The Meet the Brewer events across the UK are proving to be exceptionally popular ways to spend an evening. Twinned with the relatively rude health of the cask and craft brewing scene, social occasions with the additional spice of running shoulders with a brewer and imbibing a brewery’s best wares have given rise to the building momentum and thirst to try new brews and catch glimpses of beers that are otherwise stocked sporadically in drinking establishments. In the latest iteration of Liverpool’s Clove Hitch and 23 Club outings and following the successful Brewfist tasting in December 2013, Logan Plant, son of the erstwhile Zepellin frontman, presented six of Beavertown Brewery’s flagship beers for an eager crowd to experience. Set up in partnership with Byron Knight December 2011, the brewery began in relatively modest surroundings of a kitchen of Dukes Brew and ’Que, De Beauvoir in Hackney. Incidentally, a colloquial twisting of the location gave rise to the brewery’s name. Fast forward to March 2013 and the Beavertown boys set up new premises to grow their capacity and cement a reputation at Fish Island, with future plans to get canning. According to Logan, Beavertown’s beginnings were seeded long before 2011 and a while before his epiphany in New York and subsequent realisation. Teenage ale infatuation with a session beer, spending afternoons sinking a few beers in the beer garden was a precursor to a later moment of clarity. Whilst part of a band playing in New York, Logan was having to eat rather late and therefore experienced American style craft beers and barbecued meat, giving a push to exit stage left from gigs and the recording studio and thus into the brewery. Back to present and to Liverpool, the Monday Mersey evening air is chilly, but Logan’s passion has given rise to 6 beers that we are presented with for delectation…. First up was the proverbial ‘Neck Oil’, a veritable session beer if ever there was, weighing in at a reasonable 4.3% and bursting with citrus lemon and cut grass freshness. It is a very easy drinking, straw coloured and dry hopped number; something apparently influenced by Logan’s Grandfather who referred to an estimable drinking session at his local as the time for the ‘application of neck-oil’. A slightly stringent mouth-feel gives this beer a pleasant edge if you’re wanting to partake in a few. ‘Gamma Ray’ is the second and possibly one of the most common of Beavertown’s beers to be had. A former employee at the Kernel (another brewery in London) was the first recruit to Beavertown’s brewing team and after a couple of iterations, hit upon a dry hopping ploy with Amarillo, Calypso, Columbus and Omega hops for this tasty and light bodied American style pale ale. There is plenty of flavour, similar to the Neck Oil with citrus character, but a more coating mouth-feel and plenty of fruit. It will be the first to be canned when Beavertown roll out their new venture soon. Third up was the ‘8-Ball Rye IPA’ which was a much softer edged beer than the previous two. The initial process was using 3 grains and approximately 17% rye in the malts, there was some difficulty sparging due to the finely milled particle size provided by the supplier. Upon a solution being achieved through supply chain amendments, an earthy, spicy beer with a cloudiness has been created, using a combination of US and New Zealand hops to bring out a delicious IPA at 6.2%. ‘Some Like it Hot’ was next to hit the taste-buds; a chilli and lime saison, with the addition of raspberries and apples from Chegworth Orchard, giving rise to a standard sourness, but twinned with a very interesting tart-heat in the aftertaste and mouth-feel. The acidity is finely balanced with the level of hopping, giving an intensely fruity beer which was influenced by a cocktail mixologist who recommended trying to achieve something similar to a cocktail. The dry hopping with chillies provides a clever dimension to the beer providing some depth of flavour plus the expected heat. Onto the darker stuff with a black IPA named ‘Black Betty’. A beer which allegedly came about by a happy accident in the brewery, aiming for a beer that was reminiscent of the popular and nostalgic ‘black jacks’ chewy sweets so many of us of a certain age will remember. Coming in at 7.4%, there is plenty of punch to this dark IPA along with lots of fruit from the hops and a coffee and chocolate infused depth provided by the use of 5 types and especially darker malts. The aromatics kick quite a lot of arse here, belying any indication of a heavy body and any expectancy of a greater amount of chewiness. Finally we hit the big brother to a standard Beavertown brew, the ‘Imperial Smog Rocket’, which weighed in at a hefty 10%. Using smoked malt and brewed in the imperial style popular with Catherine the Great, the Imperial Smog Rocket was built as a foil for some collaborative work performed with the Brewdog boys. They created an Imperial Stout which was named ‘Catherine’s Pony’ (do an internet search for stories surrounding Catherine the Great and horses… just don’t complain when you find out why they named the beer as such, the dirty boys), but Beavertown decided they could raise the bar from the collaboration and thus launched the rocket, creating a thrust of big chocolate and coffee oiliness. Magnum and Chinook hops sit atop a mountain of malts, drifting in and out of liquorice, with some vanilla and smoke. A must-try beer, but perhaps stick to one or two eh? An excellent evening with affable hosts as ever, Logan has promised to make some more rounds when the canning gets going, I suspect we will be seeing a lot more Beavertown if they keep the bar as high as the above beers are set.
