What makes a successful craft brewery?

This is a question I have been pondering for the last few years as I observed the rise and rise of craft beer in this country. Some breweries seem to have stepped forward and above others where as for some breweries, the fact they are making good beer doesn’t appear to be enough.

For the sake of argument, let’s draw a line in the sand and say the craft beer movement in the UK is ten years old. What’s not in question is that within that ten years there has been a huge increase in the number of breweries.

But why do some appear to flourish and others appear to flounder?

There is a thousand potential reasons but I have tried to summarise it into five key things. They aren’t all equal but those that are doing well appear to do all five of these things well.

Make Good Beer 

First and foremost you need to make good beer. Whether it’s a core range, a mix of seasonals, or collaborations – it needs to be good beer that engages people.  Doing this takes skill, attention to detail and commitment to quality.  Take Thornbridge: they have a lab on sight and deliver beer of very good and very consistent quality. Weird Beard run a regular Friday quality control process. Magic Rock, in their Tap Room are ensuring quality in how their product is dispensed as is the Urban Tap House in Cardiff, the bar of the Tiny Rebel Brew Company.

The quality of the beer being made here is increasingly recognised with breweries in the UK winning awards regularly, both here and abroad. Oakham Ales won the Champion Cask Conditioned Ale for their Green Devil IPA at the International Brewing Awards. Beavertown Brewery were named the been named brewer of the year and Supreme Champion Brewer by the International Beer Challenge.

However some breweries appear happy to put out beer they are not 100% happy with and while there is a culture of discretion on providing feedback in these instances, the people that understand the industry and more pertinently have to try and sell this beer to the public know these breweries are.

Have a Good Spokesperson 

Every band has a lead singer, every movie a leading actor or actress, every sporting team has a captain.  For me, a craft brewery is kind of the same. You need someone at the front that embodies what the brewery is about and can clearly articulate that in an engaging way.

This is critical as when it comes to events such as meet the brewers, tap takeovers or craft beer festivals. These events give breweries the best possible opportunity to engage personally and intimately with their drinkers.

The spokesperson may be the founder or co-founder, or head Brewer or a combination of the two. In the USA, this is pretty commonplace. I’m sure most craft beer enthusiasts know of Steve Hindy and Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewery, or Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head or Eric Salazar from New Belgium (who runs their sour beer program) or Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø from Eviltwin Brewing. While culturally the ‘rock star’ front man may be less relevant in the UK it’s still important.

There are a number of craft brewers that have a strong spokesperson: Logan Plant at Beavertown, James Watt from BrewDog, Justin Hawke from Moor Beer, Colin Stronge from Buxton. Others a little quieter.

Clear Mission and Values

You need to understand who you are and what you stand for, and what type of company you want to be. This is critical to attract customers (and also staff and potentially investors) and to keep them coming back time after time. Most beer drinkers are happy to try a new beer, but what keeps them coming back? Price? Product? Or a deeper connection to the brewery?

Lost and Grounded are a new brewery that is planning to open in Bristol in mid-2016. Run by former Little Creatures and Camden Town Brewer Alex Troncoso and his partner Annie they have been blogging about the process of starting up their brewery. One of their posts talks, in very articulate and sincere terms, about their values and purpose, which they summarise in four words; humble, inclusive, clever, raw.

Somerset’s Wild Beer Co are another brewery that is very clear on what they want to be as summarised here:

At The Wild Beer Co we want to produce Wild Beers that are different! We must re-write the rules, excite your taste buds and wildly challenge your perceptions of beer. We believe beer can be better and want to inspire people to drink beer differently.

Another that is crystal clear in this area is Cloudwater from Manchester. If you haven’t already read it, this great story about Cloudwater, written by London beer writer Matt Curtis for the Good Beer Hunting website is a fascinating insight into all things Cloudwater.

Others lack clarity on this. They are unsure of themselves, who they are and what they want to be. Might be worthwhile taking some time out of the brewhouse, talk to your drinkers about what they think of you, talk to your staff, and look deep within before writing this down.

Branding 

Once you know who are and what you stand for you need to project that in how you present your products. That’s is where branding comes into it. Business dictionary.com defines branding as:

The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers’ mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.

