The second event held in the relatively new branch of Head of Steam in Liverpool saw wares from Stone Brewing hit the keg lines in October. Following on from the launch of the venue and the Neptune Brewery Meet the Brewer event, Arrogant Beers (a brewing arm that split from Stone Brewing in 2015) came to the Head of Steam to promote four of their rather powerful beers. The beers range from the Little Bastard (a 4.7%), the seminal Arrogant Bastard (7.2%), to the Double Bastard (11%) along with an 8.1% spiced milk stout, Xocoveza, but more on that in a bit. The Little Bastard is a toned down version of the (in)famous beer that Greg Koch and Steve Wagner stumbled upon in the mid 1990s, although only 4.7%, it does carry a lot of the character that has made Arrogant Bastard the milestone beer that has spawned many tributes and inspired many a homebrewer to take the plunge into the professional pursuit of brewing their perfect beers. Just as with Arrogant Bastard, this little Brother has plenty of caramel and resinous character of the American Strong Ale; it isn't an easy drinking session beer as there is still a high level of complexity and depth, plus a big residual finish doesn't lend itself too well to a chugger of a beer! The bigger brother, Double Bastard, is much in the same vein as it's lower abv counterparts; lots of big flavours, lots of complexity and a huge malt character along with the big alcohol presence; loads of nutty notes, pine and dark dried fruit along with the caramel notes mean this is a proper after dinner sipper. Xocoveza is frankly, the most elegant beer of this lot and for me, the most accomplished. Anyone who can make a spiced beer palatable on the level of Xocoveza knows exactly what they are trying to achieve and how to do it. Allegedly at 50 IBUs, it is much more bitter than most beers in the style of a mocha stout would be, but the residual sweetness from the lactose and spicing means things are incredibly round with this beer, not only in mouthfeel, but in the finish and early structure too. Notes of vanilla, nutmeg, chilli and cinnamon meld incredibly well with the chocolate and coffee notes present in the beer and this really is something to savour, especially on a cold winter's evening with a dessert. After the tasting, I managed to catch Brand Ambassador, Will France for a quick chat about Stone's presence in Europe and about their impressive beers: Hi Will, can you shed a bit of light on why Stone chose Head of Steam to push out their range? Stone Brewing Berlin has been working with a whole cross section of bars across the U.K. since January 2017 to host our events and tastings, from Scotland to London and everything in between. It's been a lot of fun! The tap takeover with Greg at the Three Johns was a highlight as well as the Berliner launch at Port Street. We also did an event at the Tate which was AMAZING! The event at Head of Steam was in support of their new great outlet in Liverpool city centre. We have a great relationship with all their venues across the UK so wanted to give something back by running a tasting. So, how come there's been a bit of change of branding from the usual Stone Brewing to 'Arrogant Beers' for these events and for the beers on Untappd etc? Good question the Arrogant beers now fall under “Arrogant brewing”. The Arrogant Bastard has a personality and mind of his own and a cult following, so it was only right to give the Arrogant range its own platform to develop separate from the Stone Brewing range. We brew Arrogant Bastard Ale and Little Bastard Ale in Berlin and we also make available alimited amount of other beers in the Arrogant range from the US such as Double Bastard &Arrogant Bastard Bourbon Barrel Aged. We decided to use the Arrogant beers at the event at Head of Steam as they are quite a rarity here in the UK and it’s fun to explore the different Arrogant beers side by side. Bearing in mind they've had a launch in Liverpool now, will Stone look to engage a bit more with the local craft beer scenes in each UK city; and linked to the next question, is there a danger of Stone being seen as 'too mainstream' to be stocked now in these places? So far we've been working with local bars and retailers in most of the major cities in the U.K.,including some amazing festivals we've been lucky to be part of such as the recent Beavertown Extravaganza and upcoming Edinburgh beer festival, but yes we'll be continuing to do this, and have lots of exciting stuff planned across the country over the next few months. A big part of our plan for next year is to get involved with the local events in each city. Stone Brewing has been at the forefront of craft beer since 1996, focusing on quality andinnovation and challenging style guidelines. Our heritage and reputation means we appeal to a whole range of bars and retailers, and we have an amazing range to choose from, from our classic west coast IPAs to our collaboration and experimental beers from our 10HL brew plant in Berlin, as well as rarities shipped directly over from the US. With Stone Brewing making inroads via Brewdog bars and now being present in many UK supermarkets, do they think they'll become ever more mainstream in UK pubs, becoming maybe as ubiquitous as Heineken, Stella Artois and Carling etc? We don’t have a masterplan to become as ubiquitous as the macro brewers, but we do plan to grow organically and work with a whole variety of bars and pubs we know care about beer and will serve it in the best condition possible. Ultimately craft beer is becoming more widely available to consumers, meaning more people can get hold of better beer which has to be a good thing. On a more political note, how is the general feeling with the guys at Stone about the UK market, since they opened the Berlin site prior to Brexit? The U.K. market will continue to be a focus and an important part of our European plan, butobviously brexit has presented a lot of unknowns. Brexit or not: The UK deserves fresh big bold character beer, same as mainland Europe. Are there many more dates across the UK where these tastings and MTB events are going ahead? Yes we have loads of great events coming up, in Liverpool on the 28th of October we have aHalloween party with our friends at Dead Crafty and more events lined up nationally at amazing places like Cafe Beermoth Manchester and Arcade Beers Huddersfield with some more London dates to follow. Watch this space through @stonebrewinguk on Twitter to get the latest. Whilst this is a good to get a range of styles to contrast the cask lines, Belgian brews and macro lagers present on the bar at the head of Steam, it might be a bit of a challenge to push them out to some of the Head of Steam clientele so far - it has yet to fully click with the local craft beer enthusiasts. Time will tell, but there are many more events coming up at the Head of Steam which may entice a broader spectrum of drinker in, so it is best to keep an eye on their social media streams for information. Go forth and seek out these and see if you are worthy! Pedro.