Until the next time…. Cheers! Pedro. --------------------------------------------- Beavertown Brewery Web: http://www.beavertownbrewery.co.uk/ Follow Beavertown on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeavertownBeer Clove Hitch/23 Club: https://twitter.com/theclovehitch / https://twitter.com/TwentyThreeClub Tel: 0151 709 6574 Address: 23 Hope Street, Liverpool. L1 9BQ
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The November edition of Meet the Brewer Event held at the underground speakeasy below Hope Street’s Clove Hitch, the Twenty Three Club. Since the Indy Beer Man Convention, held in the Victoria Baths in Manchester, rumblings have gathered momentum from the Italian Craft Beer scene with a number of their less established beers finally finding their way into Liverpool’s pumps and bottle fridges. Brewfist is one such brewery, looking to spread the word on their wares with help from agents, Atlas Brands who have a select clientele of Italian Craft Brewers out of the some 600 existing breweries in Italy to date. The depth of brewing in Italy is still relatively shallow by reputation, dwarfed by the overbearing Wine industry and exports for which Italy is most famous. However, upon forming in 2010, Brewfist has been making inroads and some rather interesting beers. There is already some momentum spreading in the homeland and certainly, from the anecdotal evidence, in Italy’s capital with a fairly buoyant export market and growing thirst in consumers on both sides of the Atlantic for beers with a little more character. They brew in a ratio of 65:35 keg versus bottles, mostly due to shipping the kegs over to the Roman market. Brewfist’s vehicle is some rather interesting named beers twinned with eye-catching artwork and imagery for marketing material. The name in English to provide some additional punch to pierce the UK and US markets, was as suggested, to provide some dynamic edge to the Brewery. The opening combination from Brewfist was an excellent first round in the form of 5 beers that have proven popular for them in other markets. Two of the beers were unveilings, the Heimdall – first batch anywhere (truly honoured) and secondly the Terminal Pale Ale, which was a first batch brought to the UK. So what did they taste like? 1. Terminal Pale Ale A proper session strength beer, belying the flavour punch it can deliver, much akin to the Wild Swan from Thornbridge. Coming in at only 3.7% and using pilsner malts, 80% citra hops and Australian sourced Summer hops, this beer is exceptionally citrussy and very dry to boot. Brilliant night out beer, perfect for a late session on a Summer’s evening. There are some grassy aromas with a tart and sharp finish, much akin to a good new world Sauvignon Blanc, keeping the palate very clear. Takes a few mouthfuls to get into the right gear for this beer, but once there; it is very, very drinkable. 2. Czech Norris The Brewfist Imperial Pilsner, coming in at 6.7% and using typical hops for pilsners in Saaz and Munich Pils hops. Most of the flavour comes from the dry hopping of the brew, especially with some hops added in the last 10 mins of the mash. This beer was meant to be a one off brew, but its popularity from its ease of drinking and the cheeky moniker have meant demand for this beer is continuing to gain momentum. 3. Heimdall An experimental Brewfist offering made in collaboration with a German brewery, using Pilsner, Oat and Rye malt in a farmhouse saison style brew along with an abundance of Galaxy and Hellertau Saphir hops. This weighs in at 7.6% with an incredible length of flavour, some spicy notes and the usual farmhouse fruit driven sour flavours, the brew has had no additional spices used in the brewing process which is testament to the craft and care with which it has been handled. 4. Spaceman IPA First brewed in 2011 for a specific beer festival, this exceptionally dry IPA comes in at 7% in the style of a West Coast Pale ale. The alcohol levels are exceptionally well hidden under the flavours of this very rich pale offering. The hops used are Colombus, Citra and Simcoe, explaining the derived pine dryness. A complex, rich and delicious pale ale with some grapefruit citrus and white stone fruit character. 5. FEAR One of the first four regular beers produced by Brewfist, this is a milk chocolate stout which is farirly sweet with some coffee notes but not overly heavy in body. There is a rather thin mouth feel to what could be judged on looks as being very chewy. Magnum hops over a multilayered spectrum of malts (including chocolate and maris otter), the inclusion of Oats and lactose give an ABV strength of 5.2% and pleasant residual sweetness. The lack of smokiness and a week of infusion with cacao beans rounds off what is a very interesting and deceptively delicate stout. The beers were augmented by some delicious beef shin, cauliflower purée and black pudding with pickled carrots or a rather nicely put together vegetarian friendly pasta dish provided some sustenance, pictures show how well fed event goers were! You can swing by the 23 Club and try some of the Brewfist beers, alternatively see below for further details of where you can read up more on their beers. Future ‘Meet the Brewer’ events are planned for 2014.
Stay tuned! Pedro. X ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Brewfist Web: http://www.brewfist.com/index/en/index.html Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrewFist_ Email: [email protected] Twenty Three Club / Clove Hitch Address: 23 Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BQ Web: http://www.theclovehitch.com/# Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwentyThreeClub or https://twitter.com/theclovehitch Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Tel: 0151 709 6574 It’s been a few months since my visit to go and see a friend living over in the Czech Republic’s second city, but I thought the trip definitely warranted some words for those considering a trip out in that direction for something of a slightly different pace. Flying out from the UK to Brno is an awkward proposition, the easiest route for us from Liverpool John Lennon was to fly into Bratislava, the Slovakian capital and take 3 changes (two trolleybus/trams onto a coach) to get into Brno. The trip was a little more stressful than it needed to be with neither myself or my companion speaking any Slovak; the older generation do seem to be responsive to German however. Nevertheless, we arrived in Brno in one piece with the travel costing us in the region of £7-8 in total from Bratislava airport to the coach station in Brno. The first night, my friend living in Brno collected us from the (very desolate, it has to be said) coach station to drop our bags and then go and find something to eat and drink. Not much after an hour passed before we were sat in ‘STOPKOVA PLZENSKA PIVNICE’ [http://www.kolkovna.cz/index.php?show=hot&place=16]a bar/restaurant supposedly of some renown for serving good beer and pretty authentic