In an increasingly crowded market, having a product that stands out is essential whether its bottles, cans, pump climps, packaging, merchandising, website – all a branding opportunity.

There are a few that really stand out for me. The cans from Beavertown, Moor and Vocation are incredible. For me a real standout is Cloudwater. They have a great logo, their bottles contain artwork from a specially commissioned artist for each season and contain lots of information about the beer and its ingredients.

I’m sure you agree there are a handful of breweries out there that are doing the first one well, but fall down here.

Social Media

Craft brewers don’t have huge marketing budgets. But they invest in the time to leverage social media. In the digital age more and more people are interacting online with each other and with businesses. The short form, instant and transparent channel that is social media is a very powerful tool to promote and converse with potential customers. It also gives you a platform to add a voice to some of the things we’ve covered above: what you stand for and your branding.

For me personally there are a few things I don’t like to see; mixing beer and politics, slagging off suppliers or worse, other breweries, being flippant in responding to feedback.

 

Not all of these are equal – if you don’t make good beer you’ll probably struggle. For me the breweries who are doing well, appear to be doing well across these five things.

What do you think makes a successful craft brewery?

Notes: Quality approach to coffee and beer

September 2006 was the bookend to one of the best summers in England many can remember. The good weather was noted, the World Cup in Germany another reason. The world was a different place anyway – pre Financial crisis, pre-Isis, Tony Blair was still Prime Minister. I was settling into a new life and the first impressions were good.

But not all was well. Every morning, before work I had a handful of places to chose from that I could order a flat white from and in return, receive just that, a flat white. Made with love and care, as it should be. That was Sydney. In London, the flat white was a myth – did it even exist?

I underestimated the cultural difference between Australia and England, especially when it came to coffee and beer. The best coffee in those early days was Monmouth Coffee at Borough Markets. A trip there became a very regular thing indeed. But slowly and surely the tide turned – thanks in many ways to my fellow antipodeans who brought the coffee culture. But there were others too.

Around this same time, a young Brazilian couple arrived in London. Having spent time travelling here in 2004, they decided they would pack up their life in Brazil and move to London, primarily to learn English; but perhaps the draw of the international city and the opportunity that comes with it excited them.

Fabio Ferriera worked in pharmaceuticals in Brazil, but he knew that without speaking the language it would be difficult to find a job in the same industry. So he turned to his other skill. Coffee.

Since Notes first opened in Canary Wharf toward the beginning of last year, I’ve become a regular; first at their hole in the wall in the Canary Wharf underground station, then at the state of the art site at Crossrail. Sometimes I visit twice a day. In doing the calculation I have probably had over 200 coffees from Notes and never had a bad one.

I was curious to know why, so I reached out to Notes and they put me in touch with Fabio, the co-founder and Director of Product at Notes. In this role Fabio is responsible ‘for pretty much everything that is for sale in the store’. I wanted to know how they ensure every coffee is so good.

The answer is both very simple and very detailed. The simple answer is through traceable quality from bean to cup. This is the critical difference between a ‘third wave’ coffee house and a high street café.

When Fabio first started Notes, back in 2010, they would buy beans direct from growers in Brazil. Fabio’s family were farmers and he knew the coffee growers and was certain of the quality. Eventually, as they grew they would source through reputable distributors. The current blend used in store is from Burundi, the Central East African country bordering Rwanda and Tanzania.

After finding the right coffee beans, the next step is the roast. As they grew, Notes began to roast their own beans, which is critical to achieving quality, consistency and uniqueness. Fabio explains that roasting is a very scientific process with many variables, such as temperature and time, that impact the favour. The process begins with a test roast and that can be repeated up to five times. The flavour is then reviewed. When I asked how he describes flavours of coffee his face lights up. Just like beer and wine, there are countless adjectives and dimensions to describe coffee. The sweetness, the aroma, the mouth feel, the aftertaste all have a multitude of ways to be described and defined.

Once roasted it needs to get to from cup to customer. ‘Coffee is like baking a cake, you have to follow the recipe’, quips Fabio. He writes up coffee recipes for the baristas in store that outline how to brew, to treat the beans as they age (the coffee should be used between 4 and 10 days after roasting); adjusting grind size and amount, how long to brew for and at what temperature all with tasting notes. I asked Dwayne Lloyd-Smith, the assistant manager about this. He shows me the recipe he receives via email. Its very prescriptive, but it ensures quality. You can tell Dwayne absolutely buys into the ethos.

