A little later than planned, I’ve finally gotten round to writing about the resurrection of a once famous pre-club establishment, which initially disappeared with the fading of the lasers from Cream only to come back as a vegetarian bar and café/restaurant for a few years and then fall into the abyss once more. The building is still there but The Merchant now stands in what was once Mello Mello and there is quite a difference in sensibility between the two. Although the building is essentially the same, with Edison bulbs and stressed and bare brickwork now taking the place of plastered walls and music sheet lampshades, there much different about the use of the establishment. The Merchant uses much more of the space that was available that Mello Mello, with a courtyard now open to drinkers and diners, a serving hatch is present there from a burger kitchen. Nightcrawler Pizza now takes up part of the old front space of the seemingly empty next-door premises, serving directly into the bar area. Though some are disappointed with what has appeared in the place of the former tenants, there is much to be pleased with, a solidly stocked alternative venue which plays host to North Bar’s North Brewery beers, lots of local stuff from Mad Hatter, Liverpool Craft and also some Five Points and Vocation on draft. The venue has caught the current mood, but it will be interesting to see how the next 12-18 months plays out if gin, craft beer and real ale and pizzas take a dip in popularity, with people seeking other forms of enjoyment. I can’t see that happening though. I managed to grab a few moments to speak to Lewis Boardman, who is involved with the Merchant venture and involved with the same guys who run Circus and Chibuku, to ask him a few questions about what The Merchant will be bringing to the Liverpool scene. Hi Lewis, What is the Merchant about and what will it bring to the Old Mello Mello site and what's different about it to other places in the area? The Merchant will be focusing on craft beer, gin and our great food offer. We have a strong selection of craft beers on tap including Mad Hatter / Wylam / Cloudwater / Five Points plus a great can selection too. Then we have a great offer on gin goblets before 7pm were you can buy one get the second for a £1. Then we have Nightcrawler Pizza, were you can get half price slice also before 7pm with some amazing toppings and even better names. What sort of beers can we expect you to be getting in? Will you be looking to get some more of the 'experimental' craft stuff in, or is it mostly going to be tried and tested beers? The beer selection has gone down really well and impressed a lot of people through out the UK, and is something we are looking to improve on every week. And yes we have some specials on the way! I've heard from the guys at LCB and Mad Hatter that you're going to be stocking their beers... are you going to look to expand the support of the local brewers on the pumps and in the fridges? 100 % yes, we are huge fans of both Mad Hatter and LCB and are looking to support all local brewers in both food and drink. Do you think that the market will continue to expand with more bars, given Liverpool City Council's reticence over the last few years of having more 'nightlife spots' spring up in what is sometimes perceived as a saturated scene? Since we have opened 4 days ago we have found out that 4 new bars and a restaurant are planned and on the same street, so yes its only going to grow and grow. Cheers to Lewis and maybe see you down there! Pedro. ------ The Merchant / Nightcrawler Pizza 40 Slater Street, Liverpool. Web: http://www.themerchantliverpool.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/merchantpub / https://twitter.com/nghtcrawlrpizza Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMerchantLiverpool
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The tables are lined with schooner goblets (2/3rd of a pint size, for the uninitiated) and cans of Fourpure's Session IPA as people filter into the conservatory at the Clove Hitch, ready to hear what Fourpure Brewery's John and Sophie have to say at the latest Meet the Brewer installment. As the cans are snapped open and poured, John is filling people in on his background and experiences of drinking back home in the United States followed by how he happened upon his opportunity to brew for Fourpure. The commentary ran from him discussing culture-shock of drinking lower abv beers when he moved to the UK from New York, where his drinking experience in the US was centred around much higher percentages north of 6%. Essentially his observations starkly highlighted how political the landscape actually is in the UK, not only based on scales of brewers, but also on the occasionally fractious relationships between traditional cask drinkers and those embracing beers served from kegs. John's move from London saw him working for Meantime Brewery before he met with Dan and Tom Lowe and setting up shop as Fourpure, so named after the four main ingredients used in their beers. Fourepure, as with another Bermondsey outfit covered in the blog around this time last year are surprisingly recent to the brewing scene. Another one of those breweries whose brand seems to have been around a lot longer than it actually has; they are barely 3 years old, having set up in 2013 and began their canning of beers in early 2014, which is very soon in most breweries’ lifespan. The brewery feel this is better for their beers due to protection from light and oxygen, but also a lesser impact on the environment from a sustainability and materials point of view. What about the materials within those materials? Session IPA A 4.2% glugger, pale, refreshingly simple and