Czech dishes. A steak with cream and cranberries was placed in front of me, known locally as svíčková, I was initially bemused by the offering of such things, but any apprehension gave way to hunger. The meat was actually perfectly cooked, the dumplings were excellently seasoned and provide enough stodge to fill me up, although I did try the cream and fruit with the dish, it is not something I was overly fussed on revisiting. My companion was struggling to select something suitable as this part of the world is not exactly known for its vegetarian offerings, but the sight of Cheese on the menu piqued interest; the sight of it being deep fried even more so. This was a definite theme throughout the trip involving cheese, breadcrumbs and vats of oil where food was concerned; however, this first venture into such heavy and decadent food was pleasant. There was no residual trace of oil on the wedges of cheese in a light breadcrumb and it was served with bootlace fries and salad, it therefore provided an excellent companion to the Pilsner Urquell on offer. If you want to eat here, it is best to try and book a table in advance as it does get quite busy of an evening; be wary that places like this do not have a smoking ban either, so you may need to request a non-smoking table. A few bars and many beers later, it was time to rest, the next day we were due to have a wander around the town and then catch up with a few of my friend’s other acquaintances for lunch and a few drinks (it would have been rude not to partake when this country provides amongst the finest pilsner and lager beers in the world). ‘PIVNI OPICE’ (Beer monkey)[http://www.pivniopice.cz/] was our next port of call following a wander around past the Ossuary (bone storage place, macabre yet interesting), castle and cathedral. Pivni Opice is a relatively small basement bar that houses quite a relaxed atmosphere and very reasonably priced selection of food, with the usual czech cuisine augmented by some burgers, ribs and schnitzel dishes. The beer, is as always in this part of the world, very very good and cheaper here than in many other bars around the town. There is plenty of seating during the day and it does get a little busier in the evenings, but the atmosphere remains very relaxed and the service competent. There are a mix of higher tables and standard height dining arrangements, with a warmth to the place given partially by wooden decor and low ceilings. The food was superb value, with the plates of chicken legs and ribs with salads and bread being more than enough for one person, whilst the burgers and portions of the fried cheese are pretty much plentiful for even the most gluttonous of visitors. The quality of the food was nothing mind blowing, but for somewhere to grab a relaxed and cheap (it's under five pounds (UK) for a large burger with bacon, egg and salad with fries and three beers at the time of the visit) bite to eat and a decent beer, you can't go too far wrong with this enjoyable establishment! The city then became a bit of a blur of bars and pubs thanks partly to some overindulgence and partly thanks to a very unusual 24 hour dose of a heavy cold which miraculously cleared up by the end of our second day in Brno. On place that stood out if not on novelty value, but also on the portion sizes on offer, with numerous branches across the Czech republic THE PUB [http://www.thepub.cz/brno/?lng=en] specialises in free pour beer (i.e. you pour your own drinks from a central tap on each table). Although there are other beers on offer, the chance to ‘race’ against other people in the bar and indeed against those drinking in Prague or Ostrava is quite some novelty. The beer itself is massively drinkable and as stated, the food is a good companion to a convivial affair, pizzas, burgers and steaks all cooked well and reasonably priced. Needless to say, with three of us having a go at the pumps, we were quite outgunned by a table in Prague sinking twice as much beer (likely having twice as many people – at least we hope so). A few more beers were taken in along with watching a Davis Cup match (featuring the Czech Republic in the final, which they won) with some locals wrapped in the Czech flag and clearly very proud of their team in a restaurant/Beer Hall called ‘ÁČKO’. Besides the smoky atmosphere, it was pretty loud and an evidently popular place with the locals with various progressive rock band album sleeves scattered around the ledges in the main room at the back of Áčko. The beer was as it was elsewhere on our trip, cheap and very drinkable and pilsner style lager, there were plates of deep fried cheese brought out to us on a couple of occasions, but it was a struggle to stay too long in such a smoke filled room. POTREFENA HUSA [http://www.potrefenahusabrno.cz/] was visited later, sat in a very central location in Brno, this place was a very enjoyable place to visit and eat/drink in. The modern surroundings of the bar and a good atmosphere twinned with the food and drink makes for this to be a place very high on the list worth visiting in Brno. Its location lends itself to making it a good bar to finish a night on, along with beer snacks and food served until fairly late (although not all night - after 10 the kitchen may be closed). The snacks include excellent pickled cheeses (in oil, spring onion and peppers), which to some might not sound too appetising along with a few pints, but you'd be very surprised and pleased with the range of food on offer. It is towards the pricey and of bars in Brno, likely and quite noisy, with a much younger clientele compared to many of the other bars around, but it is still worth popping in for a drink. The return visit to Bratislava was intended to be brief, with only a few hours to kill until the return flights to Liverpool scheduled for 9pm, alas our stay was extended until 1pm the following day – without the ability to experience more of the city’s hospitality. The time that was spent there was used to wander to the Parliament and Castle, gaining excellent (if somewhat fog-hampered) views of the Danube and some good photographs of the interesting architecture on show. One thing that grabbed my companion and I was some of the brilliant graffiti that was hidden away in various parts of the city, the photos I have included are not necessarily in keeping with the main remit of this blog, but are worthy of inclusion from an artistic viewpoint. Only one visit was made for food and yet again, the deep fried cheese was on offer at the SLOVAK PUB [http://www.slovakpub.sk/], who were we to refuse? CLICK ON THE PHOTOS BELOW TO ENLARGE.... Flying into Bratislava airport and planning an onward journey in this part of Europe is relatively easy to handle given a bit of research; Ostrava, Prague, Brno, Budapest and Vienna are all within a few hours by coach, meaning a weekend break could see you take in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria with a single flight. You’ll need 3 sets of currency though!
