The collaboration beer was put together to celebration International Women’s Day by Dead Crafty along with Lovelocks, Pretty Vacant and So Coco Rouge, all located nearby one another in the city centre. However, the problematic situation arose from the name of the beer, Savage (a glittery bakewell tart IPA), and probably the imagery, meant as a tip of the cap to Paul O’Grady’s much loved character due to encroachment on the characters Intellectual Property (IP – hold the A). The story made national media, via the likes of this article which was written pretty recently: [https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/paul-ogradys-legal-dispute-liverpool-26643417]; whilst we have to ignore some of the factual inaccuracies (naughty sub editors and journos), it’s evident that O’Grady was not best pleased judging by the quotes taken in the articles on the matter (should they, themselves actually be accurate). The result was a cancelled beer launch, a rebrand/rename (from Savage to Salvage) and a move to donate some of the beer’s profits to local animal charities. Though the aggressive legal rhetoric from the outset towards a handful of small and local independent businesses does seem heavy handed in the least. Whether this change of tack with the beer is enough to placate, remains another thing to be seen. When fully in the throes of churning out articles on a monthly basis for this blog, I was toying with imagery to give social media accounts and this site an recognisable avatar and often we choose things that we love for such things; I’ve used amended Bauhaus artwork on (personal) accounts and to this day, homage type imagery for my admittedly sessile Facebook page, with an altered image of Manic Miner. For those who grew up in the 1980s, Manic Miner was a bit of a cultural watershed in computer games, even more so for those of us who lived around Liverpool. The game and Miner Willy himself were creations of Matt Smith, a young programmer who effectively made the game in his bedroom in Birkenhead, probably unaware of the impact it would have on a generation of gamers. Given my use and amendment of the graphics on accounts (making it quite visible), I decided it would be an idea to contact Matt and seek blessing (or being asked to remove said imagery without receiving a nasty letter in legalese). These days, he is pretty reclusive and the only recourse I found to contact him was via an email address for Elite (a software company, again set up in the 1980s, which produced some incredible games for the Spectrum such as Commando, Paperboy, Bombjack, Ghosts and Goblins, 1942 and Space Harrier (under license from Capcom and other software houses)). I did eventually receive a kind reply from someone at the other end, informing me that Matt Smith was difficult to contact and probably wouldn’t mind – but they would attempt to let him know. Fast forward a decade and I am still none the wiser any feelings on the matter, but I’ve never received a letter in legalese but remain glad I did try to make contact. I’ve also been on the receiving end of content (or IP) that I have produced in my time writing and doing photography, being taken by other parties on more than one occasion. Photographs brazenly used in articles produced on other sites to promote businesses and charging companies (in Liverpool mainly) for the benefit of being on there. I suspect on the occasions that my photographs were taken there was probably an element of ignorance from the person putting the article together, along with a soupcon of thinking they’d not be found out and a small dose of that they don’t care.
This is but the tip of the iceberg for what is tantamount to intellectual property theft across many industries and many companies are probably of the opinion that it is better to ask for forgiveness as opposed to asking permission, which can tie things up with negotiations and additional costs. This is where time can be spent cynically releasing a product or article and it achieve a level of notoriety giving it further reach, when any kind of legal process kicks in and a swift retraction (sometimes) saves cost and face. Whilst some IP theft, copyright encroachment or use of material is done purely to drive sales (more on this later), there is an argument to be made for some businesses doing things out of a nostalgic admiration or love for something a brewer or owner grew up with. We can see the threads of this with many breweries across the world, with notable breweries producing beers with obscure pop culture references, nods to songs, nods to a whole swathe of 8 bit computer gaming and with a handful of UK brewers to wrestling. There has also been some internal churn with breweries accidentally converging on names which fit with the each of the breweries’ standard nomenclature, but one getting there slightly earlier and then issuing requests for cease and desist on the use of said name. Names like Mutiny on the Bounty, Black Ops and Yellowbelly have all fallen foul of such situations in the last decade. That situation just appears to be unfortunate happenstance. We reach the realms of creative things converging in terms of what people produce, some things creep into existence through a subconscious bias. There are countless examples of music that has been written arriving at the same melodic end point; see for example Manic Street Preacher’s ‘If You Tolerate This…’ with The Stranglers’ ‘Duchess’, Lana Del Rey’s ‘Get Free’ with Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ (which in itself can be said to borrow from The Hollies’ ‘The Air That I Breathe’) and Elastica’s ‘Connection’ with Wire’s ‘Three Girl Rhumba’. Beer and brewing are pretty creative industries; owing to recipe development, marketing approach and ever increasingly, strong artwork or imagery placed on small package containers and pumpclips. It is inevitable that there would be overlap and occasional congruence with products. Being completely sensible, it is probably best to err on the side of caution in most things and do some research or ask permission, even if an idea or homage comes from a place of genuine affection. Granted it is not always the case that the parody, riffing, amendment or homage comes from anywhere other than a ruse to ‘make a quick buck’. As we’ve seen on occasion, it can really take an unpleasant turn. That said, there are some businesses that have made encroachments, seemingly out of a will to get a rise from owners of an idea or IP, which is where things get very cynical. Any trouble following on, is probably deservedly invited onto an offending party.
But we still have to ask, is it ever okay to do something from a place of admiration, even love, to promote a product without consent from the owner of the IP? Pedro.
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It starts as it ends, as do most conversations I have with Charlie Hardiman. Laughing, wiping the damp corners of your eyes having chewed the fat on how the craft beer scene has evolved in Liverpool over the last 7 or 8 years. Charlie was, once upon a time, the manager of the 23 Club. This was the basement bar, beneath the Clove Hitch on Liverpool’s Hope Street which joins the city’s two cathedrals. It was renowned for boisterous nights, hard and fast friendships, the foment and ferment of ideas, creation of future breweries and a place where regulars congregated knowing they’d never be drinking alone. I have written extensively on the place and wrote about its closure a while ago, here: [http://electrokemist.weebly.com/blogs/an-ode-to-the-23-club] Things have changed since the closure, the venue became Bread and Butter briefly, but as per its namesake it never really generated much excitement or caught the imagination. In stark contrast, the conversation with Charlie is akin to taking an eager puppy on its first foray to the outside, straining on the lead, wanting to inspect, smell and play with everything in site; the enthusiasm is palpable, especially for this adventure. Charlie tells me that the opportunity now in front of her, taxing her, making her apprehensive and excited in equal measure is one of total chance. “The opportunity to do this only because I reached a point where I had accomplished all I wanted with Love Lane (Brewery, based in the Baltic Triangle, where Charlie was Assistant Manager of the Tap and Restaurant) and was looking for a new challenge. A friend and former regular of the 23 Club, Gaynor, had found out that Bread and Butter was closing, with the building’s owner looking for new tenants. Through a series of conversations with friends about any appetite for a sort of resurrection and with Victor’s (the owner) daughter, it became clear this was something where the possibilities seemed too good to pass up on.” I suggest that it is quite a different proposition from managing a bar, working in one to actually being responsible for one, especially in an uncertain trading climate, but Charlie seems to be taking things in a nervous, but confident stride. “Absolutely a different challenge, but the time felt right and there is something beautifully cyclical about this arrangement. Having started my own ‘craft beer’ journey with 23 Club many years ago, thanks to Rob Tuffnell (now of Black Lodge Brewery) taking a chance on me, been with companies like Love Lane and Head of Steam, coming back to where it all began as the one in charge. Victor also seemed to be in love with the idea too, as the building really does encapsulate what we both feel is at the heart of the Liverpool beer scene and what Liverpool is about in terms of its attitude and people. The name too, it’s something I can play on if I am feeling pretentious as it does have a dual meaning, or maybe a triple meaning? Obviously in beer terms, a keystone is a major component of a cask to hold beer and you tap it to get the beer. The other meaning is the one based in architecture, where the keystone is the supporting block in the apex of an arch or other structure, it felt somewhat apt given the history of what 23 Club did for craft beer in Liverpool. It was the home of the brewing club which has given rise to most of the city’s current crop of brewers, was the club house for running clubs and a place where many other important players on the scene actually met or got their ideas. I can’t claim full credit for the name, as Matt (Longmore, brewer and collaborator to Charlie) had it locked and loaded in his mind for a while!” The conversation meanders around education on beers, how we learned about styles and breweries, how sour beers were something of a bête noir initially for us both, the shock of trying Duchess De Bourgogne and what expectations there are now in terms of what people want to drink. This has guided her decision making in how to stock and project the Keystone project, with some agonising over getting hold of the precise beers that she wanted, including a nitro-stout. “We’re keeping it simple to start with, there’ll be keg lines with our house lager already agreed and another with a well known and loved continental radler. The other keg lines will rotate on local breweries to begin with, but we will always have local beers on and support our local brewers. There will also be three cask lines, again, predominantly local stock and we’ll be perhaps having a regular stout on tap to ensure that there really is something for everyone. Once the other parts of the building (other than the ground floor) are ready to open, there will be even more beers from further afield and we can start to consider the small package stock. But we do have to play it careful at the moment for obvious reasons to ensure this whole thing works as a business. In terms of food offerings, the shifting requirements with trading during covid restrictions were something of a headache. We explored the possibility of the kitchen operating as a pop up venture, or just doing small plates and shared food as well as other ideas. At the moment, we are focusing on the wet-led element of the pub.” As things stand, it transpires that the pub will open on the 12th April as a beer garden operation, as per the government guidance. Charlie has been working tirelessly with collaborators and some external traders to get the outdoor space up to specification to allow for a good number of people, whilst distanced and safe. It sounds pretty exhausting, but she seems wary if relatively unfazed by it. The idea of setting up other events, such as Meet the Brewer events, Tap Takeovers and other social meetings brings a wry smile but again a wariness and indeed weariness. “It’d be incredible to bring back such events in the spaces we have. The building really does have a lot of potential, including the upper floors and the 23 Club.” The 23 Club, which she has repeatedly told me is staying under wraps until she and the rest of the Keystone team have decided how to present it. “Keystone needs to have some originality to it, we can’t just rehash what’s been done before as things have changed over the last few years and we have to provide what’s needed, wanted and not just what we want. Doing the events is definitely on our mind and we have ideas for other larger, grander scale events which could happen in the right circumstances, but we have to ride out the current situation and get some time served. When we’re finally ready for 23 Club to open, we’re really hoping that it is the icing on the cake and that with it being its own entity from the upstairs there’ll be that excitement generated about bringing people in again.” The conversation twists again onto other matters such as dealing with social media comments, awful reviews and bizarre feedback that is sometimes received. Charlie through fits of laughter also recalls a rather bizarre occasion where an American tourist left a Trip Advisor review for a pub on Mathew Street which was coloured rather by the clientele than the pub itself, with another patron incandescent at the tourist’s wife not having heard of Steps. Though she isn’t clear over whether this sort of notoriety or infamy would be the worst thing in the world. Don’t ask.
