd since 2001. The cheese is mild, creamy and sweeter than other blue cheeses and not one to rival a more robust Stilton in flavour, being more delicate and subtle but no less enjoyable. A past winner of the Tesco Cheese Challenge, Cornish Blue's most prestigious award came in 2010 when it was judged World Champion cheese and in the same year it was Champion cheese at the Bath and West Show. It can be found at many food Festivals across the region and likewise some of the larger supermarkets will have it on sale in their specialist cheese section.

This is not a strong blue cheese, its sweetness and butter overtones offer a fine contrast to the bold forward resins and bitterness of Proper Job. The latter can also make a fine match to a sweet dessert and in Cornish Blue its certainly found a similar partner on the cheese board.

Eureka American Pale Ale and Cornish Gouda

 

Eureka APA is a relatively new 4.9% abv beer from St Austell. Its brewed using the single hop variety in up and coming American Eureka hop and its most definitely in the craft beer style as befits the label design. Eureka has a hint of wild garlic on the nose, and this follows through onto the palate which can be described as caramel with and hints of onions combined in one. Craft beers  are meant to challenge the taste buds, and Eureka is certainly no back number in the craft beer stakes but its still a lovely beer with bold hop flavours to the fore.

The cheese partner needs to be big and whole hearted to keep pace with Eureka and Mature Cornish Gouda is right up there. Made by Giel Spierings from a Dutch family that moved to a farm near Looe in 1998, they found milk production was not longer commercially viable so son Giel set about offering an alternative income and founded the Cornish Gouda Cheese company using traditional cheese making skills leaned in Holland. Cornish Gouda is matured for 10 to 12 months to allow for crystals to form for a crunch on the palate.

The Mature Cornish Gouda is a past winner of the Best Hard Cheese at the Great British Cheese Awards so its build up a sound pedigree. Rather like Eureka, caramel is part of the flavour make up and its a bit nutty and of course above all there is creaminess. it works well with the hints of hop garlic flavours in Eureka, rather like cheese and pickle. Both of these offerings are a little unusual in their own way but none the less very tasty, perhaps that's why they make such good bedfellows.

Cornish Gouda can be found at Food Festivals and at some delicatessens. If you still struggle to find it then visit the website www.cornishgouda.co.uk to find your nearest stockist.

Bad Habit and Cornish Brie

 

Bad Habit is a wonderful deep golden Belgian style Tripel, sweet, spicy and orange zesty with plenty of condition and a bit of yeastiness, plus at 8.2% it will solve all your problems, at least for an evening! However here is a lovely beer, similar to something like Tripel Karmeliet but not as sweet. St Austell brew this as part of their small batch programme of specialist beers and is available in 330ml bottles direct from the brewery. It can be a harder to track down in shops so contact the brewery direct and buy on their online shop.

For its cheese partner the zestyness of this beer will cut through a thick creamy adversary so I choose a ripe Cornish Brie match up to this beer. Cornish Brie tends to be milder so make sure you find a more robust one like St Endellion luxury Brie. This uses double cream so not ideal if you are watching your weight but it is a real treat with a dreamily rich flavour. This cheese comes from the Arla Group who make cheese at their Trevarrian Creamery on the North Cornwall coast between Newquay and Padstow. This cheese is available through specialist delicatessens and some supermarkets.

Cardinal Syn and Davidstow Vintage Cheddar

 

Another Belgian style beer from St Austell, this time its Bad Habits deeper more sinister bother in the Belgian style Dubbel Cardinal Syn. Not quite as strong at 7.8% abv, its a much heavier beer on the mouth feel and the palate. Alluringly deep ruby in colour, the taste is spiced molasses black treacle combined fruity dark berry flavours and hints of medicinal, it will leave you with a warming after-glow and satisfied smile.

Cardinal Syn is another St Austell Small Batch Beer and best obtained from the brewery packaged in 330ml bottles. Mind you, that will be enough, a lovely beer to finish an evening on.

