A Brown Day

A new year, a new brew. Have been thinking of something brown and malty since I finished brewing the Belgian beer....well to be honest, I had misordered malt, and had a big bag of Belgian Aromatic left! Since this is supposed to be used sparingly (authors suggest something in the region of 10% of the total grain bill) I need a few ideas. So, I brew lots of malty beer, a huge batch...which my kit does not allow...or experiment with a beer with a massive hit of AM (unwise, I'm led to believe)

Anyway, you can find the recipe here. I've used Northdown, again for pragmatic reasons. Firstly, they seem to go with darker beers, but, more importantly, I had a load of them left which were best before December 2011...well, what's a month? They came in at 7% AA, but I wonder whether they might be a little old now...oh well, at least I'm not desperate for a hoppy beer!

After my usual mash routine (dough in at 55C, let the temperature rise to 67C, leave for 80 mins, mash out for 10 mins at 70C), the wort has a lovely dark mahogany colour. As I write, I have almost finished the first stage of the boil, and it's almost time for a second addition of Northdown. A small addition at flame out and cooling, should, at least, give me some balance. however, I am looking forward to the the malt speaking for itself in this one.

I also invested in a clean element...actually I bought two ( one to wash, one to wear!). Boiling away beautifully! So the moral is, keep that element clean, and I have bought a load of descaler to prepare for the next brew!

Christmas Crawl - Field Report

With one of the party hors de combat, due to a broken ankle and other complications, it was left to Dr B and myself to seek out pubs and pints this Festivetide. All pubs and pints have been more fully reviewed through RateBeer . The map can be found here

Starting at the Bree Louise, we settled down to a couple of fine pints, and some hearty fare. This is a grand pub; unpretentious, relatively cheap, and in a good central location. A discount with your CAMRA card, too, which is a real bonus. With such a choice on offer we sampled Kent Brewery's Black Gold, Downton's Qhadhop, Saltaire's Elderflower Blonde and Nethergate Old Growler. All were good, well kept, with the Saltaire disappointing most, which surprised me. On reflection, we should/could have stayed here, but the Christmas Crawl is all about discovering, so we pressed on.

The Lord John Russell was but ten minutes away, and a half decent boozer. It didn't have the beery charm of the Bree, but it did its job well. A one room pub opening on to the main street, it sold a variety of beers....we could have even had a Brains Bitter if we were brave. But my recommendation had been for Dark Budvar, a nice roasty but refreshing pint....but rather pricey...damn that import duty! The place seemed friendly enough, and would definitely go back.

A slightly longer walk saw us in the Lamb in a part of the city I had not really walked through before. A dark, warm pub this, with oak and green leatherette the design motif. Quiet, but a good pint of Youngs Winter Warmer was most welcome. The theatre memorabilia made for an interesting conversation piece, and we supped our pints steeling ourselves for the walk into mainstream London.

We eventually found ourselves on High Holborn, but avoided the detour toward the Cittie of Yorke and pubs down at Chancery. Instead, we turned right and found the Princess Louise. I must have walked past this pub in the past, but will not do so again. What a great characterful place this is. Lots of Victorian glass and tile work, interior decor, and a well priced pint of Sam Smiths, which helped Dr B balance his budget (he being the poor sod that had to buy the Budvar earlier!). As you might have expected, this was busy, and, as the day (be it shopping or working) was drawing to the end, folk were hitting the pubs.

Then the most disappointing part of the trip.....a left and dogleg saw us walking down Shaftesbury Avenue to Seven Dials and a little beyond to The Harp. CAMRA pub of the year this year, I was looking forward to visiting. What greeted me was a pub virtually devoid of seats, processing custom at rapid, but efficient, pace. The standing drinker was treated to good beer, my Dark Star Over The Moon was lovely, the keeping bring out the good balance of mild malt and fruity hop. However, my natural inclination against standing in pubs was further exacerbated by Dr B getting involved in 'words' with several members of the clientele who thought obstructing a perfectly pleasant request to allow passage was a bit of fun. My understanding is that The Harp is always this rammed, so I doubt I'll be back.

Frustrated we turned left and a longish walk down The Strand, Aldwych, and onto Fleet Street found us at a favourite hideaway pub, the Crown and Sugar Loaf. This pub seems so unknown that it was shutting as we arrived, at 7pm!!. This forced Us into the second option of the very busy, very touristy Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. This pub is worth visiting if you've never been, just for the history. The Sam Smiths OBB is still cheap and tasty, but the place gets very full.

We were now within striking range of an evening closer in Ye Olde Mitre, another hidden away place, just off Hatton Gardens. This place feels like you are entering a secret world down alleyways of Victorian London. Always pleasantly full, yet rarely squashed for a place to sit, the pub seems to have gone all Fullers on us, although that may be my memory. An OK pint of seafarers, as the guest was off (this place IS tiny, it can probably only accommodate one guest!). The evening drew to a close, with the nasty taste of The Harp in our mouths - albeit not a beer related taste!

Taking the long walk back North to St Pancras to see Dr B off, and then back to Euston to get the tube to Waterloo, I felt my 8 hour, 8 pint, 7 (and a half) pub, 6 mile crawl had been a good one. Certainly a few more venues to add to me map of decent pubs I've tried in town.

The only downside? Well I slept through my stop at Southampton Central, and ended up in Brockenhurst!! Fortunately, I had but 10 mins to wait for the last train back East!

Uncorking a Belgian

As Christmas approaches, I thought that it was time to take the Belgian for a test run.

This has taken forever to clear, almost eight weeks....and it still looks a bit cloudy. There must be about a centimetre of crud at the bottom of all the bottles, which is one of the issues with BIAB. It also looked as if the sedimentation and compaction given by that Belgian yeast wasn't great! Either that or the finings I used inhibited compaction of the crud...you can see the layer move around in the bottle! Still, I could wait no longer....