It’s easy to see that there is a justifiable caution to the whole approach in resurrecting such a place. There seems to have been a lot of thought and some bravery thrown into the mix taking this project on, but if as Charlie alluded to, the cycle becomes complete, what a wonder that would be. Keystone (23 Hope Street, Liverpool) opens from Monday 12th April at Midday for soft launch and opens to the public on the 13th April at midday. Walk ins only whilst lockdown limitations are in place, space limited to the beer garden to the rear of the property. Walk in space cannot be not guaranteed. See you there (hopefully) soon! Pedro. ------------- Bookings will be taken through the website: www.thekeystoneliverpool.co.uk Follow Keystone on social media: Twitter // Facebook Imagine you’re sat at a table, that you have an empty cardboard box in front of you, one that had previous carried beers to you from whichever brewery you’ve most recently ordered online from. There are twelve empty slots in this box, separated by thick padding. You’ve recently had someone contact you and express interest in what the UK Beer scene is all about, so you decide to put together a showcase of twelve beers brewed across the British Isles to give this person a flavour of exactly what brewing in the UK is all about. How do you pick... just twelve? *WARNING – before reading on, this contains opinions you may disagree with; that’s fine, just don’t be a tool about it, eh?* It’s something I’ve pondered on a number of occasions, sat in a bar, pub or brewtap, with company or out flying solo. There is always a temptation to go for a larger number, but that would make for less interesting reading and water down what is a stringent selection process. Okay, so I have also borrowed a little from the section of the Wine Show, where Joe Fattorini tasks his two oenologically green co-hosts with going forth to pick a brace of wines (usually there are only around three iterations from a region they choose from, with each of the wine-seekers selecting a champion) from which he selects for a slot in a velvet-lined case. This in itself is not completely original in the genre which is somewhat associated with ‘Desert Island Discs’ ubiquity. However, with the wine that is picked there is a sought after sense of place, a provenance or a root into a community’s history. This is a criterion I certainly am going to uphold, as putting together a case of beers solely on quality is just a cold headed exercise in opinion and subjectivity. So let’s set some ground rules for this, something to pare things down beyond the limit of twelve individual beers. A breadth of styles should be reflected from across spectrum of British brewing, given we all have a preference, seeing six IPAs and six Imperial Stouts wouldn’t really be true to what’s British and what Britain has given to the world in terms of brewing technique, recipes and styles. For clarity, these are the categories I am going to insist on: Two of Bitter / Best Bitter / Golden or Pale Ale An IPA (American or British) A Double IPA or New England Style IPA A Porter or Stout An Imperial Stout A soured beer A barrel-aged Beer (any style) A Barley Wine A lager Two more from any category above or not mentioned In addition to the restrictions on picking beers based on their style, the beers must be brewed in the UK and the recipe must have been commercially brewed within the last 30 years and the brewery from which it originated must not be defunct. Ideally, someone would be able to go out and put this case of beers together in a realistic timeframe. There were a number of beers that would be considered incredible in terms of their quality, but if the brewery doesn’t exist anymore, it takes away some of the purpose of this article – to get you, the reader, excited for an extant beer you may not have tried. The last rule is that this beer has to be something you have personally tried – it’s all well and good pretending to know a beer by hearsay and scouring the internet or whatever app is flavour of the month for beer ratings, but ultimately it is a bit fraudulent to throw in a beer to the twelve without having tried it yourself. Another thing to importantly bear in mind, before anyone gets all hot and bothered about any of my choices or those of anyone else – it’s an opinion, just an opinion, as to what beers made this list; don’t sweat it too much! The Selection Bitter/Best Bitter/Golden or Pale Ale Since we have two selections to make here, it’s going to be easier in some respects having two – there are inevitably going to be beers that are very close to one another in quality and in terms of their heritage and cultural value. But, the sheer breadth of quality in these categories means it is painstaking picking something out. I know it was a nightmare for me, coming back to this once I had made a selection and picked others in other categories, second guessing myself, third guessing myself, asking the wall. Yeah, tricky. The process involved picking out a few that had really stood out to me over the last two decades and beyond, then trying to whittle each of these down based on criteria such as overall quality, how enjoyable they were to drink, their ubiquity (how easy could I get them now?), their consistency not just from batch to batch but over years. In the end, I managed to push it down to five or so, dropping some real humdingers such as Pendle Witches Brew, Loweswater Gold, Black Sheep and Theakston’s due to a mix of availability and some personal experience of drop-off in quality. Then there are the sad losses – Mad Hatter’s Penny Lane Pale was a stunningly good beer, along with the original iteration of Liverpool Craft’s Love Lane Pale which are not around anymore and not the beer they once were, respectively. Bass is obviously iconic (and despite its’ turbulent recent ownership history, when in good condition a wonderful beer) and made the cut, along with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord given the reverence it is held in by many non-UK brewers and I, having personally sunk several down the years at the Stanley Arms in Aughton near where I grew up. Batham’s Best (which I had tried on cask a couple of times and wanted more, more, more; thought it isn’t widely available up north from what I can see) also came through this rigorous mental wrestling match along with Buxton Spa, which is a simply excellent pale and was equally pleasurable to drink on cask, keg and indeed in bottle. Finally, Pint (aka Metric) from Marble Brewing snuck through ahead of its stablemate, Manchester Bitter. Having made a beeline for Pint on numerous occasions not only at the Marble Arch, but at Cask Micropub in Liverpool, it really is a very good pale ale and does everything this style of beer should. Ideally, these beers should be sessionable, flavourful, comforting and able to prime a drinker for whatever they want to drink next. However, in light of recent news regarding the Small Brewer’s Duty Relief proposals, I cannot bring myself to push forward beers from breweries that seem to be dead set on pulling up the ladder on their lower volume cohort. I’m not going to dwell too much on this, given other people have written more completely and succinctly about it. The debate still rages and at time of writing, our government is sadly still considering pushing on with damaging legislation. That lot in succession are really something to consider and a whole article could be dedicated to extolling the virtues of each. There aren’t the column inches, so I’m letting experience pull rank for me here. First in, no messing about, is Anspach and Hobday’s ‘The Best Bitter’. A beer which I have drunk many times now, it feels like a comfort blanket; a familiar but enjoyable flavour that aroma which ignites memories of what beer used to be, could be and should be. Given that was a relatively easy decision, the second was much harder. Bass and Batham’s both have heritage, with the former probably once the most famous beer in the world, but sadly relegated to an odd brewed-under-license limbo at Marston’s with no real identity*. I think based on personal experience, Marble’s Pint needs to go into to the case of twelve. It really is a fine ale that is worth revisiting repeatedly, especially in the Marble Arch. *Pete Brown covers this rather succinctly in this article: [https://www.petebrown.net/2018/11/12/bass-ale-is-back-i-wish-i-was-more-delighted/] IPA (American or British) Here we go, into probably even more turbulent waters when it comes to opinions. Given the prominence of IPAs in beer over the last 15 or so years, there is staggering number out there, some may wear the label, but they aren’t necessary true to the original style. Throw into that all the subsets of session IPAs, west coast, east coast, dry hopped, double dry hopped, DIPA, TIPA, QIPA any number of adjunct IPAS, and black IPA it’s a bit of a mess trying to keep up. Here we’ll settle for things that are more traditional; something very hoppy and north of session strength (upwards of 5% or thereabouts arbitrarily). Since the exposure of beers like Longhammer, Stone IPA, Sierra Nevada and Pliny the Elder in the UK, recipes have adapted and flowed, giving rise to almost hedonistic levels of experimentation and quality. We now have beers like Brewdog’s Punk IPA and Thornbridge’s Jaipur IPA, along with beers that have followed the first wave of heavily hopped ales. In this mix things like Cromarty's Rogue Wave, Tempest's Long White Cloud (and the longer one), Rooster’s Baby Faced Assassin, Buxton’s Axe Edge, Beavertown’s Gamma Ray, Magic Rock’s Cannonball, High Wire and Wylam’s Jakehead have all brought joy to pubs across the land, with superbly flavoured and balanced IPAs. We’ve seen a few beers in this vein also come and go; a massive favourite around Liverpool was Liverpool Organic’s Shipwreck IPA, which was very true to British style and massive on flavour and mouthfeel. Another big favourite for me from the dormant stable, was Ace Edge; the Sorachi Ace variation on Buxton’s Ace Edge. An excellent use of a very controversial hop, which sadly (for me at least) doesn’t get brewed much anymore. Even putting all those superb and almost ubiquitous names into the same paragraph gives me a bit of clarity, but also makes me think that we take some of those for granted. Generally, they are all as good as they ever have been and it’s a little bit crazy that we kind of take them for granted. The clarity, for what it’s worth, tells me to give this one to Thornbridge’s Jaipur IPA. It has won countless awards around the globe, was a game changer for the UK when it came out and is a great beer which is wonderful on any occasion. I’ve also had very memorable and pleasurable occasions with this beer, including trying both dispense (cask and keg) at a meet the brewer event and being able to taste a great beer side by side with itself and experience the wider spectrum of what it can offer. Double IPA/New England Style IPA Since the rise to prominence of Alchemist’s Heady Topper and several other stronger versions of IPA from across the Atlantic, the lines of what an IPA could be have been blurred even further. Additions of more and more hops as a dry hop and a big drop in the quantity used in bittering means there is more hazy and fruit juice-esque beer than there has ever been. It seems to be the ‘go to’ for all new ‘craft’ breweries in terms of gaining a foothold in the market. Double IPAs gained recognition a little earlier on the UK circuit, with even more hops piled in (usually) than a standard IPA, with a higher abv (usually upward of 7%) it made beer enthusiasts really sit up and see how much flavour really could be packed into a beer. UK breweries have kicked out some excellent versions of NEIPA and Double IPA; not so long ago, Cloudwater Brewing had many people waiting on the release of their ‘V’ series, culminating in number 13 before they decided that was enough. Of course, they still make Double IPAs. Beers like Buxton’s Kingmaker and Two Ton, Brewdog’s Mixtape 8 and Jackhammer (amongst others) and Magic Rock’s Human Cannonball set a high bench mark for many to follow with DIPA. New England IPAs have been an odd phenomenon; there’s resentment to them from many drinkers, who dislike the lack of bitterness and question the depth of these beers, often perceiving an ubiquity to the flavour profile, balance and mouthfeel in the style, regardless who brews the beer. That said, Verdant’s Putty is a very memorable beer in this vein and often generates a bit of release day fervour. Whilst there are some stunning NEIPAs and Double-NEIPAs and versions which are anywhere in between, it does feel like you could name any number of them and pull out something of great drinkability and quality. The likes of Verdant as mentioned, DEYA and Burnt Mill making some excellent beers in the category, but balancing out (as outlined in the start of this article) the heritage, quality and sheer impact on brewing over the last four to five years, the Cloudwater ‘V’ series is the one that sits most prominently, edging out the urge to pick Buxton’s Wyoming Sheep Ranch and Thornbridge’s Halcyon. Given that three V beers immediately jump out at me from the selection of the 8 or 9 that I remember trying, the three that stand out are the V3, V5, and V6 with, finally the Cloudwater Brewing DIPA V3 the one that stands out most. The things I remember (aside from the hype) are the incredible aroma and the mouthfeel along with a very balanced beer introducing incredible hop-juiciness for the first time once I had cracked that can and poured the promise within. Don’t get angry now. I had to end this section somehow. Porter/Stout There are a number of sub-categories again within the world of dark ales. Oyster stouts, milk stouts, Irish style, Baltic (which is technically could be a lager...), chocolate, dry, oatmeal and so on. How to pick one? Is any of these sub-sets any more individually British than the others or does one stand out above all the rest. Bluntly, no. There are some absolutely phenomenal examples across each of these and depending on what mood you’re in, they would be the ‘go to’. You want something sweeter, you go for a milk stout (unless your vegan or lactose intolerant, of course), you want something dry and tannic, you’d go with a dry style or Irish style. Admittedly, I nearly railroaded myself on this selection based on what I thought most people would want to see take the slot in the case. Picking something that has picked up numerous awards such as Elland Brewery’s 1872 Porter would be quite easy, but it’s never grabbed me personally. A classic choice would be Fuller’s London Porter here, or perhaps less popular but no less short on the heritage stakes, the Taddy Porter from Samuel Smiths. But I am going to shy away from these. Whilst there is undeniable quality to these beers, or there has been to date (having tried both within the last 18 months or so, both are still very enjoyable and tick all the boxes you would expect for the style), there are some superb brews now front and centre for the stout and porter styles. Here’s the confetti moment; in writing out the contenders, I found even more swimming around my brain than I had on the blocks for the IPA category. Throw in dark beers of sheer quality with those that I have tasted in memorable moments and it’s busy. The likes of Camden Ink made an early impression on me, as I’d never really considered the virtues of a kegged stout before and this did change that mindset for me. Young’s Oatmeal stout, drunk on cask in a London pub (sadly I forget the name and location, just recalling the beer and being surrounded by a lot of dark wood and brass – meaning it must have had real quality) was a contender. Red Star Brewery’s Havana Moon in bottles and a moment of cask in Liverpool’s The Grapes where there was a moment of departure from all other thoughts due to a feeling of dark-perfection. Five Points’ Railway Porter, Siren’s Broken Dream, Tiny Rebel's Staypuft and Northern Monk’s Winter Star have all provided memorable moments, the common denominator being that they were dispensed on cask (at least they were in those moments) providing a smooth and wonderful mouthfeel. Another local favourite in Liverpool and one which is brilliant from a can, from keg or indeed decadently handpulled from cask is Neptune Brewery’s On the Bounty, which marries a subtle strength, wonderful mouthfeel and a chocolate coconut driven comfort. It’s stablemate, Abyss, also creates plenty of buzz when available, which is sadly not as often as many would like. The slight emergent from this selection is the one that occupies the designated space in the case. I went for a sweeter stout and one with undeniable quality. Although it might not be to everyone’s tastes, it is often the one I think of (on cask where possible, gladly on keg and happily in bottles or cans) when judging many other stouts these days. Wild Beer Company’s Millionaire feels like it has been around for much longer than it actually has, but it has provided some wonderful moments with friends and has never disappointed. The first time I tried this beer at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo many years ago, I immediately went back for a second glass, eyes wide and taste buds yearning. That rarely ever happens. Imperial Stout/Porter Conversation about Imperial Stouts often drifts towards Alesmith Brewing Co.’s Speedway Stout, it was a beer which certainly was the first of its kind, but it seemed to be one that made people pay attention to this style which was barely ever seen in UK pubs until around a decade ago (I seem to remember Brooklyn’s Black Chocolate Stout making an appearance pre-2010 at a pub in Liverpool and being a personal revelation). British Imperial stouts and porters are of course, much easier to get hold of now, given that most craft-sensibility breweries will have a recipe in their locker for a stronger stout. These higher abv brews always seem to form part of the hype bedrock at Craft Beer Festivals and draw enthusiasts to the pumps as soon as they are tapped, especially if it’s a limited edition version of a known quantity of quality with some confection or other thrown in. Which one is worthy of the case though, given the undoubted effort many UK brewers have now put into the recipes for these robust beers? Courage Brewery’s Imperial Russian Stout has a rich tapestry, being brewed for the best part of two centuries before a wobble during the 1990s. I stumbled upon it for the first time in a specialist beer shop around in Ormskirk where it was *very* reasonably priced given the strength and promptly snaffled three bottles. Even the late, great Michael Jackson gave this beer a double page spread in one of his texts. When Wells and Youngs acquired the brand circa 2007 they didn’t brew IRS immediately, waiting until around 2011. By this point, it didn’t seem like it was the same beer it had once been and had variable levels of hopping down the years*. Back on subject of course, it was enjoyable – meaty, bitter, chocolately and decidedly grown-up, but despite the heritage points it’s not exactly pulling up trees these days for me. Beers like B.A.B.S from Wild Beer, Campfire Strannik from Northern Monk, Tiramisu from Hawkshead and Tempest Brewing’s Mexicake all conjure up recollections where the overwhelming feeling is warmth – each of these brought a feeling of comfort and memories of big flavours. Bearded Lady from Magic Rock has had its moments too, but sifting my notes and memories, it wasn’t as important to me as some of the other beers I have tried in this style; others have been more startling, flavoursome and have something intangibly classic about them for me. Two heavyweight stablemates that were in mind before I reached decision time on this beer in Rain Shadow and The Living End (in their various barrel-aged guises) were and are incredible beers, they have been solid since their inception. Buxton Brewery’s Rain Shadow edges things for me. The first time in trying this beer in Liverpool’s sadly lost 23 Club; this Imperial Stout stopped me in my tracks. The complexity, the aromas and flavours, the huge body, in such a beer things could be a cacophony – but everything here is superb, the balance and structure are judged perfectly and it is to me and hopefully many others, a modern classic. *Source: Martyn Cornell’s Zythophile Blog: [http://zythophile.co.uk/2012/02/21/courage-irs-a-40-year-vertical-tasting/] Soured