works excellently from can. The Session IPA uses a four hop combination of mosaic, simcoe, cascade and centennial to give a slightly hazy but pine and tropical fruit laden aromatic beer. There is some florality on the nose, along with a lot of pine and citrussy notes. Against Johns' high abv sensibilities, the percentage was squeezed down but without too much detriment; a solid base for the malts of golden promise, wheat and some caramalt balance things out quite nicely and the level of acidity in this along with a perfect amount of body gives a very rounded and easy drinking pale ale. On a side note with the canning, the labelling is very, very good; information about content etc is an excellent touch. Amber Trail A deep copper to red ale, the Amber Trail is 5.4% in strength and is based on Vienna lager style, with an effervescence and malt profile to provide something with a level of refreshment along with plenty of flavour. The nose is rich and malty, with red berries and a bready yeasty punch at the back along with some caramel around the edges. This beer also uses German tettnanger hops to retain a Germanic presence in the beer, truer to the origins of the style. Southern Latitude An American Pale Ale style 4.7% beer with tonnes of hop character to boot. This is apparently the first ever seasonal beer that Fourpure have brewed and looks golden to straw coloured with loads of aroma thanks to the use of Galaxy, Topaz and Cascade. The nose is full of tropical fruit, jolly rancher sweets, grapefruit, mango and even some blueberry for good measure. The body is mildly chewy and the carbonation is strong to keep things very acidic and fresh, though it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is Winter down under and this is bound to put a summery complexion on things there! Who thought a freebie pile of galaxy hops would lead to something so accomplished? Flat Iron American Red Another 4.7% US inspired ale, this time red in name, red in body and full of woody, sweet cedar and caramel notes on the nose and in the flavour. This beer is named after the red hills over in the US, near Boulder, Colorado. An interesting bit of trivia was posited by John at this point, that if Boulder was upscaled in terms of population/size to that of London, there would be in the region of 1192 breweries located there, such is the passion for brewing there. Impressive. The Flat Iron beer itself (back on topic) uses crystal malt along with a combination of colombus, cascade, equinox and citra hops to give an overtly dry red ale with unripened fruit character, a cap nip/marijuana aroma and hints of green peppercorns and some coffee around the edges. There is a real depth to the freshness of this red ale, thanks in part to the acidity which is not out of balance. Vertical Drop IPA With the appearance of a hazy wheat beer, white and cloudy with a thin white head atop, this ale carries some seriously pungent aromas. At 5.9% it is brewed using fresh orange, coriander seed, US yeast strains, cascade, centennial and citra hops, this is a tribute to what John regards as the style which has driven much of the 'craft beer revolution', especially in the United States. This is a very, very bitter beer with tonnes of flavour in the form of tropical fruit, citrus and pine as would be expected from any punchy IPA, but the acidity giving such a juiciness in the mouthfeel is excellent and gives almost a lingering orange cordial flavour. There is so much going on, but the undercurrent of brioche and spice in this wit/IPA hybrid adds some depth to a very accomplished IPA. Burnt Ends So named after the classic barbecue dish or by-product (depending on your stance), this ale gives everything you would expect from the moniker. Burnt Ends is a 5.8% take on a German rauchbier, which imparts smoke onto the grain during kilning and this translates into a smokey flavour in the beer. Brewed using around 30% smoked malt and 10% roasted rye, with chocolate malt and black malt also making up the grain profile, this gives deep smokey and roasted coffee driven brew. There is also some dark chocolate in the flavours and aromas with some salted caramel and bacon. A very deep beer which would benefit from pairing with some cheeses, cured meat or even chocolate cake rather than being a chug-alone drink. Drhop Kick Dropping back down the strength spectrum to 4.5%, this American Pale Ale is back on track of the usual Fourpure offerings; pine, tropical fruit including mango, lychee and pineapple this is a bit of a hop bomb. The malt profile works excellently, proving a good foil of toasty cereal to the dry controlled finish and five (simcoe, citra, mosaic, cascade and centennial) hop combination. Simple, fruity and very effective. Shapeshifter IPA Another fruit overload and slightly heavier in the kick with a 6.4% strength, the Shapeshifter is an amber coloured IPA which has plenty of aroma in the form of pine, lemons, tropical fruit (almost confected, like jolly ranchers!) and other woody notes. The mouthfeel, balance and finish are all brilliant in this, the acidity brings a juicy freshness to counter the grains and for a first iteration of this brew, they've got it pretty close to the mark of what I think it should be. John admitted to agonising over the recipe for some time, trying to figure out the ideal hop combination for this resinous west coast IPA with a controlled aggression in the finish. Hopped in equal parts with citra and mosaic, this is a great bit of brewing for a first effort on a new recipe. As ever, along with the numerous lovely brews for the event, the Clove Hitch kitchen put on some excellent food – a barbecue on this occasion no less. Superb with the range of beers on offer.