This beer needs an equally big partner. There are many cheddars in Cornwall but one of the most consistent and best comes from perhaps the largest cheese maker in the county in Davidstow. Tempted as I was to pair Cardinal Syn with an equally hidden gem of a cheese, why not use the big brand if its a fine cheese, so I recommend Davidstow Extra Mature or for a special night the Davidstow Vintage Mature. Both are fine cheeses and Davidstow are based on the North Cornwall coast so make the cheese in the county and use milk from over 300 farms in Cornwall and Devon. It can be found in most supermarkets with other premium strong cheddars.

Davidstow Cheddar is rich, strong with sharp bite in the finish, so Cardinal Syn with its warming glow and sweet treacle overtones works very well as a loyal and trusted partner. The cheese should always be the hero here but the beer gives it a good run for its money. Both are best savoured in small measures and a fabulous way to end a meal.

Mena Dhu Cornish Stout & Cornish Yarg

 

Mena Dhu Cornish stout is famously brewed using a blend of six different malts. At 4.5% abv this stout has the full six pack of complex flavours you would hope for. The aroma has a certain smokiness and bacon about it whilst the palate is Camp coffee, dark chocolate with an underlying liquorice that offers a sweetness complemented by slight burnt bitter finish. The unusual name comes from the Cornish word for black hill, which was the name of the farm run by brewery founder Walter Hicks and can make for a pronunciation challenge. However it is a wonderful stout and a worthy member of the St Austell portfolio.

 

I was rather surprised by my choice of partner for this beer as it would not have been my first thought as a natural partner, but there is no doubt that the masterful Cornish Yarg cheese is a brilliant accompaniment. Creamy and crumbly, rather like a Caerphilly, it has a slight tangy lemon flavour and the edible nettle rind imparts more earthy and herbal flavours. The unusual name also has a history, rather like the beer - it is named after Allan and Jenny Gray who gave the recipe to Pengreep Farm where the cheese is produced back in the 1970's - Yarg is Gray spelt backwards!

 

If you live in Cornwall, then no cheeseboard is complete without a wheel of Cornish Yarg, its a lovely cheese and I'm delighted to recommend it in my blog.

 

If you are tempted by the beer and cheese recommendations here and are struggling to source either, for the beers contact St Austell Brewery direct, they have an online shop that's good value for money and all of the beers above can be purchased here.

 

For the cheese, contact www.thecheeseshed.com who are based in Bovey Tracey, Devon. They are an online cheese specialist and will be delighted to offer these cheeses or an alternative. If cheese is your thing, visit their website, they have a great selection of locally produced and delicious cheeses from the South West.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craft beer, it not Glam Rock!

For a while now I've struggled in seeing what makes some of the craft beers seem so popular. Palate wise some of them are not always so great, they can be inconsistent, some have off flavours and with many being hop driven, one IPA merges into the next to form a multi-coloured ground hog day wallpaper of similarity. Coming from a background of building strong beer brands where consistency and quality are the cornerstone of the offer, craft beers can exude exactly the opposite.

Beer brands are of course being built in the craft market, just look at Punk IPA from Brewdog, its now the UK's largest IPA in the take home market, bigger than Greene King IPA or St Austell Proper Job, the latter of which is a fine beer, whilst the former is a fine brand, whatever you think of the beer.

So perhaps the attraction craft comes from elsewhere and its not just about the flavour of the beer? Locally brewed beers fit in the craft sector and this is an attraction in itself but not necessarily an asset that will grow a brand outside of its core area, there has to be more to it. So what else?

One of the major factors has to be the design of the can, label or clip. Can designs in particular can be really quite outlandish with colour ways that defy the norm and do just about everything you should not do to get a design noticed but there is no doubt, they work. There seems almost a backlash against what used to conform a good design that reflected tradition, heritage and quality. It now seems right to be different away from accepted normality.

An analogy would be a throw back to the 1970's when the first garish outfits of glam rock hit the TV screens of Top of the Pops which seemed so attractive to young people at the time. Here the garish can designs are now hitting the shelves attracting the young people of today. Glam rock was a fashion in music and clothes which came and went within a few years. Some established brewers would doubtless have felt the craft beer movement would do similar and go as quickly as it came just like Glam rock, but no, that's not the case, craft is here to stay.