0 Comments
The Abbey, most recently, then before that it was called the 'Old Monk' augmented by it's dancefloor 'Monastery of Sound' at the back. Since the middle of September, the venue on Hanover Street has been taken by Liverpool's second iteration of the Head of Steam pub. Those with a good recent memory will remember Head of Steam being located in what is now is Wetherspoon's the Great Northern on Lime Street, immediately next to Lime Street Station. The first Head of Steam gradually dissipated from Liverpool in 2015 and was replaced by the Wetherspoons newest addition to the city, though the Head of Steam pub was at a pretty low ebb for a few years before this. Poorly kept cask beers and very limited choice became its nadir following a patch where it was one of the better cask outlets in the city. This new version has opened with a much more promising remit dipping both into waters familiar to CAMRA enthusiasts and craft drinkers alike; numerous cask lines are bolstered by a solid Belgian and US craft selection with a few extra keg lines also present. The new slant is apparently based on the success that Head of Steam have experienced with their Sheffield branch. Upon the opening, the bar was already prepared for local brewery, Neptune Brewery, to come down on the following Friday evening and host a Meet the Brewer event in the back bar area. Plenty of Neptune beers were present, but also other locals were represented including the likes of Mad Hatter, Rock the Boat and Chapter present in bottle and cask. Mad Hatter were slated for a Meet the Brewer evening in early November following the presence of Arrogant Beers (Stone Brewing) and Belgian powerhouse Chimay, so things have started with intent. I managed to grab Simon Ritson from Cameron’s Brewery for a quick chat about how things will go with the new Head of Steam in Liverpool… What made HoS feel the time was right to come back to Liverpool and why the site on Hanover Street? The old HOS site and part of original HOS group was hard to manage due to being so far from Newcastle and why it was run as a tenancy until being sold. With Cameron’s expansion and plan to open 6 bars a year for the next 5 years, Liverpool was always on the map and the Hanover street site was similar to our Sheffield site in size. How much of a focus will there be on supporting local brewers? As with all our bars we strongly support local breweries and HOS Liverpool will showcase the best of these from the area. How often will you be running MTB events and will they always be free, or will some events be ticketed? The first ones were free to showcase the bar, we will continue with free ones but some due to cost of the beers and some cases food will have a cover charge but these will include rare and special beers or spirits. They will most likely be every 3-4 weeks depending on brewery or ambassador availability as we don’t want to do events for the sake of doing them and more take interesting opportunities. How much of the keg line is planned to be open to 'craft' beers? Will more lines ever be opened up to more craft as opposed the macro brewed stuff? Liverpool has 5 rotational lines and the 4 in the tasting room. The other lines offer a selection of drinks to suit all tastes being a city centre bar. We don’t promote these products but don’t want to eliminate non-craft drinkers. So with the cask lines too that's 19 available lines for Cask & Craft beers as well as the Chimay, Delirium, Brooklyn fonts. Here's raising a glass to better longevity and a solid contribution to the Liverpool scene from Head of Steam, they've started well, hopefully some tinkering and some improvements can be made and then more success garnered for their stay and for the Liverpool beer drinker.
Pedro. Nearly all caught up with the beer reviews now! Sadly, a rather full curriculum meant that I didn't get to ponder on many bottled beers over the Summer this year - hence a depleted and combined article for both July and August. That said, there are still ten beers that are going under tastebud and olfactory interrogation for the purposes of your education. So, we'll plough straight into those beers; all were available at bottle shops and supermarkets in the Merseyside region.