Beer Once upon a time, all beers possibly had a detectable acidic tartness to them due to difficulty in retaining yeast purity. They were not necessarily sour and certainly not to the acidity of many of the beers we are about to discuss*. Sour beers such as lambics, wild and mixed fermentations, berlinner weisse and flanders red all found a fertile bed in the US craft beer scene in the last 15 or so years and this has in turn led to a revival of brewing such styles here in the UK. There are a few breweries which have made some beers which could be regarded as modern classics, with a focus on producing sour beers due to their excellent potential as pairings with food and a propensity for a depth of flavour in cases of mixed fermentation and aging on wood. The likes of Wild Beer Company, Chorlton Brewing and Burning Sky have had a focus on producing sour beers for a while, now being joined in recent years by outfits such as Little Earth Project, Vault City and Brewdog Overworks. Into the hat go the likes of Calypso from Siren Craft, Sourdough, Modus Operandi and Wild Goose Chase from Wild Beer, Monolith from Burning Sky and of course, were it still in operation you’d have to add in Tzatziki Sour from Mad Hatter (though the beer lives on via Paul Spraget’s endeavours at Orbit Beers in London). Each is different and has its virtues in terms of style, for example, Modus Operandi is a blended and oak aged red ale which really comes into its own with a food pairing, but (admittedly I am not the biggest sour beer fan) for me it isn’t a beer I particularly enjoy drinking on its own. Calypso was one of the first sours in the UK and has its undoubted virtues, but another beer that came along around the same time is going to take the slot in the case. The Kernel’s London Sour is usually excellent, refreshing and drinkable and has a gentle complexity which works as a food pairing. There are a number of iterations and deviations from the first lactic yeast recipe, with the addition of fruit such as damsons, herbs, various dry hop varieties and varying strengths. The core brew however, was quite brilliant when it came on the scene and sticks in my memory. The fierce acidity, the sharp aroma and citric freshness all provide something enjoyable for a pursuer of low pH. * [https://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/306.html] Lager A category totally open to trolling here in picking a lager, which is representative of British brewing. I mean, the UK has an illustrious history of brewing some terrible macro-scale lagers under license and during the 1970s and 1980s their popularity exploded as ale’s waned, but we’re going to stick with the spirit of picking what is best in show. I’m going to do it without any impulse to use the phrase ‘cr*spy-b*i’ too. There are a number of UK breweries that now have really taken to brewing pilsners, helles, kellerbier, vienna (and Kolsch, although not technically a lager) and a host of darker styles and doing them really well. As is often stated, with styles such as helles and pilsners, from a technical brewing point of view there is virtually no place to hide for mistakes, faults or brewing aberrations. There are even some breweries which have a very strong lager game in that is what they are known for, especially Freedom Brewery and Bristol’s Lost and Grounded. In terms of scoring points for heritage, there aren’t a great number of breweries in the running on that note. Samuel Smith’s Alpine lager has been brewed since the 1960’s, with Taddy Lager and Double Four being more recent introductions to their roster. None of these has ever really captured my imagination down the years, with the stouts being much more memorable tipples. Wrexham lager is reputedly the first lager to be brewed in the UK (disputed, as there is evidence of Edinburgh having lager brewed there before this)*, over 130 years ago and it had something of a resurrection just under a decade ago, but as with the Samuel Smith’s brews it never really hit the spot. Modern takes on lager have really come on over the last few years; the likes of Camden making a helles which captured the imagination, Freedom brewing lager, helles and pils of quality since the mid-90s, Thornbridge with the excellent Lukas (which I am drinking as I write this very section), Manchester Union with their elongated mash process brewed (and delicious) Lager and very recently Neptune with their outstanding helles style brew, Evenflow. It’s so much better than it has been, I even remember a period in the late 90s and at the turn of the millennium a lager labelled as ‘GB Lager’ (brewed by Whitbread on a bit of research) which was dispensed from a font that looked like a traditional bath tap. I seem to remember it actually being quite drinkable too, but then I was a student and with a limited frame of reference. There are even some excellent dry hopped lagers around; I always make a beeline for William’s Bros Caesar Augustus when I can. It makes it a very tough choice to pick one. We are spoilt now with the quality available. That said when it comes to selecting a champion, I have gone with the specialists named further above in this section. In Lost and Grounded, we are very blessed to have a stable of excellent lagered beers available to us (in varying degrees around the UK of course). Rather more controversially, I won’t be picking the keller pils (I can already hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth) as the All the Cool Cats Helles just takes me to another place. On every occasion, it’s brought a smile to my face and it always seems to be outstanding. It is superbly structured, clean and refreshing and everything a helles should be, short of being Augustiner. * Although perhaps the headline meant ‘oldest still being brewed’? [https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2011/11/14/Britain-s-oldest-lager-re-launched-in-north-Wales] – Credit to Ron Pattinson for this article: [https://www.beeradvocate.com/articles/7144/britains-first-lager/] Barley Wine/Old Ale Setting up for this section, I had two beers firmly in mind. One is often the first and last word in this category for most people and the other is Coniston Brewing’s No. 9 Barley Wine. Coniston’s effort sticks in my mind having tried it on cask on a few occasions and from the unusually sized 275ml bottle (330ml would have just been fine, I mean it’s only 8.5%?) and on each occasion, I have not been disappointed with it. On consulting my own tasting notes from the last time I had this barley wine, the brandy, marzipan, orange and a whole other gamut of adjectives abound. It’s good, but, is it the best out there? There are a number of US breweries that have explored Barley Wine, although there is a distinct divide in the style, with the US slant being a more bitter brew, with a larger hop presence. The English style is certainly sweeter and whilst hops are presence, the malt tends to be the primary driver of the flavour. Just to ensure I don’t end up down another rabbit hole, I’m sticking with the English style. Thinking longer on the matter of Old Ales and Barley Wine and what the difference actually is, it makes for a whole other argument (where we have to look at Mild, too and the whole solera system on which some Old Ale is actually derived from). Beers like Robinsons’ Old Tom (named a ‘strong ale’ rather than a Barley Wine), J.W. Lees’ Harvest Ale (which sadly I have never tried) have received big plaudits, but one that sticks in my mind having tried it twice and alluded to at the start of this section is Thomas Hardy’s Ale. Having the distinction of being brewed by three different set ups (Eldridge Pope, O’Hanlons and now the Vecchiato brothers), I have tried two vintages; 1995 and 2005. Both were excellent and given the quality and renown of the beer it makes for a relatively straightforward choice in filling the slot. Barrel Aged Beer Another category in which I am likely to invite the ire of many drinkers is that of barrel aged beers. Admittedly this isn’t a style in its own right, given there are a variety of styles that can be barrel aged (though there are also many that probably shouldn’t). Saisons, Old Ales, Sours, Imperial Stouts and even some IPAs have been put into a variety of barrels by breweries over the last few years. The barrels themselves are also a variable to consider; virgin oak, sherry, bourbon, rum, brandy and so on. The combinations give rise to a staggering number of beers which over the last decade have shown the dedication of some UK breweries to be experimental, clever and downright controversial for the sake of it. There’s a real learning curve and still a lot to be discovered and mastered by many breweries who have undertaken barrel aging programmes. Wild Beer Company have undertaken an deep foray into looking at barrel aging beers, from their flagship beer, Modus Operandi to the old ales aged in burgundy barrels, bourbon barrels and being annually blended for their Beyond Modus releases. Burning Sky are another UK brewery at the forefront of aging beers on wood, introducing oak into their bright and spritzy saisons, encouraging wild and spontaneous fermentation to generate complexity in their beers. Away from saisons and soured styles, Siren Craft and Buxton have aged many of their darker and stronger beers in barrels. Indeed, at time of writing, Siren Craft are kicking their programme back into gear and releases are imminent. One of my favourite, if not my single favourite beer from any UK brewery left Siren’s premises many years ago but sadly doesn’t seem to have had a rebrew. Bones of a Sailor Pt III is an Imperial Porter, flavoured with raspberries, cacao nibs and vanilla with aging in Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks. Everything about it was layers and deception. You think following a pour you’re going to get chocolate with hints of fruit and a wave of gentle vanilla. Instead its lightness of mouthfeel, a sour cleansing hit of red fruit before the chocolate and vanilla drift in like a warm breeze. That complexity and yearning for more means it takes the slot in the box. Maybe I have built this beer up a bit much for myself, but no other beer has made me sit up and take notice more, since last tasting it. Wild Cards
Given the picks for individual styles have probably thrown up some disagreements from readers so far, we still have two more slots to fill to add some of what I regard as modern examples of excellent British brewing. This time I can plump for two beers irrespective of style and given that the primary styles I enjoy are pales and IPAs, I am picking a brace of beers that I expect quite a few people will agree with. In recent times, DEYA’s Steady Rolling Man has become something akin to a byword for ‘instant go to beer’ when it is present on the bar. It is what DEYA regard as their realisation of a perfect pale ale and I am inclined to agree (aside from when I would really love to see how it translates into cask). Massively hop driven character provides a number of fruity aromas and flavours, with palates picking out peach, lemon, pineapple, apricot and grapefruit along with grassier notes and a gentle malt backbone. It does what all pale ales should strive for; slake thirst, provide a refreshing and easy beer and provide a talking point on quality regardless of where you are in your drinking cycle. It takes its spot with aplomb. The second pale ale to take the wild card slot and one which in the North west has like Steady Rolling Man become a standard starting point for anyone wanting to ensure a quality start to an afternoon or evening with beer. Track Brewing’s Sonoma comes in at a lower abv to Steady Rolling Man (at 3.8% as opposed to 5.2% as standard) and has a distinct advantage (at least for me) of being available on cask as well as in keg and can. Again, it provides an exemplar of the style. A simple malt base allows the combination of Mosaic, Centennial and Citra Hops to ‘do their thing’ and push forward a juicy, bright and thirst quenching brew. It truly is an excellent bit of brewing. ------ Thanks for reading, I do hope that there’ll be some comments and that if you have yet to stumble on any of the beers I have discussed in this article you’ll manage to seek them out soon. There is a wealth of excellent beer produced here, providing great nods to our heritage as well as to modern influence from abroad. Pedro. ------- Some images used in this article have kindly been provided by the breweries mentioned. All use and replication is protected by copyright and their use without consent prohibited. Disclaimer: this was written before the current Coronavirus outbreak (publishing was delayed due to some potential business sensitivities). Here’s a question: how many breweries, specialist craft beer and cask ale pubs/bars can a city realistically sustain? It’s something that has occupied my thoughts, intermittently, for a few years, but increasingly over the last few weeks. Having written extensively about beer in Liverpool over the last 6 years or so (okay, with much less in the last 18 months), I have covered both openings and closures during that time with much more focus on the positive former. It has been a pleasure to see things grow across Merseyside with new breweries, bars and micropubs joining the existing ranks. Sadly, this time this article’s stark focus is on the closures we are currently observing. Within the space of a few weeks, the scene in Liverpool has taken a rather large dent with the announcement that Pi on Rose Lane closed its doors for the last time at the end of January. This follows the closure of Cat Hop Beers in Rainford, Gibberish’s Brewpub, CASK in Stoneycroft (which has thankfully spun back up under new management) and now some news has filtered through that Craft Minded has wound things down, both Pi and Craft Minded have been ostensibly driven away by an increase in rent of their respective premises. It’s a brutal reality that many places face, but rather starkly shows how tough the climate is for independent businesses even with a healthy turnover. Pi has been in situ for just under a decade, though you could be forgiven for thinking it had been there much longer. Keeping beer enthusiasts and locals of Mossley Hill sated with Pieminister Pies, excellent Belgian, Dutch and German beers alongside solid (and perfectly conditioned) cask ales and newer craft keg brews has been their raison d’etre. It’s no small loss and a frustrating one for the wider scene given its longevity and a perceived ‘senior’ standing. Also, since I first drafted this article, we experienced the loss of the Crosby Beer Shop too, which is a massive blow to bottle shop goers across the city, given it's standing in the scene for so many years. There is some scope for positivity however, as early noises from the Pi team’s social media suggest they are open to reviving the pub or small bottle shop and taproom at another location in Mossley Hill or nearby if the circumstances and conditions are right. We should keep our fingers crossed for this eventuality. Craft Minded is a much younger venture, but still present for approximately just over 2 years and reputedly it suffered from a vast hike in fees from the Cain’s Brewery Village landlords. Frustratingly, Craft Minded’s location in the Cain’s Brewery site’s former boilerhouse was an interesting one. As a standalone building with a tall vestigial chimney stack, architecturally it had some character, however it’s location It left it competing for drinkers with four other bars opposite; the pleasant Dockleaf, Tankroom (specialist for Slovak and Czech tank beer), the haphazardly themed Black Perle (and its other dubious incarnations) and the Peaky Blinders bar. Whilst turnover in these other stag- and hen-do friendly premises might allow for absorbing massive rent increases, an independently owned craft beer orientated establishment was never going to be able to. There has been no official statement on social media or otherwise on what the state of play is for the Craft Minded crew, but it’s another bitter blow to the Liverpool scene. It is hard to say if these closures are all part of wider pattern which is forming across Merseyside, showing a contraction in the thirst for craft beer, real ale and other similar products in bars and pubs. Carnival Brewing’s doors opening just before Christmas and the forthcoming opening of Turncoat’s bar (due early 2020) on the Albert Dock are more pleasing punctuations on the matter, along with some rumblings of Seven Brothers and Northern Monk looking to open premises in Liverpool’s city centre. This suggests that there is a continued interest and marketplace with enough promise to entice new ventures. What is not difficult to see is the increased competition from supermarkets, taking on craft beers in an ever more expansive and aggressive manner to ensure their market share. This certainly hurts independent bottle shops the most with some fallout potentially hitting bars and pubs. Throw in the effects of ‘Dry January’ and the fetish of abstinence (along with myths of ‘detoxification’) at the start of each year and there is some serious exacerbation of the problem in play. Whilst people paying repeat visits to the city’s independent outlets can be the foundations of their income, sight cannot be lost that the key to getting a steady flow of business and a sustainable cycle of sales is to procure new customers (not just when it comes to beer). This is the tough part. Low and mostly zero budgets for marketing mean most places rely on self-run social media and word of mouth to bring in new customers. I have recently observed operators of local and independent businesses on social media chiding people for their infrequent visits, which is surely not the way to go. It’s easy to see why these business owners are frustrated – especially when you consider their livelihoods are at stake and many people hold the phrase ‘use it or lose it’ as a totem. Whilst there is some truth to this phrase, undertaking scolding, belittling or insulting behaviour towards people on the frequency of their spending habits isn’t going to achieve much beyond alienation and resentment. You catch more flies with honey… as the saying goes. Empathetically, people only have a certain budget for certain things like craft beer, coffees and other goods which have a ‘luxury’ element to them and putting yourself in their shoes, would you spend-spend-spend? Invariably, local independents stock and produce these luxury items which are in reality, non-essentials for daily life (or too expensive to be included in most people’s daily budget). Beers, Gin, pieces of art, sourdough bread, cakes and pastries and so on. They are not every day items for most people. The truth is people will often look to spend less where they can in tough times, which doesn’t help small independents, as bigger brands and chains can sell similar goods for cheaper in the main. This is somewhat at odds with the way people feel and what they say in Liverpool: People are proud of the city and will bristle at negativity from outsiders. They love to communicate the uniqueness of the city and its sensibilities. However, for the most part, this doesn’t seem to translate into tangible support and sales for small independent businesses, especially our local breweries which are instilled with local character and embedded in the Liverpudlian culture. With the best intentions, supporting local, small and independent businesses (of which many bars and brewers are part) it’s tricky to do so on a regular basis. Those most diligent would have to spread themselves so thinly across many businesses to contribute their money to the local economy, the perception would be of them as discussed above; that of an infrequent supporter. What is required for sustainability is a wider base of people whose additional ‘infrequency’ of custom will translate into a frequent cashflow for the businesses due to number of customers, rather than a reliance on fewer but higher spending ones. How to accomplish this? That’s the big question. Changing the habits of a person in a bar or pub, about to buy that £4.50 330ml bottle of Peroni from the fridge, into one who decides they’ll try the £4.00 330ml can of a locally brewed session ale or lager would be a big step. The first step in this however, is making sure that this locally brewed beer is present in the fridge in the first place by selling to the bar. There’s a battle at every stage to be won.