From bean to cup, every step is controlled and traceable and outlined with vivid detail and instruction. Can you imagine this from a high street chain? When I talk ask about competition, Fabio tells me its competitive but there is comraderie between the independent coffee houses. He mentions Taylor Street Baristas, another Canary Wharf resident, who he sees more as friends than competitors. The real competition is the big high street chains; Costa, Nero, Starbucks, he insists.

Dwayne agrees. ‘You almost have to re-educate high street coffee drinkers about what coffee can be. Often people will be surprised that a flat white comes in 6oz cups and there is no large, or a that a latte comes in 8oz, not 16oz’. But it’s working. They have built a steady trade of loyal drinkers who are shunning the nearby Costa, Pret and Starbucks in favour of the quality of Notes.

I can see similarities with craft beer in this sentiment, the camaraderie between the smaller independent producers against the might of the large corporates. Which leads me to ask about their beer offering, which includes some of the best craft beers in the country. ‘I love beer’, Fabio beams. I asked him about the beer and wine list? Why not just be a café? Why were Notes interested in being a bar too? Do people really want to drink at a café?

When they first opened, their lease allowed them to operate to 11pm. With most people not drinking coffee late in evening due to the effects of caffeine they spent, time effort and money building a wine list. The beer was an afterthought. His fellows directors though a few bottles of Peroni would do the trick. Fabio resisted. He wanted to build a beer list with some of the up and coming craft breweries in London.

They needed a lager and Camden Hells was a perfect place to start. They also built a relationship with The Kernel Brewery, who were among the first beers served at Notes, and retain four beers from their range on the menu. Fabio tells me they still maintain a direct relationship with Kernel today. He’d love to have more. While they change their wine list quarterly the beer list changes less frequently. His favourite is Camden, at its close to where he lives and Beavertown Gamma Ray. And they’ve recently added Cloudwater Motueka Lager.

Its mainly women who drink at Notes in the evening, quaffing a nice glass of wine in a comfortable, relaxed environment. ‘I think they want somewhere other than the pub’, Fabio tells me. They can get a seat in a relaxed environment. Dwyane tells me they do get men too, many unfamiliar with the beer on offer and ask for recommendations. ‘You can’t go wrong with the Kernel, but I’m a fan of the Gamma Ray’. They are changing their evening menu to include small plates with a view to attracting more evening drinkers. Time will tell if it’s a success.

The quality control that goes into the coffee is so evident in the delivery and taste. Craft brewers and bars can learn from Notes approach to quality. The attention to detail in ensuring the product delivered is to the highest possible standard is aspirational. Knowingly delivering sub-standard product in an increasingly competitive market where others strive for excellence is a dangerous approach.

Invariably there is an overlap between people that enjoy great coffee and great beer. Notes is a great place to enjoy both, in a relaxed friendly setting.

 

Thank you to Fabio and to Dwayne for their time in allowing me to ask them about Notes and for their gracious responses. In addition to sites at Canary Wharf, Notes can be found in Trafalgar Square, Moorgate and Kings Cross.

I was inspired to write this post after listening to the Good Beer Hunting Podcast episode 65 with Stephen Morris

Useful Links

http://notes-uk.co.uk/

http://goodbeerhunting.com/gbh-podcast/2016/1/1/ep-065-stephen-morrissey-of-uppers-downers-part-1

Challlenge Accepted | #12beersofxmas Recap

I started this blog to scratch my itch. I’m doing this more for myself in terms of turning a hobby into something more creative and productive. I had to start somewhere and the Beer O’Clock Show podcast and their annual #12beersofxmas was an obvious choice.

The challenge of a daily post would test my passion, resolve and stamina. Creating a 300-400 words post and a few pictures, preferably before 9pm every night was indeed challenging, but one I strangely enjoyed. Yes there was typos and I am still learning the nuances of wordpress, but I think I produced something I could be proud of.