The finish is sharp, bitter and very reminiscent of US west coast style IPAs with plenty of wood and pine notes with a big hit of acidity. A little more fruit in the finish would have made this wonderfully balanced, but it is still highly enjoyable as is. [Sourced from Booths Supermarket, Burscough, West Lancashire]
And that is your lot for this month - a straightforward review with September's beers following at some point soon too. Until then, there will be some other beery words coming your way, so stay tuned to the Twitter feed and you'll be given a few more tasty morsels for reading soon enough! Pedro. The Summer Bank Holiday usually guarantees two things in the UK, rain over the weekend and into that precious holiday (for some, I hasten to add) and a sense of foreboding on Monday evening that you’ve not quite made the most of the extra day off, especially if you’re been housebound or stuck doing domestic chores. This last August Bank Holiday however saw some slightly better conditions, with glorious sunshine bathing Liverpool and as testified by some of the photographs in this piece many people enjoy it with a few beers under the railway arches of the Northern Line. Mad Hatter have been in their ‘new’ home for a few months now, shifting some production across in a gradual process from their former home on the Baltic Triangle’s Caryl Street. They now have a rather more grand space to play with when putting on a party at Lightbody Street; a few railway arches which are a good enough size to provide a Bermondsey based brewer with a home and a large warehouse for their main base of operations. Of course, this is not the first time Mad Hatter have moved, or indeed hosted a party at their digs. The move from a very modest home in Upper Parliament Street gave way quickly to a Baltic base on Watkinson Street (which quickly became their all too short lived tap, hosting occasional tap-openings and parties), then onto Caryl Street. The party that took place on the Bank Holiday was sadly only a single-day affair, but with their own bar, support from The Dead Craft Beer Company, Frodsham/Helsby’s Beer Heroes and local food stalwarts San’s Café and Naked Lunch, there was plenty for visiting craft beer enthusiasts to enjoy along with the live music and other side acts. The pleasing beers on offer included Mad Hatter classics Lick Face, Tzatziki Sour and Penny Lane Pale along with newer ones, such as Golden Deliciousness (a pale ale, brewed with apple puree). Both Beer Heroes and Dead Crafty provided some big hitters, with the likes of Fourpure, Tope Rope, Alphabet, Chapter and many more represented on the taps of the two guest bars. I managed to have a quick catch up with Sue Starling from Mad Hatter to get a feel for how the Yard Party might impact on things going forward for the brewery: “We haven’t firmed up any plans just yet to do more Yard Parties, but it’s not off the table. We are applying for a premises license in the near future and we might be looking to be open on a regular basis from Spring 2018 onwards.” I asked about the location and whether she thought it would work in favour of regenerating the northern docks area for leisure use, or whether it might be something of a struggle with only the Invisible Wind Factory and themselves spearheading such use, plus some rather underdeveloped transport links (only Sandhill station is nearby and not many bus services): “Oh, for sure, there’s work to do, but the North Docks area has a lot to offer, it’s a striking area with loads of great buildings and history and I feel pretty confident that people will visit”. So for now, we’ll enjoy this tea party for the fun it was and wait and see how things pan out for Mad Hatter in their new home and keep our fingers crossed for more colour to come onto the scene. Pedro. ----------------------------------------------------- Thanks to WirraleRob for additional photography used in this article. Since it has opened, Oktopus has really hit it’s stride – a promising opening which I wrote about here [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/oktopus-preview] and then a very good review for Liverpool Confidential [https://confidentials.com/liverpool/restaurant-review-oktopus] was finally followed up by a great verdict from Marina O’Loughlin in the Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/08/oktopus-liverpool-restaurant-review-marina-oloughlin]. This event was in June and I am admittedly a bit behind the curve due to a combination of factors, but now, things are being caught up. This experience was simply one that had to be shared. The evening before the first day of the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo back in June, saw Oktopus host one of the UK’s most prestigious breweries in Somerset’s Wild Beer Company. Following on from the usual meet the brewer type introductions, Andy informed diners that the whole premise of Wild Beer was to pair beers with food and brew using the influence of various existing food sources and translate these into beer. The first pairing was one of Wild Beer Company’s flagship beers; Ninkasi (so named after the Sumerian beer Goddess) is a saison, made from blending 10% apple juice into the wort. The peppery, fresh and bitterly acidic apple notes with big carbonation that are perfect for cutting fattier elements of the food and it has a reminiscent perry-esque character at 9% abv. The dish is was paired with, a chickpea panisse with cheddar and celery was a pleasant combination and pairing all in all; a lot of contrasting elements and with the burnt apple, some complimentary notes. Following on from the panisse was peach, nectarine and goats cheese which was a superb and delicious salad and paired with the Evolver IPA. Evolver is a brettanomyces (a wild yeast strain) brewed IPA with very bitter notes, some coconut, hay, pineapple and nettles thanks to the use of Chinook and Sorachi Ace hops. The stressing of the yeast creates additional phenolic flavour compounds to really alter the flavour