We’re really still no closer to finding out what the level of saturation is for the city though. This current state of flux has only shown how fickle and tough the market is, multiple closures in tandem with recent and forthcoming openings of businesses forms no discernible pattern or trend. Groups that exist to support bars, brewers and beer enthusiasts such as the Liverpool Beer Collective, Ladies that Beer, Mikkeller Running Club, CAMRA and Merseyside Craft Beer Social can all play a role here in helping develop the market, but collaboration and communication are key. Pedro. I recently fractured a finger in an accident with a taxi’s door. It wasn’t pretty, off work for a week with a heavy sprain, broken bones and massive laceration needing strong antibiotics, painkillers, four stitches with heavy strapping – a lot really for such a small appendage. On returning to and then leaving the Royal University Hospital for a change of dressing and check up on my mangled digit, I travel past some old hunting grounds of Liverpool University on my way to get a bus (cheaper and easier than parking by the hospital) home to get my car for work. On this occasion, I noticed that there was a bus route that dropped 30 seconds walk from my house, so opted for that in the interests of getting back home and onto work a bit quicker. Right next to the bus stop, the old foyer entrance to the Guild of Students was now a Starbuck’s Coffee house. The layout has changed a lot in that building since I last frequented it, whilst working for a University start up company some 13 years ago. It got me thinking about something that I had thought about on the odd occasion a few times before, but never quite as acutely. Why is that space a Starbuck’s?* Why shouldn’t it be something local, something independent and something just a bit more interesting? Shouldn’t the University be looking to work more closely with the local community for business opportunities? * or A N Other large-business franchised/chain space, in the context of this piece. Obviously, the answer is money. As it often is. Universities have suffered repeatedly from funding cuts over the last few decades and despite combinations of sky-rocketing tuition fees, research grants and selling off some family silver (land/other University owned assets) they are struggling. Giving up space for rental to franchised business is a solid revenue stream and (nearly) everyone who attends, teaches or works at a University needs caffeinating at some point. The revenue streams from the rent can always have a heftier margin when the taker is a multi-national franchise that won’t baulk at a big overhead even for small profit margins. It’s an easy win for the University and the franchise. Hypothetically though, couldn’t a well-run local independent take this space and still run it under a sustainably suitable profit? I suppose that’s a question for the bean counters and those who would be willing to gamble with such a business proposition. Putting some rosy tinged goggles on and picturing things in an ideal world, shouldn’t an institution such as a University be looking to be more community minded? They often like to talk of being embedded in the community or culture of a city, which provides the living space, social environs and other bedrock of amenities that life as a student (or academic) requires. Would an institution such as a University providing space for a local business owner to sell their coffee, tea and other sundries to students not be a revenue stream but also a tangible action on this statement of being part of a community? I know that this is something of a departure from the beer-talk usually covered on these pages, but there is some transferable application here. The only time I have been aware of a University bar (promoting community) installing local beer was when Melwood Beer Company installed handpulls at the Liverpool University’s Sphinx Bar located in the Student’s Union. It would be good to see more of a commitment from community institutions such as Universities, investing a bit more in local product. Showcase the best of a city or region by buying from local producers and expose them to the students, many of whom are visitors to the city from across the country and many from beyond the UK’s borders. Okay, so the beers present in Student’s Union bars are subsidised let’s not forget, with most University bars selling Carling, Carlsberg, Guinness and the likes of Worthington or Tetley Smoothflow or occasionally something a little more interesting. They are sold at a discounted rate (back in my undergrad days – showing my age, I paid £1.10 for Carlsberg or, when I saw the light in the student hall’s bar I would go on to be assistant manager of, £1.40 for a pint of Lowenbrau). These days, you can pick up a pint of Carling for £2 in the University of Liverpool Student Union, with a pint of the Sphinx cask ale at £2.40, which is not a massive discrepancy. The margins at which macro-brewers and distributors operate probably mean that realistically, the local beers wouldn’t get a look-in and psychologically that 40p adds up to a lot when you're on a budget and you're drinking quantity. The need to provide cheap beer is strong, especially with the current University age generation tending to eschew alcoholic drinks as a trend compared to previous generations. So there is a need to make beer and cider attractively priced for those that are not teetotal and being students, on a limited budget. The lines at these premises are probably tied to a distributor too, twinned with the fact that if the contract the University runs is worth over a certain amount, it can potentially come under a framework agreement (they have to award a fixed term contract to a company or number of companies, who will have the monopoly of supply over the term, unless they breach said contract… or something along those lines) meaning the smaller companies won’t get a look in from that angle either (being unable to supply the quantities big contracts demand, at least at the expense of other custom). This kind of scenario also affects local sports teams. Whilst it might not be the purest example of a tie in to local, the pairing of Tottenham Hotspur with Beavertown is a case where a sports team/business has looked to source something locally and anecdotally from speaking to Spurs fans I am acquainted with, it works and is very welcome. The prospect of being able to sink a neck oil or gamma ray before the match instead of something fizzy, yellow and vaguely ‘beer’ flavoured, works well for a lot of match goers. But the Beavertown/Heineken buyout thing aside, wouldn’t it be excellent if every rugby club (league and union) and football league team had a commitment to invest and source producers locally? Especially those with a distinct regional identity, independent and locally owned.
Locally on Merseyside, Glen Affric Brewery have beer being sold at the Tranmere Rovers Fan Club Tent, but not actually within the football ground. This exposure has definitely had some input in increasing awareness of locals and match goers to the fact they have a brewery and associated taproom on their doorstep. Whilst this association is not an ‘official’ one in regards to a link with the football club, it has anecdotally given a boost to the brewery according to co-founder Craig McCormick. “Whilst we have had some beers in the Tranmere ground on one occasion, the uptake of our beers at the fan tent has really given some extra footfall to the taproom and people do recognise the brand and what we have on offer. Whether the level of success we have experienced could be much greater by actually having our beers in Prenton Park is anyone’s guess!” Visitors to any city or region often have a thirst for the unique experience that place has to offer, sports tourism is massive and refreshment is a major element of that. Being able to drink or eat something produced locally not only invests in the community being visited, but provides a sense of place. Would visitors be so ready to have a break in a location with the ubiquitous character as their home town or another place they have visited? Let’s face it, drinking a latte and eating a pre-packed cheese sandwich in one branch of a chain coffee shop is much the same in another branch, regardless of where you are in the UK. Granted you know what you’re getting and it often saves having to do much research when you just want a coffee, but it’s all rather soulless. Despite playing devil’s advocate in a business sense here, surely there is some mileage in ‘community minded’ institutions departing slightly from this model and giving some kind of opportunity to local businesses? If they wish to extol their credentials as some kind of active participant in a community, they need to put their money where their mouth (and property portfolio) is. Pedro. It’s been a roundabout trip for Terry Langton from Love Lane to the Albert Dock, but his current (dis)position finds him again cooped up in an historic Liverpool brickwork structure creating drinks for discerning adults to enjoy. The bar is due to open its doors to the public early February, due to a number of delays which have meant missing the Christmas deadline but Terry asked everyone to be reminded that the best things come to those who wait, given a rushed opening would not leave the quality impression he wishes to be associated with. Terry began his journey (as covered in this blog: [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/the-rise-of-liverpool-craft-brewery]) with Liverpool Craft Brewing as a joint venture with Paul Seiffert (now at Black Lodge/Love Lane) before the company was sold for investment and growth (and a name change to incorporate the brewery’s flagship beer ‘Love Lane Pale’ as the brand rather than a product), he also helped set up the initial incarnation of Black Lodge before eschewing the beer for developing his own brand of Gin, Vodka and bitters under the guise of ‘Turncoat’. The Turncoat project is very much a grassroots and family orientated business, with wife Jo and other family members such as Jasmine (the new Bar’s Front of House) mucking in at events and at the office/distillery. But its inception wasn’t plain sailing, despite Terry’s experienced hands: “Everything has had teething problems, EVERYTHING!! Though realistically speaking, you cannot expect to open such a large bar in a Grade 1 Listed Building without hitting some bumps in the road. It does feel like anything that could go wrong in the lead up to getting things rolling, has indeed gone wrong. It has been a tough journey, but the team behind both the bar and the distillery have performed really well to get things going in the right direction. We also have a great Landlord and the supply chain for the bar is based locally, which makes getting the support we need so much easier. It’s been quite a humbling experience to have received so much good will and support from people, the bar will be a really positive step to take for the distillery and Turncoat’s journey. Hopefully it will be a roadmap in becoming a major independent distillery and business in Liverpool.” When asked about why he felt that Turncoat needed its own licensed premises, Terry was very clear about why they have taken this route: “I think we have a quirky message that we’d like to communicate. We’re not corporate or looking to brand jump on any bandwagon. We’re a group of passionate people who don’t take ourselves too seriously, but do take our output in a serious fashion and a great deal of pride in it. The product itself, the Gins especially, we’re proud of. Having a bar will enable us to get behind them and communicate what we’re about in a clearer manner. It feels very personal too, having a premises in such a prestigious location and being able to showcase an array of local beers and spirits. Since 2010, all the projects that I have been involved in have received support from other local bars and independent outlets, it feels great being able to pay some of that back into the wider scene. Having grown up in Liverpool though the last few decades, I have seen first-hand the change that the Albert Dock has undergone (from its dilapidation and disuse in the early 1980s, through to the regeneration and integration/link up with Liverpool One) and it now being a major tourist attraction in the city. Being a lad from Toxteth and being able to start something independent which is able to support other local and independent businesses is great, it does feel that we are taking back a piece of the Dock back from corporate holdings for Liverpool, which is a good thing for putting a stamp on the local heritage. We do love the tourists that come into the city and the best way to make them welcome and give them an experience is to provide a ‘real Liverpool’ and all the creativity it holds. Having local support for this is absolutely essential too and that’s definitely what we wish for.” Terry is also very clear of the regard he holds for the Landlord of the site, who seems to espouse the same wishes for a local and independently dominant presence in the city to encourage character and community. “JLL are amazing, we’ve been working with them for a year and given Turncoat an opportunity of a lifetime. It is really refreshing to be on the same page with our outlook on the business climate and how to contribute to that. We can’t ask for much more.” Terry does miss making beer, but not at the expense of the distilling which now takes up his thoughts. The focus on detail whilst managing logistics and other elements took up a lot of his thoughts, but he remains quite philosophical about any kind of return:
“It’s nice to mix things up, I do keep promising to do a collaboration brew and make some beer again, but I never seem to find the time to arrange it. I think the elements I most miss about brewing are the details in a brew day, having a fermentation vessel full and ready to start its journey to becoming beer whilst the smell of hot hops and sight of a clean brewery that’s ready to go again the next day are massively rewarding too. It’s a very satisfying process when you nail things right and I do miss that feeling. Currently, I run around like a headless chicken whilst our Head Distiller, Joanne and our warehouse manager, Rolf, take the brunt of production work. I am looking forward to the bar being open and getting back to being involved in the production side of things; the predictability and the order reminds me a bit more of brewing and distilling, whilst I feel I’m currently wading in chaos!” The bar itself is slated to be stocking the obligatory Turncoat range of Vodka and Gins, along with the array of bitters they produce. There are also rumoured to be other local spirits taking their place on the back of the back along with some bespoke specials produced by Turncoat especially for the premises. There will be 15 different lines of craft beer present at the bar, along with a healthy number of fridges readily stocked with an array of beers. Terry has suggested that we prepare for beers from the likes of a lot of local favourites and Siren, Lervig, Magic Rock, White Hag along with more continental gear and by virtue of their existing collaboration, some beers from Purity Brewing. “We have also installed, at great cost and by no small feat of logistical magic, a massive Gozney Wood Fired Overn, ready to be smashing out pizzas all day and night. We will of course be focussing again on local ingredients whilst twisting things around a Neapolitan style. If that wasn’t enough, the bar will also be doing Afternoon Tea (with Gin), Prosecco, cocktails and of course, normal tea. There’ll be an on-site bakery for the pizza dough, cakes and sandwiches too. Finally, there will be a ‘snug’ in the bar, where we can allow for groups to gather or for meetings to be held, I expect to be hosting a lot of tasting events in there too." ---- Site opens to the public Friday 7th February 2020. I know I can’t wait! Pedro. [some photos provided by and copyright of Turncoat] Puffed out cheeks accompany a long exhale when I ask Dominic Hope-Smith if he thought that Carnival Brewing would ever reach this stage. It’s been a slow burn for both him and Adrian Burke in getting Carnival into permanent premises with a fixed kit to call their own, located between the ‘Ten Streets’ area of Liverpool and its central business district. Evidently the trials and tribulations in setting up a brewery are not all based in finances and building a steady network of customers, logistics and luck play their part too. Timing can be everything, the right time and place with the right network and right recipes can be make or break a fledgling outfit. Dom’s response is somewhat weary but tinged with a hint of an optimistic tone and no shortage of surprise... “Nope! I still can’t quite believe that we are doing this. It is slightly surreal when you consider that it has been an ongoing project for so long, taking in lots of twists and turns along the way. It sounds pretty obvious, but we both really love craft beer and the culture surrounding the industry. I have been a keen homebrewer for a few years now and at one point Adrian (the