Until next time, hopefully you enjoyed my little tour.... Pedro x Having missed an opportunity to attend an earlier event - which took place in Renshaw Street’s Beer Inn Emporium, I was lucky enough for my ear to the ground and gastronomic radar to detect a chance at ale induced redemption… of sorts. There was also another event approximately a year ago too in the same venue, but again, my day job pulled rank on such frivolities. The Ship and Mitre played host to Josie Ludford, who, as regional sales co-ordinator for Brewdog in the North of England (rather an expansive area too, it sounded) provided some insight into both the company and a range of beers the company are currently showing off to the masses. The venue itself wasn’t particularly ideal for the event, with the tasting area reserved for ticket holders it might have been better suited away from the main body of the pub as ambient noise was constantly providing a challenge to Josie getting her points across; difficult enough when some people actually attending didn’t seem interested in letting other people hear either. Nevertheless the tasting continued and there were some interesting beers on offer. 1. How to Disappear Completely An interesting and very low alcohol Mild style ale at only 2.8% but with an abundance of hops including Centennial and Colombus giving the dry hopped aromas an extra punch. Possibly the most pleasant mild I have ever drunk. 2. Electric India A saison beer with heady tropical fruit notes including mango, some additional hops have been introduced to bridge the tropical flavours and the hoppy flavours. There is plenty of depth to this beer, which is a 7.2% smack in the mouth and also possibly a great introduction to those who have had difficulty with saison beers in the past. The addition of orange zest and black peppercorns gives a fresh kick in an already interesting brew. 3. Hello, my name is Mette Marit The Censored beer (in Norway at least) so named after a tearaway Princess-to-be-Queen who’s past scandals include domestic family issues, raving, drug taking and having a child from a prior relationship to that of the one with the Crown Prince (*cough* allegedly). The beer is much better behaved than that; the first taste was from an off-pump effort after another Brewdog event, of which the beer was clearly not handled well at all following the event. This 8.2% strength beer does not convey its strength in the flavour or indeed, mouthfeel, with strong toffee flavours and a double IPA basis using amongst others - Citra hops, Nelson Sauvin and lingonberries to provide some additional flavour and acidity to balance out what would normally be quite cloying. 4. Mixtape 8 Mixtape 8 is an intriguing beer that lends itself to be a dessert accompaniment if ever there was one. A deep and complex set of flavours which is a blend of two styles aged before bottling; a dry hopped triple IPA and a Belgian tripel, both of which are aged in oak whisky casks. The two-blend hit gives dried apricots, muscovado, dates and slight figgy flavours whilst the phenolic and earthy tripel element gives dryness to the balance of flavours. A treacly and fine companion for a steamed toffee or treacle pudding, made from 4 malts and 4 different hops. Mixtape 8 weighs in at a more than respectable 14.5% 5. Cocoa Psycho As the name suggests, this is an intense exercise in cramming as much chocolate into a beer as I have possibly experienced. This imperial stout weighs in at 10% with coffee and chocolate notes and flavours in abundance, the dryness also oddly imparts a strange heat to the stout giving an impression of the inclusion of chilli – not the case, however. Oats, cocoa nibs and coffee beans have been added to the brew to impart their flavours to augment that already naturally present in the beer. Again, as with the Mixtape 8, this is definitely suited to being used alongside a cocoa based dessert. 6. Tactical Nuclear Penguin The former world record holder which started a beer arms-race with German competitors. A burgeoning 32% imperial stout style beer that has since been surpassed, has heavy treacle flavours and some undercurrent of industrial spirits held within a noose of toasty muscovado sugar. As with the other heavyweights tasted, this is best paired with a dessert, something along the lines of a gypsy tart would be ideal. The high ABV was achieved by the process of freeze distilling following an aging process to give distinct flavours and an interestingly coating mouth feel. All in all a good event, the promising news is that Liverpool is also going to get a Brewdog bar which is currently targeted for the Manolis Yard area near to Maya/Lucha Libre, FACT and Mojo. Good tidings indeed for fans of the proclaimed Scottish punk brewery. The fact that one half of the Brewdog creators spent time working at another ElectroKemistry favourite, Thornbridge Brewery, is testament to the skills learned to make these interesting brews. Until next time mis amigos! Pedro. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can find out more about Brewdog here: http://www.brewdog.com/ You can follow Brewdog on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/brewdog You can follow Josie on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Brewdogupnorth After much stress, drinking of wine, tasting of cheese and practicing some presentation skills that I haven’t used in quite a while, the Wine Tasting event went off rather well. At least by judging the feedback and beaming (possibly tipsy…?) faces at the end of the event, it was well received. There were 8 wines on show for people to taste, starting with 3 variable styles of white and then onto 5 equally variable reds. The event was started by explaining a little about tasting wine (using some excellent structured advice from Jancis Robinson in her BBC book ‘Wine Course’ published in 1995) and how to search for flavours; what the various terms of body, length, acidity and balance mean with regard to tasting a wine. As the presentation progressed (somewhat…!), additional notes on old world and new world wine differences were discussed, fruit acids and how grapes take on flavours from their fermentation and treatment during this period and beyond. The first white wine was from Oddbins, their Green Fish Verdejo 2011 (Spain). This is a simple, light and fairly dry wine with slightly peachy flavour and a lot of acidity. The wine is from the Rueda region of Spain (the area just to the North West of Madrid) and the grapes are harvested at night when it is cooler; this prevents the oxidation and therefore browning of the juices on maceration, keeping the wine lightly coloured. Possibly, this was the least praiseworthy wine on offer in the event, at least judging by its reception. The second white was the Ridgy Didge Chardonnay 2012 from Australia, a white peach coloured white with an abundance of stone fruit flavours of peach, apricot and melon accompanied with a hint of ripe apples. The wine was slightly oaked, giving a slightly spicey, vanilla undercurrent and a buttery mouthfeel. Another relatively simple wine, but different enough from the other two whites to give the attendees a tangible variation. The final white on show at the event was the Les Cascadelles Pouilly Fumé 2011 (France, of course). The selection of this wine was to show the dryness accompanying the Sauvignon Blanc grape and the fresh green acidity with gooseberry and slightly citrus-sharpness, terrific minerality and the aroma of gunflint. At this point, a little time was taken to explain how Terrior [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terroir] comes into play and how French appellations are used. Moving onto the red wines, the first foray was the Freeman’s Bay Pinot Noir 2011 (New Zealand). A very pale red wine, light in colour and body, although deceptively full of flavour. A very smooth yet meaty and slightly oaky character with flavours of cherry, plum and strawberries all present alongside a slight vegetal taste and aroma, less pronounced than in some French offerings. Was generally well received by the group. The second red wine was the fairly reknowned Toro Loco Tempranillo 2011 (Spain), which some members of the group seemed to be familiar with. This is a full-bodied red wine using the Tempranillo grape with flavours of berries, plums and a hint of some tobacco and leather. The wine can be quite tannic, having a slight pepperiness and pleasant mouthfeel also. Positive feedback from the group all round with this one! Following the Tempranillo was a delicious Rioja with