If you’re interested, here is the list of the beers with links to their posts:

1st Day | Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

2nd Day | Thornbridge Halycon IPA

3rd Day | RedChurch Great Eastern IPA

4th Day | Cloudwater DIPA

5th Day | Magic Rock – Grapefruit High Wire & Salty Kiss

6th Day | Fullers Vintage Ale 2013

7th Day | Stone and Wood Pacific Ale

8th Day | Camden Town Brewery Barrel Aged IHL

9th Day | Beavertown Heavy Water (Sour Cherry and Sea Salt) Imperial Stout

10th Day | Westmalle Dubbel

11th Day | Kriek Boon 

12th Day | Pelican Brewing Bad Santa Cascadian Dark Ale

I also wrote an opinion piece on the Camden Town Brewery AB InBev deal announced on December 21^st.

I distributed exclusively via twitter with a few messages to friends and family. I have no doubt piggybacking off the #12beersofxmas helped drive up traffic. I did have a link in my Instagram profile, however I didn’t use it as much as I thought I would. I am still getting to grips with the stats features on wordpress and what the numbers means however I thought I would share a summary of the past few weeks:

My viewer stats for the past two weeks

281 views from 198 visitors across 11 countries

My views were focused primarily in the UK, the US and Australia

The most views day was December 23, which coincided with when I published my Cloudwater DIPA post and my comment on the Camden Town Brewery sale.

My Cloudwater post was well recieved

The least viewed day was New Year’s Day. I didn’t post on the 31^st or the 1^st so it comes as no surprise that traffic fell away. Plus I am sure there were a few people feeling the #craftermath from New Year’s Eve and the last thing they felt like doing was reading a beer blog!

The response has convinced me to continue. Mainly because it tells me that what I have written doesn’t completely suck and that people are reading it, which is always motivating as a writer. I will be making a few changes to the blog over time and I have also changed my twitter and Instagram account to be consistent to @bushcraftbeer (twitter link – instagram link)

If you read the blog and are keen to see where it goes, please bookmark this page or follow me on twitter or Instagram. If you have read the posts or are also a blogger and have any feedback, tips or otherwise please get in touch.

I’ve already started working on future posts and look forward to sharing them with you in 2016.

Cheers,

Michael

Getting Festive. 12th Day

Pelican Brewing Co – Bad Santa

Style: Black IPA / Cascadian Dark Ale

ABV: 7.5%

Size: 355ml (Bottle)

Getting Festive.

Sampling 12 beers over Christmas calls for at least one ‘festive beer’ right? At least I thought that was the right ratio. Festive beers are often brewed seasonally, to celebrate major holidays; especially Halloween and Thanksgiving – where pumpkin beers dominate due to their association with each – and Christmas – where often dark or spiced beers dominate for obvious reasons.

I had two of Oregon’s finest to choose from thanks to a shipment from my brother, who resides in the Willamette Valley and was in town for work. In a choice between Rogue’s Santa’s Private Reserve and this one, I chose Pelican as after doing some research, I discovered that while Rogue is a big brewery making great beers, Pelican pride themselves on small batch, high quality beers with a focus on food and beer matching at their beachside brewery-cum-restaurant in Pacific City, Oregon.

My festive choice, Pelican Brewing’s Bad Santa

The Oregon Coast is famous for it beaches and most notable is the setting of some of the most memorable movies of my childhood; The Goonies, Short Circuit, and Kindergarten Cop. But Oregon is also famous for its association with craft beer. Four of the top 50 Craft Breweries in the US are from Oregon (which isn’t the biggest; California takes that title with 8) but with its sparse population the key driver is the fact that Oregon and the surrounding Pacific Northwest states are one of the biggest hop producing regions in the world.

While marketed as a Cascadian Dark Ale, the rear label reveals this is a Black IPA

Back to the beer. This is labeled a Cascadian Dark Ale, however with a quick rotation of the bottle the labeling on the back reveals that it is in fact a Black IPA. And a hell of a smooth one too. So smooth it masks the 7.5% ABV. I was dinking this while prepping New Years Eve dinner for my wife. Maybe it was the beer, maybe it was the giddiness of being NYE but this beer was gone much quicker than is customary and proved a great way to celebrate my final participation in the Beer O’Clock Show’s #12beersofxmas.