other half of Carnival Brewing’s founding team) tried some of the beers I made, he suggested that I should start making them a bit more widely available. From this point, Carnival Brewing was formed.” The early days of Carnival also saw Dom’s homebrew touted to bar staff and select guests at Liverpool’s 23 Club, with high praise heaped onto the homebrewing duo and their wares. The follow up to this initial buzz was sadly and heavily delayed (as alluded to above). There was participation in the first Liverpool Beer Week with a pre-launch event at Hard Times and Misery (now known as Dickens and King). This in itself was followed with a trickle of keg and cask beers to local bars such as Pi on Rose Lane and central Liverpool favourite, the Grapes. These were the only clues as to Carnival’s activities before the news broke that they had found and procured a site from which to base their operations. Ade and Dom first met at the Clearview Charity Carnival in Mossley Hill in 2016 via an introduction from a mutual friend, the grease to the wheels of the relationship was Ade spotting Dom’s Flaming Lips tee shirt; Dom suggests that his attire at the time is probably what made Ade form a positive opinion of him initially. I was lucky enough to appear on Beernomicon’s Podcast during the Summer of 2019, chatting about the second Liverpool Beer Week. As part of the Podcast, I was joined by Black Lodge’s Rob Tuffnell and both Ade and Dom from Carnival. Dom was very upbeat about the opportunities for beer and brewing in Liverpool and contributed well: [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/beernomicon-lv-liverpool-beer-week/id1130929820?i=1000444035776] This was not his first foray into broadcasts either, appearing on BBC Radio Merseyside in promotion of the Mossley Hill Beer Festival earlier in the year and conveying a message about beer to a wider and possibly less informed audience on matters of brewing and craft beer/real ale. Things have now progressed for the Carnival team since the broadcast and ground was finally broken at the new Carnival brewery site in October 2019. This in itself was not without difficulty; the aforementioned tribulations of setting up a brewing outfit for Carnival included some practicality issues for brewery infrastructure, but thankfully ones that were not insurmountable, as Dom confirmed: “Originally, our scheme was supposed to take shape in South Liverpool and this had to change for a number of reasons. We then stumbled onto Unit 3 not far from the city centre and decided that it could provide us with the perfect blank canvas for our vision and ideas. The process so far has been excruciatingly slow and has involved some pretty complex lease negotiations, planning issues and dealing with licensing. Add the technical difficulties of the build to the mix and you get quite the cocktail. The build has been difficult but steady in all consideration and it is certainly the most challenging thing I have done. We have worked with R2 Architects who are based just off Hardman Street in Liverpool and they have helped us create a phased scheme, providing us with a large enough area for our current brewhouse and tank farm with the ability to respond to capacity growth requirements. We also have quite a substantial cold store, a great bar space, new toilet facilities and the foundations are in place for a mezzanine should we push for that.” In terms of brass tacks, the brewery kit itself will be 16 hectolitres in size (four fermenters and a carbonation tank, with some additional kit coming in the new year), therefore the aim is to be capable of an output of 3,000 litres of beer a week. The brewery has a taproom attached to it, which is expected to evolve over time in keeping with the status of the brewery, the beers and other factors. The Taproom will be opening soon, with the opening hour being Thurs-Fri 4m to 10pm, then Saturday 12pm to 10pm, Sunday 2pm-8pm. Dom conveyed his excitement further about this space: “We are going to be community focused, so expect a variety of cool events, pop ups, art shows, live music and food-orientated events. We are planning to host regular nights with local music promoters to bring artists to a wider audience. As you can tell, music is pretty important to us and we’re having it as central feature along with the beer! The part of town that we are based in is not currently known as a place for night-life, so we’re aiming to inject some life, promote a safe and inclusive environment and animate it with good happenings." So what beers can we expect from Carnival?
“Our tasting room has 12 keg lines and two cask lines, we are aiming to get these flowing as quickly as possible. We’ve got some special releases saved ready for launch, including a robust porter called Transmission which will be on cask. Our Imperial Stout, Moose Stack, which has been quietly maturing in oak barrels with toasted coconut should be ready along with kegs of our session pale ale (All Clouds Are Silver) and some cask Macau (a cream pistachio pale ale). We’ve yet to decide on what beers will be first to go on our big kit, so you’ll have to watch this space! Trades lists will probably be ready to go out shortly after Christmas in time for New Year deliveries and we’re also buying in a range of used spirit and wine barrels to kick off a barrel-aging programme in earnest.” What do you think the next five years holds for brewing in Liverpool and specifically with Carnival? “I’m really excited about the future of Liverpool’s scene actually. It feels like we’re gaining some momentum, with the increase in the number of independent bars, pubs and restaurants in the city, the outlook is positive. Seeing the likes of Bundobust, Honest Burger and Albert’s Schenke to name a few pitch up with a really good beer-orientated offer is great; especially as they want to work with local breweries to stock their beers and integrate with the local scene. We have big ambitions to thrive in our new site, create great space for people to meet, relax, enjoy great beers and music. There is more to it that just that though, but I’ve got a few ideas and tricks up my sleeve that I’ll keep to myself for a while longer!” Carnival Brewing and tasting rooms are now open and welcome to accept customers in this unexpected gem of Liverpool’s waterfront. --------------------------------------------- Many thanks for reading everyone and sorry my output has been a little sparse (a lot sparse) recently... but we do have another article coming soon! Cheers! Pedro. There has been some turbulence in Liverpool on the beer scene of late; another black-armband moment late in the year added to the angst that many already felt with a slice of beery bedrock being pulled from under them (admittedly, myself included). Thankfully the void, whilst not totally filled (and may never be in the case of both Mad Hatter and 23 Club) has left some oddly-fertile uncertainty for a few new breweries to begin trading across Merseyside from West Lancashire. Step forward Clay Brow Nano (they have been bottling their beer for just over a year), Conch Brewing, Uncanny Valley and Brooks Brewhouse. All four are relatively small outfits, brewing mostly bottles, cask and generally less frequent kegged offerings. Visibility is also quite low at the moment, given that they are all relatively new and feeling their way into the market place (for example, Brooks Brewhouse has had cask beers on at the West Kirby Tap, but to my knowledge, none has made it across the water into a venue in Liverpool). That said, this takes the number of breweries in the Merseyside region up in no small measure; variety is the spice of life and it is always good for a drinker to have some new ideas ready to try on the bar. So what will these newcomers be bringing to the pumps? Read on. Brooks Brewhouse Based in Hoylake, Brooks is a very small outfit producing what seems to be bespoke orders (mostly in bottle and only by request in cask) for the local market; hence the lack of any visible marketing or presence on the northern side of the River Mersey to date. The brew kit is described on their website as a nano-size (up to 3 barrels per batch), with test batches brewed to a meagre 20 litres and only brewed up to 200 if proving successful. The beer range for Brooks appears to be a spread of traditional British and some newer American styles double dry-hopped IPAs, early grey infused IPA, a Porter, best bitter style and English IPA all appear on the website. The brewing roster appears to show some reverence for older styles, but a willingness to enter the fray on newer hoppier and experimental adjunct styles. Sales from the brewery appear to be only to trade for the time being. You can check out more information on the brewery here: [http://www.brooks-brewhouse.co.uk/] Clay Brow Nano Another small operation based in Skelmersdale, Neil Parkin set up Clay Brow Nano follow a decade long affair with home brewing. Currently at half a barrel in size, an expansion is in the offing, with Neil looking at maybe expanding to a 1 barrel brewery the middle of 2019. Neil states: "It took me a while to Design and build my wooden structure in the garden (some would call it a shed) to house the brewery, but following encouragement from friends and family, I eventually got there. My Ales are bottled mainly and I have just started racking into cask during last November and December, which so far is having very positive feedback from customers". Upon asking Neil where his beers would be available whilst noting he had a bit of a thing for darker hued ales, he responded: "Currently, I have two firkins which are heading for Prospect brewery's bar (Editors Note: This was last December), Beer Central in Wigan in 2 weeks time which i can not wait to see on there bar. Yeah, I have a bit of a thing for stouts and dark ales, though I do also enjoy a decent hoppy IPA. About 20 years ago I stumbled across a mobile travelling Theakston's Bar; a few pints of Old Peculier later, that was me hooked on dark ales! I am planning to brew a few more stouts next year and to bring my two NEIPAS, Juicy Lucy & Zulu, back out in March for drinkers to enjoy. At the moment, I really want to push the notion that a stout is for all year round and not just for the Winter, I want to change the perception that some like to think it is only a cold weather style." You can follow Neil and Clay Brow Nano on Twitter, here: [https://twitter.com/Clay_Brow_Nano] Conch Brewing Mike Petersen is another homebrewer turned professional on the scene, with the 200 litre kit at his disposal, he has been steadily producing some very interesting pale brews. I asked what styles he predominantly expects to be putting out in the near future and what dispense we as customers can expect to see: "I've only been brewing commercially since July 2018, and my first batch was an 'Imperial' 8.3% stout that went out in 330ml bottles. I have since then brewed a fruity New England style IPA at 6.8%, which again went into bottles at 500ml with a small keg for an event at Cathop Beers. Since then I've brewed an Old Ale for release late season 2019, a massive 16.8% impy stout which was brewed in collaboration with Clay Brow and Neil Ashton at Cathop Beers (we all love dark beers) - I'm really excited about how that brew is going to turn out! I've also brewed a more traditional 5% Porter which is aged with bourbon oak, it debuted at a taster event at Craft Taproom on Smithdown Road in Liverpool but it will also be on cask and bottle in very limited amounts elsewhere. Planning ahead, I'm ruling nothing out. I do love big beers like the Old Ale and the Imperial Stout, so there will be loads more of that in various styles. I do Love dark beers, so stouts and porters will always be on the menu too. I'm a big fan of British Beer and historic beers too. Obviously not macro-produced twig-water clones, they're an abomination to me to be frank, but I really love barley wines and Old Ales and would Iove to put a spin on some old recipes that I have found." Upon asking Mike about dispense style and whether he had a prefence, his retort was: "Whether the beer ends up in cask, keg, bottle or can doesn't matter to me. But I currently don't have any facility for canning. There's something magical about beer and wood, so Barrel aging, Brett and sour tradional styles are 100% on the horizon." In terms of inspiration and motivation, Mike replied to be asked about what drove him to brew: "I'd been home brewing for a long time, so it was just a natural next step in a way. I brewed to make beers that I couldn't buy from shops, as back in the day it was a lot more limited in the bars and shops compared to where the market is at now. Brewing commercially was a long held ambition, but I'd always had this belief that it wasn't viable without a lot of investment and total career change. The thing that changed my perception was when I read a blog about a guy in Manchester who set up a nano brewery in his bedsit; eventually expanding it into his shed. A bit later I met others who had set up in a similar fashion and guys like Ivor who used to run Bridgewater brewing supplies. Meeting these others who'd made the cross over to commercial brewing from small beginnings was really inspirational too; guys like John Marsden at Melwood in particular. One evening late autumn 2017, I just sort of decided I'm gonna do it and get brewing commercially. Within two weeks I'd bought a second hand rig, I sort of had to crack on with making beer then! I then probed a bit further by asking Mike what sort of beers he really liked drinking at the moment and how he felt about the market becoming increasingly saturated with competitive products: "This time of year I'm getting stuck into big dark beers. I have been drinking some DIPAs and NEIPAs too, though most of them I'm picking up at Cathop Beers and drinking at home as I'm a dad to two boys and don't get out a while lot these days! In terms of the competition and getting a foothold, it holds no fear for me, partially due to my size and the fact that I have a full time job beyond the brewery, there's no pressure on me to sell huge amounts. That means I can just brew with a focus on quality rather than profit and as a result, I feel able to take risks and experiment thus have a bit of fun; I'm hoping that will be coming across in the beers. " Finally, I asked if there are there any other unique or interesting facts about the set up or remit as a brewery with Conch: "With my latest beer Im giving 100% of the profits to Claire House Children's Hospice. I'm hoping maybe I can encourage other local brewers to do a bit of the same, but in any case this is something I'm gonna do again." You can follow Mike and Conch Brewing at: [https://twitter.com/BrewingConch] Uncanny Valley I caught up with Uncanny Valley's Ged Courtney and asked him for an overview of Prescot's new and only brewery and the about waves he plans to make in the local area with his beers. "The brewery is tiny by comparison to most in the area, I'm only operating on around 200 litres, so approx. 1.2bbl per brew. At present I brew a West Coast IPA (Icarus), a single hop Pale Ale (Electric Dreams) and a Milk Stout (Event Horizon). I have plans to add a NEIPA and a Berliner Weisse at some point, but I think I need a bit more practice on the sour side of things before that becomes available to the public! At present the beer is available in 330ml bottles and on Keg (Eco or Key Keg depending on bars preference). I've currently no plans for cask beer, but I'd never say never, especially given the mini-revival we're seeing with some breweries making a return to the dispense. I've always been a big food and drink nerd and have always wanted to make things 'from scratch', over the years I've had a number of life consuming hobbies but home brewing was the one that stuck. I started making beer on the kitchen stove and when I brought some sample bottles into the various craft places I used to drink, they were always complemented - I think that gave me the confidence to push onward. After a few too many drinks in Hard Times and Misery one night, I decided I'd see if it was viable; lots of internet research later (and a great series of articles by Carbon Smith) led to me getting permission (from HMRC, EHO and my fiancé) to turn my one car garage into a fully licensed and authorised brewery. Having seen the likes of Top Rope also coming through on similar set ups gave me the confidence that it was at least possible." In terms of what he likes to drink at the moment, Ged was quite forthcoming: "I enjoy most beer styles but at the moment have a real love for juicy NEIPA and Pale Ales. There will always be a place in my heart for the bitter, resinous West Coast hop bombs that still got me into craft beer though. I think most probably that DEYA's Steady Rolling Man is a great example of the beers I most like to drink at present." So what does the future hold for Uncanny Valley? "I'm in a very fortunate position in that brewing is not my full time job and I own the premises where the brewing takes place. The competition is immense at the moment which is a credit to the quality of the local beer scene. That said, producing four kegs and a half dozen cases of bottles per run is a lot easier to shift than the volumes of beer needed by the bigger guys who've got wages and rents to pay. Keeping a stock of products is tricky at my size, but equally I suppose I can be more flexible with my brewing rota. I'm essentially brewing on a scale that would be most brewery's pilot kit." You can follow Uncanny Valley further here: [https://www.facebook.com/Uncanny-Valley-Brewing-Co-605765986541387] Tyton Brewery
