Having missed an opportunity to attend an earlier event - which took place in Renshaw Street’s Beer Inn Emporium, I was lucky enough for my ear to the ground and gastronomic radar to detect a chance at ale induced redemption… of sorts. There was also another event approximately a year ago too in the same venue, but again, my day job pulled rank on such frivolities. The Ship and Mitre played host to Josie Ludford, who, as regional sales co-ordinator for Brewdog in the North of England (rather an expansive area too, it sounded) provided some insight into both the company and a range of beers the company are currently showing off to the masses. The venue itself wasn’t particularly ideal for the event, with the tasting area reserved for ticket holders it might have been better suited away from the main body of the pub as ambient noise was constantly providing a challenge to Josie getting her points across; difficult enough when some people actually attending didn’t seem interested in letting other people hear either. Nevertheless the tasting continued and there were some interesting beers on offer. 1. How to Disappear Completely An interesting and very low alcohol Mild style ale at only 2.8% but with an abundance of hops including Centennial and Colombus giving the dry hopped aromas an extra punch. Possibly the most pleasant mild I have ever drunk. 2. Electric India A saison beer with heady tropical fruit notes including mango, some additional hops have been introduced to bridge the tropical flavours and the hoppy flavours. There is plenty of depth to this beer, which is a 7.2% smack in the mouth and also possibly a great introduction to those who have had difficulty with saison beers in the past. The addition of orange zest and black peppercorns gives a fresh kick in an already interesting brew. 3. Hello, my name is Mette Marit The Censored beer (in Norway at least) so named after a tearaway Princess-to-be-Queen who’s past scandals include domestic family issues, raving, drug taking and having a child from a prior relationship to that of the one with the Crown Prince (*cough* allegedly). The beer is much better behaved than that; the first taste was from an off-pump effort after another Brewdog event, of which the beer was clearly not handled well at all following the event. This 8.2% strength beer does not convey its strength in the flavour or indeed, mouthfeel, with strong toffee flavours and a double IPA basis using amongst others - Citra hops, Nelson Sauvin and lingonberries to provide some additional flavour and acidity to balance out what would normally be quite cloying. 4. Mixtape 8 Mixtape 8 is an intriguing beer that lends itself to be a dessert accompaniment if ever there was one. A deep and complex set of flavours which is a blend of two styles aged before bottling; a dry hopped triple IPA and a Belgian tripel, both of which are aged in oak whisky casks. The two-blend hit gives dried apricots, muscovado, dates and slight figgy flavours whilst the phenolic and earthy tripel element gives dryness to the balance of flavours. A treacly and fine companion for a steamed toffee or treacle pudding, made from 4 malts and 4 different hops. Mixtape 8 weighs in at a more than respectable 14.5% 5. Cocoa Psycho As the name suggests, this is an intense exercise in cramming as much chocolate into a beer as I have possibly experienced. This imperial stout weighs in at 10% with coffee and chocolate notes and flavours in abundance, the dryness also oddly imparts a strange heat to the stout giving an impression of the inclusion of chilli – not the case, however. Oats, cocoa nibs and coffee beans have been added to the brew to impart their flavours to augment that already naturally present in the beer. Again, as with the Mixtape 8, this is definitely suited to being used alongside a cocoa based dessert. 6. Tactical Nuclear Penguin The former world record holder which started a beer arms-race with German competitors. A burgeoning 32% imperial stout style beer that has since been surpassed, has heavy treacle flavours and some undercurrent of industrial spirits held within a noose of toasty muscovado sugar. As with the other heavyweights tasted, this is best paired with a dessert, something along the lines of a gypsy tart would be ideal. The high ABV was achieved by the process of freeze distilling following an aging process to give distinct flavours and an interestingly coating mouth feel. All in all a good event, the promising news is that Liverpool is also going to get a Brewdog bar which is currently targeted for the Manolis Yard area near to Maya/Lucha Libre, FACT and Mojo. Good tidings indeed for fans of the proclaimed Scottish punk brewery. The fact that one half of the Brewdog creators spent time working at another ElectroKemistry favourite, Thornbridge Brewery, is testament to the skills learned to make these interesting brews. Until next time mis amigos! Pedro. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can find out more about Brewdog here: http://www.brewdog.com/ You can follow Brewdog on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/brewdog You can follow Josie on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Brewdogupnorth