and aroma profile of this IPA. The notes from the Sorachi (some people get coconut, others get more herbal dill) really complimented the goats cheese, but otherwise some of the other elements (the sweeter fruit flavours of the food against the bitter and sour notes in the beer) clashed a little around an otherwise solid central pairing premise. The next beer and food pairing was the Squashed Grape, which is where white grape skins and then red grape skins are added to the brew to give various character in the fermentation from the various yeasts harnessed. At 5%, this juicy cordial like brew isn’t the strongest of the Wild Beer stable, but the beer is remarkably complex, albeit not for everyone. The supposed lactic character and citrus notes were not that prominent for me, with lots of raw, cidery, bubblegum and sour, if slightly tannin notes coming through. The mouthfeel was excessively thin and actually a bit flabby, however, the pairing was pretty good. Many of the food elements from the haddock and yoghurt worked very well with the brew. Following the very divisive pairing came the main course along with another of Wild Beer’s flagship brews; Beyond Modus (II). Beyond Modus is a series of barrel aged sour beers, and II is akin to red wine in many ways, making the pairing with the lamb all the more solid. The beer is aged in red wine barrels to up the tannic notes, topped up with a barley wine, molasses and caramelised orange peel. The 100 barrels used to age the beer are blended at the end of the aging period in order to gain a single uniform product. This time, notes of chocolate, sour cherries and some balsamic notes all work wonderfully with the lamb and marrow jus. Fresher notes work in harmony with the sweeter carrot and more brassic-sharp cauliflower. Into the dessert courses and an exclusive Liverpool Craft Beer Expo brew of Fixer was given. Fixer was a one off New England style juicy IPA with loads of aromas of pineapple and other tropical fruit, pairing it with pineapple and coconut was safe but very enjoyable. Loads of coconut, peach and a lovely soft-hoppy bitterness worked well with the dessert, with no real clashing of flavours or aromas. I’ve talked about Fixer elsewhere, so will spare you the waxing here. The final course was another of Wild Beer’s regular and more widely available brews, the excellent chocolate stout, Millionaire, paired with Claremont Farm strawberries, chocolate and meringue. Not much can really go too wrong pairing a chocolate beer with a chocolate dessert surrounded by fruit elements. Nutty notes, sweetness, a lovely silky body and elegantly structured stout went very well with a perfectly executed sweet course. The only struggle was finishing such decadence.
Oktopus will be rolling more of these events out in future, so it is worth following their Twitter feed. Beer and food pairing really doesn’t get the press it deserves, even in the currently craft-friendly climate. Keep your eyes peeled for more, especially when Wild Beer are in town with their often abstract ideas about beer! Pedro. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oktopus Hardman Yard, 24 Hardman Street, Liverpool. tel: 07565 299 879 https://www.oktopus-restaurant.com/ Wild Beer Co. Lower Westcombe Farm, Evercreech, Somerset, BA4 6ER. tel: 01749 838742 email: [email protected] m still playing catch up with the articles - hence the June blog coming out rather belatedly. Things really haven't calmed down too much and there has been a simmering undercurrent to involved with the Liverpool Beer Collective and other responsibilities. Oddly enough, there has been a fair bit to write about, but sadly my attention has been elsewhere for much of the time and I haven't been drinking many bottles at home to review, or indeed, paying visits to my usual haunts in Liverpool city centre. I doubt too much it has been a barren period for many readers though, as there have been some excellent pieces written by others over the summer months; the likes of Mark Johnson, Jim (Beers Manchester) Cullen, 'Lady Sinks the Booze', Boak and Bailey, Matt Curtis et al have all published a few articles which have kept me enlightened and the gears turning throughout the period (not to mention made me feel rather lazy with their output of late). Anyway, enough wallowing... there's writing to be done and some beers to be reviewed; read on...
The finish on Human Cannonball is bone dry, massively fruity and has a deep and crisp cereal kick, which drifts in towards the back end of the finish with a toastier note. Again, there is loads of pineapple and mango present. Get yourself a steak, a burger or maybe some lamb kebabs to pair with this big boy, something fatty in need of a fruity cut will work well. (Sourced from Londis, Penny Lane, Liverpool)
And that is that for another month's review. Hopefully this will have provided some inspiration for your next selection of beers for the coming weeks, but until the next review (which should be on the way shortly, combining both July and August), take it easy!! Pedro. Somehow this Summer really got away from me in terms of keeping up with reviews and the blog. In total honesty, I haven’t had much time to sit and type up a lot of stuff I would have liked to – being incredibly busy in work and also outside, along with taking up a gig of doing reviews for Liverpool Confidential (I’ll probably no longer be doing restaurant reviews on here for the foreseeable future as a result, focussing on beer mainly). Anyway, it’s time to catch up a bit! I will have the June review lined up, will be merging the July and August blogs (as I didn’t do an awful lot of drinking at home over that period, with so much going on out and about). September will follow on and hopefully I will find time to complete a blog on Wild Beer Co., their food pairing sensibilities and the excellent Oktopus (who have just recently been given a lovely accolade from Marina O’Loughlin in the Guardian). It’s been a busy year and has no sign of letting up!