My accompaniment to prepping my New Years Eve dinner

Thanks to everyone who read, retweeted and liked my posts and tweets. I’ll be posting a wrap up shortly. However, based on the response, its convinced me to keep going in 2016!

Cheers,

Michael

Sour Power. 11th day

Kriek Boon

Style: Lambic Kriek (cherries)

ABV: 4%

Size: 250ml (bottle)

I booked my tickets well in advance as I was looking for a reason. And it was for a good cause after all. I left work and my colleague and I made our way to Peckham Rye station. From there it was a 10 minute walk through suburban south London.

Hop Burns & Black – one of London’s premier bottle shops

In its short life, the award winning* Hop Burns & Black has forged a solid reputation in beer circles. Run by passionate Kiwi’s Jen and Glenn it brings together three of their passions; beer (Hop), hot sauce (Burns) and vinyl records (Black). There was a great profile write up in the Evening Standard over summer which is worth a read. The selection of beers was epic and the good part is that you can try what you buy right there in the shop or at the tables out the front – I opted for a can of Moor Beer’s Revival while we waited for the main event to start.

Moor Beers Revival, a 3.8% ABV Transatlantic Pale Ale

I was there for No More Heroes – a tutored tasting and music session with beer writer Matthew Curtis raising money for Mind UK. Matt is a great writer – he contributes to and edits his website Total Ales and is the UK storyteller for renowned beer website Good Beer Hunting (which I love) as well as a number of other beery publications- and is increasingly broadening his repertoire to include speaking and events. More importantly, he is a genuine guy that is passionate about his beer. And somehow he does all this in addition to do full time job!

No More Heroes – a tutored beer tasting and music session

He had chosen 6 beers and a song to accompany each. The one beer that stood out for me was a sour beer from Belgium, Boon (pronounced Bow-n) Kriek Mariage Parfait. An 8% ABV heavy lambic style beer – which relies on wild yeasts and bacteria from the Pajottenland region of Belgium to drive the fermentation with the addition of overripe cherries that spurs a secondary fermentation – Matt had unsurprisingly chose ‘Cherry Bomb’ from the Runaways as his music match. This beer was sour, sour, sour and not to my liking.

Kriek Boon – 100% lambic and with cherries

Matt spoke with such passion about the beer and the brewery I thought I would give them another go. This time I went for something lighter. At 4% ABV Kriek Boon is a blended lambic with added black cherries. The first thing you notice is the colour: the cherries turning the beer a stunning red – almost like creaming soda I used to have as a kid. The second thing is the smell – it is sour with a strong earthy scent of cherries. And finally, the taste. This one is smooth and crisp, not to arresting in its sourness. As an introduction to sour lambics, this is where I would start. In fact with this bottle only being 250ml, it leaves me wanting more.

As good an introduction to sour lambics as you’ll get. The small 250ml bottle left me wanting more

*Won the best shop in Peckham in Timeout’s Love London Awards 2015

 Useful Links and Resources

http://www.hopburnsblack.co.uk/

http://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/hop-burns-black

http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/londons-great-shopkeepers-hop-burns-black-in-east-dulwich-10310788.html

http://www.totalales.co.uk/events-main/nomoreheroes

https://www.justgiving.com/nomoreheroes/

http://www.totalales.co.uk/

http://goodbeerhunting.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambic

http://www.boon.be/en/our-beers/kriek-mariage-parfait

Why do Monks make great beer? 10th day

Westmalle Dubbel
Style: Brown Beer
ABV: 7.0%
Size: 330ml (Bottle)

Why do Monks make great beer? 

According to Wikipedia, the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance is a Roman Catholic religious order of cloistered contemplative monastics that follow the Rule of St. Benedict. That probably does mean much to you and me. Unless you know they are commonly referred to as Trappists.  They’re not called Trappist because they are good at trapping things, but rather take their name from Le Trappe Abbey a monastery located in Normandy, France.  

So to answer my opening question; the 48^th chapter of the Rule of St benedict states “for then are they monks in truth, if they live by the work of their hands”. In following this rule Trappist monastaries produce goods for sale to provide income for the monastery. So imagine a Trappist Monastary in a region of Belgium known for producing great beers – that is exactly what the brewery at the Abbey of Westmalle, (or to use its local name, Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle) is famous for. 