1970's Glam rockers, The Sweet

I think the key measure is at what level craft stays. If anyone can predict the answer there are many brewers out there all eager to know. Business decisions made now by both established brewers and craft brewers alike will dictate where some of today's strongest players sit in 5 to 10 years time. All are trying to predict the future and there will be some big winners and even bigger losers. Its true, there are examples of fashions within the drinks market that come and go, for example the smooth flow beers of the late 1990's, although it seems unlikely craft will go the same way as smooth.

Craft will hit a ceiling for certain, just like smooth flow but its no Glam Rock its here to stay. It has shaken up the established market and attracted younger people away from the dreaded standard lager brands. People now appreciate not just the taste, but the design and provenance play an equally big part.

Reflections on the 2017 Alltech Craft Beer & Food Fest, Dublin

 

A weekend spent in Dublin is always enjoyable but combined with the Alltech Craft Beer & Food Festival and a Six Nations rugby weekend to boot, then it always was going to be a winner.

The Craft Beer Festival was run by Alltech, a wonderful multinational business who are very successful in the world of animal feed, meat, distilling and brewing. As part of their business they run and sponsor this particular event that takes place at the impressive Dublin Convention Centre.

The festival lasts for three days and there are over 8,000 visitors with 38 breweries represented serving almost 9,000 litres of craft ale. Most of the breweries are from Ireland but there was a smattering from other counties including St Austell Brewery and Marston's from the UK and Schneider Weisse from Germany. There was also live music from a handful of great bands and live rugby was shown featuring both international games on the Saturday.

What made this event so special was the age group it attracted. At last here was a beer festival offering an informative, professionally run event that was full of younger people. What a contrast to some UK beer festivals! Undoubtedly the tasty craft beers were the main attraction but much care had been taken in providing suitable entertainment, both musical and sporting. Education was also a key part of this event and this included a cooperage demonstration and there were other factorial displays on how beer was brewed and distilling worked. It was also the case that the brewers present were there not just to showcase their beers, but also offer advise and information to an age group that was thirsty not just for beer, but for understanding beer knowledge as well.

The stands were professional and consistent, nothing looked out of place or outshone a neighbour. Alltech had clearly taken great care to ensure this and it paid dividends as the smallest brewers compared well to much larger competitors. The beers were also in good condition and served at a refreshing temperature. Again that's not something you can always say about a UK festival where commercial constraints can dictate that cask beer is sometimes offered too warm and insipid as no cooling is applied. Of course keg beers are the norm in Ireland which are run through a cooler so they had an advantage, but it worked, a refreshing cooler temperature is what younger people preferred.

As you would expect with craft beers there was a numerous selection of beer styles on show although the wild and whacky brews/flavours were perhaps less evident than some other crafty events. There were however some fine beers on show. It seems unfair to select any as being better as I certainly tried only a small number, but I did enjoy beers from the Independent Brewing Co from Co Galway, about as far west as it gets. Also Black Donkey Sheep Stealer, a traditional farmhouse Saison style beer was excellent, whilst the Wicklow Wolf Lobo, a new IPA was reasonably restrained and as a result highly drinkable. There were many good beers to try, brewed by brewers eager to communicate their quality, caring and love for the product.

So would I return? yes of course! I would certainly recommend a visit to this festival next year to anyone interested in the Irish brewing or distilling scene, or even if you just fancy a weekend in Dublin to take the in festival and enjoy the party atmosphere. Well done Alltech, a great event and cant wait for 2018!

Pub Astrays, reminders of the past

Palette Ashtray

As a result of working for many years in brewery and beer marketing ordering Point of Sale (POS),  I've developed a little interest in breweriana, which to those who don't know relates to any article containing a brewery or beer brand name, usually in connection to collecting them as a hobby. I'm a non-smoker but my particular passion is the humble pub ashtray. Rarely seen in-situ now as a result of the smoking law changes, these were once common place and every pub table would feature one.

I've purchased many over the years for my jobs working for Morland Brewery and St Austell Brewery. The cheaper ones were made of glass or melamine but the classic ashtrays were usually formed in ceramic. One of my all time favourites was the palette ashtray from Morland and I confess to acquiring a few of this classic piece from various online auctions.