A 'big' name for a small microbrewery, Tyton Brewery based in Ainsdale, just outside of Southport are another new set up to keep an eye on for 2019. Tom Anderson, who developed his craft brewing in the former Wapping Brewery set up underneath Liverpool's Baltic Fleet pub has taken on kit formerly used by another Sefton outfit, 3 Potts who ceased brewing around a year ago. Tom informed me that the viable brew size is 480 litres, although the more likely standard brew size will be 250 litres in terms of consistency. Tom also said: "There will be three core beers to start; Tawny (3.8% Amber Bitter), Morepork (4.2% NZ Hopped Pale) and Western Screech (5% US IPA). Initially these will all be starting off in cask and will eventually be moving to bottling and kegging products, that will hopefully be within a few months. The brewery going forward will be based on a good backbone of reliable standard ales and a wide range of changing experimental beers, including Lemongrass, Kaffir Lime, Habanero Sorachi Ace Hopped pale inspired by Thai Cuisine. Brewing appeals because it allows for both creative thinking as well as a strict set of rules to go by. There is always something to learn, and it is always challenging." In terms of what got Tom's creativity flowing and what he enjoys from other brewers, he was very definite about what he likes: "I've been really into sour beers for a long time, Suggestions Tropic Thunder being a personal fave, as well as a lot of Dank heavy IPAs. For Tyton going forward and how it will sit in the market, I feel I'm happy enough to enter into a big market at the moment. The size of my kit is a small drop in a huge ocean of others. I'm happy and confident that good beer made with love and purpose will always win. In terms of beer nomenclature, all the beers are inspired by, and named after owls. It's kind of a tradition thing between me and my dad. We're both kinda obsessed with all things Strigiformes!" You can currently follow Tom on Twitter: [https://twitter.com/morporkiwi] Another year draws to a close and sadly (probably more for me, than you dear reader) I've not published an awful lot over the last twelve months. A sum total of two articles; one being last year's round up of beery goings on and a rather heavy-hearted obituary to what many regard as the spiritual home of craft beer in Liverpool. I tell a lie of course, I have written a lot of other stuff and expended rather a lot of energy elsewhere beyond the confines of this site. The blog and various updates to the Liverpool Beer Collective's website have been at my own fair hands (both in a writing and editorial capacity), plus I have written more emails, queries, co-ordination notes and other assorted nonsense in the name of Liverpool's first ever Beer Week. In relation to the monthly reviews I published, it reached a point where it become more of a chore and an obstacle to doing other things. I have cut down on the amount I drink, partially because I am getting older (as much as I hate to admit it) and it takes its own toll and partially due to requirements of my day job and a rather unpleasant length of commute. Trying to sit down, drink eight different beers and think long and hard about each one did eventually become a burden rather than something I actively enjoyed, as much as I did enjoy testing my own palate and thinking once in a while about the beer someone had spent time producing. Maybe I'll return to writing something in the style of those reviews, time will tell. In terms of the other content of this article, I am again going to treat you to some contributions from other prominent writers about what has tickled each of their fancy over the last year and what beers have really given them some enjoyment. We also have some sadder news from this year with some losses from the Liverpool scene; 23 Club (covered here: electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/an-ode-to-the-23-club), Mad Hatter Brewing (See below) and sadly the lovely Mark Yates, brewer with Connoisseur Ales and all round good egg. I have of course, selected my annual top ten standouts from this year too. Brewery Buy-outs and Investment Buys outs of breweries are now becoming slightly more commonplace; this year has seen both Fourpure and Beavertown taking investment from the big boys, with the total share going to Lion (an Australian subsidy of the Kirin portfolio) in the case of the former and a significant but undisclosed amount into Beavertown from Heineken. The news was met with rather a mixed reception; murmurings of displeasure, outright indignation through to messages of a more congratulatory nature from all corners of the beer world. Perhaps the more interesting aspect of these buy outs was the rather uneven tone in the Beavertown deal. As covered in a previous edition of this blog, some drinkers drifted (and maybe still do drift) into a bit of hero worship with some brewers; brewing good beers, putting out an enticing image and having a touch of the rock star about you will cultivate fans. This is very true in the case of Beavertown and perhaps, given their status on the UK beer scene, this is what has created a slew of disappointed fans - 'selling out' will never go down well with some. It's not only some of the brewery's former fans that have directed ire at Beavertown; some other UK breweries have responded in a variety of ways, including by vocalising criticism, by removing associations and involvement with them at festivals and in collaborative projects. Sussex's Dark Star was another buyout earlier this year, with Fullers of London now owning the whole portfolio. Whilst this isn't an example of a bigger fish (such as AB, Heineken or A N Other) swallowing up a small 'craft' brewery in what could be viewed as cynical acquisition to corner every square inch of the market. Anyway, it was all excellently covered by Pete Brown in February: [www.petebrown.net/2018/02/21/favourite-brewery-gets-bought-sold-taken]. The waters are only going to get muddier from hereon in, if people are truly disturbed by their favourite breweries being owned by larger corporations, it will mean more and more vigilance in keeping tabs on where you spend your money. Return of the Cask A skim of quite a few other articles over the last twelve months has shown that many regard the British staple of cask beer to be significantly undervalued by and large by the public. It still often lags behind the price of keg beer in many establishments and often is not treated with the care it requires to be served properly; leading to many breweries halting output of cask over concern of both margins and of quality. In a bold reversal, both Cloudwater Brewing [cloudwaterbrew.co/blog/2018/9/30/aw18-part-2-cask-is-back] and Brewdog [www.brewdog.com/lowdown/blog/cask-is-back] both returned this year to output of cask beers, albeit with a strenuously tight grip on quality control in terms of where it is sold. It is telling that during my trip over to San Francisco this year, many establishments were keen on developing their cask output and looking to emulate British brewing techniques to add another string to their bows. An example was the brewpub belonging to Thirsty Bear in the city; brewing mostly stouts and British bitter styles, they actually presented a very good beer on their premises and planned to continue increasing output as drinkers in their pub demanded. Other brewers across the world have taken note and hold cask beer in some reverence; as indeed both European and American brewers anecdotally claim to have been influenced by British brewing, not least Bruno Carilli of Toccalmatto and Brooklyn's own Garrett Oliver. The price is often the bone of contention in the UK; margins are incredibly tight as cask is in the main, undervalued, with a large slice of tax inflating the cost of production and sale. The overall market is down 6.8% since the previous year [www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2018/10/3-reasons-cask-beer-is-declining-in-uk-pubs-and-3-ways-it-can-change], with some of this change being attributed drinkers shifting from cask to 'craft' keg beers. The bulk of the market is still held by premium macro-brewed lagers. Hopefully cask beer is art that is continued to be appreciated on our own shores, though this will take continued vigilance and a sensitively progressive approach from consumer and the marketplace.
In slightly better news, the fallout from this is that Lally Morrison took the head brewer role over at Glen Affric, who have incidentally just started canning their beers. Expect to see much more of them in 2019. Over the last year or so, we on Merseyside have gained Clay Brow, Carnival, Brooks Brewhouse, Liverpool Brewing Company, Conch Brewing and Uncanny Valley... along with new bars like 8 degrees, hobo kiosk, Punch Tarmey's (with the promise of the resurrection of the Cain's Brewery). In theory, this should soften the blow somewhat of losing such a big hitter from our ranks. I'll be giving some column inches over to pushing out more information on all of these developments in the next article in the next few weeks! In the meantime, I would like to pass on my thanks to Mad Hatter for all the hard work, enjoyable beers and moments they have given me over the last five years or so. Cheers guys. x ElectroKemistry Top Ten Beers for 2018 2018 was a very solid year for quality in beers; from great quality cask right through to bottled and canned delights. I have to keep things down to ten beers here, or the article really would get a bit too long. I am however going to throw out a few 'honorable mentions' though for a few local breweries; Neptune (especially the Citra Mosaic IPA), Chapter (especially for Steadfast Companions) and Glen Affric (for the amazing Morning, Lemon) all raised their game massively this year and showcased some great brewing. I am really looking forward to how they kick on along with Carnival getting a premises and Black Lodge expanding their operations. From the wider world, those just missing out included Siren's Limoncello IPA, Garage Brewing SOUP, Box Social's Brut DIPA, NMBCo Celestial Motion and Victorian Lemonade collaboration and also Harmonic Brewing's Hoppy Pale - Mosaic from their tap in San Francisco. Anyway, that top ten... 10. Magic Rock - Botany of Desire Honey DIPA This was an outrageously good beer, which I have a hankering for ever since I sunk a can at Magic Rock's Brewery Tap earlier on in 2018. Honey-infused beers usually don't tick many boxes for me, often being far too perfumed or cloying in flavour. Botany of Desire however is a much, much different proposition; the malt bill and hopping provide an excellent balance to the honey present. Think a big, slick and juicy beer with a finish which has a very pleasing honey-mustard type glaze flavour; there is plenty going on with this beer but it all was all great fun and incredibly enjoyable. Fingers crossed for another 2019 seasonal release and faith in the original recipe! 09. Other Half - Rake it Up A collaboration brew with Barrier Brewing, Rake it Up is a very competent Imperial IPA/DIPA which I happened to enjoy at Hop City in March 2018. Hopped with Mosaic, Citra and Denali, it has a healthy dose of oats in the malt bill leaving the mouthfeel incredibly luxurious; soft, sticky and lovely and slick. Possibly having more than a bit in common with NEIPAs, the bitterness level was not very high at all, letting the juiciness and aroma drive things. It was. all in all, just a really enjoyable beer to drink. Especially a highlight, considering this was drunk on a day when many of the IPAs on display were merging into one long session of drinking tropical fruit juice with little to discern between them. 08. Track Brewing Co - Sonoma Whilst this beer has been collecting praise over a couple of years now, whether it be keg or cask dispense, something stuck with me on trying it keg-fresh from the Brewery Tap early on in 2018. There was something of a completeness about the beer; soft carbonation, a gentle lingering bitterness and loads of soft fruit aromas in balance, making it a beer worth drinking repeatedly. Or maybe I was just thirsty from too much table tennis? Great work, Track Brewing. 07. Gibberish - Coconut and Tonka Bean Stout A stupidly, stupidly moreish 6.5% Stout which was enjoyed on an autumnal evening at the Gibberish Brewpub. Given the richness and tendency of dessert style stouts to be session-enders, there was probably no departure from that here, but the desire to keep going back for more was quite startling. The sweeter notes, coconut and heady chocolate/light coffee aroma and deeper malt bitterness was actually quite something to behold. A pleasure for all the senses and great to roll around the palate, this stout was massively enjoyable to drink and a cracking bit of brewing. 06. Young Master Ales - Tai Sui Barrel aged Sourdough Ale (2015 vintage) I'd been holding onto this bottle for a while, following a kind gift from a friend living over in Hong Kong; hence the delay in wanting to drink this one. Given the barrel aging, wild yeasts and ABV it was a fairly safe bet that this brew would take some bottle aging quite well indeed. I can honestly say that I have never had a beer quite like this in my life; the complexity and layering of flavour was pretty astonishing. High carbonation, big whisky aromas, freshly-baked bread, funk and almost wine-line chewiness all contributed to the experience that was this bottle of Tai Sui. As a disclaimer, whilst I could wax lyrical about how clever this beer was, given how loaded it was it made it only possible to drink relatively small measures and was not a repeat drinker, something to be savoured a little more sparingly - otherwise it probably would have found itself in my top 3. Great beer, excellent brewing and a delight to experience. 05. Burnt Mill x Track Brewing Co - Enigmatic Galaxies Another excellent IPA that I enjoyed at Hop City back in March 2018, a succulent and juicy DIPA that stood out a little more than the Other Half brew at the same event - both had a much more enjoyable mouthfeel and a touch more complexity in terms of their structure. The aroma was wonderfully inviting; tropical and white stone fruit and a lot of citrus character along with a decent bitter back note to draw in the reins of being a total juice bomb with zero subtlety. This was actually quite nuanced and enjoyable, not just another massively drinkable high abv IPA style beer. Burnt Mill (and Track for that matter) have had a brilliant year in 2018 and I hope to see them build on this, with their beers becoming more readily available in the north west. 04. Northern Monk Brewing Co x De Molen - Dark City Imperial Stout The Devil's Dessert stout, which is a big and bold a beer as you get in 2018. Understandably divisive, the residual sweetness and overload of desserty notes do make this a tough beer to drink in any quantity, but for me that defeats the whole point of this 7.4% beer. A plethora of different flavours and aromas come through as the beer adjusts in temperature; nutty praline, light coffee, chocolate, caramel, dried and candied fruit, vanilla and other spices with hints of black pepper are all present in Dark City and in front of a warm fire a can will see you through the evening and give plenty of enjoyment. It certainly worked for me, both in can and on keg at the Northern Monk Refectory before the Dark City Beer Festival. 03. Alvarado Street Brewery - Countach A warm and sunny evening in San Francisco, you've checked out 3 brewery taps and a former cinema turned into a Craft Beer and computer games arcade, you arrive at a dive bar that was a bit ropey a decade or so ago... it is now a nirvana. Sinking one of these beers from Alvarado Street in Ashbury-Haight's Toronado was a true highlight of an amazing trip out to California this year; there were a few excellent ones to choose from and Salad Bowl, also from Alvarado Street was also excellent, but this stood out so much. Loads of pineapple a lingering, strong finish along with some yeasty, zesty notes and a light bitterness gives the end result of a great beer, although at 8.1% it was somewhat dangerous for revisiting. 02. Amundsen - Cookie Monster A massively sweet aroma drives this big boy coconut chocolate chip imperial stout, tasted and enjoyed immensely at Indy Man Beer Con in 2018. Tonnes of roasty character with a subtle spiciness to go with all the big chocolate and biscuity notes. The mouthfeel was right in line with how I felt it should be to align with the aroma and flavour, a lovely dry finish also meant Cookie Monster was as complete a beer as could be for this style. Despite the fun name, there was almost something 'grown up' about this beer too.