Garret Oliver once said when talking about innovation in craft beer: ‘nothing is really new, you’re new’. His point is that brewing has been around for thousands of years. And Westmalle is part of that brewing history. Westmalle only produce two beers. The Trippel, first brewed in 1934 is consider the first ever example of this style – a strong pale ale with a high ABV of 9.5%.  I’ve gone for the original beer from Westmalle, the Dubbel, Legend has it that in 1856 the monks brewed a strong brown beer – now considered the first ever Dubbel.   

Westmalle Dubbel is considered the first of its kind dating back to 1856

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trappists
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westmalle_Brewery
http://goodbeerhunting.com/gbh-podcast/2015/8/22/ep-053-garret-oliver-of-brooklyn-brewery-live-at-gbh-studio
http://www.trappistwestmalle.be/en/page/dubbel.aspx

Why is it called Beavertown? 9th Day

Beavertown Heavy Water (Sour Cherry and Sea Salt) Imperial Stout

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.0%

Size: 330ml (Can)

Why is it called Beavertown?

Thursday 3^rd July 2014 was a beautiful sunny day. Being mid-summer 6pm still feels like mid-afternoon. Looking out across the Thames you can’t help but notice the giant white dome held aloft by striking yellow support towers dominating the North Greenwich peninsula. Every time I see it I am reminded me of the opening scene of ‘The World is Not Enough’. I’ve left work and made the short stroll over to The Gun for a ‘meet the brewer’ with Beavertown Brewery, who were introducing some of their beers and extolling the virtues of beer in cans.

If you’ve met Logan Plant, founder of Beavertown Brewery, I’m sure you’ll agree he is a very engaging speaker and storyteller. For about 45 minutes he gave the background to his beer history growing up in the midlands, introduced Beavertown and gave a tutored tasting of 5 of their core beers. He took questions and mingled with the 15-20 people present. That was July 2014.

State of the Craft Beer Panel (L-R) John Holl, Roger Protz, Logan Plant, Steve Hindy, Jasper Cuppiage

In March 2015 I made the trip to Beavertown Brewery in Tottenham Hale for a State of Craft Beer even, part of Brooklyn Brewery’s London Mash Tour. There were hundreds of people there. For me the juxtaposition of a small meet the brewer and a large craft event within the matter of months symbolised the growth of Beavertown.

The award winning Gamma Ray, APA

They have been prolific, having brewed over 100 different beers over the past 4 years, the vast majority of which are collaborations with breweries far and wide. Furthermore they have achieved significant recognition in terms of awards for their beers and brewers. This year Beavertown was awarded two prestigious titles; Supreme Champion Brewer and UK Brewer of the Year in the 2015 International Beer Challenge. Beavertown claiming their cans were critical in ensuring their beers were presented with quality and freshness, spurring them to victory in the blind tasting judged competition. Only earlier this month, Head Brewer Jenn Merrick was awarded the prestigious British Guild of Beer Writer’s ‘Brewer of the Year’

So back to my opening question. I did ask this of Logan at that initial meeting. (Lame I know, but it was best question I could think of at the time). It’s inspired by De Beaviour Town, the part of London where Dukes Brew & Que is located. This is where Beavertown began back in 2011, brewing beers in the basement to serve in the pub.

Heavy Water, a 9% Imperial Stout with sour cherries and sea salt

To be honest, I found it difficult to find information about Heavy Water. I wanted to know more about how it was brewed and the inspiration. While Beavertown’s beers are incredible, their website unfortunately isn’t. I did find something on their blog from back in 2013 referencing Heavy Water as their first experimentation into Barrel Aging. They used 20 year old scotch whiskey barrels, putting the beer in for 45 days with an expected output of ~700 bottles. No mention of the infusion of sour cherries and sea salt in that post, so perhaps this new version is an amended recipe that is now canned rather than bottled.

The can is beautifully adorned with artwork from Nick Dwyer, Beavertowns Creative Director. There is a single illustration of a lady wearing glasses with what appears to be the reflection of an atomic bomb explosion. Standard Beavertown.

Standard Beavertown. Illustrations from Creative Director, Nick Dwyer have helped Beavertown stand out.

The beer is dark and thick, like an imperial stout should be. To be honest I can’t detect the sour cherries and sea salt, but perhaps its because I am no impy connoisseur.