Old Speckled Hen Ashtray

This ashtray was not one of my designs, but ordering such items did give me the scope to design a piece in conjunction with the supplier. Normally this was not very innovative and it was common to follow the shape of the pump clip and create an ashtray with the clip design in the centre. Seems bizarre now to think we'd encourage people to stub their cigarettes out on our brand names, but that was what we did!

However, as geeky as this interest might be now, saving these items does mean we get to remember the beers and breweries from yesteryear. Plus, we can also see how a brands design and advertising approach may have changed over time as the supporting POS reflects this. I think its really important and interesting to keep these things alive but does lead one to reflect on the very lack of such items of the current beers. For example, just how will we remember the craft beers and modern brands of today if brewers rarely produce POS to support them?

As people drink more at home and less in pubs the need for POS becomes less. Its also true that pub brands are more common now and they tend to use less POS from supplier brands as the messages within the pub needs to be more consistent with their overall offer. The growth of digital marketing has had a huge negative impact on the need to for POS. It certainly makes brands more accessible and reputations are now built online as opposed to more traditional marketing methods, but there is little need for POS to support this media.

So in my view, the once humble and somewhat maligned pub ashtray still has a significant role to play in remembering the beers from the past. If you own such and item, don't throw it away, it will likely never be worth much but they are part of brewing history and of interest to someone. As for todays brands, hopefully someone will come up with the modern day equivalent of the pub ashtray to help us remember all the current exciting and innovative brands. It would be a great shame if in ten years time we have no physical reminders of the beers we love and currently enjoy.

Craft beers - Look, Learn, 330ml IPAs & Flavour

An enjoyable visit to the local craft beer shop has helped me, an over 50's premium ale drinker put some perspective on these beers and their market and also see why young people find them so attractive.

Firstly, the designs of the labels are so different, edgy, unconventional, the contents of the beer is almost secondary. They scream....I'm out of the ordinary! I'm not what your Dad drinks! If you drink me you'll be cool in the eyes of your peers. That's all a bit concerning for the label designs of the established brewers whose brands communicate different values.

Secondly, its about discovery and knowledge. In the shop were two other people, both young men and both interested in learning a little about the brewer of the beers they had chosen as well as how the beer tastes. All very commendable that its not just about the abv, they have a thirst for beer knowledge as well as the beer itself. They were also keen to try new beers, its about discovery as well as having some favourites. Finally, they want their newly discovered brewers to do well and be popular but at the same time its great that a beer is not always available, making it a bit special when found. As a marketer, its like craft is the brand, rather than any of the beers in the category.

Beers that do grow and become well known are still welcome and drinkers want to see successful beers. However, the commercial realities of up scaling heavily hopped beers using expensive third world hops may fall on inexperienced ears.

Thirdly, its about 330ml IPA. In terms of packaging, although there were more 330ml cans on the shelf, there were significantly more 330ml bottles on show and very few 500ml bottles with the exception of some of the German beers. The IPA word acts like a magnet and is still the buzzword and call to action for purchase. Easy communication of beer styles needs to form part of any design and the IPA term seems to transcend all designs, whereas other beer style names are less imposing. Many of the established brewers have still not grasped the importance of beer styles and their key in the decision to buy so here's a chance for the craft brewers to take the lead and get this right. The problem is that the very nature of the powerful and sometimes aggressive label designs leads to confusion on the shelf as each label tries to shout louder than its neighbour to get noticed. Hence the one consistent piece of branding that gets noticed is the beer style i.e. IPA

Finally and somewhat belatedly I think its about quality. This seems less important and drinkers are more accepting of beers that are of less than perfect condition, funkiness as in off flavours is perceived as good in some cases. Other beer styles are slowly coming to the fore, but at the moment its the hop flavour that's desired most and so long as a beer sings spicy citrus and bitter hops all day long, it can overcome its imperfections.

So what of the beers I purchased. I tried a Black Flag White Cross IPA and Beavertown Lupuloid IPA in cans. Both good beers but I preferred the Beavertown beer, it had more depth of flavour, more condition and felt like the brewer had tried to create a blend of hops flavours rather than just add as many hops as possible. I finished with a Saison Dupont, a classic beer and the standard bearer for Saisons. I enjoyed them all, BUT, they certainly left a dent in my pocket and compared to the 500ml Premium Packaged ales I normally buy, I was choosing "discovery and cool" over value for money.