So that’s all for this installment ladies and gents, hope you enjoyed the read and I’ll see you all again next time! Pedro. ------------------- Fourpure Brewing Company22 Bermondsey Trading Estate, Rotherhithe New Road, Bermondsey, London, SE11 3LL Web: http://www.fourpure.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/fourpurebrewing Email: inf[email protected] Twenty Three Club / Clove Hitch23 Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BQ Web: http://www.theclovehitch.com/# Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwentyThreeClub or https://twitter.com/theclovehitch Email: [email protected] or [email protected] It is unlikely it will ever reach the stage where this happens, but, suspending reality and heading into the absurd for a few moments and also having hung around quite a few craft beer festivals, meet the brewer events and other involved 'gatherings' you could easily imagine this... The Meet the Brewer event has drawn to a close; it's now dark outside the bar where patrons entered earlier that evening, wide eyed and waiting to hang on every word of the star of the show. The Question and Answer session which followed the formal tasting was lively, generally good natured and enthusiastic, but now Ash Williams of the Evil Dead Brewery waits somewhat apprehensively at the fire escape, looking tired, furtive and like he is steeling himself for the dash to the car outside waiting to take him away to the safety of his hotel room. Its also unlikely he'll be throwing any televisions out of windows. The fire escape doors open gently and as the night air hits Ash, so too does the noise from the throng of people waiting outside, mobile phone cameras flashing, whooping, whistling and cheering is accompanied by screams of 'Sign my beer mat.... please Ash?!!'. Oh the horror. Okay, maybe that's a bit too much. Probably. but the parody does carry some level of truth within it, especially based on experience over the last couple of years. Breweries and brewers are to a degree being fetished far more than has been seen before, certainly in my experience and those I have spoken to on the subject. Some breweries have to an extent, built a level of mystique and cultivated this status, although not entirely on purpose in some cases. These breweries not only have what would normally be perceived as a loyal customer base, but actually now have *fans*. Brewery loyalty has always been a 'thing' for many people; the extent of this is a drinker seeing a familiar logo or design on a pump clip or on bottle or can in the fridge - they then recall any number of beers they have tried from that brewery and know they will get a certain level of consistency and quality which will sate their thirst. However, in an age where mobile phone applications, social media and the relative purple patch for beer and the brewing industry in general, there is a glut of choice and brand identity is as important and strong as ever for breweries. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that some drinkers even get a little bit emotionally attached and buy into the ethos of a single brewery moreso than others. There is the occasion where some people can get a bit starry eyed when they hear of a brewer heading to their particular neck of the woods, especially from big breweries abroad who have built up a high level of the aforementioned mystique. Breweries like Stone, Crooked Stave, Russian River and so on have all made some exceptional beers and garnered themselves a place on the pedestal of having enthusiasts hang on their every brew. This is not limited to US breweries, there are those here in the UK that are heavy attention magnets whenever they release a new beer, attend a festival or a meet the brewer event. Without divulging any names, an event I attended recently saw a certain brewer who was swarmed pretty much the whole time they were present, not being left alone to wander to see people of their choosing at any point of their visit. That level of attention, whilst initially somewhat pleasing, must be exhausting in long run, mustn't it? Any kind of psychological study of why this (relatively mild it must be said, in respect to music and sport) level of 'fandom' occurs in the beer enthusiast world would be quite interesting and quite revealing into what minutiae makes for a successful brewery (aside from the obvious good brand and good beer things). In any subject of interest, where people choose something almost as a loyalty or