And that is that for another month's review. Hopefully this will have provided some inspiration for your next selection of beers for the coming weeks, but until the June Review, take it easy!! Pedro. This may be something of a case of preaching to the converted, but it’s still something that might be a cathartic exercise for me. Fresh from a weekend of traipsing along the Bermondsey Beer Mile, picking up a few bottles for home and then reading Tony Naylor’s latest foray into the Guardian’s Beer articles (along with the hilariously uninformed masses that seem to flock to post below the line on what ‘beer should be’), I felt somewhat compelled to put my (admittedly, mixed) feelings and views down into black and white. [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/12/pub-drinkers-craft-beers-small-breweries-supermarket#comments] It has been pointed out frequently, not just by myself, but many other industry experts, writers both professional and through to more amateur levels, that we are in a very good place for beer halfway through 2017. Not just in terms of quality, quantity and scope of styles, but brewery numbers and even choice at the supermarkets where we do our domestic shopping. Picking up something above what is a cooking lager (so to speak), with a full hop compliment and ‘craft sensibility’ whilst picking up bathroom cleaner, frozen fish fingers and toilet rolls is now an easy score. Just a few weeks before writing this, Northern Monk and Atom Beers announced their presence in Morrisons and ASDA respectively; this is good thing in the main. Good for the brewery to have a steady income stream and good to have a potentially massive market reach. These deals on the face of it are for core range-easy to find beers only, which is fine for customers; getting good barbeque beers will be much easier for everyone. However, this leads onto two negative routes for the beer market (and for our beloved smaller brewers/independent bottle shops).
It’s a desperately complex and tricky situation to negotiate and for anyone who is just getting into ‘craft beer’/real ale and wants to support smaller businesses, it can be pretty confusing and there is no real right or wrong answer. The waters are as muddy as they have ever been, especially where there have been a plethora of blogs, articles, musings and essays on how to adequately define what ‘craft beer’ really is. The truth is, every set of strictures that has been espoused has its omissions, its gaps and exceptions to the rules. It is a thankless and probably impossible task. Although that isn’t stopping SIBA wading into the matter with its proposed quality mark (which on first viewing also appears to have its flaws and fudges).
The tricky path from all of the considerations are the tangents that spin off from each facet, there are so many individual arguments and those who care about their beers each have a slightly different opinion spanning all the way across the spectra. One sure fire way to get your beers from a source that is either desirable from the viewpoints discussed above, is to buy direct from the brewer, either from their premises or online. Buying from a specialist bottle shop is another way to get your hands on the one-off beers and to support a local business. For me, going in to see what new beers they have on the shelves and chatting at length about them is a proper treat. There is something irreplaceable in going into a shop and having the palpable tangibility on display; it’s the same for buying records, having the sleeve notes and the physical item there in front of you, something feels lost in translation looking at pictures on a computer screen and clicking to buy, before sitting and waiting for a box to be delivered. Don’t get me wrong, the enterprise of many online retailers, I find admirable, not to mention the selections they accrue for their customers. But I much prefer the weight of bottles in my arms, walking back to a car happy that these are now mine, ready to be taste, consumed, shared and written about. I have also frequented supermarkets for beers, I too am a consumer and as such, price sometimes governs where I will shop for my ‘go to’ type beers, beers for barbeques and for guests that visit and beer we’ll consume in quantity. I make no bones about this and am aware that there is some level of hypocrisy in not buying from independent retails, whilst singing their virtues and touting for support. But there are some that stock great beers at a very affordable price, making ignoring the value very difficult (for example, buying Mikkeller, Magic Rock and Roosters beers at Booths or buying Wild Beer Ninkasi 750ml and Fuller Vintage ales in Waitrose). Alas the purchase of beers direct from breweries, direct from the premises or online, is not without its drawbacks for retailers down the line. When consumers ordering online from the breweries direct, that's money bottle shops are missing out on. When less money comes into a specialist shop, there is invariably less money for investment in stock; to buy a good spread of beers to offer to their customers. If every brewery offered off-sales from premises or inline, then it is a real possibility that many bottle shops would eventually close. There just wouldn't be the same need for them. With something that's already happening to wholesalers and for those people who are loyal to bottle shops, is because breweries are selling their one-off beers online or as part of a pack, there is inevitably less of that given beer available for trade, so bottle shops customers may have to scramble to buy the rationed beer due to the hype surrounding any launch.
Any customers after such a rare brew were thus forced to buy from the brewer direct or online rather than from the specialist shop. Potentially this could create a vicious feedback on breweries, who in future may not have bottle shops to buy their beers anymore for onward trade. Nothing is certain, but it is potentially a bleak future for specialist bottle shops (and brewers and consumers) if the conditions all turn in favour of the above scenario.