So if this is the future, what of the present? Fear not 500ml bottle drinkers there is plenty to enjoy yet but that's for another blog.





 

Beer & Cheese Together

I've always said at beer tastings that beer and cheese is one of the best beer and food matches you can enjoy and often use cheese as part of my beer talks to demonstrate how flavours work together. I was therefore thrilled to be invited to meet Ian Wellens and his team at the Cheeseshed in Bovey Tracey, Devon to take this a stage further with some refined matches.

The Cheeseshed is an online business specialising in artisan cheeses sourced from the West Country. You won't find the well known brands available here that you can get from any retailer, no its a lot better than that! It is the equivalent of the craft beer shop, bringing to life some fabulous specialist and deliciously characterful cheeses you have never heard of.

Being a Beer Sommelier the one thing I can do reasonably well is to describe the flavour and make up of a beer, but I've never really tried to describe the flavours of cheese and actually, its really quite hard. To me cheese tastes like cheese, I can describe the texture but attributing flavour characteristics in terms of flavours I can recognise, well that's hard. This made the whole task of beer and cheese matching a whole lot more tougher.

So on with the matching. First of all let me say the beers were all St Austell Brewery beers and excellent beers they are too, but they were the easy bit. Here are the suggested matches we came up with.

Tribute & Smarts Single Gloucester. St Austell's flagship Pale ale, Tribute a hop driven beer leading to delicate citrus flavours and very easy to drink. It does not want to be over-powered by the food flavour so this lightly textured cheese with an equally mild mannered flavour was a good partner. Its like for like and they seemed to respect each others strengths.

Mena Dhu Stout & Devon Smoake. A big flavoursome toasted chocolate stout with hints of liquorice and smokiness complemented the Devon Smoake cheese superbly. This match was quite a hit, they went together like carrots and peas. Both have an element of smoke and both have a sweetness, but the rich chocolate of the beer was balanced by the earthy creaminess of the cheese. I've always matched smoked cheeses to Weiss beers in the past for which they work equally well, but certainly a traditional stout is another option.

Proper Job IPA & Cornish Blue. I've always found the citrusy IPA's difficult to match with cheese but the blue cheeses seem to work best. Proper Job is a big resinous pineapple IPA with a solid bitter backbone. Cornish Blue is not the strongest of blue cheeses but that's the trick, it had enough firm creamy texture to balance the natural hop bitterness of the beer and the flavour did not overtake the fruity hops of the beer, both stood out without reaching a tipping point against each other. Cornish Blue is a favourite cheese of mine so I was delighted to include it within the tasting.

HSD & Cornish Yarg. A legendary beer with a likewise cheese. HSD is St Austell's oldest recipe beer and something of a hidden gem. Its a strong malty beer but well balanced with plenty of fruity pear drop esters. Cornish Yarg has a crumbly and creamy texture, quite rich and a hint of lemon. The flavour is more delicate so although a contrast to the beer, they did match really well.

Bad Habit & Francis wash rind cheese from James Cheese makers in Dorset. Bad Habit is a Belgium style tripel, rather like Leffe, its spicy, lemony, blonde and heartily strong. The cheese is pungent with a firm interior and a touch a citrus on the palate. A contrast of flavours, the beer is delicious and will always be the hero but this unusual cheese with a depth of flavour holds up well against it.

Cardinal Syn & Quickes Vintage Cheddar. The biggest beer of all requires one of the biggest cheeses of all. Cardinal Syn is dark, Christmas cake type dark fruits with treacle and esters flavours, full and rich on the palate -  a powerful beast of a beer.  The Vintage Cheddar is matured for two years and has a crumbly texture with a intense rich flavour with hints of caramel - its a very fine and complex cheese indeed. Both are wonderful taste experiences and together they would make the perfect end to the most regal of dinners.

I really enjoyed meeting Ian and his team and hopefully we'll be able to pull together a evening of beer and cheese tasting at some stage. The Cheese Shed offers some wonderful cheeses, its just the same as discovering some wonderful new beers so if you like the sound of them, do visit his website www.thecheeseshed.com Thank you Ian for one of my best mornings work of 2016!