Monday 28 August 2017

How I Feel About GBBF '17

Dear CAMRA,

We've been together quite some time, you and I, 16 years in fact, having joined way back in the summer of 2001, probably at the Great British Beer Festival. A lot has changed, we're both older, a bit more mature, perhaps even a bit wiser (??) but I feel something has changed between us and that something is definitely connected to how I felt in the days after this years GBBF at Olympia.
I was sad, and, a couple of weeks on, that feeling of sadness remains.
I look at beer festivals from the point of view as a punter who really enjoys beer and loves good/great beer, both new and old alike. With this in mind, perhaps you can help me understand why there are so many stalls and areas devoted to pretty much everything other than beer? I get that we need to eat and relax, but, far too much space was given over to non-beer sales or information stands. Yet, despite this, no water stations were available to allow me to hydrate (surely this is something you as an organisation should encourage??) and rinse my glass, meaning that a switch between a stout and golden ale might not be in my best interests, i'm not a fan of blending beers. Other festivals, both beer & wine, offer this very simple but essential service, why don't you?
What logic is applied to how the beer stands are set up? It's never obvious to me I must admit. And, why isn't all the British Beer in just one part of the rather vast space that is Olympia? Why make me walk round the whole place? Last year the American Cask bar was in the smaller of the two halls, a good idea as when it runs out (which it inevitably does) it's out of the way. This year, on the Saturday the bar was simply a blot on the landscape at the back of the main hall, empty.
Really, my question here is simply "Is Olympia too big for a beer festival?" I think it might be you know, especially if you are devoting 50% of the space available to anything other than the Great British Beer you should be showcasing. Out of curiosity, how does beer get selected for GBBF?
I like the option of the brewery bars, but, I would much prefer it if the people involved in the brewing process were present serving the beers, it would add so much to the experience, rather than the support staff and CAMRA volunteers, while doing a fantastic job don't necessarily have that first hand knowledge for the product being sold (all the volunteers concerned should be congratulated for their hard work, time and effort).
I should point out that I really enjoyed all the beers I had (bar one that my mate Karl chose, I thought I could trust him!!) and all were delivered in good condition, no mean feat during the summer I imagine.
But, where to go from here? What is to be done? I'm not leaving CAMRA, as i think there is much to admire about what you have done and are doing in the world of real ale and pubs and I continue to support these aims and values. However, maybe we need to take a break, maybe I should focus on the other great and varied beer festivals during the year and simply omit the big one in August? Yes, I think that might be the answer, after all, they do say that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Saturday 19 August 2017

A weekend in London with friends and family Part Three

Now, if you have read parts one and two, it might come as no surprise that on Sunday, the day started a bit later than on the Saturday, but, breakfast / brunch was still provided by Costa's Café on the Kings Cross Road (can well recommend a visit if you want a decent bit of grub, as the saying goes "it does what it says on the tin"). Last Sunday was a lovely sunny day and time was on our side, so, we got a bus over to Hackney Wick, you see a lot from a London bus (also, as the Oyster machine was out of order, it was a free ride), I definitely spotted a few places I'd like to visit including pubs that advertise football and real ale / craft beer - heaven!
As you can see from the picture above, we paid a visit to Mason & Co. This my second visit to Mason & Co., the first was when they were in Shoreditch before Brewdog flashed the cash, and, if I am being honest I probably preferred the set up then versus this one now. Having said that, there's a lot to like about where they are now, especially when the sun has come out to play. The deck chairs and shades were all out in force on the River Lea at "Here East Campus" on the edge of the Olympic Park.
The service is top notch, as was the food we enjoyed, and I quite like the fact that it attracts a very mixed crowd, from the achingly hip (although I think a bloke in their 30s with the jeans halfway down his arse is uncalled for), to the families enjoying the Sunday carvery to the old guy with his greyhounds, which to be honest made him a bit of a babe magnet.
And, most important of all, a decent range of beers on tap (bottles and cans available too, but, I didn't avail myself of any). During London Beer City they had a Whitelocks (Leeds pub of note) Tap Takeover, Yorkshire beers it was then! We both started off Roosters Londinium, a chilled porter on nitro, very refreshing it was too. I was keen for us to try the two LBC beers, South London v North London was the theme, and the South, much to Michelle's pleasure, won hands down with the South Pacific Pale Ale, sadly the Pineapple inspired Agadoo was a real disappointment.
 
Time to move on. Following the waterway took us to the Howling Hops Tank Bar, a place that Michelle and I hadn't visited since November 2015, and, we immediately felt comfortable once inside. Hard to put my finger on why though, perhaps it is simply the sight of all those lovely shiny sliver tanks that are full of delicious fresh beer.
We found a little table against the wall near the bar and proceeded to work our way through a number of the beers on offer, we stuck to 1/3 pints, which worked perfectly for us. Recently, Michelle seems to be loving her sours & saisons, and, today she threw a wheat beer into the mix (the sour was really nice, sharp, fruity and tangy).. For my part I enjoyed all the beers I had, but, the NEIPA was a bit of a standout I must say. We both finished on the 11% Fighting Ale Imperial Stout, and boy did we both love it! My Untappd comments - "Easy drinking delicious impy stout. Coffee, bitter chocolate flavours without the alcohol burn." Michelle said "Awesome impy stout, smooth, great mouthfeel and delicious."