My first bottle was a bit of a disaster. Opening it, there was a satisfying 'pssht', suggesting the carbonation was good....and then came the foam. Looking like something from a mid 90s Ibiza night club, the kitchen top became quickly and inexorably covered in sticky foam....overdone that priming again, even though I followed the guidelines for Belgian beers.

A little bit of chemical know how told me to chill the beer..maybe this is one of the reasons why Belgian beers are served cold? Anyway a few hours in the fridge seemed to do the trick. No foaming. The only issue was that the chill gave the beer a haze, and killed a bit of the taste. So, leaving the glass for 20 minutes, the haze cleared to a fairly clear pint, and the palette came back.

Pouring a lovely dark amber colour, the beer has a great nose. That Trappist yeast really makes the beer sing, with a great fruity aroma typical of Belgian beers. Juicy malt, with a bit of sweetness from the large grain bill, but a real vinous quality from the 9% alcohol. The great warming taste was balanced well by a good hoppy hit, almost a little too much. That, and the carbonation, give the beer bite, which makes it very suppable. Perhaps a mistake at that ABV.

Very pleased, a little Belgian, and rather Christmassy! However, a pint will do.

Beers in the Smoke 2011

Yes folks, it's that time of year again. We brave the elements and Londoners to sample a range of delights the City has to offer. I have written before about my surprise at finding, often hidden away, cracking gems of pubs - some with great beer, others real architectural treasures.

Anyway, it's time to start planning again. Date set: Dec 29th. Starting point set: possible. Plan: Check. The idea is to get recommendations in (personal or written), with a short walk in between, and a range of styles of pub sampled. This year sees us taking in:

The Bree Louise: visited here for the first time in the summer, after personal recommendations. Great, great pub. Possible nosebag option, in between choosing from their 15 ales and 9 ciders....with discount for CAMRA members.

The Lord John Russell: OK, don't know it. Pollard and McGinn recommend it (Around London in 80 beers), and reviews suggest best pint of dark or light Budvar in town. Hmmm.

The Lamb: We went to its namesake in Leadenhall Market last year. This pub can only be better! Recommendation via John Langley. Looks like Youngs, so cannot be too bad!

Princess Louise: Sam Smiths, so saving a bit of money there!! Another Pollard/McGinn choice this, the pictures suggest a belting Victorian boozer.

The Harp: CAMRA Pub of the Year. 'Nuf said?

The route looks a little like this:



View Larger Map

I think the only choice now is whether to walk north-south or vice versa. Hope they are all open -not always so in the holidays! Otherwise, it could be a late afternoon/early evening in the Mitre!!

For those of you desperate to know our progress, I'll be on FourSquare, relaying reports via Twitter. We aim to complete this year's arduous task!

Session #58: A Dickens of a Christmas

So, I thought I would add my twopenny worth, although in these times of inflationary pressure, it is now probably worth 1.5p

Well, Christmases past? Coming from a family where alcohol was only added to the cake, Christmas pud and trifle, early Festive Ones were relatively dry. However, since the rite of passage which was sneaking half a bitter in the Tavern in the Town, things have been somewhat different.

Christmases past were Banks'. Mild, to be specific. A group of us would come home from various points around the Black Country and find ourselves in the Clarendon Hotel on Christmas Eve night. I still hanker after Banks' Mild, regardless of its name change (and its name change back to 'Mild'!). It is always my first drink at GBBF, when it turns up. If Marstons let it out. Well, needless to say, this session went on way past the last bus home, so a  brisk(ish) walk home down the Birmingham new Road ensued. There were many chilly walks....but it brightened one up for Christmas morning. The other great thing was that since you had plenty of Mild on Christmas Eve, the juxtaposition of a lunch the following day which included sprouts hid some of your worst excesses!

Since those days, people have graduated and moved far and wide, and from its website the Clarendon looks a tad posher than I remember! Things have been quieter, but no less interesting beerwise. Since I live down the hill from The Beacon Hotel, it has been my pleasure to also indulge in Christmas pints of Dark Ruby Mild. I probably do not have to write much about this for UK beernuts, but the Beacon has a special place in my heart. A really great pub, rescued and renovated tastefully to its Victorian roots, it was at the vanguard of the rise of real ale drinking for me. The brewery behind the pub echoes days when pubs made their own. The recipe for Ruby was reputedly found by a relative of Sarah Hughes, the old landlady. The pub has never looked back. The beer is, quite simply, one of my favourites. Dark, rich, sweetish, full bodied, drinkable, and a tad too strong for a session (not that that stops you). The place, and the beer, are regular stops on beer tours, and rightly so. The fact that it is 20 mins walk up the hill from home was just a bonus. My abiding memory is walking up the Beacon with our kid one Christmas morning. It was sunny, crisp, with snow on the ground. We decided to pop in for a pre-prandial pint. A new barrel was on, the fire was roaring in the lounge, everyone was in the most convivial of moods. If mom hadn't had the lunch on it could have got very messy. Perfect.

Christmases present are quieter still. They involve lots of travel, and not much beer. To compensate, my annual large buy from Bitter Virtue is a must. Chris and Ann, who run the shop, are always knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and, this time of year in particular, their range is dangerous. A good browse amongst their bottles is one of my annual pleasures....which reminds me, I must pop up soon.

Onto Beermas Future, well that's always difficult to predict. Having recently visited Amsterdam again, and recalling my first ever visit just before Christmas in 1992 or 3, the standard of winter beers in Belgium and Holland is just exceptional. However, perhaps hunkering down in the bar of the Clachaig Inn if they stay open at Christmas would be a fine idea. Especially if it snowed.....now that WOULD be Christmassy!!