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Beer Festivals are now becoming more and more frequent. For years, Liverpool solely drew solace from the CAMRA event held annually in the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Crypt in terms of larger events with the chance to celebrate and try out many beers under a single roof. As 2013 saunters onward toward Winter, there have been quite a number of additional events, with the Waterloo Beer Festival taking place bi-annually in Spring and Autumn (the sixth iteration is due for end of October 2013), the Mad Hatter Brewing Company giving impromptu Bank-Holiday weekend events at other venues, the massively impressive Liverpool Beer Expo from the Liverpool Craft Brewing Company at the Camp and Furnace. Now there are the further events of a Christmas Beer Festival due to land at the Black-E in Chinatown on Nelson Street from the Liverpool Organic Brewery and a Hallow’een Beer Event as collaboration between Mad Hatter and the indefatigable Baltic Bakehouse on Bridgewater Street. Rude health indeed for the craft beer and real ale scene. This is all without mentioning the recent success of the St. George’s Hall Beer Festival held once again by Liverpool Organic Brewery; a remarkable event in itself, held in the most auspicious surroundings possibly present in the city centre. The Great Hall, was for 4 days and evenings made all the more splendid with stillages laden with over 250 different beers to choose from divided between 4 of Liverpool’s most notable pubs; The Grapes, The Philharmonic Dining Rooms, The Richmond Pub and the Ship and Mitre. There were ciders and perries present once again as with previous Liverpool Organic Brewery organised events, but in addition to this was a bar selling cocktails using the newly promoted Liverpool Gin and a craft beer bar, sponsored by the Clove Hitch/23 Club located on Hope Street between Liverpool’s Cathedrals. Music was laid on in the great hall upstairs from the revelries of the Great Hall in the breathtaking surroundings once again of the Concert Room. More substantial refreshment was available in the ever-present Liverpool Cheese Company and Peninsula pies, with the addition of the Liverpool Cake Company to the agenda. Although this event was a little more pricey than the Waterloo-held beer festivals, there was some compromise to be made with the management of the venue one suspects; a trade off for having such an event in a remarkable location as this is invariably worth a little more sacrifice, especially when the quality of the beers was generally very good. It would be impossible (and most likely inaccurate) of me to try and run through everything I managed to taste over the course of the festival, but there were some distinct highlights and some of these were in the form of previously tested ales from the Waterloo event where they indeed held their quality, tribute indeed to the brewers. Two such ales, which are worth investigating are the Derventio ‘Cleopatra’, which conveys remarkable apricot flavours into a copper session ale and the Saltaire Brewery’s ‘Blackberry Cascade’, which does exactly as the moniker suggests and provides a delicious bitter hoppy hit wrapped in a fruity cuddles courtesy of a hedgerow fruit. Both were revelations at the Waterloo event, but the St. George’s Hall event reaffirmed the initial impression I got from these beers. Tiny Rebel continues to impress with the range of beers it is producing from its Newport premises, the ‘Hank’ is an excellent pale session beer which brings up the front end of their beers behind which the amusingly named ‘Fubar’ and also ‘Hadouken’ (for those of us who enjoyed a certain 90’s computer/arcade game) showcase the brewing prowess of a team going from strength to strength. Local breweries are always a fixture at the Liverpool Organic Brewery festival events, St. George’s Hall proved no exception with Wapping, the Melwood Beer Co., Liverpool Craft Brewery, Southport Brewery and Cambrinus all featuring in the four bars. The generous seating and additional tables at an event such as this are always welcome, although as ever there is a point in the evening when seating becomes a premium and those stood up do need a rest or time to think about their next move in terms of beer selection. The most was made of the space available, the additional tables for those who were stood was a welcome addition to the event. The addition of the gin, craft and cider bars always provides for those whose curiosity in beer has waned at some point in the evening. The Gin cocktails were (for those I had the privilege of tasting) excellent and based on this tasting, the sooner Liverpool Gin becomes available on shelves, the better. The Gin is a joint venture between the Liverpool Organic Brewery and the Landlord of the Belvedere pub in Liverpool's Georgian Quarter; which has its own ‘Ginasium’.