a little age behind it in order to show the group how a grape can change flavours with age and treatment and by accompanying it with other grapes. As with the Toro Loco, this is a full-bodied wine with plenty of vibrancy and flavour; the colour was noted to have been significantly different (slightly less reddish-purple around the edges, tending to be a little sepia coloured). This wine is also stored in oak for a while, giving an undercurrent of spice. A superb value wine; which was positively received from all the attendees. A very interesting wine was had to follow the Rioja in the form of the Mont Rocher Pays D’Herault Carignan 2012 (Rousillon-Languedoc, France). Taken from old gnarled vines in the Mediterranean region of France, this is a juicy and quite fruity red with plenty of body and a slightly confected aroma twinned with flavours and aromas of sumptuous violets. An excellent wine which was well received by the attendees. A very interesting wine was had to follow the Rioja in the form of the Mont Rocher Pays D’Herault Carignan 2012 (Rousillon-Languedoc, France). Taken from old gnarled vines in the Mediterranean region of France, this is a juicy and quite fruity red with plenty of body and a slightly confected aroma twinned with flavours and aromas of sumptuous violets. An excellent wine which was well received by the attendees. The final wine was something with tonnes of body and robust flavours in the Santa Rita Medalla Real Carmenere 2009 (Colchagua Valley, Chile). A little way of explanation about the Carmenere grape was given, along with the tasting, with the wine giving flavours of chocolate, coffee and plums along with deep savoury notes. Fruit was present in the form of some dark berries, but there was a comment from someone that one of the strong aromas reminded them of fly-spray, indeed, a very unusual aroma that accompanies the use of fly-paper was present. Slightly disappointing that the wine was not strongly received considering the interesting and complex flavours on offer. To round the event off, there was a little contest between the attendees to see who could correctly identify the placings of each of the wines from the tasting in terms of their cost (at time of purchase). The wines were as follows:
The highest mark was 4/8 and two people went into a tiebreak, being asked to name the three grapes used in making Champagne. Alas they both correctly identified Chardonnay, but fell down on naming any more (for those curious/uninformed – also Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier), luckily they were in a couple so shared a lovely bottle of red lovingly selected for a prize. A special mention needs to go to the excellent Liverpool Cheese Company, based in Woolton Village, for supplying cheeses to the event, a lovely selection from the shop was soon demolished in less than 15 minutes (you’d think these people had never been fed?!). The buche log goats cheese and Y-Fenni with mustard seed were excellent, along with a very interesting cheese washed named ‘Baltic’ with Liverpool’s own Wapping Beer from the Baltic Fleet pub (brewed in the basement) by the cheesemakers. Their website can be found here: [http://www.liverpoolcheesecompany.co.uk/] and they are located at 29A Woolton Road, should you wish to visit their lovely shop (where you can also pick up deli-items including many beers from the local breweries of Merseyside). Another successful event, I shall keep you all informed as more crop up (there are ideas floating around at the moment, but until they turn concrete, I’ll hold fire). Should anyone have any ideas for an event, please just give me a shout and we can perhaps work together to put something on! Until next time, adios! Pedro. -------------- P.S. to follow Liverpool Cheese Company on Twitter go here: http://twitter.com/liverpoolcheese Let’s dispense with the usual Beer Festival anecdotes about them being frequented by Gandalf-a-likes from Lord of the Rings and those dressed like Steampunk enthusiasts, but also steer clear of references to more contemporary groups that begin with the letter ‘H’. There was more than a healthy spread of the UK’s demographic present at the Camp and Furnace over the third weekend in June, all of whom seemed happy, enthused and remarkably positive about yet another shot in the arm for the City of Liverpool in its own ongoing gastronomic proliferation. The usual pattern was followed by my companion and I, upon entering an event such as this – retrieve glass and programme, wander about like a lost soul for ten minutes, find a shady spot to call our own for the duration of said event and then finally wander off to find our first victim. That is, our beverage of choice (if you thought anything else, you’re weird). The first beer went down a little slower than is usually to be expected, primarily a courtesy of the reveries from the evening before, but thankfully things were able to gather pace after that. Pace, just in time for my pencil to decide to give up on me (a retractable in case you’re wondering), robbing me of an ability to note any of the hazy observations about the beverages on offer and make succinct tasting notes. However, that was never really going to be the raison d’etre for this piece, so there is no real huge loss. The usual system of tokens was in place; a crisp £10 got you a card of 20 tokens with the beer prices coming in at around the 3-6 token mark generally speaking. The beers were served both from keg and cask across a number of bars spread around the periphery of the Furnace. Aside from smaller blackboards, pump clips at the bars and a larger ‘masterboard’ (which was often inaccurate) at the door into the Furnace, there was little way of deciding what your next beverage would be. A minor failing in the whole process for such an event was not to put any tasting notes or comprehensive list of the beers on offer in the actual event programme. This therefore failed to mitigate the trying of a beer which may have initially sounded enticing, but turned out to be a rather dull brown offering or a bog standard mild with a very misleading name (I hasten to add that this wasn’t exactly the case – but on more than one occasion I was stuck with half a pint of something not exactly pleasant to my palate). This failing was in part dealt with by many bartenders offering small tasters of a beer prior to taking away the half pint, which was a very welcome facet to proceedings. There were a number of beers pushing the envelope with regards strength, usually the 6 token beers, which had ABVs in excess of 8-9% and I do think I spotted something at over 11% which is Saison Dupont Rochefort 10 territory – offering very deep and complex beers with figgy and dried fruit characters to rival some wines. The only problem at a beer festival is being rather picky about which of these stronger beers you go for without ending up a bit of a mess by the end of the session! Some of the ales on offer were more standard offerings of citra and cascade hopped beers nestling alongside some excellent IPAs and a number of complex stout ales. There has been mention in national press (the Guardian no less, at least, prior to the event slipped into an article about the ‘rise of craft beer’ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/jun/13/craft-beer-guide-beginners]) of the endeavours undertaken by the Expo Liverpool Echo posted this piece about the Expo: [http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/review-liverpool-craft-beer-festival-4325877]. There is even some footage posted right here: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3kZxuiq6i0] with a nice panoramic shot of the Furnace for all to see. There was even some blogging (shock horror) on the event, although I’ve not had a chance to trawl them all, Allgates Brewery did post this: [http://allgatesbrewery.com/allgates-brewery-blog/2013/06/liverpool-craft-beer-festival/]. Pricewise, it was in keeping with usual goings on at the Camp and Furnace, with the burgers hitting the £6 mark, similar to those installed at the Food Slam events that take place on a Friday in the venue (which, all things considered are pretty steep). The flavoured popcorn is always a good accompaniment as a bar snack, as were the rather large bags of crisps, something to help soak up the beers and thus appreciate the convivial atmosphere always goes down well. The chance to watch some live brewing was also a welcome and interesting touch, with the likes of Beavertown, Camden and the hosts, Liverpool Craft Brewery all displaying their talents.