It also gave me a chance to meet one of my beer heroes Jaega Wise from Wildcard Brewery – she came along to talk to us about brewing with fruit and was one of quite a few of our speakers who had a full house. The festival was well received by both brewers and attendees and we hope it opens up the city for many more of these types of events. Back in April I was happy to celebrate the first birthday of my Brum Beer Babs. When I started the ladies group in 2017 I wasn’t sure we’d last 3 months so to celebrate a year felt very special. We were also lucky enough to brew our own beer this year at Twisted Barrel in Coventry – I really hope we get to brew somewhere in 2019 too! Back to Brum and its growing beer scene, this year we’ve seen the opening of Pint Shop and Head of Steam in the city as well new breweries such as Glasshouse Brew Co and Attic Brew Co. We’ve a few more to look forward to in 2019 too and I really feel that this year is a bit of a turning point for my city which in the past has always felt like it’s lagging behind the likes of Leeds and Manchester. We’ve still a way to go but it’s all going in the right direction and I for one am very excited! I also got to do some more writing about beer for Midlands Beer Blog and I got into print at the end of the year with an article in our local Area Guide. There is something a bit special about seeing your name physically in print. This is something I’d definitely like to do more of in 2019 to help support and promote our local scene. What was not so good? There’s been lots of good things in 2018 but of course there are always somethings which are not so great. I think we continue to see times being hard for bars and breweries due to a number of factors including financial and media issues. The constantly changing advice on what to drink or not and how much doesn’t help anyone. Much of the advice is not based on any scientific evidence and with it changing, it seems, every week it is no surprise that your regular drinker is confused. One thing that has made me sad this year is the end of Mad Hatter in Liverpool. These guys have made some truly ground-breaking beers over the years and it’s never nice to see a brewery close but especially one that has led to some great friendships for me. Good luck to everyone involved for 2019. Another area where we’ve seen some great improvements but we could do with more is in the area of sexism (and other ‘isms’) in branding and advertising. Beer is for everyone and by using some of the images or slogans I’ve seen this year you are excluding people who could be buying your product. A big shout out to Jaega Wise, Melissa Cole and Lily Waite, among others, who are really leading the crusade on this. What do you think will be good/interesting/different in 2019? Now I wish I had a crystal ball! For me I am feeling there is a shift away from big bars and a move towards people being interested in their local beer and in visiting their taprooms. As some of you will know this is a topic close to my heart as I continue to champion our local, independent bars and breweries. I think people are much more interested in seeing where their products come from and supporting independent businesses over the ‘big brands’. I’d also like to see a return to breweries doing traditional styles well. A great mild, brown ale or porter is a joy! We’ve had a lot of ‘fuss’ beers in recent years and I think we will see a move away from those and on to really good innovative beers which showcase styles but still with the flair we naturally see from our breweries. As part of this I was happy to see Cloudwater return to making cask beer in 2018. Of course we have some amazing breweries making cask every day but with someone like Cloudwater back to championing this amazing product it can only help everyone – here’s to more, great cask beer in 2019! Still talking about Cloudwater I am excited to see the line-up for their new festival Friends & Family & Beer in March. I’m hoping to get up to Manchester for this and am interested to see that as it’s a non-profit festival all profits will to go local charities – nice one guys! What were you top 3 beers of 2018? Goodness these are the hardest questions! Just 3!? I’ve had some great beer adventures this year so I’m going to shout out a few places I’ve visited who’ve had great beers available. I was lucky enough to go back to New York this year and this time we stayed in Astoria – this gave me a chance to visit a lot of local breweries, away from the main tourist areas, where I tasted some really amazing beers. I have to say that Interbro Spirits and Ales in Brooklyn ticked a lot of boxes. As well as great beer they had a great atmosphere, music and staff. I made trip over to Brussels for BXL Festival this year (highly recommended!) and whilst there of course had to visit Cantillon. It’s hard to pick out just one beer there but we did have an amazing sea buckthorn beer (Tyrnilambic Baie d'Argousier) in fact it was the last one of our trip. Finally a shout out to one of our new local breweries – Glasshouse Brew Co. They’ve moved into a full brewery this year and we are now starting to see their beers in bars around the city. So far every one I’ve tasted has been spot on. There’ve been a lot of juice bombs so far and I’m excited to see what Josh and the team come up with in 2019 as well as the much anticipated opening of their taproom.
On a more personal note, through my bottle shop CatHop Beers, I have had the pleasure of working with even more new and/or local brewers, such as Clay Brow Nano Brewery in Skelmersdale and Conch Brewing in St Helens. A sign that the scene is burgeoning at grass roots level locally, as well as on the whole nationally. What Was Not So Good In 2018? I suppose my obvious answer here, is Heineken's acquisition of a 49% stake in Beavertown, and to a lesser extent, the 100% buy out of Fourpure by Lion (at least the head honcho at Fourpure hasn't been on record recently, decrying the evils of macro beer companies). It was sad, to me, to see two of the country's most vibrant and fore-running breweries capitulate to macro beer, at a point when the national scene is beginning to come into it's own. Indeed, it must be tempting to grab out when somebody waves a few million quid in your face, and i understand the desire to secure a future, financially, for your family. But to turn your back on the bars, bottle shops and fellow brewers who stood side by side with you for years, championing independent businesses, well, that suggests your morals were for sale all along. For what it's worth, that's two more breweries whose beer will no longer get into my gut, or onto the shelves in my shop. Thoughts/Predictions For 2019 I hope that 2019 sees the sector continue to grow, and i also hope that the remaining independent businesses rally together to reject macro involvement, reducing the likelihood of further capitulation to macro beer companies, reducing tap space committed to macro beer companies (and subsidiaries) and increasing available tap and shelf space for true, independent brewers. It will be interesting to see how the role of bottle shops changes over the next year, and beyond, with the sheer number of online shops and brewery online stores opening up. Whether these developments spell an imminent end to what we now recognise as bottle shops - as consumers move more towards the "bring it to me" method of shopping - remains to be seen. Top Three Beers of 2018 It was a fantastic year for new beers. Choosing three was never going to be easy, but in no particular order: The Mobberley Brewhouse - Batch #1000. This 10% ABV imperial hop monster was brewed as Mobberley's 1,000th gyle since their inception, and boy did it hit the mark. Previously, beers like UnNamed, BeastMode and PipeDream had drawn attention from the nation's craft beer drinkers, but it was Batch #1000 that cemented their place as quality juice merchants. 4.34/5.00 on Untappd isn't too shabbhy eh?! Northern Monk X Other Half X Equilibrium - Infinity Vortex. Northern Monk's Patrons Projects have given me plenty of joy and excitement this year. Infinity Vortex was pretty much the pinnacle of the year's releases to me. The 7.4% murk bomb was about as juicy, soft and drinkable as an IPA can feasibly get. Other Half and Equilibrium's involvement was fairly obvious to see! 4.33/5.00 on Untappd! Wander Beyond - Octopod. Well, you either tried this beautiful little number or you didn't. If you didn't, then you missed out. A 12.0% mango and passion fruit smoothie IPA that the brewing team absolutely smashed out of the park. This effort stood head and shoulders above all other UK milkshake/smoothie IPAs that i tried this year. Thick, gloopy, fruit smoothie, with just enough booze burn to remind you it was alcoholic, and yet tasting nowhere near the 12.0% ABV. 4.30/5.00 on Untappd.
Music thrives on sub-genres, why not beer. With there being new beer out pretty much every day, if one doesn’t work you move onto the next one, or go back to an old faithful. You’ve got to enjoy a little bit of silliness every so often. For me this year has been less about drinking good beer and more about being with good people, whilst drinking good beer. Where I use to think of the beers I had had the night-before during a hangover, I spent a lot of this year recounting who I met and chatted with, and got drunk with. Cheers to them. What was not so good? I wrote a few paragraphs about this and wasn’t happy with any of them. So instead I’m just going to use some Against Me! lyrics from the song ‘Don’t Lose Touch’ to explain how I felt about the not so good parts about beer in 2018. (With a few words changed to suit my agenda) You're coming off quite contrite and pretentious You're not saying anything we haven't heard before You're caught up in an argument Oh, oh, you're so lost in modern beer You will lose it all, and you will find again Don't lose touch Don't lose touch SOS posted from a cell phone Please tell me I'm not the only one That thinks we're taking ourselves too seriously Just a little too enamoured with inflated self purpose Talk is cheap and it doesn't mean much Don't lose touch Don't lose touch Constant twitter engagement for our restless minds Constant stimulation for epic appetites Is there something wrong with these beers? Maybe there's something wrong with the audience Manipulation in the craft beer scene, fucking nausea I'm losing touch, I'm losing touch (I'm losing touch) I'm losing touch, and it's obvious - You can listen to the song here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9iTNNi8Gh0 What do you think will be good/interesting/different in 2019? We’re already seeing style specific fests happen in 2018 and I think this may grow and grow. With success of Seshfest and Hop/Dark City being returned to again next year and the likes of We Are Lager being announced it seems there is a market for it. Within all styles there is such a big scope so with these beers fests you can delve a bit deeper. There will always be the more traditional fest around so why not have these type of fest in between. Though the past few years have always been predicted as ‘The Year of Lager’ it has never really come to fruition. But I’m going to continue that annual guess and say 2019 will see the rise of the craft lager. With Cloudwater, Lost & Grounded, Braybrooke, and soon to be released Manchester Union Lager all bringing lager to our locals I reckon its going to grow and grow. And its a great style for refinement and growth. With a chance to show skill, gives the drinker drinkability and the chance for repeat buying. I cant wait to get a round in. (If UK craft lager fails to reach the heights I envisage then this last paragraph will be stricken from the record/internet.) I’m hoping 2019 sees more independent people writing opinion pieces about beer. It seems we are all losing many voices due to the shit the writers get. While I don’t agree with every word written on beer surely thats the point, to gain new perspectives. And for fucks sake, this is obvious shit, but if you go into a discussion about beer (or anything) with absolutely no possibility of having your mind changed then you are a total prick. As I stated in a paragraph above I love over-the-top beers with random adjuncts, but it’d be interesting to see the bigger players in craft beer trying to nail down styles that could be classed as more traditional. Bitter, milds, straight forward stouts, red ales; with every brewer in the North’s obsession with Landlord and brewers down South always giving the same praise to London’s Pride I wonder if they could try to tackle a similar thing. They don’t have the legacy or possibly the time maybe but with Cloudwater’s recent foray back into cask including an ESB, I’d appreciate maybe 2019 being the year we see those traditional styles being given some attention. Certain breweries seem to create the trends now, if you brew it they will come. What were your top 3 beers for 2018? If I do a Beer of the Year list I usually check Untappd but these three are beers that stuck in my head regardless. Cycle Brewing - Pecan Pie A La Mode During Manchester Beer Week this year the amazing Marble Brewery brought over women who work in the beer industry in Florida over to these shores. 7venth Sun Brewery, Green Bench Brewing Co. and a few others were represented, including the mighty Cycle Brewing. The ever hard working Hannah of Marble put together a big meal/booze up on a Sunday morning, and the multiple stunning beers from the mentioned breweries were passed around while we all tucked in to some fantastic food from The Marble Arch kitchen. I was lucky enough to get to go, as a plus one of Kaleigh’s. It was a ridiculous few hours of beer we may probably never try again, next to massive jugs of Sunshine Radler. The star of the show for me was the Cycle Brewing ‘Pecan Pie A La Mode’. A beautifully sweet, rich, thick imperial stout. It felt decadent, yet silly, complex, yet simple. With enough burn from the Bourbon barrel ageing to set every off. The company was right, the food was spot on, the beers were outlandish and its was only about 11:30am. A great memory that has stuck with me ever since. And I like that during a week of celebrating local beer for Manchester Beer Week my favourite beer was from America. Oops. Brauerei Greifenklau - Lagerbier I bloody love German beer, and had wanted to go to Bamberg for a few years, so for my 30th birthday Kaleigh booked us a weekend away there. On a rather warm and sweaty day, after a few hours of sightseeing we trundled up some hilly residential streets out of the Old Town towards Brauerei Greifenklau. We were met by a gorgeous biergarten (German for Beer Garden) that overlooked the tree filled hills that surrounded the city. Feeling hot and bothered from the walk and the heat I ordered the Lagerbier and the first sip was possibly the best mouthful of beer I had ever had. It is the best lager in the world? Probably not, but its pretty damn good. Especially on a warm summers day when you’re turning 30 and questioning your mortality. A swig of cold German lager looking out over some green countryside will do you the world of good. Franziskaner - Weissbier This year I kind of stepped back from ticking (a little), and focused more on going back to beers that I enjoyed, and rather shockingly, have had before. Weissbiers (German for White Beer) got me into beer, trying Erdinger for the first time was a revelation, and so I’ve always had a soft spot for it. This year when I’ve wanted a drink at home of an evening the one bottle I’ve had constantly in the fridge is Franzikaner Weissbier. It’s readily available in most supermarkets now, is *whispers* affordable, and I could drink it at any time. Plus the slight grandeur of drinking out of a tall wheat beer glass has never diminished for me. I just want a reliable drink sometimes and this is definitely one. So as a nod to my slightly changed drinking habits in 2018, and for sheer enjoyment I’ve got out of drinking it on numerous occasions, this is definitely one of my beers of the year.