This was an excellent event with mostly excellent beers, the chance to try them was most welcome before investing in a full half; there were some poor batches of beers present in the ranks and as ever, there never seems to be enough time and the voucher points seem to evaporate rapidly when you’re thirsty at these places…. Pedro. Liverpool Food and Drink Festival has been growing with each year it pitches up at Sefton Park, with more local food and drink producers, more restaurants and more punters present time. The two day Festival itself signals the beginning of a week of events in the city which have included some independent supper clubs and pudding clubs held in the city, a pop up restaurant in the Palm House courtesy of Amber Lounge and a wine tasting in the same venue a few days earlier. Despite a rather rainy start to September, the Food and Drink Festival was still in rude health across the weekend, especially during the downpours from the scouse skies on Sunday. Despite a grey ceiling, the visitors were not put off, simply electing to find cover and a stall to grab something hot and tasty. Wednesday was no different with its weather, but the Palm House is a more than adequate shelter, providing lovely tropical floral surroundings in which there were six companies exhibiting typical wines from their selections; Roberts & Henry Fine Wines, Vinea, Origin Wines, Wine Time at Scatchards, Belpasso, Cultural Wines. The wines each of the stalls had to offer ranged from fizz such as Fragolino, Prosecco and an Australian pink Moscato through many styles of white into Beaujolais and then to full on chewy reds from around both New and Old World. Pleasingly, there were a few dessert wines on show at 3 of the exhibitor tables and each was very different but high in quality. There was also the opportunity to have a more formal tasting session at the venue, with a separate area set out to allowed for structured instruction in a variety of wines that the exhibitors were selling and allowing for tasting. These structured sessions were available on a first come first served basis at the event for no extra cost. The event provided an excellent opportunity to interact with Liverpool’s (and indeed, slightly further afield) most prominent wine merchants outside the comfort of their shops. Sadly, many people are put off by the thought of going into any wine shop and searching the shelves for something to enjoy for a Saturday night in with a film and a few nibbles, or for a dinner party gift or indeed to just compliment Sunday lunch or midweek dinner. This event happily showed that with an inquisitive demenour and a willingness to indulge in conversation, there is much to learn and the world of wine is simply not as daunting as many suspect it to be. All the stalls were headed by knowledgeable and friendly people, keen to share their wines with the visitors to the Palm House and engage in depth if necessary. Should you ever find yourself in R&H Fine Wines, Vinea, Belpasso, Scatchards or Origin, you should (on this evidence) be made to feel most welcome and provided with some excellent opinions for all occasions calling for a drop of wine. There were simply too many wines at the event to comment on here, but there were a few stars of the show. Vying for top spot were the Dominio Del Bendito El Primer Paso (using Tempranillo grapes, 2011) from R&H Fine Wines, Nativa Terra Reserva, Cabernet Sauvignon (2009) from Vinea and the Ottavia Rube Rosso (using Dolcetto and Croatina grapes, 2012 vintage) from Origin Wines. Each of these was a fantastic full bodied red in their own way and worthy of pairing with red meat, deep stews or cured meat if not simply on their own. The dessert vines briefly touched upon earlier were also outstanding and often overlooked by many, but paired with a fantastic dessert (remember, the rule of thumb is that the wine should be sweeter than the dessert) they get a chance to shine. One such wine was the ‘Chocolate Shop’, a non-vintage chocolate wine blended in the UK which sounds less than promising; paired with a baked chocolate and beetroot gateau this sang brilliantly with lovely chocolate and cherry overtones and a mellow earthiness which complimented the beetroot. This event was thoroughly enjoyable and a superb chance to interact with the wine community, showing that despite TV experts best efforts to give the impression it’s all affected gesturing, precocious language and pretentiousness, wine really is something that can be enjoyed in a simple way. Happy drinking guys, catch you next time!! Pedro. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can find each of the merchants online or otherwise here: R & H Fine Wines Twitter: https://twitter.com/RHFineWines Web: http://www.randhfinewines.co.uk/ Address: 12 Queen Avenue, Queens Insurance Building (off Castle St/Dale St), Liverpool. L2 4TZ Telephone: 0151 345 0306 Vinea Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vinealiverpool Dan Harwood Twitter: https://twitter.com/danharwoodwine Web: http://www.vinealiverpool.co.uk Address: Vinea, Unit B7, Britannia Pavilion, Albert Dock, Liverpool. L3 4AD Telephone: 0151 707 8962 Origin Wines Twitter: https://twitter.com/originwines Web: http://www.originwines-spirits.com/ Address: Origin Wines & Spirits Ltd, Unit A2, Enterprise Court, Wigan Enterprise Park, Seaman Way, Ince, Wigan, Lancashire. WN2 2AG Telephone: +44 7816 162687 Wine Time @ Scatchards Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jonthewine Web: http://www.winetimewines.co.uk/ Address: Unit 1, 209 Great Howard Street, Liverpool. L5 9ZH Telephone: 0151 2071134 Belpasso Oil and Wines Web: http://belpasso.co.uk/ Address: Unit 4, Malthouse Business Centre, Ormskirk. L39 1QR Email: [email protected] Telephone: 01695 581 176 Cultural Wines Web: http://culturalwine.com/wines.html Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Telephone: 07841 248758 or 07747 052890 |
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