Depending on the set up of your local (or nearest) bottle shop, some will hold organised tastings, whilst others can even provide keg or cask services to fill bottles, growlers or crowlers for takeaway purposes to make that session beer a decent one and provide a quantity to sustain most party goers for their evening of fun. It’s this flexibility of service, a large range of styles and breweries (especially if the manager is a passionate one about their stock) and often a fair pricing structure for beers that would otherwise be impossible to get outside of a specialist bar which is often much more expensive (due to overheads etc). The old adage of use it, or lose it has never rung truer. Whilst we have local bottle shops, they are really worth supporting; it’s a sure fire way of getting your hands on beers you’ll have never tried before, getting good recommendations and in some cases, as mine if you are lucky enough, making some great friends and acquaintances. Pedro. Edition five, done, dusted and bundled into a neat compartment somewhere in everyone who attended's mind, probably in a box of 'good memories'. That's definitely where my thoughts on the event reside, however, these days I suppose I am more invested in the event than most, especially given my involvement with the Liverpool Beer Collective and us having a bar at the event, hosted by the five local breweries (3 Potts, Connoisseur Ales, Glen Affric, Melwood and Top Rope Brewing) who managed to each shift a fair bit of beer over the course of 4 days. In the run up to the event, there were murmurings circulating that there may be some beer festival fatigue setting in amongst the populous and that the beer list didn't quite look as exciting as it could have been. The murmurings were ushered away some weeks before the event with the announcement of some excellent and very solid breweries joining the bill at the Constellation's held festival. There were some pretty big talking points and notable things about this Expo; I will get to each of them individually, because I know how much people love a list, this will go neatly alongside a second list of my top ten (I struggled to keep it down to only ten...) beers from the event too. Suffice to say, at the end of the event, I personally (along with the rest of the Collective bar members and especially our hosts in the Expo Team) was exhausted and couldn't even contemplate putting the thoughts and feelings into an article for your consumption... not even a week later, so perhaps there is a bit of lag time here, but it's often better to ruminate than to make snap decisions on things which benefit from reflection. So, those notable things... 1. The Takeover of Greenland Street It was announced relatively shortly before the Expo that they would be releasing an extra 100 or so tickets for the Saturday sessions to cope with demand and the expansion of the Expo site was set. Spilling out onto the top end of Greenland Street (the northern end is already blocked off by bollards and pavement from the rest of the road network), this gave extra space for row of another set of bars, taken for a ten-tap rotational and by Brewdog, Northern Monk, Lines and Gipsy Hill (along with Wild Beer, as covered below). This expansion added some more space to allow Expo-goers some elbow room, places to sit and stretch their legs and given the weather (again, below) this was exceedingly welcome. However, there was the feeling that this possibly detracted from the bars inside experiencing some additional attention and atmosphere. Hopefully next year, this expansion will be retained or perhaps event added to again! 2. Wild Beer Company's Massive Container Having spent a couple of hours working with Andy, Theo, Theresa and a lovely energetic volunteer called Anna, the Wild Beer Container was a bit of a feature for the Expo. Piecing together various conversations with people, it wasn't particularly cheap to get it to Liverpool from their Somerset base, but it was truly welcomed. Slinging out beers left, right and centre was the order of the day, not to mention how many Gin and Tonics were shifted in the sunshine (using Wild Beer's own Sleeping Lemons Gin), it was good fun, if a little exhausting. One minor criticism (from a servers point of view) was the fobbing (for the uninitiated, foaming from the tap) of the beers, which made serving a bit of a slow process from time to time with certain beers. I really hope to see the container present again next Expo. 3. The presence of a large number of New England/East Coast Murky IPAs Rather than dredge up an argument that has been fermenting across the Atlantic in the United States (no pub intended) over whether East Coast/New England IPA is actually a style or not, the fact that so many brewers are now aping what (apparently) Alchemist started with their Heady Topper is not surprising given the amount of fruit and ease of drinking that these beers impart. There were a number of beers brewed to this style at the Expo this year, with the likes of Ad Hop, Lervig, Wild Beer, Top Rope and Black Lodge all putting these beers out over the course of the event. The best thing about it was that they were all discernibly different from one another, some more savoury in the finish, some juicier, some cleaner as less residual. It was good to see a number of beers based around one 'style' given so many levels to enjoy and not just make a beer based on throwing in as many aroma hops as physically possible. 4. The continuing dominance of Barrel Aged Imperial Stouts Judging by the enthusiasm with which some of the higher abv beers were received over the course of the Expo (admittedly, including by myself), there is still an appreciation for the style even when the weather is hotting up and the beers themselves offer huge leaps in quality and complexity to the enthusiast. AB22, 3 Bean Stout, Parabola and the Lord Smog Almighty all made some of the people I chatted to very, very excited about what was in their glass. Barrel aging of bigger, darker beers has been around for a few years now, but the push to get more complexity, smoother textures and more subtle structured beers is continuing judging by the reception and indeed, the number of these 'bigger beers' that were tapped. Anecdotally (and yes, I accept this is not the be all and end all for a study!), it seems most people's top 5 beers from the Expo this year would probably contain one if not two to three of this style. 