a lifestyle choice, there is likely to be a level of partisanship and light emotional investment. People (however hard they want to dent it!) like to make lists and order things to give their thoughts some semblance of order and organisation and setting a personal hierarchy in brewery preference sometimes is an outcome. Brand identities in some breweries are pretty powerful and seductive tools in drawing in customers and enthusiasts in; a brewery with a good ethos, big personality and great beer in an attractive container must be the complete package? Thankfully, there have been some other people on hand to pass over their thoughts on the matter too. I asked the following question to a few people…
Is there a point where beer enthusiasts become 'fans' of certain breweries? In just looking to grab a spread of opinions on the subject and I suspect you'll have had good exposure to it, if there is the 'phenomenon’ of this situation as it were? Nick from Hop and Barley: “Undoubtedly because the beer is good, but whilst great tasting beer is increasingly easier to come by, our allegiance to certain brands is a little harder to earn. Loyalty develops over time, and we place an increasing emphasis on factors such as consistency, quality and availability to forge these relationships. Few UK breweries exemplify this better than Derbyshire’s Thornbridge Brewery, whose unwavering commitment to quality has earned them swathes of followers - I don’t think you can be considered a beer lover unless you’re a fan! But there’s been a recent shift towards accessibility, or rather, lack of in determining the popularity of some breweries. The limited availability of beer from the likes of Belgium’s Westvleteren or California’s Russian River, has empowered them with a mythical-like quality, where only the most devoted pilgrims are rewarded. Recently, we’ve seen limited edition beers from Cloudwater (DIPA V3) and Magic Rock (Un-Human Cannonball) generate unprecedented levels of hysteria, and whilst the quality of their offering has never been in doubt, we shouldn’t underestimate the power of flagship beers like these to convert people to the brand. Ultimately, we’re creatures of habit and find comfort in familiarity. Our allegiance to certain breweries is no different to our preference for particular supermarkets, makes of car, or mobile phone brands.” Melissa Cole: “When people fall in love with a brewery it tends to involve a number of factors: values, branding, personality, product and pitch. This holds true across the board for most products but there's something very visceral about beer. The way that the craft market has cracked it is that they make sure, in most cases, that product is first, then come the values and personality (along with branding of course, often that's the door opener as visuals are often the first contact people have with a brewery). But it's really about engagement, so many of the breweries that I write about aren't just about the quality of the beers, although that's of premier importance to me, it's also about the ethos, the work, the thinking, the sense of society behind them. And the new generation of drinkers are even less forgiving to the faceless corporations who have been busy pumping out bad liquid in the name of beer over the last few decades and long may that continue.” Tom Stapley from Craft Beer Hour: “For me this about brands. Small breweries, creating lovely beer and marketing it (some almost by accident) in beautifully (or at least thoughtfully) designed bottles and cans. Craft beer is a competitive market place and new breweries especially, have got to be mindful of branding. That’s why we’re seeing a lot of attention afforded to design – some on the minimal side, others more elaborate. At the same time, some bigger breweries (who are already well recognised on the shelves) are moving more and more into merchandise. In my mind, the moment you wear a t-shirt with a brewery on it, you become a fan first, a customer second! You become part of a following – just like you do with a football team. And by the way, I’m all for it. It’s really exciting I think – long may the great beer keep coming but also, let’s see what the breweries do to distinguish their brands!” So there we go… any more thoughts anyone? Just drop a message below the line… Until next time, cheers! Pedro. -------------------- Many thanks to the contributors Melissa, Nick and Tom above for their time in the preparation of this article. So given the