Heavy Water pours dark and thick, like an Imperial Stout should

With recent events we should focus less on what’s been lost and celebrate what we have and Beavertown is worth celebrating.

 

Useful Links and Resources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAZWYrSAQ_E

http://www.thegundocklands.com/

http://brooklynbrewerymash.com/london/the-great-craft-beer-debate-with-steve-hindy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Beauvoir_Town

www.dukesbrewandque.com

www.beerguild.co.uk

www.internationalbeerchallenge.com

http://www.beavertownbrewery.co.uk/

I am a Hells Raiser (or at least I was). 8th day

Camden Town Brewery Barrel Aged IHL

Style: (Barrel Aged) Lager

ABV: 7.2%

Size: 660ml (Bottle)

I’m a Hells Raiser.

Or at least I was. I have to admit that I handed over some of my hard earned earlier in the year to further Camden’s cause. One of the reasons I did this was because of my first experience of IHL. Camden launched the beer with a ‘7 days of IHL’ celebration back in November 2014.

The 4^th of November was a rainy Wednesday night when my former housemate and I headed to the pop-up Temple of IHL at an art gallery space hired by Camden. The event was dubbed ‘Art of the Craft’ and Camden had brought together Nick Dwyer, the man behind Beavertown’s incredible artwork, longtime Camden collaborator Thomas Slater and Alec Doherty of Partizan Brewing‘s illustrated identity. The first highlight was hearing Alec regale the confused crowd with the story of the Cardiff Giant, a famous hoax from 1860’s America.

The second highlight was the beer. After being lucky enough to meet the ever approachable Jasper Cuppiage, Founder of Camden, some of his effervescent staff and drink 5 cans of IHL I left a big fan of both the brewery and the beer.

IHL is IPA resurrected as lager and then barrel-aged

Camden take IHL and put it in Bourbon and Tequila barrels for 6 months. They have also taken the artwork from the IHL cans and re-imagined it for the bigger 660ml bottles. I vaguely remember trying a very small amount of this at a tasting Camden did with Beavertown and Left Hand Brewing for London Beer Week, but I must have sampled 13 different beers that night and can’t recall my reaction to this one.

This is an excellent beer and if this is what Camden can do with a barrel-ageing program the future could be bright

Enjoying from a full size bottle this beer is excellent. Time in the barrels softens the hop aromas and flavours, adds extra smoothness and ups the alcohol content. If this is an example of what Camden can do with a barrel ageing program, the future could be bright after all.

Note: I did a full post on my views on the Camden Town – AB InBev deal on December 22 and can be accessed using the links on the right hand side of the page

Its summer Down Under. 7th Day

Stone and Wood Pacific Ale

Style: Pale Ale / Golden Ale

ABV:4.4%

Size: 330ml (Bottle)

Its summer Down Under.

More specifically it’s Boxing Day in Australia, which means two things; Cricket and Beer. Both of which I love in equal measure.

The Boxing Day test is an institution of the Australian Summer. It is undoubtedly the biggest day of test cricket in the world. Every year a test match is played, starting on Boxing Day, at the MCG (the home of test cricket) between Australia and a visiting opponent. And living now as I do in London, I miss it. Watching it on Sky Sports in the middle of the night only accentuates the pangs of homesickness.

Australia is undergoing its own craft beer revolution; however Big Beer is more involved than in the UK. Big Beer owns or has stakes in a number of key craft brands including Little Creatures, White Rabbit, Mountain Goat, Matilda Bay, Bluetongue and Malt Shovel (brewer of James Squire). There are however a number of independent craft brewers including Four Pines, Vale, KAIJU and Stone and Wood making fantastic beer. Given the events of the past week, perhaps Australia is a glimpse into the future of the UK craft beer scene?

Stone and Wood is based in the idyllic coastal town of Byron Bay

Stone and Wood is based in Byron Bay, the idyllic coastal town on the far northern NSW coast. Stone and Wood’s Pacific Ale is fast becoming an Aussie staple. It ranked #2 in the Hottest 100 Beers of 2014 and should do well again in 2015 when the results are announced in January. It’s instantly recognisable with its golden label. I have been back in Australia a few times over the past year or so and this has been a revelation for me, along with Four Pines Kolsch (which I couldn’t find it in London) and Vale IPA. Pacific Ale is so light and fruity, with strong grapefruit, pineapple and peach flavours. I’ll be drinking this as a tonic for homesickness!