We've also had new pub openings, most notably and recently Goose Island and Mikkeller, both in Shoreditch (please ignore the particular geographical bias shown here, but I rarely venture far from my home or work locations, as such there is a focus on north and east London). As we know every cloud has a silver lining but as every pessimist (or realist) knows the reverse is also true. So what's been less good about 2018? Well if you care about brewery ownership you may have lamented the partial sale and sale of Beavertown and Fourpure respectively. I'm more relaxed about the issue nowadays but I do feel we must always be wary of the spectre of 'big beer' and the competing interests of shareholders and creatives (brewers). The fallout from the Beavertown deal with Heineken was particularly unseemly, with one London brewery embarrassing itself with its attempts to commercially exploit the situation with childish antics which screamed 'love me, love me!'. Returning to the positives, Five Points did a wonderful job with the newly renovated Pembury Tavern, while the Hackney area also saw The Experiment open its doors for the first time. When you throw The Cock Tavern into the mix, the fact I am too poor to reside in my former home borough leaves me crestfallen, dejected and utterly disconsolate. If you hadn't noticed I'm prone to hyperbole. What were my beers of the year? Well to be honest I've stopped chasing new releases. I find the prolific nature of breweries' output overwhelming so prefer to drink what I like when I see it. This means Pale Fire, any Kernel pale ale or Five Points Railway Porter when out, and ideally Orval at home. That said here are my top 3 beers of the year in no particular order: Two Roads Brewing Sauvignon Blanc Kernel Bière de Saison Sour Cherry Burning Sky Coolship Looking forward to 2019 I am considering a beer festival I've not been to before, and I can't wait for the Affinity-organised 'Cask 2019'. I will continue to drink what I believe to be good, and be respectful of others' tastes. In fact, if we could all be more respectful that would be swell. Happy New Beer or something.
Manchester Beer Week was incredible, particularly for myself and Kate who did something most days and it really highlighted everything that is great about the beer scene. From the variety of events and tastings to the people we met (who we would now count as firm friends!), the MBW organisers & the venues across Manchester did so much to showcase what the region has to offer. We were thrilled to be a part of it and It was one of the best weeks of the entire year. What was not so good? Nothing is perfect and although the beer scene has been incredibly empowering, friendly and largely positive there has been toxicity and unkindness, especially on social media platforms and on some of the forums. We are all new to beer at some point and elitist attitudes can be off putting to those folks and lack of empathy to others can make online platforms a really negative space. Despite the work that is being done to try and promote more equality in beer it is still disheartening to say not all conversations we have had this year have been positive. Also on what planet is a striptease appropriate as entertainment for a Zwanze day celebration?! Beer wise we haven't been mad keen on the Brut IPA trend, they haven't been very consistent to a style and we haven't really come across any that have knocked our socks off! With the demand for canning at an all-time high we have also had our fair share of dodgy cans, perhaps the demand outweighing the infrastructure in place. What will be good/interesting/different in 2019? Beer style wise I think we will see a lot more classic traditional cask around, the demand for a well-kept pint of Landlord in places like Heaton Hops or Northern Monk Refectory MCR is most definitely there and classic beers like Coniston’s Bluebird Bitter flying out of neighbourhood bars. We will see more festivals adopting the ‘all in’ approach to beer pours, with Cloudwater’s Friends and Family and Northern Monk’s Hop City already confirmed which is something which doesn’t suit everyone and certainly divides us as a group! Whatever your thoughts on the 'all in' approach, it will be an excellent opportunity to try more international beers that have been properly shipped over and kept well. On a more personal level, the ultimate change is that myself and my husband are moving into our own space and setting up our very own bar and bottle shop in early 2019. A huge change from consumer to retailer and one that we are both excited and terrified to be doing! Top 3 beers 2018 This is where deciding to ditch Untappd really comes back to bite me! I’ve therefore chosen three beers that I drank a lot of this year! Alefarm- Solemn Cycle My beer of Indyman as a super easy to drink coffee milk stout with bags of flavour, so much so I pretty much skipped along to the Pilcrow to drink more when they had their MTB. Track- Sonoma A beer that will be on many lists for sure, this is my definite ‘go to’ beer and I love it on both cask and keg. Neptune/LTB- Namaka Having being lucky enough to attend the brew day, I was super excited to try Namaka. It really did not disappoint and with the wonderful summer whenever I saw it I got it.
What was not so good?
The realisation that cask beer across the UK is not doing so well. We have to make a conscious effort as an industry to make sure this heritage is not lost. Nowhere else in the world is cask beer available in every town, in every city. A true British Institution. Cask beer has been an inspiration for many many brewers around the world, and globally we are revered for it. People regard it with real respect. Sometimes I don’t think in the UK that we place the same value on it as others do around the world. I would love in 2019 to see a focus on innovative cask beers from breweries and exciting cask lead events. What do you think will be good/interesting/different in 2019? For me personally, I will be releasing the first Wild Card beers from my barrel aged beer programme. In 2018 Walthamstow had one of the best grape harvests in living memory (Yes in East London!) and I made a fair amount of Rioja Barrel Aged Saison Hybrids with Walthamstow grapes. I’m beyond excited about it. What were your top 3 beers for 2018? Passion Fruit Gose, 4.7% - Wild Card Brewery As a team we’re really pleased with our special 440ml canned releases in 2018. The Passion Fruit Gose was my personal favourite. It was fresh, zesty and packed full of passionfruit. It was also very expensive to produce. Passion fruit is one the most expensive fruits money can buy, so I was suitably nervous when we were making it. It turned out fantastically, and the feedback received was pretty incredible. In 2018 Moving the brewery to bigger premises has allowed us the time and space to brew things other than core range. We have some really interesting releases in 2019, starting with a 2.7% Table Beer, made with really fresh 2018 crop Enigma and Vic Secret from Australia. Sidewinder - 2.7% - Track Brewing Co. I was sitting with Alix (co-founder of the Crafty Beer Girls) in Cafe Beer Moth in Manchester, the day after the big Ladies That Beer & Crafty Beer Girls Meet Up. We were feeling suitably delicate and I had a train to catch in a few hours time. Everything about this beer was perfect. Ridiculously refreshing. I had more beer from Track Brewing Co the next time I was in Manchester, this time on cask and again it was fantastic (Venue: Port Street Beer House). Definitely a brewery to watch in 2019. Into The Haze, 6.2% - Deya I love it when a brilliant beer hits you when you least expect it. It was a very unremarkable Wednesday evening, and I was meeting a beer loving relative who was staying with me and a couple of friends for a few drinks after work. Trying to impress, I took them to Pressure Drops ‘The Experiment’ bar in Hackney. When we got there it was closed (my fault, should have googled it), so we stumbled into the closest pub ‘The Cock Tavern’ in Hackney. There was someone gleefully playing the piano as we approached the bar. The range in The Cock is pretty staggering, so after we tried a few we settled on Deya’s Into the Haze. It’s a juicy, dank hop bomb, but also a well balanced tasty pale. We tried to switch beers several times that evening, but just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. And yes, it was expensive, but honestly...it was beyond worth it. --------------------------------------------------------- Many thanks for reading and best of luck to you all for 2019! Pedro. Six months on and i'll admit, I still miss it. It took a while to come to terms with the whole thing, but it has been a few months now and things have moved along for everyone to a degree. Sadly, there is still quite a big 23 Club shaped hole in the beer scene in Liverpool. It is possible that even the opening of another two or three brewpubs or brewery taps won't make the ache for the place go away. In 2012, 23 Club opened as a bourbon and craft beer den underneath the Clove Hitch restaurant, replacing an establishment which had been on Hope Street for many years in the 'Mexican village' restaurant, El Macho. The whole thing, from what I remember, was a bit of a slow burn. I personally had only really just started get back into writing about food and drink, following on from writing restaurant reviews around a decade earlier and it didn't really come onto my radar until late 2012/early 2013. Many things struck you about the 23 Club, the dinginess, the intimacy, the brilliant staff and the ever changing lines of great beers such as Blackjack's single hopped Mosaic IPA, the numerous Kernel beers, the Amager and Mikkeller Beers, Liverpool Craft's Icon, Camba's IPA, Cromarty's Rogue Wave, Tempest's Long White Cloud, Kernel pales, Magic Rock collaborations and many many more. It really was something and I guess at the time, many people enjoyed it but didn't fully appreciate what they had. In short, it was the place that helped catalyse Mad Hatter's success, forged some massively important friendships that are now influential on the Beer scene in Liverpool and effectively launched the Liverpool 'craft beer scene'. Prior to 23 Club's existence, the best beers in the city were all in cask, in places like the Grapes, The Dispensary and Fly in the Loaf, but the beer was never really a focal point or social lynchpin in the way it has become for many. It was a game changer in the city and in many ways, in the North West. The numerous beer launches for the likes of Liverpool's Ad Hop Brewing, including their Liquorice Lady and the Kev the Beard collaboration Kolsch with Wapping Brewery (in honour of 23 Club's Kevin Curlett) also set a tone of playfulness and interaction with the beer scene in Liverpool. Tap Takeovers came and went with the likes of Omnipollo popping up on a Sunday afternoon and Left Hand hosting a number of lines at the back end of a weekend, but there was always a response to get something new in, the shifting location and the brilliant selection of bottles always provided an opportunity for something new even for the most ardent 23 Club customer. Cask lines came and went from 23 Club, moving upstairs to the restaurant. Issues with utilities hampered opening times and there was a rather inopportune dabble with turning the venue into a 'city centre Black Lodge Tap', which didn't seem to win many fans. Throughout the change though, it remained a mainstay on the beer landscape for anyone visiting Liverpool from the outside. For me and possibly for many others, the Meet the Brewer events that The Clove Hitch and 23 Club hosted are the absolute benchmark for creating a show, for creating a platform to bring the best out of a brewery and let them express their personality in intimate and receptive atmospheres. Though there are other places that tackle the format from time to time, having a restaurant really does give an edge on those occasions. Although the 23 Club's MTB price gradually crept up in the later months, £15 to £20 for a (sometimes 3-course) meal and five to six beers was exceptional. There are classics amongst the Meet the Brewers (the likes of the first ATOM beers event and Bruno Carilli's excellent storytelling from Toccalmatto) and there were big surprises too (for example, a fantastic evening with Phil Saltonstall from Brass Castle - no one was expecting quite how brilliant everything would be; the beers and the commentary), but none of them was ever truly awful. As an aside, if you wish to immerse yourself in some nostalgia, the links to all the MTBs are still live and on this site - just look at the side bar. Many of you reading this now will be flicking through your own memories of the 23 Club and times that you spent there, stories of beard envy, chairs breaking under people, spilt beers, ridiculous 50% Fire Sales on beers, Abba renditions, being barred by Kev (over a Richard and Judy Biography amongst other things) and brewers having to be put into sleeper holds to calm them down are amongst many usual and unusual stories from the basement bar. Here are a few of my own personal favourites; Beavertown Brewery MTB Before many of us had even heard of Beavertown, Logan Plant turned up at 23 Hope Street to give Liverpool a taste of the brand, how things started at Duke's Brew and 'Que, why he quit following his father's footsteps into music due to a night on the tiles in New York and just how Beavertown got its name - an origin which not what many people seem to think. Whilst Beavertown are currently splitting opinion for many in the beer world, this was a more innocent time; a night of engaging talk on beer along with tasting some real modern classics, many of which we all probably take for granted. There may have also been some slight fawning from Led Zeppelin fans too! Atom Brewery MTB Allan Rice and Jack Walker turned up twice during the 23 Club's tenure of the building. The first saw them in their fledgling years as a brewery, with Allan recently moving away from Tempest Brewing to set up his own outfit in Hull. What followed was quite a remarkable and entertaining night; loads of new beer experiences for many people in Liverpool along with a bit of a lock in with a mango infused Cornelius keg full of Phobos and Deimos. Sadly, with work the next morning, I cannot confirm or deny stories of certain MTB goers drinking directly from taps and people being in a rotten but happy state the next morning. However the first night ended, some great friendships were forged on that evening and only reinforced when Allan and Jack returned years later. New Years Eve with lashings of custard pie, Kev and the Viking All in all, a low key evening with not many in attendance in the 23 Club, booking a table proved unnecessary in the circumstances, but the evening went from a lull to a really enjoyable evening quite quickly with lashings and lashings of Magic Rock's Custard Pie on tap. 23 Club Reopens 2017 In the swansong of the venue, 23 Club suffered a great many set backs due to utilities issues. Finally it seemed that the issue was sorted and the basement bar reopened with a stunning line up of beers and Kev the Beard raiding the aging cellar to share some special beers with regulars for the first two evenings. Sharing rare beers and the space with good friends, regulars and brewers was a warm and enjoyable evening and a big reminder of the place 23 Club held within the scene. The next day was a bit of an ordeal however! Whether or not time will find a way to fill the void that currently sits in the Liverpool beer scene, we are lucky to have other options across the city that provide great beers, exciting events, intimate environments and brilliant people to share a beer with. For some though, whilst we remain thankful for the contribution made to the Liverpool scene, the erstwhile spiritual home (for some!) of craft beer in Liverpool still feels somewhat irreplaceable.
Pedro. |
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