digging around on various social media streams I have been doing, plus piecing together some conversations with the powers that be (or beer, as it were), there is an awful lot going on during the run-up to the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo on the 16th June 2016. This is even before we consider that an hours drive down the M62 motorway, Manchester Beer Week will be in full flow with a rather hectic and exciting line up of their own… but this stuff has seemingly sprung up out of nowhere and may leave many beer aficionados wishing for a second liver and several weeks of sobriety in the aftermath. Regardless of wants and needs, there is a glut of events on in Liverpool in the run up to the Expo weekend (stay tuned to the Liverpool Beer Collective account on Facebook and Twitter also for regular updates and happenings) and I have done my best to cobble these together into one lovely and coherent list for you all… Wednesday 8th June Ladies that Beer Social @ Dead Crafty Beer Company The Ladies that Beer will be attending Dead Crafty and holding their regular social night to meet up with the other members and encourage more ladies to involve themselves in beer and brewing, there will be a few people on hand to answer any questions about getting involved and they will be looking to score highly in the Sphinx Quiz! Friday 10th June Fourpure – Meet the Brewer @ Brewdog, Liverpool Paul from Fourpure is back in Liverpool to host an evening of Fourpure beers paired with some food prepared by the kitchen at Brewdog. Time of the event is yet to be confirmed, but it is a bargain at £20 a ticket and they are running out VERY fast. Sunday 12th June 10 Line Tap Takeover Event @ 23 Club – Featuring Omnipollo This will feature 10 excellent beers from Omnipollo (including Perikles Pils, Chocolate Brown Ice Cream Ale and Leon Belgian Blonde) which will go on the taps as a pre-Expo celebration; advance tasting cards will be available for £20 and these will be around until two days before, on the 10th June. The event will run from 3pm until 10pm. Monday 13th June BEERS WITH THE BREWER @ Dead Crafty Beer Company – Northern Monk Brewing Company Starting a 7pm, there will be a 6 line tap takeover featuring some of the beers from Northern Monk’s stable (including Neapolitan, Eternal and The Forgotten Sin). This will also feature a launch of their new 822 Double IPA and tickets are a very reasonable £5 each – which includes a glass of the Eternal session IPA as I understand it? Wednesday 15th June 8pm QUIZ NIGHT @ Dead Crafty Beer Company - Sphinx Quizzes & Four Pure Colab Quiz Rob from Four Pure is a quiz master, so he will be collaborating with Sphinx regulars Chris, Liam & Stuart to hold a quiz at Dead Crafty’s premises. There will be a Four Pure tap takeover plus Four Pure Jackpot prize, along with spot prizes of merchandise and every team member will get free cans for taking part! As a bonus… American Pizza Slice will be supplying the half time prize as usual. Tickets are £5, which will get you entry into the quiz plus your first drink. Thursday 16th June 7pm BEERS WITH THE BREWER @ Dead Crafty Beer Company – Jopen Brewery Jopen Brewery will be bringing 6 beers over from The Netherlands. It will be an informal affair where you'll be able to chat with the guys over a beer or 6! The beers slated for inclusion are: Adriaan, Gerstebier, Hoppenbier, Imperial Pils, Jacobus and North Sea IPA. Tickets will be sold at Dead Crafty for £15 each. Also, for the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo (16th – 19th June), there has been the announcement (following my last pre-Expo blog) that Hop and Barley will be hosting their own bar at the Expo, plus Northern Monk will be indulging in a spot of tap takeover action. Another point of note is that Wednesday 15th June is also the annual Beer Day Britain [http://www.beerdaybritain.co.uk/], which has been gaining momentum since its inception. As this date comes in line with the pre-Expo run up and also right in the middle of the Manchester Beer Week, there should be a lot going on and a lot of social media traffic generated to keep you abreast of something going on in your area. People are encouraged to raise a glass, take a photo of them with a beer and post the picture on social media at 7pm using the hashtag #CheerstoBeer. I don’t know about you lot, but I am exhausted just thinking about it; still thirsty though too. Pedro. |
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