A glass of cold Pacific Ale is becoming a regular in Australian bars especially over summer

As a sub-note, I was blown away by my trip to Brisbane. My sister and brother-in-law live in Teneriffe, an inner city, riverside suburb previously home to the wool trade that is being transformed into a high density residential area. Within walking distance of their flat is not one, but two craft breweries, complete with impressive tap rooms. The Green Beacon and Newstead Breweries are less that 500m apart and are housed within converted industrial lots. Sadly I could only stay for one in each, but what struck me was the passion for beer by both the brewers and the consumers. A trip to Teneriffe is now a must for any beer lovers who find themselves in Brisbane.

Stone and Wood Pacific Ale on Boxing Day – Cheers to the Australian summer!

Useful Links and Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Day_Test

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_breweries_in_Australia

http://stoneandwood.com.au/

http://www.australiancraftbeer.org.au/

http://4pinesbeer.com.au/beers/kolsch/

http://craftypint.com/news/946/Hottest_100_of_2014_The_Breakdown

http://www.greenbeacon.com.au/

http://newsteadbrewing.com.au/

Fullers is London’s brewery. 6th day

Fullers Vintage Ale 2013

Style: Ale

ABV: 8.5%

Size: 500ml (Bottle)

Fuller’s is London’s Brewery.

Or so their website would have you believe. But it’s not that far from the truth to be honest. Fuller’s is an independent brewery founded in 1845 in Chiswick, West London. Their Griffin brewery still stands by the Thames in Chiswick, just over 2 miles from my house, and with the closure of AB InBev’s Stag Brewery in Mortlake could probably now claim to be biggest brewery in West London.

Griffin Brewery, Chiswick West London

If you interested in their history, renowned beer writer Adrian Tierney-Jones was commissioned to write a book celebrating their 170 year anniversary. ‘Crafting a Company’ looks at the company’s history, ethos and developments over the years. I haven’t read this, but if you’re interested it’s available from the Fuller’s website.

Back to Vintage Ale.

I first came across Vintage Ale in the Brewery Store back in either 2011 or 2012. After a leisurely stroll along Chiswick Mall with my fiancée (now wife) and her parents we decided to pop in. After perusing the selection, we bought a few Vintage Ales to celebrate Christmas, which is primarily why Fullers starting brewing Vintage Ale back in 1997. In researching Vintage Ale, I came across this great post from Mark Dredge from 2011 which does a great job of explaining what it’s all about.  One thing to add to Mark’s post – it is a limited run packaged in a traditional burgundy cardboard box and comes with a strong reputation amongst discerning beer drinkers.

Vintage Ale packaging with detailed write up on 2013 Vintage

Now, this was the most expensive bottle in my #12beersofxmas list leaving my wallet £16 lighter for the 2013 Vintage, which on reflection is probably the most I’ve ever paid for a beer. To be fair the older they are the more expensive, the 2015 Vintage would set you back £6. Why 2013? This was the year I got married and had my first child so mainly sentimentality.

My bottle was numbered 73023 of the Limited run

Reading up on the 2013 Vintage, there was a less than fruitful barely harvest in 2013, so Fuller’s turned to Pearl malt which was brewed with Admiral and Sovereign hops. The batch is limited edition and the individual number on my bottle was 73023, so there was a least that many bottles, which to me illustrates the scale of Fullers (that a run with this many bottles in considered limited).

Box, bottle and glass – a well presented beer with a nice history

It pours a dark amber colour with a nice creamy head. The aroma reminds me of bourbon and coke but the taste is more like a Christmas pudding. WHich I have no qualms about as I love a good Christmas pud.

Cheers and Happy Christmas!

Useful Links and Resources

https://store.fullers.co.uk/Store/Category/88/Product/NCCFBK.aspx?_ga=1.189121579.1626990074.1450191172

http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2011/10/fullers-vintage-ale-15-year-vertical.html

https://store.fullers.co.uk/Store/Product/BOVA50013BT.aspx