An education, an experience and most certainly, overall, a pleasure; here’s to the next one! Pedro. x ------ Many thanks to Jon Young for his photography skills on the afternoon. You can follow Liverpool Craft Beer Expo on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Livcraftbeerexp And Liverpool Craft Beer here: https://twitter.com/Craft_Beers British Bank Holiday weekends are invariably washed out affairs, much more suited to sitting wistfully on a window ledge staring outside at the rain trickling down the pane. Luckily, the last two Bank Holiday weekends in May of 2013 have been gloriously bright affairs. That type of weather definitely lends itself to sitting out with friends in a Beer garden, having a picnic and a few cold drinks in the park with the family or even better, attending a beer festival. There have been a few of late and there are a few more to come in Liverpool over the next few months. I spent the first May bank holiday at the Eagle and Child beer festival in Bispham Green (near Parbold/Mawdelsey). Typically, this festival experiences excellent dry weather and is generally superbly run and friendly affair. The addition of hand pumps to a few of the cask ales on offer this year is a definite improvement and a step upward from the usual high standards in the grounds of the pub owned by the Ainscoughs (of Racquet Club fame). The most recent Bank Holiday weekend was also spent investigating a slightly smaller scale beer festival, this time by the banks of the River Mersey in Otterspool at the Otter’s Café at Active Adventures. Having ventured down on the Saturday and Sunday, the clientele was mixed to say the least, with a market having brought some people out and the remainder either those wandering along the promenade for a walk and an ice cream or those specifically for the beer festival. There was even room for a Hen do oddly enough! Rather than a pub or association running this event, the crowds were treated to some local brews organised by the Mad Hatter Brewing Company. The Mad Hatters Brewing Company is the newest addition to Liverpool’s ever-increasing craft beer and real ale scene with Head Brewer Gaz and partner in crime Sue, initially taking things a little more seriously in 2007. With the burgeoning interest in Liverpool (as with the rest of the UK) in food and more pertinently, drink, driving the demand for fashionable food and beers with character, there is certainly room. The latter of these demanded items is something that the Mad Hatter is able to provide in abundance. This is more than evident, with some 16 different styles of beer lined up at the brewery, perhaps more once confidence has grown – and a range of brewing techniques not generally used in the UK. Some departure from academia up in Lancaster, I am sure most would agree, but a brave and highly welcome decision for a lot of us. At the festival, there were a few ales on offer from some of the usual suspects on the Liverpool Beer scene in the shape of Liverpool Organic Brewery, Liverpool Craft Brewery, Wapping, Brimstage Brewery from Wirral and another newcomer in the shape of the promising Melwood Brewing Company. The undoubted stars of the show at this festival were the beers on offer from the Mad Hatter Brewery. The unusually potent ales conceived by the Mad Hatter himself were present in fridges, which were stocked full as to be curiouser and curiouser; leporine artwork by Emily Warren of Stealthy Rabbit adorning a variety of exciting bottles promising much. Emily's thoughts are given in a bit more detail than I can divulge right now over on: [http://thestealthyrabbit.blogspot.co.uk/]. Over the course of the weekend, I made it my duty to try and characterise as much of the wonderland made real by the brewery as possible. However, with an ABV of usually over 7%, care must be taken – an easy task it was not!! The brewery was keen to provide something as an alternative to the usual session beers on the market, offering viable alternatives for food pairings to the usual fallback of a bottle of wine. Here are a few of the tasting notes I made whilst I was able to stave off falling down the rabbit hole:
2. Imperial IPA: Using Simcoe hops, the pine notes in this beer are deeply embedded and very obvious, at 7.3% it packs quite a punch and has quite a sharp edge with some good acidity. Very, very hoppy!