And, that as they say, was that. The beery bit of the weekend was finished. Great fun with my girlfriend, family and friends with some awesome beers and venues thrown in for good measure. We walked back to Stratford, past the fun fair (which I wasn't allowed to visit by Michelle.....) and saw the crowds on their way to the last night of the World Athletics Championships, it was an inspiring sight. As was this.
London, I love you.

Tuesday 15 August 2017

A weekend in London with friends and family Part Two

A very good breakfast consumed at Costa's Café meant that all four of us were ready to head off to the Great British Beer Festival. The sun was shining and we were in good spirits, despite a night in the 'Lodge. This was a return visit for Michelle and Karl, but, Hannah's first time......as for me, let's just say I've been a few times over the years!
Here are four beers that I tried that I really enjoyed, all them in great condition, the 360 Degrees and Roosters went especially well with the pork scratchings I bought and shared (when I say shared, Karl had one, and the girls declined my kind offer.....oh well). And, I was very pleased to see Chiswick on the Fullers bar, an underrated session strength bitter than should still (in my opinion) be part of their core range. With regard to the experience as a whole, I think I am still processing my thoughts on this so might be subject to separate post (you lucky lot!).

As Karl & Hannah were only in London until mid afternoon and Michelle & I were due to meet up with my brother and his partner, I decided there was only one place we could all go/meet - Brewdog in Shepherds Bush, and, this is why:
Need I say more? A Kernel tap takeover @ Brewdog..........yeah, it was such a tough decision!
While supping a rather excellent Export India Porter Zeus, we concluded that we should paddle our way through the range of beers on offer.
However, after paddle number one Karl & Hannah handed over their baton to Brian and Alison (the aforementioned brother & partner), who quickly got into the swing of things with their own paddles. In total I sampled 13 of the Kernel beers and threw in a Tokyo taster for good measure (courtesy of SXBottleshare friend, Andrew, cheers pal!) across a 6 hour stay in Brewdog. I won't bore you with all the details, but, according to Untappd, the lowest score was 3.5, with the highest being 4.25 - all of them I would have again, with the highlights being the Biere de Saison Honey, Biere de Saison Chardonnay and London Sour Damson. Don't get me wrong I loved the Pale Ales, the IPAs and the dark beers, but, the three I have noted above were so well balanced, so drinkable that they deserved the special mention (the burgers Michelle and I had are also worthy of a shoutout, we bloody loved them!)

Reluctantly, we all agreed that we needed to get over to Kings Cross (train for Brian & Alison, hotel for us), however, rather than sensibly stopping with the alcohol consumption, we decided to visit Belgo again, more Belgiany drinking fun ensued, plus we watched GB & NI win some medals in the 4 x 100m relays - get in, the spirit of Super Saturday lives on. The food that Brian & Alison devoured late on looked pretty damn good I must say, however, I was too busy enjoying my Bush Ambree and Troubadour Obscura to concern myself with food, although a cheeseboard might have been a good idea. Then the night was over, goodbyes were said, hugs and kisses all round and off we went.......or did we?
Michelle wanted to sample the cocktails next door in the posh place beside Belgo (my debit cried out in pain), while I opted for some gin. Saturday was finally over, so over, it was now Sunday! Goodnight all...........zzzzzzzzzzz.


Monday 14 August 2017

A weekend in London with friends and family Part One

It's a Friday afternoon, it's sunny and I am having a pint of Marble Table Beer outside the Euston Tap with Michelle, I think you'll agree there are worse ways to start the weekend!
We were due to meet friends at The Parcel Yard for lunch but decided to have a couple of warm up beers en route, via the aforementioned Euston Tap, followed by The Euston Flyer (a Fuller's establishment along the Euston Road). I always look forward to a visit to the Parcel Yard, tucked away at the back of Kings Cross station, past Platform 9 3/4, it really is a beautiful place to spend time with friends (I can recommend the burger, the sandwiches and the fish n chips).


Next up was a visit to The Queens Head on Acton Street, a stone's throw away from probably the worst Travelodge you are ever likely to stay in (I know how to show a girl a good time!!).
The picture above was taken before 5pm, after 6pm it was busy inside and out, however it is well worth a visit, especially if you pick a night where there isn't a large number of young "screechy" and excitable girls in attendance. Excellent beer choices, the highlights here were The Kernel Pale Ale Citra and Siren Project Barista Turkish. I'd like to revisit when it's a bit quieter for longer as the place certainly had a charm about it.

On our way to Belgo Kings Cross (closer to Farringdon than Kings Cross in my opinion) we decided to stop at the Union Tavern, which took us past a nicer looking Travelodge, we looked on in envy and vowed never to talk of such things again. A couple of beers and a cheeseboard had everyone smiling again and I must say that the staff were very good and it is a pub I could spend some meaningful time in with cask and keg both well represented.

Time for some Belgiany beer.....Belgo is a chain, but, not one I had ever ventured into before. The one we went to is attached to a rather swanky wine/cocktail bar (more about that in part two) and the Crown Plaza hotel. It's smart, it's pricey but it was perfect to finish off the evening. And, they also have the best high chairs EVER!
Everything is very well presented, and although most of the beer choice is bottles, there are a few taps, including an old favourite of mine - Stella. I however indulged in a Trappistes Rochefort 10, a Saison Dupont and lastly, the Straffe Hendrik Brugs Tripel.

All in all, a very solid start to a beery weekend in the smoke. The four of us made our way back to the hotel that shall not be named looking forward to what the Saturday would bring.