5. The need for more food... A bit of an issue judging by the grumbling from both Expo-goers and volunteers; two food stalls wasn't really enough given the queues and minor chaos around the stalls from Friday to Saturday evening. Though the food in the main was good, there were insufficient outlets to enable people to eat without disruptive queuing (especially for volunteers) taking anywhere between 15 and 40 minutes in some cases. One big loss this year was the absence of any beer snacks (Kumar... and your Karkli where were you?!), which hopefully is something that can be remedied in time for future iterations of the Expo. 6. The weather played its part It was hot, it was sunny (aside from really weird 30 second shower on the Friday) and it helped the beers fly out to people; thirst quenchers went out when the Expo sessions kicked off, with people becoming more adventurous as they wore on. Nearly perfect weather (I prefer it to be a little cooler, plus helps keep the beers cooler for serving). 7. The breakout of new and smaller breweries The Expo always throws a curveball or two my way in terms of new breweries that I haven't heard of and beers I am yet to try. Last year, London Beer Factory rocked up at the Expo with their dispensing taxi, which was fun - their beers were actually pretty handy too. This year, the presence of Mondo Brewing and Lines was a nice addition and gave me a chance to try out some gear from breweries I had yet to read about, try their beers and have a chat with. Sadly, I didn't get round to having much interaction with Lines, but the presence of Battersea's Mondo Brewing Company was most welcome and they had some excellent brews, not least their session IPA, Little Victories, their DIPA (Sitting Bull) and the Blueberry Wit beer. Other first timers that attended, albeit more established ones, in North Brewing and Gipsy Hill provided a few talking points over the weekend too, with the latter covered a bit further down in my top ten! Lastly on this point, I would be remiss to leave out the growth of the local scene in Liverpool, with more local breweries represented than ever before at the Expo. Neptune and Chapter added to things with their own bars, along with established Expo mainstays like Black Lodge, Ad Hop and Liverpool Craft (Love Lane), whilst some other local breweries banded together under the Liverpool Beer Collective to host a bar stocked full with local brews. Great work from 3 Potts, Connoisseur Ales, Glen Affric, Melwood Beer and Top Rope over the course of the weekend! I think we can all expect things to push on a fair bit in the next twelve months from these local brewers. 8. Beery Afterparties Two main bars took the party on into the wee hours. Black Lodge Brewery was the official after party location, with Tap Takeovers on each night from Thursday to Saturday (one each from Beavertown, Firestone Walker and Kernel) at the brewery and tap - brewers from the Expo were even spotted getting behind the turntables and inciting dance riots (Dave from Wylam, I am looking at you). Dead Crafty also hosted a number of people, as they did last year, taking many Expo goers later on into the night with a number of beers from their week's festivities (hosting launches of Fourpure Juicebox and quiz, a Hawkshead Tap Takeover and a Founders loves Left Hand event). A surprise tap takeover was dropped on the premises from Sierra Nevada on the Friday, with a keg of Hoptimum (triple IPA) making its way out of the taps very, very quickly! Next year has a lot to live up to for post-expo exploits. ------------------- I did actually speak to a few people and try to see what their impressions of the Craft Beer Expo were after a period of reflection, luckily I did get some words back from a few people and this is what they thought; Richard Gormley, Liverpool Round Table: "The atmosphere and the unique venue and location. A bit different than the norm. I think the good weather helped too. It would have been a different experience if it was raining! There was a great selection of beers and other drinks to try out. We all tried something different and were spoilt for choice. The pricing isn’t too bad either. Not sure what could be improved. Would live music go down well? Different styles of music playing? I must admit I am terrible at remembering the names of the beers especially after the number we consumed but the lads did enjoy visiting the Love Lane bar and the Liverpool Beer Collective bar in the outdoor area. I did enjoy the 3 Potts Short Circuit kiwi beer and the Melwood Marmalade Skies; I seem to be going through a fruity beer phase at the moment! I thought the event was ran really well. There was a relaxed feel to the whole event with everyone enjoying themselves. I will be back for more next time!" Emma C'Ailceta and Andrew Crawford, Expo goers: "We had quite few beers from the outside area, as the weather was amazing. There was so much choice, we just didn't get round to trying as much as we would have liked, but had a few from Brewdog and from Love Lane, there was also a mango beer which totally blew us away! A few notes on the programme would have possibly been helpful in making our selections and navigating the Expo, but the atmosphere was brilliant and good natured for our session on Saturday day." Joe Rimmer, Liverpool Echo and Londis Penny Lane: "The Liverpool Craft Beer Expo was probably at its very best this year. Aided by the weather, the Saturday evening slot was great fun. As always, time seems to fly by so quickly, but isn't that the way when you're having fun. It was great to see the Expo extended further into the street, and I can only hope that it creeps further and further.. Some beer highlights were Chapter's collab with Fourpure,a celery sour. Couldn't quite get enough of that one. Fantastic to see Lervig there, a personal favourite of mine and Top Rope continue to make some cracking beers too. In terms of what could be better, maybe some more food options at better prices, wouldn't go amiss. Perhaps a little more music. Oh and less of the Prosecco. It's a Beer Expo!" Now for another list and one that you are more than entitled to disagree with if you think something has been missed out (as always, express your displeasure or otherwise below the line in the comments section!), but here are the top ten beers (that I tried) at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo... 10. Mondo Brewing - Global Heresy v2 A blood orange saison, brewed in collaboration with Heretic Brewing from California. This was one of the first beers I managed to get my tastebuds around at the Expo and it stuck in my mind, so much so that a repeat taster was needed. Another refreshing saison that made its mark with grassy herbal notes, a lightly peppery finish and quite a bit of rich citrus along with sour and refreshing hints at the edges. There was something very satisfying about this beer, again, like many of the other top ten, there was possibly a sense of place for it at this year's Expo. 9. Beavertown - Kneadless Violence A 1.9% strength Kvass brewed from a sourdough culture yeast and infused with fennel, caraway and lemon zest, this remarkably refreshing brew is part of the Tempus Project (in collaboration with 35 bakery for wasted London). Loads of citrus on the nose, a quite complex background in the finish and a sour edge make something which raised quite a few eyebrows at the Expo. A 200 year old sourdough culture is not to be messed with lightly! 