That’s your lot for what magnificence I tried on offer at the Beer Festival, but your extra reading after this blog is to go and check out the Mad Hatter Brewing Company website (conveniently located here: [http://madhatbrew.co.uk/] and for more up to date information, search facebook for Mad Hatter Brewing Company, or follow them on twitter, @MadHatBrew] with a run down of their beers and details should you need to contact them. Their beers will be available from the following outlets: Beers are available in Liverpool from: Stamps Too, (CAMRA pub of the year, Liverpool) The Dispensary, Renshaw St The Ship and Mitre And also soon from: 23 Club, below the Clove Hitch Pod, Allerton Road Manchester: Pie & Ale, Northern Quarter, The Port St Beer House, Northern Quarter And also soon from: Joshua Brooks, Oxford Road The Magnet, Stockport (CAMRA pub of the year, Greater Manchester) Unfortunately, you can’t buy from the Brewery direct at the moment, so you’ll have to go hunt down these bad boys from one of the outlets above if you’re feeling impatient!! A tip of the (mad) hat should also go to the guys down at the Otters Café for putting on the mini market and beer festival. They have an aerial assault course in the vein of Go Ape! there alongside a maze and the café and lovely riverside views. The coffee and cakes is pretty good there too! Full details of the venue are just a click away: [http://www.activeadventuresliverpool.co.uk/]. Until next time guys, I’ll see you through the looking glass! Pedro x You’re never really sure what to expect from the experience of an opening night in a new restaurant, the build up often involves some excitement and apprehension, hoping that the food and ambiance are going to deliver something of an epiphany or at least a deeply satisfying experience. More often than not, you’re confronted by awkward mediocrity and not-exactly-dashed-hopes, but a very very mild sense of dissatisfaction before realising your expectations were probably unreasonable. Having had some dialogue with the proprietors of Neon Jamon through various social media and watched in passing the boards go up and then come down outside the Smithdown Place premises, the sense of hope (for a relatively local establishment) was pretty high, although balanced by the understanding that restaurants and bar often need some significant ‘bedding in’ before they hit a stride. Based upon the event of the opening night, there are a remarkably high number of positives to take home and a sense of satisfaction with the overall experience. The drinks on offer have a good range for those who are enthusiastic about all things Spanish, Alhambra, Mahou and Estrella all present (along with variations thereof, including the most excellent Estrella Inedit – see the earlier blog on Wheat Beer tasting: [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/1/post/2012/08/wheat-beer-tasting-session.html]) alongside sherry (as per the traditional Valencia Tapas experience), Cava and other wines and a reasonable selection of Brandy. Having ordered a variety of the tapas on offer, from obligatory crisp and acidity complimented patatas bravas and the earthy combination of morcilla and chorizo (cooked excellently to avoid the chewiness so often the plague of chorizo dishes) to a platter of Iberican cured Jamon, Semi-curado Mahon cheese and delicately meaty pulpo (octopus), reminiscent of a cerviche. The latter of these dishes, supposedly drawn from a recipe experienced by the proprietors in San Sebastian, was cooked brilliantly and thinly sliced to provide an almost poultry-porcine-like texture and steeped in a sauce of finely chopped sweet pepper and lemon oil. There are enough dishes on the menu to provide a new visit for at least 4-5 occasions for those feeling mildly greedy, but the main remit of Neon Jamon is seemingly to instil a sense of Continental calm to the Liverpudlian drinking ethic. The wish is to provide a watering hole with the option to eat as a secondary though, although based on the food provided on this first visit, it really isn’t something they should set out to put on the back burner. A balancing act is definitely to be had, but one suspects the provision of Kikones (fried salted corn kernels) and Habas Fritas (roasted broad beans) amongst olives, bread and cheese will provide some very pleasing bar snacks for those who are not visiting for a meal as such. Should you choose to dine here, there are plenty of seats for groups up to six with seated wall and window facing ledges more than sufficient for a few drinks and small plates of tapas. They do not accept bookings for groups of less than eight people, as they wish to maintain the remit of being a bar that offers good food as opposed to a restaurant that works as a bar. The surroundings are comfortable and reasonably lit with garlands of dried chillies adorning the wood and brickwork walls and ceilings. Price-wise, it is comparable to most tapas establishments in the UK, but the portion sizes are on the slightly more generous size than I have experienced recently, which is no bad thing when looking for a decent meal as well as a pleasant dining experience. The almost puppy-like enthusiasm of the staff at Neon Jamon was refreshingly pleasant in contrast to the often jaded approach taken in some very established restaurants and bars, the staff seemed pleased to talk about any of the dishes on offer and despite a relatively low turn-out (granted for a Monday night this should not be surprising) they did give the right amount of attention to the customers for service, much to their credit. It will take time for Neon Jamon to find its niche perhaps as many new places do; physically abound by the excellent Spire and many pubs and bars nearby, but maintaining the form on show it should not take too long. The opening night might be an unfair yardstick on which to judge an establishment for current form without having a busy evening to judge service or cooking, but based on the potential displayed, this could the beginning of something pretty special. Pedro. Neon Jamon is on Smithdown Place, Liverpool just off Smithdown Road and Penny Lane. Follow them on twitter here: https://twitter.com/neonjamon or @neonjamon Hello Everyone!
Welcome to 2013!! Well, I guess it is a little late for that having only just got my act together to write something up nearly a fortnight into the year, but you can’t blame me too much. It has been rather a busy time of late with the Laboratory playing host to the families for Christmas Dinner and then a leaving party for a friend on NYE, but that doesn’t mean the experiments and observations have stopped at any point! As alluded to in some of my (less than occasional) twitter updates, there is much on the horizon this year to get gastric juices flowing and to feel rather excited about in the first few months of this year at least… I have no doubt there will be much more in the pipeline later on too. First up is the CAMRA Winter Ales Fesitval which is taking place again over in Manchester [http://nwaf.org.uk/] which we attended last year and were pleasantly surprised at some very good beers on offer. Full details can be seen here: [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/1/post/2012/02/threshold-festival-gets-its-own-beer-plus-the-camra-winter-ales-festival-in-manchester.html]. However, due to the seasonality and hop availability, you must go expecting the more Chestnut and Amber Ales to take the place of paler counterparts. Bear in mind that there are some exceptional Stouts and Porter Ales also available, not least last years superb offering from Coniston Brewery in the form of an oatmeal stout. The festival is running from the 23rd to the 26th January at the Sheridan Suite in Manchester, Saturday and Friday tickets are £5 for the session and you will be charged another £1 at least for a programme! Also described in the article linked above was the Threshold Festival [http://www.thresholdfestival.co.uk/], which is back this year with a vengeance. Holding the festival in March will mean slightly more clement temperatures than those experienced last year, but the Camp and Furnace will be ready for more great music, art and Threshold’s own delicious beer from the Liverpool Craft boys. More