8. Blackjack Brewery - Bretted Full House DIPA A highly unusual beer here in the flavour, having tasted it initially blind (I wasn't told what it was before the sniff and taste) I thought it might have been a cider or perry, given how much character was similar to a wine (though in my defence, I did have rather a lot else to drink too beforehand!). The aromas and flavours are very citrus driven, but the mouthfeel was pretty heavy and residual along with a very wine-esque dry finish. Complex and really rewarding. Clever stuff and great use of a brettanomyces yeast, aging in red wine barrels and generous hopping. 7. Wylam - Sticky Bud DIPA Back in the Expo top ten again, Wylam make a habit of making some brilliant beers that make their way onto the taps once at a year at Constellations. This hefty double IPA is brewed using similar materials as the Magic Rock tall boys that have been doing the rounds recently, using the T90 Lupulin powder blend, but with having the back bone malt bill to stand up and make this beer really work in balance. There's loads of fruit and loads of depth and it's all a bit too easy to drink in the sunshine despite the 8.7% strength. 6. Lervig - Perler for Svin Another big and juicy 6.3% New England IPA, brewed with Azacca, Mosaic and Simcoe, Perler for Svin is a cloudy orange brew with loads of tropical fruit present in the aroma and the taste. As with many of the other pales in this top ten, it was almost perfect for the conditions at the Expo; fruity, light and only lightly residual, it was a great refreshing hop-loaded IPA without too much of a coating character. 5. Wild Beer Company - Fixer An infinitely drinkable New England IPA from Wild Beer; loads of fruit, heady tropical and juicy aromas and a lovely mouthfeel to give something which was again, perfect for the weather and the occasion and a lovely balance. I found myself drawn to the tap on a few occasions, especially when giving Wild Beer a hand on their bar. With a strength of 4.5%, it meant that it wasn't wiping you out in one or two drinks either! Solid and enjoyable work once again from the Somerset outfit. 4. Chapter Brewing vs. Fourpure - Roadside Picnic A 4.3% celery sour beer, which on the face of it sounds like quite a few people's worst nightmare. Bare with me though; this was probably the biggest surprise of the weekend, since the premise sounds quirky enough and despite the talent for such a new brewery and the unquestionable quality from Fourpure, this really was an excellent collaboration brew (as for me, around 7/10 are usually below expectation). Refreshing, tart and with a delightful savoury tang, this was absolutely spot on for the weather and the event. Bravo guys, bravo. When are the cans coming out? 3. Lervig - 3 Bean Stout A big, big stout with unbelievable depth and structure, the 3 bean stout is brewed with cocoa, Tonka bean and vanilla present and it tells, especially when used in tandem with a very competent malt bill. Expect massive amounts of chocolate, spice and coffee in the aroma, leading through to a silky and hefty body with a very pleasing finish. Incredible and a beer revisited by many, despite the strength (13%), the hefty token tax and the warm weather. 2. Gipsy Hill vs. Deya - Ramblers
A thick and very rewarding 8% Double IPA collaboration brew laced with oats and loads of late addition stateside grown hops gives something of one is frequently called a 'juicy banger' by many. What I experienced was something remarkably enjoyable to drink, having covered many bases of refreshment, good structure and complexity. The tidings that this beer is available in bottles fills me with glee if I am totally honest! 1. Firestone Walker - Parabola A beast (14.5% - wow) of a Russian Imperial stout full of coffee, chocolate, vanilla and many other elements, Parabola is an impossibly dark proposition and frequently rated amongst the best beers on the planet. It's easy to see why with the 2017 edition; aged for 12 months in Heaven Hill barrels it has a depth that is often unmatched and despite the big alcohol content and sharper notes in the stout the body remains tempered by silk and satin, it has a superb all round character from the aroma, right through the structure of the beer. Brilliant, brilliant stuff. --------------------------------------------- In summation, it was great fun once again, with some things to perhaps rectify, but a lot to enjoy and therefore a lot to probably look forward to for the sixth edition of the Expo next year. Until next time, Pedro. Into July we head and I am only just getting my April beers into your consciousness... for that there is only a shrug and an apology, given how hectic the last couple of months has actually been. The backlog of writing has come about in the main due to the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo and attending other events (including Beer Street in Southport, Gin launches, reviewing restaurants for online magazines and a few other bits and pieces). I'd say it's a hard life, but it isn't really... it's just difficult finding time to attend, cogitate and then write about everything that is going on! Anyway, I have another tidy selection of eight varied style beers to taste and convey thoughts on, just keep reading...
And that's the lot for this month, apologies that it is running a bit late - though that's price you pay for no firm deadlines and a million and one other pots boiling on the stove. Hopefully the reviews will be a little more steady in the coming months with the other articles coming along between! Pedro. |
Archives
April 2022
Archives
April 2022
Click ^ the RSS Feed to follow me
Categories
All
|