details on the festival will be given in another article at some point soon!! The Laboratory is considering some events of its own this year, in lieu of the successful Wheat Beer tasting that was run during the summer of 2012, there is going to be an introductory wine tasting conducted at some point (explaining the very basics of wine, vintage, grapes etc). Stay tuned for details on this; the pricing is likely to be in the region of £12 per head (with all wine and probably some cheese and nibbles included!) and places are going to be limited based on the venue we have available. There may be follow up tastings based on the success of this event with some more experienced speakers, so I will keep an eye on things and keep you all informed! The second event that the Laboratory is hatching is going to be a pub crawl, which was conducted last year to great success across the city centre, picking people up along the way and finishing with a curry at East Z East at the King’s Dock on the waterfront. The event will be completely free aside from providing your costs for booze and food should you feel the need, but at some point soon, a map will be published showing the likely establishments that the Kemistry will be taking place. Full details will be given soon. A return visit to the Liverpool Organic Brewery has been booked for the 2nd February, a full review of this can be seen here: [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/1/post/2012/11/liverpool-organic-brewery-tour-november-2012.html]. I shall report back if anything has changed, but suffice to say, the event was great and there are two extra dates planned in March (Saturday 23rd) and in May (Saturday 18th). You can book onto the Brewery Tour events here: [http://lobtours.eventbrite.co.uk/] Finally, I shall leave you with a brief write up of a restaurant we attended at the back end of last year for a break at the Manchester Christmas Markets, as always, no marks out of five or ten, but our best descriptive offering should suffice! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ElectroKemistry Review: Phetpailin – 46 George Street, Manchester Disclaimer: This review was conducted in December, so it is possible the menu and prices have changed. After picking up a couple of decent bottles of vino from Hanging Ditch (located near the cathedral), we headed to this place on the recommendation of a friend who was due to attend the following week for a Christmas meal with work colleagues. All in all, we were not disappointed with the food on offer and the experience was overall, a very pleasant and positive one. The ambience of the restaurant is pleasant enough, with the usual Thai paraphernalia placed around the restaurant along with various greenery, although this does make it feel a touch more claustrophobic with the premises being relatively long and narrow as it is. With the restaurant busy or 'ticking over', you can still hold a conversation without too much raising of voices, again, another positive. The food was very very good, all presented very well and cooked perfectly. The dishes our party ordered ranged from sharing platters of spring rolls, bite size entrees and dips to excellent Peanut (penang) Curries with King Prawns and the 'Weeping Tiger' (sirloin steak sliced and cooked with spices, beanspouts and other vegetables). All the food was delivered in a timely manner and with a friendly smile. We had expected some fuss over the wine we brought, but a cooler was brought without fuss for both bottles. I would definitely recommend this place for a visit, the pricing was reasonable for all dishes, plus being able to bring your own drinks means it works out a lot cheaper to pair beer or wine with your meal should you want to give the soft drinks a miss. One minor quibble was that over the charge we incurred for asking to take some leftovers (of which there were a reasonable amount - portion sizes are fairly generous!) away. A surcharge of 50p per plastic tub was added to our bill, which while no great shakes in the grand scheme of things, is a pretty poor touch considering the restaurant had scored highly for everything else in our evening. I would suggest this is scrapped in the interests of their reputation. Short of ideas? You could do far worse than giving this place a visit, just remember to bring your own drinks! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Well, that was rather a jam packed episode this time around! I hope you stayed focused and are rubbing your grubby palms with glee at the prospect of the forthcoming events in Liverpool? I shall endeavour to keep you all abreast of the events as details reveal themselves to us at the Laboratory and bid you farewell for a couple of weeks until more information hits us! Adios mi todos! Pedro. Brewery tours and beer festivals are always a welcome weekend distraction for me. Receiving an email from the Liverpool Organic Brewery in the early Autumn/late Summer was even more of a pleasure, since I had heard that they had planned to do a brewery tour much earlier than 3rd November 2012. However, the business of running a brewery is definitely a painstaking one and concentrating on what they do best (making beer) rather than invite people to the premises for a presentation and few hours of hospitality was on the back burner for the most of this year. Cain’s Brewery is currently the only Liverpool based brewery that conduct regular tours, which is made much easier by their vast premises (compared to the other breweries located in Liverpool). Their tour was not quite as pleasing as the one I attended most recently at the Organic Brewery’s Brasenose Street headquarters; however, it is still rather interesting. The brewery tour for the Organic Brewery comes in at the moment at a superficially steep £20 per head, but once you’ve completed the tour of duty in the midst of their fermentation vessels, you will probably feel as I did that the value of the tour was well worth the cost – not just based on the refreshments provided, but the intimacy of the event. Managing Director, Mark Hensby, gave a very personable account of the set up of the brewery through to the brewing they carry out and into visions for the future of the business. The other members of the brewery staff all excelled when asked various questions during the remainder of the tour in which guests are given a few nibbles and as much beer as they can hold over the course of three hours (along with complimentary glass); they were both friendly and knowledgeable (no mean feat when faced with lots of drunk punters!!). The beers on offer at the event were based on the availability of what had been brewed, luckily that included two of my personal favourites in Honey Blond and Iron Men (along with St. Anthony’s Ale – Cambrinus and the Liverpool Organic Best Bitter). The tour is by no means planned to be an isolated event. During the talk, Mark Hensby intimated that two more could be planned for later in the year both taking place in December, with the possibility of a Beer Festival taking place in the same month in the future. Good tidings! The beers on offer will no doubt rotate based on the hops that the brewery have at their disposal, with summer now over (as if we had one…) the lighter New Zealand and Cascade hops will have been used up in Iron Men and Cascade etc, so expect darker brews during the Winter and early Spring. In terms of the breadth of beers that the brewery produces all year round, there is the possibility in a reduction of the number due to ongoing logistical pressure within the business; which is sad thing, but if it means assuring the quality of the beer produced at any given time then it is a positive longer term for drinkers. In short, the tour is in early stages, but still very enjoyable and great value for money. Stay tuned, join the Facebook group or follow the brewery on Twitter to get information on when the brewery tours will be scheduled. I will no doubt spread the information too on my Twitter and ElectroKemist Facebook feed. Happy Drinking!! Pedro. (Further details on Liverpool Organic Brewery can be found at: http://www.liverpoolorganicbrewery.com/ and they can be contacted on 0151 933 9660) |
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